We all know how last year (2018) started with violent clashes between people from various castes in western indian region which is known for its rich cultural heritage. The question that is still baffling people is, that what was the need to clash over an event that took place some hundred years ago ? Does it really makes any sense ? These kind of violent events which happen everywhere across the world point to the need of paying due attention to the values which have eroded over a period of time.
They also demand that we properly understand the nature, the scope and the functional aspects of values. Take, for example, the world-wide protests against a book written by a writer who has won booker prize, or against a dictator’s call to kill that writer. It is being said, in this context, that one has, no doubt, the right to freedom of expression but one has also the duty to respect the feelings of others. In other words, one has the right to enjoy one’s freedom of expression in a way that one does not infringe the freedom of faith of other persons.
Secondly, we must bear in mind that erosion in values takes place if there is no reciprocity. For example, if one is an honest, hard-working and sincere worker and yet he does not get economic justice at the hands of his employer, his mind ceases to have love and regard for his employer whom he now considers as selfish and exploitative.
Thus, love and regard, as values, lose their strength and are unable to sustain themselves, if they are not responded or reciprocated with economic or social justice. Such examples and explanations also show that not only are there certain values, such as tolerance, patience, steadfastness, non-violence, etc. which are prerequisite to the firm establishment of values in a society, but also that in order to build a society, based on values, there is required, initially, a sizeable group of people who are steadfast in their commitment to values and who observe tolerance, patience and non-violence even when they find that there is no reciprocity to their observance of the values of love, respect etc.
And, such a sizeable group which observes moral and human values in the face of provocations and temptations, can come into existence only when spiritual values and spiritual goals, which have their origin in and direct support and sustenance from God, inspire them.
