Transformative Learning, Higher Consciousness and the Search for Peace

We have still not recovered from the remnants of strife in Afghanistan. The consummation of the Russian-Ukraine war is also not yet in sight and we are now confronted with another war between Israel and the Palestinians’ Hamas. Millions of people get displaced in a war. Many innocent civilians get killed. Nature gets destroyed in every war and the global economy suffers too. Is there no other way to solve disputes among human clans, among nation-states? Can war be the only solution? Is not the huge industrial-military buildup by every nation not a gross waste of global wealth whose job is merely to kill and destroy? War is indeed the ugliest manifestation of the human mindset. We cannot solve the problems from the same mindset that has created them. We have got to lift our consciousness and think of collective welfare—Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Russians, Koreans, Indonesians, Israelis, Palestinians, Iranians, Turks and Arabs—human beings everywhere are the children of One Cosmic Consciousness. Those who resort to violence to achieve their ends are warmongers and cannot be allowed to dictate the future of humanity. Most global citizens long for peace and comfort and yet our leaders have failed to find a formula for peace. Peace is the result of fight, no doubt, but that fight should be against our mutual depraving tendencies. We rejoice in others’ miseries and sorrows. That is indeed shameful for developed humans and a display of hollow intellect and lack of spiritual consciousness. A world where there is no peace and harmony among its inhabitants can never grow and achieve its mundane aspirations.

Peace is the need of the hour—peace everywhere, among all creatures and among all communities of people. Humanity is bleeding everywhere. Let humans unite to address common challenges together—the challenge of climate change; the challenge of growing disparities of wealth; the menace of wars and strife everywhere. Humanity needs to come together as one large family and agree on ground rules to de-escalate the use of military arsenals and surrender the right to go to wars to solve conflicts without collective sanction.

Mere empty slogans of peace will not stop war. The largest nations would need to make an active effort to dialogue and negotiate with an intention to stop war everywhere. We need to look for win-win solutions for all species, for every tribe and human community, and for every entity in the universe. Let us create an environment of trust and love and replace the psychology of fear with a psychology of service and others’ welfare. It may not happen overnight, but we cannot stop our genuine endeavor for permanent peace on earth led by the enlightened humans of the day.

Towards this end, knowledge systems must play their historic role and make one and all conscious of the dogmas that cloud the human intellect. Neohumanist Education stands for rationality, universal kinship, and adherence to truth. Ananda Marga Gurukula recognizes its historic role on the earth today to focus every one’s attention on the new narrative that is built on sacredness of life and respect for all of nature and created beings.

Neohumanism is transformative, trans-disciplinary and transcendental. Transformation is about individual and collective empowerment: about expanded awareness, positive attitudes and shifts in lifestyle; about societal renewal through learning that “transforms problematic frames of reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, reflective, open and emotionally able to change.” As we mentioned in the last issue, “The shift in consciousness lies at the heart of permanent change in the way we see ourselves and the world in which we

Historic Necessity of Ananda Marga Gurukula

If this world were already a perfect place, there would be no need for Ananda Marga Gurukula (AMGK) to be launched by the philosopher-seer and spiritual Master Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji. Since there are a great many areas where we are far from being an ideal world, the historic necessity of AMGK is being felt more and more, day by day. AMGK operates in three spaces: Individual Space; Organizational Space; and Civilizational Space. AMGK has something to contribute to each of these domains.

First, AMGK’s mandate is to help all living beings achieve their desideratum, their destiny of unison with the Supreme Consciousness. That is why the motto being used for AMGK is “Sa’ Vidya’ Ya’ Vimuktaye”. Knowledge for Liberation—physical, mental and spiritual —to be achieved via Expansion of mind, service spirit, and union with the Divine Will of Supreme Consciousness. Not only human beings long for happiness, freedom and liberation. Other living beings also need the support of human beings to help them survive and flourish. AMGK has taken upon itself the task of seeking out persons who wish to help all living beings attain their goal of self-fulfillment and reach their desire for thriving despite all odds.
Second, it is only through collective organizations and coordinated cooperation that we are able to extend the boundaries of space and tap the hidden potential lying dormant in the body of our dreams. Only through collective organizations are we able to overcome the limitations of time, space, and person and fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the greater society of living beings. AMGK’s mandate is to help build institutions and a movement to power initiatives that attempt to serve society in all realms of human existence. AMGK begins cultivating this process of knowledge building from an early age, irrespective of distinctions of caste, creed, or national barriers. Its approach is universal, need-specific, and vision-directed.

Third, inspired by the holistic spiritual vision of Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiiji, AMGK is attempting to show a future path to humanity that is based on the trilateral fundaments of PROUT, Neohumanism, and Tantra. PROUT points out the constant need to bridge the gaps between rich and poor, between crude and subtle, and between the sectarianism of the
present and the unlimited possibilities of the future. Neohumanism prepares the mindset to take up the challenges of a divided society and finally, Tantra provides a step-by-step process to attain self-realization and inspiration to move together towards a common future of humanity.

To achieve all of the above, AMGK has dedicated itself to developing wisdom-teachers (WTs) equipped with the skills, attitudes, and inspiration to establish a neohumanist society. Neohumanist educators are the wisdom-teachers and they are in great demand today to help younger generation to discover their connection with higher consciousness. These WTs represent the awakened consciousness of the world. AMGK is also engaged in bringing together all moral, righteous and educated persons on a common platform and facilitating dialogues to seek solutions to vexing problems facing the planet and all its inhabitants.