Of all the virtues which human beings express intuitively — even without the promptings of the code of ethics of any particular religion — the most mysterious is altruism. As soon as a member of the human species reaches adulthood (age 18 is merely a legal milestone; we all know that adulthood sets in earlier) she/he is challenged to be individualistic as well as to prevail as an individual.
All the pressures not merely to survive but to survive successfully envelope, the young adult. Competition for resources and attention, not to merely achieve these but to appear to have achieved them, begins to drive all our actions. Indeed, the entire advertising industry which appeals to personal prowess and its demonstrations, is based on the presence of this instinct in us. It is such a powerful drive that it is even praised by many weaker, better natured and less determined individuals who look upon the ambitious, single-minded and successful people with awe. Is this true about everyone?
Rare instinct
Policy analyst Joseph Rowlands describes what he sees as the morality of self-sacrifice. This rare instinct sets some people moving in the opposite direction. The extraordinary thing is that these glorious souls are not recognised, praised or celebrated except at the time of handing out of the national bravery awards, and those acknowledgements are for on-the-spur-of-the-moment physical courage rather than a pre-meditated and prolonged act of self-negation.
When a corporation school teacher retired two years ago, what did she do with her provident fund? She built a lunchroom for the students of the school she had just left.
“I cannot bear to see children huddled around trees or trying to ward off crows as they eat at noon,” she said. She was unmarried, had no family support and was far from wealthy. Having left service, she still possessed a strong instinct to promote the welfare of students she would never see again, and from whom she did not stand to gain anything. A fortnight ago, when a teacher in another school saw her students struggling to speak English correctly, what did she do? She sold her bangles and bought an audio-visual set so that they could watch and listen to English being spoken and used in everyday life, thereby improve their English-language skills.
Altruism is Nature’s mystery gene, coined from French and counter to the natural design of “self before others” based on the philosophy of self-preservation and Darwin’s biological theory of ‘survival of the fittest’. While some animals also display this trait — such as the ‘aunt’ among elephants which never mates, choosing instead to rear and protect the young of her herd — it is most developed in human beings.
It is the opposite of all self-seeking and hoarding for gain that informs the rest of our natural instincts. The market place is filled with people trying to get the better of each other, commercial organisations are ever on the watch to defeat competition, nations vie with one another for resources and opportunities. Amidst all that heat and pain comes this glowing energy that continuously gives — even to the detriment of the giver.
The author is Consultant, Publishing (Oxford University Press). minioup@gmail.com
