HUMAN beings are born the same way, yet we live and die differently.
From the cradle, we pick up habits from our parents. On growing up, we learn from our teachers and society.
Some of us attend moral classes, celebrate various days and practise rituals regularly. Yet we may still be unethical.
The four main goals that everyone competes for in life are money, energy, time and food.
Deprivation of any of these may lead to unethical behaviour.
People accumulate wealth more than they need. As the ‘haves’ constantly multiply their wants, the ‘have-nots’ are deprived from having sufficient food, clothing, shelter, energy and time.
These in turn create social problems such as conflicts (i.e. civil wars, nations against nations, terrorism, religious conflicts and personal conflicts), environmental crisis (i.e. global warming, water pollution, air pollution, food inadequacy, waste production and earthquakes/tornadoes) and social crisis (i.e. rampant corruption, AIDS/HIV, divorce rate/single parents, child abuse/violence, suicide, living together and teenage pregnancy).
Human beings become unethical due to six enemies (i.e. lust, anger, greed, fear, jealousy and hatred) embedded in our subconscious mind.
When the negative energy is activated, it emotionally influences one to be unethical.
In other word, human beings become unethical due to the influence of the negative energy unknowingly.
Although every human being has the six enemies rooted in them, the dominant energy prevails.
Some might be controlled or driven by anger, while others by jealousy.
This dominant force will influence our perception which we form from the five perceptions hearing, sensing, sight, taste and smell.
Negative perception will lead us to be unethical.
The fundamental causes originate from childhood conditioning, life experiences and the current living environment.
Childhood conditions play a vital role in the formation of a person.
Human beings are formed by the age of five years and the experience is strongly rooted in the subconscious mind.
The positive energy embedded will help them to be good citizens.
However, the negative energy (i.e. childhood wounds) will lead them to being challenging human beings due to low self-esteem caused by the feeling of being powerless, abandonment and worthlessness.
Life experiences may induce negative energy into us. Based on Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the third need being the social need plays a vital part.
If a person is always being eliminated in the development of society and country, he/she will end up being frustrated or angry, and in turn will take revenge without realising.
This is one of the reasons for the origin of criminals, gangsters and terrorists.
The current living environment, sometimes known as peer pressure, also is vital in inducing the negative energy.
In the process of meeting the needs of others or competing for equal status, human beings carry out unethical activities such as breach of trust, corruption, bribery and even discrimination.
In a nutshell, no human being would like to harm a fellow human being.
The six enemies embedded in our subconscious mind may lead to the unethical activities.
Unethical activities will not be eradicated until we understand the actual meaning, fundamental cause and origin of the fundamental cause of being unethical.
Unethical activities can be eradicated when the vision/mission of an individual’s life is noble and the nation’s administration has good governance, transparency, control and measures.
Everyone, especially the “haves” accept that the inherent quality of human being is to have self-integrity which leads to having full control over their life and work towards the betterment of human beings.
Unethical behaviour can only be eradicated when “every pulse of us is filled with love towards fellow human beings”.
By DR RAJENDRAN MUTHUVELOO
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang
