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 hen
a new baby is born, there's a grin on the face of everybody associated
and that's on account of the sentiments attached with the new hopes and
joy that the child would bring in, in due course of time. A mother bears
tremendous hardships and laborial pains just for the sake of her fledgling
that would grow into a complete being and bring laurels to the name and
fame of the family through his glorious deeds. Hence a righteous and earnest
child is the apple of the eye and the ultimate dream of every parent.
But what is the criterion for the aforesaid righteousness?
Nothing precise is sure indicative
of the desired traits. Gone are the days when great people were born in
an air pronounced by lightening and theomania. Padhya Chudamani describes
the arcane birth of Gautam Buddha as follows,"...in the Lumbini grove
branches produced flocks of lotuses as if to see a glimpse of Siddhartha...
huge jets of water proportional to palm trees emerged out of earth briskly
as if Sarpgan (snake folk) kinsmen of Sheshnaga have assembled to salute
the lord... and the whole atmosphere was filled with an aroma." But in
today's epoch nothing of this sort occurs. Every human is born in a public
hospital. There is no sign of specialty. It's the basic fundamentals pertaining
to realities of life, which count. These are spoon-fed to a child from
his early childhood days, and, culminate into his ensuing qualities. But
how could one expect the above from a raw human being with a crude mind
unless proper and suitable environment is provided to the same?
The question pinpoints towards
an effort to guarantee elementary guidance regarding as to differentiate
between what is right and what is wrong in life. But if not possible completely
then at least to a certain predetermined level. This would in turn lead
to the formation of a rigid frame of personality. Just like loose particles
of dust and gravel accumulate over a period of ages and metamorphose into
a solid cluster of rock. Provided the absence of contingency or situational
factors like negative reference groups, the receptacle remains as it is,
and gets tender over years. But here come the entry of deviants and so
is our toddler averted towards truancy.
Personality traditionally referred to
how people influence others through their external appearances or actions.
A downtrodden might disagree to this. He would rather state that what's
the use of being charming unless one is wealthy, and that a poor person
should be practical and prosaic. But for an academician personality includes
the external appearance and behavior, the inner awareness of self as a permanent
organizing force, and the organization of measurable traits, both inner
and outer. |
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The major determinants of
personality of an individual may be biological, cultural, social or situational
factors. The biological factors include heredity, brain and physical features;
that of culture include beliefs, values and the likes; social ones include
family, socialization and the identification process of self as an entity
by an individual in turn trying to replicate himself as his father or
mother; and situational factors is a mixed mélange of environment, knowledge,
skill and language.
...Wearing a torn robe, a
Lilliputian robust man with naked feet and scorched hair roamed about
the whole day, be it, market, streets, court or friend's houses...." Such
was the strange silhouette of the enigmatic personality. But who was he?
He was no crazy vagabond but the very own world famous Sophist Socrates.
The same saint who raised many an eyebrows while he questioned ignorance,
conceit rootlessness and bigotry. Eventually he gathered huge fan following
as he spent his life musing for truth, its promotion, and imparting knowledge
about it, ripping off the hitherto obscuring veils. It was the beauty
of Socrates' simplicity and the purity of his style, which made him eye-catching
for the masses, which even his wretched countenance could not sideline.
A charming dandy could well
be equally popular with men and women for some reasons but for the rest
he might not be of much importance. He would just be yet another sugar
coated candy, which would melt in a short span...a fiasco! The delicacy
of old wine mellowed over years can't be replaced by it. The wine here
is symbolical of a ripened personality made tender under the influence
of severe contingency factors and conditioned by the accidental ones accruing
on the brink.
An ideal personality is the
dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems
that determine his unique adjustment to his environment. Or according
to Sigmund Freud, there should be equilibrium between the three colliding
structures within human mind- the id (congenital and inherited psycho
traits), the ego (Reality oriented part of thinking), the superego (noblest
thoughts). These parts of the mind are primarily responsible for originating
human actions, reactions and modifications. There should be a proper reconciliation
between one's thought and the activity done. Thought without action is
abortion. Action without thought is folly.
The happiest man is one whose
thinking and action are coordinated. The happier a man is, the greater
is his Charisma. Jawaharlal Nehru was a perfect example. "Sincere, disinterested
in personal power, Nehru combines the dreamer and the man of action. He
loves books and the arts but is equally at home in the rough and tumble."-The
100 Most Important People, Donald Robinson. A wretched Asoka might not
be one.
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