Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad B.Tech III HUMAN VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS Previous Question Paper (November/December - 2020 - R15)

Human aspirations are fundamentally centered on the continuous pursuit of happiness (suvidha) and prosperity (samriddhi). To fulfill these, one must adopt a holistic approach that balances physical facilities with the right understanding and relationship harmony.

The method to fulfill these aspirations involves three core components:

1. Right Understanding: Developing the ability to distinguish between physical needs and the need for continuous happiness. This involves self-exploration to understand one's own nature and the nature of existence.
2. Relationship: Establishing mutual trust and respect with other human beings, which is the foundation of a harmonious society.
3. Physical Facilities: Ensuring the availability of material goods through labor and production, while recognizing that these are necessary but not sufficient for complete fulfillment.

Living in harmony at various levels is essential for a balanced life:

• Individual Level: Achieving harmony within oneself by aligning thoughts, desires, and actions. This requires self-regulation and self-exploration to ensure that the individual is at peace.
• Family Level: Building relationships based on trust (vishwas) and respect (samman). Trust is the foundational value, while respect is the right evaluation of the other person.
• Society Level: Extending the feeling of harmony from the family to the community. This involves moving from a family-centric view to a society-centric view, fostering fearlessness and mutual cooperation.
• Nature/Existence Level: Recognizing the interconnectedness of all entities in nature. This involves living in a way that is mutually enriching, ensuring that human activities do not deplete the environment but rather contribute to the ecological balance.

By integrating these levels, an individual moves from a state of conflict to a state of coexistence, which is the ultimate goal of human existence.

Self-exploration is the process of finding out what is valuable to me by investigating within myself. The mechanism for this process relies on two key components: natural acceptance and experiential validation.

Natural acceptance is the innate, invariant, and universal faculty of human beings to perceive what is inherently good or right. It is not dependent on time, place, or individual belief systems; it is the core of our being that remains constant. When we explore a proposal, we check if it resonates with our natural acceptance. If a proposal is in harmony with our natural acceptance, it feels right and leads to a state of inner consistency.

Experiential validation is the process of verifying these proposals through practical application in our daily lives. It involves two steps: first, observing the behavior and outcomes in our own life based on the proposal, and second, observing the behavior and outcomes in our interactions with others and nature. If the proposal leads to mutual happiness and mutual prosperity, it is validated as true.

The basic requirements for the fulfillment of human aspirations are:

1. Right Understanding: Gaining clarity about the harmony at all levels of existence, from the individual to the entire order of nature. This is the foundation for all human activities.
2. Relationship: Establishing and maintaining relationships with other human beings based on mutual respect and trust.
3. Physical Facilities: Ensuring the availability of material goods necessary for bodily sustenance. Importantly, these must be produced and consumed in a manner that is sustainable and in harmony with nature.

These three requirements are hierarchical; right understanding is the primary need, followed by the need for healthy relationships, and finally, the need for physical facilities. Misplacing this priority—such as seeking happiness primarily through physical facilities—leads to imbalance and dissatisfaction.