“Mankind is always advancing; man is always the same” says William
Osler in his book on “A way of Life” (Paul Hoeber Inc 1937). Looking at the
recent world events, I wonder when humanity will ever learn to live in peace
and harmony. One side of me says “never” considering the nature of some
of the human beings. Another side says “It will, someday; look how far we have
come!”
That made me think about events around 500 and 600 BCE when there was
so much flowering of intellect in India, China and Greece. I wondered what
conditions should have been present for such intellectual flowering to occur.
Here are some possibilities:
There was adequate food and shelter.
There were intervals of relative safety in some pockets, even though
there were wars and skirmishes all the time.
At least, a few minds went past fears of the unknown and of natural
phenomena, so that they could look for natural causes of events (rather than
supernatural causes)
There was freedom to think (although some lost their life, notably
Socrates)
Dogmatic traditions of Organized Religions had not taken hold yet
Language had advanced to a level at which communication was for more
than food, shelter and mates. It was possible to make and express concepts.
Civilization had advanced to a state at which there were settlements of
people with different skills and interests with whom it was possible to
interact. There was intellectual stimulation.
Fast forward to the 21st century: what conditions do we need
for humanity to think like our wise ancestors and attain its full potential?
Food for everyone – not a feast; but adequate nutrition
Education for everyone – not Ph.D s; but basic education to be informed,
on thinking skills and skills to earn a living
Free flow of information
Ability and freedom to think
Education of children on Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, Open-mindedness
and Tolerance
Education of parents so they can teach the children “their roots” and
also give them “wings” to think on their own and fly
Encouragement of parents to teach their children about “tolerance”.
Education of religious teachers to renounce teaching violence against
anyone, for any reason.
Education of political leaders to unite and fight against poverty,
injustice and violence.
Development of a “shared sacred” item for all of humanity, as suggested
by Scott Momaday.
The only universally “shared
sacred” item in this world is Life. Therefore, teach all children and adults to
respect life, one’s own and that of others.
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