Humans are social animals. In fact, one of the prominent reasons homo sapiens triumphed over other powerful species is because of our ability to work and hunt collectively.
Today, we no longer live in jungles or even remote places. Humans today are part of connected societies, nations, and continents. Globalization has connected us to the entire world.
But this entire phenomenon has also made some of us misbelieve that there is no need to be part of a society or nation or feel proud about it. Hence, you would observe some people around you saying things like ‘I value my individual freedom more than anything else, concepts like patriotism are just ideas that have no intrinsic values‘.
What we tend to ignore is that individual freedom has an inherent price, and that price is your well-being and protection, which your parents, teachers, country, and overall society largely provide for years before you feel free.
In normal days, we don’t realize the significance of being part of a larger society. But there come times in our life when we feel like those early homo sapiens in jungles, fighting for their survival.
War and conflicts in the world remind us of our vulnerability. It reminds us of our insignificance as individuals. It also helps to bring clarity and purpose.
Why is so?
The word purpose and individualism are almost mismatched for each other. The more you think about just your own well-being, the harder it will become to find your purpose. You need to transcend your selfish desires and think beyond it. It could be serving needy people, serving your nation, serving the world, or serving society through your work.
Two people doing the same job could have a completely different mentality and that results in having two different worlds for them. If you think ‘I am working just to serve my needs‘, you will forever chase peace. If you think ‘I am working for a bigger purpose (and not just for my self-goals)‘, you will be content in most situations.
Nobody likes wars. It’s not fun to witness violence. But when war is forced upon you, you must fight with all your might. That is what all our scriptures teach us.
But with all the calamities, war also gives a grand chance to reset the priorities for individuals, societies, and nations.
What matters most?
In normal days, you might find it hard to figure this out, but extreme situations like war brings the clarity. Because it is the time of urgency, it is the time to focus immensely on the present, not the past or the future.
Peace Demands Strength
There was a time when I used to wonder if most peaceful countries are those which don’t pump a lot of money into its military budget but invest more in education. The notion of non-violence lead to peace is misguiding.
Yes, but we must practice non-violence in all aspects of life. But non-violence can never be the answer to violence. The Indian scriptures and stories are an ideal to learn from.
In Ramayana, lord Ram did not just attack Ravan’s kingdom instantly (even though Ravan kidnapped his wife and committed atrocities). He offered Ravan various opportunities to negotiate peacefully and return Sita.
If you are familiar with Ramayan, you know the famous story of Angad visiting Ravan as a diplomat to negotiate peacefully. But Ravan did not listen to anyone.
Similarly, in the Mahabharata, the Pandavas did not immediately attack the Kauravas because of the denial of their kingdom. In fact, lord Krishna himself went to Duryodhan for a peaceful negotiation to avoid destruction in a war. But again, Duryadhan did not listen to anyone.
When all the efforts for peace fail, it is the utmost duty to fight to establish righteousness. As in Chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says-
सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ। ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि॥
Meaning: Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin.
The most reliable way to ensure peace is to project strength. When you are weak, you are vulnerable. When you are strong, nobody wants to mess with you unnecessarily and you naturally remain in a peaceful state. This is true for every society and nation.
In the modern days, military capabilities and valor are the ultimate signal of strength. In fact, most of the technology that we enjoy today was primarily invented to assist the military. The internet, radar, AI, computers, cameras, aircraft and many more are first used in the military.
But what ensures the strength of a military in today’s age?
The manufacturing ability at home. The defense-industrial complex, a vast network of manufacturers and suppliers, is the backbone of today’s stronger military. Any country or society willing to strengthen its hard power must focus heavily on developing a reliable defense-industrial complex.
Identifying and Nurturing the Actual Heroes in a Society
You can get a decent idea if a society is on the rise or fall by observing the role models for younger population in that society. When a society remains in peace for a longer period, people often tend to forget the actual heroes who made their peaceful life possible.
Circumstances like war bring a wonderful opportunity to redefine and recalibrate the measures for actual heroes.
Who should be your role model?
Ideally, someone who has made a substantial contribution, leaving a lasting positive impact on the world, society, or their country through innovation, leadership, or service.
Unfortunately, a lasting peace blurs the definition of heroes, and young people take peace for granted. As a result, the heroes start changing.
For example, if you tell in normal days to an 18-year-old about the significance of defense forces, scientists, engineers, doctors, etc. they might underrate the significance because for them they cannot witness directly that significance.
Whereas, assuming an actor, singer, cricketer, or any other performer a role model is easy because they are always there to see and hear about.
A war in your region or country makes you realize the distinction between protectors and performers. Performers matter only when protectors are doing their job.
For nations, there are primarily two ways to project strength: hard power and soft power. Hard power is about economic might, military strength, scientific and technological advancement, etc.
Soft power is projecting culture through art, values, food, etc.
Soft power works best when enough hard power is there to support. The soft power is on your face, the hard power is in the background to some extent and does not come often to your face.
The more role models a society has in the hard power domain, the better the chances it will grow stronger with time. This means having role models like scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers, soldiers, etc.
The opposite scenario in abundance is not a good sign of progress. Imagine a society where mostly actors, cricketers, social media influencers, etc. are only role models for youth. Such societies will find it hard to innovate, manufacture, and project its hard power in the long term.
It is crucial for young people to recognize the differences in responsibilities between those who perform and those who protect. While admiring performers is good, people should give protectors their due respect.
There is a nice line by Brian Greene that I often quote:
“When kids look up to great scientists the way they do to great musicians and actors, civilization will jump to the next level“
The broader point is that the role models in a society should be those who are mostly in the frontline when it comes to taking a society, country, or even the world towards progress or act as the protector.
Hyper-Individualism vs Collective Mindset
The last 50 years on earth have been the most peaceful time to live. For most of us who were born after 1970, we have not witnessed any major wars (until recently). As a result, there is a continuous glorification of concepts like individualism, especially in democratic societies.
The idea that personal happiness, personal space, personal success, and personal dreams should override everything else has become almost a moral compass for most of us. Although individualism is wonderful and deserves celebration, we must practice it cautiously.
The caution that an overemphasis on the self can hollow the roots of any collective structure we depend on—be it family, society, or the nation.
When a society places an overwhelming emphasis on the self, it risks sacrificing the deep-rooted values and interconnected social structures that give it strength and stability.
Only in times of crisis, when the air crackles with tension, you realize that your individual comfort means little if the community around you is under attack. When you read about the wars around the world, you’ll find a common thread: countries often progress faster after a war, having learned the hard lesson that collective strength surpasses individual glory.
No great civilization has ever formed without its people consolidating on a collective mindset. You won’t be able to work harder/smarter beyond a point if you are not working for something bigger than you and your self-goals. A collective mindset gives you a higher purpose for your existence, your service, and your contribution.
When a society makes collective strength its priority, people worry less about rights and more about responsibilities. The real strength of any nation lies in how deeply its people feel connected to one another—not by blood, but by purpose.
In normal days, we forget every individual is part of something bigger. The most reliable way to ensure the survival and growth of you, your family, and your future generations is to work collectively to develop strength as a society or nation.
A war, however violent and cruel, teaches us important lessons about setting our priorities right. Priorities that must be upheld not just in times of crisis, but in normal days, so we can build a society where every individual can live freely, with dignity and their head held high.
