India has been terribly shocked by the rape & murder of a young trainee doctor, Moumita Debnath, on 9th August 2024. The atrocity of the assault on her is inhuman. I express my deepest sympathies to all those who have known her. Such an act of violence reminds us of many things. The first and most important of all is that life is dangerous & that we are indeed living in Kaliyuga as explained in Hindu sacred texts- an era of diminishing morality & a highly material life driven by selfishness & personal pleasure.

History is full of evil persons who have caused atrocious crimes- just to name a few of them: King Herode who ordered the crucifixion of Lord Jesus, Duryodhan who insulted Draupadi in the Mahabharata, Kans who wanted to kill his own nephew Lord Krishna and so on. They all met with death at the appointed time after much trouble & tyranny to many human beings.

The rapist although have a human form but their energy was purely evil. And this is confirmed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, 16:11,” the demoniac accepts that the enjoyment of the senses is the ultimate goal of life, and this concept they maintain till death.” He further states that human nature can be categorised into three parts: the divine, the human & the evil. Every human being has a degree of each nature, with the divine being either absent or in a small percentage. Both a woman & a child are the most vulnerable human beings. This is also mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, 1:40,” Therefore, both women & children require protection by the elder members of the family.” Prevention is better than cure and therefore decisions are critical.

But in the modern world, due to freedom & equality of gender issues which have been unnecessarily brought forward, the woman finds herself exposed to many more threats; and the sad thing is that she is unconscious of such dangers & is happy about her new freedom & status in society. This new concept is widely accepted as it brings an element of innovation in the consideration of women & their accrued contribution to the world’s economy. I am not against new roles & more responsibilities for the woman but limits must not be crossed; and society via worldwide governments must be aware of the vulnerability of women & must do everything to protect them by suitably enforced norms & laws.

Life is dangerous for all of us & we are not even fully aware of it. We must be very careful of our decisions & choices. All have consequences and above all, the risks of all our actions must be carefully observed: such as the choices of friends & partners, night outings, drug & alcohol addictions, type of residential area, etc. We should not be afraid to live but serious considerations of dangers are crucial to avoid mis-happenings.

With regards to those rapists, I certainly pray that they are all arrested as soon as possible. But around the world, human justice has proven so many times that it has serious loopholes & is filled with so many controversies like the influences by the different powers of society, that I pray justice is delivered to that young doctor & her family. The highest punishment is recommended but even if it takes the form of a life sentence & chemical castration, I believe it will be insufficient. In such a case, the divine punishment is only the death penalty. This may seem brisk & irrational but I can tell you that religion & spirituality at its core are not against violence & death penalty. Otherwise, we would have never witnessed the killing of Duryodhan, Kans, Rawan, etc. All these are famous demons who had crossed the limits of decency & tolerance. And only death could save them.