Two Standards Meditation in the Context of the Socio-Political scenario in India
Dr. Francis P. Xavier S.J.
Yin-Yang Philosophy:
Yin-Yang is a Chinese principle describing opposite but interconnected cycle. Yin and Yang are complementary forces of a dynamic system in which the whole is perceived as greater than the integral or assembled parts. When it is applied to the concept of good and evil that exist in the society, the choice is whether to coordinate and integrate the opposing views or to discern what is good for the individual and the society and to take a stand. St Ignatius (1491–1556), the Founder of the Jesuit Order, would be for promoting what is good so that the evil should diminish.
Ignatian Two Standards Meditation: (Sp. Ex 136–147)
The Spiritual Exercises was composed (1522–1524) by St Ignatius of Loyola — Apart from meditations, contemplations, and prayers, it contains principles of discernment process to choose what is good for oneself and for others.
The reader is presented with two aspects or standards in life: One is the upward mobility of power and the other is the downward mobility of service. The Evil One seduces people through possession, position, and power (as ‘the first step is riches, the second is honour, and the third is pride’). From this, the followers are enticed to all other vices that would exploit people. In contrast, the Good One inspires people through poverty, service, and humility. And this inspires the followers to all the other virtues. The earlier one is the embodiment of selfishness; but the latter one is the compendium of selflessness (altruism).
One faces within, which is echoed in real life, the dilemma whether one has to opt to serve others, especially the poor, the outcast or the marginalized, even at the cost of social, political, or professional prominence or whether one would helplessly succumb to the exploiting forces to suppress the poor and the underserved. It is a choice whether to follow a Savage who exploits others to gain power to rule over or whether to dedicate oneself to follow a Saviour who sacrifices himself/herself in the service of others. It is the choice between one who exploits people to assume power vs. one who expends oneself for the wellness of others. This needs to be, in the present scenario in India, considered, contemplated, and convinced in order to convey the same to others for the common good.
Political Scenario:
In his book The Revenge of Power: How Autocrats are Reinventing Politics for the 21st Century (2022) M. Naim analyses what is happening to democracy today in general in many countries. His focus is on the 3P (that is, Populism, Polarization, and Post-Truth) autocrats who reach power “through a reasonably democratic election and then set out to dismantle the checks (and balances) on executive power through populism, polarization, and post-truth”, which are power-seeking as well as power-retaining mechanism and practices. Populism is a strategy for gaining and wielding power; polarization is “relentlessly demonizing opponents and portraying both long-simmering and newly introduced wedge issues that divide the nation (or society) as the divisive strategies,” thereby eliminating “the possibility of a middle ground, pushing every single person and organization to take sides.” The worst is the post-truth which is “not chiefly about getting lies accepted as truths but about muddying the waters to the point where it is difficult to discern the difference between truth and falsehood in the first place.” One can see how media is either bought up or controlled by the power mongers and then, misinformation is reigning supreme confusing people. All these to “create ample opportunities to replace a real democracy with a fake one” giving unlimited power to the executives of the nation.
Alternative:
The mechanism of exploiting and pauperizing the common people need to be worked out by effective institutions and committed individuals who are convinced of their duty towards the good of the society. People are looking for meaning in life. B. Feiler in his book Life is in Transitions (2020) proposes the ABC of Meaning, namely Agency — Belonging — Cause, as the alternative.
Agency could be any individual or an institution or an organization that keeps to autonomy and freedom with creativity in order to impact the world around. This is done by standing for the values of equality, equity, justice and fairness through working for the welfare of and empowering the people. These agencies build up a sense of belonging — It starts with building up meaningful relationships in order to create a community of unity and harmony starting from one’s family and friends circle. And the outcome is the conviction that people, both individually as well as collectively, work for a cause. The cause is the mission or direction or a purpose that transcends commitment beyond oneself making one’s life purposeful for oneself and meaningful for others. It is to have the thirst for justice and an impulse to do good for others. The outcome of people of action who become builders, makers, or doers is to work towards creating, establishing, and nurturing a better world to live for all.
In contrast to the selfish power-monger, this is selfless caregiving for the needy. Engaging in this caregiving leads to “improved health and well-being, not only for those who receive the help, but also for those who give it.” This attitude eventually builds up momentum to transform the society for the better, thereby becoming altruistic. The outcome would be, as J. Collins puts in a nutshell in his book Good to Great (2001), that people and eventually every nation would become from good to great. And further, people-oriented leaders take on further from greatness to enduring greatness. This type of leaders are needed today, especially in the political arena or public administration who have the wellness of people in focus and the unity and harmony of the society as the goal.
Responsibility:
Every now and then we are invited to discern, individually or collectively, the good, considering the pros and cons of an issue or a situation and to decide what is synchronizing and resonating with the voice of our conscience. It is this sync that becomes the dynamic spirit of consciousness in our word and deeds paving the way of credibility for the individual and prosperity for the society. This discernment is very much the need of the hour in order to build up unity and harmony in a multi-cultured nation like India.
In the context of the elections, either now or in the future, we need to deliberate within ourselves and with others of good will while choosing our leaders. The leaders should care for the wellness of the society, especially of the excluded and in particular of the poor and the marginalized. The rulers of the people should be convinced of promotion and protection of human rights and dignity. Those who handle the destiny of the country should foster an inclusive society religiously, socially, culturally, and linguistically. And they should become the voice of the voiceless, thereby making the powerless powerful. Above all they should pay attention to promote second rank leaders from among the youth who need to be shaped as the leaders of vision and mission for the good of the society and of the nation.
This conviction of service should come from the consciousness that we are ‘interconnected’ and hence obligated towards others. As H. Sunim says in The Things You can See only when You slow Down (2017): “The air I inhale enters my body and becomes part of me. The air that I exhale moves into someone else and becomes part of her (him). Just by looking at how the air moves, we realize we are all connected to one another, not just figuratively but also literally.” This should be the motivation to propel us to live for the good of others.
When we individually realize that one’s happiness should be the reflection of the happiness of one’s neighbors and when the national leaders become convinced that they are the agents of people’s welfare, we could sing with Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
(Francis P Xavier SJ is a physicist exploring the connectivity between religion and science. He is a writer, researcher, and consultant in education and administration. At present he is the Program Director at DACA (Dr. Ambedkar Cultural Academy), Madurai.)
