Culture of Peace

It is a privilege to participate in this assembly, which is being organized by the Ministry of Human Resource development and the office of UNESCO in Delhi. As a concrete manifestation of the programme for Member-States, for the promotion of culture of peace, the presence of distinguished members of society and others who are committed to the theme of peace lends to this event a special dignity and significance.

I

In the broader view of human history, the birth of the United Nations organization can be considered to be a momentous event, the parallels of which are very few. It is rightly said that there is 'Something greater than History' and what is that greater can be glimpsed when certain ideals emerge and begin to turn the wheels of time into new directions of hope and promise. The emergence of the ideal of peace, of durable peace and of universal peace through the United Nations Organization with such a force and imperativeness that imperceptibly something a more than history appears to be walking and running in our midst.

Will Durant, in his brief but instructive book "The Lessons of History"� written in 1968, pointed out that "in the last 3421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war". He generalized that war is one of the constraints of history, and has not diminished with civilization of democracy. He recalled Heracletus who had declared that war is the father of all things, and remarked that "in every century the generals and the rulers (with rare exceptions like Ashoka and Augustus) have smiled at the philosopher's timid dislike of war." And when Darwin argued and demonstrated his theory of Struggle for Existence and of the Survival of the Fittest, one would conclude that that law governed in the past and will also govern the present and the future. And yet if the theme of peace, and along with it the theme of human unity, have come to the forefront as they have today, shall we not perceive in it a rare example of something that transcends the ordinary logic of history?

In any case, soon after the end of the Second World War the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations declared the determination "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war which devise in our life time has brought untold sorrow to mankind ..." "To practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbour, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, ...".

And we read in the declaration of UNESCO's constitution "that since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed, ... and that a peace based exclusively upon the political and economic arrangements of Government would not be a peace which could secure the unanimous, lasting and sincere support of the people of the world, and that the
peace must therefore be founded, if it is not to be failed, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind".

The fact that this declaration is also the declaration of Human Rights where expressions of the united people of the nations of the world is unprecedented and it underlines the inscrutable ways by which the future shapes history.

II

As one reads accounts of the contributions made by the United Nations and by its specialized agencies that have been carrying on the difficult task of realizing their ideals, we cannot but be impressed, and the only criticism we can make is that they could have still done better; but we may have to add that they could have done better only if we, the people of the world, would have been better and more committed and sincere in our aspirations.

We are all aware of the persistent battery of forces released by UNESCO through positive and determined actions in the fields of education, science, culture and communication. In particular, we feel grateful to the leaders of UNESCO, for initiating and accomplishing a number of innovative programmes the results of which have percolated into motivation of increasing number of people all over the World. And in 1992, not satisfied with various programmes which seem retrospectively somewhat scattered, UNESCO debated an operational programme for the promotion of a culture of peace, — a concept loaded with a vision of how civilizations can be rejuvenated and kept alive and fertile and critical points of their psychic development. In an important Resolution of the 140th Session of the Executive Board of UNESCO (October 1992), it was decided “that an action programme shall be established, aimed at promoting a culture of peace, — in particular, by strengthening and coordinating activities that have already been carried out in this connection under the various major programme areas…."As a result, in February 1994, UNESCO entered into a new phase to focus upon certain new functions. These include the refinement of a methodology for the fostering of a culture of peace and the development of national and sub-regional programme of a culture of peace. For 1996-97 biennium, a new transdisciplinary project was envisaged, entitled, "Towards a Culture of Peace".

The efforts launched under that Project have been so fruitful that the culture of peace has become a common objective for the entire United Nations system, attested by the General Assembly's Proclamation of the year 2000 "International Year For The Culture of Peace" and of the decade 2000-2010 "International Decade For The Culture of Peace and Non-Violence For the Children of the World". As a focal point of the International Year, UNESCO is expected to a invite all its partners and intermediaries of the Member-States, their National Commissions, Associated Schools, UNESCO Chair and Clubs, Teachers, Artists, Media, NGO's and others. The idea is to forge gradually a vast alliance among the many movements, groups and institutions, each in its own field, for striving to establish a culture of peace. Our present meeting is a part of this vast effort of mobilization.

III

But what exactly are the salient features of the project of the culture of peace?

First, the keystone of this project is to transform the programmes of educating for peace into a programme of educating for a culture of peace. Next is the promotion of cultural pluralism and inter-cultural dialogue, which underlines the theme of cultural diversity, which is crucial for harmonious relations among individuals and among nations. An important consequence of this theme is a new emphasis laid on the contribution that historical research and the teaching of history, can make to the building of the culture of peace. In addition, the idea is to consolidate the conceptual and normative foundations of the culture of peace, which includes programmes and activities that aim at conflict prevention enforcement of human rights, action to combat discrimination, promotion of gender equality, tolerance and the security of persons and development of new forms of governance that emphasize the ideals of equality, liberty and fraternity.

To understand the importance of these activities, we need to understand the meaning of the word culture and its relationship with civilization. For only then shall we realize more and more centrally that UNESCO has now launched upon an action that aims at effecting the very fabric and life of the people so that individuals and groups all over the world breathe the atmosphere of peace, think of peace, and act to manifest peace at home and at work place, in leisure or in inmost engagement with action, small or big, and the realization that humanity is one united family marching together towards the fulfillment of a common destiny of joyous cooperation.
 

Civilization may be defined, in a sense, a social order promoting cultural creation. When a society begins to secure some kind of order that ensures smooth functioning of civil life, we may recognize it as having reached the level of civilization. Civilization has at least three components: it is, first, a political order, secured through custom, morality and law; secondly, it is an economic order secured through continuity of production and exchange; and thirdly, — and this is perhaps the most important aspect — it is a cultural creation through freedom and facilities for the origination, expression, testing and fruition of ideas, letters, manners and arts and science and technology.

Culture itself is multi-layered. When an individual or civilization begins to overcome the slavery to the demands of the body and vital impulses, and when it is able to cross the limitations and obscurities of barbarism and philistinism, the first stage of culture can be said to have commenced. For then, mind begins to exercise a pre-dominant influence. But human mind is triangular in character; it is at once rational, ethical and aesthetic. And each aspect of this triangularity has wide vistas that open up in their singular trajectory or in their intermingled movements that cause intense conflicts and yet provide immense opportunities for inevitable harmonization. It is when these trajectories and movements become mature and influence the physical life and the vital life so as to control the lower impulses of division, conflict and destruction, that a society or civilization can be said to have entered into the domain of culture in its centrality. In pursuit of singular trajectories, civilization may develop predominantly rational cultures, or ethical cultures, or aesthetic cultures. In their combined movement they can develop mixed or synthetic or integrated cultures. At the higher and highest stages, we have spiritual culture, which is able to uplift human nature beyond its ordinary limitations and even transform it so as to integrate material, vital and mental element with the spiritual and arrive at a synthesis of Matter and Spirit. In the human history, we have examples of these kinds of cultures, and if we study the subject properly, we find various periods of their birth, growth, decline or destruction. Humanity can be said to have reached today a critical point of development when it is able to diagnose at the right time the maladies of decline and threat of destruction and is at the same time able to experiment with possible remedies and apply them with some kind of united force and concerted will.

In this light, if we examine the present crisis through which the entire humankind is passing, we can feel greatly helped by the perception that at a time when large scale or even global possibility of the failure of the entire human race can be predicted, humanity has consciously reached high level of awareness so as to begin to diagnose its maladies and establish institutions like UNO and UNESCO which are able to devise more and more potent instruments of forging peace in the world. Thus the possibility of eliminating the death of civilization has become now more and more concrete. And the heart and soul of that possibility rests today in the hands of UNESCO.

Against this background, we have to welcome and appreciate UNESCO's decision to mount the project of culture of peace, and we have to come forward with all our mind and heart to contribute to this great effort.

IV

Every country is called upon to devise its own programmes that will foster culture of peace, and this is a favourable opportunity for our country to reflect at our deepest possible levels and to come forward with some concrete ideas and programmes that we can formulate and implement. If we succeed in this task, we shall have made our own contribution to the totality of the human effort at this critical juncture.

A close study of Indian history will bring out an important fact that if India possesses any great treasure through its cultural efforts, it is the treasure of spiritual knowledge not divorced from great achievements in the fields of the intellect, vital force of heroism and courage, and powers of triumph and victory and organization, as also powers of physical well being. As a part of this spiritual treasure, the theme of peace has played a major role, and although on account of various historical factors and on account of exhaustion that overcame our people during the last 1000 years after about at least 5000 years of great output and achievement, we are still in a position to recover our lost or forgotten recesses of spiritual potency. At this juncture, we can take advantage of the message of the culture of peace and utilize it as a very helpful instrument to recover our spiritual knowledge.

In any case, considering the history of Indian culture, we cannot but give to the idea of peace any connotation that falls short of that great Vedic concept of shanti. It is that shanti, that spiritual peace, which was the real motive of the great battle of Kurkshetra as brought out clearly in the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata. It is that shanti which we worship when we see and reflect on calm eyes of Buddha, one whom we consider to be the greatest personality that ever walked on the earth, both by his inmost peace, and by the works and results that he produced. It is that shanti which we understand when Jesus spoke of peace that transcends understanding. It is that shanti that we find vibrating when India speaks of the whole humanity as one family.

May I suggest that in building the culture of peace, India's contribution shall be to remind the entire nation of this deeper meaning of peace and to endeavour to give to our students a new process of education so that they become liberated, not only from impulses that lead to conflict and war, but also from those lesser forms of peace that end in compromises and adjustments. Our aim should be to bring in our educational programme the possibility of imparting to our growing generations the power of equilibrium and profundities of subtle mind of judgment, discrimination, perception and pursuit of Truth that constantly synthesizes and harmonizes. For it is at the gates of true equilibrium that the greater depths of the spirit are revealed.

At one time, it was thought that the positive state of peace can be attained only by a few exceptional individuals and that the large masses of people are condemned to live forever in a state of turmoil, tension and battles. Fortunately, UNESCO has come forward with the concept not only of the ideal of peace but also of culture of peace, and it combats with that view, which can be termed the capitalist view of peace. That capitalist view is to be replaced at increasing pace by the affirmation that the ideal of peace is not a prerogative of a few but it is a boon for all.

In the field of social and political life, we may underline that just as peace is not mere absence of war, even so it is not a mere state of civil law or order. Under a superficial view of social or political peace, we excuse ourselves from attempting to solve those problems, which have remained insoluble throughout the history of world. It has, for instance, been argued that poverty has remained a constant problem of humankind and that when we are now awakened to the possibility of universal well being, we put forward elimination of poverty as our first aim and goal. But we can see that if we are truly serious about the elimination of poverty, we cannot realize it without, at the same time, realizing the ideal of common effort, cooperation, mutuality, harmony, integration and unity. How many nations today, which are poor, are sinking into greater poverty, simply because they are torn by inner dissension and disintegrating factors? The cure of the poverty does not lie in mere economic activities, but lies chiefly in the pursuit of greater and higher ideals of creating bonds of unity and peace. It is true that development ensures peace, but this is true only from a limited point of view; what is more true is that peace engenders a greater and lasting development.

We may recall the instructive message of U Thant where, in 1968, it was declared: "That a fraction of the amounts that are going to be spent in 1967 on arms could finance economic, social, national and world programmes to an extent so far unimaginable is a notion within the grasp of the man in the street. Men, if they unite, are now capable of foreseeing and, to a certain point, determining the future a of human development. This, however, is possible if we stop fearing and harassing one another and if together we accept, welcome and prepare the changes that must inevitably take place. If this means a change in human nature, well, it is high time we worked for it; what must surely change is certain political attitudes and habits man has".

May I suggest that instead of concentrating only on the theme of poverty, we enter into the depths of the problem and put forward the concept of culture of peace as an instrument of eliminating poverty. This is not to deny the primacy of the problem of poverty, but to underline the primacy of the real solution of the problem.

The third suggestion that we can make is that under the impulse of culture of peace, we may develop a system of integral education not only for our schools, colleges and universities, but also for the entire society. For integral education is incomplete without the cultivation of the culture of peace, and it is essentially an endless process and a life-long process. It is only with the help of integral education that we can hope to develop what UNESCO calls a learning society. In fact, the concept of learning society, when analyzed fully, will be found to be a liberating idea and an idea which will fulfill various aspirations that are emerging today under the pressure of what we may call Indian Renaissance. And, briefly, we may point out that a learning society places the child in the centre of the nation and organizes the entire national life in such a way that the children receive the best and the wisest attention and nothing is allowed which would hurt or injure the development of the faculties of the children. Sovereignty of the child, if developed, rightly and fully, would fulfill the ideals that are contained in the culture of peace. Our country is capable, on account of its cultural heritage, to develop a learning society, and in that process, it has another very important task to fulfill. This is to allow spiritual knowledge to flow through the domains of philosophy, science and critical knowledge and make contributions to the frontier area of knowledge that harmonizes Spirit and Matter.

Once again, the concept of culture of peace can be utilized by India to look at contemporary problems with some originality under the leading impulse of a spiritualized society, which was conceived in the Rig Veda when it exhorted people to walk together, to speak together, and to share the knowledge and harmony together. Pursuit of this ideal has been a constant motive of Indian culture, and with a combination of the old knowledge and the new knowledge, which we can develop now, we can fulfill ourselves and also fulfill UNESCO's new message of Culture of Peace.