Perspective
What is the Price of Peace?
by TA Ramesh
Is peace an
easy thing to get as we please? Today everyone is longing for peace,
because terrorist attacks are overwhelmingly taking place everywhere in
such a way that nobody knows when will what kind of bomb explode at what
time. Terrorism has become a nightmare in everyone’s life in the world
today. George Orwell in his novel, 1984 has expressed the view that “war
is for peace” and “peace is for war.” Even Genghiz Khan had said that he
wanted to conquer the whole world by war so that peace would prevail
over everywhere under (his) one rule. It seems everyone is trying hard
at last only to achieve peace in the world. Is peace such a precious
thing or an invaluable thing that it is very difficult to find in the
world?
Problem of Peace
Due to
tension, depression, nightmares, anxieties and fear peace seems to be
out of reach for many in the world. Peace is not exclusively an
individual’s property. Peace is an interrelated thing as everyone is
directly or indirectly inter dependent in the society. Even though one
is harmlessly dutiful and lives without interfering in anyone’s affairs,
one is affected by the problems of the society created by some with or
without their knowledge. That is why, many seek asylum in Religion,
Nature, Music, Dance and Painting as a sort of diversion from their
routine works to get peace of mind they are longing for though they have
home, family, relatives and friends. Many people who are well off are
living without peace though they know or know not the reason. So, by
meditation they try to calm down the mind and try to maintain mental
poise. But unless the cause for the trouble is ascertained and solution
is also found out, this vital problem of peace cannot be solved.
Death brings Peace
It is human
nature to feel that it is better to die than live without peace in the
world. So, naturally one feels that everyone is born to suffer in the
world and that death only puts an end to all sufferings bringing peace
one longs for at the end. Therefore one feels that one is destined to do
one’s duties and fulfill commitments and priorities believing or relying
upon the consoling ideas of religions that in that way prepare everyone
how to meet with easy death which is the gate way to heaven or hell
depending upon one’s good or bad deeds in the world. The moral ideas
that are preached for hundreds of years are that without suffering bliss
cannot be enjoyed as sufferings only purify one’s soul from all sins and
that till all sins are cleansed one has to undergo all mental tortures
along with all kinds of physical sufferings in the world.
Apart from Religion, Nature, Literature, Music and Art that give
inspiring, encouraging and consoling ideas, give temporary relief to man
from the shortcomings, tragedies, woes, etc. that have wiped away his
peace of mind and linger on in his heart in such a way that if he
happens to recollect them by chance in isolation, would give him the
blessed mood he has enjoyed earlier and help him pull on the days. The
expressions of such experiences in the writings of esteemed authors
touch human heart and live immortal as classical literature to inspire
and encourage the suffering humanity as to how to survive against odds
in the world generation after generation.
Search for Peace
In the modern world all developments are measured in terms of economic
prosperity of a nation with the comparison of the economic achievements
made in the developed countries. So, there is competition for excellence
in all fields. There is no time for love and sex in life. After coming
to the top many search for peace by going to Himalayas, visiting Temples
in various places, roaming about all the places in the world and living
in isolation far away from the madding crowd. Top peoples from all walks
of life such as actors, princesses, musicians, authors, tycoons, etc.
have committed suicides or are killed mysteriously in their pursuits of
peace in the world.
Not only they but many young people also, who are exposed to the modern
world of machines and competitions have died of depression unable to
cope with or bear the tensions building up due to various factors beyond
their control. Some become drug addicts too after meeting with failures
or due to mental depression. These disillusioned youths, if they
introspectively and retrospectively analyze a while about their life
condition, mindset and aspirations, they can discover the drawbacks and
rectify them in the due course of time. But, because of their impatience
or short temperedness, they put an end to their lives. So, without
seeing the reason, how can the path leading to victory and peace be
discovered and achieved in the world?
Way to achieve Peace
In search of peace man has not left anything unexplored and is still
exploring many matters. In this respect, the truths expressed by Buddha,
Sankara, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Russell, Einstein, Rousseau and
Vivekananda cannot be said as futile matters and forgotten by mankind.
Nothing is permanent and perfect; everything is temporary in the world.
Life itself is not permanent for anyone in the world. With all his
limitations, imperfections and incompleteness, how can man achieve peace
permanently in this ephemeral world? There is no point in crying over
the spoiled milk. It is better to accept the reality or fact than
worrying about the impossible things. So, with the limitations of man,
what best one can do one should think about and proceed in life with the
available things and opportunities open to one in the world.
Vivekananda, John Keats
In this context the advice of Swami Vivekananda that “whatever work you
do, do it as perfectly as you can and that is the best way to achieve
happiness and peace in the world” is a practical fact nobody can ignore.
Also the philosophy of John Keats in his poem, Endymion that “a thing of
beauty is a joy forever,” because of his conviction that “beauty is
truth – truth-beauty, that’s all ye need to know in this world,” in his
poem, Ode To The Grecian Urn has to be kept in mind forever so that the
taste for aesthetic things in life, Art and Nature keep on one’s mood
ever fresh in the world. So, beauty, truth, love, joy and peace are
interrelated things in life. Knowledge of truth and love only gives
freedom to one to enjoy physical, intellectual and spiritual pleasures
one can in the human world, which is the way to achieve satisfaction and
peace in life one is longing for.
Diversion needed for Peace
Unfavorable situation, unexpected turn of events, accident and death may
affect one with anxiety or fear in life. Anxiety, excitement and fear
may disturb peace of mind and the next course of action he has to
follow. Traditional ceremonies are there for these purposes only to
prepare one to accept the reality or change and encourage one to live
according to the change. Fulfillment of all the desires gives one
satisfaction and peace in life. But failures in life of unfulfillment of
desire may give dissatisfaction, pessimism and wretched mood, which can
be overcome by the diversion of one’s attention in creative activities
in some form of art like drawing or painting or indulging in some
entertaining programs in music, dance and cinema, or touring to new
places or health resorts in some hill stations with full of beautiful
natural sceneries that may solace the heart and enlighten the mind.
These are some of the compensations or temporary measures for one in
order to regain the lost mood or peace so that the further activities of
one’s life can be continued with some hope or renewed vigor.
True Knowledge needed for Peace
Failures and successes are common in life. But that does not give
satisfaction and peace one needs. For that one has to be clear about
everything in mind, then only one can be determined to go ahead in life
with confidence, courage and endurance. This is possible only when one
has true knowledge about one’s Self, World, Nature and God, which is
necessary to have a Vision of Life, World and God in Nature as a whole
so that one can know that duties one has to do and what ambition one
should have to make achievements possible in the world. This kind of
wisdom should dawn upon everyone’s mind so that the united efforts of
all will make this world a Utopia or Heaven or a Paradise everyone
dreams about to get satisfaction and peace in life.
So, knowledge is first necessary to have over all vision of human life
so that one can have a broad ambition, the driving force in life in
order to make achievements in the field one is best at. Perhaps persons
living this type of life generally won’t have problems of
dissatisfaction or peace in life. Hence it is better if powerful
information media like magazines, cinema and TV in their programs
dissipate and popularize ideas of this kind of vision of individual
life, it would be helpful for many to think over in those lines to live
a better life free from the drawbacks that lead later to problems
unsolvable. Even in educational institutions if students are introduced
to the over all view of human life, it would help them to visualize what
plan of life they could have and accordingly they can live their life in
the future overcoming fear, anxiety and excitements in different
situations and circumstances enjoying all possible pleasures to their
satisfaction and achieve peace without difficulty.
Turning Points towards Peace
Apart from concentrating on individual’s life, it is the duty of
everyone to see that the environment, in which one lives, is free from
troubles. Differences of color, class, creed and language should not be
given too much importance at the expense of the secular national culture
which is going hand in hand with the international human culture in
order to maintain peace, unity and brotherhood among the people cutting
across all the nations of the world.
Even the 21st century vision of the world leaders is the formation of
World Union that promotes cooperation and coordination for developmental
activities in various fields on the basis of friendship. Without peace
no developments can be thought about. 1. The thought that wars cannot
solve the problems but only through dialogues that can be possible, is a
turning point towards peace. 2. Ending of cold war between the erstwhile
Super Powers a decade ago is another turning point towards peace. 3. The
efforts of the international community to have a joint agreement of all
nations on Nuclear Non-proliferation, Comprehensive Test Ban of nuclear
explosions and destruction of Weapons of Mass Destruction are very good
welcome signs for the promotion of peace in the world.
Terrorism
But the most unfortunate proliferation of terrorism since two decades or
so as the instrument of religious fundamentalism that is destroying the
developments of the civilized world along with the innocent civilians is
the biggest threat to world peace and also a great impediment blocking
the dreams of a better tomorrow of many people living in various nations
of the world. Because of international terrorism peace, stability and
progress of the world are very much affected. Also, world people, who
are about to be happy and enthusiastic in the pursuits of their
cherished dreams after the many good turning points of the world, are
forced to live in fear because of terrorism. So, the main duty of every
nation now is to achieve peace first at any cost in the world by putting
a permanent end to terrorism by the joint efforts of all the nations in
the world. The risk being taken in this regard will not fail to fetch
the result expected by anyone.
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