Bad by name; bad by nature?

During Nelson Mandela’s 19 years imprisoned on Robben Island, one particular commanding officer was the most brutal of them all:

“A few days before Badenhorst’s departure, I was called to the main office. General Steyn was visiting the island and wanted to know if we had any complaints. Badenhorst was there as I went through a list of demands. When I had finished, Badenhorst spoke to me directly.

He told me he would be leaving the island and added: ‘I just want to wish you people good luck’. I do not know if I looked dumbfounded, but I was amazed. He spoke these words like a human being and showed a side of himself we had never seen before. I thanked him for his good wishes and wished him luck in his endeavours.

I thought about this moment for a long time afterwards. Badenhorst had perhaps been the most callous and barbaric commanding officer we had had on Robben Island. But that day in the office, he had revealed that that there was another side to his nature, a side that had been obscured but still existed.

It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency and that, if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing. Ultimately, Badenhorst was not evil; his inhumanity had been foisted upon him by an inhuman system. He behaved like a brute because he was rewarded for brutish behaviour.”

Source: “Long Walk To Freedom” by Nelson Mandela

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Three men enter the forest

The first man entered a forest and thought to himself, “What a great place! I could hang around here all day and no one will find me, nor ask me to do any work”. So he smoked a cigarette, drank a few pints of beer and, selecting a suitable tree for shade, slept very peacefully for the entire day (mind you, he was quite grumpy when he woke up and complained that no one had woken him up. Not that he wanted to wake up, of course, but he loved complaining!).

The second man wandered into the forest and said to himself, “Wow, what an extraordinary place. Look at all these nuts and that fresh fruit. And there is so much wood I could sell for fuel. Those gorgeous flowers could fetch me a pound or two!”  So he spent all day working hard, collecting wood, fruit and flowers, which he could take to the market. By the end of the day he was tired and his body ached. Nonetheless, he was encouraged by the thought of all the money he could make by selling these goods at the market.

The third gentleman walked into the forest and thought, “What a tranquil and beautiful place. One can see the hand of God here, in the song of the birds and the beauty of the flowers!” He reflected on the purpose of life and spent his time reading of spiritual matters and meditating on the Lord. That evening he returned home contented and rejuvenated.

Note: this story illustrates men in the modes of ignorance (tamas), passion (rajas) and goodness (sattva) respectively.

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