Observations & Views:
All ethnic groups wish to maintain their identity, traditions and culture. Indians, including Jains, living in this alien atmosphere are no exception. The environment changes and society evolves. Attitudes and perceptions change. Youngsters are part of the process. Here is a glimpse of American Born Confused Desi (ABCD) culture.
Reena Patel, a senior at the University of Texas, has made certain important observations in an article published in the News India-Times of February 11, 2005. She has described an unfortunate incident that happened to an Indian girl who became drunk at a party. She states, "To all of the parents reading this, your first reaction may be to lock your daughters in their rooms at home. This is not going to solve anything. They will continue to go out and do things behind your back."
Reena Patel continues, "Realize that openness is the best gift you can give to your children to prepare them for independence. It is really hard for desi parents to discuss sex and rape and drinking with their kids in a rational manner.
"Indian kids suffer from what I like to call the jack-in-the-box syndrome. While at home they lead a very sheltered life. So once they get to college, they spring out of their boxes to the opposite extremes. Parents, please sit down and talk to your sons about respecting women and the consequences of their actions if they do not. ... also talk to your daughters about how much trust they should place on the opposite sex ..."
We Jains, both adults as well as youngsters, have to bear in mind that our conduct should conform to the teachings of our religion - nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, purity of body and mind, and non-possessiveness. Alcohol and drugs impair the individual's ability to discriminate between right and wrong. Thus it is self-directed violence. Nonviolence entails avoiding situations that may lead to problems in the future. Thus we should refrain from drinking and other indiscreet/imprudent activities.
Many people endeavor to establish the efficacy of their faith through supernatural feats like faith healing. The story "Is 'John of God' a Healer or a Charlatan?", broadcast on the Primetime Live Program of ABC on February 10, 2005 relates to this aspect of religion.
ABC News took a close look at the amazing claims that surround 'John of God', who is involved in faith healing for the past thirty years in a remote village in Brazil.
João (John of God) is not a licensed doctor. It is alleged that at the age of sixteen, the "entity" of King Solomon entered his body, and performed a miraculous healing. Now he is known as "John of God", and it is asserted that more than thirty doctors and notable personalities enter his body and do the healing.
Among other things, the report contains:
"Everyone is told not to stop taking their medications or treatments such as chemotherapy. ...
"John of God cautions that cures are not always instantaneous, but can take months or years and the entities cannot heal everyone. Some may be just too sick; others may not be ready spiritually. ...
"It's against the law to practice medicine without a license in Brazil. 'John of God' has been charged, fined and even jailed briefly. He keeps on performing surgeries, saying it's the entities, not him, at work.
"Some people say the healings are just a front -- a way to make John of God rich. ... Even though he charges no fee for treatment, João appears to be a wealthy man."
The program revealed the duplicity involved in 'miraculous' healing.
It is observed that many so-called religious personalities perpetrate similar misconceptions in the name of the Jain religion. In view of our belief in rationalism, we Jain should refrain from such practices.
Cultivating the spirit of tolerance:
Dr. Radhakrishnan writes:(1) Mo Tzu, a Chinese thinker of fifth century B.C., describes the troubled condition of China of his time in words which are not irrelevant to our present predicament. A thief loves his own family and, for the sake of his love, he thinks that he can ruin and cheat other families. A noble loves his clan and feels justified in misusing and exploiting other clans. A feudal baron loves his estate and feels justified in abusing other barons. Today, the Nation state has taken hold of us. Nationalism is a useful force so long as it inspires high ideals of duty, devotion to common welfare and sacrifice for a common good. But if it leads us to wrong paths, if it makes us feel that our country should be supported whether it is right or wrong, it deserves to be condemned. We have reached a stage when nationalism is not enough. Our problems and needs are of the twentieth century. Our loyalty should be to humanity as a whole. We must be able to feel it does not matter if our national interests suffer so long as humanity can be saved thereby. We must not allow our nationalist allegiances to disrupt the spiritual unity of the world.(2)
We must cast off pride and egoism, individual and collective. The root evil in human history is pride, that we are the chosen people called upon by Providence to educate ourselves to our way of life. . . . Only the arrogant believe that they have enough wisdom and virtue to rule the rest. The pride that apes humility is most dangerous. . . . We should give up the attitude that we are right and our opponents wrong or the attitude that we know we are not perfect but we are certainly better than our enemies. . . . A moral revolution to match the technological revolution has to be effected. We must develop new human relationships, foster intellectual solidarity and moral unity among all nations. Governments should develop a heart and a conscience, a feeling that we are all members of a brotherhood that knows no race or class.
Indian Secularism And Tolerance:
Shashi Tharoor writes:(3) "Western dictionaries defined 'secularism' as the absence of religion, but Indian secularism meant a profusion of religions, none of which were privileged. The wail of the muezzin calling the Muslim faithful to prayer blended with the chant of the mantras at the Hindu temple and the loudspeakers outside the Sikh gurudwaras crackling with recitations from the Granth Sahib. ...
"(In India) religion too was part of pervasive pluralism. ... We saw movies with Muslim stars, listened to ancient Hindu ragas played by Muslim ustads (maestros), rooted for the national cricket team, captained then (as again now) by a Muslim. ...
"India is less of a melting pot than a smorgasbord [of different cultures and religions]. Though our diversity contains the potential for discord, we believe instinctively that conflict is best prevented by respecting our differences. After all, Hinduism is the only major religion that does not claim to be the only true religion.
"So it pains me to read of "Hindu fundamentalists" when Hinduism is a religion without compulsory fundamentals. That devotees of this faith are desecrating a place of worship and assaulting Muslims in its (Hinduism's) name is a source of sorrow and shame. ...
"But today's politics of deprivation has eroded the culture's confidence. Hindu chauvinism has emerged from the competition for resources in a contentious democracy. ...
"The central challenge of India is to accommodate the aspirations of its different groups. The secular ethos - flexible, eclectic, absorptive - helped India meet this challenge. I grieve that today this ethos is under threat. Mobs want revenge against history but they do not realize that history is its own revenge."
Footnotes:
1. The Present Crisis of Faith, pages 94-96. Back up
2. The unity of the various groups among Jain can be accomplished only through such spirit of sacrifice. - D. C. J. Back up
3. New York Times, Friday, December 11, 1992, OP-ED page. Back up
The myth of sweet revenge was discussed on the 20/20 Program of February 18, 2005, on ABC. People enjoy watching the bad guy get the just punishment. But, according to Stanford Psychologist Fred Luskin, if revenge is sweet, forgiveness is much sweeter.
Considerable research has been done on the adverse effects of hostility.
"[Hostility] makes you much more likely to have heart disease … It increases your risk of stress-related disorder. It raises your blood pressure," said Luskin. "Wanting to hurt somebody is like pouring Drano into your own insides."
Fred Luskin says forgiveness makes you less depressed, less angry and less stressed. "Revenge may feel good for a moment," said Luskin. "Forgiveness helps you heal your whole life."