Family and Nation

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya, A P J Abdulkalam
Publisher: Harper Publications India

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THE FAMILY AND THE NATION
Epicurus (341-270 BC) drew the conclusion that the existence of evil is incompatible with the existence of the gods, who care about mankind and bestow, benevolence, knowledge and power. He believed that pleasure and pain are the measures of what is good and bad, that death is the end of the body and the soul and therefore should not be feared, that the gods do not reward or punish humans, that the Universe is infinite and eternal, and that events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions of atoms moving in empty space.8
Most of man's strivings are directed towards a position in which he feels secure, where all the difficulties of life seem to have been overcome. In striving for the final goal of security, the mind is always faced with the necessity of making the goal concrete; of calculating whether 'security lies in this particular point; (whether) it is reached by going in this particular direction'.
All psychological mistakes are thus mistakes in choosing the direction of movement. The goal of security is common to all human beings; but some of them mistake the direction in which security lies and their concrete movements lead them astray.
CHILDHOOD CRYSTALLIZATION
In the first four or five years of life, an individual establishes the unity of his mind and constructs the relations between mind and body. He takes his hereditary material and the impressions he receives from the environment and adapts them to the pursuit of superiority. By the end of the fifth year, his personality has crystallized. The meaning he gives to life, the goal he pursues, his style and approach, and his emotional disposition, are all fixed.
These traits can be changed later, but only if he becomes free of the mistake involved in his childhood crystallization.