Welcome again to Prout Gems. Today the new left movement tends to deal with creating antithesis and critiques of capitalism with lack of attention to showing the way for new alternatives. Slogans of post-modernist intellectuals are shy to project an ideological spirit in clear terms. Now is the time to portray alternatives. But the fundamental principles must be there. In this regard, socio-economic units should form the basis of social cohesion in different parts of the world and each socio-economic unit must provide the minimum necessities of life to all. 100% employment is not a dream and it all depends on what you count as employment and what is considered socially useful at all the levels of existence. Today, the pressure is on in developed countries to accept that people staying at home to take care of children should be socially rewarded for doing so and for benefiting society. A genuine co-operative society would cater for this and see to the minimum basic necessities of all. In this issue: 100% Employment for the Local People Cultural Aspirations of Socio-economic Units Criteria for Socio-economic Units On War Meet the Basic Needs! The Task in Life ----------------------------------------- 100% Employment for the Local People ----------------------------------------- P.R. Sarkar First, there should be 100% employment for the local people. The basic right of all people is to be guaranteed the minimum essentials for their existence, including at least proper food, clothing, housing, education and medical care. This basic right should be arranged through cent percent guaranteed employment, not through welfare or dole-outs. Unemployment is a critical economic problem in the world today and 100% employment of the local people is the only way to solve this problem. This is possible once a proper definition of employment is considered and the value of all labour and skill is recognised - not just the notion of careerist aspirations. All work and effort must be recognised and rewarded including household and domestic duties, service to the needy, etc and a co-operative economy is capable of doing this. Local people are defined as those who have merged individual interests with the interests of the unit they live in. The primary consideration is whether or not people have merged their individual interests with their unit, regardless of their colour, creed, race, mother tongue, birthplace, etc. Drainage of capital necessary for the continued growth of that unit undermines its economic development and is contrary to economic democracy. Capitalists, in either their singular or collective forms, are the most pernicious economic exploiters today. All over the world they are continually exploiting local economies and draining their wealth. In nearly all cases the profits they accrue are spent outside the local area and remitted to outside stockholders and parent companies. To create 100% employment among local people, there needs to be both a short term and a long-term economic plan. In the short-term plan, labour intensive industries based on the collective minimum requirements of life should be started immediately or made more productive where they already exist. These industries should be based on the consumption motive. They should also provide a rational profit in order to guarantee adequate purchasing capacity to those employed in them and to ensure their continued existence and growth. In the long-term plan, capital-intensive industries should also be developed to increase the productive capacity of the unit. Prout advocates a three-tiered economic structure, that is, small scale privately owned businesses, medium scale cooperatives and large-scale key industries managed by the immediate or local government as a fiduciary to the people. Such an economic structure should be based on the principles of self-reliance, maximum utilization, rational distribution, decentralization, rationalization and progressive increases in the standard of living of all people. Through the never ending creation of new industries, new products and new production techniques incorporating the latest scientific discoveries, the vitality of the economy can be increased. As part of the long-term economic plan, working hours may also be progressively reduced to maintain full employment. To solve the unemployment problem in both the short and long term there must be an accurate understanding of the surplus and deficit manual and intellectual labour trends. In most of the countries of the world where there is high unemployment, there is surplus manual labour. So manual labour-intensive industries are required to create employment. In some instances where deficit labour exists for an expanding industry, retraining programs may equip workers with the necessary skills for employment. Another way to help solve unemployment, especially in rural communities, is the utilization of plants for economic self-reliance. All units have the potential to increase their plant and crop varieties by properly matching these with the soil, topography and climatic conditions etc. in their units. Reforestation can reclaim arid and semi-arid regions, and some unique plants like the peranica or fern, which has the capacity to attract clouds, can help radically transform the rainfall and weather patterns of a region. Agro- and agrico-industries based upon the productive potential of different plants can also help solve rural unemployment by creating a range of new goods and services. Cultural Aspirations of Socio-economic Units ---------------------------------------------- P.R. Sarkar Socio-economic units will not only have to fulfil people's social and economic needs, but also their cultural aspirations. Culture denotes all sorts of human expressions. In a sense, culture is the same for all humanity, though there are obvious differences in cultural expression. The best means of communicating human expressions is through one's mother tongue, as this is most natural. If people's natural expression through their mother tongue is suppressed, inferiority complexes will grow in their minds, encouraging a defeatist mentality and ultimately leading to psycho-economic exploitation. Thus, no mother tongue should be suppressed. To arouse the cultural legacy of the people and raise their socio-economic consciousness, they must be made aware of who the exploiters are and the nature of psycho-economic exploitation so that they become imbued with fighting spirit. All languages must be encouraged, but this does not mean opposing the languages spoken by others. In this context, language in itself is of secondary importance. Of primary importance are the negative cultural and socio-economic consequences of linguistic imperialism. A language usually changes every 1,000 years and a script every 2,000 years. The seed of expression of all languages is the same. Geo-racial differences were responsible for the emergence of different races, which developed numerous languages. Geo-racial conditions produce changes in the vocal chords and other nervous centres or plexi of the body, and consequently the entire pronunciation and other items of language change. Thus, while no language should be suppressed and cultural expression must always be encouraged, language alone is not a sound basis upon which to demarcate socio-economic units or build an integrated society. Criteria for Socio-economic Units ----------------------------------- P R Sarkar While forming socio-economic units, several factors should be considered. These include same economic problems; uniform economic potentialities; ethnic similarities; the sentimental legacy of the people; and similar geographical features. "Same economic problems" refers to the common economic problems confronting people in a particular unit and may include the lack of markets for locally produced goods, surplus or deficit labour problems, communication or transportation difficulties and lack of irrigation water. Ascertaining whether or not a similar set of economic problems exists in an area is the first thing which should be clearly analysed when forming a socio-economic unit. The economic problems of the socio-economic unit, and their solutions, should be well understood. Secondly, there should be uniform economic potentialities in the unit. Despite natural variations from place to place, overall the people throughout a unit should enjoy similar opportunities for economic prosperity. Disparity between the haves and the have-nots and the rich and the poor will have to be progressively reduced so that the collective wealth will increase and society will become bountiful. Thirdly, there should be ethnic similarities. In the past many races and sub-races have been suppressed and exploited by powerful or dominant races. Racism has been propagated by those with evil designs in order to divide society and establish their own pre-eminence. Society must guard against such narrow and dangerous sentiments. This can be done only if every ethnic group has adequate scope for its expression and development. The multi-coloured garland of humanity will be enriched to the extent diverse human groups blend together from a position of strength and independence out of a genuine love for each other, and are not forced together through fear or compulsion. Fourthly, sentimental legacy includes factors such as language, historical traditions, literature, common usages and cultural expressions. It is the common chord in the collective psychology of a particular group of people which gives them their unique identity and sense of affinity. Human beings are predominantly sentimental by nature. They establish some kind of relationship with the many objects of the world through their day-to-day activities. If the sentiment for a particular favourite object is adjusted with the collective sentiment then that sentiment can be utilized for establishing unity in human society. The human sentiment for many objects may sometimes run counter to the collective sentiment and create great disunity, so those sentiments which are conducive to human unity should be encouraged, and the sentiments which divide human society should be rejected. Finally, similar geographical features such as topography, river systems, rainfall and irrigation water should also be considered in the formation of a socio-economic unit. Socio-economic units will give expression to popular sentiments and fight against all forms of exploitation to meet the demands and aspirations of the local people. Movements will have to be launched throughout the world to establish self-sufficient socio-economic units based on the maxim, "Know the area, prepare the plan and serve the people." Local people are those who have merged their individual socio-economic interests with the socio-economic interests of the socio-economic unit they live in. On War -------- P R Sarkar In the practical field I realize the futility of war. War is the black spot on human character. In individual or collective life one can fight, but war is based on hatred and on fissiparous tendencies. Is it not black? Struggle and war are not synonymous. While war springs from hatred, struggle is a part and parcel of life. War blackens everything, it darkens the future. Let the life be bright both individually and collectively. Let us fight these fissiparous tendencies which want to make our life dark. Human beings want light or darkness? They want light. Light is beautiful because it is luminous. When there was no creation, there was only one colour - black. Want of life is black. After creation we see this beautiful play of colours. Why should we be lost in darkness? All human beings want light. Our forefathers committed a mistake by encouraging war. We should rectify whatever mistakes they committed. We should atone for their mistakes. One unit human being is more luminous and brighter and more throbbing than universal darkness. So human beings should always be optimistic. The Cimmerian darkness cannot retard our progress. Black cannot cover the light of the human heart. The spirit of your heart must move on and on against obstacles; rather, fighting against pebbles of obstacles, just as you kick away the pebbles by your feet when you walk on the path and they come in your way. Human beings are stronger than their obstacles. [In May 1979 Sarkar visited a number of European countries. On a walk in Fiesch, Switzerland he offered the above, which was noted down by a companion.] Mass Murder [From Shabda Caynika] During the Second World War the Allied forces mercilessly killed hundreds of thousands of absolutely innocent men, women and children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by dropping atom bombs on them. They threw innumerable men, women and children into the jaws of death, and poisoned, maimed and mutilated countless others through nuclear fallout. This black history can never be suppressed by now mouthing hollow, high-sounding slogans and flying white pigeons of peace. Politicians often preach the gospels of peace by flying white pigeons but sharpen the weapons of war behind people's backs. They hold garlands of felicitation in their hands but conceal knives in their sleeves. Their policy is: "Preach the gospels of peace but keep your powder dry". They pretend that out of love for humanity their hearts will melt. In the fervour of political rallies their eyes dissolve with tears and flow like the Ganges, but in their hearts they crave for a menu of roast chicken -- slaughtered after ignoring the cries of innocent hens. The gospels of peace do not fit in such mouths. Science and War [From Shabda Caynika] People often say that the twentieth century is the century of science. No, it is not the truth. Human life has been associated with science from the prehistoric era, from the very birth of humanity on this earth about one million years ago, and not only in the twentieth century. And as long as there will be a single human being, there will be an age of science. Nowadays science means creating new weapons -- strengthening the hands of warmongers; but the spirit of science should not be like this; and at the start, in the primordial phase of human life it was not so. Yes, there is necessity of weapons -- weapons not for strengthening the hands of warmongers, but for providing security for good ideas, good thoughts, and good persons. Science should be just like art: science for service and blessedness. "Art for service and blessedness," I said; and I say, science is also for service and blessedness. Science should always be utilised for the proper progress of human society. The Great Anti-War Sentiment [From Problems of the Day] The absence of collective outlook is the root of all evil. The strong are perpetrating atrocities and injustices on the weak; powerful human groups are exploiting powerless ones. All virtuous people will have to become united. At the same time preparations will have to continue to fight against those causing injustice. Those who perpetrate atrocities on collective life or on a particular human group, cannot be pardoned. In such cases pardoning not only reflects weakness, it also encourages injustice, because the oppressors become more tyrannical. In individual life, if an innocent person is oppressed by dishonest people, the person, if he or she so desires, may pardon the oppressors, just to test his or her capacity for tolerance or for some other reason. But if the oppressors torture a human group, in that case no single individual, as the representative of the group, can pardon them, and actually that person has no right to do so. If the representative acts beyond his or her jurisdiction, that person will be denounced by the group he or she represents. So it has to be said that pardoning is a practice for individual life only, not for collective life. The more the human mind becomes magnanimous or expanded, the more it rises above the sentiments of tribalism, communalism socio-religious sentiment, provincialism, etc. Often I hear people say that nationalism is an appreciable sentiment and that there is no narrowness in it. But is this true? Nationalism is also relative, just like tribalism, communalism or provincialism. In some places it is more worthwhile than tribalism, communalism or provincialism, while in other places it is less worthwhile. Let us consider, for example, the case of a Portuguese nationalist. The mental object of a Muslim communalist is certainly larger than that of a Portuguese nationalist, because the former desires the welfare of a greater number of people than the latter. This is because the number of Muslims in the world is greater than the number of Portuguese. Judged from this perspective, I cannot denounce the sentiments of a Muslim communalist in comparison to a Portuguese nationalist. Similarly, it has to be accepted that the sentiments of a Rajput even though confined by socio-sentiment are broader than those of a Portuguese nationalist, because the former desires the welfare of more people than the latter. Likewise, the feelings of an Andhrite provincialist will have to be considered broader than those of a Portuguese nationalist. If one supports provincialism with seventy-five million Bengalis, it must be accepted that these feelings are more expanded than the nationalism of most of the nations of the world. The population of most of the nations of the world is less than the population of Bengal. Hence it is observed that communalism, casteism, provincialism and nationalism are all of the same defective type. Those who are able to capitalize on one of these sentiments advocate it volubly. In fact, every one of these sentiments suffers from the defect of ism, and is completely filled with narrowness, violence, envy, mean-mindedness, etc. Those who enter the field of social welfare by creating divisions between "yours" and "mine", substantially widen the fissures of fissiparous intellect in human society. Those who want to promote the welfare of all human beings, remaining above all sorts of parochial sentiments, have no alternative but to embrace universalism with their heart and soul - there is no other way. As universal ism is totally devoid of any characteristic of ism, it is not proper to depict universalism as an ism. If everyone is looked upon as one's own, no one remains beyond the periphery of one's kith and kin. Naturally, then, there is no scope for violence, envy, narrowness, etc. Meet the basic needs ---------------------- Prout Journal editors As Proutists, we are human beings first, concerned for the happiness and fulfilment of other human beings. We view extreme wealth disparity -- within nations and between peoples of the so-called "developed" and "developing" nations -- as a fundamental problem responsible for human suffering on a tragic scale. Prout theory holds that the meeting of basic human needs is the first responsibility of governments. Likewise, actions by governments that deprive people anywhere of fundamental human needs are criminal. Right now, many millions of people do not have access to the resources necessary for them to be fulfilled as human beings. They lack the physical resources -- clean water, adequate food, and medical care -- to maintain physical and mental health. And they lack the psychic resources -- such as access to adequate education and career development opportunities -- to be fulfilled mentally. Perhaps most alarming, NGOs report extremely high rates of mortality and physical and mental retardation amongst this nation's children. Proutists find the condition of life such as this unacceptable. It is incumbent on all human beings to share the wealth of the planet in a rational and just manner. Each country is imbued with some natural resources and those raw material should be for the benefit of the local people and should be processed in that area. The U.S. is home to five percent of the world's population yet consumes 40 percent of the World's oil. No one can condone an energy policy that accepts and then plans for these kinds of consumption levels. The U.S. government must outline a broad and aggressive energy policy that will reduce US dependence on fossil fuels. The Task in Life ----------------- PR Sarkar The entire human society is anxiously waiting for you, for your service. You will have to shoulder a great responsibility for this suffering humanity. You know that humanity is bleeding, and you will have to save it. You should remember that if you do not help humanity, who else will come and shoulder the responsibility? It is you, you are to do everything. You are the torch bearers of human civilization. You are the pioneers of the human march, you are the vanguards of the new civilization. (Discourse in Caracas, Venezuela, 1979) To shout "Peace" has become a fashion of the day in this world. But can such shouting bring about any result? There is no other way of establishing peace except by fighting against the reasons that disturb the peace. (Problem of the Day, 20) Those who possess the moral courage to fight against the evil forces, it is they who alone can give a soothing touch to the struggle-torn earth with the balm of peace. (A'nanda Va'nii, May 1967) Increase the speed of your activities thousands of times, countless times more than it is now, and accomplish your work. There are three realms: physical, mental and spiritual. It is your duty to show society the right path in these three realms. Your success also depends on your speed. Work with infinite speed. Victory is surely yours. (Great Universe, 129) Clouds cannot overcast the sun for a long time. The creatures of darkness never want the expansive exaltation of human society. Even then, humanity shall march ahead. None can arrest the speed of its progress. You be the harbingers; you be the pioneers of this victorious march. See that not a single individual lags behind. (A'nanda Va'nii, January 1972) The absence of universal spirit is the root of all evils. Strong people are torturing the weak. Powerful human groups are exploiting the weaker ones. Under such circumstances, it is the duty of good people to declare their opposition to the oppressors. It will not be of use to sit quiet for an indefinite period in the hope that only moral preaching will be fruitful. Hence, all good people will have to be united. There should be a pauseless preparation for battle against the oppressors. (Problem of the Day, 25) The flame of a lamp lights up countless lamps. The touch of a great personality wakes up innumerable sleeping hearts. In the same way, the eternal glow of the boundless e'lan vital of Cosmic Consciousness has been illuminating the life lamp of universal humanism since time immemorial, is illuminating and will do so in future even more intensely. That is why I say, the future of the human race is not dark, rather it is strikingly resplendent. So proceed on, ignoring the frown of darkness. (A'nanda Va'nii, January 1978) Despite its advent onto this earth many thousands of years ago, humanity is not yet capable of building a well-integrated and universal society. This is in no way indicative of the glory of human intellect and erudition. You who have understood the predicament, realized the urgency, seen the naked dance of evil and heard the hypocritical and raucous laughter of the divisive forces, should throw yourself into this noble task without further delay. When the ends are just and noble, success is inevitable. (A'nanda Va'nii, January 1975)