The Silver lining in the 26/11 terror attacks
THE SILVER LINING IN THE 26/11 TERROR ATTACKS
The recent terror attacks in Bombay have no doubt shaken the very roots of peace. That terrorists can just enter a city and fire indiscriminately in busy areas killing a huge number of people is testimony to the fact that our security system failed us miserably. But while writing this article I have not lost sense of my purpose. The main theme of this blog as you know is mindful and purposeful living.
No article in this site or blog is mentioned just for gossip purposes. There are a million sites that provide the same. My purpose is to uncover something precious even from an apparent catastrophe and write about the same. Behind all the furore and the grief and outrage there was something that popped up in my brain. Something so profound that it was disturbing.
As you all know there was one lone terrorist who was captured. All the terrorists were under thirty. Just take the case of normal twenty and thirty year olds. They are fired with ambition. They have dreams galore of becoming rich and obtaining all the pleasures of life, many of which money can buy, of having a family, raising beautiful children.
In contrast compare the minds of these terrorists who attacked Bombay. It is clear that most of them came to kill and then sacrifice their lives. Heart of hearts they knew that their chances of escaping alive were very very remote. Their sole aim was to spread terror.
The point is this. Nobody is born with a terrorist mindset. Curiosity, innocence and so many other adorable qualities are inherent in every child. Its mind is truly mould-able. When negatively programmed from a young impressionable age, are you able to see what horrendous outcomes are possible? (Many of these terrorists are taught violence from a very young age and are fed only negative thoughts). Not only were these terrorists prepared to end their lives, but they also derived immense pleasure from inflicting grievous injuries on innocent people. (A newspaper report claimed that one terrorist’s mouth creased into a smile before he opened fire)
In an age when youngsters just want to start their lives and make a difference, these guys wanted to end their lives. Note the word WANTED. They wanted to cause HARM on people who had not harmed them in any way. Whatever might be their logic, what they did was unpardonable and more importantly did not make any sense. That’s the point; their mind drove them to commit all these acts. When sufficient negative conditioning is present, people do things that we all consider insane and dastardly. What can we learn from this?
When such extreme results are possible in the negative end of the spectrum, is it not clear that extreme results are also possible in the positive end of the spectrum? Like doing our part to end poverty, spread joy and bliss in the MACRO level and achieving all our goals at the MICRO level? I did think that this was a very tall order in the beginning but now the same looks much easier to me.
Never for an instant underestimate what negativity can do to you. It creeps up on you insidiously and you often never know till it is too late. The message here is two pronged:-
a) Close your mind to negative thoughts and stop being associated with negative people as far as possible.
b) Imbue your subconscious with positive messages throughout the day. This will achieve spectacular and guaranteed results over a period of time just the same way these guys achieved destructive results.
