Humane and Humanism understanding

The indispensable quality of life is an existence that distinguishes living from being alive, as ‘the way of life’ is different from ‘having a life’. The way of life includes the process of doing something; something which is done or felt and thought in response to a condition; forming an idea of the extent of something experienced; gradual development of something; awareness of and responsiveness to one’s surroundings; recognizing what makes some existence different and why it is so; understanding particular types and aspects which discourage the continuation of balance; and the understandability of being. That being so, the way of life determines the course and future of creatures having a life. A human being refers to a member of the species Homo sapiens that differs from most animals by the high standard of psychological development, power of speaking fluently and coherently, way of sitting and standing, and making or causing things. Human beings can act upon nature to create a new world to fulfil all their wants and desires. Human action has a force for changing the laws of nature. Human beings are endowed with divine favour of bringing any abstract entity, quality, or concept into existence. They have the potential to make the planet on which life exists, heaven or hell. Willingness to respect the existence of others, acceptance of the universal and natural truth, being responsible for the world around, considerate of the substance which gives the essential meaning to something, ability to understand the sufferings and misfortunes of others, doing away with inflicting any pain, and putting a civilizing effect on with whom or which we have direct or indirect involvement, make humans humane. When human beings have or show these qualities, everything or each and every one of us receives the humane treatment. These qualities are endeavours which demand the best in people to be achieved. This is an extremely time-consuming series of changes pertaining to human development. It is rare to find a human being who is compassionate, well-meaning and kindly by birth. Being humane is a virtue. Cultivating any virtue takes many years of hard work to bring it to practising, or usually remains a lifelong effort, since the world is highly dynamic characterized by constant irrelevant and uneven changes. The circumstances of such a world force human beings to err, though they are not necessarily bad at being human. As a matter of fact ‘being human’ entails living with the better qualities of humankind, for example, warm-heartedness. Is ‘being human’ ‘being humane’? With the characteristic of anthropoid, a human being can be human far short of being humane. We assume that the human side reflects the better qualities of humanity, but what we experience more is the state of being human. The state of being human is something which all humans live, as it is about natural human nature. Only collective enlightenment can make human nature parallel or equivalent to humane understanding and values. Human nature is not a jump away from being humane. It is a journey of sensible steps which have to be great in number and chosen in accordance with wisdom as time goes by. This journey of sensible steps, first of all, takes cognizance of the process of doing something, which means our actions. How our actions affect others should be our primary objective to be taken care of while performing them. They shouldn’t intrude on a person’s respectful life and have an adverse effect on intergenerational and intragenerational equity. So whatever we do, it needs to be done or felt and thought in response to a condition which makes the world more liveable. Development by humans doesn’t necessarily mean human development. With experience only, we understand what is right or wrong and what really contributes to human growth and advancement. Our perception forms an idea of the extent of something experienced and we regard, understand and interpret it in a particular way. If our aim is to become rich anyhow, we don’t mind others becoming the poor owing to our intense desire. There is no harm in becoming rich, but if we are kind-hearted, we will definitely take others along. No fortune works here, this is tough and about the gradual development of the humane treatment valuing togetherness. Virtuous deeds can’t be performed without the true understanding of life which we experience as we live. ‘Taking advantage of’, ‘having the advantage of’, ‘at an advantage’, or ‘to our advantage’ weakens and lowers our awareness of and responsiveness to our surroundings. We fail to recognize what makes some existence different and why it is so. Needy and underprivileged people of the society should be uplifted so that they can enjoy the same standard of living or rights which are deservedly prevalent. This calls for making sacrifices by other members of the society who are in a more good or advantageous position. A person having compassion doesn’t find sacrifices giving up something valued, rather the person considers it mandatory to instil peace in the community. This responsiveness comes with maturity, experience and wisdom. It is being humane when we understand and acknowledge whatsoever the creator of the universe has created is for the essence of natural balance. A compassionate and humane approach strengthens this natural balance. We understand the positive value of every being and respect it. The journey of a meaningful life takes a long time to firmly establish the three-dimensionality of being humane defining care of, concern to and consideration for ‘the deserving’. Life is a long journey in which we experience the world around us, understand its complexities, learn from our mistakes, improve beyond recognition, grow in real terms, help others to have better life, value lives around and have great respect for the moral worthiness. This is how a human being goes through what it takes to be humane, where the state of being human which begins with the birth and continues throughout the life evolves with the development of this way of life, as this development goes on, this state is accompanied by the quality of being humane.