Hari Aum.
As spiritual seekers, we have recently been through Navaratri and are about to celebrate Diwali next week. Both of these festivals are deeply connected with the feminine aspect of the Divine (that exists everywhere, including in both women and men).
I was not really planning to write a post about politics at this time but feel compelled to do so today. The reason is that I was reading the news (something I try and limit as it mostly consists of violence) and while doing so, came across a reference to a documentary about women-- this is related to the suffering of women caught up in war.
Before I say anything further about this documentary or about this subject of women in war, I want to state that I regard all forms of war between people as horrific and completely unspiritual. I would also like to state that, in accordance with yogic tradition, I regard all human life as a divine gift. And, every human being is, like all other beings, a manifestation of the Divine.
With regard to the Middle East, I am glad that the war there has ceased for now at least. The loss of life on both sides of the conflict is deeply tragic and horrific. There are no words to describe the horror of these events.
I do, however, want to share a link to the documentary that I saw (please see below). This movie is about the experiences of the women who were targeted in the attack of October 7 in Israel.
In no way can this appalling tragedy ever justify the horror of the war that followed that involved the shocking and unacceptable loss of lives on both sides including countless innocent children, women, and men.
I am sharing this only because I feel it highlights the horrific plight of women generally on both sides of any conflict on our planet. I feel that it is important that the voices of women who experience violence in conflict are heard.
The documentary I am referring to is called "Screams Before Silence" by Sheryl Sandberg (the well-known American writer and technological executive):
This documentary reminds me of a similar horrific and painful chapter in the history of India-- in particular, the story of the Rajput women of North India who would immolate themselves out of fear of rape and torture by the invading forces (the Mughals, some of whom had a mentality similar to the terrorist organisations of modern times) -- they felt that death was preferable to capture and exposure to the extraordinarily brutal violence by these marauding forces.
https://foundation.rajasthan.gov.in/BraveryStories.aspx (The Bollywood movie 'Padmaavat' is based upon this subject; it is not an exact historical account of events but broadly outlines the experience of violence against women in war a few centuries ago and is an interesting watch in my view).
The documentary I referred to above is horrific (trigger warning)-- this violence is a reality that was and is still being lived by countless women all over the globe in all countries to varying degrees. Therefore, appalling though the details of this documentary are, it is only right that the experiences of these women who suffered so much are known by the world. Their truth must be known; they deserve at least this much justice.
What should be our response as spiritual seekers to situations like this?
Firstly, we should not give in to ideas of hatred or revenge. That would make us no better than the perpetrators of such violence. We cannot allow them to taint our consciousness.
Secondly, we should continue our spiritual practices for the welfare of ourselves and the world, including world peace-- as our Gurus advise. Let us, come what may, daily recite a mantra of our favourite form of the Divine (regardless of the chaos and violence on this planet).
Thirdly, we should take all practical precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones, including daughters, mothers, sisters and so on, against people of similar monstrous mindset as these individuals; they exist in varying numbers in every part of the globe, this is the sad reality. This means being generally aware of our surroundings wherever we are and following security advice when we travel.
Fourthly, we should ever remember that this world is inherently a 'dukhalaya' or place of suffering and strive our very best to attain the spiritual goal of realisation of our true immortal nature as one with the Divine (and beyond the reach of these evil forces).
Om Sri Durgayai Namah
Om Sri Ramaya Namah
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
No comments:
Post a Comment