Conflict and war are the opposites of peace. Conflict takes place on three levels, within each of us, between people, between countries and individuals. It starts within us as harmful negative thoughts directed towards ourselves or others. It is experienced as depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, fear, and guilt. A war, to start, may need only two people who disagree but can expand to involve many countries and millions of people. War causes violence, destruction and death.
Regarding war, this is what Yogananda said just before World War II, which is also valid now, since man has not learned to solve problems without killing each other:
“The whole world is at the brink of war. Do you know where God is leading you? Even now, new streamlined methods of killing are being devised. And when everyone is finally armed to the teeth, God will show you that armament will not stop the war. If I use a sword, my brother will use a bigger sword. If I show him a gun, he will show me a bigger gun.
Such principles can never bring peace. The countries involved don’t want to talk peace now; but they will have to talk peace sometime, when they have lost much of their wealth and have killed off all the young. If the politicians who sponsor war were required to go to the front lines to face the enemy, they would not be so quick to advocate war!”
— Paramahansa Yogananda, World Crisis, “How-to-Live” Series No. 1700, 2017, Reprinted from Self-Realization magazine.
Peace is a healing state of mind that also starts within us. It is caused by positive and loving thoughts and experienced as calm, tranquility, harmony, deep feelings of joy and love. Inner peace causes us to become a happy, creative, and loving person, able to radiate these feelings out to others. A peaceful attitude makes power and strength available to us in all our undertakings. Peace is a spiritual goal that striving for is the ultimate purpose of life. Peace causes happiness.
However, as I write this the people on this planet are experiencing anything but peace. It has become more and more difficult for us to feel calm, safe and have peace of mind, harmonious relationships and to look to the future without fear. The world is changing at a very fast pace, and we are forced to enter into a survival mode. A spiritual teacher named Arten said, in this century “You can expect everything to be bigger, faster and scarier.” 1 And so it is. We are now dealing with serious traumatic global events and crises. Climate change now threatens every aspect of human life. The world is now a battleground where contradiction reigns, and opposites make endless war. 2
“War is outdated — non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters. This is how we will build a more peaceful world.”
— His Holiness the Dalai Lama, February 28, 2022.
The truth is, we can only survive peacefully.
“Mutual respect, trust and concern for one another’s welfare
is our best hope for lasting world peace.”
—His Holiness the Dalai Lama
1 Gary R. Renard The Disappearance of the Universe (Carlsbad: Hay House Inc., 2005), 371.
2 A Course In Miracles, Manual for Teachers (Mill Valley, CA: Foundation for Inner Peace, 2007), 66.