Individuals in a collective whole

It’s like the two faces of one coin: a person who wishes to live fully as a human being needs to understand that the existence of one’s unique individuality has to be acknowledged, as well as the existence of the collective. One cannot exist without the other, although many people have gone to the extremes of both with very damaging results.

The systems that develop the collective aspect at the expense of the individual become rigid, autocratic, cruel and uncreative, often imposing a sterile uniformity on human thought and action in the belief that this is the way to maintain harmony and order. Whilst those systems – social, religious or political – that develop individualism above everything else, create narcissism and self-indulgence, resulting in a personal sense of isolation. This alienation is often the result of not developing the values of tolerance and acceptance, which are such a necessary part of human coexistence. 

Spiritually inclined individuals feel a personal sense of value. They clearly recognize their uniqueness without any false humility and have the feeling that there is the freedom to be whatever they choose to be. At the same time, their sense of personal independence allows them to come close to others and work with them. They do not have selfish independence. They get close to others because they have found fulfillment in their own self.

One who has truly found the value of the self above and beyond labels, name, fame and approval, can effectively cooperate within the collective and interact appropriately. It’s because such individuals not only feel themselves to be a part of the whole but, even more importantly, the collective feels them to be a part of the whole.

When birds fly to a warmer climate in winter, they flock together and start their journey as a collective. The success of the journey depends on the collective: if an individual bird does not join the group, it cannot reach the destination on its own. Furthermore, the leader of the formation does not remain the leader throughout the whole flight, but moves back and allows another to take its place. This repositioning continues throughout the flight until the destination is reached, allowing individual birds to contribute to the success.

It is therefore clear that if the collective respects the space of the individual, then it functions to serve the individual’s aspirations and differences. Alternatively, if the collective does not respect that space, it becomes repressive. In short, the individual needs to respect the collective and not go to the extremes of personal rights, and the collective must respect the individual and not go to the extremes in its use of systems.