Without compassion, humanity is under threat

We are living at an angry time. A loveless time. A dangerous time. A confused time. A very painful time. This is a crossroad. And it appears we are lost while searching for ourselves.

Just why can't we find answers to the violence? Workshop after workshop. Threats after threats. One women's group after another women's group.Long jail term after another long jail term. Prayer after prayer. Statistics and figures, scenarios and debates. All that is yet to yield any results. The violence is not relenting.

If it is not an angry partner battering their partner to death or into ugly unsightly wounds, then it is a young shocked mother throwing away their baby. Dumping nine months of what should be positive life changing. Nine months of carrying a life, a soul, a generation. But for such young mothers, it is throwing away nine months of agony, anger, shame and unforgivable experience.

Research and castigation. Still nothing has changed. Where are we going wrong? Where are we losing ourselves?

Many have sought refuge in becoming religious zealots just to shut out the anger in the world, just to experience a semblance of normalcy, and just to be humane. They have become so obsessed with and absorbed in their own welfare. They try hard to isolate themselves from the angry time we are all living in today.

But that appears to have failed too because what afflicts us today is our hearts. The anger, the sadness, the unforgiving, the despair, the avenging spirits, and the coldness are all in our hearts. We carry these wherever we go and with time, they seek to escape from us.

What is not in our hearts any more is love, kindness, affection, respect for each other – in short, we have lost our humanity. This is why these times we are living in are dangerous times.

Once, people lived like a people. With so much love and respect for each. They were united by humanity. And all this did not need workshops. It did not need religion. It did not need research. It did not need threats because humanity is as natural as the rising sun. Or the falling of the rain. Or the coming of winter.

Our search, therefore, should start with man and woman – the parents. These are the microcosm of humanity, the foundation stones for the society. They are brought together by love and affection. They bring forth children who should be symbols of their love and affection. These are the people who should help heal the world, end the anger, and spread the love.

But if you look around today, this set-up does not exist. Most are themselves products of a vicious circle of emptiness resulting from either the absence of a father or a mother. Most of them are incomplete individuals whose foundations are set on one stone yet humanity and the society should depend on these half-baked adults still sweltering in anger.

Religion cannot stand in for a missing parent. Education falls short of endowing love and compassion. Wealth too cannot fill hearts with love and affection just like what the Dalai Lama says.

He says there is no need for temples and that religion should be simple. He also says there is no need for complicated philosophy because: “Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.”

Again if you look around, simple kindness and compassion do no exist any more. Once again, the Dalai Lama says without love, compassion and kindness “humanity cannot survive”.

This is why today government is disturbed with the unrelenting violence; why researchers are working full throttle; why there is so much anger, so much despair and so much hopelessness.

Our hearts are empty. Our minds are wandering in emptiness. Our lives are one big yawn – whether you have lots of money or your pockets are holed.

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul sets the rules which, if we apply, can bring us back our humanity. He says of the three things – faith, hope and love - that will last forever “the greatest of these is love”.

Note that he does not talk about being a convert to any religious sect for one to be able to love, to have hope and to be faithful. Being faithful simply means living as a human being as possible. To be kind and respectful.

“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing,” Paul says.

Maybe, the starting point today is to teach our children how to love, to care and to be kind. We should start working on restoring the microcosm of humanity and society – the family unit.

Of course, there are families today from where hopeless children come. This is because such families are just a form without any functions. Such families have become crucibles where angry children, devoid of love, kindness, compassion and respect are formed.