Peace and War

Mother Teresa was once asked to take part in an anti-war march. She replied: “No. When you march for Peace, call me and I will come.”

The first time I heard it, I could not tell the difference. And yet the difference is huge. It is as much as there is difference between Peace and war.

So today, when the news scares us every day with the war that has broken between Israelis and Palestinians, we will talk about Peace.

What is Peace? It is the social state of prosperity and understanding. It is when we open our hearts to embrace the opposite. It is when we begin to understand that our claims are not more important than theirs. It is when we calm down the anger inside us and gain the patience not just to hear but to listen to the arguments of the opposite.

Peace it is a difficult, very difficult task! I have also recently heard, the widely held view, that Peace is the result of the power of arms of the most powerful. Maybe an ephemeral Peace is that, too. But it is a situation that does not last and when the balances change – which always do – the war will come again.

Peace is an internal situation. It starts with the person’s ability not to act reflexively but to overcome the natural reaction of anger and revenge and to act transcendentally. It is especially important to realize that we are not talking about defeatism or indifference. We are talking about the extremely important choice of understanding the reasons for the behaviour of the opposite and addressing their arguments at the root of their origin. We are talking about greatness.

This cannot be done overnight. It will not change anything if it is just a few people are doing it. The difference will be if these few become the sourdough that will slowly – slowly inflate and transform society. We all know all that, deep down in our hearts. These are qualities of our good nature. These words are written now to help all of us wake up for a while from the lethargy of our consumer hypnosis and our monotonous everyday life.

It is important that we crave Peace. To crave it with all the power of our souls and not give a trace of our energy to the deafening noise of war. No matter how much the drums pound in our ears, no matter how much the images of horror bleed our hearts, it is important that we send the energy of our soul to the happy spirit of Peace and invoke it for all, but for all people!

I therefore believe that if we really crave Peace, and especially now for our neighbouring peoples, we must concentrate – if it is possible to meditate – on the power of Peace. Every positive thought feeds the energy around us and changes the forces that guide the fate of mankind. Do not underestimate the power of the spirit! The universe is not just made up of matter. It also consists of energy. And it is the energy that gives quality to our lives. Not the matter.

Be by Peace’s side, then! With all your spirit and soul!