The two faces of Duty

It’s a critical topic to discuss about the two faces of Duty I have experienced in my life. Indeed it has two faces. One that performs willingly and the other is get performed. The word Duty explains the work we should do. Therefore the so called “works we should do” can be executed in two ways .One is done in full consent of our hearts. Our minds, hearts, thought fully cooperate with the work. It can be said that in such kinds of works “the feeling of doing the work” comes from the core of our hearts. The other duty or “works we should do” is get done, i.e. here our minds, hearts do not cooperate with us. Some conditions, situations or circumstances compel or force us or may be said drive us to do the work. Our hearts do not feel but some external situations force us to do this kind of duty. Let analyze the fact. I suppose have a special feeling about X. I therefore always think to do something for him and one day I got the chance and did a job in favor of him. He as per expectation became glad and asked me why I had done so much for him. Obviously my answer would be “It was my duty“It is a kind of duty I feel to do from my heart. In another example I had to do something for a person, whom I do not like, yet had to do pretending that I liked and respected him. Surely the person would be glad and ask me the same question why I had done so much for him and unfortunately my answer would be the same “It was my duty”. Now the question comes which of the specified duties should be entitled as Duty and what would be the definition of duty? When we are said by someone that it was his duty to help or serve us, how we can distinguish or recognize that it was that kind of duty he had felt from his heart? My mind does not support me to accept the service performed by a person who does not feel from his heart to serve me. I feel as if I force him to do such with my power of seniority. In fact I feel that I am being cheated. I don’t know how many of us think about it. If not I would then like to request them to think over the matter and answer me which kind of duty they would prefer to receive.

Scepticism & Superstitions

“Seeing is believing” is a well known proverb, that speaks that when a thing is seen or observed it must exist. We believe this idea that whenever a thing is observed at that very moment it is also proved that the thing has an existence. To percept a thing we need to have the thing remain in front of our eyes or in that sphere where our organs can reach. To have an idea of a thing without proper perception produces knowledge with insufficient authenticity. Thus this kind of knowledge drawn from improper perception is called “Wrong View” . This Wrong view is the motherland of Scepticism & Superstition. “Superstition” the word means a belief without proper idea, conception or judgement from scientific view.

Generally human being inherits these from very childhood. He never thinks of its connection with real life. When if he is asked to find out the connection of these with real life, he would fall in a world with so many questions piercing him. This new world is called Scepticism. It rears the superstition with care, caress, love and respect. Superstition grows up in this environment and never feels to judge the authenticity or the view of its acceptance. Whenever we are led by superstition to behave accordingly, we do not even know that we have been trapped by scepticism. Scepticism mesmerizes superstition as well as us who follow it. We act or behave following some ideas, conceptions, trend, belief those have not yet been proved to be widely acceptable. Such kind of behavior we do is called superstition. If we are asked whether we have ever tried to know the reality of these belief, we would not be able answer properly, because we have never tried to know this, or it can be said that we did not ever feel to judge it. Can anyone say why we did not feel it? It is because Scepticism had been able to occupy our minds entirely with its care, attention and skill. Scepticism mesmerizes our mind in such a way that we become unaware about the existence of it in our thought & behavior. In our daily life we act or behave according to some gesture, rule, customs we have adopted from our ancestors and have never tried to get into the core of these. Such kinds of behavior have no connection with the real life. If we try to find out the reality or authenticity we would find scepticism reigning there vigorously. But we could not feel it that our thought, judgement, reasoning had been succumbed completely by scepticism. What a shock we will get at that moment? We would waste no time but start suspecting all the things around and would not get enough confidence to believe a thing we are watching. The result is that we would cover ourselves by suspicion i.e. Scepticism. What a great judgement!!!

We all are selfish

Selfishness is a single word with wide and complex explanation. The word defines the quality of thinking only of your own advantage, caring only about what you want or need without any thought for the needs or wishes of other people. The means the person who is selfish is devoted to or caring only for himself, concerned primarily with his own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. No doubt it is a word that is hated and disliked ostensively by all for its mean and narrow outlook.

 

Now, the questions comes what kind of act or action is considered as selfish act and what not. The opposite meanings of the word Selfishness are kindhearted, altruistic, generous etc.

 

As a broad angle, we hate selfish people, and justify ourselves as kindhearted and generous, but we all are selfish. We maintain a parallel characteristic of ours showing sympathy to others distress and thinking of our own interest. Our hearts cry whenever we find an old aged man begging or any handicapped person staggers for alms. We cannot but put our hands into the pocket for the money purse.  

 

Evidently we all dislike selfish people and try to avoid such people. Our minds, hearts don’t support us to be mean minded and so we act generously. We listen to our hearts and do accordingly. We work generously because of our own interest and to keep our minds at peace. To give a small amount of happiness to our generous minds, we pay the beggar, help the handicapped. To give a little bit joy to our hearts we spend huge amount at restaurant, buy costly dresses. We buy luxury furniture, valuable jewelleries, go for world travel, stay at exotic hotels, and spend money at Casinos. Everything we do is ONLY for our own interest. Even if we say we help the beggar as a generous kindhearted person, the question arises, what if we would not have helped the beggar? The obvious answer would be that as we are generous, kindhearted, we cannot tolerate seeing the destitute of the beggar. Our hearts compel us to help the beggar. If we would not do that, our hearts would be full with sorrow or grief. To bring happiness to our heart, we help the beggar, to keep our mind fresh and active we pay alms to the beggar. Whatever we do, we do for our own shake, our own interest. If we listen music or watch television, that too is for our own interest. We are selfish and all kinds of acts we do throughout the day are all selfish acts. We do what our hearts want. Sometimes we do some tasks being under pressure where our minds don’t support us. Still we do such work, because we know the consequences of not being obedient. To avoid such untoward situation, to give a relief to our heart we do those work. We don’t want to give any pressure or pain to our hearts and so do such heartless work. We can do anything; go any stage of extremism just to please our hearts, our minds and above all for our own happiness. Does not prove that we are selfish?

Hospitality & Sincerity

Hospitality is that great virtue what a guest expects from its host. It enriched with sincerity expresses the humbleness of the host towards the guest. Sincerity by the word means is closeness, dearness, responsibility and sympathy conjointly. The words hospitality and sincerity are not same. There is distinct difference between these two. The meaning of the word Hospitality depends on Sincerity to express itself while Sincerity independently can express itself. Without sincerity hospitality does not get its shape. And the Sincerity is traced where some “sense of duty” is present. The “sense of duty” drives one to be sincere towards his work, performance, behavior etc.”Sense of Duty” compels one to be sincere towards his performance. The feeling of “Sense of duty” is regarded as one of the greatest and important virtue human being should have. And it is one of the basic virtues human being has been nursing into his mind from the early stage of civilization. Though it has also been found that in every step of civilization a special feeling called Urge had been in active role. If the word Sincerity is analyzed we would be astonished to find that the “Urge” playing its role spontaneously. This is the urge from our heart that compels us to be sincere to all we do. The word Urge represents itself like boundness. But it has two sides. One that drives us to do something while the other comes from our heart, that does not drive but compels us. Whatever the meaning is, the Urge is found in sincerity and the sincerity is traced in hospitality. Thus the word hospitality is grateful to sincerity as it has got the way to define itself.