The present world is in the throes of war, and these wars are both multi-locational and multi-dimensional. Moreover, there are multiple issues underlying them. Why do nations indulge in wars at all? On the surface, it seems that wars and battles are fought to oppose injustice and unrighteousness. Yet the very terms ‘injustice’ and ‘unrighteousness’ do not lend themselves to easy definitions. What is considered fair and righteous by one nation may mean just the opposite to another. Thus, each warring nation believes it is fighting for a cause it deems just and fair. We are living in a multi-ideological world where nations are often at loggerheads due to sharp ideological differences.
This is ironic, for the globe is one; the human race is one; nature is one; the larger universe is one; and the divine creator, too, is one. We must get to the root of this irony. The Earth was created as one, and the human species is a single homogeneous class of living beings. Humans possess the highest grade of intellect and are the most evolved among all such beings. Each living being is characterised by a soul—an animate, spiritual entity.
The creator, Ishwar, endows each soul with a physical body and its appurtenances—mind, intellect, senses, and ego—for its corporeal existence. There is a divine purpose behind such creation: creatures are meant to evolve spiritually
While all lower living beings live and behave instinctively, humans are different. Their actions are of two types: instinctive actions, based on natural impulses, and deliberate actions, based on knowledge and understanding. Such understanding includes discerning the good from the bad, the moral from the immoral and the righteous from the unrighteous. This is because the creator expects responsible behaviour from the class of beings endowed with the highest grade of intellect.
He expects them to act in ways that develop and refine them spiritually, leading to the attainment of their ultimate objective—divine bliss. In the process, He expects them to maintain the purity of the physical environment and wholesomeness of the naturally occurring substances. He expects them to live in peace and harmony for the happiness, progress, and prosperity of all. He expects them to assiduously follow metaphysical laws and prime principles for the maintenance of order and harmony on this celestial abode. That is why, at the dawn of creation, He imparted to the earliest humans strands of all knowledge in the form of scriptures called the Vedas, which are compendiums of material, scientific and spiritual wisdom. These scriptures also contain a code of conduct prescribed for humans, and that code is called Dharma. Humans who diligently follow the code of Dharma will always live in peace and harmony, fostering an atmosphere conducive to the growth, development, and progress of all.
They will follow one primaeval ideology, applied uniformly for the good of all, irrespective of their location on Earth. But humans driven by their baser and banal instincts of greed, lust, anger or arrogance are bound to disrupt peace and harmony. They violate the principles of Dharma and indulge in one-upmanship, squabbles and strife. Consequently, wars erupt that witness brutality and bloodshed on a massive scale.
Wars tell a sordid story of death and destruction in both the camps—of the victor and of the vanquished. Modern wars have become very complex and full of intrigues, and warfare has acquired multiple dimensions—kinetic, cyber, information and economic. Modern scientific implements, especially those belonging to the domain of communication and information technology, have brought missiles, drones and systems of satellite warfare, not to talk of the nuclear arsenal with mighty destructive potential. These have made wars protracted and more destructive. In all global wars, humanity and its abode, Earth, are the true losers.
In an interconnected world, destructive effects in one location inevitably spill over to others. The cost of territorial or resource gains is humongous. Ultimately, it is human greed, the instinct for self-aggrandisement, hegemonic tendencies, ideological divides, and the mutual hatred they breed that lie at the root of all wars. Wars can be avoided and stopped. Let us strive to present the tenets of divine, eternal, humanistic and universal Dharma before the warring parties of today’s world—to enlighten them on the futility of war and the necessity of upholding Dharma in the interest of all denizens of Earth, both present and future.