Original Identity vs Choice -- Cultural Terrorism

If you have been following news it would not be difficult for you to understand what I am going to talk about now. “Cultural terrorism ” or “Literature terrorism ” or what ever terms people are coming up with recently has shown us of our limited tolerance towards others. It could be anybody in question we can talk about something and that might get into something in-tolerable for someone. How do you and us should view this ??

Every time we talk about tolerating , we do not know what we are tolerating and to what extend ?? This gives rise to a feeling inside us of being a victim and of being suppressed. If someone speaks against my religion and I tolerate it gives me a feeling of being suppressed, I feel threatened and in secure which in turn lets to hurt of sentiments and revolt and agitations.

But why does it happen all the time ? and more importantly why so frequently these days ? It is a question we should ask ourselves. Why do we feel so threatened and in secure all the time. What mechanism happens inside us that prompts us to think that we would be lost if we stay suppressed. Who is this “WE” which com???

I agree to the fact that some people might say all of this is not sentimental hurt , a large part of this is politically motivated. Of course I do not disagree with this, but we have to also agree that these political aspirations fuel the sentiments of those who are politically naive. They are driven by this threatened feeling and therefore we must look into this matter in a very different view and not just a law and order issue. After  all law and order works only after an incident is reported but before the incident happens a million thing happens in the mind of those who feel victimized.

One of the few things which are a part of human requirement in our daily life is “respect” and that means that people must accept me and my way of looking or doing things. But our understanding of respect is extremely crude which is why everyday we do innumerable number of things to satiate people and be accepted.

To be  “respected” I have identified myself with a few things in life which I believe are good/best for me. This I recognise as my “SELF IDENTITY”. My identity of who I am comes from my religion, caste, gender, profession, family, country,history and so many more. Each time I identify myself with any of them I identify myself with a set of beliefs and with a group who protect those beliefs. And every time another set of beliefs comes to question my group I feel violated. Threatened and in secure that if I do not stand up for my beliefs eventually I will have no Identity at all which would mean no respect.

Be it Kamal hassan movie, Salman Rushdie book, SRK article, Facebook 2 girls arrest , Assem trivedi’s arrest , MF Hussain or Ashish Nandy opposition or many more. Instead of viewing them just as a set of opposite views and using the platform to profound and en-deepen our knowledge of our own com , we chose to oppose them and scare them away. Because we are scared of losing identity or of being "Lost identity".

Every division that we have amongst us was supposed to simplify and group like minded people. Which eventually has becomes to scare opposite minded people. Every religion , caste , creed, profession etc was created to serve humanity. But we have forgotten what is humanity. Why ? Because we have forgotten a simple definition of “I”.

Being on the views side we must understand this issue as a psychological one, of a deep attachment to a set identity that is now or need and absence of it threatens our very life. This means in coming times we will have to see more of it as all of us have deep attachment to our very own identities. Say a word opposite to my religion, country, gender etc I'll be hurt and would react in an extremely emotional way.

If I can create an identity that does not depend on different groups of people, I will not feel threatened or suppressed if there are people with opposite point of view. Rather I with fruitful debates, will strengthen my beliefs not weaken them. Spirituality might be an answer to this. Who am I? What is my “Original Identity” .

In the womb of a mother , a child has no identity. Honestly no group can separate the purity and peace the unborn owns. Our faith is that purity and peace. Our religion should be to serve humans and not books of beliefs. We can be born in a country, we can follow a religion, belong to a certain ideology or proffession but they are not “I”. These are my mere choices I have made in life or been made because of my karma. Or even if view you see scientifically then see yourself as lump of flesh, blood and bones which group does that now belong to? Still simpler visualize bunch of atoms.

I wonder if the saints who have been path showers of our religions or our ideologies would have also reacted the same way as we do today. Sit silent for a minute and wonder do we really need to protect the ideology of such great men/women or in some cases we even try to protect “God”. Can we?? Their ideologies are such strong and profound that they have survived centuries. I believe if they would have been alive they would have initiated debate and discussions over their own beliefs rather than driving everyone away. Such should be the Faith and Trust on own ideas.

Spirituality teaches us to accept even our opposition “love our enemies”. To accept that opposite is as normal as my acceptance. Two forces of nature will always exists, one complementary of another. If we could see how we can mutually benefit from opposition. We would know if what we believe is our “Original Identity “ or merely our choice for living.

 Adios :)