Talking to myself - 3 (On being human)

“Why did you smirk when someone said that his New Year resolution was to be a better human being?”

“Because we have to first define what a human being is – is it just a species, or a characteristic, or an identity, or a value system?”

“Each one has their own definition, though broadly Homo sapiens are human.”

“They need not be human enough. That is the reason I do not accept this poppycock of good human and better human.”

“We always want to be better, don’t we?”

“True. Better at our field of work, better in grooming ourselves, better lovers, but how can we strive to be better human beings?”

“Why not?”

“What is the yardstick we have? If it is based on principles, then would those apply across the board? If we want to be better than others, then we are trying to compete…competitiveness in the field of Being is not a human quality; it is despotic and demonic.”

“What if we want to be better than what we were?”

“Then again that begs the question – were we good enough and for what and towards whom, and based on whose idea?”

“So in your opinion there are no good human beings?”

“There are no bad human beings as well.”

“Then what about self-realisation?”

“That has nothing to do with following a pattern and notching up ideological mileage. It is a lonely journey.”

“Therefore selfish…”

“You need to find the Self to be able to efface it, that is self-realisation.”

“And would that not amount to being a better human being?”

“No, for there are no benchmarks, no trails to follow, no signs, no rivals, no wayfarers. There is no good and no bad. You are not even competing with yourself.”

“Then why call it anything?”

“Realisation means understanding and acceptance of that understanding. You could call it by any name or leave it nameless.”

“So would you strive to be nameless?”

“I don’t believe in such striving. It must happen naturally. I often forget myself. The name is only a tag, like animals being branded. I might as well then want to be a better animal than a better human being.”

“Then you would have better beastly instincts!”

“Instincts when married to thought are perhaps even more enlightening than rationalisation.”

“With no room for logic…”

“Logic takes you from Point A to Point B; instinct takes you from one point to several.”

"Does it have a purpose?”

“Must everything have a purpose?”

“One can’t be directionless.”

“Who decides on directions? With one gust of the wind even the most rooted tree can fall. There are no directions.”

“This sounds like madness.”

“It probably is. I call it madness honed to near-perfection.”