When Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a train in South Africa he had a choice to make either to ignore the event and live in peace or enter into a conflict and face harassment, hardship and possibility of getting physically hurt. He, as we all know, choose the latter. I wonder why? Did he not have a Guru who had taught him that living in peace and tranquility was the ultimate objective of life and the best way to achieve this objective was to avoid situations of conflict. Why did he not walk away? Was he not listening to religious discourses?

Dalai Lama chose to live in exile rather than live in peace in Tibet. He is a spiritual master himself. He preaches peace around the world. Does he not know that living in peace requires avoiding situations of conflict? Ang Sang Sui Kui did not have to stay in Jail. Winston Churchil did not have to join the world war. Nelson Mandella did not have to suffer in solitary confinement. Julius Nyere did not have to fight a war with Idi Amin. There is a long list of people who have embraced conflict rather than condemned it. They are our heroes. They had the courage to stand up against repression rather than walk away.

The most referred & talked about epics of Hindu’s – the Ramayana and the Maha Bharata , are both stories of war and not about living in peace. Lord Krishna did not tell Pandavas to ignore the incident of Drapudi Aharan. He actively encouraged them to go to war. The Gita says engaging in a war to uphold the truth is not a matter of choice for a warrior but it is his duty. Islam says upholding truth in the face of an oppressive ruler, is the duty of a Muslim.

Most of us are confused between conflict and the method of resolving a conflict. We assume, incorrectly, that Mahatma Gandhi being a peace loving person must have avoided situations of conflict. We do not realize that not only did he choose conflict but he spent all his life engaged in conflict. Conflict became the cause of his life and resolving it became the objective of his life. Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi were both engaged in the same conflict, except that the Mahatma wanted to resolve it by peaceful means and the Bhagat Singh through violence and war.

All those people whom we admire and even worship have one thing in common. They did not walk away from situations of conflict. Violence and war is not always justified but walking away from a situation of conflict in the interest of keeping the peace is never justified, unless, of course the conflict itself is not justified. Mahatma’s famous quote that one should present the left side of his face when one is already slapped on the right has been widely misinterpreted. It does not mean surrender or withdrawal from conflict. It means quite the opposite. The engagement in the conflict is firm but the methodology of resolving it is different.

Only revolutionaries and soldiers are not our heroes. Bill Gates is my hero. Mother Teressa & Albert Einstein are heroes of millions around the world. There are artists, priests and professors, business men and women, musicians & film makers who make valuable contribution to humanity but they do not fight a war like soldiers do. Then what makes them our heroes?

The duty of a scientist, artist or a professor is also to engage in conflict but not against repressive regimes of power but against repressive regime of knowledge. Limited knowledge is a form of bondage. Albert Einstein, like all great scientists advanced the boundaries of knowledge. James Joyce did the same for the world of literature. Picasso or Fida Hussein changed the rules of the visual art. Mother Teresa redefined the meaning of care. All of them suffered criticism and faced controversy. But they did not despair and surrender to a life in peace. They stayed engaged and made conflict the cause of their lives.

One can not but come to the conclusion that people in history whom we admire and even those whom we worship have all rejected the existing as being adequate & chosen to engage in conflict to expand the existing. They have defined the purpose of life. It is not to live in peace but to engage in conflict – not to satisfy ones own ego but to expand the existing limits of knowledge. Creativity is the purpose of life & motivation for creativity comes from engagement in conflict. Conflict has a divine sanction. It allows an ‘Atma’ (Individual Soul) to advance and thus advance the collective Consciousness. The only word of caution is that one who engages in conflict must first settle himself/herself spiritually so that he/she knows whether the conflict he/she is engaging in is justified or not. A conflict is not justified if it is to satisfy ones ego. But interestingly ego is important to engage in a justified conflict.