Band of Sisters + Band of Brothers = Band of Souls

[bansy]

It's been the month of history classes focusing on WWII, the school's classes have just gone through Band of Brothers, Ike-DDay, The Longest Day, Tora Tora Tora, Patton and MacArthur. A few others too such as the grinding propoganda John Ford "Why We Fight" series, plus others. At this rate, I could almost give you the battlefield commission and non-commision rankings of a soldier's life !!

So, now, we should all know why we fight and who we fight.

Band of Brothers was an excellent series. But there was one quip by Eisenhower in Ike-DDay quipped "the most difficult thing being a leader is not the big decisions such as sending tens of thousands into battles, or fixing a date to attack, etc but the small details. These small details was dealing with faults, faults of his officers whom he had entrusted responsibility. And more or so often, these officers were the inner-circle generals who would lead men and women into battlefield, maybe to the death or to their liberation.

When you join the army, you are sworn in but it is the leaders who swore you in. War is always the last option, but it can be so addictive and overempowering it becomes you. Leaders therefore need to have that "Band of Brothers" spirit and understood that their roles. In the Band of Brothers, Leiutenant Winters (who suddenly finds himself becomes battalion commander on D-Day because all the other officers in his platoon die) is given such a huge responsibility with the lives that he quips "Never put yourself in a position to take from your men", in a sense regardless of his own rank he was just another soldier no different from a private. And during an operation, say if 20% of the soldiers die rather than an estimated 50%, this does not seem to be a bad leadership decision, unless for that particular person who do die, that estimate becomes a 100% loss.

WWII was the most recent of all battles that affected worldwide (in terms of military battles) where approximately 50million plus died. There are of course other battles (e.g. disease, famine, etc) that have been always happening.

What I find in these movies are that men with military power are most respected when they understand the need of the men and women under them. It is a personal relationship, a one-to-one link, not a one-to-many link. At times, one does not really need to understand, one just needs to be there. You swear someone in, you stand with him or her to the very end.

In the spiritual battle, only God has the one-to-many link with each soul. But all other souls have a one-to-one link that is unique. When the BKWSU grows to such an extent, the leaders of the organisation can lose touch of these links, even though each soul still has their own link with God. Thus there is little respect spread across the souls because it weak at the top of the pyramid.

When each one-to-one link is strong, as in any family or organisation, or group of players, or orchestra or sports team, there is strength. There is unity. There is a true Band of Souls. Not only do you identify with oneself, but you identify with each other. Each one-to-one link is a test. If you fail even with one soul, you have failed 100%, regardless if you are holding onto other links. The weakest point on the suspension bridge is that loose rusty bolt. Hans Christian Anderson told the story of the finger in the dam wall, the weakest point. A diety cannot have any failures; the sun (and the moon) shines equally on all four corners of the world, it cannot shine on one part and not another.

I think in the latest Avyakt BapDada meeting, there was again mention of connections (links) to souls to be maintained and become stronger, another subtle teaching from BapDada.

How can the so-called Mahabharat War be won if the links are not there or neglected ?


PS : Hope it becomes Charlie Chaplin month next month. Silent movies are much easier :P