| Questions and Answers: Preventing War |
by Paramhansa Yogananda
Inner Culture, January 1940
Question: What can be done to prevent war?—M.N.
Answer: There will be war until people live up to the standards of God, who has no race hatred, no color prejudice, no political differences. We are the children of God. We must gather our forces together and live up to the ideal of God. Wars are the result of ignorance. Man should be able to settle all differences by spiritual force instead of brute force. It is God alone with His knowledge of the conditions of the people of the world who can decide who is right and who is wrong.
Gandhi's life is an example showing that spiritual power can conquer brute force. He has gained advantages of all kinds for India by overcoming brute force with spiritual force than anyone ever gained before in the annals of any country. So spiritual force does work, even in a political sense.
Never be afraid to sacrifice in order to preserve an ideal. Did Jesus fight for one nation to the exclusion of all others? No, he fought for Truth, which belongs to all. Jesus fought for the Truth that is true for all times. What was his motto? To love your enemies. You cannot conquer your enemies by brute force. You must use love. Even if your enemy does not yield to love, you will have done your part. If you surround your enemy with hatred, his hatred for you will increase, and he will never understand, but if you do what is right with great firmness, yet with love in your heart, your good deeds will not go unnoticed by God.
Duty to God Is Paramount
Your nation did not give you life. God gave you life, so your duty to Him is paramount. Throw your life at the feet of God and win immortality. We are all made in the immortal image of God; but, being encased in the body, we have to test our immortality through mortal temptations.
When the drama of hate and killing and lust for blood becomes monotonous to the ignorant hearts of nations, then they will think of peace. Then the whisper of God through conscience, now drowned beneath the roar of cannon, will resound through the hearts of nations and they will come together in brotherhood.
If you do a wrong to your family, you are answerable to your family. If you do a wrong against society, then society demands restitution. If you do a wrong to your country, your country sits in judgment you. But if you work against the world, Truth will demand an answer for your actions. You actions must find approval in the eyes of Truth and God.
In a war, each side expects to win. The fruits of victory are often worthless. Once there was a lion and a bear who fought for a stag which had been killed. In the fight the lion killed the bear, but the lion was so weak that he could not get to the stag. A jackal came along and took the stag away. So in war, the victor and vanquished alike lose.
