Dharma - Something greater than ourselves!
Hello all,
Namaste! Hope all of you are doing well and vibrant. First of all, I want to Thank the Veterans who went and fought for their country the USA in many wars. Thank you! 🙏🌻🌻. Yesterday was the Veterans Day in the US. I wished everyone on Navaratri. Ten days back, the week started with Halloween and ended with Diwali. One celebrated in the US as homage to ancestors and the other celebrated to remove the darkness of ignorance and bring light into everyone's hearts. Both celebrations are now in the past. The next one knocking at the door is Thanksgiving, to show gratitude to the native Americans from whose land the country called USA was born.
Let us look at all these celebrations. Can we see an underlying theme or pattern? In all the three festivals we are celebrating and respecting something outside or greater than ourselves, whether it is the Universal energy as Diwali, the ancestors as the Halloween or the other group who gave the early explorers a warm welcome to their native land and country. In all the festivals it was never about that single human or just the immediate group alone. It was always about the greater group or the grander ideal. But how come we find the modern human dynamics so different?
Ancient social systems: After all these beautiful celebrations, still the humans are in the mode of I, me and myself with a very tiny group that we embrace, people who look very much like us. Why are there all these nationalistic or fundamental movements, that we can see whether ISIS in the Middle East, Hindutva in India or the nationalist movements of the USA. When we look at the past, India was formed as a secular nation, is a secular country. USA always welcomed the immigrants and is a nation of immigrants and the Middle East was a major hub for trade and used to welcome travelers from India and other parts of the world during the era of Thousand and one Arabian nights and later. The poet Jalal-Uddin-Rumi and his mysticism of the thirteenth century is an underline to that. Basra, Damascus and Baghdad were thriving trade centers.
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| Cover of the Arabian Nights Image credits - Author: Anonymous Illustrator: Milo Winter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
As all of you know, I am very much a Hindu deeply loving my culture, temples, mythological stories and perspectives. But being very much a Hindu, I deeply enjoyed reading Thousand and one Arabian nights (of course in my native tongue, Malayalam) and now enjoy Rumi poetry. In the Arabian nights there comes a story of two Jinns from Arabia as well as China meeting at night and discussing the beauty of an Arabian prince and a Chinese princess in their care. The Jinns decided to bring the Arabian prince to China and put both the prince and princess together and compare their beauty and the story proceeds from there with the prince making sure he goes to China, finds his princess and marries her.
The story aside, when I contemplate, it was the trade between China and Arabia that made the story teller to write such a story. Without the trade, how would Arabians know about a region in those days called China and Chinese vice-versa. At that time one culture didn't try to destroy the other. The Arabians were happy to trade with the Chinese who were a very different culture and the Arabians same way welcomed Chinese pottery and porcelain to the Middle East. Then, how come today the Uighurs cannot have their religion in China or nobody other than Muslims are allowed freely into the Middle Eastern regions like Syria, Iran, Iraq or Yemen. The same way why Hindus, Christians and Muslims being within their own culture cannot find a common ground to work with one another?
Of course, definitely there were wars, chaos and different perspectives. I am not putting rose colored glasses and trying to romanticize history. No. My question, how did doing trade and being nice with each other, transform into conquering the other, the trade partner and decimate their culture? When did this blood thirst to destroy the other and even remove the signs of the culture or people emanate within our DNA? I come from India, where the traders East India Company and the British Empire instead of being the traders became the rulers. I have studied enough where the regional kings were threatened -"Either become our allies or die". Traders later transformed into rulers.
Warring humanity: Whether we like it or not, every single thing humans have made from computers to rocket ships to airplanes to airplane carriers to mercantile vessels to automobiles or home appliances have come from this Earth. This very Earth. We never went to Mars, Venus or Jupiter to bring anything. Everything came from here, our home. When we go outside this Earth to say around two hundred or five hundred miles above Earth, what do we see? A warring humanity within a very beautiful, green and verdant planet.
The wars to put flags or religion, land, culture, politics and boundaries. The Earth has seen nationalistic movements in the past. The ethnic cleansing of the Middle Ages, the mercenaries called Knight Templars, the Mongols lead by Genghis Khan, conquers led by the Greek emperor, Alexander the Great, later in the 1930s the nationalistic Nazi movement of Third Reich of Hitler to name a few. Every single one of them was marked by blood sheds, mutilated bodies, and beheaded trunks. Do we even remember or care about who fought for what and against what? Diligent history buffs may know the answers.
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| Battle of liege belgium vs germany empire Image credits - in don;t know, via Wikimedia Commons |
Today in 2021, we boast as modern, awareful (Prabuddha) and progressive humans. Are we truly progressive? If we are so progressive, why can we only see the person as a believer, atheist, agnostic, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Democrat, Republican, Secularist, Libertarian, scientist or non-scientist. Why can't we see the person as human, yes, human- who chose to practice Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, atheism, agnosticism, nihilism, or a human who chose to be a Democrat, Republican, Communist or Congress. Do we have to decimate the other to uphold our ideals and values? Do we?
Can't I be a Sanathani- spiritual, Hindu, but very much a human following esoterism or mysticism; enjoy Rumi poetry, read Thousand and one Arabian nights, learn Mandarin, ask questions to Jesus who is a mentor and enjoy the glass painting/art work of another religion or even discuss atheistic concepts with an atheist? I could and I should. If I can find such a perspective and live my own life as I am, can't another be able to do the same thing without trying to change, convert, improve or fix another? My question always is why are we trying to fix another, instead of fixing ourselves?
Our question should be, for example, I am a spiritual Hindu who is deeply interested in mysticism and esoterism. As I like to live my life as authentic as I can be, shouldn't I be able to tolerate another as they wish to live. But remember, this concept or perspective is only true as long as we or another human is allowed to live and exist as they are without hurt, abuse or killing. The second there is violence or abuse all these niceties are off. We cannot speak nicely and try to understand another's viewpoint if that person is keeping a knife to our throat or pointing a gun at our chest. From that second on wards it is not about perspectives, values or truth points any more. Then it becomes saving ourselves so that we can exist as a human here for another decade or few more years. With anyone who uses violence as a means, the time for deliberation, diplomacy or dialogue is over.
War cannot bring peace: People who choose war, how can they bring peace? I guess after two thousand years people have still not understood it. Humanity has been fighting for 2000-5000 years. Still why are we not able to coexist or thrive? Because to bring peace, we are choosing battles and wars. The act of war has the energy of tussle or war. How can it bring peace? Before any chance at peace, we have already taken the weapon in our hands. How can peace come when we are trying to bring peace with bayonet, lathis, guns or nuclear war heads? Nuclear war heads would keep the other from acting due to fear. But fear is not peace. Fear is fear and peace is peace.
Fear is powerlessness. But peace is being at peace when one feels strong and confident. As they are finding the power and confidence within themselves, they don't go and fight with another to bring in peace. They are having power and confidence within themselves and that truth brings them a state of joy and peace. So, peace cannot coexist with fear, war and powerlessness. Peace is a by-product of calmness, power and confidence. Hence, we see, truly powerful and confident leaders are more peaceful. They don't have to thump chest, call out as Tarzan and show their might to others. Confident and powerful leaders won't do that. It is the fearful and powerless leaders who roar and if others don't heed take to underhanded means.
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| Coexistence - Live and let live Image credits - Pixabay.com |
This concept we can see with five leaders who had to toughen it up in their own life- Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama. (Still I wonder, why there is not a very powerful woman in that list. Why?) Why we feel a deep calmness and peace when we think of these five leaders? Even with the historical leader like Jesus or the mythological leader like Sri Krishna. Why do we feel that calmness and an underlying emotion of joy? Because war was never their ultimate aim, but peace was. They found that fount of peace within themselves and made that peace to flow outside.
I have read Abraham Lincoln was one of the kindest person there ever was. Even though he was very tough during the war to the other side, as a person he always gave respect, honor and value to any person whom he came across. Can we say that about many of the leaders today, who are just about the next election, the round of cabinet positions and the next five years. It is when a leader above their immediate desires, party, funding authorities, find a vision for their country for the next hundred years and take steps to initiate or put in place the starting steps, from a politician or leader becomes a statesman or a visionary.
For example, when George Washington won the war against the British empire, he never would have had any idea that his vision called the United States of America would be standing as a jewel of Democracy on this side of almost two hundred and fifty years later. The same way Abraham Lincoln could not have known that his simple signature on the Emancipation Proclamation would still be lauded as one of the best accomplishments of the nineteenth century. Mahatma Gandhi could not have understood the number of Indians who went outside the country of India and exist in this world as free and self-willed individuals or Martin Luther King Jr., could not have totally captured the gratitude African Americans and other sidelined communities feel today due to the Civil Rights Movement.
But that didn't stop them from trying or put in the first stone or pillar of effort towards something greater than themselves. All of them worked in their life towards something greater than themselves or magnificent than the smaller human life they were living. A purpose or Dharma much greater than themselves. That deep purpose became a shining rod of torch that led them on a path of value, worth and purpose. How many leaders can we count today who are led by a sense of purpose or Dharma?
Dharma or purpose: When a human gets plugged into their purpose that sense of focus brings them a confidence within themselves, which makes them peaceful, calm and joyful. To know the purpose, the first step is to deeply know oneself. Without deeply knowing and understanding oneself it is pretty much impossible to know the Dharma. The first step is to answer the question Who am I and then that later takes to the next question of What am I doing here or What am I meant to do here on the Earth?
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| Peace and coexistence. Not wars and battles Image credits - Pixabay.com |
Without even knowing Who we are, how can we know the question of What we are supposed to do here? Take an example. Think about Michael Jackson. He had to first realize he could sing and perform, so that later he took it up, sang and performed. If he himself didn't know he could sing and perform in a way he could capture the audience, he could have never had that career. Same way, for every human the first thing they need to know is the answer to - Who am I? Not from the mind or the conscious mind, which is only 20% of the equation. But from the subconscious mind, heart and even the Soul (I intuitively understand about the Soul), who truly we are. That is the very first step of inner work waiting for anyone who wants to live a very authentic life.
But in a twenty first century where busyness is running the lives of everyone where no one has enough seconds or minutes to spend on such deeper questions, who is ever going to take up the task of inner work and awareness. Have we ever wondered what made Washington, Lincoln, Gandhi, King or Mandela stand apart? Each one of them were self-aware humans who deeply knew themselves and who they were. That is what is missing in this "so called modern and very progressive" twenty-first century. People only have time to do rat-race behind social media, fame, glam, glitter, and duck faced selfies. Let us finish with a phrase-
Majority of the humans are chasing fool's gold, while the real gold is sitting within their hearts untouched and unrealized! Unfortunate and sad!
Anyway,