Man a Heroic Being

Last week my friend had put a post on his blog Avyukta which he ended by the following sentence: We are not who we think we are. We are what others think we are.

My beliefs and convictions do not allow me to digest this statement. I posted a reply stating my reservations about the statement. Subsequently we exchanged a very healthy and informative exchange of views to bring forth each one's perspective. The conversation has not yet ended and this post of mine is an attempt to clarify as to why I believe it is very dangerous to even think that one should live by the above statement. The title of this post, the plot and content revolves around "The FountainHead" a masterpiece by "Ayn Rand".

The essence of Ayn Rand's philosophy is the concept of Man as a Heroic Being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

The Fountainhead has four central characters through which Rand presents different types of men in society. These characters are:

• Howard Roark - Man as he ought to be
• Peter Keating - Who seeks greatness through approval of others
• Ellsworth M Toohey - Who seeks to destroy greatness by glorifying mediocrity
• Gail Wynand - Who could have been great, but comprised his virtues by selling his soul

Peter Keating who has had a great start to his career, by graduating top of his class from a premier architectural institute and landing a job in one of the top architectural firms, is always unsure about his actions and goal in life. In his childhood he wanted to be an artist, but he choose architecture because his mother considered it to be a more nobler profession. His rise in his firm is fast and very soon he becomes a partner in his firm. The rise in no way is because of his ability in his profession but his ability to be as people want him to be. He is a great manipulator, who deceives his colleagues. He uses flattery to win favors from his bosses. His chief concern is approval of others. He is willing to sell his beliefs at the drop of the hat to seek approval of others. He is a second hander who needs others to even think. He cannot even think for himself. He is easily manipulated by Ellsworth M Toohey. Ellsworth knows that he does not have it in himself to achieve greatness, to add something worthwhile to the society. So he seeks to destroy greatness itself. Through his column in a newspaper, he glorifies people like Peter Keating and other second handers. He wages a war against Howard Roark and Gail Wynand.

Howard Roark does not worry about what others think about him or his work. He does not seek approval or opinion of others, even his friends. It is not that he doesn't like people or enjoy their company. But he understands people and needs them only for the work they provide. He derives joy through his work and others opinion about his work does not matter to him. He befriends those people in whom he sees the same ideals by which he lives. He helps a young struggling sculptor Steven Mallory when he himself is in dire straits. When asked by another friend that how come he helps Steven, but refuses to accept any help from others, Howard explains that a sculptor does not require people to give him work. He can work for himself, but in contrast an architect needs others to give him work. He believes that by protecting Steven from self destruction, he is not doing charity but being very selfish because even he derives joy from Steven's work.

I have read "The Fountainhead" many times, but I still feel that I have a long way to go before I fully understand the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Moreover I believe that I should expierience my life and formulate my own views and ideals about my life. But one thing that I do understand is that I cannot live by anyone else's views, opinions and perspectives. People see me differently, for someone I may be a hero, someone may hate my guts, someone may think that I am the most useless person on planet earth. Does it make a difference, or change what I am. It does if I think about these things or am bothered by them, and therein lies the danger. I will not be me if I start doing things with others in mind. Does it mean that opinions and perspectives of others are meaningless for me? I am going to buy a CD-Writer soon. In my buying process I am going to ask my others who have owned a CD-Writer or used a CD-Writer about their opinion about the brand that they own. Taking these into account I will make my decision. But I am not going to ask others opinions in matters about my life or living.

Because we live in an open society and are being continiously seen by others, it is very easy to be self-conscious. People tend to live a guarded life because of this. At the end of the day nobody but yourself matters to you. Parents,relatives and even friends don't matter. If you can say to yourself with conviction that I have lived this day honestly by my ideals, you do not have to worry about anything else. To even have the consciousness that I am not what I am, but I am what others think I am, is very very dangerous. With this awareness your subconscious may make you do things differently. I may be a fool in someone else's eyes or a hero in someone else's eye. I don't care about either of them! I do not want to even be aware of them cause it may lead me to compromise what I am.

Around a year back, I attended a Seminar on Web Services by a speaker from IBM. He said that all softwares that were to be created have already been created and we are moving into an age of Integration. The future for software professionals lies only in integrating existing softwares. I was agast listening to this. To even think that nothing new will be developed is the lowest form of depravity. The human mind is too great to stop creating. Man is civilised not because we live in society but because the human mind is the most advanced and creative. It overcomes every hurdle. It seeks new challenges and frontiers and has the perseverance to overcome them. I salute all those inventors who have enriched our lives. But I also do know that when they invented, they did not have people in mind. Their work was their ultimate joy.

I am aware of my strengths and shorcomings. I know what I want to achieve in life. I will strive towards my goal. On this journey I will require people but only for providing me with work and means to achieve my goal. I do not need them to provide me encouragement or console me through my down falls or pat my back on my achievements. I will live by my own rules. What others think of me or see me as is of no consequence to me.

Until next week !

Cherio