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Towards an Era of Culture of Peace

 

 

By Mr. R. Radhakrishnan

 

Nagai Dakashi. the author of the Bell of Nagasaki sang:

The bell of Nagasaki tolls.
Nations plan no more wars.
So long as the atomic bomb exists.
Future wars are suicidal.
Listen to the wailing voices of the dead
Fight no more. Cooperative within the boundary of love.
The dead lie prostrate before God beseeching Him.
That the bomb on Nagasaki be the last in human history.

The mind-boggling question staring at humanity even after five decades of the most diabolical act perpetrated on humanity. namely the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is: Are the bombs over Nagasaki and Hiroshima the last ones in human history? There are other questions as well. How is humanity going to tackle the monster of war. violence. injustice of varied nature? What is the world community doing to improve the all- time high and alarming environmental degradation?

What Jonathan Schell, the author of landmark books: The Fate of the Earth, The Gift of Time, The Case for Nuclear Abolition Now, points out could be of some use to us in our understanding of the situation;

Two paths lie before us. One leads to death, the other to life. If we choose the first path all the while increasing our preparations to bring it about then we in effect become the allies of death. And in everything we do our attachment to life will weaken: our vision, blinded to the abyss that has opened at, our feet, will dim and grow confused; our will, discouraged by the thought of trying build on such a precarious foundation anything that is meant to last, will slacken. On the other hand, if we reject our doom, and bend our efforts towards survival then the anaesthetic fog will lift: our vision, no longer straining not to see the obvious, will sharpen; our will, finding secure ground to build on, will be restored; and we will take full and clear possession of life again.

Such an optimism may sound well. But there are dark clouds allover threatening heavy down-pour any moment. It appears there is no respite for humanity, The hope that with the Cold War era we may live in peace is a mirage. This could be seen from raging violence and senseless killings in various parts of the world. Notwithstanding all high sounding assurances on arms reductions and cuts in military expenditure, we see an alarming escalation in the production of lethal weapons. It is estimated that there is an annual worldwide expenditure of 1000 billion dollars on arms alone. Even one sixth of this huge amount is sufficient enough to remove world hunger for the next six years.

Over a thousand million human beings are living on an average annual income of less than two hundred dollars. More frightening than this is the revelation that by 2000 AD the world population would cross the six billion mark, Ecological degradation and the callous manner in which precious nonrenewable energy resources are being squandered in the name of development have started sending shock waves at least in some sensitive souls.

It might be of interest remember how President Ikeda and Josef Derbolav in their dialogue, Search for a New Humanity , warn humanity of the impending danger. The feel that further technological progress should be undertaken only after a careful analysis of the general situation and humanity should not allow situation to go out from its control. The nagging question is: What is the contribution of the present century to the easing of human suffering? Planners and administrators do not seem to be worried about hunger and disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of basic school facilities, large-scale infant mortality, lack of safe drinking water to millions of people who live in those veritable hells called urban slums or shanty towns.

Astonishingly enough, while the nations of the world spend $ 2 billion per day on military, thousands of people are starving to death; millions more are living on the verge of starvation. Every second, somewhere in the world, a child dies or is permanently scarred by the diseases of poverty; in the same second $ 23,000 is spent on arms.

President Eisenhower was conscious of the enormity of the problem when he spoke before the American Society of Newspapers Editors, on 16th April 1953, contending:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its labourers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children ...This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

Very few remember:

  • that 30,000 children could have classrooms for the price of only one military tank;

  • that one jet fighter costs as much as 40,000 village pharmacies~

  • that half a day's military expenditure would be enough to eliminate malaria;

  • that a half-percent of the yearly military expenditure would be enough to pay for all the machines and equipment needed to help the Third World countries attain an adequate food production.

Exploitation of nature has reached such alarming proportions that nobody knows the extent of damages that are being caused to Nature which, as we know, does not have infinite and inexhaustible resources to cope with the ever-growing greed of man. Precious non-renewable energy resources are being squandered while serious deterioration and exploitation of resources essential for agriculture are discernible on a massive scale. And there is no corresponding increase in the efforts for mobilization of natural resources. On the contrary they are getting depleted. A frightening scenario of too many mouths to be fed with too little is becoming a distinct possibility. Disregarding all these shocking aspects, the developed nations are engaged in the manufacture and selling of weapons of mass destruction. Even a fraction of the huge amount spent on armaments would help eliminate poverty from the earth.

Greed, mutual suspicion and intolerance continue to guide most of the nations though noises are heard on noble and laudable goals such as 'global village', 'warless century', 'boundaryless world'. Noble sentiments apart, the one question that troubles all those who care for human survival and security is: Should we not think of alternative futures as against the violent structures which are a threat to human survival?

The power of nonviolence as a political weapon and instrument of liberation was emphasized and successfully employed by Mahatma Gandhi in his various campaigns both in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century and later in India. Since then, it has made its mark on the world and has come to stay as an effective weapon in the hands of those who repose faith in the supremacy of soul-force and moral law. It cannot be said that Gandhi is the originator of all that goes with the concept and practice of non-violence. On the contrary, the history of the idea of non- violence as a religious or philosophical doctrine can be traced to the authors of the ancient Indian classics, the Upanishads. The Chandogya Upanishad and the sixth century B.C. Chinese Tao-Te-Chim glorified non- violence both as a personal virtue and a desirable societal goal. The Bible upholds the role of non-violence for the edification of mankind. Shakyamuni Buddha, who was a rebel against the existing practices in his society and its customs, laid the foundation for a modern outlook and emphasised the need for developing social awareness based on respect for all living forms. In Plato, it became a vague sort of advice to overcome evil by good deeds.

But with Gandhi and later Martin Luther King Jr. nonviolence became a creative, challenging and eloquent force symbolising man's inalienable right to live in peace and harmony and to help oneself and fellow human beings reach out to their Maker. The tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the rampant colonial exploitation which was no less dehumanising than the reality of mass murder, and capitalist injustice brought nonviolence to the centre stage find this as an inconvenient irritant that would go against their interests, particularly the economics they have developed.

The Gandhian perspective of nonviolent human transformation is slowly but steadily receiving attention in varying degrees in almost all parts of the world now. Quite a large number of social activists, freedom fighters, human rights activists, political leaders and even to some extent those who think acceptance of nonviolence would hurt their national economies, because they are based on military hardware have demonstrated their conviction that the non- violent option as advocated by Gandhi needs serious attention.

Humanity, thanks to this positive development, is assured of a reexamination of the Bismarckian notion of worshipping war as a wholesome hygiene that allowed human nature to be perked up when civilization was becoming too soft. The protagonists of this view propagate the obnoxious theory that aggression is healthier than non-aggression.

At one stroke Gandhi demolished this myth though the significance of the Gandhian initiative was not immediately comprehended. Let it also be remembered that neither the developed nor the developing world took Gandhi seriously, though there was some awareness of what Gandhi did in India. The difference in the cultural context in which Gandhi worked and the difficulty of many others to see beyond their noses were important factors that prevented the international community to realize the supreme importance of the Gandhian strategy. As is fairly known now, it was Martin Luther King who proclaimed the efficacy of the Gandhian strategy of nonviolent resistance:

'The Christian doctrine of love, operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence is, perhaps. one of the most potent weapons available to the oppressed people in their struggle for freedom.'

Yet, initially the international community took the Gandhian and Kingian initiatives only as freak developments.

A few major developments stand out as one thinks of nonviolence as an effective strategy not only to counter violence but to set the pace of human life as we have moved into the 21st century. In almost all continents and in most of the countries there has sprung up several motivated groups of individuals who employ nonviolent means for fighting injustice, though it is yet to become the mainstream concern.

The pace of nonviolent collective actions along Gandhian lines initiated by Martin Luther King is continued with conviction and courage by activists who lead civil liberty movements allover the world. Kenneth Kaund, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Ho Chi Min, Aung San Suu Kyi are only a few of the most illustrious names to remember in this context.

With the acceptance of Gandhian tactics for non-violent transformation by the Greens, notably Petra Kelly, a new dimension of ecological and sustainable developmental models as envisioned by Gandhi has spread to many countries in the Eastern Europe. The championing of Gandhian nonviolence by the Quakers also added hopeful signs and led to a resurgent collective action for justice and freedom in many western nations. The impact of their initiatives notably in the Latin American region is quite substantial.

Several motivated souls who developed non-violent attitude in their journey to the service of mankind such as Prof. Glenn D. Paige. Gene Sharp, Johan Galtung through their dedicated efforts and sustained critical interest offered valuable academic input to the significance of non-violence for human survival. Among those who were instrumental in bringing into the scene a whole generation of young researchers and peace activists by offering them appropriate framework to understand, analyse, research into the various aspects of non-violence is Professor Glenn D. Paige whose Herculean efforts to develop a critique of non-violent political science is another important phase in modern history. Professor Paige has made significant contribution in enthusing several young scholars of international repute to adopt non- violence as their area of specialisation.

What His Holiness Acharya Mahapragya said will be useful in understanding the various concerns:

"The search for peace is as old as mankind. As righteousness and peace go together, the search for methodology by which one may follow the path of righteousness is also as old as mankind. It is a global search from time immemorial.

"I do not know in whose hands rests the responsibility of world peace but certainly I know that those who have power to make and use atomic weapons can destroy the peace. Can organisations devoted to the cause of world peace do something significant in this area? This is a question whose answer is not simple.

"India played a leading role in this search through Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha in ancient times and through Mahatma Gandhi in modern times. My preceptor, His Holiness Acharya Tulsi, who had a long experience of interaction with a cross-section of society, opened a new chapter by starting a mass movement Anuvrata for integrated behaviour by one and all. Let the message of peace go as wide as possible:

  • Let there be harmony in every walk of life.

  • Let human mind blossom to its full capacity.

  • Let not our desires cross the limits 0' rationality.

  • Let individual and society on the one hand and man and nature, on the other, cooperate with each other. Let us make some small but firm resolves (which is the real meaning of Anuvrata) for purity in life and it will be found that problems of world peace, disarmament, and pollution- free environment are not so big as they appear to be."

One question that begs for an answer is: Can we separate spiritual truths from social realities? Since the' days of the Buddha and even before him, almost all the prophets and sages have been concerned with the human condition, state of society and tried to find answers to the vexed questions of life and death, this world and the hereafter. It was, as all of us might know now, the agony of suffering that led Siddhartha to run away from the comforts of his palace and take refuge in the wilderness where he sought answers and he become the enlightened one. The quest of the Buddha clearly illustrates the symbiotic relationship between the social realities and the spiritual truths.


Thoughts for a Proposed Plan
The human ego can be seen as the root cause of all human miseries, Both at personal and societal level human ego with its self-centredness plays a vital role in shaping, controlling one's attitude. Hindu, Buddhist and Jain philosophy have dealt at length on this and there are elaborate treatises on overcoming our self-centredness.

It appears that what guides the modern man is his insatiable greed that promoted Mahatma Gandhi to say, "There is enough in this world for everyone's needs but not for everyone's greed". The greed like many other human traits knows no limits and it has a remarkable capacity to soar up higher and higher which in turn brings poverty, hunger, diseases and many other human miseries.

This takes us to another disturbing area, namely the growing chasm that separates the poor from the rich. Despite all our brave talks about sharing of riches, the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer.

The growing intolerance and various religious and ethnic conflicts have also become matters of great concern to us. And all the brave initiatives for poverty-eradication sound hollow and one of the biggest challenges facing the 21st century man is: How are you going to face this?

Environmental degradation and the terrible manner in which nature is exploited thinking that Nature has inexhaustible wealth calls for concerted attempts.

The growing rates of divorce, disturbed family life, impersonal family relationships, growing alienation between parents and children, alarming rate of breakdown of joint-families wherever they exist, drug addiction, spreading of HIV positive virus which cause AIDS, lack of meaningful dialogues between individuals are matters of great concern.

Human rights violations and gender discriminations are also not matters of inconsequence. Bold initiatives are the need for a spiritual regeneration.

Time has come when humanity has to ponder over its own survival which will be extremely difficult unless a very balanced view is taken on the numerous factors that shape and govern the various aspects of life. Those who are endowed with the faculty to see beyond the immediate concern are convinced that what is required is a human transformation rooted in the cultural, ethical, spiritual needs of every individual and society. Many have started advocating an altogether new approach to this vexed problem.

Mahatma Gandhi at the beginning of the 20th century demonstrated strategies and methods of empowerment through adherence to truth, non-violence and fearlessness. The Gandhian revolution offered humanity a new emphasis on the 'soul power', The Gandhian methods of Satyagrahaand the strategies that he prescribed and employed successfully open new avenues. The Sarvodaya ideal which envisages the welfare of all was the reiteration of particularly the Jain traditions and the Buddhist practice.

The New Human Revolution initiated by the Soka Gakkai International has impressed young men and women in over 150 countries during the last five decades, The New Human Revolution which seeks to tap the potential of each individual for collective social action is based on the awareness of the all-pervading unity of all forms of life, respect for all forms of life and compassion, based on the Buddhist teachings. The empowerment programme that has been initiated by them known today as Kosen-rufu is certainly not a utopian dream but the blueprint for a new humanity.

The Anuvrat Movement started by Acharya Shree Tulsi and ably supported by his successor, another great visionary and teacher, Acharya Mahapragya, amplifies individual initiatives for human transformation. The philosophy which guides the Anuvrat Movement is a ecumenical vision stepped in the awareness and potential of each individual in enriching human life. The Anuvrat Movement, the Sarvodaya Movement and the Kosen-rufu Movement have amazing similarities and are bound to influence the course of human history in the 21st century since they are rooted in life affirmation and visualise joyful participation of people. Perhaps these three movements conceived and put into practice by great savants in response to the frightening scenario following the spiritual decay the 20th century witnessed are answers to what this century has failed to address at the spiritual, social and ethical level.

At the political level, serious attention needs to be given to the crusade Prof. Glenn D. Paige has initiated, namely the adoption of Nonviolent Political Science. The vision of a 'non-killing society', a 'non-violent political science' and a 'nonviolent civilisation' might appear to be hazy and impracticable in the eyes of a large section of the intellectuals and beneficiaries of the present-day system.

The emerging realities call for brave new initiatives.

Maker, unmaker of pleasure and pain,
For the self, is the self itself, none else,
Self again is friend and foe,
That induces good and evil.
Lord Mahavira

 

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Author : Mr. N. Radhakrishnan , is Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi and is an internationally known exponent of Gandhian Philosophy.

Article Source : Anuvibha Reporter ( Special Issue : Dec. 2000 )
Ahimsa, Peacemaking, Conflict Prevention and Management Proceedings and Presentations
Fourth International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action ( IV ICPNA )
New Delhi : Nov. 10-14, 1999

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