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ہندوستانی हिन्दुस्तानी Hindusta:ni: |
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हिन्दी...ہِندی Hindi: |
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उर्दू...اُردُو Urdu: |
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| NEHI |
| Introduction |
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| CHALLENGES |
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O people! Confer together with open minds: pool
your thoughts for integrated wisdom. Your
thoughts (mind, wisdom, and consciousness) be
similar; your minds adore one confraternity and
move in accord. Let your minds be in harmony and
consentaneity. May the innermost aspirations of
you all be perfectly harmonious; may your hearts
be in unison and absolute accord reign your minds
so that you remain welded into strong fellowship
and unity.
• The Rigveda and the Atharvaveda
Vasudhaeva KuTumbakam is an alliance of universal beings. It strides to bring harmony in human thought and actions. It has two pillars: the Self-Alliance and the Universal-Alliance. Here every individual fixes her/his participation in the Universal-Alliance on the basis of the Self-Alliance. These two pillars of the Alliance guarantee equal recognition to the allies' internal and external values and actions, which are complementary to each other. They inspire every personality, built by and mirror of diverse socio-cultural, spiritual, economic, technological and other values, to participate accordingly in the dynamics of the external world.
The Self-Alliance: What does the Self-Alliance stand for, if an alliance necessarily implies plurality? Human is a thinking and progressive social being. Along with many qualities it possesses weaknesses such as selfishness, greed, illusion, egoism, narrow-mindedness, jealousy, enmity, laziness and restlessness etc.. All the human internal qualities and weaknesses symbolize plurality. These weaknesses are the challenges near the qualities. In order to meet the challenges, every human being sets up self principles (e.g., self-exploration, self-inspiration, self-control, self-reasoning, self-restraint, self-confidence, self-empowerment, self-inspection, self-acceptance etc.) and keeps on trying to follow them. Individuals busy in facing the internal challenges with the help of self constructed principles acquire the state of Self-Revolution and experience self-alliance. One who struggles for the Self-Alliance is in who eventually germinates the feeling of the Universal-Alliance and to who the whole world turns into a family. It is only and only that universal-alliance, the base of which is self-alliance, can represent the whole humanity in true sense, can progress amid diverse human values and can maintain equilibrium even in adverse situations. The Alliance justifies that changes in human-mind are a priori to the changes in the world or the Universe.
The Universal-Alliance based on the Self-Alliance gets through human weaknesses and inherits features like respect for the earth, universal brotherhood, sense of duty and responsibility, human welfare, equalitarian views, compassion, hope, generosity, and wider perspective etc. The Universal-Alliance, its reliance, success and sustainability are trusted wholly in the Self-Alliance. The Self-Alliance is not only an struggle to get on the internal challenges but an struggle to decorate one's own personality with basic facts, methods and principles inevitable for the success of any universal alliance. The Self-Alliance is an endeavor to polish personality up with own rational values to harmonize and put the Universal-Alliance on the road of progress. The Self-Alliance does not belong to the North or the South, nor is it entrusted with the East or the West. It is an exemplar of the uniqueness of each human society and the diversity which exists in human minds. Thus the Alliance, Vasudhaeva KuTumbakam, is a collective endeavor to bring harmony and uniformity between the Self-Alliance and the Universal Alliance. This is necessary for our thoughts to get transferred into action.
It is noticed that different types of Alliances are being formed on this earth with specific motives. Most of them contain rich articulation of facts relevant to and meant exclusively for International or Universal Alliance. The Self-Alliance hardly gets any attention in the whole process. In reality the very genesis of many such Alliances are due largely to some human weaknesses. Under such Alliances envisaging justice to the Self-Alliance is futile. An Alliance is an effort to get rid of self-weaknesses, to act togather and to achieve common goals.
The invitation contains a discussion on one such Universal Alliance, which is based on the Self-Alliance. In the beginning Vasudhaeva KuTumbakam will start at regional level. In due course of time its dissemination will take place in other regions of the world. This invitation letter is prepared for South Asian Region. The Alliance invites you all to fix your participation in its collective endeavor. The beginning of the new millennium and the beginning of such an alliance for new human being and new world by the people of this region; what a nice message!
The region South Asia, possesses various specialties and its people share numerous commonalities. The region has its distinct geographic, social, economic, cultural and philosophical identity. A wonderful flow of uniformity and harmony can be seen through out in the thinking, life-style, values, ideology, manners, rituals and customs of the people of this region. This astonishing uniformity is the reflection of that underlying excellence of its civilization, traditions and societies which confer immense and equal honor to different races, castes, tribes, religion, culture and the whole earth and its nature. This is an example of worlds that oriental but alive civilization the protection and evolution of which have been ensured from time immemorial by its diversity and the richness that it possesses. This monsoon region on the yellow-gray soil is the mirror of unity from which diversity peeps through. South Asia, the inheritor of features like philosophical orientation, collective identity, self-discipline, self-respect, selfless-action and non-violence, is carrying its diversity tied with the thread of unity from time immemorial.
From centuries, people of different types and different races migrated to and settled in this region and contributed to its diversity. This finally resulted in the development of a unique life-style through out the region. Thousands and thousands of philosophers, saints, writers, reformers and social workers were born on this land. They contributed their best through their experiences and actions. Here all the sacred and holy books like the Vedas, the Dhamma Pada, the Quran, the Bible and the Guru Granth Sahib have received equal respect. The region has established a rare example of devotion and appreciation for the invaluableness and richness of diversity.
During the 20th century this region experienced a division into seven or eight modern political entities. Consequently India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bengladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan got political identification and legitimacy on this land of diversity. The formation of such political entities was not much difficult in this region, since there was not much significance of such entities in the lifestyle of the people of this region. The life-style of the people of the region was and is regulated largely by the existing socio-cultural, spiritual, intellectual and economic diversities of this region. Had this not been the case, despite there being hundreds of principalities, they all should not have stayed togather for centuries.
The conception of nation state in all over the world has given a deep setback to the diverse values nurtured in the region and forced the people to be defensive. Division and separation based modern politics has brought the different political entities and the people of this region into a vicious circle of mutual doubt, suspicion and non-cooperation. Those values which people live with always influence their lives and behavior, but those values which are imposed on them also effect their life-style although temporarily. The life-style, values and thinking of the people of this region still do not match the definition of a nation state. A tension is always there between the concept of nation-state built on the divided self and the divided political sovereignty and integrated self, universal brother hood, global family and the whole globe as one nation layered and shared in the oriental civilization, traditions and life-style. A tension which will decide how much the region will contribute to the whole world from the wonderful living civilization.
If the conception of a perfect society is an utopia, the struggle for a healthy society is a need for the healthy orientation of mind and better future. Due to continuous change every society develops some desired and undesired elements in it. The responsible and sensitive people always disseminate the qualities and try to curb the developed evils. With the changing time, values and conditions our societies have also developed many evils along with many qualities. It could also be admitted that many evils have gradually taken the shape of challenges grave and formidable and our isolated and individual efforts do not bring much impact due to the gravity, complexity and magnitude of the challenges. Friendship, solidarity, collective force and a common perspective for the development of the region are now unavoidable necessities for us. We will face these evils and challenges on the one hand with the help of the qualities and possibilities that our society, culture and tradition yield and on the other hand with fresh and healthy ideas practiced in any corner of the world. The process of change and its pace have to be accelerated and the modern changes taking place all over the world have to be accepted on the ground of their usefulness and our requirements. Efforts are required to keep our own invaluable healthy and practically feasible traditions alive, so that our inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogues keep on flourishing and we, while facing the wrong impacts of modern developments, can share our valuable messages emanating out from our cultures, civilization and traditions with the people of the rest of the globe.
Can we overcome our present challenges and hurdles on the path of a better future on the ground of our own cultures, civilization and traditions, values and ideals and the qualities and possibilities in them? Can we build a healthy and progressive society based on our own culture, civilization and tradition? It is with this purpose, this brief invitation paper discusses the initiation of the collective process, its specific properties and strategies. Hope that with the beginning of the new century we will get the opportunity to work together and while getting the strength from each other, we will be able to bring commendable changes in this region.
The citizen of the world should understand their duties, follow them and remain sensitive to the whole humanity. The earth now is suffering from three major disparities. The disparities exist between human and human, between human and nature and between time and time. Disparities between the upper and the lower, between the poor and the rich, between female and male, between the powerful and the powerless etc., are the reflection of the disparity between human and human in different societies. Only 20% people possess the 80% of the total wealth of the world and only 5% people of the world hold the capacity to decide on behalf of the 95% citizens of the globe despite having democracies all around. The race of human being to conquer nature and the resulting environmental threats and dangers are the indicators of the disparity between human and nature. The tussle that exists between tradition and modernity, between diversity and uniformity, the differences of pace in change at different societies are the reflection of the disparity between time and time.
While some societies in the world experience unexpected acceleration in the pace of change, others seem to be stagnant. On the one side traditional societies do not show positive attitude towards modern changes and on the other side modern societies keep on welcoming any sort of change without even giving any thought over them. For such societies mere rapid change has become progress and development. There is no doubt that traditional societies have their own weaknesses, but this is also not true that they remain stagnant. They even remain in the position to judge the merits and demerits of the changes which take place in other societies and then to accept and reject them. Consequently, these societies experience slow change. There prevails a kind of tension between these societies and the modern societies for this reason. This resistance in accepting modern changes is often seen as if such societies are stagnant. Only those changes which are systematic, necessary and keep the interest of the whole human being and nature can be called development. If some societies even after judging the quality of modern changes can not keep positive attitude towards the change, then only this state can be called an stagnant state. Exactly the way stagnancy brings several kinds of undesirables in any society and the usefulness of existing values get fading away, due to rapid changes, the generation old, testified and checked values get shattered on the face of the acceptance of unchecked and new alternatives.
Now there is a need that the citizens of the globe should keep working for the remedy of the three main disparities, the causes of which are not isolated from each other. So far as the question of science, technology and trade, which are three pillars of modernity and are no more the means only but have become ends in themselves, are concerned, we have to decide what kind of restriction should be imposed on them. We have to proceed with the basic premise that the globe is not a market but a family and its citizens are not customers but the members of a family.
Our knowledge says that the Earth is the only home for the human being and when we talk about humanity we, in fact refer to this Earth. The Universe is infinitely greater in magnitude than the Earth and our knowledge of it is still very less. If Vasudhaeva KuTumbakam is an alliance which aims to bring harmony between the internal and the external, what then do we mean by the external? The external, no doubt, is the limitless Universe. Thus Vasudhaeva
KuTumbakam is contingent on the whole humanity for duty and knowledge but not for the limit of duty and knowledge. The limit of knowledge and action is, in fact, the whole Universe. All the planets, constellations of stars, cosmic rays, cosmic particles, solar system, galaxies, comets, moons and other celestial bodies etc. with their whole nature and situations are the external.
In human the desire to conquer and tame remain much more prominent than to develop an in-depth understanding of something. The way human being remained preoccupied in conquering the globe and on the way did a lot of harm to it instead of understanding it, respecting it and appreciate the diversity that lies in it; the same way it wants to conquer the universe instead of broadening its understanding. Many world powers have started fiddling with our
Solar System also without developing an in-depth understanding of it. We need to tame our desires and constrain our ambitions. Stringent laws and regulations are needed against any such activity and the legitimacy and the sanctioning to the laws should come from the citizens of the globe. No other power or super power will have any say in it. We have already done great harm to the equilibrium of the earth and brought many for ourselves. We must be
cautious that we do not do the same to our Solar System.
So far as the question of how to uplift and develop the region through the collective process is concerned, the main challenge near us is how to point social, cultural, traditional, economic and intellectual wealth, knowledge, energy and power of the citizens of this region towards collective welfare, cooperation and towards the development of a positive attitude.
For this we need a comparative study of our future related collective interest and challenges and on the basis of the derived conclusions we need to prepare our future priorities and develop collective strength to accomplish them.
The security and upliftment of this region are in the hands of its citizens. The removal of the problems and the development of this region is not possible mere by the technological innovations or by the political leaders of the countries of this region and neither the citizens of this region should carry such impression and expectation. The security and development of this region is impossible without the active participation of its citizens.
For this it is necessary that wherever we are and in whatever field we are working, with the same we fix our participation for the development of the region. We must link ourselves with million of other citizens in such a manner that we can exchange our thoughts and feelings freely and fearlessly and the road of a collective work process can be paved. A collective process which appreciate, help, adopt and disseminate citizens' every initiative in this direction. We have to proceed with the determination that despite differences in situations and existing priorities, the Universal-Alliance is possible.
The collective process will intensify our dialogues on the different subjects, priorities, problems and challenges. We can use our gained experiences in other areas of our concern. To keep working for this solemn purpose, we need not bring any change in our daily routine.
Wherever we are and whatever work we are busy in, from there we can fix our participation. The requirements are to come together, to develop a common perspective for the perpetually changing world and our future, to have the correct estimation of the problems before us and to form a collective working strategy to work for longer duration. A working method where there is no powerful or powerless or junior or senior only work is ideal and work ethics is commendable.
With this Alliance, we will overcome the feeling of powerlessness and will bring pace in our mutual dialogue on different issues. This Alliance will help us in our participation and taking initiatives. Problems are many and some of them are grave, severe and formidable. We need not be afraid. The need is to converge our energy and force to form a collective force near which the problems yield.
(part one)
English version "part two" will be placed soon.
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© 2007 Syed Ghalib Hussain | | Contact | | Last Updated: 10-09-2009 |