Does your skin colour matter?
I am of Indian Origin, brought up in the UK but currently living in India. I have seen racism in my own life but right now I will discuss racism towards blacks amongst Indians,, be it here or in the UK. I find racism abominable but for those who are ‘spiritual seekers’ and still hold racism in their heart, that is the ultimate in racism for me. When we are all ‘spirit souls’ simply in a temporary body then are we not all equal regardless of colour, caste or creed. If one subscribes to the ‘soul’ philosophy then why does racism manifest? I have deep personal experiences on this issue which I would rather not discuss in Public but all I can say is that racism in the ‘spiritual communities’ must not be there. How does this correspond with the basic tennet that we are all equal. I have several theories. Personal ingrained traits are not easy to dissolve regardless of the ‘spiritual’ teachings. The ‘spiritual’ organisations do not have ‘anti racism’ in their day to day protocol. Perhaps they need to write the protocols in simple languge as the spiritual ancient texts cannot be comprehended by most ordinary minds. I have even heard everyday Indians call blacks Habsees which has become an abusive term bur translates as: Ḥabshī, African and Abyssinian slaves in pre-British India. The name derives from the Arabic word Ḥabashī (“Abyssinian”), through its Persian form. Such slaves, frequently employed by the chiefs of Muslim India, especially in the Deccan, were believed to have great physical prowess and ability and a lack of personal ties, which promoted loyalty. Not only that, I have heard black people being called demons. When the whole of Indian tradition is based on sanatan dharma, the eternal duty, how did these aberrations manifest. Indeed, I could say that for a lot of things that do not comply with sanatan dharma in modern India. Surely non racism is common sense. I know it was for me and many I know. To end on a positive note. From an Indian friend; ‘Black people in America are more helpful than Whites’ Ultimately the problem is not that we see a person's colour when we come across them as this is matter of visual experience and cannot be avoided. However, it is the judgement we make that is the issue. We need to work on this judgement that we make more than anything else. It is not a matter of political correctness but a matter of human dignity and human rights to not be treated according to colour. In the words of John Lennon’. Let us all live as one’.
