Ripeness is All : Wisdom of the Ages

            

                                                      Ripeness is All : Wisdom of the Ages

             The existing global scenario, haunted by militant fundamentalism, hyper nationalism and impassive terrorism signals annihilation of all values that have till now sustained humanity. It is a now or never situation for a surgical extirpation of the fundamentalist and militant ideology through effective social, intellectual and ideological transformation. What kind of lasting solutions can we find to this festering problem of militancy? Before looking for solutions, it is axiomatic to recognize that  we have to deal with a problem that defies rationality, that is sustained by an emotional appeal that taps into the human primal instincts of fear and anger,  employing identity-based deception that those who do not belong to that base are hostile and manipulative to destroy that  identity. How to counter irrationality through an appeal to rationality?  The role of UN and that of the civil society,  Human Rights based approach,  political and democratic efforts, economic equality and justice have all been tested and tried but they  have not made much dent on the groups that employ militancy and terrorism to subjugate the rest of the world  to their hegemonic control. So back to the question: Where lies the solution?

Though it may seem simplistic and naïve, I believe in Education as a possible means to bring about wholesome transformation and inspire us to assume responsibility to restore peace and harmony in the world. Education opens our minds to existing reality, promotes reasoned thinking, makes us understand that history of Man is a continuum and therefore we cannot rest in the past but move past forward and enables us to enter into dialogue with each other as men and women on equal terms. Learning is truly the essence of a humanizing culture. The past is over and gone; the future is only an idea that is hidden from the present. The only existing reality is the present and it is the only reality we know. To understand the present, to be rid of the optics of the past especially those that breed negativity and to purge the carryover prejudices from the past, we need good and sound education. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”(Malcolm X, the Human Rights activist)
 When I say education, it goes beyond learning the minimal three ‘R’s- reading, writing and (a)rithmetic. Education is building knowledge and character. Aristotle said: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Let us see how this can happen in the present scenario with special reference to India and Pakistan.

As an independent nation we are now 70 years old. The trauma of partition is also 70 years old. Both India and Pakistan have moved far away from that distressful time. Does it help anyone to keep harping on what happened 70 years back? Won’t it be far more prudent to work towards building the two nations on the basis of shared culture, civilization, thoughts and affinities? The youth and children in both the countries are looking forward to a future un-intercepted by violence, anger, revenge and bloodshed. Many of them go abroad for higher education and employment. They should be educated not to carry seeds of hatred, but carry with them the culture of Asia, a distinct continent from the West-centric perspective.  Art, music, literature, cuisine are common heritage that we share with each other and that heritage is rich, distinctive and unique.  Our young men and women from India and Pakistan should be well educated to forget bitterness and hatred, instead nurture a sense of pride in what they have as shared inheritance. Catch them young and encourage the strengthening of shared interests that the young  can disseminate among those unaware of the richness of Indo-Pak culture. Quoting Rajiv Gandhis’s ill-timed statement on the Sikh riots following the death of Mrs. Indira Gandhi “ when a big tree falls, the earth shakes”, Vikram Kapoor in his new book 1984: In Memory and Imagination, writes : “When the earth shakes, it shifts too, upturning to fertile mud. People are slowly burying seeds of anger into it, and allowing healing to bloom through the shoots of closure”.  We have to make our young people read books that open up their minds and reach out to those on the other side of the Western border. India by virtue of its being a bigger country with deep roots in tradition, culture and epic narratives has to take the initiative and  shoulder this responsibility and start a new narrative on the lines of wisdom that has come to us through the ages.

Education through a deep and incisive study of history and literature can fill the mental vacuum that is currently fed by past prejudices and exacerbated by pseudo nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Today our leaders- leave aside our young students –have no knowledge of the value of the Classics that present History of human civilization  and learn from the past errors and infirmities of mind and draw upon them for future wisdom. Lack of proper education has been the cause for the rise of cruelty and inhumanity all over the world.  Speaking of India, our schools and colleges do not even prescribe our great epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata for study.

             How many of our leaders have the perception that The Mahabharata is our story, dealing with the questions that we address or confront daily in our lives? The epic relates what happened, 5000 years ago in the Dwapara yuga, but what happened is not unique to that age. It had happened in the past, it happens today and it will happen tomorrow as the epic deals both with human frailty such as greed, acquisitiveness, ego,  hubris, jealousy, anger, vindictiveness and unrighteous conduct and human nobility characterized by generosity, altruism, selflessness, modesty, peace, tolerance and morality. It is a book that contains the wisdom for all religions and faiths, all cultures and traditions with Man at the centre. More than at any time, we have to centre the Mahabharata in the contemporary world. The clash of religions, clash of civilizations, clash of egos, clash of power hungry leaders and clash of human beings in pursuit of personal and selfish gratification is today a global reality.

      The first thing to note in today’s world is the indisputable fact that almost man to man, woman to woman, we desire peace and harmony. This in itself is an acknowledgement of Man being in a state of turmoil or conflict both with himself and with the outside world.  Like the conflict zones between India and Pakistan, we have many other conflict zones such as the Gaza strip,  the Iraq-Syria border, the Iraq-Iran differences . Today conflict is present everywhere – among nations, religions, cultures, traditions and last but not the least among individuals. It is no exaggeration to say that majority of men and women today are making a choric appeal to live in a world at peace. The terrorists in the name of religion are the new Asvathamas; the latest incident of burning alive 18 soldiers is similar to the incarceration of the Upapandavas( the children of Pandavas) The so called self proclaimed leaders have no understanding of humanity. How many of them can recall the lines “No man is an island, entire of itself”—because everyone belongs to humanity. The death of any human diminishes everyone of us because we are a part of mankind. It makes no sense to ask who has died, but when we hear a funeral bell toll, it tolls for everyone in the human race. “The earth is one country and mankind its citizens”: says Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Bhai faith.

             Where  to find peace?  It is only by a return to our classics that we can understand the essence of righteous living. The Mahabharata provides the required guidance we need today in our present strife-torn age’

             Three important lessons to be learnt from the Mahabharata relevant for our times:

1.      Fight for righteousness- the world should come together as it did during the second World War to put an end to the Nazi terrorism. Time to stand up to fight for the reestablishment of peace and harmony by fighting terrorism . Humanity has forgotten what it is to be human -compassionate, empathetic, kind, caring and sharing. To be human is to be courageous and strong, to fight for truth and justice, to recognize the oneness that binds us as human race.  Krishna s advice to Arjuna enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita makes a strong plea for action in war - to fight unrighteousness, to protect the world from evil and disaster, to uphold and reestablish order when it is on the decline.

2.      Compromise: Value the power of compromise when needed and not stand on one’s ego. Almost every battle, every fight, every conflict today is nothing but an ego clash.  Kurukshetra is no longer a geographical entity, but a metaphor for the internecine feud within family, society, regions and nations. On an international level, the battle is fought for territories and the latest to acquire the Kurukshetra metaphor is the IS wanting large territories panning the Middle East to come under the jurisdiction of the Caliph.

3.       Learn is  to act and not to look for rewards of that action

 The epic ends on a note of peace. The Pandavas realize that their victory is a pyrrhic victory   affirming the futility of violence and war . Yudhishtra hands over the reign of Hastinapur to Arjuna’s grandson and moves out with his brothers and Draupadi through forest fire to ascend to heaven. Krishna also departs. Death is indeed the greatest leveler, sparing none. We come into the world with nothing and we exit taking nothing with us. This is the message of the Mahabharata- what  Shakespeare in the 17^th C summed up at the end of King Lear :

You can’t choose your time of death any more than your time of birth. We live and die when our time comes.

        Men must endure their going hence even as their coming hither.

        Ripeness is all.

I have illustrated through a parallel study of the Mahabharata and our present times, how education alone can give us the wisdom to cultivate humanity. We owe a debt of love and gratitude to the epics and classics which are best defined as “central humanity.  It becomes imperative that we recognize that the study of Classics is the surest insurance against inhumanity. They contain the kernel of practical wisdom to help us deal with the conflicts and complexities of everyday living.  But if these lessons are not learnt, human civilization is in danger of extinction.