War and Peace article in Matruvani

[Guest guest]

War and Peace

 

 

 

 

Since the beginning of the world, there has been conflict. Saying that

it's impossible to totally eradicate it causes a lot of anxiety. But

it's the truth, isn't it? The reason being that good and evil will

always exist in the world. In our struggle to accept the good and reject

the bad, the possibility of conflict cannot be completely ruled out.

Such conflict has manifested in nearly all countries in forms such as

internal strife, war and strikes. Although most wars are generally aimed

at protecting vested interests, there have been rare circumstances where

the needs of the people were taken into consideration and a greater good

was achieved.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the majority of wars' waged by man have not been fought

to uphold truth and justice but have been motivated by selfishness.

 

 

 

 

 

From approximately 5,000 years ago until the rule of the great Indian

king Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Maurya Dynasty, truth and

dharma [righteousness] played a central role in all wars fought in

India. Even back then, defeating and, if need be, destroying the enemy

was a part of war. However, there were clear rules that had to be

followed on the battlefield and during combat.

 

For example, foot soldiers were only allowed to fight with foot soldiers

and horsemen would only fight with horsemen. Warriors riding elephants

or in chariots could only fight with similarly mounted opponents. The

same rules applied to those fighting with maces, swords, spears and

bow-and-arrows. A soldier was not allowed to at­tack injured or

unarmed sol­diers, nor would he harm wom­en, children, the elderly

or the sick. Battles began at dawn with the blowing of a conch and ended

exactly at sunset, with the soldiers of both sides forget­ting their

mutual enmity and dining together as one. Battle would then resume the

next morning at sunrise.

 

 

 

 

 

There were even incidents of victorious kings happily return­ing the

entire kingdom and all the riches they had won to the king they had

defeated, or his rightful heir. Such was the great tradition of dharmic

wars, in which the enemy was considered with respect and kindness, both

on and off the battlefield. The sentiments and the culture of the

citizens of the enemy kingdo were also respected. Such was the

courageous outlook of the people living then.

 

 

 

 

 

These days, to prevent terror­ist attacks, strict security

meas­ures are implemented in airports and other establishments. While

such measures are necessary for our physical safety, they are not a

final solution. In fact, there is one explosive in particular that is

the most destructive of all. No machine can detect it. It is the hatred,

loathing and vengeance found in the human mind.

 

 

 

 

 

In this regard, Amma remembers a story:

 

The head of a certain village was celebrating his 100th birth­day.

Many dignitaries and news reporters attended his party. One of the

reporters asked him,

 

" What are you most proud of in this long life of yours? "

 

The old man answered, " Well, I've lived 100 years, and I don't have a

single enemy on this planet. "

 

" Really? Isn't that amazing! " the reporter remarked. " May your life be

an inspiration to all! Now, tell me, how is this possi­ble? "

 

 

 

 

 

" Well, " the old man replied, " It is very simple. I made sure that none

of them remained alive! "

 

 

 

 

 

If we don't eradicate our de­structive emotions, there will be no end

to war and violence.

 

In wars today, the enemy's country is destroyed in every possible way.

Conquerors plun­der and monopolize the land, natural resources and

wealth of the defeated country and use them for their own selfish

enjoy­ment. The culture and traditions that have been passed down for

generations are uprooted, and innocent people are killed with­out

mercy.

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, we cannot be­gin to fathom the amount of toxic fumes

emitted by bombs and other weapons of war, filling the atmosphere and

polluting the soil. How many generations are forced to suffer physically

and mentally as a consequence! In the wake of war, all that is left are

death, poverty, starvation and epidemics. Such are war's gifts to

humanity.

 

 

 

 

 

Today! some wealthy coun­tries instigate wars simply to promote the

sale of their latest weapons. No matter what action we perform, even if

it be war, the goal should be the protection of truth and dharma. Amma's

not saying that war is unavoidable. In principle, there is never a time

when war is necessary. But will we ever be -able to completely eradicate

war from the external world as long as conflict remains in the minds of

man? This is something we really should con­template.

 

 

 

 

~ Amma article in September 2008 Matruvani from the speech Amma

delivered during the Cinema Veritas 2007 Film Festival award

presentations )