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Effects of climate and culture
Climate influences the people to adapt certain particular patterns of life and
decides the limits of human productivity and efficiency. These patterns of life,
the general, socially prevalent estimation of human potential and the consequent
barriers or aids placed in the lives of individuals constitutes the culture of a
particular place. Each culture is different because its creation is mainly
influenced by the climate of the place where it came into being, which in turn
is much more diverse. The force of climate is an unseen one. Therefore, it is
all the more powerful. It exerts its influence all the time and man is powerless
over it without technology. If all mankind should have the precious opportunity
to live life as well as he or she can, this unseen force, that of climate has to
be reckoned with and conquered. I’ve observed a balance in a community as well
as in people. This balance tends to be overall positive or negative, depending
on the climate. No matter whatever is done, positive or negative, the overall
balance will return to the one that is dictated by the climate. We sweat more;
we need more water and foods to replace lost nutrients and regain internal body
balance, and hence are inefficient and undependable in a hot climate. Above all,
this causes us to have a very low self-regard. This causes us to allow invaders
to take away our freedom and sense of equality. We do not progress. We cling to
our superstitions for relief. We imagine our superiority though it does not
exist. Superstitions shield us from realizing what nature has done to us and is
continuing to do to us. They will remain as obstacles in our progress. They will
continue to keep us where we are, as slaves in the order prescribed by nature.
Different cultures have different notions as to what is right or wrong,
acceptable or unacceptable. It can be fairly said that certain cultures tend to
inhibit the individual while others tend to liberate the individual and allow
him or her to be the best that they can be. A climate conducive to the creation
of strong, well developed individuals will doubtlessly go hand in hand with a
glorious history as well as a sensible, less superstitious culture. The value of
each individual in that culture will be high indeed because of its liberating,
uninhibitive nature. Hence, there will be lesser dissent and discontent, which
in turn spurs and aids each individual in the direction of progress. So the
deciding factor in whether a culture inhibits or develops a person is ultimately
the climate that has influenced its creation. The factor most influencing the
creation of a culture is the climate of the place and the history of the people
belonging to the culture. The people, their culture, their caliber, their
strengths and weaknesses influence the making of their history.
Whatever inhibits a person, on a large scale such as the climate or culture,
inhibits the human race and is an obstacle in its progress. People hang on to
their culture. We cannot remove it. The climate is too mammoth a factor to be
even considered seriously for removal. So what do we do? If neither climate nor
culture were allowed to cause humans to live below human standards, one that has
been accepted internationally, that would be enough. Human progress would not be
obstructed anymore. How you feel inside is centrally important to all your
bodily and mental functions. How you feel depends on what you’ve been fed and
what climate you are in. Food that takes care of your nutrition needs and
climate that aids your productivity.
In a community if one person tries to be good and succeeds at it, others don’t
become better (unless the climate allows it), they become worse and their
influence over him gets stronger and stronger as long as he retains his point of
superiority. This is ultimately what we call temptation and the devil’s
activities. One of the forms of influence exerted on the good person is harsh,
unjustified, uncalled for criticism, which becomes stronger and stronger making
the good person ultimately lose hope in himself as well as his self esteem.
Soon, he plunges down to attain the equilibrium, which is the aim of all
systems, whether a single individual or a community, whether animate or
inanimate. But the good thing about a cool, temperate or even cold type of
climate is that the ultimate equilibrium reached is strongly inclined to be in
the very good or excellent region with regard to humans. Man becomes all the
more stronger when he realizes the presence of this balance as existent in all
types of systems in nature, including the ones directly concerning him.
With religion, man is without worries. He isn’t afraid of death, of hardship, of
his enemies, of anything. When he chooses to produce numerous offspring, he
thinks, ‘God will take care of them.’ Just imagine how it will be if everybody
thought the same. Climate causes the majority of human beings to think this way,
which is why we have the pretty undesirable state in which the human race finds
itself today. Living beings adapt their bodily features and functions to
survive. Species, as a whole adapt their mode of living and codes of conduct to
survive. This is what the human species does, whether in the polar caps or in
the torrid equator. Unfortunately, the species adapts at the equator by adopting
a way of life and society that gives too little importance to individual
abilities, interests and freedom, due to the negative influence of climate.
History has shown us that these people lose their freedom not only at the
individual level but also as communities and nations. Inequality was thought to
be a necessary evil, especially in olden times, for the maintenance of social
order. But today we have vastly advanced technology working for us. This does
eliminate the need for inequality previously thought necessary.
How does climate affect a person? Living in a tropical climate is tiresome and
expends a lot of energy. This is inefficiency. This inefficiency carries over to
other spheres of life, whether work, play or social behavior. A general feeling
of worthlessness prevails as a person is ravaged in body and mind by the forces
of nature, i.e. heat and rain. Life becomes a tiresome affair altogether. Life
in short means much less to that individual than it does to a person who doesn’t
have nature standing in his way. He thinks life is supposed to be hard and lives
the hard way. He thinks that one ought to work very hard to get something in
life. He thinks that one ought to work hard for simple survival, and therefore
has to. This may have been true in the days when man was little better than
animals. But today man has advanced to a degree when he can change the
environment including its temperature while still living in the hot tropical
forest. This ought to be done first for further progress to follow because that
is what will change his gloomy outlook on life. That is what will increase his
feelings of self-worth. That is what will aid him in acting more like a human
being and less like an animal. If we aim for this sort of royal treatment for
humans, i.e., if we treat them according to the best that they can be, their
activities will be more productive and less destructive.
We can and ought to stop humans from being born where they cannot be treated
royally or at least with basic human dignity. But we don't, with the result
being that one child is being born approximately every second into poverty.
These children will not have access to safe food and drinking water and their
very existence is threatened from the moment of birth by factors such as
malnutrition, disease and hunger. These children will have to work hard to
attain human dignity. Human dignity has to be worked for, fought for and died
for. Because, like everything else, there is not enough for everyone.
Effects of climate on the mind and body >
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