Today I was reading a random selection from the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad. I came across a passage about self-destruction and suicide. The initial part I found interesting which was the idea of the death wish (self-destruction) as an aspect in all people.

All men have the death wish ingrained within themselves. This is part of the Kal consciousness which wishes for self-destruction of the individual and oathers. It is that which creates wars and brings about violence and destruction of property. It is that which causes man to inflect torture upon himself and death to either himself or his neighbor. The mass suicide in certain species of animals and in some primitive tribes is noted to be part of this Kal force to get rid of the body, and the idea of doing so brings about the death wish.

Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Chapter 3

The passage further explains the different triggers for self-destruction: loss of power, loss of money and so on. It emphasizes that those of control (either controlling their own space, or seeking to control others with power) are easily triggered and upset over small changes against their ideal control systems. This can rapidly degrade into violence against themselves or others.

In an environment of mass shootings at churches, schools and assassinations, the following excerpt seems to relate:

In the world of this earth planet, within the physical universe, where primitive drives are exalted into heroic ideals, man has to murder either himself or others. He kills something in himself by throwing himself into the turmoil of his instinctive drives. It may be called killing his ego or murdering his inner self. When life becomes too bothersome, man regresses easily to the state of a primitive being. In his primitive rage he reverts to ideals of primitive magic and expects somehow in death to be reunited with mother earth. For him death means the magical union with what created his physical body, or in killing others he expects to enlarge the powers of his inner self.

Ibid.

The key takeaway here, for me, is that violence kills the connection to the Eck within the person itself. This would then seem to further disconnect until a person is completely devoid and cut off from Eck itself. The Eck is still there, ever present, but a person like this would become more extreme.

Self-destruction can be a reaction to outer stress or an inner burden–a protest that is chosen when no other form of escape seems to be possible.

Ibid.

Modern World Analysis

This correlates with the modern world. In the past 30 years, online activity has given space to an industry that thrives on interaction. Ad revenue cycles as more people engage with content. Content choices are made to trigger people with fear, outrage, anger, or opposition. The more people engage, the more money the post or comment makes as it generates more advertisement cycling.

Knowing this, we end up with an age where people are triggered by media that either is looking to make money through advertising, power through political advantage or power through fear mongering. This builds, dividing people into groups and each group becoming more and more fearful. Fears become action items of violent reaction: either to themselves or against others.

Solution

Listening to the Inner Voice, I feel the solution is not a top-down approach, nor an authoritarian response. The solution has to occur with each individual. They must make a choice to find something pure (larger than their experience) and realize that each individual also has this same purity. Therein is the equanimity.

Do not get carried away in the influence of others. They are not your God, they are not your directive. They are on their own path. If they struggle, help where you can. If they hurt, offer compassion. Do not get pulled in, however, to their Inner Fights and conflicts. They react to a world of frustration and by harming others and themselves. Their harm may not at first be recognized. It might be the harm of words, of jokes, of jest. It will always radiate with aggression. Thus the elimination of aggression within the individual, by their own choice, is the path forward.

As we cannot make another chose against their will, the material world is therefore not the foundation of an eternal kingdom. Freedom of choice will always allow another to think and act violently. Societies punitively react to decisions against the culture, but the violent can always hold their feelings hidden in their heart and mind. Society can not police thought and feeling, therefore the world of humanity is destined to corruption.

Live in the world, but do not be part of it. This is the ideal. There are higher worlds to strive for, the Highest one of all is the one of God Realization the world of Sugmad. This world can not be shunned, however, as it is a place of work. It is here we are struggling against our own feelings and reactions to a world of turmoil. Our karma has painted itself throughout the colorings of world we exist in. Dealing with that, in the ‘right way’ will change our own nature, allowing for the reclamation of connection with Sugmad and the ascent to Higher worlds.