World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of happiness, freedom and peace within and among all people and nations on earth. But the question is raised here do we really have the promising peace in our today’s world? If yes, why we don’t enjoy it? And if the answer is No then why can’t we have it?
When we rise in the morning and listen to the radio or read the newspaper, we are challenged with depressed news: violence, crime, wars, and tragedies and this automatically indicate lack of peace and security. I cannot recall a solitary day without a report of something awful happening anywhere. Even in these modern times it is clear that one’s valuable life is not safe. No former generation has had to experience so much bad news as we face today; this continuous awareness of fear and tension should make any sensitive and compassionate person question seriously the progress of our modem world. It is sarcastic that the more serious problems originate from the more technologically advanced societies. Science and technology have worked wonders in many arenas, but the basic human complications remain.
There is extraordinary literacy, yet this universal education does not appear to have nurtured goodness, but only mental restlessness and dissatisfaction instead. There is no hesitation about the intensification in our material progress and technology, but somehow this is not sufficient as we have not yet prospered in bringing about peace and happiness or in overcoming suffering. We can only conclude that there must be something seriously wrong with our advancement and progress, and if we do not check it in time there could be catastrophic consequences for the future of humanity.
However understanding reasons behind the absences of peace and security in the world and societies is the fundamental lack of communication between people, this is seriously undermines efforts towards world peace. Two arguments bear emphasizing in all these issues. One is that the eradication of war is not just a matter of signing agreements and conventions; it is a complex task requiring a new level of commitment to resolving issues not customarily associated with the pursuit of peace. Based on political agreements alone, the idea of collective security is a fantasy. The other point is that the primary challenge in dealing with issues of peace is to raise the context to the level of principle, as distinct from pure pragmatism. For, in essence, peace stalks from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is primarily in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can be found. However there are spiritual principles, or what some call human values, by which solutions can be found for every social problem.
Any well-meant group can in a general sense formulate practical solutions to its problems, but good intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential merit of spiritual principle is that it’s not only presents a viewpoint which harmonizes with that which is immanent in human nature, it also encourages an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and implementation of practical measures. Leaders of governments and all in authority would be well served in their efforts to solve problems if they would first seek to identify the principals involved and then be directed by them. Thirdly the primary question to be resolved is how the contemporary world, with its deep-rooted pattern of conflict, can change to a world in which harmony and co-operation will prevail. World order can be founded only on an unshakeable consciousness of the oneness of mankind, a spiritual truth which all the human sciences confirm.
Anthropology, physiology, psychology, recognizes only one human species, although substantially diverse in the subordinate features of life. Acknowledgment of this truth requires abandonment of preconception prejudgment of every kind race, class, color, faith, nation, sex, and degree of material civilization, everything which permits people to consider themselves superior to others. Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the first essential requirement for reform and administration of the world as one country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance of this spiritual principle is vital to any successful attempt to establish world peace. It should therefore be comprehensively announced, taught in schools, and constantly asserted in every nation as preparation for the organic change in the structure of society which it implies.
Nevertheless the great Peace towards which people of good will through the centuries have motivated their hearts, of which oracles and writers for countless generations have articulated their vision, and for which from phase to phase the holy scriptures of mankind have continually held the promise, is now at long last within the reach of the nations. World peace is not only possible but inevitable. It is the next phase in the progression of this sphere in the words of one great thinker, concerning the human kind. Whether peace is to be reached only after inconceivable fears caused by humanity’s persistent clinging to old patterns of behavior, or is to be embraced now by an act of consultative will, is the choice before all who inhabit the earth. At this critical juncture when the intractable problems confronting nations have been fused into one common concern for the whole world, failure to stem the tide of conflict and disorder would be unconscionably irresponsible.
In conclusions although the increasing interdependence among nations might be expected to generate more sympathetic cooperation, it is difficult to achieve a spirit of genuine cooperation as long as people remain indifferent to the feelings and happiness of others. When people are motivated mostly by greed and jealousy, it is not possible for them to live in harmony and this is already the absence of peace itself. A spiritual approach may not solve all the political problems that have been caused by the existing self-centered approach, but in the long run it will overcome the very basis of the problems that we face today. On the other hand, if humankind continues to approach its problems considering only temporary expediency, future generations will have to face tremendous difficulties.
