On the destructive tendencies

By A Subramanian
From my book No 142. Serial No 3833 dt 12/01/2017
A student committed suicide at Nehru Engineering College, Pampadi,
Kerala, a few days ago. What was the outcome of it? Various students
organizations marched to the college campus and practically destroyed
the entire campus.
This is only one instance. Many reports can be cited where the public
property is destroyed out of fury and rage. Vehicles are set to fire.
Stones are thrown at buildings. Furniture is damaged. Destroyers
certainly may find reasons for their destructive acts but we forget that it
is the emotionally charged mind which is definitely at work behind such
acts.
Two points are valid here. One is the path of destruction. Second is the
state of emotionally charged man.
Is the path of destruction the lawful way, the right way, to correct the
wrong ways of the world? Do we know only about this wrong pathway to
make the world righteous and fool proof? Do we ever think about the
damages caused to the public property in the process?
Public properties are never born out of thin air. They are born out of
human efforts and the money of man. Efforts are involved, funds are
involved and time is also involved. When we are destroying the public
property, we are also destroying these three factors.
The original manpower is completely lost. It becomes a complete waste
after the destruction. For reconstruction, manpower has to be regenerated. Manpower cant be simply purchased from a fish market like
a kilo of fish or chicken. Taj Mahal could be built in those days with
manpower. It took over 20 years to complete the construction of this
work. We all know how the emperor could extract this manpower. If the
monument gets destroyed now, is it so easy to re-build it with the
present trend of manpower? In a time when labor forces are not even
available for use in our paddy fields, how can we expect to easily
generate labor forces for the reconstruction of Taj Mahal?
This is one point. The second one is the wages involved. Who does
think about it? Take into account the expenditure at the time of original
construction and the expenditure incurred on account of reconstruction.
Who can overlook these figures? Who will bear this expenditure other
than the taxpayer and the exchequer? Any public expense is a real
hammering on the exchequer. The world may say in one breath that
everything is covered by Insurance but who will ultimately pay these
Insurance companies? Can any financial institution run without proper
revenues from the public? If the Insurance companies are reimbursing
the cost of damages, isnt it once again the public fund? Remember, no
financial institution can keep its financial reservoir intact using a magic
wand. Revenue has to come to meet reimbursement amounts. This is a
cycle. Out of more and more expenditure incurred on account of
damages and destructions and improper management of funds, unless
the revenue is reasonable, the financial crisis is the only final outcome.
Financial institutions like Insurance companies will naturally raise their
funds by increasing the annual premia and what else can they do under
the circumstances?

Remember, if various taxes are regularly being increased, one of the

reasons could be due to such public damages. Have we ever attempted
to take the statistics of the financial loss incurred on account of the
destruction of public property? The figures could be alarming.
Wherever there is pilferage of money, the exchequer must suffer. This is
the age old law. Unhealthy accumulation, unhealthy retention,
unhealthy means of expenditure of money, all will surely drive any
nation to poverty in the long run. Prudence has to be exercised.
Every kind of destruction is an expenditure of money, manpower, energy,
material resources and finally, time. Natural calamities and destructions
caused on that account are understandable, but, man-made damages
have no justification other than his internal chaotic situations. He has
lost his thinking power due to an emotional surge. His mind has
presently turned into a volcano on eruption.
The human mind is really an explosive bomb for obvious reasons. Under
normal wear and tear situations, the bomb doesnt appear to be a bomb
at all. Under such circumstances, he may behave like a gentleman, like a
cool cat, but, on slight provocation, the bomb will catch fire. He will
open his claws, erect his tail, begin to grumble and pose himself like an
angry cat ready to pounce upon its prey! We are seeing it around us. I
am not joking. Even we are not aware of such deep lurking cats and
tigers in us. We will lose our temper even on slight provocation. Most of
us are not different.
Thus, outwardly, we may appear to be very innocent persons in our daily
life but in reality, we are not. We show no patience. We make quick
reactions. We are very much reactionary like concentrated Sulphuric
Acid. We get easily emotionally charged. We get uprooted for no
reason. We turn into a real terrorist in no time. We forget that there is
a giant lion sleeping until the moment of provocation.
That lion is an untamed lion. It is a freely roaming lion about the dense
forest of our mind. Until this moment, it was taking rest under the cool
shades after a sumptuous meal. That is all.
This is only an example. Vedanta likens human mind to a monkey which
is a drunken one, a lunatic at the moment, bitten by a scorpion. Just
think of the destructive power of this monkey! The human mind is also
likewise. The mind is often restless until we are asleep. It is swayed by
emotional turbulence. We are not properly taught to tame our mind in
adverse situations. We are taught to keep our mind outward in a
challenging manner and this is the prime difficulty. Push for the push,
pull for the pull, blow for blow, lesson for the lesson - this is what we
teach our children in the present times.

- One has to be reactive against all evils, against all odds.

This is what is constantly poured into our ears.
The result is obvious. We fail to tame our mind, react to situations like
fuming acids, become agitated in no time, want to teach the world a
lesson, want to give hard blows to the authorities so on and so forth.
Mind behaves like a volcano. Even the slightest provocation makes it
emit molten lava. The outcome is the rage, fury, outcry, protest,
resistance, a total mental blackout, and annihilation. In that process,
public property receives the maximum amount of damage. Life becomes
a lawless affair.

External damages are sure signs of internal unrest. The volcano

blows beyond control. Emotional tides are worse than Tsunami. Man
behaves not at all as a wise person. He is reacting with heavy
impulses. By the act of destruction, he is releasing his internal
pressure. This is the fact.
His mind is already under heavy pressure. This pressure is an
accumulation of illegitimate thoughts and prejudiced views. This
external world is driving his mind only in that direction. Nobody
practically is teaching him the methods of releasing that internal
pressure other than the path of destruction. The world has more or
less accepted destruction as a weapon to teach those who are
incorrect in doing things. Our politicians can ask their party
members to abstain from the path of destruction but they will never
do it. Instead, they will only accuse others to having forced them to
destroy the public property. Constant accusation builds a very
negative attitude. Extreme damages are only natural.
Those who indulge in the act of destruction take it for granted. They
know that they have silent endorsements and affirmation from their
party leaders. Ask these destroyers why they did destroy the world
and they have reasons and readymade answers. They have
justification even for their emotional outburst. External damages are
sure signs of internal unrest. The volcano blows beyond control.
Emotional tides are worse than Tsunami. Man behaves not at all as a
wise person. He is reacting with heavy impulses. By the act of
destruction, he is releasing his internal pressure. This is the fact.
His mind is already under heavy pressure. This pressure is an
accumulation of illegitimate thoughts and prejudiced views. This
external world is driving his mind only in that direction. Nobody
practically is teaching him the methods of releasing that internal
pressure other than by the path of destruction. The world has more
or less accepted destruction as a weapon to teach those who are
incorrect in doing things. Our politicians can ask their party
members to abstain from the path of destruction but they will never
do it. Instead, they will only accuse others for having forced them to
destroy the public property. Constant accusation builds a very
negative attitude. Extreme damages are only natural.
Those who indulge in the act of destruction take it for granted. They
know that they have silent endorsements and affirmation from their
party leaders. Ask these destroyers why they did destroy the world
and they have reasons and readymade answers. They have
justification even for their emotional outburst.
My smile has a reason. My frown too has a reason. This is the
attitude of the world. Remember, an emotionally charged man is
worse than a lunatic. At the moment, no laws of life are ruling his
mind. He is in an uncontrollable situation due to rage and fury. No
known theories are enough to predict what the destroyer would do in
the next moment. Perhaps, he may kill himself! It is really
happening, isnt it? Dont we hear reports of people firing at a
gathering using their stungun and finally getting shot by
themselves? The volcano has not only destroyed the mainland but
has destroyed its own existence.

So, what is the final result? It is obvious. The destroyer is digging

his own grounds. If the man cannot set right things without
destroying the world, the situation has to be urgently reviewed. This
path of destruction has no logics other than mere barbarism. In the
process, manpower is lost, assets are lost, money is lost, precious
time is also lost. What is the ultimate gain? Fury remains in the air.
Vengeance remains. Frustration remains. Cases will be filed. A
series of endless litigations is switched on. Political power wins. The
sufferer loses the game. Arguments remain. Justice surrenders
before the destructive powers.
Rome is once again built. The exchequer suffers in the process.
After a time, on the resurgence of the destructive powers, Rome is
sent to ruins. The cycle continues. The power politics, the power of
authority, the power of wealth all destroy the world around us in
various ways. Nations destroy nations. Man is often in the streets.
He is a traveller like a refugee.
When we destroy an educational institution, do we ever think of the
future of the students studying there? Classes are affected.
Examinations are affected. Synchorny is lost. Just for one college,
the University cannot postpone its schedules. Those students
wishing to go for higher studies in other universities and abroad may
even lose one year. Time delay is the only outcome. Frustration is
the only result. Students lose the general thread of studies. I mean
the momentum.
Arent we really destroying the future of our children? Who is
properly thinking? Who has real love for our generations? With
ulterior motives, how long can we survive in this world? With power
under the belt, how long can we continue to destroy the world?
If our education and educational institutions are getting ruined like
this, future generations will naturally migrate to more safer zones for
their higher studies. No man will ever allow himself to a complete
ruin.
How long can he wait under the threat of destructive forces? He
cannot for long stand seeing the wreckage around him.
Let us not invite trouble by our short-comings. Any sort of
destruction leads to a peaceless state. If it would lead to a peaceful
state, all our great masters and prophets would have advocated the
path of destruction for a better and peaceful world. So far, I havent
come across their having made such a golden statement. The real
truth was known to them.
We are mortals who are after our senses and ego, emotions, and
authority of power. When are we going to realize the truth? Only
after the ruin is total and complete?
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