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.
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