World Goodwill Goodwill in Newsletter 2020 #2:
https://www.lucistrust.org/uploads/wg_pdfs/NL20201(new_layout)_2.pdf
PROBLEMS OF HUMANITY, SOLUTIONS FOR THE WORLD
WORLD UNITY
Perhaps the highest ideal of mankind is
one of World Unity, where all people regardless of nationality, race, religion,
and ideology are unified not by their sameness but by their commitment to a
culture of goodwill which has no boundaries and which permeates the diversity
of humankind. The seed of this idealism can be traced back 2,000 years to the
beginning of the Piscean Age when Christ demonstrated the spiritual potential
of the human being to “bridge the heavens and the earth” and to express love
and goodwill towards all. The keynote of the Christian Gospel message “God is
Love” today extends beyond the confines of religious doctrine and seeks to
transform all aspects of human society and living.
Although humanity today seems to stand on
the threshold of a future wherein the ideal of World Unity is within our grasp,
the obstacles to this ideal that exist within the psyche are also emerging.
Desirous of the future, yet bound to the past, it can easily appear as if we
are stuck in conflict. Yet this conflict is the inevitable result of humanity’s
growing aspiration for more light, love, and unity and as such is itself a sign
of progress.
The present world tension will be
resolved when humanity learns to relinquish the old and to embrace the new. The
ideologies of the past glorify individualism at the expense of unity, breed
separateness, and prevent the birth of a culture of goodwill on earth. The
future idealism recognizes the responsibility of the individual to the whole,
is based in goodwill, and will therefore result in World Unity once it is
anchored within human thinking and consciousness.
This idealism is aptly described as
spiritual, not because of its relation to religious thought, but because it
relates Spirit to its expression—“human to human and human to God.” It brings
all parts into relationship, and thus into one unified whole. It eliminates all
that perpetuates separateness and cultivates all that encourages right
relationship. It seeks the full expression of human consciousness—the full
light, love, and power of a unified humanity that, in its unity, becomes a
vehicle for unique energies to emerge into expression on the planet.
The misuse of the power of thought is
largely responsible for the perpetuation of disunity. The truism “energy
follows thought” is demonstrated by the effect that the waxing and waning of
ideologies has on human civilization. Leaders, those responsible for espousing
ideologies, use the power of speech to direct mass thought either for good or
ill. When humanity thinks in terms of “self vs. the other,” a culture of
divisiveness is created. As humanity learns to think in terms of collectivity,
goodwill, and the underlying unity of creation, then human culture becomes
likewise shaped.
With right thinking, the material
barriers to unity, seemingly so insurmountable, begin to fail. The ideas which
once vitalized these forms are no longer present and so the material structure
of the old becomes devitalized and crumbles. This phenomenon was demonstrated
in the fall of the Berlin wall which symbolized the breakdown of the
ideological division which had permeated the world since the end of the World
War.
The ability of thinking to create change
cannot be understood entirely apart from material reality. The world of thought
does not exist in a vacuum and is interrelated with both the material and
spiritual worlds. This relationship between thought and form is exemplified in
the nation-state which is both idea and institution. The nation-state has been
defined as an “imagined community”(1): in other words, what makes a nation is
the fact that a population thinks of itself as one. This powerful group
thoughtform determines the strength and quality of a nation’s existence.
Esoteric thought sees this group thoughtform also as the vehicle for the
manifestation of certain potencies, i.e. the soul of the nation. Yet, the
material form of the nation-state, the institutions of governance, also
profoundly affect global interrelationship. Good governance facilitates order,
enforces laws, provides security, regulates the exchange of goods, safeguards
freedoms, secures basic resources, protects human rights, and renders justice.
Bad governance leads to failed states, anarchy, chaos, and violence.
Today, institutions of both domestic and
international governance are far from perfect, but offer a more than adequate
foundation upon which to build a cooperative and integrated world. The problem
then is one not of institutional capacity, but of international relationship.
To speak of right international relationships is to speak of the priorities of
governments being aligned with values of goodwill and love of the whole—the
same values that enable individual human beings to be in right relations with
others, their nation and the world. There are, however, a variety of obstacles
to translating these qualities to the national level—most finding some
expression in the country’s national interest.
The national interest is the foundational
guiding principle of any nation’s foreign policy and generally has three
components: security, prosperity, and values. The international system, lacking
a supranational police force, is one in which states must provide for their own
security, through a variety of means. Today, standing militaries are still
considered a necessary part of responsible government by most countries.
The security problem must be understood
as a subjective one—we too rarely ask, how much security is enough? When
perceived threats are exaggerated they give power to fear and create a culture
characterized by adversarial relationships. This impedes the creation of an
international culture which would aid in creating the safety necessary for true
World Unity.
Prosperity, while clearly an important
goal for the state and its people, does not have to be at the expense of
others, though it often is. Critics of our current economic system argue that
it encourages competition and rewards greed. Proponents argue that the system
is sound and greed is a human rather than a systemic problem. Others believe
that there is some degree of circular causality, with human greed perpetuating
systemic greed and vice versa.
Today’s dominant economic system, broadly
defined as neoliberal capitalism, has managed to augment the wealth and
prosperity which exists in the world and has lifted millions out of poverty and
into dignified living. In a world populated by actors of goodwill, this system
would see the world’s wealth distributed to all humanity, eliminating poverty,
hunger, and homelessness entirely. Sharing, after all, is natural when one has
enough to meet one’s basic needs. Instead, egocentrism and love of power have
caused the hoarding of wealth, making it a tool of selfishness and even
enslavement.
Defining the national interest in terms
of the values that the nation espouses provides an opportunity for the soul of
that nation to express through its relationships with others. To the extent
that a nation’s values reflect the qualities of the soul—love, wisdom, reason,
and sacrifice—then the nation is able to become a mediator and a unifier and to
bring itself and others into relationships characterized by goodwill.
Clearly, World Unity requires the
thought, action, and will of humanity to be rightly directed towards this goal.
This means eliminating the hindrances of the past and building the forms
through which to express ideals of the future. Most importantly, it requires
building relationships; it is through a unified approach that the ideal of
World Unity can be worked out within the imperfections of the manifested
world.
The immediate spiritual problem with which all are
faced is the problem of gradually offsetting hate and initiating the new
technique of trained, imaginative, creative and practical goodwill.
Goodwill is humanity’s first attempt to express Divine love. Its results on earth will be peace. It is so simple and practical that people fail to appreciate its potency or its scientific and dynamic effect. One person sincerely practising goodwill in a family can completely change its attitudes. Goodwill really practised among groups in any nation, by political and religious parties in any nation and among the nations of the world can revolutionize the world.
( Problems of Humanity, pp.6-7, adapted)
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