Consciousness-Based Education - Maharishi University of ...

consciousness-based education and governmentEven after substantial reductions in global arsenals, thousands ofnuclear weapons remain. At least 46 weapons are believed to be missingfrom the former Soviet arsenal, and recent nuclear tests in Chinahave stirred fears in the international community of runaway nuclearproliferation.Regional and ethnic conflicts in the Middle East and EasternEurope have recently shown that no nation is safe: even small nationscan imperil world peace and stability, and hold other nations hostagethrough terrorism, ecological warfare, and weapons of mass destruction(Belts, 1998; Preston, 1998).In light of the wholesale destruction threatened by nuclear and otherweapons of mass destruction, diplomacy and other means to preventthe outbreak of war have become especially crucial. Unfortunately, historyshows that neither treaties nor threat of arms can ensure peaceand security. When, due to widespread violation of natural law, stressbuilds up in collective consciousness, it inevitably erupts as violence,conflict, and war among nations. Over the past 3000 years, there havebeen more than 5000 peace treaties, each of which has lasted an averageof at most nine years. History thus shows that paper agreementsamong nations is not a foundation for lasting peace.The stockpiling of arms has proven similarly ineffective. The buildupof armaments in the long-run only increases tensions among nations,and at best serves to postpone confrontation. Moreover, such stockpilingof arms offers little security against high-tech weapons in the handsof terrorists and other aggressors. Indeed, the proliferation of weaponsworldwide is now widely considered to be a major destabilizing influenceand threat to peace (Blair, Feiveson, & Von Hippel, 1997; Hall, 1998) .Unfortunately, the U.S. is one of the world’s biggest arms suppliers.This global arms peddling has tarnished America’s reputation as a promoterof peace, fostered deep-seated international ill-will, and led toan increasingly dangerous world in which American soldiers are forcedto confront their own weapons on the battle field. Heavy lobbying bythe defense industry, including large financial contributions to congressionalcampaigns, has perpetuated America’s enormous peace-timemilitary budget, which exceeds the combined military expenditures ofevery other nation in the world.206