Humanity Above All Else

Something is really nagging me today…urging me to not let the chain of thoughts stop….pushing me to think through till the end…to come to some conclusion that manages to numb this feeling…..and I didn’t want to lose this….didn’t want to let the routine swallow up this thought…..this thought which is somehow sounding very important to me….a question that I am feeling obliged to answer….

I have always struggled with myself….time and again battled to answer one question…..debated countless times with myself…..and yet I still don’t know if I have been able to answer that question…..

What is the definition of right and wrong?....does it vary with each individual, or can it be absolute?....My right and wrong may be different from what someone else might consider right and wrong…..Is everyone not justified in holding on to their rights and wrongs? Is it essential to impose an absoluteness to it? Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is it natural? Many a times I have left this chain of thoughts midway….many a times I have emerged with no concrete answer……but today as I think, I am drawn to one conclusion that sounds to me more plausible and convincing than the others…..that satisfies me to some extent…till the time some other lingering shadow of doubt overtakes it…..

Yes, everyone is entitled to their thoughts…..their beliefs…. and the actions based on their beliefs……but there is one absolute above all else that to my mind is right there at the top…..that cannot be compromised with……that cannot be denied…..that cannot be wished away….that cannot be squashed……and that is the ultimate absolute of humanity…..humanity above all else…..humanity as that ultimate principle that cannot be violated…..

And what if its violated with impunity all around oneself, time and again…..and yet again…..in the name of all else that might be important and right for many…..but still cannot be held above humanity……in the name of caste, creed, religion, nation, gender, love, lust, greed, anger, pride…..possibly anything and everything…….

What if you see this spectacle of cold blooded murder of humanity all around you….day in and day out…..in the name of so many different things…..wearing so many different masks…..what do you do? Be content that you are not a part of this madness…..be content that at least you are the one who values humanity above all else….be content that you are a virtuous person….on the right path……or be ashamed that you watch this daily spectacle without bothering much about it…..be ashamed that you have become immune to anything that happens outside the fold of your immediate loved ones…..be ashamed that you move about comfortably in your routine pretending that all is well…..what do you do? Really what do you do? Oscillate like a pendulum between these two extremes?....Or try to arrive at a path that you can walk on for the rest of your life….a principle that you can live by from now on….what do you do?

I am caught in this labyrinth of questions and thoughts once again…..not being able to shut them off…..Is it enough to just hold on tight to your beliefs and that’s that? Is it just enough to let the unthinkable go on all around you and rest snugly in the belief that you are not the one who is involved in all this mess? More than this question, there is one more urgent question that has started plaguing me now…is it really possible to remain untouched and unscathed by any of this? Is it really possible to live a life in a shell with the belief that your life is mutually exclusive to anything happening around you and all that is around you doesn’t and will never make any difference to you? Is it really possible for the above to be true in any case? I am more and more inclined to believe that it is not. You are a part of the whole that is around you and cannot remain untouched…..

If humanity is the ultimate sacrosanct principle to be upheld and you believe so with all that you possibly can, then you cannot just sit content with this belief. You need to strive and fight hard to try and make it as much of a reality as possible….you need to speak, write, discuss, debate, do whatever you can to make other see the truth in it……you need to do this urgently….lest it is not too late…..lest things go out of control….if they have not already done so……you need to do it now…..if not for yourself then for the future generations that you have brought into this world….because this is the world that is going to be the biggest inheritance you will pass on to them…