by Joseph Roberts

Previous to 700 BC, March was the first month of the Roman calendar before the winter months of January and February were added. In ancient Rome, March was called Martius, named after god of war Mars. War has been with us for a while, but what is it good for? We are admonished to choose our battles wisely, but whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, or other, what is the wise war? Mansukh Patel in his book The Freedom of the Bhagavad Gita states, “The great truth is that each one of us is inwardly battling with the two opposing forces – goodness and that which opposes goodness. For this reason, the Gita begins by introducing us to a battle scene.” Arjuna confronts the despondency of his own ego in the battlefield of life where he would rather let his ‘relatives’ kill him than pick up his bow and fight against them for what is right. Faced with our personal dilemmas or the problems of the world we too can feel overwhelmed by fear, but it is our dharma to rise to the occasion and serve our highest truth.
As well, a new understanding of sacrifice is needed to save our world. To truly sacrifice is not to refuse ourselves the joys of life but rather to make sacred each action with no thought of personal gain. As on Common Ground’s cover, the hand holds the water of life, so too can we choose to make our basic human need to water a sacred trust. May our battle for discovering who we truly are also include our brothers’ and sisters’ right to life-giving water. We all thirst for what is just and true. Fresh clean water is alive with the blessings of the divine. All is sacred. Let us dance with that sacred sacrifice, and let us awaken to the goodness that is our essence.
This edition is dedicated to making water a human right for all souls everywhere on our beautiful blue planet. Thank you for your part in this global dharma drama. Play it well.