I am attending a dinner party in my honor in the ultra-exclusive Boat Club at the harbor of Karachi, Pakistan. My host is a justice of the Pakistani Supreme Court. Others present at this all male event include the counsel generals from the USA and various European countries. Especially noticeable is an impressive elderly gentleman whom I will call Mr. Faisel. I am told he is the person who negotiated the distribution of water rights from the Indus River. The agreement divided the water supply between archenemies India and Pakistan. The terms were so equitably spelled out that the agreement was still working decades after it was confirmed by the two antagonistic countries.
We are sitting around a circular cocktail table engaging in the usual cocktail hour small talk. About half of us are holding alcoholic beverages while the other half honors the Muslim prohibition against alcohol and drinks fruit juice.
Mr. Faisel gently interrupts our conversation. “Enough of this chit-chat,” he interjects. Looking at me he says, “Tell me about this training you’re leading here and what its philosophical bases are.”
I explain, “I am teaching interpersonal communication, problem solving and conflict resolution skills. The underlying principle is “respect.” Respect for self, respect for others and in my value system: respect for a higher being.”
He looks at me intently. “Quite good,” he says, “but you’re leaving out one very important component.”
“Tell me, please.”
“Respect for the ground,” he replies.
“Respect for the ground?” I query.
“Yes, respect for the ground and for all those buried there; Respect for the ground which holds the remains of all those who’ve gone before us. All of our interpersonal relations, our situations in life and our values for the future are influenced by the generations who have preceded us and in whose works we now find our identity.
John Donne, the English poet reminds us that “No man (sic) is an island.” because we are connected to every other living human. Mr. Faisel expands the vision. All of humanity is connected not only to all the living but also to those who have lived before us, those now part of The Ground.
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This reminds me of the story of the shrine within the boundaries of the grounds where you were building Concordia in HK. And the concerns that the new sanctuary at Calvary in SB would be build over ancient Indian burial ground. In both cases, there was a challenge to honor the memories of the ancestors whose ancient souls made sacred the ground while honoring the promise of the youth whose souls promised to made sacred the buildings which would rise up from this sanctified ground.
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