Alliance or Clash of Civilization

K.S. Chow

Introduction

The United Nations sponsored U.N. Climate Change Conference in Bali in December,2008 in Bali was a noble and very crucial political  endeavour to liberate the our mother Earth from from environmental catastrophes. The  countries most seriously affected by the environmental disasters  would be the poor developing and underdeveloped countries. The develop countries are also not spared.  The great compassion manifested by the United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon, UNFCC Executive Secretary General, Yuo De Doer and  IPCC Chairman R.K. Pachauri to collaborate global efforts to combat Global Warming and Climate Change indeed deserve our esteem and veneration. I would like to designate them as the modern political and environmental backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ for their initiatives to save our future children on our mother Earth from future environmental disasters. The U.N. Bali Climate Change Conference has synergized an alliance of civilizations to save our planet Earth.  I designate  them as the backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ because their holy or noble aspirations and endeavours to protect and save the Earth with their enlightened knowledge of the potential threats to the natural environment  are not known by many people worldwide. Only those who have attended the environmental conferences and those work in fellowship with them  recognize their struggles,  altruism,  compassion and wisdom to save our endangered world. I salute them for what they have contributed environmentally and politically to protect the natural environment from dangers created by human beings. The U.N. Bali Conference on Climate Change is an alliance of civilizations to save the world from future environmental  disasters.  In fact, all genuine environmentalists are also backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ in one way or another. For instance, some courageous  members of the Green Peace Movement  are certainly backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ who create awareness  among us to save the earth. They are called ‘bodhisattvas’  because they are awakened to the potential threats or dangers, such as Global Warming and Climate Change  which are harming or deleting our natural environment. They are struggling courageously and wisely awaken us and to collaborate global efforts to reduce or to eliminate the sources of environmental problems – inconsiderate and selfish human behaviours.  

Many Backyard Bodhisattvas

In fact,  besides combating environmental threats or dangers, there are countless  backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ among united Nations officials and workers in their global collaborating  efforts to improve the qualities of life and upgrade standards of living of people globally. They participate in their combats or struggles  in their diverge  fields of endeavours or campaigns , such as  Human Rights, Industrial Development, Economics, Health and Medicine, Education, Science, Culture, Labour, Posts, Telecommunication, Banking, Children Welfare, Job opportunities, Intellectual Properties, Meteorology, and others. For instance, during the outbreak of SARS globally, Officials and workers of the World Health Organization had laboured days and nights to combat the unknown epidemic. Even some of their health experts had sacrificed their lives in the process of treating the victims of the unknown strange disease. Eventually, SARS were completely wiped out  from the planet Earth. Their enlightened knowledge of SARS and compassion to save the victims worldwide qualified them to be designated as the backyard ‘bodhisattvas’. In fact, many of  their researches, findings, works, wisdom, struggles, and contributions are unknown to the general public. But we ought to admit that United Nations have indeed played vital roles to bring about the alliances of civilizations. The general public merely perceive United Nations Organization’s failure of Security Council in preserving global peace and security and are ignorant of the U.N ‘s incessant efforts to promote and foster the alliances of civilizations hitherto since its inception.

Failures and Successes

 Unfortunately, the repeated failures of the Security Council in preserving international and regional  peace and security have obscured the sacrifices, struggles, toils and contributions of these UN backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ in the diverge fields of international aids. In actual fact, the U.N backyard ‘bodhisattvas’ have contributed enormously towards the development, progress,  welfare and wellness of their member countries throughout the world  .

Alliance of Civilizations

The latest bodhisattva career of the United Nations is the sponsorship of the Conference of Alliance of Civilizations in Madrid, Spain in the middle of January, 2008. The enterprise of the conference was to promote intercultural dialogue to bridge the cultural and religious division or gap   between the west and the muslim countries. The objective is formulate resolutions to prevent or avert the predicted   clash of civilizations in the wake of the September 11 and other acts of terrorism. We are now living in an increasingly polarized world. There is a breakdown of trust and escalating tensions among many communities and countries. It does not augur well for our future peace.

Clash of Civilizations

It is obvious that the current clash of civilizations is the clash of human egos and ignorance. One of the causes of the current political conflicts and division between the west and muslim countries is the adherence of dissimilar religious faiths accompanied by misinterpretations of the religious faiths. Not only there are misinterpretations of religions of others but also there exist misinterpretations of the religions of their own. The dogmatic attitude is that only ‘My faith is right and all other faiths are wrong’. Such dogmatic religious belief cause misunderstandings, tension and strifes. In this sense, it mirrors that the correct teachings of different religions have proved to be a great failure in the modern civilization. All religions are supposed to promote and foster the unity of brotherhood of humanity. Instead, perversion and religious disunity are rampant in some war-torn countries and also in those seemingly peaceful countries. Religious misunderstandings and sensitivities are the roots of tensions, conflicts and strifes escalating into uncontrollable disputations, fights and wars. All human frictions,  disputations and enmities boil down to  one common source – the lack or absence of strong faith in either Brahman, Tao, Buddha or God owing to the  deficiency in proper religious comprehension of the scriptures of one’s own religion. Another contributing factor is the lack or absence of comprehension of Theosophy. Theosophy is the advocate of the universality of all religions. All esoteric religions are preached to instruct and train the adherents or believers to develop morally, mentally and wisely into final human perfection called the Perfect Man in wisdom and conduct. At the summit of all major esoteric religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Vedānta, Hinduism, Tao, Buddha, Judaism, God and Allah, the saved believers discern intuitively a common Truth through Self-realization of God-realization. The realization or awakening pertains to the one and the only Truth – the Spirit of Unity by which all religious discriminations or denominations are abandoned. The highest absolute Truth is ineffable and beyond all religions. In this sense, I recommend that inter-faith education should be made available in all schools, colleges and universities throughout the world.

Paradox in Modernity

It is a sheer logical paradox that in the modern education systems throughout the world, there still exist globally many schools in which pupils or students do not receive religious instructions formally. Schools in the modern world today emphasize IQ development heavily to the extent of  neglecting the development of EQ. Religions are excellent expedient devices to develop EQ. Just imagine the  danger of educational imbalance  :  What would occur to the human society  when human beings are trained excellently in IQ but their lives are directed by illusive Self or Ego ? This is the dilemma confronting and challenging the parents, employers, leaders and policy makers   of the world today. Esoteric religions annihilate Ego or Self which make human beings sinful. It is like the    tissue of cancerous cells which must be removed as soon as possible. Religions remove the mind disease of Self or Ego.

Different or Identical

Many religious people of a certain faith only socialize among the fellows of the same faith. They stay aloof from people of different faiths thinking that they are different spiritually. But in actual faith, salvation cannot be found in the name of a religion. It is found only in the inner heart.  It can be found only in being self-awakened to the same truth – the annihilation of Self or Ego and the discernment of the eternal Truth. Esoteric religion A can remove Self or Ego. Esoteric religion B can also eliminate Self or Ego. Eventually, they arrive at the common destination – the Centre of the Heart which is purified by the eradication of Self pr Ego . Hence, inter-faith understanding plays a vital role to bridge the religious division or separation. It is the ignorance of the universality of religions that we live in disharmony and discord.

Conclusion

The ancient Hindu Scripture of Vedas, the ancient divine revelation, asserts, “The Wise (Saints) speak of the One Truth by different names or designations.”

The Buddha says, “There is only one Truth not two.” (Ekaṃ saccaṃ  na dutiyaṃ).

 The utterance of Sri Swami Sivananda particularly resonates with my inner heart. He proclaims thesophically thus, “Truth is neither Hindu nor Muslim, nor Buddhist nor Christian. Truth is one homogeneous, eternal substance. The follower of the religious Truth walks on the path of light, peace, wisdom, power and bliss.”

Therefore, may I suggest that the United Nations should focus on the universality of religions or the philosophy of Theosophy in its next sponsored Conference of Alliance of Civilizations to construct world peace and harmony. There should be more international interfaith dialogues or forums sponsored by the United Nations. It is important to ascertain why the importance of religions is marginized in children and adult education in most countries of the world today. It is also equally important to ascertain why religious education in some countries did produce religious extremists threatening peace and security. Religious education enhances or perfects human character formation and conduct. Religious perversion and extremism should be investigated and rectified by the  relevant authorities. There is only one common taste of religious teachings – ascending morality invigorated by wisdom . Religious education and training do not lead to moral degradation and degeneration of civilization. Religious crusade against one another in the clash of civilization is never justified. If God sits on the throne of the life of a crusader to replace the Self or Ego (The lower self or animal self), he or she  will love his or her  neighbours or even his or her  enemies. The real holy war or crusade is to defeat the Self or Ego in ourselves but not to fight others including the enemies.  The religious Masters  of the monotheists admonish their adherents or devotees  to love their neighbours like themselves and love their enemies. This is not an excessive commandment in the monotheistic religions. It is synonymous with the Buddha’s admonition: Cease grasping upon your Five Aggregates as This is not I; This is not Mine; This does not belong to ME (anattā). We are advised to let go of Self or Ego which does not exist in the first place. The illusive and unreal self-identity is superimposed by our ignorance which leads to human suffering or anguish.

Religions should be utilized to promote and foster the alliance of civilizations but not the collision of civilizations. Religious education is meant primarily to destroy selfishness or egoism to accelerate moral and wisdom development so as to rectify the shortcoming or weakness of secular education and training. The education of the mind and that of the heart should be undertaken simultaneously. Salvation is a matter of the heart but not of the intellect. Brahman, Buddha or God is located in the Centre of the Heart of all human beings. Seek it and you will be saved. Religion is actually knowing your Original Self. Whoever knows his or her Original Self knows Brahman, Buddha or God. Brahman, Buddha or God is the one and the only Eternal Truth. We are all brothers and sisters. Why are we fighting among ourselves ?  If  we truly love Brahman, Buddha or God, we do not fight  as Brahman, Buddha or God does not recommend fighting one’s enemies through violence.