29 October 2001, 12:09am IST
JAGDISH KAPRI.
'strike against fear’ would be the right term for the american offensive against afghanistan. had it been a ‘strike against terror’, it would have come a long time ago. we know that ‘terror’ in the garb of religious fanaticism has been perpetuated on innocents for centuries. the civilised society, mainly the self-proclaimed custodians of civilisation, have spent fortunes on development and manufacture of weapons of mass destruction, but very little has been done to lower the levels of hatred among nations and religious groups. as a matter of fact, no stone has been left unturned to inflame sentiments for narrow political or commercial gains. unfortunately, you reap what you sow. the burning desire for revenge is at the heart of the american offensive. in other words, the entire exercise is based on hatred. as scriptures of all religions tell us, hate has never conquered hate. it’s only love that can conquer hate. what should america then do? give up the strike? forgive osama bin laden? in the process win the hearts and minds of most of those living on this planet? or get regarded as a coward and no longer feared as it was before september 11? as often, the one answer to this complex situation is driven by emotion and that is what america is currently doing. blasting the war-torn afghan cities and deserts with all its might. unfortunately, it’s like fighting the darkness with a sword. but it’s not going to heal the wound. more importantly, it’s not going to remove the pall of fear that has enveloped america from coast to coast. in fact, it is bound to intensify it with added anxiety of retaliation by the desperados. let’s be rational and understand what has made the most powerful country in the world an object of such intense hate on the one hand, and so porous to insane acts of violence on the other. this requires courage and faith. this introspection would reveal many truths that america has conveniently ignored for the sake of political expediency or commercial gains. most of the weapons that the terrorists today use have originated either from america or former ussr, another superpower until a few years ago. if anthrax can create such havoc, what about other chemicals that are far more lethal? who developed all these? how did they get into the wrong hands? america has to look for answers to these and many such questions. the root of all evil according to confucian ethics is self-centredness or selfish desires that cause disorder and disruption in the human community. the opposite of selfishness is jen , variously translated as humanity, love or benevolence, in effect it is a matter of treating others with the care and concern with which we treat ourselves. the question, therefore, is can america rise above this selfish desire and provide a leadership full of jen ? this is the kind of leadership the world requires for its survival. military might is outmoded. the passion that is aroused through nationality has outlived its utility. the purpose of every religion is to eliminate the ego sense so that we can love the whole of humanity as we love our own family. therefore this clash, dissension and chaos in the name of religion is nothing but madness. christ said, ‘‘love thy neighbour as thyself’’. in the hindu scriptures it is said: ‘‘see god in all beings and love them’’. mohammed preached universal brotherhood. he said: ‘‘you are all children of one parent and therefore must live with each other like brothers and sisters’’. these great teachers taught us the same truth. but forgetting that, we have formed many distinctions and barriers amongst ourselves and have started hating each other. there is discord instead of unity. there is hate instead of love. while these great teachers stood for unity, their followers are fighting among themselves and creating disunity. this state of affairs is not only deplorable, but a serious threat to human existence. therefore, the time has come to deploy an ‘army’ not to attack military targets but to destroy ignorance and wrongly held beliefs. let the next world revolution begin. the revolution of spiritual awakening with the credo vasudeva kutumbakam or the world is one family. and who can lead this revolution but america? for an american is first a pakistani, indian, chinese, filipino or a spaniard. he or she has already transcended nationality. an american is the one who has experienced the best and the worst of materialism. he or she alone can transcend dogmatic ‘religion’ to higher plains of spirituality.
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