TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE
We often talk of peace in the context of war. But this is a very narrow and restricted notion of peace. Peace is deeply linked with the entirety of human life. Peace is a complete ideology in itself. Peace is the only religion for both—man and the universe. It is the master-key that opens the doors to every success. Peace creates a favourable atmosphere for success in every endeavour. Without peace, no positive action—small or big—is possible.
THE POWER AND PRICE OF PEACE
ACCORDING to a Hadith, “God grants to gentleness what He does not grant to harshness.” That is to say, peaceful activism is distinctly superior to violent activism. There is nothing mysterious about the point made in this Hadith. This is a simple and a well-known fact of life. In a situation of war and violence, feelings of hatred and enmity flare up between the two sides and, in the process, the existing resources are destroyed. People from both sides get killed and the entire society turns into a jungle of negative feelings. It is quite obvious that in such an atmosphere no constructive and consolidated work can be done. There is nothing to be achieved in war and violence, save death and destruction.
On the contrary, an atmosphere of peace enables normal relations to be established between people. Feelings of love and friendship prevail in such a situation. In a favourable atmosphere constructive activities flourish and the existing resources can be used for development or other activities. A positive bent of mind will prevail which will help develop academic and intellectual undertakings.
The greater ill-effect of war is that it limits opportunities whereas the greatest benefit of peace is that it opens up opportunities to the ultimate extent. War invariably results in further loss, while peace invariably results in further gain. That is why Islam teaches us to avoid war and confrontation at all costs and commands us to establish peace to the greatest possible degree.
Everything has a price attached to it. You can acquire a particular thing only when you are ready to pay for it. In this world, you simply cannot get what you want without paying its appropriate price. This holds true for peace as well. Peace, too, has its price. An individual or group can obtain peace when one pays its price. What is the price of peace? It is to tolerate loss.
This fundamental truth is narrated in the Quran (2: 155-56) in the following words:
We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and loss of property, lives and crops. Give good news to those who endure with fortitude. Those who say, when afflicted with a calamity, ‘We belong to God and to Him we shall return,’ are the ones who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord: it is they who are on the right path!
This verse of the Quran tells us about a basic fact of life. According to the law on the basis of which this world has been created, it is necessary that people will face different kinds of loss. Sometimes, they will face challenges from others. At other times, they may face economic loss. Sometimes, they may become victims of some accident or the other. At other times, they may be denied what they consider to be their right. Every person undergoes such unpalatable experiences sometime or the other in their lives. This is entirely in accordance with the law of nature. In such a situation, if people do not tolerate their losses, it will easily result in violence. If they accept and tolerate their losses, it will enable them to live in peace.
An atmosphere of peace enables normal relations to be established between people. Feelings of love and friendship prevail in such a situation. In a favourable atmosphere constructive activities flourish and the existing resources can be used for development or other activities.
To patiently accept and tolerate loss is not tantamount to defeat. Rather, it is something that requires great courage and boldness. It is to voluntarily accept reality. It is to remain aware that even though one may have suffered some loss, one still has many resources left, on the basis of which one can rebuild one’s life.
If one keeps patience and tolerance in the face of loss, one saves oneself from losing balance. Despite a temporary setback, one is able to still retain the ability to view things in a balanced and pragmatic way and to make new life-plans. Forgetting what one has lost; one is able to carry on with one’s purpose in life on the basis of what one still has. One saves oneself from hopelessness, and with wisdom, is able to surge ahead in life.
In life, after every evening a new morning dawns. This world is full of potentials and possibilities. Here, if you lose one opportunity, you can gain another one. If you miss one step, another step leading to a new door, opens up to you. In this way, if a certain plan fails, one can always make a new plan to carry on with life’s purpose.
The fact of the matter is that in this world bad news always comes along with good news. Every accident silently gives us the good news that we must not be disheartened, and that instead, mustering our courage, we should search for new opportunities. If we respond in this positive way, then nature itself gives us the good news that our loss is not permanent.
It tells us that we can very soon rebuild our lives—and in a better way than before. It conveys to us that we can convert what seems to be our defeat into a new and brighter future.
To patiently accept and tolerate loss is not tantamount to defeat. Rather, it is something that requires great courage and boldness.
Those who do not accept loss fall prey to negative thinking and so make their lives into an enormous burden. In doing so, they themselves become a burden on others. On the other hand, those who respond with patience and courage can build a new mansion on the ruins of the past. They search and discover a new dawn after a dark evening, in the light of which they carry on with their life’s journey unimpeded.
The choice for us is not between a
universe with God, or a universe without
God. It is rather between a universe with
God, or no universe at all.