Last year during the day’s observance of the Saka New Year in Bali, the state electricity firm, PLN, reported electricity savings of some Rp 3 billion (US$326,087) due to the cessation of people’s daily activities.

Some 200,000 vehicles and 80 commercial aircrafts halted their operations. This resulted in the reduction of carbon emissions of between 20,000 and 30,000 tons.

Each day the media is filled with cries for change and the need for nations to shift their paradigm from confrontation to cooperation. One day of silence, Nyepi, on the tiny island of Bali, when families stay at home to practice four kinds of abstinence, fasting in silence, doing without light, and foregoing entertainment and travel, surely proves Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. It is a moment to realize the difference between needs and wants and it also tells of the age-old connection between silence and peacefulness.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tells us that “Peace is the United Nations’ highest calling,” drawing together the U.N. worldwide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development. Thus it is clear that peace is a state which so many of the world’s nations long to attain. However, on a day-to-day level, what do we mean by peacefulness, and most importantly, how can we practice it?

Thinking first in an individual context, we may say that peacefulness is an inner sense of calm which comes especially in quiet moments of reflection or gratitude. It is a way of approaching conflict with others so that no one is made wrong. With peacefulness, everyone wins.

When we are peaceful, we respect others and their differences and people around us feel safe and calm. Using peaceful language instead of yelling or name-calling, talking things through and listening to one another’s point of view, all help to find solutions. Peacemakers find lots of creative ways to solve problems. Violence never solves anything.

As human beings, we have a tendency to assume that change refers only to that which is new; however, change may also be a reconnection, for example, getting in touch once more with those timeless values which embody what it means to be human.

In this current age of world political and economic strife, it becomes increasingly clear that the solutions we seek are to be found in mankind’s own sense of humanity. In the great ancient religions and ethical traditions of humankind, we find the directive, “You shall not steal” or in positive terms: “Deal honestly and fairly”.

To be human in the spirit of our great religions and ethical traditions, according to Hans Kung, we must employ political and economic power to serve humanity rather than misusing power in pitiless struggles for domination. The way forward must come through developing empathy with those who suffer, especially children, the poor, refugees, the aged, the disabled and the lonely.

When we show respect and consideration to others it becomes possible to reach a reasonable balance of interests. Similarly, when we practice moderation and modesty, we are demonstrating what it means to be human. Greed for money and power only serve to destroy man’s inner peace and freedom, that is, the very qualities that make him a human being.

Let us hope that the silent reflections of this Saka New Year on March 26, not only demonstrate the value of moderation but also open the way to developing a global ethic – perhaps even a world day of silence.

The writer is a student at the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia.

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