Comments on Peace

These comments were written and shared by Negin Toosi at the International Day of Peace at Lake Chabot in September 2024.
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There was once a time when we considered sciences to be distinct – we used to speak about Chinese science, Western science, Islamic science. Now we think of them all as science – as part of one system of knowing and seeking to know, that belongs to all humanity.
Now, we still think of religious wisdom as being from one or another tradition –the Qur’an, the Gospel, the Bhagavad Gita. Maybe one day we will learn to benefit from all the wisdom passed on through generations, from prophets and poets, scholars and saints. All this is part of our human heritage.
I’d like to start with reciting and translating a poem called
Bani Adam, by Saadi, a Sufi poet who lived in the 13th century.

بنی آدم اعضای یکدیگرند
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
چو عضوى به‌درد آورَد روزگار
دگر عضوها را نمانَد قرار
تو کز محنت دیگران بی‌غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی
 
banī-ādam   aʿzāy-e    yek digarand
keh dar āfarīnesh   'ze yek goharand
cho ʿozvī   be-dard āvarad  rūzgār
degar ʿozvhā rā namānad qarār
to, k'az meḥnat-e dīgarān bī-ghamī
nashāyad keh nāmat nahand ādamī

Human beings are parts of one entity
Since all were created from one identity;
If one member of a body is hurt, the rest/
Cannot remain unmoved and undistressed;
If you’re not touched by others’ pain, the name
Of “human” is one you cannot claim.
 
In the Baha’i writings, Abdu’l-Baha, in The Secret of Divine Civilization, sets this, the implications of this sense of shared suffering, in the broader context of justice. He defines justice as follows:
“It means to consider the welfare of the community as one’s own. It means, in brief, to regard humanity as a single individual, and one’s own self as a member of that corporeal form, and to know of a certainty that if pain or injury afflicts any member of that body, it must inevitably result in suffering for all the rest.”
What does this mean for us, here? It’s been almost ten years since the hate incident here at Lake Chabot that led to the creation of the Eden Area Interfaith Council. People from many faith groups were horrified by the attack on our Muslim neighbors, and decided to counteract that hatred with a stronger show of unity, starting with a Unity Walk down Castro Valley Boulevard.
That work has continued for almost a decade, with various events and gatherings, including these annual celebrations, which is what brings us together tonight, united and yearning for peace.
But the divisions in our country and in our world are deep. We see and hear threats and slurs, a rise in hate crimes, bombs devastating families and communities.
In the Christian sacred texts, Jesus said “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Not an easy command to follow at the best of times, but especially not when we feel like we’re under attack.
It wasn’t meant to be easy. It was a reminder that to divide ourselves into friend and foe misses the fundamental truth, that we were all created in the image of God, “tzelem Elohim” as the Torah teaches.
To allow ourselves to recognize our shared humanity is perhaps the biggest test we face as humanity. Because right now, our fellow human beings are suffering. We cannot remain “unmoved and undistressed.” To feel their pain as our own is to open ourselves up to a lot of suffering.
The Buddha taught that suffering comes from desire. Indeed, the desire for power, for land or money, desire for ease and comfort for some at the cost of others, desire for moral justification to excuse evil deeds, has caused tremendous suffering. To be free from suffering, Buddha taught, we must be free from desire, and to do this, requires turning toward the moral and ethical practices of religion. As Zoroaster put it – “good thoughts, good words, good deeds”.
The word religion itself – according to one etymology - comes from the same root as ligament. Ligare – to bind or connect. Ligaments bind our body parts together; religion is meant to re-bind together the separate human parts into our constituent whole. On the other hand, a religion that divides people fails to live up to the definition of the word – and to withdraw from such a religion would be the truly religious act.
So we must use our minds and think carefully about the choices that are set before us. There are always voices telling us that we are meant to fight each other, to overcome our enemies, to prove that we are right and the other side is wrong.
We must, instead, set our hearts on that guiding point – that we are all members of one human family, that we are bound to each other, and then we must act accordingly, so that our human family may know peace.