aces

The Movement of Youth Who Create

 

By Kavya Shankar Pandit, Actor  

Among all the creatures on the planet, humans are uniquely unpredictable. While other species follow natural patterns that, though they may cause suffering to others, ultimately contribute to the Earth’s balance and flourishing on a larger scale, humanity often disrupts this balance. In some sense, to live is to suffer, but much of this suffering is exacerbated by our tendency to adopt violence instead of embracing the harmony that nature inherently maintains—the nature that we were once deeply a part of.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which underscores that peace is not merely the absence of violence but the proactive cultivation of peace through sustained efforts and initiatives. Throughout modern history, we have seen one group seeking dominion over another. Now, as we rapidly advance into a digitized world that may soon involve brain chip implants, urgent questions emerge: How exactly is humanity going to evolve? How do we make people care about the world we are creating? How do we prevent peacemaking from being dismissed as a mere pastime? I have come to realize that while there is a great deal of discourse on peacemaking (and I am adding to it with my article too), the real challenge lies in turning these ideas into actionable steps. But even before that, we need people, and we need them in large numbers. We need everyone.

As a 23-year-old artist, student, mountaineer, and activist, I like to believe my mixed experiences have given me a set of sensitive quiddities that urge me to constantly grow. To grow, I must feel, and to feel, I must experience. I want to explore perspectives, emotions, and moralities, and in turn, make art out of all of this. The art in question here doesn’t need to know any bounds. Everything succumbs to it—our world and life itself are forms of art. Yet, as someone in her youth, I understand the challenges we face, and these desires might seem more dreamy than realistic. But I firmly believe that to be an artist and a peace activist in this world, we have to dream.

I want to dissect some topics I feel are necessarily important. Peace and its spectrum can be debated upon in its extremities, but we can all more or less agree on the basic rights we all deserve. Some collective experiences and issues: We are deeply connected through the internet and technology, but we couldn’t be further disconnected from each other. Our constant need for stimuli has pulled us like magnets by multinational corporations that make money by sucking us dry of our social keys. We’ve forgotten we need human touch. This is the first barrier. Then comes the need to know more and better than the other. As the world advances, more information is at our fingertips. Somewhere inherently, we are all competing—pitted against the ones we should care about—engaged in an endless race to be politically and socially correct, to have the last word, to be intellectually superior. But knowledge without compassion is like a song without melody—full of words but lacking soul. I truly believe it is imperative to contribute to the world and not just hoard, even if it is just knowledge.

The media plays a critical role in shaping public perceptions of peace and conflict. There was a time when we depended on journalists and media houses to report conflicts and bring us the truth responsibly. However, in today’s world, where information is abundant and often manipulated, it is crucial to approach media with a critical eye. We must remind ourselves not to trust everything we hear, read, or see. The value of truth has been tainted, and it is increasingly difficult to discern what is true. As consumers, it is our responsibility to seek out truthful, balanced content and to support platforms that prioritize peace over sensationalism.

In our broader context, the role of media, the internet, and the human ego in promoting peace becomes even more important. We have the power to either fuel conflict or promote peace, depending on the crucial choices we make. Only something that touches us or challenges us can make us change our minds in today’s world. Art, I believe, can transcend cultural and linguistic barriers—I would call it the universal language for peace. Peace-themed murals, exhibitions, public art installations, peaceful protest performances, movies, plays, music, paintings, dance, festivals, books, workshops—these are just a few ways we can explore peacemaking. Even if we all just pick up one activity of our choosing and spend 15 minutes fostering its growth and pledge to ourselves to use it for something good, so much change can begin.

Who am I when no one’s in the room? I often ask myself. I am everything I want to be! But this perception is often limited in my head. Peacemaking must begin with action, not just words. Even as I write this down, I realize I need to take these steps. I want to lead with compassion, even if it is as little as doing so in my theatre troupe—conducting with love and creating a story that will incite an emotional response in people. Because in a world where we learn to keep so much tied down by an anchor, we need to become the people that will sail with the wind. It feels liberating imagining a peaceful world, even if it means that for now we are living it in fiction through a piece of a story.

I wonder about the scope of what I have to offer. As much as I have the desire to do an unlimited amount, I get stuck on the hows and whens—the logistics of it all. Some people wait for leaders to come along; others start in their backyards. Both are respectful options, but I wish to build a community so strong in the long run that ‘beginning’ for anybody becomes easy. It’s all about getting involved, meeting people, and then expanding on your own journey with it. Building a community can feel overwhelming due to the sheer scale of the task, but it also brings immense benefits by offering a vast array of people, resources, and stories to draw from.

To sum up, cultivating a culture of peace requires a commitment to both personal and collective action. We often don’t know where to begin, and that is usually the first barrier, but no longer. Peace begins with loving ourselves, fostering good habits, practicing art, spending time in nature, and engaging in selfless acts. It also requires us to build empathy, harness technology for peace, and think globally while acting locally.

As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, let us all make a commitment to being agents of peace in our own lives and communities. By doing so, we can carry forward the legacy of those who imagined a peaceful world and ensure that future generations know we stood by everything good in the world.

Reminders for myself:

1. Peace begins with loving myself. This is a lifelong attempt for most of us. But if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?

2. I can propagate peace by fostering one good habit a day—non-negotiable.

3. I must practice any form of art, for it is in my being to feel.

4. I must spend time in nature; I must spend time with animals.

5. I must accept my moral obligation to conserve resources.

6. I must practice karma yoga, seva, or simply any form of selfless act with the intention of giving.

7. I must truly hear others, not just with the intent to respond, but to understand and connect.

8. I must stand up against negative thoughts, behaviors, and influences, both within myself and in my surroundings.

This is an attempt to begin a thought process, a lifestyle—a revolution. We can all have our own mediums and methods. Working together with our individualities and practicing unconditional love is what peace truly is.

Note : Views and opinions express in the article is purely of the author and do not necessarily express that of the India Peace Centre