Power of the Individual

Actions are very valuable in understanding one’s nature. It is the mirror which shows us our real self.

-Vinoba Bhave

We underestimate the importance of our commitments and promises we make to ourselves and to others.

A key measure of character has always been the ability of the individual to keep one’s word, to follow what has been committed. No wonder, many such similar traits have found a place in the set of behaviors & values which organizations, both public & private, expect from those who work for them.

The power an individual holds in shaping the larger community & institutions is grossly understated.

Individual Integrity

No matter what rules are made, they will only work to the extent to which the individual agrees to follow them.

In fact, at times without integrity, even honesty seems helpless, illustrated by an example below:

You call a friend over for dinner and he agrees but doesn’t turn up and tells honestly that he couldn’t come as something else had taken priority. You say it’s alright and agree to meet for dinner again. But same thing happens. The friend doesn’t turn up but does inform the reason why he hadn’t come. He is being honest, but that’s useless because he is not doing what he committed to.

Webster dictionary states: INTEGRITY implies trustworthiness.

An individual who demonstrates lack of trustworthiness is unlikely to find easy acceptance in any form of life.

Significance of Oath & Vows

In most countries, before assuming an important public office, an oath is administered. To break it down, one side is the constitution/code and other side is the individual, and they are symbolically bound together by an Oath, either in the name of God or a solemn affirmation.

The underlying maxim is: Individual needs to make a promise to follow a set of rules / principles.

In the institution of marriage also, the solemn ceremony has a huge symbolic importance, and the wedding vows are an important part of that ceremony. Again, two individuals making promises to each other, to live as life partners. It is the commitment which partners make to each other that matters. And when that mutual commitment wanes, things break.

Individual commitment in success of institutions

Drafting a detailed and just constitution is only half the work in building a great nation, rest depends on to what extent the people agree to uphold it and abide by it. This responsibility rests on the shoulders of the individuals. Yes, the community plays a critical role in shaping the direction, but again it is the individuals with the right character and value (or the lack of it) who will determine the future course.

Even in private institutions, conscious effort goes in keeping people motivated so they are committed to the cause, and expectation setting is done in multiple ways to set the tone on acceptable values. Because lack of both, individual commitment & character, will manifest as failure in multiple ways.

Individual & Society

People come together and form social groups / creed / community / nation. They decide the code / rules / constitution. They also decide adherence to the code.

For those who complain that society is degrading, moral standards are going down, ethics and integrity are in a downward trend, they need to spend time in finding the real cause of it.

Instead, what happens is – We love playing the victim and portray ourselves as just people, it’s the society which is in the downward fall, is the implicit indication. There by completely absolving ourselves and blaming everything on certain groups, but forgetting that the people in those groups also come from amongst us.

Behavioral Patterns

It is also interesting to see how individual behavior defines the way a society is viewed as a collective:

• On one side you can have someone like the Japanese sports fans, who are now famous around the world to clean up the stadium once the match is over. There is no written rule anywhere which compels them for this act. But they have decided on what’s the right thing to do and have made a pact with themselves to follow it.

• In contrast you can have a society where majority of the people have not made any such pact with themselves (where they have agreed to abide by what’s right / abide by the rule). Now this lack of commitment to oneself will manifest in various forms of life:

It will manifest as corruption in public life.

It will manifest as breaking traffic rules on road.

It will manifest as breaking a simple queue wherever possible.

and so forth.

The perception we form of communities, is based on two key elements. Our interactions with members of that community and our observations. And what we observe is the physical surrounding and the behavior of individuals. We are all subconscious ambassadors of our society.

In the end, what is it all about?

It's all about "Us".

What we are, is reflected in our character, is reflected in our allegiance, affiliations & adherence.

The above is further reflected in our actions, and actions don’t occur in vacuum, but in social settings.

It’s important to realize, society is just a reflection of who we are. We know it, but tend to forget, and sometimes ignore, because no one likes to look in the mirror when the reflection is unpleasant.

Rules exist only on paper unless someone agrees to follow them. Constitution remains a book until citizens agree to abide by it. Even if an individual has agreed and sworn something, he will not follow what he has committed to, unless he has the strength of character and integrity.

That’s why: The promises which we make to ourselves, matter the most.

 *****

There was once a boy who wanted to change the world.

As he grew, he realized it was a big ask, so he resolved to change his country.

As time passed further, he realized it was also not possible, so he set out to change his community.

When he died, his epitaph said: “If I had changed myself, I would have changed the world”.

 *****