PEACE ACTIVISM
People seeking to promote harmony and peace between different faith groups must educate people to accept certain differences as a natural reality rather than striving to eliminate all differences.
Differences are a natural part of God’s Creation Plan. Therefore, we need to learn to live with differences rather than trying to eliminate them. People working for peace activism and interfaith harmony must educate people to respect all people despite their differences. Rather than trying to eliminate all differences, they must accept certain differences as a natural phenomenon. Rather than seeking to eliminate all differences, they should seek to foster among people the spirit of respect for one another despite their differences, accepting certain differences as a part of life or nature.
Merely lamenting or protesting against ‘communalism’ is also not a successful method for promoting inter-religious harmony. This working method can hardly bring about a positive change in people’s consciousness. It cannot transform their hearts and win their minds. To promote interfaith harmony, we must change people’s minds by adopting a realistic approach. We must educate and train people toward peaceful living so they can live with people of different faiths in a spirit of mutual respect.
A result-oriented method of peace activism for promoting interfaith harmony is to counsel people to cultivate respect for people who follow different faiths. Therefore, a peace activist should possess the quality embodied in this famous saying of Jesus: ‘Love your enemies. (Luke, 6:27) Even if someone appears as one’s enemy, one’s conduct towards him should be determined by high moral principles. This is a trait that peace activists ought to possess, and they must also impart this to others.
There are some other essential qualities of being a peace activist. A peace activist is someone who is at peace with his Creator, with himself, with his family, and with his neighbours. In other words, peace work, like charity, “begins at home.” Those who preach peace must first be peaceful with God, themselves, and their surroundings. Only such people can be called ‘peace activists’ in the true sense.
