Shadow

EFFORTS TOWARDS WORLD PEACE NOT GOING  ANYWHERE

N.S.Venkataraman

                                                                     

Even a cursory glance on human history over the past thousands of years  would highlight that  wars and conflicts , jealousy and greed , lust and   vengeance  had been the order of the day. Of course, there have also been events   of harmony and peace but they have been few and far between and have been more of an exception rather  than rule  and they have been like a flash in the pan. 

The great Indian epics  Ramayana and Mahabharatha discuss several characters and a number of such characters have been violent, prone , unethical and quarrelsome.  At the same time, there have also been noble men and women and saints described in the epics , who were  involved in several lofty  acts and counselling peace , goodwill . In these epics, the importance of truth and need for harmony and peace and destruction of evil have been  stressed and several guidelines provided for peaceful co-existence. Certainly, the epics espouse  lofty philosophy   relating to truth and humanism and  devotion to God.  However, the evils had still continued.

If one were to compare the  characters described in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharatha  with   today’s  scenario,  it would be clearly evident that the behavioural pattern and mental make up of most people living at present and  during the last several decades have not been much different. .Good and bad dealings were described in the epics and conditions are no different today.

Obviously, this indicates that in spite of significant growth of science and technology, the human mindset has not changed any better over the last thousands of years .  This is true all over the world , thus  proving the fact that humanity and basic behavior patterns of humans all over the world are largely the same.  The progress of human  civilization remains dismal, as any progress in civilization should inevitably result in peace and harmony which are not happening.

While several wars and battles have taken place in the past, World War I and World War II  were the biggest and the deadliest that resulted in loss of millions of human lives and huge destruction.  After the first World War, there was talk  about the importance of ensuring world peace but a second world war happened.  After the end  of the second World War, again peace moves were initiated and the United Nations Organisation was formed, thinking that the UNO would be the ultimate solution to ensure the world without war.

After more than seventy five years of world war II  and inspite of UNO functioning ,  peaceful conditions in the world have not materialised.  Several wars have taken place in the last several decades after World War II . Now, the Ukraine -Russia war is threatening to be prolonged and some quarters even suspect that it could develop into a situation that preceded World  War II and culminated in the bloody World War II.

In the meantime, there have been  eminent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi , Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela  and others   who propagated the cause for peace and struggled throughout their lives to create a world where peace would prevail and wars would become extinct. In spite of the great efforts of these noble men who set high standards , the conditions have not changed.

Today, leaders of every country pledge for world peace but they have been proved to be empty rhetoric. The same leaders  do not hesitate to initiate , conduct or support war efforts,  if it would satisfy their self interests and their greed for territorial expansion or super power status.

The question is whether the concept of world peace is an unreal and utopian one , as it appears that all peace conferences organized in world forums and in UNO  are taking place in vacuum .

Obviously, battle for world peace has to be fought in the minds of men and women. There is no indication that such battle would succeed in the foreseeable future.

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