On Silence and Violence

Sometimes when I sit alone, often a beautiful line floats into my mind which says, “where the heart is full , silence is the best expression". In today’s noisy world, this statement seems to be so absurd, but when we look at the nature, we realise how true it is. The sun rises and sets, stars twinkle, a flower unfolds its petals - all in silence. Silence is the language of the nature. Even the beaming smile of a child, or a dog’s wagging tail, expresses joy without the need for sound. Verbal communication started by humans out of necessity. With the power of words, inspiring literature was created through the ages. Between individuals and nations, the right usage of words are essential factors. But in today’s world, we often find words become routine expressions lacking the spirit of a heartfelt exchanges. A purely functional expression of "hi" without a friendly smile loses the human connection and often the exchange lacks connection. “Thank you" and “Sorry" without true gratitude or remorse are hollow expressions of politeness. Moreover, the constant use of social media full of exchanges that are purely based on words, gadgets like computers and smartphones have separated people from the ability to express emotions directly through humans encounters. With the advancement of modern technology, we have brought an imbalance between our head and heart to such an extend that we are creating weapons to safeguard our interests but on the other hand are distancing ourselves from each other resulting in a society basedon greed, self-centredness and fear. Ultimately this breaks up our loving bond in families and nations too. This sad situation is seen all over the world today and the time has come to think about it little more deeply. If we want to make our temporary stay on this earth a little meaningful, we must try to broaden our outlook, come out from a fearful, self-centred existence, and embrace this beautiful but uncertain life as a gift. Our gratitude may be expressed through our acts of loving kindness towards all life. As we all are temporary visitors in this planet, it will be better, if we perform all our assigned worldly duties as a service to our creator. We all can make our every moment a wonderful moment - as Tagore wrote in his poem - "Oh drown all my arrogance in my tears. Let me not project myself in my work. Let Your will be done in my life."