Questioning is not a sin

I’m having trouble with all the efforts to create a unified response from Swadhyayees to the Pankaj Trivedi murder. I have seen emails equating this to a fight for dharma, and that staying on the side of Swadhyay and its leadership is akin to supporting Krishna and Ram in times of great crisis (by not doing so, we are on the opposite side).

Why are we so afraid of questions? A former Swadhyayee has been murdered, maybe by other Swadhyayees; I’m sure that someone has stolen a purse at a Swadhyay program – not all Swadhyayees are necessarily morally outstanding. What if a Swadhyayee did it, does that ruin Swadhyay’s great work to date? So what if people want to know what happened?

Why are we driven to silence when others ask critical questions around us? Is it morally incorrect to be in a room of people who don’t think like you? Is it contagious? Are we committing some kind of sin by wondering if the way things are done may not be the best way? Are we not committing a sin by NOT asking questions?

Yes, Swadhyay has been a tremendous influence in villages – it is an incredible philosophy that has revolutionized many lives in our time. By recognizing that the Swadhyay organization isn't perfect, that some who call themselves Swadhyayees may have committed crimes, and that Didi may have flaws in her ability to lead, we are not reducing the value of Swadhyay, nor are we disrespecting its leadership (including Didi). We are just doing the very thing that makes us human: using our intellect.

This is not "all or nothing"; we’re lucky that we have made it this far without any major issues as such a large institution. But what is most troublesome is that intelligent people who are in roles of responsibility or die-hard Swadhyayees are not willing to even consider other interpretations of what is happening than the one being fed by the hierarchy. I worry that this is a sign of further close-mindedness to come: if we are going to fight anything, it needs to be the urge to close our minds.

Don't be a loyalist to the people that lead Swadhyay, be a loyalist to the philosophy of Swadhyay.

If your next door neighbor was murdered by someone you didn’t know, wouldn’t you want justice? Whoever killed Mr. Trivedi should pay for their crime, Swadhyayee or not.

My interpretation of Swadhyay does not condone murder or stand silent in the face of ignorance. We should tweak our work to ensure that such radicalisms do not re-occur. If the leaders of Swadhyay are too entrenched in their inability to keep Swadhyay dynamic, we as Swadhyayees, should demand new responsible people who can keep up with the pace of the parivar rather than try to regulate us.

First, we must accept people who ask questions and realize that this will only help us mature our own stand.