World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations"

Address by the Kapur Surya Foundation President, World Public Forum “Dialogue of Civilizations” Co-Founder and Co-Chairman Jagdish Chandra Kapur to the Rhodes Forum participants

October 9, 2009, Rhodes, Greece

Human-centric development is the realization by all humans, their highest potential, material, mental, supramental and spiritual, within ecological constraints.

Through the millennia the perennial wisdom was enshrined in the interconnectedness of all cosmic phenomenon and consequently that of our planet (in an ubiquitous all pervasive sea of energy) defined in different cultures differently. Similarly, contemporary new sciences posit an all pervasive energy field called quantum vacuum or zero point energy that exists in empty places. And this has consequences for all animate and inanimate existence, providing an even more complex pictures of nature.

This oneness and interconnectedness of all phenomenons obligates a holistic picture of our planetary vision to displace the forces which are diminishing the humans through the frequent fragmentation of the human heritage cultivated over the millennia. And its confinement into a monetary straitjacket by glorifying a means of exchange for the maximization of financial, and material advantages.

There was thus an urgent need to understand the linkages and articulate roots of the problems, enlarge the orbit of human and global consciousness to a point, from where a new social architecture becomes visible. And to contain the paralysis which is now setting into the human system.

Both dogmatic adherence to the market, and religious fundamentalism are battling for the human future on earth and heaven and thus, the large mass of the humans are the victims.

Therefore to transit, to the human-centric process of development, these should be based on consumption, or the satisfaction of the minimum basic needs for all rather than production at any cost irrespective of the concerns for justice, ecology and reason. As only an Integral Human being can search and realize the path of the inseparable cosmic reality. It alone can search for the meaning and purpose of life and realization of the true human destiny. The line moves from a human-being to the family, to the community, to the nation and to humanity. There is a converging path and in which the role of one over the other is changing or prevails from time to time. The perennial wisdom which goes beyond science and materiality and having survived the ravages of time is still applicable today. All the while, we should not lose the sight of our ultimate goal that is of human-centric society. We have to realize the infinite potential of the human mind as a part and an expression of the infinite expanse of the cosmic reality, and to bring the human into a new mainstream of peace and stability. This infinite that we seek is the ultimate truth, this infinite is the distance between the truth and the untruth.

The fundamental processes of nature are multi-dimensional and vastly complex. Science studies an aspect of these complexities. Quantum science is establishing the unity and un-fragmental nature of the organic conception of reality. While we have positioned ourselves in a material world, the universe is becoming visible as a spiritual reality. Unprecedented human intervention in the planetary environment has upset the delicate balances sustains the biological survival of the planet.

These billions of years of continuity and cosmic interconnectivity become a crucible for the evolution of human consciousness. This therefore, is an internal problem with vast external ramification. Cosmic reality is a holistic, dynamic, unified field of linkages where everything is interconnected. We are mindlessly disturbing and disrupting the interconnectedness beyond self-correcting, self-generating limits of natural processes. More and more of these processes and others are approaching irreversibility.

In the early part of the 20th century when the colonial powers were trying to consolidate their position in the colonies, a number of movements to neutralize the growing exploitation and insecurity were taking place.  Perhaps, the most important was the socialist movement which wanted to release working classes from the exploitation by the colonial powers.  hat was the beginning of the Russian Revolution. The Chinese civil war beginning of India’s freedom movement.

The first World War strengthened the revolutionary movements in Russia and in China. The freedom struggle in India and many other developing countries. The Second World War brought a sea change in the shifting of political and economic power from Britain and some of the other European countries and the loss of their colonies. Similarly, during the early part of the century, the humanist movement begin to take shape.

HUMANISM

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IEHU) of more than one hundred humanist (Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Albert Einstein, E M Forester, Erich Fromm, Aldus Huxley, Yahudi Menuhin, Peter Ustinov and others…), rationalist, secular, ethical culture, and free thought organizations in more than 40 countries. The happy human is the official symbol of I.H.E.U as well as being regarded as a universally recognized symbol for those that call themselves ‘Humanist’. In 2002 I.H.E.U, General Assembly unanimously adopted the Amsterdam declaration 2002 which represent the official defining statement of World Humanism (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).

“Humanism is a democratic and ethical life stance, which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethic based on human and other natural values in the spirit of reason and free enquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic and it does not accept supernatural view of reality.”

Humans are a duality body and soul.  By separating body and soul and creating Humanism with total reliance or rationalism, it separated the vision and spiritual contact which encourages and creates Humanist Values. Its consequences are visible in all parameters of human advancement. It did not harmonise with psycho-social and psycho-spiritual conditions of the times.

Its progress was further retarded by the addition of many prefixes, its definition become limited to the prefix of Christian, Buddhist, Jewish Renaissance and Marxist and also by the proliferation of scores of Humanist organizations such as American, British, Judaist.

INTEGRAL HUMANISM

In 1965, Deendayal Upadhayaya, a leader of the Hindu party, the ‘Jan Sangh’ through a series of lectures and a publication spelled out his views on ‘Integral Humanism’ in his own words.

“Both the systems- Capitalist as well as Communist – have failed to take account of the ‘INTEGRAL MAN’ his true and complete personality and his aspiration. One considers him a here selfish being lingering after money, having only one law, the law of fierce competition in essence the law of the jungle whereas other has viewed him as a feeble lifeless cog in the whole scheme of things regulated by rigid rules and incapable of any good unless directed. The centralization of power, economic and political, is implied in both, therefore result in dehumanization of man”. ‘Man’ the highest creation of God has own identity. We must reestablish him in his rightful position being him the realization of his greatness, reckon his abilities and encourage him to exert for attaining divine heights of his latest personality. This is only possible through decentralized economy.

We want neither Capitalism nor Socialism. We at the progress and happiness as ‘Integral man’ continued derailing of man by man. Nations are also a duality. Their physical reality and soul.” (Deendayal Upadhyaya Compiled of his lectures)

COSMIC HUMANISM

Relating to cosmos, the boundless, infinite expanse of the universe- planet earth is speck on this metaphysical and spiritual idea.

‘In contrast to normative humanism, cosmic humanism sees man as a part of the larger cosmic consciousness, with unlimited potential because of the inner divinity and capacity to reach out for the infinite on the material, mental, supramental and spiritual pathways of infinite consciousness and force.  Or in other words, it is the determination to regard truth as useful and put it to work. To apply knowledge for the purpose of guiding the social change and individual and self-development, that is the goal of scientific humanism.’ (Wikipedia Encyclopedia)
In the words of poet Tagore,
“The Traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own
and one has to wander through all the outer world
to reach the inner most shrine at the end.” (To Merge with the Cosmic consciousness’ of ultimate reality, the truth where all becomes one.)

There are plurality of diverse forces functioning in life and nature.  Thus a multiplicity of perception value integration of meaning can only take place at highest levels of spiritual perfection.  Such harmonization cannot take place at the material or interests level, but at the spiritual level, where all becomes one.

Monotheism ends up in political extremism excluding all other traditions.

Neo-pagan resurgence, a new location of the sacred plurality, there is one essence in multiplicity of forms.

Infinite, perfect, immutable. No absolute in life. There is a continuous non-stoppable change. Nothing can be frozen, that included the faiths. There is no individual highest possible degree of perfection in science or metaphysics. Nothing but infinity is unalterable, can remain static, unchanged.

The fundamental difference between the Western and the Eastern thought - ‘where the twain shall never meet’, is that West condemns as blasphemy of humans aiming to be God. In the Eastern thought the humans can achieve the images of God. Rivers can become the sea, but never make the sea a part and parcel of itself’. In the Buddhist thought humans can proclaims ‘I am the dew drop,  I am the Ocean.’

At the twilight hour in the words of Poet Tagore, ‘While the Sun is setting in the West, morning waits behind the patient dark of the East meek and silent’.

But the vision of the infinite should be clear, where space and time cease to rule. Our history will be that of social life, and attainment of spiritual ideal. We cannot allow the culture of consumerism assume its own divine images. ‘Nations get organized for a mechanized purpose into an organized self-interest of an entire people. But our view of society should be the spontaneous self-expression of man as a social being not eliminated to a phantom’.

We must reestablish the duality to bring the East and West in harmony, realize a multipolar world, or there will be no durable peace. And search for a human-centric world will be an illusion and world full of conflicts and insecurities.

We have to save the human future from a perpetual helplessness of emasculation. Reconcile and let man be the measure, and let nations assume moral responsibility.