Urgent Food for Thought: Boxes!
In a society that is
screaming for everyone to think out of the box, paradoxically, individually and
collectively, we are most comfortable with boxing ourselves in! Our need to
belong is possibly, the cause for it and the “family” is our first box and this
box instills in us a need for boxes.
The more we perceive a
need for freedom the more boxes we create. Culture, Race, Colour, Gender,
Religion, Sexual Orientation, Relationships, Economic Status, Castes,
Introverted, Extroverted, Gen Z to Baby Boomers, Continents, Countries, States…to
the family of course, schools and colleges, sports teams, music bands,
political groups are all little boxes and this list is endless! We take pride
in the number of boxes we fit ourselves into.
In the Hindu tradition, we talk about “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” which literally translates to “Earth is family” which means the entire Earth is one family with the concept of Yours and Mine being non existent or base! It is mentioned in the Samaveda. This
doesn’t mean everybody has to follow the faith. In fact, Hinduism does not have
the concept of converting anybody because Hinduism isn’t a “religion” but a way
of life. Whatever you see in strict temples and the rule positions are all manmade
not the Higher Power’s ideas. In the past, privileged men have made rules that
served them forcing the illiterate and underprivileged lot to conform. The same
is true for all religions. Jesus Christ taught, the Prophet taught, all the
deities in all religions did not create their religion- they just gave pearls
of wisdom to liberate the confused and suffering lot. It was powerful men that
in the name of those very Gods made all the uncomfortable, dogmatic, “only this
way” kind of rules and over centuries using fear they have boxed us in. We find
great solace being in these boxes. We feel exposed and vulnerable if we are out
alone. We have transferred the faith, that we ought to have in ourselves and to
the God that resides within us, to boxes which are nothing but illusions of safety.
Look at what is
happening in the 21st century! A full-fledged war between the all-powerful
Russia and Ukraine, a country that is winning hearts by their patriotism.
Russia believes Ukraine could prove a threat in the future if it joins with EU and/or
NATO blocking its access to the Black Sea and begins an unprovoked attack. Why?
The Russian Box is threatened. Every country that is with Ukraine or Russia or
is staying neutral is actually worried about their own box (country). They all
want the war to stop. Who can afford a war in this day and age and it is not as
if we have recovered economically after the pandemic! What do you do if one of the
strongest boxes feels threatened?
It all boils down to
limited identity. Despite all the language we use when the lights are on us
about how we are all equal and how we respect and accept one another, the truth
is we operate from an innate fear that we will be singled out and killed and so
we are comfortable with those exactly like us. We are unable to see the
similarity in all of us- that we are born of the soil and we will go right back
into the soil. We have no idea when, but our species will surely go extinct someday.
Knowing the truth of the impermanence of life, do we still want to have a
toxic, warring, unaccepting, fearful world?
The term Limited
Identity came into my life when I stumbled upon a brilliant two-hour interview
by Lewis Howes and the speaker was none other than Sadhguru Vasudev Jaggi (of
which I watched only 51 minutes, for I needed to assimilate what I heard, vowing
to go back there later) and it was very powerful. If you have some time to
spare, it will be worth your while to watch it. I will try and put a link here
(it usually spoils my margin and I have no idea how to rectify it) for those of
you who might like to read it. It is quite an eye opener.
I pray for all the
brave people in Ukraine that they may get back to normalcy soon putting an end
to their pain, suffering and losses and for those in Russia who are fighting
their own, hoping to stop the war, and for those Russians at war, that they put
away their fear-based thinking and find peace so that they may put their effort
into their economy. I pray for the rest of the world so that people and governments
the world over, stop their need to be the strongest, to be super powers and
work with what they have to make this a better world striving for equality and
not just lip service. It might take decades and more but if we stop slipping
back into hostilities, small scale or big, equality has a chance or else it is
just going to be an unattainable and elusive dream.
One thing to take from
this blog is to promise to not taint our children and try teaching them to be
accepting of all. We have to do nothing really. Most of the kids, left to
themselves are sorted. Technology is uniting them through gaming, if nothing
else and that is a great first step. I am guilty myself of strong opinions when
I hear certain News tidbits (which is why I usually abstain from it) because I
know these affect kids. Sometimes adults don’t even mean things they say as deeply
as they convey it, in the heat of the moment, but kids especially the young
ones are like sponges, so do stop yourselves in front of them.
Let them and us
identify as one with the world- the all-encompassing Human Race: just another
happy species of the Animal kingdom on Earth (that is still a box but hopefully,
the only one).
The link: https://youtu.be/xK67fAV3zLs
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