- By Dr. Markandey Rai and Dr. Prabhas Chandra Sinha
I was so much impressed with the giant personality of Pt. Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya ji that writing anything about him is to show a lamp to sun. I just remember his ideals and vision from this sloka, which I like very much:
Na twaham kamye rajyam na swargam napunarbhwam Kamye duhkhtaptanam praninamartinashnam.
(I neither desire for kingdom nor heaven or rebirth. I wish to be helpful in removing the pain and suffering of living beings.)
This is a great message which can transform the world and this is what can unite the world and eradicate the suffering from the earth. This mantra will create this world as a family which is called “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.” It has been mentioned in several scripts and is being practiced in India and also in other parts of the world and it has been said in many different words but time has come when we should practice seriously and religiously in everyday life and bring it in our behavior.
India hosted the G-20 summit on September, 9-10, 2023 in New Delhi on the same topic “ Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: One Earth, One Family and One Future”. A consensus report was also published which covers a wide range of topics and issues including implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It noted the deep suffering and adverse impact of war and conflict around the world but concern is about its implementation on ground by actionable plans.
Before the G-20 Summit, our organization the Global Peace Foundation GPF) India also organized a Global Peace and Leadership Conference (GPLC) 2023 in April, 11-13, 2023 on the same topic of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Vision for Advancing Human Consciousness and Peace”. A Delhi Declaration was adopted to create a movement to realise Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, “One Family Under God”. We started the process of implementing the actionable points and we have published a book entitled “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: The Way Forward for Global Peace”. This book not only talks about defining and collecting material from various sources rather it provides recommendations on how it can be achieved and what time of training, education, institutional arrangement and policy intervention are required.
We happened to visit schools in slum areas of Delhi, last week under the S.M.I.L.E. program and after visiting those schools I got sick with the pain that people are living in worse situations than animals or insects. Villages in India are better than these slums in the trans Yamuna area. There is no water, toilets and everywhere plastic and garbage is lying with mud roads. Children have not taken baths and they are playing in garbage heaps. It is so unhuman that we cannot think of Vikasit Bharat unless we take care of these people and care for the slogan that No One Should Be Left Behind.
It is very important for all of us to sincerely think on this mantra for shedding some light on the practical aspect of the ancient Indian philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which I have been hearing from my childhood and we all quote it left and right. Almost all the major religions and faiths take the ownership and claim to believe in this philosophy. They claim that we practice on it also. We have some NGO whose main message is to attain Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and they are working day and night.
But do we really mean it? Do we believe in it? Do we live with it or is it just lip service? Do we do it because we like the slogan? Maybe we feel good and elevated to be associated with this slogan. If it is not true, then what needs to be done to revive it in our day-to-day life and in our behavior? If yes, then how can we justify? Why is the joint family breaking up in India? Marriages are not surviving and ending in divorce? Why has our family become a household- nucleolus family? We know that the Senior citizens' houses are mushrooming in all cities. Female Infanticide and abortion is increasing? Do we leave it to the Government to promote this philosophy or can we play some role in promoting it? If not then how can we revive this grand and a broader vision, which can unite the global community as a family? Can we turn towards spirituality and humanity where we are one at the level of soul irrespective of colour, race, ethnicity or religious beliefs?
It is said that, ‘if one person see a dream then it is a dream but if many start seeing the same dream and it becomes reality.’ Can we see the same dream together of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam?
A number of conflicts are taking place within and around the world, which are mainly identity based. Terrorism is spreading its wings and we all are suffering from its ugly acts of killing innocent people especially children and women. Every day some civilian and army personnel are being killed in terrorist attacks and no need to mention that it has become a perpetual act and many are still fresh in our mind.
What needs to be done? How will this philosophy help in curbing conflicts and animosity? How we can promote it through Give, Love and Seva, which are the core values of spirituality.
What needs to be done to promote this philosophy to unite humanity as one tribe? How can it be addressed to promote peace within India and beyond the boundary? We should not leave the Government only to do everything for us. I know some people who are working on it and promoting it in their ways. The need is to scale it up. Can we join hands with those who are promoting this philosophy alone and scale it up?
We should see how we could assist the Governments to achieve this ancient philosophy and also the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, which was adopted by the United Nations as well. Spirituality and Development goes hand in hand. Swachh Bharat, Namami Gange, Zero poverty and No Hunger are the examples in support of spirituality and Humanity.
Thus, we look to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as the touchstone, or ethical framework, from which to articulate the Global Ethics and to address the identity based conflicts within and outside India.
Reasons for Doing It:
As Mark Twain had said that “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legends and great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only” India has a unique culture and is one of the oldest and greatest civilizations of the world. It has achieved all round socio-economic progress during the last 74 years of its independence.
Appa Dipo Bhava – Be Ye Lamps unto Yourself
– Gautam Budha
Be the Change you wish to see in World
– Mahatma Gandhi
The Old Testament mentioned that “And they will have to beat their Swords into plough saves and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up swords against nations neither will they learn war anymore” Since ancient times, the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is one family, has stood as an ideal of Indian civilization. This inclusive and compassionate spirituality recognizes that “the truth is one, sages call it variously”; this has allowed for groundbreaking advances in philosophical inquiry and civilizational advances throughout world history.
India, as the birthplace of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam ideal and long-honored for its multiplicity of wisdom traditions and paths, is primed to become a model to lead a way out of this crisis. It is thus imperative that moral, spiritual and civil leaders work together to articulate universal ethical principles and values that can form the basis for social cohesion, shared agreements and lasting peace.
India needs Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya ji to take birth and eradicate the sufferings, pain and provide value-based education to produce global citizens to make this world a family.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other”. - Mother Teresa
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