FUNDAMENTALS OF INTEGRATIVE LIVING
 
(The four ‘I’s of life )
 

                                                        Integrity, intelligence, independence and individuality are the four ‘I’s (colloquially in-eyes or insights) of healthy humans who live integrative lives. (There are other types of simply ordinary, partisan, mixed-up and mixing life styles also). Integrity is the capacity that enables a person to remain anchored to one’s self or ‘core-mind’. It needs a lot of learnings and practices to form or develop this integrative capacity(see integrative life). The conscious mind which carries out day-to-day activities, goes on checking with the core-mind (or mental anchorage) for the trueness, correctness, relevance etc. of different ideas and actions. In ordinary living, if a person sticks to basics or fundamentals (foundation level values) in all activities, an integrative-formation (or capacity) forms in mind. This is called integrity. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th ed.) defines integrity as, ‘honesty, moral uprightness, wholeness and soundness’. Evidently, it is not honesty alone, uprightness alone, soundness or wholeness alone. It is a consequent and deeper mental formation or capacity, learned and acquired by long term living with honesty and other integrative values. So a father’s remark about a school principal,“ my son’s principal is a good teacher and administrator and he is a man of integrity also” is correct.
 
                                                        Intelligent and integrative living with morals and values cause independence and independence within social-living brings individuality. (See integrative life.) A person of integrity, lives independently, maintaining individuality in society using his/her intelligence and values. Erosion of order, morals and values in life can cause disruption of deeper values(or fundamental valuea) and integrity. Hence intelligent life with values and morals leads to independence and individuality.
 
                                                        Now come to ordinary, familial and social ways of living of common folks. These persons live simply ordinary lives within family group, neighbourhood community and society. They would be following some traditional, professional, communal or religious ways of life. Without goading , disciplining, monitoring and controlling by different social/community organizers, all ordinary and popular ways of life are bound to become loose, disorganized and dirty (see religious life). What is goaded and nurtured in familial and social ways of living are interdependence, family morals and social values. These integrative and wholesome teachings and life-models are provided by extraordinary persons of integrity (see integrity). These life-models are holistic. The chart (Fig. 1) below shows the relationships between different persons and groups in a community. Persons living disintegratively (with no values or social discipline) without familial contacts and social commitments would get used or misused by others and end up in immorality, life of pleasures, diseases etc. (see the third group in Fig.1). Fig. 1 is valid for individuals and groups/societies following any philosophy of life, viz., spiritual and/or religious, materialistic, atheistic, agnostic, positivistic, scientific, Marxist etc.
 
 
Fig.1 Most fundamental aspects and divisions of a community/mega-society taking into consideration
health, morals, values and self-discipline.
 
 
                                                        The above chart showed the three fundamental divisions of a community. Now what are the fundamentals of living an integrative life, taking into consideration different ideologies of life, religions, faith-groups, professions, wealth-groups etc. in a mega-society. Figure 2 shows the fundamentals of life leading to integrity, wisdom and peace. Religiously or spiritually seeing, life’s ultimate goal is to attain moksha, mukti (from worldly bondages), heaven, holiness and yoga (or unity with universal spirit) etc., depending upon different social models (or philosophies) of life. What are the objective (see objectivity scale) and exact meanings of these terms is difficult or impossible to state, since there is a lot of mythical, religious, beliefs and faith based contents in them; or nothing objective other than ‘peaceful end’ ( Fig.2) . Total peace can be attained only through knowledge and resulting wisdom . (see atozoflife)
 
 
 
Fig. 2 Different principles, goals and ways of life, leading to peace. (Infants and children are totally dependent on parents and adults and on their integrity,intelligence and values.)
 
 
                                                        After achieving stability of life in stage 4 (Fig. 2), if one opts for more wealth and power through organized groups (stage 5), one would become more institutionalized and members or leaders of different types (see wealth groups). Thereafter, liberation from worldly (or institutionalized) bondages is difficult. In this context, the concept of ‘four-phased ashramas’ of life is very relevant, viz., infancy and childhood, adulthood and family life, retiring life (or van prasth) and ascetic life leading to peace, subjective experiences etc.).
 
                                                        At the 5th stage(Fig.2) start different groups, industries and companies (say of 10 or 10000 members) to mass-produce and distribute various products, generating incomes for mass of citizens and share holders. In this process, many persons turn towards more wealth, power and fame through various activities and jobs in large organized farms, industries and companies. Companies with thousands of employees start their own organizations for holidays, pleasures and luxuries to boost business, buoyancy and consumption. This affects society as a whole and disintegration and ill-health are caused at different levels or sections. Many companies and industries together influence millions of people through production, distribution, services etc., in their different stages of life through education, employment, enjoyments and luxuries. In this background, governments with strong social and ideological commitments (through social policies and programmes) become a necessity to integrate social values, social changes, growth and development (see limits of wealth). Without this, society would disintegrate into wealth driven (capitalist), liberal ways of life as seen now in different regions, causing unhealthy changes and distructions at national and international levels (see Modern Dynosaurs). What follow are more liberalism, pleasures and wealth controlled societies leading to severe disintegration in healthy social life.
 
 
 
   QUOTATIONS ON INTEGRATIVE LIFE
  1. Live within one’s limits and one’s means with aims and goals.
  2. Never give up living in complex and messy society; life is to live.
  3. Without integrity all God’s gifts are bitter.
  4. Spirituality means naturality or naturalness. The closer one is to nature, the closer that person is to the spirit of nature.
  5. Honesty is the best policy, because it is a proof of consistency and integrity.
 
         ( See www.atozofliving.org/Quotation-title/quotation.html for more selected quotations)