PEACE IN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS

“That is the whole of the Torah, the rest is but commentary.” In the Torah, Isaiah, an Israelite prophet, describes the world of justice. In this most desirable world, people shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) This verse from the Torah shows that according to the Jewish religion, the ideal human society is one where people destroy their weapons; where war never takes place; where the building of life is done on the basis of peace rather than on violence. This verse from the Torah is thus explained by a Jewish scholar: “It is not enough merely to keep in mind the negative admonition not to kill, but to transmute human energy and efforts into peaceful and constructive actions.” Similarly, there is another verse from the Torah which is worthy of mention. It describes the blessed commandments of God: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isaiah, 65:25) In this quotation we are told in symbolic language what the desirable society of God should be like. It is a society where the weak and the powerful exist side by side without harming one another; where the common man enjoys the same rights as the so-called VIPs. It is a society where people can live peacefully without fearing any injury from others; where people find in others, not violence but peace. Peace in Christianity Jesus Christ was born two thousand yeas ago in Palestine. Today his followers are more numerous than those of any other religion. The teachings of Jesus Christ are enshrined in the New Testament. They show that Jesus Christ laid the greatest emphasis on God-worship, love of human beings, service of mankind, spiritual development, rising above materialism, treating others well, even if they do not reciprocate,