| by Ishara de Silva
( March 20, 2013, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Can South Asia be a regional leader in the world despite the US seeing itself as the lead global player? What is South Asia’s true place in the world, both politically and spiritually? Does the role of religion act as a catalyst for a world leadership role, or does it weaken the prospect of secular polities with less violence in the form of religious wars?
The truth is South Asia can be “big”, despite the economic, not spiritual, poverty in most of its states, with the exception of India, if only the countries there see the relevance of selfless and/or egoless spirituality to politics.
The four ascending value-systems below say it all:
1. The Existential attitude of “Anything Goes”
2. The “Me” Value system of Capitalism
3. The “Us” Value system of Socialism/Communism
4. And the “You” Value moral systems of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism etc.
South Asia falls, or can do, potentially, into this latter category – foremost!
This You-value system, the highest, here, in the scale, then, is what can distinguish South Asia from the rest of the world, and offer it hope, peace and, above all, leadership. In this sense, South Asia can be, and indeed is, well placed to be a, if not the, global leader. Indeed, this You-value positioning surpasses both the capitalist and socialist systems of governance as can be seen above.
The Gandhi-led Indian independence movement, of course non-violent, is evidence of this You-value system at work in South Asia, in particular, the inherent morality in his approach to liberation. It is the absence, however, of this You-value stance that has led to the often violent and authoritarian, not to mention brutal episodes of conflict in the region afterwards.
Self-awareness, in South Asia, of what the region and its people ought to represent is what is needed. It is a step even beyond Socialism, which Karl Marx so readily recommended as the solution to all the ills of capitalism. The point is, because religion is so dominant in the region, the morality and spirituality of it needs to be harnessed for the benefit of itself and the world.
If this can be done, South Asia, could be a real global leader, rather than trying to compete with the West in economic terms and the rest of it, pursuits of a Me-value variety kind in our breakdown. On the contrary, South Asia does have a role to play in the world, and naturally leans, in terms of its people, to this You-value spirituality, as the strength of religion in this region clearly demonstrates.
This is not to mix up religious fundamentalism with true, You-value moral ethics, but only to show that You-value spirituality like compassion and altruistic love are a progression, logically, from Existentialism, Capitalism and Socialism/Communism, whether we like it or not.
States should provide the means whereby people can exercise this compassion, even if it means endorsing, one day, even if not now, a world socialist system as the next step in the development of human societies, as a start, but not necessarily as a final vision.
But it should not be done at the expense of religion!
People, not states, religion or money, are the problem. Since, religions and states are composed of people, and those pursuing profit are people too, motivated by various intentions. So, this is where spirituality comes in. For this reason, South Asian states should take the lead in building a spiritual world, something which is beyond both capitalism and communism. This is South Asia’s unique, in-built potential, which is at the highest end of the value system scale, for all societies, even higher than socialism, as we have seen above.
To this end, South Asia leads, or, more precisely, can lead, even The United States of America, and not to mention mankind as a whole, by becoming the first global region to ethically transcend both capitalism and communism. Indeed, that would make South Asia true leaders in what otherwise amounts to a haphazardly unpredictable capitalist world.
South Asia’s ‘Non-Aligned Movement’ during the Cold where it sided with neither the Soviet Union, nor capitalist states such as the US, may have been a rather wise move in this regard, because it now allows South Asia, if the will exists, to pursue a more moral, and spiritual, politics, domestically and internationally, that is truer to its own religious traditions.
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