Question

speech on world is family

Answer 1

The title may sound like some fantasy, or a overly utopian idea, but actually this is the premise of the Vedic teachings. That is why there is the saying in Sanskrit,Vasudhaiv Kutumbikam, “the world is one family”. Certainly we can see that thewhole world is populated by people who are working to attain the same things: happiness, peace, security, resources like food and shelter, and a hopeful future. How much easier it could be if we focused on our similarities instead of ourdifferences. And with that, how much easier it would be to find the necessary cooperation that would pave the way for global assistance in helping everyone acquire what they need.Yes, we are all born in certain parts of the world and may have different physical or cultural characteristics. You may be born a Caucasian in America, or a black person in Africa, or an Arabian, or German, or in an Islamic family or Christian, etc. But did you make a decision that this was what you were going to be? Or did you just sort of find yourself in this situation? Did you just happen to have a family that taught you what you should accept yourself to be? Or did you really make a deliberate decision that this was the identity you wanted to accept? Or, on the other hand, would you really like to see more deeply than this identity and discover what you are above and beyond the temporary and changing body? The fact of the matter is that we are all hoping and struggling to find the same basic needs as everyone else. So this means thatwhatever the appearances of the body may be, we all have many of the same aspirations. And we share the planet similar to the way a family of brothers and sisters share the same home.Why the Vedic texts teach how we are all one family can be explained. The Vedic literature, the oldest spiritual and philosophical texts in the world, do not preach the superiority of one religion over another, but espouse the doctrine ofsantana-dharma, which is the eternal path for all living beings based on the nature of the soul. These ancient Vedic scriptures only recommend the highest level ofdharmathat a person can follow, depending on what he or she would like to accomplish in this life. Otherwise, we can consider a variety of thoughts and philosophies that may assist in our progress. This is also why heRig Vedaexplains:aano bhadrah kritawo yantuvishwataha, which means, “Let noble thoughts come to us from everywhere.”The trouble we see so much of in the world today is not so much a clash of religions, but a clash of individual egos of people who associate their bodily identity and cause with their religion. It is the tendency of the human mind to cling to those people who are similar, and claim superiority overthose who are different. This itself leads to the divisions of religion, caste, ethnic group, or race. Thus, the tendency becomes to defend one’s ownweakness, inferiority or insecurity by unnecessarily criticizing and hurting others to establish one’s own sense of position and superiority. However, in these days this is often done in the egotistical guise of defending one’s own religion. But this ignores the very love, compassion and tolerance that most religions claim to represent or teach. And certainly it ignores the very love, mutual respect and cooperation that we seek, and that the world depends on if we and this planet are to survive. Why not take the noble path of being more willingto live up to your religion rather than to simply fight or die for it? This alone would settle many ofour differences and world problems. We have to decide whether we want to live with each other orfight with one another. The answer should be obvious.As it is concluded in theAtharva Veda: “We are birds of the same nest. Wearing different skins, speaking different languages, believing in different religions, and belonging to different cultures – yet we share the same home, our earth. Born on the same planet, covered by the same skies, gazing at the same stars, breathing the same air, we must learn to progress happily together or miserably perish together. For humans can live individually but can survive only collectively.”