May as a month of peace

By Surya Vishwa

The month of May derives its name from that of Maia, a Greek Goddess linked to the celebration of fertility. Both April and May are months which represent new life springing upon earth to see its reflection in the mirror of the golden sun, the bounty which makes the darkness disappear and is a source of joy and abundance.

Thus, in April and May there are many festivals across the world that commemorate the birth of new life – when the dank of winter has departed and fresh blossoms and foliage adorn our planet which we lease for a short time.

Thus, it is only apt that the month of May marked the end of one of the major episodes of global horror within the past century – when over fifty countries were embroiled in a catastrophe that turned much of the world into a bloodbath, initiated by the lunacy of one man whose delusion of a superior race led to indescribable atrocities and murder of Jews and the invasion of Europe.

However, 7 May marked the unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich, signed on that day in 1945 in France by Gen. Alfred Jodi, Chief of Staff of the German Army.

The new world as we know it now – and the global agency, the United Nations – which led to the formation of other such world stability intentioned institutions were borne out of the stupendous misery of World War II and upon an earth which was turned into a carpet of bones, blood and tears.

To remove the fallacy of delusional superiority from man and replace the idiocy of that ego with wisdom, love and forgiveness, countless spiritual seekers, known and unknown, have tried. For the four billion odd years that this earth existed so has man’s quest for peace within himself, a search for a higher dimension of being, and for a higher joy that went beyond honour or tribe, or land or race. However much of spirituality that is currently seen in the world have been transformed into religions that man manipulates as per his craving for power over others. The colonial adventure of the Western world into territories across Africa, the Caribbean and Asia saw how Jesus was hijacked into an icon of exploitation, forced occupation, superiority and imperialism.

The pit of Nazism that Hitler managed to dip Christianity into, is just proof of how the nobility of righteousness – as Jesus paved – can be overrun by the vilest of goals.

But there is still hope. As long as there is a vestige of human life, as long as there is an element of awareness in the human mind, there is hope.

The month of May is a time period that represents such hope.

A war is not normal. It is an abnormal space that manifests first in the human heart as an idea, often seen as grand because it caters to the pride of race, land, culture, religion, history or similar aspects which humans value as their badges of identity, and which in itself is not harmful. A certain moderate, humane and noble pride can do much good for nations and the world. However, it becomes vile when race, religion, land or even a culture gets over glorified with arrogance of delusion (mohaya) and gets evolved to derogatory resentment and hatred (dweshaya) of others who are different. Hitler taught the world the textbook lesson of how this process happens.

However, the qualities of man connected with envy, resentment, hate and revenge exist parallel with the opposing attributes of selfless love, boundless compassion and the willingness to empathise and forgive.

The second set of qualities consist of the true inheritance of a human upon birth, whatever his social position, culture, geographical location or whatever else that defines him in the world. If Hitler proved the effects of the first, then Nelson Mandela proved the second.

It is said that Mandela never wrote a line himself on how he was tortured in prison because he did not want even a fragment of hate to be aroused against those who carried out such acts or those of that race. In this day and age where reconciliation and peace have become mere buzzwords and even subtly used towards revenge, one could take a cue from Nelson Mandela, a man who never preached religion but who had made compassion and forgiveness his religion.

Soon after taking up office as President of South Africa, he appointed White South Africans into his team of personal bodyguards much to the anguish of his trusted aides, who had been with him since the time of imprisonment. They feared that at any moment he would be killed. Because he appointed the very men who probably had attempted to kill him and others like him who fought colonial injustice.

White settlers who occupied South Africa became self- proclaimed masters of the land and prevented its own people their basic rights which made Mandela who fought against this injustice a terrorist in the eyes of some nations.

In a world where the terms reconciliation and peace are bandied about in a fickle manner, one should take heed that if ever a human being transcended to that state and achieved what is usually seen as the impossible – turning hate into love – it was Mandela.

He used every opportunity as a platform to prevent revenge, whether that revenge was subtle or overt.

One significant such achievement was his transformation of rugby – a sport associated with White Supremacism into a medium of genuine reconciliation.

Rugby was a game venerated by the Whites of South Africa. When after his release from prison the status quo changed and an attempt was made to keep the Whites out of Rugby, with major changes recommended by the sports club, he drove in the nick of time to take to the podium, upsetting the planned sports meeting to prevent this move. His new White bodyguards could only stare in amazement.

Mandela then transformed a hitherto repeatedly losing Rugby team into unbelievable champions in the 1995 Rugby World Cup proving to the world what it is to reconcile. Blacks of South Africa who used to boo throughout the game earlier, who used to go to the stadium only to ensure the South African rugby team lost, cheered their hearts out as they put the team to victory.

Did this happen overnight? No. Mandela studied the team. Why were they losing? He knew a victory for the team would be a victory for South Africa. He used sports to touch a raw nerve. And make it heal. He met the South African rugby team leader, met him one to one, spoke to him on leadership, asked him his views and then went onto devote quality time to encourage the team.

The team had to go to the people. They played rugby with the children. They learnt the national anthem. They learnt to pronounce the words. This is the same anthem that was once outlawed – when Mandela was declared a terrorist. The Rugby team won the world cup beating the superheroes of New Zealand.

South Africa first won the people. The President of South Africa did that victory for them. The rugby team won the match.

From ancient times to now, man has always been a warrior in his innermost consciousness. That war starts after receiving this human life. At birth. When his conscience comes into the domain of life and commences the journey of what Prophet Muhammad defined as Jihad (holy war) and what is mentioned as the battle of the Kurushethra in the Bagavad Geetha. These are portrayed in the relevant holy books as worldly stories such as that of the Pandava and Kaurava but it represents without a doubt the pitching of the concept of good and that of bad within the turf of the heart and then vanquishing of what serves no purpose.

Humans are products of their experience. Hence in this modern age which is hell bent on making a theoretical exam paper of the human soul, it is best to remember that educational institutes must, whatever else they do, prioritises teaching from babyhood onwards the power of love.

Buddhism, alongside all other religions, speaks of the power of love. Love when taken to unconditional heights sets the mind free. This freedom – from all attachment – all delusion achieves liberation. This is Moksha. Heaven. Firdaous. This is the liberation of Nirvana. One cannot suddenly on a desperate deathbed whim achieve this if one has for an entire lifetime refrained from lighting the flame of love in his heart.

For a human who has taken upon himself the task of being a statesman a mind of love and compassion could save lives. This is because he would run his country with the pre-occupation of preventing resentment, unrest, fear, prejudice or the certain kind of inferiority which is the other side of the coin of false superiority that propels one to quell another.

Although taking to arms for what he believed was a just cause Mandela forgave unconditionally. It is said that once he saw a man who tortured him most brutally in prison, at a restaurant as Mandela, then the President of the country, was entering with his security team for a brief relaxed moment to have a cup of coffee.

His former torturer was seated at the next table. He had casually greeted him and asked him to come over to his table and ordered eatables and tea. To his security team this was normal, but they wondered why the man was shivering acutely and avoiding eye contact. 

After the President’s guest had left, they noted that it was an abrupt departure, and casually commented to Mandela that the man was shivering so badly, quipping that it must be a strange illness. Mandela had then casually responded that he knew him from his jail time. 

Then the South African President had mentioned that the man would have been shivering because he was scared what the President would do to his former torturer who had urinated into his mouth when finishing each round of torture in response to Mandela asking for water.

Let us end this here and commemorate May as a month of peace where the earth sings in joy to the tune of the wind that does not carry the stench of death or revenge but the fragrance of forgiveness.