Dharma in Kaliyugam

"Dharma Kshurasya Dhara Nishita Duratyaya 

Durgam Pathas Tat Kavayo Vadanti" 

-KathoUpanishad

“Wake up! Don’t miss the rare chance that was given to you. Follow the spiritual way, start your spiritual life, before it's too late because you were born in a human body. But remember, this way is sharp like the edge of a razor. Great wise men who followed it to the end warn us that it is hard.”

    Dharma is said to be as hard to follow as walking on the sharp edge of a razor, says the Kathoupanishad. Also, it is not always very clear to the unfocused mind; Only one completely at the lotus feet of the lord acts like a mirror to reflect the truth. A lie told to save a thousand lives is a truth, but a truth that takes a life is considered to be a lie. 

    I write this in dedication to all the recent and past terrorist attacks. They say, History is written by winners - So, does that mean that most winners in history have won through fair and just means? Should we consider facts/analysis in determining history or should we accept the age-old history textbooks that tell us one story after another? Eh well...History is a topic for another day! I seem to have digressed from my original point (as I tend to always do, old habits die hard). 

    As I was saying, this entry isn't about Indian politics/Indian security system/Indian Infrastructure etc. People have discussed endlessly on those already, people much more aware and knowledgeable than I am. I would like to stick to general facts, so here goes my 2 cents:

    First and foremost, the goal of terrorism is to make people feel helpless and lose confidence in the ability of the authorities to protect them. These attacks have succeeded in that respect. In many ways, by disarming the populous and convincing them that the government are the "only ones" who can be trusted to protect also makes the government complicit.

    Terrorism is mainly because of social and psychological factors. The motivation behind these attacks is not always political. Those who actually carry out the attacks are motivated by self-image, by social status, religion etc. As a result, they do not carry out small attacks on soft targets (which they could do almost anywhere at any time). They limit themselves to attempts at big attacks which give them, in their minds, a certain grandiose self-image and social status.

    If there's any lesson in these attacks, it's not to focus too much on the specifics of the attacks. Of course, that's not the way we're programmed to think. We respond to stories, not analysis. I don't mean to be unsympathetic; this tendency is human and these deaths are really tragic. For instance, the Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008, 18 armed people intent on killing lots of innocents will be able to do just that, and last-line-of-defense countermeasures won't be able to stop them. Intelligence, investigation, and emergency response. We have to find and stop the terrorists before they attack, and deal with the aftermath of the attacks that we aren't able to stop. 

    And as horrible as the reality is, it could've been much worse than we had all anticipated. My heart and sympathies go out to the dead/injured and their families. May we all fight terrorism as a social cancer and stop trying to find someone to blame it on!