The society and humankind has been painstakingly trained,
through centuries, to be fascinated by black and white. This is irrespective of
the fact that if human soul was to be assigned a color, it most definitely
would have to be grey, neither black nor white. So deeply have we been
prejudiced that black is associated with darkness, negativity and all things
bad whereas white has been placed on the other end of the spectrum, signifying
all that is good. Just in order to break this stereotypical association, even
if only for the space of this article, whenever I talk about the negative
extreme I would associate it with white and the positive extreme with black.
However, the purpose of my writing here is not to talk about black and white
but about the grey that lies in between and actually defines life, truth,
reality, humankind and all existence.
In the Hindu religion, Rama and Krishna are considered as
manifestations of God in the human form. Even the most devout of followers of
Lord Rama are not able to convincingly defend the actions of the Lord in
dismissing his pregnant wife into exile, on grounds of suspicion on her
character by a few residents of Ayodhya, for having been abducted by King
Raavan of Lanka and having to stay in Lanka for a year. So much so, that sage
Tulsidas who has composed Ramcharitamanas, his version of the Ramayana, has
chosen to completely ignore this episode in the life of his most revered and
loved Lord, for he could not associate this with the Lord.
Coming to Lord Krishna, his philosophy of life, his
teachings and his own personal life, are non-contestable testimonies of the
ambiguities and the grey areas that exist in life. Not even the staunchest of
believers could justify the conduct of the Pandavas, led by Yudhishthir, in
pawning his wife, and yet Lord Krishna decidedly supports the Pandavas in the
Kurukshetra fight.
The above are only just examples from these two epics. There
are many more that can be quoted to prove that black and white are not the
colours that define humankind, but grey does. Even the colour of the soul of
the Gods, in their human manifestations, was grey. Even they could-not accord
to themselves any other colour of existence, in order to be true to their human
forms.
If the above is true, if only grey is real, it would mean
that the world would have to agree on the principle of existence of
multitudinous perspectives, of varied possibilities, of diverse opinions, of
multiple interpretations, all of them as plausible as the other. It would mean
the existence of an exciting world of ideas and opportunities that would
cherish and relish the lively debates and discussions that would have to be the
norm.
I recently read the interpretation of Mahabharata by Ananda
Neelkanthan. He has beautifully depicted the great saga from the perspective of
the vanquished and the vile. His interpretation lays bare the heart and soul of
Suyodhana (known to the world as Duryodhana), and forces us to question our entrenched
beliefs about right and wrong, about good and bad, about black and white. It
turns our moralities upside down and yet again forces us to acknowledge the
truth of Grey.
I also just finished reading a book titled ‘Mr. and Mrs.
Jinnah’, throwing valuable light on the almost never discussed personal life of
the much reviled (in India) Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It again had the same impact
on me.
In any situation, whenever I have tried to dig deeper into
things, tried to break down and get to the basics, I have always felt this deep
inability to judge, to label, and most importantly, to hate. I have felt my
worldview broadening and my deeply entrenched beliefs and prejudices losing
their foothold.
Why is it that I have had to wait for three decades of my life
to just roll by, before I was able to experience this intellectual excitement
in my life? Possibly because those that wield power can continue to wield power
only if they perpetuate a world of ignorance. A world where only one dominant
perspective is allowed to exist and all others our either actively crushed or
passively ignored. So, it was decided that the education system that had the
power to turn around the world would be universally tamed. If knowledge was
power, then all attempts would be made to concentrate this power in as fewer
hands as possible.
And so, children will never be exposed to Anand
Neelkanthan’s version of Mahabharata, whenever they are being told about this
epic. They will never be encouraged to read into the human being that Jinnah
was, when they are being taught (in India) that he was solely responsible for
the partition of our great land. They will be nurtured and fed with lopsided
one single dominant perspective and will be told that this is the ultimate
truth.
The possibility of a more just, peaceful and harmonious
co-existence of human beings is being nipped in the bud at every moment. The
recognition of ‘The Power of Grey’ is the only thing that can save the world
from hatred, death and destruction. Is anyone interested though, is the real
question.
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