Week 2- An Eye For An Eye
#1
This world is so mesmerizing indeed. We get to enjoy the scenic beauty, the soothing sights of flying birds, mating pigeons, the orangutans hair-dressing each other and so on.
Can you even imagine a life without these pleasurable fantasies? I bet you can't. What's the minimum contribution from our side, for the unfortunate ones who can't enjoy the same? Well, I guess, the concept of “Eye for an Eye" would do the needful.
Let us all take a pledge to opt for eye donation after our exit from this wonderland.
-A.K.S
Perched on my little balcony and looking at the infinite night
sky, my mind wandered. I thought how small we are; probably a dot in the entire
universe. But what perplexed me was the way our mental plane of existence
behaves, forgetting the fact that we are a funny little living dot in this
eternity.
What saddens me is how we retaliate angrily at each and every
little trigger that someone around us offer. Our mind, these days, is
programmed to pounce back at anyone who does harm to us. And ridiculously, we
want the same magnitude of harm to be offered back, be it in words or in
action.
Why have we lost the tender act of forgiveness? Why do we always
retaliate in the same way as others do to us? Why do we always want to hurt a
person who knowingly or unknowingly may have hurt us emotionally?
Gandhiji once pointed that retaliation doesn't demand courage
but it’s the act of forgiveness that demands courage. When we forgive the
people that have hurt us, our hatred towards them decreases and love for them
increases. When we forgive them again and again, our love towards them reaches
a point that it can never be defeated by an action or word from them that will
hurt or harm us in future. Thereafter the whole idea of revenge will cease to
exist and will die a natural death!
My mind resonated by the fact that how great a soul he was and
how blessed we are to be from a land where this great man walked in flesh and
blood.
Just then a gust of cold night breeze hit my face, as if it agreed in response to what I thought. The infinite night sky beckoned, showing me how silly we were to always retaliate with ‘an eye for an eye, never realizing that one day it can make the whole world blind.’ I realized that nature was a great teacher; to behold the star studded night sky and then learn a lesson from it!
Just then a gust of cold night breeze hit my face, as if it agreed in response to what I thought. The infinite night sky beckoned, showing me how silly we were to always retaliate with ‘an eye for an eye, never realizing that one day it can make the whole world blind.’ I realized that nature was a great teacher; to behold the star studded night sky and then learn a lesson from it!
-Vishnu Chandrasenan (Writer of the Week)
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#2
Revenge is the word that follows this phase,
Don't let your mind fall into that maze,
Why not take it up in a positive way,
Why not listen carefully to what I say?
Take 'an eye for an eye' from your fears,
Beat it down and be a killer,
Take 'an eye for an eye' from your pains,
Leave it behind and take up the gains,
Take 'an eye for an eye' from your weaknesses,
Hammer them down and let them be your strengths,
Take 'an eye for an eye' for your inability,
Load up your arsenal and blow its whole city,
Take 'an eye for an eye' from your defeat,
And ensure, again in the future, you don't meet,
Tit for tat is success' new name,
Follow this method and your life won't be the same,
When I face defeat, I won't cry,
I will just ask for 'an eye for an eye'.
-Aman Salunkhe
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#3
Life is full of paradoxes. Sometimes the path for which we have an undeterred urge to follow will not be the right one. As the turbulence of our thoughts rages on, the question that often nags our conscience is- 'Who will decide right from wrong; virtue from vice?'
The spirit of individuality and the spontaneous influx of potent emotions of betrayal, hatred, love and pain provide the perfect recipe for the birth of an emotion motivating for some, annihilating for others- VENGEANCE.
As tempting as the feeling is, we forget to take even one moment to contemplate the repercussions of our actions on our own life. An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind, but before that it will make us miserable when we realize that it's too late to take back our actions or words.
The human does have its dark mood swings- some more than the other. The key is not to let the situation infiltrate our sense or sensibility and rise above. It is agreed that in some situations, caving into the sweet abyss of revenge seems inevitable; we are but human.
The silver lining is being human sooner or later; we will do one thing that we do the best- EVOLVE. That will be the day we realize that vengeance is sweet, but taking the high road towards being a better person ourselves is much sweeter!
-Swanand Bhave
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#4
It's rightly said by national and spiritual leader of our nation;
commonly known as the father of our nation:
“An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind”.
Violence and revenge is a way-of-life that has been ingrained
into the culture of humanity. To be clear enough, humanity is pirated. As
experienced, it is seen by many as a necessary strategy to survive, preserve
possessions or property, and protect the status of their race and religion. It
has been ingrained so deeply that it occurs in every community and it occurs in
every family. The only difference between the categories above is in severity and
scope.
It is considered to be one of the eminent and effective ways to
obtain justice and for attributing the damage done to you, your family, or your
country. It basically depends on how to apply this thought. In some people,
families and countries, it is the only way to heal the injury. In others, it is
only one of several approaches to be tried. The historic clashes between Jews
and Arabs serve as an example that the Biblical concept of ‘an eye for an eye’
is still alive. Evidently, violent responses have not shown to be effective as
a long-term solution, yet it continues. Violence, destruction, and attribution are
a daily occurrence. It is, as it always has been.
On a personal level, the results are the same too. The system is
handicapped to save a severely injured child too. As a result, it cannot do
anything to stop, abuse or punish the offender and you end up giving the
offender ‘a taste of their own medicine’ and you extract ‘an eye for an eye’.
However, the situation escalates, and the offender does not spare you. The
situation is outraged, you're in panic, and everything burns down. Aggression
leads to killing people, and this retaliation creates a route that would end up
making the world blind.
At what point does a person, a community, or a nation, say,
"Stop. Enough!”? When and how will it all end? One nation at a time? One
community at a time? Or one person at a time? And gradually, this ends up
making the whole world blind.
-Shatavarth Cheruvu
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#5
Since the ancient times, revenge is the word that has endured. It has known no end from the time creatures came to earth. Animals have been engaged in constant fight for survival, but the greater wars were that of revenge. When humans came to dominate the planet, it only increased. In the great mythologies of India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the wars were fuelled by revenge on the other for abducting a wife, or for stealing away a kingdom by crooks. Since then the phrase ‘an eye for an eye’ has found no end and never will. Till jealousy, cruelty, immorality and other negative feelings exist in the society, revenge and vengeance will follow. This has caused much destruction than the greatest disasters known to mankind, and will continue till everyone rejects antipathy to develop sympathy. Once this happens, even the great heavens will become inferior to earth.
-Sriram
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#6
An eye for an eye is an adage from the Biblical era which immediately conjures an image of justice albeit a harsh form. This barbaric act, prevalent during times of turbulence is not justified today as we have realized that the literal interpretation of this term cannot be emulated by violent means. Can justice ever cohere with this saying? I don't think so. It isn't a means to attain victory but rather it is a reprieve or resort to inflict punishment. Although the society has evolved, crimes committed are continual and hence the saying falls flat. Thus the sole purpose of punishments in society to be for its reformation and restitution is a debate which is still voluble.
-Kavya Kumar
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#7
Does right beget right? Wrong beget wrong? Not always. Imagine if life would have been so predictable where one could control every outcome of his actions according to his own desire?! Wonderful but a tad boring right? An eye for an eye, ignoring its cliché reference to the proverb, I feel is an ideal but imaginary state. True excitement lies in the unpredictability that life holds, not with calculating every move like a chess game.
-Rohit Tandekar
Does right beget right? Wrong beget wrong? Not always. Imagine if life would have been so predictable where one could control every outcome of his actions according to his own desire?! Wonderful but a tad boring right? An eye for an eye, ignoring its cliché reference to the proverb, I feel is an ideal but imaginary state. True excitement lies in the unpredictability that life holds, not with calculating every move like a chess game.
-Rohit Tandekar
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#8
This world is so mesmerizing indeed. We get to enjoy the scenic beauty, the soothing sights of flying birds, mating pigeons, the orangutans hair-dressing each other and so on.Can you even imagine a life without these pleasurable fantasies? I bet you can't. What's the minimum contribution from our side, for the unfortunate ones who can't enjoy the same? Well, I guess, the concept of “Eye for an Eye" would do the needful.
Let us all take a pledge to opt for eye donation after our exit from this wonderland.
-A.K.S
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology
#9
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. This is what the Law has to be. This is the only way to get justice done. Like it or not, the measure of justice must compensate for the wrong doing. The Christians and the Jews had it in their system. We must too. No matter who commits it, the crime must go rightly punished. This is the protocol which will keep the injustice away from society. Follow it, and the need for it will surely be gone.
-Aniket Wakankar
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. This is what the Law has to be. This is the only way to get justice done. Like it or not, the measure of justice must compensate for the wrong doing. The Christians and the Jews had it in their system. We must too. No matter who commits it, the crime must go rightly punished. This is the protocol which will keep the injustice away from society. Follow it, and the need for it will surely be gone.
-Aniket Wakankar
FE, SIES Graduate School of Technology