‘Right’ or/and ‘Wrong’?

“The idea of sin and virtue, good and evil are creations of the mind. They reflect the needs of society and therefore bear no value.”

Yesterdays Justice is today’s injustice, today’s justice is tomorrow’s injustice. Justice becomes a chameleon in reverse. It always assumes colors other than those of its environment. We chase justice without embracing it.”

“Things perfected by nature are better than those finished by art.” Marcus T. Cicero 

Introduction

Shakespeare superb lesson that “Never play with the feeling of others, because you may win the game but the risk is that you will surely lose the person for a life time” is worth learning.                                     ‘

The opinion, about what is right and what is wrong, vary from person to person. It is influenced by one’s environment, self-opinion, sometimes positive and sometimes negative feelings mixed with self-interest, or negative feelings like hate, greed, jealousy etc. Views of people around him/her, the near and dear ones, friends, neighbors or and colleagues also influence ones thinking about right and wrong.

Human beings by nature are imperfect and weak. They are more inclined to opt for an easier course of action. This inherent weakness of humans tends him to do wrong, and justify a wrong action to any extent. Conflicts, wars, violence etc. keep on happening in the world and are justified by its perpetrators.

Being so, it is very difficult to decide what is right and what is wrong or where the truth lies and even more difficult to stand boldly for what is right.. Had it been possible, all the problems of human being would have been resolved by now. There is no fool-proof or eternal solution to any problem, which could satisfy all.

Extremism and fundamentalism along with intolerance are increasing everyday with the start of the 21^st century. There is negative behavior – violence, insecurity, impatience and fear among people everywhere. Life has become stressful due to increased expectations and spiraling greed to become rich overnight. Reaction of adverse circumstances leads to irrational behavior.

According to Indian philosophy

According to Indian philosophy, truth lies somewhere in between various differing opinions. To find out what is really right or wrong, one has to keep a balanced approach. In fact, right and wrong are relative terms, which depend on the total configuration of following four variables of an action. A rational opinion about it can be formed only by keeping these four variables in mind: –
•Desha (region) – The culture of a place, in which a person is born,
•Kala (time) -The period of historical time, in which a person is born,
•Shrama (Effort)-The efforts required of him at different stages of Life,
•Guna (Quality)-Aptitude and innate psycho-biological traits.

Different opinions on an issue

Difference of opinion on any idea, issue or event is quite natural. It depends on the perception and style of presentation. Tulsidas, an Indian poet has very correctly said :-

“Jaaki rahi bhavna jaisi, prabhu murat dekhi toi taisi”

Two sides of a coin

It means opinions of more than a group or person differs from each other, depending on their perception. Arguments of neither side, in favor or against, are completely right or wrong. None of the opinions can be totally dependable or reliable or free from biases.

The position of the opinion of two people belonging to different groups on any issue is like the position of the two sides of a coin- one side always remains blind to the other side. Same happens in real life as well. Usually on any issue, people on one side see only those aspects of a problem what interests them to and ignore feelings/realities/facts of the people standing on other side. Also, it confuses common-men when intelligentsia presents views on right or wrong on any issue, highlighting some aspects more than it is required and suppressing some important information on it.

Style of presentation

Besides, sometimes realities and circumstances are quite different from the manner, in which they are presented by a historian, media person, political leaders or pressure groups. Great damage is usually done, when harsh realities of life are mixed up with the vested interests of various sectional pressure groups – be it social, political, religious or economic.

Opinions formed on half-truths

It is said that, “Better know nothing than half-know many things.” (Fredrich Nietzche” Irreparable harm to a society or nation is done by those people or groups, who form their opinions on half-truths, half-cooked knowledge or incomplete information or on isolated incidents happening rarely in an obscure corner of nation in order to propagate their views. The fate of a nation or society depends on how those in the realm of authority and majority of people perceive and handle them.

Different opinions on harsh realities of life

When two opinions based on harsh realities of life confront each other, it becomes difficult for policy makers to decide what is right and what is wrong. Situation becomes grim when decision has to be taken on some important national or social issue. Normally such situations lead to polarization of public opinion leading to various complications and confrontations.

Conclusion

Therefore, it is desirable that before reaching to a conclusion as to what is right and what is wrong, whole picture should be visualized. A rational analysis can be done by analyzing without bias, the pros and cons on both the sides, as each one contains some truths within it. Whenever analyzing available data on any issue authorities must keep in mind variables like region, time, effort and quality. It would help them to reach to a rational conclusion, and to take right decision on an issue and act accordingly with confidence.

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Issue

What is right and what is wrong is very difficult to find out. Had it been possible, all the problems of human being would have been resolved by now. There is no fool-proof or eternal solution to any problem, which could satisfy all.

According to Indian philosophy

According to Indian philosophy, right and wrong are relative terms, which depend on the total configuration of following four variables of an action. A rational opinion about it can be formed only by keeping these four variables in mind: – 

• Desha (region) – The culture of a place, in which a person is born,
• Kala (time) -The period of historical time, in which a person is born,
• Shrama (Effort)-The efforts required of him at different stages of Life,
• Guna (Quality)-Aptitude and innate psycho-biological traits.

Different opinions on an issue

Difference of opinion on any idea, issue or event is quite natural. It…

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