Once again prudence and sanity have given way to irrationality, ignorance and shallow thinking as the nation appears to be caught up with the sensational. Not only is it disappointing but downright senseless to believe that evil stalks the land. It appears as if all the reasons postulated for our state of affairs have run out. It appears now as if we are seeking justification for our own fate in the supernatural. What skewed thinking!
If we could clear the cloud that blurs our vision we would see where the source of this evil lies. I wish to reiterate that what we are witnessing today is a as result of our collective karma. We are all bound by the cosmological law that dictates ‘every action brings an equal and opposite reaction.’ No doubt, the daily misfortune that greets families is most distressing. Yes, evil exists. Yes, evil stalks the land. But the root of all this negative reaction, this perceived evil, is us. We must accept responsibility for the burden of pain in which we find ourselves at this time where the lives of twenty-five children have been snuffed out.
While we sympathise with the bereaved families, we must also delve within to find realistic answers to this sudden upsurge in children’s deaths.
Hard to swallow, but the evil lies in our minds where abominable diseases are allowed to run rampant. The main ills include: dereliction of duty; lack of compassion for our fellow-man; compromise of principles, responsibilities, codes of conduct, ethical and moral values, character, conscience and plain submission to sensual satisfaction. When on workdays, we claim to ‘rest and reflect,’ won’t we live to mourn, to regret? When parental responsibility is passed on to maids and grandparents, what calibre of citizens can we expect? When we hunger-strike and fast for some material gain, what benefits are there that really last? When hardworking tax-payers face shut office-doors for weeks on end, on whose ground do their tears fall? All of this and much more did not start yesterday, four years ago or in only selected places in the country.
The perceived evil that is being experienced today, I repeat, is the fruit of the collective seeds planted in the past. As long as we continue on this path, as long as we insist on caring for the diseases within, then we should prepare ourselves for the continued worsening our current condition.
Of course, to every problem is a solution and the answer lies in a return to spirituality. As cliché as it may sound, spirituality is at the core of every religion. I specifically advise spirituality, not religiousness. Religiousness abounds in every nook and cranny of our country. All through the land, countless places of worship have been established. Yet, we are in daily agony. Clearly, we leave behind all the practices that are carried out there.
Spirituality ensures that morals, ethics, values, integrity and other humane characteristics envelop every breath, every heartbeat, every thought, word and deed. These qualities ensure that we sow the seeds of karma that will bear fruits sans regret. Our country needs this practice to be adopted by members of all strata of society: the homes, schools, workplace, businesses, organizations, and media. Note carefully, our lives revolve around our karma.
As a nation, I ask that we all dig deep within ourselves, rather than believe in some superficial theory that is being dangled before us. It is only a spiritually impoverished and intellectually weak society that would hold on to this superstitious belief. It is only a society bereft of their dynamic, productive and progressive drive towards sincere personal uplift that would look backwards, in the direction of such false notions.
When each of us can deem it our responsibility to allow morals and values to dominate all that we do, only then can we re-direct the flow of our lives. Only then can our seeds sown in the garden of spirituality bear the fruits which bring tears of fulfillment rather than pain. Let us all begin now.
Paramacharya Pt. Hardeo Persad
Spiritual Head
SWAHA
Jennifer Kamala Saroop
To the point, clear, correct and precise. You have hit the nail on the head. Well said Punditji.
This needs to be shared with the general public.
Perhaps it could be also shared in the letters to the editor column in all the daily newspapers.