The dictionary defines terrorism as, the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.
Going by this definition, we can see that history is fraught with terrorists from all sects of life, Genghis khan to Josef Stalin. The striking thing to note about these aggressors is that they came from various religious beliefs and some were even atheists.
Although present day aggressors/terrorists belong heavily to one major religious group, we cannot discount that it was prevalent amongst many other sects as well.
What then exactly causes one to resort to such acts of violence?
According to the Bhagvad Gita, our actions are guided by our predominant modes of nature in other words our gunas, namely Sattva guna (Good qualities like being compassionate, truthful, benevolent, righteous etc), Rajo guna (passionate tendencies such as over indulgence, anger, etc) and Tamo guna (ignorant tendencies such as laziness, complaining attitude). We are all born with different permutation combinations of these three gunas. Terrorism swings between Tamo guna and Rajo guna. But the sole aim of terrorists is to wreck havoc amidst civilians for claiming their supremacy, by attributing their acts to religion and God.
However, it is their lack of knowledge about the true purpose of life, a draconian longing for power catalysed by their predominant guna that entices/propels them towards such acts of terror. Besides, terrorism these days is all about attacking unarmed-un alert citizens and hence is not an act of valour but of cowardice.
Since, we cannot wait around for God to come and put an end to terrorism like he did in the case of Kamsa, how then, can we help curb these brutal acts?
The youth today is in a very unique position to change the course of the world that is to come. With ample opportunities to engage their freedom of speech, action and choice they can help combat terrorism through knowledge, being vigilante, right influencers and values (moral and spiritual).
Knowledge
Since most terrorist acts of present day are a product of certain religious beliefs because of misrepresented religious ideologies, it is important for the heads of religious sects to impart correct understanding of scriptures and its purpose, which is to lead a peaceful life and attain love of God. Also to have blind faith in one’s religious beliefs, in other words fanaticism should not be encouraged. It is important to question authorities who are knowledgeable and understand the goal of human life. The youth should make earnest enquiries about the root cause for terrorism rather than joining the media/political/extremist bandwagon who consider religion as the black sheep.
Being Vigilant
I remember when the 1993 bomb blast in Mumbai Stock Exchange happened; we were worried, as my father’s office was in the same building. Luckily he survived the attack, but that incident made Mumbaiites very vigilant. Constant reminders from various sources of media to check orphan, unknown packages made us quite alert of our surroundings. We need to resurrect the same spirit now, rather than waiting for some calamity to happen. I remember when I travelled by train to college, I always observed the seats and coach to make sure no unidentified package is lying around. Now-a-days people have reached a comfort zone and add to that our constant need to look at the smart phone we need to up our vigil quotient and media houses can help us by posting signs such as, ‘if you see something, say something.’
Positive Influences
We learn a lot from the people we chose to surround ourselves with. Adolescence is a critical time period in our lives where these influences determine the course of our lives be it in choosing a career or even personality development. As parents, we can keep a watchful eye on our young children to see where and how they derive inspiration. As social media has become the sibling for our children and as they are spending more and more time online, we need to monitor its influence as well. What websites are they visiting, what kind of posts they like, share on social media and whether it is having a positive impact on their overall growth is extremely crucial. Moreover, the presence of a positive role model in their lives who can be a guiding and motivating force, apart from the parents is equally important.
Values
The onus of imparting the right moral and spiritual values is the primary duty of every parent. The actions of a morally and spiritually inclined youth will speak volumes of his character and integrity. These values along with positive influences will have a significant impact on transforming the Rajo and Tamo guna tendencies into Sattva guna. When someone is situated in Sattva guna primarily then that leaves little room for violence and hedonistic propensities.
Must Read : Global Youth Must Unite against terrorism
As Noam Chomsky puts it, “Everybody is worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there is a real easy way- STOP PARTICIPATING IN IT.” And our youth is in a distinctive position to do exactly that, provided they are equipped with the above.
