University Professor John Polanyi was the first recipient of the International Acharya Sushil Jumar Peace Award on Friday, Jan. 17, at Victoria College’s Isabel Bader Theatre.
Polanyi received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1986 and currently teaches in the chemistry department at the University of Toronto. A tireless peace activist, his plethora of accomplishments also includes the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in London and over 30 honorary degrees. He is a prolific writer on the subjects of peacekeeping, armaments control, and science policy and recently participated in the Canada 21 study of a 21st century defence posture for Canada.
Polanyi was chosen as the recipient for what Narendra Wagle, director of the South Asian Studies Programme at U of T, called his “outstanding contribution to peace.” Professor Wagle joined New College principal David Clandfield in presenting the award.
The award was created by the South Asian Studies department of New College in response to interest from the South Asian community. It was named after Jain teacher Acharya Sushil Kumarji, who was widely recognized for promoting peace amidst religious and secular conflicts in India. Jainism is pacifistic Indian religion, described by Polanyi as an “ancient philosophy based on respect for all who lived.”
The award has a value of $10,000 and is currently funded by Siddhachalam, a Jain temple and spiritual retreat centre in Blairstown, New Jersey. Founded by Acharya Sushil Kumarji in 1983, Siddhachalam was the first Jain temple to be established outside India. Siddhachalam hopes to ensure the award will become a permanent fixture at the University of Toronto in order to promote peace and harmony.
During his lecture entitled “The World at the Crossroads: Law or War?” Polanyi suggested that law “celebrates the role of reason,” while war is the “abnegation of reason in favour of power.” One acknowledges humanity while the other treats it as something to be hacked. This relates to the two tenants of Jainism: Anekantvad (non-absolution) and Ahimsa (non-violence). The first, Polanyi explained, says that none of us are in full possession of the truth and the second that the pursuit to truth is achieved through reason and not through violence.
These two tenets are also lessons that science has to offer. Discoveries made by scientists are “equally true to all.” Democracy is “the mechanism by which science progresses,” said Polanyi. He also acknowledged that scientists do “too little for wider societies to which [they] belong.” Apparently science cannot solve everything, as he says “reason alone would hardly get us out of bed in the morning.”
Polanyi addressed the Canadian government’s current discussion with the US about an anti-missile defence system. The government knows that more missiles are not what is needed for global security, he said. Such action would “make a battlefield of the nation’s last precious resource—outer space” says Polanyi. As for Iraq, he suggests the U.S. should not intervene without a consensus. According to Polanyi, we are at a crossroads: the “moment of decision is upon us” and we must distinguish better from worse.
