IS PACIFISM RIGHT OR WRONG?
PACIFISM has been a vexed question in Spiritualism and in all religions. Silver Birch has always averred that the conscience—the voice of the Great Spirit within—is the only judge of one's actions and he has always on personal insisted on personal responsibility. Because he has not condemned those who regard it to be their duty to fight, and if necessary kill, for their country, he has been called "contradictory.” At one sitting he made this outspoken reply to his critics:
"In the past, they aver, we have denounced every form of war, have upheld the teaching that all life is sacred and belongs to the Great Spirit, and that no man has the right to cut short the physical life of another. Now, they say, we lend our support to those who declare that your country is in-volved in a just war, a righteous war, and some there who call it a holy war, a holy crusade.
"I have spoken through this instrument for many years and, reflecting carefully, I cannot recall that I have ever con-tradicted the simple teaching I have sought, in my humble way, to outline as it was presented to me by those who sent me on my mision to your world. Even to-day, I still declare, as I have said before, it is wrong to kill, that life belongs to the Great Spirit and no man should have the right to interfere with the length of your earthly sojourn. I have said before that when the apple is ripe it drops from the tree; and if the apple falls before it has attained its ripeness then the fruit is sour and bitter. It is even so with the spirit body. If it is severed from its physical counterpart before it is ready, before it is prepared for a sphere of greater activity, it is unripe and starts its new career under a handicap, albeit there is compen-sation ordered by a law of benevolence.
"I reaffirm all I have said in that connection. I do not alter my past teachings. I adhere to every word which has been recorded time and time again. But I have also taught that the paramount consideration in every action is motive. When, in the days before war came to your country, you were engaged in feverish preparations that you called national service, I was asked, 'What should be the attitude of those who call them-selves Spiritualists towards this form of activity?' I replied, 'Let those who feel they can give service to their fellows in this form obey the dictates of their conscience.'
"Your country is involved in war. It is a war not of its own seeking, however much there have been blunders in the past, however much the seeds of hatred have been sownーand you are not free from that indictment. This time you have sought to play your part, at a late hour, in aiding the helpless and the weak, coupled with a measure of self-defence. If there be those who spring to that call of service, who are prepared to kill if needs be because they are convinced in their minds that they are serving the world in which they live, there is none in the world of spirit who will quarrel with them.
"What is the motive? That is the acid test. The man who refuses to take any part in war because it is repugnant to the still, small voice within him is not counted any lower in our esteem than the one who, from the motive of service, from the desire to serve, is prepared not only to kill but to pay the extreme sacrifice with his own physical life. Motive is the prime consideration. Let not needless quarrelling take place between rival factions who, in the heat and passion of their controversy, have forgotten this simple truth. We do not condemn where the motive is one of idealism and service.”
One of the sitters remarked, “I still do not see how it can be right to kill."
"But does not the one who seeks to kill, if need be, take the risk that he himself may be killed, to use the language of your world?" asked Silver Birch. “He has no choice in the matter. He cannot say, 'I will only kill and not myself be killed. He may himself be called upon to take his life in his hands."
Answering another question the guide declared, "So that there can be no mistake about what I mean, let me say this:
"We are not satisfied with your world. If we were, we would not return to it to try to give it those teachings it has lost. We realize that your world has strayed. We are trying to lead it back on to paths of sanity. But we recognize that your world is full of millions of beings, all at different stages of growth, progress and evolution. There can be no fixed laws, material laws, that are suitable for them all at the same time, because inevitably the laws are too repressive for some and not strict enough for others. The laws that you have to control and check the murderer do not concern the man who will never commit murder.
"Recognizing the different stages of growth attained by all human beings, you cannot lay down arbitrary rules for their conduct unless you make them individual. As I have told you before, the Great Spirit gave each one of you an infallible pointer, your conscience, which never errs. It is determined by the rate of progress you have reached. I maintain that, at any stage in your earthly life, confronted with any situation, however complex, you have within yourself the infallible knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. It may be that what is right for you will be wrong for others, because they are not at the same level of spiritual progress as you are. The pacifist may be at a higher or a lower rate of progression than the military man; but they can both be equally right though presenting entirely opposite philosophies.
"Let the individual decide according to his motive. Stripped of all pretences, every thought of fear or cowardicee, let him be alone with himself and let him listen to the voice of his own conscience, fixed by his own state of spiritual evolu-tion. It never errs and never falters; it immediately flashes its answer. You may drown the voice of conscience, you may stifle it, you may refuse to listen to it, you may reply with clever arguments, justifications and excuses, but always, I insist, conscience gives its verdict. That is the divine arbiter within you, your infallible standard.
"It is said by those who oppose us, those who belong to the Roman Catholic Church, that we condone suicide, that we regard the craven suicide almost in the same light as the hero or the martyr. We do not. We know there are unalterable natural laws and that all suicides are not on the same plane of evolution. Many there are who, through cowardice, seek to escape their problems in that way. They do not find their escape; they still have to face the responsibilities they have tried to evade. But there are those suicides whose act is one of heroism, who wrongly take what they think is the way out most helpful to the ones they love. That is not on the same plane as the craven coward. It is the motive that counts.
A sitter suggested as an example of the heroic suicide a man who was incurably ill and a burden to those around him.
"Yes,” said Silver Birch, "he might want to give freedom to a loving wife. He might think, 'If I am gone, she will not have this burden day and night.' He is wrong, because love does not regard it as a burden, but his motive is sincere. His mind may be warped but, as he honestly saw it, it was not done because he was afraid but because he thought that was the best way to serve the one he loved.”
Later the guide declared, “I am content to fight in the great army that seeks to overthrow the materialism of your world,
which has reared its head once more, but which will be destroyed. Do not let the shadows of war envelope you. Do not allow yourselves to be filled with gloom and despair. Do not place yourselves in a position where the light cannot reach you. The shadow will pass. Peace will come. And the tasks to which we are all dedicated will be continued. The task of building a new world order will require all your knowledge, all your power, all your wisdom and, more than all these things, all your love, all your tolerance, all your pity.”
So that all can judge whether or not Silver Birch was “contradictory," I print here a typical answer he gave—before war broke outーwhen a sitter wanted to know if the guide considered it right to fight:
"I have always taught only one thing—what is your motive? If your motive is to serve, then in whatever field of service your motive inspires, do that which your conscience orders is right. For myself, I would rather that no life was taken—for life does not belong to any but the Great Spirit. But I would not attempt to make strong men weak, coura-geous men cowards. Let them act according to the highest that is within them. But remember that fighting to kill is not the only weapon that you possess."
"When we see a bully smashing all the finest things in the world, is it not right to stop him?" persisted the sitter.
"I am often asked questions about what you should do when a certain situation has arisen," said Silver Birch, "and I always reply that, if you had played your part well, that situation would not have arisen. Because men have betrayed ideals which they should have served, do not ask us to pro-nounce a verdict. We can only enunciate the principles of truth and wisdom and assure you, with a knowledge born of experience, that allegiance to these principles will bring peace and harmony in your world. You may solve, for a
time, some of your problems by the shedding of blood, but permanent peace is never bought by bloodshed.
"There are many who kill because the lust for killing is in their blood. There are many who kill because they fight for freedom. I do not question their motive. Who am I to condemn them? They are the heroes of to-day fighting for the children of to-morrow. We can only enunciate truths. That is why I wear no political label, no religious label. That is why I belong to no church, to no parties, as you call them. Men must work in the fields where their conscience calls themーand there are good souls in opposing camps, as you know. What is their motive? That is the acid test. If it be service for the many, then they are doing right. Sometimes they are misguided, but if their motive is sincere it will not be held against them, for the soul registers what is the inner-most desire.
"Remember always, we judge by standards different from those of your earth. Ours is the eternal measure that we apply to all facets of life. Sometimes it seems that evil triumphs over good, but its triumph is short-lived and, in the end, the divine will regulates all things and true justice is dispensed. You who judge from day to dayーoften stressing unduly one event because it seems to you the most importantーsome-times have distorted pictures. Remember that the Great Spirit rules the universe. His laws sustain all in the mighty universe. The Great Spirit is King of all kings. His will is done, even if it seems that the creatures which He created and endowed with His divinity seem to thwart Him.
"Do not think that we are not filled with pity at the need-less misery and despair that fills your world. We would indeed be shallow beings if we were not moved by what is happening to-day. But we see the eternal principles behind the everchanging panorama of daily life in your world. Take courage from this knowledge. Find in it inspiration and strength to go on working for the realization of all those truths dreamed of for generations by men and women of good intent, who laboured and toiled and who handed on to you the torch of freedom, for you to rekindle it with fresh illumination.”
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