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Middle East Crisis: A Fresh Approach © Bahram R. Shahmardaan, PhD To succeed in any endeavor, we need to apply three Principles: Humility, Discipline and Commitment. We need: · Humility to Receive If any of the above three Principles is not implemented, we will be unable to succeed. Applying these three Principles to solving the crises between Palestine and Israel, we see that we need to: · Have the right attitude to acknowledge the problems and the courage to accept solutions. We have to recognize that in any given situation, those who have the advantage will strive to maintain the status quo and those who have the disadvantage will strive to change it to gain the advantage. The two sides cannot hope to achieve peace if they engage each other with such an attitude. No deal is fair unless it is equitable to all the parties involved. So what is the right attitude? It is one of humility that will enable both sides to approach each other with mutual respect. Humility born of love will allow each to welcome the other party with sincerity and engage not as adversaries but as partners to solve the problems they both share. Without humility it will be difficult if not impossible to have mutual trust and shared intent. In any engagement, one party cannot act superior to the other. Without this mutual respect, trust and shared intent, we cannot even begin the process. Because so many wars have been fought in the name of religion some people think that religion is a curse and feel that religions divide us and cause us to fight. Religion has been given a bad rap. All wars are fought for economic reasons. They are couched in terms of religion in order to inflame the passions of people on both sides. The ancient Persians believed that all wars are fought for three reasons namely Zar, Zan and Zameen which translated means Gold, Woman and Land. This is true to this day. If we accept the Principle that God is Omnipresent i.e. present everywhere and in everything then we have to acknowledge that He is also present and living in those we perceive as our adversaries if not our enemies. So if we choose to kill our enemies, are we not working against God in the sense that we are killing someone that God created and loves so much that He chooses to live within them? Christ is recorded to have said words to the effect: "Anyone can love a brother, sister, friend and benefactor. But he who knows love will love his enemy." To fight and kill others to achieve peace is to fight in vain. Mahatma Gandhi wisely pointed out: So violence is not the answer to solve the crises between Palestine and Israel. Out of a sense of desperation, to protect itself Israel has built a wall. Now how practical is that? The Berlin Wall did not last very long and neither did Apartheid in South Africa. I am certain the Israeli's know that the wall is just a temporary tactic and not a permanent solution. Besides there is a big difference between the wall built by Israel and the Berlin wall. The Berlin wall was meant to keep innocent people in and was an offence to the citizens of East Germany and the world. The wall built by Israel is to keep destructive people out and to protect its citizens. But it is still offensive to the world because it increases the sense of the divide that separates mankind and reduces the chances of achieving unity. Regardless of the reasons for justifying building the wall we have to recognize that force only provides a temporary reprieve whereas Love delivers a permanent solution. Unless violence as an option is totally removed from the equation we will resort to it. So both sides must firmly commit to a non-violent solution. To achieve this both sides need leaders who the people trust and a system of Government that can control the dissidents amongst them who are going to attempt to sabotage the peace process with and/or without the help of outsiders. Do we have the courage to give Love a chance? The greatest Warriors and the greatest Lovers are those who conquer themselves. These are the great Spiritual Masters and the Saints and Sages who have been champions of Love that is God and have taught mankind to live in harmony with nature and the Will Divine. The Koran, like other Holy Scriptures, teaches that the most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self. Buddha said words to the effect, "One man on a battlefield conquers a thousand. Another conquers himself. Consider him the greater." The real enemies reside within us all. The real enemy is insecurity which gives rise to fear and hate. Fear and hate are built on the foundation of insecurity when we are attached to Pride, Anger, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Covetousness, Envy, Slothfulness and all the negative impulses that assail us. To fight with forces outside yourself to achieve peace is to fight in vain. The real enemies lurk within each one of us. Before we can make any real progress, our leaders and the silent majorities on both sides have to fight these enemies and root them out of their individual consciousness and collective psyche. We can never get rid of insecurity as it is the nucleus around which the human mind gets formed. How and why fear is the nucleus of the human mind and how to deal with it has been explained in my book: The Journey of Life Eternal. "The psychic balance mankind should strive for is not to achieve security but to learn to live with insecurity." There is a nice story I read in the life of the US President Abraham Lincoln. It seems that there was a newspaper editor who wrote scathing articles deriding Mr. Lincoln. Those were the times when one could challenge someone to a duel. Rather than challenging the editor to a duel for insulting him, Mr. Lincoln went out of his way to befriend the editor and finally succeeded in doing so. Before Mr. Lincoln had befriended the editor one of his friends told him, "Abe, you surprise me. Most people would go out of their way to destroy their enemies whereas you go out of your way to befriend them." To which Abe smiled and replied, "When I befriend my enemies am I not destroying them?" So in order to achieve peace between Palestine and Israel, the first requirement is Humility. The second is Commitment. Both sides must commit to achieving peace. To begin with they must commit to non-violence. Both sides should refuse to resort to violence regardless of provocations which are bound to occur. To refuse to react to provocation requires discipline on the part of the leaders and the silent majority on both sides. We have to accept that within each side there are pockets of minorities who will strive to sabotage the peace that the silent majority and the world want. Another fact we have to recognize is that God Loves diversity. Just look at the Universe around us. There are so many diverse plants, animals, fish, insects' human beings, languages, religions etc. The world would be very uninteresting and bland if we were all alike. We can learn from each other because of our differences. We could not learn from each other if we were all exactly alike. Those people who think that God wants the whole world to follow only one religion are not thinking clearly. Sameness in manifestation is a human concept born of insecurity which itself has its roots in self consciousness. This self consciousness feeds insecurity and the two together are the source of hate. Differences in manifestation are a Divine Purpose intended to create beauty and is born out of security and knowledge which emanate from Love. The Divine uses the same creative Principles that emanate from Love to: · Bring forth a diverse universe with the creative power of Love. We have to recognize that we are living in a relative world. In a relative world there are no absolutes. It is said that Jesus Christ said words to the effect, "He that is not with Me is against Me." That is true but only in a Spiritual context. It cannot be true at a physical level. So statements like, "Nations are either with us or they're against us" are just as invalid as the position taken by fundamental Islam that classifies those who do not follow their brand of Islam as non-believers, Infidels and Kafirs who are like vermin and should be destroyed. So what is the right intent? We look with our eyes but see with our minds. We hear with our ears but listen with our minds. But what we see and listen is determined by our attitude. Without the right attitude we will not be able to see and think clearly. It is recorded that Buddha said words to the effect: People have to be inspired to arrive at a fair and equitable arrangement which acknowledges each party's right to self determination and to live peacefully. But we cannot inspire those who do not aspire. Even if they do aspire, the question we have to ask ourselves is: What have we as the United States of America, done and are doing to inspire them? Has our own conduct vis-à-vis Palestine and Israel been exemplary and impartial? We invaded Iraq because we believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. We took actions against Libya and are taking actions against Korea and Iran. We know that Israel has nuclear weapons. Yet we have remained silent. Are we so naïve to think that the Muslims and the rest of the world are not aware of the double standards we have been exhibiting or is it that we really do not care what the world thinks or both? And if we do not care what the world thinks why should we be so presumptuous to think that the world will be inspired by us? People may be cowed down by our current military strength. But they cannot be held down forever. So long as we remain attached to the past, we will be unable to change it. It is because the Yugoslavs were attached to the memory of the loss they suffered in a battle 600 years ago at the hand of Muslims that the tragedy of Kosovo happened. We have to live in the moment and move forward. So how do we really begin to deal with the issues? More than 10,000 years ago, Zarathushtra ( Zoroaster), the Prophet of Iran, taught us to live with three Principles viz: Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds. If we lived Because it is an open secret, it is easy to criticize the United States and Israel for remaining silent about the nuclear arsenal that Israel has. But can we blame Israel and the USA? What would you do if you were surrounded by millions of people who had taken an oath or allegiance to destroy you and not allow you to live, let alone live in peace? So long as you hold someone down, you can never rise above them. Why? Because some part of you has to remain at the level at which you are holding them. So it is in the interest of Israel and Palestine to set each other free. With the departure of Mr. Arafat, people are hopeful. One man does not constitute a nation. Many of us are familiar with the statement: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift which is why it is called the present. But the gift of the present cannot be realized if we remain attached to the same old attitudes, expectations and positions. We need to forget the past and not worry about the future. Only then can we live in the present and realize its potential gift. You cannot give what you do not have. You cannot be what you are not. If you are full of fear and hate, you cannot give love. All Scriptures have revealed that God is Love, Merciful, Bountiful etc. So if we are motivated by fear, hate and vengeance it is unreasonable to claim that we are working for Allah or God. Nobody needs love more than those who are full of fear and hate and no one needs forgiveness more than those who have erred. The Arabs and Israelis are very charitable towards others. So it would make sense for them to be charitable towards each other. You cannot give what you do not have. You cannot become who you are not. Before you love another and forgive another, you have to receive love. You can choose to be a channel of fear and hate or a channel of love and peace. So each side needs to accept love and forgive itself first for its past actions and then forgive each other. To begin the healing process, all Arab nations and particularly the people of Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Iran have to publicly acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as a nation. Further as mentioned above, they have to commit to non-violence and renounce the use of force to resolve issues. Israel also has to move towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict and similarly must commit to the right of the Palestinian people to have a homeland with self determination in which they can live in peace. Success will only be achieved if each side follows the three Principles mentioned at the beginning of this article: Humility, Discipline and Commitment. If they choose to implement the current policy of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, they will indeed become blind and toothless.
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