The recent killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has really confirmed the fact how it is imperative to bring more spiritual awareness in our society. The killing is condemnable as is the damaging of property and looting that’s going on. While justice is important, it doesn’t have be at the cost of destroying other people’s livelihood. In my country (India) also there have been similar instances of killing and violent protests before. In Hong Kong it has been ongoing for a while now. I’ve just heard of an unarmed autistic guy’s killing in Palestine.
These things have really shown how not remembering(we all know it but sometimes don’t remember) universal connection can hurt the society. I’m not saying that everything will get better with spiritual practise like Thanos’ snap. Difference will always be there. Without difference there would be no life. But spiritual practise will let us accept difference in a much more graceful way. It’ll remind us in every way that we feel alive only when there’s difference. There’s a saying like ‘everyday is a new day.’ Well, it’s only new with the difference remember.
Here, let me clarify a bit. I don’t mean that spiritual practise means ‘singing bhajans and so on.’ While bhajans are a tremendous source of bhakti, it is somehow used by many as a metaphor to ridicule spirituality. Spirituality means being aware of the connection, it means respecting the difference, the imbalance of nature. It means that there’s no minority – majority here, there’s no race but one. There’s nothing but this one world.
We are going through a rough patch in our history no doubt. I’d say this is the perfect time to change for the better, change as one, change together. The daily awareness of ‘we are one’ should be practised by us everywhere till it becomes our one central thought. I believe the world will change for the better then.
I’ll finish up with a small poem :
We ride the waves together, We die of nature’s wrath, but together, Remember, we’ll only get through storms as one, Leaving nobody behind, absolutely none.
Om Shanti..??