How will the oppressed people of this world be liberated?

How will the oppressed people of this world be liberated? It is a question that has kept me concerned for many years. To be more precise, this matter was not only in my mind but has determined most of my adult life.

I believe strongly the following about love: Love is not just a feeling. Love is not what many people so easily talk about as if it just shines from heaven. Love is to put yourself in the same situation as those whom you love. Love is to identify yourself with others and this should not only be done in thoughts and feelings but be expressed in the entire life.

How can the oppressed people of this world be liberated?

It will be done by love and not by hatred. That is very easily said and not so simply done. We speak about the brother- and sisterhood of man. But what should this really mean?

When we really are brothers and sisters, then we should also be willing to give our lives for each other. When our brother or sister is in need, and we really love, we should be willing to go into his or her situation if necessary. You cannot hold another person’s hand in comfort or support when you don’t go to that person and feel like him or her. That is not the kind of love spoken about so easily, it is the kind of love that will test you to your bones and will make each day of your life a struggle to survive.

It is too easy to love like a Santa Claus throwing around your presents from your abundance and wealth.

How can the oppressed people of this world be liberated?

It can only be done by those who love them and to love them means to put yourself in their situation. This means it can only be done by those who are oppressed too. When the suppressors wish to do something, for example those political figures who represent the states that are suppressing, then they have to become oppressed ones themselves. I don’t mean to say that they have to go living externally in the same situation, although doing this for a certain time may certainly teach them valuable lessons. What I mean is that in their love they should spiritually put themselves in the same situation. It means that when oppressed people get persecuted, they too will feel this persecution. And when they want to go in front of leading liberation, they will have to face more opposition than anybody else.

For natives to be united and oppressed peoples to be liberated, wars must be won. These wars are first of all spiritual in nature. They are wars against hatred and bigotry, against evil pride and egoism, against racism and the desire to kill. When we put ourselves in the situation of the oppressed ones of this earth, we will first of all have to overcome all the feelings and thoughts that are harbored against them by the ones who are suppressing. These forces are spiritual, but extremely strong, because apparently they have been the prevailing powers of the past into the present.

How can the oppressed people of this earth be liberated?

The mind comes before actions and the heart comes before the mind. This means that we can only act in the right way when we have the right principles and thoughts for acting. And we can only have the right principles based on a heart of love and compassion. Love and compassion mean that when one of our oppressed sisters or brothers is under threat to be killed or lose freedom, we must be willing to put ourselves in the same situation. This cannot just be a way of speaking. I also don’t mean that we all should get ourselves killed, but we should put our entire life in service of the oppressed ones. We cannot speak about love when we don’t live with our brothers and sisters and we cannot live with our oppressed brothers and sisters when we don’t put ourselves in the same situation as they are in.

It is easy to live a life of luxury and convenience and speak about principles that we should not judge or be angry. But what when you would just have lost one of your beloved ones and you cannot feed your children? How would you feel in that situation? Would you not have the right to be angry against those who threaten your children if that anger elicits the energy to protect your children? This anger does not need to be in hatred. This anger can be in love for your children and it gives you the strength to ward off the suppressors without hating them. Are we supposed to love the evil deed with the evildoer? I would say, love the evildoer but hate the evil actions. How can we love harmony if we don’t hate murder? How can we like love if we don’t dislike hatred?

How can the oppressed people of this cosmos be liberated?

They will not be liberated unless we feel ourselves to be oppressed. Who are the oppressors? They show different faces depending on the situation. When the continent of the Americas was discovered by Europeans, most of the suppressors showed the face of greedy seekers for gold, they showed the face of arrogance and ignorance in relation to the richness of the cultures they had discovered, they showed the face of murderers and they have enslaved many. Of course, we should not forget that there have been others among the Europeans as well, whose hearts were bleeding in love for the new peoples they met.

In the present time, the face of the suppressor is that of the ones who already are in control. No need anymore for large-scale killing. Their culture has prevailed and sitting in their easy chairs they can smile and feel great because it seems all under their control.

In reality, the suppressors are as much victims as the oppressed ones. The suppressing ones are those who have closed access to their heart of love. They are the ones who don’t know how to live life in a pure and natural way. They are the ones who have sown hatred and what they gave out comes back to them.

The only solution I see is that we find the way to practice love in all its forms. The deepest love is when the ones who want a world of love will unite, and this unity needs to mean much more than love giving from a distance. We need to find our personal way to put on the shoes of those who are in need of help. For each of us there is a way to do this. Someone else cannot tell you what you are supposed to do.

Nobody can tell me what course I have to go. We each have to find this for ourselves, in prayer to God and in deep meditation to know how to act in each situation.
 
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