Another Look...
Indian religions must be involved in quest for world peace

Issue Date : September 1,2002

By Bal Ram Singh

It is nearing a year since we faced the horrific scenes of sky-high buildings falling, centers of power crumbling, and airplane passengers being put through instant incineration under public view. The United States of America, the embodiment of the free world, literally came to standstill within an hour of the first of the twin World Trade Towers being hit by a passenger plane on Sept. 11, 2001. A lot has been done and much more has been said to combat the elements responsible for those ghastly events in an effort to prevent such incidents again. It is perhaps an opportune time to reflect not only on the steps being taken to prevent such things from happening again, but also on the more pertinent curative measures. No society can call itself free while living on the borrowed time of preventive measures taken by police forces, the military, secret agents and assassins along with travel restrictions and more draconian laws and rules. The initial pronouncements of the American politicians focused on the criminal aspect of the terrorist attacks primarily as a law-and-order problem. But it changed very quickly to a war cry. The face of Osama bin Laden was put on the perpetrators of the terrorist acts, as more players involved in the planning and executing of the ghastly act continued to be identified ? along with groups and nations that harbored and protected them. American public and politicians were (and continue to be) contented with their plans to take retaliatory action against those who may be directly involved, or those who provide them sanctuary or bases of operation. The question is whether such an approach has been effective and will bring an end to terrorism ? and long lasting peace in the world. The indicators point to the negative, as virtually all of the Al Qaeda leadership remains at large, and much of the Taliban is regrouping from its hideouts. Terrorism is not new; it has been used during historical as well as mythological times. India has been at the receiving end of innumerable onslaughts of barbaric behavior of invaders for more than a thousand years, virtually all of them from the Middle East, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The Indian population has been terrorized from the time of Mahmud of Ghazni, Mohammed Ghori, Tamur Lung, Allauddin Khilzi, to Aurengzeb. These people led by beheading, raping, marauding, looting, destroying places of learning and places of worships. Beheading of men in front of their wives and children was a common form of terror perpetrated upon Indians during the Middle Ages time frame. The process of terror continues in Kashmir and northeast India, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths in the past five years. These have been no less terrorizing than what we just watched on Sept. 11. It seems only the faces change with time, and pain of victims continues to remain the same. So, retaliation against the current crop of terrorists or terrorist nations will only change faces, not the terror. That is unless, of course, we deal with the real problem: That terrorism is the weapon of choice for certain ideologies. National and world leaders must apply their intellectual resources to examine the root cause of the terrorism, and address the issue for a comprehensive solution. If religions have been the cause of virtually all major wars and conflicts in the world, then the force that springs religions forward must be tapped to create solutions. All the religions derive their power in some sort of spirituality, which has become the least understood commodity in the era of modern science, business, and politics. Modern life has been overtaken by desire, ego, greed, and anger, which breed intolerance and violence in people, irrespective of their nationality or religion. It is shame that so far no one has raised the issue of sanitizing religious beliefs with the pure nectar of true spirituality. It is perhaps due to the influence of ego that has pervaded into the national and international lives of people. While Allah-hu-Akbar and God Bless America continue to inspire the two sides of the recent conflict, there seems no one to explain ? or, even more importantly, listen ? to the true meaning of the concept of the omnipotent and omnipresent Almighty. India is the only living culture of several thousand years old with a multitude of languages, ethnic groups and faiths or religions. It is the only culture that believes in Vaade Vaade Tatva Bhodhah (truth is realized by discussion and debate), Ahinsa Paramo Dharmah (non-violation is the greatest principle of duty), and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (realize the whole planet as a family). It is a shame that virtually all the interfaith gatherings in United States exclude people of Indic traditions (Hindus, Budhists, Jains, and Sikhs). If Indians are not invited to contribute to the world peace through their millennia-old traditions, there is very little chance for lasting peace in the world. This is high time that solutions to complex human problems are approached taking high roads built upon selflessness and at least a certain degree of self-realization.

Bal Ram Singh, director of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Indic Studies, may be reached at bsingh@umassd.edu.

 Last Updated On: 3/29/06