It was a slow, leisurely sunset. The soft sea breeze ruffled the coconut trees' leaves and fanned us as we sat on the plush, fragrant carpet of grass in front of our guru. Guruji was in a jovial mood, conversing with us, making jokes, laughing and singing random snatches of music. A sense of well-being wrapped itself around us as we basked in the warmth of his love. Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation. The world became silent. Emerging from a distant reverie, Guruji smiled and said, If you stand for nothing
you fall for everything.
We are all on a journey, gradually evolving toward nobility and truth. This journey is fueled by conviction. When our convictions drive us to act and to strive for truth, personal growth is rapid.
Look at the great people in history. Gandhi was a small-time lawyer in South Africa. Nothing special. He was a good man -kind, friendly and unassuming. The sort of guy you would like but forget a week later. Then something stirred within him, driving him to stand up and resist cruelty and to fight for the rights of his people. He breathed new life into the depressed and downtrodden people of India, inspiring them to bring about a revolution, to expel the British with almost no bloodshed (not counting the thousands and thousands of peaceful protesters that the British massacred and tortured on a regular basis).
Think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, whose dedication to the cause of equality and freedom led them to brave unimaginable hardships.
Consider Mother Teresa, a nun who dedicated her life to serving the poor and oppressed. Her name has become a synonym for empathy and all-encompassing love.
The life of an activist is not easy. It is frustrating how slowly change comes about. Sometimes it seems utterly futile, standing in the rain, holding up protest signs. Nobody seems to listen. Nobody seems to care. It is heart-wrenching to be able to rescue only 10 baby chickens, when there are millions of them dying brutal deaths in factory farms all over the country every single day. Solutions come in ones and twos while the problems seem to run in the millions. People scoff. They call us idealists, dreamers and fools. They tell us we can never succeed, that the world cannot be changed.
People ask why we do it. Why do we invest so much of our lives, our energy and our hearts in seeming futility? Why not just get a nice, steady job, come home in the evenings and drink beer while watching the latest moronic sitcom? Why not just chill out and have a good time?
Why not?
Because somebody has to care. In an age of growing apathy, somebody has to give a censored swear word or two.
Those who have never had a baby turtle hatch in the palm of their hand don't understand that surge of immense love and respect for life and all living beings that drive us.
Those who have never stood alongside a stranger in a candlelight vigil for a young hate crime victim and known that stranger to be a kindred soul don't understand the feeling of inherent oneness, the unity of mankind.
Those who haven't stood up and protested unwanted violence (which is all violence) don't understand that satisfaction, that strength and that tremendous sense of fulfillment that comes from living out your beliefs.
Unfortunately, several people who enter this sphere of activity get so caught up in their cause that they fail to see the beauty and joy in life, losing their peace of mind. A sense of hostility develops toward those who don't see eye to eye with them. Such an activist, however effective, loses out on the great personal benefits that are available.
Activism is a great source of spiritual growth. An activist works selflessly, out of love, which is the essence of karma yoga (the path of action) that both Hinduism and Buddhism teach. The Bible seems to indicate the same thing -good things happen to those that pray and work while they wait. The true activist develops empathy and sensitivity to the distress (and the joys) of others, thus growing to embrace the entire world in a spirit of oneness, love and communion. How could that be a bad thing?
This is the only world we have. It is currently riddled with injustice, disease, oppression and misery. No angel is going to descend from the sky and put a divine band-aid on our wounds. It is up to us as citizens of this planet to look after her welfare because we depend on the Earth for our lives. This is our battle against the negative forces acting within ourselves. We have to strive for change, for improvement and for growth. If we win, there is no loser; If we fail, all is lost.
-Bhaskar Raman is a graduate student in journalism. Send him an e-mail at bhaskar.raman.1@ohiou.edu. 17
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