THE SECRET OF UNITY — Agree to Disagree

I AM thankful to the organizers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to share my views with this learned audience. The topic for the present discussion is Peace. It is a very good topic, there is no doubt about it. Regarding myself, I would say that I am a born pacifist. I would say that I was born with peace, I live in peace and I want to die in peace. Also, I want to be buried in the graveyard of peace. Peace is very important in every religion. There is no exception to this. Peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace means the presence of all kinds of good. For example, let us take the Buddhist discipline. The essence of Buddhism is tolerance, and tolerance is only the other name for peace. When I see a Buddhist monk, it is a very strange sight for me. A Buddhist monk is an embodiment of peace. I think that Buddhism is peace and peace is Buddhism. Then, let us take Hinduism and Jainism. According to my study, both Hinduism and Jainism share a common belief, that is non-violence or ahimsa. It is obvious that non-violence is only the other name for peace. Then, let us consider Christianity and Judaism. If you read the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, you will find that peace is very important in the teachings of both the religions. For example, Jesus Christ has said: “Love your enemy.” What does it mean? You cannot love your enemy without living in peace. If you are living in peace; if your case is that of a peaceful mind, only then will you be able to love your enemy, not otherwise. So, in every religion, peace has great importance. If you consult the dictionary for the meaning of peace, it will tell you that peace is absence of war. This is not a true definition. It is an incomplete definition. Because, absence of war has many other meanings — for example, absence of war means the absence of all kinds of evil: absence of anger, intolerance, hate, etc. Without the absence of all these things, you cannot have peace. So, peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace means the presence of all kinds of good. Where there is peace, there is love, tolerance, compassion. Moreover, where there is peace there are opportunities. Without opportunity, you cannot do anything. Without opportunity, we cannot organize a conference, we cannot establish ISLAM AND PEACE An address by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan