Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
View full book text
________________
INTEGRAL DISCIPLINE FOR PEACE :
True to his belief in the integral relationship of the peace of the individual and that of the society, Mahatma Gandhi prescribed a code of conduct consisting of eleven Vows for disciplining the mind of the individual towards peace and non-violence and an eighteen point constructive programme for the transformation of the society.
. In the integral philosophy of Gandhi, each and every field is connected with the other. He says: "If the recognized leaders of mankind, who have control over the engines of destruction, were wholly to renounce their use, with full knowledge of its implications, permanent peace can be obtained. This is clearly impossible without the Great Powers of the earth renouncing their imperialistic designs. This again seems impossible without great nations ceasing to believe in soul-destroying competition and to desire to multiply wants and therefore increase their material possessions".16 PRE-REQUISITE FOR WORLD PEACE:
Vinoba Bhave, the spiritual heir to Gandhi's life and works in independent India effectively demonstrated the efficacy of Non-violence in the sphere of the land problem of India.
Vinoba states poetically that Peace can be built only on spirituality, science and trust.
Vedanto vijnãnam visvãsah ceti?aktyah tisrah|
Ya?ām sthairye nityam ?āntih sam?ddhi bhavi?yato jagati||17
(There are three powers- Spirituality, Science and Trust-If they are stabilized in the world, then there shall be peace and prosperity).
All religions preach peace, but in fact religion has been one of the major sources of violent conflict down through the centuries and remains so even today. To facilitate and motivate the people for the study of the essence of all religions, Vinoba Bhave studied the original scriptures of all religions and gleaned the essence of them. CONCLUSION:
Man's quest for peace is as old as man himself. "Peace which has its base in the existential truth of human life offers humanity a faith that kingdom of peace will be a reality one day, even though that day may be the remotest in the history of mankind". 18
Gandhi claimed that the Sarvodaya (welfare of all) Social order would be free from moral degradation, economic exploitation and political subjugation. He had a definite conception of classless, casteless and stateless so
M
314
