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TOLERANCE ON THE BACK SEAT??? Back to
Gautam Buddha said “For hatred does not cease by hatred any time; hatred ceases by love” and when we see the world getting charged to fall apart, we find Victims of differences whose hearts are filled with hatred and their eyes flaring the fire to engulf and burn the enemy to ashes. Tolerance is on the back seat with the 21st century Gen X and as one notice, from kid to a youth, the art of ‘Let go’ finds no place to existence. Social, economic and political tensions have mounted up and its that most religions preach tolerance and tolerance is the necessary loom to knit society. Intolerance creates prejudices and bog down to fill the mind with remorse and malign thoughts where one can’t see the hay when the sun shines. Tolerance is openness to differences and that depends on self-esteem. If there is self-esteem, the threat of differences is gone and one can co-exist in harmony to others. As said by Swami Vivekananda “When a man has reached the highest peak, when he sees neither man nor woman, neither sect nor creed, nor color nor birth, nor any of these differentiation, but goes beyond and finds that divinity which is the real man behind every human being – then alone he has reached universal brotherhood” This message can heal and unite with a belief in god and the faith that holds so strong which has love within flowering to bloom. However, when hate is at peak, when evil tries to reign, there is an end. Tolerance prevail no more and there’s a line drawn somewhere. Guru Gobind Singh believed that the temple and the mosque are one, the hindu workship and the muslim namaz are one yet the differences prevail in the minds of people who are staunch believers of their own faith and forget that after all, god is one, be it allah or ishwar. It’s the internal tolerance that drains away the evil. As Goleman quoted in his book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ about a Vietnam soldier who quoted “American and Vietnamese soldiers were shearing another at war when a group of monks came and calmly walked with poise and unhurried manner compelled the soldiers to halt and hold their guns. Strangely, by the time the monks left, the soldiers withdrew and quit to stop fighting.” It’s the instincts that make a person react and it’s the mind that thinks at ease with picking of time. When the terrorist struck Bombay, innocent lives were gone and now when the whole world panics with the Terrorism and the war, differences mounts upto a political and religious tension where faith is shattered. Life treads on difficult path for humans, especially who face the traumatic experiences. The kids who learn to cope with bad times and its this time when values of tolerance is more necessary for them to divert their minds to shrug off the hatred from the heart. The healing of grief and pain is a process that takes time. Each person experience pain differently and reacts to different stimuli in different ways but certain emotions stir as a result of sudden traumatic event. Anger, symptoms of depression, sleep disorders, loss of appetite and difficulty in accomplishing daily tasks are stages that kids and adults pass through. An emotional trauma needs much more care than a broken bone and it is in these times, one needs to cope up with tolerance and acceptance of the fact, understanding of the cause and being positive and optimistic of the future. Its more important that tolerance and let go bring in calmness to treat oneself gently who is affected with pain and grief. It takes time to heal with support of loved ones and stand by for a right cause. For years, mankind yearns for peace on earth and goodwill towards humans. The journey continues but there is no fixed destination. Humans themselves dig their own graves when there is no tolerance, ego is on heights and evil minds lets the demons rule their minds. After all, its then we remember the words of poet Henley “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of our soul” and its in the hands of humans to spread the peace and heal the world.
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