“We are all alike, on the inside.” MT

Flocking together...

By and large MT had some doubts concerning human intelligence and much respect for animals. He said: “If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but deteriorate the cat,” and “It is just like man’s vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions.”

Animals do display a lot more cooperation and understanding than we humans. For the most part predators are well known. Other animals have learned to steer clear of them but hang out with other less aggressive creatures, humans excluded. We’re a mystery to them and to ourselves. Sometimes we can be as peaceful as a new born lamb and on the spin of a dime turn into violent aggressors. It’s a puzzle, but more often than not our violent behavior is rooted in viewing others not like ourselves and this is particularly true when it comes to religion. MT wasn’t a fan and seemed to run along the same track as Krishnamurti who saw violence as having a lot to do with what we think.

He said, “Violence is not merely killing another. It is violence when we use a sharp word, when we make a gesture to brush away a person, when we obey because there is fear. So violence isn’t merely organized butchery in the name of God, in the name of society or country. Violence is much more subtle, much deeper, and we are inquiring into the very depths of violence.

When you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.”

Unfortunately we d0 flock together like birds of a feather, and tend to forget we’re all basically birds.