UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD AND PATRIOTISM - HARMONY AND HURDLES

It’s widely accepted that the love of humanity is above all religions. May it be Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism or any other religion across the world, each of them has the same spirit, all are sons of the same father, then why are we fighting to divide ourselves in the false pretension of patriotism, nationalism or many more.

One may boast to say that universal brotherhood is the mirage because every nation must put hand forward for this task; only then, this can be a reality. Can anybody tell the name of any country where the great souls did not universalize the oneness factor, to love the humanity and respect every individual? The great souls like Lord Christ, Lord Buddha, Confucius, jarthustra lightened the lamp of humanity through ages. There had been the effort by every country in this direction.

Today, in the globalized world, who can imagine to be untouched from the occurrences world over?  It’s like being empty stomach in spite of delicious dishes in the home.

Just think how all nations are interdependent over one another economically, socially and religiously. Being broken from the bonds how can any nation survive? Can anybody tell any nation fulfilling all its requirements by its own? It’s our firm belief and wide acceptance that there will be none.

The days of blind nationalism and unguarded patriotism are wrapped in pages of history books; today they mean nothing in reality.

Today in materialistic and utilitarian world we don’t live merely in family, village, country but in the world too. The students prefer to get education in foreign universities, to marry foreign girl, to settle in foreign land, to visit foreign tourist places. Moreover, everyone wants to become an international icon than being capsized in any particular territory.

Today whole of the world have felt the vitality of universal brotherhood, that’s why many international social, political, religious and economical organizations are constituted to supervise the welfare of the world and humanity.

In the field of entertainment, many foreigners have become the integral part of Bollywood films whereas many Indians performed in foreign TV serials and other places.

In sport, this interdependency can clearly be observed; the coaches and trainers are mostly foreigners. In IPL, one may see how India has divided into many teams having many foreign players in different sides. In many interviews of these players have expressed, how they enjoy the companionship of one another with diversified habits and cultures.

It’s also a fact that once to contact other country was a hard task, then the life of individual was confined but today in the age of technology, that excuse exists nowhere. Now an Indian can join the wedding party in America in gap of 7 or 8 hours. An Indian studying in America can talk his family in India as if they are talking sitting beside.

So it’s a wonder how anyone can talk of mere patriotism in this age.  Just sit aside and think what anyone is going to obtain and miss as a patriot and as an international citizen, the answer you will get by yourself.

Over emphasizing patriotism means we are again treading back to the age of brutality and duel, only fight all around to show ownership of particular territory and property. Does anybody want another world war like situation? Are the people not fed up of the immeasurable losses in two consecutive world wars?  Don’t the people realize that these world wars have put indelible spot in the history of human beings?

Before being American, Chinese or Indian, we are human being of the same anatomy. What’s wrong in hugging universal brotherhood? It’s like the tree giving sweet fruits and shades for other and preserves nothing for itself and like the rivers providing water for others not for itself. It does not drink water but it makes other drink.

Even an ordinary man with simple prudence and confidence can firmly tell that its unstoppable natural force, no power can be hindrance in its way. It will prosper, prosper and prosper.

India has ever initiated positive step in this regard. In Vedic era the idea of ‘UDAR CHARITANAM TU, BASUDHAIVA KUTUMBKAM’ showed the spirit of humanity. Latter Lord Buddha and Tirthankar Mahabir Swami embraced the people of every section of society. Who can forget the historical moment not only in Indian history but the history of the world, when Swami Vivekanand powerfully lectured in Chicago conference of religions in 1893.

In 20^th century, Mahatma Gandhi taught the lesson of truth and non-violence and told that need not fear from the sinners but from the sin.

Think about the country’s economy where most of the foreign companies pay high taxes to government and provide the valuable services in different forms whereas most Indian companies earn a lot from foreign soils and pay back to Indian government and Indian people. To provide most of transport, food and technological facilities, we depend to debt from IMF and World Bank that has made the development in Indian possible. We get handsome amount as gratuity from W.H.O. to fight fatal diseases and natural disasters. The foreign tourists pay beautifully visiting India for different purposes.

After coming in contact of other countries, our social framework has also changed positively. There is great emphasis over girls’ right, education, poverty alleviation, awakening for downtrodden people, improve in literacy rate, life standard and ascending the per capita income. The great souls went to another countries and served a lot like James Princep, Sir William Jones, Mother Teresa , Annie Vesant, C.F. Andrews, Sonia Gandhi and other many Indians in abroad.

If universal brotherhood has subdued patriotism and nationalism and created a globalised way of living with cooperation and contribution, it has also created several deadly challenges which we were unknown from till now. Only to heighten the debate of universal brotherhood and to downgrade patriotism will be a big blunder. Universal brotherhood may be superb and scintillating vision, but patriotism has its own place and regard representing the sentiments of huge population. To speak mere high and glorify universal brotherhood to be quintessential for mankind is a nominal false pretention. If it’s not like that, then can anyone give an answer?  ‘If there is fire in the village and his/her house too is on ablaze, whose house will he save first’, obliviously the answer will be ‘own house’. Another situation which can be exemplified and put, if the team won any trophy, and his/her brother was one of the team member, whether he/she will celebrate the victory of team of her brother, certainly the victory of her brother will be more important than the victory of the team.

Under the light of these references it is to emphasize that in theory whatever may be, but in practical life, an individual is above all sorts of universal convictions and false promises.

Just think, how can a hungry man fulfill the stomach of another one? How can a man donate the needy persons lavishly if his own bank account goes nil. To get an appropriate answer, one should go and ask a beggar on the footpath ‘What does universalism mean? For him two times meal is more important than any concept or ideology. There is another big hindrance in the path of universal brotherhood. Can a man fiercely entangled in the personal problems solve other’s problems? Of course, answer will be ‘a big no and never’. One can easily find the contradiction in the idea of creating the beautiful platform of universal brotherhood where every human being will be treated equally like brothers. It’s merely mirage in the deserts which is never going to be fulfilled. The patriotism is not merely a reverence to the nation but it’s a religion, it’s a culture and moreover it’s above all goals of livings.

One may shower claims to bring equality and fraternity in human race through universal approach and ideology while he/himself might be well aware of the fact that it’s never possible as ‘difference lies in the very nature of man’. There are large scale differences among human race in color, climate, lifestyle, belief, caste and creed. These reasons had been the factors of conflict between different communities. The European countries captured the other countries and tortured brutally their original people and squeezed its natural resources. They consider themselves to be more civilized species of earth. In that case it’s nightmare to think and foster the idea about universal brotherhood.

It’s not the first time in human history to think about universalism. The great souls like Lord Christ in Europe, Jarthustra in West Asia, Confucius in China and Gautam Buddha, Mahabir Swami in South Asia propagated the idea of love to human beings but today their sermons and preaching are lied buried in the books or in the temples only. The communal riots, long list of conversion, by avarice, trick or by force do authenticate the rifts and differences in us. They cry the slogan of one god and all sons, but the same have bifurcated and divided. They are fanatic and orthodox of their own beliefs and religious practices. Even in the modern world of science and technology the superstitions prevail strongly.

India extended hands of brotherhood with China in the year 1962 with slogan ‘Hindi Chini, Bhai Bhai’ but in return how China responded, we all know very well, the attack on the poorly equipped soldiers in the regime of Pt Nehru. We also know what the then prime minister Atal Bihari Bajpai got in return after his visit to Pakistan in 1999- the heinous and inglorious the Kargil War.

It’s not problem of India or its neighboring nations, there is hardly any country which is not having the boundary issues.  The long running conflict between Israel with philistine is well and widely known. Every country has some lasting challenges in its domain like Naxalism, Moaism, racism, regionalism, language and many more internal issues. As long as these issues are not solved our effort to universal brotherhood will be in vain.

One can grieve at the idea of universal brotherhood when he sees the strong hold and dominance of a few so called developed countries over the world organizations like UNO, IMF, UNICEF, UNESCO and many more. Although these organizations are constituted with notion to benefit all human beings but they are headed and governed by the powerful developed countries like USA, Britain and others. The world’s second highly populated country India could not secure a permanent seat at UNO till now. The dictatorship of the lead nations we have seen everywhere. For their own benefits, they twist the rules and execute accordingly. They have their covetous eves over oil stores in west Asian countries, and to tighten the hold on these countries, either they are attacking by themselves on false accusations or promoting internal conflicts to weaken them. Today almost all the developed countries devise to have strong hold over world economy; they have the hawk eye for being the leader in the world market by hook or by crook. The developing countries are big sufferers in it.

If there is equality all around the world, then it’s surprising to say why are there so many disparities among currencies of different nations like dollar, rupee, euro, Yuan, dinar and so on. The attack over Indians in major countries like Australia and America and step motherly temperament of so called developed countries exemplify their hidden notions.

     Another thing that is striking and remarkable that if one stabs another man right in the belly through the dagger and later says that, let’s forget our enmity and be noble friends, can the wounded fellow extend the hand in friendship? Absolutely it will be ‘never’.  Can Japanese forget the Hiroshima and Nagasaki event? Can the world’s notorious dictators like Hitler, Napoleon and Mussolini and Bismarck be excused? Of course, it is ‘No’. Can Russia ever be friend of America? Can World forget what Germans did in world war? Can Germans ever forget what injustice so called countries in League of Nations did to them? Though the wars are over today, but the pots are boiling everywhere.

This is to say in very clear words that ‘It’s act of not any single country but cooperation of every nation, and that is, in fact, never possible and practicable.

     Moreover, if patriotism values nothing then what is the use of celebrating Independence Day and Republic Day with pomp and show? Throw away the false crying over the slogans of jay hind, Dilli Chalo, Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, Mai Tumhe Azadi Doonga so and so. Forget Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose and other great warriors and martyrs.

       In this regard, the lines of famous American poet Mark Twain are worth quotable that ‘East is east and west is west and never twain can meet together’.