How Much Do We Deserve To Be Called Homo Sapiens?

By Rita Parekh

“ Naam Bade , Darshan Khote “, is an old Hindi adage which all in all says that Mankind has not been able to live up to his great perception.

Of all the species wisdom is an attribute naturally preferred for humans but time and again it is seen that humans have not been able to shoulder this one characteristic justifiably. Biologically he has been contemplated as the most intelligent being on the Earth. Through innumerable inventions right from the wheels to the latest digital advances he has undoubtedly transformed his life towards betterment. Intermittently he has established his supremacy over all other creations of nature and has been able to vanquish the strongest, the wildest and the most ferocious of all the co-existing creatures. However it would not at all be flabbergasting to admit that he is not wise enough. Though intelligence may be the reason behind all his achievements, wisdom would have definitely made him realize, what is not worth achieving. For, wisdom is in observing the balance. Wisdom means not enfeebling the foundation while attaining the heights, nor erasing the footprints while forging ahead.

In the Indian subcontinent there is a famous folk character Sheikh Chilli who is known for his follies. One day he needed some logs. So he climbed up a tree and started cutting the same branch that he was sitting on while dreaming about how he will make a fortune out of it. A man passing by tried to stop him, but he ignored. Finally he fell to the ground and his dreams came to a naught.

Now don’t we share a similitude here? But wait O Syllabaries! Do not make effort. Human actions have spoken louder enough. His thoughtless activities have left behind the trail so obvious. Being blinded by the endless ambition and greed, in the disguise of development, he is in fact unabashedly on a rampage.

Mankind has been digging a ditch by causing irreversible damage to this blue planet that is the only home for humans and lakhs of other species. Say it global warming or melting glaciers, rising sea levels or frequently occurring natural calamities, ruinous acid rains or changing climate, increasing greenhouse effect or depleting ozone layer, interference in ecosystem or ecological imbalance. All are the outcomes of human activities sheer to reap short term benefits. Who is facing the dire consequences? Humans themselves are of course. It is utterly beyond belief that mankind is turning a blind eye to what is happening. And it does not stop here. The other life forms too have to bear the brunt of human misdeeds. We are responsible for the loss of their habitats which perhaps is the greatest threat to biodiversity. It is preposterous to forget that we humans are a part of this one big ecosystem Earth and not the masters. We are not above this entire cycle but somewhere in between. We humans are intellectual beings having good managerial abilities unlike other animals on Earth. So why can’t we work smartly with heightened awareness using constructive processes. We should value each and everything in nature just as we value our goods and chattels. After all everything on this Earth is also the hard work put in by the nature. In Hubert Reeves words,” Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and slaughters a visible nature without realising that the nature he slaughters is the invisible God.” Notion that we are benefited enormously by throwing all other life forms under the bus is an illusion. We better understand that “ Benefit to all “ is the only highway that leads to “ Benefit to Mankind.“

Therefore mercilessness, abuse and cruelty against animals are an act of idiocy too. This is the most shameful, disgraceful and deplorable face of humanity. Such cases are on an increase across the world. We are shifting away from our basic nature of compassion to brutality. Have we gone doolally to expect our children to grow up to be gentle and tender-hearted after being made to witness such horrendous acts like Yulin dog meat festival, live animals served in some Eastern countries, animal shows and fights for human entertainment, ruthless exploitation of farm and milch animals, pitiless animal testing. One cannot build a kind, considerate and civilized society with the cement of mean, indifferent and primitive conduct.

If we yearn for an honest and crimeless society we need to begin investing in compassion now. Just as a ray of light wipes out darkness effortlessly, compassion will erase all human predicaments miraculously. People especially the children who are the future actors on the world stage should be made aware of the problems, inharmonious, unpleasant and disagreeable conditions other life forms have to bear for mere survival which will set a tone and definitely reflect in their behaviour towards their peers, siblings, parents and the society as a whole. There should be zero tolerance towards cruelty and exploitation. In fact it should have no place at all in a civilized society. No matter how many peace organizations are established, law enforcement agencies are instituted, NGOs are formed; a pragmatic, productive and peaceful attitude cannot be achieved while others are experiencing pain, discontent, misery and gloom. Reason is we are not separate but the part of this whole setting.

Being the only wise and intelligent entities on the Earth we are supposed to help other less insightful creatures. Instead, we use our intelligence to exploit them.

It is not important which religion we follow or God we believe in. Important is that we all undoubtedly believe in that one unknown, that one unseen who is constantly eyeing upon us and therefore lets behave well for Him.

“The reason of all creations, The source of all actions,

On this planet, Once created myriad of things…

Flora and Fauna,

Living and Non-living.

Millions of different Genera,

Millions of different species.

But one thing stood out of all and that was Human Being.

Like a mother, Like a father.

He hoped and dreamt, That the wisest of all His children will care and nurse and manage rest of all living as well as non-living….

But Alas! To His Dismay, This most intelligent being only used and destroyed and exploited everything.

And yet,

It is thy assertion O Mankind! That thou loveth Him!”

It doesn’t matter if one is a pantheist, atheist, deist, mystic, or devoutly religious, wisdom is in living in harmony with the nature and all its elements. Wisdom is in shifting our attitude from the saying, “Live and let live” to “Live and help live.” That is the true essence of humanity. Nevertheless we can still get over the hump, if we stop being indifferent for the things that matter. As truly remarked by Bored Panda, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Being indifferent to the wrong doings around and just minding our own business is not going to help. It is a no brainer that every little thing good or bad happening on this soil is going to affect each and every one of us and there is no escape. Thus it is our collective responsibility to rectify and revise things around us.

Non-vegetarianism may be a choice less choice for a lot albeit it can be ensured that animals be treated humanely while they are still alive and not as lifeless commodities like cramping them into small cages or skinning, roasting and giving them lots of pain while they are still alive. Such horrendous conduct is a blot on humanity. It is an urgent obligation on our part to –Treat a life as life until it is alive. Let uncaring people understand that it is not at all a clever move for them too. It has been recently confirmed from the reliable sources that the fear experienced during slaughter and stressful situation that animals are subjected to, elevates meats level of stress hormones which are detrimental to the consumers health.

On recalling the history too countless unthoughtful human bearings and actions of the past can be traced. One such is the expansionist policies that were executed by various nation states and crowned heads right from 15th century to 20th century. It lead to the loss of millions of lives. Also colonialism was not only traumatising to colonial subjects but many officers from colonizers too suffered trauma witnessing years of violence and staying away from their families. Many wrestled with sapped sense of humanity and few battled guilt.

Despite, those empires are nowhere today or are limited to their own former territorial limits.

Alexander the great after creating the vast empire shedding blood of millions, died at an early age of 32 after which his empire fell apart. Ashoka the great who ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent abandoned the expansionist policy seeing the aftermath of violence in the fierce battle of Kalinga and adopted peace and nonviolence when wisdom prevailed upon him.

Hadn’t it been more beneficial if same money, energy and manpower that were used for suppression were concentrated and used constructively for their own existing territories? Price paid was far heavier than the advantages derived when put on a weighing scale.

Innumerable such ill-considered behavioural patterns across the centuries have hit negatively and formed dents on the portrayal of Mankind as the most intelligent and wise being on the Earth.

The soil of this planet has witnessed many a great spiritual giants, selfless leaders, visionaries and excellent scientists who have worked tirelessly to better the times on Earth. So let their effort be extended to each and every component of this ecosystem.

Let us not take pride in making our heap by digging in someone else’s territory as the hole dug anywhere is going to loosen the soil beneath all of us. The reason is that the human well being is not independent. Let us not gloat over in fooling others because in the process we all are getting fooled. Just as “Good” management is doing so in ways that benefits every aspect of a company, being true to our name is doing so in ways that benefit all sections of the society and furthermore all life forms on the Earth.

Wisdom is to stay true to humanness or scientifically too we will lose all our logical personality traits. Let us freely make our way into the future but while keeping ourselves rooted. As prudently expressed by Rabindranath Tagore,” Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is no freedom for a tree. ”

The only way to achieve the pinnacle of a completely civilised society is to build symbiotic relationships and diligently fight the real enemies of Mankind: Floods and famines, poverty and illiteracy, wars and conflicts, myths and illusions, ignorance and imaginings.

The only way to live up to the name Homo sapiens is to think beyond the horizons and borders. To develop an attitude of framing the policies that is favourable to everyone across the globe.

By Rita Parekh