Common Sense Living

We have to make enumerable small and big decisions in our lives. Common Sense is the most vital element of making these decisions rationale. It is the principal element of sensitivity, perception, discovery, observation, discrimination, recognition, detection and decision making.

Yoritomo, Japanese statesman and philosopher, explains the focus of Common Sense as –

“It is the Central Sense, towards which all impressions converge and unite in one sentiment – The desire for truth.^*”¹

Common Sense develops when we develop sense of directness and simplicity; the sense of seeing the things as they are and doing the things as they should be done. Moreover Common Sense comprises vigor of exploring the right, the truth.

Dissecting the word 'Common Sense' we get two expressions – 'Common' and 'Sense'.

'Common' denotes shared by all or many.

'Sense' depicts faculty of perception and perception, feeling and knowing.

So, Common Sense, this way emerges as the sense agreed by people in common as their Common Natural Understanding. It is the sound judgment not based on specialized knowledge.

While boarding a moving train one day, one of Ghandhiji's shoes slipped off and fell upon the track. As he was unable to retrieve it, he calmly removed his other shoe and threw it down the track to where the first had landed and explained to his astonished fellow travelers that the poor man who finds the shoe will now be able to use the pair.

Did Gandhiji use any specialized knowledge? This is how Common Sense emerges and plays it’s role and purpose.

In dispassionate and fair state of mind, after receiving stimuli, Common Sense notion emerges as the first thought within no time but due to external and internal influences it is altered and manifested in its distorted form and is metamorphosed into new decision altogether. It converts into a new expression by the calculations performed under the influence of these ancillary internal and external influences and gradually our mind gets trained of going by such calculated courses. These internal and external influences could be lack of awareness, neglect, overruling of family, friends and society, entropy, fatigue, non availability of time and resources and many more.

Common Sense is free of all such internal and external influences. It is the right, the fit, the fruitful, the best decision. It is verified and validated. It is Common Natural Understanding.

If you get a wound, it is common natural understanding of all or many that it needs immediate first aid and then appropriate medication. Avoiding the natural common understanding will throw you on an entirely unknown track towards astringent and uncertain destination. Practicing this Common Natural Understanding makes one mature. Maturity is the evidence of Common Sense, it is knowing and accepting the superlative and most favorable “Correct and reliable”.

The Common Natural Understanding is found in four forms –

1. Universal timeless principles.
2. Principles halfway; beliefs and propositions in testing stage to be accepted as full fledged principle.
3. Beliefs and propositions that seem to most people to be prudent and of sound judgment.
4. My own belief. (ones own personal beliefs)

Yoritomo defines Common Sense as –

“The sound judgment of mankind which reflecting upon problems of truth and conduct without bias from logical subtleties or selfish interests. It is one of the nature's priceless gifts an income in itself, it is as valuable as its application is rare.”

Exaggerated emotions carry us away from the reality of life and we experience great charm so we want to prolong the moment. When we are in this artificial conception of happiness, we defend it. We pose fencing for people, things and values we feel bind with; we develop favoritism for certain things and people. Common Sense is about judging the relative values; it is the art of seeing the truth which is free of all biases, interests, likings, predilections, proneness, chauvinism, imbalance and unfairness. The state of going beyond them is the state of Common Sense.

It is the measurement of the relative values based on nearness to the prime welfare and finest construction for all. Therefore, without this quality, it is impossible to judge either the relative values of propositions or the importance of the subject.

Common Sense is sagacity; the acuteness of mental discernment and soundness of judgment, it is the sense of distributing proper ranking among different people and varied things.

Two men were traveling together, when a bear suddenly met them on their path. One of them climbed up a nearby tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, by the fear of attack fell flat on the ground and held his breath and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could. The bear left him for it does not touch a dead body. As bear went away the other traveler descended from the tree and inquired of his friend.

The second companion replied coolly:

“He advised me never to travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger.”

The experiences, more appropriately the critical experiences and their critical observations help us to give proper ranking and value to the people and things.

“Common Sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”

- Albert Einstein

Common Sense is not to accumulate knowledge once and put up with for rest of the life. The most fascinating feature of Common Sense which makes it enigmatic and ambivalent is – Common Sense is dynamic. It is never static. The relevance changes. The relevance changes with time, place and situation.

Making Common Sense decision is to readjust and realign our values to the values of the existing situation.

A little girl was observing her mother preparing fish for feast. Her mother cut the head and tail off the fish and then placed it into a baking pan. “Why she cut the head and tail off the fish, mother?” -asked the little girl. Her mother stopped for a while and then answered, "I've always done it that way - that's how grandma did it."  Not happy with the reply, the little girl went to visit her grandma to ascertain why she cut the head and tail off the fish before baking it. Grandma thought for a while and retorted, "I don't know. My mother always did it that way." So the little girl and the grandma went to visit great grandma to ask if she knew the answer. Great grandma thought for a while and resumed, “Because my baking pan was too small to fit in the whole fish”. 

The relevance changes, values transform and the Common Sense readjusts. What we believe is the Common Sense and practice that to our best knowledge, doesn't always work. Obsolete Common Sense Doesn't Work.

Before application, verification and validation is required. Common Sense is the process of continuously exploring truth, aligning the behavior consciously with this truth and upgrading or changing the application of the truth as per the relevance by checking it against logic, time, place and situation.

Shiv Khera in his famous writing “You Can Win” says “Education and knowledge without Common Sense has little meaning. Common Sense is the ability to see things as they are and do them as they ought to be done. We are born with five senses - touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing. But successful people have a sixth sense common sense. Common Sense is gained in spite of, not necessarily as a result of, education. The best education without Common Sense is worthless. An abundance of Common Sense is called wisdom.” Common Sense is the key to the following:

1. What is appropriate for me?
2. What should I do?
3.      2.1 In this situation?
4.      2.2 In this condition?
5.      2.3 Under the circumstances?
6.      2.4 At this moment?
7.      2.5 Under the existing state of affairs?

Common Sense is the bent of discernment in the changing

patterns; it is accepting or rejecting the idea without violating the principles of logic. It takes care of beliefs and practices which has been transmuted into Common Natural Understanding. Common Sense is the art of posing questions and solving questions by the Common Natural Understanding. Common Sense saves us wasting a big part of our life experiencing and then learning. It gives us privilege of using time-tested wisdom and experience. Will it not be an irony to leave such a gift useless?

* Truth is the denotation of the supreme reality. It is the ultimate meaning and value of existence. It is the certainty concerning any matter or subject. It is Conformity to fact or actuality.

¹ Tashi, Yoritomo,  Common Sense: How to Exercise It, funk & Klagnalls Company   London, 1916, P 16. availability of time and resources and many more.