Role of Human Ethics in Development of Country : A Study

Human Ethics in Development of Country

Published in International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 2 (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Author – REKHA KHANDELWAL

Today the need of the time is not only development, but sustainable development. Sustainable development is essentially a policy and strategy for continued economic and social development without detriment to the environment and natural resources on the quality of which continued activity and further development depends.

“While thinking of the development measures the need of the present and the ability of the future to meet its own needs and requirements have to be kept in view. While thinking of the present, the future should not be forgotten, we owe a duty towards future generations and for a bright today too. We must learn from our experiences, mistakes from the past, so that they can be rectified for a better present and the future”1. The efforts for sustainable development are being done by our government and the objects are economic growth, innovation and infrastructure, environment protection, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, reduced inequalities, peace, zero hunger, no poverty, good and well being, quality education, water & air; sanitation for all, affordable and clean energy, justice, land development, gender equality, women empowerment, industrial development, information for integrated decision making and participation, spiritual development, improvement in international cooperation, all-rounded development of children, rural development, improvement in public health, sustainable transport, etc.

“The sustainable development goals are the blueprint to achieve a better human life for all. They address the global challenges. Sustainable development can be achieved on three main pillars: Economic Development, Social Development and Environmental Protection.

Sustainable Development is often characterised by three ‘P’s : People, Planet and Profit. People represent the socio-cultural issues, Planet represents the environmental issues and Profit represents the economic issues.

For sustainable development, there is a necessity of co-ordination between man and nature. Only internal changes in man can bring external changes in himself & in overall society, which can help the society to cope up with the generation gap benefitting not only the present generation but also the future generations. Simple life and good thoughts, which was an old concept, is to be adopted again. Today the requirement of time is that the thinking of man should get modified and be replaced by ethics like truth, non-violence, love, satisfaction, tolerance, kindness, spirituality, etc. So, if proper efforts are made in right direction, we can expect our own development and can also protect our future generations.”

“The efforts for sustainable development have been done on international level. The world conference(1972, Stockholm Sweden) passed a resolution which is known as “Stockholm Declaration on Human Environment.” The declaration along with the preamble consists of seven universal truth and twenty six principles. Some principles of the Stockholm declaration are as;

Principal 1 of the declaration provides that a man has a fundamental right of freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of quality that permits life of dignity and well-being and he was a solemn responsibility to protect and improve environment from present and future generations. According to principal to the natural resources of the Earth including the air, water, land, flora and fauna, and especially representative samples of ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of the present and future generations through careful planning or management. Principal 3 provides that the capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained, and, wherever practicable, restored. Principal 4 further provides that man has special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the Heritage of life and its habitat. Nature conservation including wildlife, therefore, receive importance in planning for economic development. According to principal 5 the non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in such a way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to ensure that all mankind shares benefit from such employments. Principal 6 provides that the discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted up on ecosystems.”2

But these efforts are not enough. There is a necessity of awareness in human beings to fulfill the above principles. Only internal change can help man to connect with nature and develop good qualities in him ultimately result in betterment of human life.

Ethics can generally be defined as the realisation of the need to justify one’s life and the decision to be ethical entails the choice of a particular value: The sense of satisfaction derived from knowing that one may judge his own life as he would judge another’s and find it good. This requires some critical self-analysis. Individual’s highest duty in life is to serve mankind and take his share in bettering its condition and this could not be done unless one understands and respects the self. It has to be achieved within the limits of available resources.

Only way to see God is to see him through his creations and identify oneself with it. This is possible through service to humanity. Gandhiji used to say God is truth, which he later changed to “Truth is God. Non-violence, another Gandhian ethic is a plan for self-purification, mass-purification and enemy-purification. It is an active principle of love. It is conscious suffering for the cause of righteousness. It is a way of righteousness. As human beings, men can never reach the perfection of divine virtues. Still, they should strive with all their strength to follow.

Today the man is going against the nature for development. New experiments, inventions and luxurious lifestyle are causing harm to nature. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not any man’s greed. So there is a requirement of sustainable development. Now question arises that what is to be done for the same. The efforts being done in the present time by the government are not fruitful. Therefore, some new concept is required which may bring internal change in human beings. Meditation can help in this regard. Meditation connects man with himself and with nature and brings balance in mind. A balanced mind starts thinking good and good thoughts result in good action.

I am associated with ‘Heartfulness Meditation3’ and I can say, on the basis of my personal experience, that it brings changes in thinking and approach. It brings regularization of thoughts, balance in life, development of inner conscience, happiness, freedom from mental tension and pressure, concentration in work, connection with nature, and spiritual development. It is a very simple method and can be included in daily routine of every person irrespective of their life style. Therefore, it will be helpful for future generations too. If meditation may be added as a compulsory part of syllabus of moral education in schools, children will start thinking good from the very beginning and it will result in a better society in future. When the thinking of greed, violence, selfishness, jealousy, competition, etc get replaced by love, satisfaction, tolerance, kindness and welfare for all then we can hope for safety of nature and a better future.

Table of content show

“What is Heartfulness Meditation :

Introduction : Heartfulness means to realize one’s own happy and cheerful condition and feel the same in his heart. By doing meditation on heart, we try to bring consistency between heart and mind.
Heartfulness meditation is a simple form of ‘Rajayoga’, which is an old Indian method and it has been made adjustable with modern household life. Yogic Transmission is its speciality.
By practice of Heartfulness Meditation, we experience stable change in our behavior and thinking. This is a very easy, simple and effective method and can be done easily sitting in our own house.
Heartfulness Institute has been working with United Nations Organization (UNO) since 1946 for world peace. It is giving its services in more than 130 countries for humanity. For guidance and help for meditation, there are a large number of Meditation Centres and Trainers. All these services are totally free for all. Almost in all the cities of our country, meditation centres and trainers are available which are in easy approach.”

Heartfulness Relaxation:

This is a small exercise to be done before meditation which relaxes body and mind and prepares body, mind and heart for meditation and makes it easy to go in deep meditative state.

Why Heartfulness Meditation:

Meditation means thinking continuously on one subject or keeping mind on one subject. It is said that that we become like that subject or thing on which we meditate. Experiences also prove this. Therefore, when we do meditation on the subtlest thing, i.e., on the God present in our heart, then divinity and purity will start flowing in our heart and we will start becoming divine. When we become pure like God, then only it is possible to mingle with God which the highest goal of human life according to all religions. This is possible only with the help of a perfect guide when we do our practice regularly under his guidance.
In heartfulness technique, meditation gets the help of Yogic Transmission technique. Transmission (also called pranahuti) is the flow of subtlest stream of ‘prana’, the life force. Just like love of mother is helpful in development of a baby, similarly this pranahuti is helpful in fast development of the soul. Pranahuti brings internal change in a person. Just like power can be transmitted, thoughts can be transmitted, sound can be transmitted, similarly, life force can be transmitted in the form of pranahuti.

Main Parts of Heartfulness Meditation

Meditation : Meditation is to be done in the very morning, before starting the daily routine with a thought that Divine Light is present in our heart.
Cleaning : Cleaning is the process to remove all the impressions which we have collected on mind during the day. Our thoughts, activities, reactions create impressions on mind which gradually become more deep with the passage of time and create loss of peace in mind. With the help of cleaning, the effect of impressions, tendencies, etc created earlier can be removed. It creates lightness in mind which further helps in bringing change in our behavior with the help of meditation.
Prayer : Doing prayer before sleeping with a deep sense of love & dependence towards God in the heart.
Group Meditation: At least once in a week, there is a group meditation at all the centres in the world. Group meditation is conducted by trainers. The environment which gets developed during group meditation benefits all attending it.
Individual Meditation Sittings: Individual Meditation Sittings are taken on regular basis from trainers. These sittings also help in removing old impressions, doubts and help in our own individual practice of meditation.
How to start Heartfulness Meditation: Heartfulness Meditation can be started with the help any trainer as a part of our daily routine. The website has been given at the end of the article from where one can know the trainer available near to his residence and can start practicing meditation. The services are provided totally free of cost.”4

Benefits of Heartfulness Meditation on the basis of my personal experience :

Relaxation of body physically.
Removal of mental tensions.
Meditation on heart.
Regularization of thoughts.
Purification of mind.
Connection with yourself.
Development of decision making power with wisdom.

Obtaining internal strength
Feeling of happiness all the time
Living a balanced life.
Development of conscience.
Freedom from mental complexities.
Attachment with Nature”4

I want to give suggestion that everyone must include Heartfulness Meditation in his routine life. This will help not only in bringing human ethics in him but also the development of his inner conscience. This will help in sustainable development in overall society and then only we can expect for a better future of human life.

1. Dr. J. J. R. Upadhyay, Environment Law, Central Law Agency, 4th Edition, 2015

2. Dr. P. S. Jaiswal & Dr. Nishtha Jaiswal, Environment Law, Allahabad Law Agency, 2014

3. www.heartfulness.org

4. www.heartfulness.org

References :

Books:

Dr. Jaiswal P. S. & Dr. Jaiswal Nishtha, Environment Law, Allahabad Law Agency, 2014
Dr. Upadhyay J. J. R., Environment Law, Central Law Agency, 4th Edition, 2015
Kamlesh D. Patel & Joshua Pollock, The Heartfulness Way, 2018

Journals:

1. Social Science Explorer, vol 9, Year 2018, Journal of Social Sciences Research Centre, University of Rajasthan (Pg. 22-24) 2.
Journal of Emerging Technologies & Innovative Research, Vol. 6, Issue 6, June-2019

Websites :

1. www.heartfulness.org

Click