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The Philosophy of Peace

                 the common ground between the two parties. Always remember
                 that  peace  can  be established on  some common ground,  and
                 common ground is that which is more acceptable to the other
                 party. Your own wishes cannot provide a common ground. You
                 can discover the common ground only by adopting the formula
                 of practical wisdom.
                    Peace is not simply peace. It is something which opens up
                 others’ hearts. Showing leniency  on  your  part makes  others
                 lenient also. If you take a back seat, the result will be miraculous.
                 People themselves will ask you to go ahead and take the front
                 seat. Don’t try to play the role of the leader. Be a follower and
                 you will win the hearts of the other party.

                    Putting your trust in God means putting your trust in reason,
                 common sense and the indirect results that may emanate from
                 the normalization of the situation. In the believer’s language, it is
                 a divine blessing and in secular language, it is the law of nature.
                    Two kinds of benefits flow from any kind of dealings—direct
                 and  indirect. This  is  true also of  any peace  settlement.  Every
                 peace settlement produces some benefits. In direct terms these
                 benefits may not be very great, but there are also some indirect
                 benefits. These benefits may seem negligible at the time of the
                 settlement, but the future will show you that indirect benefits
                 amount to far more than direct benefits. One very important
                 piece of wisdom is  that  you should not  try to connect other
                 problems with peace—peace for the sake of this and peace for the
                 sake for that is not wise thinking. The only wise course is to adopt
                 the formula: Peace for the sake of peace. For example, peace with
                 justice is a beautiful idea, but it is completely unwise to lay down
                 such a condition, because such a move could prevent peace from
                 becoming a reality. It should be borne in mind that the most
                 important feature of peace is that it gives you the opportunity
                 to strive towards the desired ends rather than provide instant
                 rewards in terms of justice or financial gain.



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