When possession turns obsessive, conflict becomes inevitable

When satta, power, seeks to expand endlessly, and svamitv, ownership, wants to include what belongs to others, the possibility of war increases. The deepest tragedy is not that conflict occurs, but that we keep repeating the same mistake. Wise people do not rush towards war; they search for ways to prevent it. War takes shape when the 'fog' of ego covers the mind and a feverish obsession to expand power engulfs a leader. Wisdom may still exist but it is made secondary; ethics may be known but they are not allowed to lead.

The state of 'murccha parigrah', obsessive attachment/possessiveness, is a state where attachment becomes so intense that 'nothing else is visible', and harm becomes easier to justify. If a person or a society could remain content within rightful limits, the urge to seize what belongs to another would reduce. But when one feels diminished by another's growth, the demand to expand becomes intense.

In this light, aparigrah, non-possessiveness, is a personal discipline and a social medicine because it challenges the tendency to increase possessions. People often speak of victory and defeat as if war ends cleanly. Situations linger, decisions shift, and outcome becomes intertwined with timing, restraint and the ability to stop. An external 'loss' can sometimes prevent a deeper inner loss, and an outer 'win' can sometimes hide a moral defeat, so deeper questions are: 'Who prevailed?' and 'What it did to the human heart?'


Mahavir Jayanti is on March 31