The Bhagavad-Gita is said to be the milk of the Upanishads, the essential wisdom that is part of the Vedas. It comes from India and tells of Arjuna, the foremost warrior of his time, who converses with Krishna, the embodiment of the Absolute, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra before a great war is to begin between Good and Evil. Arjuna, both by status and caste, is duty bound to fight for the Good. But across the battlefield are beloved family members and friends. His head says fight. His heart says don’t. He is paralyzed. Krishna’s role is non-combatant advisor to Arjuna. In the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna shares his profound wisdom concerning the nature of existence, life, change, while intermittently urging Arjuna to stand up and fight.
We in Amherst are fortunate to have another warrior from India. Our warrior is not paralyzed. He is fighting for civility and against hate, for dignity and respect. Here is some of a letter he recently sent to the UMass Amherst campus:
Dear Campus Community,
The past week has been marked by a deeply troubling and painful event that once again challenges the core values of our community. A racist threat was discovered …. I share the frustration and anger that many of you are experiencing as we continue to confront prejudice and racism. …
Acts of hate can take many forms and target a range of social identities. Creating a community of dignity and respect requires active engagement. …
We must also recognize the importance of unity in defending our values in a contentious national environment. Well-organized, outside groups … seek to provoke division and strife on college campuses. … The best antidote to these hateful acts is to denounce them and stand united, building community bonds that foster excellence and inclusiveness. …
Thank you for standing up against these acts that seek to divide us. I stand with you in rejecting hatred and making UMass Amherst a community where all can flourish and succeed.
Sincerely,
Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy
Swamy’s inspiring, heartfelt messages, his dedication to this work, and his call to us to make it our business to join him make us all so proud to be here at UMass Amherst. In any organization the attitudes and behavior of the leadership play a vital role in determining the attitudes and behavior of the organization members. It is not different here at UMass. We have here a great tradition of advocating peace and justice, of equity, openness, acceptance, equality, inclusiveness, and the dignity of each person. Swamy’s leadership has helped us to up our game. For example, we just received a five-year, $3 million NSF grant to implement new diversity and equity policies.
I sent the Chancellor an email of thanks for his message to the Campus and he replied with thanks for my support. I had read his response on the very day a student of color came to talk with me about an assignment. Our conversation turned to how much time she had been devoting to working on campus to create decent, supportive responses to the latest racist outrages. In another frame of mind I might have been suspicious that she was preparing a case for why her work would be turned in late. Fortunately this thought never arose. Instead, it occurred to me that here was my small but important opportunity to put my actions where my ideas were. I informed her that I thought of myself as an ally, would be interested in being informed about her outside work, and was available if she wanted someone to talk to about these things. In an instant she was transformed. Her face softened, she smiled, and thanked me. It was a moment of connection. More thanks to Swamy.
Richard S. Bogartz is a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts.