Perception is what this world thrives on. Everything is always about the brand. This world has suddenly lost all confidence in the intrinsic qualities of a human being. What is more important is the brand which he carries. Life has suddenly shrunk into the chaos of business cards. Everyone wants a bigger and better looking card. Gone are the days when the individual goodness and humility stood the first priority for humans.
Take IIT for example. The students there are no better than any of the other engineering colleges. The course remains the same and so does the knowledge domain of the teachers. So what makes the IITs the most coveted colleges in India? Its perception. Since our inception we are made to believe that IITs are the best colleges in India. We are told that getting into them is no joke and that if we do manage to get in, it would mean a fat paycheck, respect everywhere and a painfree passage through a much easier life. And there it begins.. Everyone wants to get those things in life and so we strive to be the ' Best'. Now in reality, getting all those things at the same time is impossible and even if it were to be possible, there is no compulsory provision that only an IITian can achieve those. But its something our parents conveniently forget to teach us. And so the struggle begins. We create an illusion in our heads and long to realize it. We become too afraid to look beyond the IITs. Same is the case with the society. A guy from IIT, who's no better than a guy from some other college, would receive much more appreciation and approval in the society than the poor non-IITian.
So what makes the difference? The answer lies in the phenomenon called perception. We are all pawns in the mindless propagation of this phenomenon. From the time we are born to the time we take the last breath, its merely the perceptions that we care about. Come to think of it, the whole ‘society’ concept is just another euphemism for perception. “We shouldn’t be shown in this light. What will the society say?”, “avoid the company of troublemakers. What will the society think?”. These are just a couple of things we have all heard during our lifetime. Kinda makes you wonder if it really is worth it?
Schadenfreude is the term that should be used to denote our society. Schadenfreude means taking spiteful malicious delight in the misfortune of others. Its ugly and taboo so no one really accepts its presence, but within the coffers of everyone’s minds its pretty much prevalent. We as a society find a pleasure in watching others fail and therein lay the roots of the perception bug. We don’t want others to look down upon us, make fun of us behind our backs, and hear snickering when we pass people in the hallways.
There is no doubt that the IITs or the IIMs are very good colleges and that the students there are one of the brightest minds in our country but one must not see it as the end of the road if one doesn’t get in. Ultimately its who you are that defines you as a person and not where you received your education. Parents should realize this and convey the same to their children. People from better colleges should realize this before canning and making fun of the guy coming from a lesser known college. Compassion is a drug to cure this problem of perception, the only question is – do we want to be cured?
