“One hears people say again and again, ‘If God exists and there is indeed a divine order, how can it be that so many terrible things happen on earth?’ You all know, you have all learned that human beings forge their own destinies. That you have to carry such heavy burdens is the result of breaking spiritual laws, often unconsciously. Still, this will not sufficiently explain to you events like wars, in which, through the decision of a few, many who seem innocent have to suffer a heavy fate. To this I have a reply. First of all, even in mass or group disasters, an individual will never need to experience anything that does not fit into his or her own destiny. Second, every person, except those very few who have already reached a higher state of purification, is also sharing the responsibility for wars and other mass disasters. Not only the politicians or those few who visibly and publicly shape world history are to be made responsible for wars, but every single person who, with impure thoughts and emotions, pollutes the cosmic ‘reservoir,’ and this, one day, must have its effect.

“Each thought of hate, of separation, of egoism, of injustice, of discrimination, of wanting more for oneself than for one’s neighbor — in short, each thought that breaks God’s laws — is a building block in that enormous spiritual structure — war — which must first be formed in spirit before it can manifest destruction on the material plane. If only a small part of humankind sowed the seeds of peace, wars would not exist in spite of a few unscrupulous politicians. Most people, including my friends here, harbor thoughts of anxiety and, if not thoughts of hate, then of mistrust and separation such as between one group and another. And all of these violate the law of brotherhood. Each thought of this kind, each emotion is a significant contribution to the outbreak of war.

“This does not apply to thoughts and feelings only, or to individual reactions to general political issues and opinions. Even when people are free of false reactions concerning society in general, but react in their private lives in erroneous negative ways, this energy will contribute to precipitate a war or another mass catastrophe. Only when you purify yourself from within, cleanse your emotions and thoughts, and so best fulfill your destiny wherever you are placed, can you also become a carrier of peace. Indirectly, by living spiritually, people can do more for or against war than politicians or statesmen, my dear friends.

“Question yourself honestly, feel into it, examine yourselves when you send out — perhaps until now unconsciously — such “poison” that aids and abets the powers promoting war. Look at some of your fellow humans with whom you might have difficulties. They might have hurt you, and you cannot get over it or understand it. Yet try looking at the issue from another point of view. Try to see that the other person has perhaps reacted to you only from blindness, ignorance, and a great inner insecurity, erroneously attempting to protect himself. Consider how often you have had a similar reaction yourself and may have wounded a fellow human being not because you wanted to but because in your own blind insecurity you thought that this was the best way to protect yourself. To the extent you do this yourself, it will be inevitably done to you by others although not always by the same person. To the extent you recognize and understand this state of affairs, you will recognize the so far inexplicable behavior of the other for what it is, just in the way I have explained here.

“With this understanding, the hurt will leave you, and then the understanding for the other party will increase steadily because you have experienced it yourself and it has become part of your consciousness. From the understanding comes empathy, and that is the way of love. With it you build your happiness, you gain knowledge and wisdom, you fulfill your life and so contribute to the cause of peace. Complete this little task, my friends, every single one of you, take it seriously, not superficially, and then you will feel a great liberation. You will free yourself of a burden.

“So try not always to focus on yourselves and your pain. Try to see the other. Forget yourselves for the moment, attempt to understand the other in the sense I explained before. See his pain, not yours, see his insecurity, not yours. And ask God to give you the light of truth and knowledge to look at the whole situation as it really is, not the way you are trying to present it from your point of view. I can promise you, my loved ones, that if you are truly desirous to understand the need and the loneliness of the other, then you will not experience his erroneous acts as painful to you. You can liberate yourself from your suffering by concentrating on the ‘thou’ instead of the ‘I’ and by asking God to give you the full vision of the truth. If this desire is genuinely present, it will be fulfilled. But we know full well that one must make up one’s mind to be truly motivated by a genuine desire. Consider this an occasion to test yourselves. (PL #12)