Watching the news, the world appears full of chaos and destruction. At times, it can be quite overwhelming. So why do such conflicts continue reappearing?
Well, let’s break it down. All wars require two sides, “Us and Them”. The gap between the two sides can have many causes: secular, ethnic, social, political, and economic reasons and so on.
However, the evolution of human consciousness means that today people are far more open and accepting of themselves and others than ever before. And yet… conflict (in all its forms) remains a daily reality.
Are you for ‘Us’ or are you one of ‘Them’? Whose side are you on? Whether it’s Ukraine v Russia, Palestine v Israel, or me v you, it’s time to shift, time to change, time to recognise that we can choose a positive evolutionary path.
As Jean-Jacques Goldman asked himself in his 1990 song ‘Né en 17 à Leidenstadt’ (Born in ’17 in Leidenstadt) – if he had been born in Germany in 1917, would he have become a Nazi? The question is all the more remarkable when you learn that Goldman’s mother was Jewish, and his father was a member of the French resistance.
How would you act and feel if you had been born a Palestinian, Ukranian, Israeli or Russian?
Because at the end of the day, nationalities, cultures, and religions are not the heart of who we are, not the root of our being. When you let go of old opinions or fixed positions and search deep inside, you find there is no difference (in spirit or essence) between you and any other person.
“When you’ve seen beyond yourself then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we’re all one
And life flows on within you and without you.”
George Harrison
Once you’ve have experienced this seeing beyond yourself, all layers of human identity are acknowledged as being transient and limited views. You realise that you are inseparable from existence itself, which is universal and one. His is the starting point for harmony and peace.
An experience of oneness changes the way you view others and the world. It causes your everyday consciousness to stretch, revealing existence to be the one, inseparable whole it fundamentally is. After this ‘seeing’ then disagreements, conflicts and wars seem to arise from a lack of awareness and understanding of who we all are. After all, it’s madness to fight oneself.
So, what about self-defense? Following an attack, the response can be transformative for all concerned if it is focused on prevention rather than tit for tat escalation. The Buddhist approach to self-defense is its justifiable when it’s measured and limited, with the intention of preventing further harm rather than an escalatory act of revenge.
Religious disputes have played a pivotal role in numerous wars and atrocities. Fundamentalism, ‘holy’ wars and extremism litter the history books from the Sacred Wars of Ancient Greece, the 11-13th century ‘Crusades’ between the Muslims and the Christians, Catholics-Protestants, Pakistan-India, Iran-Iraq, Yugoslavia, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan and so the list goes on.
The claim of having Divine exclusivity (i.e., my ‘god’ is real, yours is false) lies at the root of religious fundamentalism. Whereas a unified experience of oneness (available to anyone of any religion, including the non-religious) allows you to realise the unity of existence directly, without the mind interrupting!
Human society has invented endless labels and categories for us; nationality, colour, gender, social class or status, religion, politics, age, body size and shape, intellectual prowess, the list is as long as the human mind can imagine, and relying exclusively on these descriptors sets us apart rather than bringing us together.
May be its time to look at what unifies us rather than what distinguishes us, to utilize universal qualities that have the power to unite us and establish a harmonious world.
Yes, we are animals, but our capacity for figuring things out, our ability to see the bigger picture is what makes us human beings. We not only have a higher level of intelligence available to us (supposedly!) but we have the opportunity to recognise how life is one interwoven family-hood.
In essence, we are inseparable from one another, so any identity used to define who we are, are part truths at best. There are many such everyday labels; man, woman, child, gender, nationality, religion, political persuasion, social status, physical appearance, colour, size, ability, disability, wellness, illness, intellectual ability, and so on. When labels such as these become a primary identity, then you are probably suffering from spiritual amnesia, because you are forgetting the heart of the matter; that we are so much more than these.
When you explore this further, it’s humbling and empowering, for you realise in both heart and mind that there is no one lesser or greater than you. It is this interconnectedness, the universal oneness, and our ability to experience it, which is the great hope for humanity.
We are the one life.
It’s time to wake up, time to unite, and time to venture beyond the limited surface layers of human identity, and time to embody our spiritual heritage.
For we are love, and this is the heart of the matter.
Article by More to Life Elder – Jonathan Harrison
Article published in More to Life – Edition 65
