Seeking soul solutions to world woes

“Our world is plagued by a perfect storm on a number of fronts,” UN secretary-general António Guterres warned us in a speech at Davos early this year. He called for urgent action on several interconnected challenges, such as war, global economic crisis, income and gender inequality, and climate disaster.To bring about any effective change, we need to rethink development keeping in mind that people are important, but equally important is the planet on which the prosperity of the people depends. Our civilisation demands that wars should always be moved from battlefields to peace tables. More importantly, the higher human values that spring from the awareness of the spiritual basis of our being, must be reawakened if any crisis is to be resolved.Historian Arnold Toynbee studied the genesis and fall of 21 civilisations spanning a period of 9,000 years and found that 19 of them disintegrated when the religious foundation that sustained them became corrupt. He says, “Each time the people lost faith in religion, their civilisation succumbed to social disintegration. And the civilisation that has fallen as a result of loss of faith has been replaced by a new one inspired by true religion through spiritual awakening.”Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh would often say that physical distances anywhere on the globe can be covered by one or the other mode of conveyance, but the distances caused by discrimination and inequality, among the hearts of people, sitting even at the same place, cannot be bridged without the actual knowledge of Fatherhood of God.Today, the youth who expected religion to endorse humanity, feel frustrated, “What good is religion if it perpetuates so many innocent murders everyday across the globe?” Young people are fast weaning away from religion. If we are to reach and achieve real progress and peace in the world, we shall have to begin with children, to spiritualise their energy for an accomplished and blissful life.Therefore, Satguru Mata Sudiksha, head, Sant Nirankari Mission, believes that it is essential to align the youth with the ultimate truth by giving them a panoramic insight into the world of spirituality, through symposiums and spiritual gatherings.All prophets and scriptures tell us that God is one, know Him as one and that all men should live harmoniously as members of one family. Unified consciousness and world civilisation underscore the Biblical message, ‘If God is all you have, you have all you need’ – for a purposeful life worth, in the true spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.Satguru Mata Sudiksha reminds us that the world needs to unite as one family, fostering acceptance and love for one another. In this endeavour, she introduces the concept of ‘God-fi-dence’, which encourages complete faith and confidence in the Divine, reaffirming our inherent divine nature.The message is clear: we must instil spiritual values, nurture the youth and embrace the oneness of humanity, only then can we hope to overcome all the storms that threaten our world.The writer is president, Sant Nirankari Mandal, Delhi Sant Nirankari Mission is organising its global Annual Nirankari Sant Samagam at Sant Nirankari Adhyatmic Sthal, GT Road, Samalkha, Panipat, from October 28 to 30