FOR WORLD PEACE.

White Ribbon, Volume 30, Issue 356, 18 March 1925, Page 4

FOR WORLD PEACE.

How can we women help to hasten the day when the public opinion of the world will definitely array itself against war, as being a relic of the past which we ought to be leaving behind, and as being therefore, fm ns morally wrong? There is a way in which we can help, and it is this that 1 wish to consider.

The source of happiness and its opposite lies in the mind, and the power of the mind is being recognised gradually more and more, and being studied with more and more detail, and more and more comprehension. One fact which stands out perhaps more prominently than any other in Psychology is that it is possible for thought to pass directly from mind to mind without any intermediary; in other words, that thought can be “transferred'* from one mind to another irrespective of any form of Miter communication and of the distance between the two.

With the knowledge we now have of the way in which wireless telegraphy wcrks, we can easily understand tha f there is always going on a certain “broadcasting" of thought, whether we are conscious of it or not. Tlu re is a tremendous signifi eance in this; it means that by our thoughts we are constantly awakening similar thoughts in the minds of others, and making it easier for them to do good or evil actions, as the case may be. Through this of thought, the solidarity of humanity becomes a very real and present fact, not something to be sought after, but something w'hich actually is; and wo realise to w'hat a i extent it is true that eac i one of us is “our brother’s keener.” Carrying this little thought a little farther, we can see its application to the question of war. While it is nuite true t’nt the immediate cause it. war . u.v ally some international dispute, . et, as these disputes imply some form of greed or jealously or ill-will somewhere, on one side or another, anything which tends to increase feelings of ill-will must help, in a greater or lesser degree, to lead up to the crisis which makes the outbreak of war inevitable. It is questionable if the impulse to discord of an international dispute would usually itself have enough force to result in w’ar. But

when reinforced by the cumulative effect of the unkind, angry, reven;.> ful feelings of all humanity—for how many of us can claim to be entirely free from such feelings?—it becomes irresistible, and the war-spirit takes possession of Governments and nations alike, and hurls them into deadly conflict.

if, then, we wish to help in putting an end to war, we can set about it at once, with full confidence that no effort can possibly fail to have its effect; for nothing can stand in the w'ay of thought; it works unseen, but all the more powerfully on that account, and it penetrates everywhere. So tiie first thing to do is to purify ourselves; to train our minds so that they will allow no thought to find a resting place therein save such as we will to think; then persistentlj to check every thought of disharmony, never to allow ourselves to harbour a feeling of unkindness or jealous y or angel, but to be ever full of good-will towards all, both in thought and in actions. This is a double process; on the one hand it has a negative result, in that we add nothing ti the forces that work for discord and war; on the other hand, if a large i umber are doing it all the world over it will Lave a powerful positive eff<ct in changing tlu* general direction of the thought of humanity, and so in time changing the direction of its activity, for, as Marc Sangnier says;—“There is no outer revolution, which is not tlu* result of a previous inner revolution; if you wish to reform society, you must first reform yourself." And this change will be spread more widely and rapidly by that spontaneous and automatic “b> uadcasting” of thought already referred to. Hut we can, and should, do something still more positive than this, bv definitely thinking every day, and as often in the *.V,y as w"' c*n, some simple, blit strong and e i n( si. peacethought. We can e«cli of us formulate our own thejg it. or we might band ourselves together in groups, each group selecting a thought on w r hich all the members will undertake to dwell for a few minutes at some fixed hour in the day. This is the better way, as concerted action of any kind has always a stronger effect than isolated and separate efforts. Td a town in I idia, a handful of lovers of peace have banded

themselves together to repeat every morning some Sanskrit verses, of which the following is a free rendering: “May the whole universe enjoy the blessing of peace! May the hearts of the wicked be turned away from their wickedness and seek peace! May all beings pour forth active good-will and love to all! May the minds ol all dwell on thoughts of good will and peace! May all of us. being purified from all selfishness, be fully devoted to God.” Hut the form of words matters little. The essential point is that there may be definite earnest effort, regularly repeated, that may “broadcast” tlu* thought that war is no longer right for civilised nations, and the prayerful wish that the hearts of all maj be turned towards peace. As more and more of us do this, we shall be accumulating a force which will ultimately become so strong that it will be impossible for war to break out. I believe that this method is more efficacious, more certain of success than any other tluu can be adopted.