The ideal human

The following might sound like a defense but it is not meant as being so. That I might come across as a pessimist and a cynic to others is not surprising but it would be missing the point if those were the only conclusions one came to. I have, what I think, is a lofty idea of an ideal human being, an ideal that is unsurprisingly and consistently negated in the real world which leads to my disappointments. However, the ideal itself is noble, and as far as I can tell, achievable to varying degrees. I have come across some people who have succeeded on that ideal to different levels and it is those people whom I find attractive and interesting, at the inevitable cost of finding mundane those who do not succeed on it very well.

My ideal human being, whom I will refer to with the feminine pronoun with the implicit understanding that the idea itself applies equally to males, is, first and foremost, incredibly alive. Her most fundamental characteristic is strength from which may (or may not; it is inconsequential) derive other secondary properties. She might be helpful, sympathetic, understanding, altruistic, and humble but not because of weakness, not because she has been taught the virtues of these qualities by "lesser" people, but because of a certain charity, because she has strength to dispense. The trait that she does derive from strength is fairness. Fairness which allows her to admit to her "mistakes" and her "follies" and the strength which allows her not to be bogged down by them. Fairness which allows her to treat others with respect and with contempt as and when their actions deserve them (in her judgment of course). Fairness which allows her also to have a deep sense of human dignity, essentially expecting others to be responsible for their actions, to help them if they are ready to help themselves and to simply move on if they'd rather perish. In this sense she is not very emotional (and, therefore, not very traditionally human) seeing emotions as merely a clouding effect on good judgment and an impediment to being fair to others and to herself. She sees the world as a worthy stage and a worthy adversary, a necessity which makes possible a life such as hers, a life full of experiences, of victories and defeats, both equally interesting. She is neither proud nor humble but, in a sense, has the biggest conceit of them all, seeing herself, and not humanity at large, as the measure of all things, which, of course, simply derives as a necessity from her strength. She holds no grudges and no regrets and is too strong to feel the need to forgive, forgiveness being the exclusive domain of those who are too weak to do anything else. The most I can say is that she forgets without actively making an effort to forget. It is the sniveling and petty in this world who remember the "wrongs" done to them, in the hope that one day they will get their revenge either through some delayed action or through a divine agency (the concept of hell). They are too small and too inconsequential to even be remembered by someone as strong as her. There is a beautiful set of lines by Dinkar:

क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को जिसके पास गरल हो
उसका क्या जो दंतहीन विषरहित विनीत सरल हो

which translates as:

Forgiveness suits only those who have strength
Not those who are toothless, poison-less, mellow, and simple

because, let's face it, what other option does the latter group have but to forgive? I think this is pretty spot on but I don't think Dinkar goes far enough. Forgiveness, to the person I am idealizing, is entirely unnecessary. To her, others, on initial assumption, are just as strong as her and, by extension, would feel offended with such emotions as pity, sympathy, and forgiveness directed towards them.

This is a courageous conception of a human being and is in direct conflict with a religious and social one which implicitly forbids individual strength, independence, and immodesty. In my opinion this is also a very human, honest, and even sympathetic conception which is probably in line with an evolutionary perspective of life. It is uncomplicated, precisely like the rare person whom I find so fascinating.