Human evolution is a transition in our mental refinement. Our scriptures talk about this transition in two stages:
- Prakrta Purusha - unrefined person
- Samskrta Purusha - refined person
Prakrta purusha is a stage driven by our likes/dislikes. We lead our lives according to our whims and fancies. Young children (infants and toddlers) act according to what they feel like doing. They do what they want to do without any hesitation or guilt.
We then slowly transition to refining our personality and decide our actions based on what is proper. This transition coincides with the manifestation of our intellect at the subtle level and the growth of the cerebrum and nerve cells in our forebrain at the gross level.
Intellect helps us to reason, analyze, and think about the consequences of our actions before acting impulsively.
This transition from Prakrta purusha to Samskrta purusha is influenced by multiple factors - parenting, family values, childhood environment, right role models, value-based education, habits and routines, exposure to the right content, friends, community, etc.
In today's scenario, we see that this transition has slowed down. And in many cases, we notice that it is shifting backward.
Movies and social media influence youngsters to pursue actions based purely on likes/dislikes. Value education gets the least importance across the board - in family, schools, society, or access to role models.
Herd mentality without questioning, YOLO mindset, peer pressure, instant gratification, and ignoring the calls of conscience are some of the repercussions we are noticing due to the lack of importance given to values.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati, in his book "Value of Values" states:
"A value is a value for me only when I see the value of the value as valuable to me".
Refinement of personality and character is built on the foundation of values.
There is no point blaming Gen-Z and Alpha kids unless we (the previous generations) establish the right foundation for them by setting the right example.
Posts
