India is our country, we feel proud to call ourselves as Indians. Why we feel proud is because there are certain cultures and customs that come naturally to us on account of being an Indian.
Many traditions that our ancestors followed and we have been taking it across in our blood even today are part of our culture systems that come to us naturally.
We live in a set up that gives us the feeling of being part of a wholesome culture that teaches us values to do the right things, something that tells us about our own selves, the rich heritage that we are proudly part of, etc.
This feeling of oneness with our culture and traditions comes within a definite set up and this is exactly what we call as society. In a society, we are expected to live in co-operation with our fellow community members and maintain peace and harmony with one another.
There are no definite rules and regulations laid out to bring about peace and harmony, but it is a kind of mutual understanding and basis of co-existence that creates a need for peaceful loving.
If we lived in a joint family, the big family set up could be treated as a society, for example. Within the family, the elders make the rules of the house and the youngsters are expected to follow them without questioning.
There are certain principles that the family has, and is expected to be followed by all members. These may not be rules as such, but a few doctrines that every family has and respects them for their own benefit.
Going against these rules may create conflict within the house, much to the anger of the elders and things may go hay-wire and that’s when resolving issues become important. The same thing happens in a larger societal place as well.
Respect your Society
We see lots of people who live in our country but have all the love for a totally different country that they are not part of. That’s because they find it difficult to go by the norms of the society they live in and prefer moving towards a different societal set up that has some other norms of their own.
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We find it very common from elders that, when a married woman steps out of the house without the sacred vermilion on her forehead, it’s going to be talked about by all people in their neighborhood. Why this happens, is because, the society she lives in, has pressed the fact from ages that the vermillion on the head is a must for married woman.
If it isn’t present, then that’s called a bad omen. This simply means that, society starts treating this as a norm and indirectly applies to all people living around there. Whether it is really acceptable or not is a different question, but there are certain perception that goes with societal norms.
Society is formed by people who think in a certain way, whose behavior is influenced by the people belonging to the particular society and the thinking goes in line with the general opinion formed within the common set up. Let us take up an example of festival celebrations within the community.
If it’s the time of dasara, we can see the women of the community gathering together at a community hall and taking part in the preparations and organizations of various activities for devotees. Why do such a large number of people come forward to take part in such events is the next question to think over.
That is because of their common belief about the goodness that persists in taking part in such events and also that a huge crowd puller activity is going to be based on a lot of self interest.
The common thoughts prevailing in the community regarding celebrations of such communal events marks the unity of people and their belief systems, which is further strengthened on such accounts.
Within a large society, people with like-minded ideas and belief systems share common liking for certain things and activities and they get together to create an encouraging atmosphere to spread the word to other places.
Society as a Unit
We as individuals are smaller sub units of a large unit called society. The society around us teaches us to be tolerant towards each other. When there is a happy moment for our neighbor staying beside our house, we greet them as well as a token of appreciation.
Why should we actually greet our neighbor, they may be unrelated to us and we might have no personal connection with them as well. But our cultural instincts make us create the goodwill between two individuals and that is exactly why we go ahead and shake hands with them.
Suppose a school boy has a fall while he is playing in the park and his parents are away and unaware about the fall. Immediately, people around the small child flock to him to see that the child has not suffered any big injury on account of the fall.
From where does this concern for an unknown child spring from? We find no connection with the small child as such. The answer is, we have a certain caring tendency towards the child that comes naturally to us. Our society around us teaches us to care for people around us.
Nobody in person actually comes to teach us these qualities, we learn by observing these acts from others. It comes without us having to think whether to actually do it or not.
Qualities we learn from our Society
Society teaches us to be good citizens of the country . We imbibe values of hospitality and mutual concern for each other through daily interactions with people in the society. Society enables people to think in a broader way, it teaches us to be concerned about our fellow beings.
It gives us space to show love and respect for each other. Not only humans, but we ought to be compassionate about other creatures as well. We have to learn to tolerate different kinds of mentalities and accept different opinions from various generations of people.
We have to learn to take care of the old, society allows us to be respectful and caring towards our elders. We all love little children, we have to be patient towards them.
Society consists of people from all walks of life. We have working as well as the non working community staying together in families. Men are the main bread-earners of the family and women support their income. Some women choose to be home makers to take care of their children and the aged people in their homes.
We have to treat them with dignity. We have all kinds of professionals within the society. Some may be engineers, doctors, lawyers, technicians etc. some other may prefer teaching, banking, having their own businesses etc. We have to be tolerant towards all kinds of people from all walks of life.
Society also provides various shopping centers, movie halls, malls, complexes, areas for entertainment, etc. Community halls within the society provide space for people gathering to attend functions or other important events. Playgrounds and parks provide recreation for children, elderly and other members of the society.
Banks and other financial institutions aid citizens in financial saving opportunities. Loans are provided by banks for personal uses in case people have to borrow money. Educational institutions are major part of society where in students spend maximum of their time doing their studies and excel in higher education to achieve their degrees and become professionally capable.
Jobs are provided in any large society at both the government and at the private levels and concerns. Hospitals treat sick patients and provide appropriate medication. Timely administration of right medicines is very important in any treatment.
The society should also be considered about health and hygiene concerns to be rid of any diseases and infections. Security concerns are a bigger matter in any society and they should be given priority over other factors. Law makers should ensure smooth implementation of law of the land.
Temples and other religious places are part of the society and attract people in thousands. Devotion and spirituality give peace of mind to people and that is the reason people opt for them as and when they start ageing. Society by and large is part and parcel of a person and that is what makes a person what he is in the society.
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