Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Conscience

We usually come across the expression "acting as per one's conscience" or (in Tamil) "manasaatchikku virodama nadakka koodaathu". I thought some people violated this and acted against their conscience, rather that most negative acts were in violation of the perpetrator's conscience. 

I recently realized that I was wrong. Negative acts often are perpetrated in perfect sync with one's conscience. 

This happens when our conscience, i.e., our value system, itself is "corrupted". Examples being that violating women is ok, cruelty to animals is ok, if I have a pressing need then taking away your stuff for my need is ok, robbing rich to pay poor paul is ok, if my family is in trouble even murder is justified (as in the movie Drishyam) etc. 

With the above in our conscience and if we perpetrate any such acts, would we consider that we violated our conscience? Did Vijay Salgaoncar, in Drishyam, believe that he violated his conscience?

The issue is that we think that all of us share a common conscience and we assume what is abhorrent to me is abhorrent to you as well. Hence if you (or me or anyone) didn't violate your conscience then you didn't do anything wrong.

So strange.

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