World is burning

As the world celebrated centenary of the Total war, one wonders what is there to be celebrated? Have our leaders learnt any lessons from history? Have we stopped killing, maiming and perishing fellow humans to resolve our differences? Are our times worthy of calling peaceful times?

Even if we live in ostensibly peaceful regions, our hearts & minds remain far away from peace. Don’t our hearts cry in pain for the Syrian refugees & Chibok girls? Don’t our hopes for ‘pursuit of happiness’ get dim when people of colour in America face injustice? Did we not spent sleepless nights when nonchalant little kids were snatched away from us in Peshawar!

‘Presence of violence anywhere is absence of peace everywhere.’

And Peace is absent everywhere!

                                              

What else teaches us better the ideology of peace than teachings of Buddha. He said, "Hatred is never appeased by hatred.
Hatred is only appeased by Love.”

"One's mind finds no peace, neither enjoys pleasure or delight, nor goes to sleep, while the dart of hatred is stuck in the heart." Unfortunately we failed Buddha.

History gave us some of the best among our species to teach us the art of peace & love. They used this art invincibly against the mightiest of the weapons. They prevented nations from indulging in never ending bloody civil wars and yet won their battles each time by changing the heart of enemy. They prevented many generations from carrying the burden of hate, violence, death & devastation by forcing their opponents to submit to the power of Non Violence & Truth. The world experienced the unprecedented power of ‘Non Violence’.

They were, the Father of my nation Mahatma Gandhi, & champion of civil liberties Dr Martin Luther King.

“An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind” was Mahatma’s message to humanity. He said “There are many causes for which I am prepared to die for but no cause for which I am prepared to kill for.”

In today’s world, where a young girl is shot by extremists for merely trying to get education & people losing lives for making cartoons that are offensive for some, Gandhi’s message to humanity seems to have lost in the noise of bullets.

Writing to Hitler on December 24, 1940 Gandhi writes, “In non-violent technique, there is no such thing as defeat. It is all ‘do or die’ without killing or hurting. It can be used practically without money and obviously without the aid of science of destruction which you have brought to such perfection. It is a marvel to me that you don’t see that it is nobody’s monopoly. If not the British, some other power will certainly improve upon your method and beat you with your own weapon. You are leaving no legacy to your people of which they would feel proud.”

Neither are our world leaders leaving us a legacy to be proud of.

When the blacks were being meted out unimaginably inhumane treatment in a first world nation, Dr King declared, “The strength of cowardice is in using power to cause death and destruction for others. The strength of courage is in self-sacrifice for the benefit of all.”

Both Gandhi & Dr King instead of hating their enemies embraced them with love. If Gandhi believed in British sense of justice amidst gross injustice, Dr King refused to accept that Americans would turn their faces away from truth. They just trusted humans to behave as humans.

Today when half of the world is burning in the fire of hatred, religious animosities and diabolical acts of terror, it is for the youth of the world to join hands irrespective of all their differences and lead all, old & young, towards a future where Buddha’s message echoes in every human heart.

We can build peace when the young boys & girls of Israel & Palestine laugh & sing together.

We can build peace when young school going Nigerians don’t have to cede their dreams to hatemongers.

We can build peace when Afghans once again begin their march towards growth & development peacefully.

We can build peace when borders between India & Pakistan exist only on maps.

Only then can we build peace. Let’s be the light unto ourselves. Let’s be the lights of love and peace.