Striving for Equilibrium

[Music]

in schools

we have already talked about human

evolution

how from deciding in the caves they

discovered fire bee

agriculture and rose to create grand

empires

how they conquered the depths of the

earth and ocean

and the unknown vast vistas of the

universe

and they have launched satellites and

space stations

and are now thinking of building

colonies on moon and the mars

how despite being physically inferior

than most of the animals on this planet

they have dominated them all and have

established themselves

as the master of the universe this is a

story

of the great human race and eulogy to

that extraordinary mind

which turned natural substances into

resources

and utilized them to propel himself at

the effects of the ecosystem

but at the same time we have also read

of roman wars

industrial revolution which led to

exploitative utilization of natural

resources

colonization of african and asian

nations

forcing millions of people into abject

poverty

and slavery we have also read of the

world wars

the holocaust the nuclear carnage

incidents that brought out the basis in

things in human beings

hatred untamed desire to dominate and

control

and disrupt everything that refuses to

bow down

sometimes my mind reels to think are we

actually

one human race killing each other and

inflicting untold miseries

on our own people even today if we take

a stop of where we stand

we find nations embroiled in a cold

war-like situation

certain portions of the world resembling

potentially

a theater of international intrigues and

civil wars

human beings divided on so many fault

lines

race relation gender caste look at

us we are embroiled in in fighting

amongst ourselves

we are at crossroads with nature due to

environmental problems created by

us only and in the name of god we have

turned religion

into a business and ground for fighting

we

are in a crisis on all the fronts it’s

time

to ponder whenever we have a problem

what do we look for in the first

instance we look for

the root cause and the root cause of all

the problems of human society

is the seeming difference amongst us all

at the surface

black brown white indian american

russian

hindu muslim christian they’re all so

different

and also of the lack of understanding of

the underlying similarity amongst us

science has explored this area and has

given us the answer

when robert hook told that everything is

composed of cells

and when dalton told that each cell is

made up of

atoms and the atoms also have the

similar basic components

the same theory was propounded by the

veishe

school of indian philosophy when it told

about the basic components

called bhutas earth sky

water fire that means that everything

that we see

or even don’t see but exist in this

universe is made up of the same basic

arrangements the panchamudas

the very existence of ours is similar

another myth that has wreaked havoc

across the globe

is the concept of purity of blood and

superiority of certain races

it has manifested itself in agonizingly

dehumanizing distinctions such as racism

in usa and germany

apartheid in africa and caste system in

india but anthropologists have snatched

this concept

by tracing the origin of entire

humankind

to africa from there they migrated all

over

and intermixed not only humans but other

species

such as turtles butterflies birds and

even the plants

seeds also migrate biologists say

that if a species intervenes too closely

the genes become weak and their chances

of survival

are less so assimilation

migration intermixing that is the law of

nature

and human beings as a part of nature

have been following this law

history tells us that there has been so

much of migration

of human beings around this world that

looking for purity of blood

at this point of time is nothing but a

farce

we all have mixed blood in our veins and

mixed genes in all of us

so fighting on this issue is just

nonsensical

after now being convinced about the

underlying similarity

of all human beings i have also tried to

find an answer

to the question that despite there being

so many outlying reasons

for strife is it possible to create

peace

and harmony in the world yes it is

possible

at least if not to remove the fear

altogether

to at least minimize it to an extent

that we can have an equilibrium

where everybody flourishes together as

it exists in the nature

in the form of various ecosystem cycles

the interdependence

of all living and non-living material

we all know that right now we are

sitting on

a boiling lava inside the earth’s mantle

but there is a very strong crust at the

surface which holds the surface together

and over veg the entire life flourishes

so in the similar fashion it is possible

to attain that equilibrium

where despite differences all can

flourish together

and this will be possible only when

human beings realize

that diversity at the surface is all

right it’s natural

not everything has to be monolithic if

we had only roses

and no medicals and tulips wouldn’t it

be too rosy and moral

could we just have elephants roaming

around and no mice in their minds

if we did not have any cultural

diversity what would be so special about

visiting europe

or india or east asia therefore

diversity needs to be celebrated and not

it i derive the understanding of

religion

from sanatana dharma as i follow it and

the rig veda says

the truth is one the wise call it by

different

names so we don’t need to convert

everybody

to our faith or customs rather we need

to approach them with curiosity and

respect

see their customs and you will be

marveled to discover

the similarities with your own customs

in my understanding every relation

consists of two components

core values and the rituals read any of

the holy books

and you will find that the core values

of all religions

are same they are very similar to your

own values

love compassion brotherhood service to

humanity

[Music]

it is only those who want to misuse

religion

for the vested interest of theirs today

in power who preach

violence in the name of god god has

created all

the human beings he would never ask one

of his children

to kill another so this awakening must

come

in people so that they stop being pawns

in the game of power of a few but

how would we attain this awakening

through education

through enlightenment remember what

shankaracharya said in his abduct one

not two well but one god and men are one

this is what dharashiko said that

opnishas and islam

say the same thing that god is one and

human beings

are his reflections this is what was

said in 18th century

during the european enlightenment when

they put

the human beings in the center and

brought logic and reasoning into

thinking

the same was done in 19th century in

indian renaissance

when swami vivekananda said so mr

humanity

is the service to god so you don’t need

the mediators to teach you what your god

and what your religion is

reach for yourself the holy books and

you will be able to see through

the propaganda that has been created all

across the globe

in the name of religion i firmly believe

that if each one of us follows the core

teachings

of our respective religions there would

be no reason

to fight in the name of god education

would also be our passport to get out of

the environmental crisis

if we educate our children amidst nature

as the with the lord their god advocated

that if a child rose up caring for a

sapling

he would never have the heart to cut a

tree later on in his life

because he will identify himself with

that tree

i have seen it happening in bhutan and

we all know

that bhutan still has 71 percent of its

forest cover intent

so we need to learn from this science

nation how to create a balance

between material development and

environmental protection

so in my opinion if we focus on the

basic unit

the human being and his enlightenment we

would be able to reduce the conflict to

a very large extent

if we can educate our children and

enable them

to extend their sphere of thinking from

i to v

to feel that emotional connect with all

other human beings

as part of one human family and to also

see

their interconnectedness with other

elements of nature

this equilibrium would be attained as

leonardo da vinci said

learn how to see realize that everything

is connected to everything else

thus assimilation and syncretism is the

way forward

to have a harmonious existence as

happens in nature

when two different genes come together

they create something new

and more beautiful which has the

characteristics of the earlier two

but also at the same time has its own

entrance in beauty

and its own characteristics so that is

how life moves on

at the end i would also like to answer

one more question

which i have been asking myself several

times that

all these teachings of love compassion

assimilation intermixing cooperation

they have increased many a times by many

great people over the centuries

but still it has not been able to remove

the conflicts from the world

so what is the point of one more person

repeating the same thing

the answer to it is that if these

teachings had no effect

the world would have already crumbled

under the weight of hatred and violence

the fact that it still exists and that

you

and i are still talking of these values

is a proof enough

that at least they had been able to

enlighten

a large portion of people who had

carried forward these values

from generation to generation and they

had been able to counterbalance

the force of nature we all have heard

about

e is equal to m c square that the energy

in the universe remains constant always

it only changes form so now it is up to

you

and me to increase the proportion of

goodness

in this energy around us by illuminating

ourselves

and spreading this light of goodness in

our

respective spheres of influence by our

decisions

and actions in life this is how

we will all contribute in establishing

peace in this world

the choice is with us hatred or love

i choose love now it’s time for you to

ponder

thank you