Jain Spirit 2002 03 No 10

SR No.: 528990
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains
Publication Year: 2002
Total Pages: 62
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, UK_Jain Spirit, & UK
File Size: 15 MB

Page 26

You Too Can Make A Difference
PG PUBLISHING COMPANY
Peace
harmony, but afraid to come forward or raise their voices for it. Even the community leaders told me that when the whole world is on one side and you are alone, you need guts to come forward and express your opinion. I just listened to my inner voice.
I would like to share this personal experience to encourage you to express your feelings and concerns when you feel that injustice is being committed. It can be a small thing like a student refusing to participate in dissection in class, or a mother defending her child's moral education at school. You may think that your voice will not make a difference, or you may be afraid that expressing it will have consequences. Still, it is worth trying. Please remember that not speaking up also has major consequences. Often this can mean pain for the weak, impoverished or voiceless people or animals. I get disappointed when I see Jains living in their artificial comfortable world not using their wisdom or status to bring along real change in the world. You may discover what I discovered -speaking up wins you new friends who will come to you because of a shared belief. It will also rekindle your spirit and encourage you to be a light in the world. I know this from personal experience. I believe you; believe me.
Sandeep Patel was paralysed by the shootings. He is pictured participating in a Diversity Walk inspired by the peace rally
Kishor Pokharna is an attorney and an accountant. He is in the diamond business and lives with his family in Pittsburgh.
66 Namaste!
firm and share what I deeply believed in. I thought it was my duty to come forward. I thought this event would be a golden opportunity to educate our children and the community about nonviolence.
Meanwhile in court, Mr. Baumhammer's family tried the defence of insanity, but it was of no use. The case started a few months after the murders. I attended and was asked to testify in court. Every day it was packed with people and reporters. Coming out of the room after the testimony, I noticed the father of Richard Baumhammer standing in the corner while people were giving him angry looks. I felt sorry for him so I went up to him and asked politely, "How are you doing?" I gave him sympathy for his pain and the tragedy. I shared with him the pain of seeing one's child go to prison, and I really felt his sadness. He was shocked and couldn't believe that I felt sorry for him. He looked into my eyes and started crying like a baby. He hugged me and said, "You are the first person in the whole of Pittsburgh to shake hands with me and show genuine compassion." Everybody who was watching was surprised by my action. For me, it was another natural action, one where I followed my heart rather than spend time thinking and rationalising what I intended to do. I just did it spontaneously.
The case went on for a few weeks and finally, the day of judgement arrived. Mr. Richard Baumhammer was found guilty of murder and given the death penalty. The whole city was watching the news eager to find out the verdict. Outside the court, the TV crew and reporters were interviewing people and asking about their reactions. Everybody was happy and felt that he deserved the death penalty. I was the only one who had different views about this whole issue. I was surrounded by the TV reporters asking, "Are you happy with the verdict?" I told them: "This is not a time to celebrate, we are talking about someone's death." I also said, "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind; do we want to live in a blind world?" There was pin drop silence for a moment as the reporters didn't expect this response. My values and myself became a topic of discussion on TV for days. People stopped me in malls and shopping centres to tell me that what I said was good and we needed that kind of attitude in all of us. It showed that many people are very hungry for peace and
Friends, this means: 'I bow to the God within each one of us!
Today we are all here to pray for the victims, their families for healing our community and to show the strength in unity.
Friends, whatever happened last week is not about guns, it is not about Indians, Chinese, Jewish, Black or white. It is about life and embracing the sacredness of all-alive. It is about non-violence or non-existence. It is about going back to basics, going back to our foundation and our family values.
Friends, look at all the members of our community who have gathered here, this shows the unity and strength of our community. Our gathering here indicates the power and the hunger to create peace and harmony in our lives. We must work together to create an environment in which no violence is acceptable and tolerated.
Let us take this golden opportunity, awaken ourselves and choose non-violence as a way of our life, as we all know violence leads to violence - "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." We have to learn how we are going to deal with this kind of violence non-violently, spread the message of non-violence and peace and educate our community, especially the younger generation about it. Let us become an example.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "If you want to see the change in the world, you must be the change." Let us change our attitudes first, let us become an example and the world will follow us.
Let's do it-together. Namaste. )
March - May 2002 . Jain Spirit
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