War between nations is only a collective manifestation lurking in clusters of individual consciousness. United by nation states, bound by national boundaries, propelled by voices democratic or autocratic, peace is merely the rebuilding of war, a quiet time for people and their psychological aspirations to prepare for the next war. It is like the pulling an astra-arrow on the Gandiva before releasing physical death and destruction, vital satisfaction of bloodlust, and mental justification of a force that few, if any, realise runs within our beings.
Given Pakistan's unrelenting aggression and the systematic hollowing out of all harmony over the past seven decades, we find that the road to peace must pass through war – the nuclear option notwithstanding. Pakistan is a nation that hates itself. It has nurtured that hatred over time, expressed it through the creation of an idea called Kashmir, defended it with the threat of nuclear weapons, and like a lap dog looking for a master, has traded the US for China. A Duryodhana, filled with lust, greed and envy towards a rising India.
Five thousand years ago, the Pandavas sought peace too. The Udyog Parva in the Mahabharata is an excellent repository for understanding the importance of, and aspiration for, peace. Amid long and fiery discussions, one peacemaker after another – Drupada's priest (sent to provoke), then Sanjaya (to tell Pandavas to back off without war), then Krishna (to seek peace through negotiations), then Shakuni's son Uluka (to insult) – came to conquer peace but returned defeated by the consciousness of war. Even at the Kuru war council, the urge for peace by king Dhritarashtra, advisor Vidura, warrior Bhishma and teacher Drona lost before the force of war, expressing itself through Duryodhana. On the other side among Pandavas, only the youngest and most peace-loving of them all, Sahadeva, sought war.
Minus an avatar and kings, we see the same story playing out today. Instead of armies, it is nuclear options. Instead of battles, it is 'surgical strikes'. Instead of direct conflicts, it is 'non-state actors'. So are the alliances – the strong and direct support of a terror state by China on the one hand and self-interest driven holy calls supporting India on the other. In the middle of this business of Kshatriyas are the global arms trade Vaishyas licking their fangs, waiting to draw blood and profit from safe distance.
As a civilisation, India has always been the bedrock of global peace, something the world has seen as weakness. But the collective is merely an agglomeration of individuals. "So long as war does not become psychologically impossible, it will remain or, if banished for a while, return," wrote Sri Aurobindo in an April 1916 essay, The Passing of War?. "War is no longer, perhaps, a biological necessity, but it is still a psychological necessity; what is within us, must manifest itself outside." Today, those hunkering for peace from a neighbour bent on war are following the evolutionary instinct – in a tamasic mode. What India needs is a rajasic peace, a peace extracted from the jaws of war.
Gautam Chikermane is the New Media Director at Reliance Industries Ltd, and author of Tunnel of Varanavat. Views are entirely personal.
