118, 119 of 14,600

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The other day a friend very proudly summoned that she was better off than most because 'she had found her goal and path' - a spiritual one since a very young age. She believes that it provides a distinct advantage.

Today I came across a book in another friend's home on 'The Persistence of caste' by Anand Teltumbde. The blurb on the book says that every eighteen minutes a crime is committed on a Dalit. People committing the crime believe that it is their goal and that is their right. They are on a path.

These two are very extreme opposites. I doubt if my friend on a spiritual path will ever commit these kinds of crimes. But the two profiles struck me as similar because I think there is some kind of mental scoreboard being maintained in both areas. I have known my friend for a long time and I have know her to always compare things, people, experiences. That is her way of processing information. However, comparison means that you are either looking at yourself as inferior or superior. And you will want other people to gauge that as well. You want to be seen as superior to others because you wake up at 4, you do your prayers at 7, you stay away from lower caste people, you will not kill animals or you will kill those you feel that are worse than animals.

Is it good to be on a 'path' then? Is it not better to be accepting and stay lost?

(Every eighteen minutes a crime is committed on a Dalit.)

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