Mar 2006

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March 2006

ACHIEVEMENT AND AFFILIATION

Many years ago, almost three decades ago in fact, I was privileged to attend a Management Convention at which a Professor David McClelland’s (an Industrial Psychologists’) theories on various human (psychological) motivational needs were discussed, in terms of their need for achievement, the need for affiliation and the need for Power. These factors according to him, drove individuals and even Nations and provided the motivations for their actions and interests.

McClelland spent some years in India, in Andhra Pradesh as I remember, studying the motivations and persona of small-scale businessmen, and concluded that in India, the need for affiliation i.e. the need for family and community ties exceeded any other needs such as those of achievement or the exercise of power. In the U.S., he found the need for power, and the need for achievement (success in politics, in making money etc.) to be much greater than the need for affiliation, which was restricted largely to the nuclear family. Community ties in the U.S. were less important or tied to the first two needs – to become an important and powerful member of the community rather than to satisfy any affiliative needs.

Which reflections, of course, bring me back to Masonry and its relative popularity in India, as it appears to satisfy our basic need for affiliation. It provides avenues for connections to our fellow-men, to activities to enhance their welfare, and generally makes us feel good about the charitable nature of our activities in it.

While career achievements are often confined to the detritus of personal histories, on retirement from active professional life, Masonic membership keeps one connected to life and living – a most important concomitant of the pursuit of happiness. Happiness has various definitions, but for me it lies in interested participation in life in general, not merely as a spectator but as one who continues to savour every daily experience with commitment and concern.

At any rate, this is what keeps me happy, despite the pressures of the Masonic office that I hold; the joys of the position far out-weigh any of its draw-backs. One of the joys was our recent get-together at Kollam, where one enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with our Brethren to appreciate the achievement of the local brethren of Lodge Quilon who through their affiliative endeavour, provided us with a ‘fairy-land’ location for our meetings, which was enjoyed by one and all. Long may our happy fraternal affiliation continue, and contribute to our pursuit of achieving excellence in whatever we set out to do.