The worst act of reason is war. Every war has a reason, and the reason justifies the war.
Those who engage in war reason it out. But reason is limited. As reason changes, the justification falls apart. All the reasons for every war appear to be justifiable to some limited minds and for a limited time. Hence, war becomes inevitable on this planet.
Only human beings wage war. No other species in creation engages in war or mass destruction, as they have no reason to do so. Animals take their prey and let everything else just be. But mankind, from time immemorial, has engaged in war because man bases his actions on reason.
Man gives a reason to every act of his and justifies it. But as reasons change, his justifications fall apart. Man must transcend reason – only then can he realize Divinity and will not engage in war. Only when people become sensible, rise above hatred and have heightened consciousness, can war be stopped.
The act which is only destructive and inflicts suffering on both oneself and others is terrorism. In such an act human values are lost in the process of achieving a goal.
Some of the factors that lead to terrorism are frustration and desperation in achieving a goal, impulsive action, shortsightedness and confused emotions. Terrorism can also stem from having a non-verifiable concept of heaven and merit, and a childish concept of God where God favors some and is angry with others, undermining the Divine’s omniscience and omnipotence.
Terrorism induces a psychosis of fear in everyone, and it increases poverty, suffering, and loss of life with no apparent gain. Instead of life-supporting solutions, the terrorist chooses destruction as an answer. If you criticize without giving a solution, know that it comes from the seed of terrorism.
Although there are certain qualities you can appreciate in a terrorist such as fearlessness, commitment to a goal and sacrifice, you must learn from them things that you should never do – valuing ideas and concepts more than life, having a narrow perspective of life and dishonoring life’s diversity. The remedy for terrorism is to:
- Inculcate a broader perspective of life.
- Value life more than race, religion and nationality.
- Provide education in human values – friendliness, compassion, cooperation and upliftment.
- Teach methods to release stress and tension.
- Cultivate confidence in achieving noble aims by peaceful and nonviolent means.
Weed out destructive tendencies with spiritual upliftment.
Terrorism can be more than physical violence, such as cultural or economic terrorism. The solution for economic violence is to “Think globally, buy locally,” and the solution for cultural violence is to “Broaden your vision, deepen your roots.”
How does one cope with the aftermath of terrorism? With faith and prayer. When disaster happens, anger is inevitable. Take precautions that you do not react improperly. Wisdom is needed and not emotional outbursts. One mistake cannot be corrected by another mistake. Strive to foster multicultural and multi-religious education and spiritual upliftment in every part of the globe, for the world will not be safe if even a small pocket of people are left in ignorance.
Violence and nonviolence do not depend on an act but on the intention behind it. The basis of violence is anger, lust, hatred, jealousy, greed, frustration and aggression.
A surgeon cuts open a person’s belly; so does a criminal. The action is similar but the surgeon’s intention is to save life and the criminal’s is to destroy it. Violence or non-violence is determined by the attitude and not by the act.
Even a war can be non-violent if it is devoid of anger, hatred, jealousy, or greed and if its intent is to educate those who cannot be educated in any other way. Even charity can be an act of violence if it takes away self-esteem and inflicts slavery. A war can be an act of compassion if it helps to establish the right perspective.