War is
certainly a cowardly escape for those who can’t face the problems of peace. And
these certainly are the unintelligent, who have failed as thinking animals.
The adage
‘If we want peace, we must prepare for war’, which literally meant that if a
country was well armed, then its opponents wouldn’t dare to attack it; has
perhaps today ironically been misunderstood by the new world which has been building itself up on the ideology of
hate.
It’s like when
a thin man who has often been mocked by friends about his limp self, decides to
go to the gym and works to build muscles. When he finally begins to look
somewhat similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger, he feels he has to test his muscles
and then the story continues of the uncontrolled hulk and the temptations to
showcase his muscle power.
The story of
our world is similar; the preparation of war has led to an ideology of
aversions and repugnance. The promise of
peace today is easily betrayed. Man cunningly speaks smooth words but hides
daggers in his heart. “His words were oily smooth, but in his
heart was war.” Psalm 55:21
Everywhere
around there is cruelty and hatred in the name of belief systems. Rousseau when
he said that ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains’, was so correct
to understand that technology one day would chain man with the ignorance of
empathy due to the unawareness of his purpose on earth and that he would inevitably
exploit humanity in spite of being human himself.
I consider
myself lucky that many years ago I had the privilege of seeing the beauty of
Kashmir in all its glory of elegance and peaceful nature unlike the tourists of
today. There was a time when tourists
from all over the world came to this exotic place to see the heavens in all
their glory come down to earth. It was like rivers of love flowing through the
mountains. The scenes were picture perfect.
The shikaras
then carried flowers in full bloom. As a tourist then, I was lucky to have had
an opportunity to sit amidst the fragrance of colours and experience a
communication with nature.
However,
today this beautiful state in India is going blind in hatred!
The fourteen
year old, Insha Mushtaq being hit in her skull, forehead and eyes by over 300
pellets and the dead remains of a class VII student, Nasir Shafi Qazi, have
become a regular scenario in the once upon a time beautiful valley of flowers.
The children in Kashmir no more climb trees to pick apples but to either view
terror or escape it. The new face of this heaven on earth is indeed horrifying.
Life there is on a regular basis getting transformed into an existence of hell.
Innocence over there is every day facing the outrage of human degeneration. In
a Kashmir full of protests, the youth are not to be found in schools using the
power of the pen to express themselves but they run wild on the streets; with
stones in their hands.
And yet I thank God that there are poets in
this place who are continuing to write with bleeding hands, hoping that the
colour of their blood will draw the attention of the world to this heaven’s
misery.
As I watch
and hear of the destruction of this heaven on earth, I hear a whisper telling
me that how ironical it is that man today gets so agitated for the ill-treatment
towards the planet, that he holds placards which say, ‘Say
our Planet’, not understanding that this planet gifted to him, has an innately
great capacity to outlive his stupidity, whereas he himself is more likely to
fail the strength of survival. What he needs to be afraid of really is the
death of mankind. It’s time he focuses his attention to save himself. His
negligence towards his habitat will someday soon hit him revengefully hard;
and his inhumanity towards his kind will eventually endanger his own existence
making him probably into an extinct species.
We need in
this moment of emergency to stop focusing on the planet and look towards the fatal
route man has chosen to end his own life. In fact if tomorrow man becomes
extinct, the planet will survive beautifully without any threat. There will be
more greenery around and more raw life everywhere till the wishes of the poets
from the war shattered zones on this planet will come true. Then man will wake
up from the dream of destruction into a world where there will be no darkness
but only dazzling lights of love and peace.
Before man
drew lines on the mud to divide it into yours and mine and before his skills of
commerce and trade brain washed him to take pride in his military skills, this
planet was a place that reflected a unity in nature. In the making of maps
however, man drew lines and erased the sketches of love which could have made
this world into an art museum.
When Insha
attempted to look at the clash between the locals and the army from her first
floor window, she had to face the consequences of losing her sight. This
tragedy has a lesson for Us and Them, which should teach everyone, at least
now, to look up at the blue skies and pray for the blood drenched red earth
below.
Probably a
time has come when we must cease to seek individual or national freedom and
instead make place for world freedom from the cruelty and inhuman behaviour
of this new savage man. It is the ignorance of man which makes him believe that if he wages
war on earth he will get peace in heaven. He forgets that this very earth was
made to be beautiful and peaceful by a God who made man in His image to enjoy
His creation. The Satanic entry into the holiness of man has ruined his
relationship with his creator and the universe; and has corrupted his wisdom which
should have been otherwise used to maintain peace. Every one of us today, needs to strive
to not let the innocents of the world die before they are dead.
Today man is
battling an unholy war on every creation of the Superior and he needs to beware
of repercussions of his acts of perversion. Revenge will only make the world blind and
crippled. If he has eyes left to see, he must read the messages from above
found in the rubbles of destruction.
“Ye have heard that it
hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you,
That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also.” Matthew 5:38-39
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