Spirituality as an antidote to violence

Whether in politics, media, economics, religion or family life, violence threatens our security and well being.  Today, finding an antidote to violence is an urgent matter indeed. Violence against the environment, against the traditional family, against the dignity of mankind, causes social and financial instability, which in turn threatens the very foundations of culture and civilization. This is where spirituality can play a crucial role as an invitation to rediscover and recover what it means to be human, free from meaningless and brutal violence. Genuine spirituality is relational, rooted in a living relationship with the source of being. An authentic spiritual experience necessitates openness to the “completely Other”, the Being who fulfills our being, the Infinite who answers our finiteness, the mystical, who helps us understand the mystery of our own being. This openness requires the humility of knowing one’s finiteness and accepting the other with his/her different perspectives, as someone who completes us and draws us closer to perfection. This makes genuine spirituality the perfect antidote for the rising waves of senseless violence in our world. As opposed to the “having mode” of seeking possessions, spirituality proposes a mode of “being with”, where togetherness, though not tension free, becomes the cure to our broken world! A seminar on authentic spirituality as an antidote to violence is to be a place of encounter, where different scholars from sociological, psychological, philosophical, theological , and mystical backgrounds, gather to discuss issues related to spirituality, finding common ground in their openness to one another.