Humanity on the Verge of Extinction: On Violence, Grief, and Collective Healing After Pahalgam Tragedy
- Ballori Sengupta
- Apr 24
- 5 min read
I hesitated to speak. Not because I don’t feel it, but because the world feels too loud and too divided. But I can’t stay quiet. Not when pain is weaponized. Not when our identities are used to justify bloodshed. Not when the soul of humanity is bleeding. My intention here is to provide perspective and a safe space to cope, not create more division.
The last time I shared my thoughts, I ended up having to delete my account because of the out-of-control hate that spiraled between people. I’m not here to disappear. I’m here to serve, so I will not tolerate hate speech. If you cannot participate in civilized conversation, you will be banned from my page. This is a safe space for people to come together and support each other to heal.
Since the images from Pahalgam came across on my feed, my stomach has been doing flips. My heart breaks for those souls who have crossed over to the other side, for their families who know not how to grieve them, and for their descendants who will live with this trauma until someone decides to break this karmic cycle that has started, or perhaps is continuing. I feel how rattled the world has become and how much more hate grew overnight. No justification can ever make this right. But how will we cope? How will we not allow this hate to continue? How will we heal together?
The Cycle of Karma
In my line of work, I examine all sides of a story. It takes two to tango. I’m not saying that those who lost their lives deserved this, but unfortunately, they are reaping the injustice of generations past. WAIT… Before you react, hear me out. I am not taking sides.I am simply trying to understand and share my understanding of the circle of life, based on what I witness every day.
I cannot help but wonder what wound could be so deep that one could inflict such pain on another, someone they don’t even know. Recently, I have been working through my own ancestral trauma, particularly around centuries of suppression of women. To understand this tragedy, we have to identify patterns—not just in individuals, but in the lives of their ancestors.
Silenced… An Identity Lost
Behind every act of hatred is a soul screaming to be seen. And yet, that scream has forgotten love. We cannot meet violence with more hate—we must meet it with truth. And the deepest truth is this: we are not separate. What we do to another, we do to ourselves.
Here are some of the most common reasons behind such acts of violence:
Suppression of Voice / Expression: When people are not heard due to cultural, religious, or political reasons, frustration erupts in extreme ways, impacting the collective.
Loss of Collective Identity: When colonization, forced assimilation, and cultural erasure fracture a community’s sense of self, violence can emerge as a desperate attempt to reclaim power or visibility.
Historical Trauma & Intergenerational Wounds: Pain that remains unprocessed or unhealed from past massacres, exiles, betrayals, or genocides lives on in our nervous systems, in family silence, and even in our gene expression. Science calls it epigenetics. Spirit calls it the inheritance of the soul. But no matter the name, the pain continues until someone decides to stop passing it down. When you heal yourself, you don’t just heal yourself–you heal the seven generations before you and the seven after you.
Dehumanization: When a group is systematically labeled as “less than,” they may internalize this or lash out to reclaim dignity.
Radicalization in Isolation: Feeling abandoned by the society, individuals may turn to extremist ideologies that give them a sense of belonging and purpose.
Political Marginalization and Powerlessness: When people get excluded from decision-making, justice, or economic opportunities, violence becomes a language when diplomacy is denied.
Religious or Ideological Indoctrination: Belief systems that create “us vs them” mentalities often lead to rigid ideologies that sanctify violence in the name of righteousness or divine justice.
Psychological Projection and Fear of Annihilation: When individuals/groups think they are under existential threat, they seek out to destroy the “other” to survive.
How to Stay Grounded When the World Feels Heavy
We are more connected than we realize. What happens in one part of the world doesn’t stay there–because the soul doesn’t know borders. We feel the pain of others because, at the deepest level, we are not separate. The ache in your chest, the tears that come without warning–that’s not weakness. That’s humanity.
It’s okay to feel shaken. You’re not too sensitive. You’re not overreacting. You’re human. It’s normal to feel emotional overwhelm. But how do you cope when the world feels unsafe? This isn’t about ignoring what’s happening–it’s about learning how to hold the grief without letting it consume you. Here’s how:
Feel it, don’t feed it. Cry, journal, pray, rage–let the emotion move through you–but don’t spiral in the story.
Come back to your body. Trauma pulls us out of our bodies. Use breathwork, walk barefoot in nature, or place your hand over your heart. Remind yourself: I am here. I am safe. I am whole.
A moment of gratitude. Take a moment each day to be grateful for your life and your loved ones.
Create sacred space for silence. The world is loud with opinions. But your soul needs quiet. Take five minutes to return to your own wisdom instead of drawing in everyone else’s projections.
Connect with something greater. Whether it’s prayer, nature, spirit, your ancestors–lean into what makes you feel part of something larger.
Protect your energy. If the constant reminders are too much, take a break from social media and the news. You don’t have to engage in every debate. You don’t have to prove your empathy by suffering more. Boundaries are love in action.
Transmute pain into purpose. Ask yourself: What do I want to do with this feeling? Let your sorrow be sacred fuel for positive change. Excessive complaining or spreading fear might feel cathartic—but it rarely heals. Focus on solutions, not problems.
Don’t engage in blame. Blaming others only fuels the fire. Focus on understanding and moving forward with compassion. Do not indulge in spreading hate.
What’s Next?
Before you react, repost, retaliate–can you pause? Can you reflect? Can you feel the ache and choose not to repeat the pattern? If this pain wakes something up in you—good. Let it. But let’s not rush to more hatred. Let’s ask: What is the wound that needs our collective healing?
If you’re looking for more support in navigating these emotions, feel free to DM me.
Also, if you’re ready to dive deeper into the concepts of identity and healing, join the waitlist for my upcoming book, “The Mass Identity Crisis.” Let’s break the cycle together.
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