The Need for a New Narrative
By Ac. Shambhushivananda Avt.
The world is still steeped in numerous problems despite vast advances in technology. The old narratives want us to stick to the status quo: a world economy with wide disparities and centralization of economic power either in a few private hands or governments; and, using nature as the object of exploitation for satiation of pleasures of the human species alone. Violence and self-interest are still quite widespread in human society. Economics of self-interest no doubt works but its excesses present a challenge to creating an egalitarian and humane society.
The Way Out: Seven Points for Global Transformation:
- Restraining Military Expenditures World-wide
- Investing in Climate Justice and Disaster Preparedness
- Adopting and Propagating Neohumanist Education
- Technology for Greater Equity
- Multi-pathy Health Systems
- Sustainable Models of Economy
- Spiritual Renaissance—root of an all-round transformation
1. The purpose of huge military expenditures is just to kill and to destroy human potentials. A new breed of charismatic benevolent political leaders is needed in order to ensure that dialogues reduce or minimize the distrust among nation-states and thus eliminate the need to engage in military interventions in all present and future conflicts. A reform of the UNO supported by a world peace army; creation of a neo-magna carta with a world constitution that protects all species; and, a global action plan to deal with the challenges in the fields of education, health, economy and environment are all needed.
2. In these times of climate change, frequent natural calamities have become a part of life. Steps towards climate justice and disaster preparedness are also the need of the hour for every community, every nation and even the planet earth as a whole. Proactive policies and a skilled value-oriented workforce are indispensable to saving us from future pandemics as well as from natural and man-made disasters.
3. Human babies are precious treasures. If they are properly cared for during the first ten years of their life, they could, in the course of time, help us build a new just and progressive world. Hence, nurturing them with neohumanist ideals could be the best investment for the future. Passionate, qualified teachers could be entrusted with this sacred task to culture values, leadership, innovation and thereby lay the foundation of a new benevolent and universal society. The greatest challenge is to seek such passionate wisdom teachers and they should be amply rewarded for this work. A benevolent society cannot be created without service-minded and benevolent individuals. The primary goal of education has to be to nurture goodness in all people.
4. Technology is one of the swiftest ways to bring change. However, technology without inbuilt ethical values becomes a blind instrument of materialism, colonialism, imperialism, domination, and psycho-economic subjugation. Technology and Arts need to be utilized for building an equitable, peaceful and harmonious world.
5. The allopathic system of medicine has reduced society to a pill culture. We still do not have a holistic model of the human body which will show the limits and efficacy of different healing traditions. A sub-quantum microvita model of the human body would perhaps pave the way to integrating diverse therapeutic modalities in health systems of every community. Prevention is always better than cure. Efforts must be made to spread lifestyles that nurture good health at all times.
6. Conscious food systems, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, and ideal farming make up the cornerstone of eco-villages and grassroots initiatives throughout the world. The global transformation has indeed begun. The more we align our economies to “nature’s” bounties, the greater the possibility of bringing prosperity and abundance in our lives. Nature is full of possibilities for generating abundance. Renewable sources of energy and sustainable models of economy must become the foundations of the new world. An attempt should be made to bring about economic self-reliance in every community, as far as possible. This bottom-up, cooperation-based, model of development along with maxi-mini limits of wealth accumulation would be the most rational approach to handle the transition to a new global economy.
7. Finally, humans need to remain tuned to the highest spiritual consciousness. That alone can deliver us true freedom, a blissful life, and fulfillment of our limitless thirst. This spiritual renaissance would encourage universal cardinal values, self-knowledge, and cosmic kinship, and would highlight the unity among diversities. It would ultimately bring us into alignment with the Cosmic Will and we could learn to flow in the eternal dance of macrocosm. A spiritual world view stands for universal outlook and the application of rationality to solving all problems – big or small. Sustainability, Security, Sensibility and Spirituality are all inter-twined and would help us to bring about global transformation.