THE INTERFAITH OPTION FOR DEVELOPMENT
SUSTAINABILITY
We reached a crossroads with respect to the survival of life on earth some time back. Instead of being responsible citizens, leaders of people, creators of contended nations we failed ourselves and insulted our planet by bickering over who should be blamed and who should be recompensed for real or imagined rights and wrongs. We must understand after spending billions of dollars arguing and disagreeing to disagree disagreeably, we must change the way we think, change the way we live, change the way we interact, change the way we negotiate, change the way we define our global social contract. Science has given us enough information but science and scientists cannot alter the wills and wiles of human beings. We must look elsewhere for systems that will be universally accepted by all, regardless of their specific geographies and ignoring their specific schisms, differences, agendas and priorities.
To do this, we need a set of
universal commonalities that human beings as a species can subscribe.
We find these, not in the realm
of science, not in the halls of public dialogue, not in the backstage
negotiations and manipulations that we have come to regard as the norm. We will
not find these by angrily demanding redress. We will not find this by begging
for climate handouts from those who have become fat on environment destruction.
We find this in the universally
accept base agreement among the greater and lesser spiritual systems of our
time. These are based on the wholesomeness of our existence and not in the ill-fated
idea that material improvement improves the quality of our lives. While the
so-called developed countries have degenerated into spiritual and human
paucity, we, the peoples of the so-called developing nations have fed our minds
and our bodies on this very spirit that has ensured both our internal
contentment and our reduced, wholesome lifestyles within the various systems
that we adhere to and practice.
Within these systems we understand
that we need to balance out our development to encompass social, economic and
environment to achieve at least durability if not sustainability in
development. We understand that we need to balance out our environment
to encompass the natural, cultural and social environment to achieve harmonious
coexistence. Regardless of what spiritual system we adhere to as individuals,
groups, communities or countries, these spiritual systems recognize a universal
commonality in terms of wholesome habits, wholesome lives livelihoods and
lifestyles and wholesome enjoyment. What constitutes wholesomeness in habit,
lives and enjoyment is common for, the Vedda, the adivasi, the native American,
the Amazonian, the aborigine, the Inuit, the Zulu, the Masai, the Wiccan, the
Pagan, the Sikh, the Baha’i, the Rasta, the Jew, the Hindu, the Christian, the
Muslim, the Buddhist.
Let us then, collectively, choose
to accommodate our differences and strengthen our commonality to future-proof
our world against the oncoming tide of darkness.
