The article below was presented at the International Seminar/Workshop on Bioethics, held August 21 and 22, at Trivandrum, Kerala.

Organized by the Dept. of Philosophy, Univ. of Kerala, Indian Council of Medical Research and UNESCO, Bangkok. VETHATHIRIAN PHILOSOPHY AND BIO- ETHICS Uma Fitzcharles Vethathiri International Academy, Chennai Sri Vethathiri Maharishi was a philosopher-saint of Tamil Nadu; he passed away a few months ago at the age of 95 years. His entire life was devoted to introspection and analytic study of life and nature, including on the origin and nature of life itself, that which we call death and the state of existence afterward. I spent the major part of my life in his company as his legally adopted daughter and am extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity of sitting at the feet of this great philosopher of our time and receiving his philosophy directly from him. I am here to relate some of his ideas to you to the best of my ability, and comment on certain contemporary global trends in the treatment of life and death. He was greatly concerned with identifying values to be upheld individually and in society and devoted much research to the subject. He often said that according to the era and prevailing conditions the values held by the majority change, and hence our ethics are to be adjusted and reformed. Our ethics of conduct are based on prevailing values of our culture and now we are headed toward a global culture, where we have to form a consensus on values and ethical actions and extend our value system consistently to deal with new conditions. Sri Vethathiri, while endorsing for the need of reform according to local conditions, defined the primary, timeless, universal values as follow. If any action results in pain to self or others, at present or in future, to the body or mind, it should be avoided. This is morality. Man needs help from others in life; relieving the pains of others is charity. Therefore virtue is: 1) not to inflict pain to anyone; and 2) relieving others from pain. These two activities in addition to the fulfilling ones duties to self, family, relatives, society and the world, respecting past experiences, assessing present circumstances and visualizing future results in all ones activities is wisdom.[1] He gave this basic definition in 1957; much later, 1n 2004, he worded these same ideas as two maxims to be followed for a virtuous life: 1. Not causing harm to self or others, to the body or mind, at present or in future, and 2. Helping others in need, as and when possible.[2]

In light of the above creed, any act to relieve the pain of self or others is certainly ethical and moreover compassionate. Sri Vethathiri often likened death to a divine operation, an act of natures compassion, whereby life is separated from the body due to the lack of harmonious link between them. This indicates that the gifts of life and death rightfully belong to Nature and highlight the dilemmas man has created by his new-found expertise in prolonging life as well as delivering mass death. According to Vethathirian philosophy the ethical stand is to act out of respect for the sentiments and needs of each individual, preference being to adopt all possible means and measures to ease suffering wherever possible. Nowadays, in many cases that means we are advised to allow death to occur rather than forestall it. The life in the body is enjoyed and suffered by the individual -and death is Natures kind solution to put an end to suffering when no recovery is possible. That should make us clear about the ethics of euthanasia, assisted suicide and drawing a limit on artificial life support in incurable cases. He often said also that the mark of true civilization and human culture is respecting the needs and ambitions of others. In this light, euthanasia is confirmed to be a civilized, ethical act to aid others in time of need. Conversely, Sri Vethathiri asserted that violence and aggression toward other human beings and war, the mass act of murder, are immoral. As his philosophy acknowledges the right of survival for all human beings, military defense is morally justified when a population is under attack. He coined an aphorism to express his view on the moral use of violence: Violence, used carefully, in inevitable circumstances, against violence, is Non-violence. The Geneva Convention, an international agreement to eschew cruel and unusual weapons and torture in war, is an example of a consensual global ethic to be adhered in the interests of all people on the planet. If not, we can see that mans inhumanity and insensitivity to man is only limited by current technological prowess, and that prowess is greater and hence more dangerous day by day. The individuals right to die by compassionate means and in time to avoid prolonged suffering will be an important issue for societies and individuals in the near future. Medical technology and procedures are increasingly sophisticated and are now mechanically utilized and focused on mere survival of the organism, without any assessment of the quality of the life. The issue of saving and caring for those who are kept alive unnaturally and at great expense will become more controversial as our populations increase and resources become strained. Sooner or later governments will come into power that have greater respect for life and human feelings, and view death as a matter of more concern than just a statistic and policy matter. Knowledge of the nature of life and death given us by Sri Vethathiri Maharishi inspires us with reverence for the divine power and marvelous functional order of Nature. This knowledge can help us in dealing with the sensitive ethical issues centered on the meaning and responsibility to enhance the quality of life and death, for ourselves and others.

[1] World Peace, Yogiraj Vethathiri Maharishi, Vethathiri Publications, Erode, 2002; (first ed.1957). [2] Value Education for Health, Happiness and Harmony, compiled by Brain Trust, Aliyar;Vethathiri Publications, Erode, 2004