Business to the Buddha

Tag: border-less world

  • One world







    Can we have a world where there is no need of defense and police?

    Earlier human beings had fear of wild animal now of other humans. Have we become like wild animals or we’ve civilized bit more? Recently there was a terrorists attack in Egypt. I wonder what’s wrong with us human beings, we’ve become dangerous than wild animals. Animals kill to eat and that too when required. One animal does not kill the other because the other is not following what one is following, teaching or has learnt.

    [Tweet “Earlier human beings had fear of wild animal now of other humans.”]

    Recently, when I landed in a country for the first time, my suitcase was thoroughly checked. As usual with most Indians, I too had taken home made, Indian food because the country where I went was predominantly a non-vegetarian food eating country and I am a vegetarian. I opened by suitcase, the security person took out the food and dumped it in dust bean. There are two different types of feeling – 1. individual level and 2. social level. Individual level 1. there is a saying in Marathi – anna he purna bramh (roughly translated as food is divinity) 2. people die hungry and you are throwing the food and 3. that is my at least 10 days ration! and Social level 1. Can someone likely be so dangerous to a country 2. why so much concern even with food items and 3. have we become worst than animals.

    This incident translated into two way thinking 1. defense budget of countries and 2. death due to hunger worldwide. Some statistics (source 1) suggest that USD ~4 Billion is required to feed 66 million school age children per year and daily total of 800 million go hungry worldwide. Defense budget (source 2) of the whole world is USD 1686 Billion. If we do number crunching defense budget comes out to be about more than 10% of budget required for food for hungry people. Alas, effectively the defense budget is utilized to kill people. What have we become? Imagine if we utilize the worldwide defense budget money in doing something constructive.

    The other downside emerging with this thought was a news of likely death of 44 crew members submarine of Argentina. Its not that only others are at risk, even the risk of those who are working in defense are equally there.

    A perspective will be that defense is needed for self defense for example against terrorism or other military hostility. Perhaps there will be time, when we will fight for food and water at that time we will need military! Well, in last so many millenniums we are fighting all in vain, when are we going to have a world – one world, without boundaries – as a family?

    Related blogs – Border-less world, world is imperfect, Ambitions selfishness and fear, size of the universe and dont divide we are interdependent.

    1. Image source –Hindustan Times
    2. Hunger statistics source – FoodAidFoundation and DoSomething
    3. Defense budget source – Wikipedia

  • Border-less world







    Let us imagine, a border-less world. A world where

    Source - http://praditaastarina.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/170580815_bbdabc8038.jpg
    Border-less world

    1. people can move from one place to the other without Visas
    2. goods and services can be bought and sold without import/export duties
    3. education is free (at least basic education)
    4. people would be free to do what they want to do (not taking law in their hand though)

    I believe both the leading economic “-isms” and many spiritual/religious “-isms” have been trying to do that for years.

    The economic “-ism” are capitalism and socialism. Socialists want this by making a world a single big society where everyone is working for the society. Capitalists are trying to do it through Washington Consensus and IMF. Until now the results have been failure. Russia failed, China becoming a capitalist USA (being protectionist) walking on the way to become more socialistic. Seems There could be a middle path where both these -isms are together.

    Religious groups “-ism” are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. Christianity wants the world to be Christan, Islam talks about Universal brotherhood. I am not sure about the other two asking people to convert to their religion though. However, Hinduism talks about Vasidhev Kutumbakam. Vasidhev Kutumbakam means one world family. But the idea all over the world is unity and unifying the world in different ways.

    All this is failing because – the ulterior motives are money or fan following (I mean increasing number of followers of the religion).  Since both they ways seem not working, what if we turn to something else, no politician, no economist and no religious group to lead. People leading the people’s movement!

    Take the following case – Social media for social service, crowd sourcing based funding (crowd funding) and initiatives such as Janlokpal (India), Occupy Wall Street (USA), Jasmin revolution (Tunisia) and Tahrir square (Egypt) etc. If people are empowered yet are asked not to encroach on others freedom. What if we really become an educated world, without politics, without divisions, without borders.

    This may happen if we remove ego and greed from our society!

    Image Source – http://praditaastarina.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/170580815_bbdabc8038.jpg (Apologies for delayed update, it was updated in the image description but not visible on view)