Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: A vision for peace

The event of physical birth brings an individual, from the very beginning of his life, into contact with a particular culture, community, race, religion and nation. From that moment onwards, he begins to grow in that environment.

As he grows, his personality is moulded by various groups and influences, and, in turn, he also influences these groups.

But one thing that results from participation in group life is that, gradually, man develops cultural, intellectual and emotional ties with, and loyalties towards, these groups, as a result of which one difficulty that crops up from these ties is that man begins to conceive humanity in this limited sense and considers those who are in his group as his own and others, who are not of his group, as aliens. This, sooner or later, poses a problem and then endangers peace and stability.

Thus, the fact that a person or a community is civilised, according to the common usage of the word, is no guarantee for stability and progress if the people are not prepared to make even a little sacrifice for the common good of all, in which their own wellbeing also is ensured.

So, the mantra for peace, progress and prosperity of all is to tune our mind to the wisdom summed up in the famous Sanskrit saying ‘Sarvay bhavantu suhkina, sarvay santu niramaya’ (Let all be happy and prosperous, and let all be healthy). Unless and until this forms the basis of our politics, economics and business or industrial management, conflict, confrontation, tension and turmoil will always remain. But the question is, how can we cultivate this attitude?

For this, the second mantra is ‘Vasudhaiv kutumbakam...’, which means that the whole world is a family. Now this happy condition, in which man has the feeling of belonging to the world-family rather than a small group, can be brought about if people are soul-conscious rather than body-conscious, for as a soul, one feels to be a member of the great human family, and one feels concerned for others who are not even physically related to him in any way.

It is through spirituality that one can continue to belong to a particular ethnic or racial group and yet, at the same time, go beyond all this because one will have a global, rather than provincial or narrow, perspective. It is this which can create stability and peace.