The Moral Law

Philosopher Immanuel Kant 1724-1804 begins the conclusion of his book The Critique of Practical Reason 1788 with these extraordinary words: 8220;Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing wonder and awe, the more one steadily reflects on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within8221;. Like Adi Sankara arrives at God through the white heat of pure logic, Kant reasons his way to prove the materially unproven existence of God. The point of the book, after affirming that God is indeed there, is to spell out the point of life itself. It is that man should not merely seek to be happy but through obedience to that moral law, seek to become worthy of the happiness that God can bestow.

We can see the national context. A new government in power. School board results which precipitated lakhs of young hopefuls up the learning curve. Anxious parents who want 8220;the silver spoon to become gold-plated8221; as a Lefty recently said of an affluent woman, presently worried that though her son is in a fantastic college, he hasn8217;t 8220;found a focus8221;, unlike his sibling who seems 8220;all there8221;. But this has two sides to it. The Lefty is technically 8220;right8221; in wondering why the son of well-settled parents shouldn8217;t be allowed to take his time finding his life8217;s work. After all, he has the cushion, unlike most Indians. But equally, the poor performance of yet another child in the circle has all the other Mums and Dads biting their nails, because Reality hit so close to home. The present professional class knows that grades are the only key to open doors to good colleges and jobs.

So we come to the next level of inquiry. What is the definition of the 8220;good8221; goal? A personal comfort zone, which replicates the parental home? A corporate job that buys you a house, a car, a home theatre, membership in good clubs, tennis, swimming, squash, holidays somewhere 8220;nice8221;? Why ever not? Why shouldn8217;t anyone want these things? Now this is where the recognition of moral law seems to come in. It seems unreal to want only self-betterment without investing in the greater good of one8217;s milieu. The five thousand rupees one buys a pair of sports shoes with would put one8217;s maid8217;s son through one whole year of government school Rs 3,000 per annum and yet leave plenty over for books and uniforms. Is this mawkish or bribing fate? Perhaps not, if one also appreciates one8217;s good luck and 8216;pays back8217; with wholehearted effort. Perhaps morality springs from grateful awareness: just check out the 12-year-olds on the new TV show, 8216;India8217;s Child Genius8217;. Their plans to save the world are touching. But will the moral law within be allowed to live beyond the Tenth Board?