Mahatma Gandhi said: “the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
According to Hinduism, all humans are born with certain duties and obligations. Hindu scriptures teach that when a person fulfills his or her duties, all will benefit and when all people submit to their individual dharma, the society flourishes. Dharma has been described in several ways: right conduct, righteous living, and moral law. Anyone who makes dharma central to one’s life strives to do the right thing according to one’s duty and obligations.
In today’s world, the key word is Universality. To achieve this, we need to live in harmony with each other – with humans, animals, plants, and other beings. This can be done only when we have an in-depth understanding of our rights and responsibilities. Spirituality gives us this understanding.
We all need Rain to sustain our earth. We need Rain to sustain society as well. What is RAIN? R – Recognize (that there is diversity; there needs to be diversity for us to sustain society), A – Accept (the differences as genuine and necessary – not mere tolerance but acceptance is the key), I – Integrate (religion, to be relevant, must integrate with science, technology and social developments) N – Non-judgmental (be unbiased, unprejudiced, non-discriminatory, undogmatic).
‘Learn to make the world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; this whole world is your own’ – Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi
The concept of Universality is a pleasant ideal but it really becomes practical through these teachings of Recognition, Acceptance, Integration & Non-judgementalism. What we need to embrace in our daily lives is this practical and compassionate approach to our interactions with others. Only then will our society be a place of mutual support and inclusion for all people.
