We can never become big by cutting down others

Dear Editor,
Kindly permit this letter in relation to Eusi Kwayana’s in another section of the media on May 11, 2016.
On October 28, 2015, he sent me an email in which he alluded to the accusations made against him. I confessed to not understanding the contents of the mail in my response to him especially as there was no attachment as indicated, and asked for some clarification. I did not hear back from him. Now we have an open letter which makes matters clear.
There are people in our society who have unlimited access to the media who feel it is their birthright to accuse, malign, denigrate and defame those with whom they have a disagreement. These are not the regular bloggers, but they are men with extraordinary pretensions to learning. They are at liberty to denigrate not only individuals, but a whole people, and with absolute impunity.
I cannot claim to know Eusi Kwayana as intimately as others with whom he has had a much longer relationship. But since I have come to know him, I have always found him to be a man of great moral integrity and probity from which I have never known him to deviate. In this, even his foes will readily agree.
I have personally learnt a lot from him, especially from his lifestyle and example. I have always tried to understand people not only by what they say but also by how they live, and found in him an effortless and happy convergence of speech and action. This is what gives his pronouncements much moral power.
Unlike a current WPA member who has recently written that he refrained from full disclosures to the Rodney Commission, because he did not want to give “ammunitions to the PPP” in an election year; Kwayana would be constrained by no such concern or guile.
No one is perfect, as he reminds us, but the charges made against him are so contrary to the character of the individual, that one is left to wonder about the intentions of their authors. Is it wanton irresponsibility in the name of journalism and freedom of expression, or is it the sheer joy of tearing down others with whom we have disagreements? Or what?
They say when you want to discredit the character of a person, you strike at his strongest point. Eusi Kwayana has shown by his life of deliberate simplicity that it is possible for one in public life to insulate oneself against the lure of money and the seduction of power. It is exactly here where the assault on his character took place.
I am convinced that if a man is pure not all the mud in all the oceans thrown at him can sully his character. When a torch is lit, though it is held down, the flame still leaps up. No matter how hard we try, we can never become big by cutting down others.

Sincerely,
Swami
Aksharananda