From May 11, 2008
Violence and aggression rise from fear and greed. What gives the Chinese the right to violate human rights? To kill and torture people? If I hadn’t visited Bylakuppe in September 2004, I would’ve never realized what was going on right next to India. There is no media coverage on the kind of torture being carried out on the Tibetans. It’s not like Iraq where we could read and condemn Bush and his soldiers for their actions.
Borders apart, we are all humans aren’t we? Then why is the world not doing anything when something like this happens? But even before that, some fundamental questions. How can one have the mind to hurt anyone or anything else? Why is ‘world peace’ a cliché? Why is the right way termed ‘idealism’ and ‘wishful thinking’? Why doesn’t anyone except maybe children ask these questions? Are we used to it? Just because its everywhere-newspapers and TV news, are we sick of hearing it? Do we briefly groan at the front page and turn to read the comics instead? Are we so selfish that we take our own freedom for granted and not care for others who don’t have it? Where does this violence come from? Isolation? Indifference? A fear of facing the truth?
In the twenty years I’ve been on earth, I discovered something. I was innocent. A long time ago, I was innocent. Now I’m guilty. There is violence in me. In trying to protect myself I have hated people, even hurt them. That’s where it starts. Don’t we all feel it sometimes? Frustration, dissatisfaction, fear, irritation, hate, insecurity, possessiveness. And don’t we all like to be praised? To bask in some neon glory? It is these natures that accumulate; join together like little droplets and become the monstrous sea of violence. Each one of us, by our fundamental natures is responsible for bloodshed because even if we don’t directly kill, we allow it to happen by inaction. We allow it in our own minds if not in deeds.
We can’t protest in absolute righteousness because we are so full of it ourselves. Do we realize that? If we can’t live without conflicts in our own minds, how will world peace become a reality?
We can’t pretend to love. We can’t expect superficial changes in policies to bring about any change to the root of filth, nor clean up the corruption in our selves. There are Hitlers, Bushes, and Hu Jintaos in all of us. When we teach them love and compassion, there can be peace.
But here’s the disclaimer. I am no one to tell you what to do. I, as filthy as I am. All I can do is humbly share what I do understand and hope to have more people be aware of this, and try to love. I have been trying. It’s not easy. But please, let’s not give up.