Love and Compassion are necessities, not luxuries. –Dalai Lama
One of the things that gives me hope is that it seems as if our emerging consciousness is, more than ever, manifesting itself through the recognition that there does exist a common humanity among all of us; we seem to realize, especially among the young people of our world, that we are all bound together by a more fundamental unity than that of thought and/or doctrine. We all possess the same human nature, the same primeval tendencies, and the nature that what we all hold in common is a rational one, subject intellectually to the attraction of the same basic objects (e.g. food, water, relationships, shelter, etc). This seems to be the inherent law of human beings. Reality is to be found in the link of word and deed, in the relationship of person and person.
We are, it seems to me, to be in the age of suffering fueled by a crisis of morality – the continued eroding of moral standards. This crisis presents us with theoretical and practical problems. This crisis influences us (directs us, guides us, coerces us, seduces us) as to how we think and as to how we act. It seems to me that this crisis is rooted in a growing disconnection between moral issues-challenges-problems and available knowledge (i.e. the knowledge of ‘God’ or the Divine or the Transcendent, the knowledge of the nature of the human being – are we inherently good AND inherently evil; are we free to or free from; the knowledge of ‘nature’ herself and our continuous efforts to control her or predict her actions; and what is the relationship between all of these anyway). Regarding morality there is a growing chasm between what is and what ought to be – this is rooted in the lack of consensus about what is and what ought to be. In our country, our centuries old issues of race, equality, and justice – what is and what ought to be.
As a species we are called, I think, to a reevaluation of the moral principles and precepts as they were consecrated by Confucius, Buddha, Socrates, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Mohammed (the moral sanctions effective in other periods of our cultures); we are called to cherish these in our daily life so that moral action, brotherly love, and human dignity may be experienced in deed and in word.
Most of us humans agree that ‘good’ and ‘evil’ exist; a challenge is to emerge a shared definition of each. We are truly in this together; we are truly interdependent; our world is rooted in relationship and interdependence. There is an indispensable relationship between and among all aspects and groups of diverse cultures.
This calls for a transformation (transformation = a fundamental change in structure and character) – a personal and a societal and a global transformation. The extent of our freedom and of our accepting of our freedom [Note: Eric Fromm’s Escape From Freedom] is revealed through our deeds (a combination of our attitudes and actions). Forgiveness is a must for we are all imperfect and we will stumble, some will fall, and so we must be committed to forgiving, reconciling and healing.
One challenge is live as if we are one global society that embraces one ethical system WHILE retaining our cultural pluralism and individuality. This is a big dream, a big vision and like all big dreams and visions our charge is to hold them and journey together toward them. The corollary is that we continue to fragment and name the other, the stranger, as evil; the result of this will be our own destruction.
There is something in us that is moved by the plight of our fellow humans; this something helps give birth and sustenance to moral insight (we are truly our brothers’ keepers) and moral goodness (like the Samaritan, we will not pass our brother on the road). This something is not identical in all of us, nevertheless this something does not isolate us from one another (we are truly in this all together and we are all responsible). We can continue to make technological advances a positive source for connection and understanding across all cultures. By becoming more connected to one another via technology we can continue to understand that there can be no physical necessity without moral necessity.
In the end we need to depend on faith and belief (in the other and in the Divine or Transcendent), we need to depend on love (human and Divine or Transcendent) and through these we renew in ourselves the essence (sacredness, value, goodness) of the person and the reality of the global community (we are truly in this together and the fate of one society will, in the end, determine the fate of all).
In the end, all there is is love and friendship. –Robert K. Greenleaf
Searcher-Seeker 