We stood but a few yards away from the actual site of attack. A sobering moment in the city vigil. Paris, the latest high profile target of terror. The atmosphere was tense, tangible and heavy, unbearably so - almost burdensome. A shared guilt amongst the supposedly unaffected. I pondered for a moment and caught the eye of a Syrian friend. The guilt deepened. Here we were commemorating, lamenting an isolated and rare attack in Western Europe, but what of those who are affected daily, afflicted by the actual conflict regularly? Those who have no voice, silenced by the blissful ignorance of Western existence. The problem was bigger than Paris, not an anomaly, but a distinct characteristic of a material world that is so proudly “advancing” towards bitter oblivion.
Just a few weeks prior to these horrific events in France, we (Religions for Peace) had met in Rome at a conference entitled “Welcoming each other from fear to trust.” We spoke of solidarity; religious and spiritual collaboration to eliminate hatred and foster peace. We dared to plan for a better world, hearing from inspiringly sincere and active leaders, such as Jay Shetty, Bharti Tailor and Yolande Illano. Much to the irony, merely a few weeks later, everything we had discussed had been refuted. You know that the world is in a bad place when ironies like this have become clichés, because of how often they happen.
Consequently, the recent conference in Paris held much more importance, because the hypothetical reverse of our work had materialised and become a very real danger. The meeting was poignant and dialogue is an absolute necessary for any healing process, it perhaps is not enough.
Einstein famously said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Rather than temporary external change, what is needed is a global evolution of consciousness, a focus on internal development. Our governments have tried war, they have tried bolstering defences, played the blame game and have failed at every obstacle. Superficiality is the brand of our generation. We have to change.
Unsurprisingly, spiritual doctrine has the best practical solutions, providing this alternative mind-set that Einstein has referred to. Coincidentally, it was recently the festival of Gita Jayanti, a celebration of the Bhagavad Gita (the song of the Lord, sung some 5,152 years ago), and, fittingly, it is this brilliant scripture that presents a viable way of thinking that can bring about peace:
“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste.”
-Bhagavad Gita 5.18
If we cultivated this soulful appreciation for every living entity, this beautiful equal vision that does not discriminate, by colour, caste, sexuality or religion, but by the strength of a person’s character and their soulful nature, hatred would be an alien concept and terrorism would be an inconceivable impossibility. It is there… the answer is there, but most of us will ignore it.
The National Hindu Students’ Forum is a partner organisation of Religions for Peace; one of the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions, dedicated to promoting peace. Religions for Peace is active on every continent and in some of the most troubled areas of the world, creating multi-religious partnerships to confront our most dire issues: stopping war, ending poverty, and protecting the earth.
NHSF has had an active contribution in the General Assembly of World Religious Leaders in Vienna, the “Say No to Hate Speech” summit in Budapest, “Welcoming the other from fear to trust” summit in Rome and the Religions for Peace Global Interfaith Youth Network summit and COP21 events in Paris. It has representation on the International Youth Committee, European Interfaith Youth Network and the European Interfaith Women’s Network.
For a full report, info on upcoming campaigns and collaborations please visit:
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http://www.religioniperlapaceitalia.org/?p=2216
