In this Weekly Wisdom, Gurudev discusses how human values education is needed to heal the wounds of terrorism and work for peace in the world.
Gurudev recently shared his views on stopping terrorism, especially in light of recent violence in the Middle East:
Human values education
Some people take pride in violence, which won’t solve any issue. The inhumane activity of a few impacts millions. Terrorists are very few, but to get to them, so many innocent lives are lost. This is where we need spiritual, value-based education on human values.
In the United Nations, they talk about peace and security. So much is done for security. Nothing much is done for peace.
Peace and security are just words. Security means defense. We think of defense when we hear that word.
A few in the basket
War gets generated in the heads of a few. Just a few people thought they should eliminate the other community or religion and went ahead. That’s a heinous crime. Now, if you know people have violent tendencies, you must reach out to correct them.
One has to be really aware now not to put everyone in the same basket. We’re too quick to put people into one basket or the other. We think either Israelis or Palestinians are bad. Neither whole group is bad, but some elements are.
Terrorism destroys humanity. How many steps have we taken to combat terrorism? Zero.
Don’t think that just by killing terrorists, you can eliminate them. In the Devi Bhagavatam, wherever a drop of a demon’s blood would fall, 10 other demons would rise. Stopping them requires skill.
Healing the wound
When terrorists were in prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, our people tried to reach out to the authorities. We asked for access to them for teaching and making them understand that their concept of pleasing God by killing someone is erroneous. But we couldn’t get access there.
Prison is one place where you catch hold of, educate and reform people. Through them, you can reach others outside and correct their mindset.
If you have a problem with your hand, you don’t cut it off. You start healing that wound. You put medicine on it and take care of it. You don’t discard your arm. That’s where I feel that a lot needs to be done by bringing in spirituality, meditation, and understanding to move away from violence.
Nonviolence should be the language of a civilized society.
If we call ourselves a civilized society with so much violence, it doesn’t make any sense. I toured about 40 cities in America. Everywhere, I talked about how 2.9 mass shootings per day, this doesn’t make any society appear civilized. I said, “Where are we? Have we gone back to the barbaric age?”
Positive mob psychology
What you’re all doing here, meditating and creating positive energy, has so much relevance. Wherever you create positive energy, it will impact other minds.
Psychologists know about mob psychology. If one person in the mob says something negative, everybody becomes negative. That means if one person is positive, everyone becoming positive is also possible.
If we all put our positive attention on being in silence, meditating, and creating positive, non-violent vibes, it will reduce the aggression and depression in society. It will uplift the spirit, and that’s what the celebration is all about.
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Editor’s note:
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