For the past few days I have been scurrying through websites
and newspaper. Some are junk, some of it
had taken my attention and made me read or listen. This is where I believe in
evolution, I have seen the evolution of human mind becoming narrow from broad. Here,
in this era of postmodernism and celebration of individualism, something called
tolerance is being murdered by the liberalists and conservatives alike.
Liberalist says he can’t be hurt because he is an individual and his feeling is
fleeting! He is angst when someone is hurt yet he justifies himself of the
illegitimate pleasures that he enjoys inside the four walls of his mind and
eyes. The conservative cries out saying the liberalist is foul in his thought
and he needs to be taken off from this world. In midst of this chaos tolerance
is bruised and battered from all sides, having no say or whatsoever.
I cherish the time that I had as a child in this world,
Waned off from the complexities of life, having petty dreams of a new toy or to
ride the bicycle that my friend had bought. As we would have experienced in
that part of our life called – childhood! It gave us innocent memories that
still linger in our mind. I remember the one of the fight that I had with one
of my friend. It was about a mango that had fallen off from tree, he said it
was his because he took it first; I retaliated saying I was the one who saw it
in the first place so I’m the legitimate owner! Later on, we relished it with salt and chili
powder from our home. We had fights and it was not about the ideology! It was
just about some mango or candy that we soon forgot when we were drenched in mud
after a play of cricket, football or any game. I believe as a child our
tolerance were high, that is why we could be seen fighting for some time and in
the next moment we would be having mango with salt and chili. As we grow up the
childishness or rather I would call it innocence fades away as the bones grow.
I haven’t found any reason behind it, it just happens! On a second thought can it be the
conditioning of our mind by external forces of other minds? Or is it like what
evolution says “we evolve to better
beings”? Though I haven’t seen us becoming better! I have been quite
intrigued by this fact of losing our innocence with time.
In the bible there is one interesting quote made by Jesus
Christ, he says "…Truly I tell you,
unless you change and become
like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. (Mathew 18:3) What fascinated me was
command that He gave “…unless you change and become like little
children...” Change and become- I believe this could be one of the
greatest commands that anyone can give, it talks about the restoration of
innocence, to be like a child. And if you carefully study it is a pro-active step
that Jesus asks us to do which is to change and become. So if we
need to change from something that means that there is a pre-existing condition
of it not being there! As an adult I have
been in situations where it was really hard for me forgive and forget certain
people and situation in my life. The teaching of Jesus, to change and become emphasize
that I can’t linger in a state of bitterness for a long time. Imagine if we
could apply this principle of Jesus in our daily lives, how much more beautiful
this world would have been. If we could tolerate each other and not fight for
what we hold it to be true, there would have been plenty of peace and lot less
blood-shed.
I find what this world needs now, is message that teaches us
to be tolerant to each other, if we are going to be otherwise, we will reach a
time where human existence would be hard. We would deplete our energies
fighting for our ideologies! Jesus said it is a choice or decision that
we take to be tolerant, to accept others as they are, to put others in higher
position than us. At the same time I believe that we need to have strong moral
grounds from which we can derive our decisions. I can’t be a liberalist who
believes that feeling is the pertinent thing in this world! If it is then we
will have to rule for every murderer and anti-social saying that they are right
to have followed their feelings. Can I be an intolerant conservative? The
answer is no! I can be a child-like human being who is quick to forgive and
walk hand in hand with others. Come let us go back, revisit our childhood, and
let us take a few lesson from there to be tolerant. To love more and hate less!
God bless us all and help us do it!
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