One of the stark realities of life is that divergence of views does exist between man and man. Be it at the level of a family or a society, a community or a country, differences are bound to exist everywhere. Now the question is how best unity can be forged or harmony brought about in the face of the human tendency to differ.Some people hold that the removal of all differences is the sine qua non for bringing about unity. But, this view is untenable, as it is not practicable. You may not like the thorns that essentially accompany roses, but it is not possible for you to pluck out all the thorns and destroy them completely. For, if you pluck out one, another will grow in its place. Even if you run a bull-dozer over all rosebushes, new plants will grow in their place that will bear roses ineluctably accompanied by thorns. In the present scheme of things, roses can be had only by tolerating the existence of thorns. Similarly, a peaceful society can be created only by creating and fostering the spirit of tolerance towards diversities. In this world, unity is achievable only by learning to unite in spite of differences, rather than insisting on unity without differences. For their total eradication is an impossibility. The secret of attaining peace in life is tolerance of the disturbance of peace.There is nothing wrong in diversity of opinions. In fact, this is a positive quality that has many advantages. The beauty of the garden of life is enhanced if the flower of unity is accompanied by the thorn of diversity. [Highlight1] An advantage flowing from this attitude is that it builds character. If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if you behave properly with those holding divergent views from you or who criticize you, then you deserve to be credited with having an excellent character. In the same way, a society whose members hold identical views and never have any controversial discussions, will soon find itself in the doldrums. The intellectual development of the members of this society will be frozen, because personal evolution takes place only where there is interaction of divergent thinking. So where there is no such interaction, how can there be intellectual development?The adoption of a policy of tolerance in the face of controversy and opposition is not a negative step. It is undoubtedly a positive course of action.Divergence of views plays an important role in the development of the human psyche. It is only after running the intellectual gauntlet that a developed personality emerges. If in a human society, this process ceases to operate, the development of character will come to a standstill.Nobody in this world is perfect. If a man is endowed with some good qualities, he may be lacking in others. This is one of the reasons why differences crop up among people. But, for life as a whole, these differences are actually a great blessing: the good points of one man may compensate for the shortcomings of another, just as one set of talents in one man may complement a different set in another. If people could only learn to tolerate others' differences, their very forbearance would become a great enabling factor in collective human development.
Related Articles
Article
Soulveda
जीवन में हर दिन हम किसी-न-किसी तरह के बड़े या छोटे – बुरे अनुभव का सामना करते हैं, जिससे बचा नहीं जा सकता। हमारे पास दो विकल्प होते हैं : या तो अनदेखा करना या फिर दूसरा रास्ता ढूँढने का प्रयास करना। पहला विकल्प…
Article
Speaking Tree
According to Quranic teachings, revenge is not an option. Revenge only increases the problem. The chapter Al-Nahl (Bees) of the Quran gives practical advice on this point. The translation of the relevant…
Article
Mr. J. Krishnamurti, 90, is a well-known Indian thinker. When he is on a public stage, he folds his hands and says, "Sir, I am a nobody," or, "Sir, I am just a passer-by." Are we all nothing in reality? His answer is, "…
Article
"Success is a matter of cool decisions, without constant wavering and changing of the mind, acute observation, initiative, and unremitting attention to a vast number of petty details."The above statement would appear to…
Article
Soulveda | August 03, 2023
On January 1st, 1995, the newspaper flashed the news that “the United Nations has proclaimed 1995 as the “Year of Tolerance,” saying that the ability to be tolerant of the actions, beliefs…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | The Speaking Tree Website | September 07, 2015
Several years ago, IBM, the famous American Computer Company, was already so far ahead in the field of computers that its officers, making fun of…