From wars and clashes to terrorist attacks and individual
crimes, we are witnessing increasingly shocking acts of violence these days.
These are all manifestations of the violence within us.
When humans forget their true nature and identify with their
bodies, their roles and material assets, they come under the influence of
vices. To think and act under the influence of vices is to commit
violence, because it violates the true nature of peace, joy and love.
Violence come from five vices – lust, anger, greed, attachment
and ego -- connected to the feeling of wanting or desiring.
Lust destroys all purity. Lust is not just
to indulge in physical pleasures. People often spend their lives lusting
for money and power. Lust is an obsessive or addictive desire to seek
support, fulfillment, happiness and self-worth by indulging in pleasures that
finish all inner powers and dignity. It creates endless cycles of desires
and indulgence. It makes one extremely selfish and finishes all clarity,
sensitivity, love and truth.
Anger is a fire that burns the self and others.
When expectations are not met; when people don’t follow our way, we
become angry and react violently. Anger blunts our discernment and
decision-making powers. We are not able to think and act rationally when
we are angry. We are overpowered by negative emotions and we use
emotionally charged words or actions to force others to meet our expectations.
Anger always makes one subservient to other people’s behaviour and situations.
Anger can lead to destructive behaviour that can cause great damage on
large scale such as war, terrorism and murders.
Greed keeps one in a state of continuous seeking
and chasing desires. A greedy person is always poor and empty
inside even though he may have lots of material assets at his disposal. Greed
inevitably leads to unrighteous and corrupt practices. It makes a person
very unhappy, fearful, dishonest and irresponsible. Greedy people can
never enjoy life as they always want more. Greed can lead to total
imbalance and exploitation of man and nature which can result in widespread
damage.
Attachment is the root of all suffering; it
comes from the need to feel supported and valued by people, objects and roles.
It creates strong sense of false support and identity. Attachment
keeps one entangled in the web of ‘mine’ and the need to hold on to whatever
one is attached to. It makes one selfish, petty and narrow-minded.
Ego is the subtlest enemy. When we are
under the influence of ego we are totally disconnected from self-respect; we
fabricate and identify ourselves with false self-image. An egoistic
person always feels insecure and seeks attention. It is said – if it hurts, it
is ego. An egoist is in delusion, always influenced by praise and
defamation. Ego isolates a person and creates clashes, discord, hatred
and blind competition.
As we are part of the whole when violence happens within us, due
to any of the above, violations happen in the universal laws that are needed to
sustain peace and harmony in this world in the form of corruption, crimes, war,
terrorism etc.
Based on the blog by Dadi Janki of Bramakumaris in Speakingtree
