What is pacifism?
Pacifism is the belief that war and violence are unforgivable under any circumstances, and that all disagreements should be settled by peaceful means.
Conscientious Objector
Conscientious objectors are people relieved of ever joining the army or performing any military service; this is because of their strong belief in pacifism. An example of a conscientious objector in the Hindu religion was Richard Shaw Brown, who fled the US army boot camp to India because he didn’t want to fight.
- The story of a famous Hindu Pacifist
Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most well-renowned people in the world today for his nationalist campaigns around the world, in South Africa and India. He managed to help India secure independence over the British through a nonviolent and a pacifistic approach to life. Earlier, he also helped to improve the lives of many ‘coloured people’ in South Africa with the formation of the NIC (natal Indian congress). He did this without ever touching anyone or harming anyone in anyway, he did this fully through civil disobedience and demanding what he wanted. Gandhi was successful in what he did because of the way in which he approached the problem. He knew that fighting would only lead to things getting worse, with many casualties but with peace nothing could go wrong as there would be no harm being done to anyone. He stood up for what he believed in and earned it.
Pacifism in Holy Scriptures
Pacifism is said to have been started by old Hindu and Buddhist teachings and the Mahabharata teaches us about ‘Ahimsa’ and it being the highest dharma. Dharma is the way in which a Hindu should lead their life. Ahimsa is the concept of nonviolence and it requires the highest amount of self-control to follow. Ahimsa creates peace within us and holds us back from doing things that could hurt others, Ahimsa also shows that we should look at others before ourselves and how violence would affect them.
Arguments in support of Pacifism
Some people may agree that the act of pacifism is right because of the fact that everyone should be treated equally. Famous philosophers such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King have adopted the teaching of pacifism and won many a fight, where they have been fighting against injustice and their rights to be treated equally. Pacifism follows the ‘Golden Rule’ that you should treat others how you’d like to be treated and I don’t think anyone would like to be victims of violence and war and therefore pacifism is a good way in which to keep peace and justice.
Another reason why some people may agree that pacifism is right is because it has been proved that it is easier to resolve a situation through nonaggression than resort to violence. This has been shown by the Civil Rights movement in America. Back then black people were falsely accused of acting like ‘animals’ but by showing their non-violent approach to protesting, they showed the whites that they are all the same inside. Also, it is more likely that if you are protesting violently, your opposition is going to attack more fiercely than if you were peaceful, and by using violence, you usually don’t get anywhere other than into trouble.
Another reason why some people may agree that pacifism is right is because it has been proved that it is easier to resolve a situation through nonaggression than resort to violence. This has been shown by the Civil Rights movement in America. Back then black people were falsely accused of acting like ‘animals’ but by showing their non-violent approach to protesting, they showed the whites that they are all the same inside. Also, it is more likely that if you are protesting violently, your opposition is going to attack more fiercely than if you were peaceful, and by using violence, you usually don’t get anywhere other than into trouble.
- Different views on Pacifism
Although the Mahabharata teaches about ‘ahimsa’ and it being the highest dharma, the Bhagavad Gita says that it is okay to use violence in the face of evil. The story of Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita signifies this. When Arjuna hesitates to fight against the people he grew up with, Krishna; believed to be an incarnation of God, tells him he must fight, because it is part of his karma and that he should not stop fighting through fear. Also, many of the Hindu gods were seen as warriors and had to fight against evil spirits. This is also shown in the Ramayana, where Rama has to battle his way past many vicious demons, to rescue his beloved Sita.
In Hinduism, war is justified when fighting evil or injustice, but war is not justifiable when trying to harm or terrorise people into their leadership.
In Hinduism, war is justified when fighting evil or injustice, but war is not justifiable when trying to harm or terrorise people into their leadership.