The Upanisadic Spectrum of Contextual Values-The Three 'S' Perplexes

Abstract

Values are the products of social conditioning. 'Value' or 'ista' is 'that which is desired'. Values are derived from people, society, culture, and environment as well as one's transcendental experiences. The modem egalitarian society is characterized by the trauma of the three S's - Selfishness, Self-love and Self-interest. These three are normally thought of as flagrant contradictions to values. But the Upanisadic theory is that 'we are not our own but belong to God and hence forget ourselves that all things are ours'. This brings in the best values for human beings. Man is nothingness in absolute. This indicates that there is nothing in us to be desired and respected. So the three 'S's are commonly acclaimed as greatest sins but not values. Not to be selfish implies not to do what one wishes and to give up one's own wishes for the sake of others'. But in principle the affirmation of one's own Ufe, happiness, growth and freedom is rooted in his capacity to love others. If an individual is able to love productively he loves himself as well as others. Selfishness, then cannot be a sin. Self-interest means the preservation of one's existence in the sense that he realizes his own potentialities. But the implications of it fetch towards the virtue one could possess because he strives to keep his 'profit'. However the implied meanings behind self-interest have changed over years. In the early periods of human history, man regarded himself as an intrinsic part in the form of individual in a group. Now the term self refers to the property one possesses. The concept of self is not 'I am what I think' but 'I am what I have' or 'what I possess'. This attitude is because of the fact that by the creation of various sources of mechanical energy, man has to afford to a minimal consumption of his own energy. Here lies the exact cause of social disintegration. Organization of the society with all its ingredients entails the pertinent accumulation of energy through bio-means. This can be achieved only when self-love, self-ihterest and selfishness are received in the new contextual sense. The seeds of such an ever-relevant ideology regarding human social setup can be well found in the creations of the great Vedic seers in the form of the Upanisads.