Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj says that the world is full of selfish people and this will not change unless mindsets do
We live in a society of people following different professions for their livelihood and sustenance. likewise, it also consists of many institutions and associations, each one of them trying to meet certain needs of the society. The objectives of most of these are to engage themselves in a meaningful and useful activity and to serve the cause of the society. But if we go through the history of the world carefully, we may find that, inspite of good intentions and best of efforts made by individuals and institutions, the improvement in quality of life could not be achieved to a satisfactory level. One might wonder as to what would is the reason behind thisIJ
If we make an objective analysis of the professions and institutions, as they are and as their aims and functions are, it would lead us to the conclusion that even though they have the motive of service, there is an in-built element or mechanism in all of them that does not allow redemption of the society from the ailments and sufferings that afflict it. Based on real life experiences of people, it has been observed that every profession, institution or group, be it political, religious, social or financial, has some permanent vested interest for sure, which they might find necessary for their survival, but it is these vested interests, which lends permanence to a particular problem.
That’s the reason everyone wants to perpetuate themselves rather than work for extermination of the problems to which they have addressed themselves. We all know that anyone who is born, will die one day, but in practice, all of us want to live on and on, fulfilling our own self-interests even if it means facing a hard competition and even if our motives and actions are detrimental to the interests of others or they are good, mixed intrinsically and inseparably with bad. let us take an example to visualise this more effectively and clearly.
We all know that the profession of medical doctors is considered to be a noble profession meant to help people selflessly. However, doctors will thrive only if there are more patients. In other words, their very survival depends upon the proliferation of diseases and increase in the number of patients even though their intention is to serve the society by curing the patients and helping prolonging their lives. Same is the case with the hospitals too, who plan expansion of their services by increasing number of therapeutic departments, wards with beds, experienced doctors, effective nursing staff etc at their facility, anticipating that more and more people would fall sick.
They, as well as the pharmaceuticals, dispensing chemists, etc, cannot and do not work for the total elimination of disease and for establishing an ever-healthy society because that would mean the end of their own existence and also of their avowed aims and objects. Similarly, we all know that any business prospers on the profits that it yields. That is why businessmen all over the world are inclined or tempted to adopt such ways and means that would enable them to make more and more profit. likewise, the livelihood of an advocate depends on legal cases which arise from violation of law or conflict between persons, institutions, communities etc. So with the best of intentions, the legal profession cannot root out crime nor resolve cases fast.Thus, every profession, in its dealings with the bureaucracy, tax authorities, law-enforcing agencies, public, etc takes to such ways that its own interest is served better.
Its an universal truth fact that everyone has a vested interest that it can’t sacrifice at its own peril. Even those who think of and work for social well-being, keep uppermost in their mind, the interests of their own group and wish and try to promote it more than anyone else. It is this selfishness or group-interest that does not permit the society to be free from conflicts and sufferings. Hence, unless we keep a selfless aim to work for the betterment of the society and educate people to have a vision for a better world that is free from sufferings and selfishness, the conflicts will remain. So, let us all take a strong resolve to bring an end to all conflicts by being selfless and benevolent towards humanity, because if we change,the world around us would change to be more cooperative.