Era of Peace
By Swami Ramdas
03 May 2018
Out of the great turmoil and chaos, caused by the present day wars, an era of peace, order and harmony will evolve. A calm and a lull will succeed a period of stress and storm. This is the law of Nature or God. The accumulated wisdom of ages should prevail in adjusting the affairs of mankind broad-based upon mutual love, co-operation and brotherhood. The lessons which the cataclysms, disasters and miseries that have come in the wake of the ruthless wars have taught humanity cannot be forgotten. In the light of the past experience, nations will unite in ushering in an age of a new world-order of abiding peace and goodwill.
Such a great ideal cannot be achieved by the efforts of statesmen, diplomats and politicians. It is only the Divinely- inspired and illumined saints and sages of the world who can guide the destinies of mankind along right lines for establishing world union and peace. It is the bankruptcy of spiritual values of life in the administration and government of nations that is responsible for the present state of discord and confusion. This is evident to all who can give even a passing thought to the present-day world problems.
What is true of a small group life, such as a family or a community, is also true of nations and humanity as a whole. It is within the experience of everybody that by the cultivation of mutual love, kindness and self-sacrifice alone, the members of a family or a community are held together, and peace, prosperity and happiness reign among them. Admittedly same are the principles on which peace and harmony among mankind can also be founded, and they are the rays emanating from a consciousness of Divinity in man.
So long as a veil covers the splendour of the universal Spirit – God – living in the heart of a human being, the lower self asserts, and there is a scramble, strife and fight for earthly power, glory and riches. Now he is dominated over by an Asuric force, and he lives and acts in such a manner as to degrade himself to the level of the brute, and also to bring about widespread distress and destruction among his fellow-men. The remedy is to put down the lower self by revealing the light, power and joy of the Divine residing in his heart and in the hearts of all.
God alone can save the world by awakening humanity to a feeling of universal fellowship through the subdual of the narrow, selfish and individualistic instincts. So let our appeal for creating an atmosphere of peace, love and harmony through prayer, meditation and self-surrender touch the hearts of all people.
God is dwelling in everyone of us, nay, He pervades all the worlds. Heart-contact with Him means salvation of the individual and therefore happiness of mankind. This is the only effective way to transform the face of the earth, ugly and distorted as it is by the horrible wars, so that Divine love may triumph for the supreme good of all people on it.
When grim situations spelling great disasters, such as the ones we are facing today, convulse the world, we have no reason to give way to despair and panic. Let not a feeling of fear and helplessness seize our hearts and weaken our wills and reduce us to inaction. Let the mind be purified and disciplined through communion with God and let the hands and feet be active in the service of suffering humanity. Life is intended for attaining immortality and union with the Divine. Life, if it is not illumined with His radiance and action, if it is not in consonance with His will, goes only to add to the existing discord and disorder.
O friends, let us all join together, and with a singleness of aspiration and devotion, call upon the Supreme Master of the worlds to pour the soothing showers of His grace on the fires of lust, greed and wrath that are raging in the hearts of men who have drenched the bosom of our mother earth with the blood of millions of her children. The sincere supplications breaking out from our hearts that have melted at the sight of human agony and suffering shall be heard.
May God rule our lives! May God-thought permeate our minds! May God’s light and power enlighten and control our affairs! May God reveal Himself in our hearts. May the will of God, who is love, ever prevail!
(Extracted from the section titled ‘World Unity and Peace’ from Swami Ramdas’ The Divine Life [vol. 2])
Swami Ramdas (1884–1963), lovingly called ‘Papa’, was a Spiritual Master and founder of Anandashram, in Kerala, India. He was leading an ordinary life till God’s grace descended on him in or about the year 1920. In a short while, he could behold God everywhere, both within and without. Having thus attained spiritual liberation and God-vision, he started on his mission to awaken mankind to the awareness of God.
Swami Ramdas wrote many books in English and in 1933 started a monthly called The Vision to carry his message of Universal Love and Service based on cosmic vision. The magazine continues to be published today.
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