Thus, the verse aims to suggest that we can win over hatred through love ND love and compassion is a far superior force than hatred and aggression. History Is replete with Instances of politeness and non-violence winning over aggression and cruelty. The biggest example that comes to my mind is the Stationary movement by Gandhi. Stationary translated as “Insistence on truth” (Stay ‘truth’; graph ‘Insistence’) or “soul force” or “truth force”, Is a particular philosophy and practice within the broader overall category generally known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Stationary, as a non-violent weapon, urges for the change in heart of the aggressor. During the Danni march, Gandhi urged his followers to bear all violence meted out to them by the police and not to retaliate. It was in the face of such resistance, the military action in the then North West Frontier Province came to a thaw. The underlying concept of stationary is that as the stationary bears the violence meted out to him with love and meekness, the aggressor is bound to pause and think. Gandhi had used the weapon of Stationary during his struggle In South Africa.
The fact that meekness can actually win over aggression Is evident from the words of J. C Smuts, the opponent of Gandhi In South Africa. He wrote, “It was my fate to be the antagonist of a man for whom even then I had the highest respect. He never forgot the human background of the situation, never lost his temper or succumbed to hate, and preserved his gentle humor even in ten most trying salutations. HIS manner Ana spilt even teen, as well as later, contrasted markedly with the ruthless and brutal forcefulness which is the vogue in our day…
I must frankly admit that his activities at that time were very trying to me” 2 It will not be preposterous to say that it was stationary which helped us win our Independence from the British Rule. The aggression of the British Raja had to bend to the meekness of the non-violent movement of Gandhi. In the end, stationary was a weapon which proved far more powerful than guns and bombs. Soft did turn out to be the hardest. Another such example is the story of Jag and Madhya. Initiating was a visional saint.
He was a friend and disciple of Chatting Ambusher who is considered an incarnation of Krishna. Once, while he was chanting the name of Krishna on the streets, he was attacked by two ruffian brothers, Jag and Madhya. Madhya went to the extent of throwing an earthen pot which cut the forehead of Initiating. However, at this point, instead of cursing or retaliating, Initiating uttered the now famous sentence, “Monarchies kolkhoz kina, ATA bole ski prep debonair” (Shall I stop giving you love because you have hit me with an earthen pot? ).
Further, when Chatting heard about the incidence and wanted kill the brothers with his divine Charka out of anger, Indignant stopped him and begged him to pardon the brothers. Chatting then embraced them with compassion. This discordant behavior of meeting with hate with love created wonder in the minds of the ruffians. This soft demeanor aroused new emotions in their minds. Simultaneously, sense of guilt was also aroused in them. The compassion shown to them finally converted them into ardent and most devoted followers of Chatting.
Thus, again we see that aggression was won over by love and compassion. If we look into present times, we also find several instances when we see the meek and humble winning over the aggressive. One such example is Caching Denatured. In his entire career, he had been sledged a lot, and yet, he never retaliated. At least, not with his mouth. His bat always did the speaking, and he always remained humble even in the face of the most aggressive opponent. Both on and off the field, he had been provoked by the world. And yet, he never showed aggression or hateful behavior.
Always the epitome of calmness, he kept his cool and won the world over with his humility and talent. A specific incidence that comes to my mind is the one involving South African fast bowler Dale Steen. In this particular match, Steen tried to instigate Caching by abusing him. Caching Just smiled. When the next ball was bowled, Caching, in his trademark style, Just flicked the ball effortlessly for a boundary. In the end, the victory was Chain’s. Another incidence which I find a bit funny, yet endearing is the one involving Shish Throat.
When Neared Mood described Sundae Throat as Minister Shish Tractor’s RSI. 50 core girlfriend, all that Throat did was to say she was far more precious to him than the so-called RSI. 50 core of Mood’s imagination. Throat could have raked up the salacious tales floating around about Mood in Gujarat but chose to stay away from getting personal and I believe that Throat had the last laugh by making this choice. The philosophy of treating hate with love also finds resonance in the teachings of Buddha. According to Buddha, “not by hate is hate destroyed, by love alone is hate destroyed. In another occasion he says, mime monks, if robbers and murderers should sever your Joints and ribs with a saw, he who fell into anger threat would not be fulfilling my commands. ” Thus, we can see Tanat even In Biannual, we Tina ten concept AT love Ana sootiness trampling over hatred and aggression. However, now, I would like to question the very premise that I was building for so long. Can we be meek at all times? Or, the more important question is, should we be meek and humble at all times. Should we never retaliate? Should we never fight back?
Is aggression really that bad? Can being meek and soft always help us emerge victorious? Personally, I doubt it. I believe that even though being meek is a virtue and we should inculcate that, however, at times, the situation does demand that we don the garb of aggression. It is essential for our existence that we do take up aggression. Let me explain my point with some instances and stories. First, I would like to recount a story which I had heard from my father when I was a kid. It is the story of a hermit and a snake. Once a snake was causing a lot of havoc in a village.
He was biting anyone and everyone who came along a particular path. Once, a hermit was passing along the path. The snake was almost about to attack when the hermit stopped it with his spell. He was about to curse the snake, when the snake begged for apology. The hermit said he will forgive the snake if it promises that it won’t bite any innocent human being. The snake agreed. The hermit left the village and went away. After a year, when the hermit returned to the village, he saw that a bunch of boys were teasing and beating a snake for fun. The hermit realized it was the same snake.
He scolded the boys and shooed them away. He then asked the snake why he was not retaliating. The snake replied that since he had promised not to bite any human being, no one was scared of him and every village boy would tease him with sticks and even beat him up. It was then that the hermit told the snake that in order to survive, he should have at least pretended that he was going to bite the boys. That would have scared them and they wouldn’t have dared to tease him. The snake did exactly the same the next time any boy came close and this prevented him room getting beaten up by the boys.
Thus, from this story, we can infer that at times, aggression becomes necessary for survival. Today, when I see our Prime Minister Ammonia Sings, I really wonder, should we really be so meek that even enemy nations exploit us? If someone attacks our sovereignty, should we not retaliate? Can we afford to stay meek and hope that the enemy will have a change of heart? Maybe not, because it may be too late and we may end up losing our sovereignty. If we look into the scriptures, we find a lot of instances where aggression has been recommended.
The Gait establishes the existence of aggression and violence as social needs for the preservation of the good and destruction of the wicked. (IV. 8) Similarly, Krishna tells Aragua that for warriors, there is no ennobling duty than a fair fight. The Inhabitant, in the disapprove, also emphasizes the necessity of violence. Similarly, in Islam, fighting against injustice and suppression, that is Jihad, has been ordained as a religious duty. Thus, what we need, in life, is controlled aggression. Yes, it is good to be meek and humble and it is a virtue that helps us win n most situation.
But we need to be careful to ensure that our meekness and humility is not seen as our weakness. If we are able to showcase our humility and softness as our strength, like Gandhi did, we can work wonders. But, we should be careful that we don’t end up becoming the snake who was teased and beaten up by all and sundry Just because its non-aggression was perceived as his weakness. If we look at nature, we find that it is always a mix of softness and hardness, meekness and aggression, Tanat noels organisms survive. One AT ten netter examples would De AT our parents.
Invariably, in most families, one of the parents is the tough and hard taskmaster, while the other is the soft and caring one. However, it is the concerted action of both that helps them inculcate values and disciplines in a child. When I introspect, I find that by nature I am a calm and polite person who believes in non- aggression. I would avoid fights and even in conflicts, I would prefer resolving them politely and calmly and not in an aggressive manner. However, often in my childhood, I had been bullied, as the class bullies knew that I would never retaliate.
It was then hat I realized that I needed to be like the snake, I needed to use my aggression as a shield, only to defend myself, while from within, I would always be the calm and polite person who would believe in being humble and meek. In a nutshell, I believe that this verse of the Inhabitant teaches us a very important concept of how we should be calm in the face of aggression. It teaches us that we can conquer violence through love, we can win over aggression through meekness, that hate does not kill hate, but it is love that can win over hatred.
In most spheres of life, this mantra can alp us win, survive, prosper and achieve great feats. However, I personally believe that there is a caveat to it. We should not allow your meekness to be perceived as a weakness. For that, we need to have a bit of aggression within us. It may be referred to as controlled aggression, one that is important for us to ensure that our meekness is not seen as a weakness but our strength. If we can attain the balance between our humility and meekness and controlled aggression, we can really be successful in life and victorious in all wars of life. One who can attain the balance is truly a blessed person.
