TOLERANCE: THE WAY OF NATURE
Tolerance is a universal principle. The lion and the elephant are both powerful creatures and natural rivals, yet they coexist in the same forest. This is possible only through tolerance. It has been observed that when an elephant and a lion cross each other’s path, they quietly go their separate ways without showing any animosity. If, as a general rule, elephants and lions did not display this mutual tolerance, every chance meeting would mean a fight to the finish.
Nature has taught this method to both the lion and the elephant. In the same way, nature has placed within the human body a complete system of tolerance. In medical science, this is known as biological tolerance. It refers to the ability of a living organism to endure contact with a substance—or to tolerate its introduction into the body— without experiencing harmful effects:
“The ability of an organism to endure contact with a substance, or its introduction into the body, without ill effects.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 10, p. 31)
This ability of the body to accept foreign elements is the bedrock of our entire system of medical treatment. Medicines administered during illness can be very harmful to the body as a whole. But the body accepts them, despite its susceptibilities, when correctly prescribed. It is thanks to the ‘tolerance’ of the body that medicine can enter it and effectively heal a diseased organ without there being any harmful side effects to other organs.
It is imperative that there should be the same show of tolerance in human society too. What the jungle beasts do as a matter of instinct and the human body does under nature‘s compulsion should be performed by man in the full consciousness of its moral necessity. If an individual is to live peaceably with his fellow men, he must follow the path of tolerance as a matter of deliberate policy.
When people live together, there are bound to be differences, friction, complaints. This will happen in any family, society and country as well as, at the international level, such problems are often much more acute. But regardless of the level of contract, in any human interaction, there will always be unpleasant situations.
What is the remedy? The best answer is tolerance, on an individual as well as on a collective basis. That is the only practical method of living together if there is to be peace and progress. Without the spirit of tolerance, there can be no uplift or progress of the human race.
We should not make the mistake, however, of regarding tolerance as a state of passivity. It is rather a realistic approach engendered by a positive state of mind. It certainly does not mean opting for an inferior choice under duress when a better choice was possible. The truth is that there is no alternative to tolerance: it is a practical necessity and not a social weakness.
It often happens that when a person is confronted with an unpleasant situation, their first impulse is to fight it, fully believing that their struggle will set things right. Yet, after imposing their will on the situation and adjusting it to their own terms, they eventually discover that this new state of affairs has aspects just as bad as—if not worse than—the original problem. Lacking the spirit of tolerance, they were driven into an unnecessary and ugly confrontation from the very beginning.
The policy of tolerance gives us the time and opportunity to make correct decisions about what course of action to follow. It makes it possible for us to adjust to adverse circumstances and to seek out new avenues by which to reach our goals. If, on the contrary, we reject tolerance as a correct attitude, and regard every untoward look, word or deed as a personal affront, we shall ultimately consider all human behaviour towards ourselves as ‘evil’. This ‘evil’ will really be of our own making, and if we finally become engulfed in it, we shall only have our own ill-judged attitude to thank for it.
If an elephant and a lion did not tolerate each other, they would be inviting their own deaths. The very fact that they do tolerate each other gives them a new lease of life. One of the greatest advantages of tolerance is that it gives one freedom of action and the opportunity to shape one’s life in a positive way. True success in life flows from the full utilization of this opportunity to act. Any denial of this opportunity, through intolerance, can bring only destruction in its wake.
