Religion, Peace, War and Justice

[Type text]

Religion, Peace, War and JusticeHinduism

Table of ContentsChapter 1 War What is war? Different types of war Causes of War Effects of War Hindu attitudes to warChapter 2 Violence and Pacifism What is Pacifism? Hinduism and Pacifism Pacifist in HinduismChapter 3 Crime and Punishment What is crime? What is punishment? Five aims of Punishment Restorative justice. Hinduism and CriminalityChapter 4 Social Injustice What is social injustice? What is social justice? Hinduism and Social InjusticeChapter 5 BibliographyChapter 6 Self Evaluation

Chapter 1 - WarWhat is war?

War is a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state through the means land, sea or air.Different types of war

There are several types of war and some are more common than others, but they all have negative effects on us. First the different reasons people go to war for.

Civil War The characteristic to this type of war is that a large amount of people goes to war with another large part of the same countrys population, in open conflict.

Revolutionary War Characterized by a lot of unsatisfied people, who are ready to change the situation they are living in and decide to rise up against its own government, in order to replace it.

Wars of Religion Occurs when a large number of people, living in the same country, but not necessarily, attack people of another religion or a sect of the same.

World War So far, there have been two world wars and they affected the lives of many people. They changed the system of many countries and their territory. World War is when many countries all over the world go to attack each for their own motives, until they ally and fight to win.

Wars of Nationalism These occur when the people of one country feel that they are better than the people of another and they have a right to rule them.

What methods of war do these people use?

Biological Warfare It is the use in war of pathogenic organisms or toxins to disable an enemy or destroy resources.

Chemical Warfare Military warfare in which chemicals other than explosives are used as weapons.

Nuclear Warfare Military warfare in which nuclear weapons are employed.Causes of War

There can be many reasons that a country goes to war for, but there are 4 main types.

Nationalism The belief that your country is better than others. This has made nations assertive and aggressive in the past.Imperialism Imperialism is the desire to conquer colonies. For example, in World War 1, Germany wanted a colony. France and Britain already had colonies and Germany felt that they had right to make one.

Militarism This is also known as an arms race. This creates war when nations build up a strong navy and army which incite other nations to do the same.

Alliances Believe it or not, having an alliance with another country can incite war. For example in World War 1, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance which was called the Triple Alliance. This alarmed Britain, France and Russia so in return, they formed their own alliance called the Triple Entente. Countries in alliances help each other out in case of war. Effects of War

There are many negative effects of war.

Effects on Children

Children die as a result of fighting but it is not the only form of violence to which children are exposed to. Millions of children live with injuries and scars with an abundance of disabilities caused by armed conflicts and political violence.

Effects on Women

Women and girls experience conflict and displacement in different ways that men do. It is because of differences in gender responsibilities and also because armed forces target women more often than men.

Effects on the Environment

After war, there is actual physical disruption to the landscape. The weapons that are used kill wildlife, shatter soil systems and destroy plant life leaving the different ecosystems in a bad state. Concentration camps lead to deforestation and there is a lot of pressure put on resources in those areas.Hindu attitudes to war

The Bhagvad Gita describes the rivalry between two families, which are called the Kauravas and Pandavas. Arjuna the prince of the Pandavas is troubled by the thought of fighting against members of his own family and even possibly killing them. In the Gita, there is a conversation that takes place between Arjuna and his charioteer, who is actually the God Krishna paying a visit to the earth in the form of a charioteer. Krishna tells Arjuna that he must fight as it is his Dharma. He must discard natural feelings and also points out that the soul (Atman) cannot be killed.

Think thou also of thy duty and do not waver. There is no greater good for a warrior than to fight in a righteous war. There is war that opens the doors of a heaven. Arjuna! Happy the warriors whose fate it is to fight such a war

Bhagvad Gita 2:31

Krishnas advice is conflicted. Arjuna, like all Hindus, believed in the way of Ahimsa which is the way of non-violence, but against this is the Dharma to which ever Hindu has to respond.

Although some Hindus are opposed to war in any form the majority believe that in many cases it can be justified, if it is fought in self-defence. Ahimsa refers to the fight against injustice. Evil should always be overcome by peaceful means if possible. Chapter 2 Violence and PacifismWhat is Pacifism?

Pacifism is the belief that war and violence are unjustifiable under any circumstances and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means. Hinduism and Pacifism

In Hinduism there are two ways of looking at violence.

The Way of Ahimsa

This is the way of denying oneself comforts to gain spiritual benefit. The best example of Ahimsa is in the life Mahatma Gandhi. He said that Ahimsa is the basic rule of life. He also said that no-one is totally non-violent as all life must eat and that cannot be done without killing life. A person should live carefully without inflicting pain on other forms of life.

The Way of the Householder

This also encourages non-violence but it allows violence to be used certain circumstances. The Laws of Manu says that a person is not guilty if he/she kills an assassin. Killing and other forms of non-violence are allowed in two situations.

To prevent something much worse happening. If it is necessary to maintain law and order.

The rule of non-violence does not include enemies in a war, violent criminals, wicked people and offending animals. It also allows killing an animal for ones own work or food.

Pacifist in Hinduism Mahatma Gandhi is the best example of Pacifist in Hinduism. His whole life was dedicated to Pacifism. Gandhi used pacifist means to wage a campaign against British rule. He was born on 2nd October 1869 and was assassinated on 30th January 1948 aged 78. After his pacifist campaign, India gained independence on 15th August 1947, but four years before the day of Independence, India partitioned into Pakistan and Hindustan against the will of Gandhi as he believed in religious unity.

Chapter 3 Crime and PunishmentWhat is crime?

Crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by the law. A crime is an illegal action.What is punishment?

Punishment is the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense. There are four aims of punishment which you will read in the next s section.Five Aims of Punishment

Retribution Retribution means taking revenge.

Deterrence Deterring a criminal off doing a crime is when you put them off doing the crime as they fear the consequences.

Protection Protecting the society from activities of criminals. The usual means of protecting the society is putting criminals in prison.

Reformation Reformation is changing criminals into law-abiding people. It is consistent with religious views on repentance, reconciliation and changing life for the better.

Vindication Making sure that the law is respected by punishing criminals for their wrongdoings.

Restorative Justice Restorative justice is making criminals make up for what has been lost. For example, community service is a popular form of restorative justice. For robbers, returning money stolen is restorative justice.Hinduism and Criminality

Hindus believe strongly in justice and this means that they must:

Treat all people equally Make sure that there is freedom of religion Make sure that everyone has equal political rights Work for a fairer distribution of resources of the world.

Hindus recognise that people who have been badly treated are more likely to commit crime, but that doesnt mean that they are not punished. Originally, punishments in Hinduism were extremely severe. Forgers of documents, robbers, thieves, adulterers and those who had sex with people of the lowest caste were treated the worst. In some cases the death penalty was imposed. However, over time, the punishments grew more and more lenient. Hindu laws began to take into account of the caste of the criminal and the caste of the victim. Murderers of a Brahmin had committed the most serious crime and no capital punishment could be imposed on a Brahmin even if he had committed the crime. In that time, the most popular punishment that was imposed was a reduction of caste, which meant a lot as Hindus believe in reincarnation. Reduction of caste could be very serious in their next life.Chapter 4 Social InjusticeWhat is Social Injustice?

Social injustice generally refers to unfair inequalities felt by various classes within a country, which are inequalities of wealth and other necessities.What is Social Justice?

Social justice is the opposite of social injustice. It is the concept that everyone in a country has the same rights and opportunities, from the poorest man to the wealthiest man.Hinduism and Social Justice

There has always been a significant gap between the rich and the poor in Indian society. The privileges enjoyed by the rich are enormous, but the chances of the poor to improve their wealth and status are close to non-existent. Different varnas in Hindu society are fixed with no movement between them. All a person can hope for is that if they perform good deeds in their current life, they will be reincarnated as part of a higher caste. Everything in a persons life is because of past actions. For example, if they are poor or disabled, it is because of the way they have lived. If they are rich and well respected, it is because of the way they lived in their past life. To non-Hindus, this seems extremely unfair. To a Hindu, what they receive is what they deserve, which means that there is very less incentive to improve their status.

The fifth and lowest category of the Hindu caste system were the Untouchables. The people in that caste were people with defiling jobs, for example leather worker and dead body disposers and cleaners. Until 1950, people avoided all contact with this group but a law was then passed making this illegal. Now members of the Untouchable caste are allowed to live in the same houses, to use the same medical facilities and go to the same schools like everybody else. In many rural areas, this law is not practiced.

Chapter 5 BibliographyI used the OCR GCSE Philosophy and Ethics book as a main source and the following websites helped.

http://emmawilson.hubpages.com/hub/Types-of-wars http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-social-justice.htm http://www.thefreedictionary.com/war http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biological+warfare http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/conduct-hostilities/methods-means-warfare/overview-methods-and-means-of-warfare.htm http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chemical+warfare http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/underlyingcausesrev1.shtml http://cultureofpeace.org/impactofwar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice http://www.ndre.co.uk/aims_of_punishment.htm#Retribution http://home.page.ch/pub/rfm@vtx.ch/punishment.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi

Chapter 6 Self EvaluationMy booklet took me 8 hours to complete and is a concise 2000 words about Religion, Peace, War and Justice. This is a brilliant revision guide for my assessment on the topic of which now, I am very familiar with.

In my last booklet, my main source of information was websites with little relevant information. The OCR GCSE Philosophy and Ethics book has given me much more relevant and to the point information. In my last booklet, I wasnt able to get any quotes from the Bhagvad Gita, but in this GCSE revision book I obtained from the LRC, findings quotes is much easier.

I feel that working alone is much easier than working in group to make a booklet as being in a group and giving the leader the info is easy. Being that leader and trying to get everyone to do the work is much harder. This topic was hard to write on, but with the aid of my GCSE coursework revision guide I was able to complete it.

18 | Page