Chaos often breeds Life while Order creates Habit.’ This statement from the famous historian Henry Adams has a lot to tell. A few weeks back, on his return from Japan, Pujya Guruji Shree Rishi Prabhakar was sharing how the whole country appeared so morose as if it has gone into a mass mourning till date ever since the Hirosima episode.
He explained that this was simply because of too much order. Everything is right about Japan and that is the whole problem. When everything is right, the whole process becomes very mechanical, very robot-like.
While in Japan for close to three weeks he hardly found men who were laughing or crying. In contrast, India is full of people who are laughing, people who are crying, people who are calling other people by shouting names across the street. It is all very vibrant.
However, most of us often condemn India for its disorderliness, its poor systems, its apparent chaos. It requires a perceptive eye to be able to see that there is a huge silver lining to it.
Let us take a deeper look into the merits of what we call order. Let us take one example to see this point. Imagine the scenario of a train in Japan or Germany vis-a-vis a train in India.
Everything seems right about the Japanese train. Jet speed, smooth movement, great décor, clean ambience. At the level of the tangible objects, everything is right. Prosperity and luxury is wonderful. However it comes at a cost in this case.
At a subtler and more important level, the level of happiness of people, lots is wrong too. The train is full of sullen faces, tongue-tied people, where each one is doing his own thing and as inaccessible as an island-unto-himself.
All passengers in these jet-speed trains are too polished to talk to each other lest they create a flutter. They are too busy with their heads reeling over a cellphone or their skulls dug inside a book. The ambience exudes nowhere close to a homely feeling, it is an office-like silence, rather a grave-yard type silence.
Compare this with an Indian train. On the face of it, everything seems wrong about the Indian trains. Slow speed, ordinary décor, somewhat unpredictable schedules, packed spaces, din and bustle. Such poverty is not worthwhile in many ways. However, in what matters the most, all is right about the Indian train. A lively atmosphere & a homely feeling.
We are generally racing around on a daily basis at jet speed. A slow-running train provides you with time to be with yourself, more time to enjoy, socialize with others and take a break in the otherwise jet-speed life. As my master would say, unless you exercise the brake from time to time, the vehicle running at higher and higher speeds than before, would run into a tree and be done forever.
And there is little to say of the famous din and bustle. In an Indian train, there is so much cross-talk, so many hawkers hopping in. Such cross-talk is so heartening compared to the graveyard-style silence of a jet train in Japan. Hawkers appear to make the train crowded but then they bring in what you always wanted to eat or read or buy. In the train, you have a lot of free time to do it all. All this keeps the ambiance very vibrant.
And the occasional unpredictability in schedules has its own merits. Wouldn’t life be boring if everything went as per our planning, as per our anticipation? In that case, we would be more like machines and less like people.
An Indian train is a kaleidoscope of emotions, of disorder. But now having a clearer picture of this vibrant kaleidoscope, cross your heart and tell the truth: What would be more fun? An Indian Rail-Gadi or a Japanese Jet train?
I am not trying to needlessly glamorize disorder or deprecate order. Nor is this to say that we should sit on the fence and watch disorder ripping apart all order. No doubt, order too is required with disorder and both go hand-in-hand. But all I wish to convey here is that too much order is no better than too much disorder.
And what of packed spaces in the Indian train? An Indian train is sufficiently packed and so lesser number of trains required. A country with a higher utility percentage of its transport carriers damages the environment much lesser.
A high-speed train creates huge environmental damage. It consumes large quantities of fuels. This effect is compounded by a much lesser density of passengers and many more number of trains required. By and large, the more the luxury, the larger the carbon footprint.
In a developed country, typically all tangible things are very important. The roads, the offices, the infra-structure, the works. Wherever tangible objects are made important, people and their happiness gets compromised. This is how it is seen in life by and large. (A new divine order where both the inner and outer are in great shape is yet to be manifested.)
For example, owing to our misguided approach, we wouldn’t let our own child spoil the wall of our own house by scribbling over it to his utter delight. To us, the order in the room is more important than the happiness of the child. You could repaint your wall but you would never be able to revive your child’s childhood.
This shows how the apparent order in tangibles hides a disorder created at the level of people and their intangible well-being. If you are ready to accept disorder at the level of tangibles, you can easily create order at the level of intangible well-being of the people.
The train here was only a case in point. All of India operates in line with this principle, though incognito. Let us now also have a look into what is the law of nature: order or disorder?
What is more beautiful? A garden or a forest? A garden is all well-cut. A forest is disorder incarnate. However, a forest is far more beautiful than a garden. Don’t you agree with me?
What is more beautiful? A fountain or a stream? A fountain is super-symmetrical. Everything is right about the fountain? A stream bothers not of symmetry. Nevertheless, a stream is far more beautiful than a fountain.
A forest or a stream is the creation of the divine. A garden or a fountain is the creation of man. Disorder is intrinsic in the creation of divine. Order is intrinsic in the creation of man. Beauty is intrinsic in the creation of divine. Efficiency is intrinsic in the creation of man.
Strangely, disorder is beautiful; order is boring, beyond a certain point. Disorder is eternally beautiful, order is temporarily convenient. Disorder (say, a forest) which is eternally beautiful requires less or no effort to maintain. Order (say, a garden) which is temporarily beautiful requires lots of effort to maintain. Disorder is effortless, order is effortful.
Let us take a look into what is the nature of a human being? What is the essence of life or the mark of a living person? Nothing, but his capacity to violate
A robot just cant violate a rule or flout a norm. It has to follow the rule-book, it has to follow science. This makes it very boring. A human being tends to violate every once in a while and revolt in the face of meaningless custom. He follows intelligence and not a set of orderly rules. It is this that makes him interesting.
Violations make life beautiful, a set of rules only makes life boring. Rules enhance efficiency; violations enhance fun. Rules sustain a culture; violations evolve the culture.
Rules and violations have to go hand in hand. Order and disorder have to go hand in hand.
Now, the million dollar question is: If disorder is the basis of life, why pursue order? Why is every human being perpetually involved in defeating disorder and enhancing order?
This one can be answered by another definitive quote by Henry Adams which says ‘Chaos is the law of nature, Order is the dream of man.’ All of us are into this world simply for Leela, for play. You cant play football unless you have a goal-post.
Disorder is our present state. Order is our goal-post. Were it not so, there would be no fun in the game. Nature supports us by increasing disorder; a human being enjoys his Leela by defeating this disorder, by reviving order.
Hey Bhavin,
Writing a comment so that you know that I have read your article.
As usual, will always through a debate to your article, as typical Ketan Zaveri.
I was somehow not convinced with your assumption that People in Japan are not happy living their disciplined life and not ignorant to Chaos in India.. They have same level of choices as we do, and what we chose is subjective. They could well get disorder in their life, if they feel that makes them happier, but that might not be case on hand, and hence they prefer "Order" as that might make them more happier, as question on hand is what makes one more Happier. Vice Versa with us Indians..
One more point you made about Carbon foot print which these developed nations cause with their technological advances.. I don't see that as another valid argument, because it only because of their being developed earlier, we have learnt about the carbon foot prints. Had India developed earlier, we would have equally contributed the same, What is more important is that post realization what are these countries doing to reduce the same.
Honestly, I find stream as beautiful as fountain and garden as beautiful as forest. However, both attractions would again be subjectable to accessibility i have to them.. Since we Urbanites have limited access to forest and stream, we crave for those things more.. But I Live in forest for a year, I'll start craving for gardens..
Also, you need to account that Societies could not have existed without "Order". I somehow failed to understand that why Henry Adams mentioned that Chaos is Law of Nature.. I personally feel That Nature do follow an Orderly pattern.. For instance, you don't have oranges coming out from apple trees.. Nature follows scientific pattern, Its just that too many factors dependency make the outcome chaotic.
But Good Read though!!!
Cheers !!
Chaos is the law of nature can be explained in a way if you study the concept of Entropy. There is a law that Entropy always increases with time (though some could argue that time itself is defined in the direction in which Entropy increases).. Google out on Entropy to understand this.
And well, in a commonsensical way too, i can see everywhere that nature's pattern is asymmetrical, jagged, haphazard, whimsical, wayward, non-calculated etc etc
Order is no doubt required for civilizations to come about but without disorder, life is dry and lacks vibrancy.
enjoyed the article and debate..keep it up