Tuesday, April 26, 2016

"Excerpt 1.0"


Precisely a week ago, while I was smoking a cigarette in the storeroom, I found this old book ‘Journey to enlightened citizenship’ laying on the floor, perhaps misplaced. The rats had their own some share of the book cover but the main pages stays intake.

The book has exceprts from the speeches given by some of these thoughtful individuals. I believed the book aims at helping the reader gain yet one more perspective of the multi-faceted ideal of citizenship. In fact, it is an interesting book and it yearns me to blog about it.

And here, I feel I'm obliged to share one of the excerpts ‘Paraspara Bhava’ or mutual concern by Swami Budhananda from the book.

The very concept of citizenship presupposes that we are aware of the fact that we live in a society. In this society others also live, besides oneself. And everyone is intrinsically important. These are the basic facts.

Remember, man, by and large, has not yet proved by his conduct that considers everyone as intrinsically important as himself. In India at least we have not proved it!

It is in this context that some Vedic concepts would appear to be simply amazing. Take, for example, the Vedic idea of Paraspara Bhava or mutually of concern. This idea has its root in a highly developed social consciousness, which is not so much in evidence in our times, as it should have been good for us to have.

Cultivation of purposive mutuality of concern is entirely possible and most urgently needed in a modern  state and society. Only when honestly and wholeheartedly we respect the fundamental rights of one and all, can we be enlightened citizens. 

But psychologically, the best guarantee of everyone's fundamental rights is in the discharge of everyone's fundamental duties to others, taking into account the fact that we all live in a world of rising aspirations and dimishing natural resources.

Therefore, control of appetites is one of the individual important disciplines for the enlightened citizen. You take from the world what you barely need and give to the world as much as you can.

If you feel disquiet when you find so many high-power lights burning in the open railway yard, and go to the person concerned to request to put the lights off, you are an enlightened citizen.

If you stop to close a wayside municipal tap from which water has been flowing to no purpose, you are an enlightened citizen.

This is being great in little things, without being watched. The enlightened citizen is a concerned citizen. Wastage anywhere hurts his sense of economy. A saving anywhere improves the credit balance of all.

FYI: Excerpt 1.1, coming soon.

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