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Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University
As most of us may already know, men tend to rule from the mind, which abounds in doubts and suspicion. This explains why men in general find it rather difficult to trust others. At the same time, women tend to rule from the heart, which is characterized by love and compassion. This explains why there were no traces of war during the matriarchal times when women ruled the world. Since the arrival of the patriarchy, some eight thousand years ago or so, there have been numerous wars that inflicted so much suffering to this very day.
Provision of Good Leadership
Of course, what makes women suitable to govern in every realm of society does not stem from the structure of their body but rather from the spiritual enrichment their soul. This means that if men where to be imbued with such noble qualities, they will be also in a position to bring about a permanent world peace. But this would involve love and respect for all humans without exception as a sine qua non condition. In spite of these natural good qualities that women have been blessed with by Mother Nature, a number of the women today that try to work in public office tend to find themselves somewhat handicapped.
This is due to the fact that they were born and raised in a patriarchal society that is characterized by the culture of war. It explains why well known women of the caliber of Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Golda Meier, former Israeli Prime Minister, for example, carried out their job same like they were men trapped in woman’s body. World peace is possible. It could be achieved and it will be achieved only after we will embark on bringing back the matriarchal society to take the helm of every government.
Fortunately, nowadays we do have tens of thousands of women, amounting to millions on a global scale, that are becoming more and more involved in public affairs. They are taking direct interest in the promotion of world peace through justice as well as in the safeguard of the environment from air and water pollution.
Besides, they are supporting an international program of disarmament and arms control characterized by the abolition of all nuclear weapons and landmines. Moreover, such women are doing their best to replace the waging of wars by the establishment of healthy dialogues as a means to solve social problems effectively and peacefully. In addition, in dealing with the solution of problems women tend to reveal an open and flexible mind, while men tend to reveal stubbornness and closeness of mind. The list of women in history that made a big difference with their presence and eventual involvement in community affairs, directly or indirectly, is too long to enumerate.
Great Women in History
In olden times we read about Ruth, Judith and Esther as well as the Virgin Mary who has transformed the world with her genuine love and compassion for everyone. In later centuries, we come across Joan of Arc, Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Siena, Margaret of Scotland, Frances Xavier Cabrini, Maria Goretti, all the way to Faustina Kowalska, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana and Loretta King to mention but a few. Millions of women work silently in promoting love, compassion and peace in the various global areas where they happen to find themselves. Their tremendous influence on the younger generation especially is instilling great hope in seeing the growth of a new generation that is ready to take over the reigns of leadership from the patriarchy in due time.
This way, the culture of war would be eventually replaced by the culture of peace. We are all familiar with the traditional saying: “You cannot teach old dog new tricks.” This means it is very hard for us to convince those patriarchs that are in power, who are deeply entrenched in the culture of war, to do something positive and constructive. In view of what has been stated, we are going to illustrate in a vivid and tangible way how cultural bridges of peace could be built between east and west by valiant women who are deeply trenched in the matriarchal spirit of society.
We are going to show how such women are strongly linked together in spirit and how they perform similar activities that are meant to bring about peace and joy in the hearts of everyone involved. By way of example, we will focus thoroughly on two young, energetic, intelligent, and charismatic women. Their names are Shakuntala Balu from Bangalore, India, and Sherry Mercieca from Huntsville, Alabama, USA. Although these two women never met and never knew each other, yet they performed identical activities in an effort to help to bring joy and peace in the heart of everyone they came across. Both have succeeded to enrich the lives of tens of thousands of people everywhere particularly through the appreciation of arts as an effective medium.
Both Shakuntala and Sherry lived a very active life dedicated to the welfare of all people without exception. Both passed away unexpectedly shortly after their 51st birthday. Besides, they were both accomplished scholars in their own right and both of them used the study of arts as a medium for the eventual promotion of international understanding and world peace. Shakuntala concentrated on producing beautiful paintings that were exhibited not only in leading cities of India but also in several cities of Europe. On the other hand, Sherry concentrated on singing and music and she was a professional stage actress as well that performed in several operas as prima donna.
Shakuntala and Sherry in Perspective
While Shakuntala believed that every woman could express her deep love for nature through painting, Sherry believed that every woman could sing and perform in public as to alleviate the spirit of those present to a higher level of existence. Both Shakuntala and Sherry were very much in the public eye. This was not due to the fact that they sought for publicity in which they had no interest whatsoever. It was rather due to the fact that their life served constantly as a living torch for others, a lively bright candle that was meant to enlighten the surroundings wherever they found themselves. Both of them were married. Shakuntala was survived by her husband and three children, while Sherry was survived by her husband and two children.
Most importantly, both of them were deeply loved by everyone that knew them. From their character and personality radiated tender love and genuine compassion. Through their eyes you could see the inner beauty of their soul that fascinated those present. Needless to say, Shakuntala’s work was not restricted only to painting. She gave herself also to batik, ceramics, Ikebana, fashion designing, interior decoration and research on gold leaf paintings. At the same time, Sherry’s work was not restricted merely to singing and music. She was a good pianist who composed or arranged music periodically, performed on the stage to entertain large audiences, and revealed a tremendous sense of humor. Besides, Sherry helped periodically battered women with her wise advice.
Shakuntala’s marvelous and gorgeous paintings attracted the attention of such personalities as Indira Gandhi, former Indian Prime Minister, and the world-wide known Mother Teresa. Both of them were deeply impressed with Shakuntala’s artistic talents, with whom they had the opportunity to meet. In spite of their busy life, both Shakuntala and Sherry put top priority on their family needs always looking first after their husband and their children with tender love and care. Both of them shared the same hobbies like the enjoyment of nature’s beauty and peacefulness as well as swimming.
In the practice of spirituality, both Shakuntala and Sherry liked yoga and practiced transcendental meditation. They both believed that every person has latent talents, which need to be discovered and utilized for the benefit of others. Besides, both of them were good writers. They viewed writing as the best medium to communicate positive and constructive messages to people from across every continent. In addition, they both tended to believe that you can judge fairly accurately a person’s character by looking straight and deeply into one’s eyes. In spite of their variety of background culture, both viewed marriage as a holy sacrament where two are joined into an indissoluble and sacred union.
Similarities of Character and Personality
Shakuntala was born and raised in a Hindu culture, while Sherry was born and raised in a Christian culture. Yet, this diversity of culture did not affect the perfect unity that existed between their souls. It looks like when love and compassion reign within the heart of an individual, there ceases to be any room for division of any kind whatsoever. It is a pity that these two spiritually powerful women who were blessed with enormous talents never had the opportunity to come across each other in person in life. However, their husbands did come across each other on more than one occasion after they both passed away. By coincidence, both Shakuntala and Sherry showed deep respect for Sri Satya Sai Baba. They both viewed him as a deeply spiritual man.
When both Shakuntala and Sherry passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at the same of 51 years, they both looked more like they were sleeping peacefully with a smile on their face than otherwise. In fact, they looked more like they pretended to be sleeping with a natural smile that was about to burst into laughter. They must have left this world feeling very proud of themselves, of the positive and constructive things they did, and of the many enormous joy and peace they brought into the heart of so many people. Their children afterwards said more or less the same things. They remember their respective mother as being cheerful, optimistic, kind, generous, gentle, encouraging and beautiful with a gentle smile that was viewed as characteristic.
What is amazing lies in the fact that every single statement made by relatives and friends of Shakuntala about her after she passed away, may apply perfectly well to Sherry. At the same time, every single statement made by relatives and friends of Sherry about her after she passed away, may apply equally well to Shakuntala. There are many lessons that could be drawn from the noble lives of these two valiant women. These lessons should not be taken lightly as they may serve as a good guide to help build bridges of understanding and cooperation where everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
What are some of the basic lessons that the whole world could learn from these two valiant women who lived half way round the world apart from each other and who were raised in two entirely different cultures? How come they were so similar in character and personality, in philosophy and view of life? How did they manage to establish the same identical priorities of life in terms of importance and ability to contribute for a better and more peaceful world? After all, they never met each other and they never knew of each other. There must be something that needs to be brought properly into perspective.
Secret of Universal Success
Some 1700 years ago, St. Augustine, who is viewed the father of Christian education, said that if you love genuinely and truly you cannot possibly break any law. His words were: Ama et fac quod vis – Love and do what you like. This is not difficult to understand when we consider that love is the only element in the human beings that is capable to transcend all boundaries of division. Such divisions usually stem from diversity in religion, culture, philosophy, politics, nationality, you name it. The opposite of division is unity, which is always there when and where love is found. Mother Teresa was greatly revered and loved by people around the world, from every religion, culture and nationality because she genuinely revealed love for all people without exception.
Like Mother Teresa we had numerous outstanding people in history whose love for all people without exception won the confidence and admiration of the whole world. Among so many we find Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the list goes on and on. What did all these peaceful people have in common? They all showed genuine love and interest in the universal welfare of all people without exception. Both Shakuntala and Sherry were genuinely concerned with bringing joy and peace in the heart of all people without exception. Their true love for every human being was unquestionable.
Maybe, if our world politicians, executives of corporations, and managers self-interest groups start to do everything in the best interest of all people without exception, instead of in the best interest of some to the exclusion of others, world peace would be given a chance to become a permanent reality before we even know it. The philosophy of life that was practiced by Shakuntala and Sherry needs to be implemented in all of our schools across every continent. The younger generation especially, needs to learn, the sooner the better, what could be done as to create a future where the very concept of war becomes totally obsolete, where eventual harmony would bring about not only genuine peace and security but it will also add to the eventual enrichment of longevity.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University
As most of us may already know, men tend to rule from the mind, which abounds in doubts and suspicion. This explains why men in general find it rather difficult to trust others. At the same time, women tend to rule from the heart, which is characterized by love and compassion. This explains why there were no traces of war during the matriarchal times when women ruled the world. Since the arrival of the patriarchy, some eight thousand years ago or so, there have been numerous wars that inflicted so much suffering to this very day.
Provision of Good Leadership
Of course, what makes women suitable to govern in every realm of society does not stem from the structure of their body but rather from the spiritual enrichment their soul. This means that if men where to be imbued with such noble qualities, they will be also in a position to bring about a permanent world peace. But this would involve love and respect for all humans without exception as a sine qua non condition. In spite of these natural good qualities that women have been blessed with by Mother Nature, a number of the women today that try to work in public office tend to find themselves somewhat handicapped.
This is due to the fact that they were born and raised in a patriarchal society that is characterized by the culture of war. It explains why well known women of the caliber of Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Golda Meier, former Israeli Prime Minister, for example, carried out their job same like they were men trapped in woman’s body. World peace is possible. It could be achieved and it will be achieved only after we will embark on bringing back the matriarchal society to take the helm of every government.
Fortunately, nowadays we do have tens of thousands of women, amounting to millions on a global scale, that are becoming more and more involved in public affairs. They are taking direct interest in the promotion of world peace through justice as well as in the safeguard of the environment from air and water pollution.
Besides, they are supporting an international program of disarmament and arms control characterized by the abolition of all nuclear weapons and landmines. Moreover, such women are doing their best to replace the waging of wars by the establishment of healthy dialogues as a means to solve social problems effectively and peacefully. In addition, in dealing with the solution of problems women tend to reveal an open and flexible mind, while men tend to reveal stubbornness and closeness of mind. The list of women in history that made a big difference with their presence and eventual involvement in community affairs, directly or indirectly, is too long to enumerate.
Great Women in History
In olden times we read about Ruth, Judith and Esther as well as the Virgin Mary who has transformed the world with her genuine love and compassion for everyone. In later centuries, we come across Joan of Arc, Elizabeth of Hungary, Catherine of Siena, Margaret of Scotland, Frances Xavier Cabrini, Maria Goretti, all the way to Faustina Kowalska, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana and Loretta King to mention but a few. Millions of women work silently in promoting love, compassion and peace in the various global areas where they happen to find themselves. Their tremendous influence on the younger generation especially is instilling great hope in seeing the growth of a new generation that is ready to take over the reigns of leadership from the patriarchy in due time.
This way, the culture of war would be eventually replaced by the culture of peace. We are all familiar with the traditional saying: “You cannot teach old dog new tricks.” This means it is very hard for us to convince those patriarchs that are in power, who are deeply entrenched in the culture of war, to do something positive and constructive. In view of what has been stated, we are going to illustrate in a vivid and tangible way how cultural bridges of peace could be built between east and west by valiant women who are deeply trenched in the matriarchal spirit of society.
We are going to show how such women are strongly linked together in spirit and how they perform similar activities that are meant to bring about peace and joy in the hearts of everyone involved. By way of example, we will focus thoroughly on two young, energetic, intelligent, and charismatic women. Their names are Shakuntala Balu from Bangalore, India, and Sherry Mercieca from Huntsville, Alabama, USA. Although these two women never met and never knew each other, yet they performed identical activities in an effort to help to bring joy and peace in the heart of everyone they came across. Both have succeeded to enrich the lives of tens of thousands of people everywhere particularly through the appreciation of arts as an effective medium.
Both Shakuntala and Sherry lived a very active life dedicated to the welfare of all people without exception. Both passed away unexpectedly shortly after their 51st birthday. Besides, they were both accomplished scholars in their own right and both of them used the study of arts as a medium for the eventual promotion of international understanding and world peace. Shakuntala concentrated on producing beautiful paintings that were exhibited not only in leading cities of India but also in several cities of Europe. On the other hand, Sherry concentrated on singing and music and she was a professional stage actress as well that performed in several operas as prima donna.
Shakuntala and Sherry in Perspective
While Shakuntala believed that every woman could express her deep love for nature through painting, Sherry believed that every woman could sing and perform in public as to alleviate the spirit of those present to a higher level of existence. Both Shakuntala and Sherry were very much in the public eye. This was not due to the fact that they sought for publicity in which they had no interest whatsoever. It was rather due to the fact that their life served constantly as a living torch for others, a lively bright candle that was meant to enlighten the surroundings wherever they found themselves. Both of them were married. Shakuntala was survived by her husband and three children, while Sherry was survived by her husband and two children.
Most importantly, both of them were deeply loved by everyone that knew them. From their character and personality radiated tender love and genuine compassion. Through their eyes you could see the inner beauty of their soul that fascinated those present. Needless to say, Shakuntala’s work was not restricted only to painting. She gave herself also to batik, ceramics, Ikebana, fashion designing, interior decoration and research on gold leaf paintings. At the same time, Sherry’s work was not restricted merely to singing and music. She was a good pianist who composed or arranged music periodically, performed on the stage to entertain large audiences, and revealed a tremendous sense of humor. Besides, Sherry helped periodically battered women with her wise advice.
Shakuntala’s marvelous and gorgeous paintings attracted the attention of such personalities as Indira Gandhi, former Indian Prime Minister, and the world-wide known Mother Teresa. Both of them were deeply impressed with Shakuntala’s artistic talents, with whom they had the opportunity to meet. In spite of their busy life, both Shakuntala and Sherry put top priority on their family needs always looking first after their husband and their children with tender love and care. Both of them shared the same hobbies like the enjoyment of nature’s beauty and peacefulness as well as swimming.
In the practice of spirituality, both Shakuntala and Sherry liked yoga and practiced transcendental meditation. They both believed that every person has latent talents, which need to be discovered and utilized for the benefit of others. Besides, both of them were good writers. They viewed writing as the best medium to communicate positive and constructive messages to people from across every continent. In addition, they both tended to believe that you can judge fairly accurately a person’s character by looking straight and deeply into one’s eyes. In spite of their variety of background culture, both viewed marriage as a holy sacrament where two are joined into an indissoluble and sacred union.
Similarities of Character and Personality
Shakuntala was born and raised in a Hindu culture, while Sherry was born and raised in a Christian culture. Yet, this diversity of culture did not affect the perfect unity that existed between their souls. It looks like when love and compassion reign within the heart of an individual, there ceases to be any room for division of any kind whatsoever. It is a pity that these two spiritually powerful women who were blessed with enormous talents never had the opportunity to come across each other in person in life. However, their husbands did come across each other on more than one occasion after they both passed away. By coincidence, both Shakuntala and Sherry showed deep respect for Sri Satya Sai Baba. They both viewed him as a deeply spiritual man.
When both Shakuntala and Sherry passed away peacefully and unexpectedly at the same of 51 years, they both looked more like they were sleeping peacefully with a smile on their face than otherwise. In fact, they looked more like they pretended to be sleeping with a natural smile that was about to burst into laughter. They must have left this world feeling very proud of themselves, of the positive and constructive things they did, and of the many enormous joy and peace they brought into the heart of so many people. Their children afterwards said more or less the same things. They remember their respective mother as being cheerful, optimistic, kind, generous, gentle, encouraging and beautiful with a gentle smile that was viewed as characteristic.
What is amazing lies in the fact that every single statement made by relatives and friends of Shakuntala about her after she passed away, may apply perfectly well to Sherry. At the same time, every single statement made by relatives and friends of Sherry about her after she passed away, may apply equally well to Shakuntala. There are many lessons that could be drawn from the noble lives of these two valiant women. These lessons should not be taken lightly as they may serve as a good guide to help build bridges of understanding and cooperation where everyone will be a winner and no one a loser.
What are some of the basic lessons that the whole world could learn from these two valiant women who lived half way round the world apart from each other and who were raised in two entirely different cultures? How come they were so similar in character and personality, in philosophy and view of life? How did they manage to establish the same identical priorities of life in terms of importance and ability to contribute for a better and more peaceful world? After all, they never met each other and they never knew of each other. There must be something that needs to be brought properly into perspective.
Secret of Universal Success
Some 1700 years ago, St. Augustine, who is viewed the father of Christian education, said that if you love genuinely and truly you cannot possibly break any law. His words were: Ama et fac quod vis – Love and do what you like. This is not difficult to understand when we consider that love is the only element in the human beings that is capable to transcend all boundaries of division. Such divisions usually stem from diversity in religion, culture, philosophy, politics, nationality, you name it. The opposite of division is unity, which is always there when and where love is found. Mother Teresa was greatly revered and loved by people around the world, from every religion, culture and nationality because she genuinely revealed love for all people without exception.
Like Mother Teresa we had numerous outstanding people in history whose love for all people without exception won the confidence and admiration of the whole world. Among so many we find Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the list goes on and on. What did all these peaceful people have in common? They all showed genuine love and interest in the universal welfare of all people without exception. Both Shakuntala and Sherry were genuinely concerned with bringing joy and peace in the heart of all people without exception. Their true love for every human being was unquestionable.
Maybe, if our world politicians, executives of corporations, and managers self-interest groups start to do everything in the best interest of all people without exception, instead of in the best interest of some to the exclusion of others, world peace would be given a chance to become a permanent reality before we even know it. The philosophy of life that was practiced by Shakuntala and Sherry needs to be implemented in all of our schools across every continent. The younger generation especially, needs to learn, the sooner the better, what could be done as to create a future where the very concept of war becomes totally obsolete, where eventual harmony would bring about not only genuine peace and security but it will also add to the eventual enrichment of longevity.