Confrontation can be changed into mutual understanding by giving people a vision of a better world, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji

One clearly visible feature of our present-day society is divisionism, disunity or disintegration, which is based on dissent, discontent or difference in self-interests. This ominous trend of divisionism characterises our society at all the levels. Due to this, all social structures, from the family to the political party to the global society, are breaking down or are showing cracks.

One finds that the dissent or discontent does not confine itself to a decent verbal expression but it finds expression in the form of emotional outbursts in public, destructive criticism, bitter opposition, character assassination, hate-campaigns, public scandals or censure, organised agitations, picketing, strikes and even violent confrontation and war. One result of this tendency, which is spreading, is that while many urgent problems threatening mankind await solutions, others get added to the big stock. The world grievously suffers because of this single factor.

So, an important question that our society is faced with is how to eliminate this suicidal divisionistic tendency and confrontation and to build co-operation? It also needs to focus on how to bring back harmony, love and unity to a world, which is splitting up and developing deep cracks?

In order to find an appropriate answer to this crucial question, we must first accept that the world is breaking into bits because of the different pulls in opposite directions, exerted by various self-interests of nations, political, economic, religious and social groups as well as ambitious individuals. Man is opposing man, nations are confronting nations and one sees overt or covert hatred and hostility everywhere because of a clash of self-interests. When one individual party or nation sees its self-interests challenged or threatened, it challenges and threatens the others. So, the best and, perhaps, the only way of bringing back the sense of co-operation into the society from the level of man to the level of mankind is to give the vision of an inspiring goal which seems to fulfill the individual as well as collective aspirations.

Today we see people getting united in groups, big or small, but only to protect, strengthen or improve their position vis-a-vis other groups or the society at large. This is happening because since a long time, the entire approach to cooperation has been of ‘giving’ with an eye on ‘taking’. Over the centuries, it has been forgotten that there is another philosophy of life which is that of ‘giving’ rather than ‘taking.’ Remember,  if we give more to the community than we take from it, we shall always have a ‘plus’ balance to draw upon. The well-known law of action begetting an equal reaction applies to cooperation also. Hence cooperation automatically begets cooperation, so in ‘giving,’ getting is automatically reciprocated. Bhagwad Gita also says, “Perform noble actions without expecting reward, Reward will automatically follow.” This is the Law of Karma in its simplified form. Hence, the much-wanted unity can be restored by giving society a unity of purpose, or goals. Once man and mankind realise that their hopes, aspirations and self-interests can be fulfilled by pursuing a common goal with a sense of togetherness and mutual co-operation and that they have a common enemy which also must be confronted together, then unity will automatically come into play, bringing with it willing cooperation.

This is the way that confrontation can be changed into global cooperation by giving to the people the captivating vision of the goal of a better world.