Page 68 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

Living between Idealism and Pragmatism

The only way to establish peace in this world is to accept the
formula of pragmatism. It is the greatest wisdom to be content
with pragmatic goals when the ideal goal is not achievable.

An illustrative example is that of Alexander the Great. He
inherited the land of Greece and became its king. But this was
less than ideal for him as what he wanted was to conquer the
whole world. Thus he embarked in pursuit of his goal with his
army, but history tells us that in 323 BC he died in Babylon,
with an overwhelming sense of failure, when he was only 32.

For Alexander the Great, the government of Greece was
a pragmatic option, but on a political whim, he opted for
conquering the whole world. According to his way of thinking,
his option was an ideal he strove towards, but according to the
law of nature the ideal is not achievable. Had Alexander the
Great adopted the pragmatic approach, he would have surely
been successful, but because of the pursuit of an ideal he lost
even what he had already attained, while what he had aimed
for was never to be achieved.

The only way to establish peace in this world is
to accept the formula of pragmatism. It is the
greatest wisdom to be content with pragmatic goals
when the ideal goal is not achievable.

In this world this has been the case of almost all human
beings. According to a Japanese proverb, ‘If you chase two
rabbits, you will lose them both.’ With a slight change in
wording, it may be said that one who runs after the ideal goal,
loses both the ideal as well as the practically achievable goal.
Because of this obsession, people generally suffer from
stress. This stress increases to a point where one begins to
engage in complaining and protesting. This phenomenon in
turn leads frequently to violence. It is this psychology of the

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