We are all trapped in a vice-like grip today — the deadly, toxic ‘hold’ of ethnic, emotional, or fanatical upheaval. A case in point — call it human deception, or the fluctuating progression of the nastiest of times. From the most sophisticated to the lowest of ‘low-tech’ advance. And, as the monstrous threat of natural calamities, including the diabolical COVID-19 crisis, seem to get juxtaposed by war clouds, wherever you look, or see, a sudden encounter with grievous injury, also death, could occur in a moment of celebration, happiness, or enjoyment. The roof collapse, a gun-wielding fanatic, or terrorist, overexcited fans at a football match, or just about anything — including a petty vocal brawl turning into hatred — can bring gloom. However, it is nothing short of a miracle that human beings often display great resilience, courage, and understanding even to, and for, those who may sometimes be the ‘offenders’ themselves.
The reason? Human beings are social by nature and, as psychologists point out, togetherness and shared experiences have always helped people to deal with dreadful events. And, just as difficulty and stress can bring out the best qualities in some people, social contacts, unless they are not overstated, can also be a great source of succour, comfort and recovery. Not only that. The clicking of the hour hand is the best healer, to use a metaphor, or age-old maxim, because any such bygone occurrence is always subject to surpass time and place and, thus, become a pictogram of human reaction to it and also its emergent acceptance.
A host of events related to war and conflict have been buried from time to time. Many of them, with their own peculiar constellation of psychic, ethnic, political and religious interpolations, have also had the better of logic, not just emotion. They have been dug up just as well from the deep pit and made into raging issues for whatever gain. Not merely because the history of conflicts is a stream of appraisal, which only the victor has been allowed to engrave, but also because of life’s own inequities. As William Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth: “Is this the dagger I see before me?” Yes, this inflated ‘hold’ of emotional illusions, or recollections, to scenes of war and crime — and, that distinct affinity to faint at the bizarre ‘echo’ of a mine blast — have all been described in soldiers who return from the area of battle and devastation.
People affected by war, or ethnic tragedy, are most likely to show feelings of alienation, sleep difficulties, and lapse of concentration. It is a typical aphorism of our difficult times, where we live in fear and hope, hope and despair. Yes, such images, gory and painful, emanate with cascading effect. Think of New York 9/11, Mumbai 26/11, or the sombre frames of war, violence and hatred that have [dis]placed civilisations, cultures and societies, and led them to infamy and utter disgrace. The spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace and harmony, would sure be agonised with them, just as much as every peace-loving citizen on the planet.
Blame it too on flared emotions, dogmas, or anything else. The inference is obvious. We cannot assert to be a part of what may be called as the ‘Happening Age,’ the epoch of great scientific and technological advance, on the one hand, and ruin on the other. Perish the thought of using a plethora of easy to use, or borrowed, phrases such as culture, compassion and unity — primarily because none of our forebears, including great leaders, ever wanted states, or nations, to spewing venom and malice on the basis of belief.
Besides, we have all been witness to another parody. That while one has often heard of the need for reconciliation, there’s not been a definitive, significant movement on either side of the ‘divide’ towards achieving the goal of peace, primarily because most of us have forgotten to live in harmony, not only with oneself, but also one’s surroundings. Yet, there is hope at the end of the tunnel — as the case has always been through history, where chaos and disaster have, over time, ushered in peace and harmony. This is because hope is stronger than faith. It surmounts the challenges of the material domain; it also recognises our connect with our world, our desire for peace and harmony, notwithstanding our incessant dilemmas. Desmond Tutu, the noted theologian and anti-apartheid activist, articulated this credo best, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
— First published in First India
