by Carlos Alberto Iglesia Bernardo.
In our world the majority of meanings of “peace” usually relates to conditions that are external to the being and naturally temporary, subjected to political, social and economical circumstances.
Among all of these meanings there is a special one which may be regarded as the “true peace”: It is the “peace of spirit” that comes out of a free and restful conscience and which is founded upon an unchanging faith in Divine Providence. Jesus referred to this kind of peace when he said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
From such inner peace of the being – the good treasure of the heart – there comes the balanced individual living in harmony with himself and the world and who, by acting without violence, changes the world around. Nobody should however mistake such peacefulness for nullity of will. The peaceful man is in fact an energetic being whose power is in the service of all. Few individuals in the last century were so peaceful and at the same time so dynamic as Mahatama Gandhi: he freed an entire country using “Ahimsa” (no-violence) and “Satyagraha” (unchanging trust in the truth – see the book “Mohandas K. Gandhi, an Autobiography”).
Turning again to the example of Jesus, we realize the true sense of peace that he gave us as an always-living lesson: Be him among humble people, before the Pharisees and others representatives of the Moses’ Laws or before the Roman authorities about to condemn him, Jesus remained always restful. He was aware of God’s will and in every circumstance expressed himself with no sign of violence. Even when he expelled the vendors of the temple (Matthew 21:12), there is no register in the gospels of someone hurt or of any cruelty expressed: he was against an illogical trade in a place that was to represent the Eternal One. In this episode we recognize the displeasure of the Just against the corruption of the most holly feelings.
The Just before God’s eyes – an old fashion biblical reference in our times – is the ethical person who loves God with all his heart, with all his soul, and his fellow man as himself (see Matthew 22:37-39) and who fulfills his duties before God and society. He is the “good person” described in “The Gospel According to Spiritism” (Chapter 17), and the definition of the good Spiritist. By acting in the right way, he acquires inner peace and pacifies everyone around him. He becomes the sower of the good seed in every place he is: as a family member, as citizen, as worker, a businessman or in whatever political position.
At the end of the nineteenth century, a Polish Doctor of Jewish origin succeed in creating a neutral language for the universal fraternity living in an environment of persecutions and brutal violence against the Jews. Dr. Zammenhof’s created “Esperanto”, an easy-to-learn language to facilitate the communication among the nations. Even though Zammenhof’s ideal remains to be better accepted, the very fact of its existence has driven many people toward mutual understanding and somehow contributed to eliminate hate.
Sidharta Gautama, the Illuminated (Buddha), by teaching the four noble truths and compassion toward all beings started to move the wheel of a doctrine that even today change people’s spirit remarkably. Dalai Lhama is a proof of this in his peaceful strife for the happiness of his country.
Amongst Brazilian Spiritists, the examples of Bezerra de Menezes and Francisco Cândido Xavier (Chico Xavier) stand out. The respect for the spiritists ideas in Brazil, the peaceful character of the Brazilian social behavior which manifests itself by the patience in the moments of national difficulties, one thanks the influence of these two noble figures.
In the United States we remember M. Luther King, a peaceful man who changed the life of million people and shaped and entire new country face.
In the lack of peace inside the individual, the world suffers in many ways. Present days have became notorious by fear of violence: violence of criminality, violence of racial hate, violence of greed, violence of corruption, violence of selfishness, lack of faith and love. Just turn on the TV, watch the headlines and you will delve into a scenario resembling violence movies in their finest details.
No matter the specific case, the criminal today attracts more attention of the media than a good man. Criminal acts are described with so many adornments that almost no space is left to the good news. Similarly traffickers are preferred to religious leaders, gangs to welfare organizations and murderers to volunteers of the social good. Important initiatives toward collective peace or improving social happiness deserve no mention in the media. No one knows anything them.
One of these initiatives is the main reason for this article – it is the movement called ” You the Peace” started by Divaldo Pereira Franco. Divaldo is a famous Brazilian medium and lecturer who maintains an important educational institution to help poor children. His speeches through the Americas, Europe, Asia, and other places have spread the knowledge of Spiritism and helped the birth of many spiritist groups everywhere.
The campaign had its beginning some years ago and is yearly held during a great meeting in the city of Salvador (Brazil) generally in December. Everybody is invited to participate no matter the religion or political position. Artists perform songs on peace related themes and Divaldo delivers a speech reinforcing the necessity of everyone engagement in the work of peace. The drive is properly described as not “against violence” but “in favor of peace”. In fact “against” suggests a position of defense, implying immobility, while being in favor of the peace – in other words, to exercise no-violence – is an active behavior. To be in favor of peace, acting in accordance to ethics, showing concern about our fellow’s good, is essentially the central teaching of every religion.
We all should engage this compaign, because if we had already acquired the peace of spirit, our world would not be so violent. The transition to a better world would be finished.The velocity of this transformation depends exclusively on us. The person of the globalization age is a stressful one running always after the material goods. He is all time concerned about competition only. This person forgets that is useless to conquer the world and to lose the soul.
Let us take profit by the opportunity to think over it, the chance that Divaldo give us with the compaign “You and the Peace”. We must participate in the event, even if our physical presence is impossible – because of the distance – let us at least be present spiritually, through thought and adhesion to its noble objectives.
Let us also not forget to transmit the news of this initiative to all our fellow sisters and brothers,
Lots of peace,
Carlos Iglesia
Source: The Spiritist Messenger, 8th Year, Number 31, July 2001
