While attending an academic conference and staying near the very place where Swami Vivekananda addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, I was tempted to quote lines from his famous speech in 1893 that highlighted the magnificence of Hindu thought:
“I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.
I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn that I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: ‘As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.’”
Swamiji’s clarion call in his speech to end “all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal” presents a new basis for the social, political, and economic transformation of the world. Going beyond the divisions of power, wealth, or religion, we need new thinking to create inclusive models of socio-economic progress that will see nations cooperate in the fields of education, entrepreneurship, technology, and sustainability to empower humanity to flourish collectively. In practice, this will reflect in the cessation of all wars, bringing back fairness in our collective conscience and demonstrating a willingness to share know-how to enable all humanity to progress. But how can such a goal be achieved? India can play an instrumental role by initiating new partnerships in the field of education around the world. Ancient Indian knowledge, with its emphasis on the oneness of spirit and value-based learning, can transform students’ formative attitudes in schools and colleges leading to a new generation of responsible global citizens and leaders. It can inspire inclusive policy-making in countries around the world, as it has done in India. For instance, by banking the unbanked and aiming to provide healthcare, food, and energy security to all households, India is implementing its age-old wisdom to take everyone forward.
Through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, International Yoga Day, start-up support, vaccine diplomacy, and presenting the G20 with the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family), India has emphasised the principles of shared prosperity that define its global leadership.
India offers a glimmer of hope to a world torn apart by terrorism, exploitation, inequality, and racism because the spirit of love, acceptance, and tolerance, gushing through its arteries and veins, is ever reinforced by the belief in the oneness of God in its heart as Swamiji said in Chicago. The time has come for this unique message to reverberate worldwide, having within itself precious seeds of universal brotherhood, peace, and progress. And India is uniquely placed as the Vishwaguru with the moral authority to deliver it emphatically.
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