Be Humane to Install World-Peace
* K. Nageswaran, Pune
Introduction
The advancement in modern science and technology has taken man far away
from his humble and creature comforts to a breath-takingly new world. He
can now fathom the depths of the ocean and measure the skies;
communication and commutation have shrunk the globe; nothing goes
unnoticed that is aught mentioning. Gone are the days of writing by the
candle light or stacking volumes in spacious libraries. This is the age
of capsules, films, videos and miniatures and tablets. Birth and death
are no longer beyond man�s control. Frontiers of science have truly
widened beyond imagination.
Present Status of Man :
And yet, sadly yet, man today is beset with multifarious problems and
contrasts. Poverty and slavery co-exist with luxury and licentiousness.
Abundance and plenty in one part of the globe is in contrast to abject
penury and drought in the other. Love has lost its innate meaning and
hatred and war have become pass-words for prosperity. Where once spirit
of mutual trust and give and take prevailed, there reign supreme the
twin gods of distrust and exploitation and contempt.
God seems to have no place in the scheme of things man has set for
himself for his so-called progress. Social turmoil�s, killings, religion
set against religion, caste against caste, rich against poor, students
against rulers, government against government, the, list is endless.
Indeed God has been relegated to a remote place.
Naturally, peace and equipoise clude man torn between multifarions
divisive tendencies he has chosen to develop without. He has forgotten
his original source-God without whom he will always remain uncompleted
and restless. Peace is another name for God. To earn peace, to attain
peace man has to turn within and turn to God, with an earnest mind. Then
god will listen to him and shower his benediction by way of peace in
abundance.
The greater mistake mankind is making is to ignore the spiritual aspect
of human life and social good. Great saints of India right from Sankara
to Mahatma Gandhi have emphasised the importance of spiritual awakening
in man if he wants real peace
How to Attain Peace :
Human beings by changing their inner attitudes can change the outer
aspects of their lives, �You can not climb uphill by thinking downhill
thoughts� said Mr. Petersan a renowned author. � If your world is gloomy
and hopeless, it is because you are gloomy and hopeless. The change
requires substituting of new habits for old. You make your character and
your future by your acts. Your mind should be lifted up above doubt,
cynicism and despair. Your vision must be high above the fog of petty
things. � Unless we push forward we will go backwards. In other words,
we should win God-wond.
Take for instance the Gita :
� Those who worship me, and meditate on me without any other thought, to
those steadfast devotees, I secure safety and supply all their needs.� (
Ch. 9.22 ).
� Fill thy heart with me, Be thou devoted to me, do thou worship me and
bow down to me, thus that shall attain unto me. Truly I promise thee for
thou art dear to me. Giving up all dharmas come upto me alone for
refuge. I shall free thee from all sins. Grieve not. � ( Ch. I-65-66 )
We must aspire intensely to rise higher. Aspiration is not the same
thing as desire. In aspiring we are competing only with ourselves.
Unlike in desire where we meet with frustration, jealousy,
heart-burning, bitterness all the results are sure positive, the energy
is not dissipated but conserved and the outlook will be healthier. There
is no waste of efforts, no opposite currents, no stay, no hindrance. Our
creative faculty will get good scope and we will rise and develop
self-confidence. Every step in aspiration is a plus. It will not go in
vain.
Need of the Hour :
We have to be strong. Nothing can he achieved without fearlessness.
Swami Vivekananda was an apostle of the philosophy of strength, not the
strength of the �Asuras� but the strength of the spirit. Swamiji said,
�And herein the test of truth, anything that makes you weak, physically,
intellectually and spiritually, reject as posion. There is no life in
it; it can not be true. Truth is strengthening �. This is what Swami
Vivekananda taught us. This is what particularly as younger generation
has got to learn. Swamiji wanted our young men to be �With muscles of
iron and never of steel. � Our young men can become strong physically,
intellectually and spiritually if only they can draw inspiration from
the lives of great seers and saints of India.
Tolerance, understanding, sympathy, respect for man as an essentially a
spiritual entity-all these are out-ward expressions of a cognition of a
minor relationship. Is it not greater to aspire after, seek and show
that inner relationship which binds us all and which alone can pave the
way for the peace and progress of mankind ?
Shall we say, it is time we trace back our steps and pick up the path
meant for man to tread, and not take the wild forest-path full of thorns
and pits which even wild animals can easily avoid?
We should, one and all, meditate on the supreme spirit and
whole-heartedly surrender ourselves to God. Continuous practice of
meditation reveals an introspective inner power by which the soul
recognizes its contact over soul in which it remains absorbed. Thank in
the mind at peace, unshaken by misery or success, free from fear,
attachment or anger the heart remains filled with love and compassion
for all beings. In such an atmosphere divine peace prevails like the
cool moon-lit night, showering its divine benediction on one and all.
To sum up, man must awaken to his divine nature and take up his journey
inward to realise his ideal. All other thoughts will automatically drop
off like leaves of a tree in autumn. The closer he proceeds inwards, the
greater will be his inner peace and equipoise. He will then perceive the
divine purpose of creation and co-operate with God in making earth a
real Heaven to live in
�Peace to all�
Humanity-the base of World �Peace
* Pratibha R. Gandhi
In the early stages of man�s history the individual learned to maintain
himself by producing the necessities of life in ever-increasing
quantity. The primary motive of the individual is to maintain and
reproduce himself. But the maintenance and reproduction of the
individual may often conflict with the maintenance and reproduction of
one or more groups. Wars occur because great number of people of
different national groups are prepared and are easily persuaded, to take
part in them. It is indeed the case that man has always been and always
will be impelled to warring by his own unchangeable nature.
Wars are made possible because the lives of so many individuals in the
modern state are so grey and so dull, so complicated and so
unsatisfying, War that promises to bring drama, excitement and
implification into their lives is welcomed.
I feel world-peace does not only mean having the border issue of Iran
and Iraq, or India and Pakistan or the racist problem in Africa, though
these problems have to be solved to achieve better peace in this world.
Waging a war is not the only solution to solve these problems. Solutions
can also come by peaceful means through negotiations.
It is important to understand that the principal phenomenon of our time
is not universal war. We have some reason to hope that history will not
repeat itself for us since we possess ways and means of knowing and
acting not available to our anecestors. A century ago, the creation of a
politically unified world was an impossibility, for mountains, oceans,
and great distances between separated the people. In those days wars
were localised and each war involved comparatively few. But in this
century, wars have become world wars.
� It wishes were horses, the beggars would ride, �so runs a proverb. So
only wishing that man does not wage war is not going to help today�s
generation.
To prepare the society of tomorrow, we must first grasp the reality of
today. This apprehension of reality demands a sincere and persistent
effort to understand the events going on about us, not only in our
village or town or nation but also in the world.
We are incapable, in our present state of division and confusion, of
transforming our institutions all at once. Modern society is a heavy
construction weighed down with all the errors of the part. At this
moment we have neither the intelligence nor the strength to build up
every single part of the new world. So we must first renovate ourselves
and this effort can be begun here and now by anyone who chooses. It may
seem absurd to believe that we are capable of affecting the revival of
our world by an individual effort. Yet a very feeble effort becomes
irresistible when it is multiplied millions of times.
Isolated and independent man has never existed except in imaginations.
We depend entirely on the men, on those who live with us and those who
have preceded us. Man has been given brain, which is why is placed at
the topmost position in the hierarchy of living beings. Then why not use
these brains in a proper way for the benefits of all, and live together
in peace and harmony ?.
The responsibility of parents to children, of one generation to its
successor to assume an importance has grown. Parents always tell their
children to be good and not fight among themselves. For the children to
practise this, it is a prime necessity that first parents bring this
preaching into practice. The future will be what we are ourselves. Why
not make a happier world so that the generations to come can say with
pride. �We are happier than our forefathers in all respects - healthier,
cheerful, comforted and living in a better and more important peaceful
world.�
Do the Barriers of Religions Hinder the Peace ?
* Prof. Mrs. Madhumati R. Patil
I bow down my head to them who know all the Universe, who are stainless,
whose speech is matchless, peerless, who have destroyed all the defects
and who possessed all the good qualities, who may be called Buddha or
Vardhaman, Vishnu or Keshava or Shiva.
While discussing Ramajanmabhumi and Babri Masjid my friend said, �If we
want equality and brotherhood we must ban all the religions.� I did not
agree with her so I said, �No, never, what shows us the value of
celibacy and purity ? What tells us to be true and honest ? What shows
us the path of salvation? Isn�t it religion? Why then will the religions
hinder in the peace?
India has seen many different religions living happily in the reign of
Emperor Chadragupta, Emperor Ashoka, Emperor Amoghavarsha and many other
kings. The greet Emperor Akabar had also proved his best administration
by treating al( the religions equally. Saint 108 Vidyasagarwas held in
great respect in his court. But now I see the present pitiable and
miserable condition of our mother India, who is suffering from this
problem. So I was in a dilemma.
� A thought came to my mind; could we prevent children from fighting by
keeping them without allowing them to have the knowledge of caste and
religion ? � ( remembered the primary schools where students of all
religions are found. But I have seen them quarrelling and stealing the
pencils of others. beating and crying. Also I remembered the teacher who
told us the stories of Lord Mahaveer and Buddha and Jesus and other
great saints and persuaded us from doing bad things. So I came to a
conclusion that it is religion that comes ahead to keep us away from
these passions and bad instincts.
The very definition of religion shows us what it is. That which destroys
all the karmas and raises the human beings from the worldly pain to the
highest peace is religion.
Religion means peace and peace means religion. Where there is peace,
forgiveness, compassion there and there only is the dwelling of God, the
Alimighty. It is said.
As there can be no music without rhythm or notes, as there can be no
friend without love or friendship, as there can be no butter without
milk, how can we expect peace without religion ?
None of the religions teaches us to behave improperly. I have heard that
Koran tells, � It is not the blood but devotion that Allah wants.� Hindu
religion also recommends peace. Jesus who was suffering the deadly pains
while being crucified, said. O God forgive them for they know not what
they are doing.� Don�t you think that Jesus has taught us the religion
of peace through his sufferings? Above all the Jains with its philosophy
of � five and let Live,� with it�s ever fluttering flag of Ahimsa and
truth has stood as a light house to guide the whole world which is on
the verge of the third world war.
Some years ago I met Mrs. Emrik in the Baisingar Library, Miraj, who
come from America to serve the diseased people in the Mission Hospital,
Miraj. ( asked her, what type of prayer she said in her country ? She
uttered with devotion �Let there be peace in the world, and ( et it
begin from me. �
I was shocked and surprised, Isn�t it the summary of all holy books? I
liked these lines very much and naturally these were carved on my heart.
Everyone of us wants peace but very few of us say. � Let it begin from
me. � If all of us decide to think of others it will be the golden
chapter in the history of the world.
If I quote one more incident, it won�t be irrelevant. It is the incident
of 1985, when Miss Chriss Martin from England, Miss Shessyi Fifer from
States and Miss Pratibha from Canada came to the Mission Hospital, Miraj.
When our friendship grew f took them to the holy place of Bahubali.
Paramapoojya Shri 108 Samantabhadra Maharaj was also pleased to invite
them and asked them to avoid non-vegetarian meals. They told that, �they
would try �. They were surprised to know that � God is neither the
creator nor the destroyer of the Universe. Every soul is in itself,
absolutely omniscient and blissful and the bliss does not come from out
side. All human beings are miserable due to their own faults and they
can themselves be happy by rectifying them. Everybody can attain Godly
hood by making supreme efforts in the right direction. �
In the pleasant atmosphere we had our meals on the hill. We unknowingly
threw our lunch packets and paper plates on the ground. But immediately
the Shessyi from America collected those papers and put them in the pit
which was long away from the place. She said we shouldn�t spoil the
purity of the holy place.
I was ashamed and came to know why their nation is prosperous and
advanced in all fields. According to my knowledge America is baseless,
tradition-less as it is a new born nation, but the behaviour of the
inhabitants of the same nation made me ashamed of my culture. We people
are interested in boasting of our culture but do not act according to
it, and that�s why our country suffers from all these problems.
If we want peace, and if we want to inculcate these principles in the
new generation let the history be changed which is limited with only one
lesson of Bhagavan Mahaveer. If we want to change the whole atmosphere,
let all the pages of history be full of religion, compassion, mercy and
God and we will see that.
If we want this to happen. Then let�s start to pray.
Let there be peace in the world and let it begin from me. �
