ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS
Greek philosopher Epictetus (60?-120?) said the universe is but one great
city, full of beloved ones, divine and human, by nature endured to each other.
And according to the Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus (54
BC-39AD) however degraded or wretched a fellow may be, he is still a member of
our common species.
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United
States from 1923-1929 believed “Our doctrine of equality and liberty and
humanity comes from our belief in the brotherhood of man through the fatherhood
of God.”
In a similar vein American
theologian (1809-1894) said: “Whoever in prayer can say “Our Father,”
acknowledges and should feel the brotherhood of the whole race of mankind.“
In the political, social and
religious of literature of the world there is no dearth of such quotations as
lay emphasis on the unity of God and mankind, yet we find that the brotherhood
they talk about so reverentially is seldom practised anywhere. Mutual hatred and violence are rampant throughout
the world.
A 1958 UNESCO publication
carrying the life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi (1889-1948) ‘as told in his
own words ‘ bears the title “All Men Are Brothers”. The purpose of the book is to
“describe the main features of the Mahatma’s philosophy and his influence in furthering
friendship and understanding between peoples.
The book starts with these words of Gandhiji:
“I have nothing new to teach the world, Truth and non-violence
are as old as the hills.”
As regards his belief in the unity
of mankind, Gandhiji says:
“All my actions
have their rise in my inalienable love of mankind. I have known no distinction
between relatives and strangers , countrymen and foreigners, white and coloured,
Hindus and Indians of other faiths whether Mussulmans, Parsees, Christians or
Jews. I may say that my heart has been incapable of making any such
distinctions. By a long process of
prayerful discipline, I have ceased for over forty years to hate anybody. All
men are bothers and no human being should be a stranger to another. The welfare
of all, Sarvodaya, should be our aim. God is the common bond that unites all
human beings. To break this bond even with our greatest enemy is to tear God to
pieces. There is humanity even in the most wicked. “
It is regrettable that most of the followers
of Gandhiji hardly believe like him that
“All Men Are Brothers.”
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14th
December 2021 G.
R. Kanwal
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