Walk With Me

Author(s): Chandanaji Acharya, Vastupal Parikh
Publisher: Veerayatan

Page 91

Ch. 8: Ahimsa and Social Justice
That was a revelation for me! Before joining the sangh I was proud to be a yagnya expert, I considered myself to be superior to others, and never understood the pain inflicted on others by my arrogance. The pathetic cries of the slaughterWe must not treat others in a manner that we ourselves animals never moved me, but now I would not like to be treated. feel ashamed. Bhagwan says that all Be sensitive to the suffering of others; feel it, share it, living beings want to live, that they and serve others to feel pain or pleasure just the same as alleviate their suffering.” we do. He says, "We must not treat others in a manner that we ourselves would not like to be treated. Be sensitive to the suffering of others, feel it, share it, and serve others to alleviate their pain and suffering."
How right he is! Look at our society today. Someone somewhere twists the truth in the scriptures and pitches one caste against another. We make people our slaves because they look different, and call them 'Dasyus'. We buy and sell them in the markets as we do with animals!
Our cruelty and madness does not stop there. We have killed many human beings from the Naga and the Rakhshasha tribes, for our yagnya. We did not care! Our crooked distortion of truth has not spared even our own family members. Just think about the way we treat our women! Drunk with ego, Manu* drummed up male superiority by writing Manusmriti, and turned our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters into virtual slaves. Where is our wisdom?
*The aboriginal Indian culture was matriarchal before Aryans arrived in 1500 BCE, but males dominated the newly migrated tribes of nomadic Aryans. Manu, a great Aryan scholar, wrote Manusmriti which brought about widespread social changes and turned the Indian culture into a patriarchal one. Matriarchal practices are still found in a number of forest dwelling aboriginal communities, and also in parts of southern India.
89