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Political Higher Consciousness
by Robert Rabbin
"During the 5,600 years of written history,
14,600 wars have been recorded."
?James Hillman, A Terrible Love of War
 It
is self-evident that peace among nations will never grow from the blood-soaked
and stained earth of war. When will we realize that killing others never ends
the cycle of killing, that vengeance and retribution never bring peace?
When will we lose our appetite for killing, for war, for slaughter, for murder?
When will we find another way towards peace and justice?
It must be now, if we are to leave anything worth leaving to our children. We
cannot listen to or be persuaded by those whose absolutism is unguarded by
wisdom.
How are we to do what has never been done before? How are we to find another
way to peace? First, we must be willing. We must first decide that we have had
enough of killing. Regardless of how popular it might be, we have to decide to
stop killing as a way to establish peace. Killing has never established peace.
It has never happened, and it will never happen.
It was obvious to Albert Einstein, and it must surely be obvious to us, that
"we cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created the
problem." This is a scary notion, I admit. It isn't popular. It won't win
elections. But it is essential to understand that killing does not bring peace.
I believe that something within each of us knows this, feels this, and
understands this to be true. We have to find the courage and faith to lift our
consciousness to another level of understanding, one in which a killing
mentality is no longer acceptable.
"Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force," says the Dalai Lama. He
shows us the texture of higher consciousness: "It is no longer realistic to
expect that our enemy will be completely destroyed, or that victory will be
total for us. Or, for that matter, can an enemy be considered absolute. We have
seen many times that today's enemies are often tomorrow's allies, a clear
indication that things are relative and very inter-related and inter-dependent.
Our survival, our success, our progress, are very much related to others'
well being. Therefore, we as well as our enemies are still very much
interdependent. Whether we regard them as economic, ideological, or political
enemies makes no difference to this. Their destruction has a destructive effect
upon us. Thus, the very concept of war, which is not only a painful experience,
but also contains the seeds of self-destruction, is no longer relevant."
The very concept of war is no longer relevant. Beautiful, wise words, but who
can show us what they look like in action, when anger and fear are burning holes
in people's minds, when the call to kill is a national anthem, when shrill
shouts of patriotism hide soulless pursuits. One example happened just over 26
years ago, when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat flew to Israel in 1977 to meet
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. It was an inconceivable thing that he
did. But he did it, nonetheless.
In his address to the Israeli Knesset on November 20, 1977, Sadat said, "I
have chosen to set aside all precedents and traditions known by warring
countries. No one could have ever conceived that the president of the biggest
Arab state, which bears the heaviest burden and the main responsibility
pertaining to the cause of war and peace in the Middle East, should declare his
readiness to go to the land of the adversary while we were still in a state of
war. We all still bear the consequences of four fierce wars waged within 30
years. All this at the time when the families of the 1973 October war are still
mourning under the cruel pain of bereavement of father, son, husband and
brother."
There was as much smoldering sadness in Egypt as there is in the U.S. today.
There was as much fear, as much rationale for more violence, more war, more
killing. But Sadat found something within him that wanted to live on higher
ground: "We must rise above all forms of obsolete theories of superiority?"
What came from Sadat's unprecedented action and riveting speech? The historic
peace accords at Camp David. The Nobel Peace Prize, shared with Menachem Begin.
The legacy of higher consciousness trumping ancient hostilities, militarism, and
war.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are moments in the lives of nations and peoples
when it is incumbent upon those known for their wisdom and clarity of vision to
survey the problem, with all its complexities and vain memories, in a bold drive
towards new horizons. The example taken and experienced from ancient and modern
history teaches that missiles, warships, and nuclear weapons cannot establish
security. Instead they destroy what peace and security build."
I am sad that Anwar Sadat is not alive today. I would want to hear him speak,
and I would want to see what he would do. I wonder what distance he would be
willing to travel ? geographically, psychologically, and spiritually ? to
establish peace? I would want to see how he might "shock and awe" an amazed
world with the kind of vision and courage and daring whose legacy is not mounds
of dead people and ruined cities and torn-apart souls, but a peace and
friendship between all peoples that endures because it bears witness to the
miracle of creation itself.
Anwar Sadat is not here. But you and I are here. What shall we say?
What shall we do?
 This
article is written by the author of Igniting the Soul at Work: A Mandate for
Mystics, ?2002, by Robert Rabbin.
The business consultant who taught executives, managers, and employees to look
past the drone of daily business life to find their true vision and essence
takes the next step, showing how to utilize that inner vision in the workplace
for the good of individuals, corporations and organizations?
Info/Order this book.
About the Author
Robert
Rabbin is a writer, speaker, and spiritual activist. He is the author of
numerous books and articles, and the creator of TruthForPresident.org, an online
spiritual activism resource. For more information, please visit
www.truthforpresident.org or
www.robrabbin.com
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