GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP BEGINS AT HOME

Borders, barriers, walls have come down to allow a degree of interconnection between nations and cultures. And yet there are many more walls that are being built or that people try to build -- physical walls, political walls, mental walls. We boast of being global citizens. In a word, the global citizenship mostly refers to the idea and value. Love and harmony, co-operation and mutual support are the basic ingredients here, as in a family.

Good morning!

If we go deeper into analyzing our roots we end up being related to each other. Mahabharata is a family story telling how kings fought with relatives, neighbours and friends for a kingdom. A throne. Prince Duryodhana instantly made Karna the king of Anga so that he can be eligible to compete with Arjuna at the archery test. But when he was asked to part with five small villages as their share to Pandavas, he hesitated. Duryodhana hated Pandavas and that was the reason he did not give them their share. Surprisingly may be if Karna had asked him he might have given the entire kingdom. For having a thought of brotherhood it does not matter if we are blood related or connected genetically. What matters most is our love for others. 

Worry, despair and frustration haunt man’s personal life. His family life, once founded upon the bonds of sacrifice and temperance, love and co-operation, is now centered upon self-seeking rather than altruism, money rather than morality and cynicism rather than trust. Peace, faith and harmony are conspicuous by their absence in social life. It is said that the present age is the age of “communications”. The question arises if we are effectively and rightly connected then why so much of hatred, anguish, disharmony, violence, dissatisfaction, anarchy. We can understand diversity – geographical, climatic, cultural, political, and religious and so on. Cannot we attain unity among various diversities? Is there any way to bring man closer to man?

The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be.

It is apt to observe that for constructing a good and sustaining society, family is the basic unit which needs to be given attention. If family values are supportive and sustaining, they will surely be accepted or at least be considered by those who experience the conduct based on such values. A family value can add both negatively as well as positively to a society. If the family values are oppressive, driven by self-centeredness and disregard for others, they will add to the unrest in the society as a whole because those who experience conduct based on such values will feel subdued, and thus chaos may follow.

Global citizenship lies in practicing values which is true at home and in turn would reflect in the society as well. This would make us truly global citizens. At home to make a happy family I think certain family values are to be practiced. They are:

Belonging, Flexibility, Respect, Honesty, Forgiveness, Generosity, Communication, responsibility and tradition are the most important values that one should follow at home. Global citizenship relates to the principle of universality. i.e.  Applying the same standards to yourself as you do to others. It's a moral truism that should apply to all relationships, from personal to international. If you apply the values of Belonging, Flexibility, Respect, Honesty, Forgiveness, Generosity, Communication, responsibility and tradition on others around, beginning at home, all of us would be global citizens.

If there is love, there is hope to have real families, real brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your mind is lost... no matter how much material progress is made, only suffering and confusion will ensue. The XIV Dalai Lama says”When you love a member of your family or a compatriot, let it be with a ray of the Infinite Love! Love that person, whether he is of your family or of another. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase  that means that the whole world is one single family. Everyone has their own worldview which is quite often different from person to person. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam means respecting this difference. Do it at home. Respect the difference between family members, husband-wife, brother-sister, uncle-aunt. Understand and appreciate that each other’s uniqueness and contribution towards your own growth. This attitude will automatically be translated into every person’s psyche in becoming a susscessful global citizen.