Paradigmatic Institutions ^[1]

Paradigm ^[2] can be defined as the way that a man interprets both himself and the life. It develops a dynamic thinking about how to behave in certain circumstances. It is a way of comprehension, a point of view, a discipline that is developed by the motivation of the intellectual background that positive meanings are included in and the certain system of values. It is spectacles that can see through and beyond the walls with unprejudiced view of this discipline. It is an intellectual and behavioral partnership of a specific cult and opinion. It is the sum of the common mind and solution-oriented insights that are paid regard to in the theoretical and application areas.

Paradigm, in fact, is an institution without self-centeredness. It is a position without self-centeredness. It should be regarded as a compass that considers the collective, efficacy, not with a pragmatic motive, but with a consciousness of “we”, and that provides cooperation in sensitivities by paying regard to priorities and with genuine approaches. It is an institution that can unify and interpret sensitivities with appreciation beyond all known meanings and that can put the vision before past.

This institution provides services without prejudices, not with the ambition of dominance and power, but with corporate ethics, with the spirit of identification, with the passion for completion and development, with understanding of servant motives by paying regard to the holiness of human dignity. Its governance is based upon love and altruist. The love here means not how we feel about others, but how we treat others.

It is an institution that endeavors to fulfill its obligations with the spirit of self-control by paying regard to the statement of scientist Einstein, “If people are good only because they fear punishment or hope for reward, then we a sorry lot indeed” and by placing emphasis on social control and transparency and that tries to substantiate the claim it carries and that does it not politically, but sincerely.

As in every area, it has a mindset that pays regard to the sincere awareness. It has a moral approach that prioritizes consistency in ideological issues. It doesn’t object randomly to everything, it doesn’t criticize, enter into an argument, put forward different thesis every day. It doesn’t build its existence on contradiction. It knows well that those who are positioned on contradiction, actually utter unwittingly that they have no words to say. Only those who are inconsistent-unsteady, who are inadequate in developing a solution will act like in this way.

The sole purpose of paradigmatic institutions is to meet the needs of the service area and of people who are completing the work. Having the spirit of self-control, it offers a solid service in a great reputation. There is no arbitrariness, greed, ambition, obstinacy, pride, arrogance, insisting, dominance and hubris in its applications in order to avoid unwanted results. There is awareness that it is impossible to do every intended thing at required time. Not doing what shouldn’t be done is more important than doing what needs to be done. Authority, position, power, ability, talent, money and all tasks, each one of them is an entrusted consignation, a key to the service. They grant an authorization only for the right to use. The truth of “being a branch in the vine” is always kept in mind.

Having this equipment, on the contrary to the general approach it sees people not as a necessary tool for the completion of the labor work, but as an organ that maintains the continuance of an organism. While responding to the needs, applications that are transformed into a useless drug are reviewed. Old drugs that poison the structure are replaced with new ones that consist of different compounds.

However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the positioning on contradiction is a great trap. This trap must be avoided. The biggest problem is to build the basic paradigm on contradiction. Every institution, as a computer, is obliged to update its intellectual software (id est. its paradigm) in order to maintain the continuance. It should build its paradigm not on contradiction, but on completion and development. It should compete with itself well!

Without this approach, in today’s conditions it seems to be not easy to serve the needs and expectations. Because, even though the source is clean, sometimes even the clearest water is affected by the adverse conditions of the canal and the ground it flows through. Therefore, the intellectual enrichment and the light of awareness should act and function as a resistance against extinction and rancidness; as anti-corps against antigens (virus, microbe, bacteria and etc.) that entered into the structure, poison the life and undermine the development.

While doing this the sole purpose should be to bring the thought closer to the TRUTH and RIGHTNESS. The closest thought to the truth is the ethic thought. The ethic thought is a thought that doesn’t put any positive meanings on the violence and that considers sacred not to harm anyone in thoughts, words and deeds.

A justice according to the Greek philosopher Ulpianus (A.D. 170-228) is, “To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his own.”

Because, on the contrary of the popular belief, ethics and rightness is based on the relationship of good quality of one with himself, not with others. Humbleness is essential here. Humbleness is a way of comprehension. It is the dress of divine values. It is a power that brings behaviors into alignment with the soul. It is to silence the “I/me”, to keep the “I/me” in itself, in order to hear the “You”.

Humbleness is not to lower a self-worth, but to value people. Humbleness is to open the doors of heart to all creatures by eliminating the ego. It is not to act superior and to pontificate; it is an acknowledging of the institution itself as equal to the other people and society. With the awareness of the mission, it is to put its own self in its proper place. Not to pursue self-assertion. It is to hear the unique divine whisper that is spread over the universe and to withdraw the self. The institution that takes humbleness as a principle will be inspired by the life, other people and the entire universe and will inspire others as much as it can. Because the soul has been combined with kindness and compassion. Serving other people is matter of honor for it.

Humbleness is a door that is opened to the society and to the world. The statement, “If a person who is created of dust from the ground doesn’t humble himself as a ground, then he will lose his soul.” is the most appropriate statement that should be recalled here. This approach is valid for the institution as much as for individuals. Acting with the logic of humbleness that is closed to misuse/exploitation, avoiding harm or harmful things is an act of love. It is an expression of self-love of individual/institution.

Growing up without belittling is impossible. This vital principle derives its intellectual power from the philosophy that says, “Those who become haughty will be humiliated. Those who humble themselves will be glorified.” and from the statement said by a wise man, “As the darkness reveals the light, so in the same manner the humbleness manifests the lights of heaven in person.”

According to the paradigmatic approach, difficult times are so valuable as much as they are dangerous. It brings the person closer to himself, in other words to his soul. The gold is hit to the touchstone for its purity. The purity a person/institution becomes evident in difficult times. Therefore, it should be nourished from the statement, “Gold becomes clear in the fire, man becomes clear in suffering” and show a maximum effort to avoid harmful disengagements. This effort should be made as a build-up, by considering the idiosyncrasies and the diversities of views, by managing perceptions and by expressing responsibilities and the ways of subsidiary meanings among tendencies.

It is difficult to meet “in the better one” until complexes, selfishness, superiority, pride and arrogance leave their place for a mature humanistic thought. As conditions of journey are changed in a process where everyone is surrounded by the throes of progress, the institutions are challenged more in this process. Paradigmatic approach plays a part in as a breakwater against this challenge.

If people who created and sustain the institutions are not careful about what are derived from their thoughts in the context of discourse and action, they will not be able to realize that the worst deception of the flesh is the intellectual (mental) deception. The mind that has become a plaything of the flesh and the mind that holds the love in high esteem are different from each other. The mind that has become a plaything of the flesh will turn into a cunning and selfishness. The mind that holds the love in high esteem will unify with common sense, sincerity and righteousness. The worst deception of the flesh is the mental deception.

Serving with an intellection that will carry the merit and ingeniousness beyond the word and that will make this the focus of life is an obligation beyond duty. Embracing the comprehensiveness which gets out of eclipse of the flesh that covers up the common sense, passes all kind of understanding and rejects all kind of exclusion and superiority will eliminate the intellectual deception.

Knowledge is the light of the mind and paradigm is the light of the soul. The unification of these two lights will cause an endeavor and constructive productivity; the separation of these two lights will cause bigotry and destructive productivity. When these two lights that enlighten the soul and mind are unified, the love will dominate. Thought will develop, minds will be cleared. Subsidiary soul will get involved. Empathetic approaches, flexible attitudes will develop. And so, the curtain (cover) of poisonous records, prejudice and conditioning that cover the truth will be removed by itself.

As the social position increases, it is necessary to be born and grow with an energy which requires more responsibility. Tribulations and blockages are experienced in order to provide this energy and growth. The furtherance of those who are able to take lessons from blockages and tribulations will get up speed. But if there is no discipline that nurtures social ethics, it will be hard to move forward in some places of the path.

However, the institutions which run with the motive of contributing and serving will rise to such degree of authority, that worldly achievements will be achieved as a natural result of this. Because the spirit of serving and the spirit of the flesh are two different things. Experiences have shown that the dilemmas of the flesh are like a vicious cycle. In order to get out of the vicious cycle, it is necessary to pass on the influence of the spiritual paradigm. Those who can pass on will be relieved and be a solution. But the dilemmas of the flesh of those who can’t pass on will continue and they will struggle with them.

The cooling of the institutional spirit will increase the amount of delicate areas. Therefore it needs to be heated. Water is like a soul. The mud becomes too hard to be cultivated unless it is watered. Only water can make it soft. The hardness of a man is the same. The soul must be heated in order to be able to be processed, to take shape. It is a need. Those who serve this need will grow.

On the other hand, today’s objective conditions require transparency in every sense. Instead of the institutions, the duties and responsibilities of which are determined with certain limits, a perspective that has a flexible management mentality and that is open to the world and society is accepted as the basic dynamic of success.

As introversion is harmful in the individual manner, so the institutional introversion is dangerous. Regardless of the field of interest and work, introverted institutions become unable to maintain their vitality, while extroverts increase their effectiveness by human relations.

It must be known that there are certain goals that make every institution exist. Institutions are obliged to accomplish the goals which are the reasons of their existence by keeping the virtues and values alive.

The power of people is directly proportionate to the added-value/love they give to life. The power of institutions is not measured by the large quantity of people, but by the solidarity and love (values-meanings) they contribute to life. This power increases in proportion to the sympathy that it has in the eye of society.

Life is based on balances. The principle of interdependence is essential in ecological balance and human relations. Therefore, cooperation and solidarity are needed in human existence. Regardless of the area of interest and work, -(political-public, social-cultural, educational-spiritual, etc.)- all institutions, like different organs of an organism, exist for the continuity, service, richness and vitality of life. Problems will be solved only when the win-win mentality is taken into consideration and the spiritual solidarity is taken as a basis for the benefit of the general. Because, “If one organ suffers, the whole organism will suffer, if one organ is honored, the whole organism will be honored.” (1^st Corinthians 12:12-26)

In today’s conditions, cooperation and solidarity has an indispensable place in the success of institutions as well as individuals. Because, the principle of “what is important is not what you know, but how others know you” is valid for institutions along with individuals. What makes people successful is the friendships they built with trust. This increases the power of institutions along with individuals.

In paradigmatic institutions, the love capital which is a requirement of solidarity is very important as well as knowledge capital in earning trust of people. In order to increase the quality of services and maintain the continuity, benefiting from people with “relation capital” in the way that avoids exploitation-abuse will strengthen the solidarity of hearts. The institution which has strengthened its organic ties with people, will not be in a harmful approach, but will proceed to be a subsidiary and solution. Therefore, relations and communication channels must be evaluated with the ethic boundaries that benefit everyone. Because, the essence of responsibility is to set forth not harming anyone in any way, both material and spiritual. The main point is here to accept “others” and “everyone” as who they are, without marginalizing anyone in the spirit and mind.

In Syriac culture, this approach is much more important and vital. Therefore, it is said, “Those who serve the humanity are close to God.” It is essential to experience and make others to experience both the horizontal and vertical love with an approach that glorifies the human honor. This love was perceived as a source of the power to understand one’s own values, abilities and boundaries and to improve oneself in the institutions of the golden age (4^th-10^th centuries) of Syriac heritage. And it shows that the productivity in the areas of culture, ethics, philosophy, literature, science and technology and the human liberation and the right to be oneself came out from the power of this love. Because, the one who knows how to love, has the power to accept others as who they are without any prejudices and does not spare his productivity.

Therefore, it is very important that the core of the activities in personal and institutional networks is shaped according to the principle of “live-make to live”. As it is in the mysterious structure of a man in society, the institution that is oriented towards only its own benefits will act against the deep reality of life and divine justice. It shouldn’t be forgotten that along with itself, the entire society will pay the price for the damage given!

The synergy that develops out of relations which are built within the institutions can lead to radical transformations in the social and cultural structure. Although it is not immediately noticeable, it should be kept in mind that the solidarity with organic relations has a dispensable place in the success of institutions. Therefore, when it is been generous in everything such as abilities-skills, material-spiritual opportunities that God has given, individuals will be strengthened as well as institutions. And the life will become rich.

In order not to pass the destructions to the future centuries that make to regret eventually, it must be served renovation, not destruction; conversation, not animosity!

Similarities, common point and common values must be sought out in order to renovate and to build. To build and to improve is the expression of a positive and meaningful lifestyle that keeps the institutions alive. Those who grab this awareness will help each other and those who help will succeed and get stronger. Those who help, will get help.

Great ideas are actually very simple ideas. That is why Einstein says, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making is simple.” Inner conscience and compassion are above all attitudes and stances.

The famous philosopher/thinker Goethe also refers to the same logic, when he says, “One that has no contribution to solution, becomes a part of the problem.”

According to a word of wisdom, “The image on the mirror can’t be fixed without addressing the reality of that image. The fault is not in the mirror. It is impossible to affect and change the realities that mirror reflects by scratching and coloring the mirror.”

Being able to discover this mystery develops a pleasant freshness of heart and the depth of life in the sense of rebuilding the destroyed. This mystery honors serving the right and good, without expecting anything in return. Even to that degree, that like a gardener, it does not only deal with the survival of the plants, but also teaches that their growth should be taken care of. By seeing their good aspects, it opens new horizons for people, makes them to bear a good fruit.

Therefore, before getting too tired, in order to open the doors of heaven slightly, in behalf of the future, symbiosis and development it is time for spiritual revival and to revive others with sincere awareness and righteousness, with compassion and inner conscience, by remaining within fair standards. Even though it is a process that requires time and work, it is time to make to grow by prioritizing and doing the logical and reasonable one.

As a Nobel laureate and a French thinker/philosopher Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) says, “The task is not to do what is big, but to do what is necessary.”

Malfono Yusuf Beğtaş

[1] I haven’t read nor seen anywhere the term “Paradigmatic Institutions”. I am the first one who uses it. I’d like to state that it is a mental inference that is derived from my spiritual deepening when I was thinking about solutions of multi-dimensional problems. I think there is a need for a paradigm of revival that will lead to radical transformations in order to overcome and solve the crucial problems. Because, the paradigm is like a kind of a map. Every place has its own map. It is impossible to find the address in Istanbul, Berlin, Brussels or Stockholm with the map of Mardin. It is impossible to achieve accurate results without a map that is appropriate for real situations. Though it is a difficult and long-termed process to determine a proper paradigm for real situations, it may be possible with a study that considers the advisement/consultation with the experts of the subject.

[2] As Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved by the consciousness that creates them.” A new consciousness and paradigm that will build that consciousness are needed. For transformation of one view into a paradigm, it needs to have a characteristic that can find right solution for the problems and make prospective expansions. If the presented paradigm cannot solve the problems, the seeking will continue. In that case, more comprehensive ideas will occur which can find solutions to the problems that the current paradigm cannot. These ideas will gain strength as they solve the problems. They will be accepted and become new paradigm.

The pleasure of working with servant motives, without thinking of acquiring power and dominance is utterly different. Because, prestige and dominance is a natural result and reward of sincere service. But the two powers are constantly in conflict: The power of love and the love of power. The love of power (to acquire power, force, dominance, prestige, position and etc.) pursues self-assertion. Even to that degree, that sometimes it politicizes the life and consecrates the power. However, the politicized life becomes unproductive. And the consecrated power spills out its meanings.