There is a deep malaise in society. We can send e-mail and faxes anywhere in the world; we have pagers and cellular telephones, and yet in our families and neighbourhoods we do not speak to each other. There is a kind of vacuum inside us, and we attempt to fill it by eating, reading, talking, smoking... We absorb so much violence and insecurity every day, we are like time bombs ready to explode -Thich Nhat Hanh.
The malaise is real to any conscientious and responsibly sensitive person. The Lakhimpur (UP) dastardly incident of mowing the striking farmers by a powerful political clout repeatedly voices aloud the human crime against bear human in the broad day light. The sacred human lives of struggling farmers annihilated within seconds does not speak well of a country which boasts of human dignity, freedom of speech or about glory of ad- ministering vaccine jabs to one billion within a short period – in all, about the “shining Bharat”! The unwarranted spill of blood, the excruciating agony of the families of the victims and the pangs of Mother Earth which silently absorbs the pain simply goes contrary to the religious and spiritual wisdom of the ancients from whose treasure house the country has its birth and has traversed the pilgrimage of the ages by. The worst and shameful aftermath of the killing of those innocent farmers is the eerie silence
of those at the helm of the present political regime who gloat over their phoney and baseless achievements which in fact were wrought by hardworking and disciplined, service-minded and sacrificing citizens. By projecting one’s glorious success, the leaders of the nation silence their blunted or dead consciences and escape from the wrath of being punished.
The practice in the past few years of our ruling dispensation has been that of conveniently covering up under the carpet of glory its abominable blunders and its preposterous crimes committed against the common, voiceless and marginalized human beings of our nation. It is silent about anything that concerns the anxieties and sorrows, loss and death of the poor human whose prominent desire is for a happy and contented life in the society with family and friends, strangers and neighbours. In the recent months it is our sensitive judiciary at the apex level challenged the stubborn and wallowing in government to remove its protective masks and observe squarely the distress of citizens, and without delay, remove the tears from their hearts by aiding them appropriately. In this context our Supreme Court, these days, is highly honoured for its relentless effort to mete out justice to the oppressed and voiceless citizens as it has clearly manifested in its recent verdict on Pegasus snoop gate scandal. It is clear on its mission of not remaining a “mute spectator” to the plight of innocent humans. A government of the people, on the other hand, remaining a spectator to the glaring scenes of pain, frustration and misery does not deserve honour. It must remind itself that it is a government of the people and for the people!
What is democracy for, or the grant Central Vista Project for, or the sacred national flag and the nation’s anthem for, if not to create harmony among diverse religions, languages, customs, traditions, cultures; if not for relieving the pain which humans bear unnecessarily on their earthly pilgrimage of a few hours, and if not for the foundational happiness and a contented living? What is all the vast and varied industry and its infrastructure for, or the grand organizations and expansive societies for, or the scientific inventions and technological advances for, if their basic orientation is only towards monetary prof- it and not really for the continuation of Genesis Creation by God which is daily renewed over the face of the earth by which the human people and all other creatures find joy as the greatest fulfilment of life? What are the diverse types
of educational institutions for, or the many architecturally and aesthetically artistic houses of worship for, or the many forums of intellec- tual, social, economic, political and religious discourses for, if not to build the soul culture or the spirit culture, and if not to feed the human heart with compassion, loving-kindness and a neighbourly shelter which could offer warmth, well-being and serenity?
The general impression one has today is that we have absorbed so much violence that we are “like time bombs ready to explode” (Thich Naht Hanh). Our political leaders often exhibit only
a tense, angry and violent face. Their speeches often vomit venom of hatred and indifference. Their gestures express insult and enmity. Their dispositions appear to be rather arrogant or Hitlerian. Here one must proudly remember and uphold the serenity, composure and peace which were displayed on the face of our former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, at which the nation felt at ease in all his public appearances or encounters with people. Only what a heart contains, can the physical expressions bear externally. Peace within one’s heart will also
be shown outwardly. Today one notices our bureaucrats, officials and those in high offices as violence absorbed persons, prideful and stern, stiff and stubborn, indifferent and without human feeling of affection. This is also visible on the faces of teachers, heads of religious or secular institutions or those in hierarchical positions. Let it be known that in a human world the leaders in different areas and situations simply cannot afford to carry a violent disposition both within and without. Leadership in any filed can never be a dictatorial and tyrannical rule imposed on innocent and loving people on this earth.
Lakhimpur is not an isolated event. Our society, we must acknowledge, is saturated with such atrocities and have become a daily affair which most often goes unnoticed both by the political class as well as the ordinary citizens. The ordinary citizen has no courage before
the mighty powers to bring the crimes to the limelight for fear of being eliminated. Such is the atmosphere prevailing in our country today. Truth speaking is a crime itself and is a way toward exclusion and eventual death. Closing the shutters to truth seems to be safer indoors for easy warmth rather than being exposed to the scorching sun heat of terrible discomfort. Hence, Lakhimpur can continue its grasp of humanity till human life vanishes leaving the Mother Earth without her children! How then, can one explain the total indifference of the mainstream political persons involved in the nasty event remain so indifferent or silent about human lives threshed and buried?
The vacuum within human beings is so deep that even the elimination of a neighbour has become a virtue in our society, besides many other routes taken so easily to get rid of a brother or a sister. The blood of Abel still cries out loud, but who is there to hear it? Reflection on the self in order to check one’s attitudes deep rooted in the soul has been marred by the virtual world in a liquid-fluid world of ours. Superficiality and external appearance have become the bane of human life, thus injecting insensitivity, cruelty and a compassion-less heart into the fabric of existence. Perhaps the cancer of anger, violence and hatred residing in leaders and their subjects may be healed by one of the five precepts of Buddhism: reverence for life, generosity, responsible sexual behaviour, speaking and listening deeply, and integrating wholesome substances (Thich Naht Hanh). To address the malaise of our times, Thich Naht rephrases them. Here is one of them:
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I vow to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let oth- ers kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking and in my way of life (Living Buddha, Living Christ, p.91).
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