An Eye for an Eye,  only turns the whole world blind     

The year was 2937. Germany was running high on Nazism. It was following an expansionist policy for ‘Lebensraum’. But other countries also followed suit. Rather than using diplomacy and sorting disputes, they started making secret alliances to attack each other. As soon as Germany invaded Poland, what followed is history – the start of World War II! Any ‘Eye’ for an ‘Eye’ actually turned up the whole ‘world’ blind – quite literally.

An ‘Eye’ for an Eye means to use aggression for taking revenge. It involves the use of power rather than intellect, turning the world to be blind, i.e., huge destruction. In essence, it means that persons lack rationality and objectivity, thus inflicting widespread exploitation and harm to others. The phrase might be new, but the phenomenon is present since time immemorial.

The mythological war between Kauravas and Pandavas in Mahabharata is an apt example where war was the ultimate result of feud between clans of the same family. Even if one could have bowed down, probably war could have been avoided.

The crusades for recovering Jerusalem itself led to war in the Middle East. Similar was the case with Marathas. A potent force at one time and probable successors of Mughals, they succumbed to fighting amongst themselves – the 5 kingdoms of Hollcars, peshwas, Gaekwads, and Scindias. An eye for an eye turned the world blind for them.

With the Industrial Revolution, many European powers came to India. But apart from trade, their greed increased animosity among them, and all of them except the British almost got wiped out from India, thus turning the world ‘blind’ for all of them. Let us look at how it works at the family level.

A family that believes in inclusivity is respected among one and all. But if it is hell-bent on revenge and follows wrong principles – the negativity not only reciprocates on them but on their children too. The story of a family of a drug cartel lord in the web series ‘Narcos’ beautifully encapsulates it.

In a society, vices like communalism, regionalism are among manifestations of lack of tolerance and feeling of revenge towards others. Caste violence like Una incident or Muzaffarnagar riots (2017), Godhra riots are all because of a lack of trust and empathy among people. It is only leading to migration, ghettoization of communities, and divergence of funds. An eye for an eye is turning the world blind for them.

When a person is involved in such acts, the power of rational thinking gets reduced. He/she becomes a blank slate and can be easily radicalized for turning the world ‘blind’ as he himself has turned ‘blind’ to logic and wisdom.

When we look at political parties, the acts of horse trading and criminalization are common. In the act of showing ‘eye’ for an ‘eye’ to each other i.e. mala fiding each other attacking each other, they stoop to a low level of discourse. The act of buying MLAs and bringing down govt. is one among such acts. An eye for an eye is ultimately harming Indian democracy and its constitutional morality, quite visible in the Emergency of 1975 – when opposition parties stooped to new lows. But this practice is even present in the international arena.

Be it the Cold War of the late 20th century between USA and Soviet Union or the current trade war between USA & China, the major fabric common among them is hatred, propaganda, anger, lack of diplomacy, and communication between them. Each one is trying to outrun the other rather than growing together, leading to currency wars or cyber wars.

Saddam Hussein ran a Sunni theocracy. Even after his death, Shia-Sunni rivalry did not stop. ISIS was formed as the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’, but even after its defeat, the war continues. All this rivalry among different factions and proxy wars could have easily been avoided if they would not have shown ‘an eye for an eye’, rather adopting a conciliatory approach. But today Middle East, one of the most mineral-rich regions of the world, lies in ruins – turning the world ‘blind’ for its inhabitants.

Border tensions are another reflection where ‘tit for tat’ approach only worsens the relations. India-Pakistan wars and its current relations are apt examples of it. This approach is materializing itself in greater protectionism and increasing trade barriers among countries which was one of the causes trade war between Washington and Beijing.

When states start showing a lack of trust on each other, it only delays projects, reduces interactions among them, and harms them even more in the long term. Regionalism is increasingly seen even amongst Indian states. Be it the standoff on Belgaum between Maharashtra & Karnataka or Inter River Water Disputes on C____ between Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Karnataka, all are manifestations of showing ‘eye for an eye’, thus only damaging themselves turning their world ‘blind’. The ‘son of soil movement’ of Maharashtra or excluding North Indians (UP, Bihar) from Gujarat forcing them to migrate are all in line with it.

The problem is not limited to this sphere alone. It even manifests itself in environmental concerns where developed and developing countries are at loggerheads with each other; the result is again the same – out of $1 trillion which had to be materialized, only 2% could be actually done. USA even left the Paris agreement. This has even leapfrogged to tribal areas. Let’s see how.

The Naxalbari movement by tribals started primarily for their land rights. But after 50 years, what is the result? ‘An eye for an Eye’ by both administration and tribals within has led to neither development of area nor tribals are able to freely practice in their area, thus turning the world ‘blind’ for all.

What should then be done to mitigate such tussles and scenarios? The solution lies in diplomacy and communication. Most of the problems listed could have been solved if only people lent an ear and understood others’ concerns. For this, value education needs to be propagated and values of empathy and tolerance imbued among all.

The guiding light can be Buddha’s ‘Madhyama Marg’ and Aristotle’s ‘Doctrine of Mean’. All (wo)men need to understand the maxim of simple living and high thinking by Gandhiji. Vivekananda’s message of ‘service of jiva is sequice to Shiva’ needs to be propagated.

An ‘Eye for an Eye’, i.e., revenge, is in itself a negative emotion. The need is to understand that love is the strongest emotion. It was Gandhiji’s non-violence and Ashoka’s ‘Ahimsa which triumphed. Hitler even though with mightiest of army has to shoot himself dead. Thus, the need is to propagate truth, peace, and compassion among all to have a peaceful living world.

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
sarve Santu Niramyah
Surve Bhadrani Pashyantu
Ma kadischit Dukh Bhauetla.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti!
(May all enjoy happiness, May no one suffer from illness, May all sentient beings belt peace, peace)