Training in Nonviolence

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Anuvrat Global Organization

Page 35

Spiritual Development - a Must for Universal Peace
earlier, the problems of hunger, poverty and persecution that we see today would not have arisen. Today the slogan of 'human unity' is reduced to a mere theoretical jargon. It is not being put into practice. Let us try to understand ahimsa and peace at an empirical level. If our behaviour is really associated with a feeling of unity, the world can be wholly transformed. It can even be completely rejuvenated.
Man's attitude is not relativist. That is why big people do not expect much from small people and remain indifferent to their deplorable plight. Even in the socialistic ideology, we find that the individualistic mentality is rapidly growing. An individual himself is consuming resources excessively and is cutting off the line of supply for others.
The second principle of ahimsa is - 'exercise restraint in the use of material resources'. Do not use the resources of the planet more than you need. You should bear in mind that these material resources are not for you alone, but are meant for the whole society, for the whole of humanity. If we go a little further, we can say that they are meant for all the living beings that inhabit this planet. Some people have grabbed these material resources and are using a major share of them for their own comforts. As a result we see an enormous gap between the rich and the poor. This disparity is the major cause of the current unrest. Let us think of bringing about reconciliation among different systems of thinking. Man's mind is independent. It is not possible that all persons have a similar pattern of thinking. When we begin to regard this freedom of thought as something opposed to us, it creates a big problem. Let us learn to respect the freedom of thought. We should, rather, welcome a diversity of opinion. Man is not a machine, which can be cast in a mould. Every man has his own mind, his own views. We should respect a view that doesn't pose a threat to society.
Today I see an imminent threat to the very existence of humanity. Alarm bells are ringing. Fear and hegemony are predominant. It means that the tendency to impose one's authority or sovereignty on others is getting stronger. That is why arms are being piled up. There is a race even for destructive nuclear weapons.
Nations are competing to build their arsenals and acquire the highest power of destruction. On the one hand we see nuclear arsenals and on the other hand there are piles of weapons of mass destruction. No one is paying heed to the talk of peace. We do not see harmony anywhere. We are sowing the seeds of unrest and are hoping for the fruit of peace. This will never be possible. The fruit comes from what we sow. It is an irony that we sow the seeds of the weapons of mass destruction and expect a crop of peace.
There ought to be a practical aspect of freedom, i.e. freedom from the narrow outlook rooted in caste prejudices and sectarianism. One sect should respect the beliefs of another sect. We may think differently and may follow different practices of worship and our ways of paying obeisance to gods and goddesses or to God might also be different, but that diversity should not be interpreted as a synonym of antipathy or antagonism. Diversity doesn't mean antagonism. It is the beauty of
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