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What Is Culture
Culture is the way - a refined way - of doing a thing, whether individually or organizationally, which the majority of people in a particular group adhere to. When it pertains to the act of an individual, it is characterized and qualified by categorizing her/him or her/his act as a cultured or an uncultured one. The individual and her/his culture!
But when it pertains to the act of an organization - howsoever big or small - it The organization and its culture! What is culture when it comes to an organization? The beauty of organizational culture is that the behavior of its members constituting the organization affects it as much as its already existing culture affects their behavior, resulting in bringing a change in the individual as per the design of the organization. But, in fact, it is the behavior of the individuals (of course, collective) that brings a bigger change in the organization than the organization does in the individual. That is how any culture undergoes a process of change, which is a perpetual as well as a perennial phenomenon. What is culture if not this continuous process of change? All cultures do have to follow this dynamics. What is culture in its very essence whatsoever? The old keeps dying down and the new, getting established with time. There is nothing like an absolute truth in culture. It all depends on the aspirations and values of the community. In general the aspirations and the values are at conflict with each other. The aspirations belong to the new whereas the values belong to the old. The new and the old do not go along well. But the new is always stronger than the old in its ultimate analysis. Hence the culture turns new. But then the new turns old! And the aspirations turn into values again. Until the next new enters in with a newer set of aspirations against the old aspirations turned into values by now! Another new conflict starts again! And so does it keep going with time perpetually and perennially. What is culture - is best defined by this total process that makes it a proper definition of culture. And what is culture when it comes to the social culture on earth? Society is a group of individuals with similar aspirations along. Norms are decided to fulfill the said aspirations. They either work or they do not work.
If they work, they turn values. If they don't, they turn anti-values. Values turn morals. Anti-values turn immoral. Morals and immorality stand still in time. But time flies on wings. Morals lose their flexibility of wisdom, and turn stiff and rigid commandments of authoritative stupidity. Time lands on a new landing strip now. New flexible aspirations raise their head against the old rigid commands of morality. New invariably wins and sets new norms that work. What works, turns new value. New value turns new moral. New moral then turns old and stands still in time. But time still keeps flying on wings! What is culture if not the fluttering wings of time? Then, what is culture when it comes to an individual as far as physical culture is concerned? Physicality is a system too, having its own aspirations from the individual. But the individual has her/his own static habits that work against the dynamic agility of the right physicality. O my God, here the static forces are too strong to be won by the dynamism of the new! It may require a full lifetime to show them the ground. Also it may require a hell of Herculean efforts on the part of the aspirant. Not for once but forever! You against your own self! Divided in two halves! United you stand, divided you fall! You cannot stand against your own self - you are bound to fall. You fall ill. Falling ill is what the fall-out of wrong physical culture is. Can't I stand healthy, winning this war without ever fighting it at all against my own divided self? I think we can, and if and when we do it, it will usher into a new era of human physicality as different from the animal - fight or flight - physicality on this planet. What is culture if not the self as a healthy whole? Now, what is culture when it comes to the safety culture at work and in life? Very good at work, but very bad in life! The former is technical; the latter, psychology. Technical safety is wisdom. Psychological safety is fear. Working with wisdom is the way to creating heaven on earth. Living with fear paves the way to a living hell in life. Safety culture in life does not let us live life adventurously. Safety culture at work stops us from falling in the trap of the thrill that is not of adventure but of mere misadventure or of sheer negligence. Let us live our safety culture more wisely than we do at the moment. What is culture if not the wisdom of mind? And then, what is culture when it comes to the technology and culture leading our way to the corporate culture in business as well as in life? Technology does have its effect on human life. All for good! But the corporate culture, as it is in today's world, is poisoning all that good! We need nuclear power, but the world corporate gives us the nuclear threat. We need health drinks, but the multi-national corporate provides us with cola all along. We need organic food, but the food-giants lure us with their fast food with addictive tastemakers added to it. We need space on earth, but the corporate offers us flats in the sky. We need health that comes for free, but the corporate offers us costly treatment and habituates us to popping pricey pills. We need a technologically advanced life, but the corporate adds its profit-motif to it and turns it into a slow poison for us, that comes at a price in order to fatten their wallet! What is culture if not the ethical growth? Okay, what is culture when it comes to the political culture international? My national interests and nothing else! Why am I an Indian and you, a Pakistani? Simply because I want to overwhelm you with my Indian superiority (I think it so)! We do so under various names and styles, like Japanese culture, American culture, Chinese culture, Italian culture, Greek culture, French culture, Mexican culture, German culture...and which all not; along with their own culture clubs! I have made a gang with my so-called fellow countrymen against you in the name of love for my land. I call it my motherland! And I call my gang my army. My superiority (so called) I call my patriotism. And then (even otherwise!) you too do the same. O my God, and then we fight like dogs! This is what our political culture is! And this is the game we play in the name of politics - the game of power on earth, be it in Iraq or be it in New York at the World Trade Center. What is culture if not the end of politics? Ultimately, what is culture when it comes to the world culture of humanity? Humanity lives in terms of getting rather than living. The richer we are, the happier we feel. We never analyzed it mathematically that if one goes rich, it is more often than not that someone else went poor. But why bother I? The human culture worldwide is the culture of comparison, competition and race! Between you and me! Between the white and the black! Between the brown and the yellow! Between the first world and the third world! Between Coca Cola and Pepsi! Between General Motors and Toyota! And between the Christians and the Mohammedans! And... now a new hip hop culture is taking shape on earth! Ultimately, the world culture is fast getting trapped in the war of terrorism in the name of superiority of religion on the secular face of Gaia. What is culture if not the end of race? Do you feel things should change in life, on earth? If yes, why sit passive? Let's be in the active vanguard. Let's try to change the world! Even trying is its own fun in itself! Have A Sensitive Culture Story To Tell About Your Cultural Fondness?
A story lived by you!
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