The world today is rife with interconnected problems—social, political, and environmental. At the root of all these issues lies disharmony, often stemming from inner, mental, or spiritual imbalance. Understanding and restoring harmony, in every sphere of life, is essential to prevent further conflict and suffering

If we look around, we would just realise that the world we live in is full of problems—problems and problems. However, none of us can pinpoint any single major factor that lies at the root of all those problems. A penetrating look at these issues, most of which are interlinked, would show that the underlying causes, common to them all, have invariably been some kind of disharmony in the political, social, communal, racial, environmental, and other spheres. A study of the case history of any of these problems would also show that if the policy, practice, or solution adopted to solve the problem had been anything other than one aimed at restoring harmony, it not only failed but also led to bigger problems by creating greater disharmony.

To understand this more clearly, let us take an example from Indian history. In the period preceding the invasion of India by Alexander, there was disharmony in the relations between various kingly states in India, which led each one of them to raise great armies. This, in turn, created fear and doubt in neighbouring states and, instead of bringing security, it led to greater disharmony. The resulting disunity created rancour and ill-will, giving rise to the desire in the minds of almost every ruler that another ruler be defeated, humiliated, or dispossessed of power by someone more powerful. This kind of situation then became a tempting invitation for foreign rulers to invade India. The British, who later ruled India, also took advantage of such disunity. Each time these powerful forces descended on the country, they devastated lives and property, disrupted stability, and ravaged social, religious, and economic life. As some of them settled here, they sowed the seeds for future disharmony.

Most people hardly realise that the cause of all social, political, and other upheavals is inner disharmony. For example, in the case mentioned above, history and historians generally remain silent on what led Philip’s son, Alexander, to take such a massive army to India. While history may mention social, political, and other factors, it rarely goes to the root of the matter. It discusses the lives of Philip, Alexander, and his mother but does not lay its finger on the core link between Alexander’s personal life and the historical role he played. It does not point out that inner disharmony led to family disharmony and, later, to continental discord.

If humanity had understood that the crux of all problems is disharmony—and that all kinds of disharmony are primarily caused by inner, mental, or spiritual imbalance—people would not have tried to curb violence with more violence, nor would they have attempted to eradicate poverty through over-ambitious development plans that caused ecological disruption. Instead, universal harmony would have been recognised as the only worthy pursuit. While political, religious, racial, spiritual, and other kinds of harmony have always been important throughout history, never has the need for all forms of harmony been as urgent as it is now. Therefore, restoring harmony in all spheres of life must become our first priority, our declared goal, our guiding policy and plan, and our steadfast practice.

(The writer is a spiritual educator and popular columnist for publications across India, Nepal & UK. Till Date 9000+ Published Columns have been written by Him.)