What is it really? ?

It is not with revulsion that I read and watched all the hype about the rape and death of the victim. It is with all engrossing pity ... towards the society myself included.What we have seen is not just rape, though rape is the most visible aspect of the entire process of value degradation. We should condemn not the act but the value or valuelessness behind it. Rape is a transactional manifestation of the psychological rut we fell into. Rape, child abuse, disrespect to the elderly, humiliating the downtrodden etc are just symptoms. One can create laws to protect each of these segments but it is tantamount to dishing out remedy to the symptom rather than the cause of the disease. It is not blasphemic to state that the act is not reprehensible but the thought is. How many of us can claim that we are not corrupt thoughtwise. Men and women both confide in their hangout friends about their fascination with species of the other gender. So is the thought right and the act wrong? Act is a result of the context and other influences. So is the context the villain and the person innocent? Gandhiji lambasted himself while sitting in a whorehouse for the thought of approaching a whore though he unashamedly refused sex and cursed himself for long.</p>
<p dir=ltr>The only concern upto this point is not about avoiding the context or circumstances or catalysts to do the wrong thing. Anyway what is wrong.. any act of unkindness is a result of lack of empathy. A serial rapist has comprehended the undiluted fear and revulsion of his minor victim as one of tacit invitation to have sex.
One needs soul,  the primary device for the fundamental appreciation of empathy. The heart to understand another mind that overpowers one's own cravings... the eye to see the feelings... the eye to see beyond self.
It is time to bring on empathy.... there is a crying need to re discover humanity, time to see the soul of things..

Marketing that deserves a hug

As a follower of marketing one has this compulsive desire to watch ads.. I was watching it one day and felt very happy.. ask why? So many ads talk about happiness, be happy, open happiness, happy with Honda, believe in a happier tomorrow to name a few. Oh God, even the once uninspiring Godrej is talking about being happy. What has the world come to?

Everyone knows it. People want to see others happy, now brands too try to spread the elusive happiness to its customers.. just like spirituality – the joy of living, the transcendental happiness.

Now let us do a bit of comparison.

Whether it is the evolution of human race or tracing the habits of a single simple human being as he grows from a child to middle age, it depicts these stages. Mind, heart and soul.

Us – stage 1:
Initially he wants this and that. ‘I have 5 chocolates and you have only 3’ is dictated by the sensorial body influenced by ‘monkey’ mind.

Us – stage 2:
Emotional heart causes your love, break up and zindagi and it feels elated and broken, both avoidable.

Us – stage 3:
The third state of a man or woman is the awareness of ‘collective consciousness’ or the ‘one soul’ existence.

Now, marketing has reached this stage and am I happy about it?

Marketing stage 1:
Yes, marketing used to be product centric, transactional and appealed to the mind some 10 years ago. It was marked by rational product characteristics and hard features sell. for eg., only whirlpool has RO system for better quality – no one believes it anyway.

Marketing stage 2:
Then it was the era of emotional selling to the heart – emotional, aspirational benefits that sparks desire… ha ha ha .. the Red Tape ‘Live your Fantasy’ campaign wherein the guy can pick up any girl from the vending machine is an example. (the foolish looking guy with crooked legs can win anorexic girls is at least not unimaginable).

Marketing stage 3:
Then dawns the era of marketing that caters to the spirit or the collective human kind. It is not about product or benefits, but the vision of the organization and what does the organization stand for – tell you want to make a difference to the world. Who can forget the Nissan’s Polar bear ad that warns people of global warming?
I would hug the bear…. And of course anyone who supports the cause of social marketing.