When choices stray from moral and ethical principles, it’s a sign that faulty interpretations are at play
Published Date – 28 March 2025, 08:24 PM
By B Maria Kumar
In the third week of March 2025, a truly memorable event unfolded in our lives, stirring not only excitement and exhilaration but also prompting deep reflections and quiet introspections.
We, the civil servants of the 1985 batch, had gathered in Delhi to celebrate our ruby reunion. The venue soon turned into a lively haven, where the joy of spotting long-forgotten colleagues sparked awe and wonder. While many of us had remained in touch off and on over the years, seeing some faces in person after such a long time was something else altogether.
After the initial handshakes and affectionate hugs, we found ourselves drifting back to the sweet memories of our Mussoorie days, wandering through the undulating campus and trekking along the serpentine trails of the Queen of the Hills. As I conversed with many of my long-lost brethren in service, I was struck by the remarkable transformation in their worldviews. I’m sure they noticed similar shifts in mine too. Perspectives once held with conviction 40 years ago now seemed so different in hindsight that I couldn’t help but smile in amusement.
Turnaround in Outlooks
But this change, I sensed, was for the better. Time and maturity, it appears, do make us more grounded, at least when we look at a larger sample. Opinions we once proudly deemed wise now seem naive through the lens of our present selves. The bubbling energy we took for granted while meandering towards the snow-capped peaks has become the most coveted possession that we can no longer reclaim, not even in our wildest dreams. And yet, what struck me most was how the subjective confidence of our youthful 20s had evolved into a logical positivity as we now inch closer to our 70s.
After subtle crosschecks of my observations, I concluded that the radical turnaround in our outlooks over four decades could be attributed to what we commonly refer to as interpretation. Indeed, how we interpret people, situations, and life itself can shape our journey, either for the better or otherwise, depending on how we think and act.
The Way We Interpret
Beyond the non-essential aspects of our day-to-day lives, there are certain fundamentals that are crucial to the essence of human existence, such as purpose, meaning, freedom, joy and the power of choice. The way we interpret these vital concepts can transform not only our individual lives but also the trajectory of humanity at large, lifting both to more favourable and fulfilling levels.
In this context, an oft-quoted maxim by Karl Marx becomes particularly relevant: “Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.” While this statement is itself another interpretation, it points out a deeper truth, emphasising that every idea can be viewed from a different angle, and sometimes, a fresh perspective can bring about far better outcomes than what currently exists.
Let’s take, for example, Albert Einstein’s reinterpretation of space and time. By challenging the long-established ‘absolute’ framework, Einstein revolutionised modern physics with his theory of relativity, offering a dynamic view of the space-time continuum. This novel conception opened doors to unimaginable advances in science and technology — proof of how transformative a new interpretation can be.
A rational mindset enables us to assess where previous interpretations may have gone wrong, offering a path to learn, reflect, and refine both our thinking and our actions
Similarly, Ronald Ross, a Nobel laureate from British India, more precisely from Secunderabad, refused to accept the prevailing belief that malaria spread through “bad air” (mal-aria). Instead, through meticulous laboratory research, he discovered that the disease was transmitted by mosquito-borne parasites. This epoch-making discovery not only helped save thousands of lives in the malaria-infested jungles of Panama but also enabled the successful and timely completion of the Panama Canal in 1914.
Faulty Interpretations
On the flip side, misinterpretations can wreak havoc. When people fail to interpret the purpose and meaning of life with depth and clarity, it often leads to confusion, despair, or even destruction. When choices stray from moral and ethical principles, it’s a sign that faulty interpretations are at play. Humanity has long suffered the consequences of misguided judgments. The Holocaust, for instance, stands as a horrific example of how a perverse interpretation of racial “purity” led to the extermination of millions of innocent lives under the Nazi regime.
Even today, racial discrimination, caste prejudices, gender inequalities, and similar social ills continue to rear their heads — sometimes discreetly, sometimes blatantly — driven by ignorance and the absence of wisdom. Deliberate unawareness and wilful negligence in understanding things from the right perspective are bound to amplify suffering. That is why, echoing Marx, there remains a need not just to reinterpret certain aspects of outlook but to change them.
Balanced Interpretations
Changing the way we interpret — how, when and why — is a natural tendency observed across the world. Our views are often shaped by a variety of factors like personal experience, maturity of mind, new knowledge, scientific discoveries, contextual needs, sociocultural undercurrents and cognitive biases. Some of these influences may be constructive, others potentially harmful, and some ambiguous in their impact. In such a complex landscape, what we need is a well-thought-out and holistic approach to interpretations that strive for the collective good.
Viewing people, situations and events without premeditated judgments, while focusing on solutions rather than problems, helps build an even-handed framework for reality-calibrated understanding. A rational mindset enables us to assess where previous interpretations may have gone wrong, offering a path to learn, reflect and refine both our thinking and our actions. Letting emotions dominate the process often leads to further distortions, allowing biases to cloud judgment. Approaching ground realities with intellectual humility clears away preconceived notions and paves the way for fact-based, balanced interpretations.
Ultimately, the goal is to remain neither rigidly optimistic nor hopelessly pessimistic, but to stay realistic, objective and adaptive. That is the need of the hour to cultivate mindful, evolving interpretations that contribute meaningfully to improving the human condition.
(The author, a recipient of National Rajbhasha Gaurav and De Nobili Awards, is a retired IPS officer)