764 Words Essay on Paths of Glory Lead but to the Grave

From Socrates and Jesus to Lincoln and Gandhi, there is an unbroken tradition of martyrs whose life and actions brought glory to mankind but who had to sacra face their lives at the altar of their principles.

These great souls were much ahead of their times in their ideas and ways of thinking. Moreover, they had great courage of conviction which made them bold in the face of their opponents who were making desperate efforts to preserve their outworn ideas with the help of brutal power. The day belonged to the tyrants but the future did reverence to the martyrs.

One wonders what would have happened to the spirit of enquiry if Socrates had recanted before the rulers of the day and saved his life. If truth does not give strength enough to the seeker of truth, it is a weak truth not worth fighting for or dying for.

Socrates drank the cup of poison given to him by his prosecutors and his death kept the spirit of intellectual freedom alive. His disciple Plato, arguably the greatest Phi¬losopher ever born, grounded his Philosophy in the life and ideas of Socrates. Plato has been a source of inspiration to thinkers down to our times.

Jesus countered the principle of ‘tooth for a tooth’ and ‘eye for an eye’ with the principles of ‘turn the other cheek’ and return love for hatred. He was crucified by the Pharisees.

His death heralded a new era and the progeny of his torturers became dedicated disciples of Christianity to spread the message of love and brotherhood to the remotest corners of the globe.

It is for glory of their country that soldiers lay down their lives. They forget the strong love and attachment of their wives and children and engage in deathly com¬bats with their enemies.

They are inspired by time-honoured ideals of patriotism and duty which impel and sustain them in their fight even in the most adverse circum-stances. Russia lost nearly two million people in Second World War who become martyrs in the cause of national freedom.

Ultimate victory of Russia against Germany unleashed and nurtured strong nationalist sentiment which paved the way for unprec¬edented progress of the country and the rise of the Soviet Union as a Super-power posing challenge to the hegemony of the USA.

Instances abound in the history of many nations where men and women will-ingly embraced death to save their honour and enhance the glory of their motherland.

The history of the martial Rajputs of India is replete with instances of women plunging themselves into pyres to save their honour from the marauding aggressors. The sacri¬fice is celebrated in the legends and folklore of the Rajputs and has inspired all suc¬cessive generations to fight and die for the glory of their nation. Ideas have played greater role in history of mankind than armed forces of kings and emperors. Ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity were the motive force of French Revolution.

It is true that many of the revolutionaries who proclaimed these ideas had to fight for them and laid down their lives. Robespierre, Danton and Mirabeau brought glory to the revolutionaries by their valour and struggle but were ultimately killed.

But by far the greatest example of a martyr at the altar of ideas of equality was Abraham Lincoln who valiantly and relentlessly struggled for abolition of slavery from America. Under his leadership, antislavery forces scored the ultimate victory but he himself fell a victim to an assassin’s bullet.

His sacrifice was duplicated almost like an action replay in 1963 when John F. Kennedy, President of the U.S.A., the great protagonist of the rights of the American Negroes, was assassinated.

In our own country, Bapu Gandhi led the dumb millions of Indian masses to the destination of freedom. He preached non-violence and Hindu- Muslim unity. His own countrymen betrayed him.

The country was partitioned into India and Pakistan on the basis of two nation’s theory. Gandhi himself was gunned down on 30th Janu¬ary, 1948 by a Hindu fanatic who did not take kindly to Gandhi’s concern for the Muslims. The Mahatma was later to be lionised as Father of the Nation.

From the foregoing, it is clear that great men with lofty ideas are not tolerated by many during their life time. The ideas of such great men are much in advance of their times and question many of the privileges of the men in power. The latter ruthlessly suppress all dissent and challenge to their authority. They would not even hesitate to eliminate physically the leaders who speak against them.