What is Sit?
Man has evolved. His progress has taken place over civilizations and cultures with the net result being him standing in a powerful position today. This progress is because of a set of intellectuals who have shaped the world at different points of time with their vision and intellectual prowess. Though these intellectuals seem to almost naturally appear the genius they are, we will realize on a closer look, that it was not the genius but the willingness and the ability to question and analyze simple issues and abstract thought and the conviction and passion to find answers and think differently that made them the institutions they are today. These qualities though, are gifted to everyone in one way or the other: they are either not developed or curbed or lulled to meet social requirements, material needs and lack of motivation. In this growing world of desires and complexities, the chances (and consequences) of losing that intellectual thought are more.
All of us are looking at coming up in our careers, earning money, getting into top institutions in the world, changing the world, etc. Theoretically speaking, if all of us are so committed and focused, then there should be no problem in the functioning of any system of society. Or it should only be the uneducated and the illiterate contributing to the non – functioning. However, that does not seem to be the case at all. We throw litter on the road when we can keep them in our pockets and have them there till we find a dustbin to dispose. We don’t use harsh words though we actually keep them in the mind. We try all means to escape from a punishment for a mistake we have done. All these things are simple yet, most of us don’t follow them, or in some cases, not even realise and analyse them. These small things grow into attitudes which eventually boil down to the functioning / non-functioning of society as we know it today. Hence, instead of breaking our heads to fight politicians / bureaucrats or terrorists, a more sensible approach would be to fight against our own attitudes.
The members of the Sit at the Marina beach. Source: Article in TOI, Chennai
Considering that it is not simple to change attitudes (or even take in new ones unless we are convinced), sustain the newly discovered conviction, or even develop the newly acquired conviction, we have to debate, look at all sides, imagine, visualize, share and persevere. All of us have negative attributes and that is natural. But what is special in each one of us is that positive, unique aspect that is waiting to get identified, that we refuse to capitalize on because of overwhelming fear or despair. If that positive aspect in each one of us is shared, learnt and adapted, each of us will become the change we would like to see in this world!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
The Sit is a group of like minded common men and women whose quest is to mobilize their abstract, lateral, philosophical and practical thinking to inquire deep into the simple things in our day to day lives and to relate the same to the complexities of today’s world. Such an understanding develops introspection into our day to day lives which when shared with others gives us different perspectives thus translating into our own attitudes. The group aims to foster civilian self thought where each one is able to think for himself independently thus creating an able civil society with not just knowledge and awareness, but also wisdom.
The group has its major presence in Chennai. Sit also has an online forum with members from all over the world.