We have to develop a culture that springs from non-violence

In the past couple of years, there has been a growing concern across the world with regards to ruthless killings of whistleblowers, most of whom were courageous citizens who fought to secure the truth at the risk of their lives. These whistle blowers play an essential role in exposing corruption, fraud, mismanagement and other wrongdoing that threaten public health and safety, financial integrity, human rights, the environment and the rule of law.

By disclosing information about such misdeeds, these courageous people have helped save countless lives and billions in public funds, while preventing emerging scandals and disasters from worsening. Hence, such violent resistance to truth and its custodians in innumerable cases across the world shows extreme moral degradation of our society and the erosion of values. What kind of society would punish its whistleblowers and stifle the truth? Perhaps that’s the question we all need to ask ourselves. When muscle and money power call the shots everywhere, it is obvious that truth will always be on the run and evil on a perpetual chase.

The dictum of might is right has been strengthened by the depiction of violent episodes in history as well as through religious writings. There are many religious scriptures that show that even the Almighty showed His might by decimating the evil forces by means of a violent war to contain unrighteousness in the world. Hence, using force to set a wrong right or to discipline a wrong doer has been adopted as a norm by humans at all levels of existence.

To change this scene, patchwork solutions will no longer suffice. Because we need a complete transformation that can emerge when we change the powers we use. From the power of might, we now have to shift to the power of right and develop a culture that springs from non-violence.

Discarded as a theoretical tool and reduced to a mere embellishment in books, non-violence is actually a magic wand that can protect against the wrong and wrongdoer. One should not forget that we have already witnessed that the policy of an eye for an eye has made the whole world blind, so we need to now make use of the power of values to connect and correct.

The great potential of non-violence needs to be explored—a value which asks its users to refrain from aggression not just in action but also in words and even thoughts. The simplicity of non-violence lies in the fact that it can be used by anyone and at all levels—personal, social and global. Peace, spirituality and self-sustainability will be dominant in a culture nourished by non-violence. It will naturally ooze with security and brotherhood and any anti-social elements will soon be forced to the road of guilt and self-realisation.

Ideals that we struggle and fight for today—freedom, justice and equality—will be natural there. From a place where anything can happen to anyone at any time, the world will be transformed to a place where everything would happen at the right place, at the right time and in the right manner. There, the right would not just be right but right would be might.

Is it all as simple as it sounds? Yes, it is! Together, we all can, through spiritual empowerment, create such a way of life, but the fundamental rule for it is self-change. Most of us have wasted much of our precious time and energy in checking others and the quality of people at the social level, without realising that the creation of a fair society would begin from personal change that would work from the inside out. This change would be contagious which would spread through all of us, thus triggering a social transformation at global level. So, Let’s Be the Change.

(The author is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal, and the UK)