Wholistic Humanism

Wholistic Humanism Though Prout is a socio-economic theory that offers practical solutions to the current social problems, it is not a materialistic philosophy. It is a holistic approach to all-round human development. Dr. Leonardo Boff is a theologian, professor and author of more than 50 books. He is one of the founders of Liberation Theology, a movement within the Catholic Church which blends a socialist perspective and struggle for justice with radical Christianity. He is a winner of the Right Livelihood Award, often considered the alternative Nobel, for his work promoting human rights. He wrote: “Prout is very important to all who yearn for a liberation which starts from economics and opens to a totality of personal and social human existence.” Boff: “The exceptional importance of the Prout system resides in two fundamental points: its completeness and its viability. The entire system comes from a correct understanding of the human being, personal and collective, and authentic human development …” Boff: “In every person there are three dimensions: the physical, the mental and the spiritual. The three of them are to be developed together. If not, there is either no development or development that produces injustice and many victims. Prout was carefully thought out to create a development with equilibrium and with harmony. The result will be the welfare and happiness of all.” Boff: “The physical occupies all of the physical dimensions such as the physical body, the world of measurable phenomena, nature, natural resources, the fertility of the earth, the physical chemical elements, and the cosmic energy which acts on our world. The Prout system teaches how to utilize to the maximum the physical resources in such a way that is sustainable enough for all who live in the world today and for all who will come after us. But not only the humans, also the other created beings: rocks, plants and animals.” Boff: “The mental consists of the universe of the human mind, the intelligence, the will, the imagination, the psychic life formed by emotions and our inner and archetypal sensibility. The human being should develop his or her mental capacities for self-development and the development of others, through just behavior, the eradication of exploitative mechanisms, and continual creativity in the face of new problems.” Boff: “The spiritual is that disposition of the human being to link the microcosms with the Macrocosm, to perceive the totality, to discover the other side of all things, the message that comes from the greatness of the universe. It is the capacity to contemplate, to venerate and to dialog with the Mystery that the religions call God or the Force that guides the universe. By the actuation of this dimension, the human being turns into a cosmic being. This is an infinite practice. We should strive to encompass all these dimensions in the process of sustainable development.” The Importance of the Spiritual Dimension: In June 2003 the Spanish edition of “After Capitalism” was published in

Venezuela. When the author presented the book to President Hugo Chavez, he said: “This book we appreciate very much. Your visit has come at such an opportune moment. Thank you very much, brother, and let's continue with spirituality, spirit, good faith, morality, and the mystical force that moves the world.” Prout is based on universal spirituality, respecting the mystical search for Truth in all sorts of religions, including the beliefs of indigenous peoples. Consciousness is already within us, and the way to experience the Supreme Consciousness is to go deep within our own minds. Inter-religious gathering are to be supported for this reason. The communist view of the human being. Communism believes in materialism. Marx said that the human being is an economic animal controlled by the historical forces of his or her time. "Lenin said that the most essential thing in Marxism, the living soul of Marxism is the concrete analysis of the concrete situation." (PSC Ch 2) PROUT believes that this definition of the human being is extremely limiting, for it devalues human life and suppresses higher human potential. Every human being is a manifestation of Cosmic Consciousness. Not only should one's physical comforts increase, but he or she should expand their mind with new ideas and strive to attain the height of spiritual perfection. But according to Sarkar, by the constant adjustment of psychic waves (the analysis) to physical waves (the concrete situation) results in the gradual crudification of the mind. Everything, even the subtle aspects of human life become like stone. Sarkar did not accept the communist ideal. Though Karl Marx was a humanist who inspired revolutionaries to provide the minimum necessities of life to everyone, Sarkar asserts that the communist philosophy was unsuitable for human psychology. 'Serve according to your capacity and earn according to your necessity' sounds good, but is not adequate to motivate most people. By centralizing both political and economic power in the hands of the State, many communist leaders developed a belief that only they were correct. This arrogance, combined with a materialist philosophy, that the ends justified the means, has resulted in communist Party tyranny. Communist regimes throughout the world have generated intense dissatisfaction amongst their own people. Party dictatorships ordered the military to imprison or kill their own people if they tried to protest or escape. These autocratic governments censored artistic expression, banned private enterprise, stifled personal initiative, and prohibited religious and spiritual freedom. These same dictatorships have now been overthrown by popular revolts in Eastern Europe and Russia. The capitalist view of the human being. Capitalism is not ideologically opposed to spirituality or religious beliefs, but it says that they have nothing to do with economic life. The

value of a resource is how much money people will pay for it. According to Adam Smith, the most efficient production occurs when everyone follows their own selfish desire - “the invisible hand”. Thus capitalism pushes consumer materialism. But the strange contradiction is that the effective operation of markets requires that traders be honest and truthful (Tim Hazeldine). To understand how the Prout model can transform our society, we must look at how it fundamentally differs from capitalism’s concept of property rights. Capitalism adopted the ideas of the 17th century English philosopher John Locke who asserted that by buying an area of land, a person had the right to own it and use it as he or she pleased. This belief in the supreme value of private property is fundamental to capitalism. It seems logical, rational and obvious to us. But this view is quite different to the perspective and values of the indigenous peoples of North and South America, and of the traditional societies of Africa, Asia and Australasia. They did not believe that the land belonged to them; rather they believed they belonged to the land! These traditional cultures were more cooperative by nature and usually treated most of the land as a common resource. Individuals had usufructuary rights to utilize, as does the collective. Prout’s concept of “Cosmic inheritance” expands this traditional spiritual perspective. It asserts that the planet and the universe are the common property of all humanity. We have the right to share them and use them with respect, but not to abuse them. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs: a model of humanistic psychology. These range, in ascending order, from physiological needs, to safety, a sense of belonging and love, esteem, and self-actualization. Lower needs must be met in order to progress toward meeting higher ones. At the level of self-actualization, individuals with their physical and psychological needs taken care of are free to be altruistic and to develop their higher potentialities. Maslow termed the state above self-actualization as the transpersonal level. Activity here is psycho-spiritual or purely spiritual, characterized by meditative introspection, perfect contentment, complete unselfishness, feelings of harmony and oneness with the universe, and the experience of higher states of consciousness. According to Maslow, this model enables one to determine “better” or “poorer” societies, the better ones gratifying all basic human needs of the population and permitting self-actualization. Sentiments A sentiment is the emotional tendency to identify with things we like -whatever gives us pleasure. We transform when we can expand our sentiment or allegiance from one of self-interest to one of empathy and identification with an ever-larger share of humanity. It is common to feel allegiance to one’s family and a close circle of friends. In addition, in many parts of the world, membership in a clan, a tribe or a community, is very important. Most people also consider

themselves to be members or citizens of a particular region or nation, often believing that their country is somehow more important than any other. Sarkar calls this patriotism or nationalism by the name of geo-sentiment. Believing one’s own nation to be superior to others is expressed negatively in the slogan “My country, right or wrong!” and in the prejudice displayed in anti-foreigner feelings. This sentiment provided an emotional reinforcement for colonialism and imperialism. Identifying more with one’s race, religion, class or sex, to the exclusion of other communities, is known as socio-sentiment. Both geo-sentiment and socio-sentiment have led to countless tragic conflicts and wars rooted in hatred that are, in the words of Sarkar, “the black spot of human character”. Politicians who exploit these sentiments to gain popularity may become very powerful, but they can lead their entire community or nation to destruction. Enlightened education which develops the rational, questioning mind can be an antidote to these limiting sentiments. When education expands our identity to include all humanity, so that we feel pain at the suffering of any group of people on the planet, it can inspire us to commit ourselves to social justice, service and ecology. Humanism, accepting all human beings in your circle of allegiance, is superior. Yet a potential defect of humanism can be that the purpose of life is often not clear. This can leave the humanist in a spiritual vacuum, without transcendent values or direction – adrift on a sea of conflicting ideas. When based on internationalism, as in the case of the United Nations, its adherents may be plagued with political differences and jealousies, just as that organization is. The philosophy of humanism may also lead one to neglect other species, to consider them inferior and exploit them for profit. Sarkar’s Neohumanism urges us to overcome this limitation by including all of life in our definition of what is real and important. Although human beings are clearly the most evolved species on this planet, our actions and conduct should demonstrate ever-increasing love and respect toward all beings and inanimate objects in the universe. Fromthe Neohumanist perspective, a true society means a group of people moving together towards universal humanism. P. R. Sarkar often used the analogy of humanity as a family, or of a group of people travelling on a pilgrimage, who stop whenever any member of their group is injured or falls sick. He quoted American poet Carl Sandburg: There is only one man, and his name is all men. There is only one woman, and her name is all women. There is only one child, and its name is all children.