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About the Urgent Necessity to Intensify a Broad Inter-Cultural and Inter-Religious Dialogue. Inspired by Contributions to the Online Forum, Discussion Group „Religiously Motivated Violence" at the Global Network of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions

Are condemnation of violence and fighting against it sufficiently safe reactions?

Violence will neither be overcome by condemnation of violent acts nor by fighting against them - however cruel and disgusting they might be. Violence is not a solution. Violence causes counter-violence.

The more bluntly violence crosses our paths,

The more violence is being forced on us without alternative,
The stronger demanded are the lovers of peace,
To stimulate non-violent solutions.

Only by understanding and revealing the respective motivations, by answering why? and for what? we will create our own chance to overcome violence, be it originated from states, groups or individuals.

I do not at all agree with the blaming of Islam. Such a vision is too simple and therefore false. I agree with all of you who are aware of the dead end road of pointing the finger at others for 'their being violent'. Following considerations should or could invite more people of different cultural or religious background to look for roots of violence within their respective domains. As we only start to question such subjects we already have identified to be dubious, it is imperative to look for and to identify such roots. As long as we do not start to investigate the complex and interlacing web which nourishes violent action, we will not have any chance for peace. On the contrary, our growing destructive potential threatens global survival. Till today, human race has used its abilities to a major extent only to reconstruct the bludgeon of biblical Cain into a machine of industry, which with its "excretions and radiations being hostile to life" jeopardizes the genetic as well as the cultural roots of health and life.

We have to blame ourselves who tolerate violence as a means of human action - be it in our families, communities or nations.

Readiness to accept violence as a tool to reach certain goals or as a structure to built societies upon is rooted deep down in the human mind. Some people try to justify violence biologically when they speak about the survival of the fittest. By doing so they think too short as evolution since long proves that the fittest is by no means the strongest, but the organism which cooperates best is.

Overall cooperation to make real justice come true is the lesson we have to learn on a global scale if humanity's goal is its‚ survival.

We, the people of the world suffer from structural injustice, from built in failures of our social systems. Elitist, hegemonic and supremacist tendencies enforce by nature the longing for human dignity and justice. The longing for dignity and justice, however, often openly conflicts with the interests of those in power.

The spiral of violence is spinning further.

Children as hostages represent an intolerable acceleration.
To actually sacrifice them
Increases delusion immeasurably.

From tutelage to state terrorism.

We suffer from a global terrorist war, which is being legitimatized by so called democracies although a majority of citizens oppose war and terror.

Greed for oil, resources and military supremacy are the fuel of war, and local violent and terrorist acts often are mere reactions to the underlying terrorist war for global dominance in the name of a God, who is to bless solely America (1). Such an elitist notion triggers ignorance of the right to exist for others and for different ways of Life. To the respective audiences such messages create false and completely misleading identifications - identifications which are furthermore abused by the administration making people ready for sacrifices in favour of their identification - voilà! - again we discover a source of violence! Such messages and similar ones are widely spread and represent nothing but strategically utilized manipulation.

Ordinary people are being sacrificed, they are the victims.

That is why we, the ordinary people of the world, regardless of religion, belief, ideology or colour join against the strategists of Death in order to support the creational forces on this planet.

Crusades, slavery, Inquisition are all part of human history, or to be more correct, part of Christian history, part of the history of monotheism.

At the same time however, in a profound context they are part of the strategy of dominance - still in the name of the good against evil, of God against those who believe differently.

So, if we want to overcome dominance and develop a global society in solidarity, we have to confront ourselves also with the mental pitfalls of human psyche on its path towards maturity and freedom from violence.

Responsibility for life increases quality of life

The young and still unconsciously acting psyche defends the standard by which it has been shaped and tends to reproduce the quality of life which it experienced. It tries to carry on the experienced normality into the future.

This is, on the one hand, why we tend to react with resistances against alterations or modifications. Within a larger frame this is the reason for resistance of social bodies like those of nation states against alterations - independent from being demanded by the populations, or from being required by the necessities of circumstances. On the other hand, by this quality of the still immature psyche the paradox of the child which was brought up under violent conditions, and has been violated, becomes clear. It becomes understandable, that this child later on when being an adult despite all suffering tends to tolerate and even utilize violence - a vicious circle which is to be overcome.

It is the tragedy of the maturing-process of the psyche, that it is ready to defend a standard, the quality of which it has not yet learned to question. The pending step of maturing towards consciously accepting and adopting responsibility represents the decisive step towards human autonomy.

If religious or social structures defend themselves against promoting individual autonomy as this would contradict their own fundamentalistic striving for supremacy, they put themselves in the wrong position. Administrations lose any legitimacy when they try to interrupt by law and violent actions emancipation and naturally growing self-responsibility. The natural urge for emancipation (2) produces a field of tension, the balance of which is being legitimized beyond human made law.

Responsibility belongs to us by birth.

Responsibility is being completely ignored by fundamentalism of all origins. Fundamentalism thwarts the chances to mature towards human autonomy when it moves to the domination by a God and his governors. Unfortunately no government feels responsible for the destruction of Creation which is caused in the run of history. That is why we all - regardless of being Muslims, Christians or of any other religion or conviction - have to speak up against the fundamentalism and dogmatism of those reigning structures which do not support further emancipation.

Let us try not to fall victim of the divide et impera! (lat.: bring them up against each other and dominate!) of the strategists of Death and Dominance (3) - let us accept responsibility and prove social competency in joint and public action against further domination of life.

Let us communicate even in case our opinions differ - being aware that we would be blocking a further leading and saving flow of information when stopping communication.

We have to admit that free flow of information is the prerequisite for human mind to develop and to attune karmically to this overall existence which, expressed in terms of human perception and experience, is sequential and dynamic in the sense of ever becoming better than before and ever more diverse.

Only free flow of information will lead to the truth of understanding.

And part of this truth is, that injustice and terrorism have their malicious reasons, they do not fall from the sky.

NOBODY is evil by birth. That proves the fact that evil has a social origin.

So lets courageously face the fact that we all are being responsible for all what happens, no excuse.

Either we jointly overcome injustice, hatred and violence or we will never get peace.

Let us clear the fogs of our anger and frustration originating from certain acts of despair, hatred or greed to give us the chance to re-open our clear view for life supporting essentials.

Do we as human beings by nature feel sympathy for all the sad things which happen all around the globe?

Do we really think human beings are not aware about the different motivations for terrorism?

Do we really think human beings are not willing to unveil all the public excuses for manslaughter, be it the victims of traffic, of war, of industrialized and mentally as well as actually poisoned life?

We do have to argue if we want to find out about the true and deep reasons for violent actions from all sides which are hidden behind mainstream thinking and awareness.

From pornography to arms-industry via mass-media and churches - the open disregard of the polluter pays principle, and the widely spread manipulating use of information prove the already mentioned structural irresponsibility of a society which abuses and consumes itself.

Nobody of good will can deny that the current world order and economic system rule the world with repressing and marginalizing strategies that dominate the social order of world societies and create a "Culture of Hatred" (Hobsbawm).

Its is not the needs of living people which shape global politics but the wishes of lifeless capital which recently turned to direct military action instead of democratic decisions in finding solutions. Just have a close look at the proposal of European constitution with its constitutional obligation for yearly increase of national spending on the military. War against Terror is nothing but a false excuse to solve the crisis of global capital by military violence. War against Terror marks the end of the experiment to react politically to the growing global social problems.

Iraq is a proof - Chechnya is a proof - Palestine is a proof. The Proof is the Current Economic World Order

We are experiencing a fallback to barbarity.

Again I say let's not fall victim to alienation which makes it easy for subjugation. Lets us jointly share our perceptions and visions in patience without pointing at others while neglecting profound reasons within ourselves.

We are to understand this mechanism of violence, alienation and subjugation and to confront this vicious circle and the people who run it with the true power of universe: our LOVE.

Speaking of Love - let us have a closer look at our religions which often only allegedly stand against barbarity. Allegedly - because everyday reality teaches the truth of a different effect.

Why is that so?

I am a Christian by education. Still Life taught me more than that. I learned from Islam that there only can be ONE law (not a political one AND another religious one) and I learned that each religion has its treasure. But - "not yet really having come to terms with our history, we are suffering from the effects of unclear religious ideas and future perspectives. This applies to the Christian, the Jewish and the Islamic world, as well as the Eastern world - we are all suffering from our non-compliance with the requirements of nature due to fanatical schisms and self-righteous overestimation. We are suffering from a lack of trust in the power of pluralistic dialogue. We are suffering from the negative effects of suppressed human history. We are mutually suffering under one another because, in spite of all religions, we lack a common orientation that would be conducive to peace." (4)

Certain notions which are being accepted by the monotheistic way of thinking and world view are triggering switches in the brain, consequently making violence acceptable, tolerated and made use of. Those switches however have their origin in human nature not in monotheism, although especially monotheism dangerously tampers with those switches.

What am I heading at?

The elitist notion and traditional conception of being something special, of being unique, of preferring the (easy, strong, clean) mono-polar / un-pair (impair = not a pair) and uniform equal as being found also in monotheism - separates all the naturally unequal and diverse, and thus perpetuates a splitting into good and evil. Within this defective and incomplete conception of the world all the following is nothing but a separated and consequently alienated copy of the preceding. Consequently the 'new or the different' is dealt with suspicion and fear and will be fought against. Fundamentalism, fanaticism and fascism dwell on suspicion and fear.

Further reaching and integrating the balance of diversity of Life seems to be the following conception, which is offered by Javier Lajo, Peru (5): "Conception of the world of binary equalities, of in principle two different elements (Yin and Yang, Yana and Yanan e.g.), the characteristics of which are reciprocal proportionality and mutual complementarity."

Resulting concretely: if I only oppose 'the evil' without doing enough good, I promote 'the evil' even against my intention. The more I do the 'good' , the less space will remain for the 'evil'.

So let us keep on talking with one another tolerantly. May be Evil

loves it when we argue, but Evil will win if people or nation states do not talk and do not share their identical feelings of fear and joy.

It is the feeling of joy and peace which leads better than any arguments. Emotionally truthful communication finally leads to this satisfying feeling and existence if we provide the chance.

War and terror only can be urged out of our social reality by means and effects of justice, compensation, solidarity, never by war and terror.

Violence only can be pacified by its counter-part, finally by Love.

Long since Physics has apprehended a world view, passing beyond the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics with its super-strings and their resonance patterns which always occur in pairs - as well as, both/and -, which is identical to the age-old conception of the dynamically contrasting counter parts which behave in reciprocal proportionality and at the same time also supplement complementarily to the whole.

Still we miss the transformation of such an understanding into the global social reality. Here we miss veracity and authenticity.

Why did we not yet reach this decisive goal? Why did we not learn better from history? One important reason for the missing, setting the course towards the global good, is because neither the present is being experienced and perceived as it actually is, nor is history. This is being caused by manipulated information for dubious reasons. Journalists, politicians, clergy and opinion leaders bear the burden of a very special responsibility because the consequences of shaping deficient or even false dominating mainstream perceptions are nothing but devastating on the long run - although they may be profitable and of advantage at first glance.

This is why we urgently need a public dialogue based on a partnership of all people who care for the common good. The hidden effects related to the quality of traditional conceptions, values and standards have to be questioned, discussed and disclosed for the sake of global survival.

Mediating and meditative meetings expose the overwhelming spirit of love beyond any dogma and vitalize the intellectual as well as the spiritual world of ideas. Apart from being mentally fully awake, our hearts will be re-opened to feel and understand.

People widely re-learn to trust their hearts as the sensitive organ which it is, apart from being the pump of our circulating and life maintaining blood flow. The human heart is an organ which is able to distinct between life saving and life threatening if we are trained and allowed to listen to its decisions.

Sensing words, feelings or situations which are coherent with overall life's needs, will cause a warm heart full of inner joy and satisfaction, whereas, when detecting radiation or vibration with information which is harmful and threatening to overall life's needs we know how that feels. Fearful and tightly squeezing the chest to such an extent, even often not being consciously felt, we stop or at least reduce breathing and by doing so get even more fearful and timid, freezing physically and mentally. Such a way many people are being kept where they (mentally) are, (imperfect) social systems are being perpetuated, fear helps the status quo to continue no matter what kind of quality concerning life's needs it presents.

Let us train human hearts to courageously detect the quality of vibration which they are confronted with in different situations. Let us use and develop our mental abilities and at the same time always listen to the message of our heart.

Such a way we will create the human analogue to the natural instinct: A Safely Guiding Global Culture

Sharing visions about our common roots will lead to growing understanding of diversity.

The greater our thoughts get determined by profound understanding than by dogma, the safer become our actions, and then less dangerous life.

Each of us who at least once transcended one's own traditionally shaped mental borders and realized the space of pure existence and being with genuine experience is aware about the common roots of Life and its web-like interconnectedness that is based on something overwhelmingly warm, bright, loving and abundantly nourishing. We cannot really describe this finally though some people use the name God.

- Beyond Description & Imagination
- Beyond Him & Her

- Beyond Space & Time
- Law & Love
- Oneness & Existence

By emphasizing on conduct of life,

- believers are invited to join striving for conditions on earth which
liberate the divine spirit
- non-believers are invited to join striving for conditions on earth which
reflect ideals beyond imagination
to create a global community
in peace and justice
which serves as the foundation
for future life.

We all can learn that we all are human beings - originated from the identically same source of Life - with identical material as well as spiritual needs. We all own a brain to think and a heart to feel and we can learn to make use of both of them at the same time - IF certain cultural/mental prerequisites are being met (this is what my website Emanzipation ad Humanum is all about).

Traditional meditation which has been utilized by many indigenous peoples since ages and still is being utilized by many people of different traditional mental (religious, ideological, philosophical) shaping is a life saving tool to balance diverse mental concepts with existential and perennial needs. Such way evolution tries to make sure authentic paths of progress for the benefit of all and at the same time aiming at a growing diversity, complexity, ability and completeness in the service of the overall global good.

Does modern civilisation - be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim or whatever - integrate this life saving tool?

Hardly - as we know. Unfortunately people still are widely being manipulated and tight to a material world in order to serve alienated goals. Some people profit, a vast majority suffers - just have in mind history and face nowadays global threats.

Mental concepts such as 'Armageddon' or 'a son of God, who is to rescue us' or 'a final court, which dispatches the good ones to paradise and the bad ones to hell' help to divert our mental capacity away from perennial global needs toward alienated goals of maximising power in the hands of a few which makes possible violence against Creation and domination of Life.

Obvious and evident results of such a way of life are the ever growing individual and social malfunctions or diseases - which all take us back toward a way of life that supports the overall global good.

Consequently my suggestion for us on our paths trying to overcome the deliberately created or at least tolerated pathological symptoms of VIOLENCE and DOMINATION is double-fold:

First of all let us strengthen the qualities of our pulsing heart by listening to its message, by sharing this message and bringing it to the public. Sympathy is a key to sensing the quality of vibrations. Information contains vibration, vibration is information.

Secondly, when reading or taking up information - be it religious or any other = when LEARNING - let us not only mobilise our mental capacity but also the (cap)ability of our heart. Such way we can very sensitively learn to distinguish between genuine vibrations on the one hand, which supply us with energy and nourish our life-drive, and alienated information on the other which makes us freeze - empties us emotionally and by doing so creates the secondary drives like greed, addiction etc. It is healthier and of advantage for all to trust our hearts than to suffer from mental prejudice or error.

We all consist of the same molecular patterns and we all depend on the same nourishing vibrations. Fully awake and fully aware, living and learning by using brain and heart at the same time, by mentally and emotionally being sensitive, by having all existing needs in mind, we are very well equipped and enforced. We are connected to what I call a 'Divine Umbilical Cord'. We are being interconnected to and by our genuine Human Religion in the service of the present and the future. We are ONE, the problem still is, some do not believe, do not know yet.

Finally , however, against all resistance we will be mature human beings and make a quality of life come true which in some religions is being described as paradise.

People who are touched by similar visions consequently want to serve the common good. Guided by the pressure or duty to emancipate they want to create a global culture which is beyond violence and destructive tensions. A culture of reciprocal dialogue and steady balancing without winners and losers, a culture which meets the life saving standard of natural instinct - a culture which guarantees the social dimension of humanity that is embedded in Nature will provide chances for the future.

Epilogue: Isn't harmony a quality of unity? Does unity really stand against diversity? Isn't nature the proof for unity in diversity? Isn't convergence actually motivated by a deeply rooted and still hidden consensus which is waiting to be discovered by human consciousness? Ordinary people, be them believers or not, proceed more courageously towards consensus than their respective religious bodies and institutions. Not to mention the political structures! Administrations fear loss of influence in case of growing independence and autonomy of their respective communities. Isn't the common goal of peace within the global community compensation enough to heal from that fear? Isn't justice and peace within the global community of life the highest goal we ever can achieve? Isn't it exactly that goal what all religious founders originally had in mind?

Footnotes

(1) Full Spectrum Dominance' is the key term in Joint Vision 2020: "America's Military Preparing for Tomorrow"

(2) Free intention and the liberty to decide together with relative ignorance produce the various realities. By pressure/duty to emancipate we understand that part of the drive of life, which strives for realisation of a social reality, which preserves the space of life for all and in future finally is about responsibility. It is about utilizing the monopoly of force of the power of Life with responsibility in which the effect defines the quality of action. Here we get into the sensitive area, the space of understanding and perception and of re-action. As long as our sensors are not wrongly adjusted by misjudgement, feelings of joy and sorrow are aiming towards necessary corrections. Therefore we have a mental approach to the problem.

(3) Separating into poor and rich, into the mighty and those without rights, partition of nations, annexation of regions hardly serve peace. On the contrary, they provide persistence and even growing of potential conflicts, which only serve one-sided and manipulating interests.

(4) Global Responsibility - New Orientation in Culture and Politics - Reflections on what it Means to be Human

(5) 5 Cornerstones of a Responsible World View - The fifth of them is: UNION OF ALL BEING - FEDERATION OF LIFE - UNIFYING LAW (TAO)

Summarized contributions of all participants you may find here

see also: Qhapaq Ñan: La ruta INKA de sabiduría (pdf) by Javier Lajo

and: The Mind of the Prophet by Satheesan Kochicheril

and: Johan Galtung: Peace by Peaceful Means - Building Peace Through Harmonious Diversity, THE SECURITY APPROACH AND THE PEACE APPROACH<</A> - WHAT COULD PEACE BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND AL QAEDA/IRAQ LOOK LIKE? Some Points for Presidential Candidates to Consider

by John Pilger (October 11, 2004)

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 21st, 2004 at 11:45 pm and is filed under Editorial and Op-Ed.