Thoughts that Unify & Produce Peace—Reflections for 79th India's Independence Day Celebration

Let us fill the 79th India's Independence Day Celebration with positivity and harmony with all. As people of the oldest living civilization, we have tried to answer questions relating to our existential reality and given so much to the rest of humanity. Multiple narratives provide plausible answers but none appear to be satisfactory going by the turmoil that has engulfed vast multitudes. The Golden Rule states that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Why is there so much greed and self-centeredness, why narcissism and nihilism are the dominant forms of behaviour in everyday living.
Perhaps the question: Who am I? can be better understood by re-phrasing the question: What kind of a human being am I? along with two other related questions: What is my purpose in life? Why am I here? When confronted with frightening circumstances or thoughts, a tiny part of our brain called the amygdala goes into overdrive. Called the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response, all it takes is for one singular situation or thought, and our whole world can turn upside down.
Baháʼuʼlláh, Founder of the Bahá’i Faith, enjoins humanity to think more of others than of oneself: “Beware lest ye prefer yourselves above your neighbours.” Whether or not a person loves his neighbour may seem unimportant or trivial in its relation to bigger concepts such as world unity and world peace. “The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part of the animal creation, he possesses a power of thought superior to all other created beings.” "When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love." Bahá’i Writings emphasize the power of positive thoughts to counteract negative ones, particularly in the context of interpersonal relationships .
Bahá’is believe that very few people consciously and deliberately do a wrong act. They usually have a justification for what they are doing: even a condemned murderer. People cannot help acting the way they do. They are the product of their background and environment. If we remember this, we would not get angry or despise them. Rather we would think of their background and circumstances and how they were raised from childhood and try to help.
How earnestly humanity yearns to live by the Rig Veda dictum: "Common be your prayer; Common be your end; Common be your purpose; Common be your deliberation; Common be your desires; Unified be your hearts; Unified be your intentions; Perfect be the union among you." And yet individuals easily succumb to their baser instincts. The outward appearance can often be very deceptive--the brand of clothes, educational degrees, type of job, the food one eats, etc. “If a man’s thought is constantly aspiring towards heavenly subjects, then does he become saintly: if on the other hand his thought does not soar, but is directed downwards to centre itself upon the things of this world, he grows more and more material until he arrives at a state little better than that of a mere animal.”
If negative thinking and emotions affect our bodies in an undesirable way, then positive thinking does have the opposite effect? The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” The Buddha said, “Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.”
On any given day thousands of thoughts flood our brains, and many of the negative ones are simply untrue. Challenging destructive thoughts about ourselves or others and giving ourselves compassion throughout difficult situations can keep negativity and its resulting ill effects in check. How one reacts to the people could make all the difference. People treat you as they are, not as you are. This is easier said than done, it is important to avoid negative people. They simply drain your energy. Instead, one should associate with kind souls whenever possible, you will feel better. In his mystical book The Hidden Words, the Baha’u’llah, wrote: “The company of the ungodly increaseth sorrow, whilst fellowship with the righteous cleanseth the rust from off the heart.” (707 words)

Authored by: Dr. A. K. Merchant
The author is a social worker, independent researcher & Secretary of Bahá’i Spiritual Assembly of Delhi.