The cost of unrighteous wars 

Question: What can we do in a positive way to change things? For example, with the problems in the Gulf at the moment. What can we do from our side?

Guru: Don’t get involved in it. Don’t listen to the rubbish that comes on the radio and television. It is all slanted. It is a method of public relations to brainwash your mind and after a little time, you think you are mad listening to what is on the radio.

When it started, I listened to some of it and I thought, “My gosh”. You become aggressive, you become angry when you hear people are being killed or about what is happening. Then you wrap yourself up in this rubbish. Don’t listen to it. I’ve stopped listening to anything and I’ve said, “Okay, you want to kill yourself, happy Christmas.”

Two wrongs do not make one right. Did you know that? Two wrongs do not make one right. What we have to do is to try to solve the problem and the problem has to be solved amongst Arabs – not by a Western alliance.

Now, I am going to put a question to you which is important. Here is an alliance, a Western alliance, a world alliance that has gone to save Kuwait. Thousands and thousands of gallons of oil are poured into the ocean. Thousands and thousands of birds have been destroyed and life has been destroyed. By the time Kuwait is liberated there won’t be a Kuwait.

Once you’ve liberated Kuwait you have held onto a ‘tiger’s tail’ because that man (Saddam Hussein) can cross the border after the army has left. So what are you going to do? You can’t let go of the tiger’s tail because the tiger will bite you.

Iraq has a madman and we have also got madmen elsewhere – it takes two to tango and it is causing great unhappiness and destruction. I’m very worried. I have told the Divine Mother about it, I’ve drawn Her attention to it. Her reply to me about five or six days ago was, “Leave it with me, I know what to do,” so I’ve left it with Her and now I don’t even listen to the news because I don’t want to.

Pray, pray, pray. Pray for peace. Pray because we have a weapon much greater than the bombs they are dropping.

Can you understand? Never before, since the Second World War, that twenty thousand tons of bombs have been dropped on Kuwait. Far greater than was dropped on Germany. Now, these bombs are supposed to have eyes – they go looking for the soldiers, not ordinary human beings. 

You drop twenty thousand tons of bombs to find those places – in this country you will destroy large proportions of the community. You cannot help but do that and nobody must be under the illusion that innocent people are not dying. It is tragic. It is a very unhappy situation and we must not join with that.

Question: There is a principal discussion here [in Switzerland] about military service.

Guru: That is a duty every human being must follow. It is a part of the tradition and the rules of the game in this country; you have to protect yourself from unrighteous behaviour and that is necessary.

Devotee: But I think another devotee mentioned a point which I missed very clearly, that when Arjuna has to fulfill his duty he must be guided in what he is doing by Krishna.

Guru: Yes, by righteousness. You see you have to be very careful when you translate that into ordinary practice. 

Devotee: Yes, because we are thinking about whether or not to have military service again, or is it better to forget about all these things? And what about protecting a country?

Guru: Where there is unrighteousness, where there is a possible threat and, you know, the defense mechanism of this country is really very slim. It is nothing to challenge the other countries anyway if there is a war. In the Second World War, Switzerland was neutral; I think that neutrality is defended by your army. This is very important, very important. I welcome it, I hope more countries will be neutral and not be involved in all this rubbish.

When you look at this nonsense, billions and billions of pounds are spent on this war and we have no money to feed the poor. We have no money to house the poor. We have no money to clothe the poor. It is immoral. Totally, utterly immoral.

I am saddened that people do not think like that. Hospitals have no money. The beds are being reduced. Britain is literally in a terrible economic state… a terrible economic state and all the hospital beds are full. Before we came, one of our brothers was operated on for a hernia. He went to the hospital on Wednesday. He was operated on, and on Thursday he was let out to go home because they are thinking in terms of economics and not for the benefit of the people.

Now that, I think, is the worst way we can think. It’s not in any way civilized to behave like that. Why? Because we are saving money for things we shouldn’t be doing. Very sad. Very, very sad. So our brothers have had to look after him because normally he would have spent about ten days or two weeks after such a very serious operation.

Our values have to change, friends. Our values have to change; not in terms of economics but for the wellbeing of humanity. It is very important.

Don’t let other people think for you

You must remember that this is world economics. You must understand… why is it possible that a man like Saddam Hussain had so many armaments in his possession? Who gave those armaments? That is the question you must ask.

Who gave those armaments? Americans? French? British? Swiss? German? Or anybody. Why? It is a good business. And having given and sold those armaments now you bomb him. Crazy.

Don’t worry… wait till the war is over. Everybody, all the business people who manufacture armaments will be on his doorstep and will equip him. In order to knock Iran, they equipped Iraq. In order to knock Iraq, they equipped Saudi Arabia. It is a crazy situation. Very crazy. And that is good business?

Don’t get involved in this. Look at it critically. Examine it. Analyse it. Don’t let other people think for you. You have the ability to think and understand what you want for your country. It is very important. Every one of you must play a part.

Don’t abdicate your responsibility. That is good yoga. Don’t say, “Oh, it is not my business.” It is your business. You have power in your vote. You must think wisely about how you are going to use that vote and you must exercise that right of freedom to choose what you want. It is very important.

Exercise your right to vote

The collective voice will have a general influence to make this come to an end. We must all think positively. We must appeal to the Divine to help us to solve this problem in a peaceful manner. We should not allow the world to go into a terrible state of destruction. It is happening and it is very sad.

You know there is a thought that in the name of righteousness you can take up arms. But I can’t see any righteousness in any of the wars that man has fought. To defend righteousness, the human being must upgrade his values and defend them. I can’t see that what has happened anywhere is righteous. It’s very worrying to see it happen.

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