White Dog And Black God
“What’s the matter? Lost in the thoughts?” Lulu, my parrot, nudged me. Parrots are highly intelligent and perceptive birds, much more than what we believe.
I kept aside the pencil I was playing with, or chewing at one end, to be precise. “It’s my teacher’s birthday.” I picked up the pencil but kept it down immediately under the gaze of Lulu. “He is gone and he remains in my memory.”
“That’s because you miss him.” Lulu hopped closer. “Why do you miss him?”
“Hmmm …. That’s a difficult question to answer, Lulu. I had never thought about it. But let me give it a try ….”
“Go ahead …”
“He questioned my assumptions. My beliefs.”
“Like what?”
“I told him that I have not read and do not feel like reading Mahatma Gandhi’s book ‘My experiments with Truth.’ As a schoolboy I had read the Godse’s testimony before the court. Impressed, I was. His testimony was highly appreciated in the in our circle of friends. Nobody liked Gandhi.”
“What did your teacher say?”
“He laughed and said I should learn to respect a contrary view. And that I should read more and come to my conclusion. I should form an independent opinion.”
“He did not chastise you?
“No! But the way conversation progressed, I realized that I was judging without forming an opinion. And that is different from forming an impression, I hope you get what I mean.”
“Ha ha! An opinion is formed carefully after a study, unlike an impression.”
“Yes!” I picked up the pencil again, it is a chewing gum substitute when you are thinking.
“If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind” Lulu looked at me, his words were an obvious reference to my teacher.
“Oh!”
“I quoted Kahlil Gibran. Did you not read about a few West Indies cricketers speaking about racial taunts during their IPL play?”
“Yes, I did. It always surprises me that we have a bias against people with dark skin. Most of us have dark skin, dark brown if you wish to distinguish, and yet we have this bias.”
“Did you notice that the idols of Gods are also made in black stone. Tirupati, Shreenathji, Vitthal! There are many idols in white marble, but predominantly you will find them sculpted in black stone. We accept black god, but not people with dark skin!”
“Biases are everywhere, with everyone and in every walk of life. Surprisingly, many managers think that they are different from workers and look down upon workers! A friend once remarked ‘Managers have anthropological interest in workers!!’”
“Ha ha! Have you heard of the film ‘White Dog’? It was made in 1982, and a new film was made last year on the novel carrying the same name.”
“What about it?”
“The plot … Gary finds a dog near his house. A friendly white dog. It attacks only the black persons because it is so trained. Gary realizes that the white dog was trained to attack the black people. In the sixties and seventies dogs were so trained in the USA!”
“Really?”
“He takes the dog to the dog-trainer who suggests killing the dog. But Gary asks ‘Are you suggesting that we should kill anyone who makes a mistake?’ And then he suggests that the dog should be de-trained.”
“‘Are you suggesting that we should kill anyone who makes a mistake?!’ Such a powerful question. In our ‘world of zero-tolerance’, the answer unfortunately is ‘Yes’! I do not know whether Gandhi made a mistake. But killing is not an option.”
“In our response, we have to be life-positive, as Osho says. Otherwise, there is no difference between us and the white dog.”
“We have a lot to ‘de-train’ or ‘unlearn’”
“What were your feelings when you realized the wisdom of your teacher?”
“Pain! When he asked me to form an ‘opinion’, and I realized what he meant, it was sheer pain. I realized that my view was not well formed, it was bias and not a well thought-out-opinion. I accepted it finally but not without a churn. Your choice broadcasts your values. Some unlearning I underwent.”
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”
“Don’t tell me Kahlil Gibran said it”
“Actually, he did!” Lulu pointed to the book ‘The Prophet’ on my bookshelf.
Vivek S Patwardhan
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” / Read more Lulu blogs in my book ‘The Lulu Duologues’
Very nice blog . Unfortunately all sorts of biases based on colour, caste, race, religion exist in the world. It would be better for us if we form opinions taking all views into consideration as was guided by your teacher. Thanks for the insights provided by you in your various blogs. Regards
Love it.
inspiring read.
Though our colonial masters left 75 years ago, the biases they instilled in the masses have not left us. The color bias also came from that, i suppose. All beauty enhancing products are re-enforcing the bias.
I am not sure whether the color bias was there some 1000 years ago.food for thought.
Nice
The color bias is not difficult to see. Look at our matrimonial columns. All ask for a ‘Fair’ bride. That has nothing to do with her sense of justice. Interestingly I have not seen one asking for a ‘Fair’ husband. So we not only have a strong color bias but a masculinity one also. And of course more graphic, violent examples abound in our society. As for Gandhi and Godse – it looks like Lulu didn’t say anything one way or another. Hmm!!
Excellent bold blog ,I (think and hope )that I too have gotten over from impression to opinion.Enjoyed reading.
Another blog which makes one reflect. Perhaps our biases begin with our beliefs based on assumptions. beliefs then get reinforced because we actively seek confirmation of our beliefs – desirability bias and confirmation bias working together . We form opinions since we continue to seek and read what reinforces our beliefs. Seeking a differing view is uncomfortable and goes beyond pain – it’s actually cathartic and not many of us can deal with it. It requires courage to question our assumptions and beliefs , accept a contrary opinion and be comfortable with it . How many of us would like to move out of our comfort zone……
Sir, it is really thought provoking. The Sentence “We accept black god, but not people with dark skin!” is 100% asking me to look into me before making any opinion, thought decision. Thanks for sharing.
Very well written piece on an issue that has been an aspect of concern in what we consider civilized society. Biases have not been new to societies but getting convinced that it is the only truth and influencing others to commit to an action in furtherance of the same is a matter that is worrying.
It is in this context your thoughts are bold, sane, insightful and paiseworthy.
May your tribe increase
Very nice & very true Sir.
Thanks Vivek – very valuable insights well put forth here
Our ‘facts’ are based on personal experience and the daily feed of communication one gets
On a common subject, the views I receive from one News channel would be quite different from another
Slowly, my belief/biases tend to take shape n get roots 😀
Very seldom is there patience n time to collect n absorb all sides 🥹
Whilst making efforts to keep them aside, I still carry some biases ….
The White v/s Black is a good example for all to relate with
Agree, how to Unlearn is the Mantra🙏