Time is a force that affects us all. It is an eternal story teller in its own way. The flow of time oversees things as they wither away from existence, events as they fade into memories, people as they turn to nothingness. Time governs the entire scheme of things, in which it determines the victor and loser, the good and bad, the strong and the weak, the ruler and the follower.
Shiva Trilogy is one such novel series by Amish, which urges you into thinking about challenges faced by a nation then and now, sacrificing short term gains for the sake of the greater good, the human nature’s powerful force which acts an obstacle unto itself, sacrifices one has to make in following a good cause, and how a true leader can lead people.
[part two]
Excerpt…
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‘…But remember, great Good will, more often that not, lead to great Evil.’
‘I understood that from the teachings of Lord Manu. I’d like to hear your reasons for why this is so.’
‘We have a philosophical book in our community that answers this question beautifully. It contains the teachings of great philosophers who we have revered over the centuries, like Lord Hari and Lord Mohan. It also contains the teachings of the chiefs of the Vasudev tribe, beginning with our founder, Lord Vasudev. The book is called the “Song of our Lord”.’
‘Song of our Lord?’
‘Yes. It is called the Bhagavad Gita in old Sanskrit. The Gita has a beautiful line that encapsulates what I want to convey: Ati sarvatra varjayet. Excess should be avoided ; excess of anything is bad. Some of us are attracted to Good. But the universe tries to maintain balance. So what is good for some may end up being bad for others. Agriculture is good for us humans as it gives us an assured supply of food, but it is bad for the animals that lose their forest and grazing land. Oxygen is good for us as it keeps us alive, but for anaerobic creatures that lived billions of years ago, it was toxic and it destroyed them. Therefore, if the universe is trying to maintain balance, we must aid this by ensuring that Good is not enjoyed excessively. Or else the universe will re-balance itself by creating Evil to counteract Good. That is the purpose of Evil: it balances the Good.’
‘Why can’t there be a Good that does not create Evil? Why can’t we establish a way of life that does not imbalance the universe?’
‘That is impossible. Our being alive itself creates imbalances. In order to live, we breathe. When we breathe, we take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Aren’t we creating an imbalance by doing so? Isn’t carbon dioxide evil for some? The only way we can stop creating evil is if we stop doing good as well; if we stop living completely. But if we have been born, then it is our duty to live. Let us look at it from the perspective of the universe. The only time the universe was in perfect balance was at the moment of its creation. And the moment before that was when it had just been destroyed; for that was when it was in perfect imbalance. Creation and destruction are the two ends of the same moment. And everything between creation and the next destruction is the journey of life. The universe’s dharma is to be created, live out its life till its inevitable destruction and the be created once again. We are a downscaled version of the universe.’
‘These are just theories, Panditji.’
‘Yes they are. But they explain a lot of things that otherwise seem abstruse.’
‘Even if I were to agree with you, how could it work at our level? We are miniscule compared to the universe.’
‘Yes, that is true, but the universe lives within us in a minute model of itself. Good and Evil are a way of life for every living entity, including us. Our creation and destruction is through Good and Evil; through balance and imbalance. This is true for animals, plants, planets, stars, everything. What makes us humans special is that we can choose how to control Good and Evil. Most creatures are not given that opportunity. There were giant creatures that lived on Earth many millions of years ago. Climate change made them extinct. We have good reason to believe that they were not responsible for this but were victims of the “Evil” which suddenly reared its head. Humans, however, have been blessed with intelligence, the greatest gift of the Almighty. This allows us to make choices. We have the power to consciously choose Good and improve our lives. We also have the ability to stop Evil before it destroys us completely. Our relationship with nature is different from that of other living creatures. Others have nature’s will forced upon them. We have the privilege, at times, of forcing our will upon nature. We can do this by creating and using Good, like we created agriculture. What is forgotten, however, is that many times the Good we create leads to the Evil that will destroy us.’
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..to be continued..
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