Originally printed in the January - February 2002 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Algeo, John. "September 11, 2001." Quest 90.1 (JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2002):2-3.
By John Algeo
As I write this Viewpoint, it is little more than one month after the shocking events of September 11. Those events and their aftermath have affected all Americans and indeed peoples all around the world and raise the general question of how we respond to any act of violence. Inconsidering that question, Theosophists naturally turn to the principles of Theosophy, the timeless Wisdom Tradition, for understanding and guidance.
Theosophy tells us that all human beings are members of one family, that there is an overarching Plan that guides the evolution of the world, and that the universe is pervaded by divine intention, order, and love. But it also tells us that things sometimes go awry because human beings have the privilege and the burden of free action; and through ignorance and self-centeredness, we human beings often make bad, indeed dreadful, uses of our freedom of action.
Theosophy does not tell us how we should apply its timeless principles in response to any given situation. We must each make that decision for ourselves in the light of that particular situation. And so also must each human community. In past times of national trial, some Theosophists have been conscientious objectors, on the grounds that all killing is evil; some Theosophists have been professional military personnel, sworn to defend their fellow citizens at the cost of their own lives or the lives of those whom they must fight. Good and rational persons reach different decisions about what is the best course of action in any given situation, and so we need to respect others' decisions when they differ from ours.
There are also, in responding to critical matters, two different dimensions. One is the contrast between the response that an individual makes on his or her own behalf and the response that a government makes on behalf of its citizenry. The first response is a purely personal moral decision. The second response has a different basis. The Declaration of Independence of the United States holds that all persons "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted." Governments exist to secure the rights of their citizens to life and liberty. And they must do what is needed to guarantee that security.
But that brings us to the second dimension. What is the pragmatically effective response to any particular critical matter? In the present case, what is the effective way of responding to a barbaric and inhumane assault upon innocent persons by an imperfectly known web of terrorists? I do not think that any of us know the answer to that question.
One of the great spiritual guidebooks of the human race is the Bhagavad Gita, whose hero, Prince Arjuna, is faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to fight in a battle whose purpose is to protect the rights and lives of the innocent but which will involve him in killing members of his own family. The message of the Gita is that Arjuna must make his decision with a knowledge of the order of the universe, a confidence in the beneficence governing all life, and a complete disregard for what he may think is to his personal benefit and welfare. The message given to Arjuna is given also to us.
None of us is all-knowing, so none of us can say what is indeed the best action for ourselves or others. We can only examine our own hearts, answer the call of duty we find there, and act not out of fear or hate but from a profound and humble sense of what we believe to be right.
In our present situation, we are like Arjuna at the battle of Kurukshetra in the Gita. As the divine charioteer Krishna told Arjuna, even refusing to act is an action. So we have no alternative but to act. Like Arjuna, however, we need to act in the right way, with the right motive, and in the right frame of mind.
At this time it is imperative that whatever action we as individuals or we collectively as a nation enter upon, we do so with an awareness of the unity of all life, the orderliness of the universe, and the purposefulness of life. And it is just as important that we act in humility, remembering the limitations of human wisdom that we share with all our brothers and sisters around the globe. A good practice is to repeat Annie Besant's Universal Invocation often and to keep its message in mind at all times:
O hidden Life, vibrant in every atom,
O hidden Light, shining in every creature,
O hidden Love, embracing all in oneness,
May all who feel themselves as one with Thee
Know they are therefore one with every other.
Peace to all beings.