XXX Blackwell Malden, Peace PECH 0149-0508 ORIGINAL 2007& Peace USA Change Publishing ARTICLES History Inc

c Society and A Different PEACE & CHANGE/October Model for Solving Political 2007 Conicts

A Different Model for Solving Political Conicts: A Comparative Study of Religions

by Hlne Cristini

The Machiavellian paradigm in International Relation Theory seems more and more absolete. By examing key concepts in six religion (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Certain common features appear and could well be some of the components of a new paradigm.

As one approaches the political situation of the twenty-first century, one might expect national politics and international relations to differ from those that existed at the time of Machiavelli or Hobbes. However, one has only to read todays newspapers in order to realize that not much has changed. Conflicts emanating from power relations still dominate the interaction between states, and corruption is rampant in all domestic political settings. Hobbess statement that men are in a state of nature or Machiavellis conclusion that the world is in a moral or legal vacuum are still relevant descriptions of the world. Martin Wright describes international theory as being marked by intellectual and moral poverty. Our opinion is that contemporary political theory shares the same characteristics. International and political theory have held a preference for the sovereign state. Therefore, the history of political thought has been preoccupied mostly with the goal of the survival of the state. And what is more, the belief in progress of the sovereign state has absorbed all intellectual political energy.1 The other prejudice that international theory has demonstrated is its tendency to favor power/ gamesmanship. Both terms (the state and power) are to be found in most definitions of political science or politics. It needs to be said, however, that what emerges from the discussion is that the state and power are inseparable from the condition of servitude and oppression

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of hundreds of millions of people and that the compulsions of so-called Realpolitik still dominate the political life of the contemporary world. Events have shown that national and international politics are still marked by power politics and often by turbulence and violence. The twentieth century witnessed a succession of devastating warsin this most bloody of centuries, hundreds of wars and atrocities, both large and small, took place. World War I gave way to World War II, and the latter was followed by the Cold War, which triggered an entire succession of indirect armed conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union. The fall of the Berlin Wall signifying the collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by a certain euphoria. Francis Fukuyama then even risked his reputation in claiming that the end of history had come! But this triumph proved to be short lived, for terrorism soon replaced the International Communism as a primary security concern for Western governments. Furthermore, as we begin this technologically advanced century, we witness that the crisis is not exclusively political but is multifaceted. For instance, we are also facing a worldwide environmental problem. Decades of economic pursuits without regard to environmental consequences are taking their toll. In the social realm, peoples family and personal lives are marked by conflict. Interpersonal relationships are ever more difficult to construct. Disequilibrium and alienation are in ascendance everywhere, and consequently the world has become uprooted. No culture is spared; both the West and the East are affected by war, intolerance, or fanaticism. If we ask the question, Why? and seek an answer exclusively in the political or economic realm (as most scientists have done until now), we will not find the solution to this malaise. This is because the problem is neither purely political nor merely economic, but is an existential one. That is why several scholars have attributed the origins of this contemporary political, economic, and social malaise to secular politics (i.e., where legal and religious activities must be separate and one should not affect the other domain). This study seeks to point out that the current political philosophy inherited from Machiavelli, who separates morality and politics, is a perennial source of political problems. Moreover, such a philosophy has also proved to be unable to resolve these problems on a long-term basis. Seeking solutions to these problems through political means alone will not address the question holistically. In order to do this in a satisfactory manner, one needs to be concerned with the relationship between politics and religion, that is, the spiritual dimension of human life. What needs to be undertaken is the reintegration of religion into politics.

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It is important to clarify here that not all political phenomena can be linked to spirituality. Rather, as Judy Carter and Gordon S. Smith explain: The Worlds religious traditions, each in their own way, offer a rich abundance of insight and guidance for the promotion of peace.2 Just as for idealists like Plato, Gandhi, or Simone Weil who first advocated this worldview, religion and politics are not opposed to each other. For a better administration, a better world community without or with less political strife, the individuals must be morally advanced. Like Frank Buchman used to argue, the crisis is fundamentally a moral one. The nations must rearm morally. To that effect, R. Scott Appleby in his book The Ambivalence of the Sacred noted, when dealing with conflict transformation, the work of the famous American Luther pastor Frank Buchman, who dedicated his life to the settlement of peaceful conflict resolution through his association, MRA (Moral Re-Armament):
Transforming attitudes on a person-by-person basis was the goal of such forums, which embodied MRAs conviction that peaceful and productive change in hostile relations between nations or ethnoreligious groups depends on change in the individuals prosecuting the war.3

Frank Buchman argued that

The worlds condition cannot but cause disquiet and anxiety. Hostility piles up between nation and nation, labour and capital, class and class. Friction and frustration are undermining our homes. Is there a remedy that will cure the individual and the nation that gives the hope of a speedy and satisfaction recovery? [ ... ] The remedy may lie in a return to those simple truths [ ... ]honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. The crisis is fundamentally a moral one. The nations must rearm morally [ ... ] When asked what was moral Re-Armament, he answered, it is not an institution, it is a point of view, it starts a revolution by starting one in you.4

With these principles in mind, the aim should be to create a holistic politics, which incorporates not only important aspects from various political theories and philosophies but also aspects of spirituality taken from the tenets and principles of the major religions of the world. Such a perspective, in turn, involves an examination of modern mans ethos. The story of Icarus seems to exemplify this modern man. In the story, Icarus, the son of Daedalus, was escaping from the maze and the Minotaur. While doing so, he became arrogant and soared too high.

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The sun melted the wax, which fastened the wings to his body causing him to fall and perish in the sea. Chantal Delsol in her book, Le Souci Contemporain (The Contemporary Worry), suggests that we imagine Icarus falling back in his maze, bruised but alive. She explains that today we find ourselves in a similar situation.5 For several centuries, we believed that we could escape from the maze of mediocrity and that we could radically transform man and his society, either through the philosophies of progress and positivism, or through the ideologies, which have caused disastrous situations in Eastern Europe, in Africa, in the United States, and in the Middle East. The resulting ideological failure, coupled with the reappearance of poverty and illiteracy and environmental problems throughout the world, have shown us that the methods of progress and positivism are inconclusive at best. To make the matters worse, modern mans political and social environment is full of violence:
Crime and violence are on the rise almost everywhere.... In the 1980s and 1990s reported crimes world wide increased by 10% a year. In the U.S. there are two million victims of violent crimes every year. In many developing countries killings of minors have increased by more than forty percent in the 1990s.6

It seems as if on the way to development and modernity, we have lost our spiritual bearings. Historically, the values of humanism and scientific progress stood for surrogate spirituality and therefore were seen as the highest values man could refer to. Western man at the beginning of the twenty-first century is like Icarus grandson. He wonders into which world he has fallen. The Minotaur was to Icarus what barbarism, misery, and separation are to modern man. Modern man is all at sea without a lifebelt. Modern man is politically without norms, unaware of the distinction between good and bad. In a cultural and social world, what can take the place of fixed parameters? A man with no sense of meaning to his life allows himself to wander and to err. At the present time, metaphorically speaking, advances in technology have outpaced the human spirit, with material progress leaving the ethicosocio-cultural realm behind. Hence, modern mans ethos is fragmented and divided since modern thought does not seek to develop any moral paradigm even though paradoxically, moderns are somehow obsessed by morality. This is the condition that leads to our main hypothesis. First, it can be argued that most social and political conflicts arise from individual dissatisfaction. Second, secular culture does not provide the ethics, morality, or meaning that man needs to give his

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life purpose and direction. Such a situation has a definite impact on political philosophy and on politics, since ethics and morality are the foundations of any political philosophy. Third, to enact any real change in the international political community as well as in the domestic arena, secularism, that is, the philosophy deprived of spirituality (whether political or cultural), needs to be replaced by a new philosophy or a new awareness imbued with spiritual values. The current Machiavellian paradigm seems more and more obsolete when trying to solve the current political problems. Therefore, a new paradigm is needed. By examining certain key concepts of six religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), certain common features appear despite the obvious differences. As a follow-up to the research we conducted in India, we deem it necessary to indicate some of our findings in this study in order to discover the possible components of our new model. Let us examine them.
1. EGO AS A CAUSE OF CONFLICT

A common feature to all the religions mentioned above is that they analyze mans problems as stemming from the ego. Robert Axelrod wondered, can cooperation emerge among egoists without central authority?7 Such an analysis is of particular importance for political theory since the Machiavellian paradigm ignores the fact that international, national, or social conflicts arise, ultimately, from the inside. It is the ego that is the root of difficulty, and our modern-day problems are not necessarily uniquely due to extraneous factors. Before presenting a thorough analysis of this contention, let us review what Hinduism and all the other religions mentioned above have to say regarding the origin of political or social problems. All contend that problems are based on an ego-centered perspective. As we know, Indias native religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism emphasize mans ability to overcome the self as the source of all conflicts. They emphasize moral perfection that disentangles the person from the clutches of the ego. In an interview with S. Rimpoche, Prime Minister the Tibetan Government in exile, I was given a very thorough account of the source of conflict as well as the way to tackle it. His testimony is of great interest, given the particular philosophy and strategy that has been used by the Dalai Lama with China following the invasion of Tibet in 1948. In response to a question regarding the Buddhist perspective on political conflicts and their source, he answered:

A Different Model for Solving Political Conflicts

Problems arise from selfish motivation, therefore, you cant say that problems are purely political or economic since these particularly political or economical problems are created by persons. Problems come with the individual, who will have an approach to everything, which discriminates between self and others with self-interest duly protected and the interest of others sacrificed. We are the victims of ignorance and darkness as opposed to intelligence and wisdom. That is at the centre of every conflict which you may call political, economical or spiritual.8

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For the political and social order to be guided by true wisdom, one must master the ego and its desire for power. What comes out of this study is that ego is the centrifugal nerve of force and that the egos desire for power in social and political relations has disastrous consequences. Our findings indicate that as long as man allows his personal thoughts to be led by his ego, he is prevented from attaining moral enlightenment. We may also consider Islamic thought in reference to this issue. Al-Ghazali, for example, demonstrates how religion can be seen as psychology of the self. Al-Ghazali also finds that the root of all problems can be found in this selfishness stemming from the ego. Iqbals remarks are also relevant to this issue:
Thus overshadowed by the results of his intellectual activity, the modern man has ceased to live soulfully, i.e. from within. In the domain of thought he is living in open conflict with himself; and in the domain of economic and political life he is living in open conflicts with others. He finds himself unable to control his ruthless egoism and his infinite gold hunger which is gradually killing all higher strivings in him and bringing him but life weariness.9

Gandhis concept of satyagraha urges the people of the world to work on the self. As for Buddhism, Jainism, and Christianity, they all advocate detaching oneself from the cocoon of oneself in order to reach ultimate freedom. Therefore, all converge in their theological and mystical aspects in pointing out that the ego is the source of all problems. All indicate that the ego is, on the one hand, the root of separation with oneself and the other, and on the other hand, it is also the root of the dichotomy found in the interior life of the person. When relating to this separation or alienation, Mary Clark describes self-centered individuals, a usual and expected quality of modern people in a nihilist society, as

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narcissistic regarding their own self as a sacred object. She also adds that this turning inward, away from connections with others, exacerbates the alienation of the alienating and nihilistic philosophies prevailing in the secular culture.10 According to Islamic thought, he who knows himself, knows his Lord. Christianity also emphasizes this aspect. Saint Augustine, for example, speaks of noverim me noverim te, which means to know myself is to know thee.11 Similarly, Hinduism and Buddhism insist on understanding ones self-centered nature in order to come up to a certain state of awareness. In this way, we see that all religions believe that the true knowledge of self leads to the knowledge of the absolute or total wisdom and they all advocate stepping out of the dictates of the ego. We can demonstrate that all the religious mystics explain how the fear of the Other seems to generate uncertainty as to who one is. As one takes solitary refuge to analyze ones inner feeling, a certain perspective and outlook arises. Such wisdom does not separate but reunites all the activities of the spirit of the human heart that are all one. As Saint Paul points out, man is an animal destined to be spiritual. The transformation consists in doing away with the old man and bringing about the emergence of the new one. Man needs to adopt the self-discipline that all religious philosophies prescribe which ask for a sacrifice of the ego or the old self. Solitary refuge is not the only way that one can reform oneself, according to Islamic descriptions of din. The individual can also choose a high order of value or environment that can help him to spiritually or psychologically orient his development. In din, the self, like the political state, is subject to the law of requital. The individuals self is often relegated to the lower qualities of value experiences (selfishness, hatred, violence). If it instead elevates itself, the quality of value experience is higher. The higher in the scale an experience is, the more fulfilled is the self. An experience of high value not only enriches but also elevates the individual person. The self can only flourish in a society that praises high thoughts and noble actions. The self has not only the duty to reform itself but also has the duty to reform society. Society has the duty to provide the conditions and climate for ensuring the self the freedom that was mentioned above. A society or culture where spiritual values are put on the side cannot provide the environment needed for inner and outer peace since it only brings fragmentation of the individuals self and also creates social and political conflicts. Thomas Merton to that effect added that the whole problem is this inner change ... an application of spiritual force and not the use of merely political pressure.12

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Let us now examine certain key religious components that could be of some relevance to political philosophy.
2. DHARMA

The next concept that is of interest to us is dharma. Dharma is a word difficult to translate into English because it holds several different meanings. Dharma within the context of Hinduism is the essence of morality, a combination of ethics and religion. At the religious level, dharma is concerned with self-realization, whereas at the ethical level dharma disciplines human nature to allow for the concrete realization of the spiritual sphere. Because dharma links ones daily life with the eternal purpose, we can see how belief and behavior are, thus, intimately related. According to the Vedanta, as man becomes linked with the eternal purpose, he becomes truly human (as he continually attunes himself to God). We recall how Tagore explained that dharma, which is also truth, represents the effort one makes to attune ones actions with the eternal harmony. As for the relevance of dharma to political philosophy, it becomes obvious as Dharma is defined as duty, the duty of man. This is of paramount importance since if the concept of right prevails in Western political philosophy, it is the concept of duty that predominates in Eastern political philosophy. This principle of duty takes us a step further than does the concept of the common good. Duty requires that each and every one awakens his or her consciousness in order to be able to discharge moral and religious duties. This concept complements the Western political concept of common good. Dharma in Hinduism is very close to the Buddhist concept of dhamma. The political leader in Buddhism is governed by the principal of dhamma. The emperor Ashoka is the best example of this proposition. When asked about dhamma Sandong Rimpoche replied:
Dhamma is to bring in the ethical and spiritual perspective into politics. It is to be oriented to duty. At the moment, developed countries who claim to be democratic and care for political values have an approach based on rights, on rights alone. They do not emphasize the concept of duty, if you emphasize only rights you automatically neglect duty, since in the process of achieving and protecting their rights, they encroach on the other peoples rights. On the other hand, if you are conscious of duty, there can be no violations of other rights and by that way your own right is also protected.13

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Jainism also proposes something equivalent to dharma, which is the duty to do good. With the Abrahamic religions, the closest concept to dharma would be the idea of solidarity. For Christianity and Judaism, solidarity appears as a key conceptsolidarity, for example, with those who suffer politically, economically, and socially. It is our duty to help others, says the Gospel. The Christian philosopher Maurice Blondel points out that faith implies action; the duty to act in terms of our faith, this is the duty we have toward others. Islam, the last Abrahamic religion, has almsgiving for one of its pillarszakat fitrah, which can be translated as a form of solidarity with others in need.
3. SATYA

The concept satya, or truth in English, is closely related to dharma as it is illustrated in the above section. For Gandhi, dharma or satya is the substance of all morality. He states that truth is God. Truth for Gandhi in Hinduism is the experience of a deeper moral life. This harmonious life implies developing a symbiosis between word and deed. By inventing the concept of satyagraha and organizing it, Gandhi has made politics into religion; he does this by insisting on absolute purity of thought, word, and deed on the part of those who wished to take part in politics. This is Gandhis Gospel of truth. A Hindu philosopher said that society is the greatest where the highest truth becomes practical. Truth is a concept also adopted by the Buddhist and Jain religions. Any monk or nun belonging to these two religions must hold to the vow of telling the truth. The Semitic religions also highly praise truth. Christianity for instance advocates that everyone embody truth and hope in his or her personal or political activities. According to Saint Thomas Aquinas: Truth is the ultimate goal of the whole universe, and the contemplation of truth is the essential activity of wisdom.14 As for Islam, the Sufi el-Hallaj illustrates the concept of truth with the phrase: Ana El Haqq, I am the truth. This illustration is not surprising for a Muslim mystic since, in Islam, God himself is often called el Haqq. In conclusion then, the satya, or spirit of truth is found in all the religions we have studied.
4. AHIMSA

The next key concept of Hinduism and Jainism is ahimsa or nonviolence, since satya and ahimsa are closely related as a means to reach the truth.

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Also present in Buddhism, ahimsa is of particular importance for Eastern philosophies. Interestingly enough, the concept of nonviolence is also present in Christianity in the Sermon on the Mount. It can also be found in the mysticism of Judaism and of Islam. Ahimsa carried by Gandhi and his followers is a living proof that spiritual values can not only be combined with politics but that they also have a successful result in conflict resolution. This is contrary to the Machiavellian paradigm that believes that force is the only strategy to be used in order to achieve what one wants. By raising politics to the level of religion, Gandhi conveys two important messages: one, that ahimsa is not a mere idealistic end, it is real since it works; and two, that the end does not justify the means. Instead the law of love becomes the law of society. In India, ahimsa has made another contribution. Significant beneficial consequences of the religious core values of nonviolence and peaceful coexistence are tolerance and accommodation. Such related core values of ahimsa have been a hallmark of Indian civilization for thousand of years. This, in turn, resulted in unity in diversity, a well-known phrase used by Jawaharlal Nehru to describe the culturally most heterogeneous country on earth.15 India today represents the integration of humanity with its values of democracy, secularism, and a multilingual, pluralistic society. As mentioned above, ahimsa constitutes an extremely important virtue in Buddhism. Asked about how the Buddhist perspective could resolve human or political problems, Sandong Rimpoche answered:
Buddhism is compounded of two things. First, dont hurt others, that is non-violence. Violence is at the centre of the problem, in any case, harming others is an unvirtuous action which will bring unavoidable harm to you as it comes back to you. And second, respect for others and their interests along with their rights is your basic duty. The higher level of duty is to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others, that is ahimsa. You should forego all your interests and only think about the service to others.16

As for Jainism, ahimsa is its most essential principle. All the other Jain injections to a certain degree are derived from ahimsa. Therefore, it is not surprising that Gandhi asserts that ahimsa should be extended to all life domains whether they be politics, ethics, or economics. For the latter to be achieved, explain Jain scholars, a mental attitude is its precondition. Such a mental attitude involves an inner transformation.

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However, one should stress that this particular Jain contribution is essential to our research since it implies that ahimsa is not only a collective virtue but is also an individual one. Quite a bit can be said concerning ahimsa by Christian and Jewish scholars. Nonviolence is not often a term mentioned in the Bible. However, peace does appear continuously in the Judaic and Christian holy books: Happy are the peace makers for they will be called the children of God.17 Concerning Islam, it appears difficult at first glance to equate the religion of Muhammad with nonviolence. Nevertheless, the mystics and the philosophy of Islam are there to prove the contrary. A theology that is so concerned with eliminating the conflicts of self in order to eliminate the conflicts between people is naturally in agreement with the law of nonviolence. In addition, Muslim mystics constantly refer to love. Whether it be for Rumi or for Ibn Arabi, each sees in every true religion the countenance of God. Let us recall Arabis comment: I practice the religion of love; in whatsoever direction. His caravans advance the religion of love shall be my religion and my faith.18 Such a comment can only imply nonviolence. The two cannot be separated. In conclusion, with regards to ahimsa, we quote Aldous Huxley who gives an effective illustration of the concept:
While the people of every country crave for peace, all of us display criminal connivance in not establishing. The conditions which are the harbingers of peace are disarmament, ostracism of imperialism and acceptance of ahimsa in every sphere of life.19

5. APARIGRAHA AND ANEKANTA

If we now examine the other core values of Jainism we discover the ideas of aparigraha (nonacquisitiveness) and anekanta (intellectual nonviolence). These two virtues are of particular interest to us as we live in a political and economic atmosphere that is at its antipode. Let us begin by examining aparigraha. Aparigraha or stoicism, nonpossession, denotes a self-restraint in the face of pleasures or, if you will, a kind of detachment from superfluities. If this Jain vow were followed, It would (halt) that ruthless and lustful competition for wealth and empire which is the bane of the present age and is responsible for its gravest crisis.20 But more than that, this Jain vow implies an attitude of mind that holds that human welfare is good but the improvement of mans inner

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being is better. Such a prescription is essential for the seemingly hypocritical world in which we live, and it should influence all areas such as politics, economics, arts, philosophy, or psychology. Even though this vow is not explicitly mentioned in other religions, its message is implicit in them. Hinduism with sanyasin, for instance, sets a special stage in life for man to withdraw from the world in order to work on himself. Buddhism includes a similar vow to its monks and nuns; namely, the vow not to own any jewels and to have only a few possessions. As for Christianity and Judaism, it is enjoined not to amass wealth. The apostles of Jesus were told to leave everything behind in order to follow Jesus. As for Islam, the Sufi masters carried only a piece of Suf to show their simplicity and display their lack of interest for the material world. The next core value of Jainism, anekanta, teaches intellectual nonviolence. Anekanta or nonabsolutism prescribes that no ism can be condemned as absolutely wrong since every statement has an intermixture of right and wrong. Such a philosophy has been sometimes interpreted as scepticism or indecisiveness, but this is a misconception. On the contrary, it epitomizes a thorough and all-embracing spiritual approach to truth. The fragmentary, blind perspective that is used by political mediators nowadays is at the opposite extreme of it and is therefore plagued with an incapacity to set up long-lasting peace. In Judaism, the middle pillar in the Jewish Kabalah presents some similarities. As suggested above, love or agape is the most notable value of Christianity that is closely related to nonviolence. After pointing out the nonviolence exemplified by Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount and exemplified by the life of the mystic Saint Francis, we can see how all are imbued with the Christian key component of love. The double commandment of Christ to love God and ones neighbor are only two aspects of the same supernatural charity, one that is oriented toward God and the other toward men. These two types of love that Christ advocates are also interpreted in the following way.
Love God with all your faculties, and love your neighbour as yourself, that is to be united. For in essence to love means to become united with the heart, intellect as a condition of this union, abandon all pride and all passion and discern the spirit in every creature ...21

These two dimensions of love are prefigured on the cross, one vertical and the other horizontal; namely, love of God and love of the

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neighbor, or union with the spirit and union with the human setting, the latter being envisaged as a manifestation of the spirit or the mystical body. From a slightly different point of view, these two dimensions are represented respectively by knowledge and love; man knows God and loves his neighbor or again man loves God most through knowing Him and knows his neighbor best by loving him. All the mystical branches of each religion researched above concur with the view that love is the highest stage of religious experience. For instance, Jafar al Sadih defined the mystical experience in terms of divine love (a divine fire that devours man completely). To that effect, Rumi has expressed the view that without love, the world would be inanimate. This thought is shared by the Christian scientisttheologian, Teillard de Chardin. Besides the bhakti movement in Hinduism, Tagore (the great religious poet) stressed the love of humanity that was an outcome of his spirituality. He was always for social reconstruction going hand in hand with political work in an atmosphere of love and peace.
6. AN ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE

Last but not least is the organic perspective. Briefly, one can say that the latter is found not only in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions but also in the Semitic ones. We shall provide a few examples. Such an outlook could transform the old exclusive approach to politics into an interconnected, integrating, holistic view based on mutual causality. As Radhakrishnan has explained throughout his work, the individualistic conception of society has shown too many loopholes and contradictions. Society is a living organism, one in origin and purpose although manifold in operation. There can be no freedom, explains Radhakrishnan, in any section or class in a society so long as others are in bondage. Man is a whole and so all his activities have an overarching unity. The basic approach of Radhakrishnan is that we ought not to banish eternal values from life. The spirit of his philosophy consists fundamentally in the attitude of synthesis or, in other words, the concept of organic unity. His philosophy consists in the recognition of and demand for the organic unity and its many aspects, of the many sides of the nature of man and the universe of the finite and the infinite, the human and the divine. His view is therefore synoptic. The Vedanta, for instance, explains that there is one unity running through all these developments, be it spiritual, moral, or social. Then, it adds that once people comprehend

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this world view, they shall understand that religion, in the fullest sense of the word, must pervade society and our everyday life. It is in that sense that idealists like Plato and Gandhi maintained that religion and politics are not opposed to one another. For a better administration, a better world community with less political strife, the individuals must be religious, that is, morally advanced. Victor Hugo, following the Christian notion of God as love or agape encompassing the welfare of all, said: The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of a single being even to God, this is love.22 As for the Koran, it emphasized 1,400 years ago that Mankind is but one single community.23 Such a position in political science displays how a holistic and consistent attitude needs to be adopted preventing a dichotomy between the interior and the exterior. Actions need to reflect the inner moral sense in persons. Such an organic position allows for genuine equilibrium. Contrary to the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and to the scientific rationalistic, nihilistic philosophers, or nonspiritual philosophers, there is no divorce between means and ends. Therefore, the organic perspective shared by all religions holds that poetry, art, philosophy, political science, and religion extend the scope of our consciousness toward the higher sphere. Hence, we are able to find the recurrence of the following principle: that the means ought to be proportionate to the ends along with the principle that the moral sphere cannot be isolated from the political sphere where the common good prevails. In conclusion, it becomes obvious that after reviewing some of the findings gleaned from my research in India, we are able to provide new solutions to political problems. Such a view is based on a new political paradigm, a spiritual approach to politics. This approach has been somewhat truncated for the need of this conference, but here follow the results. The spiritual approach to politics allows the political scientist to count on different axioms for the study of political problems and conflicts. The findings of this study (inspired by the principles of enlightened and wise philosophers and practitioners), which form the new paradigm, rely on the following points. First, one should think of politics including sociology, psychology, and spirituality in an organic and holistic way. Second, when apprehending politics, one should get accustomed to the idea that means should be equal to ends. Third, it is necessary to live out nonviolence at all levels. Fourth, one should also accept that religion can be inspirational to politics when religion is operationally defined in conjunction with psychotherapy, philosophy, and metaphysics.

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Fifth, reforming the individual along with society for long-lasting solutions to political problems should be a priority of all governments. Sixth, all societies should substitute the concept of rights with the concept of duty. Seventh, all should understand that self-government and good government can coincide only when the governing self is not the lower and baser self of the people but is instead their higher, nobler, genuinely philanthropic self. And finally, all nations should generate an educational system and promote a culture that encompasses spirituality, so as to allow changes to take place at the individual and collective level. It should be added that the focus continues to be placed on personal moral reform and/or moral regeneration This, in turn, can bring about unity in diversity.
NOTES
1. Martin Wright and H. Butterfield, Diplomatic Investigations: Essays in the Theory of International Politics (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1966), 1734. 2. Harold Coward and Gordon S. Smith (eds.), Religion and Peacebuilding (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2004), 279. 3. Scott R. Appleby, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation (New York, Rowman & Littlefield, 2000), 225. 4. Garth Lean, Frank BuchmanA Life (London: Constable & Co., 1985), 2. 5. Chantal Delsol, Le Souci Contemporain (Paris: Editions Complexes, 1996), 4 6 6. Times of India, Personal security (November 3, 1999). 7. Elinor Powell, The Heart of Conflict: A Spirituality of Transformation (Kelowa, BC: Northstone Publishing, 2003), 30. 8. The interview with Sandong Rimpoche took place on the May 5, 1996, at Sarnath (India). 9. G. A. Parvez, A Challenge to Religion (Lahore, Pakistan: Zarren Art Press, 1968), 95. 10. Powell, The Heart of Conflict, 42. 11. Louis Gardet, Thmes et Textes Mystiques (Paris: Alsatia, 1958), 197. 12. Walter Wink, Peace Is the Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation (New York: Orbis Books, 2004), 91. 13. Interview with S. Rimpoche, May 5, 1996. 14. Pierre Teillard de Chardin, Le Milieu Divin (Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1957), 56. 15. Jawarharlal Nehru, Selected Works of Jawarhalal Nehru (New Delhi, India: Teen Murti House, 1996).

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16. Interview with Sandong Rimpoche on May 7, 1996. 17. Descle de Brower, La Bible de Jrusalem (Paris: Edition du Cerf, 1973), Mt 5, 9. 18. S. J. de Jaiger, Anthologie Mystique (Paris: Descle de Brower et cie, 1933), 341. 19. Bharnavat Nahendra, Bhagawan Mahavira and his Relevance in Modern Times (Jaipur, India: Jain Sangha Bikanir, 1976). 20. Ibid., 106. 21. de Brower, Christs Sapiential Message. 22. Powell, The Heart of Conflict, 28. 23. E. H. Palmer, Koran (London, 1942), 2:213, 10:19.