“All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.”
Swami Vivekananda, Pearls of Wisdom (1998), Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
As our world stares at the specter of a potentially devastating war between Russia and Ukraine, world leaders scramble to find a diplomatic paradigm for averting bloodshed and far-reaching economic ruin.
Due to the Ukrainian conflict, we may be on the verge of a nuclear war, which was described, just today, as "unwinnable" by Joe Biden and Antony Blinken at the UN.
While trying to keep up with the news updates on this matter with the hope that somehow the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces will be avoided, I cannot help but reflect on a Sanskrit shloka (“verse”) I learned and memorized as a child. The shloka appears in one of the Manuals of the Cosmos™, namely the Maha Upanishad, which is part of the Vedic literature and philosophy governing the Sanatana Dharma.
The Sanskrit mantra or verse literally means the following:
“One is a relative, the other stranger,
say the small minded.
The entire world is a family,
live the magnanimous.
Be detached,
be magnanimous,
lift up your mind,
enjoy the fruit of Brahmanic freedom.”
Maha Upanishad 6.71–75
“The entire world is a family,” translated from the Sanskrit Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, is the third line above. As I attempt to analyze the simplicity within such a profound phrase – written thousands of years ago – I begin to realize its potential implications and utility in almost every sphere of human existence.
It seems to me that the paradigm of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and the ethos contained therein could be utilized to achieve harmony in innumerable facets of human life: social, socioeconomic, sociopolitical, cultural, national, geopolitical, diplomatic, environmental, ethnic, spiritual, cosmic, and beyond.
Considering last night’s Russian invasion of Ukraine (10 pm, American EST, February 24th, 2022), this blog will focus on the modern geopolitical utility of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. The ethos of this “loftiest Vedic thought” as proclaimed by the Bhagavat Puran, one of the Manuals of the Cosmos, has been invoked by many Indian statesmen since the country became free of colonial rule. In fact, these two words are engraved in the entrance hall of the parliament of India.
As Vedic philosophy has permeated every aspect of life on the Indian peninsula and subcontinent (as discussed in my inaugural blog), it is not surprising that rulers of this land rarely attempted to physically expand their territory beyond the peninsula or subcontinent itself. There may also have been non-philosophical reasons such as abundance of natural resources. However, all available historic facts show that if rulers did expand, their attitude towards the people of newly acquired territories were in line with another Rig Vedic dictum, Sarvjan Hitaya, Sarvjan Sukhaya: “Welfare of all, happiness of all!”
It is even more intriguing that the cultural and philosophical influences of Vedic culture have been found in every corner of the globe, thus inculcating the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. This is once again based on the multitude of evidence emanating from a variety of scientific methods.
If we were to consider the entire world a family, any territorial war, economic exploitation, ethnic strife, religious conflicts, etc., would be tantamount to harming our own family or the family of mankind. Therefore, there will always be a sum loss of some kind from any of those activities. If we choose to look at the Earth in a cosmic context, any of those activities will weaken our planet. This would be analogous to overall weakening of our human civilization due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, meteorites, tsunamis, widespread fires, and floods, etc.
There is more than cursory evidence of significant Vedic influence on the territory around the Volga River in what is modern-day Russia. Idols of Vedic god Vishnu and Vedic goddess Kali (both from the 7th century AD), among many other Vedic-age artifacts, have been found in this region. I wonder if there would be war and bloodshed in these lands if they were still under the influence of Vedic culture embodying the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam!
It is clear that the sentiments of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam are on an exalted intellectual and psychological plane, and as such can only be achieved through the evolution of human consciousness - which, according to Vedic philosophy, is the goal and duty of human existence.
And that’s all folks...
At least for now…
Until next time…
“He who is of the same mind to the good-hearted, friends, enemies, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, the relatives, the righteous and the unrighteous, excels."
Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga of Meditation VI.9
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