India has been by inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his thought and philosophy. The concept of nonviolence was taught to me when I was a young child in Modern School in New Delhi. This ideal is the highest philosophy. If I remember correctly the Jain religion has the following dictum which is the essence of their teaching – Ahimsa param Dharma. It means that Ahimsa is the highest morality.
The Buddha and Jesus also preached nonviolence. But if you look at the world today, we find that almost nobody practices this teaching. Why is that the case?
The simple answer is that almost no one in the entire human race is interested in making a determined bid for enlightenment in this lifetime. It is almost impossibly difficult for the average person to put the teachings of these great masters into action. For example, consider the following teaching of Jesus:
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
I don’t know about you but I need a roof over my head at night, I need my coffee and cigarettes and food on the table as I go through the day. The above teaching of Jesus is way out of my league. There is no way that I have the stature to follow it.
But if I can’t do without my creature comforts then inevitably, I need to work in order to obtain them. And this involves fighting battles (bloodless or otherwise) at the workplace and elsewhere. It also means that what I was taught in school is not just useless but also harmful to almost everybody because they will not be aiming for enlightenment later in life.
And there are beneficial results to being a warrior and treating life as a battleground. Here are some quotations I found in the book – 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene.
Nature has made up her mind that what cannot defend itself shall not be defended – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Without war human beings stagnate in comfort and affluence and lose the capacity for great thoughts and feelings, they become cynical and subside into barbarism – Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
The life of man upon earth is a warfare – Job 7:1
I can testify to the truth of the Dostoyevsky’s insight. I retired from my career at a young age because I had money. Now my savings are gone but that is not what is most damaging. What is worse is that now I am well into middle age and I do not have the capacity and appetite for the struggle because I have got used to comfort and affluence.
So, the point that I am trying to make in this article is that you need to embrace the good fight and relish the struggles that life demands of us. According to Robert Greene – Enemies give you a standard by which to judge yourself and excel in your field. The Samurai of Japan had no gauge of their excellence unless they fought the best swordsmen; it took Joe Frazier to make Muhammad Ali a truly great fighter. A tough opponent will bring out the best in you.
Robert Greene’s book is excellent. It is entertaining and thought provoking. Pick up a copy and read it. You will be royally entertained and may also get guidance for your life situation.
I’ll end here. Hope this helps someone. Please explore this blog for more articles on Politics, Spirituality and Self Help. If you liked this article then please share it on Facebook and Twitter and feel free to post your comments or contact me. Link to contact is below.
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