A NEW SOCIAL PARADIGM BASED ON SPIRITUAL VALUES

Market economics pretends to be a value-free objective science,

describing timeless truths independent of ideology and cultural norms.
Analysts are unable to consistently predict with accuracy what will
happen next in terms of currency rates, economic growth, unemployment,
property values, etc. This is due in part to the extremely competitive
global economy that free market economics has created where the quest
for profits is accepted as its ultimate value.

Neoliberal economists preach the gospel that financial efficiency and

success can be achieved through free market trade in any country. They
portray economics as an objective truth, a fundamental law like the law
of gravitation. They assert that denial of the right to maximize one's
wealth, or any diminishing of property rights, would compromise the
efficiency of the economy, and lessen the total output of which it is
capable.

To understand how the Prout model can transform our society, we must
look at one of its fundamental differences with capitalism: their
different attitudes toward private property. Capitalism adopted the
ideas of the seventeenth century English philosopher John Locke who
said that a human being had the right to use his or her labour to alter
the gifts of Nature and other things and hence make them productive.
Locke argued that by clearing an area of forest, cultivating the land
and collecting the harvest, a person made it productive and hence had a
right to own it and use it as he or she pleased. This unquestioned
belief in the supreme value of private property is fundamental to
capitalism.

Such an individualistic attitude was embedded in the thinking of those

who formed the United States. This attitude combined with a deeply-felt
passion for personal freedom, which was seen as one's right to
accumulate as much wealth as possible, and no government should have
the legal privilege to take a significant portion of it away through
taxation.

This view, which dominates the world today, is essentially egocentric

and lacks a holistic ecology of mind approach, that is it lacks a
bridging between the three realms of existence (physical,
mental/psychic and spiritual). It means that it is psychology
deficient in understanding human experiencing and social interaction.
It is also quite opposite to many indigenous perspectives and values,
such as the indigenous peoples of North and South America and of the
traditional societies of Africa, Asia and Australasia, who never
thought like this. They did not believe that the land belonged to them;
rather they believed they belonged to the land! Nevertheless
usufructuary rights are necessary. These traditional cultures were
more cooperative by nature and usually treated most of the land as a
common resource. Most of them had disastrous encounters with
land-grabbing and resource-stealing colonizers who possessed advanced
weapons.

Basic Principles

What is the proper approach. It can be put down into one principle,
which as stated by PR Sarkar is:

The universe is the collective property of all. All people have

usufructuary rights but no one has the right to misuse this collective
property. If a person acquires and accumulates excessive wealth, he or
she directly curtails the happiness and convenience of others in
society. Such behaviour is flagrantly antisocial. Therefore, no one
should be allowed to accumulate wealth without the permission of
society. (Ananda Sutram 5:12, 1962)

Sarkar goes on to elaborate in relation to worldly wealth and

resources:

The wealth and resources available in the crude, subtle and causal
worlds should be developed for the welfare of all. All resources hidden
in the quinquelemental world -- solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and
ethereal -- should be fully utilized, and the endeavour to do this will
ensure the maximum development of the universe. People will have to
earnestly explore land, sea and space to discover, extract and process
the raw materials needed for their requirements. There should be
rational distribution of the accumulated wealth of humanity. In other
words, all people must be guaranteed the minimum requirements. In
addition, the requirements of meritorious people, and in certain cases
those with special needs, will also have to be kept in mind. (Ananda
Sutram 5:13, 1962)

In relation to the psychological bridging necessary between

wealth/resources and collective aspirations, Sarkar states:

Society must ensure the maximum development of the collective body,

collective mind and collective spirit. One must not forget that
collective welfare lies in individuals and individual welfare lies in
collectivity. Without ensuring individual comforts through the proper
provision of food, light, air, accommodation and medical treatment, the
welfare of the collective body can never be achieved. One will have to
promote individual welfare motivated by the spirit of promoting
collective welfare. The development of the collective mind is
impossible without developing proper social awareness, encouraging the
spirit of social service and awakening knowledge in every individual.
So, inspired with the thought of the welfare of the collective mind,
one has to promote the well-being of the individual mind. The absence
of spiritual morality and spirituality in individuals will break the
backbone of the collectivity. So for the sake of collective welfare one
will have to awaken spirituality in individuals. The mere presence of a
handful of strong and brave people, a small number of scholars or a few
spiritualists does not indicate the progress of the entire society. The
potential for ongoing or infinite physical, mental and spiritual
development is inherent in every human being. This potentiality has to
be harnessed and brought to fruition. (Ananda Sutram 5:14, 1962)

Cosmic Inheritance

P. R. Sarkar expanded upon the idea of belonging to the Cosmos and

Nature that was shared by people of traditional cultures. Putting it in
a personal sense - and that the cosmos and universe is a 'living'
entity - he said, "The Supreme Consciousness is my father and the
Supreme Creative Principle is my mother, the Universe is my native land
and all of us are citizens of this cosmos". (Problems of the Day,
1968) We should consider humanity as one human family, and the universe
as our common patrimony. It is a gift from the forces of Consciousness
and Creation, which are in reality two inseparable aspects of the same
Divine Being.

Prout is based on this spiritual perspective. The Creator is not

separate from the creation, but permeates and resonates in every
particle of it. Nothing is mere physicality in the end. Einstein
somewhat concluded that everything is energy - so even your human
structure is nothing but a condensed form of energy or vibrations
(crude frequencies). Even so-called inanimate objects are vital with
latent consciousness. Every living being has existential value, in
addition to utility value. Humans do not have the right to
destructively exploit plants, animals, or the Earth, without regard for
their well-being. The Creator - which can also be seen as our universal
connection to all - invites us to use these things, but not to abuse
them.

Because of this spiritual outlook, Prout does not recognize private

property as an absolute moral value. Sarkar wrote, "The
potentialities of the world do not belong to any particular person,
nation or state". (Problems of the Day, 1968) Also, the notion of
property is one of law. In law, one does not strictly 'own' anything.
Rather, one receives a title or estate so as to be legally entitled to
some thing (whether at common law or by statute law). As native title
scholars in Australia would know, for land, there can be various titles
or interests such as the relative title of the sovereign state, the
native title of its indigenous inhabitants and the freehold title or
leasehold title of registered owners (or even mere licences to occupy).
These may overlap. Collectively, like brothers and sisters in a human
family, we have a duty and a responsibility to utilize and fairly
distribute the world's resources for the welfare of all. The approach
to be taken is determining the usufructuary rights amidst collective
property. These for households may amount to a legally registered
title and the preference here is that of the developing community
titles or similar (which can have the characteristic of freehold or
leasehold but are surrounded also with community responsibilities).
Generally, for other resource allocations some form of co-operative
shareholding ownerships should be developed.

How would Prout consider the vast properties of land in Brazil, for
example? The Bradesco Bank Group owns 900,000 hectares of land, the
Antunes-Caemi financial group owns 2,250,000 hectares, and the
foreign-owned Manasa/Cifec group owns over 4 million hectares, that is,
40,000 square kilometres! Most of this property is cleared to create
pasture for the beef industry, which requires very few employees. At
the same time, millions of unemployed farm labourers have no land to
cultivate in order to meet their basic needs.

Sarkar wrote: "Uncultivated [farm]land is a liability for the human

race". "In Prout's system of agriculture there is no place for
intermediaries. Those who invest their capital by engaging others in
productive labour to earn a profit are capitalists. Capitalists, like
parasites, thrive on the blood of industrial and agricultural
labourers." (Economic Democracy, 1986) The Prout solution would be to
start agricultural cooperatives to better utilize land and provide jobs
to the unemployed.

Another conclusion that can be drawn from the spiritual concept of

Cosmic inheritance is that the life and well-being of humans is
society's first priority, and it must always take precedence over all
other financial responsibilities. Hence a Proutist economy begins by
providing the minimum necessities of life to all people in every
region, and then gradually elevates their standard of living. This is
the moral starting point.

Human Sentiments and Neo-humanism

A sentiment is the emotional tendency to identify with whatever we

like, whatever gives us pleasure. "Neo-humanism" a term coined by
Sarkar in his book of the same title, is the process of expanding
one's sentiment or allegiance from self-interest to an empathy and
identification with an ever-larger portion of humanity. It is the
required ecology of mind needed so desperately today.

Most people feel allegiance to their family and a close circle of

friends. In many parts of the world, membership in a clan, a tribe, a
community, or even an inner-city gang is very important, too. A
majority also feel that they are members or citizens of a particular
region or nation, believing that they are more important than other
nations. Sarkar calls this patriotism or nationalism by the name
geo-sentiment. Favouring one's own nation at the expense of other
countries is expressed in the slogan "My country, right or wrong!"
and 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 that are, in the words of Sarkar, "the blackest
spot on human history". Politicians who lead through sentiment may be
very powerful, but they can lead their entire community or nation to
destruction by not considering the good or bad consequences of their
actions. The norm is for them not to adopt a holistic approach because
of the lack of their own universal or spiritual outlook.

Enlightened education that develops the rational, questioning mind is

the antidote to these limiting sentiments; education causes one to
expand one's identity to include all humanity. Such humanists feel
pain when they hear of the suffering of any group of people on the
planet. They commit themselves to social justice, service and ecology.

Humanism originated in Europe during the Renaissance as a reaction

against the dogmas and domination of the powerful clergy of the
Catholic Church, who demanded blind faith and total obedience.
Consequently, many Western humanists rejected the idea of a
transcendent God outside of or beyond human experience. Instead they
relied on logic, scientific enquiry and reason.

The rejection of God forced humanists to search more deeply and

discover the personal and political significance of such concepts as
freedom and equality. They struggled to find a more natural and
rational morality. Quickly, however, they ran into the problem of
relativism. "Freedom, equality and fraternity" was the humanist cry
of the French Revolution, yet it soon became an empty slogan. Freedom
from what? Equality for what? The defect of humanism is that the
purpose of life is not understood or made explicit.

Humanism has other limitations. If it is based on internationalism as

in the case of the United Nations, then it will be plagued by political
differences and jealousies, just as that organization is. If it is
based on the concept that there is no Divinity, that there is no higher
consciousness within us, then it becomes analytical and materialistic.

The philosophy of humanism may also lead one to neglect other species,
to consider them inferior and to exploit them for human welfare. This
has also been called speciesism or anthropocentrism. Overcoming this
limitation means including animals and plants and all of life in our
definition of what is "real" and "important." While human
beings are clearly the most evolved species on this planet, we should
expand our empathy to include love and respect for all beings, both
animate and inanimate, in the universe.

Thus, an outlook based on universalism or Neo-humanism is one which

recognizes the spiritual family of humanity which transcends nations.
It teaches us to liberate our intellect from ego, family, geography,
social class, religion and anthropocentrism and establish it in a
spiritual ecology. All human beings belong to one human family and are
the children of one Supreme Consciousness. The world's happiness is
my happiness; the world's sorrow is my sorrow. Any political leader
who merely plays on the sentiments of geo-sentiment or socio-sentiment
will inevitably constrict the development of human society and that of
the human psyche.

A New Definition of Social Progress

According to philosophy and science, each and every entity in this

universe is moving. However, movement only has meaning when it is
directed towards a goal. According to Prout, social progress is
movement that is directed toward the goal of well-being for all, from
the first expression of ethical consciousness to the establishment in
universal humanism.

Universal humanism is a very expansive concept which includes physical

welfare and security, intellectual stimulation and encouragement, and
spiritual growth. Most people today have very little idea of what such
a society would look like. Primarily, society is dominated by lower
tendencies and lower sentiments as these are easy for people to fall
into and simple manipulative tools for politicians, media and others
with psychological power in society.

Universal humanism has some analogy to the hierarchy of human needs

paradigm developed by Abraham Maslow in his model of humanistic
psychology. These range, in ascending order, from the physiological, to
safety, a sense of belonging and love, esteem, and self-actualization.
Lower needs must be met in order to progress to meeting higher needs.
At the level of self-actualization, individuals have most physical and
psychological needs met and are free to be altruistic and to develop
their higher potentialities. Above this level is what Maslow called the
transpersonal. Activity here is 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. Accordingly, Prout also has as its
principle that of providing minimum necessities to all through adequate
purchasing capacity. Only then can the economy be said to be at the
beginning of efficiency and equity. But this is only the beginning.

A society in this true, holistic sense 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 one 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.
("Timesweep" in Honey and Salt, 1963).

Human society should facilitate the collective movement and growth of

all individuals. This implies a degree of collective consciousness and
social cohesion or solidarity.

People commonly associate the word progress with an increase of

material comfort, or with more sophisticated technology. However,
Sarkar proposed that no true progress is possible in the physical
realm. All physical things eventually decay, and whatever physical
strength one builds up can be lost by accident, illness or old age.
Every physical invention, while making our lives easier and more
comfortable, creates contrary problems, dangers and side effects. In
the past, when people walked or rode animal carts, no one suffered
critical injuries in accidents - now tens of thousands die in
automobiles every year.

It can also be seen that increases in knowledge, communication and

mental activity are not always truly progressive and conducive to
one's deeper well-being. Whatever we learn can be forgotten. Stress,
nervousness, depression and mental disease are much more common among
intellectuals and educated urban populations than among less educated
village people. This is especially true in an imbalanced or
materialistic society.

The spiritual development of human beings is comparatively more rare.

It is a process of expanding one's consciousness to link with the
Infinite, to reach a state of perfect peace and infinite happiness. It
is the source of true wisdom, inspiration and unconditional love for
all. Knowingly or unknowingly all human beings are seeking this state
of consciousness, beyond pain and pleasure. The endeavour to attain
this blissful state is the human quest known as spirituality.
Prout asserts that this spiritual longing is inherent in every human
being, though individuals experience it at different times in their
lives due to various factors. Hence spirituality is the personal
endeavour to experience the Infinite, and is not the same as organized
religion.

It is possible to achieve absolute spiritual freedom or liberation -

this is the union of unit mind so that it associates with the Cosmic or
Universal Consciousness - so that there is Oneness. For that spiritual
practices are required. Whereas absolute freedom does not exist in the
physical or mental realms - as these realms are entirely relative (and
everything relative is subject to the process of generation, operation
and destruction). Therefore Prout accepts that all physical actions and
intellectual expressions that accelerate the speed of spiritual
progress to this state of infinite well-being should be considered to
be progressive. For example, guaranteeing the minimum necessities of
life to all people will give everyone peace of mind, freeing them from
worries about inability to buy food, pay the rent, or provide clothes,
education and medical care for their families. Just as in Abraham
Maslow's model, this physical and mental security will allow people
to develop their higher mental and spiritual qualities. Hence designing
an economy that provides people with the opportunity to earn these
basic needs can clearly be considered progressive.

Unfortunately, much learning today has become almost entirely western

oriented. This has a very individualist orientation at the end of the
day. The truth, however, is that human beings have two tendencies - to
cooperate in interdependent, mutually supportive ways and to grow as
autonomous individuals. Cultures must balance these tendencies or
expressions and as a minimum you can say there should be 51% collective
interest and 49% individual interest. Western thought entrenches in an
unharmonic way the individualistic mode, but 70% of the world in
contrast live in collectivist cultures. Western ideologies distinguish
out the ego as being of main importance. This is a gross failure in
understanding psychology and the overall aspects of consciousness that
make up the human being. The tragic result is disharmony.

Even mildly progressive political parties have succumbed to the notion

that individual right are the moral law and that human rights are to do
with individual freedom, but at the same time they try to promote
ecological and environmental values. However, if a holistic
perspective is not adopted by taking account the totality of existence,
a progressive ideology and understanding will not arise.

Loss of Ecological Balance or "Pramá"

Life on Planet Earth exists in an inter-connected web of living

organisms with their surroundings in a state of dynamic balance.
Nothing in Nature is static or unchanging. The struggle to survive, the
interdependence of animal and plant species, the rapid adaptation to
suddenly changing conditions caused by the seasons, storms, fire,
floods and other phenomena reflect the constant dynamism of Nature.

P. R. Sarkar introduced a Sanskrit word, pramá, which means dynamic

equilibrium and dynamic equipoise, to describe this relationship of
shifting, vibrant forces. It is a good description of the natural
environment. The interdependence and interrelation of all different
forms of life is astounding. From the single cell bacteria to the most
complex animals, each creature inhabits its niche and plays its unique
role. The cycles of birth, life, death and decay continue in a
fluctuating state of balance. In fact, one can view Nature as a factory
that produces no waste at all - everything is recycled.

There are presently about 40,000 species of vertebrate animals, 250,000

species of plants and several million species of insects and
micro-organisms inhabiting our planet. Each species depends on others,
so the extinction of one may itself cause the extinction of up to ten
others. Unfortunately today, at the beginning of the twenty-first
century, it is estimated that 15% of the world's organisms will
probably become extinct over the next 20 years. Human beings have
polluted and destroyed natural habitats, flora and fauna to such an
extent that the very potential of our planet to sustain life is
threatened. Acid rain, rising temperatures caused by the greenhouse
effect, ozone depletion, deforestation and desertification are all
dangerous ills that extend far beyond national boundaries, endangering
everyone.

Nature has lost its pramá, its dynamic equipoise, because our human
society has also lost its balance. The lack of pramá or balance and
equipoise in society is apparent in all three spheres of existence -
physical, mental and spiritual. This imbalance has occurred in both
individual life and collective life.

According to Sarkar, when pramá is lost, the system passes through

three stages: first derangement, then disruption and finally
degeneration. This means that when balance is lost, first the biosystem
or social system is disturbed, then its normal functioning is forced to
drastically change, and finally its very existence is endangered. In
the words of Sarkar, "Human society today has reached the state of
degeneration. As a result, the human society is lost in the wilderness
of economic bankruptcy, social unrest, cultural degeneration and
religious superstition." (Prama, 1987)

Examples of this loss are not hard to find in our human society:
intolerance, breakdown of the family, exploitation, religious
fanaticism, widespread pornography and exploitation of women, drug and
alcohol abuse, ever-rising crime rates, children killing other
children, child slavery, environmental destruction.

This same type of breakdown can be observed taking place in the lives
of countless individuals. For example, first nervousness, confusion,
adopting unhealthy habits; then distrust, selfishness, self-destructive
behaviour, lack of purpose, recklessness, uncontrollable anger; and
finally hopelessness, depression, thoughts of suicide. Mental problems
are now considered the norm amongst 25% of the population, as if this
is to be accepted and lived with rather than transcended.

How Pramá Can Be Restored

To restore pramá in individual life requires adopting a wholesome

lifestyle. Eating a nutritious and balanced diet, doing regular
physical exercise, abstaining from tobacco and intoxicants, being part
of a positive support group or community, volunteering service to the
needy, doing some type of daily silent meditation - all these are
essential to good health, a balanced mind and inner fulfilment. The
fear in not doing so is merely the protection of the ego - a
constricted view is felt to be safe, while an expansive or holistic
view is seen as too challenging.

To restore pramá in collective life, a step-by-step approach is also

necessary. First, balance must be restored in the physical sphere of
society. This requires us to make it a priority to create an economy in
which the minimum necessities of life are available to every human
being: adequate food and water, clothing, housing, medical care and
both primary and secondary education.

Proper balance must also be re-established in each related field. For

example, the agricultural system of each country or bio-region must be
redesigned to sustainably provide a sufficient supply of the basic
foodstuffs for the entire present population and its future growth.
Only after this goal is achieved should the export of excess food be
permitted.

Industries must be redesigned to provide appropriate technology to meet

the basic needs of the local population. Converting profit-motivated
companies into service-oriented, locally-managed industrial
cooperatives can accomplish this. Each industrial enterprise must also
be environmentally safe.

To restore pramá on the mental level, we must encourage the local

languages, culture and wisdom of indigenous peoples - with cardinal
human values being the common human guidance. This will lead to a
strong sense of cultural identity and eliminate inferiority complexes
caused by indoctrination of the current dominant culture. A politically
independent higher educational system that is free from all kinds of
dogmas is also essential.

On the spiritual level, society must encourage tolerance of different

beliefs and religious traditions, and these must move ahead into the
realm of pure spiritual understanding, along with free instruction in
universal spiritual practices being made available to all.

Finally, the balanced physical, mental and spiritual realms must be

integrated to create a healthy, holistic society. These steps are
needed to completely transform the present materialistic society into a
spiritually-oriented, global human family.

Meditation

In the struggle for peace and justice in the world, we should not
neglect our own peace within. Human beings possess an inherent thirst
for profound peace and happiness. External objects cannot satisfy this
inner longing, because the pleasure they offer is only temporary;
instead we have to journey within ourselves to find that peace and
happiness.

Meditation is a profound practice dating back thousands of years, that

has been evolved by mystics to help those who want to make this
journey. The process is fundamentally simple: by closing your eyes,
sitting straight and still, breathing deeply and concentrating the mind
according to special techniques, you can gradually achieve deep peace
and fulfilment.

Meditation is a form of deep reflection on who we really are, a

procedure for revealing hidden aspects of our identity and expanding
our consciousness. It is known as the science of intuition, because it
develops our higher levels of awareness. By penetrating beneath the
social conditioning of everyday thoughts, meditation frees the mind
from repressive dogmas. It can help us see through the veil of
legitimacy that exploiters and opportunists use to cover their
destructive and selfish deeds.

Meditation offers many personal benefits as well: overcoming anger and

aggression; cultivating will power and self-control; improving
self-esteem and mental health; increasing memory and concentration;
surmounting insomnia, depression and loneliness; overcoming
inferiority, superiority, fear, guilt and other complexes; calming the
mind; expanding understanding and tolerance; developing a balanced,
integrated personality; and awakening wisdom, compassion and love.

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, the founder of Prout, was also a spiritual

master who had the goal of creating a spiritually-based society. The
field of transpersonal psychology recognizes six elements common to
authentic spiritual practice:
- Ethics: purifying our moral character so that we do not harm others
- Emotional transformation: moving from a negative emotional outlook to
a positive one
- Attentional training: learning to calm, centre, and direct our mind
in order to master and transform it
- Redirecting motivation: purifying our intention, and moving away from
selfish desire, towards selfless service
- Perceptual refinement: developing the ability to tune in to the
subconscious layers of our mind
- Cultivation of wisdom: realizing ancient universal truths and
cultivating unconditional love for others.

These six elements are integral to any authentic meditation practice.

They illustrate well the link between personal spiritual development
and social change. The world needs not only new social and economic
structures that are just and democratic, it also needs people who are
better, stronger and less selfish. For this we need to make systematic,
liberating changes in ourselves. Revolution begins from within.

Prout, the Progressive Utilization Theory, is the socio-economics of

all-round liberation. Therefore Prout advocates economic liberation for
all, not economic liberalism. As a socio-economic theory, Prout is not
concerned solely with economics but encompasses the whole of human
individual and collective existence - physical, social, political,
mental, cultural and spiritual - within the paradigm of integrated
growth. The cardinal values of Prout are those of neo-humanism, which
takes into consideration the good and happiness of all living beings;
plants, animals and human beings.

Adapted from "After Capitalism - Prout's Vision for a New World",

Dada Maheshvarananda, Proutist Universal Publications
Copenhagen, Washington DC, New Delhi