Our
society, today is faced with many gigantic problems. Some of these
are so serious that the very survival of humankind is tied to the
satisfactory and timely solution of those problems. The problems of
environmental pollution, nuclear weapons - their tests and the threat of their
use - high and rapid, rise in human population are some of those that give the
feeling that life is hanging by a slender thread or is at the end of a
precipice.
Growing violence, crime and corruption at all levels of society, the fissiparous and centrifugal tendencies that are evident in the forms of disintegration of our society on ethnic, religious or cultural grounds and the break-up of families, serious decline in standards of professional ethics, awful increase in the use of narcotics, intoxicants and drugs that result in altered states of consciousness, militancy, deviant behaviour etc. are some of the signs that show how chaotic and perverse our society has become and how artificial our civilisation is.
There is as much stress and mental
tension that a very large number of people suffer from many psychosomatic
diseases. There is so much poverty, illness and peacelessness that one cannot
but conclude that our attitudes, our philosophy of life, if any, and our
actions are violative of some healthy norms, values and principles of living.
All this clearly points to the truth that there is something basically wrong
with our ways of thinking, our
life-style and our inter-personal relationships.
GROWING AWARENESS
However, there is a silver lining in the dark clouds. There is a growing realisation among an increasing number of people that all our problems have arisen due to lack or infringement of moral, spiritual or human values. It is now being felt that our ultra-materialistic outlook has resulted in our present predicament.
Of late, this awareness is now beginning to dawn that our craze for machine-culture has hardened our hearts into machines so that we have been gradually losing the human aspect in life. We have been so caught up with the notions and ideas of competition, consumerism and rush-rush that we have lost touch with inner tranquillity and mutual sympathy.
We have now developed such materialistic values that we have lost the
spirit of friendship, fellow-feeling and love.
As a result of all this, we have been drifting away from such values
which could give us peace, contentment and concern for the well-being of others
besides ourselves.
There are many values which we must observe for a harmonious and peaceful living. Not less important is tolerance. Many of our troubles, turmoils and traumas are due to intolerance. Lately, people have become aware of this fact but yet there is a lot more need for educating people to cultivate this value which, when lost, makes human behaviour uncivilised and barbaric and makes a hell of one’s family, professional and community life.
If a nation has, as its leaders, such persons who are intolerant, they can land their nation in great conflicts and conflagration. They can embroil their country in a war or can lead it even to disintegration. For, when tolerance is lost, temper is also lost and the loss of both means the loss of mental balance, calm judgment and composure. Without tolerance human beings, though human in form cannot be human or humane in their conduct.
And, in this
state of affairs, there can neither be security , nor safety, neither peace nor
sustained development because intolerance lets loose the forces of destruction
and deprivation.
INNER POWER
Tolerance
is where love and regard are, or where mutual goodwill and understanding
of the stand point and difficulties of
others are. You may believe it or not
but it is true that the resolve to solve problems by tolerance, based on
goodwill, understanding and adjustment to the changed situation can succeed
where all other methods-political, diplomatic, legal, militaristic, economic,
etc. have earlier failed. Tolerance is exhausted when the feeling of mutual
well-being, understanding and mutual adjustment are exhausted. And, these are
exhausted, when man’s sanity and good judgment are exhausted and the long-term
and broader perspectives are lost.
These
having been lost, man puts aside his good conscience, good counsel of the wise
and the well-wishers and the inner and outer voices of goodness and virtue and
is carried by the tornado of hatred, anger, frustration and vengeance, and
recklessly takes the blind alley of lawlessness and violence and marshland of
troubles. From that there is no escape unless man returns or is extricated back
to the terra firma of tolerance.
The
chronicles of mankind or of various civilisation or nations bear witness to the
truth that property worth inestimable and incalculable amount, and millions of
men have been lost in the slaughter
house of intolerance during the last 2000 years or so; because of intolerance that ensued from a
hurt ego, an unfulfilled selfish motive or narrow-mindedness that could not
stand the existence of different views, different life-styles, different
cultures and different self-interests.
Tolerance easily returned when a person realised that, in this universe,
which is, in truth, a multiverse also, we have to exist like flowers of
different hues and designs in a nursery or a garden.
Can
anyone calculate or imagine how many
families lost their peace and harmony and how many cities and civilisations
were ruined because of intolerance? If only this virtue, called tolerance, had
been sustained, all or many other virtues also would have survived, for when,
tolerance is lost man loses his patience, self-control, spirit of non-violence,
etc. or you can say that tolerance is lost when these are lost.
So, tolerance is an
inner power; it is the power to control the self, to keep at bay the negative
forces of hatred, anger, etc.
And to keep active
one’s saner judgment. If a person or a nation has tolerance, it is very
powerful because it is the weak who are afraid or who cannot adjust with others
or who cannot see that the diversity and differences also have their place in
life. Thus, it is necessary to inculcate the virtue of tolerance, for it is of
great value and gives great power.
A MORAL DIMENSION
Tolerance
is a virtue and a fruit of wisdom that can come and stay if we firmly believe
that all have the basic right to live peacefully, enjoying their own culture,
tradition or religion. If we are
self-righteous and think that our own culture and religion are the best of the
whole lot and the beliefs of others are only third grade, then we develop
narrow-mindedness, hatred and intolerance, resulting in conflicts of various
sorts.
So,
if we wish to have peace and harmony, we have to learn to respect others and
adjust ourselves with them to co-exist. We have also to learn to forget and
forgive some lapses and shortcomings of others in the spirit of friendliness or
brotherhood, else we cannot have goodwill, amity, cooperation and peace.
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It
is here that the role of education, media and religion becomes very important.
For, unless and until education is value-based and media, especially the electronic
and the film media and religion make their contribution in creating awareness
for values, there will not be any peace and harmony in the society nor will
there be tolerance, humility or family-love. We must understand that there is a
basic difference between physical, chemical and mechanical action on the one
hand and action done by a human being on the other hand. Physical actions are studied in physics,
chemical action in chemistry and mechanical actions in engineering. Actions done by human beings have a moral
dimension.
They are the result of intent, purpose and goal. They have emotions. They are based on the awareness of relationships. They have a desire behind them and also a will and a feeling or an experience. So, they are qualitatively and categorically different from all other kinds of actions.
They are either
morally good or bad because these cause happiness or sufferings to the society
and also to the doer. So, our actions
have to be judged from the point of view of morality. It is here that all our
actions have or have not moral values according as they result in peace and
happiness or in conflict, crime and suffering.
Education, media and religion must make people aware of this basic
difference and must educate people about this.
It
has been found from experience that practice of mediation enables a person to
have full moral growth or development and to have bliss. So, it would be very
useful to the cause of peace harmony and values if people practice, meditation. This will help professions to observe their
code of conduct and will thus build a better society.
POWER OF TOLERANCE
Tolerance
does not mean cowardice, because tolerance requires tremendous courage. Flexibility (content with any changes) and
humour are also prerequisites for the power of tolerance. In order to achieve success one must learn to
tolerate. Because the mental state can not remain constant in diverse
circumstances like inadequacy, hurt, disgrace, loss, despair and other adversities.
With tolerance it’s easy to remain satisfied in any adverse situation.
Tolerance
is the main sign of a knowledgeful soul. It’s the acid test by which the
ignorant and the wise can be judged. Tolerance does not mean that allegation of
any sort should be accepted to upset the state of the mind, but to disprove the
imputations by remaining in the unaffected state.
It takes two hands to clap, therefore, if one soul is quiet and tolerant then the other will be calmed automatically. True tolerance only comes through the power of Rajyoga mediation and the understanding of Godly knowledge.
You are whole heartedly welcome to
Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya
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