The War Within

There have been over three thousand wars in the last three thousand years of recorded history, and yet man’s propensity for violence remains undiminished despite the tremendous technological advances of the past century, which have created the illusion of greater collective civility where none really exists.  This treatise is not about singing the virtues of human conflict nor even about the inevitability of it, tempting as that may be, but is an attempt to understand the very root and nature of human conflict in general in the backdrop of the present situation in Iraq. 

Although, it is extremely difficult to defend the call to arms as a tool for long-term conflict resolution, I think that most people would agree that sometimes and in certain situations it becomes a horrible necessity as a short-term response to a situation out of control.  For example, what is the appropriate response when an individual such as Hitler surfaces?  Is there any alternative to violence when faced with such an individual?  One who is unable to dialogue rationally and is head-bent on attacking, conquering, dominating, persecuting and killing?  I am sure that almost everyone will agree that such an individual needs to be stopped immediately.  In his case war would be justified and necessary because ignoring such an individual would not bring the ultimate peace and harmony we all seek, but instead allow violence and hatred to continue unabated until his goals were achieved and the world was completely subdued and, in the case of Hitler, his white, Aryan supremacy theories become a reality.  Even in such a situation the innocent masses would suffer, but most people, I think, would accept that the suffering of these thousands would be a unnecessary but ‘acceptable’ price to be paid not only in order to save the lives of millions of others, but also in terms of laying a solid and ‘righteous’ foundation on which could be built a just, humane and loving society.  In this case the horrors of war would be no less gruesome, but being convinced that one was representing the forces of ‘good’ against the forces of ‘evil’ would make it more palatable.  Obviously, the problem is that in most conflicts each side considers themselves to be representing the forces of ‘good’ in the fight against ‘evil. 

 The lunacy of resorting to war or violence over each and every dispute is self-evident to any ‘reasonable’ person, however, the dangers of allowing murderous dictators with an insatiable desire for power and scant regard for human life to prosper unchecked is equally dangerous.  This is especially true in the modern era when we have the resources not only for local genocide, but also for global destruction.  Consequently, the situation has become extremely complicated.  It is difficult to stand on the sidelines with our heads in the sand and yet involvement in the global market place comes at a high price.  Peace and harmony are all ideals that everybody wants, but how to get there is not so easy and sometimes difficult decisions may have to be made; ones that nobody wants to take.  History has clearly indicated that there cannot be a policy of peace at any cost and that there is a point when violence has to be resorted to as the lesser of two evils.   On the other hand, when that point has arrived has proven difficult to assess.  There are always going to be individuals using these type of arguments to fulfill their own political or economic agenda; unscrupulous individuals who use war or violence to further their own, or their particular interest group’s, limited and self-serving interests. 

 Consequently, there are two primary issues to be considered here.  One is when to resort to violence or war and to be clear about the motivations behind that decision?  Is it really the case of rooting out evil, or is to further one’s own self-serving interests?  The second issue is, if we accept that war or violence are short-term answers that do not touch the root of the problem, then what are we doing to identify the root and how are we going to apply that understanding for the long-term betterment of the collective whole. 

 Hitler is an extreme example of evil personified and yet even in his time, Europe was hesitant and divided for a long time before declaring war.  Present day tyrants have all kinds of media and PR resources available in order to paint themselves gray and avoid the black and white perception that would render decision making much easier.   Another  problem is that if George Bush and America are going to the play the benevolent Dictator in a new world order than the criterion for ‘evil’ must be held consistently and not just to further their own political and economic needs of the moment.  Obviously, this has not happened in the past and for it to happen in the future, both will have to display a moral fortitude neither has even hinted of possessing in the recent past. 

 The crux of the conflict problem lies with the distorted individual perception of the parties involved regarding any particular disagreement.  How else can we explain so many people perceiving the same situation and viewing it so completely differently?  Why is that so?  Ironically, both sides are often ‘wrong’ in their perceptions since both are looking at the world from their own narrow, short-range, self-serving positions.  The problem lies not in the situation itself, but in the distorted perception of individuals blinded by their conditioned beliefs, their closed view of life and their selfish interests.  Ultimately, people are essentially the same every where: on a material level they want food, shelter and comfort and spiritually their want peace in their heart.  However, due to spiritual ignorance and lack of a fundamental awareness of ourselves and the universe we live in, many people become imbalanced through fear.  As a result, greed, ambition, desire, hatred and insecurity arise and conflicts are seen where none exist and solutions are sought where none are necessary. 

By mistaking the true nature of conflict and its root, which lies in the individual, most people look to change the situation, the world or the other.  As usual, we have things the wrong way around.  Everybody wants to change the world, but what is the world?  Is it not just a collection of individuals?  The world, as we know it, does not seem to be a tangible whole.  Yes, on the ultimate level the Universe is demonstrably one whole organic unity, but ‘Man’, due to his spiritual ignorance, has created disunity every where.  As a result, there exist superficial divisions along the lines of color, race, religion, nationality, region, culture, financial resources (the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’) and language to name a few, which become the root of almost all conflict. 

These divisions go to the very source of all our problems and I think it is important to examine them very carefully in order to see how real they are.  The first thing to understand fully is that as soon as you create an ‘us’, automatically a ‘they’ arises and the potential for conflict is immediately born.  So we are constantly creating two circles and as one becomes bigger the other becomes correspondingly smaller.  The most ignorant consider themselves individuals and are committed to taking care of themselves with scant regard for the ‘other’, which includes the rest of the world.  For those a little more enlightened, the circle of love expands to include their family and friends.  Some may see it in their heart to include within their inner circle everyone from their own country or region and as a result a division along the lines of nationality arises.  Others may feel ‘connected’ to those from the same religion and certainly we see the potential explosiveness of religious fundamentalism, even from those ‘well-meaning’ souls who for all the ‘right’ reasons wish to save the ignorant masses.  Others still create divisions along the lines of race and this gives birth to supremacist groups that despise those different from themselves and strive to keep their race ‘pure’, by force if necessary.  A more topical division surfacing at this present movement is along the lines of ideology, with the anti war ‘pacifists’ aggressively and sometimes even ‘violently’ (ironic, considering their cause) making their point to the ‘other’ side.  A few people are enlightened enough to realize that all human-beings are essentially the same.  Yes, we may have different pigmentation and speak different languages and eat different foods and have different ways of living and worshipping, but these are simply superficial differences that do nothing to disguise our underlying inner sameness.  However, as large as this circle may be, it is not all encompassing since it excludes animals, plants, rocks, trees, stars, etc. 

I am not suggesting that differences do not exist, they obviously do, however, I am suggesting that we see the differences for what they are: superficial details that exist at our periphery.  To look beyond the obvious, is to see the life force that is at the core of all that exists within the universe (and there is nothing that is outside of this universe).  Even on a purely materialistic level, it is becoming increasing clear that we are all in this together and that there is only one circle that must include the entire universe because everything is inter-connected.  No one can live in a vacuum, what you do affects me and what I do affects you.  This is true on many different levels.  Issues such as environment and nuclear armament clearly illustrate this point in a powerful and conclusive manner.  Unfortunately, for many people, these logical explanations for seeing the universe as one whole are not enough to drop our prejudices, our propensity for violence, our hatred and intolerance for those different from us, or our desire and greed for more.   For individual transformation and a transcendence of the emotions we consider ‘normal’, we need to go beyond the rational arguments that science is beginning to provide us.

Mystics from many traditions have been telling us for thousands of years that there is only one circle and that the appearance of 2 circles is an illusion, which disappears on closer examination.  This ability to see more profoundly is often called the spiritual journey or the journey of self-awareness.  The unaware person is born ‘blind’ and according to the mystics, most of us die in the same state, however, they have also told us that there is a cure to this ‘blindness’ that we all suffer from.  They know this because they admit they too had once been ‘blind’, but were able to cure themselves.  The problem is that very few of us are aware that we are ‘blind’ in the first place and unless that understanding is there initially, it will be impossible to embark on a search for the cure.  The mystics have even indicated that the way out of the ‘blindness’ lies, not in any religious dogma or by adopting the beliefs of organized or cult-type organizations, but in the pure and simple efforts of each individual to know himself by himself.    

A major obstacle for progress lies in the false understanding that we can change the world by ‘helping’ others to see things as we do.  The truth is we cannot.  We have to cure our own ‘blindness’ first and then, and only then, will we even be confronted with the choice of helping others, but by then our understanding of the nature of help will have undergone a distinct transformation.  Until then, our desire to be helpful simply results in the passionate passing of our confusion to others.  Unfortunately, this will fall on deaf ears to the multitudes who ‘believe’ they can see, but in reality are entrenched in a much darker reality then the ones who are at least aware of their ‘blindness’.  It is infinitely easier to attempt to ‘help’ others than it is to examine our own lives.  Before inner growth can take place within us we need to first look and see who in fact we are.  When we do that, change happens all by itself.  We do not need to make a goal or an ideal and strive towards it, we just need to accept ourselves just as we are without holding on to any preconceived notion of who we ‘should’ be and see what happens.  Do you see fear, greed, loneliness, insecurity, love generosity, strength and aloneness when you look within?  If you are honest and perceptive that is exactly what you will see and much more.  If you can accept without judgment whatever emotions arise and welcome them through quiet observation, deeper insight arises, which allows fundamental changes to happen within you that are natural and ‘true’ because they do not arise from your ideals or in fact the ideals of others.  Before you put all your time and effort into changing that which there is no possibility of changing (the outside world), spare a thought for focusing on yourself.  Anger is the seed of violence and hatred.  Are you capable of anger?  If you are then you are probably capable of murder.  It just depends on the time, place and situation.  Before we look at others and try to help them, perhaps we need to look within our hearts and set our own house in order. 

Finally, many people of action who consider themselves practical, logical and scientifically-minded have little time for the ‘spiritualists’, whose perceptions seem akin to Nero fiddling while Rome burns.  Yes, it does seem that way at first glance, but closer examination reveals that we have no choice.  We may be able to bully someone into changing their external behavior in a situation we are in control of, but we are completely powerless in influencing their internal mechanism.  We cannot make people more loving, more generous or more compassionate (we cannot even help ourselves be that way): not through coercion and certainly not through war or violence.  In fact, war and violence often yield the exact opposite emotions, which remain a testament to the absolute uselessness of war as a long-term solution to any conflict.   Consequently, regardless of the causes we become involved in, whether it is anti-war, environmental or animal rights to name just a few, we can never lose sight of the fact that the political arms of these movements are often short-term responses.  How we confront others and the manner in which we voice our objections reveals a great deal about how we are doing with the war within.  The stark truth is that there are very few people who are winning that war, as a result often what emerges is not a pretty sight.  Notice the anti war activists demonstrating angrily and violently.  How absurd is that?  Similarly, environmental activists have an extremely powerful cause without a doubt, but can they bring their message with love and respect for even the selfish, greedy and ignorant?  How about the animal rights activists?  They also undoubtedly have a just cause, but often find aggressive and disrespectful ways to make their point, which in turn encourages more anger and aggression and the cycle continues.  Anger towards those who think and feel different from us is an extremely small step from violence.  At the end of the day, violence is less about what we actually do and more about how we do it.  Regardless of what we do, if we can do it in a loving and compassionate way, and this includes waging war and killing, then we will be on the path to finding the elusive peace that we all yearn for and in the process we will lay the foundation for a just, loving and compassionate society.  It is not that there would be no violence or war in a just and loving society, it would just be conducted in a completely different way then it is being done presently and for the ‘purest’ of reasons. 

Ultimately, we need to understand that we are spiritual beings visiting material bodies and minds for a short period of time.  The spiritual being is our center, while everything connected to the material body is our periphery.  Knowing this, automatically our emphasis will shift and worldly concerns, while not denying their relative reality, will fade in importance and we will become much more focused on our spiritual being (which is who we really are) and the inner journey that brings this awareness to us.  Before we complain that unless this realization comes to men like Saddam Hussein and George Bush nothing will change, ask your self the question, has this realization happened to me yet?

There is an understanding among the wise down through the centuries that hate begets hate, violence begets violence and love begets love.  Do not ‘believe’ the wise or accept what they say without your personal verification.  Test the truth of this statement in your life and if you find it to be true, the answer becomes clear.  It is not a question of changing the ‘other’ and making him more loving, it is simply a question of becoming more loving ourselves.  When that happens, the other automatically becomes more loving. 

Are you ready for the difficult challenge of transforming yourself?