Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during a mass meditation session in Worli, Mumbai. (Express Archives)
In today’s world, where conflict and aggression seem to dominate headlines, the voices for peace and non-violence must be heard loud and clear.
Conflicts arise when there is a breakdown of communication. Whenever there is a conflict, it indicates a certain chasm between communities or between nations. When warring leaders take a unilateral view and become rigid and arrogant, differences only escalate. Talk to any of the warring parties, and they will convince you that they are right.
There are usually two sides to a civil conflict and no matter who strikes first, eventually, both sides are wounded. Conflict arises in the first place because both sides stick to their stand, yet to resolve the issue, both need to rise above and look at the larger picture as well as see things from the other side. This is why dialogue is an important tool in resolving conflict.
People who take to violent means due to a sense of injustice can be engaged in dialogue if approached the right way. From their perspective, they are fighting for a cause out of righteousness. In a way, their passion, commitment, and the spirit of sacrifice are commendable. We often find people who talk about inner peace are complacent. They are resigned from the realities of the world and being reclusive. That peace has no value and that dynamism which has no thought or sensitivity, which is full of agitation and has brought pain to oneself and others, has no value either. We require a fine combination of inner peace and outer dynamism. We require people who are centred in the face of conflict to be able to resolve them.
World peace can’t come by making high-level policies alone. World peace stems from right where we are. It is peaceful individuals who make a peaceful world.
But being peaceful isn’t enough, you must also be skillful to mediate peace successfully. A mediator must work without bias and shouldn’t attempt to push the parties to accept a preset solution. Say, there is a conflict in front of you; the dispute is about the equal division of a cake. As a mediator, you will tend to divide it into equal halves and give to both parties. But whenever you do this, there is a chance that someone might blame you for being biased or not making an equal division. Instead, what I suggest is, that one party divides the cake and the other party chooses which half it would like to have. In this situation, the person cutting the cake will go to great lengths to ensure the cake is divided equally, and the person choosing will not feel cheated either.
Usually, people come with their problems but they do not think about the solutions, and that perpetuates the problem. So when people do that, I ask them to come to me with what they think the solution should be. For conflict resolution, mediators don’t need courage as much as they need communication skills. The mediator should listen to the parties without an iota of bias, assure them that he or she is there for their welfare and try to give them a broader vision.
Turbulence is a part of this world, whereas making peace is the nature of our spirit. If with a strong resolve and skill, we are able to remain centred and in peace, then that peace begins to calm down the turbulence around us as well. On this International Day of Peace, let us resolve to be established in the peace inside us and be dynamic in our actions to bring it to the world outside.
The writer is a spiritual leader and founder of The Art of Living Foundation
