Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible

In the 14th century, the Church proclaimed that the Earth was the Centre of the universe, and all other celestial bodies orbited around the Earth. For many years, this illogical and completely unscientific rule was followed by every astronomer in their research, and had become a scientific norm. Now, in the fifteenth century came Nicolaus Copernicus, and he presented a model in his book which the placed the Sun at the center of the universe, and other celestial bodies orbiting around the Sun. Thanks to this, Nicolaus became a pioneer in the Scientific Evolution, and this model is considered to be one of the greatest achievements in the field of astronomy.

From this story, we can see the importance of challenging norms and breaking them. Had Nicolaus never challenged that norm, we would never had progressed in astronomy the way we have today.

Now, let’s come to the present. In today’s world, especially in rural areas, there exist such norms that are unethical, immoral and backward, such as child marriage and not sending girls to school. These are the types of norms that pull us away from the path of perfection, and destroy the human element in us. They also stop us from progressing economically. The main difference between human beings and animals is the element of humanity. If we follow these norms, not only will we lose out on a great human resource ie women workers, and not move forward as a nation economically, but also from a social perspective. Hence, to progress, we must break these type of norms.

Now, let’s look at this statement from a different perspective. So far we’ve talked about how norms can be limiting and backward, so why do they exist? In the world, there are many people who want to progress but only for themselves, keeping only their motives and their interests in mind. I am of course taking about terrorists groups and dictators. To protect the world from deteriorating under their influence, norms are made to keep them in check. Also, norms provide structure in a society, and any society without structure is a chaotic one. Nothing better for destroy progressive ideas than chaos. Hence, norms set the stage and allow progressive idea to thrive.

I’d like to conclude by quoting Sri Aurobindo, anything can be the helper and anything can be the bar. Norms are the helpers and norms are the bar. While in today’s world, it is important to follow norms like social distancing, it is also important to break the norm of not sending girls to school. And as a wise man said on WhatsApp, only dead fish swim with the tide. Thank you.