Values flow from the highest of our own self. These values are an inbuilt mechanism, which distinguishes the right from the wrong, the Do’s and Don’ts of any action, even when no one is looking. Values are concerned with character and conduct of a person and evaluate the voluntary and habitual actions of individuals with reference to their being right or wrong. They are moral principles or standards, which define what is right and good in human conduct. The values of a person are also influenced by their environment, society, and family. Though degree of variance is possible in value systems in different social environments, in which a person lives and acts- be it the family, the neighborhood, the place of work, the community or the country at large but there are certain Universal Values at the root of all the value systems which are uniformly accepted. Such values lead to the betterment of the entire humanity. The nearer a value system is to the Universal values, the better it is in terms of virtues and righteousness. The deviations in the value systems only lead to conflicts and wars and are against human development.
| • Non-violence • Gratitude • Humbleness • Forgiveness • Integrity • Honesty • Patience • Innocence Universal Values are absolutes beyond the dimensions of time and space. They stand alone, self-validated in their immutability. They flow out of the highest of our own self, our ultimate holistic potential, the acme of our existential reality. Ethics is when we reflect this inner excellence in our attitudes, decisions and actions. The play of values in the world is Ethics. |
Values guide us in deciding what is to be done and also the means that should be used for such action.
Desirable values derive a person to use his capabilities for positive actions i.e. actions useful to humanity (and not self alone), while the undesirable values derive them for negative actions, which may result in his own benefit or fulfillment of desire, but are in a long run harmful to both the society and the doer.
Fulfilling an immediate end at the expense of a general value may bring some passing comfort but in the long run adds to the discomfort for myself by increasing an accumulation of guilt, large and small – Swami Dayananda
Values should be universal, absolute and beyond the situational, cultural, race and creed disparities i.e. our outer behavior should reflect how far we abide by our inner value-system. We can say that whatever our conduct ought to be when we are in tune with this inner source is what we term as Ethics. The more our conduct is in consonance with the inner values, the better composed and integrated our personality is.
Importance of values
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- For our own personal development. To become a more peaceful and integrated person. Values serve true, permanent, long-term self-interest.
- For getting relief from day to day tensions. This is a kind of selfishness, which primarily helps us in course of time, to help others in the family, society, organization and the nation on the whole. Because it is the individuals who make a society, an organization or a nation.
| ∑ individuals = Organisation. |
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- Even the most developed countries at the top of materialism have started realizing that material prosperity is not the development of Human beings in the true sense. A realization has now come that unless we are developed as better human beings, other forms of development have no meaning.
- Indian organizations, both private and public have realized that value based management and administration only can save us from the adverse consequences of the present situation. Unless all the individuals who work for an organization imbibe these values, both in theory and practice, the system cannot change.
- Skill and values relationship (Already added in chapter one)
- Holistic competence and professional competence
| • Skills Development leads to Professional competence. • Skills & Values Development leads to Holistic competence. |
Value based competence is much more efficient than Professional competence. Professional competence is based only on development of skills and does not take care of means and thus the results are more visible and immediate, but are short lived as the approach is not holistic. But when the skills combined with values are used in a wholesome manner, they result in long-term gains, though for a short-term it may be painful or more demanding. Skills, which are not value-based may often be misused. Thus in the long-term they are failures. One has to choose between ‘short-term gain and long-term pain’ or ‘short-term pain and 1ong-term gain’. Holistic competence ensures both the success outside and survival within.
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- Value based actions also help in conservation of energy whereas the actions based on negative values dissipate our energy.
- We can see in history also that the civilizations and cultures like Indian and Chinese, which have upheld values are able to survive, while those like Greece and Rome, which were high in skills but poor in values have vanished. The success of Japan is based on values similar to Indians, using seishin kyoiku (Spiritual education) to counter the evils of industrialization and integrating the family values into management of organizations.
| Positive values | Negative values |
|---|---|
| Compassion Gratitude Humanity Patience Selflessness Sincerity Honesty Integrity | Greed Anger Arrogance Envy Jealousy Vanity Lust Vindictiveness |
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- The modern educational system focuses on developing the faculties of the left side of the brain – intellectual, rationale, logical thinking; while those of the right side are almost ignored. Therefore it does not help us in inculcating or transformation of values, which are emotions in nature. Unless the culture of noble values becomes part of the educational system, values will remain a lip service only.
- Transformation of emotions from negative to positive emotions based on values comes through purification of Heart (chitta-shuddhi).
