At the same time, peace is sometimes seen as weakness or complacency. This is a misconception that we need to correct, especially among our young people.

Peace isn't complacency, and aggression isn't righteousness.

In reality, peace requires awareness. It requires a person to be dynamic and, at the same time, calm within. It is the ability to act without reacting. Reaction often leads to regret. And regret doesn't affect only the individual. It creates disturbance in families, communities, and society.

This is why education cannot be limited to what we learn from books. We need an education that also teaches us how to handle our own mind, emotions, and feelings.

Our breath is connected to our mind. How we perceive, observe, and express ourselves depends on our consciousness. If we don't take care of this dimension of life, how can we expect to create a peaceful society?

We need to bring the education of inner peace into the mainstream.

Peace isn't merely the absence of conflict or violence. It is a positive inner state of mind. When there is peace within, the mind becomes quieter, and thinking becomes clearer. There is lightness in emotions. The heart becomes more open to service, and kindness naturally finds expression in our actions.

But inner peace doesn't mean withdrawing from life.

I saw this during my visit to Iraq some years ago. I had gone there to take stock of our relief and rehabilitation work. I was advised to stay in the Green Zone because the Red Zone was considered dangerous. There had been bomb blasts a few days earlier. But I insisted on going there.

In one village, all the Sunni families had been driven away. The villagers who remained were Shias. I had a word with them. That evening, I brought a Sunni imam who was among those who had been driven away. When they met and spoke to each other, something changed. The villagers decided to welcome back the 8,000 families who had been driven away.

What made this possible? It is communication. It required understanding people's sensitivities while also being sensible. This can happen only when there is peace within.

World peace cannot come only through policies made at the highest levels. It grows from where we are. Peaceful individuals can make a peaceful world.

Whenever there is conflict, communication breaks down. Trust disappears. To bridge that gap, we need the ability to connect with people on all sides. A peaceful person isn't someone who avoids difficult situations. A peaceful person is someone who can remain connected even in difficult situations.

We also need to teach young people to see beyond narrow identities. We have many identities in life. We may belong to a particular gender, nation, or religion. But before all these identities, we are part of one human race, one light.

When this order is reversed, the other person begins to look like a threat. Value-based education can change this perception. Learning about different religions and cultures can help us move from merely tolerating differences to respecting and loving them.

The education of the future must therefore create not only skilled minds but peaceful and dynamic human beings. Young people need tools to calm the mind, understand their emotions, and respond with awareness.

Then peace will not mean standing aside. It will mean having the clarity to act without aggression, the sensitivity to understand others, and the strength to stand for a greater cause.

That is the combination we need- inner peace and outer dynamism.