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Towards Inner Harmony : H. H. Acharya MahaPragya |
| | | | | | Of
distributive, compassionate self | | | |
| | | | Violence
and crime are two major problems we face today. Violence has myriad forms. One
major reason behind violence is the individual tendency to grab more and more,
denying others their share.
The latter react with violence, which sometimes
assumes the shape of terrorism. Even as one man is busy earning, he wants to earn
at the cost of others. This exploitation is an important cause of violence. If
we analyse the phenomena of thefts, robberies, kidnappings and murders, we find
that one man's instinct is encouraging the instinct of another person. Greed and
selfishness as individual instincts give birth to savage cruelty. In fact, one
man's cruelty shifts to the victim and makes him cruel too.
Many of these problems
would not have appeared if there had been no greed in man. Man has not grasped
the true import of the instincts of 'I' and 'my'. In fact, he has fed them to
such an extent that they have made all other instincts secondary. Let us elaborate
the above proposition, for it is essential if people want to lead a happy and
a peaceful life. Society has come into being so that man may live in peace and
be free from all worries and anxieties. There can be no happiness in the absence
of peace. One can pile up items of comfort but not be able to pile peace and happiness.
We should never forget the fact that material objects and peace are not the same.
Material objects and happiness are not the same. We should also remember the fact
that problems and unhappiness are not the same. A problem may occur at the physical
or mental level. However, intellectual awareness transcends these levels. If we
cling to a problem, there can be no solution. If we are genuinely interested in
improving human relationships, we should refine the instincts of 'I' and 'my'
so that selfishness is not fortified and the freedom of others is not transgressed.
If someone is mine, it does not mean that he or she has no independent existence.
Every
living being has a right to live in freedom. A relationship is justified only
to the extent it is useful without trampling on someone's freedom. Our life develops
with relationships. Life cannot be led in isolation. Everyone requires someone
else to depend on. For sustaining one's life, labour of thousands of people is
needed. The labour of a large number of people is involved between the time a
seed is planted and its product is cooked in the kitchen. It is only thereafter
that someone eats a meal. Since an individual is related to others, it would be
unwise of him not to closely deliberate on relationships and not to make them
cordial, not to refine them.
How to improve relationships or how to make them
cordial? The first hurdle in this is the persistence of the ego or the 'I'. As
long as the ego goes uncontrolled, selfishness will grow strong and will prevent
cordial relationships. They (relationships) would be like the sea-water which
cannot be made sweet even by mixing sugar in it. Religious teachers have discovered
the ways of curbing the ego. The first step is to make a resolve or to take a
vow, which symbolises great strength. With the awakening of a resolve, the process
of transformation commences. Our world is born of resolves or vows. It takes shape
according to the resolves we make.
It is a major resolve to tell oneself that
"I will not kill anyone deliberately or will not practise inessential violence".
A little violence now and then may be necessary for survival, but if the resolve
to commit violence is given up and the resolve to practise non-violence is made,
a strong base for making relationships cordial is built.
Lord Mahavira gave
a principle for rousing self-awareness: "Weigh all living beings with your
pair of scales." Sage Vyas gave a similar principle: "We should not
do to others what we consider bad for ourselves." By practising these principles,
we generate compassion. If pain is unfavourable to us, it is equally unfavourable
to others. Robbing others of their bread is bad, because 'I' do not like being
robbed of my bread. By balancing the two scales, we refine our disposition and
the ego is curbed.
If I had been alone in the world, the world would have been
mine; my ego would have expanded. But the world is peopled by countless others
like me - this thought puts a curb on my ego, limiting it within well-defined
confines. Contemplation is extremely important to awaken the awareness of compassion
and sensitivity. Practice is essential for bringing about a change. It refers
to our individuality or internal change.
By being merely social and opportunistic,
we should not devalue its importance. Socialisation cannot be useful beyond a
point of refinement, though it does prove useful when it comes to building an
organisation or system. Changing an attitude and developing another does take
a long time. By practice, we can succeed in removing the disposition of cruelty
and restoring compassion.
Cruelty in society is likely to decrease if the principles
of distributive justice and workers' participation in management are practised.
Does it not encourage violence when a man earns huge profits and squanders millions
on celebrations? Does it not generate a strong reaction? Human relationships can
certainly be improved if the principle of distributive justice is practised in
society. | | | |
