Peace , Citizenship and International Peace Day....

Peace , Citizenship and International Peace Day....

Every year 21st September is celebrated as International Peace Day, a concept put forth by the UN General Assembly which declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
The word 'Peace' exudes serenity, tranquility and stability. It makes us feel calm, pacified and in harmony with ourselves and nature. In contrast, war an antonym of peace creates conflict, unrest, turmoil, battles and combat physically or in our mind. Wars have always led to anguish, anxiety, hostility, hatred and estrangement.
Centuries ago philosophers like Aristotle and Plato had come forth with the theory of nation-state and citizenship. They fostered the idea of an organised society. The Romans expanded this to creation of empires and territory. If Greek citizenship was an "emancipation from the world of things",  the Roman theory increasingly reflected the fact that citizens could act upon material things as well as other citizens, in the sense of buying or selling of property, possessions, titles, goods. It led to creation of a material world. From times galore India too had kings with kingdoms, territory and spheres of influence.
Talking about this materialism, Rabindranath Tagore has said that war is the outcome of overgrown materialism based on self-interest in contrast to harmony. In fact Tagore has more than 27 poems to his credit on the theme of peace and war.
A look at our history will reveal that in the last 3500 years more than 15 crore population has been affected by wars including several dead and injured. Amongst these many were wounded, disabled, lost their mind or speech. Even the mythological Mahabharata is the greatest example of pyrrhic victory when the cost of victory was far from worthwhile for the victor.
I had the opportunity of seeing the monument to the Battle of Nations built to commemorate the loss of Napolean at Leipzig in Germany. The fall of an emperor in 1800s and the subsequent rise and fall of Hitler as a dictator in Germany in 1900s and many other leaders only proves that war can only lead to war and never to peace. Many kings realised the futility of war. Wasn't King Ashoka also full of remorse after the famous battle of Kalinga so much so that he denounced war and became a Buddhist.
The concept of I, me, myself and we us , ourselves is an inseparable part of modern nationalism. Surprisingly when the world has become physically accesible the true global spirit of oneness to a large extent is dwindling.
In modern times too nations love their own countries and national love has only given rise to heated suspicion of one another.
Invisible walls separate us from each other leading to feelings of hatred and anguish.
In this background the UN General Assembly dedicated 21st September to peace by celebrating it as International Peace Day.
A Peace Bell cast from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa was gifted by Japan as a reminder of human cost of war . The words, "Long live absolute world peace" is insccribed on it.
This year Covid 19 made it clear that the corona virus is a greater enemy and a bigger threat to our lives and security. It made us realize that material things in our lives are meaningless.
The UN Secretary-General had called on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and instead focus on the battle against this unprecedented global pandemic which is the worst public health crisis of our time. The year 2020 has been declared as the year of listening and learning.
As we struggle against COVID-19, it is more important than ever to listen to each other peacefully and learn from each others ideas to fight against the pandemic and heal our planet.
This year's theme of “Shaping Peace Together" is therefore very relevant. The UN's call to communities to be compassionate and kind in the face of the pandemic is very important.
Three years ago at the Wagah Attari Border Ceremony amisdt all the frenzy and celebration of our own natiinalism I saw birds flying across, winds blowing freely and sun spreading it's shine even as it was setting. None other than nature can be our best teacher of peace.
According to Tagore there are three stages towards true freedom, santham meaning peace which can only be attained by subduing the self leading to Shivam which is goodness, the art of the soul which in turn would leadi to to advaitam, love and oneness with God.
Even if that is a tall order let us just love every other person in the world because like each one of us he has the same dreams, hopes, fears and aspirations. Surely then peace will be ours....