What can be done to prevent war?

—M.N.

There will always be war until people live up to the standards of God, who has no race hatred, no color prejudice, and no political differences. We are all children of God, and we must gather our forces and live up to His ideal.

Wars are the result of ignorance. People should be able to settle their differences by spiritual force instead of brute force. Only God, with His superior knowledge of the circumstances of the people of the world, is qualified to decide who is right and who is wrong in a given situation.

The life of Mahatma Gandhi shows that spiritual power can conquer brute force. Gandhi gained more advantages for India using spiritual force to overcome brute force than anyone has ever gained in the annals of any country. So we know that spiritual force does work, even in a political context.

Never be afraid to sacrifice in order to preserve an ideal. Did Jesus fight for one nation to the exclusion of all others? No, he fought for Truth, which belongs to all. And what was his motto? To love your enemies.

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.

Your nation did not give you life. God gave you life, so your duty to Him is paramount. Throw your life at the feet of God and win immortality. We are all made in the immortal image of God but since we are encased in the body, our immortality is tested through mortal temptations.

When the drama of hate, killing, and blood lust becomes monotonous to the ignorant hearts of nations, then they will think of peace. The whisper of God, now drowned beneath the roar of cannon, will then resound through the hearts of nations and they will come together in brotherhood.

If you do a wrong to your family, you are answerable to your family. If you do a wrong against society, then society demands restitution. If you do a wrong to your country, your country sits in judgment of you. But if you work against the world, God will demand an answer for your actions. You actions must find approval in the eyes of God.

In a war, each side expects to win. The fruits of victory are often worthless. Once there were a lion and a bear who fought for a stag which had been killed. The lion killed the bear in the fight  but, by then, the lion was so weak that he could not reach the stag and a jackal came along and took the stag away. So it is in war: the victor and vanquished both lose.

From Inner Culture, January 1940.