War and Peace
We are the cause of both
The root of all wars is clearly belief in identity — whether nationalistic, ideological or religious. If we identify strongly with nationalism, dogmas, organized religions or with individual greed for power and money through such conflicts, we directly contribute to the causes of war. We raise future generations with such built in identities and create a society that makes war inevitable. When our belief in separative identities give way to the realization of the interconnectedness of all life, there would be no wars. But we cling to belief in identity so dearly and therefore naturally breed conflict.
The ongoing crisis in the world is most plainly a result of belief in identity. We can either continue to cling to our respective identities and debate endlessly as to which side is more justified thereby only adding more fuel to the fire or we can directly perceive the cause of the crisis as our very belief structure and move away from it.
So true change depends on us and not on political leaders who only reflect the society that we have created. If we realize the direct consequence that our own beliefs have on the state of the world, we can begin to end the misery caused by all such wars. But if we want to isolate ourselves in our little comfortable cocoons with our focus on money, position, adjusting well into the chaotic society and raising kids to be prepared to do the same, then we cannot complain when war comes to our cocoons one day. What we hold on to is a false sense of security, permanence and peace by feeling good at playing an insane game well and it won’t last long as terror and war will find its way to our gates too.
We have to squarely face the truth that our very clinging to all kinds of false identities is exactly the same thought pattern responsible for all wars. There is no point talking about peace sitting in a fancy conference room or protesting in the streets with peace signs as long as we are driven inwardly by clinging to identities of individualism, nationalism, ideologies, organized religions and all of it. Can we have peace with such inner motives driving us and the politicians we choose to represent us? To have true peace, we have to be first inwardly peaceful. It is not to chase some mental idea of peace but to directly look at all the falsities within us that create the opposite of peace. By looking at all the thought created images built over time to cling to identities in pursuit of a false sense of belonging and security. All the images and identities being created by thought are of the nature of coming and going with no permanence and yet we seek a permanent sense of security through these identities. If we see the falsity of all such projections which we have invested the sense of ‘me’ with, then it leads us to the most fundamental of all questions, “who am I?’.
Without inquiring within, we cannot hope for peace without. All revolutions — political, social, economic — are all just rearrangements of the false identities that only prepare the ground for the next war. To put a true end to the outer war, there has to be an end to the inner war waged by false identities. But if we simply prefer to debate on social media the relative merits of identity groups, go to streets and protest, create committees etc., we will never put an end to war. Peace cannot be won by politicians, armies, protesters or priests. Only an inner awakening can bring about peace. It can bring about right relationships, right action and right living.
If all this is neither dismissed as impractical (especially when all that is deemed practical leads only to more wars) nor merely intellectually agreed upon, but taken up seriously by enough individuals as an urgent call to self inquiry, then there can be the prospect of peace. Without inquiring and awakening within through true Self knowledge, there cannot be peace.