Spiritual Perspective on Politics
9/04

In honor of our American freedom to vote, this month’s article is dedicated to a spiritual perspective on politics through quotes from spiritual and political leaders from several ethnic backgrounds.

“It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.” — André Gide

"Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force because it does not address the complex underlying problems. In fact the use of force may not only fail to solve the problems, it may exacerbate them and frequently leaves destruction and suffering in its wake. Likewise, acts of terrorism, especially involving violence, only make matters worse."
— Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In our era, the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action."
—Dag Hammarskjold

"Take on a big project, like Noah." The world is crying out to be healed of violence, hatred, poverty, and greed. Let this be our project. It is ours to do. We have to get informed and involved; we have to speak up and be heard. This year, let us repair the world with wisdom, understanding, and tolerance. But, also with strength, action, and resolve. –Rumi
"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls." — Elizabeth Cady Stanton

"Peace comes within the souls of people when they realize their oneness with the universe."
— Black Elk, Lakota leader

"I do not believe that the spiritual law works on a field of its own. On the contrary, it expresses itself only through the ordinary activities of life. It thus affects the economic, the social and the political fields." —Mahatma Gandhi

"We are witnessing in our day the birth of a new age, with a new structure of freedom and justice. Now, as we face the fact of this new, emerging world, we must face the responsibilities that come along with it. A new age brings with it new challenges…First, we are challenged to rise above the narrow confines of our individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. The new world is a world of geographical togetherness. This means that no individual or nation can live alone. We must all learn to live together, or we will be forced to die together…Through our scientific genius we have made of the world a neighborhood; now through our moral and spiritual genius we must make of it brotherhood. We are all involved in the single process. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are all links in the great chain of humanity…We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization." — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I know as a physician that the human soul is full of goodness-and if you can just penetrate people's psychic numbing and get to their souls and make them to cry and understand the fragility of the planet and of life on the Earth and how much they love their children and their grandchildren and their own lives and how sacred life is, people will become extremely active, focused, intelligent, witty, and clever. I saw it in the '80s where 80% of Americans rose up and we ended the cold war with Gorbachev, and we'll do it again. I believe in the human soul. I believe in the goodness of human beings. And I believe that good must prevail over evil."
— Dr. Helen Caldicott

"No magic bullet, not even the Internet, can save us from population explosion, deforestation, climate disruption, poison by pollution, and wholesale extinction of plant and animal species. We are going to have to want different things, seek different pleasures, pursue different goals than those that have been driving us and our global economy." — Joanna Macy

"In the hearts of people today there is a deep longing for peace. When the true spirit of peace is thoroughly dominant, it becomes an inner experience with unlimited possibilities. Only when this really happens-when the spirit of peace awakens and takes possession of men's hearts, can humanity be saved from perishing." — Albert Schweitzer

"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it." — Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence; it can only be attained through understanding."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both." — Abraham Flexner

"Real inquiry is a tremendous moral transforming force. It's not just questioning and looking for a quick answer or explanation, but the process of inquiry-of questioning, of opening-opens something in the human being which has not been touched in our culture. Everybody who is human has in themselves the potential of passionate inquiry after truth, and that's the transforming force." — Jacob Needleman

"I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth; and truth rewarded me." — Simone de Beauvoir

"Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity." — Gautama Buddha

"I do daily perceive that while everything around me is ever changing, ever dying, there is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and re-creates. That informing power or spirit is God. I see it as purely benevolent, for I can see in the midst of this, life persists. In the midst of untruth, truth persists. In the midst of darkness, light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, God is light, God is love. He is the supreme good." — Mahatma Gandhi

"There is a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of that force when there is suffering, or too much pain. Then, suddenly, the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear the call and respond in extraordinary ways." — Mother Teresa

"We are living in a time of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and despair. It is essential that you become aware of the light, power, and strength within each of you, and that you learn to use those inner resources in service of your own and others' growth." — Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

"Science and religion both teach that we are all interconnected, and thus interdependent. And at the very core, we are all One. But how do we live as if we know this?" — Ram Dass

"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" — Eleanor Roosevelt

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." — Anaïs Nin

"The troubles of states will not end…until philosophers become kings, or until kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers." — Plato

"The censorship of language is the censorship of consciousness." — Allan Ginsberg

"Dissent without action is consent." — Henry David Thoreau

"Sometimes we look down on politics, criticizing it as dirty. However, if you look at it properly, politics in itself is not wrong. It is an instrument to serve human society. With good motivation—sincerity and honesty—politics becomes an instrument in the service of society. But when motivated by selfishness with hatred, anger, or jealousy, it becomes dirty." —Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso