Lambodar Prasad Dash
We, Hindu’s believe Transmigration of soul. It is a belief that the Death and Birth are perpetual actions and no animate, even The GOD can defy the birth-death cycle. When GOD takes birth, as we say it reincarnation, it also follows the same law. Difference between ordinary man and GOD is; GOD reincarnate according to its will, but ordinary person has no control on it. He has to take numerous births (approximately 84 lakh) in anticipation of the salvation or realisation of self. During this long journey, the life at a particular body is like an asylum. He takes the shelter of a body according to its past karma (deed). It indicated that the action determines the place of asylum, where you are authorised to certain tasks.
It is a general conviction that when a person took the shelter (asylum) of GOD, all his deeds forgiven and he is given a chance to realise or to atone for his mistakes or allowed to do pious deeds to alleviate his sins. From the time immemorial, the Holy places have been regarded as asylum of GOD. In India, many sacred places Kasi (Varanasi), Ujjain, Puri (SriKhetra), Kedarnath, Badrinath falls in that category. A man who takes shelter there, he is free from any prosecution, can escape from the legal consequences.
Many great Saints opined that India, (Bharat Barsa in Jambhu Dwipa) is a place where a man get an opportunity to realise the self, can wash his sins. Therefore without caste, religious belief, gender discrimination a person allowed here to lead such life where he can get salvation by washing his sins.
A person who takes shelter of GOD usually renounces all worldly desires & pleasures which are inimical to the self-realisation or atonement. As his belongings what he has been accumulated unable to help to escape from the consequences of his misdeeds. His past world and life is quite different from the life under the GOD’s mercy. He must free from indulgence to become a disciplined, humble and loyal to the path of self-realisation.
Many Hindu scriptures uphold the act of asylum to the people in distress and need. All prescribe that the ultimate duty of a person is the protection of the life and dignity of the asylum seeker. Many from the Sriram’s sena objected the idea of asylum to Vibhishan, the younger brother of Ravan*.
When Vibhishan came to Sriram with his four loyal followers, the Monkey chieftain Sugreeb in a skeptical ordered his army to prepare for possible attack. At this The words of Vibhishan to their concern were striking. He said, “In vain, I strove to turn him (Ravana) from his wicked designs and counseled him to restore seta and seek Raama’s forgiveness. All the response i got was disdain and public insult. Hence I am standing here before you. Renouncing Kingdom, Wife, Children, I seek service and sanctuary at Raama’s feet. I pray you, convey this information to Raama.”
Sugreeba Mistrusted the good faith of the Monster King’s brother and reported thus to Sriram, “Vibheeshana, the brother of Raavana, has come here with his four friends seeking sanctuary at your feet. They are standing there in the sky. ...These monsters are adepts in duplicity. They can make themselves invisible and do many other tricks. They have all the skill and courage of the wicked. One cannot trust them. ...They have come here to mix with us for subversive purposes or else they intend seeking an opportunity to assassinate the leaders in our camp. Whatever Vibheeshana may say, we cannot forget that he is the brother of our foe. By birth he belongs to the wicked Raakshasa Race.”
Everyone in the Srirama’s camp including the chief advisor Jambhaban declined to give shelter to Vibhishana. But Hanumana, the mighty warrior, most wise and loyal follower of srirama said, “...Vibheeshana has not approached us stealthily. He has come to us with frank openness and a clear object. What is there for scouts to discover about him? It has been said by some that his sudden advent is suspicious. But why? What wonder is there if Vibheeshana became disgusted with Raavana and foresaw his certain disgrace and defeat? What wonder is there if he recognised your heroic virtues and nobility and the certainty of your victory? “
When Sugreeba, the chieftain not satisfied with the suggestions of Hanuman, Srirama exhorted Sugreeba with gentle voice, “I see what you mean. But listen. It is natural for kings to suspect brothers and neighbour kings. Good kings who entertain no such suspicion are exceptions....I conclude therefore that, he has no sinister motive against us in coming here for refuge. Letus go further and grant that he has eyes on the kingdom, expecting Raavana’s defeat at our hands. Even in this ambition there is nothing wrong....I would accept him without hesitation. How then can i reject his (raavana) brother who has done me no wrong?”
In Mahabharat, When Baka, the heron who is supposed to be incarnation of Dharma, the God Righteousness put questions to Yudhisthira, the elder brother of Pandavas and promised to return the lives of his brothers if only the answer is correct. The first question is; what is Happiness? Yudhisthira answered*, “A person who cooks vegetables in his own home, who has no debts and who is not in exile, is truly happy.” And the Last question is; what is Highest Dharma in the world? Yudhisthira replies: “Compassion is the highest Dharma.” It is certainly that un-cruelty and non-injury is not compassion, it is feeling the pain and sorrow alike and sharing one’s own happiness with the distressed.
In this context, I remember the answer of J Krishnamurthy to why people quarrel? – Do you know why small children quarrel? They are quarreling for the toys, right. Older persons also quarrel/fight but not exactly for toys but for Reputation, Ego, Property, Power etc. These are like toys for them.
Animals also fight for territory. The belonging to their territory is more or less biological; the preservation of territory is one of the important issues for their survival. According to the territorial behaviour of animals, their territory is six types according to their need. They can compromise with the home range (which usually overlaps with) but can’t with their territories. They protect their territory with different acts from sent marking to defense. Very often they intimidate their intruders and defend their territory by Ritualised Aggression, without engaging in fights which are expensive in terms of energy and risk of injury.
Calhoun (1956, 1962) conducted an experiment in which a colony of Norway rats was made to live in an overcrowded pen. Although the rats were allowed to roam in various compartments, they ended up living together in one pen. Calhoun termed this phenomenon “pathological togetherness”. The rats’ fertility was lowered and their life span was shortened. Mann sums up by saying; “In mice, overcrowding in laboratory cages leads to abnormal sexual behavior, decreased reproductive and nursing capacities, and aborted pregnancies, deficient maternal care for the young and disrupted next building.” (Mann, 1969, P. 17)
We, Human beings are not exactly like animals, much civilised, intelligent and intellectually superior. The territorial behaviour of human beings often termed as “Hunger for Culture” William Langland rightly described – “For he has given you gifts for governing yourself freely; these are Wit and Free Will; each creature has its portion, Flying fowls and fish and Mammals, But man has the most, and is the most blameworthy.”
The human territory broadly is three kinds- Tribal, Family, and Personal. All the Social instincts are any way connected to National territory, Nationalism or patriotism. Territorial behaviour is at large related to a homogenous group consisting of a few members, who share common culture, behavioral pattern. According to Desmond Morris, “Today each nation flies its own flag, a symbolic embodiment of its territorial status. But patriotism is not enough. The ancient tribal hunter lurking inside each citizen finds himself unsatisfied by membership in such a vast conglomeration of individuals, most of whom are totally unknown to him personally. He does his best to feel that he shares a common territorial defense with them all, but the scale of the operation has become inhuman.”
History is evident that many indigenous tribes perished in the process of demarcation of the territorial unit of a nation. They became refugee in their own land where they lived for generations. For them their personal and family life is dearer than any other sociological issues like Religion, Culture.
According to the UNHCR, a refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR. According to the UN 1951 Refugee Convention adopted, “...owing to well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is un willing to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”
Swami Vivekananda in his “on himself” said, “I believe in God, and i believe in man. I believe in helping the miserable. I believe in going even to hell to save others.” (I believe..., Chapter 10).
Those who displaced forcefully from his own land (country) usually choose a country which is secure, humane and tolerant to take asylum. It is apparent that the dislocation from the own land is more pathetic and painful. According to Vivekanada’s words, “One wants to lose the individual in the universal, one renounces, flies off, and tries to cut himself off from all associations of the body, of the past, one works hard to forget even that he is a man; yet, in the heart of his heart, there is a soft sound, one string vibrating, one whisper, which tells him, East or West, home is best.”
So, everyone who renounces his land, home waits for the time to return to his land, own land where he born and brought up. So, it is the generous responsibility of a person to facilitate the displaced person to make arrangements to return to his own land safely and dignifiedly. It has been seen that United Nation and some other nations who give shelter to the refugees not making much effort on it. Consequently, the host nation faces some most frightening issues which are quite hard to address.
“In a way, to be indifferent to the suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous that anger and hatred...indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And therefore indifference is always the friend of the enemy.” (The perils of Indifference, Elie Wiesel, Speeches that changed the world P-268).
At present context when most of the nations’ politics are driving by Right wing Nationalism, the Patriotism is now turned into chauvinism or jingoism. The Political set up which rules want to thwart the liberalism and secular traditions, which the whole world (!) in concept accepted after the horror of the World Wars. Even though Refugee is a complex socio-economical issue, but complete indifference to it warrants more complex problems endangering the very basic existence of humanity. The indifference to the Refugees including internally displaced persons will give rise to a permanent mass psychological degeneration like chronic terrorism and inhuman activities.
Kautilya, besides the great social, administrative reformer and statesman, he is also the forerunner of the Statecraft, Nationalism, Patriotism never banned the humanitarian support even to the enemy during calamity, crisis but urged to be cautious and judicious dealing with the asylum seekers. He left to the choice of the king of the host country to act according to the safety, capacity and resource of the nation. He further prescribed that the giving asylum of a different country should be decided according to the foreign policies; however, he didn’t set down rigid foreign policy.
He further emphasized that the foremost duty of the Ruler is to bring the confidence of the subject, whether they are from the foreign land or the subjects of the conquered territory. Kautilya has not mentioned explicitly about the refugees but mentioned that people from the foreign land should be allowed to live in a village, which is distinctly controlled under certain restrictions and relaxation.
The instructions of Kautilya are somehow relevant to certain situations, but the world scenario is changed drastically since then. The pressure of land and resources are growing according to the growth of the population. We cannot drive them to a virgin land to settle or to extend humanitarian support for them for the unlimited period of time without giving them the right to live with dignity and freedom. In such situation refugee issue certainly, calls immediate solution not for a single country but for the whole world. It is a burden of Humanity.
*excerpts from C.Rajgopalachari’s Ramayan – The Vaanaras Doubt, The doctrine of surrender and grace
* Mahabharat’s Dharma, The difficulty of being good, by Gur Charan Das
