[Answered] “In the era of intolerance and polarisation, forgiveness and compassion are much needed values.” Comment.

Recently incidents of religious violence has risen sharply. There is a sharp increase in violent sectarian or religious tensions. These range from Islamic extremists waging global jihad and power struggles between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East to the persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar and outbreaks of violence between Christians and Muslims across Africa. In age of such intolerance and polarisation relevance of values like forgiveness and compassion have increased more than ever before.

Rise in intolerance and polarisation:

1. A 2018 Minority Rights Group report indicates that mass killings and other atrocities are increasing in countries both affected and not affected by war alike.
2. Most reported lethal incidents involving minorities were concentrated in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
3. Hostilities against Muslims and Jews also increased across Europe, as did threats against Hindus in more than 18 countries.
4. 55 of the world’s 198 countries imposed heightened restrictions on religions, especially Egypt, Russia, India, Indonesia and Turkey.

Role of values like compassion, love and forgiveness:

1. In an era of turbulence and uncertainty, interfaith tolerance and compassion for others offer an important antidote to violence.
2. The conscious spread of values of empathy, compassion, forgiveness and altruism help in reducing anger, pain and intolerance among individuals.
3. The persistent calls for patience, tolerance, understanding, face-to-face dialogue and reconciliation are more important than ever in today’s polarisation environment and the dangerous anonymity provided by social media.
4. Interventions such as perspective taking that result in empathetic compassion can help one in overcoming anger and resentment.
5. Cultivation of empathy that involves connecting one to the common humanity as well as trying to see the situation from the other person’s perspective can help in promoting harmony.
6. Teaching forgiveness is especially important to help reduce anger in children who have suffered injustice sufficient enough to compromise their emotional health.
7. Compassion and forgiveness can play a big part in how communities thrive when people begin to see more deeply the inherent worth of others.
8. Cultivating forgiveness is important because there are senseless crimes committed in a fit of anger where one brief moment can alter the course of many lives. People whose lives are affected by these crimes may not have the ability to forgive, thereby contributing to more resentment and anger in the world.

World is going through difficult times of rising polarisation, religious apathy and intolerance. The practice of loving-kindness and other positive states is application of wisdom to a difficult situation like thus. With the help of humility and patience one can resist the urge to retaliate and counteract a deluded states of mind. We should thus take a step forward by deliberately familiarising themselves with the nature of suffering so we can become more tolerant of it.