Evolution has ordained that each living being has a
relationship with nature; and all other beings, in a delicate balance. As time
passes, the DNA of those who survive get passed on, and the traits of the
parent DNA get replicated. Each of us have a great common feature. We can trace
our lineage to the earliest living organisms. The line is uninterrupted; and
the evidence is that you, who are reading this, is alive. The others simply
couldn’t make it.
The traits you carry, are those that enabled your ancestors
to survive, and these have got passed on to your DNA. The only mismatch is that
while evolution of physical traits happens slowly over millennia, development
in the human mind has been much more rapid. The instincts we have may hark back
to the stone age, but our surroundings no more contain the source for the
instinctive reaction. For instance, the fear of predators may have made our
ancestors behave in a certain way upon hearing a loud sound. While we are no
more faced with predators in our cities, yet we cringe and feel afraid if a
loud sound is hard. We get startled and start looking around to understand the
source of the sound, similar to how our ancestors would have done.
Having said that, I must take you back; to the early days of
existence of our Homo Sapiens’ ancestors. It was a time when everything was in
harmony, with each living being taking only what he required, from nature.
There was abundance of everything. And then, one of our ancestors killed a
bird/animal for the fun of it. This was the original earth shattering event. It
was from then onwards that imbalance in nature stared. This event led to fear
in the minds of others, that there is likelihood of shortage. Hoarding and
accumulation became the insurance against such shortages.
The lives of people moved from the present to the future.
Violence is a part of existence. Every living being has to
devour someone, whether of plant or animal origin, to survive. Is violence the
way of life? The Buddha comes to our rescue and answers the question. He says that we must understand the difference between” Need to kill” and “Will to
kill”. While the first is essential, the second is needless and creates sorrow.
In an expanding Universe, resources are increasing, so we
have to set our fears at rest and live happy, healthy and peaceful lives. The
negativity created by the first act of needless killing has led us to this
state, where our fears have led to exploitation, which carries on to this day.
