Peace means societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. It has has been a long cherished dream of humanity since times immemorial that always remained a mirage for man. But its relevance and scope in the modern world has increased many fold. The New Webster Dictionary defines peace as: “A state of tranquility or quiet; freedom from civil disturbance; a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom; specifically, absence or cessation of war; a state of reconciliation after strife or enmity etc.” Religion is central to the existence of almost every society and has been defined as “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of life and the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural agency” All major religions of Humanity have always prescribed calm and exhorted people for universal brotherhood. Ahimsa or non-violence forms a cardinal principle of almost all Aryan religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The Semitic Religions; the Judaism, Christianity and Islam share the basic concepts of Monotheism, Prophet-hood and Life after death as fundamental beliefs, though they have differences in their shariahs. But as regard their teachings all of these prescribe mercy, peace and reconciliation among intra and interreligious groups as carrying great rewards in the hereafter. Most religions offer teachings on war and conflict. And over time religion has been at the heart of conflict between nations. Religions usually incorporate a code of ethics that concern the behavior of the individual; but men don’t always live up to the standards they profess. We have endeavored to find out from holy texts of religions; a) their teachings on peace, b), Restrictions on violence and c), the social phenomena that contribute to creation of peaceful atmosphere among individuals and communities. Hinduism is the most ancient of all living religion of the world, not founded by any individual prophet. Though Hinduism preserves an exhaustive list of sacred scriptures; mainly the Vedas, Upnishads, Bhagvad- Gita and six Darshanas form the fundamental scriptures and great storehouses of Hindu philosophy. Though it has undergone tremendous changes in essence and praxis over the centuries the original texts speak volumes about its rich heritage. Peace is an essential part of Hinduism. A Quote from Valmiki Ramayan says: “A superior being doesn’t return evil for evil.” “Speak the truth, speak what is pleasant, but don’t speak the unpleasant truth”. Manusmriti 4:138. A Vedic Prayer: “May there be peace in the heavens, Peace in the atmosphere, peace on earth, Let there be coolness in water, healing in the herbs; And peace radiating from trees, Let there be harmony in the planets, and in the stars, And perfection in eternal knowledge! May everything in the universe be at peace! Let peace pervade everywhere at all times! May I experience that peace with my own heart” Yajur Ved, 36:17 Ahimsa (a very important belief in Hinduism) means trying to fight injustice and evil but without using any physical force. Most religions offer teachings on war and conflict. And over time religion has been at the heart of conflict between nations. The war is not forbidden in Hinduism. The gods of the Vedas are asked to send prayers to help in battles and to take soldiers who are killed in battle straight to the afterlife. The Hindu approach to war and peace are found in many of the scriptures, but the Laws of Manu, the Rig Veda and the Mahabarata make important points. The Mahabarata (in the Bhagavad Gita) a sacred text, expresses the Hindu attitude to war and peace through the terrible dilemma faced by Arjuna. Arjuna faced going into battle against his kinsmen, his cousins and teachers and the thought of the slaughter that would follow appalled him. Krishna gave him the advice that it is sometimes necessary to fight a just war to overcome evil forces. Krishna reminds Arjuna that to fight for peace, justice and truth is to fulfill the law of God. Bhagavad Gita( 2:31) says: “Think thou also of thy duty and do not waver. There is no greater good for a warrior than to fight in a righteous war.” Hindus believe that it is right to use force in self-defense: “May your weapons be strong to drive away the attackers, may your arms be powerful enough to check the foes, let your army be glorious, not the evil-doer.” Rig Veda 1-39:2 The Laws of Manu tell Hindus about the right ways to behave during war. It says that Kashatryas should fight out of duty. “They must show honor and mercy and not attack the elderly, women or children. Also they must not attack people who are asleep or who have surrendered.” The Rig Veda sets down the rules for conduct during a war as: “The warrior should not poison the tip of his arrow, he must not attack the sick or the old, a child, or a woman or from behind. These are sinful acts and lead to hell even if the warrior is the winner.” Rig Veda 6-75:15 Budhism is one of the Aryan religions, founded by Gautama Buddha (b.567 BC) like all of the major world religions at its core, is a religion of peace. The basis of Buddhism is essentially a moral philosophy or an ethical way of life aimed at personal reform. One of the principles laid down by Buddha makes it abundantly clear. “One must renounce all desires and all thoughts of lust, bitterness and cruelty. One must harm no living creature. One must abstain from all killing. One must work in an occupation that benefits others and harms none.” In Buddhist texts Ahimsa (or avihiṃsāinPāli ) is part of the Five Precepts (Pañcasīla), the first of which has been to abstain from killing. According to Buddha, the true path of salvation is attainable not by worshiping God but by doing good. The five commandments of Buddha or Panchshila) include: Do not kill any living being, Do not take what is not given to you, Do not speak untruth, Do not take intoxicating drinks and Do not commit adultery. This core teaching of Buddhism is supported by many examples from the sacred texts of this creed. An early Buddhist collection of verses on practice in everyday life, the Pali (Theravadin) Dhammapada, (the way of virtue) makes this abundantly clear: “Hatred is never appeased by hatred. Hatred is only appeased by Love (or, non-enmity). This is an eternal law.” (Verse 5/423) In Jainism, the understanding and implementation of Ahimsāis more radical, and comprehensive than in any other religion. Killing any living being out of passions is considered hiṃsā (to injure) and abstaining from such an act is ahimsā (noninjury). The vow of ahimsā is considered the foremost among the ‘five vows of Jainism’. Other vows like satya (truthfulness), asteys (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (chastity) and aparigraha (non attachment) are meant for safeguarding the vow of ahimsā. The statement ahimsāparamodharmaḥ is often found inscribed on the walls of the Jain temples.Sikhism one of the youngest religions based on numinous experiences of its founder Guru Nanak (1469-1539); the sacred text of Sikhism the Guru Granth Sahb contains pithy sayings and virtuous poetry of many mystic poets and seers. Sikhism has independent ethical system that requires man to serve one’s fellow-men in a selfless manner. Sikhs are well known as one of the brave and martial races and there is a sanction for just war against oppression. But at the same time there are laid down principles to be followed during such situations. Sikhism does not teach total pacifism but approves of any action to promote human rights and harmony. Guru Nanak (the first Guru) wrote: “No one is my enemy; No one is a foreigner; with all I am at peace. God within us renders us incapable of hate and prejudice.” Dharam Yudh is a war fought in the defense of righteousness, similar to the concept of a Just War. The conditions of Dharam Yudh are: The war must be the last resort – all other ways of resolving the conflict must be tried first; The motive must not be revenge or anger; the army must be disciplined; Only the minimum force needed for success should be used; civilians must not be harmed; There must be no looting, territory must not be taken, and property taken must be returned; All treaties and ceasefires must be honored; No places of worship (of any faith) should be damaged. Soldiers who surrender should not be harmed. Peace is a concept that is central to Judaism. Along with truth and justice, it is one of the three key Jewish values. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom which is derived from one of the names of God, meaning “complete” or “whole”. The history of Judaism goes back more than three thousand years. According to Jewish traditions, when the Israelites left Egypt and reached the Sinai desert, God gave them the fundamental Ten Commandments that were to govern their social existence. These Laws and commandments are in fact meant to serve as guides to fostering a good relationship with God and other people. Peace, according to the Jewish sages, is the ultimate purpose of the whole Torah: “All that is written in the Torah was written for the sake of peace.” Tanhuma Shoftim 18 “God announceth to Jerusalem that they [Israel] will be redeemed only through peace.” Deuteronomy Rabah 5:15 The ideal world of justice in the words of the prophets is described as: “And they (people) shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.e” (Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3) The word peace is used in the Bible in a very broad sense. It takes in the wellbeing and health of people, as well as the absence of violence.
Verily Allah does not love those who exceed (the limits).” (2:190). The truth is that Islam in the full sense is a religion of peace. In no way it is a religion of war. In Islam peace is the rule and war is only a rare exception. In conclusion I leave you with these thoughts for today: “There is no path to peace; peace is the path.” (A.J. Muste) and Let there be peace everywhere and “Let it Begin with me”.
The teachings of Jesus Christ are enshrined in the New Testament. The Jesus’ well known ‘Sermon on the Mount’ goes as: “To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him, who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him, who takes away your goods, do not ask them back.” (6:29-30) Attaching great importance to peace Christ observed:” Blessed are peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God”. (5:9) The contributions of Christian missionary schools, hospitals, relief and rescue operations and many more welfare schemes in the contemporary world need no introduction. Christian ethics include the teachings of the Bible advising its followers to: Be fruitful: The message from parable of fig tree … “A believer should lead a fruitful life, and not just live for himself”. Luke, 13:6-8, Love your enemy: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven. For He makes His sun shine on bad and good people alike”(Mathew, 5:44-46), Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. “No one could expect others to be good to him, while he himself had no care for their feelings.” Luke, 6:3 On questions of peace and war, Christian ethics seeks to combine Jesus’ message of love with the responsible exercise of power in society and the polity. Christian leaders and theologians have often sanctioned the use of violence in self-defense. Islam in fact is not a new religion, but a revised and enlarged edition of eternal Divine religion based on Unity of God (Tawheed), medium of Prophets (Risalah) and the concept of After-life (Akhirah). Islam shares these three fundamentals with the other living Abrahamic faiths i.e. Judaism and Christianity. This is explicit from the Quranic text itself: “The same religion has He established for you as that which He enjoined on Noah—that which we have sent by inspiration to thee—and that which we enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.” (Al-Quran 42:13) The very word Islam (from the Arabic silm) connotes peace. One of the attributes of Allah described in the Quran is ‘As salaam’, which means peace and security. In the Quran, divine guidance is likened to the path of peace. (Al-Quran, 5:16). According to Islam, paradise is the ideal human abode, and is thus called ‘home of peace’. It is also mentioned that people of paradise will greet each other with the word, ‘salaam’ (peace). Peaces being the greatest concern of man, all religions attach much importance to it. But Islam’s concept of peace needs to be studied in more detail as, in the present times; violence is mostly spoken of with reference to religion Islam. There are many verses in the holy Qur’an that prefer peace to war and forgiveness to hatred. It is noticed that only some 60 verses out of 6,666 verses in the Qur’an deal with the rules of war and armed jihad(0.6%), while the rest deal with faith and moral issues. In Islam, the right to life is an absolute value: “He who kills a soul unless it be (in legal punishment) for murder or for causing disorder and corruption on the earth will be as if he had killed all humankind; and he who saves a life will be as if he had saved the lives of all humankind.” (Al-Quran 5:32) The prophet of Islam (PBUH) was a man of peace and reconciliation. He urged his companions to ask God for peace. For the prophet’s main task was the communication of divine message to the people and an atmosphere of peace and good will was essential to perform this duty. The word jihad is derived from the Arabic ‘Juhd’ which actually means to struggle, to strive, to exert oneself to the utmost to achieve one’s goal. Therefore, in the Islamic sense, Jihad means to struggle or strive in the way of God. Quran says: “Fight in the way of God those who are fighting against you; and do not exceed (the limits).Verily Allah does not love those who exceed (the limits).” (2:190). The truth is that Islam in the full sense is a religion of peace. In no way it is a religion of war. In Islam peace is the rule and war is only a rare exception. In conclusion I leave you with these thoughts for today: “There is no path to peace; peace is the path.” (A.J. Muste) and Let there be peace everywhere and “Let it Begin with me”.
(The authors write regularly on “Islamic topics” exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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