Page 20 - Non-violence and peace-building
P. 20

Unilateral Action for Peace

          Through this behaviour of theirs, they are only proving
          that they completely lack an exalted purpose or goal in
          life. A person who is inspired by an exalted purpose
          in life will always ignore petty issues. Because Muslims
          have lost consciousness of an exalted purpose to live
          for, they have also lost their tolerance. And because they
          have become a people without a goal, they have lost the
          strength to overlook minor inconveniences for the sake
          of being able to carry on with efforts for achieving a
          higher purpose in life.
             Communal  violence  is the price  that the  Muslims
          of  India are  paying for their religious  degeneration.
          Although the  religion sent by  God  is  one,  as far as
          Muslims’ real life is concerned, there are two types of
          ‘Islam’: one, the ‘Islam of pride’, and the other, the ‘Islam
          of humility’. Religious corruption and degeneration is
          another name for the ‘Islam of pride’.

             When Muslims are on the path of true Islam, they
          follow the Islam of modesty or humility. The fear of God
          takes away from them any sense of superiority. Because
          of  this, all their  unnecessary conflicts  automatically
          come to an end. In the face of the prejudice of others,
          their  God-consciousness  makes them  humble  and
          modest. This acts like water in the face of the fire of
          other people’s prejudices. And it brings violence to an
          end.
             In contrast, when Muslims become bereft of God-
          consciousness, they become driven by the ‘Islam of pride’,
          which leads them to imagine that they are superior to
          others. This psychology creates all the differences and
          disputes that Muslims are today beset with. When every

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