“The mark of greatness is when everything before you is obsolete, and everything after you bears your mark.”
— Dave Chappelle
Year 2020 As I See It
Man is a victim of time. Since time immemorial humanity has gone through a unique cycle of existence. We have seen mass migration, wars, bloodshed, pandemic, imperial lust, and many more such issues and challenges. Mankind also went through stages of scientific discoveries and inventions. During the industrial revolution we constructed factories and discovered the magic of heavy machineries, and sky-high tall buildings. We did many great things, and achieved so much. We discovered atomic weapons, we went to the moon and came back and we discovered biological weapons in the laboratory and gave birth to the “Army of invisible soldiers- the VIRUSES”. We did so much. We tried to play GOD, and, as a result we ended up gifting ourselves the year 2020.
As I go on contemplating upon 2020, I realize that the situation is tense and crucial for all of us. The very existence of humanity has been challenged, but who challenged us? It is us who started digging up our own grave many millennials ago. Pandemic like Covid-19 has given all of us a big slap to wake us up from deep slumber. That is why I believe that in the modern history of this world, 2020 must be written in golden words. What is so special about this year? For the first time we learned the value of our own ‘life’; for the first time we realized how delicate and fragile creatures we are. For the first time we realized that money, wealth, power, prestige, beauty, luxury and lust cannot save people from inevitable death. For the first time we learned the value of sharing and caring unconditionally. For the first time we learned that Man is forever beyond the selfish identities of Family, Tribe, Caste, Community, Religion and Nation. For the first time Man discovered reflection of his own “True Self”.
We are living in the world of binaries- social, economic, political, cultural binaries. At this young age I discovered that we humans are very cunning creatures. We speak of Justice, Equality, Liberty and Fraternity; but, we love to discriminate, enslave and murder humanity. We speak of Revolution, without having a single drop of compassion in our hearts. We want to kill our enemy, but at the same time we conveniently ignore the DEMON hidden deeper inside us. It seems we all are suffering from MASS SCHIZOPHRENIA. We are delusional lunatics with serious mental disorders. Lust for wealth, power and sex has totally blinded us. Sometimes we take pride in calling ourselves religious. What kind of religions do we follow? Religion of Corruption? Bloodshed? Cheating? Lies? Hatred? We go to the Churches, to the Temples, to the Mosques, Synagogues, Gurudwaras, and Viharas- to worship, to pay our gratitude to the Almighty; to get purified in the light of Godly wisdom; but, my question is, have we ever tried for self-purification? God helps those who help themselves. We cannot escape thinking that we all are imperfect. NO !NEVER ! God will not come down to change us, God has been inspiring us since ages to be transformed. What we simply need is to say Y E S to the calling. This is what I learned in 2020 when I experienced “Living Hypocrisy” and “Hollow Repentance” of this world.
Humanism should be our first priority. Justice to all the “Sentient Beings” on this planet should be our primary goal. The time has come to realize that man is not a king of this world, rather, he, like every other living being, is an important part of the ecosystem of the Earth. No animal has ever destroyed our beautiful Earth the way man did. Such a grave crime! Where will we go for repentance? Maybe Covid-19 has arrived as a final opportunity for humanity to bend down, weep and repent before the great apocalypse.
In these dark days, a country like China is flexing its muscles against the world. Why? For what? What does China want? Land? Oceans? Sky? Minerals? Does China want to rule this World? I want to ask, if mankind is destroyed from this planet, then what is the use of all this? Has China never learned anything from the Wisdom of Buddha who taught that- “All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.”? Has China never learned anything from Jesus Christ who maintained that “Compassion, Love, Brotherhood and Forgiveness is the way to God”? When are we all going to understand that there is nothing important in this world than living and leading life like a Human Being? 2020 has been offering many lessons, when are we going to learn and act accordingly?
2020 is a year of spiritual awakening. It is a D-Day moment in the history of mankind. We have committed gross mistakes for innumerable centuries. Instead of appreciating the beauty of this world, humanity has dwelled in the pleasure of bloodshed. In the name of Religion, Creed, Caste, Race, Gender, we already have committed gross atrocities. We locked Jesus and Buddha who gave light to this world in the prison of our own Ego. This must stop. Let us not repeat what we have been doing for millennials. Let us stop at once. Whatever has happened has happened. At least, let us be pious and create an innocent, pure, clean world for coming generations. Why should the coming generation learn corruption? Why should they learn dishonesty? Why should they learn about hatred and wars? Why should they bear the emotional and political burden of the ‘past’ of their ancestors? Why should they learn ‘materialistic madness’? Why should they feel false pride in narrow identities of Family, Tribe, Clan, Caste, Creed, Gender, Religion and Nation? No. Coming generations cannot inherit this impure world. We must gift them a NEW world- full of goodness, love, compassion and justice where Man will be recognized simply as Man.
We have been so busy moulding our selfish ego. We have been so busy trying to fit in this cruel yet beautiful world. However, have we ever thought to detach ourselves from our quest for selfish material gains and desires, taking a moment to think for this lovely planet and welfare of its sentient beings? It’s time to let go of the hypocritical tendencies and look at both sides of the coin and know the difference and start acting up. People need to learn from this pandemic and realize that we are vulnerable without each other. At every level and on all ends we have helped each other but it was not enough. How long are we willing to put ourselves in danger by not doing what is right?
A wise man once said,
“No matter how educated you are, no matter how learned you are, no matter how much wealth you earn, if you cannot melt at witnessing the pain and sufferings in any part of the world, if you cannot feel a desire to bring a change in the life of people located at any part of the world, if you’re so selfish that you are thinking only about your own people, family and society, then, let me tell you- ‘O learned man! Go and die!’ You are not a man of God. Man of God does not belong to parents or family; he doesn’t know any religion, tribe, caste or nation; he is a servant of humanity; he is a defender of voiceless people brutalized by the powerful. Man of God is a free man.”
Let’s all seek for truth. Let’s not be consumed by hatred. Therefore, as the Bible verse says in 1 Corinthians 15: 51, “Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.”
Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Dr. Pfokrelo Kapesa, Rinsit B Sareo, Meren Lemtur and Kvulo Lorin.
For feedback or comments please email: dot@tetsocollege.org