Most of us are well aware about the fact that Mahatma Gandhi,- The Father of Indian Nation became deeply revered by the whole world because of that one incident of racial discrimination in Africa when he was thrown out of the railway compartment for which he had a valid reservation. Similarly, when Nelson Mandela who was The Father of African Nation, took over as the president of South Africa, it was hoped that the sad chapter of racial discrimination had ended and a new era of good will and amity has dawned in the world. However, looking at the scenes that have been played out on various news channels since the last few days, it makes one think, reflect and ask: Which force has once again brought back the sad episode of racial discrimination? Are we going forward or backward?
There will be different views and answers to this question, but the basic question remains unanswered and a simple yet valid answer for that would be: “Racial discrimination was, is and will always be wrong and really bad.” But how is it bad? The answer to this would be: “It is morally wrong. It is against the dignity of the human individual. It is against human rights. It is based on hatred and arrogance on the part of those who consider themselves to be superior on the basis of the colour of their skin. It leads to cruelty, injustice, inhuman treatment and conflict.”
One should remember that “We are all one and belong to one great family of humankind and the colour of our skin should not divide or alienate us.” There is always a feeling in us that the body is of flesh, blood and bones whereas we are dots of consciousness or of experience and intelligence. In short, we are souls, a point of light and we belong to one family or fraternity of the beings-of-light. Thus, what the world needs today is the spiritual response, which can break the psychological barrier of racial discrimination and bring down with it the high walls of hatred and injustice.
Spiritual response is a blend of such benign values as universal love, goodwill, co-operation, concern for the wellbeing of the whole family of mankind, based on the constant and living awareness that we are souls and we belong to one family or fraternity of the beings-of-light. We must thus remember that without this kind of spiritual response, no problem, whether you call it political, economic, ethnic or by any other name, can be solved.
The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal and the UK. He can be contacted at nikunjji@gmail.com / www.brahmakumaris.com
