One of the most important conceptual tools we can use for this purpose is the concept of 'ahimsa', which has been best elaborated for us both conceptually and in practical terms by the great Mahatma Gandhi in India. He was able to marshal the forces of non violence so strongly as to be able to take on the might of the greatest empire there was at the time and to prevail over it.
The idea that could be so powerful in practice is surely one to which we should give our thoughts and attention at a time when the world is passing through so many conflicts that we can hardly keep track of them - and worst of all, this is happening in the opening years of a brand new century.
We cannot afford to let this century turn into a century of war like the 19th and the 20th century, each of which turned out to be the bloodiest century till then in the history of human conflict. These centuries also opened with great hopes of peace but even though those hopes were belied, humanity could still survive.
If we ruin our chances of peace in the 21st century humanity and civilization will most probably not survive because this is the first century which opens with humanity having the ability through its weapons of mass destruction to destroy every human being and every living thing on this planet. Never has a century opened before with this dreadful power in the arsenals in the world. Yet as to the regulation of these arsenals, we are in no better position than we were at the beginning of the previous two centuries.
We have made no progress in relation to the restraint that should exist in the use of weapons. No progress in our concepts of humanity and compassion, no progress in the manner of resolution of disputes, nor in the elevated spiritual notions which alone can help us against the dire consequences of lack of restraint in the use of weapons.
This is therefore the time when we should, more than ever before, give thought to such notions as 'ahimsa', which can give us a powerful battery of concepts and procedures for ushering in more reasonable and humane modes of thought which could guide us to a better world.
I will now speak about a few aspects of 'ahimsa' as taught and practised with much success by Mahatma Gandhi - aspects which we can easily put into force in Sri Lanka with enormous benefit both to us and to the rest of the world. We have our problems but they are as nothing compared to the problems faced by other people, and with peace and goodwill we can easily overcome them. This is an occasion therefore for taking heart that we can achieve total peace in this lovely land of ours and at the same time provide the world with much inspiration for the betterment of the human condition.
The hollowness of victories achieved by force of arms
In Sri Lanka particularly it is well to remember the age old teaching that violence ceases not by violence and hatred not by hatred, but by love alone. This is a teaching ingrained in our traditions and non violence embodies the essence of this teaching. With violence comes pseudo victory, where one party is overcome and the other victorious. But here again our ancient culture reminds us that this so called victory is hollow because the defeated live in pain and the so-called victor will some day be someone else's victim.
As opposed to these shallow and deceptive victories, true victories are won by achieving a harmony of understanding with one's opponent, not from a victory of arms. The first will last and the second will vanish into thin air sooner or later, leaving behind a further legacy of bitterness and hatred. That is the path taught to us by all religions and that is the path Mahatma Gandhi expounded in full detail and practised in the most decisive demonstration in history that the power of non-violence has ever seen.
Non-violence therefore teaches us not merely to solve problems after they arise but to give thought to the causes of problems and therefore to prevent the problem arising in the first place. This is a manifold process, but two of the most important elements in it are introspection realization of our own shortcomings - and an attempt to understand the problems and viewpoints of those on the other side. These are dealt with later.
Non-Violence does not mean inaction
Non-violence as you will see from the foregoing is therefore quite different from inactivity. Non-violence is a very active form of marshaling all the resources of thought and traditions and emotions and religion in the cause of understanding the conflict and seeking solutions through understanding rather than through force and anger. This way we strike at the very root of problems and thus not merely solve them after they arise, not merely nip them in the bud, but eventually prevent them from arising at all.
Many who have followed in the Gandhian tradition such as Martin Luther King and have achieved great results have constantly reminded us that the problems of the world are a result not so much of the wicked actions of the evil people but of the inactivity of the good people.
Everywhere, whether in Sri Lanka or in the wider world around we hear people lamenting the current state of the country or of the world, feeling genuinely sorry about it, expressing their sympathy with the victims, but themselves doing nothing about it. Reform is something other people should do people in politics, people in public office, people in positions of authority.
To practise 'ahimsa' truly is therefore a continuing commitment, not something we could do for a few minutes each day but a manner of life and thought and a basic philosophy. It means consequently some kind of organization of our lives so that we must watch the activities we take for granted to ensure that they do not in any way support the cult of violence. For example it may be that one is in some form of employment which even distantly is related to the armaments industry or to drug trafficking which is often in alliance with the arms industry. Is one a shareholder in a company which makes. unconscionable gains through exploitation of a poor country, thus laying the seeds for a future conflict? Non-violence if it is to be truly practised involves a consideration of all these aspects.
Non-violence and goodwill towards all others are concepts rooted in our traditional value system which unfortunately has tended to be smothered by commercialism, individualism and other foreign values.
Mahatma Gandhi warned us against this in a speech delivered here in Colombo at the YMCA on 8th December 1927. He drew attention to the importance of preserving our indigenous culture with its pristine scale of values and told his audience "that you Ceylonese should not be torn from your moorings". He said that others "should not consciously or unconsciously lay violent hands upon the manners, customs and habits of the Ceylonese". He warned colonial powers against "tearing out the lives of the people of the East by their roots" and put it very expressively when he said "50 years of brilliant invention and discoveries have not added one inch to the moral height of mankind".
He went on to say "To you, young Ceylonese friends, I say, don't be dazzled by the splendour that comes to you from the West. Do not be thrown off your feet by this passing show".
Wealth and power are but a "passing show" as compared with non-violence and the higher values associated with it.
What the great Gandhiji was trying to tell us was that there is an invaluable part of our culture that tends to be submerged by the colonial quest for power and by the mercenary ethic which tend to engulf all things. We need to preserve our traditional values, based as they are on the sublime traditions that elevate peace and goodwill above wealth and power. This was another aspect of ahimsa which he spelt out for us here on our own soil and which has increasing relevance to us as the years go by, especially in these days of globalization.
Now, this is a very false attitude, for reform is everybody's business. Every citizen, young or old, rich or poor, learned or illiterate, is and must be a catalyst for reform. They must make their influence felt. But they need a guiding principle. That principle is ahimsa, which is an encapsulation of the teachings of the great religions, the philosophies of the great philosophers, the practical experiences of the great social reformers. Ahimsa, as taught by Mahatma Gandhi encapsulates a vast array of concepts, principles and methods of action. It needs to be taught in every school and university, in every workplace and office and in the seats of government.
Non.-violence requires introspection into our own shortcomings
I come now to another facet of nonviolence, namely understanding. Nonviolence teaches us to pursue the path of seeking first to understand our own problems and to know why they arise. There is a process of introspection here, for we must look inwards into our own selves, our thoughts, our motives, our actions. Then only can we perceive our faults and weaknesses, wherein may lie the seeds of the conflicts we experience. Then only will we even begin to see the solutions and we will also find that seemingly miraculously the other party is also doing the same.
The scene is then set for a mutual exchange of views: solutions begin to emerge, and the seemingly insoluble problem begins to show a light at the end of the tunnel.
Trading blow for blow, assault for assault, massacre for massacre is the highroad to the escalation of conflict, the increase of bitterness, the perpetuation of violence. Whether we are dealing with our problem in Sri Lanka which are on a micro scale compared to the macro scale of world problems today, or with the world problems themselves the same rule applies. Unfortunately the philosophy of meeting force with force is what we see in the world all around us, sometimes in the highest quarters of international decision making and action.
The message we should send out from Sri Lanka on this important international occasion is the great Gandhian message of non-violence. The pattern of action in the highest quarters of the world is directly the opposite of this principle of conduct. No wonder the world is in turmoil.
If we look at the escalating violence in the world - hostages being taken, school children being killed, repeated attacks being launched which kill opponents and civilians alike - we see that each of these incidents will only lead to further incidents if force is used as an answer.
The spiral of violence escalates and heavier weapons are used and more killings result and more hatred. An eye for eye, and a tooth for a tooth, reprisal for reprisal, force in answer to force, killing is answer to killing - all do not solve problems but only multiply them. But that is the way the world reacts and there can be little wonder that tensions should be escalating.
That is the rule of action that seems to be followed in the highest power centres of the world, and surprise is expressed that it does not reduce the tensions and unwind the spiral of violence!
(Judge C.G. Weeramantry Former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice gave the keynote address on September 21, 2004 at the BMICH Colombo to mark World Peace Day).
