The Magsaysay Award

Living in the Present Guided by Ancient Teachings

The Forum Speech delivered by Rev. Dadaji. September 03, 1996

My dear Divine Sisters and Brothers,

I have reverence for the whole of creation, I have respect for every country on this globe. Today I have come over here to your holy land, the Republic of Philippines. It is the land of the late Ramon Magsaysay, the former President of your Republic. Mr. Magsaysay was a great son of this soil. His untimely death in an airplane crash on 17th March, 1957 was a great national tragedy. It is heartening to know that people of this Republic have not forgotten their leader. As the awardee of this year's Magsaysay Award for community leadership, I take this opportunity to pay my homage to the late Ramon Magsaysay. Friends, I am very glad to meet you, the torch-bearers of humanity. I am proud and feel privileged to address this august gathering of those souls who are concerned with the good of humanity at large.

We are living in an era of science and technology. Scientific and technological advances have changed our perceptions about ourselves and the world around. Modern man has got all sorts of technological devices at his disposal to make his life happy and comfortable. In spite of phenomenal development in the material requirements of man, he is experiencing psychological, moral and spiritual deprivation. Never before in the history of mankind, the world was so much divided on the basis of race, colour, religion, nationality, gender, economic factor, ideology, etc. Since the beginning of this century, great thinkers have started writing about the implications of' "scientific materialism". By and large they characterize the modern world as the 'age of crises'.

New ideas, new visions originate because philosophers in all ages have speculated about the notion of who man is and what should be his relationship with the external world. Man is seen either as a part of the larger order, or he is considered as the measure of all things. There is no agreement about the two positions. Modern man is confused and bewildered. There is no department of human activity which is free from crisis of one sort or the other. Our personal life, family life, social relations, all of them are vitiated.

Material advancement is equated with personal happiness and social progress. Any obstacle in reaching this goal is pushed aside. Moral laws become redundant in the absence of moral force, key social institutions like family, community, school, etc, have lost control over man. There is lack of mutual trust and love between parents and children, teachers and students and employers and the employees. Fear rather than love guides the relations. Man is deprived of self-esteem. He gets alienated from himself, from higher-self, from others, from productive activity and the produce.

New social, political and economic arrangements to sustain such visions have increased man's loneliness. Our religion is reduced to mechanical observance of a set of rituals. Moral values and religion have been pushed back by the religion of state-welfares, politics of power and market forces. Social solidarity and family ties are weakened. All our relationships are guided by selfish motives. Even God is approached either out of Fear or out of greed. There is criminalisation of politics and it has become a game of opportunism. Industrial and business activities are dominated by the all powerful profit motive.

Complexity of human life is seen either as a web of power relations or parts of a machine. It leads to dangerous clashes and conflicts or depletes resources without care for fellow being. In either case, life itself is threatened. The whole world is trying for unity and peace. What are the causes that have brought this sorry state of affairs? Thinkers and reformers of the world are busy diagnosing the causes and finding out solutions to this world crisis.

The social philosophy of liberalism was aimed at individual liberty. It emphasised the rights of all to various kinds of freedom. It occupied an intermediate position between dogmatic conservatism and irresponsible radicalism. It fought against the authority of the society over the individual. To protect individual rights was a noble idea, but it also eroded the idea of social responsibility. As self-defining subject, in pursuit of self-regarding action, the individual derived his life purpose from his self-interest. Rest is irrelevant. The principle of 'live and let live' in actual practice means, let me live and let others fend for themselves. In its extreme Form, it denies even the existence of the inner life of man. In its benevolent form it tries to make a deal with tradition and religion if these can help in promoting self-interest of individuals.

If in liberal scheme of things, reason was given only an instrumental role to calculate costs and benefits in identifying desires to be fulfilled. It needed to be corrected. The corrective came from thinkers like Voltaire in the form of what is described as the 'age of enlightenment' or reason. They claim that happiness is the highest good and it can be achieved only through human reason. There is nothing wrong in glorification of human reason. But, what do we find in practical life? Sometimes the rational beings behave in irrational manner, why is it so? The reason is that the human intellect may become a slave of passions and self-interest. Can we accept such intellect as the only basis of individual development or social structure and reconstruction?

As a corrective measure to the drawbacks of liberalism and enlightened self-interest, the doctrine of socialism was propounded. Socialism whether utopian or scientific is basically an economic system. It emphasises that society is divisible into the haves and the have-nots. This distinction is the root cause of all social evils. What is required as a corrective measure is the collective ownership of means of production and a just methodology, based on the principle 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'. Socialism as a theory was a grand idea, hut in practice if resulted in the supremacy of the state over the individuals. It became the enemy of individual liberty and freedom. I am not against the spirit of liberalism, rationalism and socialism. Bur it seems that they have not fully succeeded in solving the basic problems of humanity. All attempts to solve human problems taking recourse to religion, economic power and political power have failed. Does if mean that the problems are unsolvable? We cannot solve the problems of the world by merely giving sermons to the people, nor can they be solved by passing laws in parliament and enforcing them on the people.

Creation of wealth and its distribution also has its own limitations. Superstitious and ritualistic religion despite its enormous power fails to elevate human life. Thought rules the world. As one thinks, so one becomes. What is required is an attitudinal change. For this, we need a sound philosophy of life and religion based on reason.

The post renaissance theories of social reconstruction suffer from various limitations. The ancient thinkers of the east and the west have thought over the problems of man and the society in which he lives. Can we not get some clues from them and try to evolve a synthetic and integrated philosophy of life incorporating the abiding elements from the ancient wisdom and the advancement of modern knowledge in various fields? On my own part, I have got inspiration from the ancient saints and philosophy of India and particularly from the study of the Bhagwad Geeta.

The doctrine of the 'indwelling God' adumbrated in the Bhagwad Geeta has the potency to solve the various crises that humanity is facing. God according to Geeta does not reside in far-off heaven, He resides in the innermost recess of the human heart. The human body is not just an amalgamation of physiochemical substances. Once the feeling that God dwells in one's heart gets firm roots, then there comes a remarkable transformation in one's perception and behaviour. One gets tremendous self-confidence, power of self-assertion, self-resistance and one becomes a self-respecting individual. The awareness of God's proximity is life-enhancing. One no longer feels a sinful creature, wretched, helpless, weak and meek. One feels that one is the heir of the all-pervasive, omni-potent God. Man in not an accidental by-product of a mechanical materialistic universe. He is not helpless creature of oppressive economical, political and social systems and organisations, but he is one on whom God showers infinite love. He must therefore respond to the love and trust placed in him by the Almighty.

Just as God is within me, he is within everybody. This consciousness helps in developing a healthy attitude towards others. It also helps in building a divine brotherhood under the fatherhood of God. Establishing divine brotherhood alone can bring man closer to man irrespective of difference of status, education, gender, religion, race, nationality etc. Once the consciousness of the immanence of God in all human beings dawns upon man then his attitude towards others will be one of love and respect. Class conflicts would gradually disappear giving way to a divine commune based on mutual respect, reverence and co-operation. And therefore we have attempted to build society on this principle. Acceptance of this principle removes the difficulties experienced by many social scientists in building the bridge between egoism and altruism.

What should be the basis of interpersonal relationship is one of the most difficult problems before philosophers, social scientists and social reformers. Normally we observe three types of relationship. What comes to our minds first is the benefit-motive which makes one approach the other in this age of commercialism, functional relations are uppermost in the minds of the people. Such type of interpersonal relation is devoid of nobler sentiments as if is rooted in self-centredness. It reduces a man to mere means to a selfish end. In short, it is self-debasing.

The second form of interpersonal relationship is guided by the pleasure motive. This form of interpersonal relationship is found for example among the members of various clubs meant for recreation and enjoyment. This too is not an enlightened relationship as there is no mutual love, concern or involvement.

People can come together because of certain common principles or ideology. Members of all political parties, trade unions or academic organizations get tied together on the basis of common principles and ideology. This kind of relationship may be better than the earlier two forms. However it lacks intimate emotional bond and warmth.

On the basis of the principle of indwelling God we have tried to build up the Swadhyay Pariwar - where interpersonal relations are guided by selfless love and devotion. Profit motive and pleasure hunting motive are conspicuously absent and all the members become divine comrades. Based on our experience I can say that unless we intellectually and emotionally raise ourselves to the level of pure devotion our talks of human equality, unity and solidarity remain mere words.

The acceptance of the principle of the immanence of God not only generates reverence for self, reverence for other selves but also reverence for the whole creation. This attitude towards nature is nobler than the purely utilitarian attitude which leads to wanton destruction of nature and exploitation of biological resources. Most of the ecological problems can be solved if one develops reverential attitude towards nature.

In recent years we notice that attempts have been made to build the society on the basis of human needs and social requirements. Many 'isms' use force and fear as weapons of social control. The biggest drawback of such social orders is that they curtail individual freedom and initiative.

On the other hand we have cases of welfare states which are built on the principle of individual freedom and quest for unlimited happiness. In such modes of social structure, psychological factors such as greed, lust, ego and the will to dominate came in the way of peaceful and wholesome co-existence. The balance between individual freedom and restraint can be maintained only by the bonds of love and affection one gets in a family. The social structure modelled in this way can put an end to the disintegrating society and can provide an ideal alternative.

Attempts should be made to build the society on the basis of devotion. Devotionalism provides a firm basis for social living. Unless we act and think at the devotional level there is no possibility of reducing the disparities and distances between man and man. Bhakti-devotion For us does not consist of merely chanting of hymns and periodical offerings to God. Bhakti is our understanding of God's profound love for us and our response to that love in the Form of concern for his creation. Intense love for God and His creation cannot make us passive spectators of social evils prevalent in the society. Our love and concern issue into dynamic activity. This dynamic love we call Krutibhakti. Whatever talents, skills, efficiency, time and money we have, we will willingly and lovingly offer them at the feet of the Lord as an expression of love and gratitude to Him. In so doing, we are not doing any social service or favour to others. We are doing Bhakti - devotion and nothing but Bhakti.

Traditionally, devotion was confined to the four walls of a temple. It was considered a personal relation between the individual and the creator. In my opinion Bhakti can be an effective medium or instrument of personal and social development. If I love God sincerely, then I must try to be like him. If God is all goodness and love, why should not I be the embodiment of those values? As children imitate their parents, so man should imitate his divine father, and use all his energy and time in elevating himself and elevating his spiritual fellow beings. When we look around, we find that a noble concept like Bhakti in misinterpreted and misunderstood The devotees as matter of fact have now become lethargic and inactive and feel that God works for them They forget that Cod does not work for them, He works with them. Bhakti - devotion must instill in a person tremendous self-confidence and generate in him the confidence that he can do and achieve the seemingly impossible. Bhakti must generate power and dynamism in a person. And this power and dynamism must be used for removing the disparities and social evils prevalent in the society. Bhakti-devotion is a social force.

The potency of Bhakti-devotion is so broad that it can enlighten almost all the dimensions of human life. Understood in this larger sense, Bhakti alone can be found at the root of our solutions to all problems. Through Swadhyay we want to understand this truth and act accordingly. We have conducted a large number of experiments so that one learns to offer to God one's time, energy, wealth and efficiency; in order to bring man closer to man; in order to develop the feeling of brotherhood among the people; in order to give to the needy considering them as our brothers, so that the act of giving and receiving does not suffer from the taint of superiority-inferiority complexes. These experiments are meant to enlarge the narrow outlook of man, so that he understands the real meaning of Divine family (City of God) and build a unified society, a commune or Federation of many villages living an a huge joint family: actually and not merely conceptually. One must learn to look to another person as a man irrespective of his post, position and possession, transcending the distinction, based on caste, religion, colour, nationality and economic status. To inculcate such an attitude in man the Swadhyay family has conducted many experiments in order to lovingly bring about the all-round development of other person and nation. Experiments such as 'Yogeshvar-krishi', 'Matsyagandha', 'Hiramandir', 'Vrikshmandir', 'Shri Darshanam', 'Goras', 'Sanket', 'Amrutalayam' etc. are the instruments through which all-round development of the people and the nation is lovingly achieved. In the Swadhyay process there is the involvement of people belonging to different social status and age groups. We have 'Bal-sanskar Kendras' (Children Centre) meant for the children, for ladies we have 'Mahila Kendra', for the scheduled tribes and the downtrodden we have Manav Pratistha Kendra (Centre of human dignity), for the villagers we have 'Patanjali Chikitsalaya' (Medico cultural centre), for the youth we have the DBT (Divine Brain Trust). The villages and areas where these experiments are conducted have become Free from social vices such as drinking, gambling, illiteracy etc. There has been development in the economy of the village, savings have increased, family ties have been strengthened. Man has achieved mental stability and peace. Since Swadhyay in a multidimensional process, these experiments form a part of that process.

We have to make man mentally prepared and generate an urge in him to associate himself with such experiments which are revolutionary, novel, unique and difficult to carry out. In order to prepare man for this work and educate him, I did not take recourse to prevalent media. In my opinion the basic method of communication is man meeting man, life confronting life. We have not given up this method of communication even though our strength has grown from a few in the beginning to millions today. As our work is revolutionary, multidirectional, gigantic and most organised, people characterised the process of Swadhyay as an organisation, a movement and an institution. We would like to present it as a stream.

We Swadhyayees try to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots, but we are not socialists. We do not believe in untouchability. How can a person be untouchable when he or she is a walking and talking temple of the Lord? In this way untouchability is eradicated in large measures where we work; still we are not here to save the untouchables. We are engaged in removing dirt and rust settled on our culture. Yet, we are not reformers; we do try to emancipate women from their oppressed conditions, but we are not women liberators. We are basically devotees i.e. bhaktta.

Despite our success in various fields we do not claim to have solved all the problems of the world. We have planted some seeds in a small plot. They have begun to yield flowers and fruits. On behalf of myself and members of my family and Swadhyay Pariwar I extend hearty invitation to all of you to come and personally see the work. Of course, what you would be able to see is just the objective changes. The subjective changes which are more important and deep-seated have to be experienced.

I have in my own way taken inspiration from our ancient scriptures, particularly the Bhagwad Geeta and have made the principles relevant to contemporary conditions. In my opinion, the principles have universal applications. Each community, people and nation can make use of them in accordance with their own cultural ethos. Principles can be universal but their applications are always localised. Unless others are inspired to do similarly around the world; peace, contentment, equality, unity and well-being will only remain a dream for mankind.