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As fate would have it, I was leaving New
York on a jet flight that took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable
happened. By the time we landed in Detroit, chaos had broken
out. When I grasped the fact that American security had broken
down so tragically, I couldn't respond at first. My wife and
son were also in the air on separate flights - one to Los
Angeles, one to San Diego. My body went absolutely rigid with
fear. All I could think about was their safety, and it took
several hours before I found out that their flights had been
diverted and both were safe.
Strangely, when the good news came, my body
still felt that it had been hit by a truck. Of its own accord
it seemed to feel a far greater trauma that reached out to
the thousands who would not survive and the tens of thousands
who would survive only to live through months and years of
hell. And I asked myself, "Why didn't I feel this way
last week? Why didn't my body go stiff during the bombing
of Iraq or Bosnia?" Around the world my horror and worry
are experienced every day. Mothers weep over horrendous loss,
civilians are bombed mercilessly, refugees are ripped from
any sense of home or homeland. Why did I not feel their anguish
enough to call a halt to it?
As we hear the calls for tightened American
security and a fierce military response to terrorism, it is
obvious that none of us has any answers. However, we feel
compelled to ask some questions. Everything has a cause, so
we have to ask, "What was the root cause of this evil?"
We must find out, not superficially, but at the deepest level.
There is no doubt that such evil is alive all around the world
and is even celebrated. Does this evil grow from the suffering
and anguish felt by people we don't know and therefore ignore?
Have they lived in this condition for a long time? One assumes
that whoever did this attack feels implacable hatred for America.
Why were we selected to be the focus of suffering around the
world?
All this hatred and anguish seems to have
religion at its basis. Isn't something terribly wrong when
jihads and wars develop in the name of God? Isn't God invoked
with hatred in Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel,
Palestine, and even among the intolerant sects of America?
Can any military response make the slightest difference in
the underlying cause? Is there not a deep wound at the heart
of humanity? If there is a deep wound, doesn't it affect everyone?
When generations of suffering respond with bombs, suicidal
attacks, and biological warfare, who first developed these
weapons? Who sells them? Who gave birth to the satanic technologies
now being turned against us? If all of us are wounded, will
revenge work? Will punishment in any form toward anyone solve
the wound or aggravate it? Will an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth, and limb for a limb, leave us all blind, toothless
and crippled? Tribal warfare has been going on for two thousand
years and has now been magnified globally. Can tribal warfare
be brought to an end? Is patriotism and nationalism even relevant
anymore, or is this another form of tribalism? What are you
and I as persons going to do about what is happening? Can
we afford to let the deeper wound fester any longer? Everyone
is calling this an attack on America, but is it not a rift
in our collective soul? Isn't this an attack on civilization
from without that is also from within?
When we have secured our safety once more
and cared for the wounded, after the period of shock and mourning
is over, it will be time for soul searching. I only hope that
these questions are confronted with the deepest spiritual
intent. None of us will feel safe again behind the shield
of military might and stockpiled arsenals. There can be no
safety until the root cause is faced. In this moment of shock,
I don't think any one of us has the answers. It is imperative
that we pray and offer solace and help to each other. But
if you and I are having a single thought of violence or hatred
against anyone in the world at this moment, we are contributing
to the wounding of the world.
Love, Deepak
A Deeper Wound was a letter in an e-newsletter
called Namaste, which is hosted by Deepak Chopra and The Chopra
Center for Well Being. For more information or to post a prayer,
visit www.chopra.com.
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