Universal
Harmony Dr. Sean
Sieglen of the Manav Kendra of Maine Discusses in depth the problems involved. MR. CHAIRMAN,
Ladies and Gentle men: When addressing
ourselves to the question of “universal harmony,” we must determine first what
manner or style of harmony we are seeking in the world. Certainly mankind is agreed that harmony is
wanted, is in fact desperately needed.
It is commonplace by now to assert that unless international relations
are made harmonious, mankind will destroy itself in various technological and
political wars. Also becoming equally
imminent is man’s lack of harmony with the very Earth that sustains his
physical life. Disharmony in this area
of ecology threatens to cripple civilization, even wipe out large segments of
the population within a century—some authorities say within decades. However, it is not my intention to elaborate
upon these problems, since we are all familiar with the alarming dangers
involved in these conditions; I will rather pose the questions: 1) What
kind of harmony can man feasibly pursue for himself? And 2) How
might man best obtain his goal? One form that
many persons have selected as the kind of harmonious relation they wish to
carry on with other persons—or other nations, or other religions, or with Mother
Nature—could be described as the “laissez-faire treatment of a ghetto.” In
common words, “he and I will get on amiably if he stays out of my way, or if we
have no contact whatsoever.” Hence there arose in the United States a popular
attitude that two subjects not to be discussed were religion and politics. Racial tension also has grown because of
such disguised bigotry, and I call it this name because underlying such
isolationist viewpoints are the convictions that I am separate from him and
I am correct. But of course this conference by its very existence
submits the contrary, and can state that individual men are not
separate; so to isolate one’s person, one’s religion, or one’s nation from the
rest is at best an equivocal position to take. A better pursuit
of harmonious relations perhaps would view harmony as an acceptance through
understanding of his neighbor’s way, or an acceptance because of respect for
that other nations, or religion; in general, respect for one’s fellow man. If such an integrated style of harmony is
preferable to the isolationist style of harmony that has been most rife in our
various countries’ histories—that is to say, if strong nationalism and
chauvinism on any scale from racial to religious, from vocational to personal,
are undesirable—then to what or to whom are we to turn for us to get a clearer
understanding of just what sort of harmony I am indicating? First comes to
mind the United Nations; but we all know that though certain valuable results
have been attained, that organization isn’t able to produce the sort of
far-reaching harmony (or brotherly love) for which we are seeking in this
panel. Then we are
reminded of the many religious ecumenical conclaves which succeeded World War
II. In the West, Catholics, Protestants
and Jews met to dissolve difference; in the East, Buddhist, Jain, Moslem, Sikh,
and Hindu sat together to emphasize their oneness. Everyone here is well aware of the achievements made on these
lines by the World Fellowship of Religions, presided over for so long by the
sponsor of this conference, Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj. Here some definite success was reached in
having disparate groups who would not convene on one platform before, come
together to speak of unity and harmony.
Yet at this level of religions or institutions, full unity has not been
realized because each group again sought for the unity of its own body, rather
than for the integration of all groups to become united under God. The harmony we
seek here, then, must be sought at the level of man—not nations, not religions,
not institutions. This brotherly love
is of a nature that embrace each individual and emphasizes similarities instead
of dissimilarities. Harmony of this
kind presupposes one God, one mankind.
Every individual is only separate temporarily—that is, until he realizes
that he isn’t really separate at all.
He then won’t choose isolationism or chauvinism or any ism, for that
matter, since all isms tend to divide rather than bring together. So we can define “harmony” as the congenial
interaction of entities or groups of entities who all feel that they are
portions of the same God, drops of the same Ocean of All Consciousness. This joyful interaction or brotherly love
comes up because each person knows that though their bodies may be several,
their souls contain the same essence; and that essence is greater than any
prejudice or separation. With this
definition and ideal of harmony before us, let’s approach the next question of
how to obtain so difficult a goal, especially at a time in history when there
exists a large percentage of mankind who accept only material values, ignoring
or rejecting values of a spiritual nature. How is it possible to live so
harmoniously that anger, jealousies, hatreds, injuries and wars diminish and
cease altogether? Such a society
and world living in that type of concord must be viewed as a utopian
ideal. Practical utopias haven’t fared
well in history. The celebrated Brook
Farm of the nineteenth century, in which Emerson and Hawthorne participated,
typically represents the main problem—dissension. The participants wrangled about leadership, duties, etc., and
though equality was sought, none was found.
Some of the best utopias comprise people whose lives are so simple that
they have little cognizance that their community is ideal. One illustration is the Hunzas, north of
here in the Himalayas. Their valley is
a veritable Shangri La, and the reason seems to be that they do not stress
material achievements. They have no
high, no low. Though they respect the
wisdom of age, all are equal in their group.
They have a simple diet, exemplary morals, and a clean disciplined
environment. At present I
help to coordinate a autopian attempt in the State of Maine in the U. S.
A. It is a Man Center—the Manav Kendra
of Maine—instituted for God -service, man-service, and land-service, parallel
to the two centers, which exist here in India at Dehra Dun and Baroda. This
center seeks to establish a unique situation where an undetermined number of
men and women live harmoniously without anger or dishonesty. They live chaste lives, and try to serve and
love everyone with whom they come in contact.
In simpler words, they try to do good, be good, and be one, not only
with human beings, but also with animals and land—ecology and land service
being of price importance. Manav Kendra
attempts to become a complete community in self-sufficiency so that it may show
the surrounding society how harmonious living may be achieved. But again the question: How is this goal to be obtained? The answer is
the heart of this presentation: Universal harmony on the scale of which we’ve
spoken is only to be achieved when personal harmony is first realized. At the level of man each person must admit
harmonious ideals and practice into his own life, so that he radiates peace and
contentment in all his activities and with all his associations. Three billion
people need to overcome their emotions to the extent that they are in control
of their faculties and senses. When a man’s mind is under his own control,
driving the horses of desire that pull the chariot of the body, and the rider
never lets any of these (body, mind, emotions) run wild, he may be said to have
inner harmony. That man who
keeps his mind like a tame elephant will be at ease in all situations and with
all persons. He will not get angry even
with those that abuse him, nor will he be flattered by praise. Needless to say, that man will radiate
harmony and infect all those around him with his joy. A man like that can affect and improve thousands, so that they
too may reach that level. We have seen
illustrations of this kind of man in the lives of the saints. Buddha evinced
such great compassion that millions of people for thousands of years have tried
to emulate him. (I am not speaking of Buddhism as such, but of the effect of
the radiation of a great saint.) Jesus preached eloquently of love and has
stirred men for two thousand years—whether or not they all comprehended his
message. Many many followed his
radiation and rose to great heights of peace and understanding: Augustine,
Thomas Aquinas, John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Jacob Boehme, to name a
few. That radiation does not die with
the body of the man. Guru Nanak
produced a string of Masters who affected countless numbers deeply in their
spiritual natures, just as the Prophet led to great Sufis like Hafiz, Rumi, and
Mansur. And of course we can name
Mahatma Gandhi to demonstrate further the development possible in men of God,
men whose live carry on the impulse that might have been first sent out
thousands of years ago by someone who took the time to rein his desires and
sought to promote harmony for mankind by first attaining it in himself. What can the
three billion persons do? What can we here do to achieve that harmony?
Certainly no more religions are needed.
We have quite enough religions, for all three billion have been reached
by those faiths as they seek to gain more adherents and converts. One step would be to delve more deeply into
the existing religions to find what universal truths lie there; another would
be to sit quietly and meditate in the closet of one’s body until the silence
becomes vocal. Great peace derives from
this practice; but someone who has achieved the mastery of it is required, by
the very nature of the difficulties involved, to teach us how to go within and
still our minds. Some sort of
quiet reliance upon God is definitely needed; but very few men are at all
conversant with God, even if they have tried.
Most don’t try, of course. They seek Him instead in outer ways, but they
only get further entangled and drawn out.
It becomes apparent that a strong quieting factor is needed. This paper has
arrived at three preliminary conclusions: 1) That
universal harmony must commence with personal inner harmony; 2) That
many great saints have not only achieved such a state, but have also radiated
this calm to their followers; and 3) That
in the present we must find someone who has the practical capacity to give us
the peace and harmony that he has attained. If men like
this are alive today and are not all hidden away in the jungles or the
Himalayas, but are accessible and can be met, then persons like us can find
them and sit at their feet. The effect is like a cobalt bomb, if you will
excuse the analogy; for the initial explosion of coming into contact with
radiant men of this kind will set off a chain reaction that will continue
indefinitely, because each one who receives the beautiful radiation of that
love will affect dozens, maybe hundreds. If for example 100,000 persons at this
conference were to discover a person or persons who could imbue them with love
and harmony, the chain reaction would not take long to reach three
billion. And we must remember that the
word “impossible” is found in the dictionary of fools. |