Why Not A Day To
Apologise To All?
By Someswar Bhagwat
The World Yoga Day June 21, as designated by the United Nations and observed in many countries is regarded a recognition of India’s significant contribution to the world’s welfare. It is held on a grand scale in India with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,himself participating in it. While all like Yoga Day, s observe it and there are ‘Yoga studios’ in most US cities, Modi remains the sole world leader to perform Yoga exercises, at least in public. As the brain behind the UN action he made India proud.
While Yoga is an excellent way of maintaining health, whose importance came into spotlight with the Covid pandemic that hit the world, there is another act that promotes mental wellness and goodwill in the world — saying sorry to all whom one may have wronged or offended, knowingly or unknowingly, in reality or even in imagination.
Jains, a close-knit community following Jain religion, have a day or rather a whole week to apologise to others. It is called Paryushan Parva (Parva in most Indian languages means festival) and this year (2021) it is from September 4 to 11.
Most Jains are businessmen and rich and some put out huge newspaper advertisements asking those whom they may have offended in the year to forgive them.
It is only in Indian masala films that some people with cruelty written all over them are the designated villains Anyone harming you mentally or physically is a villain. The act may even be an offending word. Every religion has some unique goodness, like Islam making it obligatory for all true Muslims to give away one-fourth of their earnings on Eid Al-Adha day.
Hinduism too sets great score on ‘dana’ or giving away and lays down that it should only be to deserving persons. Gifting to undeserving persons is called apatraDana and is discouraged. Karna, though he sided with Kauravas representing evil, was considered an embodiment of generosity who never refused anyone any gift asked. Karna or Karan is a popular name in the North. Also a name for the girl child in Hindus in many parts of India is Kshama or forgiving. It is, like Karuna /Daya (kindness), given to girls in the belief that it would be their main quality. Yoga is as Hindu as karuna Muslim. Terming it Halal and Hundu as some moulanas did is like calling charity Islamic.
July 27 is observed as World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. It is the first such World Day in the Catholic Church as it has been started only by Pope Francis, the occasion being the Feast Day of the grandparents of Jesus, the saints Joachim and Anne.
Why not, therefore, have a daydeclared as the National day of Forgiving or Kshana Diwas when all apologise to everyone for any offence, knowing or unknowing, as all Jains do.
Perhaps one should campaign on www.change.com platform to get lakhs of people to back the idea of an Indian Kshama Divas.Sorry is a great word. It solves many problems and is as widely used as the ubiquitous ‘how do you do’ asked by many who do not expect you to list your worries in answer. Persons at the counters in Walmart in the USA are required to ask you this when you go to them and may even be penalized for failing to do so.
Never answer them truthfully as all they expect is ‘fine’.
