“Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, colour, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.”
Nelson Mandela
Social scientists, politicians and religious leaders, each in their own way, have been trying to create such an environment throughout history. A deep look at the sacred texts from the world’s religious and spiritual traditions tells us to be the best that we possibly can be towards ourselves and others so that we can create such an environment. This appeal is perennial. The values that we needed thousands of years ago, are the same today. Although superficial truths and perspectives have changed over time, the basic truth of our existence has always been the same.
It is impossible to think about peace between human beings and their communities and na-tions without resolving the fundamental question of personal inner peace.
From a spiritual point of view, peace is an original quality of the soul itself. The search for peace in society is exactly the same search for peace within ourselves at an individual level.
Having spent time meeting and observing people in more than 40 countries, the conclusion reached was that humanity’s problems were not exclusive to a culture or social class. The greed of the rich seemed equal to that of the poor. The only difference was in terms of quanti-ty, but not in quality. The attachment of a Russian mother to her child was the same as that of an American mother. The pride that a Muslim had for his religion seemed the same as that of a Christian. The vanity of men and women about their physical appearance is also similar. Ul-timately, all problems seemed to be universal in nature. That means we are all intrinsically, in one way or another, the solutions.
The state of peace is within us all. As my property, no one and nothing can take peace away from me unless I allow that to happen. What happens is we become dislocated from this state of peace and frantically search for it outside of ourselves. We go on spiritual pilgrimages. We hold peace conferences. We even fight wars in order to protect peace. We seek peace in na-ture to get away from it all. Peace is often understood as meaning that there is no conflict. However, real peace is not the absence of something. It exists, in its own right, and is a posi-tive force for the reconstruction of the best that we have in this world.
Imagine being in a completely stable and changeless state, neither pulled nor pushed by any circumstances in our world but retaining a constancy of perception and being. That is how God is, and that is why God is considered to be an unlimited Ocean of Peace. Peace, though, is my own original property too. God reminds me of this. The quality of God’s peace and my peace is the same. The quantity, however, is different. Because of a superficial understanding of ourselves and the things around us, any peace that we extract from our circumstances can only be ephemeral. At a surface level, our minds may be jumping around here and there, but deep within the soul, there is silence and peace waiting to be rediscovered and brought out into our lives.
Interacting with things at a superficial level will never bring us peace. Going deep within, connecting with the Source of Peace will bring peace immediately.
Every time I connect with the Source of Peace, my own peace becomes activated and charged so much that it can last for hours on end. In connection with God as the Source of Peace, we can guarantee for ourselves a state of peace and equanimity that can help us through any situation, and ultimately bring the kind of environment where all within it flour-ish.
Ken O’Donnell is an author and the director of Brahma Kumaris’ services in South America.