No, I am not talking
about the old song from 'Dave Mathews Band' nor am I referring to the
prime-time series on ABC 'What would you do?'. I am more interested in knowing
what you would say to someone who has demonstrated extreme courage, compassion
and forgiveness, in this modern age of confusion, chaos and strong rhetoric.
On the occasion of
Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, I was looking for an appropriate story that would
help us relate to Gandhiji's principles and how applicable they are in today's
circumstances. I ran across this story
on CNN about a Sikh professor/medical doctor from Columbia University who was attacked
in New York because of the way he looked, practiced his beliefs. It was
declared as a 'Hate crime' attack but how the professor decided to deal with
the situation and his attackers is quite fascinating.
So, if you had a
chance to say something to him.. What would you say? I had an opportunity to
listen to his interview on NPR and I reached out to him, to express our support
from our group/Hindu community. I was elated to see a response from him and we all
have a great opportunity to write a personal note to him. Please spend a few
moments to read through the story, my correspondence
with him and be prepared to sign a card at Balavihar tomorrow. As always, feel free to leave your valuable comments while you are here.
I would praise him to no end! Nowadays, most people want to hunt down and mercilessely kill their attackers, unlike Mr. Singh here. He decided to stay non violent, which is truly admirable. I would also thank him for not being like everyone else, and staying strong for what he believed in. He obviously deserves some respect.
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