M2457
The Road to Peace
by Martinus

1. Antipathy or the cause of the release of the principle of killing in the behaviour of terrestrial man
As long as terrestrial man is not yet quite an initiated or finished being, the primary foundation of his actions and way of life will in a corresponding degree be guided by the energy of gravity, encapsulated in unintellectual feeling and a little bit of instinct. According to Livets Bog (The Book of Life) the energy of gravity represents fire, and the energy of feeling represents coldness. In a living being's organism these cosmic energies are combined in a balance between these two extremes which constitutes the same organism's normal temperature. In the uninitiated being's mentality the mentioned basic energies appear in the form of a varying predominance either in the favour of one or the other of the two mentioned energies. This predominance then characterizes the whole being's display of will in a given situation and the consequent manifestation regarding thought and action. When the energy of gravity is predominant and thus controls the energy of feeling, the being's will is characterised by a more or less uncontrolled antipathy, which again is relative to the predominance of the energy of gravity which in relation to that of feeling finds expression in anger, hot temper and the consequent acts of revenge, fighting, killing and mutilation. This condition exists permanently in the beast of pray and enables it to overcome and kill its prey. And it is the same condition which in the unfinished human being creates all kinds of enmity and in its most domineering culmination is released in the form of humanity's mutual war or "everyone's war against each other". All enmity, every act of revenge and everything in the human being that is in contrast to the great commandment of charity: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" is caused by the predominance of the energy of gravity in the beings. It is this predominance or exaggeration of the energy of gravity in relation to that of feeling in the being which is the true and inner cause of the release of the principle of killing in the being's manifestation and way of life.
2. Mental repulsion and attraction
When, on the other hand, the energy of gravity is unbalanced so that the energy of feeling is in predominance or exaggerated compared to the energy of gravity, the being's way of life is opposite. While an exaggerated or oversized energy of gravity creates antipathy in the being, an exaggerated energy of feeling in a similar way creates the being's sympathy. And the unfinished human being's daily life with its fellow-beings and surroundings becomes a variation or changing display of antipathy and release of sympathy. Antipathy and sympathy are again respectively the same as the mental repulsion and attraction.
3. Exaggerated feeling creates the state of "falling in love"
While repulsion causes bitterness, anger, persecution, slander and as a whole everything that can destroy and hurt the object of the concerned being's antipathy, then attraction, on the other hand, causes an exaggerated sympathy, a kind of love which in reality is not love but a means or a habitual method by which one gets certain egoistical desires fulfilled. That this sympathy or love is false can be seen by the fact that if it cannot obtain satisfaction of the selfish desires, for example, as this sympathy is not any more able to make an impression on the being to whom it is directed, as this being has become satiated with this sympathy, and in consequence its attention has been drawn towards other beings, other interests, then the source of sympathy will suddenly change its attitude into antipathy and by means of anger and violence try to obtain that satisfaction which it formerly obtained by its sympathy. This same principle is reaching its climax when one being is failing in love with another being. This "falling in love" is also quite an exaggerated sympathy, provoked and carried on by the desire to become the owner of the beloved one live together with this being almost becomes a vitally necessary pleasure to the one in love. If the pleasure is mutual then the beings concerned here experience the well-being and happiness of the culmination of the sexual urge. But if this well-being fades away in one party because this being now has more sympathy for another being, then the one who is still in love displays antipathy and anger – which we call jealousy – against the rival. In the worst case or if no other milder form works, the person still in love will use violence and sometimes such a jealous lover has even murdered the object of its false love. But it is exactly the same kind of "love" we are witnessing, in the daily life's sympathies. In most cases they are only methods by which one has or is able to visualize coming selfish advantages. Such sympathies are thus in reality only a result of the same principle as "falling in love". The only difference is that in the ordinary "falling in love" one wishes to mate the other being, while we by the ordinary display of sympathy to other beings in the daily life wishes to "mate" or come to own things, which can mean great advantages, material pleasure and goods. In reality all this selfish sympathy is the same as "snobbery". Is it not so that most people prefer to show all their charm and do something for a being who is; placed in a high position, and about whom one knows that this person has the power to help one forward to a better job, to a greater position in society or to the fulfilment of other of one's wish-dreams? If a poorly dressed man comes into an expensive shop, the assistants may believe him to be a nobody as viewed from a social point of view, he will then soon feel the coldness and unwillingness of the assistants and that here he should not expect to find any sympathy or perhaps not even ordinary courtesy. Here is only mental coldness. And let the same person, very well-groomed and dressed in the most distinguished and expensive fashion one hour later drive up in front of the same shop in one of the most modern and expensive luxury cars and with a chauffeur, then it will not be the subordinate assistants receiving him, but instead the heads of departments and the assistant directors showing all their charm and willingness in order to please the "big man". To become his favourite would perhaps mean a lot to one's career and position. Thus one displays towards the "big man" a mentality which in principle is the same as the one which one displays when "falling in love", which again in its innermost analysis only constitutes a higher form of "snobbery". Towards the "big man" one shows a very energetic snobbery. The hope consequently is that he can fulfil one or another of one's wish-dream's. But if this "distinguished man" readily receives these people's kindness but does not give as much as a small kind "thank you" or a little more tangible appreciation in return, what then? Then the "falling in love" has gone all the way of snobbery, it has become antipathy, releasing all kinds of expressions which in the worst case are of such a nature that they are more or less unfit to be quoted here. It must however, be noted that among such a staff there may of course be persons constituting an exception from the rule, who are thus more mature, more spiritually grown-up and consequently begin to have the same sympathy, and sometimes even greater sympathy for the poor man than for the rich one. But an analysis is not created from exceptions, it must be from the general.
4. The brutish human being or the solution to the mystery of the sphinx
We thus see that selfishness is present in all these forms of sympathy. This form or release of sympathy has thus nothing in common with the real unselfish and intellectual sympathy, which is the same as absolute love. It is, on the contrary, only a part of the unfinished being's instinct of self-preservation. Such selfish or egoistic impulses characterise the pure animal consciousness, while all the unselfish impulses in the human being characterize the human being in pure culture. This thus means that the realm in the human being's mentality promoting egoism or selfishness is brutish, and the realm in the mentality promoting unselfishness is human. Just as the terrestrial human being from a bodily point of view is a "mammal", so also from a mental point of view it is an animal, grounded on the prominently brutish area in its consciousness. The uninitiated human being is thus to some extent an animal and to some extent a "human being". Its manifestations or way of life must consequently also be animal and human. It is this which is the solution of the mystery of the sphinx.
5. That which out to be the greatest task of every government and any political party
Should it not be the biggest task of every government or authority as well as every political party to promote a science to make it a matter of course for every being, what immense private and public boon it would cause if the developed human being - in other respects so intellectual or material-scientific - got rid of that superstition that other human beings are its enemies and that it must fight against these beings with weapons, murder, killing and destruction. When this superstition has been removed it will become obvious that evil only exists within each single uninitiated human being's own mental realm. By virtue of this evil the human being becomes his own mortal enemy. In the true sense the human being has no hostile realm whatever in the whole universe. All is there in order to serve the living being. In reality there can be found no other way to the "permanent peace on earth" so strongly wished for by humanity, than through the science about the brutish in the human being and the consequent abolition of the practice and promotion of this animal realm in one's own inner self, in one's own mentality, in one's own brain, heart, flesh and blood. The cause of all experiences of wars and strife is solely to be found in our own inner self. Only there the cause of these beings' experiences of discord is to be found. We shall therefore never in any situation whatever be able to oppose war and consequently create peace in our own mind by pursuing and defeating other beings.
6. The twentieth century's greatest and most gory superstition
It is this the twentieth century's greatest and most gory superstition that today creates the atomic bombs, - those means, of a multiplication of the violation of the law of life or the fifth commandment: "Thou shalt not kill". Just imagine how much it costs, humanity in pains and troubles, difficulties and burdens of taxation of people, in a continuously growing field, quite apart from all those millions of homicides and the destruction of many centuries' beneficial productions which by this were implemented. And is not the greatest result of all this that millions of healthy young and vital people are made invalids, limping and crawling, blind and deaf animal organic wrecks, but all the same so much alive or with so much sense left that they can experience the debasement, the ruin or that hell which inevitably will have to be shared by everyone who commits homicide, murder and sabotages life. This terrible superstition that it is the neighbour, the other human being, the other nations and people who are causing our fate and unhappiness, and that we therefore can only save ourselves by destroying them, is such a terrible sentence of death to ourselves, the manifestation of which never in any situation will create peace and happiness for us, but inevitably will lead us straight into ruin and sabotage of our own health and well-being and lead us into invalidity and the culmination of physical as well as psychic suffering. Such a condition again leads to depression, even to fear of life and brings us finally in the worst case to suicide.
7. It is deadly serious or dangerous that human beings use their power over Nature's millions of horsepower to sabotage their neighbour's life and property
It is thus more important, it is even an absolute condition of life to learn to become just as perfect in practicing the right way of attitude and way of being in daily life, as it is now believed a condition of life to be qualified in being able to use the modern infernal machines and by their aid, with outstanding accuracy to be able to hit the enemy and destroy his life and values. The superstition of the so-called dark middle ages is consequently nothing compared with the superstition of the twentieth century, governing a humanity who has subdued millions and millions of nature's horsepowers, and who can even direct the elements to work for it, a humanity who can see hundreds of thousands of light-years into space, into macrocosm, and who can also in "awake day consciousness" follow the atoms' movement in microcosm. This is not only tragic, but it is deadly serious or dangerous to life. To believe that we with such an increased superiority and with such control of the elements, with this violent power should destroy our fellow-beings, our neighbour, solely because we succumb to the belief or imagination that he is our enemy, is the same as to shatter all that can lead us right into peace or the normal happiness of life. All kinds of war between men or between states, all kinds of military armament, all production of guns, bombs or other murderous weapons, every propaganda for warfare, is undermining all real human happiness and existence and will never in any situation whatever from a cosmic point of view be expressed as an intellectual action.
8. That which destroys all protection against war and its effects
The above mentioned thus expresses a conduct which absolutely can only take place in the domain of culminating ignorance and superstition. To settle a difference between two parties with war is an unintellectual action and can only be justified within the realm of the animal. This unintellectual or animal mentality keeps all humanity of today tied into the region of darkness and death or "everyone's war against each other". It is this same animal attitude that absolutely creates no protection against the effects and disasters of war in the world. The beings dare not believe in true Christianity or in this: "Turn the right cheek when smitten on the left", "Put up again thy sword in his place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword". As long as the human being still has doubt about charity, which is predestined to be the primary factor in human life, so will he sink and sink down in miseries and death's killing and pain-bringing marshy and muddy regions. You make yourselves very inflammable wood on the fire of war.
9. The traditional objection against the anti-war attitude
Now most people will make the old traditional objection that one cannot just stand still and look on while some foreign soldiers ravish and use violence against one's wife and other women, just as one cannot either remain a spectator while robbers and bandits, with brutality and violence against grown-ups and children, ravish and plunder, violate and mutilate around you. What would have happened if everybody here had turned the right cheek? Yes, it is just this fear that is harboured, not only by private persons, but also in the highest degree between states and people. They all mobilize and re-arm for fear of attack from other people and states. The immensely expensive military equipment, the genius murder machines, atomic bombs, and other homicidal instruments made at the expense of the states' economy and normal well-being, and the construction of killing apparatus, are all a result of fear. Now the question is whether this fear is well founded. It is not a general ability of the earthly human being to be able to foresee the future. In reality it cannot even with certainty foretell its own fate of tomorrow, it cannot even foresee its hour, just as he to a much lesser degree, of course, can foresee the fate of his neighbour or the fate of the beings whom he fear. How can one then rightly claim that this or that human being must be armed to the teeth in order to evade attacks, or in order to protect any relatives, wife and children? It would be quite impossible for a cosmically uninitiated human being to be able to predict anything absolutely definite about this. It could only be hypotheses and suppositions. It may even very well be extraordinarily possible that these mentioned relatives have no dark and killing fate coming to them at all, because in their life and way of living they have long ago developed an aura which has rendered then immune against all life destroying fate. To force these beings to take murderous weapons in hand and through treat of punishment and death sentence to force them to kill and murder their fellow-beings, against whom they already on account of their developed aura are protected, is not only glaringly unjust and meaningless, but, in reality, it is also the same as to "sin against the Holy Spirit". About this sin it is said that it shall not be forgiven. When states or authorities without the least personal regards to the single individuals psyche, his outlook on life and moral conduct, force all to become a soldier, to become a warrior, to become a killer and saboteur, they make themselves guilty of a conduct the effects of which cannot be "forgiven", which means that they cannot be remedied, By these means we force human beings who in reality long ago have become so developed that they have left the domain of war, beings who can no more kill and murder, revenge and hate and who consequently constitute a realm of peace, are forced to be warriors and to promote quarrels, deaths and destruction. Thus states and authorities undermine that realm of peace, which has already been formed or come into existence within the states, instead of supporting, comforting and nursing this it's really and true humane realm of culture. As long as states and authorities regardless of any psychological consideration of the single individual force all to be warriors, saboteurs and killers, will they lead war and sabotage against their own domain of peace. In this way they become their own "enemies", and that is still worse than the "enemy" they want to fight down. But how can states and authorities, who are not only in bloody war with their neighbours (the other states) but who also are having inner war (use military coercion on the human beings who in their hearts are humanists and peace-minded) become experts in creating peace? How right the Bible is! The sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven,. The war against the neighbour and the war against oneself is sabotage of God's spirit. Here only Hell's Dance of Death can have its domain. This is the home of weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
10. The Road to Peace
The road to peace goes solely through the understanding of the fact that the selection of soldiers, which means the selection of warriors, must only take place amongst those who in their hearts are real warriors. To force beings, who by heart are humanists and who do not have the heart to kill or mutilate living beings, to become warriors, consequently is the same as to sabotage or destroy the already created peace. Peace can only be created in the soil of charity. If we do not nurse and take care of this soil then we should not believe that we can raise the life-giving fruits of peace here.
Within all states and people is found a realm of beings who are still born natural warriors, which means beings who believe that everything has to be settled by power. In the realm of justice and humanity they are still to a great extent illiterate. These beings are the soil of war and discord. These beings are the legitimate enemies of other states' warriors. As long as a state must have troops and has to levy soldiers, it must from a psychological point of view be able to distinguish between warriors and humanists and consequently only conscript warriors to become soldiers and exempt the humanists, who are not responsible for the existence of war. The states cannot afford at all to lose their humanists, because only natural born humanists can create peace. To let the humanists or the experts of peace be killed on the battle fields together with the warriors, is just the same as to throw out the baby with the bath water. In this way all conditions or possibilities for the creation of peace are being sabotaged or destroyed. The only way to protection against the evil, against others' attacks, violence and brutality, is not fatal sabotage, murder and killing, but on the contrary, to purify oneself from all that is found of this kind in one's own mentality, because the animal and the killing in the human mind is the source of any war with the neighbour and the injuries and dark fate which this causes. But against this returning effect of dark manifestation towards one's neighbour there is no protection, no matter how much military or how many divisions or army corps, police or authorities of justice we believe we can hide behind. Fate unfailingly befalls the human being, in quiet surroundings as well as in the middle of the Death Dance of War. The law is fulfilled. All that take the sword shall perish with the sword. The road to peace consequently goes solely through this: To give to our neighbour that peace and blessing in which we ourselves wish to live.
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Original Danish title: Vejen til freden. First published in the Danish edition of Kosmos nos. 5 and 6, 1952. Translated by Mary McGovern.
Article ID: M2457
Published in the English edition of Kosmos no. 1, 1982
© Martinus Institut 1981, www.martinus.dk
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