Fighting opinions

Two days back, my friend asked Atul, “What did you miss the most apart from food when your mother had gone to India for two months?” He replied candidly, “Fighting.” I could not control my laughter because his age is such that not a day passes without lengthy arguments between us. All meaningless arguments and topics! The word ‘fighting’ has no meaning at all here, which I know and he knows, because our relationship is based on trust and love.

I do not know about my past lives but in this life, one thing I can claim tall and that is, I have never fought with anyone nor carried over those burns hailed at me consciously. Because wrong perceptions and misunderstandings do happen in an opinionated world. In fact, opinion is the cause of all problems of life.

Marcus Aurelius has given a very simple solution in his famous book ‘The Meditations’ thus…

Take away thy opinion, and then there is taken away the complaint, "I have been harmed." Take away the complaint, "I have been harmed," and the harm is taken away.

While reading these words, I imagined him sitting in his tent with a quill in hand burning midnight oil thus pouring his heart out on goodness and godliness. In the midst of fight and fury of the war, hatred and losses of humanity, he had written such pearls of wisdom.

Everyone must read this diary at least once to know what this Roman Emperor had jotted down as his meditative thoughts some 2000 years ago. In fact, I mourned for his death in the film ‘Gladiator’ when his own son (Commodus) kills him for the sake of power. What a shame for this fine man of wisdom and humility! During those last moments of life, this great man would not have felt pain because of the physical wound but succumbed by the pain in the subtle heart caused by his own son for shifting priorities of life. For a prestigious father of lofty ideals, such a prodigal son was destined!

We are all no less than Commodus. In fact, the world is going worse consistently at the personal and global level, caring only for self-opinions and inflated egos. By the grace of Light, I am sure the world would get back its glory and smile once again soon. To achieve this at the earliest, let each one of us spread light and love at all times, throwing away those fighting opinions.

God bless!