10 September 2001, 08:52pm IST
C Jayanthi.
If you are a believer, you would say, ``god made us''. in the eyes of god all human beings are equal. the almighty does not wish us to discriminate against each other on the basis of birth, wealth, colour or creed. that's why, our scriptures exhort us to follow the principle of vasudaiva kutumbakam , that the entire world is one family. in the ``world conference against racism'' held recently in durban, south africa, mary robinson, united nations high commissioner for human rights and secretary-general of the conference, said: ``we meet here in a united nations conference, all of us with one thing in common -- that we are committed to the provisions of the charter and the universal declaration of human rights which place equality and non-discrimination amongst their foremost goals. we have a duty to the people who are suffering discrimination everywhere.'' the human spirit is against creating inequalities of any sort. those whose spirit is one with god know that there is divinity in every one of us and every person deserves to be treated with due respect and consideration. we need to listen oftener to the inner voice that tells us to get rid of feelings of caste and creed and to treat others like we treat ourselves. to say that a person's status is either high or low on the basis of birth is antithetical to any religious or spiritual teaching. honourable conduct is therefore the purpose of all our actions. this would mean we treat other people on par with ourselves, whether poor or rich. we all know, an infant or child does not understand inequality. held in the arms of a king, it will give him a kick in the belly and then gurgle with laughter. it is only society that does damage and teaches a child to differentiate between one person and another -- a difference that is created by us and not god-willed. if parents teach their children that differences based on birth, gender and colour do not exist, then we will create a society that god willed us to create. in india we create reservations for backward castes for their uplift but then we do not treat them in society with the equality they deserve. the great tamil poet-saint tiruvalluvar has said, ``death by starvation is preferable to the maintenance of comfort and show of respectability by dependence on those who look down upon you and do not take you as one of themselves but only render help as to one inferior.'' it is this mindset that that has led to the dalits to remark at the durban conference that there is a ``hidden apartheid'' in the caste system and that they are discriminated against even as we've set foot into the 21st century. how do we then reconcile our spiritual tradition with the inequities that exist on the ground and which we continue to perpetuate? we do this by compartmentalising our beliefs and value systems in such a way that we internalise these contradictions in our minds and never once question them. this hypocrisy has become our very nature. a large number of indians therefore pray in temples everyday, asking god to take care of them -- yet, they remain totally unmoved by the sight of a poor and handicapped person. most of us believe that our status in life is the result of our past deeds; that it is god who decides our economic status. we forget that inequality is largely socially created -- it is not something that arises out of the will of god. god is present everywhere, even within us. we reduce the spiritual quotient that exists in every one of us by our own insensitivity and self-centredness. but then charity and recognition of truth begins at home. by all means, build more temples -- but not without learning to be kinder to the less fortunate. we get offended when it is pointed out that inequalities exist in our society. we deny it, saying that we are a spiritual people; that we have a great spiritual tradition in this country. yet, it is here that people are discriminated against and ill-treated on the basis of birth, gender and economic status. before pointing fingers at others, we should deal with the malaise within us and in our society. we have to follow the true spiritual path that our sages have advocated and lead by example.
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