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World Peace Through Anuvrat

 

 

By Mr. H. R. Dasegowda

 

I take it as my special privilege to present a few of my stray thoughts through this write­up for your consideration and reaction with a view to enlightening ourselves on the grave issues that confront the world at this hour of our entry into the new millennium. I am of the considered view that no part of the globe can be at peace if any other part of it is subjected to torture and turmoil. The world has been well knit into a family due to the rapid growth of communication network.

The quest for peace has challenged mankind throughout the recorded history. International peace is more than the temporary absence of war. To ensure human welfare peace must be secure and enduring. To be acceptable, peace must guarantee freedom, justice and progress. An acceptable security system will have to provide methods to settle controversial issues peacefully, provide nations with the security against external threats, discourage the use of armed forces and intervention in internal affairs of others and deal with the would-be aggressor firmly. Nations must be persuaded to relinquish the capability to use and threaten the use of armed forces. Universal Peace will remain a utopian dream until the world community evolves effective mechanisms as alternatives to unilateral actions of nations. It is a matter of pleasure that numerous peace movements operating in different parts of the to eschew violence and hatred. There are some peace movements which emphasize that-world peace can be established only through Ahimsa or what we call 'nonviolence'. Anuvrat Movement is rendering yeoman service in this field. Anuvibha is the international vehicle of peace. It has organised four international conferences successfully and has created strong network of committed nonviolence activists. Anu means small or basic and Vrata means vow. Anuvrat Movement inspires an individual to pledge himself adhere to basic human values enshrined in the Anuvrat code of conduct.

There are many approaches to peace. Unfortunately, no simplistic approach has been evolved so far to usher in an era of tranquility at global level. Some suggestions, however, merit consideration which in the long run may contribute to global understanding. For example, dedicated followers of certain religious traditions would rely upon broad acceptance and application of religious beliefs to bring about social change paving the way for world peace. They advance 'brotherhood concept' as the best method for bringing about an era of peace. This line of thinking was the one that Gurudev Tulsiji also advocated while launching Anuvrat Movement in the second part of the 20th century. Having witnessed ruthless exhibition of vulgarity, untold chaos, sorrow and misery in the aftermath of the transfer of power from the British to the people of India in 1947, Acharya Tulsi thought it fit to ask people to go to the Anuvrat way to sustain the freedom earned and to manage the nation democratically. "Anuvrat" believes firmly in reforming the individual by building inherent human values in man and in shaping a society based on basic truths like "Love thy neighbor."

All who wish to improve relationships and understanding among peoples and nations should be urged on to follow the Anuvrat code of conduct. Those who work to enlarge concern for other human beings 'through the advocacy and practice of religious principles deserve encouragement. Those who challenge the necessity, the morality and the credibility of war as a viable means of resolving international disputes should be applauded. All such efforts help to mould world opinion towards a just and human approach to global problem solving. Likewise, efforts to build a peaceful community should be encouraged and aided. Progress towards greater understanding, better communications, and common objectives would undoubtedly improve the political climate and stimulate international cooperation. But these processes are exceedingly slow due to great diversity of national interests. Unfortunately, the pressing critical world issues are screaming to be attended to. We must not lose time and pay immediate heed to resolving all disputes nonviolently.

Man is a rational being. His activity is mental to begin with and becomes physical subsequently. Thus, all his actions result from his thinking. This is the process in relation to both man's problems and their solutions. The problems arise naturally in the course of man's activity; the solutions, however, have to be sought out by special effort and are outside the given course of activity.

Now the Anuvrat movement advocates the path of vows which leads to self-restraint and self-transformation. It enjoins its adherent to resort to religion, not as a means of absolving him from sin but as a means of avoiding sin. Religion, the essence of which is tolerance, resides in a pure heart. The aim of the Anuvrat Movement is to ensure that life becomes pure, that truth and honesty govern the daily activities of the people and that the moral basis of life widens itself.

It will be found that most of the rules laid down in the Anuvrat code are worded negatively and only a few positively. The reason is that positive injunctions cannot be framed in a way that they may be valid under all conditions. Such injunctions - do's- depend for their validity on such factors as the appropriateness of place, time, circumstances and the inclination of the person or persons concerned. The determining lines­where, when, what and how much-cannot be drawn uniformly. On the other hand, forbidding commandments-don'ts-can be set out in a uniformly valid way. Every individual has the right to exercise his freedom, but only so far as the freedom of others is not interfered with. It is because individuals do not respect this fundamental law of freedom on their own accord hence external restraints have to be imposed on them by society. In the last resort, restraints, by their very nature, cannot but be negative for the most part. The individual who imposes restraints upon himself does not require to be brought under external restraints. It is through this self­imposed form of restraint that true resistance to temptation develops and self-control grows. Activity becomes pure to the extent to which impure elements are thus kept out.

The main aim of the Anuvrat Movement is thus to help develop in each individual the power of self - protection against the infection of impure conduct. As to the promotion of pure conduct, the impetus to action will depend on the individual's particular ideals and belief. It is not possible to outline the minimum areas of positive action in the same way as it is possible to delimit the minimum areas of negative action to general satisfaction. For in the matter of positive action the determining factors vary with differing view ­points of the prevailing religious beliefs.

The Anuvrat Movement does not belong to any particular form of religious belief but it is the essence of all forms of religious and moral faiths. It is not meant for the followers of any particular faith but for the followers of all faiths. Since it concerns itself with individual character­ the basic element in life - it makes no distinction between man and man on the ground of cast or creed. The only qualification that the Movement recognises is the preparedness on the part of the persons concerned for self-restraint and self­ examination. As for status, it is one that one confers upon oneself by electing to become on Anuvrati (one who pledges himself to observe the Anuvrat code).

This movement is the one that aims at revolutionising life from within by reshaping the character. The world today needs this more than anything else. If the world has lost a single thing in a greater measure it is this basic element of character. One of the main causes of the world's present tragic condition is the erosion of moral and spiritual values in social life.

It is the human greed which is at the root of all conflicts in the world. One answer to the problem that suggests itself is a more equitable distribution of wealth. The economic contours of a community or nation are never static, they can and do alter from time to time. In some countries the economic upheavals have been reduced, levelled or reversed. Even though possessed of easy access to the amenities of life, the developed countries are as distraught as before. This shows that the path to peace and happiness is other than the pursuit of economic prosperity. It is the rejuvenation of moral values in individual as well as in social life. External amenities and physical comforts cannot help an individual to achieve happiness. What is wonderful and possible is that peace and happiness can be achieved by inner contentment even in the relative absence of outer amenities of life. This is the secret of self­ restraint.

It does not matter whether the individual concerned believes or does not believe in an immortal soul, whether he likes or dislikes asceticism or severe austerity. What matters most is whether he regards man's ethical conduct as essential for our survival. A man who does not believe in the existence of the soul may not subscribe to total non-offensiveness (Ahimsa) but he will not support or promote offensives (himsa) as something useful or good.

Even those who believe in political expediency and even in political duplicity will not be found to endorse the conduct of their wives or husbands if the latter behave towards them with duplicity. For. it is the most remarkable thing - the most redeeming thing - about those given to falsehood and dishonesty that they would like other people to respect truth and honesty. Really speaking falsehood and wrong doing but represent a man's failings - his weaknesses rather than his strengths. The normal tendency of the rational mind is to conform to the moral law. It is merely to canalise this innate tendency that the vow­ taking comes into play. The Anuvrat Movement is a project for the spiritual and moral rejuvenation of life.

Anuvrat means a small or diminutive vow, No vow, truly speaking, is either small or great. What is meant by a 'small' vow is a vow that is convenient for one to practice within one's own capacity, patanjali, the great exponent of the Yogic philosophy, speaks of the five vows - nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possession­ as simple Vrats when they are limited by consideration of time and place and as Mahavrats (great vows) when not limited by such considerations.

The purpose behind vow- taking is self­ purification. Vows should not be taken for the sake of material gain or reform. Material welfare follows in the wake of the observance of vows but the aim in taking them should be solely self­ rectification. If social reordering is what is sought, then such an objective is more directly achieved by political action than by means of these vows. Acharya Tulsi - the founder of the Anuvrat Movement rightly said, the objective that the Vrats aim at is immensely higher than social or political good. It is spiritual good. And the spiritual good is not only the highest good but also the total good. It includes both one's own good and the good of others. "It indicates the presence of "the elements of World Peace".

 

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Author : Mr. H. R. Dasegowda is Professor of Law and has been actively associated with Anuvrat Movement. He is Vice-President of Anuvrat Mahasamiti and President, Karnataka Chapter of Anuvrat Shikshak Samsad.

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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