It takes a village to make a man is a famous aphorism. Simple as it sounds, profound is the insight it offers. The man or woman as they become are the product of their circumstances. They are born in a family, with limited awareness, consciousness whatever you may call it where they have their first lesson in the school of life. It starts with habits, food, clothing, language, religion, culture etc, etc,then their environment, surround, extended family, neighbours and friends help in moulding the man. In the next level the society, it’s structure, education, news, mass media and other systems starts defining his thoughts, desires, feelings and acts. So goes the another saying, what parents can not teach the world will.
As, J.Krishnamurti says, ” your mind is conditioned right through. There is no part of you whis is unconditioned.” All of us are conditioned right from birth to death by the world around us and in turn impact it. Thus who we are is the amalgam of thought, desire, feelings and acts of many people, near and far, known and unknown, older or younger, successful or not, and living and dead.
Thus moulded, you carry others in you. The pile keeps growing as one ages. You keep adding layer after layer. Suddenly after many autumns, you realise that the “me” in one has been transformed beyond recognition. No more is it possible to distinguish the essential “me”, the base, from others. That is when the mind open us with the eternal existential question ” WHO AM I”
karparation 