If we think about it, currently we live in a world of great advancement of science and technology. We have the technology to travel to outer space not to mention observe great parameter of universe. Also, the day to application of technology in travel, transportation and other day to day life has improved significantly also. The health technology is at a level, where painful surgery and method of treatment is being replaced by better ones....
At the same time, we see countries and fraction of groups are at war against each other in the name of religion, or other %26quot;label%26quot; they like to give themselves. We see great amount of death and destruction is caused by people. We see years of buildings and development being brought down to dust, just because of some political interest.
My question isn't there a PEACE FULL way to resolve our conflicts? I know some people have the %26quot;dog%26quot; like mentality to think it's impossible to coexist with others, and destruction is the ultimate way!!!! I personally think it's just our inferiority of mentality. If we can work on making ourselves better, psychologically, a lot of our problems will go away. We are human for god sakes! We have the quality to judge in constructive way and improving each one of us personally thus making the world better in return...
If you think about it, all the greatest invention of the world(electricity, plain, ship or others) are actually contributions of some great few minds. Of course their ideas were commercialized and mass produced to make it work. But my point is if only a handful of people have the compatibility to make the world a better place, why can't we as a group or nation learn to be more tolerant and progressive? Instead of being scared of others?
Am I being too general? Lets just consider world history:
(a) World War II - Nazi Germany goes against Jews, and the whole world gets into a destructive mode!
(b) Now in Middle east, there are still war going on
(c) USA now is always on alert with war against %26quot;terrorism%26quot; or sometimes against the muslim. And this is not really something new. USA was an arch enemy of Soviet russia before. As a matter of fact, the power of talibans or afgan fractions was a result of US policy
(d) The asians region also has conflict. Hindus against muslims and so on.
(e) A major part of the world now has nuclear power, just as a result of previous animosity. And it's a very risky business. It doesn't take much nuclear weapons to destruct the whole world!!
Ok, so that's definitely a scary picture. So my question is, why can't we raise our children or make it mandatory in schools and college, to make ourselves better personally? Through the power of meditation, psycho analysis and so on, we can definitely change ourselves positively and turn the world into a better place in return....
Definitely, the technology is way past in race in front of us...And we human are still with the back dated mentality that war is the ultimate way....Lets catch up with the blessing of modern technology and make ourselves better. Japan for example, can be an example of being peaceful and advanced country(of course Japan had a violent past also).
If anyone had the patient to read my article fully please let me know what you think. And if you like what I say, don't keep it to yourself. Please spread. Thanks
When will we be up to date with current technology?
I like your thinking.
The first thing: if you are not already, please begin meditating. For you personally, on the journey you seem to be on, it is essential. If you are interested, send me a message.
I will offer a few thoughts vis a vis conflict resolution...
The traditional definition of non-violence may best be provided by Jesus in Matthew 5: %26quot;That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.%26quot;
Both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. implemented this approach to violence in grand fashion, assembling large gatherings of people in parades and marches, which were greeted by police violence. When this violence came, they did not respond violently, and many were injured.
The Dalai Lama in Tibet offers another example. When his temples were being overrun by the Chinese army, he chose to flee rather than fight to preserve them.
But there is another approach to the concept of non-violence. This approach comes from the martial art Aikido, as I was taught it.
I was taught that each person has a right to a sacred space around their body. If someone goes to punch you, you have a right to prevent them from hurting you.
Aikido teaches you to meet an incoming attack with enough force to redirect and neutralize the attack, doing the least amount of damage to *yourself*, those around you, and the attacker as well. This takes tremendous skill, practice, and awareness.
How does this differ from the %26quot;turn the other cheek%26quot; approach to non-violence? If we apply Jesus' philosophy, and the attacker hits us twice, we are allowing violence to occur: to ourselves! Is this truly non-violent?
In the Aiki example, we are meeting forceful energy with forceful energy, and if it is done skillfully, *no-one* will be injured. One will dissolve the violent energy before it has a chance to create pain.
Every time I see violence, two images flash through my mind: the Dalai Lama, and the Aikido master. It is never clear to me which is the most non-violent.
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One of the effects of meditation is one begins to become disidentified from one's thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. 聽As awareness becomes stronger, one sees that one is not the mind, not the emotions, and not the body. 聽
If this is true (and I am not asking you to take my word for it -- you can only discover the truth of this statement by meditating yourself!) then the various thoughts, positions, opinions and so forth that you hold will become more fluid. 聽After you have meditated for a while, it is much harder to hold onto a particular mental position, because you see that %26quot;you%26quot; do not own your thoughts, and in fact, %26quot;you%26quot; did not even think of the thoughts.
Now, one of the main contributors to conflict in a community is the clash of ideas. 聽One group thinks we should spend money on guns, another on butter. 聽One group thinks we should build a two lane highway, one group thinks it should stay one lane. 聽And so on.
But if we are meditating, our attachment to our opinions loosens, and we are able to truly listen to others more deeply, more openly. 聽It therefore becomes easier to collaborate on finding solutions that work for everyone.
There is another point. 聽When people sit together and meditate, there is an incredible %26quot;heart-melting%26quot; that happens. 聽One feels love and connectedness with people, even if one has never spoken a word to them. At this point, it is much harder to hurt them...
