ADVERTISEMENTS:
Often people claim to find highest power in soul or morality. But power is exercised only in empirical and material terms. Politics and society are this-worldly phenomena. One cannot be said to have power or prove his power simply on one’s readiness to disappear, to be killed or die out of long fasting or stop breathing, and, claim to frustrate the designs of his adversary.
The latter may want him to do an act forcibly, by inflicting pains. He may not do what the power-exerciser desires or directs. The power-holder is simply left with no chance or opportunity to exercise his power over the affected person or party.
The affected person may claim to exercise power only in the reverse sense that he left no chance for the power-holder to gain power or influence or claim victory over him. But the affected person did not actually exercise power as he did not make any change in the behaviour of the power-holder even on the basis of removing himself from the scene. Rather the sufferer allowed the former to vindicate, dominate or reinforce his stand and survive. It was rather a walkover granted by the victim to the evil-doer.
The number of such evil-doers or power-holders may, witnessing such scene, go on increasing. Sometimes, a masochist or suicider may think that his sacrifice, non-opposition or selfless act of resorting to death would create psychological or spiritual ‘change’ in the heart of the actual or potential evil-doers.
But such hope or expectation appears childlike, myopic and frustrating. It is more a removal of that very man of good intention. It leads to consolidation of the power and position of the powerful persons under all circumstances. Actually no change of heart occurs. Few people like to follow such suiciders. The act of disappearing from the scene is non-creative and non-political.
The followers of many faiths or religions may not accept the underlying philosophy, faith and understanding of such suiciders despite their show of extraordinary determination in ending their own lives for a cause. Thereafter, such persons are usually venerated and worshipped like a god by a large number of people. But their followers hardly follow them in practice.
Their followers usually remain peaceful till they remain connected with their non-violent leader. However, they do not have any soul-force or moral power. Direct or actual physical power resides only in the large number of people sitting around the leader. In this way, so called spiritual power of the departed soul translates into Actual Physical Power (APP). This is actually the power of the people.
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Besides them, power also rests with the people who do not take part in the event, and appear apathetic, dormant and inactive. It is probable but irresistible, and can even compel any adversary to relent and concede. Every group, community or organisation invariably possesses probable potential power even without showing up its actual physical power. It is a condition precedent in all sorts of power including assumed or actual power. Spiritual power (?) stands powerless when it is not supported by either Actual Physical Power (APP) or Probable Potential Power (PPP). It is this ‘probable potential power’ of the people which an adversary keeps in mind. To him, there is no soul-power.
Thus, the power of soul or spiritual power empirically is not power. No soul power can fight or compete with other soul power. In fact, only the persons or collectivities having either actual physical power (APP) or probable potential power (PPP) can organise themselves or fight.
Souls even when existing in body or having left the human bodies do not and can never fight. In order to subdue them, some other persons or collectivities must have either actual physical power (APP) or probable potential power (PPP). However, they fight with power as a total phenomenon or its variants – put under its coercive and non-coercive forms. This they do in view of the prevailing situation arising at the moment.
Moral power or power of moral values is different from soul power. Moral values broadly belong to outer form and following of religion. They can stand apart from it, and go with tradition, history and habits. They remain active in a people, community or collectivity. Often people stand organised around them, and act and react for maintaining them.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Moral values carry actual physical power embodying in persons who happen to oppose elements opposing, decrying or crushing them. In this way, their power is different from soul-power which, in fact, is no power at all. Often people, including some scholars, falsely take actual physical power (APP) or probable potential power (PPP) as soul power. To some extent, this may be true in case of moral power, but is utterly false in case of soul power.