Cave to City and Back

Once upon a time in a little known Hyderabadi (Deccan) Urdu daily I read two couplets by a little known Pakistani poet whose name I have forgotten, probably because he is little known:

شکوہ بے جا تو نہیں دنیا کے اس کمرے میں
کس طرح مختلف افراد کو رکھا جائے

شہر بنتے گئے مگر انساں
آج تک غار سے نہیں نکلا

शिकवा बेजा तो नहीं दुनिया के इस कमरे में
किस तरह मुख़्तलिफ़ अफ़्राद को रखा जाए।

शहर बनते गए मगर इन्साँ
आज तक ग़ार से नहीं निकला।

Not baseless is this petulance

In our global nursery

How diversity can make sense

In a single soulful tapestry

The urban jungle pervades life 

From cradle to the grave
But Man has not emerged 

From his primordial Cave

Some say that those who leave the cities for the Himalayas and other wilderness, walking into icy climate in a loincloth, through foothills infested with cobras, leopards and tigers, and competing for real estate with predators are surely escapists. Others say they just got fed up of playing pretend and wanted to confront existence. Many urban sadhaks won't even bathe with cold water these days.

Here I am, sitting in my mancave in the basement of a home in the exurbs of a large city, close to farmland and not too far from wilderness. Threw together some thoughts in the table below. Criticism welcome.

	Hunter-Gatherer	Transhumance	Agriculture	Professions
Freedom and Success	Winner takes all; Freedom to overcome any obstacle by any means	Team with most possessions wins; Freedom to migrate and set one’s own borders	Winner society assimilates loser society; Freedom from unpredictable pain	Promotion to greater stability, enjoyment and rights
Cultivation	Instincts and intuition through observation; Parasitic = take what I can whenever needed	Balance and harmony through control; Husbandry = cultivate, manipulate and enjoy cyclically; optimize ownership for richness and mobility	Innovation; Maximize gains; Plan for adversity; Diversify society	Relationships; Skills; Giving and receiving help
Defense and Offense	Pack mentality	Herd + Sheepdogs + Herder mentality	Hierarchical specialization	Individual contributor
Law and Ethos	At any point in time, one becomes either a predator or prey; Every relationship is based on need; An individual is at the mercy of Nature; All individuals and groups are parts of a whole	Herd must trust and obey the shepherd, and sheepdogs help enforce that; Certain mysteries are not to be questioned; We as a group are different from others	Sharing, fairness, compassion, questioning, innovation, freedom from excessive punishment and threat; Signaling virtue is important; Our group is better than others	Clear role definition; Honest work; rules-based competition; Procrastinator; doing the minimum of what's needed
Conflict and Cooperation	Conflict is eternal, cooperation is provisional; Big fish eat small fish; Bodies are expendable but the life force is priceless and not to be wasted; Power is in always being prepared; Sudden strike or snatch when need and opportunity intersect	Conflict and cooperation are in balance; Incrementally amass wealth and power; Be hardy,  stoic, enjoy simple things, live long, don’t develop attachments	Cooperation is paramount, conflict is to be contained or avoided; Incremental progress; Creature comforts and conveniences are a sign of power and prosperity	Competition helps refine skills; Cooperate to learn and share knowledge and benefits; Enjoy life; Bear with adversity
Power	Survival	Heroism	Prosperity	Progress
Religious Mode	Shamanism	Legalism	Tolerance and Non-violence	Honesty and diligence
Autonomy and Community	Each one responsible for himself; Survivalist ethic	Loyalty and contribution to the tribe is paramount; All are equal in the tribe, but some are more equal than others; Sacrifice oneself for the tribe	Fractal localism; Birds of a feather will flock together	Desires facilities to proudly work as a cog in the machine
Mother Nature	Everything is controlled by one’s individual relationship with Her	Organize, learn from and work with Nature	Nature is nice to look at but painful to be close to; Conquer and benefit from Nature through innovation and organization; God is beneficent	Not close to rhythms of Nature but may believe in “God”
Sexuality	Undifferentiated; Likes and dislikes almost irrelevant; The act matters when needed; Polyandry also acceptable	Specific likes and dislikes; Polygamy, the more women the greater you are; Consent not that important and abduction is macho	Specific likes and dislikes; Monogamous ideal but polygamy exists; Consent is important	Stable or serial monogamy by consent
Value	Knowledge of (or rather connectedness with) the whole	Honor	Social status and prosperity	Knowledge of the parts, work and pleasure; Circumscribed empathy
Release	Unimpeded Existence	Glory and Heaven	Wisdom, command, accomplishment	Security, aesthetic entertainment and indulgence
Vedic Archetype	Rishi	Deva	Arya	Bhakta
Varnic Model	Brahmin	Kshatriya	Vaishya	Shudra