Submissiveness, aggression and lack of respect for systems are characteristics of a weak person; these are the behaviors that were not only encouraged but actively enforced in feudalistic times or are a reaction to the feudalistic system that does not fit in a democratic society.
Submissiveness is the bane of feudalism
Barely a few decades back, a standard greeting “how are you?” or the appearance of a feudalistically privileged person lead to the underprivileged person saying Nee Banchana Dora (I am your slave, my Lord!) OR Aap ke dua (upon your wishes [my existence depends]). In addition to saying the above, they used to bend to make a deep bow or fold hands in front meekly. “Don’t talk back to person in authority or an elder” and “show deep reverence to a person in authority” was the norm. This was enforced continuously and consistently so that it lead to a certain conditioning of the persons attitude/outlook who followed this practice everyday.
Reactivism with bankrupt ideologies is another common negative effect of feudalism
As you can see above, feudalism was unfair system. This lead some people to totally reject it and become hostile to the system and the leaders (both small and big) in the system. The problem is that being reactive does not solve anything, however unfair the prevailing system is.
Reactionary people become aggressive and look for quick, violent and radical solutions. When someone gets reactionary, it shows immaturity and lack of awareness.
By saying this, the intention is not to support injustice. It is natural and in a way, good to feel a bit angry/disturbed when things don’t work fairly. But to become aggressive in most situations shows a problematic person. It takes maturity, inner strength and patience to solve problems correctly.
When someone goes aggressive, it only leads to more problems. Aggression is to be used only in the rarest of situations after lot of thinking and after all other means have failed repeatedly. A reactionary person is so involved in his/her sense of deprivation that they loose sight of the bigger picture. Reactive forces don’t succeed or don’t have permanent success.
Disrespect for systems is a silent killer of society and another negative manifestation
There is another behavior that gets reinforced in such a situation – a disrespect for the system. Since life is not fair in feudalism, they reject the concept of a system and looking for ways to break the systems become deep seated attitude. As much as disrespect for systems is a response to aggressive feudalism. Such an attitude becomes self defeating in a self rule i.e. Democracy, as it leads to anarchy. Anarchy is like a fully drunk person, who is staggering in his walk. In a similar way anarchy leads to problems and does not help anyone.
An educated mindset and personal transformation is essential to overcome feudalistic conditioning
Being overly aggressive, overly servile or showing disrespect for systems – are all problematic behaviors. These are either adhering to reactions or to feudalistic standards, which have no place in a modern democratic society.
There is a middle path that most people are totally unaware of. This middle path between servility and aggressiveness is the right path. This is the path that is expected to be taken by people in a democratic system (i.e., of self-rule).
Developing a proper outlook to leaders and systems is essential for progress of a region or society
In a modern democracy (self-rule), a responsible person (an officer) seeks the support of dependable people. People who are capable, not servants. People who work within a system not anarchists. People who are sensible and not aggressive.
In order to succeed in today’s environment, these are the behaviors that are expected in people. As you see people around you, you will notice these behaviors in the people who are successful in modern India (those working in US and Europe and some working as officer positions in good MNC’s and domestic companies).
In a modern society, to LEAD is to SERVE. A person in a leadership position is a meritorious person who does difficult things well for getting the privilege to lead.
Submissiveness, aggression or disrespect for system – these are not modern values. In today’s world, “don’t talk back to person in authority” is no more the norm and you don’t show respect by abandoning talking; you do so by working with the person and making joint achievement possible. In a modern work relationship, if you keep quiet, you will not provide feedback to the leader. Thereby depriving him or her of information required to perform on the job better.
The Nobel Prize winner for chemistry 2009, Prof. V Ramakrishnan said that you need critical feedback on a daily basis for doing first rate work. It is competitive i.e., performance oriented society today, that means you need to constantly improve performance standards to be successful. Honest critical feedback is essential for progress.
Without having these modern attitudes or without outgrowing negative influences of feudalism, you will be a failure. If you think that this change is difficult, then the suffering you will face in life will be manifold by not having these attitudes.
Whether your life will be like the hut below or the bungalow, will depend on your attitudes and behaviors.
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If this article is about negative characteristics of feudalistic conditioning, then what are positive characteristics of modern democratic society’s conditioning? Watch out for our next article for having a right mental framework to succeed in modern India.
You may also like to read:
- What is Leadership and How is it Different from Being a Reactionary?
- Earning Degrees Doesn’t Make One Educated
- The Tsunami Of Modern Life Is Creating Havoc With Lives Of Vast Sections Of People – Part I
- The Tsunami Of Modern Life Is Creating Havoc With Lives Of Vast Sections Of People – Part II