IF YOU’RE LONELY WHEN YOU ARE ALONE, YOU ARE IN BAD COMPANY.

In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’z Nobel Prize-winning book ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ there is a famous dialogue of Colonel Jose Arcsdio Buendia; when I am alone, the ghosts of my past and the dreams of my future conspire to destroy me in front of myself. This statement reflects the vulnerabilities of an individual’s loneliness in the face of uncertainties that surrounds his or her being.

George Carlin, the witty comedian once did an act on the difference between ‘being alone’ and ‘being lonely’. He said when one is alone, he talks to himself whereas when one is lonely, he fights himself. This shows how being lonely becomes self-destructive so frequently.

There are undoubted, many positive aspects of being alone. Rini Descartes would be changing declaration is a supporter of self-reflection and solitude when he says ‘cogito ergo sum’ - ‘I think therefore I am’. being alone is thus a means of self-realization and introspection which aids a better living.

Buddhism, Taoism, and even Protestant Churches emphasize primary moral, mental, physical, and sexual abstinence. However, their ‘loneliness’ is not targeted toward the vacancy of the mind. They ask us to fill our hearts and minds with love for god. Moreover, ‘an empty mind is a Devil’s workshop’ is an age-old proverb that exposes the perils of loneliness.

Loneliness makes human cognition an easy target of ‘bad company’ that includes hazardous tendencies that lead to moral, physical, and mental decay. The popular song ‘Bad Company is me alone’ by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen exhibits this aptly.

History has witnessed to fall of emperors, patriarchs, and warriors who harmed themselves because of the solitude of power. Napoleon’s ‘Continental Blockade’ was a policy of isolationism that led to his fall at Waterloo in 1815. United States ‘Monroe Doctrine’ of isolation from geopolitics led to the ‘Pearl Harbour’ massacre during world war second.

Mythology gives us several illustrations of ‘loneliness’ causing massive defeats. A contemporary interpretation of Ramayana by Devdutt Patnaik says that Ravana’s ten heads were not only a mark of ten times knowledge but also ‘ten times’ loneliness that he felt and attempted to mitigate through the conversations he had with himself.

Just like the nine other heads turned out to be the bad company for Ravana, the many evils like drug abuse, extremism, mental paranoia, and suicidal tendencies surround an individual as bad company to the lonely. Terrorism and separatist ideology conquer the hearts and minds of lonely youth who are falsely promised heavenly returns.

Nation’s foreign policy as well as attitude towards the domestic sphere also perpetuate loneliness in some renowned cases. Guy Delisle’s graphic novel ‘Pyongyang’ shows this in North Korea today. The bad company of economic autarky, nationalistic authoritarianism, and the abolition of civil rights have made the country soothingly lonely.

Sigmund Freud in his magnum opus ‘ Interpreter of Dreams’ explains through psychoanalysis that it is not necessary to be physically alone in order to feel loneliness. He remarks that loneliness can arise from a constant sense of alienation or a feeling of outlandishness while being a part of a community.

Slavery Zizek the great leftist philosopher capitalism has led to the alienation of human relations, as Karl Marx had predicted. The commodification of virtues has set a price stay on happiness. Thus, the poor and vulnerable sections as well as the powerless women and children experience loneliness and destitution.

The Global Disease Burden Report 2017 shows that mental illness has risen more than 45% among Non-communicable Diseases from 2005-07 to 2015-17. One-third of this is constituted by depression and anxiety. Over two in every ten children nowadays is addicted to Digital Gadgetry and online gaming according to World Health Organization.

Children-parent and student-teacher relationships have degenerated to a new low. The notions of ‘demographic dividend’ and ‘cut-throat’ competition have led to the growing distance between friends and neighbors. The saying ‘If you cry, you cry alone but if you laugh the world laughs with you’ has never been so suitable than today.

The celebrated Objectivist Author Ayn Rand’s book ‘Fountainhead’ explores the theme of a ‘loneliness epidemic’ in an Urban jungle. It follows Howard Roark as a lonely architect through his rise and fall. All other characters seem like a vicious circle of bad company around him forcing him to repudiate his ideals and principles.

Society was never and will never be a monolith. John Jacques Rowssean praises the ‘natural society’ while John Locke extolls the ‘civil society’. Both differ in the manner of individual living, but, they agree on the fact that if harmony is to be maintained- the group should never give way to any individual.

The example of Adolf Hitler is a classic case of the loneliness of one person leading to chaos in the entire World order. In Mein Kampf, Hitler writes about how he was alone as a child and in his youth when he wanted to be a painter but had to enroll in the German Army. ‘Treaty of Versailles in 1919 clearly declared that Germany alone was responsible for world war first and had to pay war reparations as well as its colonies. Loneliness within Europe, was thus, a major factor in the next world war.

Heath Ledger, the actor who played the villain Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ died because of solitude and mental trauma inflicted on him by his complex character. He was only 28 years old and hence a huge loss to the cinema.

Opposed to the above two examples, there is the case of Mahatma Gandhi who meditated alone for hours in his Tolstoy Farm and Sabarmati Ashram. However, he knew that millions of Indians were with him all the time, therefore, there was no loneliness in being alone and thinking about the Indian struggle for freedom.

The Bhakti sects like Sufi Tariqas like Chishti's and Nagore's emphasized the power of being alone(with God). Thus, there was loneliness within a mass of disciples. This is a positive example of how a unilateral relationship with oneself should be balanced by a multi-lateral relationship with the people around you.

In today’s consumerist culture, the political, social and economic power of the individual are widely recognized. However, we must realize that these powers are intact only because of reasonable restrictions. They function within the paradigm of ‘society’ and not alone. Rise of lonely megalomania and vested interests must be in check. For constant vigil is the price of freedom.

India has taken several steps to imbibe communitarian beliefs in its citizens. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and organization such as NIMHANS have been promoting the fight against anxiety, depression and mental illness. However, much more needs to be done in terms of the number of psychiatrists, psychologists and community healers on a regional basis.

The gender gap, age gap as well as the urban-rural divide must be addressed Elderly, women and children require more assistance as Article 41 and Article 45 of constitution delineate. Socially excluded sections and vulnerable tribal groups fall prey to ‘bad company’ due to neglect of their welfare by the mainstream. Thus, close integration initiatives like ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ must be promoted.

Article 51A as well as the preamble supports ‘brotherhood’ and ‘fraternity’ respectively. Loneliness is an impediment to their proliferation and, Lens, must be erased. We must remember Shri Narayana Guru’s call by uniting drops of water that are evaporated easily, we must become an ocean which is eternal, ‘one and yet many.’