Divine Knowledge Has No
Boundaries and Belongs to All
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Theodor Herzl (photo) foresaw a strong cooperation
between Muslims and Jews
A significant number
of Arab citizens are getting tired of hatred and violence. They would like to
see their communities recovering from the disease of anti-Semitism. Some of them have a feeling that peace will be
better attained in the Middle East and around the globe when the Arab world strengthens
its commitment to its own wisdom tradition.
Misled by propaganda, millions of Arabs today seem to support terrorist organizations
and their varied actions of boycott against Israel. This is because they lack
access to proper information and have no real freedom of thought.
When they get a chance to open their eyes to the
healing influence of the Universalist dimension in their culture, common sense
will be possible whether they live in Gaza or New York.
Israel is ready for a policy of mutual respect. Arabic
wisdom is necessary in the Jewish State. Of course fanaticism is worse than
useless, and the Arab wisdom says: “Creeds are tribal, faith is universal.”
A similar idea is ascribed to King Oglo of Tashkent: “Creeds
disperse, knowledge unites”. And Abul Alaa Al-Ma’arri, an eleventh century poet,
wrote:
“The Exalted Stars, some say, do also feel,
Just like us, and think and talk too;
For Heaven’s sake, do they also have creeds
That would brand us Muslim, Christian and Jew?” [1]
Courage is necessary in life. However, many a form of
violence expresses the feeling of fear, not confidence. The Arab tradition is
right in teaching that actually - “Courage is facing one’s [own] weaknesses.” [2]
Divine knowledge is common to all nations, and the Buddhist
Dhammapada points to the same
direction:
“Better than a man who conquers in battles a thousand
times a thousand men is he who conquers himself. He indeed is the mightiest of
warriors.” (Chapter eight, verse four, Theosophy Company edition)
The same tenet is taught in other words by the Arab
tradition: “Change yourself and your luck will change too.” [3] The sentence is true regarding a
community, as much as an individual. Peace depends on building right
relationships among nations, and one should consider these sober warnings:
* “Nations curse one another, although they come from
one father and one mother.”
* “Don’t launch arrows of curses at your enemy, lest
you hit your friend.” [4]
The cult of death and revenge leads nowhere. The politics
of hatred produces sad consequences. What we wish to others, this comes back to
us. Unhappiness gets reduced as soon people decide to sow what they want to
harvest. The Arabic wisdom teaches:
* “Charity banishes evil.” [5]
* “See with others’ eyes, and they will see with
yours.” [6]
Respectful reciprocity paves the way to contentment.
In order to really listen to the others, however, one must listen to oneself in
the first place. In classic theosophy, as in Judaism, heeding the voice of one’s
conscience is of fundamental importance, and the Arabic wisdom says:
* “Have a good conscience and fear no evil. Conscience
is the judge from whose verdict one can’t escape.” [7]
No one can delay the rising of the Sun in the morning or
prevent a peaceful dialogue when people are ready for it. Once the time comes
for different nations to awaken from spiritual ignorance, the lack of ethics
will disappear. Theodor Herzl, the man who founded modern Zionism, had his
reasons to predict that Arabs and Jews would live side by side as true friends.
In his revealing 1902 novel “Altneuland”, Herzl described the cultural
atmosphere of the Jewish State, whose creation he correctly foresaw and started
preparing nearly half a century before the actual independence of Israel took
place in 1948.
As a historical project, the building of the country is
still unfolding. The Jewish State has been following the broad lines
established in Herzl’s vision. And he did not foresee a separation between Jews
from Arabs. His One State Solution would
emerge in harmony.
Herzl certainly saw some of the challenges ahead. He
of course did not elaborate in his books on the need to face wars and terrorism
for long decades before a lasting peace with the Arabs would become possible. It
was implicitly understood that the peaceful vision described in “Altneuland”
would take an uncertain amount of decades and efforts to fully express itself
in practical intercultural terms. Yet Herzl knew
that sooner or later hatred and other forms of blindness inevitably pave the
way to wisdom, cooperation and mutual help. One of his “Altneuland” characters refers
to a level of peace which will flourish once the necessary conditions exist:
“…My associates and I make no distinctions between one
man and another. We do not ask to what race or religion a man belongs. If he is
a man that is enough for us.” [8]
The passage shows that - contrary to the opinion of ill-informed
people - the Zionist project is essentially theosophical. The same prophetic
character in Herzl’s novel adds:
“I shall not bore you now with our political
controversies. They are the same here as everywhere else in the world. But I
can tell you that the fundamental principles of humanitarianism are generally
accepted among us. As far as religion goes, you will find Christian, Mohammedan,
Buddhist, and Brahmin houses of worship near our own synagogues.” [9]
All religions are already respected by the State of
Israel. One can even say that the 2018 status
quo regarding the Temple Mount is unfair toward the Jews. Interreligious coexistence
will occur in complete harmony once blindness and prejudice are conquered in
the souls of people.
It is true that an Eastern Master of the Wisdom wrote:
“As for human nature in general, it is the same now as
it was a million of years ago: prejudice based upon selfishness; a general
unwillingness to give up an established order of things (…)”.[10]
And one of the main characters in Herzl’s novel says:
“The human pack nourishes itself on prejudices (…). Well,
then. Since prejudices cannot be wiped out, they must be overcome.” [11]
As soon as people start transcending bigotry, they can
learn from one another. An Eastern Master wrote in a letter to a Western
lay-disciple: “Learn, child, to catch a
hint through whatever agency it may
be given. ‘Sermons may be preached even through stones’.” [12] The popular tradition of Arab culture uses similar words to establish
the same tenet: “Extract gold from stone, and extricate pearls from the sea,
and accept the good word from whomever speaks it.” [13]
The Arab world has reasons to feel due gratitude for
the Jewish tradition. Everyone must have respect for his elders and Judaism is one
of the main sources of young Islam.
All nations share the same universal wisdom. An
inscription over the portals of colleges in Arab Spain reproduces this axiom:
“The world is supported by four things only: the
learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous,
and the valour of the brave.” [14]
And in the Jewish “Pirke Avoth” we find two previous
versions of the same saying:
* “The world stands on three things: on Torah, Divine
worship, and acts of loving-kindness”; and
* “By three things does the world endure: by truth,
justice and peace.” [15]
While fearful minds find it difficult to learn from
each other, the Arabic tradition clarifies: “Your friend is he who tells you
the truth, not he who agrees with everything you say.” [16] Under the appearance of bravery, hatred is often but an
unfortunate disguise of fear. Knowledge and a balanced attitude are better than
mere confrontation:
“The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of
the martyr (Hadith).” [17]
In other words, study and contemplation are preferable
to violence. The idea is familiar to those who search for wisdom. A universal view of life is present in Arab
culture, as one finds in this fragment: “I am the child of Time, my tribe,
mankind, and now this world is my caravanseri (Al-Ma’arri, Rihani)”. [18]
There is no reason to appease terrorist organizations by
boycotting Israel. Peace results from justice and good discernment, not from ideological
wishful-thinking. When Arab and Jewish wisdom-traditions are seen as branches of
the universal knowledge belonging to all mankind, mutual help among nations
will be accepted as something that is as natural as breathing.
Envy and hatred
lead to renewed suffering, while “contentment is an inexhaustible treasure”.[19] By innerly improving themselves,
citizens pave the way to happiness. No one is really independent who has no self-restraint.
Self-control makes it possible to make free decisions. The principle of human responsibility
before the Eternal Law belongs to the Jewish philosophy. And the Arab tradition
says:
“There are three kinds of slaves: a slave in bondage,
a slave of lust, and a slave of greed.” [20]
By the habit of seeking for revenge, one transfers to his
adversaries his own power to determine what his course of action will be. Such a foolish inclination is one of the main
stinking flowers of ignorance. The folk tradition of the Arabs has this maxim:
“The pleasure of forgiving is followed by praiseworthy
consequences, while the satisfaction derived from one’s thirst for revenge is
followed by regret and the pain of censure.” [21]
Good sense must be cultivated by individuals and
communities alike. “Wisdom is more valuable than weapons of war”, says
Ecclesiastes, 9:18 - “but a single error destroys much of value.”
In awakening from the nightmare of mutual hatred,
Arabs and Jews must act as well as talk. The correct intention paves the way to
mutual respect, to a shared sense of justice, and peace. Besides formal talks
and “negotiations”, we need grassroots action for peace in daily life, in the
Middle East and around the globe. “Theosophist is, who Theosophy does”, wrote
Helena Blavatsky [22]. “Judge a person, not by what they say
but by what they do”, says the Arab wisdom.[23]
It also states: “Mutual help and co-operation are like praying and
adoration.”[24]
What one says has great importance, for it helps or
hinders action. Words must be chosen with care:
“A wise man’s talk brings him favor”, says
Ecclesiastes, 10: 12, “but a fool’s lips are his undoing.” Because of the fact that many an idiot
believes he is extremely smart, the Arab tradition says:
“…Don’t be clever, just be good.” [25]
“Much silence and a good disposition, there are no two
works better than those. The tongue is a lion which must be chained, and a
sharp sword that must be sheathed. A slip of the foot is safer than a slip of
the tongue. A false step may break a bone which can be set, but a slip of the
tongue cannot be undone. If speech is silver, silence is gold.” [26]
No one should be too afraid of thinking about the best
and the highest. A rebirth of Arab wisdom in Israel can help bring about the
end of a nightmare.
Dreams are part of reality, and many a fact starts as
a dream long before it takes place in outward life. Theodor Herzl dreamed of a
Jewish State where Arabs and Jews lived in peace. He wrote like a true
theosophist about the actions in the soul that must precede visible external change:
“Dreams also are a fulfillment of the days of our
sojourn on Earth. Dreams are not so different from Deeds as some may think. All
the Deeds of men are only Dreams at first. And in the end, their Deeds dissolve
into Dreams.” [27]
As long as noble dreams guide one’s actions, the seeds
of eternal wisdom are present, and justice and equilibrium tend to occur.
NOTES:
[1] These three initial quotations are from “The Book of
Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs & Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, NI,
New Internationalist Publications, UK, 2003, 200 pp., see p. 25. Hussain M
Al-Amily was born in 1927, in Irak.
[2] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs &
Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, page 24.
[3] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs &
Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, page 17.
[4] These two sentences are included at page 26 of “The
Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs & Anecdotes”.
[5] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs & Anecdotes”,
page 17.
[6] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs &
Anecdotes”, page 22.
[7] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs &
Anecdotes”, same page 22.
[8] “Old New Land”, (“Altneuland”), Theodor Herzl, Markus
Wiener Publishers, Princeton, third printing, 2000, book two, chapter two, page
66.
[9] “Old New Land”, Theodor Herzl, Markus Wiener
Publishers, 2000, page 67.
[10] “The Mahatma Letters”,
published by T. Fisher Unwin Ltd., in London, UK, with 493 pages and Index, see
Letter I, p. 3. “The Mahatma Letters” is available in our websites. The number of pages
is the same in the TUP edition.
[11] “Old New Land”, Theodor
Herzl, Markus Wiener Publishers, 2000, Book One, Part V, page 41.
[12] “Letters from
the Masters of the Wisdom - First Series”, edited by C. Jinarajadasa, TPH,
India, 1948 edition, see “Additional Letters”,
page Letter II to Laura C. Holloway, p. 204. The book is available in our associated websites.
[13] “The Wisdom of
the Arabs”, compiled by Suheil Bushrui, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, England,
2002, 254 pp., see p. 221.
[14] “The Wisdom of
the Arabs”, compiled by Suheil Bushrui, Oneworld Publications, page 220.
[15] See pages 38
and 106, respectively, in “Ethics from Sinai”, an eclectic, wide-ranging
commentary by Irving M. Bunim, volume I, Philipp Feldheim, Inc., New York,
1964, 360 pages. The edition has 3 volumes.
[16] “As the Arabs
Say…”, Arabic Quotations Recalled and Interpreted, by Isa Khalil Sabbagh,
volume I, 1983, copyright Isa Khalil Sabbagh, produced by Ray Graham
Associates, Inc., 84 pages, see p. 35.
[17] “The Wisdom of
the Arabs”, compiled by Suheil Bushrui, Oneworld Publications, 254 pp., see p.
220.
[18] “The Wisdom of
the Arabs”, compiled by Suheil Bushrui, Oneworld Publications, 254 pp., see p.
73.
[19] “As the Arabs
Say…”, Isa Khalil Sabbagh, volume I, 1983, see pp. 10-11.
[20] “The Wisdom of the Arabs”, compiled by Suheil Bushrui,
Oneworld Publications, 254 pp., see p. 94.
[21] “The Wisdom of the Arabs”, Oneworld
Publications, 254 pp., see p. 184. As to revenge, see also Leviticus, 19: 18,
whose tenet must be applied to all fellow humans.
[22] “The Key to Theosophy”, Helena P. Blavatsky,
Theosophy Company, Los Angeles, see p. 20.
[23] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom - Proverbs &
Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, page 30.
[24] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom -
Proverbs & Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, page 23.
[25] “The Book of Arabic Wisdom -
Proverbs & Anecdotes”, compiled by Hussain M Al-Amily, page 19.
[26] “The Wisdom of the Arabs”, Oneworld Publications, pp.
95-96.
[27] “Old New Land”, Theodor Herzl,
Markus Wiener Publishers, 2000, Epilogue, page 296.
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The above text was published on 1 June 2018. It is also available at our
blog in “The Times of Israel”.
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