‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakom’: A Concept for sustainable Earth
“We are on Earth to take care of life. We are on Earth to take care of each other”.
Every person on the earth is my relative- listening to this statement; you may consider it as absurd or simply a portrait by pen with white paper. But let me first endorse my scientific appetite with utter pleasure. While exploring the quest for sustainable development in the Ecosystem & Ecology class at the undergraduate level, one of the students asked me about the current global issues that to be addressed as transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any individual country. My answer was simply the repetition of the Indian knowledge system originated from the meadows of the Ganga basins as ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakom’. Women are the mother earth and the relationship is established with the delicate hands of mothers. Let me tell you the stories of the class where we had the pleasure of discussing plausible solutions to the contemporary global issues of the 21st century. The cold war of the last century is now in the pages of yellow titles. But the modern days have aggravated several challenges which are not less fascinating than the Cold War ages or the issues in the ice age experienced by the earth since time immemorial in the context of geological time scale. The issues range from disaster relief, through education for women empowerment and advancement to peaceful uses of atomic energy to address the growing demand of energy crisis across the globe. Africa is the mother of modern man but despite this virginity of human beings, the continent still has been suffering a lot as far as economic and social development and the protection and promotion of human rights. Ageing of the global population, victims of AIDS and their imponderable sufferings, issues of green and clean atomic energy, big data for sustainable development, child and youth safety, children and their destiny, climate change, decolonization, democracy, disarmament are some of the issues that can be found from Athens to Arizona desert. Adequate food to end poverty and malnutrition, Health, gender equality, human rights, migration, population, pollution, peace, refugees, water crisis along with the problems of youth are not less fascinating than the anticipated issues of climate change, global warming and the issues of artificial intelligence domain in the ecosystem of sustainability. When Ukraine suffers from the war, the impact of the war is found in the dull desert of Africa and the green pastures of South East Asia. The issues of AIDS and malaria are not the issue of Africa, the problems become a global issue of the nature of the disease and dissemination as the earth is one. The conflict between North & South Korea or the cross-border terrorism as unethically exercised by provocative people is the threat of peace and tranquility not only in South Asia but also the clouds condensed across the globe and the suppression of the rainbow of peace and disarmament. The intangible loss of biodiversity in the Amazon Rain Forest is not the problem of Brazil but the serious concern of the entire globe or the gradual decline of the nomadic ethnic groups of Africa or Andaman is not the loss of tribes of the particular geographic border. The huge storage of nuclear weapons may become a stigma of peace & tranquility for the entire globe. How these problems can be addressed. The answer lies in the concept of one earth, one family. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakom’ is the phrase that finds its origin in the ‘Maha-Upanishad’, essentially meaning “the world is family”. It emphasizes the interconnections and unity of all people and nations, promoting a sense of global harmony, cooperation, and shared responsibility for the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. It simply evokes “all those who dwell on this earth are a family”. The recent nightmare of COVID-19 is quite enough to understand the large and extended family of the earth. Let us think about the issues addressed earlier. The hidden danger of gene modification & AI-enabled virtual systems needs proper addressing for its holistic application. The 5000-year-old Indian civilization enriched with the traditional knowledge system with the knowledge of Vedas and the concept of universal brotherhood may be a rainbow for the issues. The Vedas are thought of as the treasure of knowledge in all respects starting from the ethics and moral values of individuals to the world. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakom is a lofty Vedanta thought from ‘Maha-Upanishad’, an ancient Indian scripture. Mahatma Gandhi’s Ahimsa (non-violence) both as a creed and a strategy is considered an extension of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakom. It envisions the unity of mankind as one single family. Nothing validates this ancient thought more than today’s interconnected world with instant satellite communication, swift air transport and the internet. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakom imparts a sense of oneness to our common humanity, our common development goals, and our common quest for a rule-based global order and international peace. It conveys succinctly that we prevail or perish together as one family as reflected by the single name of modern man, Homo sapiens sapiens. Only the impregnation of thought and ideas is not enough, rather the transformation into the real field is very important to address. Technological advancement garnished with the ever-increasing social platforms are now enabling the world into a large family but only the windows of data are not enough neither to address the real challenges of climate change nor to combat the nuclear threats. The hue and cry and the desert of solitude cannot become the oasis of technological advancement unless there is a little bit of empathy hands. The hunger &starvation of millions can only be addressed if the ‘Basundhora’ (Mother Earth) turns to be fertile with heaps of granary and planned distribution across the globe. The mythological values of the Veda & Upanishads with the hymns and chants of universal brotherhood and the sense of greater family only can be the bliss in this era. The recent G20 summit is another feather to beautify the crown of Vasudhaiva kutumbakom. Let us nourish the idea of millions of pleasure and happiness under the umbrella of a single earth.
