Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Flowing Together Like a Song

In every relationship there are feelings between 'I' and 'I' which are innate and intrinsic to relationships. They exist naturally and only need to be understood..This innateness is called Harmony. Harmony has two meanings -  a complete agreement in behaviour, thinking and existential experience , and  complementariness in culture, civility, norms and orderliness. Moments of sharing, caring, loving and giving  are signs of a family that works. Where does the magic lie? Why do some families, no matter how large and unwieldy in numbers, flow together like a song, while others are gridlocked in conflicts and hatred or simply drift apart like a cloud of autumn leaves? Is a happy family a conscious creation or just an act of grace? Is there anything we can do to make our family life more fulfilling, more harmonious, more loving?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Human Values & Ethics

MODULE 5 : IMPLICATIONS  OF THE HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

 

  • Natural Acceptance of Human Values in the Light of Understanding Harmony and Co-Existence at All Levels of Existence.
  • Realizing the Definitiveness  of the Ethical Human Conduct in the Light of Understanding of Harmony and Sah-Astitva or Co-Existence.
  • Ensuring Competence in Professional Ethics.
  • Emergence of Ethical Competence from a Vision of Humanistic Education, Humanistic Constitution and Humanistic Universal Order.
  • Issues of Professional Ethics  in the Current Scenario: Contradictions and Dilemmas.
  • Strategies for Transition from The Present State.

 

Meaning, Characteristics and  Elements of Professional Ethics

Professional ethics concerns the moral issues that arise because of the specialist knowledge that professionals attain and the way this knowledge should be used when providing a service to the public.

 

Every profession has its own unique body of organized knowledge because of which professionals acquire a kind of authority over those who seek their professional services.

 

A profession is a calling in which the special knowledge and skills are used on a distinctly intellectual plane in the service of mankind.

 

The concept of professional ethics is partly comprised of what a professional should or should not do in the work place.

 

In a profession, to acquire knowledge and expertise is to acquire power, and no one should be allowed to wield such power without learning to use it ethically, and in a manner that is socially responsible.

 

The sense of public service embedded in the professional ethos places a leadership role on professionals.

 

Ethical Human Conduct Characterized by Values, Policy and Character

 

The ethical human conduct is characterized by  (a) Mulya or Values, (b) Niti or Policy, and (c) Charitra or Character'

Mulya or Values means competence of living in accordance with universal human values, mutually fulfilling relationships and of competence of Nyaya or Justice. Niti or Policy means acceptance of the guidelines or policy for right utilization , protection and enrichment of  all the assets including  the 'Self' or 'I',  the 'Body' and the Physical facilities. Charitra or Character implies three things: i. Chastity in conjugal relationship(swa-purush/swa-nari); ii. Access to rightfully acquiring wealth (swa-dhan); and iii. Compassionate behaviour and work (Dayapurna karya aur vyavahar).

Everything being in Space is an Evidence of Co-Existence.

 

Need to Bridge the Gap between Our Present Conduct and as it Ought to Be.

 

Life and Profession should be Seen Together.

 

Ensuring Competence in Professional Ethics: Competence as an Ethical Value

     As a professional you have a duty to maintain  your competence in your particular field:

     Keeping up to date with technological developments

     Deepening and broadening your knowledge through continuing professional development.

      It ensures that you can be relied upon to deliver work to a high standard, and so preserve public interest in your profession.

     Along with maintaining your competence , you have a duty to recognize its limits. This means not taking up work which you are not qualified or able to do well.

 

Self-Confidence as Competence:  Competence as a product of confidence based on the skill and capability to do something.

 

Ethical Human Conduct has Direct Correlation with Collective Happiness and Prosperity.

 

Professional Ethical Competence lies in Understanding the Comprehensive Human Goal comprising Right Understanding or Samadhan, Prosperity or Samriddhi, Fearlessness or Trust or Abhay and Co-Existence or Sah-Astitva.

 

Competence in Professional Ethics can be ensured when there is Clarity, Regard and Self-Motivation for Excellence in the real sense. There should also be compatibility between the professional's understanding of excellence and his actual conduct.

 

Competence is a matter of mutually fulfilling relationship and Interaction with Nature. Only a happy and prosperous professional can exhibit competence in his work.

 

Competence in professional ethics can be ensured by having a holistic vision of technology and development. Technology must be people-friendly and eco-friendly in the real sense.

 

The mad race for technology must end.

 

Salient features of Ethical Competence result from a right understanding of Humanistic Education, Humanistic Constitution  and Universalistic Human Order

 

Humanistic Education provisions a study of conscious aspect or jeevan along with technology.

 

Providing Wisdom in Education enables us to Realize Justice. Justice is the starting point of humane-tradition.

 

Existence is an orderliness with every entity being  an orderliness with its being-ness. What is beingness  for a humane being? It's a humane conduct, which is defined as values, character and principled living.

 

The present status of destruction of earth is the result of industrial and professional education.Its alternative is humane education, behavioural education,Resolution education  etc.

 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Natural Acceptance of Human Values

It is right to say that we naturally accept Human Values in the light of  our understanding of Harmony and Co-Existence. Every Human being naturally expects to be purposeful and successful. Our wisdom is the true source for realizing these expectations. This source could never be obliterated - every person naturally accepts  goodness, Every person naturally expects goodness to happen. We all are waiting for goodness to happen. The place where goodness would be realized will naturally be in our relationships with other entities in existece. Recognition of a relationship in existence is essentially recognizing of its innate purpose or value. This is study in existence. Commitment in a relationship is a natural outcome of this recognition. Thereafter perfection in Harmony in that relationship becomes inevitable. Perfection naturally results in fruitfulness or success. Omni-dimensional resolution  emanating from Jeevan is always connected with all our relationships.
Human values need to be lived. What will it take to fulfil this need? Human values are realized by understanding of Jeevan, understanding of existence as co-existence, and by natural acceptance of humane conduct. Wisdom is nothing else but this.When we begin realizing human values only then we become capable of doing right, and become proficient in doing right.Till then we are trapped in one mania or the other - and there's no way for us to do right. Understanding  Jeevan and understanding Existence are essentialfor becoming wise. Moreover, values are realized only upon recognition of the meaning or purpose of relationships   Courtesy: JEEVAN VIDYA (Excerpted from: Human Values and Professional Ethics by Prof. Dr Bhagwat S. Goyal (Srijan Prakashan, Ghaziabad.