A great Tamil poet, Kaniyan Poongundranaar said 3000 years back
யாதும் ஊரே ; யாவரும் கேளிர் ;
தீதும் நன்றும் பிறர்தர வாரா ;
நோதலும் தணிதலும் அவற்றோ ரன்ன ;
சாதலும் புதுவது அன்றே ; வாழ்தல்
இனிதுஎன மகிழ்ந்தன்றும் இலமே; முனிவின்,
இன்னா தென்றலும் இலமே; ‘மின்னொடு
வானம் தண்துளி தலைஇ, ஆனாது
கல்பொருது இரங்கும் மல்லற் பேர்யாற்று
நீர்வழிப் படூஉம் புணைபோல, ஆருயிர்
முறைவழிப் படூஉம்’ என்பது திறவோர்
காட்சியின் தெளிந்தனம் ஆகலின், மாட்சியின்
பெரியோரை வியத்தலும் இலமே;
சிறியோரை இகழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே.
எட்டுத்தொகை நூல்களில் ஒன்றாகிய
புறநானூறு. 192 - பாடியவர்: கணியன் பூங்குன்றன்
Translation :
All are our place; every one is our relatives,
Bad & Good does not come from others,
Similarly pain & relief as well, Death is not new at all, we neither Feel proud to live, nor Feel distress to end, like the Water fall from sky as stone after lightening Thunder, though clean and colourless, after touching. The earth takes the colour and quality of the place of fall, And run with river, Our life also takes shape depending upon circumstances
And these facts realized & understood by the learned elders, And hence we don't flatter privileged and more than that We don't snuff the disadvantaged!
He said 3000 years back which is so relevant today too.
Mahatma Gandhi resonated the same thing in India by virtue of his independence movement by using the extreme powerful weapon - the "Non-violence" weapon.
If you read historical facts behind the Indian independence struggle and movement, you would realize that there were many freedom fighters in the past who vanished unsuccessfully fighting the mighty British empire using their violent methods. It is Mahatma Gandhi who taught the world the way to tactically use non-violence. What is astonishing is the way he went about strategically planning and executing it tactfully. Those strategies and the tactics are relevant for the next 10,000 years.
As Arun Gandhi (Mahatma's Gandhi's gandson), rightly pointed out in an interview; We have become very reactive to conflict management. We allow conflicts to continue till they become crisis and then we struggle to resolve crisis. Mostly we use brute force to resolve a crisis because once it become a crisis, it becomes very difficult to find a solution.
Let me give you another example. Just before the second world war, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter a Adolf Hitler where he stated the following
"IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT YOU ARE TODAY THE ONE PERSON IN THE WORLD WHO CAN PREVENT THE WAR WHICH MAY REDUCE HUMANITY TO SAVAGE STATE. MUST YOU PAY THAT PRICE FOR AN OBJECT HOWEVER WORTHY IT MAY APPEAR TO YOU TO BE? WILL YOU LISTEN TO THE APPEAL OF ONE WHO HAS DELIBERATELY SHUNNED THE METHOD OF WAR NOT WITHOUT CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS"
--- Gandhi To Hitler
I don't know if that letter really was translated to German and reached Hitler's hands, but I can tell you for sure that had Hitler read it and followed it, Germany would not have attacked Poland, the allies would not have attacked Germany and the whole world war could have been avoided. That exactly what I meant is "Proactive conflict resolution". It is unfortunate to note that after many many years, we are still reactive and waiting for the crisis to show its ugly face.
Take Israel and Palestine as another example, both nations fight against each other using violence. As long as they use violence, they are not going to reach any where. Israel is seen as advanced and greatly developed nation. But, they are still unable to solve the crisis. Why?: - just because they continue to use arms and ammunition against Palestine and Palestine is retaliating AND THE CRISIS CONTINUES.
I suggest that the leaders of different countries review the Gandhian Strategy today and carve out relevant methods to handle and curb terrorism. I feel we are in the brink of World War III. We need to act quickly to save the earth and humanity.
Non-violence which is the way of life needs to followed and preserved by all.
