Can heroes emerge – or thrive – in a world of peace? Well… I wonder.
Our histories and cultures are bursting with examples of heroes fighting demons; good winning over evil. Whether you consider the Trojan War, the Crusades, the Second World War, or the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, good has always destroyed evil – emerging as the victor.
Lord Krishna sums this idea up well when he tells Arjuna at Kurukshetra, “When adharma (injustice) sets in, I descend upon the creators and propagators of adharma and destroy them.” [The meaning of the dialogue has been mentioned here, not the actual translation.] The fact is: evil destroys; good destroys evil.
The hero, as the rightful representative of good, destroys evil and brings peace. But, in a world of peace, would there still be a role for a hero? Seems to me, as much as the hero has his job cut out for him, evil has its role pretty well defined too. So, I ask you: Can peace without war really be a possibility?
14 May 2005
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Interesting question.. I faintly remember reading somewhere, that before the Maoris, there used to be a tribe(don't remember name), which was very peaceful and they even banished weapons. They had a paeceful existence for some period, which ended with the invasion of the maoris, who butchered them. As usual, my facts are hazy, but hope you get the idea. Maybe there can never be everlasting peace.
Think of the flightless Dodo, which forgot how to fly because of lack of predators. Now, we use the term dead as a dodo. right?
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