Everyone wants change, but who should change first?
Across the globe, almost every leader today articulates the need to base the educational system, politics, trade and commerce, and all other professions on moral and human values. But when these leaders are themselves faced with real-life situations, they discover that there are dissensions galore, even among the elite, about the right type of values and also about who should observe which values. For example, heads of many countries that are members of the United Nations or its Security Council stress the withdrawal of one powerful country’s troops from a less powerful country, for it is an act of forcible occupation of another member state’s territory and is against the accepted principles of international amity, cooperation, coexistence and non-covetousness. They therefore call upon powerful nations to observe moral norms and maintain the status quo ante. But those nations argue vehemently that the United Nations Security Council and its member nations do not themselves practise the values of justice and fairness in their treatment of all countries because, if they did, they would earlier have declared military blockades and economic sanctions against many such powerful nations that have repeatedly occupied the territory of another member state illegally. Likewise, in India, those opposing reservations in many sectors argue that merit should be given the highest value and that selections and promotions should be based on merit, for neglecting merit means placing a premium on mediocrity and turning back the wheels of progress at a time when other nations are advancing rapidly. Denying opportunities to those who deserve them on merit, they say, is an injustice to those who work hard to achieve excellence and higher standards.
On the other hand, those in favour of reservations argue that denying better opportunities to backward classes and castes is an even greater injustice. Others maintain that promoting employment prospects on the basis of caste is a negative and indirect way of encouraging casteism and of converting the present meritorious sections of society into the backward classes of tomorrow.
In a similar way, those driven by the zeal to build a place of worship at a disputed site argue that the minority should respect the sentiments of the majority and cooperate in correcting a historical wrong committed by invaders who demolished a religious structure out of fanaticism. Those opposed to this argue that the majority community should be more liberal and magnanimous and should not revive buried conflicts that may inflame religious tensions, fear and instability.
In short, there is constant dispute over who is failing to observe which values, and yet everyone insists that grave moral degeneration has taken place. Each person raises an accusing finger at another without realising that the remaining fingers point back at themselves. The real remedy for transforming society and grounding it in cherished values lies in self-transformation and in fulfilling the responsibility of practising values in one’s own life first.
Transformation, as we all know and experience ourselves, is a natural process of life filled with many ups and downs. It is a journey of self-discovery, with moments of triumph and moments of despair. A single nurtured seed grows into a fruitful tree. Imagine the world if every individual transformed positively from within. It would undoubtedly become a far better place in which to live.
Therefore, never think that only if others change will you change, because if “I” change, those around me will inevitably change too. The true process is about changing “I”, not “them”.
The writer is a spiritual teacher and a popular columnist; Views presented are personal.
