The comment of Voltaire “Tolerance is a law of nature stamped on the heart of all men”. Nothing could be truer than this statement; tolerance is, indeed, a permanent law of nature. A man who is intolerant, is not a human being.
Many of the learned fellows do not want to recognise the principle of tolerance as being eternal, for, in condition of adversity, the temptation to retaliate becomes too strong. The feeling of anger which accompany negative reaction must somehow be vented and those who think and act in this way are keen to retain the illusion that in hitting back, they are not doing anything unlawful. Such thinking is quite wrong. In reality when a man is enraged at anything which goes against his will, tolerance as a priority becomes paramount. Many men strive to become supermen. But the true superman is who in different situations can demonstrate his super-tolerance.
Nobody in this world is perfect. If a man is endowed with some good qualities , he may be taking in others. This is one of the reasons for differences cropping up between people. But for life as a whole, this disparateness is actually a great blessing. For the good points of a man, society as a whole get many benefits and on the contrary, the society has to compensate for the shortcomings of another. If people could only learn to tolerate other’s differences, their very forbearance would become a great enabling factor in collective human development.
The habit of tolerance prevents a man from wasting his time and talent on unnecessary matters. When negatively affected by another’s unpalatable behaviour , your mental equilibrium is upset, whereas when emotionally untouched by such behaviour, your mind will fully retain its equilibrium, and without wasting a single moment, you will continue to carry. The policy of tolerance or forbearance enhances your efficiency, while intolerant behaviour reduces it.
Tolerance is not an act of compulsion. It is positive principle of life, expressing the noble side of a man’s character. The existence of tolerant human beings in society is just like the becoming of flowers in garden. The ‘ Quran’ calls the way of Islam ‘the path of peace.' The state of peace can never prevail in a society, if a tolerant attitude is lacking among the people. Tolerance is the only basis for Peace. In a society where tolerance is absent , peace likewise will be non-existent.
Peace is the religion of the universe. Peace should, therefore, be the religion of man too, in the words of Jesus Christ ‘the will of the Lord may be done on earth as it is in heaven’. In a similar vein, the Quran tells us that “The sun is not allowed to overtake the moon, nor does the night outpace the day. Each is in its own orbit.” The God created heaven and earth; he so ordered things that each part might perform its function peacefully, without clashing with any other part. The universe is following the path of peace—which is known in science as the law of nature as it is imposed upon it by God. Man has to adopt this path of peace of his own free will. Peace is no external factor to be artificially imposed upon man. Peace is inherent in nature itself. The system of nature set up by God already rests on the basis of peace. Peace is basic to all religions. Let us all strive then to establish peace in the World.
(The writer is a columnist, Khordha, M: 63706 75562)