In the practical field I realize the futility of war. War is the black spot on human character. In individual or collective life one can fight, but war is based on hatred and on fissiparous tendencies. Is it not black?

Struggle and war are not synonymous. While war springs from hatred, struggle is a part and parcel of life. War blackens everything, it darkens the future. Let the life be bright both individually and collectively. Let us fight these fissiparous tendencies which want to make our life dark.

Human beings want light or darkness? They want light. Light is beautiful because it is luminous. When there was no creation, there was only one colour – black. Want of life is black. After creation we see this beautiful play of colours. Why should we be lost in darkness? All human beings want light.

Our forefathers committed a mistake by encouraging war. We should rectify whatever mistakes they committed. We should atone for their mistakes.

One unit human being is more luminous and brighter and more throbbing than universal darkness. So human beings should always be optimistic. The Cimmerian darkness cannot retard our progress.

Black cannot cover the light of the human heart. The spirit of your heart must move on and on against obstacles; rather, fighting against pebbles of obstacles, just as you kick away the pebbles by your feet when you walk on the path and they come in your way.

Human beings are stronger than their obstacles.

[In May 1979 Sarkar visited a number of European countries. On a walk in Fiesch, Switzerland he offered the above, which was noted down by a companion and published in Baba in Fiesch, Proutist Universal, 1979]

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Mass Murder

During the Second World War the Allied forces mercilessly killed hundreds of thousands of absolutely innocent men, women and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by dropping atom bombs on them. They threw innumerable men, women and children into the jaws of death, and poisoned, maimed and mutilated countless others through nuclear fallout. Was this action humanistic? Under what right did they dare hang Prime Minister Tojo? These questions will crop up repeatedly in the minds of enlightened people. This black history can never be suppressed by mouthing hollow, high-sounding slogans and flying white pigeons of peace.

Once a certain prime minister discarded his much vaunted humanism and love of non-violence on the basis of rumours. I am aware of certain politicians--and many others are also aware of them -- who preach the gospels of peace by flying white pigeons but sharpen the weapons of war behind people's backs. They hold garlands of felicitation in their hands but conceal knives in their sleeves. Their policy is: "Preach the gospels of peace but keep your powder dry". They pretend that out of love for humanity their hearts will melt. In the fervour of political rallies their eyes dissolve with tears and flow like the Ganges, but in their hearts they crave for a menu of roast chicken -- slaughtered after ignoring the cries of innocent hens. The gospels of peace do not fit in such mouths. Let them raise the slogans, "Victory to roast chicken. Victory to rump steak."

From Shabda Caynika

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Science and War

People often say that this Twentieth Century is the century of science. No, it is not the truth. Human life has been associated with science from the prehistoric era, from the very birth of humanity on this earth about one million years ago, and not only in this Twentieth Century. And as long as there will be a single human being, there will be an age of science.

Nowadays science means creating new weapons -- strengthening the hands of warmongers; but the spirit of science should not be like this; and at the start, in the primordial phase of human life it was not so. Yes, there is necessity of weapons -- weapons not for strengthening the hands of warmongers, but for providing security for good ideas, good thoughts, and good persons. Science should be just like art: science for service and blessedness, "Art for service and blessedness," I said; and I say, science is also for service and blessedness. Science should always be utilised for the proper progress of human society.

From Shabda Caynika

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The Great Anti-War Sentiment

The absence of collective outlook is the root of all evil. The strong are perpetrating atrocities and injustices on the weak; powerful human groups are exploiting powerless ones. Under such circumstances it is the duty of virtuous people to wage war on the oppressors. It is no use sitting quietly, waiting indefinitely for moral preaching to bring results. All virtuous people will, therefore, have to become united. At the same time preparations will have to continue to fight against the demons. Those who perpetrate atrocities on collective life or on a particular human group, cannot be pardoned. In such cases pardoning not only reflects weakness, it also encourages injustice, because the oppressors become more tyrannical. In individual life, if an innocent person is oppressed by dishonest people, the person, if he or she so desires, may pardon the oppressors, just to test his or her capacity for tolerance or for some other reason. But if the oppressors torture a human group, in that case no single individual, as the representative of the group, can pardon them, and actually that person has no right to do so. If the representative acts beyond his or her jurisdiction, that person will be denounced by the group he or she represents. So it has to be said that pardoning is a practice for individual life only, not for collective life.

The more the human mind becomes magnanimous or expanded, the more
it rises above the sentiments of tribalism, communalism [socio-religious sentiment], provincialism, etc. Often I hear people say that nationalism is an appreciable sentiment and that there is no narrowness in it. But is this true? Nationalism is also relative, just like tribalism, communalism or provincialism. In some places it is more worthwhile than tribalism, communalism or provincialism, while in other places it is less worthwhile.

Let us consider, for example, the case of a Portuguese nationalist. The mental object of a Muslim communalist is certainly larger than that of a Portuguese nationalist, because the former desires the welfare of a greater number of people than the latter. This is because the number of Muslims in the world is greater than the number of Portuguese. Judged from this perspective, I cannot denounce the sentiments of a Muslim communalist in comparison to a Portuguese nationalist. Similarly, it has to be accepted that the sentiments of a Rajput casteist are broader than those of a Portuguese nationalist, because the former desires the welfare of more people than the latter. Likewise, the feelings of an Andhrite provincialist will have to be considered broader than those of a Portuguese nationalist. If one supports provincialism with seventy-five million Bengalis, it must be accepted that these feelings are more expanded than the nationalism of most of the nations of the world. (The population of most of the nations of the world is less than the population of Bengal.)

Hence it is observed that communalism, casteism, provincialism and nationalism are all of the same defective type. Those who are able to capitalize on one of these sentiments advocate it volubly. In fact, every one of these sentiments suffers from the defect of ism, and is completely filled with narrowness, violence, envy, mean mindedness, etc. Those who enter the field of social welfare by creating divisions between "yours" and "mine", substantially widen the fissures of fissiparous intellect in human society.

Those who want to promote the welfare of all human beings, remaining above all sorts of parochial sentiments, have no alternative but to embrace universalism with their heart and soul there is no other way. As universalism is totally devoid of any characteristic of ism, it is not proper to depict universalism as an ism. If everyone is looked upon as one's own, no one remains beyond the periphery of one's kith and kin. Naturally, then, there is no scope for violence, envy, narrowness, etc.