Violence.. why?

Let me start by praying for the souls of the victims of the blasts.. Let them rest in peace.. Let me pray for the wounded to be healed soon..

Flesh wounds are easy to heal, but what about the mental wounds that people have suffered?

The attacks in Bombay have shaken the 'common man' in a way very similar to 1993. I was a small kid then, but i still do remember being moved by the pictures in the newspapers.. I remember people being in a shock. I think the terrorists have successfully managed to do that this time as well..

But why?

Is taking innocent lives the way to solve any problem? Is violence the answer to any question?

They say that history repeats itself... If i think about it now, the examples of history repeating itself are so very linked with violence.. Now, after a couple of thousand years of recorded history, do people not realize the link? Or may be people are just being ignorant about it.

Why is there a need for violence? Why people become violent? Do they think that by being violent, they can achieve something? Do they think that by being violent, they will show their fellow human beings that they are more powerful?

I remember my father telling me a story when i was a kid. The story goes like this:

There was a snake, who did not go in anyone's way. But he found that people took that as a sign of weakness and started throwing stones at him. He came across a wise man and asked him what he should do. The wise man said that he should let people know that he has power. The next day, the snake bit a man who threw a stone at him. The snake thought, oh, now no one will harm me. But he was wrong. People started throwing more stones at him, beating him up with a stick and trying to kill him. He somehow escaped alive and went to the wise man. He asked the wise man, 'i did show that i have power, but that did not help me at all, they are even more troublesome now.. tell me what did i do wrong?'. The wise man replied, 'did i tell you to use the power and bite people? i just told you to let people know that you have power'. The snake went back and when the next person threw a stone at him, the snake did not do anything but stood there in a way which revealed the power and determination of the snake. And then, the snake was free from the troubles which he had from humans.

Doesn't this story say tons about the importance of not being violent. One doesnt need to show that he is strong by using violence. That was the philosophy of Gandhiji. Gandhiji endorsed 'Ahimsa', but he never ever said that be weak. He always told to be non-violent, but never to be weak.

The irony here is, the very man led india and pakistan to freedom from the british, using non-violence. But look at the state of the two countries after a mere 60 years from that. How did people change so much ? Why did people become so stone-hearted that violence doesnt move them? We are the land of Ashoka, who after seeing the violence caused by his own army, surrendered to buddhism and non-violence. We are the land of Mahavir Jain, who pleaded non-violence as the religion. We are the land of Buddha, who founded the belief based on non-violence. We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi, who told us to be 'ahimsak' but not 'durbal'. They have we forgotten these people? Have we forgotten the people who founded the strong basis of our society?

Why is then violence so apparently central to our existence? What happened to 'live and let live' ?

Why do people not realize that violence leads to more violence and nothing else?