HUMANISM

HUMANISM

Q.Who are you? 

A. I am a human being.

Q. What is your age?

A. My age is Grown-up. I have completed the wonderful phase of childhood.

Q. What is your gender?

A. My gender is one of the two types.

Q. What is your skin color?
A. My color is skin color.

Q. What is your race?
A. My race is human.

Q. What is your nationality?

A. I am an Earthian, more appropriately a Universian.

Q. What is your caste?

A. I belong to human caste.

Q. What is your religion?

A. My religion is Humanism.

Q. What are your festivals?

A. The occasions that make people feel happy and allow them time to enjoy with their loved ones are my festivals. I enjoy celebrating every festival that I come across, especially if it makes my child happy.

Anyone can celebrate any festival. Festivals are not copyrighted by any belief system. The best festivals are the ones that can bring a smile on the face of children.

Q. Do you believe in God? Who is your God?

A.  I believe in the vastness of the universe which is infinite and undefined. The forces of nature have a tendency to randomize everything and make it fair and square in the eyes of nature.

My God is the undefined vastness and laws of nature who always has its own ways of keeping things in control.

If one likes predictability and likes being in control, one can only try to fool oneself for as long as one can. The biggest truth is that things are random and unpredictable. Yet, the statistics have shown that randomness leads to the normal distribution leading to a standard bell-shaped curve, regardless of the parameters in question. 

Imagine our sizes as compared to the vast universe. Our bodies are so small but our minds are limitless and can wander anywhere.

All of the above questions are very small and meaningless when we look at the vast universe. Imagine the ants fighting with each other to prove superiority when the tsunami or avalanche or earthquake is about to happen.

The important questions that can make a difference are:

Does one have adequate resources to meet the basic necessities? Is one educated?

If someone doesn't have food to eat, clothes to wear, home to save oneself from the extremes of weather or more importantly if one doesn't have enough resources to educate their young ones, the country should treat their children as their own.

It is said that India is a rich country of poor people. India also has great leaders. They say, 'with great powers come great responsibility'. People who have great powers need to take the onus of upliftment of the poor people of India.

I have enjoyed growing up in India and pursuing further studies and career in the US. Both countries are very close to my heart. And as I say this, I have great respect for the other countries of the world. All countries are trying to make good of some part of our universal mother, Mother Earth, who is rotating fearlessly at all times and is saving us from the unseen forces of the vast universe.

The thing that I loved the most about the US is the education system for the children. All children are provided with great opportunities to gain basic education such that when they grow up, they can choose to pursue further studies and can apply for student loans if they need to. There are pros and cons everywhere, However, this system ensures that if someone wants to do more, that someone has been equipped with all the basics to do more. Not only this, they identify the gifted children and challenge them more to bring out the best in them based on their mental or physical capacity.

Imagine, if Einstein or other great scientists didn't have an opportunity to study or innovate, what would the world have been. We wouldn't be living in a world of comfort and luxury that we are living in today. Who knows we may still have been struggling for basic necessities for survival instead of enjoying the luxuries of life. 

There are some selfish and lazy people who try to use lame reasons to prove themselves superior without having real talent. They avoid working while making hard-working people work even harder. History has shown us that people who promoted differences based on religion, race, color, gender, caste, and creed, as well as the people who promoted slavery had their selfish motives to lead the life of luxury at the cost of other people's comfort. History has shown us the miseries caused by the people who killed other people in the name of religion and the people who killed each other over a piece of land without realizing that it is everyone's universal fate to be turned into mere dust eventually.

No religion promotes injustice. No God promotes cruelty. None of the artificial boundaries are the work of nature. It is the price that we pay for being at the top of the animal kingdom. 

Our job as educated people is to identify such foolishness and try to stop it from happening.

One way our future can be better is by promoting education and kindness among all. We are fortunate to be living in the world we have today. We should come together in making it even better or at least stop it from becoming worse.

Let's unite! Let's forget the differences. If there is a soul, it doesn't have any form. The bodies are mundane. The forms can change while the feelings remain. 

Let's follow one religion, Humanism, the religion that promotes kindness and freedom. 

Let's try to raise the level of our country and our world as a whole. 

Let's be humans and follow HUMANISM!

Jaya Sonkar M.D., M.P.H.

5/30/19

©All rights reserved. Jaya Sonkar 2019

Meet People Where They Are!

Meet People Where They Are!

As I was enjoying listening to the wise men and women at the Annual Geriatric Conference, something penetrated deep into my mind.

It was the phrase, 'We meet people where they are.' It was said in the context of a research grant where it was advised to link the value of the research to the values that the donor had. But the context was not exclusive. This applies universally! The best way to engage with children is to be like one and meet them where they are.

A few months ago, I met a very sweet and homely woman in the park who brought her children to the park to play. We looked at each other and smiled. We greeted each other and introduced our kids to each other. Her warm demeanor made me feel very comfortable. 

I am a quiet person and generally don't have much to talk about if it is not medicine or work-related. Fortunately for me, she was a great communicator and had an enormous treasure of things to tell. She spoke and I listened. I enjoyed listening to her speak about different foods, recipes, different clothes, tailoring techniques, and community parties. She was very kind to invite me to the various religious and community events which I would have loved to attend if my schedule permitted.

Initiating and facilitating conversations that are engaging can be challenging. Meeting people where they are and linking your ideas to their interests may be easier. I found myself being good at that. I enjoy food, appreciate fine clothing and of course am all ears when it comes to parenting techniques. I could relate to the things that she talked and we had a long engaging conversation and became good friends.

I had several other such experiences in the past. They all started coming to me one by one.  Along with the pleasant memories, some unpleasant interactions struck my mind too.

Coming from an emotional background, care and affection is embedded in my DNA. And that is how I look at things. I was able to get along with people who were sensitive to other people's emotions but wasn't very comfortable with the ones who weren't. In life, we have to interact with all sorts of people. And every personality has a value. They all play a role in making the survival of humans possible.

To be able to come to terms with people, we need to understand their deep values and talk to them in terms of those values. Just like the wise researcher said, to submit a grant for a cause that is aimed at improving well being among people, it should also be tied to expected favorable and cost-effective outcomes for the people. This will not only promote understanding among each other but will also lead to a collaborative approach in making a positive difference.

In summary, whether it is to get anybody's buy-in for any cause or it is to make a pleasant conversation with someone, we need to find where they live and then we go there and we meet them where they are. And some of them may come to you and meet you where you are!

Jaya Sonkar M.D., M.P.H.
5/29/19

©All rights reserved. Jaya Sonkar 2019