I recently read a very gentle and enlightening book by Gaye Muir titled 'Within and Beyond' published by Hermes 1995. In this book Gaye offers insights into the nature of life in the next world that struck me as being very pertinent in the light of the current situation in Kosovo and Yugoslavia. 'Ethnic Cleansing' is the latest disgraceful euphemism for abusing, mutilating and even killing other members of the human race. Gaye briefly discusses the horror suffered by victims of the holocaust in WWII and the nature of the future existence awaiting those who perpetrated such evil. The question I wish to pose is; would we really hurt others if we knew that such acts would eventually hurt ourselves?

In 1966/7 the anthropologist David Rhebottom conducted a study into the nature of the interpersonal relationships within Yugoslavia and Macedonia. He discovered that the population had a number of predominant religious groups; Orthodox, Catholic, Muslim and atheist. There were also language differences within even small villages with some speaking 'Serbian' or Serbo-Croation and others speaking Macedonian. According to Rhebottom the various sections of this society viewed each other not as fellow human beings but as ethnic groups. These groups were hostile to each other with many minor conflicts between them. Each saw the other as being inferior and argued their rights as being paramount.

As the groups identified by Rhebottom are effectively split along ethnic not religious lines the arguments between them become ever more disturbing. As in the two World Wars, fought between nations that espoused Christianity, each side calls upon the same God to bless their cause. It has been so in Northern Ireland where the Christians have been killing the Christians for decades. In his book 'Religion: Man's Insult To God' (published by Tarpon House) James McQuitty makes the point that only with spiritual enlightenment will humankind overcome the problems created by both religious and ethnic factions. McQuitty argues that the sixth principle of Spiritualist beliefs as listed by the SNU 'Compensation and Retribution hereafter for all Good and Evil deeds done on earth' is not restricted to the hereafter. This is the doctrine of Instant Karma. Used to support military aggression it amounts to the Old Testament argument for earthly retribution; Exodus Ch.21 V.23 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe'. We see the sickening results of that policy on our TV screens night after night.

Surely if we were to accept that this life is but a preparation for the next world helping us to progress towards spiritual perfection we would not embark upon warfare. Nor would we seek to enrich ourselves with material possessions at the expense of our fellow human beings. However, in this capitalist society there is little room for such beliefs. The rich man in his castle, the poor man at the gate, he made them high and lowly, and ordered their estate. Those words come from the Christian Hymn 'All Things Bright and Beautiful'. Great for the rich man, but a bit tough on the rest.

Even today a great number of people profess to hold religious beliefs, yet their actions often belie the words they speak. The poor man at the gate has, in many instances around the world, simply decided to kick the gate down and take possession of the castle, at least metaphorically. Which brings us back to compensation and retribution. Spiritualists believe that the spirit lives on after the physical death of the body and that we effectively reap in the next world that which we have sown in this. As Gaye Muir in 'Within and Beyond' says 'We, here in the spirit world, have forgiven, but those who abused us have not forgiven themselves….Do unto others as you would have them do unto you'.

Perhaps the point is that here on earth we can not and should not seek to inflict retribution upon those that offend against us. The belief being that judgement for offenders will be of their own making constructed in the light of truth within the world beyond. Of course society must protect itself against those of a violent disposition, but extending this to dropping bombs on cities seems, to me, to be taking revenge upon innocent people. The problem is that as we are living in an ever increasingly materialistic world the religious belief that one should love ones neighbour has gone almost completely. In today's society in the Western world the predominant belief seems to be do unto others that which they would do to you, but do it first. This doctrine, extended to national government, produces the excuse needed to enter into another area and drive out those who live there because, they would, if they could, do it to you. Rather like getting ones retribution in first.

We have recently seen the terrible scenes from Kosovo of innocent women, children and aged infirm old people being forced to flee their homes on the grounds that they are from a certain ethnic group. Our media has reported the horrors of the conflict between groups of people who are, apart from their names, language and perhaps religious beliefs, almost identical. Bombs and guns can never solve this. Ground forces, as the Military Experts call soldiers, will just add targets to the streets of Kosovo, as evidenced in Northern Ireland. What will work? I believe that only spiritual enlightenment will halt the endless internecine conflicts that plague mankind. Until the people of the world realise that castles and gates are but earthly constructions of no spiritual value, we are all condemned to continue slaughtering each other in the name of ownership. When in truth the only thing we can ever own is our eternal soul.

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