Love all, hate none
On the International Day Against Torture a few days ago (June 26) I participated in a meeting organised by the European Union and the UN Information Centre. It was shocking to hear of the types of atrocities and torture that some people have to undergo at the hands of others.
What was even more traumatic was to accept the fact that the perpetrators of such violence and cruelty are human beings who walk and talk like us, and have families like ours.
My mind could not stay focused on the proceedings of the meeting as I kept wondering about how it was at all possible for human beings to torture others so brutally, physically and psychologically. Realising that torture of human beings in general and that of prisoners in particular is often for simple reasons like extracting certain information and that it is an international phenomenon, I felt all the more miserable.
Indian culture and philosophy extol the value of sarve sukhino bhavantu; sarve santu niramaya; sarve bhadrani pashyantu… wishing well for all beings, as well as the value of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, which considers all beings of the universe as members of one family.
Similarly, Jesus teaches us not only about “loving your neighbour as yourself” but also about “loving even one’s enemies” and “praying for those who persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you”. St. Paul explains the meaning of being kind to others, saying, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7)
It is indeed strange that while on the one hand we have great teachings from our scriptures about wishing well for all beings, on the other hand we witness incidents of cruel treatment meted out not only to prisoners but even to many servants, spouses and others who do so much to make our life comfortable and happy.
And imagine the scene during riots. The irony is that those who commit such acts of cruelty are often those who are regularly seen visiting temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras and other holy places.
In fact, one need not even be religious to be kind to others. If one just thinks about the other as one’s own self as someone who feels the same pain and hurt as one does, then certainly our conduct towards others would be far more tender and loving.
It is enough to remember what Jesus taught, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matthew 7:12)
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