Wars Divide, Dharma Unites

Across borders, faiths, and ideologies, the eternal code of Dharma stands as humanity's safeguard against greed, hatred, and conflict

- By ATUL SEHGAL

The present world is in the throes of war, and these wars are both multi-locational and multidimensional. Moreover, there are multiple issues underlying them.

Why do nations indulge in wars at all? On the surface, it seems that wars and battles are fought to oppose injustice and unrighteousness. Yet the very terms 'injustice' and 'unrighteousness' do not lend themselves to easy definitions. What is considered fair and righteous by one nation may mean just the opposite to another. Thus, each warring nation believes it is fighting for a cause it deems just and fair.

We are living in a multi-ideological world where nations are often at loggerheads due to sharp ideological differences. This is ironic, for the globe is one; the human race is one; nature is one; the larger universe is one; and the divine creator, too, is one. We must get to the root of this irony.

The Earth was created as one, and the human species is a single homogeneous class of living beings. Humans possess the highest grade of intellect and are the most evolved among all such beings. Each living being is characterised by a soul—an animate, spiritual entity. The creator, Ishwar, endows each soul with a physical body and its appurtenances—mind, intellect, senses, and ego—for its corporeal existence. There is a divine purpose behind such creation: creatures are meant to evolve spiritually.