India as a role model for global peace and prosperity
In a recent interview for BBC World Service’s Discovery programme, President APJ Abdul Kalam is quoted as saying that:
“…an evolved, enlightened society – based on Indian ideas – can lead to “a peaceful, prosperous and happy planet.”
“It’s a three-dimensional approach, involving education with a value system, religion transforming into spirituality, and the most important, economic development for societal transformation in all the nations,” he explained.
“The global implementation of this three-dimensional approach, in an integrated way, will lead to a peaceful planet yet.”
I could not help noticing echoes of some thoughts that I had first read in an essay by Jean-Pierre Lehmann for The Globalist sometime back (“The Dangers of Monotheism“).
Very interesting that our learned and erudite President should come to a similar conclusion.
Related Post: Excerpts from “The Dangers of Monotheism…â€
The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues.
The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be peaceful if we destroy Nature.
Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the planet.
Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion.
Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.
When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go on decreasing.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.
People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.
Emotion ends.
Man becomes machine.
A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.
FAST VISUALS /WORDS MAKE SLOW EMOTIONS EXTINCT.
SCIENTIFIC /INDUSTRIAL /FINANCIAL THINKING DESTROYS EMOTIONAL CIRCUITS.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY CANNOT FEEL PAIN / REMORSE / EMPATHY.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY WILL ALWAYS BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS/ TREES/ AIR/ WATER/ LAND AND TO ITSELF.
To read the complete article please follow either of these links :
PlanetSave
EarthNewsWire
sushil_yadav
Please forgive me for I am not a learned person in Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) even though I consider myself a Hindu. Isn’t Hinduism really monotheistic? Hindus worship God. Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Ram, Krishna are all manifestations of God. That said, I agree with the author that Hinduism encourages tolerance and this claim is supported in history.
Maybe my many years (actually raised) in the U.S. have biased my thinking but I believe there is great potential for merging parts of Western philosophy with Hinduism. If this were to happen, it would illustrate the greatness of Hinduism as has happened in history (Sikhism, Budhism, Jainism).
Munish, my latest post will hopefully clarify some of the points you raised in your comment. Have a look at it:
http://hindudharma.wordpress.com/2007/03/01/hinduism-not-monotheism-in-disguise/
The concluding lines from The story of Mother Indiaby Susan Huntington (emphasis added)…
Perhaps ancient India’s most lasting legacy is the belief in non-harm to living beings – a centrepiece of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism – which was transformed into the passive resistance advocated by Mahatma Gandhi during India’s early 20th century struggle for independence from British rule…the ancient Indian principle of non-harm, and the Indic compassion towards all living beings and the corresponding non-violent stance has been adopted by groups that advocate vegetarianism, animal welfare and environmental activism. Perhaps there is no greater compliment that can be paid to India’s ancient culture than the fact that its sophisticated beliefs and reverence for life can serve as guideposts to the world today.
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Do read in full.