Everybody claims to be different from others, and yet we are all so much the same!
Every company says that they want to employ people who are different from the crowd. But do they really want to hire someone truly different? Will they hire a pianist for the job of a computer programmer? And yet, being a good pianist is really being very different from others because there are much fewer good pianists than there are good computer programmers. Or, will a software company hire a guy who is a very good computer programmer but who has some weird habits like wearing Hawaii slippers to board meetings? In essence, what companies are really looking for are people who are so much like each other, but yet they say that they want people who are different. Isn't this a paradox?
Every person in this world (specially young guys) says that they want to be (or already are) different from others. Usually people who claim this most vociferously, have the most similar habits. One common habit is certainly that of claiming to be different! All of them go to late-night parties, listen to rock music, like fast driving on sports cars, watch (only) Hollywood movies and many more (some of these are also things that I love doing). If we were really different from each other, would be able to sing together, dance together, or have fun together. And moreover, usually people who are actually different from others are called "weird" by those who claim to be different from others! Isn't this a paradox?
If we ask somebody to point out a community in this world or a class of people who are most different from everybody else, I guess most of us will come up with the same answer and that is monks or sanyasins. Now, if a monk is asked about his view of the world, he will say that we are all the same, it is the same universal consciousness that has become this very world. Hence, the one who is viewed as most different actually believes in the essential self-similarity of this world. Isn't this a paradox?
Am I different from others or am I the same as others? I am a human being like so many other human beings. I am an Indian like so many other Indians. I am educated like so many other educated people. I am a researcher like so many other researchers. I like watching movies like so many others do. Then where is the difference? Or, is there at all any difference? Are we really as unique as we believe ourselves to be? Even our genes are so much the same (almost 99.9%)!
One suggestion for a way in which we are a lot different is the set of problems we come across in our lives, and the way we face up to them. It appears that we can clearly differentiate between people based on this observation. It is not just a black&white difference of people who boldly face up the problems or run away from them. There are a lot of gray shades in between. Even people who are bold have very different ways of approaching a problem and people who run away also have many different ways of running away from problems. The world would be really very dull if we were all the same. And if we are to be different from each other, problems must exist, otherwise how else would we differentiate among ourselves. Thus, for the world to be really worth living in, there must be lot of problems which will cause lot of suffering. Isn't this a paradox?
Every company says that they want to employ people who are different from the crowd. But do they really want to hire someone truly different? Will they hire a pianist for the job of a computer programmer? And yet, being a good pianist is really being very different from others because there are much fewer good pianists than there are good computer programmers. Or, will a software company hire a guy who is a very good computer programmer but who has some weird habits like wearing Hawaii slippers to board meetings? In essence, what companies are really looking for are people who are so much like each other, but yet they say that they want people who are different. Isn't this a paradox?
Every person in this world (specially young guys) says that they want to be (or already are) different from others. Usually people who claim this most vociferously, have the most similar habits. One common habit is certainly that of claiming to be different! All of them go to late-night parties, listen to rock music, like fast driving on sports cars, watch (only) Hollywood movies and many more (some of these are also things that I love doing). If we were really different from each other, would be able to sing together, dance together, or have fun together. And moreover, usually people who are actually different from others are called "weird" by those who claim to be different from others! Isn't this a paradox?
If we ask somebody to point out a community in this world or a class of people who are most different from everybody else, I guess most of us will come up with the same answer and that is monks or sanyasins. Now, if a monk is asked about his view of the world, he will say that we are all the same, it is the same universal consciousness that has become this very world. Hence, the one who is viewed as most different actually believes in the essential self-similarity of this world. Isn't this a paradox?
Am I different from others or am I the same as others? I am a human being like so many other human beings. I am an Indian like so many other Indians. I am educated like so many other educated people. I am a researcher like so many other researchers. I like watching movies like so many others do. Then where is the difference? Or, is there at all any difference? Are we really as unique as we believe ourselves to be? Even our genes are so much the same (almost 99.9%)!
One suggestion for a way in which we are a lot different is the set of problems we come across in our lives, and the way we face up to them. It appears that we can clearly differentiate between people based on this observation. It is not just a black&white difference of people who boldly face up the problems or run away from them. There are a lot of gray shades in between. Even people who are bold have very different ways of approaching a problem and people who run away also have many different ways of running away from problems. The world would be really very dull if we were all the same. And if we are to be different from each other, problems must exist, otherwise how else would we differentiate among ourselves. Thus, for the world to be really worth living in, there must be lot of problems which will cause lot of suffering. Isn't this a paradox?
No comments:
Post a Comment