No religion has ever promoted violence. Thus we need to stop spreading hatred and let peace prosper, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent — Mahatma Gandhi
Recently, different parts of the world witnessed back-to-back incidents of riots, arsonry, bombing, looting and massacre of innocent people from a lightening spree to a frightening scale. The violence, which raged on for several days, and continues to erupt intermittently in certain areas, has been dubbed as communal violence by most people, projecting that it is religiously motivated.
This observation by the people as well as the media has compelled the whole world to think whether this is what one’s religion preaches. In reality, religion has very little to do with such acts because no religion preaches killing and looting and hence it cannot be the cause of any riot. So then why do riots eruptIJ The truth is that such riots in the name of religion are most often incited by anti-social elements to fulfill a personal or political agenda or just to give vent to their hatred for the another community fostered by prejudices and real or imagined grievances. These kind of people always wait eagerly for an opportunity to start a riot and once it begins, it is fanned by these misguided fanatics to such an extent that it creates mass destruction in society.
Nowadays, in fact visuals of riots have become ‘prime time food’ for the viewers as well as broadcasters. However, looking at those visuals, one can’t really help but ask the question that are these people really doing this for the glory of their religionIJ The answer is no because a close look at reality would show that they are men possessed by anger and hatred and hence have nothing to do with any religion at all.
It has also been reported that during such riots, mental perversion are at its peak, where men with sadistic mentality take full advantage of the breakdown in law and dishonour women of the other community to satisfy their carnal desires. The cases of modesty outrage of women reported during almost every riot are proof of this. As a usual practice, the authorities and people in power seek to restore peace after every communal riot by forming peace committees to appease people from all religion.
They build up the trust between communities and heal the social fractures caused by communal violence. However, these peace making measures are often foiled by mob attacks, as a result of which the process of bringing harmony invariably jeopardises. One would wonder that do these mob have no fear of lawIJ The answer is no because such mobs obviously act without fear of punishment for their acts. But while the man-made laws may not be able to touch them, they forget that the law of karma is inexorable.
Those exhorting to violence think they are not answerable to anyone but need to remind themselves that karma eventually catches up with everyone. Either in this birth or in future births, and by our deeds whether good or bad, we lay the foundations for our future happiness or misery. So let us wake up and follow the right path of religion which says, ‘We all are one and are the children of one.’