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other point of contention between
New Delhi and Islamabad is the
long-dispu ted state of Kashmir,
which sparked the first war be–
tween the two nat ions in 1948.
Farther south , Sri Lanka accuses
India of harboring T amil sepa–
ratists fighting for an indcpendent
state on the island country. To the
east, Bangladesh and India are at
odds over sharing river waters in
their. border areas . Many such
troublesome pol itical issues lurk
just below the surface to threaten
harmonious relations.
President J ayewardene warned
that the new regional g rouping
would face storms and even mu–
tinies in the days ahead. "The ship
[of SAARC] will sai l troubled
seas," he cautioned.
I ndi an Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi noted that there are a lso
externa/
forces that don't want to
see SAARC succeed .
" It
is indeed
a fact of life that bistorically, pow–
ers have played on our divisions,"
he observed, alluding to the re–
gion's vulnerability to the maneu–
veri ngs of other , mightier nations.
King Birendra also spoke of the
region 's his torical experience of
"extern a! aggressions and brutal
scenes committed through greed
and inspired by lust."
Can the the nations of the South
Asían region remain free from big–
power rivalry? Or will they fall
prey to the designs of outside pow–
ers and be drawn into the swirling
vortex of international chaos fore–
told by the ancient prophets for the
years just ahead?
For the moment , SAARC ap–
pears to have defused regional ten–
sions to a degree. A week after the
summit, I ndia and Pakis t an
pledged not to attack each other 's
nuclear facilities-a signi ficant de–
velopment expected to improve the
climate of regional relations.
But wi ll the trend continue?
Collectlve Resolve
The seven have made a modes t be–
ginning. Their launching of re–
gional cooperation represents a
positive new beginning for the sub–
continent after four decades of sus–
picion and war. That is no mean
achievement.
The inauguration of SAARC has
required courage and vision on the
6
part of South Asia's leaders. They
can legit imately take pride in their
accomplishment.
This world's leaders have a
weighty responsibil ity to create a
climate of harmony and coopera–
tion among nations. Yet history
shows that while wise leaders may
perceive the way to better rela–
tions, their wisdom is not always
heeded, that path not always taken.
Wisdom needs the
collective will
to give it meaning. Grand ideas in
the minds of farseeing men profit
little unless those ideas become the
common concern of
al/.
Everything
depends on the quality of the col–
lective human resolve.
The record of 6,000 years of hu–
man civilization is not very reassur–
ing. No peQple in all history has
ever achieved las ting peace and
prosperity. Despite the best inten–
tions of men of peace and goodwill,
all human societies have, at sorne
point, failed!
Cause and Effect
' 'SAARC is the way to peace and
prosperity," declared a wall poster
commemorating the summit. Yet
history- and the Bible-declares
unequivocably that "The way of
peace they
know not"
(lsa. 59:8).
Why
must this be?
For every effect there is a
cause.
There is a
cause
for all of this
world's evils. And t he r e is a
cause-a WAY- to peace, happi–
ness and abundance.
The seven South Asían leaders
have approached the path that
must be taken if meaningful pro–
gress is to be reali zed in their re–
gion. It is the path of cooperation,
of mutual ass istance, of good
neighborliness.
But
how
are they to turn this
vision of cooperation into reality?
How-in this world of increasing
physical and spi ri tual conflict-are
they to marshal their peoples to
wa/k down
the path proposed?
That is the question. And its an–
swer is ultimately spiritual in na–
ture-and tha t spiri tual answer
they "know not"!
Understand thi s basic truth:
Man's relat ionship with his fellow–
man is essentially a
spiritua/
rela–
tionsbip. The world's problems
have a deep-rooted
spiritual
basis.
Problems cannot be solved through
the use of human, physical, materi–
al istic knowledge alone.
Before men can change the exter–
na! aspects of their lives, they mus t
change the inner atti tudes of their
hearts and minds. Befare they can
cooperate, they must possess the
at–
titude
of cooperation- the attitude
of sharing, of serving, of giving, of
concern for the we lfare of others
equal to one's own self-concern.
The world does not have peace
today because its peoples do not
have peace in their minds and
hearts. They are not
living
the way
that produces peace. That way is
the way of
cooperation
a nd of
wholehearted
loving concern
for
others. Instead , within nations and
among nations, humans live the
way of competi tion and strife, the
way of greed, jealousy and hatred ,
based on the philosophy of GET.
And it has brought nothing but
d iscontent, unhappiness, violence,
human suffering and war.
This is the paradox that frus–
trates even the wisest and best-in–
tentioned leaders.
In this vein , King Birendra
wisely observed: "The world never
has had in its recorded history such
technological resources as it has to–
day to cope with pover ty a nd
hunger on a global scale. But the
gradual erosion of the collect ive
spi rit has aggravated our problems
and frustrated our efforts."
As a resul t, we are today on a
cataclysmic collision course with
the future. Mankind's chosen way
of GET is now propelling the world
into the
supreme crisis
at the close
of this age- a time of trouble
"such as was not since the begin–
ni ng of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:2 1).
It is time we faced the hard, cold
fact: Mankind cut off from contact
with the great C reator God
cannot
and
wi/1 not
overcome its propen–
si ty for violence and destruction.
Man lacks the will and the know–
how to solve his troubles and prob–
lems. The solution to mankind's
problems- spiritua/
problems–
lies outside the realm of its compe–
tence. The record of history per–
mits no other concl usion!
Yet-There ls Good News!
Mankind will have peace when hu–
(Continued on page 26)
The
PLAIN TRUTH