In the past couple of years, there has been a growing concern across the world with regards to ruthless killings of whistleblowers, most of whom were courageous citizens who fought to secure the truth at the risk of their lives. These whistle blowers play an essential role in exposing corruption, fraud, mismanagement and other wrongdoing that threaten public health and safety, financial integrity, human rights, the environment and the rule of law. Hence, such violent resistance to truth and its custodians in innumerable cases across the world, shows extreme moral degradation of our society and the erosion of values.
The dictum of might is right has been strengthened by the depiction of violent episodes in history as well as through religious writings. Even the evolution theory of Darwin points at the survival of the fittest or mightiest. Nature also mirrors this human view wherein more powerful species prey up on the smaller and weaker ones. That is why right from our childhood we grow up with the belief that the one who is physically strong and aggressive can survive better and is safer in this world. In their race to be the mightiest, humans have sought all means and methods to assert their mightiness.
To change this scene, patchwork solutions will no longer suffice. Because, we need a complete transformation that can emerge when we change the powers we use. From the power of might we now have to shift to the power of right and develop a culture that springs from non-violence. The great potential of non-violence needs to be explored — a value which asks its users to refrain from aggression not just in action but also in words and even thoughts. The simplicity of non-violence lies in the fact that it can be used by anyone and at all levels - personal, social and global. Peace, spirituality and self-sustainability will be dominant in a culture nourished by non-violence. It will naturally ooze with security and brotherhood and any anti-social elements will soon be forced to the road of guilt and self-realisation.
Is it all so simple as it sounds? Yes, it is! Together, we all can, through spiritual empowerment, create such a way of life, but the fundamental rule for it is self-change. Most of us have wasted much of our precious time and energy in checking others and the quality of people at the social level, without realising the fact that the creation of a fair society would begin from personal change that would work from the inside out. This change would be contagious which would spread through all of us, thus triggering a social transformation at global level. So, Let’s Be the Change.
The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal and the UK, and has written more than 8,000 columns. He can be contacted at nikunjji@gmail.com / www.brahmakumaris.com
