War #85

This is not just about war—but hunger, thirst and abuse of all that is living; All of creation.

Sadly there has been seven suicides amongst Canadian soldiers whom had returned from Afghanistan in the past two months. Such waste of lives, on both sides. A child, is a child, is a child for a Canadian mother, an Afghan mother or a mother in the stone age. I am reminded of Mary at the foot of the cross. Her pain had to be horrendous, I am sure she would gladly have traded places with her son-not only is the process as an out cry against death, but against the futility of war in any which way one looks at it; war against nations, war against individual, as in case of Jesus—war is war in any sense. It makes no sense. So many writers, poets have grappled with the question with outrage, with longing for peace and justice; they offer a glimpse of what should be, what was destined by God to be, what perhaps maybe once—if ever the human soul awakens. Will we be ever transformed?

Often a word, a piece of prose, a poem evokes a moment of subtle realization that is hidden in the spirit between our inner and outer worlds—the sanctuary of peace of the heart and the turmoil of existence that is entwined in our human life. Instead of standing up with flaming sword in hand what do we do? We seek escape into our own little private world –a monastery, a haze of drugs, the delirium of alcohol we seek somewhere the stability and peace of soul; all in the name of spirituality, in the name of the mystical, in the name of contemplation–which seemingly absolves us from taking action, so we feel detached from the situation; yet still remain intellectually expansive through washing of our hand. A few Hail Mary`s is payment enough for our blindness will do—so we think. 

Alas, not at all. No wonder why plenary indulgences were so popular, the scapegoat for our guilt. Yes, we are all equally guilty of what is happening in the world because doing nothing is silent agreement—thus we condone it. Whether it is empathy for suffering, mercy for the weak, compassion for the abuse of our brethren—be they black, white yellow or colors of the rainbow; for we all bleed the same colour blood. Shame on us for our immoral response, lack of love—which portents to be the reason for life, of creation itself—in all wisdom teachings and sacred texts.

I confess; I am no revolutionary, no political activist, don`t even possess a flag, never walked in a demonstration in my life for anything—but I am furious, livid at man`s inhumanity to man; wherever that maybe be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Tibet or the far too many others places to mention  here now in the day of “the computer age”. We take absolutely no responsibility for our ethical conduct and what impact it has on the world. We deny the ocean of crisis and mess we are swimming in-struggling against the waves that engulf us. Genuine peace is not quietest state but one that emerges from inner silence of our true being, which leads to action; from that divine spark that which perhaps in one moment in one`s life one catches fire. It is then that we transform the fabric of our soul, its very resonance through piercing its very core.

So why don`t we rage, scream, shout against injustice, hatred, bigotry, abuse, hunger, thirst, oppression, war? Let`s face the bitter truth; it is because man is destructive, selfish and egocentric. Free will is the catalyst for our inhumane behaviour, that is the mortal sin; the reason why we were cast out from paradise. Ego is our very own spiritual annihilator. Nietzsche was wrong; conscience is dead, voice of denunciation is dead, compassion is dead— not God,—He just left the building. I doubt that the meek shall ever inherit the earth-or the peacemakers will be called the children of God for they will be annulled, obliterated in the very process. 

We so quickly forget the uncountable deaths daily on many fronts of life, with but a flick of the remote on our TV—we often dare not imagine the violence, the pain, the death of those who sacrificed their lives for nothing—merely to fatten the pockets of the elite few who are in control. Imagine the suffering of those who loved all those who have offered and are offering up their lives in vain—be that willingly or unwillingly every moment of the day, whose family`s pain continues till they join them in death; for only then will they, are they able to forget. There is never closure--that is a misconception of psychiatrists. Just ask one who is paddling in the boat of agony.


What will stir our hearts into action? How many have to die for nothing? What will change us? What will move us out of this moral descent? What shall inflame us? Am I simply delusional? No!

We have betrayed ourselves, sold our souls for less than thirty pieces of silver. We are all affected equally; all is interconnected; all springs from a single root—we are our brothers` keeper, for we are our brothers. We hear the odd voice in the wilderness like little Mother Teresa, Dalai Lama, now Francis and a few others —the voice of reason, of love of compassion which gives the world a glimpse of what is possible. A vision of what God ordained, had in mind for man –but can only manifest if there is a shift in perception from being complicit in destroying all to a stance  of moral outrage against all that is unjust. Shall we have redemption? Do we have still the potential for good, —or is it lost forever? Time will tell—only if we truly believe it, desire it, live it, breathe it. Only then are we able to have an authentic encounter with God, encounter with our very self.

We are bombarded with propaganda of fear in every possible way from terrorism to WMS—fear rules our day without questioning the validity and the reason behind it. We believe blindly, thoughtlessly what ever we are fed by the media—who have the same talking points no matter what political the conviction. There is absolutely no counterbalance—unless we find one there is no return from the edge. 

Our ecological awareness no matter how loud the protests, are easily ignored, we are  lulled into a sense of security through garbles of lies by our politicians. Those few voices of reason are quieted very quickly, muzzled to be more precise; held in check—Orwell was right in many ways, actually probably our present condition is being far worse. We are grounded in the material, instead being grounded in the community, in the cosmos and the spiritual. We have lost patience, deviated morally, need instant gratification and it is generally all about “me, me, me”. We have lost most of our sense of the complex mystery, awe and innocence both of nature and life—we no longer live within the mystery of God. Much has become obscure, distorted and misinterpreted.

We are hardly ever accosted by purity, challenged  by sanctity, humbled by reverence –for all this is a difficult path in the age of Aquarius—but spirituality speaks from the soul, is underpinned through action and demonstrated through love—and the silent grace radiating from the Eternal God. I believe we still may have a chance.