Avoid Conflict by Ignoring the Lesser Evil

complaining that he had been cheated. Now, even if he was right, what he should have done was to simply accept the situation that he was faced with. Then, after preparing himself well, he could have returned again, after some days, for a second match. And this time, no one’s cheating or deception could have caused him to lose. But if, on the other hand, he refused to accept having been cheated and was bent on taking revenge for it, say by attacking the wrestler from the other community, it would turn into a full-fledged communal riot, and then the entire town would have gone up in flames. The price of not tolerating a minor wrongdoing in a wrestling ground would have been enormous destruction of life and property. Similarly, suppose a group of people belonging to a particular religious community is worshipping together in their place of worship. Just then, some people from another community throw something into their worship space that these people consider unclean. This is, undoubtedly, an unpleasant situation. If this group of worshippers tolerates this unpleasantness, the matter will rest there and will soon die out. But if, on the other hand, they react by becoming angry and confrontational, the situation is bound to snowball into a riot, leading to loss of precious lives and terrible destruction that cannot be compensated for, even over a period of many years. Suppose a group of people belonging to one community pass by the place of worship of another community while playing musical instruments and singing songs. The people worshipping inside feel disturbed. If they tolerate this minor inconvenience, after this temporary disturbance the situation will return to normal. But if, instead, they get worked up and try to stop the procession, the processionists may refuse to budge, and then the whole matter may escalate into a deadly communal riot. People who could not tolerate having to listen to musical instruments being played outside their place of worship for just a few minutes will then be forced to tolerate