Tolerance, patience, steadfastness and non-violence are prerequisites to the firm establishment of standards in a society. By Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji
We all remember how 2018 started with violent clashes between people from various castes in western region of India, which incidentally is known for its rich cultural heritage. The question that continues to baffle people is what was the need to clash over an event that took place more than hundreds of years ago? More importantly, does it makes any sense?
But it was not as if India was the only place which was plagued by senseless violence. It also occurred across the world and points to the need of paying due attention to the values which have eroded over a period of time. It is also essential that we understand the nature, the scope and the functional aspects of these values. Take for example, the world-wide protests against a book written by an author who has won a Booker prize, or against a dictator’s call to kill that writer. It is being said, in this context, that one has, no doubt, the right to freedom of expression but one has also the duty to respect the feelings of others. In other words, one has the right to enjoy one’s freedom of expression in a way that it does not infringe on the freedom of faith of others. This, therefore, means that freedom of expression and, for that matter, every other value is not absolute.
On the other hand, just as rights and duties put limits on each other, values also delimit each other’s functional area and scope. If we neglect this aspect of values in the present-day world, then also we find many kinds of dissonance and dissensions in our society. Further, we may find disagreement among individuals or among communities in their value-judgements. In the above case, for example, some consider ‘freedom of expression’ while others are concerned about the respect for others’ religious feelings, as a higher value. In such cases, it is tolerance and non-violence that can maintain peace, prevent further erosion of values or restore stability to the society.
We must bear in mind that erosion in values takes place if there is no reciprocity. For example, if one is an honest, hard-working and sincere worker but one does not get economic justice at the hands of the employer, one’s mind ceases to have love and regard for his employer whom he now considers as selfish and exploitative. Thus, love and regard, as values, lose their strength and are unable to sustain themselves, if they are not responded or reciprocated with economic or social justice.
A similar explanation can be given for the tangled problem of a southern state whose head became estranged from the central government because he felt that the latter did not meet their justified demands to act with a spirit of fairplay, justice and good-will towards him and his state.
All these examples and explanations show that not only are there certain values, such as tolerance, patience, steadfastness, non-violence and more which are prerequisite to the firm establishment of values in a society, but also that in order to build a society based on values, a sizeable group of people who are steadfast in their commitment to values and who observe tolerance, patience and non-violence are needed even when they find that there is no reciprocity to their observance of the values of love, respect and so on. And, such a sizeable group, which observes moral and human values in the face of provocations and temptations, can come into existence only when spiritual values and goals, which have their origin in and direct support and sustenance from God inspire them.
