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