We challenge the culture of violence when we ourselves act in the certainty that violence is no longer acceptable, that it's tired and outdated no matter how many cling to it in the stubborn belief that it still works and that it's still valid. ~ Gerard Vanderhaar
Over the last few days, news about India is pretty well dominated by acts of violence - be it Hyderabad, Punjab or Singur - whatever be the cause, whoever may be responsible, this blog does not deal with that...
What this blog deals with is the fact that we are becoming an increasingly violent society... We literally give call to arms at the smallest provocation... sometimes before the cause is established or who initiated or why the triggering incident occurred, suddenly large mobs gather & go around shouting, beating up innocents or scapegoats, killing, maiming, pillaging, burning, looting, sacking & generally making everyone miserable in their misguided quest for justice.
Even in cases like Hyderabad, where the initial blasts were the handiwork of the enemies of the state, why did we loose our control & start mob rioting instead of keeping calm & showing some solidarity & help? Why did we have to play right into the hands of the secessionist elements who triggered off the blasts to divide India & destroy its harmony, by further setting off chain reactions of violence? Why does the media have to report potshots taken by our so-called leaders as to who is responsible, before investigations have properly started, & why does it not act responsible & spread messages to calm the society & help us project a message that we, the people of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of India, will not let the secessionists' designs affect us?
In Punjab & cases earlier, we are seeing increasing cases of religious intolerance. Religion, which is supposed to be a private issue, is becoming increasingly a hair-raising trigger for violence - a small whisper, a small deviation, a small expression of artistic freedom - becomes a matter of ego & pride, & we just attack. We do not even realize the fact that the more we indulge in violence, the farther we go away from God..
Have we finally lost our senses - our sense of calmness, courage under fire, rational thinking, tolerance? Are we seceding from the civilized world? Will the resurgent Indian story be again mired in darkness & chaos?
Where are the voices & forces of Peace?
These are questions that need to be answered if each Individual Indian is to enjoy his/her right to Life, Peace & Prosperity.
What this blog deals with is the fact that we are becoming an increasingly violent society... We literally give call to arms at the smallest provocation... sometimes before the cause is established or who initiated or why the triggering incident occurred, suddenly large mobs gather & go around shouting, beating up innocents or scapegoats, killing, maiming, pillaging, burning, looting, sacking & generally making everyone miserable in their misguided quest for justice.
Even in cases like Hyderabad, where the initial blasts were the handiwork of the enemies of the state, why did we loose our control & start mob rioting instead of keeping calm & showing some solidarity & help? Why did we have to play right into the hands of the secessionist elements who triggered off the blasts to divide India & destroy its harmony, by further setting off chain reactions of violence? Why does the media have to report potshots taken by our so-called leaders as to who is responsible, before investigations have properly started, & why does it not act responsible & spread messages to calm the society & help us project a message that we, the people of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of India, will not let the secessionists' designs affect us?
In Punjab & cases earlier, we are seeing increasing cases of religious intolerance. Religion, which is supposed to be a private issue, is becoming increasingly a hair-raising trigger for violence - a small whisper, a small deviation, a small expression of artistic freedom - becomes a matter of ego & pride, & we just attack. We do not even realize the fact that the more we indulge in violence, the farther we go away from God..
Have we finally lost our senses - our sense of calmness, courage under fire, rational thinking, tolerance? Are we seceding from the civilized world? Will the resurgent Indian story be again mired in darkness & chaos?
Where are the voices & forces of Peace?
These are questions that need to be answered if each Individual Indian is to enjoy his/her right to Life, Peace & Prosperity.
6 comments:
Good post Shruti! Though the issue is more social, I strongly feel that there is a psychological attribute associated with the entire problem. Calmness comes from the sense of security, satisfaction and contentment, which is very difficult of achieve in today’s materialistic world. I believe that there are only two ways to make someone satisfied
1. Give him whatever he wants.
2. Let him find out what he wants.
The first one is impractical. For the second one, the road is long. You need to chase your dreams with honesty and in this process you will come to know what you really want out of life. I believe in what Swami Vivekananda has said. “Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfil your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender.”
We are not honest to ourselves, our efforts, not ready to sacrifice for the goal and still we want power and false dignity. We want shortcuts. It has become easier to envy. We like to find faults in others, praising someone without intention has become difficult. Increasing violence is more an outcome of the frustration of not knowing or achieving what we want in an individual level. Like the ignorant kids we still glorify the manifestation of power (As one of my friends told long time back, power is directly proportional to the number of people you can exploit).Today you may be regarded as a weak person if you can’t shout at the auto-driver or abuse the guard of your apartment.
Sorry...I did not carefully notice the name...Thanks Shubhra for the good post...keep updating this blog more frequently.
@nonsense thinking - your thoughts are beautiful and what u said is very true ..yes what the intellect understands has to be manifested through action to find its place in the subconscious self ... whether its the good traits or the bad ..and we need to go through everything to decide where we want to take ourselves to .. it is our destiny and the destiny of mankind that we hold in our hands through the actions that we take and the choices we choose to make .
Thanks, nonsense thinking & shruti,
You have raised some real good points... In addition to them, we also need to explore why mob mentality & mobocracy precedes individual & logical thinking to an ever increasing extent nowadays.
Have we finally lost our senses - our sense of calmness, courage under fire, rational thinking, tolerance? Are we seceding from the civilized world? Will the resurgent Indian story be again mired in darkness & chaos?
Shruti, what you wrote is thought provoking. But violence is part of life. As we mature spiritually, violence depart from our lives.
Srimad Bhavatam states
" A glutton worm which devours 5 to 6 times its weight, one day becomes a pupa, when it does not even breath for 21 days and then it becomes a beautiful butterfly when it drinks nectar only.
Similarly a person who searches after truth slowly matures spiritually from the glutton state of a worm to a state of butterfly"
These changes happen within us as we climb the spiritual ladder.
Have we finally lost our senses - our sense of calmness, courage under fire, rational thinking, tolerance? Are we seceding from the civilized world? Will the resurgent Indian story be again mired in darkness & chaos?
Shruti, what you wrote is thought provoking. But violence is part of life. As we mature spiritually, violence will depart from our lives.
Srimad Bhavata states
" A glutton worm which devours 5 to 6 times its weight, one day becomes a pupa, when it does not even breath for 21 days and then it becomes a beautiful butterfly when it drinks nectar only.
Similarly a person who searches after truth slowly matures spiritually from the glutton state of a worm to a state of butterfly"
These changes happen within us as we climb the spiritual ladder.
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