“There is no fire like passion.
There is no evil like hatred.”
This
profound observation was made by Gautama Buddha (The Buddha), the
founder of one of the major Eastern religions, Buddhism, in the 4th
century BCE. It continues to be as potent today as it has been since that time,
several thousands of years ago. In saying this, he was confirming the close
affinity of the two key human emotional characteristics, love and passion. To
the Buddhists, all life is dictated by these two fundamental emotions; love which
is needed to ensure good relationship, and passion which is essential for
our continued survival. When these two emotional components are working
together there is fulfillment, happiness and contentment. But when however, for
whatever reason, love becomes compromised or is nonexistent, compassion
will be lost, and hate, like the poison that it is, will step in, eating
away at our hearts and minds as it destroys us from within, producing
bitterness and suspicion
Hate
is an emotion that does not exist anywhere else in the animal kingdom other
than in human beings. While all the other animals spend their lives concerned
strictly with survival and self-protection, the human psyche is far more
concerned with competing and dominating, and with gaining and keeping power. In
this setting, hate is an ally, for by inducing anger, resentment and mistrust,
it becomes a powerful force which can then be used against other people and
ideas. Our cultural and psychological make-up is designed in such a way as to
encourage a defensive/aggressive attitude, reward caution and suspicion, and
discourage love and com-passion. As a result, we live in a society in which
competing for everything is the dominant way of life, and where making any effort
toward trying to understand or to compromise, is seen as admission of
vulnerability or of guilt.
Because
of this, and also, because of our misguided fear that to do so requires us to
risk revealing something about ourselves, most of us are far more cautious to
connect with others than we ought to be. Instead of relating from a position of
compassion and trust, we are encouraged to stay within our shells, be
constantly aware of the dangers, and be suspicious of strangers. We end up for
the most part, being afraid of being ourselves and as a result, inevitably fall
victim to the ravages of hate; even when we are fully aware of the fact that true
connections can only take place in a setting of love and compassion. This has
led the Dalai Lama to offer this meaningful advice to all who will
listen:
“You must not hate those who do wrong or
harmful things. But with compassion you must do what you can to stop them; for
they will harm themselves, and those who suffer from their actions.”
Because of its substantial impact on human behavior, hate has been the subject of extensive study and research by psychologists and behaviorists for centuries. Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung wrote extensively on, and offered etiological explanations on the topic. They both firmly agreed that any expression of hate to another always begins as an innate fear of failure or inability to cope, and by the attempt to deny this by projecting the guilt outwardly. Jung adamantly insisted that the need for the projection of hate to others always begins as a rejection of something within us that we find unacceptable. He argued that if those feelings of rejection had not been internalized, they will never have disturbed or affected us in any way. He stated this clearly and unequivocally in the following observation:
“If you hate something in someone else, then you can be sure that you have the same thing in yourself.”
The fundamental reasons for hating are quite complex, and incorporate multiple inherited, evolutionary, environmental and learning factors. Quite unlike the strongly innate instincts for fear, hunger and thirst, no one is ever born with the urge to hate. This develops, like so many of our vital behavioral characteristics, as a direct result of learning, experience and exposure. Some of the more prominent among the reasons are:
-A Sense of Fear; causing us to reject what we don’t like in ourselves, and equally, in others, especially if they are different from us, or we do not understand them.
-Lack of Compassion; seen especially in people with rigid, fixed personalities that prevent them from feeling compassion for themselves or for others. Unless one is willing and able to accept and forgive the differences that exist, hate can be a useful defense mechanism to justify any action.
-Group Support; especially in people with insecure or inadequate personalities who look for the support of a group to reinforce their poor self-identity. Hating is the price they are willing to pay to belong and feel protected.
-Identity Protection; seen in vulnerable, narcissistic people with poor self-images. For them, projecting is an attempt to shield against their inner feeling of shame or inadequacy, by adopting an attitude of hate and anger. This provides a good reason or excuse, and serves as a distraction from having to feel weak, powerless and ashamed of oneself.
Hate however, despite all the admonitions from science and all the major religions who have steadfastly warned of the dangers of uncontrolled hatred in causing severe, irreversible harm, dislocation and destruction to people and to the world itself, continues to grow out of control. This should not come as a surprise, since hate has proved itself to be, beyond question, the most effective, most powerful and most convenient weapon against love and understanding. It has now become the most effective and most popular choice in politics, both locally and internationally, and continues to be the single most destructive weapon in the hands of unscrupulous leaders.
The situation is even worse among the world’s religions where more death and destruction has taken place and continue to take place in the name of Almighty God. And this continues to happen even as the major religions have expressed clear beliefs to the contrary:
-Christianity: In the Holy Bible: (1 John 2:9), places hate in the hopeless place of darkness and truth and love in the light:
“Whoever says he is the light, and hates his brother, is still in the darkness.”
-Islam: In the Holy Quran, believers are warned of the of hate that prevents them from being true:
“Do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just.”
-Hinduism: discourages any form of hate as acting against good karma.
-Buddhism: as noted previously, Buddhism is founded on the principle of love and not hate.
Hate in any of its many forms or manifestations, has always been viewed as contrary and unacceptable human behavior. For once allowed to take hold, like the insidious poison that it is, it destroys love, respect and trust, and slowly replaces them with bitterness and suspicion. Instead of the richness and blessings of diversity and of differences that are so important in the human race, they appear as voracious sins intent on destruction. It is currently the greatest curse of modern civilization, and in spite of all the great advances achieved, the world remains under siege, not only from serious climatic changes, but even more, by the unrelenting weight of diverse hates against every aspect humanity including, race, language, color of skin, appearance, language, economic and educational status, and religion.
Throughout the entire history of mankind, the practice of hate has dominated life in every single society, developing deep roots and effectively drowning out its counterparts of love and hope. Carl Jung has suggested that this behavior might well have its origin in a repressed psyche which when challenged, will act out with less understanding and more violent intent. Human beings, by their very nature, cannot tolerate their own self-criticism, and will do anything to deny and project blame elsewhere. Rather than admitting to their self-hate and end up being isolated, it is easier lay blame on outside factors and influences, and so remain accepted. Hate therefore becomes a good reason and an excuse to conform and to remain ‘part of the hate crowd’. Mahatma Gandhi, the great Indian leader and statesman, recognized this fact in his effort to try to discourage hate by his followers for the British occupiers of India, when he observed:
“No culture can live, if it attempts to live with hate.”
Nelson Mandela, the great South African freedom fighter who successfully destroyed the wicked apartheid system of racial hatred and injustice, and became the 1stpresident of the new republic, stands out as a true champion of the power of love when truly applied over hate:
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
-This is the true message for dealing with the curse of hate. It will never be overcome by confronting hate with more hate, but only by patience, understanding and love.
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