Introspection helps identify one’s personality and rein in negativity.
Could there be a link between the kind of personalities we embody and the way we react to others and events, or is it all about training and habitual response? More importantly, are ethics and personality connected?
According to a recent study, there are four personality types: optimistic, pessimistic, envious and trusting. The findings of this research published in Science Advancesshowed that the largest group (about a third) was defined as envious. Optimistic and pessimistic personality types scored equal with 20 per cent of the respondents falling into these groups. Last on the list were the trusting group who are classed as natural ‘collaborators’ who didn’t mind if they won or lost.
Mr. Asokan, far from being a wealthy professional, once explained how, while in service, he tagged a certain portion of his earnings. “I fully expect to either lose it to someone who borrowed with no intention of returning the loan or to someone who was an outright fraudster.” His philosophy was that he did this for “the general welfare of mankind.” Sometimes, he told the borrower, “I know your story is false. But it doesn’t matter.”
In pre-partition India, in a small town called Okara about a hundred miles from Lahore, there lived Dr. Uttamchand Ahuja. Popularly known as Lalaji, he ran a clinic for everyone, rich and poor alike. His charges were the same for every patient. “There’s a box at the door. Drop whatever you like into it.” He rode miles on horseback to care for the sick at a time when there were no swift means of personal transport. Quite often, someone would show up at his house and offer bags of wheat or a cow, reminding the doctor how he had taken care of the giver’s family years ago when he was poor. Now that things were better, he had come to pay in kind.
What influences such actions? The inner beings of Asokan and Ahuja rose far above their stations in life and found satisfaction in giving even when they probably could not afford it. They went beyond generosity in their godlike quality described by poets and religious books. The usual instinct to hoard or to hold back was missing in them. Clearly, goodness has little to do with riches or success .
Their opposite is the kind of person who is instinctively and constantly suspicious of others, believing that the worst is guaranteed to happen.
And to add to this conviction, haven’t we all been fooled at least once by the perspiring and agitated person who approaches us because he desperately needs money for a railway ticket home, his pocket having been picked? Sometimes, the same person comes our way a second time!
It is evident that goodness in the world exists alongside its opposite. What is the source of anger, envy and insecurity in us? What turns a person into a suicide bomber or someone who enjoys the pain of helpless animals or children? Some criminals, even when they are caught, exhibit no remorse. Instead, they explain why they did what they did and try to justify it. They steal happiness from others and are a complete opposite of the two people described in this article.
There is a case for believing that it is envy and pessimism (uncontrollable fear of starvation and loss) that set in motion man’s early attacks on adjacent villages and settlements to grab what was rightfully another’s. Waging war on a neighbour slowly legitimised organised violence and stealth operations. At a time when it has become possible to destroy people or a city from a safe distance, it is vital that we look into ourselves and understand our personalities for stability, patience and identify what disturbs us and leads us to disturb others.
It seems we have studied the whole world but neglected studying ourselves. In the race for success, amidst the din of devices which will not let us rest even while we sleep, we must look inward for solutions to survive. There is no easy blue-print for achieving peace of mind but it would be useful to understand that both deva and demon lie within us and their energies have to be understood; the one reined in, the other developed.
All around us are trickery and malice, but also, equally, helplessness and true need. How do we distinguish between the two and respond ?
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