Can we truly describe ourselves as a peace-loving people?
To determine the answer to that question we can turn to no greater exponent of peace than Mahatma Gandhi. We have to thank R.K. Parbhu for compiling 366 "Pearls of Thought" - one Pearl for each day of the year, including the leap year -all gleaned from the writings and speeches of the Mahatma, in a booklet entitled Mohan-Mala (A Gandhian Rosary).
Gandhiji taught us non-violence. In today's world our consumers are exposed to acts of violence day in and day out. Switch on your television and you will find difficulty in evading scenes of violence. It would seem that we expect violence as a daily tragedy. Open your newspaper and on the front page will be depicted the results of violence and pictures of agony. Even our children cannot escape and the Rights of the Child are thrown overboard with no decisive action to protect them even in their homes. Animals can be protected but not children.
Back to Gandhi. Gandhi expressed his thoughts on "thoughts". In the "Pearl" for June 7 one of his statements on the importance of thoughts is recorded;
"Control over thought is a long and painful and laborious process. But I am convinced that no time, no labour and no pain is too much for the glorious result to be reached. The purity of thought is possible with a faith in God bordering on definite experience."
...............Those of us who enjoyed the
...............entertainment that cinemas
...............offered in the past should
...............add our voices and seek a return
Again in the "Pearl" for June 9 -
"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well. There is nothing more potent than thoughts. Deed follows word and
word follows thought. The world is the result of a mighty thought and where the thought is mighty and pure, the result is always mighty and pure."
So much for our thoughts but what about non-violence? Under July 5 we read -
"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. Destruction is not the law of the humans.
Man lives freely by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him. Every murder, or other injury, no matter for what cause, committed or inflicted on another is a crime against humanity."
And again on July 9
"If the best minds of the world have not imbibed the spirit of non-violence, they would have to meet gangsterism in the orthodox way. But that would only show that we have not gone far beyond the law of the jungle, that we have not learnt to appreciate the heritage that God has given us, that in spite of the teaching of Christianity, which is 1900 years old, and of Hinduism and Buddhism which are older, and even of Islam, we have not made much headway as human beings. But whilst I would understand the use of force by those who have not the spirit of non-violence in them, I would have those who know non-violence to throw their whole weight in demonstrating that even gangsterism has to be met with non-violence."
So much of Gandhi and his thoughts. What is happening in our country today? There is debate going on whether the cinema is to return to its glory. Those of us who enjoyed the entertainment that cinemas offered in the past should add our voices and seek a return. Our lives have become very drab. There is no community sharing of enjoyment The Cultural Centre does not substitute for the cinema.
Recently I experienced great pleasure in seeing the film Mr Smith Goes to Washington in company with some young persons. They were amazed. "What! No violence in a film!" they exclaimed. Even young twenty-year olds can remember the pleasure found in films at our cinemas. The closing of the Liberty Cinema was another sad day for us.
When we think back we remember films such as The Sound of Music, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Importance of Being Earnest, Easter Parade with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. The Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin films - those were the days!
Added to the enjoyment of the film was the pleasure of meeting friends. Today, the majority of us who do not attend cocktail parties can greet friends only at funerals. There is very little to give us pleasure in living.
The beauty that was portrayed in films at cinemas has not been replaced. Violence reigns on our streets and even in homes. We do not embrace our countrymen and women with thoughts of peace and love. The cinema can be a new start. Cinemas still prosper in Trinidad and Canada and elsewhere. By film censorship we can control to some extent, the thoughts of the young. The computer brings unsolicited pornography, the television brings violence. To foster peaceful thoughts we can think of nothing better than a return to the good old days of cinema entertainment.