On the dual nature of Emotions

On the dual nature of Emotions

We’ve all heard of the philosophical theories which tell us that there are positive and negative emotions. At a very simple level, emotions like happiness, confidence, and kindness seem to be, de facto, positive- by this it is implied that these emotions have an inherent quality which ensures that the possessors of the mentioned or those who interact with the possessors of these will be benefited in one or the other way. Of course, on the other hand, we have their direct opposites- sorrow, depression, and malice, considered negative. However, it is my personal observation that few things are black and white. Every case is unique-circumstances, background and results all play a part in the final judgment. It might seem ludicrous to suggest that this applies to emotions. How can sorrow be positive? It can, in the case where it is channeled into something productive. The Taj Mahal, was, ultimately, a product of sorrow. Yes the sorrow stemmed from love, but love is a condition, rather than a simple emotion. Had Shah Jahan allowed his sorrow to reduce him into a dejected and inefficient ruler, had he turned to excessive drink and jeopardized the running of the empire, then that sorrow would have been a negative emotion. Now you must be thinking-‘Come on, happiness is always positive, right?’- wrong! Happiness definitely makes you feel good; but I can give you quite a few cases when being happy is definitely a negative emotion. What if you are happy about the miseries of another? What if your happiness is a meaningless thing, a gaudy veil that you use to cover up the reality of the rotting cadavers that are your deficiencies, a drug you use to excuse yourself of your inability to succeed? Then it is but an illusion, something which pulls you back, deceives you- a negative influence, then!  Everything is relative. It would be easy now, to extend the analogy to the other emotions. I do not bore you with them.

Every emotion, then is like a thread handed to us by life. It is how we embroider them into the tapestry of life that in the end affects the overall beauty of that tapestry. You might not like the color of a thread individually, but the whole is more than the sum of the parts. That same color, set in the backdrop of the other colors of your life-tapestry, woven properly, in the right direction and design, will always give you a beautiful whole.

Detachment is cited by many as the path to emotional equilibrium. However, from personal experience, too much of detachment can lead to too much of contentment- yes, there is such a thing! This is particularly in the context of the Advaita theory. If you can accept the fact that all is one, and all is God, it makes everything seem so trivial and meaningless. This of course, can lead you into trouble, handled improperly. It did, for me, when as a JEE student, I never had much motivation to strive harder! Perhaps I did not follow the philosophy in a proper way. Perhaps true detachment does not mean lack of action, a loose and weak construction of the tapestry, but the strength of will to see the tapestry as a whole, to acknowledge with an impartial and critical eye the beauties and defects of it, and to direct the emotional strings which emerged in a productive and optimal way. Perhaps, but it is certainly very difficult to mix karma(action) with complete detachment. Everything in moderation!

Then the way forward seems to be a strategic use of detachment when there is no profit to be gained in being emotionally involved, and to indulge in a careful dipping of toes in emotion when detachment seems to be stalling your progress. Then, pick an emotion to serve your need- and you will find that, when it comes to achieving a goal, the so called negative emotions are actually your best friends. Of course, have the maturity to direct these emotions inward! Get angry at yourself- beat your lazy inner self into action, scold yourself! Make sure you really feel downhearted and depressed after a failure- direct that sorrow towards creating an urgent recovery plan. Within bounds, be jealous of others, again in a positive way- feel bad that you lack some good quality they have, and ask yourself what you can do to attain that.

Perception and reaction are everything. In a final summary that is rather cliché; Be the master of your emotions, do not let them be your masters!

It's all Greek to me!

The phrase, “it’s all Greek to me”-courtesy (as are several other phrases in English) William Shakespeare-is often used to indicate that one did not comprehend something. Greek was widely perceived as a tough and incomprehensible language-the main reason being that it had relatively little similarity to any other European language, which in the main stemmed from the Latin spoken by the Romans. Owing to recent heated debates in our humanities class about the Indian education system and its various defects, as well as about the cultural dilemma faced by every Indian today(with respect to language customs etc.),I could not help but notice a strange parallel in the aforesaid phrase with the problems of our education system.

 If you would pause for a moment and think, this very article is being written in English, a language which, for all its versatility and beauty,is after all an alien tongue, foisted upon us by the British rulers. Yes, we have produced Booker Prize winners like Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai, and yes, many Indians today speak impeccable English, but for the vast majority it represents a significant hurdle on their path to good education and understanding. The Indian education system has long been lambasted for its various flaws (such as emphasis on rote learning)-not always without reason.

However, if you think about it, the root cause of every single defect attributed to our education system is in some way linked with poor language skills! Everywhere in India, children learn at school a new language which seems in no way connected to their mother tongues. Then they proceed to learn all the basic lessons about the world in the new language which in most cases they did not learn properly. People raise up a hue and cry about having to “memorize” definitions. But what is a definition? -  It is something which is supposed to comprehensively summarize the meaning of something. Why then would someone have difficulty in rewriting a definition-unless the person did not understand it in the first place? Sometimes people criticize definitions for being in very tough and complex language-however, it is sometimes difficult to simplify things beyond a point without distorting the meaning somewhat. As the great Albert Einstein said-“Things must be made as simple as possible-but not simpler”. In fact the debate in the West is often about textbooks oversimplifying things and not achieving the ultimate purpose of the lesson.

Even if you accept that definitions are in tough language, is not the whole point of being taught at school, rather than teaching oneself from textbooks, that one may sufficiently understand what the definition means? If onedoes do that the next logical step would be just reproducing what you understood on the examination sheet. It need not be in the exact words given in the textbook. However that would require a reasonable vocabulary and skill in using the language-something which sadly most children lack today in India.

A common fear expressed by students by way of excuse is that the answer written in their own words might not be awarded full marks. Again this is either because of the inability of the student to write an answer in his/her own words without distorting the meaning or leaving out points or worse, because the person correcting the paper is not proficient enough in the language to interpret the answer as standing for the same concept explained in the textbook! This is a key point-the teachers of today are the students of yesterday and the victims of the same process! Thus this is a vicious cycle of successive generations having their knowledge acquirement process impaired by poor language skills. It is because both the examiners and the examined lack proficiency in the language that the culture of rote learning without emphasis on understanding has developed.

English is a foreign language with its very grammar and alphabet alien to Indians. Paradoxically, it is also the working language of the country. To investigate into this paradox would lead us to the legacy of the British Raj, as would the investigation into many modern Indian paradoxes, and would require another essay!

However, English is the modern global language. Removing English from its well-entrenched position in India would be retrogressive and astoundingly difficult. Does not then the best solution lie in embracing English and learning it as well as we can?

Vote for me now! Blogomania 2013