VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM—Part 1

VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM—Part 1

The President of Chinmaya Mission suggested that we speak on the phrase “वसुधैव कु टुम्बकं .” It means that the whole earth is one family. Please pay attention to the word “earth” (vasudha). It is not merely the narrow or restricted idea of the brotherhood of “man.” It includes the plants and animals, birds and fishes, the sun and moon, the earth and the celestial bodies and all things. As Tulsidas says, Gogocara jahan lagi mana jaai, all things which the senses can perceive and the mind can fathom. All of it is intimately related to me – in fact, it is me! The phrase comes from a verse found in the Maha Upanishad. It is also found in Hitopasesh and Panchatantra. It says:

Ayam bandhurayam neti, ganana laghucetasam Udaracaritanam tu vasudhaiva kutambakam (Maha Upanishad 6.71) Those of lesser understanding, the narrow-minded, consider some to be “my people” and others “not my people.”  The noble, magnanimous and intelligent ones understand the whole earth to be one family.

This verse hints at a comprehensive Hindu ideology which makes us seek the welfare of not only our little piece of earth and the people on it but the entire earth and all peoples. It is a clarion call to nobility and the fullness of an all-embracing understanding. To rise from the doldrums of the disintegrated and selfish intellect to the magnanimity and illustriousness of the large hearted, to see the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all things in the universe.

In short, it propounds a world view that seeks not only to validate the natural plurality which exists in the world but, more importantly, to reiterate a right which every species and indeed every community has to perpetuate and assert its existence. It is a social paradigm derived from a deep spiritual understanding of the universe in which we live.

The Hindu cannot seek power to the exclusion of others. It will be like taking care of the health of one of our leg to the exclusion of the other. When I marginalize any group I deny a part of myself.

Not only am I tied to other people but I am also intimately connected to the entire ecological system, to every little brook, every bird, every wild animal, every plant and animal in the forest.

The word Vasudha means earth. When we extract billions of barrels of oil from under the earth and bring it to the surface I leave a deep emptiness, cracks and fissures beneath by foot. There will be repercussions. I am again forced to quote Chief Seattle: “I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse (train) can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive. What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beast also happens to man. All are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. The earth does not belong to man. Man belongs to the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself”.

There is also a stark contrast embedded in the verse. Between what? Between “laghuchetasam and “udaracaritanam.” It is a comparison between two opposite world views. Laghu means small and chetas means mind, small or narrow minded. Udaracharita means broad minded or noble minded. Two world views are formed on these two words. One is restricted, narrow and seeking its own welfare to the exclusion of others and the other is all embracing, all encompassing and seeking the welfare of all.

If we formulate national policies based on the former world view then it leads to decadence and ultimate destruction. We must continue to strive for policies to be formulated on the basis of the latter world view.

It is my contention that democracy and capitalism both necessarily thrive on the former world view. At the centre of democracy is the idea of popular rule, majority versus minority, us versus them, our party and their party, while in capitalism it is my company out doing yours for maximum profit, workers versus management, investors versus the environment and so on. In both cases it is about staying on top! How can one stay on top without out doing the other?

To be continued…

 Source: Feature address delivered by Pujya Swami Prakashanandaji at second Varsha Pratipada Sansad, 2013

Pujya Swami Prakashanandaji is a direct disciple of world renowned Swami Chinmayanandaji. He is the Head of Chinmaya Mission Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana with responsibility for the Chinmaya Mission’s works across the Caribbean and Latin America.