Magazine - Year 2017 - Version 1
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Language: ENGLISH
Language: ENGLISH
May the Walls of Discrimination Break
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The timeless tradition of noble thoughts
“Discrimination on the grounds of caste and nationality is totally baseless and a clear misconception because we are all born as the same kind of species. In the very beginning of creation, different geographical regions were not separated by boundaries. No single tribe or community was the owner of any specific piece of land or region. In the eyes of God, there is no discrimination between people of different nationalities or religions or communities. In that case, why do men face discrimination in the society?......In ancient times, it was advocated that there was no religion higher than loving one’s own country. But today, we move even beyond that and say that a person who loves the entire universe is worthy of adoration and praise.”
These words offering the solution to the ominous dangers threatening the world today were expressed by the saint pained by the suffering of humanity. How can such a race / nation be supportive of communal hatred that expounded the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ thousands of years ago, that even after attaining the status of Chakravarti [1] never tried to wipe away any community or kingdom that embraced even those foreigners who invaded them soon after peace was established? Even when Indians had to suffer under the foreign invasions for the past thousand years, they never neglected their ancient ideals. Even today, ever since attaining independence they have been trying to establish global peace and to unify nations of the world and develop collaboration among them.
Merging the love for your own country with universal love
There are some rigid and narrow-minded people who do not support the concept of universal brotherhood and associate it with utopia and call it unrealistic. Even if such people revel in the world of communalism, political partisanship, separatism and divisive attitude, I do not blame them for that. It is very natural to have different opinions and not everyone can agree to a high ideal and live for that cause. In spite of that, there is not too much difference between them and us. If we believe in universal welfare, it does not however imply that we do not serve and work for the progress of our country. Our country is also an indivisible part of the world, then how can we be proponents of universal service while we do not serve our own motherland? A majority of us are not in a position to travel to other countries and participate in resolving global issues. In such circumstances, our field of action remains to be our own country. It is by serving people around us that we can participate in the ideal of serving the universe.
This is something very unique about the spiritual path. Even if the actions are similar, the result of those actions is in proportion to our mental makeup and may either be good or bad. When we defend our country against an aggressive and tyrannical force, the soldiers of both sides seem to be doing the very same thing. Both are using their weapons and trying to kill each other. But there is a difference in their mindset, that makes one of them an oppressor and other a martyr for defending his nation. Hence, my sincere request to all of you is to understand the importance of ‘global citizen’ while serving your nation at the very best. We Indians follow the tenets present in Bhagawad Gita. In that Lord Sri Krishna shows his cosmic form and says that the entire universe comes from one single source and to identify differences and discrimination is ignorance. The Lord asks us not to differentiate between the animate and inanimate and love everything equally. If we love our fellow human beings and participate in building a better world, then where is the question of obsession in this?
The boundaries drawn in the world are all artificial
All the boundaries that we see between various countries of the world today are all artificial. With progress of civilization and increase in wealth, thirst for power and divisive attitude have become deeply entrenched. Because of this, they began to build walls around the region and established their power in that area. Each of these power mongers has the ambition to expand their region of power in comparison to others. Thus develops the attitude of attacking and looting their neighboring regions. This is the primary reason for wars today. And these wars have also assumed a far more expansive and complex form causing an atmosphere of perennial tension and terrorism all over the world. Describing the perilous and amoral nature of these wars, a great proponent of global peace has spoken these words – “This land does not belong to one person, it is for all. The Earth is not man’s house; it is in fact his Samadhi (a burial ground). A man may evolve himself into a great conqueror and take many countries under his control, but eventually he cannot keep any part of those lands in his control except for that little piece of land where his grave will be made. To fulfil the ambition of a handful people, wars are waged jeopardizing the lives of millions of people and breaking the hearts of men and women.”
The auspicious plan of global village
Ever since nuclear energy is being used for creating nuclear weapons, the situation in the world has become quite serious and scary. If wars were killing thousands and lakhs of people before, in the wake of nuclear wars an entire country can get wiped out in a matter of hours and the loss of life is many orders higher. Ever since these escalated risks have begun to surface, there has been increased demand for a global society. A sane person belonging to any country or religion has begun to realize that science has placed such immense power and threat in the hands of people that it is imperative to forget the differences of divisive nations and hand over the governance of entire world to a single collective body. Otherwise if even a single war fanatic, on a pretext real or imaginary, triggers a nuclear weapon, most part of this Green Earth will turn into a graveyard in less than 24 hours.
Supporters of world fraternity have been appealing to form a global organization looking at craze for weapons and the aggression of the national leaders. A Persian saint Bahaullah strived on this issue and warned all the leaders of the world 150 years ago that if they do not overcome the confines of their own nations for greater good, destruction is imminent.
About 50 years ago, Thakur Dayanand of Bengal, an exponent of universal brotherhood established ‘Arunachal Mission’. He had sent a letter to the Peace Conference that was held after the end of World War-I with a proposal for United Nations and his ideas were thus –
“Citizens of each country should choose a person to be their president for a period of few years. The president with his team of people will take care of the nation. Such presidents of various countries will come together and choose a ‘Head President’. He along with a team of ministers will oversee the affairs of all the countries. This team of ministers will be the representatives chosen by the various countries. This global governing body will co-ordinate with the different countries on international issues so that all the countries can progress without others taking undue advantage of them. All these presidents and head-president will truly be representatives of the people and servants of God who look upon citizens of all the countries as their own brothers. They will swear in front of people and God that they will be responsible for the welfare, peace and prosperity of the world.”
Thakur Dayanand sent this scheme to all the leaders of the states and published in the newspapers. This proposal came up for discussion in some forums but was mostly ignored by the power-mongering politicians who continued with their existing ways.
The thoughts of intellectuals are getting transformed
The founder of Satya Samaj is of the opinion – “In this world itself I want to see a new society that does not have imperialism, capitalism, riots based on religion or community; where money is not the sole power; where entire humanity is looked upon as one; where man and woman are given equal respect and value; where truth reigns supreme; where there is no discrimination of rich and poor. Through Satya Samaj, I want to establish a world just like this.”
The objective of presenting the thoughts of a few wise and enlightened people here is to bring forth the flaws in the society and the ill-effects of those on innocent people. Looking at the sad state of affairs, the attention of the intelligentsia is focused on a new transformation. Presently, the world, controlled by science and technology, has increased the productivity so much so that if it is shared through wisdom and justice, then everyone can lead a life of happiness and plenty.
Notes:
1. Chakravarti king is one who rules over his subjects ethically and benevolently, and is a conqueror of the entire world.
“Discrimination on the grounds of caste and nationality is totally baseless and a clear misconception because we are all born as the same kind of species. In the very beginning of creation, different geographical regions were not separated by boundaries. No single tribe or community was the owner of any specific piece of land or region. In the eyes of God, there is no discrimination between people of different nationalities or religions or communities. In that case, why do men face discrimination in the society?......In ancient times, it was advocated that there was no religion higher than loving one’s own country. But today, we move even beyond that and say that a person who loves the entire universe is worthy of adoration and praise.”
These words offering the solution to the ominous dangers threatening the world today were expressed by the saint pained by the suffering of humanity. How can such a race / nation be supportive of communal hatred that expounded the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ thousands of years ago, that even after attaining the status of Chakravarti [1] never tried to wipe away any community or kingdom that embraced even those foreigners who invaded them soon after peace was established? Even when Indians had to suffer under the foreign invasions for the past thousand years, they never neglected their ancient ideals. Even today, ever since attaining independence they have been trying to establish global peace and to unify nations of the world and develop collaboration among them.
Merging the love for your own country with universal love
There are some rigid and narrow-minded people who do not support the concept of universal brotherhood and associate it with utopia and call it unrealistic. Even if such people revel in the world of communalism, political partisanship, separatism and divisive attitude, I do not blame them for that. It is very natural to have different opinions and not everyone can agree to a high ideal and live for that cause. In spite of that, there is not too much difference between them and us. If we believe in universal welfare, it does not however imply that we do not serve and work for the progress of our country. Our country is also an indivisible part of the world, then how can we be proponents of universal service while we do not serve our own motherland? A majority of us are not in a position to travel to other countries and participate in resolving global issues. In such circumstances, our field of action remains to be our own country. It is by serving people around us that we can participate in the ideal of serving the universe.
This is something very unique about the spiritual path. Even if the actions are similar, the result of those actions is in proportion to our mental makeup and may either be good or bad. When we defend our country against an aggressive and tyrannical force, the soldiers of both sides seem to be doing the very same thing. Both are using their weapons and trying to kill each other. But there is a difference in their mindset, that makes one of them an oppressor and other a martyr for defending his nation. Hence, my sincere request to all of you is to understand the importance of ‘global citizen’ while serving your nation at the very best. We Indians follow the tenets present in Bhagawad Gita. In that Lord Sri Krishna shows his cosmic form and says that the entire universe comes from one single source and to identify differences and discrimination is ignorance. The Lord asks us not to differentiate between the animate and inanimate and love everything equally. If we love our fellow human beings and participate in building a better world, then where is the question of obsession in this?
The boundaries drawn in the world are all artificial
All the boundaries that we see between various countries of the world today are all artificial. With progress of civilization and increase in wealth, thirst for power and divisive attitude have become deeply entrenched. Because of this, they began to build walls around the region and established their power in that area. Each of these power mongers has the ambition to expand their region of power in comparison to others. Thus develops the attitude of attacking and looting their neighboring regions. This is the primary reason for wars today. And these wars have also assumed a far more expansive and complex form causing an atmosphere of perennial tension and terrorism all over the world. Describing the perilous and amoral nature of these wars, a great proponent of global peace has spoken these words – “This land does not belong to one person, it is for all. The Earth is not man’s house; it is in fact his Samadhi (a burial ground). A man may evolve himself into a great conqueror and take many countries under his control, but eventually he cannot keep any part of those lands in his control except for that little piece of land where his grave will be made. To fulfil the ambition of a handful people, wars are waged jeopardizing the lives of millions of people and breaking the hearts of men and women.”
The auspicious plan of global village
Ever since nuclear energy is being used for creating nuclear weapons, the situation in the world has become quite serious and scary. If wars were killing thousands and lakhs of people before, in the wake of nuclear wars an entire country can get wiped out in a matter of hours and the loss of life is many orders higher. Ever since these escalated risks have begun to surface, there has been increased demand for a global society. A sane person belonging to any country or religion has begun to realize that science has placed such immense power and threat in the hands of people that it is imperative to forget the differences of divisive nations and hand over the governance of entire world to a single collective body. Otherwise if even a single war fanatic, on a pretext real or imaginary, triggers a nuclear weapon, most part of this Green Earth will turn into a graveyard in less than 24 hours.
Supporters of world fraternity have been appealing to form a global organization looking at craze for weapons and the aggression of the national leaders. A Persian saint Bahaullah strived on this issue and warned all the leaders of the world 150 years ago that if they do not overcome the confines of their own nations for greater good, destruction is imminent.
About 50 years ago, Thakur Dayanand of Bengal, an exponent of universal brotherhood established ‘Arunachal Mission’. He had sent a letter to the Peace Conference that was held after the end of World War-I with a proposal for United Nations and his ideas were thus –
“Citizens of each country should choose a person to be their president for a period of few years. The president with his team of people will take care of the nation. Such presidents of various countries will come together and choose a ‘Head President’. He along with a team of ministers will oversee the affairs of all the countries. This team of ministers will be the representatives chosen by the various countries. This global governing body will co-ordinate with the different countries on international issues so that all the countries can progress without others taking undue advantage of them. All these presidents and head-president will truly be representatives of the people and servants of God who look upon citizens of all the countries as their own brothers. They will swear in front of people and God that they will be responsible for the welfare, peace and prosperity of the world.”
Thakur Dayanand sent this scheme to all the leaders of the states and published in the newspapers. This proposal came up for discussion in some forums but was mostly ignored by the power-mongering politicians who continued with their existing ways.
The thoughts of intellectuals are getting transformed
The founder of Satya Samaj is of the opinion – “In this world itself I want to see a new society that does not have imperialism, capitalism, riots based on religion or community; where money is not the sole power; where entire humanity is looked upon as one; where man and woman are given equal respect and value; where truth reigns supreme; where there is no discrimination of rich and poor. Through Satya Samaj, I want to establish a world just like this.”
The objective of presenting the thoughts of a few wise and enlightened people here is to bring forth the flaws in the society and the ill-effects of those on innocent people. Looking at the sad state of affairs, the attention of the intelligentsia is focused on a new transformation. Presently, the world, controlled by science and technology, has increased the productivity so much so that if it is shared through wisdom and justice, then everyone can lead a life of happiness and plenty.
Notes:
1. Chakravarti king is one who rules over his subjects ethically and benevolently, and is a conqueror of the entire world.
