A Drizzle in the Desert
THE ONLY ANSWER TO CRUELTY IS KINDNESS
Fire can’t extinguish the fire. But water can. Venom can’t nullify venom. But an antidote
can. And cruelty can’t revert cruelty. But kindness can. The popular mantra of
“Tit for Tat” does have its limitations
and is not applicable to real life situations all the time.
Quoting
the omniscient Newton’s third law, “To
every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” What is the
opposite of cruelty? It is the kindness
of equal magnitude. Great is the person who can trample his instinctive nature
to retaliate and shed kindness whenever meted out with cruel and rude behavior.
A
consummate person is wise enough to acknowledge that the cure to cruelty is
benevolence and intelligent enough to act accordingly as and when required.
Ample instances are present in the forms of our great forefathers who lived and
devoted their lives for the propagation of a peaceful co-existence. The father
of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi, is
exemplary of perseverance in the face of cruelty. He was treated mercilessly by
the English people at times. He was even imprisoned. But never did he alter his
benevolent nature. Consequently, the cold-hearted
Britishers were compelled to change their stance.
A person
engulfed by darkness can never know what light is. So, it becomes necessary to
bequeath the light of kindness on a person devoured by the bleakness of cruelty
in order to awaken his latent humanity. If the cruel person is treated in a
reciprocating manner, then it would only convince him that others are like him
as well and hence the act of cruelty would never come to an end. The roots of
cruelty would penetrate deeper into his mind. He will have nothing to stimulate
his conscience and make him wary of the impending after-effects of his actions.
Circumstance is a powerful motivator. Often, a person’s behavior becomes cruel and spiteful due to the
circumstantial factors. The turmoil inside him takes the form of a rough
exterior. It is their way of retaliating to the unfair treatment inflicted upon
them. This seemingly rude exterior of theirs is actually brittle. It requires
kindness to see through this vicious demeanor
which is apparently a façade. All it takes is someone to extend their hand
generously and pull the person out of his woe.
Hence “There is nothing that can’t be changed.” The quintessential element at the core of
inducing desirable transformation of a cruel person is kindness, mingled with patience.
The kindness he receives creates a favorable
environment for the seeds of transformation to germinate inside him.
“Everyone has goodness
inside them. It just requires the right person to bring it out and portray it”.
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