Acharya Tulsi
Two thousand five hundred years ago, Bhagwan Mahavir promulgated the doctrine of relativism. He said, "Things have limitless natural properties (dharmas). They can prove their utility only by remaining true to their relativity. The individual too is a combination of innumerable natural tendencies (dharmas). Contradictory duals exist in him. If he understands the doctrine of relativism, then he cannot have any complications in his life. In a collective life, it is difficult to take even one step without keeping relativism in mind". This doctrine was relevant in those days. Today its relevance has grown manifold.
Whatever the group - family, political party, association, institution - the group would be strong to the extent that their members would live with the sense of relativism. Today the trends of dissipation prevail everywhere. Families are falling apart. Parties are breaking up. There is no uniformity among religious organisations. Institutions are not well managed. Why is it so? There can be many reasons. "I have quenched my thirst, so have my bullocks; now the well may as well sink down" - such mean mentality has crept into our collective thinking. If our neighbour is unhappy, would it not affect us? So long as the selfish thinking of the individual is not directed towards beneficence and the highest good, he would not be able to live with the sense of relativism.
A jealous person did not like to see anybody in his neighbourhood making progress. He was keen to see that none of his neighbours should be ahead of him in any field. On one occasion he propitiated a certain goddess. The goddess was pleased, but made a condition that his neighbour would get double of whatever he asked as a boon. That man asked for one house, one field, one car etc. But his neighbour's property increased twofold. That was unbearable for that man. He again asked a boon from the goddess in order to deprive his neighbour of his happiness and peace, "Let one of my eyes go blind." His purpose was to see that his neighbour should lose sight of | both the eyes. What cruelty! A person who thinks relativity can never be as cruel as a person who lacks relativity in his thinking.
The persons who are considered unwanted in any family, party or association may be having some short- comings. In fact, who is perfect in this world? If the existence of careless people is utterly denied, who would then be left on this earth!
"If it is decided that all those who have lapses deserved to be killed, hardly a couple of individuals would be left in on this earth who are absolutely faultless, because to err is human. However, careful he may be, he does slip somewhere or the other."*
Indian culture is the culture of relativism. Here the grown up children wish to remain in the shadow of their parents and even when they grow old, they consider it their duty to serve them. Similarly, the parents shower as much affection on their undeveloped and handicapped children as they do on normal children. This it is relativism. Clouds of danger would never hover over the families, parties and sects that remain tied with the thread of relativism. Whenever there is relativism, cruelty would not be able to find its way. Where there is relativism there would be no dullness. In this age of frustrations of mind, feeding of suffocation and breakdown, relativism alone is that elixir which can give self-satisfaction to the individual and make him adjust with society.
