Daily Meditation: Wednesday, November 11, 1998

Some problems can really be resolved only at global level. …

11/11/1998

Some problems can really be resolved only at global level. Let us take Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence for instance, which produced great results in certain moments in history. But generally speaking non-violence is a dangerous thing for a country. If it is alone in practising this philosophy it risks being swallowed up, because its neighbours – who are greedy, violent, and cruel – will waste no time in annihilating these poor wretches who refuse to defend themselves. Non-violence is a good philosophy for those who seek to tame their personality and evolve more rapidly by rejecting all their material interests, but it does not resolve the problem of war in the world. A nation which decides not to defend itself risks coming to a rapid end, both economically and physically. For this philosophy of non-violence to be truly effective it must become a collective philosophy and not merely be a vision of a few idealists, otherwise there will be no real change. There have been many people wanting to show this example, only to be massacred, without changing humankind in the slightest degree.