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Terrorism is becoming more and more dreadful, violent and tortuous. Innocent civilians are its victims. Religious and spiritual leaders need to join in the effort to curb & eliminate terrorism by going to affected areas and population with courage and openness. Bullets will never kill bullets. It is persuasive effort which will bring home the futility of using bullets.
There are encouraging and inspiring examples. Mahatma gandhi walked alone in riot - torn Noakhali area in Bengal to bring to the people message of love and harmony, Jaina Saint Acharya Sushil Kumarji showed the courage to walk into riot effected areas in India carrying the message of tolerance and non-violence. During Iran - Iraq war, he took trips to Moscow and Baghdad. Howsoever difficult, such initiatives need to be multiplied, only then the momentum would gather in favour of non-violence, tranquility and equanimity.
In the ultimate analyses, world's people for peace must come on the centre stage and not leave peace to be attained at only government levels. As Dwight Eisentower once observed -
"People in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than Governments. I think that people want peace so much that one of these days the governments had better get out of their way and let them have it.'
Over 6 billion human beings inhabitating Planer Earth need to wake up to their responsibilities as enlightened beings and recognise what Jaina Scripture Sutrakrtanga says -
'As the Earth is the abode of all living beings so the peace is the abode of all enlightened beings.'
Arhat Vacana, April 2001
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