On the occasion of International Day of Peace commemorated on September 21, it is pertinent to mention that the International year of the Youth with the theme 'Dialogue and Mutual understanding' embraced UNESCO's vision of 'Building Peace in the minds of people' since the inception of peace, or unrest begins in the though process of Humans.
Peace and security are closely related to equitable, just and fair societies which are not fighting against poverty, castism, racism, discrimination and division of culture and beliefs. Peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace building though thought not to be the same are actually conceptually interdependent moving towards Active Peace including interventions, giving voice to the voiceless and witnessing the results of violence and oppression by non stake holders.
The United Nations charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security. For this reason, the international community sometimes looks to the UN Security Council to authorize peacekeeping operations.
The Master Chin Kung (Taiwan) of the Buddha Educational foundation said that one should be grateful to those who have hurt or harmed you, for they have reinforced your determination, be grateful to those who have deceived you, for they have deepened your insight, be grateful to those who have hit you, for they have redeemed your karmic obstacles, be grateful to those who have made you stumble, for they have strengthened your ability, be grateful to those who have denounced you, for they have increased your wisdom and concentration, be grateful to those who have made you firm and resolute.
Dignity, religious tolerance, equitability, mutual respect, 'Dialogue' inter-cultural exchange and doing away with malice and hatred are the keys for conflict resolution. From time immemorial, India has a culture of amity and goodwill with harbingers of Peace such as lord Rama, Emperor Ashoka The Great, Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai lama and Mother Teresa, who preached 'love' a word that frees us from the weight and pain of life.
There is no evil like hatred and no fortitude like patience. Mother Teresa said 'that it was not the magnitude of our action but the amount of love we put into them that mattered'. The 'Mahatama' taught us about Satya, Ahimsa, Self Reliance, Self sufficiency and Self sacrifice. lord Buddha preached that 'let us inspect our thoughts that we do no unwholesome deed, for as we sow, so have we reap.
The karmic law comes into full force and hatred never ceases by hatred but only by 'love' alone. Cherish in your hearts boundless goodwill towards all living creation which is actual True Religion. He asked mankind to do their duty, show kindness to each other and find freedom from suffering.
The famous poet Jalal Ul Din Rumi said: love makes bitter things sweet.love converts base Copper to Gold By love things become clear.By love pain becomes healing. By love the dead are brought to life.By love a king is made a slave. Mankind, specially the 'Youth' of today has to move away from a culture of nuclear warfare, terrorism, materialism and shift towards a simple, uncluttered living with a balance between needs and wants.
As aptly said by Gandhi ji 'Man has enough for this needs, but not enough for his greed'. (The author is member-in-charge Youth Affairs, AIWC)