I have admitted in various articles in my blog that I am cunning and devious and also tell lies and am not a man of my word. I don’t have integrity. I am also arrogant.
I want – in this article – to make the case that people like me should not be dealt with harshly. A person, like me, will hurt people’s feelings and will not be trusted by prospective employers. I have already paid the price for being the way I am so I have nothing more to fear as far as my personal life or career prospects are concerned. That gives me the freedom to write this post.
A humble, polite and straightforward person with integrity, who is also competent as far as the technical aspects of his job is concerned will be a godsend for his employers. So these qualities are praised by society and the powers that be.
But is it possible or even desirable that people should behave in this way all the time. I would like to make the case that he or she cannot. I think – in fact – that such a paragon of virtue will not be able to even survive in this wicked world.
And I have the Ramayana itself (the sacred myth of the Hindus) to support me on this.
The story goes that at the start of Kalyug (the age of Kali) Hanuman was told by the gods that it (i.e Kalyug) was about to commence. The gods advised Hanuman that it would be difficult for him to even survive in this age. Hence it would be best if he chose to depart from this world.
And that’s what Hanuman did. And he was a god. A monkey god but a god nevertheless.
If in this wicked age even a god would find it difficult to survive (if he chose to be strictly moral and upright all the time) then what chance do ordinary mortals like you and me have?
Now I am not claiming that we should abandon all ethics and not distinguish between good and bad. Know the good to be good and the bad to be bad. Know what you are doing and don’t make excuses for yourself if you have to behave in a less than ideal way. Take responsibility for all your actions.
But at the same time do not try to be a paragon of virtue all the time. It would not have worked for Hanuman in this age of Kali. And in addition to being a god he chose not to marry and have a family. Very likely you have a family to support. Or are planning to have one.
In these circumstances it makes no sense to hold yourself to a very high standard of ethics at all times.
And it also makes sense to follow the Christian teaching – Judge not that you be not judged. And you can start by not judging yourself. What you have to do to survive, that you have to do. Just keep your less than ideal behaviour to a minimum.
And the next step is to not judge others around you or people like me too harshly either.
It is not against the law to not have integrity or to be cunning and devious. The laws of all civilized countries know human nature and have wisely made the necessary allowances. Very few people in this world are actively trying to become saints.
This also gives you a pointer to what you can expect the people in the world to be. This will enable you to safeguard yourself against people with malicious motives. As Russell wrote in The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell:
All men are scoundrels, at any rate almost all. Those who are not have been exceptionally lucky either by way of their birth and upbringing or by way of the environment in which they found themselves or both.
I deal with the practical steps involved in safeguarding yourself in my Kindle book. Have a look. If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited it is free for you to read.
Here are three more blogs that I wrote on the subjects of arrogance, being cunning and devious and integrity. Have a look if you have the time. These blogs may make more sense to you in this context:
I’ll end here. Please share this article on FB, WA and Twitter and let me have your comments. Feedback from my readers keeps me going.
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