Extending the thought on gratitude to the current heartache we are all suffering from, corruption, I wonder if gratitude could be the way forward. Reading through an R.K.Narayan novel 'Waiting for the Mahatma' one gets an idea of the highly idealistic way in which the Mahatma fought the battle with the British. 'Love the enemy, remove all traces of hate for the enemy and then you will see a change in him,' seems to be the general idea. The beginning point of it all seemed to be forgiveness, love and seeking a change in the enemy so they stop behaving in the manner they do.
Is it that we need to accept that the corrupt system is but a reflection of us. The system reflects the collective level of corruption we are steeped in. It reflects the greed we have. It reflects the need to promote the self at everyone else's cost that we have. It, and the few people concerned, do it in a bigger way. We do it in our smaller way. That is why they represent us. That is why they are our elected leaders. We cannot disassociate ourselves and claim we are pure and they are all the criminals. It is we who have given them the mandate, the power, the environment to do what they did. Remember, the perpetrator only does things that the victim seems to want, even at a sub-conscious level. That is why they are tied together like the Stockholm syndrome.
Maybe the first step is to accept that we are all the same. That they represent the worst in us. That maybe they should be forgiven first, as we should forgive ourselves first. That they deserve to be treated without anger, hate, resentment. That they be treated with, and this is the difficult part, love. And perhaps they also deserve gratitude not just for the things they did not do, but for the things they did. And for showing us how things can go wrong. Perhaps that will break this energy, not this baying for every one's blood. The Mahatma has already shown us the way.
I know a lot of people would say that times have changed. Times will however not change certain universal principles like this - what we see outside only reflects what we have inside. What we give, we get. And to change anything on the outside, you must change yourself inside.
Is it that we need to accept that the corrupt system is but a reflection of us. The system reflects the collective level of corruption we are steeped in. It reflects the greed we have. It reflects the need to promote the self at everyone else's cost that we have. It, and the few people concerned, do it in a bigger way. We do it in our smaller way. That is why they represent us. That is why they are our elected leaders. We cannot disassociate ourselves and claim we are pure and they are all the criminals. It is we who have given them the mandate, the power, the environment to do what they did. Remember, the perpetrator only does things that the victim seems to want, even at a sub-conscious level. That is why they are tied together like the Stockholm syndrome.
Maybe the first step is to accept that we are all the same. That they represent the worst in us. That maybe they should be forgiven first, as we should forgive ourselves first. That they deserve to be treated without anger, hate, resentment. That they be treated with, and this is the difficult part, love. And perhaps they also deserve gratitude not just for the things they did not do, but for the things they did. And for showing us how things can go wrong. Perhaps that will break this energy, not this baying for every one's blood. The Mahatma has already shown us the way.
I know a lot of people would say that times have changed. Times will however not change certain universal principles like this - what we see outside only reflects what we have inside. What we give, we get. And to change anything on the outside, you must change yourself inside.
2 comments:
Hey, after the trip to Ladakh, I thought I was going to be a Lama..you are miles ahead on that road.
Raja,
Let us express gratitude to the Lamas for showing us the path (the rather mountainous and cold one in Ladakh!) Maybe they will show us how to build a commune in weather that is more suited to our tastes!
We can practice the art of gratitude there and conduct gratitude workshops.
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