Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi on Economic Ideal and Rama Rajya

Dear Friends,

We must know that Swami Vivekananda's vision of the synthesis of Western science and technology and Indian spiritual wisdom is manifested in the Gandhian vision of a fundamentally ethics-based, Eco-friendly, rural-friendly, agro-friendly, sustainable, equitable, loving, and caring non-violent culture of decentralised industrialization and urbanization. It is based on the fundamental ethics of all great religions in the context of our present age of science and technology and village Swaraj constitutes its core. It is the surest and perhaps the only surest permanent rational solution available to us for avoiding the impending catastrophic consequences for our masses, future generations and the dumb and deaf life-world of the present very grave man-made global environmental crises in general and the crisis of global warming and climate change in particular, along with the present all-pervasive deep-rooted global moral and spiritual crises. Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of Truth and non-violence of our present age of science and technology, shows us the way about how to create such a culture of development both locally as well as globally and save India and through it the world at large from the present very grave global environmental, moral and spiritual crises.

Unfortunately, although we have deep respect for Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi, we are promoting massively the present fundamentally unspiritual and greedy for wealth & lust for luxuries based, extremely Eco-hostile, rural-hostile, agro-hostile, unsustainable and out-and-out consumerist culture of development of modern civilization, which Mahatma Gandhi rightly considered to be satanic, suicidal and a nine days wonder only. It has caused the disappearance of tens of thousands of plant and animal species and continues to cause greater and greater harm to the life-and-health-sustaining natural Ecosystems of Mother Earth, which has catastrophic consequences for our masses, future generations and the dumb and deaf life-world. According to a WHO report released on 11th October 2021, globally more than 18,500 people die every day due to air pollution caused by fossil fuels. According to the Living Planet Report 2022 of WWF, about 69 percent of the wildlife population has declined in the last 50 years, and shortly many more wildlife species will disappear if global warming continues to increase at the present rate. (Https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-decline-by-69-in-50years-85438) The scientists of IPCC of UNO are unanimously claiming that if global warming continues to increase in the present rate then we are bound to face its irreversible catastrophic consequences such as deadly heat waves, wildfires, storms, erratic rains, floods, droughts, etc., the buring/submergence of coastal villages, towns and cities due to the rise of sea-level caused by the melting of Antarctic and Arctic ice sheet and physical expansion of the ocean water, the Himalayan rivers turning seasonal rivers due to melting of the Himalayan snow, reduction of farm yields, vanishing of many more plant and animal species from mother Earth, etc. Unfortunately, the world over environmentally uneducated people have become modern Kalidashas and environmentally educated people have become modern Dhritarashtras. Stephen Hawking rightly claims that 'Life on Earth is at risk from a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, global warming or some other reasons humans have not thought yet', and that Modern civilization doesn't know how to avoid the unethical use of science and technology based on one's selfishness or some base passions like lust for pleasures, greed for wealth, etc. The results of COP-28 held recently in UAE show that unfortunately under the spell of the glamour of the present culture of development of modern civilization, which Mahatma Gandhi rightly considered to be satanic, suicidal and a nine-day wonder only, leaders the world over are showing great apathy to take any major step in the right direction to avoid the impending catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate change, although the scientists of IPCC of UNO are unanimously claiming that their warming about the catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate change is essentially true.

Our great living ancient Indian civilization has the moral and spiritual resources to create a morally and spiritually enlightened kingdom of ethical righteousness/goodness (Rama Rajya / Kingdom of God) in our beloved motherland and save her and through her the world at large from the impending catastrophic consequences of present very grave man-made global environmental crises in general and the crisis of global warming and climate change in particular. Let us pray God help us to create a fundamentally ethics-based, Eco-friendly, village-friendly agro-friendly, sustainable, equitable / just, loving and caring non-violent culture of development and save our country from the present very grave global environmental, moral and spiritual crises and through it save our human species from its disappearance from the surface of our Mother Earth.

Let us always remember the following invaluable message of Bhagavad Gita: "Lust for pleasures anger and greed are the triple gates of hell and bring the downfall of one's soul. Hence one must abandon these three." (The Bhagavad Gita,16.21) Let us also always remember the following very valuable environmental messages of Albert Einstein: "If the bee disappears from the surface of the Earth, man would not have four years to live." "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."

With goodwill, love and prayers,

Smt. Rama Rauta