Violence
Vanprastha Ashram, Rishikesh,
9th March, 2000
Chapter 1 - The You That You Want To Change
Day 21 - Violence
Violence comes with noise while nonviolence happens in silence. People who are violent make tremendous noise, they make their violence known, while people who are nonviolent are quiet. But the
time has come for the nonviolent ones to make noise so that violence will quite down.
The message of nonviolence must come loud and clear so that it can be heard at a young age. A sense of shame has to be connected with anger and violence. The reason for violence in young people is a sense of pride in anger and
violence, not a sense of shame.
People feel proud that they are
violent or angry. They think it is prestigious or a status symbol to be aggressive. Aggression is not considered a quality to be ashamed of. This promotes aggression and violence in the whole society, and when aggression and violence are promoted, human values diminish.
Some movies and modern music glorify frustration, anger, and revenge and make these a role model for children. We need to promote human values loudly and clearly, especially love, compassion and a sense of belongingness. Speak to groups or through your local media in the newspaper and on TV and create as many Utkarsha Yoga and other Art of Living Courses in your area as possible.
Question - If people are ashamed to be angry, won't that keep them unnatural and set up resistance in them that will persist?
Gurudev - If they are not ashamed, they will feel they have a license to get angry and violent. Sometimes resistance is a good thing, like resistance to disease or resistance to bad habits. Life is a war. Doctors fight against disease. Lawyers fight against injustice. Teachers fight against ignorance. Even your body is a battlefield.
Depression happens when you lose the will to fight. Arjuna was depressed, he did not want to fight. His bow fell from his
hands and his fingers trembled but Krishna urged him to wake up and fight. The decision to fight can take away your depression.