Osama and the Karma of State-sponsored Killing
In the light of 9-11 and the killing of Osama bin Laden we understand the reactions of revenge and of hatred. Their expression was easy enough to see in the outburst of joy at his death in many parts of the US. It made some of us rather uncomfortable.
That we are staging the equivalent of the mob scenes we see on TV that burn American flags, is pathetic and not a reason for pride.
What are the implications of a state-sponsored killing from a spiritual perspective? Are there karmic repercussions for us since it was done by our government in our name? How do we best react to that?
We participate in the collective karma of our nation and will harvest its outcome. But what we contribute to our collective fate depends on the level of our awareness.
As we can see time and again, hatred creates more hatred, violence more violence. Is that what we want? When we act from anger in an attempt to make the world a more peaceful place, we simply pour fuel on the flames of aggression. An eye for an eye makes both people blind.
We are only too familiar with primitive feelings like hatred, but perhaps a bit confused about the dynamic of the higher principle of compassion.
Superficially we tend to see compassion as weak. But is it true that turning the other cheek is for wimps who can’t help themselves, and that compassion is a completely unrealistic approach in the world of ‘real facts and real dangers?’
In my view, compassion is as powerful as it is all-embracing. And, contrary to acts of aggression, its effects last.
Consider this: The works of all the great bullies in human history are now (or will be soon) nothing more than footnotes in history book, their empires destroyed, their memories discredited, their names in disgrace. Ashes to ashes.
The great teachers of compassion on the other hand continue to shine. Buddha and Jesus and so many others changed the world in a way that uplifts us. This is because they acted from love and compassion which became an integral part of their being and of their message. This takes extraordinary courage and strength.
Compassion is Jesus’ message of turning the other cheek—and it is also the fierceness with which he threw the money changers out of the temple with such power that no one dared to obstruct his actions. In the Eastern religions, the ‘wrathful’ deities are known to be the compassionate expressions of the enlightened mind. How so?
True compassion acts on all levels against what creates suffering. It eliminates the causes of pain, ignorance and confusion. It shakes us awake.
Can we then deal from compassion with highly disturbed individuals like an Osama bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Hitler? How can we stop the creation of suffering by such individuals?
Compassion demands that we do not respond to hatred with hatred or fear, that we do not participate in the creation of suffering, but eliminate it. This can sometimes require fierce action.
What may such fierce compassion look like in today’s world?
Imagine you are a soldier guarding people in a crowded square. You stand here watching the traffic and you see on the far side of the square a man with a bomb belt approaching a school bus full of children.
It is clear what the man intends to do. It is a matter of seconds and life and death.
You recognize the only means you have to stop him from blowing up the school bus and you raise your rifle and shoot to kill.
What karma will that action create? What repercussions will it have? It depends on your motivation.
– If you were filled with anger or hate your delusion of separateness is reinforced, hatred is strengthened, and the view of this world as a brutal eye-for-eye place, a ‘valley of tears’ is further cemented in your awareness.
– When you do it out of compassion for the children on the bus, that karma is softened, but still you live in a world filled with danger and enemies.
– Here is a third option: How would you act if you had complete compassion for the terrorist?
I don’t think you would act differently, the moment is too compelling. But you would act from a very different intention, a very different state of mind.
True compassion is rooted in the highest awareness, the recognition of the oneness of all life. This realization opens the intuitive mind.
Realizing that you and the terrorist are one, the eye of compassion would clearly show you the enormous disturbance in a mind that considers it right to kill children in the name of Allah.
What is then the most compassionate action you can take for the terrorist? Would it not be to stop him with any available means to protect him from the horrendous consequences of his own actions?
If you were a terrorist, would you not—on the soul level—want someone to stop you?
I will leave it to you to transfer this scenario to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
And it doesn’t stop there. How do we now relate to this soul, this part of us, which just ended an extremely difficult incarnation? Would it not be by enfolding him in the great compassion we carry in our hearts?
Who needs our compassion more than a soul who is so disturbed? And because the reality of the soul is non-local, which means it is not obstructed by the limits of time and space, we can be sure that our compassionate impulse will be received.
Yes, whether we like it or not, Osama is part of us. He is part of the oneness of life, as are all beings, high and low.
In the way we deal with terrorists—or with anyone for that matter —can we afford to continue to reinforce the illusion of ‘us against them?’
If we stay in this mode of ‘us against them’ will we have a world to live in, in a few generations?
It is time to use compassion to solve the problems of life. It is a much more powerful approach than hate.
Ram Giri
Skills for Awakening
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Tags: Awakening, freedom, Love, September 11, unconditional love, wisdom
May 05, 2011
I deeply agree with your words feeling the compassion behind them. This is the only way to make our planet a lovely place for us and all the wonderful children
Christa
May 05, 2011
Thank you, Ram Giri, for your enlightened words. I think your words of truth are difficult to accept on two fronts — in our humanity, we don’t want to admit that we all hold a terrorist within on some level; and in our “spirituality,” we often do not want to accept that compassion requires fierce action. This message needs to be heard, and I for one will pass it along to others. Lately I have been receiving the message that compassion is quite active and requires great courage on my part. I do not resonate with the perception some hold that compassion is sitting passively on a cushion and just feeling love. I could do that and pretend that I am not experiencing the pain and suffering of illusion, but I would never be free because the delusion would be lurking beneath the surface of my awareness. In the words of E.Tolle, I need to witness the “pain-body” because it cannot sustain the power of my awareness. And that is often not an easy task. Thank you, and bless you for all you do to free yourself and help us free ourselves.
May 05, 2011
Well written and it expresses my view on this issue far better than I would be able to. Ram Giri is a scholar who shares his deep Love and personal compassion much the way Gandhi did.
May 05, 2011
This is the best, clearest and profoundest comment I have read about Bin Laden. Thank you for your wise words!
May 05, 2011
Thank you Ram Giri. As it states in A Course in Miracles, there are only two emotions; love or fear. When coming from a loving place, action is very directed, powerful and holistic. Unfortunately, our society teaches the exact opposite.
May 05, 2011
Thank you for this writing. Your words expressed how I have been feeling.
May 05, 2011
Oh, thank you. My first feeling when I heard the news was one of overwhelming sadness.
Sadness for us as a people who thinks killing is the answer to killing. Sadness for those who feel vindicated or joyful over this. Thank you for coming to the subject with such a depth of understanding. It is a comfort.
May 05, 2011
Dear friends,
Thank you for your kind comments. I felt a little nervous as though I was sticking my head out with this article, but I just had to say it. It’s so painful to see people cheering the violent death of anyone. We are not that, we are love. Some day the truth will be known.
Thanks for carrying the message!
Ram Giri
May 05, 2011
we created bin laden, we created hitler, we created Pol Pot. Society creates all criminals (including murderers and rapists) and responds by putting them in jail. when will be learn?
May 07, 2011
I was heartened to read your article as I thought you would not condone killing bin laden. The key here is in the lesson Krishna taught Arjuna–in the Bhagavadgita–to kill without hatred–as dharma. Meher Baba calls it the “violence of the brave”. I too was saddened to see people rejoicing over his death–it doesn’t help anything. and yet, it is a spiritual duty to protect the innocent and I can imagine that there are those in the military who can kill without hatred. That is the key. This is the height of nonduality!
May 11, 2011
Thank you for sharing these thoughts. I share with you this same need for compassion and love. I really liked your teaching on “what if” scenarios… very thought provoking… thanks again.
May 17, 2011
PERFECT!
Absolutely perfect!
There is so much misunderstanding in the world around what is proper in defending, ourselves, our children or our nation. Thank you Ram Giri for this article which explains it so clearly!
Watching small children we see them hit each other because “Johnny took my toy!” We grew up brainwashed, our emotions manipulated, by the “Good Guy, Bad Guy” movies, where it was all so clear who was RIGHT! HINT: Good cowboys wear white hats!
Some of us are still children smacking each other in the certain knowledge that WE are RIGHT and therefor JUSTIFIED.
It IS time to grow UP into our true knowledge, and thank goodness there are teachers like you shining a light on that path.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!