By Ac. Shambhushivananda Avt.
We humans love to explore and expand our sphere of being. Space probes Voyager 1 and 2 were sent beyond the heliosphere into interstellar space in search for signs of life beyond our solar system and to understand the universe in which we are living. When humanity comes together to expand its knowledge of our outer and inner worlds, such united efforts bring smiles on our faces and makes the entire human race proud.
We human beings constitute a rare species. Our developed consciousness generates a great responsibility engaging us in the protection of the bio-sphere and in actions aimed at eliminating all types of suffering, providing an environment for the all-round flourishing of all beings.
Some people still cling to selfishness and prefer to bide in crude propensities. Although they, too, belong to our human family, existential blindness leads them to aim at influencing and goading the human race along the path of sense-gratification and artificial disparities, ignoring the beatitude of collective welfare. By perpetuating systems of selfishness and disparities in all spheres of human existence, leaders of such depraving propensities become the bane of humanity. We should become aware of those leaders and their thought processes, and ensure that they do not hold the reins of society at any level.
The first and the foremost criterion of a truly worthy leader is his or her ability to offer an uplifting vision drawn from a unifying ideology. Such deserving leaders will declare that Human Society is one and indivisible and all creatures are the progeny of One Universal Consciousness. However, no such benevolent leader has ever survived in the whirlpool of hatred, dogma and narrow sentiments. Hence, it is imperative that higher consciousness must be awakened in each and every human being from childhood onwards. It is our common duty to ensure such joyful development.
Human beings require a direction in life. The goal must be service and blessedness rather than merely self-aggrandizement. Education that leads to the acquisition of knowledge and cultivates a moral fervor makes for a peaceful society. The motto “Self-realization and Universal Welfare” can inspire human beings to live a life of true self-fulfillment and can make everyone proud.
The world requires new vanguards for tomorrow; persons whose thoughts are sublime, whose actions reflect their magnanimity of mind, and whose intuitional and intellectual abilities have been tested on the hard soil of reality. Leaders must be mature; i.e., they should be able to successfully handle structures and relationships. They must be humble; i.e., they should recognize the fragile nature of this manifested world and therefore exercise utmost caution and respect at all times. Finally, they must be intelligent and decisive—able to comprehend wisdom and act on difficult choices with a rational outlook; and be benevolent.
Hence, Neohumanist education is not a luxury or a pass-time. It is a historical imperative—the need of the hour. Neohumanist educators are incubators for birthing a new society.
The task of inculcating higher values and virtues is one of the noblest forms of social service. These values touch two spheres of life: inner and outer. For the cultivation of the inner dimension: purity (shaoca), contentment (santos’a), sincere effort (tapah), rational outlook (sva’dhaya) and devotion (iishvara pranidhana) serve as five pillars. Adherence to these bring about inner peace and joyfulness. For the cultivation of the outer dimension: benevolence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), justice & fairness (asteya), universal love (brahmacarya) and magnanimity (aparigraha). Adherence to these principles aids in generating and maintaining a harmonious, cordial society. Thus, while imparting knowledge, Neohumanist educators lay a great emphasis on these ten ethical pillars.
Building a humane society is a collaborative endeavour of youth and their elders. The elders share their tested knowledge and experiential wisdom while the young offer their imagination, dynamism, enthusiasm and spontaneity. This is how truly competent leadership is being created, developed and brought to fruition.