An editorial in leading national news daily while giving its comment on the recent 2G scam pointed out that “a flawed process” leads to a “failed outcome”. According to the editorial “the integrity of the process always determines the quality of the product that comes out of it. If a process is wrong, the product seldom turns out right”. Mahatma Gandhi’s teaching on means and ends immediately come to mind. In other words what is needed in the current moral crisis of our times is right action. Taking the name of Gandhi once again, he was quoted as saying that it was the “action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important”. The point is that as humans, prone to error, we must learn to do the right thing. Bu doing this, we will not only solve a lot of our problems but also avoid doing the wrong things. In all this issue of right and wrong, we need to come back to the fundamental question of where it all begins i.e. our human action and how it can benefit us if we do the right thing at the individual level. We are all overwhelmed by the problems and challenges that confront us on a daily basis. In this confusion we fail to sometimes look inward. Actually the problem lies with us and so does the solution. All we need is a little time of reflection to get to the heart of the matter. In essence human action is a powerful phenomenon. Many do not realize this. And because we are most of the time unaware about our own action, we fail to harness this human potential for doing good.
Let’s try to look at human error and see what it can cost us. It is obvious that the error committed by we the humans can lead to disasters and accidents. Take the case of the recent Mangalore air crash. According to investigation, it is now concluded that it was pilot error which resulted in the horrific crash of flight IX 812 on May 22 this year, killing 158 passengers. See the calculations: one man’s error has cost 158 lives and countless other people who would have been affected by this tragedy. Then another man’s error nigh wrong action has cost a country a loss to the tune of Rs 1.7 lakh crore. The outcome of his wrongful action has also cost his job as a Union Cabinet Minister. These are only two instances of how human action is fundamental to the outcome or end result. While we focus attention on wrongful action for obvious reasons, there are also those who make positive contribution by doing the right thing. We need more of such people in society. It was encouraging to read about a report about the claims made by a chart-topping singer James Blunt who refused to obey orders during the Balkans war to attack and destroy Russian troops. According to Blunt, a former cavalry officer in the British Army, who was leading a NATO column, his action “prevented the start of World War Three”. While his claim about preventing the start of World War III may be a little far fetched, nevertheless by doing the right thing, more bloodshed was averted. As rightly mentioned by Blunt, we need a ‘sense of moral judgment’ so that we can know the right from the wrong.
