www.bhavanaustralia.org Let noble thoughts come to us from every side - Rigv Veda, 1-89-i Shrines of Diverse Faiths Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam “The whole world is but one family” Life | Literature | Culture May 2012 | Vol 9 No.11 | Issn 1449 - 3551 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY United States Peace Index 2012 “The last twenty years have seen a violent crime rates. Between 2000 and 2010, substantial and sustained reduction in direct New York experienced a fall in violent crime and incarceration every year, as well as falls in its violence in the United States” homicide rate. The United States Peace Index (USPI), produced Given the above findings, and the fact that 2.38% by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), of the entire population (over 7.2 million people) provides a comprehensive measure of U.S. is under some form of correctional supervision, peacefulness dating back to 1991. It also provides as well as the extent of the economic resources an analysis of the socio-economic measures that that are devoted to incarceration, it is important are associated with peace as well as estimates of to review the methods that have been used to the costs of violence and the economic benefits maintain law and order. New approaches to that would flow from increases in peace. This is the dealing with non-violent offenders, combined with second edition of the U.S. Peace Index. investments in proven recidivism programs that are cost effective hold promise in improving both This year a Metropolitan Peace Index has also the trend of crime reduction and also decreasing been produced which measures the peacefulness the rate of incarceration. of 61 metropolitan statistical areas within the U.S. The USPI is based on the work of the Global The economic cost of violence to the U.S. economy Peace Index, the preeminent global measure of is substantial and can be categorized in three peacefulness, which has been produced by IEP ways. The first is the expenditure borne by state every year since 2007. governments to maintain law and order through the police, justice and the prison system or to The last twenty years have seen a substantial and deal with the direct consequences of violence. sustained reduction in direct violence in the U.S. Secondly, the direct lost productivity from crime The homicide rate has halved since 1991, with a which can consist of time off work from injuries concurrent reduction in the violent crime rate from or lost earning capacity from early death. The 748 to 399 violent crimes per 100,000 over this third category is the lost productivity and job period. Although this trend seemed to be levelling creation that comes from other, more productive off at the turn of the century, the last three years investments than violence containment. The have seen successive improvements in peace. displacement of expenditure away from violence The 2012 USPI results have also been correlated containment to support industry investment, against a large secondary dataset of economic, schools or national infrastructure can improve the educational, health, demographic, and social nation’s productivity and competitiveness. capital factors, in order to determine the Key Findings environments which are most closely associated with peace in the U.S. The key findings of the 2012 USPI are: Although there was a strong relationship • The U.S. is now more peaceful than at any time between the drop in crime and the increase in the last 20 years. This has been driven by a in the incarceration rate in the 90s, this steady decrease in the homicide and violent relationship is no longer evident with 27 states crime rates combined with recent modest decreasing their incarceration rates while decreases in the incarceration rate. simultaneously experiencing reductions in their 2 | Bhavan Australia | May 2012 • There were improvements in all indicators from • The level of direct violence has decreased the 2011 to the 2012 Index. The homicide rate dramatically in the last 20 years. The homicide decreased by 3.78%, the violent crime rate fell rate has decreased by over 50% since 1991, and 6.03%, and the total number of state prisoners there have been similar reductions in the rate of fell by 0.6%. There were also slight reductions in assaults, rapes, and robberies. Violent crime has the number of police employees and the number decreased every single year except one in the of firearm suicides as a percentage of total last 20 years. suicides, which suggests a fall in gun ownership. • The prison population has decreased for the • Maine is the most peaceful state in the U.S. for second year running. The prison population the 11th year in a row, Louisiana is the least appears to have peaked and a new trend is peaceful. The Northeast continues to be the emerging where incarceration rates are falling. most peaceful region with three of the five most This has largely been driven by a combination of peaceful states. The South is once again the least falling crime rates and budget constraints. peaceful region in America, with four of the five least peaceful states. For the 20th year in a row, • The drop in officially recorded violence has been Louisiana is the least peaceful state. partially offset by increases in violence in prison. The explosive growth of the prison population in • There are significant economic benefits from the U.S. has resulted in a purported epidemic of improving peacefulness. Violence and violence prison assault and rape. If this prison violence is containment cost the average taxpayer $3,257 included in USPI calculations, the decline in the each year. If all the states in the U.S. had the total level of violence is smaller. same level of peacefulness as the most peaceful state (Maine), the total economic effect would be • Peace is linked to economic opportunity, health, over 274 billion dollars. education, and social capital. The 2011 USPI found a strong correlation between peace and a number of secondary factors, which has been reinforced by the 2012 USPI. More peaceful states tend to have more economic opportunities, better provision of basic services and higher levels of educational attainment. In addition, the 2012 USPI has found there is a strong correlation between social capital and peace. More peaceful states tend to have more social capital which represents a better sense of community, and higher rates of volunteerism. • Cambridge-Newton-Framingham in Massachusetts is the most peaceful metropolitan area in America. Detroit-Livionia-Dearborn is the least peaceful metropolitan area in the U.S. Source: www.visionofhumanity.org May 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 3 For this Month The Lotus Flower Anybody who has ever observed a lotus flower emerging from a murky pond cannot fail to see the beauty of this exquisite plant. The flower always looks so clean and pure against the background of the dirty pond. Lotus flowers have been influential in cultures across the world from ancient times until today, from ancient Egypt and India to all across Asia. They have been associated with the human soul, gods and goddesses and featured in stories and legends. The meaning of a lotus flower ranges from divine purity and enlightenment, as in Buddhism, wealth, as in Hinduism, to rebirth, as in the ancient Egyptian religion. Many of the ancient meanings are still in use today. In ancient Egypt there were two main types of lotus that grew, the white, and the blue. Further to this another type, the pink lotus flower was introduced into Egypt sometime during the late period of their civilization. If one is to observe the many hieroglyphics, it is easy to see that the blue Lotus flower is the most commonly portrayed. Lotus flower plant is known to be associated with rebirth. This is a consequence of it supposedly retracting into the water at the night, and emerging a fresh in the Sun the next day The Egyptians therefore associated the lotus flower with the sun which also disappeared in the night, only to re-emerge in the morning. Therefore the lotus came to symbolize the Sun and the creation. In many hieroglyphics works the lotus is depicted as emerging from Nun (the primordial water) bearing the Sun God. Another interesting fact about the lotus flower meaning to the Egyptians was the way that it was used as a symbol for the unification of the two Egyptian kingdoms, that is to say the bonding of upper and lower Egypt. For a long time the lotus had been used in the hieroglyphics and art of upper Egypt, whereas in lower Egypt the Papyrus plant was notably in abundance. Therefore pictures of lotus and Papyrus that had grown up together and become inter-wound with each other came to be a symbol of the bringing together of the two kingdoms. In Buddhism the lotus flower is known to be associated with purity, spiritual awakening and faithfulness. The flower is considered pure as it is able to emerge from murky waters in the morning and be perfectly clean. Therefore in common with Egyptian mythology the lotus is seen as a sign of rebirth, but additionally it is associated with purity. The breaking of the surface every morning is also suggestive of desire, this leads to it being associated with spiritual enlightenment. As Buddhism stems from a different part of the world to Egyptology, there are many more colors of lotus to be seen. So it is not too surprising that the many different colors have come to be associated with different aspects of Buddhism. 4 | Bhavan Australia | May 2012 Blue Lotus is associated with a victory of the spirit over that of wisdom, intelligence and knowledge.