UNIVERSALISM AND WORLD PEACE
The simplest definition of the universalism is boundless breadth of vision, possessed, generally, by a God-realized person or Brahm Gyani. Universalism required one to step out of his island of parochial and personal individualism and merge himself into the vast ocean of Brahmand. Brahmand, actually, means infinite expansion of consciousness that owns the entire universe. The Vedantic version of such an idealize perception is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. In this perception, all dualism is dissolved. No distance or difference exists between ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘he’. The vision of the universalist is not fragmented but holistic. This means a perspective of totality that envisions the part as the whole and vice versa.
Universalism enunciates the attitude of one for all and all for one. It is also consonant with the Advait philosophy of non-dual God, so ably elucidated by Shankaracharya. It envisages the whole universe as monistic God - the only reality. All else is illusion.
Universalism of God
In this context, God or Brahm also broadly embraces the forces or agents of nature. These agents include the sun, the stars, the moon, the rain, the rivers, the earth, the wind, the hills, etc. Since the dawn of creation, these agents have proclaimed and unceasingly practiced the message of universalism. They have been serving man, nay all beings, without any discrimination. The principal practitioner and role model of universalism is, of course, the Almighty God. Even His detractors and atheists are generously fed, nourished and housed by Him. God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience, too, are lighthouse - manifestations of His universalism.
Universalism of Man
As a matter of face, man is an amusing blend of individualism and universalism. The chain of hospitals, dispensaries, laboratories, roads, canals, educational institutions, powerhouses, post and telegraph offices, orphanages and Red Cross centers set up by man in all corners of the world are standing symbols of his spirit of universalism. In the event of any country being afflicted by an emergency, disaster or calamity, all the other countries suo-moto rally together to the relief and rescue of the afflicted county. Man had also founded and organized so many international institutions and bodies like the League of Nation (now defunct), the United Nations Organization (U.N.O), the UNESCO, International Court of Justice, etc. All such institutions are man’s concrete achievements in universalism. Good Samaritans, altruistic crusaders and philanthropists can be found in plenty even now. Then there are high human and ethical values evolved by man as his proud heritage. Some of these precious values are humanism, harmony, peace, love, compassion, co-operation, tolerance and God-consciousness. They are ornaments and beacon-lights of universalism.
This universalism is at once the cause and consequences of unfolding the potential divinity in man. Our holy texts also proclaim man’s innate universalism. The Upanishads have it that both ‘I’ and ‘you’ are God (Aham Brahm Asmi and Tat Twam Assi). The Bible tells us that man was created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27). The Bhagwad Gita provides a splendid blueprint for universalism in the shape of three classic yogic disciplines i.e. the Gyan Yoga (Path of Knowledge), Karam Yoga (Path of Action), and the Bhakti Yoga (Path of Devotion).
Gross ground reality
Despite all the rosy picture of universalism and the blueprints for actualizing it, the ground reality, however, is quite gross and turbid. The first grievous blow to universalism was stuck by the eldest son of our first ancestor, i.e. Adam, named Caine. He killed his own younger brother Abel out of petty jealousy. Since then, bloodshed and brutality, division and discord have been adopted by mankind as their pet pastime and guiding rule of life. War and violence on the slightest excuse were embraced by man as his standing sport and strategy. Such a sub-standard stance battered universalism and entailed perpetual anguish and agony for mankind. The Second World War alone accounted for the wanton slaughter of fifty four million humans from 1939 to 1945. During the subsequent period, 1945 to 1985, even after the establishment of the U.N.O., twenty million persons were killed in one hundred and sixty wars. This leads to the categorical conclusion that international bodies like U.N.O., created particularly for preventing wars and establishing peace, proved helpless to tame the savage tiger roaring in human heart. The partition of India in 1947 turned humans into beasts. Out of sheer communal frenzy, they butchered lakhs of their innocent brethren in that dark period.
The First Battlefield
The first and formidable theatre of all wars is, surely, the human heart. It is in this theatre that the fire of war first erupts for some reasons, real or imaginary. Thereafter it spreads like wildfire and converts peaceful fields, homes and flourishing centres of civilization into pools of blood. Imagination reels to remember the terrific toll of death and devastation wrought by Atom Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities during World War II.
Needless to say that universalism and peace are inseparable. Both have their ultimate headquarters in human hearts. In fact, the entire edifice of human civilization, culture, art and thought is built on the firm and fine foundations of peace and love. It is direly and immediately needed to regenerate and renovate the degenerated and degraded human heart and psyche.
The Crusader of Humanism
Happily, the Nirankari Baba is currently crusading for the regeneration of moral values. His Holiness, is committed to the creation of the Kingdom of God, here and now. His mystic code carries certain novel features, which make an enduring impact on human heart. One such feature is that no discrimination is made on account of age, sex, caste, colour and creed. This means that he initiates even young children and the youth. Their hearts are deeply imbued with God-consciousness and humanism. Their hands are also trained invariably to touch and caress the feet of fellow-devotees. How can such caressing hands ever be lifted to strike or injure anyone? Another concept diffused by the Baba among his devotees is one of non-proprietorship and non-possession by man, of all worldly assets. These assets, according to the Baba, belong to the Almighty God and not to any individual. They have been bestowed on man by God simply as a trust to be utilized for human welfare.
HOW FAR IS MAN GOD’S OWN IMAGE
"Man was created in Devil’s own image, not in God’s, as revealed by the Bible." I was stunned by this cynical and heretical outburst of my friend. He supported his verdict by virulent wars, violence, wickedness, crime and corruption - man’s agonizing achievements. As a God-conscious person, I passionately pleaded that man was certainly created in God’s own image. That after being created by God, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, no doubt, and were seduced by Satan is, however, a different matter.
Now look at man’s creativity in the scientific realm. Aeroplanes have been able to defeat distance to an astounding measure. After taking breakfast in Srinagar, you can lunch in Kanya Kumari. By means of a telephone you can talk to people thousands of miles apart in a couple of minutes. Your T.V. set enables you in your bedroom t observe live-portraits of people, places as also hear news and views and see sports being played anywhere on the globe.
Then, the creative miracles achieved by man in the medical science can hardly be brushed aside. By equipping man with artificial limbs and transplanting human organs (even eyes), the doctors and surgeons have virtually given a new lease of life to the terminal and infirm patients.
Last but not least are the crowning achievements of man in the speculative, mystical and metaphysical realm. The ins and outs of divine identity and mystique have been unfolded by saints, seers, sages and prophets by virtue of their meditative and spiritual strides. All this stands amply illustrated in our scriptures that project the Voice of God. The evolution and elevation of man to the lofty level of Prophets and True Masters hardly leaves any room for doubt that man was created in God's own image. The True Masters have, in fact, bridged the gulf between man and his maker, i.e. God.
THE DEVIL AND THE DIVINE
One fine morning. I found my infant granddaughters playing joyous pranks. Suddenly, the serenity of the happy home turned into a turmoil. The younger kid planted a powerful slap on her elder sister. For quite sometime, the tranquil drawing room was converted into a violent boxing arena. The bone of contention between the two sisters was a toy robot. The parents had missed bringing two pieces. The elder sister was determined to grab the new toy exclusively for herself. The younger one could not put up with this patent injustice. The tiff between the infants induced in me a philosophic mood. The Kingdom of God, according to Christ, is people by little children. Why then, should the two children have fallen foul of each other just over a toy? Who had implanted acquisitive and aggressive impulses in their pure head and heart? Doesn’t the brutish behaviour of two kids refute the truth of the dictum: Man was created in God’s own image. It also made me sceptic about the wisdom of Vedantic concepts: Aham Brahmo Asmi (I am God), and Tat Twan Asi (You are That-God). They sounded just like empty clich�s.
Satan in human heart
How did the Satan, after all, gain entrance into the noble hearts of innocent children? I was agitated by the crucial question: "Is man inherently a devil or divine?" A close observation of human conduct and performance leads to one inevitable inference: Man, the crown of creation, is, in fact, neither wholly divine nor devilish. He is a mysterious mix of the two. At times, man soars to sublime heights of altruism and self-abnegation. Spontaneously and even unsolicited, sometimes he performs superb acts of supreme sacrifice for his fellow-men, not even his blood relations. But, by and large, even the same person behaves as a brute: his diabolical deeds drag him down to the depths of depravity and degradation.
Co-existence of good and
evil
A glance at the spacious spectrum of human life, all down the ages, confirms one fundamental fact: the saint and the sinner, good and evil, have always co-existed in, as well as outside and individual. King Ravana of Sri Lanka (a demon in human form) was a contemporary of Lord Rama, the very soul of righteousness. There was Lord Krishna and his perverse maternal uncle, Kansa. Then there were the Dharamputra Yudhistra and the wicked Duryodhana. Similar antipodes existed in all ages and they do exist even now. Even our original ancestors, Adam and Eve, were not free from the dichotomy of the Devil and the divine. The great God had bestowed on them in the garden of Eden all possible dainties. They had even been granted immunity from disease, death, sorrow and suffering. God had in lieu of all these bounties imposed on them (Adam and Eve) only one injunction: they were to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. It was the apple fruit, growing on the tree of knowledge. But even this solitary decree of the Almighty Creator was contravened first by Eve and then by Adam. It is immaterial whether this lapse was committed by Eve, at the instigation of Satan without, in the garb of a serpent, or by Satan within the heart of Eve. Certain divines and scholars are of the view that Eve had already fallen because of the Satan operating within her heart before the Satan outside seduced her. For violation of the divine decree, Adam and Eve had to pay a very heavy penalty. They lost their lovely paradise. They were hurled down to the earth for committing a breach of trust. They had also to forfeit their immunity from disease, death, sin and suffering.
Satan within and without
This brings us to the crucial question: Who after all created Satan within (human heart) and without? Did the great God do so? Undoubtedly, God is the only overall and original creator of all things and beings. Then Satan within and without, too, is positively the creation of the Almighty Himself. But how then does this act of God, that was apparently destructive (of man), fit in with His sublime and compassionate character? God, after all, is believed by all to be the reservoir of all righteousness. How could He stoop down to create Satan, sin and suffering for torturing mankind? Even after creating Satan, why did God give him such a long rope to play havoc even with innocent and noble folk? No satisfying answer to such capricious and arbitrary actions of Almighty is forthcoming. One thing, however, is clear enough. The struggle between good and evil, between sin and saintliness, has persisted as perpetual plague for mankind right since the dawn of creation, and will probably endure till doomsday. What has been the outcome of this classic conflict between good and evil? It must be admitted painfully that so far, the devil has scored over the divine. Vice, sin and suffering rule the roost, saints and seers notwithstanding. Milton, however, sounded an optimistic note. He regained for man the paradise lost by him. This was achieved, by man’s own contrition (for his original sin) and redemptive intercession by Christ, the Son of God. But all this redemption was in the spiritual field. The Satan still scores blatantly in the secular sphere. Who them is more powerful, God or Satan?
It has already been argued that man, though created in God’s own image, is a mysterious mix of the devil and the divine - the noble and ignoble. It is also a timeless truth that man is subject of the triangular pulls of free will, sin and salvation, simultaneously. Nor can it be denied that uptil now, the devil has generally scored over the divine in this world of ours. A crucial question has also been posed: Whether the Satan prowling without and latent within man, was also the creation of the Creator Himself? If so, whether this venture of God is consonant with His sublimity and sanctity? Further: Why such a long rope to Satan to work havoc with human society and civilization? These are fundamental, metaphysical and ethical enigmas that are difficult to answer.
Human animal
The ambiguity implicit in the human animal (or angel) has evoked opposite reactions from different seers and scholars. In Hamlet, Shakespeare said: What a piece of work is man how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving; how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god, the beauty of the world, and yet to me quintessence of dust, man delights not me. Manu, the ancient seer and jurist of India, opined that normally it is very rare for the common man to act righteously. His first tendency is to commit sin.
Origin of evil
Why does, man commit sin, though believed to carry the stamp of God’s own image? This paradox needs explanation. God is supposed to be the paragon of all purity, power and freedom. As an image of the Almighty, man, too, has naturally been endowed with or delegated by God, all His attributes, including power of free-will. Logically, such a delegated power and privilege carries with it the discretion to do good or to commit sin. Thus, it is wrong to malign God for implanting sin or Satan in human heart, particularly because the lure of sin prima facie looks so lovely. Another pertinent question: Why doesn’t the Almighty intervene in time, when man, His favourite creature, goes off the rails? The first impediment for God to intervene is, of course, His own delegation of authority of free will to man. Secondly, God reigns like a constitutional head; He does not rule. The powers of declaring a state of emergency and taking over all administration in His own hands, no doubt, vests in God, to cope with abnormal conditions. But such powers are exercised very sparingly by God. Obviously, God had granted full autonomy to man, His replica, to fashion his own career, conduct and destiny. The powers of imposing punitive retribution on man in the final reckoning, for his sins, are no doubt reserved by God with Himself, in the form of Karma Charka (Law of Cause and Effect). For accomplishing this ultimate target, God any incarnate Himself on earth, as visualized in Gita (4:1):
Whenever righteousness declines and sin reigns supreme in the world, I descend in human form to wipe off the wicked, and to redeem the righteous.
Free-will
Here an important question crops up: Why should man, the peak of creation, exercise his free will arbitrarily? Why does he commit vile sins to the detriment of his fellow-creatures and thus cause them unnecessary suffering? Equity and ethics demand that exercise of free-will by man should be regulated, in consonance with divine norms, and higher consciousness, becoming of the divine origin of man. But there is the eternal gulf between code and conduct. Here comes the role of education, ethical and metaphysical, to be enforced by the state, society, seers and statesmen for imparting enlightenment to the human stuff. Only then, will man exercise his free-will like and angel, becoming of the dignity of God Himself Milton told us in Paradise Lost, in Book III.
I formed them (Adam and Eve) free and free they must remain, till they enthrall themselves, I else must change.
In letting loose Satan around man, God also wanted to test the steadfastness and integrity of man, His highest creation, when faced with temptation.
Eve’s disobedience of God in eating the forbidden apple fruit under the instigation of Satan and the resultant fall of the couple from the Garden of Eden to the earth was not an unmixed evil after all. Through their fall, Adam and Eve attained full consciousness of their free-will - independent potential and personality. After disobeying God, man marched towards his self-discovery, self-fulfillment and ultimately self-realization and redemption.
It will be recalled that, originally, Satan was a prominent angel in the Court of God. He could not, however, stand the absolute autocracy and ‘irrational’ rule of God. He, accordingly, raised the standard of revolt against God. Reeling under the relentless attacks of adverse and underserved calamities, even an aggrieved individual, in utter frustration, at times, curses and challenges God! The incursions on man by Satan from without become fruitful only when man welcomes them willfully from within, in the exercise of his free will. Environment, too, has its impact in polluting human mind. But, as already stated, all-pervasive education in higher values is the best answer against the attacks of Satan from without and within.
No appreciation of good
without evil
Sin and evil may be justified from another angle, as well. Evil is, inevitably, the offspring of exercise of free will. But the existence and possibility of evil can’t be visualized without the existence and possibility of the existence of good. In other words, the intrinsic superior merit of good cannot be appreciated except in the background of demerit of evil, by contrast.
Why should Satan be given such a long rope to bruise and batter the innocent and the noble? Why would not God curb and kill the Satan in time? Why should faith of the noble people in the justice of God be eroded because of the long lease enjoyed by the Satan? The explanation for this moral and metaphysical dilemma is to be found in the clemency and compassion of the Creator. God wants to elevate every member of His creation, including the Satan to perfection and redemption, ultimately. This consummation can be brought about by man’s own repentance and his personal resolve for regeneration. The light imparted by the True Masters, coupled with God’s grace, has also an important role in uplifting man.
The living and contemporary True Master, who can sublimate Satans into saints, is the Nirankari Baba. He is waging a massive crusade of divine communion and consciousness for curing the spiritual myopia even of the stinking sinners. His magic Mantra (Word) for regenerating the fallen man, like that of Jesus, is "Love thy Lord and they neighbour." Let man realize that he is after all, a finite creature, an image, and has to seek his strength from his original, infinitude of God. Man must surrender to Him and His decrees. Only then can he regain the Paradise Lost. Wills he?
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY
NEW YEAR
Yet another Christmas has come and gone. The New Year, too, has dawned. Does the Merry Christmas simply means "Eat, drink, dress glamorously and be merry?" Is it merely a day of display of fun, festivity, feast, finery, cakes, cabarets and exchange of toys and gifts? Or, is the Christmas Day identified by pealing of bells from illuminated churches, their midnight services and merry carols? All this is no more than the external fa�ade of Christmas. What then is the inner spirit of Christmas?
I got an answer to this ticklish question when I attended the Christmas day service of the local Roman Catholic Church. Jesus Christ was born on this day at Bethlehem. The prophetic words of the Bishop are still vibrant in my ears, head and heart: "Has Christ incarnated in your hearts, O saints? By incarnation I mean birth of Christ and Christian ethos in your heads and hearts. Has Jesus made his home in your homes? We Christians have been celebrating Christmas for some two thousand years with so much fanfare. But can you say confidently that Jesus had actually incarnated in your hearts and he is happy to be domiciled there? If not, why?"
Crucial question
These meaningful and metaphysical questions chilled my spine. I felt a powerful jolt in my entire frame. Can I say that the contemporary Jesus, i.e. the Nirankari Baba has incarnated in my heart? I cannot but hang my head down. I have to say "No" and plead guilty. I may be excused if I say that here "I" symbolizes the so-called devotee - a common Christian or a Nirankari. For, I hold all faiths and religions as the same cosmic ray of light, despite the diversity of their labels. Needless to say that the above mentioned crucial questions raised by the Bishop are not routine and superficial queries. They form the bedrock and bastion of Ultimate Truth and Absolute Reality. By these questions, the Bishop wanted to verify whether the Christian spirit and values have permeated our hearts and guide our day-to-day conduct.
Christian vision and
values
What, after all, are the Christian vision and values? The towering Christian value is, of course, Love - love for the Lord, love for His creation (our neighbour) and love even for one’s enemies. Then come the concomitant traits of compassion, magnanimity, non-violence and freedom from hunger (physical and spiritual). - Be thou perfect, as thy Father in heaven is." This is Christ’s clarion call for inner development and excellence. By imbibing these values we become eligible, says Christ, to become denizens of the Kingdom of God, where there is all bliss and beatitude forever.
Christ, himself of poor stock (a carpenter), further enjoined that these values should be practised by us in everyday life. We must feed the hungry, help and heal the sick and extend genuine solace to the oppressed and distressed in every possible way. His concept of son ship of God for every human naturally establishes a bond of universal brotherhood among the human race. He had a message of liberation for one and all, particularly for the small fry. He threw open the gates of heaven to the poor and, virtually, closed them for the arrogant rich.
In his famous "Sermon on the Mount", Jesus significantly recites his values of life in a nutshell. In this Sermon, he catalogues the type of persons who bag the blessings of God:
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they, which
do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they, which
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when
men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you.
Bible (Metthew
5:3 - 12)
Happy New Year
The first New Year (of Christian era) started on first January of the first year, about a week after the birth of Jesus Christ. The spirit and the significance of the New Year, actually, is to renew ourselves, our personality and values, so as to be worthy followers of Jesus Christ. Let our old Adam self) die on the dawn of the New Year, so that we must have a new birth with purity and righteousness. We must leave the world better than we found it.