Man - a cultural animal

Who is a man? There are so many billions of different living creatures in this world. Some under water some over land and some on both. These are basically classified as plants and animals. Man is an animal. But what is the difference between man and other animals. Animals can also see. On many occasions they have better hearing power than humans.

They are also capable of making sounds to communicate. We can't say that they can't think - they are capable of that too. They also live, reproduce and die just like humans. Then what's the difference.

Man is a cultural animal. Just think - When they were roaming like animals, what could be the difference between them and other animals. They were just doing the same things that animals are still doing now. Animals don't have any rules. They can do what ever they want to if possible by them. If they want to eat, they eat, if they want to sleep they sleep and if they want to mate, they mate.

CULTURE - is the main difference. Man developed a culture which actually differentiated him from other animals. He started laying rules for life and started following them together with his community. When he was an animal, if he wants to mate a woman he would have used his might to get her. Even if a tussle arises between two men on any item be it food, abode, woman or anything else only the might would have been right. Who ever wins gains the right to own it. Just like all other animals he just wandered here and there and did whatever was possible to him.

Slowly when human communities started growing, he should have started framing rules. These communities might have come into existence for sharing resources like river banks etc. When man was an individual animal, he wouldn't have abided by any rules but when he became a part of a community he had to abide by the rules. That should have been when 'Might is right' policy first lost its supremacy in the world. This rulebook should have started growing and which in course of time gave way to the birth of culture.

The culture may not be something which is written and handed over to generations. It should have been something which grew or evolved during a longer time-frame. Also it varies from place to place based on many criteria like present situations, geographic locations etc. Some grew faster and some slower. But one of the most important points to note is that he started dressing in such a manner that his sexual parts are covered - be it for man or for woman. Just imagine - why didn't he create a dress which covered only his belly or thighs? May be he should have wanted to control himself under that department. There could be other reasons too - but I sincerely feel that this should have been the reason as various cultures round the world did almost the same kind of covering using different means. Though he had developed his dressing sense later, his minimum clothing till now stands the same.

I strongly feel that one of the major aspects in a culture is the development of relationships. He created several relations around him - father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece etc. He differentiated between his relations like mother, sister and daughter with other women. He created an agreement called marriage before entering into a relationship with a woman. Though this agreement differed by name, practices, rituals etc almost all cultures in the world had this agreement. Only after this engagement a man who roamed like an animal was allowed to mate a woman.

Though man got changed from an uncultured animal to a man, he still has his animal instincts at his deep. These instincts do vary between individuals and sometimes even between communities. There could be many instances in the life of a man when his animal instincts pop up. How well he controls, suppresses or manages it does matter. Whenever a man loses control over himself - his temper, his sensual arousals etc he becomes an animal. Not that its possible for everyone to hold themselves throughout their life but it is definitely not impossible. Everyone should aim to reach such a stage. They should always have control over themselves. EVen during situations when they lose their temper how well they re-cuperate back to control themselves is very important.

Cruelity, barbarism and other associated inhuman activities cannot be a part of any culture. Whenever a man relishes such acts, it means he is going back to his roots. May be that could be a reason why bullfights still find a place in such a advanced world. Poor creatures are running on the ground in fright and man with his animal instincts is still fighting with it - something which he did a few thousand years ago too. The policy 'Might is right' has to be killed. The world became a man's world because he was mightier than the woman. Now that the state of women has changed in this world because this policy has got reduced - though not fully. They are able to stand on par with men. But it doesn't mean that if he mates with five women she can also do the same. If that happens we are back as animals. Both of them have to abide by some rules. They have to restrict themselves as only humans and live with only one mate.

These are some important aspects of a good culture. A good culture is something which prefers peace but still values bravery and valour. Power should be used only to win and not to kill. Men and women should be equal. Infidelity and cross-mating should vanish. Barbarism and inhumanity should be read/heard (if required) only as history and not as current affairs. He should completely stop his atrocities towards nature and start living along with it. Might is right should then be wrong.

Let us live and die as humans.