Thoughts. Where do they come from? What is their source? If we delve deep into psychology, there are various explanations. As a practicing Buddhist, what I have learnt in my 25 year journey is that at any point of time, who we are i.e. how we think is a sum product of all influences on us from this lifetime and maybe even past (if one were to believe in the Hindu/Buddhist theory of an eternal life.
Life as we know it - is what we experience, observe and feel on a moment to moment basis. Time and space are the two dimesions that matter the most in this experience. Why do I say this? Because while we are three dimensional creatures, in reality we have the soul of a "gypsy". No matter how many chambers and buildings might confine us and disconnect us from true nature, our mind wanders.
Sitting on a plane? What are you thinking? If this is not your fist flight and flying does not scare you, you might be thinking of family, the vacation you are planning etc. So in three dimesions your are being flown across oceans, in reality, we experience a sanitised cabin, hopefully comfortable seats and the luxury to read, sleep, watch movies - whatever you might wish to do.
Sorrounding you, might be another hundred lives. Physically you are in a shared space. And as long as the journey is timely and smooth, we dont even think twice about those around us. A long delay, bad weather or any untoward incident suddenly brings together some travellers. Why? Because now we are suddenly thinking about the same thing. About the journey which is at risk of being spoiled.
What does this teach us? Especially in a so called "polarized" world wherein family members fight over ideology and the party they prefer. How and why does "polarization" happen? Again if we were to think, it is our unique influences that cause us to have views that differ from those around us. Imagine a family of 6 - Father, Mother, Son, Daughter, Father's Mom and Dad - all living together is a large apartment in Worli, Mumbai. Father is a businessman, Mother is a Professor in a college while children are studying in school. Father's Mom and Dad are living a retired life but have their own friend circle.
Now take this family back in time - to Worli, Mumbai in 1984. How would these lives have differed then? Father might still have been a successful businessman - but he might have been a part of the "Bombay Club" that used to flourish in a License Raj system. Bureacrats and politicians would have been an important part of his daily life. If the business involved import/export, he would have had business partners in different countries - all of which would have also "influenced" him. And similarly for the other family members.
If we now travel time and bring this family (with age frozen) back to 2024, what would have been the reality for the Father now? Everyday, he would get up and his phone would provide him at a glance all the imp news from "around the world". If you are an Indian - your "world" is Nation, City, State, US, Europe and China in that order. At periphery would be UK, Japan, South Korea and Australia and NZ.
So now the "influence" is much broader. The thoughts we are reading is of people who have grown up in diverse cultures - not all of which we might be able to understand. For e.g. if we read an article on India by President Obama, we might find him biased against India. On the other hand we might like to "follow" US politicians who are Indophiles and closer to the current dispensation. E.g. - "India is a great country". "India is a trusted friend". "I love the PM of India". So now not only do we have opinion on politicians based on our "ideology", we also like or dislike US politicians based on what we see and hear on the media. However, again US and India are so culturally different, and because global news is a one way service, we feel helpless. In the past when our world was smaller (e.g. in a small village), our influencers were people living around us physically - whom we knew and trusted.
Now - we are the same people but suddenly we are exposed to ideas whose "context" or "agenda" we don't understand. In such a confusing world, "strong" leaders attract us. Because they represent someone strong, someone familiar who speaks a language "WE" understand. Hence based on our ideology, we identify with different leaders.
And hence now I come to the central purpose of this blog through which I , Amit Samant, 47 years old who grew up in Rajasthan India and went on to study in Delhi and then in North-east US, then worked for 16 years in Financial Services in large MNC Banks/ domestic NBFCs and finally spent a year in Singapore post which I have living in my home town of Jaipur, Rajasthan - is trying to communicate with you!
Phew - why do I write so much about myself? Because if you see where I am coming from, you might understand better that I am essentially a Liberal Centrist with modern thinking yet a conservative outlook. Plus I have close friends from China, Pakistan, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Japan and so on.
Hence clearly having been exposed to so many cultures, I have a basic understanding of how people in these countries think and function. A close friend exposes you to much more than just superficial knowledge (that we get from visiting various countries as a tourist). Now because of "so many" influences, my thinking is very different from my father, mother and sister - even though in the the first 10-12 years they were the biggest infleunce in my life.
To summarise, my father and sister today have views that are extremely different. Plus the daily influences we face are getting shriller and more intense as ideologies struggle to keep their flock together. So it is inevitable that even a family would be "polarised".
Now that we understand this, how can we move forward? How can we still remain "united" the way we were earlier? Let's go back to the airplane story. A hundred "strangers" can be united if they start thinking about a delayed journey and start getting angry at the "stupid" airlines.
So what we need are more "influences" that are neutral. Who do not have an agenda wherein they benefit from "influencing" you. Where can we find such people? What are the topics on which we can be united as human beings - as citizens of this "hyper-connected" world?
I am sure you get the drift. So instead of giving you answers and trying to "influence" you , let me leave you with this "thought" - what if in the near future, all of us, passangers on this vehicle called "earth" were to face a risk of total destruction? What would you care about then? Would "ideology" and "identity" still matter? Or would collective survival instinct kick-in and end up "uniting" us? Do we really have to wait for such an event before we ourselves increase our awareness and stop fighting with people who have "thoughts" different from us?
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