01_(1-38) Becoming BridgeBuilders.pmd


BECOMING BRIDGE-BUILDERS IN PERIODS OF

TRANSITION: TOWARDS A COMMUNION OF

CIVILIZATIONS IN OUR TIMES

Thomas Menamparampil

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC)

Abstract

The process of globalization poses many new possibilities for com-

munication of solutions to our many problems. This paper reviews these

problems and then discusses the roots of the possible solutions to such

problems. The solutions are rooted in communities, traditions and the

individual in our present world. It is rooted in the dialogue among civili-

zations.

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1. The Situation

To be one with the world is wisdom (Tirukkural)

With the world becoming more and more globalized, we are mov-

ing into exciting times. The world economy is taking new directions, in-

novations in communications are bringing people and communities to-

gether, international solidarity offers indefinite possibilities of self expres-

Prajna Vihara, Volume 13, Number 1-2, January-December, 2012, 1-38 1

 c 2000 by Assumption University Press

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sion; a good idea generated at any place has the opportunity to reach out

to the remotest parts of the world; and good values preserved in any

civilizational tradition can offer inspiration to persons and societies in any

place on the planet. There is every possibility for cultures, civilizations,

and faiths to dialogue with each other, to listen to each others’ insights,

and learn from each others’ wisdom.

a. Violence

Violence is flourishing. Pride is at its height! Violence

produces more wickedness (Ezekiel 7:10- 11).

Violence is suicide (Mahatma Gandhi).

If we look at the world today we see that tensions are mounting:

nation against nation, class against class, ethnic group against ethnic group,

majority against minority and vice versa. The strong usually have their

way. No wonder that dominant nations and groups are perceived as ex-

ploiting the weaker. Those who feel that they are unjustly treated take to

violence in response. All slogans are about ‘rights’; there is not enough

reference to duties. Every claim of rights seems to be valid until its exag-

gerations make its limitations evident. Meantime peace continues to elude

the human race.

All religions have taught peace, impartiality, and fairness. And yet

there are conflicts in the name of religion in any number of places: Israe-

lis-Palestinians, Serbs-Croats-Muslims, Indians-Pakistanis, Singhalas-

Tamils, Catholics-Protestants (N.Ireland); tensions in Chechnya, Soma-

lia, Sudan, Philippines, Indonesia. Nor can we forget the violence caused

by the ‘secular religions’ (ideologies) of our days. Eric Hobsbawm calls

the ideological wars of last century “the most militant and bloodthirsty of

the religious wars”, which were linked with secular pieties like personal-

ity cults and promise of permanent solutions to human problems

(Hobsbawm 563). Solutions however have never come.

Wars in ages past were between kings, emperors, dynasties or

sovereign nations. Today they are often between ethnic groups and local

activists. There have been civil wars in Angola, Bosnia, Chechnya, Croatia,

El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Iraq, Liberia, Mozambique, Somalia,

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Sudan, Tajikistan, Uganda (Pinker 303). There are battles going on be-

tween fundamentalists of various types: religious, secular, cultural, po-

litical, economic, and ideological. The political scientist Stanley Hoffman

says he had fondly hoped for an era of peace when the Cold War ended.

But his hopes were soon shattered when he kept hearing news only of

violence, terrorism, suicide bombings, displaced people, and genocides;

of civil wars, battles between militias, guerillas, paramilitaries; ‘new wars’,

‘low intensity conflicts’, and genocide, ethnic cleansing (Pinker 296).

The situation has grown so alarming that Norman Podhoretz

brought out a book called ‘World War IV’ (Pinker 295). Hobsbawm ar-

gues that the weakening of state power during the second half of the 20th

century led to the “democratization or privatization of the means of

destruction” (Hobsbawm 560). Studying the present trends, there is no

way we can feel confident that the age of Holocausts, Hiroshimas, and

bloody revolutions is over.

b. Human Beings Evaluated in Market Terms

There is none high or low amongst you. You are all

brethren and therefore strive altogether to attain pros-

perity (Rig Veda 5,60,5).

They themselves are slaves of destructive habits (2

Pet 2:19).

Slavery and absolute poverty reduce human beings to levels less

than human. Violence takes them down one step lower.  But when people

are evaluated only in market terms, when they are classified merely as

‘labour’ or evaluated solely in reference to the ‘market’, their status

goes down further still. In other words, when their worth is calculated

only in terms of their use to the economy, they become less than human

beings and bearers of dignity. And yet, the tragedy today is that entire

nations are opting for this form of self-abasement by making economic

growth their sole goal.

This process is assisted by the dogma of ‘free choice’ propa-

gated by Big Business.1 They have an evident interest in promoting the

dogma; it benefits their profit-making strategies.  Meantime Big Corpo-

Thomas Menamparampil  3



rations are making themselves less and less accountable to anybody.  They

manipulate mass media, impose uniform ways of thinking and acting

on society, seek to monopolize knowledge, subject people to consumer-

ism, imprison them in artificial environments and isolate them from na-

ture. Those who fall victims to their mesmerizing and psychologically

numbing influence, lose their concern for society, commitment to com-

passion and solidarity; they lose sight of ecological responsibilities and

grow in their greed for wealth (Hathaway xvii), often acquired unethi-

cally.

c. Need for a Dialogue of Civilizations Leading to a Communion of

Civilizations

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie

down with the kid....Nothing vile or evil shall be done

(Judaism: Isaiah 11:6-9).

All people are a single nation (Koran II).

In the face of these and other difficulties, we must not act as though

we have no resources to count on. Our civilizational heritages provide

enormously valuable assets on which we can build, making use also of the

dynamic new ideas of our times. We are not helpless. We make ourselves

helpless only by isolating ourselves from each other or wasting energies

in constant rivalry. As Thomas Berry said, “We live immersed in a sea of

energy”. This energy primarily belongs to the community, and a big por-

tion destined for each person is to be found in the other. It has to be

discovered and tapped, not by violent snatching, but by drawing it forth

gently from each other: sharing thoughts, evoking emotional support,

eliciting collaboration.

We are legitimately proud of our rootedness in our own culture

and civilization (each one of his/her own). But we are also happy to reach

out to other heritages which too have a proud history deserving our

respect. We know that we are mutually dependent. Our destinies are

interlinked. Historians tell us that civilizations that grew side by side

were always locked in relationships that were mutually acknowledging

and mutually sustaining, even amidst tensions. It is hard for any civiliza-

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tion to maintain high standards in isolation (Fernandez-Armesto 19).

Nor can we limit ourselves to the wisdom of the past; we must

remain open to the new insights of our own times. It was Confucius who

said, “If by keeping the old warm one can provide understanding of the

new, one is fit to be a teacher” (Analects 2.11). May be the uncertainties

of the present era is inviting us to play a bridge-building role between the

old and the new.

Time has come for the West to meet the East, the North the South.

The old and the new must dialogue. Commerce must be attentive to ethi-

cal values, and scientific and technological research must draw inspira-

tion from spiritual search. The painful memories of the past need to be

healed and restored, and a future of harmony constructed together. Such

‘impossible’ dreams can be realized, not through a ‘clash of civilizations’

in which the strongest will emerge on top to solve problems, but through

a dialogue that will lead to a communion of civilizations. That is the

only way all cultures and civilizations will be able to make a rightful con-

tribution to human destiny.

Arnold Toynbee wrote in 1972, “The two World Wars and the

present worldwide anxiety, frustration, tension, and violence tell the tale.

Mankind is surely going to destroy itself unless it succeeds in growing

together into something like a single family. For this, we must become

familiar with each other; and this means becoming familiar with each other’s

history…” (Toynbee 10), and each other’s civilizational assets. That is

what we seek to do through our efforts together as intellectuals.

2. Violence

He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for

them with the bitterest grief (Tao Te Ching 31).

Do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If

anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left

cheek too  (Matthew 6:39).

We have already referred to the phenomenon of ongoing violence

in our times. We call those who are its cause ‘terrorists’. Some go to the

point of calling them “insane fanatics, mindless gangsters, pathological

Thomas Menamparampil  5



thugs, brainwashed adolescent misfits, envy-driven. But that may not be

true” (Lott 22).  It is good therefore that we understand them in their

own contexts. Cynicism or hasty condemnations will not help. There is a

French saying, to understand is to forgive. It is good to search for those

“mind-wounding, soul-warping events”, realities, that lead to violence….

which includes at times self-destruction (Lott 82).

As Lott says, “If one closes eyes to ‘rational’ causes of terror-

ism, it is irrationality” (Lott 22).

When a society feels severely humiliated, there is bound to be a

reaction (Germany after World War I, China before the Revolution, na-

tions that emerged from colonial rule).  The Hindu society, for example,

feels it has gone through a thousand years of humiliation.  So does the

Islamic society.  The tragedies in Afghanistan and Iraq, ‘imbalance of

power, asymmetry in battle’…all these fan the flame of anger that had

already been existing. When a group of poverty stricken people are brought

together, organized and made to feel they are fighting for a good cause,

acts of terror seem to empower them and help them to discover a new

emotional identity (Lott 20-21).

In such contexts, prophetism and messianism begin to emerge

on either side of the battlefront: one proclaims democracy, the freedom

of the individual and human rights; the other, national and ethnic pride.

A community fights to the last person to defend their history and cultural

identity. In the process of defending themselves, at times they go to ex-

cesses inflicting injury on the enemy and other groups, reaching to the

point of ethnic cleansing (Lott 43). Thus, we cannot always believe that

the strong are always wrong and that weak always right, that victims of

injustice cannot turn unjust themselves. Exaggerations can be on either

side. When people decide to go in for harshness, they place no limits to

what they can do. “We have arrived at a global society, but with the clan-

nish instincts inherited from the tropical savanna. Or, as E.O.Wilson put

inimitably in his forward to my book Common Wealth, ‘We exist in a

bizarre combination of Stone Age emotions, medieval beliefs, and god-

like technology’” (Sachs 260-61).

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says, “No

one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treat-

ment or punishment”.  But why do even normally fair-minded persons

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surprise the world with cruel, inhuman deeds during ethnic or religious

clashes?  There are times when one should ‘stand out’ of one’s own iden-

tity and distance oneself from the immediate issue and listen to a sober

voice, whoever is able to give it.  Are you able? If not, why don’t you

equip yourself to be able?

In contexts today when people rob, rape, torture and kill each

other, these words of the great Buddha seem most relevant, “One cannot

steal, lie, commit adultery or go along the banks of the Ganges striking,

laying waste, mutilating and commanding others to mutilate, oppressing

and commanding others to oppress”, without reaping the consequences

(Digha Nikaya I, 52).

3. Corruption

Use honest scales, honest weights, and honest mea-

sures (Judaism: Leviticus 19:36).

Keep your promises; you are accountable for all that

you promise…Weigh with even scales; that is fair, and

better in the end (Quran 17:35-39).

Today corrupt practices have risen to the world stage. No one

can plead to be totally innocent. That is why all must join hands together

in order to wipe out this plague from society. Corruption is not only about

the wrong use of money, but also about the wrong use of power. It is

not only about taking bribe in government offices, but also about various

forms of manipulation and blackmailing, political arm-twisting, push-

ing a particular party’s or ethnic group’s political interests through under-

hand ways, unfairness of dominant classes and castes to weaker sections,

the imperceptible manner of bulldozing or marginalizing legitimate claims,

silencing the voices of the weaker communities, physical elimination of

political opponents or commercial competitors, interfering with election

processes, using ‘strong men’ for vacating land or realizing bills, fixing

matches, selling drugs. Corruption also has reference to hidden transac-

tions, unpaid salaries, underpaid employees, unfair pressure.

The globalized world has become a refuge for corrupt business.

Thomas Menamparampil  7



The global market provides distances, creates anonymity, gives opportu-

nities for dishonest deals, enables one to take advantage of the weak,

evade laws, and make an unfair proportion of profit. Let us make a dis-

tinction: 1. if greater profits are made through harder work, greater effi-

ciency, more effective customer service or through path-breaking inno-

vation, it is certainly legitimate. 2. But if it is made by underpaying the

worker, evading taxes, ignoring safety laws, producing counterfeits, ru-

ining the environment, abusing custo-mer confidence, falsifying accounts

or labour figures, double book-keeping, deceptive advertisements, indus-

trial espionage, it is undoubtedly criminal. “Would it not be better for you

to be robbed? Instead you yourselves wrong one another and rob one

another, even your brothers!” (1 Corinthians 5:7-9).

Investigative journalism has often highlighted specific cases of

dishonesty. But media men also can bend to mammon, and sell their ser-

vices for money: cooking up stories to defame or defend a party leader,

distorting facts to press an argument, presenting allegations as proven

truth for minor favours. Plagiarizing, pirating cassettes, and violating

intellectual property rights are very common in our days. Engineers in

government service get opportunities to embezzle huge amounts. Doc-

tors are accused of patronizing particular pharmaceutical companies or

diagnostic centres, and even dealing in human organs. When citizens are

not alert, the mechanisms of accountability and sanction are not acti-

vated, and structures of enforcement lie idle. Society remains silent. You

and I give a tacit approval.

We may take a message from the Buddha’s times. The economy

had grown brisk in his days: credit, debt, interest and market-nothing was

absent. There were rich people going bankrupt and poor people gather-

ing a fortune, honestly and in other ways. A warning against corruption

was timely.  A passage from early Buddhist poetry says, “Let no one

deceive anyone else, nor despise anyone anywhere. May no one wish

harm to another in anger or ill-will” (Samyutta Nikaya 146-8). And a

Taoist teaching says, “When rulers live in splendor and speculators pros-

per, while farmers lose their land and the granaries are emptied; when

governments spend money on ostentation and on weapons; when the upper

class is extravagant and irresponsible, indulging themselves and possess-

ing more than they can use, while the poor have nowhere to turn. All this

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is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao” (Tao Te Ching

53). Are we in such an age?

4. Hypercommercialization

Invest money in foreign trade, and one of these days

you will make a profit (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2).

If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you

long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is use-

less (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Corruption has something to do with economy. It is precisely in

this field that ethical values are often lost. If they are threatened, they

must be defended; if they have been lost, they must re-acquired and re-

stored. Science and technology have given us good things, but they must

be regulated by the norms of wisdom contained in our cultural traditions.

The Tao Te Ching has this message, “The sage does not accumulate.

The more he does for the people, the more he saves. The more he gives to

people, the more he has” (Tao Te Ching 81).  In Confucian tradition, a

gentleman is concerned with what is right; the inferior man with profit,

with material welfare. Mencius too looked down on the profit motive. In

the West, the first generations of capitalists were models of asceticism.

Their aim was to earn, to accumulate, and not to overspend. In fact,

Weber and Keynes refer to high accumulation and low consumption (Sachs

150). Today’s capitalists on the contrary are prone to profligacy: they

believe in lavish parties, weddings, anniversaries, election victories.

Hypercommericialism has thrown up a class of super-rich and dumped

the weak in dire poverty (Sachs 152).

We agree that economy has its own importance. It plays a central

role in world affairs today. Anyone who neglects economy will have to

pay for it in due time. However, economy is not everything. Economic

success cannot be made the ultimate goal in human affairs. It cannot be

allowed to entice and enslave human beings, wipe out cultures, and ruin

the environment.  Just as the political empires of the past brought some

advantages to subject people even when they exploited, the commercial

Thomas Menamparampil  9



empires of multi-national corporations too bring some advantages to

people (cheaper goods and efficient dispatch of affairs); but they exploit.

As the political empires of old took advantage of weaker nations, in the

same way the commercial empires take advantage of weaker people

(sometime the customers, sometimes the workers, and at other times the

shareholders, usually smaller business concerns, generally the uninformed

society). The subtle manner in which this is being done is becoming more

and more evident today.

Economy organized on a vast scale, whether controlled by the

Government  (State capitalism) or by Corporations, tend not to respect

persons, human concerns, families, communities, values, natural environ-

ment. Gigantism always has its victims. We are not opposed to the

bigness of things, but are anxious that its weaknesses should be recog-

nized. Correctives should be sought. The manner in which some compa-

nies compete looks more like an expression of the aggressive and de-

structive streak in human nature than of its constructive instincts. They

ignore the inner worth of human beings, underestimate persons, commu-

nities, cultures, ethical and aesthetic traditions. After having invaded mil-

lions of human lives and damaged them, when things go wrong, the only

solution that profit-makers can propose are drugs, tranquilizers, seda-

tives, stimulants, and antidepressants (Fleischcker 16); not silence, re-

flection, self-criticism or self-improvement.

We are moving into an age when it is technology, not human be-

ings, that decides values.  Human destiny has gone into the hands of big

corporations. Kalle Lasn said, “A corporation has no heart, no soul, no

morals. It cannot feel pain. You cannot argue with it… no sorrow or

remorse” (Hathaway 44). What is said of corporations would be true

equally of state-owned business concerns. Meantime consumer goods

are in abundance, and most people are happy. They do not know what

they are missing, how they are losing values that have taken shape over

centuries and what their fate ultimately will be.

Gradually speculators take over the economy. And then, of

course, there comes the collapse. If a collapse had not taken place, no

one would believe that it was possible. But it has taken place. The rea-

sons for the recent economic meltdown are not hard to find.  John Maynard

Keynes said years ago, “Speculation may do no harm as bubbles on a

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steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when the enter-

prise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation” (Hathaway

46). The market is considered a ‘self-organizing system’, ensuring effi-

ciency and preventing waste. But it does not always work that way. The

‘invisible hand’ many times remains truly invisible! Milton Friedman said,

“I believe that we economists in recent yeas have done vast harm__to

society at large and to our profession in particular__by claiming more than

we can deliver” (Capra 199).

And when, during periods of recession, corporations and banks

collapse and are gasping for breath, it is the tax-payer’s (the average

man’s) money that is being used to bail them out. It is as though the poor

are rushing to the rescue of the rich. This may sound paradoxical, but

there may be some truth in it. It is similar to the paradox about Interna-

tional aid that has not reduced inequality or brought the needed assis-

tance to the poor. International aid so often turned out to be the poor in

rich countries coming to the aid of the rich in poor countries, and then the

poor in poor countries being compelled to pay back the debt to the rich in

rich countries. Thus, even plans formulated with good intentions go wrong

in unforeseen ways. Truly, “A gentleman takes as much trouble to dis-

cover what is right as lesser men take to discover what will pay” (Analects

IV, 16).

We said that economy is important. But it must be made ‘human’

in order to be meaningful to human beings. In fact, Wilhelm Ropke spoke

of the need for ‘humane economy’, e.g. not to victimize customers

through exaggerated advertisements. Hans Kung keeps insisting, “Being

human must be the ethical yardstick for all economic action”: which

means giving importance to human dignity, mutual respect, tolerance,

compassion, care for nature, rule of law, justice, solidarity, truthfulness,

reliability. We must hold up new icons before our eyes for imitation. We

must make them speak to our collective unconscious, address our collec-

tive fears, respond to our common longings and desires. It is for us to

make the right options. Will we choose an economic wizard or a saint for

our model, a speculator or a sage?  It is our choice. There are conse-

quences.

Today more money is spent on display than on life. “Basic

survival goods are cheap, whereas narcissistic self-stimulation and so-

..

Thomas Menamparampil  11



cial-display products are expensive. Living doesn’t cost much, but show-

ing off does” (Sachs 167). People move from living and sharing to show-

ing off and grabbing.

5. Damage to Environment

These classes of living beings have been declared by

the Jinas: earth, water, fire, wind; grass trees, and plants;

and the moving things, both the egg-bearing and those

that bear live offspring, those generated from dirt and

those generated in fluids. Know and understand that they

all desire happiness. By hurting these beings, people do

harm to their souls. Plants are beings possessed of natu-

ral  development. Their bodies require nourishment, and

they all have their individual life. Reckless men who cut

them down for their pleasure destroy many living beings.

By destroying plants, when young or grown up, a careless

man does harm to his own soul  (Jainism: Sutrakritanga

I.7.1-9).

A wise man should not act sinfully toward the earth,

nor cause others to do so, nor allow others to act so

(Jainism: Acaranga Sutra5)

Unquestionably the technological age has brought us many bless-

ings: e.g. reduction in infant mortality, lengthening of life expectancy,

literacy, access to healthcare. But along with these blessings there have

come also the destruction of ecosystems and erosion of traditional cul-

tures, and undermining of the quality of life (Hathaway 17). We may well

recall how the great empires of Mesopotamia, Crete, Greece, Rome, Maya,

and the Indus Valley collapsed because they ruined the very environment

that had brought them into existence. Deforestation has always had di-

sastrous consequences. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto says “…civilizations

commonly exploit their environments, often to the point of self-destruc-

tion” (Fernandez-Armesto 5).

Lester Brown’s “Mobilizing to Save Civilization” speaks of pov-

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erty, depletion of resources, falling of water tables, drying up of wells,

shrinking of forests; of collapsing fisheries, eroding soils, grasslands be-

coming deserts. The list of disasters can be made longer: loss of forests,

release of carbon dioxide, hole in the ozone layer, undermined the fertility

of the soil, chemicals in the air, soil, water; wiped out species; overuse

energy (Hathaway 6). There has been consistent neglect of traditional

systems: of healing, cultivation, child care, family relationships, commu-

nity living, problem-solving.2  Though genetically modified species can

add to quantity, quality remains uncertain. Moreover, corporations con-

trol the production, supply, replacement, and storing of those varieties

(Hathaway 42).

The insensitivity that prompts people to overuse resources also

inspires them to exploit the poor, reducing them to the status of ‘labour’

and ‘market’. The tragedy today lies precisely in placing quantitative

growth before quality of life. And we gloriously lose out between dif-

ferent choices. This is an hour when we need to preserve the mental bal-

ance taught to us by the Wisdom of the Ancients, give attention to human

Dignity affirmed by the Moderns, and look towards the Beauty that re-

minds us of our eternal destiny.

6. Misuse of the Media

There is a way to get the people: get their hearts and

the people are won over (Mencius 4:9)

He (the sage) is free from self-display, and therefore

he shines (Tao Te Ching 22)

Communications have made the greatest contribution to modern

age. They have assisted people to come together and co-reflect, and be of

assistance to each other. International solidarity has grown in a way that

was never considered possible in earlier times.

But these very same instruments of communications can also be

misused. They are fast falling into the grip of Big Business and central-

ized Governments. “The media and the politicians are in splendid sym-

biosis. The airwaves promote corporate products, consumer values, and

Thomas Menamparampil  13



the careers of friendly politicians. The politicians promote media deregu-

lation, low taxes, and freedom from scrutiny of performance and public

service” (Sachs 145). Power slides into the hands of a small number of

transnational corporations that are less and less accountable to demo-

cratic structures. Someone has described the tragedy in this manner: hu-

manity is made subject to the market; the corporations control the market

subjecting every field of human activity to serve their interests. Mass

media strengthens this effort by promoting consumerism (Hathaway

16). Humans are reduced to the level of being mere objects.

Jeffrey Sachs is certain that even his own countrymen, living in a

free country, are allowing themselves to be manipulated by corporate

propaganda. This is just what the propaganda machinery of totalitarian

governments did a few decades ago. What today’s commercial media

proposes is not serious, responsible thinking about the long term good of

society, but overconsuming, overborrowing, overgambling, excessive TV

viewing, and other addictions (Sachs 133). They are not asking people to

sit back and reflect, study the consequences, or plan for the good of hu-

manity, as Asian sages would have done. May be that is where thinking

people could make their contribution. That remains a challenge for Asia’s

intellectuals.

There is a big difference between the needs of the rich and those

of the poor. What the poor want are: food, clothing and shelter. But the

rich want also to display their wealth. Their ‘wants’ are created for them

by brand managers and advertising executives. Advertizers spend $300

billion to manipulate minds, create cravings, whims, addictions, confu-

sions, and quests for status (Sachs 134-5). They play on human weak-

nesses and aggravate them.  They know that people spend less on enjoy-

ing things than for showing off what they have (for “conspicuous con-

sumption”). Here the media rushes to their assistance. Taking advantage

of their weakness, they beguile them into big spending, entice them with

attractive things until they become addicted.  How one would wish that

media would do a more conscientious job in informing, educating, ex-

plaining, motivating, guiding, uniting, and strengthening.

The technologies of mass persuasion are being used as instru-

ments for manipulating minds. Edward Berry, a nephew of Sigmund

Freud, used to refer to marketing skills as the skills for ‘engineering

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consent’ with regard to sales. They are also used during elections, even

during a military coup. He considered it the art of hidden manipulation of

public’s unconscious, taking advantage of people’s tendency to run in

herds. We had been for decades warned about the manipulative power of

the TV: George Orwell (1940s), Vance Packard (1950s), John Kenneth

Galbraith and Marshall McLuhan (1960s) (Sachs 137-38). Could we grow

a little more conscious of this danger? Nearly all the wise teachings of the

East spoke of the need for resisting ‘illusions’ and attaining ‘truth’. How

relevant those teachings seem to us in our times when so many of us

spend any length of time in the ‘unreal’ world of the TV, in the world of

‘illusions’?

Today’s TV heroes/heroines are not telling us to “buy less, think

more, be critical, think about the future” as Asian prophets would have

done. Drawn by the powerful pull of the TV, families have become dis-

tanced from other families, and even family members have become es-

tranged from one another. It is no surprise that high TV viewing and

low social trust go together.  Scandinavian countries are low TV view-

ers, but have high levels of social trust. In the same way, not surprisingly,

high TV viewing goes along with the consumption of junk food and its

resulting obesity (Sachs 139-41).  We little realize how vulnerable we are

to manipulation by the vast Advertising and Public Relations Industry.

Hindu and Buddhist traditions counseled the shedding of ‘illusions’. And

Jesus’ mission was precisely this, “For this I was born, and for this I have

come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the

truth hears my voice” (John 18:37).

7. Poor Governance

When a ruler’s personal conduct is correct, his gov-

ernment is effective without the issuing of orders

(Confucius: Analects 12,5).

It is because he (the sage) is free from striving that

no one in the world is able to strive with him (Tao Te

Ching 22).

Thomas Menamparampil  15



All these evils would have found remedies if the right people were

leading public affairs. Confucius thought, like Plato, that political power

should be wielded by men of wisdom and virtue. For him the qualities the

rulers needed most were: confidence of the people, food, weapons

(Analects 12.7). In that order. If this teaching were taken seriously, how

much money spent on arms by Asian nations could have been spared for

food, education, and health! Even democracy does not necessarily guar-

antee the right priorities when elected members keep a distance from

people. How much control are people given over policies, in fact over

their own very destinies? Even the structures of democracy can be ren-

dered ineffective, they can be misused.

Rulers should make sure to consult people’s interests if they

wish to win their hearts.  Confucius would say, “If you desire good, the

people will be good. The nature of the gentleman is like the wind, and the

nature of small people is the grass. When the wind blows over the grass it

always bends” (Analects 12.19). Leaders should excel in civic virtues and

their concern for the common good. Their goals should not be merely

economic prosperity, but also social justice and environmental

sustainability.  If they succeed in creating a set of values in society that are

motivating and unifying, it will bring long-term benefit to that society.

And every citizen has the duty to awaken public consciousness about

the importance of such values.3

Today governments are too closely linked with private interests,

with the families of the leaders, with business groups and corporations

that remunerate them for their services. Jeffrey Sachs feels that even mili-

tary establishments are being controlled by megalobbies (Sachs 105).  Cor-

porate lobbies form a caucus in law-making bodies, shape policies, de-

termine elections. They press for deregulation, cut taxes on the rich, re-

duce expenditure for the poor, and aggravate inequalities. Whenever in

any nation the army is too closely linked with private industry, the nation

condemns itself to militarization. And the better a nation is equipped for

war, the greater the possibility of neighbouring nations seeking to arm

themselves better still. Thus reckless military expenditure turns out be

counterproductive: it merely increases the insecurity. Meantime the poor

are impoverished further, and the global arms industry thrives.

One may think that challenging the enemy with full force of arms

16  Prajna Vihara
__                 __

~



will awe them. It may happen that way; but it may also happen another

way. It may provoke the enemy into a desperate action at a moment and

in a manner that none is expecting. And the damage they inflict can be

fatal. As we well know, the atom bomb was the discovery of scientists

who had been desperate refugees from Nazi oppression (Hobsbawm 545).

Is it possible to choose a strategy which seeks to complete and comple-

ment the role of the opponent (in Yin-Yang manner), of the competitor or

the enemy, rather than compete, confront, and eliminate? Can we make

place for wisdom, for the reconciliation of opposing interests, care for

the poor, and ecological responsibility?

When corporations grow into giants (or when the government

assumes the same role), they move away from workers and shareholders.

They become impersonal and lose their adaptability. Gradually they lose

credibility before those very persons who are most closely associated

with them. All the more, average citizens, less informed and less inter-

ested, develop an attitude of distrust towards governments and corpora-

tions. Their general experience with those structures has been negative.

So it happens that there is a growing suspicion in society about all

institutions.

This in turn has led to exaggerated views about personal free-

doms in opposition to institutional control, going to the point of ignoring

common norms and collective decisions: to let every individual pursue

his or her satisfaction without restraint, and to accept the result as the

best that can be achieved (Hobsbawm 565). Loss of credibility of institu-

tions leads to cynicism and inaction. Inaction, in turn, gives rise to further

institutional abuse, and finally to total indifference from the part of the

public. Ultimately irresponsible institutions and ruling elite are left unhin-

dered to do what they like. And we sit back in self-imposed helplessness

and blind complacency.4

8. Communities and Cultures are Sources of Ethical Principles

A better understanding of the way that societies have evolved

over the centuries can help. Let us look at the early days of human exist-

ence.  May be, the communities that we call ‘primal’ (tribal) today can

Thomas Menamparampil  17



teach us how human society used to be at an earlier stage of its evolution.

Each of them (tribe, ethnic group, ‘volk’) constituted a coherent, singu-

lar, unique group of people with its own internal norms. Each had its own

set of beliefs, values, customs, and traditions. These traditions, rooted in

culture, were inherited, not reasoned out,5 not debated and consciously

developed. They are a ready source of ethical principles for each com-

munity.

The Buddha’s immediate followers were members of tribal com-

munities.  He wisely recommended to each group to follow its own an-

cestral morality and tradition. He was fully aware that people’s values

were closely linked to their own history and culture. Recognizing their

usefulness and relevance, he brought some of those values and traditions

into his monastic traditions (e.g. that of concord, unanimous decisions,

respect to elders and to inherited code of behaviour). The intention of

Confucius too was to build on traditional values in his times.

In recent years, several anthropologists (Margaret Mead, Melville

Herskovits, Clifford Geertz) have been insisting on the validity of ‘pri-

mal’ traditions, and proposing them as correctives to the counter-values

proper of modern society like individualism, material-mindedness, insen-

sitivity to nature, lack of community sense. Pride in one’s ethnic identity

and culture does not necessarily lead to fanaticism, fascism, racism or

fundamentalism, as it has occasionally done. As every community is proud

of its own individuality and heritage, it should respect similar sentiments

in others.

Even though there can be differences in the values prevalent in

different communities, they are generally complementary. For example,

some value freedom, others discipline; some give importance to wisdom,

others to happy relationships; some insist on frankness, others on cour-

tesy. Greeks look for wisdom, Jews for miracles (1 Corinthians 1:22).

The West may insist on freedom of the press, the East on respect for

religious sentiments. It is unfair to impose one’s own perceptions or pri-

orities (even democracy) on others ignoring the path of history that dif-

ferent people have trodden. We ought to allow each community to walk

at its own pace towards the goals that it has chosen for itself.

However, at the same time, in many things we agree. Nearly ev-

eryone sees evil in murder, torture, slavery, genocide, separation of fami-

18  Prajna Vihara
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~



lies, desecration of religious symbols. All communities encourage help-

fulness to each other within the community and sympathetic dealings with

outsiders. A concern for others is considered central. As Buddhists re-

spect all sentient things, Confucians teach human-heartedness, Muslims

compassion, Christians generous service.

At the same time everyone has the duty of making space for self-

criticism. A broadminded person, while questioning his own ethnocen-

trism, understands and accepts a measure of it in others (people of other

castes, tribes or communities: Brahmins, Hutus, easterners, westerners,

Christians, Muslims, Hindus). Self-criticism is important because we know

that no one is perfect and no culture is complete. Moreover, the more

worrying problems of life are not ultimately economic or academic,

but existential. They call for serious reflection. That is what made in-

sightful Asians long for apartness, silence, contemplation, peace of mind,

community-building, self-realization (Capra 440).

9. We Belong Together: Community, Family

Never in this world will hatred cease by hatred…hatred

is ceased by love (The Buddha).

In order rightly to govern the state, it is necessary

first to regulate the family (Confucius).

We spoke of the need for beginning with our own individual tradi-

tion and community. However, we cannot live in isolation; we belong to

each other. Nature gives us models of several patterns of inter-relation-

ships and integrated systems: atoms, molecules, organs, body; individu-

als, families, tribes, societies, and nations. As the material world is made

up of an inseparable network of linkages, and as the human body and

nature itself are self-regulating systems, in the same way we belong to

each other in an intimate fashion within the human family. Therefore,

what we need to make of life is not a competitive struggle, but a coop-

erative venture, each person and community playing a complementary

role with the other, like musicians in a concert. And when it does turn out

that way, something surprising happens. We notice the creative forces in

Thomas Menamparampil  19



nature continuously causing the emergence of something new in the uni-

verse. We see that whatever happens in society speaks of connectedness,

relationship, interdependence...giving expression to a common, shared

spiritual experience.

That is what makes individualism and altruism, self-care and so-

cial commitment, not mutually exclusive but complementary. Self-renun-

ciation in behalf of others is not ego-killing, but self-realization (fulfill-

ing) in the true sense. At such a moment, one wins the same joy as when

one composes a poem or a piece of music, or makes a marvelous discov-

ery, or accomplishes an impossible task…it may even be greater. When a

person is lost in his concern for others, he has an intense feeling that he is

loved and cared for!

In this broken world today (broken families, damaged communi-

ties, fragmented societies, divided humanity) we must return to the spirit

of primal communities which were characterized by love, relationship

and solidarity. We should invite each other into a fellow-ship of co-be-

longing. We need to construct new narratives to strengthen the bonds of

our togetherness, building on what we have inherited.

At an earlier section, we referred to several problems that seemed

to be beyond our strength. It is precisely when we feel helpless that we

begin to hear an inner voice, a soft whispering. A new inspiration awak-

ens in our minds. A new insight is churned out from the running stream of

the cultural wisdom that comes to us from our ancestors who were a little

closer to the origin of things than we are. It is a spark that flies out of a

mysterious collective mind (collective psyche, collective unconscious).

It takes shape in some form of co-thinking.  When we say we have a ‘gut

feeling’, it is as if the Universe is revealing a secret to us.  Things that

look like chance, coincidence, or casual inspiration, have been pre-or-

dained towards an undefinable goal in some unutterable manner even

before the foundation of the world. These are the ways in which our lives

are shaped and our societies led forward. We cannot be blind to this Higher

Energy that guides the course of history even amidst the ordinariness of

our daily lives.

The true meaning and purpose of life is to realize the potential of

every human being as a creative, active life-enhancing participant in life’s

festivity. The deeper the interiority of an individual and the clearer the

20  Prajna Vihara
__                 __

~



collective identity of a community, the stronger the society to which they

belong. Such persons know that they are participants in the subtle mys-

tery of an unfolding cosmic destiny. They know that when they do what is

good (e.g. show an extraordinary gesture of generosity, make a unique

discovery, have an intense experience of the divine, hit a target with per-

fection, write an inspired poem, give a spiritual message) they are in har-

mony with the Universe, and they are fulfilling a plan formed long ago

(Eph 1: 9-10) without realizing it. They will not allow any narrow self-

interest to limit, diminish or trivialize this perception of reality.

When several scientific discoveries take place at the same time,

we know that they come from the collective unconscious of humanity

where those ideas had been floating for some time. An awareness of this

truth itself translates into energy. Today’s science tells us that subatomic

particles are more like waves of information and energy than matter.

Collective thought and energy, when used for positive purposes (in a

human assembly, a team, a group, a community, country, in the world at a

particular moment or era), the future is being built up.6 When we develop

a holistic outlook, we see clearly how one reality completes another, and

how one vision of life enhances another: economy with ecology, physics

with psychology, scientific research with spiritual search, technology with

mysticism, social struggle with self-realization. Thus we see that one gleam

of truth is not complete without the other.

10. The Greater the Challenge the Greater our Determination

People in their conduct of affairs are constantly ruin-

ing them when they are on the eve of success (Tao Te Ching

64).

If you shed tears when you miss the sun at night, you

also miss the stars (Tagore).

If we feel that the world is in bad shape today, that is no reason for

being discouraged. It only gives us an additional stimulus to gather up

our energies, clarify our goals and commit ourselves to remedial action.

Violence has become so common in our times that there is a compas-

Thomas Menamparampil  21



sion-fatigue. We are caught into a series of vicious circles: violence__

counter__violence__desperate response__violence in return. Ideological

fanaticism__religious fanaticism-political fanaticism-ethnic fanaticism.

During the fierce violence of the First World War Arnold Toynbee wrote,

“…about half the number of my school fellows were killed, together with

proportionate numbers of my contemporaries in other belligerent coun-

tries. The longer I live, the greater grows my grief and indignation at the

wicked cutting-short of all those lives. I do not want my grandchildren

and great-grandchildren to have the same fate. The writing of this book

(The Study of History) has been one of my responses to the challenge that

has been presented to me by the senseless criminality of human affairs”

(Toynbee 11). This paper expresses a similar concern.

One explanation that psychologists give for today’s tense atmo-

sphere everywhere is overcrowding in cities. Asian cities are growing

into unmanageable monsters. There should be a concerted effort to search

for ways of helping people to remain ‘human’ in the inhuman atmo-

sphere of megalopolises.

Recent scandals caused by leading persons in society have been

shocking the world and weakening the credibility of persons holding

public offices. There is a feeling that public truth telling, like ethical busi-

ness, is on the way out. As a result, even the most solemn public state-

ments (including UN declarations, reports to the parliament on the finan-

cial state of the nation, government accounts with regard to military ex-

penses, or impressive advertisements) find few takers. The failure of some

of these public agencies has damaged the image of others as well. There

is a general distrust of banks, corporations, news media, the entertain-

ment industry, unions, government and its agencies (Sachs 12), and of

public organizations in general.

The desperateness of these and similar situations itself should be

a motivation for a determined search for solution. We believe with John

Kennedy “No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s

reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable__and we

believe they can do it again” (Sachs 262).

22  Prajna Vihara
__                 __

~



11. Judging for Oneself, Acquiring Authority

What is man that you have been mindful of him, mor-

tal man that you have taken note of him, that you have

made little less than divine, and adorned with glory and

majesty (Psalms 8:5).

One ignorant of the land asks of one who knows it; he

travels forward instructed by the knowing guide. This,

indeed, is the blessing of instruction; one finds the path

that leads straight onward (Rig Veda 10.32.7).

Scientists sometimes describe the origin all things as though the

Universe came into existence and developed through a series of coinci-

dences. According to Big Bang Theory, ‘particles’ collided with ‘antipar-

ticles’ and annihilated each other. Particles had a quantitative advantage

and they created the Universe. Ever since, it has held itself precariously in

existence. The Universe could go awry any time, but it has not. ‘A sense

of purpose is all pervasive and deeply ingrained in the fabric of the uni-

verse’. If this provides the cue, we have hope that every problem invites

its own solution. This invitation is extended to us, and the solution may

be reached only through our intervention.

There is an interesting story in the life of the Buddha. The Kalamans

had been conquered by the Kosala kingdom. Under the Kosalan dispen-

sation the tribal norms under which the Kalamans had lived until then did

not seem to hold good any more. Too many wandering preachers were

approaching them to propose their own theories, one contradicting the

other. What is the right thing to do under the changed circumstances,

which teaching is true?  They wanted Buddha’s advice. Buddha had only

a simple answer: ‘Judge for yourselves’. He asked them not to go by

hearsay, or legend or some proposed theory or out of respect for an as-

cetic, but by the personal verification of what was true (Anguttara Nikaya

A I 188-93). The wisdom in the Kalaman tradition had to be re-evaluated

through reflection and re-appropriated, and what was valid in the new

proposals carefully integrated. We are in a similar period of transition

today.

Solutions dawn in the minds of ‘alert’ people, people who culti-

Thomas Menamparampil  23



vate their inner consciousness. Such people acquire ‘authority’ when

they know how to make their insights respond to the needs and agonies

of the society in which they live. This sort of ‘authority’ comes not from

some ego-claims or self-pretensions, but from profound convictions about

what is true and good, arising out of one’s constant attention to the deeper

causes of things. In consequence, the solutions they propose appeal to

the deeper-selves of others and convince them. People listen to those

who address their anxieties with keen interest and propose solutions that

are realistic; who also teach them to transcend their own petty interests

and small-mindedness as situation demands. This is mission of true intel-

lectuals.

If more people would try to acquire this sort of ‘authority’ and

share their insights, the world would be a better place. If communities,

cultures, and civilizations were to exchange their deeper spiritual per-

ceptions as profit-makers exchange goods, a ‘natural selection’ (Darwin)

of good intuitions would result, and an ‘invisible’ hand would lead hu-

manity to unforeseen achievements. There has been a continuous exchange

of ideas between human societies from the earliest times. While the East-

ward flow of the concepts of Modernity has been sufficiently noted, Clive

Ponting refers to the Westward flow of civilization from Egypt and

Mesopotamia, to Crete, Greece, Italy, the Iberian peninsula and to west-

ern Europe (Ponting 7), and finally to the rest of the world. Such flows

and counter-flows continue.

We are convinced like Margaret Mead that “a small group of

thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the

only thing that ever has” (Hathaway 214). Confucius suggested five things

to those who wished to offer effective leadership, “If you behave with

courtesy, then you will not be insulted; if you are generous, then you will

win the multitude; if you are of good faith, then other men will put their

trust in you; if you are diligent, then you will have success; and if you are

kind, then you will be able to command others” (Analects 17.6). Why do

we not seek to acquire this sort of authority?

24  Prajna Vihara
__                 __

~



12. Equipping Oneself

“The Master said…But if even a simple peasant comes

in all sincerity and asks me a question, I am ready to

thrash the matter out, with all its pros and cons, to the

very end” (Analects IX, 7).

O Lord, grant me such qualities of head and heart as

would endear me to the enlightened and learned among

us, to the ruling class and to all that have eyes to see

(Atharva Veda 19,62).

In times of persistent troubles, there emerge spontaneously per-

sons with a strong sense of mission. The first thing they do is to equip

themselves adequately for the challenge; they gather knowledge. They

begin with what is already within reach. Confucius said, “At fifteen I set

my heart on learning” (Analects 2.4). He continued, “I silently accumu-

late knowledge; I study and do not get bored; I teach others and do not

grow weary__for these things come naturally to me” (Analects 7.2).

Next, they commit themselves to the cause they have chosen with

unflagging zeal. They do not give up because of difficulties, even re-

peated failures. “He’s the one who knows it’s no good but goes on try-

ing” (Analects 14,41) said Confucius. A similar teaching we find in the

Bhagavadgita which insists on perseverance in duty, work,

action…detachment from fruits, from results, from remunerations and

rewards. A lack of appreciation from others does not disconcert persons

who are mentally set. For them, their commitment is everything. The plead-

ing of Archimedes while he was being attacked by invading soldiers was

not to spare his life, but not ruin his diagrams! (Hobsbawm 557).

The most important thing for those of us with a sense of mission

in Asia today is to be acquainted with the foundational literature of

various Asian traditions. The concepts, images and symbols contained in

them remain deeply imbedded in the collective unconscious of respective

communities. They refer to the origins of the human race, its purpose and

destiny. It is a symbolic interpretation of the spiritual journey on which

homo sapiens set out centuries ago.7

With the passage of time, even the most cherished words of wis-

Thomas Menamparampil  25



dom can grow stale, boring and uninspiring, and irrelevant to the current

situation. History can associate them with un-genuineness and superfici-

ality. Therefore, their inner potentiality must be re-awakened. Old teach-

ings need to be re-interpreted and made relevant and capable of address-

ing the problems of our times: violence, corruption, nuclear arms, abor-

tion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, exploitation of minorities, economic

imbalances, destruction of nature.  “He who by reanimating the Old can

gain knowledge of the New is fit to be a teacher…”, said Confucius.

Persons with a sense of mission help humanity to regain its balance by

relating the present to the past, looking to the future, and by putting the

diverse cultural heritages of the world in relationship.

Confucius insisted on self-cultivation to respond to the challenges

of his times. The gentleman practices moral cultivation, develops a moral

personality, acquires tranquility. Self-cultivation makes one strong, gen-

erous, humble, caring, conciliatory, gracious…and therefore successful.

Man’s differences are due to disparities in education (Analects 16.9). “The

Master said, without goodness a man cannot for long endure adversity,

cannot for long enjoy prosperity” (Analects IV, 2). A prepared mind

meets with opportunity, which is often described as ‘good luck’. What

is considered chance, luck, coincidence is part of the cosmic plan, univer-

sal mind, and the Providence of God.

13. Is a Middle Path Possible? Can We Open out a Path to Peace?

This is my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in

whom I delight. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall

teach the true way to the nations. He shall not cry out or

shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He

shall not break even a bruised reed, or snuff out even a

dim wick. He shall bring forth the true way. He shall grow

dim or be bruised till he has established the true way on

earth (Isaiah 42: 1-4).

You shall speak to men good words (Quran 2,83).

Let us take as an example of a problem that has been continuously

26  Prajna Vihara
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~



plaguing the world: the problem of war and violence. At the end of the

World War, the leaders of countries that had for centuries been in conflict

(France, Germany and others) decided they would no further adopt the

path of war to resolve problems. That was to become a historic decision.

In them humanity itself was taking a new direction. And they succeeded.

Many other countries joined them, and today we have the European

Union. The impossible became possible.

Let us now look at our own continent.  Inter-national tensions

keep several Asian nations continuously on the defensive against each

other. Deterrence only adds to anxiety. It is a repetition of the European

drama of the early 20th century. Toynbee calls an excess of nationalism

‘tribalism’, each nation claiming to be a universe in itself ‘self-contained

and self-sufficient’. “All nation states, from the greatest down to the least,

put forward the same claim to be enduring entities, each sufficient unto

itself and independent of the rest of the world” (Toynbee 34-5). It had

disastrous consequences. Asian nations are tempted to make the same

mistake that Europe made a century ago, easily becoming over-ambi-

tious, aggressive, and mutually provocative.  Arms selling nations and

companies fan the flame. Their business would collapse if there were no

international tensions. So, conflicts continue, and, in each nation, grow-

ing social tensions leave many things unpredictable for Asia’s future.

Nonetheless, peace is possible. In recent times we have seen how

Mikhail Gorbachev made a radical option for peace. If such enormously

great changes could be worked out in a peaceful way, similar successes

are possible for those who set their hearts on a peaceful solution to prob-

lems. Historians can show us how the great World Wars could have

been avoided… how people need not have died in Korea, or Vietnam, or

in Afghanistan, or Pakistan.

“Do not do to others what you would not like yourself” (Analects

12.2). If this message were brought creatively to the world scene as Gandhi

did while struggling for his nation’s independence, such tragedies would

not have taken place. History has shown that force is low-quality power.

“…violence produces resistance. Its victims or its survivors look for the

first chance to strike back” (Toffler 15).

The Buddha spoke of the middle path, Aristotle of ‘moderation in

all things’. If people had adopted a ‘middle path’, could not the eco-

Thomas Menamparampil  27



nomic sanction on Iraq which killed a million Iraqi children and other

vulnerable people have been avoided? If there was moderation in all

things, the attack on World Trade Centre would never have taken place.

We need to seek sobriety and balance in all things. “As individuals, we

need to regain the balance of our own lives between

work and leisure,

saving and consumption,

self-interest and compassion,

individualism and citizenship” (Sachs 161).

self-assertion and affirmation of others

national interests and the long term good of the human race.

Could we seek balance with regard to other human interests as

well?

14. We Need Communities of Vision

I  neither stood still, nor sat nor lay down until, pac-

ing to and fro, I has mastered that fear and terror (the

Buddha).

Oh men, direct your energies to promote the good of

all mankind. Let your relations with all be characterized

by love, peace and harmony. Let your hearts beat in uni-

son with human hearts (Rig Veda 8,49,4).

When we are satisfied with quick-fix solutions as a regular habit,

permanent solutions keep evading us. A dosage of drugs will not serve as

a permanent solution to psychological problems. A few personality-de-

velopment tips will not take away guilt feelings from human hearts. A

double share of consumer goods will not satisfy the spiritual hunger of a

society.  Financial compensations will not make up for the injury inflicted

on the culture and identity of a dying community (tribe, ethnic group).  In

the same  way, a list of punishments will not be an adequate response to

the needs of a society that is agonizing with pain for the absence of ethi-

28  Prajna Vihara
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~



cal and spiritual guidance.

It is hoped that gradually we may awaken to the truth that a scien-

tific worldview need not exclude religion, a modern outlook need not

marginalize spiritual and ethical values. It may also be helpful to under-

stand that it is in opposition to aggressive secularism that religious fun-

damentalism has arisen. So it happens that just at a time when the domi-

nant regions of the world are thinking that religion should be privatized

and marginalized, there is a global resurgence of religion (Lott 252),

going to the point of exaggeration.

A new beginning takes place when we gain access to the inner

chambers of our hearts and stay for a while deep within ourselves, where

we discover the profound nature of things. Yes, that depth is within the

reach of everyone. That is why self-reflection can be extremely educative

and many Asian sages have attached great importance to it. When we

reach that level of our being, the nonlocal intelligence takes over. We

are admitted into a subtle cosmic process (Hathaway 247) and even the

least thing we think of or do can have vast consequences.  It is like a

butterfly flapping its wings causing a storm on the other side of the globe.

We need today persons of deeper insight and ‘communities of vision’,

who are able to anticipate the future and make it come about through

committed action. Asians should not forget that “For nearly all of world

history the richest and most developed societies have been in Asia”

(Ponting 9). Asia has shown the way on many occasions, it can still do in

the future if it will remain true toits identity and to its vocation.

As the Universe constantly keeps re-building balance within it-

self, in nature and in the human body, so our inner world keeps making an

effort continuously to attain balance, proportion, and harmony. Persons

who cultivate their interiority pass on the waves of their thoughts to

others, far and near. The Universe vibrates with them and takes unfore-

seen steps forward in its process of self-creation. It is said that one hun-

dred trillion cells in the human body are doing one million things per

second to support the human being. Therefore we should not be sur-

prised that even a simple thought, a soft whisper, a casual happening, an

accidental encounter, can take a message across to the other person, then

to another person, and then to the entire world. When it comes from a

person who has searched his inner world, his/her communication can be

Thomas Menamparampil  29



compared to the generative moment of the Big Bang.

Gandhi conveyed his message through religious silence and ritual

defiance. When a person receives the ‘mandate of Heaven’ (Braudel 187),

his spirit is awakened. The ‘Invisible Hand’ becomes visible. So we feel

confident to take seriously what Alfred Lord Tennyson said, “More things

are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of”, which would mean,

when we connect with the Universal and the Supreme, we come to be

related to everyone else, to all living organisms, and ultimately to every-

thing.

15. A Period of Transition: a Period for New Ideas and New Hap-

penings

First establish yourself in the good; thereafter you

should counsel others. The wise man who acts thus will

be above reproach (Dammapada 12,2).

For this purpose I was born, and to spread this reli-

gion God appointed men; go and spread righteousness

everywhere (Guru Govind Singh).

The early 6th century The Buddha’s world was in the process of

rapid cultural changes: from a tribal government to political empires, vil-

lage economies to commercial cities, classless society to new social classes

based on wealth, Vedic sacrifices to Upanishadic meditational thinking

(Kramer 73). He lived at the rise of a new civilization, just as Socrates

did at the rise of Hellenic civilization. Old patterns were making way for

new ones. It can generally be said that the decline of a culture (civiliza-

tion) takes place when its ideas, customs and social organization become

lifeless and its internal harmony is lost; things stagnate, society is lost in

superficial issues, uncertainty and confusion prevail. It is at this juncture

that creative minorities appear proposing new solutions to the new prob-

lems.

The need for this arose in Buddha’s times when communities

(tribes) that had lived in isolation were compelled to live with others in a

wider political dispensation. Traditional patterns of thought did not seem

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to hold good any more. The earlier moral norms looked unrelated to the

needs of the times. In the composite, impersonal atmosphere of an urban

world people unused to mixed societies found themselves fendless.

Buddha's message came into such world.

Though very contextual, his teaching was not meant for his own

community only. It transcended his culture and had a universal applica-

tion. His insistence on right understanding and right action opened

out a path to new possibilities. He taught the shedding of the ego, remain-

ing unconcerned about flattery or criticism…and concentrating on the

right thought and right action. The Bhagavadgita too emphasized similar

ideas. Buddha’s Middle Path proposes moderation, avoids exaggerations

so typical of innovators, provides new  insights, points the way to wis-

dom and peace.

16. Inter-relating Civilizational Heritages

Cultivate the friendship of the good, cultivate the

friendship of the noble ones (Dhammapada 6,3).

You have become a disciple in order to benefit the

world (Silbhadra, the Buddhist professor of Nalanda

University, to  Hiuen Tsang).

We can begin taking up the issues we have been discussing only

within the framework of our own individual culture (each one his/her

own) that gives us an identity and a collective being. While it provides the

immediate support we need for our work, our efforts can attain

sustainability only by building up relationship with a family of cultures,

which in turn derive sustenance from a civilization.8

It is true, our immediate consciousness is concerned about our

existence in a political society; but a civilization transcends this reality.

While the political society is an association for practical ends, civiliza-

tion is a spiritual communion (Dawson 53-4). It cannot be bought or

sold, budgeted or planned. It is a spiritual heritage that has taken shape

over centuries. Everyone within its influence benefits from it, and can

make a contribution  towards its development.

Thomas Menamparampil  31



Great societies like those of Asia have a variety of civilizational

heritages within the context of which we work out solutions to our prob-

lems. There is a renewed understanding and appreciation of these great

civilizations of our continent in these days. They are showing their sturdi-

ness in the face of challenges and winning the attention and respect of the

world. They have been great in their own times and have played an edu-

cative role in the global society in different periods of history. It is good

to remind ourselves that the inspiring ideas that have roots in our an-

cient civilizations will prove ultimately more precious than the volume

of accumulated capital or an abundance of natural resources that we boast

of.

Communities whose innovative ideas turn out to be relevant and

inspiring, gradually begin to make an impact on others. They transform

the world. Arms assail and crush, economies entice and enslave, ideas

enlighten, unite and motivate. We do not deny the fact that every civi-

lization possesses some negative elements as well. However, given the

needed good will, the worst can be averted and the best ensured.

17. Societies must be Saved from Self-alienation

Do not walk proudly on the earth. You cannot cleave

the earth, nor can you rival the mountains (Quran 17:39).

A person of good acts and good, agreeable, and sweet

speech, has no equal (Mahabharata, Shanti Parva, 84,10).

Today civilizations and cultures are in crisis. They are in rapid

transition. When the ideals and values on which they were built get

marginalized, the society concerned goes through an experience of self-

alienation and estrangement from its collective self. The insecurity

such a process generates leads it to a frantic search for a substitute. If the

society chooses to re-affirm the ideals and values on which it was estab-

lished, it witnesses the revival of its ancient glory. If it fails to do that, it

puts itself on the path of decline. At a moment of self-delusion, it opts for

an alternative: glorification of an artificially constructed ‘self’, a distorted

form of the original, an unreal collective identity. In the Roman Empire it

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took the form of emperor-worship, which ended up in statolatria. Effec-

tively, it was the empire’s self-worship, ignoring its real identity: in fact,

worship of the ‘false self’.

When nationalism verges on state-worship or cultural impe-

rialism, it makes the same mistake: worship of a distorted form of a

‘collective self’. Persons who advocate such forms of nationalism could

learn from the mistakes of those nations who were the principal actors in

the last World War. They admitted their mistake, changed their mind and

opted for peace. They hold out a message for today’s state-worshippers

and cultural nationalists, the fascists of the day. Those who rely on mili-

tary might are placing too much trust on the strength of the “mindless

fist” or the “congealed mind” (Toffler 17).

Since every idea involves its opposite, even in the present difficult

situation there is the possibility of a new hope-filled future arising, to-

wards which we all can contribute. This paper is an invitation to do so.

When cultural processes are undergoing rapid changes, very few people

succeed to integrate the old and the new and make a synthesis of ideals,

values, ethical norms, philosophical principles, and religious traditions.

Malachi proposed the bringing of “fathers and children together again”

(Malachi 4:6). We all can play a role in this endeavour. Jesus said, “Think

not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets (meaning, earlier

traditions); I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew

5:17).

History makes it abundantly clear that unity and motivation im-

posed by dominant personalities (conquerors) or by exploiting minori-

ties (ruling cliques) in the form of an empire has a limited future, that self-

worship is suicidal. Similarly, the togetherness built on people’s anger,

ambition or ignorance, egged on by ideologies of hatred is counterpro-

ductive. In the same way, enthusiasm constructed on impressive successes

in the field of economy can last only for a brief while. Muscle and money

fail us when we least expect it. Societies gathered round values construct

a great future.

Thomas Menamparampil  33



18. Gathering Round Great Values and High Ideals

Let my life be a life of dedication, let my vital breath,

eyes, intellect and spirit be dedicated to service; let my

love and my understanding, my prosperity and my knowl-

edge be dedicated to service. Let the service be made in a

spirit of utter sacrifice (Upanishads).

The journey of thousand miles begins  with a single

step (Tao Te Ching 64).

The unity based on the spiritual bonds provided by a ‘communion

of civilizations’ will have the strength to bring together our diverse cul-

tural and religious groups, economic and political interests, ideological

and philosophical visions. When we begin to re-capture the spirit of our

ancient civilizations, express it in today’s vocabulary, and live them out

in dynamic ways and relevant styles, we shall begin to regain our lost

energies. When they are brought to actual life situations, they will mani-

fest their strength and validity once again.

With growing instances of violence, corruption, erosion of cul-

ture, damage to environment, and poor governance, there is no denying

the fact that our inherited ideas and values are in danger. And the threat

comes from those trends in our society that weaken our moral fibre,

social bonds, sense of common belonging, commitment to shared values

and ideals, and those that promote sectarian thinking. Many of communi-

ties that were rural, agricultural, living generally in isolated villages, ek-

ing out an existence from seasonal labour, have moved into investment

economy and global economy in a matter of a few decades. Along with

these changes, new political forces (even radical ones) have arisen at

national levels in a manner that could not easily have been foreseen be-

fore.

The New Economy is uprooting people from their homes, fami-

lies, religious beliefs, cultures, community identities, and familiar terrain,

and throwing them into the high seas of uncertainty. They have little sense

of security or belonging, and experience the weakening of family and

community support; no sure concept of the future, no consistent vision or

convictions. They miss the cultural continuity that the presence of par-

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ents and grandparents, uncles and cousins used to give, the sanctions that

the parents or the community used to impose, the certainties that a com-

mon heritage used to hand down, and the solidarity that the village com-

munity used to offer in moments of crisis. The entire value-system itself

is under threat.

We need to stand aside and develop a detached view of things,

and reflect and meditate. We know that another world is possible. Victor

Hugo once said, “There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the

world: and that is an idea whose time has come”. May be such a time has

come for bringing human civilizations into a communion. However,

this possibility can be made a reality only if we build up our inner sturdi-

ness. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Such power as I possess for working in the

political field has derived from my experiments in the spiritual field”. No

wonder he conveyed his message as much through religious silence, as

by political interventions.

19. Gentle Action

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or

boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own

way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in

wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth (Corinthians 13:4-

6).

May my life, each breath of life, the eyes, the ears, the

speech, the mind, the soul and all other acts and deeds,

be put to the service of humankind (Yajur Veda 18,29).

I refer to Toynbee again, “In order to save Mankind we have to

learn to live together in concord in spite of traditional differences of reli-

gion, civilization, nationality, class, and race. In order to live together in

concord successfully, we have to know each other, and knowing each

other includes knowing each other’s past… Historical forces can be more

explosive than atomic bombs…We must try to recognize and, as far as

possible, to understand, the different cultural configurations in which our

common human nature has expressed itself in the different religions, civi-

Thomas Menamparampil  35



lizations, and nationalities into which human culture has come to be ar-

ticulated in the course of its history… We shall, however, have to do

more than just understand each other’s cultural heritages, and more

even than appreciate them. We shall have to value them and love them as

being parts of Mankind’s common treasure and therefore ours too….”

(Toynbee 47).

Our message is something similar. All we add is, “Be gentle as

doves” (Matthew 10:16); that is the ‘Asian way’ of communicating a

message. For we know and appreciate the wisdom contained in such teach-

ings as this: “Those who lead others in harmony with the Tao (Way) do

not use force to subdue others, or attempt to dominate the world through

force of arms. For every force there is a counterforce. Violence, even

when well intentioned, always rebounds upon oneself” (Tao Te Ching

30). A non-adversarial approach to each other listening to other voices

than our own…., readiness to accept the wisdom of the wider

community…that is closer to the Asian way. Dhammapada says, “Do not

speak harshly to anybody; those who are spoken to will answer thee in

the same way. Angry speech is painful, blows for blows will touch thee”

(X, 133).

The Physicist David Peat speaks of ‘gentle action’ in this manner,

“Gentle action is global… It addresses itself not just to practical issues,

as the price of oil or the efficiency of a given factory, but also to values,

ethics, and the quality of life…. Like the ripples around the point, it moves

inward to converge on a particular issue. Gentle action works not

through force and raw energy but by modifying the very processes that

generate and sustain an undesired or harmful effect… Gentle action…

gives a new dimension to the whole idea of social action…It suggests

that the origins of effective action can lie in ordinary people, both as

individuals and as members of a group-and with their values, ethics, goals,

and desires” (Hathaway 387). “Learn from me”, Jesus said, “because I

am gentle and humble in spirit” (Matthew 11:29).

Endnotes

1Eric Lott says, “The much trumpeted freedom of choice has no much room

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in modern corporations and military giants” (Lott 253).
2The prevailing manner of developing industries is fast leading to the deg-

radation of environment and depletion of topsoil. Deepak Chopra quotes social sci-

entists who claim that our collective behaviour is creating an unsustainable environ-

ment due to depletion of timber and fossil fuels, leading to devastating effects such as

the greenhouse effect, changing weather patterns, hurricanes, and rising ocean tides.

“On the surface these different events don’t seem related, but they are. They

are the result of constricted collective sense of self, and they synchronistically, si-

multaneously co-arise. Religious conflict, pollution, terrorism, nuclear plants, drug

addiction, extinction of species, poverty, crime, drug wars, the gun industry, floods

and famine, dangerous chemicals in the food chain, and wars are causally related”

(Synchro-destiny, Rider, London, 2003, pg. 266). The Taoist position would be some-

thing similar.

Ecologists have suggested soft technologies that do not damage environ-

ment, the use of renewable resources, recycling of material. They recommend solar

energy collectors, wind generators, organic farming, regional and local food produc-

tion, recycling of waste. “Wisdom demands a new orientation of science and technol-

ogy towards the organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and beautiful” (quoted

at Capra 443). It is gradually being realized that ethics needs to be also ecological:

e.g. an ecological awareness and frugal consumption ensuring inner growth (Capra

459).
3“He who rules by means of virtue may be compared to the pole-star, which

keeps its place while all the other stars pay homage to it” (Analects 2.1).
4“When rulers live in splendor and speculators prosper, while farmers lose

their land and the granaries are emptied; when governments spend money on osten-

tation and on weapons; when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible, in-

dulging themselves and possessing more than they can use, while the poor have

nowhere to turn. All this is robbery and chaos. It is not in keeping with the Tao (Tao

Te Ching 53). Such a message seems to be most relevant in our times.
5It is good to remember in this context that “reason (itself) may depend on

something unreasoned”, though it may sound like a paradox  (Fleischacker 54).  But

it is true.
6“What we learn and what we think can affect other people by morphic

resonance. Our souls are bound up with those of others and bound up with the world

around us” (Fox and Sheldrake in Hathaway 222).
7Cave paintings, 17,000 years old, give indications that homo sapiens was

also homo spiritualis  (a spiritual being).
8This reality called ‘civilization’ has something to do with our collective

identity as a ‘people’, the memory of its past, experience of the present, and the

hopes for the future. Our respective civilizations cannot be ignored as we pursue our

goals to a common destiny.

Thomas Menamparampil  37



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Capra, Fritjof, The Turning Point, Flamingo, London, 1983.

Chopra, Deepak, Synchro-destiny, Rider, London, 2003, pg. 266.

Dawson, Christopher, dynamics of World History, ISI Books, Wilmington

(Delaware), 2002.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe, Civilizations, Pan Books, London, 2001.

Fleischacker, Samuel, The Ethics of Culture, Cornell University Press,

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Hathaway, Mark & Boff, Leonardo, The Tao of Liberation, Orbis Books,

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Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Extremes, Vintage Books, New York, 1995.

Kramer, Kenneth, World Scriptures, Paulist Press, New York, 1986.

Lott, Eric, Religious Faith, Human Identity, ATC & UTC, Bangalore,

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Pinker, Steven, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, London, 2011.

Ponting, Clive, World History, Pimlico, London, 2001.

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Toffler, Alvin, Power Shift, Bantam Books, London, 1992.

Toynbee, Arnold, A Study of History (one-vol. ed. Thames & Hudson),

Oxford, 1995.

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