GIVE NATURE A CHANCE
An Achievable Target
AN educated person who used to consider himself a social activist worked in the field for decades. He suddenly stopped social work completely and when asked about the reason behind his decision, he replied that he used to think he was a social activist, but in reality all this while, he had only been a social critique. He realized that he had been wasting his time in negative speech and writing instead of giving anything positive to the world.
This remark is not only applicable to the above social activist, but holds true for all those whose work is targeted at the system. The reason is that they set their goal as reformation of the system―for example, eradicating injustices and disparities. However, when they are not successful in achieving their goals, they lay the blame on the government or authorities. They begin to write and speak against the system, and at times even resort to violence.
Success in life is associated with what Arnold Toynbee has referred to as the ‘challenge-response mechanism’. In the face of challenges, a person’s mind automatically tries to find a solution.
All these people have set themselves unachievable targets as their goals—for instance, the elimination of inequalities, which is not possible in this world. Since they cannot achieve their target, such people remain permanently negative.
Deeper analysis shows that what these people regard as social justice or economic parity cannot be attained in its ideal sense. Trying to set this as one’s target is akin to making an unachievable objective as one’s aim. This causes people to become negative, intolerant and even violent.
The root cause for this state of affairs is a lack of understanding of the law of nature. There are certain phenomena which arise due to the law of nature. If people consider these phenomena a result of the system, then they develop radical thinking leading to clashing with the system and causing the initiation of an unending conflict. But if these issues are attributed to nature, they would be managed normally.
The truth is that the present world is based on challenge and competition. Success in life is associated with what British historian Arnold Toynbee has referred to as the ‘challenge-response mechanism’.
In the face of challenges, a person’s mind automatically tries to find a solution. Here, the matter is man versus nature. When faced with a challenge, a person would make effort for peaceful management of the situation and thus succeed. However, if a person attributes the problems or challenges to the system or an authority, he would clash with them and even perpetrate violence to vent his anger.
When certain reformers study human life they observe some unwanted phenomenon, for which they coin words such as ‘discrimination’, ‘injustice’, ‘victimization’ etc. Such people should consider those persons who were able to make progress against all odds, for example Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) who started his life in abject poverty, but later on emerged as the principal architect of the Constitution of India. Similarly, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had humble beginnings but went on to hold the highest office of the country.
A life full of challenges is not due to any particular system, rather it is the way the world has been made.
When a person finds himself among the deprived classes of society, a law of nature begins to play a very important role in his life. He develops the incentive to achieve all that which he could not gain through the circumstances in which he was born. Had he blamed his circumstances on the system, then instead of working for his self-development he would have become negative towards the system.
A life full of challenges is not due to any particular system, rather it is the way the world has been made. In such a situation if we struggle to fight with the system, our actions go against the very creation plan of God. Thus the matter does not remain ‘man versus man’ but becomes ‘man versus God’. This is why in this situation, peaceful management alone can be effective on the path to success.
Adjust to the Divine Plan
A person has only two choices—either he
should adjust to the divine plan and be
successful or go against it and be ready to
face failure.