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| painting courtesy: Laxman Aelay |
Self-styled godman Asharam, known to his followers as "Bapu" or father, told his devotees that blame for the assault on a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16 should not just rest with her attackers.
"This tragedy would not have happened if she had chanted God's name and fallen at the feet of the attackers. The error was not committed by just one side," he said in video footage which has been widely circulated on the Internet
That Mother India is in dire need of a moral compass to navigate her out of the devastating morally degenerative state she currently is in, is without doubt .However ,the senseless and insensitive comment of a revered Guru begs for a retort. With all due respect to the Guru and to give him the benefit of the doubt I think he had a problem expressing himself. I think what he was trying to say and IT IS A LESSON FOR ALL OF US TO LEARN from is that when faced with problem such as the Delhi Brave heart and her male companion it is advisable not to fight back and retaliate. One should retreat and be mild so as not to aggravate the situation which needless to say, would eventuate in the gruesome brutality as in this case No one is suggesting that rape is acceptable. However you add fuel to fire when you fight back the criminal lunatics that are raging with anger. Perhaps , if you retreat then the assailants would leave you alone and you can then save your life and recover from the ordeal by seeking professional psychological and psychiatric care and seek legal redress for the injustice one has faced through legal mechanisms thereafter.
However, at a time, when the entire nation is mourning and soul searching and the family of the victim is in deep bereavement this sort of comment is not only callous and cruel but completely unbecoming of a Guru and his calling.. Delhi Brave heart is no more and it is not a time to point a finger of fault on her and pass judgement when she has no voice now to defend herself. It is indeed questionable if the Guru lived to his calling as a spiritual guide as his role should have been to condole with the bereaving family and give them spiritual counselling and help them cope with the loss and that too, loss in such painful tragic circumstances. Compassion is the essence of spirituality which was completely lacking in his comment. Furthermore, even this Guru as close as he professes to be to God Almighty is destined to be cremated at some point or other. When your number is called no amount of mantras , tantras or yantras, no doctor or spiritual leader can help the situation. Our death is determined by God so too how we go is also determined by God Almighty. This applies to you, the reader, and to me Death is our ultimate destination. Life is uncertain but death is certain, only its time is uncertain. Delhi Brave heart left a legacy not only for Mother India but for the International Community.- her brave fight for justice and for the dignity of women will live on in the hearts of humanity for many years to come Many great souls have died painfully like Jesus Christ ,the son of God was crucified , the Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated and Socrates was poisoned , Their teachings and spirit have and will continue to live on till eternity for the betterment of mankind. So too Delhi Brave heart ‘s passing will not be in vain. It has touched lives across the oceans and continents of this world and for Mother
India and its nationals, you need to give time, time , time for healing for her family and time and patience for the Government of India and its Judiciary to make the reforms that will bring forth a new era. The Guru who professes to be closer to God has passed judgement on Delhi Brave heart which is not his role .He has not only created bad karma for himself, he has made a mockery of spirituality by rubbing salt on the raw wounds of her grieving family .Passing judgement is the role of God Almighty and the Guru is too small to usurp the functions of God.
Enough is Enough !
.Let the poor family of the Delhi Brave heart come to terms with their plight and find solace and comfort in Divine grace and compassion. I am confident God Almighty will bring them through. Let us put sense and sensibility into this tragedy. It is a time for introspection, a time to look inwards and if we all contribute in our own small way to do good for ourselves and for others we would make this world a better and more palatable place to live in. This should be our immediate motivations instead of engaging in senseless gutter spiritual debates such as the one this Guru has now provoked.
Let Delhi Brave heart’s soul rest in peace and lets us all learn lessons that need to be learnt and let us pray for a full restoration of the moral values of Mother India and for her family to come through leaning on God Almighty for strength and fortitude. The legacy of moral values are at the doorstep of Indian nationals as the greatest of holy sages have imparted their ancient wisdom of the holy scriptures of all world religions to Mother India .It is the role for each individual to cultivate it in our life and live by the God’s laws and if each individual can humbly assimilate these precious teachings that come from the divine throne of God Almighty we can all eradicate diabolical incidents such as these. We need to light up the lamp of our souls and make a difference to the world by doing good for ourselves and society at large, We are all responsible not just the government and the judiciary of India .Let us learn from this painful lesson and become good ,morally upright citizens of the world .Let us all check our own moral balance sheets and ask if it is in debit or credit. Let us check our moral standards and sense of integrity before we ascribe blame to anyone else. For reform of the law to take place each and every individual must change from within because collectively you make up a nation. This it appears would be the calling of the day for one and all..
May I also add to put more sense and sensibility to this case, as for the comments of ML Sharma the lawyer defending the accused on the issue of Delhi Brave heart’s chastity, he is only doing his job to the best of his ability as Defence Counsel. However as to the comments of the Guru it is doubtful he lived to his calling. True, “Justice must be tempered with Mercy “ but Mercy must only be accorded to those who repent and are remorseful for their heinous actions against humanity and not for those who plead “ Not Guilty “ and seek to justify their atrocities against members of society. To let them get away with such senseless justification would tarnish the moral fibre of a developed and evolved justice system. Also, it would endanger the lives of Women of India and for that matter humanity at large .Such atrocities cannot be condoned by any standards whether it be inflicted on a man or woman. Is this a fair and reasonable yard stick. ?
