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THE FAMILY AND THE NATION
Here, we are not discussing absolute freedom, for no social relationship can be completely independent. It is the relative freedom which is essential, because without it the capacity of a person is blunted and the graph of his work competence also goes down. Just as an excess of freedom is a problem, so is the excess of dependence. Can we create a family dynamics with a balance of both freedom and dependence?
INTERDEPENDENCE
The second principle of the philosophy of non-absolutism is our relative dependence on each other. While the anatomical structure of the human body is a good example of such dependence, the mental disposition is not. Although man can't survive without such dependence, yet on account of his ego, a husband thinks that he can do without his wife or vice versa. When such a mentality finds manifestation in his or her verbal expression, the family gets infected with a virus. The law of Nature enjoins on the couple the necessity of relativity-the husband needs the wife and the wife the husband. A neglect of this law of Nature leads people to disrespect relativity in familial relations. They convert their sweet life into a bitter one and render it devoid of all harmony and congeniality.
Jain Education International
Relative dependence is the great truth of life. But the ego of man or woman tries to belie this truth and this affects family life. Gripped by the disease of ego, man considers himself to be uppermost, and hence it becomes difficult for him to maintain conciliatory relationships with others. The institution of the family is built on the foundation of collectivistic disposition rather than the individualistic one. Although the collectivistic way of thinking is flowing through the atmosphere, individualism is still increasing on Earth. Those who are intellectually developed and have wealth and power do not like to work collectively with others. They even
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