Am I brother’s & sister’s Keeper?

Hope emanating from many responses against hatred and violence

The title is a modified version of the verse uttered by Cain in the Biblical story after killing his brother Abel. Though you may not find the exact words in the Quran, it does have the mention of this story. Upanisadic saying of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam echoes the sentiment that the world is one family. Ambedkar would say, “positively, my social philosophy may be said to be enshrined in three words: liberty, equality, and fraternity… My philosophy has its roots in religion and not in political science. I have derived them from the teachings of my master the Buddha.” Many of the world religions echo this idea of fraternity in some form or the other. Whether all the practitioners of these religions do exhibit fraternity is not a question difficult to answer.

But I would like to see some examples from around the world, where the fraternity was displayed in response to a certain crisis. Some of the responses were not perfect or sufficient, but still worth considering.

1. The famous activist President of South Africa can be the first example. He fought against the system of apartheid. And the philosophy that guided him was Ubuntu (I am because we are… or it speaks of a universal bond that connects the entire humanity and I can only be human in a community). This philosophy (and not philosophy of revenge) was the principal guiding force of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash

2. Divide and Rule (Hindus vs Muslims) was one of the many strategies of the British in India. But the response of Indian Independence and that of the Constitution (a secular country where all are equal)was in the direction of universal fraternity. The present situation of India is something quite different and we don’t discuss that here.

3. Another example (some may not find it appropriate) is the Nazi ideology in World War II. The war was bloody and gruesome. But one of the attempts by many States resulted in the formation of an international body called the United Nations. Though we can have doubts about its efficacity and relevance, its founding statement gives a response to the Nazi ideology. It reads, “The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.”

4. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si speaks of two paradigms, the first one is a technocratic paradigm and the second is the paradigm of integral ecology. One of the simple definitions of integral ecology given by Niall Leahy SJ, is “Pope Francis is not saying that there is one perfect ready-made, one-size-fits-all, (deep breath…) socio-eco-agri-economic-cultural-political system that can be rolled out tomorrow all over the world which will solve all our problems. It is precisely that kind of thinking that got us into this crisis in the first place. In fact, he wants us to respect our local circumstances and cultural heritages and build from the ground up in a way that integrates every important aspect of life.” This stresses fraternity, unlike the technocratic paradigm which follows the survival of the fittest, bravest, and luckiest. Some other philosophers and environmental activists like Raimundo Panikkar, Felix Guattari, and Arne Næss speak of ecosophy. Though each of their definitions is different, the aspect of fraternity finds it echo there.

5. Why Victor Frankl survived the horrible concentration camps and moved on to live a meaningful and successful life. In one sense, he was lucky. But he discovered a reason or a meaning to live on even in the midst of horror and trauma. The response to the tortures was not revenge (or no revenge was possible), but finding a meaning for his own life. Frankl could help many others too and it became a very famous psychological tool called logotherapy.

6. Another article shares how some countries like Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, and South Africa have done the task of reconciliation, especially with the aboriginals of those countries. These may not be perfect, and more work may still need to be done.

The violence or crime in these examples should be condemned. But some individuals/groups decided to give a powerful, yet different style of response. That is exactly the reason they are heroes. But more than that, the response yielded a lot of fruits. I would just like to quote a few examples from the lives of ordinary men and women.

1. We have the famous Staines family in the state of Orrisa in India. They were involved with the work with leprosy patients for many decades. On a fateful day, Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death by the Hindu fundamentalist group. His widowed wife and daughter forgave the killers and continued the work for a few more years before returning to their country.
2. I have come across a beautiful article sharing a few wonderful stories of the reconciliation of simple people around the world. You could read through some of them.
3. Many youngsters are horrified by the environmental damage and violence, and the crime done to the present and the future generations. Some take a daring step of attempting to live a life in harmony with nature and surroundings and be a counter-witness. One of my friends from college is the best inspiration for me.
4. An inspiring lady Sunita Krishnan was socially conscious even at a young age, that she started running schools for the under-privileged at the age of 12. She was gang-raped at the age of 15, only because her work was uplifting the Dalits. She became partially deaf in one ear. But she today runs an NGO called Prajwala which does pioneering work on sex-trafficking and sex crimes, to integrate women trapped in such networks into the mainstream society.

Photo by Leighann Blackwood on Unsplash

Some conclusions can be derived from these experiences.

1. Acceptance of the reality of hatred and violence in different parts of the world, in different forms to different groups of people.
2. Many oppressors never accept the fact that they are oppressors. Most of them don’t even realize it.
3. When I believe that justice needs to be done against these injustices, the path to justice involves a culture of reconciliation and a sentiment of fraternity and not a culture of revenge. Logically and mathematically, this is not equality still, I hold on to it.
4. I still believe that outsiders have no right to tell the victims or the oppressed how they should behave. Luckily, many of them naturally take the path of reconciliation and fraternity despite all the injustices to them. But the oppressors should take the path of justice, reconciliation, pardon, and reparation.
5. For me, the greatest learning from these amazing people is that I can still Hope instead of all the tragedies in the current world. I should end with a wonderful quote from Baruch Spinoza.

Source: Allauthor.com

**Dedicated to the fighters against all forms of injustice and evils with HOPE and courage for the sake of PEACE.

**Today (October 2) is also the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, another advocate of peace and reconciliation.