" Always remember; You were once a successful sperm which succeeded in beating all other sperms for taking birth "
Happened to see this
so-called quote in one of the Personality development web page. Me, being a
person in science background was taken aback and it drove my curiosity to
have a further research if this was actually true.
The truth is
that sperms employ teamwork to navigate inside the female reproductive track.
Although they compete with each other in fertilizing the egg, they also help
each other while swimming together in groups thereby increasing the turbulent
velocity. Prior to the fertilization with an egg all sperms work as a team
until they reach the egg.
Now why should we
speak all these?
The quote might look
awesome but it also has not showcased the full truth behind the fertilization
process. It might give you pep if you are searching for a motivational quote or
an interpersonal skill development gimmick. Nevertheless, it has shadowed what teamwork
actually is. In a nutshell, the thing that the quote tries to convey is
half-baked, just like most motivational books and personality development
programs.
When I was in the
first year of my Engineering degree days, these so called Personality development
programs were the trend of the time. If you had lived through the late 80s and
the early 90s you will easily know how trendy it was when most college
students went for either typewriting or shorthand classes. Similar was
the situation when most people in my age group flocked to these programs.
Now let us throw some
light in where does these over-hyped training regimes lead us into.
Well, I will refrain
from saying more about what they actually teach you at these kind of programs
just because of the fact that 8/10 who reads this would have already
experienced in some way how those development programs would be. Words like
Body Language, Verbal and Nonverbal communication, Brainstorming, Creative
thinking, strategic planning is no alien to our students and working fraternity
nowadays.
Now, the thing that
irks me is that the pseudo positivity that these programs inject into the
minds of our people.
If you had watched
closely, the things the pundits of management and personality say have their
origins back to the World war era. In order to provoke the feeling of
patriotism and nationality amongst their citizens, the super power nations
devised certain plans that would always keep their countrymen motivated. You
could see pictures of Uncle Sam calling out American youths “Are you ready to
serve your nation? ". Parallel to the US, the Nazi ruled Germany was no
different than the US. Almost everyone would agree that the “Aryan superiority
theory was nothing but a clever blasphemy that created a sense of superiority
complex in the hearts of Germans. Just to counter act each other, these super
power nations made sure that they teach their countrymen with the same kind of
inspirational and motivational things that they provide to their soldiers.
Let us not dig too
much into that. Nevertheless, it is wise enough to say that the clever acts
staged by these super powers created a market for the motivational and
self-development books. Slowly, as the western culture invaded the developing
Asian nations, the Motivational books industry slithered into the lives of our
country men too.
Where actually these
programs turn poisonous?
Let us take up the
case of "Body language" for instance.
They teach you the
different types of body languages. Positive body postures, negative response
from the subjects, different types of handshakes, various gestures, eyebrow
watching and much other hocus-pocus. It would really fascinate anyone when they
get a feeling that they are learning to understand what the other person
thinks. Just like the old Indian Fakirs and Clairvoyants who would thrive on
the fact that they can read people's minds, these motivational books and
Management Pundits will charm you with their lessons on body language.
At the end of the
class you would probably know how to fake a confident handshake. You will
definitely know how to hide your negative aspects and to project yourself as a
person shimmering with immense confidence and courage. You get a sense of
satisfaction that no one notices your Achilles heel. We easily forget that the
person to whom you are faking all these things is also an expert in faking this
type of pseudo -positive body language. And to add insult to the injury both of
you would know that the other one is faking, but you ignore it or perhaps act
as if you believe it; just like you treat a fake orgasm.
Now lets go back a
little. If these trained sheeps turn into managers and come to interview you,
do you think they will not find your act of deception?. Will they not sense the
acts you pull trying to project yourself as confident?. Yes they would have.
But all they want is people like that. They need people who are jinxed by the
magic of things called positive thinking, postive body language, confident
handshakes and so on. In short, they need people who do not think. They need
people who have a sense of inferiority complex deep down in the darkness of
their hearts. The will need you just like the Military generals who
needed soldiers who were spell-bound with things like nationality and race
superiority. If not a person who doesn't think on his own, who else would run
their bullock carts?
This is just the tip
of the ice berg. We can go on citing immense examples for each lesson they
teach.
Things like these have
not only reflected in working environment alone. If have been a closer
spectator of recent Indian movies, you wouldn't be puzzled to see many "
opening songs" that sing in praise of the hero like an incarnation of God.
And it is no wonder when people accept when the hero ( or perhaps super hero
??) is portrayed as mighty herculean who can bash 100 villains at a single go.
It might sound queer, but people who have been injected with the idea of
personal development have been slowly drugged into an illusion that they can do
anything. Even the impossible seems possible.
They take the quote
“Prayer moves mountain" very seriously, thanks to all those motivational
posters with quotes hanging in their rooms and thanks also to the motivational
desktop wall papers and Facebook pages.
Seldom do people
understand that no one has ever become a millionaire by reading " How to
become a millionaire?". Your even see books with titles “How to
live?”
We should be proud
that we are the only organisms in the eco -system who will teach others how to
live. (pun intended )
You might argue that
motivational books have helped people. But exceptions cannot be examples
always. The entire thing that motivational books have done to this world is
making people mundane. You end up in doubting people that if they are trying to
manipulate you. You get a sense of feeling that everyone is trying to cheat
you, everyone is trying to stamp over you, everyone is self-centered. No
wonder, when everyone thinks the other as lunatic it will automatically turn a
paradise into a mental asylum.
Good values mentioned
in the books are just like the items mentioned in a menu card. But what these
management guru s and motivational speakers have done is to eat the menu card
itself rather than going for the food. They have broken the trust that each
person had on the other. Were you lucky enough to live in the 60s, 70s or
perhaps the late 80s? If so you would have been lucky to have played together
with people. Even for the construction of a house, your neighbors would have
helped you. If you ever were hungry, you would not hesitate to enter into
another person s house to ask for a meal. You got plenty of time to play games
as a team. Win or lose, you end up going home together with your pals. There
was less homework but more teamwork. Is this the same scenario now? If you are
90 s kid or if you have a kid who was born in 90s all he is taught is to
compete with the other individual next door. All things he hears is to better
the other one. “Go for the first rank, Aim to be a topper, Come good bettering
others " are the watch words that every kid is now being taught. We
ourselves have turned into that manipulative army generals of the world -war
era who were training innocent youths. Just that the soldiers have been
replaced by your kids and other was the things are no different. This is
nothing but the aftermath of the scenario where everyone was smitten by
Motivation and strive towards personal excellence.
Most Tamilian
businessmen of the pre 80s era would have had a " kanakku pillai " (
an accountant ) who not only took care of their business but also their family
accounts as well. Each family would know each other very well. They considered
each other even to be a member of their own family. Now coming back to
the present era, will you consider the manager in your office or your
accountant to be a person amongst your family ?. It is not so stupid even to
say that people’s desire to excel each other personally have distanced each
other from their hearts. Yes, everyone knows etiquette but there is less love.
Everyone knows what interpersonal skills are, but there is little trust. Is
this what we are going to return to our progeny? How different is our scenario
from the Hollywood Zombie movies where everyone doubts the other to be a Zombie.
Do you think the progeny will enjoy the same happy family climate that you
enjoyed?
If you had looked
closely the faces of people who go for yoga classes and personality development
classes they would give you a comic relief. They speak calmly or very very
positively. They pose as if they don't get angry, pose as thought they handle
things with a cool mentality. I know some guys who went for classes and
programs like this and smiled at me as if they had developed an Halo around
their heads. It is nothing but the superiority complex that they develop that
they are special than the others. To them, Godliness, calm attitude or even
better managerial skills are a turn on for their superiority complexes.
They had achieved
nirvana in a week. (they believe it ! ) They have mastered all the
inter-personal skills and have become great managers within a 15 day training
program. They fail to understand the ground reality that you cannot be a better
manager in 15 days or attain nirvana by attending a 7 day course. You gotta
jump into the pool to learn swimming. There is no point in learning 100 books on
“How to swim ?".
I have seen even
people who run to Stephen Covey’s, Robin Sharma's and Anthony Robbin's books if
they cant tackle an issue. To me , these books are just like a dildo. Yes
they would give you temporary relief but you cannot get married to a dildo.
Nowadays, it had become a trend to announce amongst your peers that you have
been married to a dildo.
Person one says that
he is married to a dildo called Stephen Covey ‘s books.
Person two says that
he is married to a dildo called "Nithyanandha spurana dhyanaa " (
which is as difficult as Czechoslovakia to spell )
We see people in
trains, coffee shops displaying that they in a relationship with a dildo. They
flaunt these book covers and show off that they are special than the people in
the railway compartment. I am not blaming everyone, but the majority turns out
to be like this.
People have easily
forgotten how good is inter-dependent is than being independent. This sense of
false superiority complex that is rendered by these motivational classes
and self development books. They preach hypocrisy than any other satanic cult
you might imagine.
No wonder it is when
you see even the most educated people speaking about caste superiority in
social networking sites. It is that false sense of motivational training that
has fueled the caste feelings and apartheid ideologies that were made dormant
by Dravidian thoughts.
What else can we
expect when we don't care about the marks that our kids get in Moral science
subject but are more concerned with subjects like English and Science.
Let me end up with a
little point to ponder. If you had ever been a swimmer in the river and had
caught in a whirlpool, you would know that the eddies (strong currents) will
drag you to the bottom of the whirlpool. Many have faced death when they
struggled to escape. If you struggle to escape or try to move out of the eddy
current in panic it will gush you aside into the hard rocks around. If you just
stay calm it would take you to the bottom of the river and would let you go
like a feather as the strength of the current is really less. Similar case will
stand good for self-help books as well. Just let everything pass through and
learn from your own experiences. If you fall prey to these brain-eating
books then you cant get out of that powerful eddy that is pulling you in to the
doom.
Try to get out of the
clutches of self-help books and motivational pages in Facebook. They do very
little good. A mind that is self motivated is more powerful than any book. If
you think the book or a training regime is mighty enough to control you then
you are kicking your own bucket.
The more we act
together, the more we develop. The more we trust each other, the more we ensure
a better living. Migratory birds that flock together reach their destination
more easily and safely than lone birds.
P.S : If you find this
write up so boring then it is absolutely fine. On the other hand if you find
something special or inspirational then do not stick on to it and please ignore this immediately. The moment when you find a piece of text to be guiding or
having more power than you then it is where you start to become a slave to
it.
