Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts such as the Maha Upanishad, which means "the world is one family".[2]
Translation[]
The phrase Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्) consists of several words: vasudhā (transl. 'the earth');[3] ēva (transl. 'is thus');[4] and kuṭumbakam (transl. 'family').
History[]
- अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्। (ayaṃ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghucetasām)
- उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्॥ (udāracaritānāṃ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam)
The original verse appears in Chapter 6 of Maha Upanishad VI.71-73.[5][6][7] Also found in the Rig Veda, it is considered the most important moral value in the Indian society.[8][9][1] This verse of Maha Upanishad is engraved in the entrance hall of the parliament of India.[1]
The world is a family
One is a relative, the other stranger,
say the small minded.
The entire world is a family,
live the magnanimous.
Be detached,
be magnanimous,
lift up your mind, enjoy
the fruit of Brahmanic freedom.
Subsequent go on to say that those who have no attachments go on to find the Brahman (the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe). The context of this verse is to describe as one of the attributes of an individual who has attained the highest level of spiritual progress, and one who is capable of performing his worldly duties without attachment to material possessions.[10]
Influences[]
The text has been influential in the major Hindu literature that followed it. The popular Bhagavata Purana, the most translated of the Purana genre of literature in Hinduism,[11] for example, calls the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam adage of the Maha Upanishad, as the "loftiest Vedantic thought".[12]
Dr N. Radhakrishnan, former director of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, believes that the Gandhian vision of holistic development and respect for all forms of life; nonviolent conflict resolution embedded in the acceptance of nonviolence both as a creed and strategy; were an extension of the ancient Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.[13]
References in the modern world[]
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi used this phrase in a speech at World Culture Festival, organized by Art of Living, adding that "Indian culture is very rich and has inculcated in each one of us with great values, we are the people who have come from Aham Brahmasmi to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, we are the people who have come from Upanishads to Upgraha.(Satellite)."[14]
See also[]
- Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb
- Unity in diversity
- Religious syncretism
- Hindutva
- Hindu–Islamic relations
- We Are the World
- Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir
References[]
- ^ a b c S Shah and V Ramamoorthy (2014), Soulful Corporations, Springer Science, ISBN 978-8132212744, page 449
- ^ "DNA of non-violence engrained in our society: PM". Times Now. 2 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
- ^ vasudhA Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
- ^ Sanskrit Dictionary
- ^ a b Jeffrey Moses (2002), Oneness, Random House Publishing, ISBN 0-345457633, page 12
- ^ Robin Seelan (2015), Deconstructing Global Citizenship (Editors: Hassan Bashir and Phillips Gray), Routledge, ISBN 978-1498502580, page 143
- ^ BP Singh and Dalai Lama (2008), Bahudhā and the Post 9/11 World, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195693553, page 51
- ^ a b Hattangadi 2000, षष्ठोऽध्यायः ७१- ७३, Quote: अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् । उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ भावाभावविनिर्मुक्तं जरामरणवर्जितम् । प्रशान्तकलनारभ्यं नीरागं पदमाश्रय ॥ एषा ब्राह्मी स्थितिः स्वच्छा निष्कामा विगतामया । आदाय विहरन्नेवं सङ्कटेषु न मुह्यति ॥ (...).
- ^ AG Krishna Warrier (1953), Maha Upanishad, Theosophical Society, Madras, Online, Verse VI.71–73
- ^ AG Krishna Warrier (1953), Maha Upanishad, Theosophical Society, Madras, Online
- ^ Sheridan 1986, pp. 1–16.
- ^ Badlani 2008, p. 184.
- ^ Radhakrishnan, N. "Gandhi In the Globalised Context".
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
Bibliography[]
- Badlani, Hiro G. (September 2008). Hinduism: Path of the Ancient Wisdom. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-70183-4.
- Hattangadi, Sunder (2000). "महोपनिषत् (Maha Upanishad)" (PDF) (in Sanskrit). Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- Sheridan, Daniel (1986). The Advaitic Theism of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Columbia: South Asia Books. ISBN 81-208-0179-2.
Further reading[]
- Chung, Tan (2009). "Towards a Grand Harmony". India International Centre Quarterly. 36 (3/4): 2–19. JSTOR 23006398.
- Sanskrit words and phrases
- Hindu philosophical concepts