I’ve always been fascinated with the fundamental difference between Eastern and Western philosophy.
Here I’m listing down the key differences between the Eastern and Western philosophy and my take on them.

Principles:

East: Life is a circular journey. You can’t escape from your action. The real goal is self-liberation.

West: Life is linear. If there is a beginning then there is an end. The goal of life is self-appeasement.

Need of human is unlimited. Can we ever appease ourselves? No. Thus appeasing self is not a worthy pursuit. It is only when we liberate ourselves from the circle of need, we can achieve peace.

Leadership:

Eastern philosophy says leader should be behind the people, so that if anybody falls behind then leader will take care of him. East says ‘your work should talk for you’.

Western philosophy says leader should lead from the front and leader should differentiate himself from the rest. West puts a huge premium on talk.

After living in western society for so long, I do feel that ‘talk’ is the most important aspect of leadership; even through it is just hollow. I can’t think of a better example than Obama, who talked his way to be the president of USA.

Success:

East says success is spiritual. Discovering self is the greatest success. East asks us to give up everything to get everything. Success is not material.

West links success to material i.e. money, house, car and holiday. West asks us to work hard, play games and build an empire.

We come to this world empty handed and we will go empty handed. All we can leave behind is a legacy. In hundred years, history will judge whether we are successful or not. Benjamin Franklin Jr., Gandhi etc are regarded as the most successful in last century yet they were never been materially rich.

Work:

East asks us to dissociate self from work. Working without an expectation is the true work as per the Gita. Work is selfless dedication.

As per Western philosophy work is all about result and benefit. West asks us to merge play and work and keep working till we get the material we want.

Human is a selfish animal. Unless there is benefit, it is difficult to strive. Eastern philosophy is grand in its vision yet not practical. If we follow Eastern philosophy we can build a heaven on earth but alas most of us don’t deserve it.

Win and achievements:

East says the greatest win is the win against self. So the real win is with in. You can conquer the world but unless you conquer yourself you can’t win the battle.

West says win is outside. Name, fame and glory are the buzz words of a grand win.

Name, fame and glory are as short lived as human memory is. A lasting legacy won’t be possible if we chase name, fame and glory. Who can beat Marline Monoro or Madona in fame? But what is their contribution to this world? I guess not much. So they will fade away. Leaders who conquered self have conquered the world and outlived themselves.

Individualism:

East thinks every person is connected to the rest. So collectivism is the essence. Individualism should be manifested through collectivism.

West thinks individualism is the essence of life. Collectivism should be expressed through individualism.

The most notorious crime that can ever be committed against a woman is rape. There is no doubt about it. And few countries can beat India when it comes to the number of rape cases. Well, my fellow Indians claim that India is the land of peace, harmony, values and ethics. Now a days we have moral police beating up women to prevent them from going to pub, because going to pub is against Indian culture. The number of rape cases registered in India in first three quarters of 2008 in India is 18359. I guess raping women is the true Indian culture!!!!

I believe the real reason for the atrocities against women in India is because of Indian culture and its attitude towards sex. I do feel that Indian society in its current form is quite hypocrite. I feel so because this society does not accept the thing that is so rampant and obvious. Sexual desire is the basic instinct of human and it is just the way we all are. We can’t change ourselves completely. If we can control the basic instinct then we will be God for sure. Yet Indian society not only disregards the basic human instinct but also brands sex as dirty. As a result society has stymied the outlet for the passion. Thus things happen under cover and many women fall prey to the desire.

The first step in the remedy for any problem is the acknowledgement of the problem. Indian society should accept the human nature of desire for sex. If we can’t control it, then let’s regulate it. If people can’t control themselves, then we have to provide a way to satisfy the desire. Illegal prostitution is flourishing underground, but it is not convenient for normal Joe. So let’s legalize prostitution as it will be the appropriate channel to satisfy the carnal desire. If we have legal brothels in our cities and towns, then people will have the means to satisfy their sexual desire any time, any where. Once sex is available in the market conveniently, people won’t commit the heinous crime of rape. At the same time let’s make the rules extremely stringent so that nobody is able to get away with it. This will drastically reduce the number of rapes in India.

Legalization of prostitution can have many other benefits. Regulation of the trade will bring down the number of HIV/AIDS cases. Women involved in the trade will get recognized as workers and exploitation by law enforcement agencies will end. Legalization will pave the way for insurance, health care, schooling for children of sex workers and numerous other benefits.

But politicians and the so called custodians of Indian culture will be up in arms because they can’t tolerate brothel in the market as this goes against the ‘non-existent’ Indian culture. Hypocrite Indian society can tolerate the destruction of an innocent life but can’t accept existence of the very basic instinct of human. Hope people get courage to accept the fact and the truth. Only if they do, we can stop rape menace in India.

Human is the best of animals because it has a brain and it is the worst of animals because it has a brain. To deal with human, we can’t afford to be humane. We ought to give a chance or two. But the more chance human gets the more he/she will get used to it and will abuse the leniency.

Since last 1.5 year, I’m reading about the violence in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). I don’t think there is any lack of police protection in CBD during weekends. There is no lack of money to spend on toys to reduce the crime. But the menace persists and it continues to deter normal Joe like me to venture out to CBD especially during late night over the weekends. I think the reason for this alcohol fuelled menace is the kid-glove approach of the law enforcement agencies. What else can the reason be? There is lack of concerted effort to discipline the drunken mob. Solution can be in putting these drunks in jail, hitting hard on their wallet and giving a lot of press to drum public awareness. And I can guarantee that the mob will disappear in no time. It is really a cause of concern that a first-world country like Australia is unable to guarantee safety of its residents at the heart of Melbourne, which claims to be the most livable city in the world. What kind of image these never ending incidents in the heart of the city is projecting to the outside world. Had it been a poor, third-world country, it is quite understandable. But unfortunately it is Australia. The mob has to be controlled with iron feast. I would like to sight an example. Few days ago an utterly drunken bloke hopped on the tram with a bottle in his hand. He was wobbling and completely out of control. But to my surprise he tried his best to validate his ticket. But well he failed as he could not find the slot in the machine. But the bottom line is that a drunk could not forget the fact that if he gets caught he will have to cough up 200 odd $ and there won’t be any excuses. So why can’t we have similar formula in CBD. Last week a mob attacked a guy who landed in hospital fighting for his life. But I read in the newspaper that it is unlikely that anybody will be charged. Tolerance is really encouraging violence. Sometimes punishment is the best way to discipline people. I’m not an advocate of fear-psychology but public safety is absolutely important.

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I’m not deviating from my blog rule i.e. I won’t criticize any country other than India. I’m a resident of Australia at this point of time and I’m paying tax to the Australian Government. So it is my right to demand proper security at least in CBD.