Israel-Palestine: The Only Way To Resolve Conflict

 

The Times of India | 7 August 2014

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The first thing needed to resolve conflict is to build trust between the two sides. But a long history of bitter war between Israel and Palestine makes this difficult. There have been talks to resolve the dispute earlier but they have not been effective due to the absence of trust. Attempts at ceasefire have not been long lasting either.

Often war rhetoric unites people in a strange way. Nationhood and religious ferocity take it beyond borders complicating a local issue and making it an international one. A conflict arises over small differences initially but when it runs into decades, it become a career for some on both sides and instead of resolving it, their intent is to keep it alive. Blinded by hatred and narrow-minded political motives, these fanatic elements, often occupying positions of influence, become numb to the suffering that their own people go through due to violence. Even in this case, liberal leaders on both sides who have made efforts to establish friendliness have come under fire by extremists from their own side. The conflict thrives on fanaticism in the garb of righteousness.

A prolonged war gives rise to generations of people who grow up without ever knowing peace, thinking of it only as a distant, impossible dream. Distressed by volatile emotions created by volatile circumstances, many of them end up joining the fight and become fuel to sustain the conflict.

Every conflict should be seen beyond its regional identity. To end the vicious cycle of violence, leaders should place humanness above religious identity, irrespective of nationhood. Dialogue based on trust is essential for peace. The door of dialogue should never be closed even if it may sometimes be hard to find solutions. In this effort, all vested interests like the arms lobby should be kept out. Often Track 2 diplomacy (people-to-people contact) works well. Public polls clearly indicate that people on both sides are eager for a peaceful settlement. Leadership on both sides have to evaluate their commitment to peace and consolidate public opinion towards it instead of inciting aggression. This is the only way.

Afghanistan: A Land of Awakened People

Photo: Bamiyan

HuffPost | 6 July 2010

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The war continues to rage in Afghanistan. The enduring violence and conflict has left the nation, its people and economy in ruins. Over the past nine years, billions of dollars have been spent and army commanders have come and gone. Like many of its neighbours in the Middle East, Afghanistan continues to find its existence challenged by the problem of terrorism, fundamentalism and fanaticism. Why is there so much violence and extremism in Afghanistan? Why are the same Muslims that live in India, Indonesia and Malaysia able to live more peacefully with their neighbours? The answer could lie in an incomplete understanding of the history and culture of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has long stood at the crossroads of a number of cultural and spiritual traditions. Because of its strategic location between the Middle and Far East, it has been an important trading route and meeting place of different cultures for thousands of years. In the past Afghanistan has been home to Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist as well as Muslim communities. All these traditions flourished in harmony - the country thrived both intellectually and materially because of its openness to various ideas - until the 20th century. Unfortunately, in this century Afghans have been encouraged or otherwise forced to disown and disrespect their own ancestral heritage, which promoted the values of non-violence and tolerance. Disowning these traditions has resulted in a rise of fanaticism and fundamentalism, which has radicalized an entire generation.

Many people don't realize that the ancient Zoroastrian religion has its roots in present day Afghanistan. Buddhism entered Afghanistan at a very early period, and over the centuries, various rulers, both non-Buddhist and Buddhist, supported the widespread construction of Buddhist monasteries there. Afghanistan was once a centre of Vedic culture. In fact the word Afghanistan comes from the Sanskrit roots, "ahi", "gana", and "sthan", meaning the country of awakened people. A number of Hindu teachers and Buddhists monks of great reputation lived in Afghanistan and founded famous universities and schools of yoga and meditation there. There was a rich tradition of meditation, spirituality, music, dance, and architecture, all of which has been systematically suppressed in recent times and replaced by an aggressive and extremist interpretation of Islam.

When pride becomes associated with aggression in a culture, it can lead youth to believe that theirs is the only right path, and that they have the right to destroy anything that they see as blasphemous and against the will of God. If a person identifies himself primarily with a religion, culture or nationality, he can remain locked in that position, to fight and die for it - and others will die with him.

Often violence comes with noise. Non-violence happens in silence. People who are violent make huge noise; they make it known. People who are non-violent are quiet. But the time has come for people who are non-violent to make noise so that the violence will quieten down. The message of non-violence has to come loud and clear so that it can be heard from a young age. The way to get rid of fanaticism in Afghanistan and elsewhere is through an education that emphases non-violence and is broad-based, multicultural and multi-religious so that as a child grows up, he or she does not think that only the Bible or the Koran hold the truth. Religious and spiritual leaders in particular need to have a broader understanding of cultures and religions. We have to teach children to embrace non-violence and value human life more than any particular religion or culture.

When we learn to broaden our vision and deepen our roots in this way, people will not fall into a narrow and rigid idea of the will of God; they will not act in aggressive and intolerant ways to defend it. We should encourage the people of Afghanistan to study their own history and to see the value of this broader perspective. Afghanistan thrived for centuries as a centre of learning, commerce and culture. For Afghanistan to survive as both a culture and a country in the present, and to flourish into the future, its youth need to take a look at the wealth of their ancestral history and honour the diversity of their culture.

Only then will the country will be Afghanistan, the Land of the Awakened.

Lessons from Pakistan

Photo: Taxila

Rediff | 18 January 2008

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When we retrace our steps in history perhaps we can learn some lessons from the unfortunate situation Pakistan is in today.

After partition Pakistan's population had 15 percent Hindus and 2 percent Christians. If Pakistan had promoted diversity then, the next generation would have grown up in a multi-cultural, multi-religious society and exercised more tolerance.

General Zia-ul-Haq during his tenure as President systematically erased this multi-cultural heritage replacing it by radical 'Islamicisation' of civil society and the army. The rich Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh legacy that was common between Pakistan and India was forgotten. Had they recognised that their ancestors were also part of these traditions, they would have imbibed and kept alive some of those values and that perhaps would have made them more tolerant and less violent. When people dispose of their own heritage it makes them intolerant and fanatical.

Pakistan, a land where many an ancient university existed and Ayurveda texts were written, where Hinduism and other religions flourished, has today seemingly forgotten its tradition with little respect for these religions. Unlike India, where the contribution of the Mughal empire is recognised and honoured, in Pakistan, honouring its diverse traditions and culture has been ignored. The result of this has been a mono-cultural, mono-religious education that has made them radical. Lack of exposure to her own heritage has cost Pakistan dearly.

When I visited Pakistan a few years ago, I met with several journalists and interacted with thousands of people. To my amazement they seemed to know very little about India's freedom movement or Mahatma Gandhi and his principles.

The young people that I met there had very little knowledge of either ayurveda, yoga or our rich Sanskrit and Vedic heritage that is common to both countries. Tolerance and appreciation of other cultures have to be developed from a very young age. Children in Pakistan know nothing about the Bhakti movement, the spiritual renaissance which the continent once witnessed.

Their knowledge of Mahatma Gandhi is limited to the fact that he was a Hindu saint and a freedom fighter and not much beyond that. And they lack knowledge of many other saints and Sikh gurus who have traveled to and lived in Pakistan; even of people like Chanakya who wrote the Artha Shastra, and lived most of his life in a university in Taxila.

By tampering with history books educationists have done great damage to the society. The soft power they appear to wield ultimately brings out a hardened attitude in the people.

Extremist groups, who, by and large, comprise people not educated in the broad spectrum of knowledge, tend to be very insular. Unfortunately today, even in India, seeds of these tendencies can be seen in protests about "Vande Materam" being sung in schools and colleges or a fatwa issued to an actor for visiting a Ganesh festival or objections about Valentine's Day celebrations.

This should be unequivocally condemned by society as a whole. A composite society will always promote harmony and peace and put a check on extremism. It is clear that people who espouse violence today such as Naxalites and religious extremists in India and across borders have little respect for Gandhi.

Since partition, the growth of the minority population in India has been manifold while Pakistan's minority population has dwindled from 15 percent to just 1 percent. The biggest mistake that Pakistan made was in not supporting its minority communities. Fifteen percent Hindus would have turned the country into a more democratic, liberal society. But when this 15 percent was annihilated, converted or sent out of Pakistan and were replaced by mono-religious zealots and it has weighed heavily on Pakistan, leading to total chaos and fundamentalism.

Though India also has seen communal tensions, by and large the society is tolerant. Extremism in one religion does not remain contained in one. Its shadow spills over to others as well which is evident in Buddhist monks taking to the streets in Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar.

Honouring the Hindu minority would not have been a threat to its Islamic identity, particularly because in Hinduism there is nothing such as proselytizing or conversion.

The two countries born to freedom sixty years ago clearly took different paths.

Chakras & the Seven Sacred Cities

Photo: Ayodhya

The Times of India | 20 September 2003

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Seven cities in India correspond to seven centres or chakras in our body: "Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avanthika, Puri drawaravati chaiva, saptaide moksha dayika".

Maya or Haridwar corresponds to the mooladhar chakra situated at the base of the spine. When the jadata or lethargy goes and enthusiasm begins, you commence your journey. Haridwar, the starting point, is "the door to the house of the Divine".

Kanchi corresponds to the swadhisthana chakra situated behind the genitals, as the presiding deity here is Kamakshi, the goddess of kama or desire.

Ayodhya corresponds to the third chakra, the manipura, situated in the navel region, where joy, generosity, greed and jealousy manifest. All these emotions are connected to Ayodhya.

It was the jealousy and greed of Kaikai that made Rama take vanavas. Ayodhya is also known for the generosity of Rama. The joy of Rama's return to Ayodhya is celebrated as Diwali. Joy, generosity, greed and jealousy meet in the nabhi pradesh, Ayodhya. Ayodhya also means where there is no fight, where it cannot hurt.

Mathura is anahata, the heart chakra. The heart is associated with three emotions: Love, fear and hatred. Mathura symbolises the love and devotion of the gopis for Krishna, as well as of the fear and hatred of Kansa, all matters of the heart.

Avanthika, also called Ujjain, is related to the vishuddha or the throat chakra. Ujjain is the city of art and literature. Poet Kalidas hailed from Ujjain. It is also the city of Vikramaditya, of grief and glory. We feel gratitude in the throat region - we get choked.

Kashi represents the ajna chakra situated between the eyebrows. Kashi has always been the seat of knowledge. That's why the ajna chakra is also called gyana chakshu, the third eye. Kashi is the city of pundits and scholars.

Dwaraka represents the sahasrara, the crown chakra on top of the head. Dwarka literally means: "Where is the door?" The door is irrelevant if there are no walls. Infinity has no walls. Krishna left his body in Dwarka. Sahasrara also means thousand avenues. It means the pathless path. The path to liberation begins at Haridwar and culminates at Dwarka.

The soul is called Purusha. Pura means a town. Purusha means one who lives in the town. The Purusha is unbound and infinite. But the Purusha experiences bondage with all the negative emotions. Positive feelings with knowledge are liberating. Positive feelings without knowledge create negative emotions which are stifling, hence one experiences bondage. When you observe the prana moving through different centres associated with sensations, the negative feelings cease to exist and one is libera-ted from bondage.

The microcosm and the macrocosm are interlinked. Planet earth, home to many organisms, is itself a large organism. It is not just a place for living beings; it is a living organism as a whole. This is what the Gaia theory says. Materialism considers everything as objects. Spirituality, on the other hand, discovers life in everything. So do children. For them, the moon talks, the sun smiles and the mountains hear. Everything comes alive. Chicken, cows, mice - all are perceived to be in communication mode. Even cities have collective consciousness. A street where unethical people conduct their business is believed to emit heavy vibrations whereas an educational institution or a place of worship emits positive and light vibrations.

The seven sacred rivers are the Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri.

Together with the seven sacred cities, they are linked to the seven sacred spots within you.