from Deepak Chopra

This just forwarded to me from one of my students.  I thought there might be
something in Chopra's perspective that might help some of us cope with our
inability to find answers.  At least, for him, simply asking questions
serves as response enough for now....
Peace,
--pc

>From Deepak Chopra via Hafeezah Basir

 As fate would have it, I was leaving New York on a jet flight that
took off 45 minutes before the unthinkable happened. By the time we
landed in Detroit, chaos had broken out. When I grasped the fact that
American security had broken down so tragically, I couldn't respond
at first. My wife and son were also in the air on separate flights,
one to Los Angeles, one to San Diego. My body went absolutely rigid
with fear. All I could think about was their safety, and it took
several hours before I found out that their flights had been diverted
and both were safe.  Strangely, when the good news came, my body
still felt that it had been hit by a truck.

Of its own accord it seemed to feel a far greater trauma that reached
out to the thousands who would not survive and the tens of thousands
who would survive only to live through months and years of hell. And
I asked myself, Why didn't I feel this way last week? Why didn't my
body go stiff during the bombing of Iraq or Bosnia? Around the world
my horror and worry are experienced every day. Mothers weep over
horrendous loss, civilians are bombed mercilessly, refugees are
ripped from any sense of home or homeland. Why did I not feel their
anguish enough to call a halt to it?  As we hear the calls for
tightened American security and a fierce military response to
terrorism, it is obvious that none of us has any answers.

 However, we feel compelled to ask some questions.  Everything has a
cause, so we have to ask, What was the root cause of this evil? We
must find out not superficially but at the deepest level. There is no
doubt that such evil is alive all around the world and is even
celebrated.  Does this evil grow from the suffering and anguish felt
by people we don't know and therefore ignore? Have they lived in this
condition for a long time?  One assumes that whoever did this attack
feels implacable hatred for America. Why were we selected to be the
focus of suffering around the world?  All this hatred and anguish
seems to have religion at its basis. Isn't something terribly wrong
when jihads and wars develop in the name of God? Isn't God invoked
with hatred in Ireland, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Israel,
Palestine, and even among the intolerant sects of America?  Can any
military response make the slightest difference in the underlying
cause? Is there not a deep wound at the heart of humanity?  If
there is a deep wound, doesn't it affect everyone?

 When generations of suffering respond with bombs, suicidal attacks,
and biological warfare, who first developed these weapons? Who sells
them? Who gave birth to the satanic technologies now being turned
against us?  If all of us are wounded, will revenge work? Will
punishment in any form toward anyone solve the wound or aggravate it?
Will an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and limb for a limb,
leave us all blind, toothless and crippled?  Tribal warfare has been
going on for two thousand years and has now been magnified globally.
Can tribal warfare be brought to an end? Is patriotism and
nationalism even relevant anymore, or is this another form of
tribalism?  What are you and I as persons going to do about what is
happening? Can we afford to let the deeper wound fester any longer?
Everyone is calling this an attack on America, but is it not a rift
in our collective soul? Isn't this an attack on civilization from
without that is also from within?

 When we have secured our safety once more and cared for the wounded,
after the period of shock and mourning is over, it will be time for
soul searching. I only hope that these questions are confronted with
the deepest spiritual intent. None of us will feel safe again behind
the shield of military might and stockpiled arsenals. There can be no
safety until the root cause is faced. In this moment of shock I don't
think anyone of us has the answers. It is imperative that we pray and
offer solace and help to each other. But if you and I are having a
single thought of violence or hatred against anyone in the world at
this moment, we are contributing to the wounding of the world.
Love,  Deepak