The humanity is at a threshold of envious and hateful atmosphere. We do not need holy wars. The need of the hour is brotherhood, tolerance and equality of all human beings irrespective of race, region and religion ; caste, colour and creed.
By Zile Singh IFS
Ambassador(Retd.)
“I am in Harmony with All.” ( Guru Nanak )
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scriptures ( the ordained living Guru) of the Sikh religion emphasizes the spirit of universal brotherhood. – Na koi bairi nahi begana, sagal sangh hum ko ban aaie, meaning that none is my enemy nor stranger, I am in harmony with all in the universe, living or non-living.
The seventh word used in the Mool Mantra in Guru Granth Sahib is ‘Nirvair’ which means without enmity or without an enemy. The English version of the original text is: Ikoankar sat nam karta purakh nirbhao nirvair akal murat ajuni saibhan gur parsad. ( One Universal Creator God. The Name is Truth. Creative Being Personified. No Fear. No Hatred. He is beyond Time. Beyond Birth. Self-existent and can be realised through Guru’s Grace.)
From the religious point of view, the meaning of Enemy is evil and falsehood and the Stranger denotes the one who does not acknowledge the goodness and propriety in life. The Five Enemies or Five Vikars mentioned in the scriptures are : Kam(Lust), Karodh( Uncontrolled Anger), Lobh(Greed), Moh(Emotional Attachment) and Ahankar( Ego). These five major weaknesses in human beings are not in support of man’s pursuit for moral and spiritual progress. The Guru says that I have reached beyond these evils and falsities of life and have found refuge in the divine love which is evergreen and harmonious. That Love within me for all has rendered me incapable of hate and prejudice.
When we talk about the enemy, enmity and hatred, naturally love and compassion come to our mind. Enmity and hatred are the opposite of love and compassion. To reach a stage of nirvair we have to step through and understand the stages of vair (enmity), one of the defilements and falsities of life. Without knowing the gross aspect of anything it is difficult to understand its subtle aspect. Here a saying or doha of Satguru Kabir is quite relevant “ Bura jo dekhan mein chala, bura na milya koi. Jo dil khoja aapna, mujhe se bura na koi.” Therefore, the enemy is within oneself and not outside. The foundation of all religions is love and compassion, not hate and violence.
The gods of the Hindu Trimurti – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are compassionate. But Vishnu is the sustainer of the universe. That is why the Vaishnavists worship him as the personification of love. According to Hindus, Gautama the Buddha, the embodiment of compassion, was the most recent incarnation.
In the Jewish and Christian traditions the idea of compassion and love can be traced in the Old Testaments in which several passages refer to compassion and love directly or indirectly. The main among these passages is “ love thy neighbour as thyself”. Saint John of the Cross said, “In the end, we shall be examined in love.”
According to the Quran, “ Allah shows compassion and love only to those among His slaves who are compassionate and loving.”
In a culture that equates holiness with angles, it might be hard to comprehend why one would want to reflect on the shadowy side of holiness. Psychotherapist Connie Zweig explained, “ All of those ancient spiritual traditions knew that at some point you meet the demons on the path. Fail not in your function of loving in a loveless place made out of darkness and deceit. It is only by facing that which is darkest in us that we can begin to undo it. And the rewards of doing this are great. This allows the person to hear the voice of the self, the voice of your own intuitive wisdom, the part of you that knows what is right action”.
Carl Jung, a Swiss Psychologist used to say that if we can shed a little light on our own darkness, it will remove some of the larger darkness from the world.
Voltaire, one of the greatest European thinker of all times, was attended by a priest on his death bed. The priest asked him to renounce the Devil. Voltaire responded by saying, “ This is no time to be making enemies.”
In day-to-day life, our likes and dislikes are similar to our friends and enemies. Vipassana meditation provides us with a skill to deal with all types of situations in life with serenity, tranquility and equanimity. Vipassana teaches how not to react in the face of provocation while observing sensations, the natural vibrations within ourselves. Cravings and aversions are watched as an impartial witness with conscious mind. The cardinal principle of ‘impermanence’ strengthens our belief that even the worst situation will disappear with the passage of time.
The humanity is at a threshold of envious and hateful atmosphere. We do not need holy wars. The need of the hour is brotherhood, tolerance and equality of all human beings irrespective of race, region and religion ; caste, colour and creed.
Zile Singh is a former Ambassador(Retd.) of India and a Vipassana Meditator. He can be reached at [email protected] .
