It’s been on my mind since some days now – the concept of Yin-Yang and the balance of forces within one. As all must have experienced it with themselves or with others, the same person is capable of great compassion in one regard and total ignorance in another. But then do acts of good and bad cancel each other? Is it justified to sin on the basis of good deeds done some other time? Is a good deed a good deed when its done as a compensation for sin?
That for me is not the essence of balance. For me it is about accepting the evil inside you. It is about using the strength from the dark side but to channelize it and control it to do good. For me, anger and compassion, hatred and love, jealousy and compersion (empathy) are equally powerful. As in the case of Anakin-Vader, they are the source of one’s greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses at the same time. For one to be truly happy, to be at peace with oneself, it is necessary to give in to these negative emotions, accept them, make them a part of your body. But not right away, you have to keep resisting them, that is what will make you stronger and then there shall come a time when accepting them will bring you peace.
This I realised has always been the crux philosophy of all the recent pop culture heroes. In the case of Neo, he realises that he is powerful and when he gives that final punch, he shows how strong he can be. But he is even more stronger, when he allows Smith to merge with him.
Same is the case with Harry Potter. It is not his destiny to duel with Voldemort to the death, rather to walk unarmed to him, head held high.
It takes great strength to pick up the sword and strike, but even greater strength to know when to put your sword down…
All said and done, but in an increasing individualistic world, good and bad, right and wrong is becoming increasingly subjective. For any belief put forth there always a thousand people in front of you and a thousand behind you. More and more people are finding the strength to put their own voice in front of traditionally accepted good values. Faith or lack of it plays a role. In this increasing chaos, it is important that we find our own right and wrong, not be swayed, blinded and close minded. We form our own set of principles and we stick to them. For me, it is about finding the universal, unquestionable good deeds and keep on doing them – helping people in times of need, spreading smiles, trying to make the world a better place to live in my own small way, try to be selfless. I can be never be perfect, but thats the point isn’t it? To keep on pursuing perfection…
