Preventing
Wars
by Paramhansa Yogananda
Excerpted from articles in Inner Culture, 1935-1942
To defend one’s country against the aggression of
another is righteous action, but wars settled by brute force
do not accomplish any lasting good. You cannot conquer your
enemies by brute force. You must use love.
Even if your enemy does not yield to love, you will have
done your part. If you surround your enemy with hatred,
his hatred for you will increase, and he will never understand.
But if you do what is right with great firmness, yet with
love in your heart, your good deeds will not go unnoticed
by God.
What is true patriotism?
It is only by loving all that one can know true patriotism.
That means not only toleration of others but appreciation,
the perception that everyone is the image of God.
One day my Guru said to me, “Do you love all people
alike?” I replied, “Yes, I think I do.”
But I found that when my brother came to my school I felt
a greater love for him than for the others. Then I knew
that my love was not yet perfect. But there came a time
when I saw God in all people and I felt love for all equally.
The causes of world suffering
When people all over the earth are happy and prosperous,
they are in tune with God, and the vibrations of the earth
are harmonious. But as soon as one nation starts fighting
with another, or selfish industrialists try to devour all
prosperity for themselves, it brings depression.
When depression starts in one place, it starts everywhere,
due to the vibrations that travel through the ether from
one place to another. World War I created wrong vibrations
in Europe that then spread all over the earth. The agonies
of the people who died inWorld War I created the influenza
epidemic immediately following the war. Influenza killed
20 million people, while the war itself killed about 10
million.
Karma determines the outcome of war
The outcome of wars is not decided by the mere brute power
of nations. Victory or defeat is determined according to
the stored-up effects of the nations’ good and bad
actions (karma), performed through the centuries.
Of all nations, America and India have good karma, and
having no selfish aggressive designs, they will come out
on top. Situated on opposite sides of the earth, America
and India will influence the whole world with their combined
civilization. The material efficiency of America combined
with the spiritual efficiency of India will lead the world
to a balanced existence.
World fellowship begins in the heart
It is the unity of hearts that can bring about world fellowship.
Live the spirit of brotherhood. That is the solution. The
different races have been created by God so that in time
we may see beyond our differences and bring out the hidden
unity of God. We must feel the fatherhood of God. As soon
as we feel Him, we truly contribute to world civilization
and fellowship.
World fellowship is the remedy for all the hatred and ignorance
among nations. It is also the means of equalizing prosperity
in the whole world. Without world fellowship, there will
be wars and many other evils. There is one God, and we are
all His children. We must get together by parliaments of
religions and leagues of international hearts to dissolve
our differences, and not by insincere diplomacies.
The United States of the World
With man’s energies freed to concentrate on constructive
activities, man could banish, within the space of a few
years, ninety per cent of the earth’s miseries—war,
poverty, most diseases, slums, malnutrition, intolerance,
ignorance, race and color prejudice, immorality, and crime.
If all the nations of the earth lived in brotherhood and
wanted to please God and Christ, they would exchange food
and raiment and would never suffer from lack, famine, or
poverty. There would be permanent peace, plenty, and freedom
for all. It would be possible for all to know the art of
scientific living—a balanced life of physical, mental,
and spiritual progress.
Wars are bound to go on until the United States of Europe
and the United States of Asia are evolved, to prepare the
way for the United States of the World, with God guiding
all nations. Through the realization of human brotherhood,
the world will become better and better until each nation
becomes an ideal, perfect state in the federated United
States of the World.
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