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Harmonious Civilization. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects. By Dr. Leo Semashko and 119 participants from 34 countries. The first publication in Russia. - St.-Petersburg, Publishing house "Lita", 2009 - 254 p. ISBN – 978-5-288-03544-1 A book review by Eduard Soroko, Ph.D., The modest published book, offered to a reader, is such only in its form; in its content it is unique and unprecedented. It is concentrated and succinct; it is simultaneously a Project, a Program, Strategy and Model of organizing and acting the whole human civilization, which aspires to the state typical for a border of millenniums, reaching naturally, by objective law of self-organization of complicated systems. The authors have rightly named this state as Harmonious Civilization to which the social evolution aspires. Have we a right to talk of the fact that just this state being reached by modern society evolutionarily becomes a reality? Is it not a phantom and vain invention of modern scientists? Itisnotso! Variety of objective signs is available, which indicate that former ways of social organization of people and state structure have sputtered out. The society has quite matured for passing to this principally new phase. It alone can systematically guarantee the full safety, opening the way to stable future. As early as Marx talked about closeness of that time when the society would pass from prehistory to its own history. Really, it is a transition from variety of local societies separated from each other to the integrated planetary social organism named Harmonious Civilization, which is associated with a musical ensemble of different peoples and cultures. Every year it declares about itself more insistently. That is why it is time to put a question about this state fundamentally, in maximal degree, what the authors do. The Harmony could take place there, where there are contradictions and variety:non-contradictory and uniform things have no need of harmonization. What is the situation in the society to-day? In addition to two main historically formed ideologies, i.e. materialism and idealism, the third is added – Harmonizm. Itsbasisisinformationasharmonizedlimitedvariety. Invariant aspect of any system is its structure, which always has a certain level of variety. The system has obtained unbalanced state, necessary for its effective vital activity, by its harmonization. Thereby it finds an optimal regime of existence differing by functional quality. (E.M.Soroko. Structureharmonyofsystems. Minsk, 1984. This book was republished in updated form in 2006 and 2009 in Moscow. Also see books by V.A.Ganzen, V.T.Meshcheraykov, L.M.Semashko, A.P.Stakhov, V.P.Shestakov, S. Colman, R. Haase, H. Laue, C. Linn and many others authors, which devoted to harmony). The authors of the book have planned a series of organization forms, by virtue of which the ideas of harmony and harmony culture of humanity should get control over the World. Firstly, these are projects and books revealing the social harmony from scientific positions and oriented to practice, which open the new Age of Enlightenment and Harmony Renaissance. Secondly it is re-organization of educational space and educational process, their saturation with knowledge of Harmony, its laws and processes of formation, its universal character in the world of nature and society; it is organization of Academies, schools and other institutions of harmonious education. Thirdly, it is organization of net of consulting Harmony Centers for population. Fourthly, it is organization of festivals, Forums, Congresses of Harmony as a new form of exhibiting and marketing activity at different levels. Fifthly, these are sociological researches of dynamics of the population spheral classes in different countries for 50-40-year period. At last, sixthly, it is development of harmonious democracy together with development of political support for Harmony globalization by International Club-2009 and national political Centers of Harmonious Civilization. It must promote to harmonization of the world society on the principles of inter-assistance and inter-approval. Mankind has left agrarian and industrial patterns behind. In accordance with Alvin Toffler’ conclusions they formed two waves of development of civilized attitudes. The second wave was created by “thinkers - Carthusians”, whose main tool is analitizm. Itscoreinpoliticsis “Separateanddominate!”In due time Immanuel Kant came to a decision that analysis did not give knowledge, knowledge was given by synthesis. So, harmony integrity, immanent to synthesis of the whole as unity of diversity, which is presented in the book, should become the common property of our time, for the love of us ourselves and non-admission of degeneration. This is one of civilization tasks of the Third wave or information society, because information is limited diversity subjected to harmonization. The present Third wave, according to Alvin Toffler, is created by “thinkers - systems analysts”. “Democrats and republicans, Tory and Labourists, Christian Democrats and de Gaullists, liberals and socialists, communists and conservatives… are parties of the Second wave. They all, deceiving for power… participate in conservation of dying industrial order” (A. Toffler. The Third Wave. Moscow, 2004, 687 p., in Russian). In reviewed book the four-dimensional sphere approach based on tetra-methodology beginning in Pythagoras’ quaternion, four elements by Empedocles, four attributes of harmonious man by Plato, Aristotle, Vitruvius, Leonardo, Jung etc. Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology composing Tetrism as ideology of four-dimensional pluralism have been built on the basis of this approach.They have natural grounds: a man has only four languages to enter the World and communicate with it. They are languages of science (here the mind is main) as mean for talking a man and Nature; languages of art (here feelings are main), which according to Mussorgsky “are a mean to talk to people but not an aim”; religious language (here a faith is main) as a mean for talking a man and God; at last, a meditation which is inseparable from internal speech of a man, when he communicates to himself (here a will, itsrise and hardening to strengthen self-sustainability and self-possession are main). These languages cover everything what do a man to be a man. The choice of four main spheres of social and individual being as a basis, even under divisiveness of their concrete determinations, is perspective to build a theory and to develop the harmony ideology. Concrete determinations of these spheres in this book are certainly far from perfection. The main intellectual achievement of the book, which makes it unprecedented, follows from this approach. It consists in formation of a new paradigm (level) of thinking, which is named by its authors “tetral, i.e. fourdimensional network harmonious thinking” or shortly: “Tetranet thinking”. They have defined it as “ideology of a harmonious civilization or harmonism” (The book, p. 221). This thinking is philosophically expressed in four fundamental spheres of being, logically presented in four-dimensional dialectic models, is socially revealed in four spheres of society and corresponding sphere classes of population as eternal actors of social harmony. However, throughout all the history, up to occurrence of social harmony science, they remain unconscious, spontaneous, that is why they are violent actors. And only with occurrence and mastering by this science through global harmonious education they become conscious, hence, nonviolent and eternally peaceful actors. Therefore we should underline the special importance of effort concentration on development of the harmony science with its pre-established applied orientation because transformation of spontaneous actors of harmony into the conscious ones begins with it. The key role in this science is played by opening sphere classes of the population which differ not by private criteria of possession with property or by stratification signs, but by employment in one of four spheres of social production opened as far back as Marx in “German Ideology” in 1845. However, he went from them to allocation of one, primary, sphere of economy and three others as secondary spheres derivative of them. It limited his class theory by economic sphere and division of classes only by private economic sign of property. In tetrasociology the sphere classes differ by universal criterion of people basic employment in one of four spheres of social production. All people are occupied in all spheres, but in different measure and degree at different stages of their life. It is a universal law, which any person cannot leave while one lives. Therefore the division of people into sphere classes by employment basis is universal and makes these classes "soft". In this division the harmonious nature of sphere classes is revealed as equally necessary and sufficient partners of the social harmony excluding class struggle between them, because existence and prosperity of each class depends on existence and prosperity of others. Allocation of 20 fundamental elements (spheres) with deep structure of social harmony and the laws connecting them (p. 201-208) in tetrasociology really transforms the theoretical sociology into science. Tetrasociology, on the one hand, finishes the search of scientific theoretical sociology which was began by Marx and continued by Weber, Parsons, Bourdieu, Toffler and other outstanding social theorists of 19 and 20 centuries, and on the other hand, starts development of scientific sociology. As any initial scientific theory, it certainly contains many conceptual defects and is provided by obviously insufficient empirical basis but these omissions will be overcome on a way of its further development in infinite search of measure to selfrestrict of fundamental elements of harmony. The social world as well as space is various in all its displays, it evolutionally aspires to find a harmonious condition within variety restriction. Building a social being with priority of creative potential of a man, here it is important to bring relative density of disharmony in relation to harmony to weighed gold parity, that social co-evolution would find dynamic stability by creating reliable guarantees for the future, otherwise which may not to be for humanity. Therefore the essence of harmony is a measure which scientific understanding demands not only definition of its qualitative elements but also mathematical and statistical tools. These tools essentially differ from traditional ones and are presented in the book in the corresponding fundamentals of tetramathematics and tetrastatistics (p. 210-214). Each of these new scientific disciplines has its long and difficult prehistory. So, the basis of tetra-mathematics is the harmony mathematics developed successfully and widely by Alexey Stakhov for many years (p. 215), who is one of coauthors of this book. Fractal tetramathematics of social harmony is developed on this base (p. 216). Certainly, the mathematics of harmony in these variants just begins and so far contains more questions than answers. It allows asserting that in the reviewed book we find all necessary bases, both qualitative and quantitative, of a social theoretical science which simultaneously appears a science of social harmony. It is possible to assume that this science could be born only together with a birth of harmonious civilization within the industrial one. Authors of the book connect its birth with two global events: the consent in 2009 of two most powerful nuclear powers of Russia and the USA to reach ‘nuclear zero’, i.e. full nuclear disarmament and creation of the social harmony science presented in the reviewed book. From here, obviously, the new Age of Enlightenment and Harmony Renaissance will originate, which is connected with the accelerated development and intensive distribution of scientific knowledge of social harmony, including its mathematics, through the most various educational institutes. Authors of the book consider this way to be a key in formation of new civilization; it is hardly possible to challenge: the harmonious civilization can be established only harmoniously, i.e. scientifically, consciously, without revolutions, and, hence, only nonviolently, through corresponding scientific knowledge, which was absent and could not be present at all previous civilizations. Eduard Soroko, Doctor of Philosophy, senior scientist of the Institute of Philosophy, Byelorussia, Minsk, åmail: eduard_soroko@mail.ru. Web: http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=351 – in Russian Translated in English by Marina Arsenchuk
April 24, 2010 Publication: http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=407 ----------------------------------------------------------------
Saint-Petersburg News (in Russian)
Issue ¹ 049 on March23, 2010 The Harmoniously Developed During five last years the World just did that proved its mental illness: new countries proclaimed themselves as nuclear weapon states; the leaders chaffered about the Kyoto Protocol; terrorists frightened even calm London; in France non-title population started “ a war of suburbs”… As you know, in Russia not everything is well. It is a crisis. Meanwhile during those 5 years 350 scientists, writers, artists, musicians and other creative persons from 48 countries developed the ways ofmankind harmonization with specially made site www.peacefromharmony.org; they entitled themselves as Global Harmony Association and wrote letters to UN, UNESCO, among the latter – a letter to Barac Obama (they received the answer, but of general character,such as “peace for the World”, to Dmitry Medvedev (without answer); published theirproceedingsand suggested the Projects not small in their swing to leaders of states and international organizations. Our observer Anastasia Dolgosheva decided that so enviable persistence together with idealism worth meeting once more to one of founder member of the Association, philosopher Leo Semashko, well he is a Petersburger. – Leo, your five-year period was marked by publishing “summarizing’ book of the ASSOCIATION - “Harmonious Civilization. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects”. Everyone claims about innovations, and do you also? – Naturally, a new thing – is well forgotten old thing. But ancient people understood the harmony rather as ideal, desire. And in XXI century the harmony becomes necessity, otherwise one cannot survive in this global village. Now the harmony demands not intuitive but scientific understanding.Once Democritus distinguished an idea of “atom” i. e. “indivisible”, but it was structured only two and half thousand years later, and the harmony can be also structured - to find the mechanism of its consummation. – But you said not once: we have been educated by industrial society, where the harmony cannot be talked about. – Corruption, weapon, oligarchic appetites and other extremes are our life standards. All the global initiatives including ecological and climatic ones are poultice on a wooden leg, because the existing civilization puts to rights with one hand, and destroys it with the other hand. Our civilization has a priority – profit at all hazards, and the harmony (including economic one) can be reached, only when it is subjected to total social harmony. In this sense both socialism in Soviet understanding (with absence of property) and capitalism (with tendency to unlimited property) are unviable systems. The third way should exist. We call it “way of harmonious civilization”, it is constructed on equal division of power between four sphere classes. – It is worth to remind your theory. – People can be divided into antagonistic classes – conditionally, “the poor and the rich”, also they can be divided into four spheres of social production; they are not at enmity, because they cannot exist without each other. The first sphere is that of social reproduction: family, school, public health service etc.; the second one is information (its subject is different information from scientific achievements to art creations); the third one is political or organizing (with its institutes of politics, law, finances, management etc); the fourth one is a material or technical (its subject is material amenities from piece of bread to megalopolises). The resources of these spheres are necessary for every man. That is why we cannot be without each other. There is a Buddhist apologue: people sat around a huge pot of food, each held a spoon with long handle and so much longer than their arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths and suffer from hunger, because they could scoop food but could not put it into one’s mouth. And other people sat around another pot of food with the same long-handled spoons and they were happy and well-nourished because they fed each other. You feed and you will be fed. Your well-being depends on others within those sphere classes. Moreover, each of us sometimes functions as a person of these spheres, you cook a soup, teach your child, manage with your family budget etc. It is necessary that, conditionally, places in the parliament would be distributed not among parties but among these four sphere classes equally. – You are idealists, by heaven. The UN is concerned about peace and friendship, but you even have no leverages. – Now the society is industrial but becomes information to be harmonious later. During five years the number of our site visitors has reached near 700 thousand in the past year. It is an instrument. Our site has 350 authors, they are individual members of the Association, if we include collective members here, the number will be near million. The number of languages of published documents has increased from 3 to 17. – About five-year anniversary of the Association. What was the beginning? – It was an idea. In 2002 I published the book about the theory of four sphere classes “Tetrasociology. Responses to Challenges” and visited with it the World Sociological Congress in Australia. There I got acquainted with Bernard Scott, Doctor of Sociology, England; Reimon Bachika, Doctor of Sociology, Japan, and others. We became to intercommunicate as researchers. In 2004 at the Congress of other international sociologist society I got acquainted with Professor Ada Aharoni, well-known Israeli poetess, President of International Forum “For culture of Peace”. We got friends. Step by step the whole net of like-minded persons has been created: one – Dr. Charles Mercieca has created the International Association of Educators for World Peace in USA since 1967, another – Dr. Ernesto Kahan has united writers during more than 10 years in Israel, the third – Debra Giusti has organized the Festivals of Harmony in California since 1978…
Finally, a thought was born: we aspire that, simply stated, the World becomes better – and we need to unite. It was an association of scientists, artists, writers, politics – any intellectuals. A site of our works came into being. During five years we have elaborated 19 educational and political Projects. Among the latest - initiation of “ Club-2009 for harmonious civilization” (it is named so because in 2009 presidents of Russia and USA agreed about the Conception of the Total nuclear disarmamentand, as we believe, the science of harmonious civilization was created). Thereisanideatounitein this Club the politicsofthosecountrieswherepeacefulharmoniousdecisions were accepted.For example, in Japan in 1947 the Constitution prohibiting a war decision of conflicts was adopted; in India Gandhi won independency peacefully; Costa Rica is the first country in the world which canceled its Army. In USA Congressman Denis Kucinich has worked during last two years at bill of creation a Peace Department at the USA Government… We are going to send letters with this initiative to 15 governments. As for our plans for the next five years, here they are: to pass from ideas to actions. Translated in English by Marina Arsenchuk April 10, 2010 Publication: http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=407 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview about Harmonious Civilization
Dear friends and colleagues!
I glad to inform you, that on March 23 in the most known newspaper of St.-Petersburg (the population about 5 million) “St.-Petersburg News” on page 4 is published the interview of young talented journalist Anastasia Dolgosheva with me under the significant title: "The harmoniously developed". Certainly, this definition is given our Harmony Association with advances and reflects not a reality but only our purpose and aspiration. The word “harmonious" isolates also from the sad associations with the “developed socialism”.
The main dignity of interview consists in its width and the positive attentive relation, however, not without a share of irony and criticism. In it many names are mentioned: Medvedev and Obama Presidents, sociologists Bernard Scott from England and Reimon Bachika from Japan, Mahatma Gandhi and congressman Denis Kucinich; poetesses Ada Aharoni from Israel and ancient Greek Democritus; many countries: Russia, USA, India, Japan, Costa Rica; many events: nuclear disarmament, Harmony Festivals in California, International Political Club-2009 for a harmonious civilization; and the main thing – the basic ideas of social harmony which found development in our GHA for 5 years. My sincere gratitude Anastasia for her valuable and important for townspeople interview.
Article can be found in Russian on the site: http://www.spbvedomosti.ru, in Archive for March 23 or to addresses: http://www.spbvedomosti.ru/article.htm? id=10265308@SV_Articles and
http://peacefromharmony.org/? cat=ru_c&key=434. We will try to translate this interview into English and other languages of our website.
Dr. Leo Semashko,
GHA President
24/03/10 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Responses to Dr. Leo Semashko’s interview about the harmonious civilization published in the newspaper “St.-Petersburg News” from March 23, 2010: http://www.spbvedomosti.ru/article.htm?id=10265308@SV_Articles. Dear Dr. Leo Semashko and all Please accept our admiration!It's nice news for GHA to be published in the most known newspaper of St.-Petersburg. Dr. Bernard Scott, Prof. Reimon Bachika, Dr. Ada Aharoni and you, all is walking on the harmonious way with Mahatma Gandhi, it would sounds wonderful peace. Sincerely yours,Kae Morii, Poet, World Academy of Arts and Culture, Japan 24/03/10 -------------------------------------------------- Well done, Leo! Best wishes, Dr. Bernard Scott, sociologist, President, RC51 on Sociocybernetics, International Sociological Association, England, 24/03/10 ----------------------------------------------------- Dear Leo: Thanks for this wonderful news. To reach the whole world fast and smooth relative to the importance of diffusing peace and harmony around the world, we need to use the news media to the best we can. You did just that. Congratulations. Dr. Charles Mercieca, President, International Association of Educators for World Peace, USA, 24/03/10 ---------------------------------------------------- Dear Leo It’s good to know about your interview. In a way it can be accepted as a pioneering effort to spread up the ideology of peace and harmony to the people of Russia. My poetry on peace and harmony is also displayed in the commemorative volume of a journal of Basanti Devi College. Thanks and best wishes. Dr. Maitreyee Roy, Basanti Devi College Principal, Kolkata, India 24/03/10 ----------------------------------------------------- Dear Leo: My heartiest congratulations for your press coverage of “The Harmoniously Developed" in St.-Petersburg News. It is this kind of publicity that will bring awareness about global harmony to the rest of the world. If the English translation becomes available soon I can send a copy to congressman Denis Kucinich. With warmest regards, Dr. Laj Utreja, President, GHA-USA 24/03/10 ----------------------------------------------------- CONGRATULATIONS!!! Leo, you are always doing great things. We are proud of you. Prof. Ernesto Kahan, Vice President, World Academy of Arts and Culture, Israel, 25/03/10 ---------------------------------------------------- This idea of the Harmonious civilization, of course, reminds, Quixote. But it is necessary to reflect slightly and ask to myself a question where we want to grow our children and the hand rises at once upwards, as at voting. As a matter of fact, Leo Semashko – is right … Can really it is necessary to make the first steps towards to the future and at least to learn our children by Harmony. To live in harmony with himself and world around not too difficultly, if to learn to respect not only the own WORLD, but the WORLD of the neighbor! Nina Yudina, Poet, Russia, 25/03/10 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Leo, Great, thanks for sharing. Best, Dr. Matjaz Mulej, Economist, Slovenia, 25/03/10 -------------------------------------------------- Sometimes congratulations, the media belong to our universe, for best or worst. but, one will not complain, when acting humanism is developed! Friendships and respect.Guy CREQUIE, Poet, World Academy of Arts and Culture, France, 25/03/10 -------------------------------------------- Congratulations, Leo! Dr. Renato Corsetti, President, World Esperanto Association, Italy, 25/03/10 --------------------------------------------- Good day, Leo! I read your interview. Your (and your colleagues on GHA) position is close and clear to me. Especially in interview I liked a Buddhist parable. But, unfortunately, I am afraid, as at mutual feeding at a thesis priority "satisfaction of constantly growing MATERIAL needs", Malthus will be right and we are waited by destiny of dinosaurs … Yours faithfully, Dr. Victor Konovalenko, President, Academy of Technical Creativity, Russia, 26/03/10 ------------------------------------------------ Dear Dr. Leo Semashko Congratulations for wonderful news the Interview of Harmonious Civilization!!! With respect and world Harmony. Taki Yuriko, Poet, Japan 28/03/10 ----------------------------------------
Dr. Matjaz Mulej HARMONIOUS CIVILIZATION By: Dr. Leo Semashko and 119 coauthors from 34 countries (Publishing House 'Lita', St.-Petersburg, 2009, 254 pages, ISBN – 978-5-288-03544-1 ) The essence of this interesting book can be collected in its introductory part as follows. The industrial civilization of so far is too one-sided rather than based on holistic, i.e. systemic behavior to go on flourishing, be it called capitalistic or socialistic. The modern dilemma is another – industrialism or harmony globalization. Its process of making has been running step by step over the recent few decades. It is especially marked by falling apart of the Soviet Union in early 1990s. The point is in the global harmonious change. Its historic meaning and importance can be summarized in the following four points. 1. The modern harmonious change is characterized by two opposite properties. on the one hand, from the viewpoint of diversity, place, time, quality, degree and intensity of the achievements and directions of harmonization, it is chaotic and disharmonious process of bifurcation of an industrial society or industrialism. on the other hand, all directions of harmonization have a united quality of non-violence and common vector toward harmony. This allows the authors to unite all similar, while unsystematic, directions and their achievements in the general tendency of ‘global harmonious change’ (‘harmonious revolution’) as a transition from the industrial to an information harmonious civilization or harmonism. This civilization is born from chaos of industrialism and its spontaneous directions toward harmonization. History transforms chaos into harmony. It occurs through a birth among a number of achievements and directions of harmonization (65 of them are pictured in the book: p.15-20) a science of social and individual harmony, which Semashko has authored as Tetrasociology. The latter allows humans to understand the fundamental elements and laws of harmony, and hence to manage them. In this way the spontaneous chaos turns to conscious harmony. The epoch of harmonious civilization of humanity is coming. 2. The global harmonious change of modernity is a harmony alternative to disharmony of the two basic forms of industrialism: capitalism and socialism. The real alternative of modernity is not making the alternative capitalism vs. socialism as both of them are identical in their industrial chaotic state and they differ only by priority of private or state ownership. The real alternative of modernity is made the alternative of industrialism vs. harmonism. The property issue is not crucial. But the question of organization or integrity (whole) of all life of humanity, including property as a subordinated aspect is the key. The spontaneous market and competitive organization of industrialism exhausted itself. It is not capable of answering to the global challenges; therefore it gradually gives the way to the conscious (controllable) market and competitive cum partner organization of harmonism. The given 65 achievements of global harmony testify about increase, acceleration, and strengthening of the harmonious alternative. The harmony alternative aspires to harmony of alternatives, to harmony of their diversity and plurality, presented in the cases provided in the book (p.14). 3. The global harmonious change of modernity historically comes in the stead capitalism and socialism confrontation in the 20th century. Their alternative dominated until 1989. Since 1990, with collapse of world socialist system of the Soviet Bloc and Yugoslavia, and with the notable approach of information society (as a visible sign of the innovative and increasingly requisitely holistic society) a change of alternatives has starting to come –from one-sidedness to requisite holism, called the switch from industrialism to harmonism. – Since 1990, humankind has entered essentially a new epoch, consisting of two basic long-term tendencies connected by two opposing civilization processes: decline of the industrial civilization, and rising of the harmonious civilization. The industrial civilization trend leads humanity to self-destruction. Threats of humankind’s self-destruction are shown by the expansion and strengthening of the following dangerous factors: nuclear weaponry, environmental pollution, climate change, corruption, a growing gap between rich and poor countries and humans, terrorism, pornography and violence on the Internet, corporate conglomeration of television and other mass media, armed confrontation between nations and local civilizations. They are expressed especially sharply in the global crises that involve abuses regarding economics, currency, power, food, demographics, politics, and values. The harmonious civilization trend leads humanity on the qualitatively new, unknown, historical step of global peace, common good and sustainable harmony development. This tendency of the modern epoch is expressed in the given 65 achievements and directions of the global harmonization. They define the basic quality of the modern epoch (p.14). Harmonism is the third way of social development of humanity’s alternative to capitalism and socialism. It presents a synthesis of the achievements of capitalism and socialism at a qualitatively new level of the global information (as a visible sign of the innovative and increasingly requisitely holistic society) and harmonious civilization (as a visible sign of the innovative and increasingly requisitely holistic society). 4. The global harmonious change of modernity, presented in this book by the given 65 achievements and directions, expresses a rise of culture of harmonism or culture of a harmonious civilization (p.15). This culture is, first of all, a culture of harmonious peace as the major characteristic of harmonious holistic humanity. The culture of harmonism excludes wars and violence. It replaces dominating industrial culture of war and industrial peace culture subordinated to it as a break between wars and preparations for them. The culture of harmonism is also culture of a conscious sustainable development of humanity, which the industrial culture cannot provide. The culture of harmonism provides the common good and prosperity to all nations, but the industrial culture has been unable to provide it. The culture of harmonism is able to solve all global problems on all aspects of holistic humanity. This culture is expressed in the cases in the book. It is born in all spheres of humanity. It arises in the modern epoch changing its quality and giving to it character of an epoch of global harmonization. The historical meaning and importance of harmonious change of modernity consists in it. Bertalanffy would be happy and glad to see this book, so would several other pioneers of systems theory and cybernetics who did not care for careful description of a given (social) part of the natural attributes from a single selected viewpoint, but wanted to attain more holism in understanding of human behavior. Humboldt who was publicly fighting against one-sidedness of the narrow specialists in the 19th century, although without much success, would be happy, too. The crisis they have been seeing can receive a new, real solution. It looks still as a dream, but dreams are the basis for a new reality. Especially the dreams are so that can show their background in as many cases as this theory can. Dr. Matjaz Mulej Professor Emeritus of Systems and Innovation Theory, University of Maribor, Slovenia, Faculty of Economics & Business. M.A. in Development Economics, Doctorates in Systems Theory and in Management. He has +1.400 publications in +40 countries (see: IZUM – Cobiss, 08082). Author of the Dialectical Systems Theory (see: François, 2004, Int. Encyclopaedia). Member of New York Academy of Sciences (1996), European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Salzburg, European Academy of sciences and Humanities, Paris.President of IFSR: International Federation for Systems Research. E-mail: mulej@uni-mb.si; Web: http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=64 03/04/10 ----------------------------------------------------
A book review by Viktoryia Osipchyk “Harmonious Civilization. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects” By Dr. Leo Semashko and 119 participants from 34 countries. St.-Petersburg, "Lita", 2009, 254 p. The book of Global Harmony Association (GHA) “Harmonious Civilization” is undoubtedly interested for reader’s community; in any case it leaves indifferent nobody. Abundance of different projects concerning the inoculation of Global Harmony idea impresses. This idea in itself inspires respect. It should be noted that some projects are declarative; they are more like certain versions of possible positive strategy of developing the modern world. Undoubtedly the idea of global harmonious development is a high axiological landmark. But unfortunately the declaration of an idea does not mean its incarnation. But even there is its implementation, it does not mean well-known result. History is familiar with such examples. Some projects are short of analytical intensity and elaborated versions. Although from an ethical standpoint, in view of a moral responsibility for the World, where we live, there is vast potential in each of these projects and, of course, in letters by GHA members. I believe that orientation to such high ideal as Harmonious Civilization is inherent to mankind as such (that matter is in basis for analyzing and conclusions about ideal human orientations). The innovation element of GHA projects is in exclusive assurance in possibility to implement of these projects and in conviction that “harmonious” result will be obtained after realization of the projects. In this case I would like to hope that such implementation is possible, though the analysis of the projects does not give such assurance. I believe that deficiency of accountability in step description of the projects and their insignificant pretension does not allow obtaining real support of political leaders and necessary financing for some projects. But undoubtedly this book contains many useful and important ideas which force to reflect over actual world problems and possibility of modern World rearrangement. Separate attention should be devoted to that part of the book, where the principles of Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology as social Harmony science are described.It is this science that contains philosophical foundations andsociologic axioms of that fundamental knowledge which serves as the basis for building the World of social and individual harmony. Limited volume of the book has not allowed presenting this theory fully, but this chapter is an excellent introduction into Tetrasociology. Viktoryia Osipchyk PhD student of the Institute of Philosophy National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Minsk, Belarus Website www.philosophy.by osipchik@mail.ru March 25, 2010 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving Forward
: A Review of Harmonious Civilization (2009) by Leo Semashko and 119 Participants from 34 countries Review by Dominica F. McBride, Ph.D., USA Everything made by humans first began with a thought, a mental imagining or visualization, and then, with action, was manifested in physical reality. Leo Semashko and 119 participants from 34 countries, also known as the Global Harmony Association (GHA), convened to construct an amalgamation of ideas that, with action, can move towards creating a harmonious world. Harmonious Civilization is a detailed and comprehensive collection of past, present, future, organic and philosophical ideas for creating or uncovering the latent harmony that exists naturally in the universe. Dr. Semashko and other GHA members collaborated to construct a possible path to a holistically harmonious future. on this path lay all spheres of life, from the social and economic to the ecological and organic. Leo et al. poignantly and assertively delineate several aspects of a solution to the problem of perpetual conflict and targeted neglect (resulting in tragedies like mass starvation).Through radical measures towards harmony, including Harmon (i.e., a currency and tool to establish economic equality, thus, furthering holistic equity) and the World Harmony/Peace Academy, this book elucidates creative ventures in establishing order and peace. It also provides various communications between GHA members and other leadership, such as Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, offering examples for others to follow in the movement towards harmony. While this book supplies a plethora of creative and provocative ideas and progressive action steps, it falters in its ability to explain each notion presented in laymen’s terms. Using bombastic and erudite language can deter some who may be the ones to implement the mission of the organization and identified sentiments. However, each work of art, piece of literature, and scholarly project is made for a certain purpose or to reach a particular audience. Such is true for Harmonious Civilization. This book appears to be a call to leaders to apply the steps and presented ideas. It is a philosophical journey, a demonstration of comprehensive communication, and a directive for others (particularly leaders) to hopefully follow. Each person is born with a unique, inherent combination of skills, which demonstrate the need and value of community. Some are born with the talent to write; some with the talent to build; others with the skill to implement an idea. Members of GHA have exhibited their talent to construct philosophical ideas and comprehensively detail steps in progressing towards pervasive harmony. It is up to the reader and associates to be proactive in moving forward and building on this philosophical foundation. 05/02/10 -----------------------------------------------------------
Making Harmony Operational
Rene Wadlow* Harmonious civilization. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects Dr. Leo Semashko and 119 Participants from 34 Countries. (St. Petersburg: LITA Publishing, 2009, 254pp.) Harmony is a recurrent theme in Russian thought.Harmony is seen as the essence of the world of both nature and humans. Harmony is understandable through higher consciousness but is often overshadowed by temporary but strong disharmonies. Thus there is a necessity for the conscious restoration of harmony or to use a Taoist term, the cultivation of harmony. One of the pre-Revolution St. Petersburg-Moscow intellectuals to stress the concept of harmony as the nature of the world was Pyotr Denianovich Ouspensky (1878-1947). Ouspensky is often known today for his association after 1915 with Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff as recounted in his In Search of the Miraculous (1). Although Gurdjieff called his training center outside of Paris the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, his austere doctrine held that human beings are asleep, mere machines manipulated by the forces around them.Although humans believe that they are conscious and have free will, these are only illusions. Humanity’s only chance of freeing itself from this bondage is to awaken, a difficult and dangerous task requiring much work and tremendous efforts.From 1915 when Gurdjieff appeared on the scene in Moscow until his death in 1949 in Paris, Gurdjieff devoted himself to the often unrewarding task of waking up his fellow human beings. His methods involved various exercises designed to awaken the physical, emotional and mental life of his followers with techniques learned among the Sufis of Central Asia and the schools of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. Yet there was an earlier, pre-1915 Ouspensky, more optimistic, with more emphasis on harmony as the core of the world, author of Tertium Organum in 1912 (2), of Strange Life of Ivan Osokin (3), of A New Model of the Universe (4), and the translator into Russian of R.M. Bucke Cosmic Consciousness (5) Leo Semashko does not refer** to Ouspensky but has set out his own view of harmony and balance in a chapter “Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology: a Science of Social Harmony”. The basic issue is how do we make the concept of harmony operational? How do we move from situations which are obviously disharmonic so as to manifest the basic harmony which lies underneath?Or, if there is no pre-existing structure of harmony, can we create harmony through joint effort? There are two situations raised in the book that merit analysis: one a situation of disharmony of short duration but of potential danger, the other a longer-lasting situation of disharmony of even greater danger. The disharmony of short duration is the 7 August 2008 entry of Georgian armed forces into the separatist republic of South Ossetia, followed by an overwhelming response of South Ossetia’s Russian allies into both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The disharmony of long duration is the stockpile of nuclear weapons held by a small number of States and their impact on world politics. The demands of South Ossetia and Abkazia for independence from Georgia date from 1992 and the break up of the Soviet Union. However, both the South Ossetia and Abkhazia conflicts in the terminology of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were considered “frozen”, that is, no war but no settlement. The United Nations was involved in mediation between Georgia and Abkhazia, the OSCE was to mediate the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict.In May 1994, after some 13 months of fighting between Georgian and Abkhazian forces, a quadripartite agreement was signed in Geneva among the representatives of Georgia, Abkhazia, Russia and the UN. Thus from 1994 to 2008, the Abkhaz and South Ossetia conflicts had been “frozen” with some periodic meetings between government representatives and some efforts among non-governmental organizations to see if compromises could be reached.In 1994, the first Chechen war started and became the main Russian preoccupation in the Caucasus. Unfortunately, the period since 1994 has not been intellectually creative in terms of political structures or harmony cultivation in the Caucasus.Chechenya has been “pacified” by military means, but antagonism among peoples has grown. Economic stagnation has remained the dominant economic mode of Georgia. The Abkhaz and South Ossetia governments insist on independence and their independence has been recognized by Russia and a small number of other states.Milheil Saakashvili, who replaced Eduard Shevardnadze as President of Georgia, has made national unification a centrepiece of his agenda, although he would be willing to discuss Abkhaz autonomy and military confidence-building measures.In 2009, talks on the future relations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have started at the UN in Geneva. The conflicts seem again “frozen” but progress toward stable peace seems slow. Thus the importance of the ideas set out by Leo Semashko and his colleagues of the Global Harmony Association for “Russia-Georgia: Harmonization through Education instead of Militarization.” Such education works toward a new harmonious civilization, based on harmonious pluralism, which is being born painfully from within the old. The same need for education, awareness and a modification of attitudes and values holds true for the other, longer-term factor of disharmony: the presence of nuclear weapons. As Albert Schweitzer wrote “The human race must be converted to a fresh mental attitude if it is not to suffer extinction. A new renaissance, much greater than that in which we emerged from the Middle Ages, is absolutely essential. Are we going to draw from the spirit enough strength to create new conditions and turn our faces once again to civilization, or are we going to draw our inspiration from our surrounding and go down with them to ruin?” War and the potential of the use of nuclear weapons is the obvious opposite of Schweitzer’s philosophy of reverence for life.Thus, in the mid-1950s, when the political focus was on the testing in the atmosphere of nuclear weapons, Schweitzer came out strongly for the abolition of nuclear tests. His statements on the nuclear weapons issue are collected in his Peace or atomic war (6). The statements had an impact with many, touched by the ethical appeal when they had not been moved to action by political reasoning. That current of protests led to the 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which bans tests in the atmosphere — an important first step. Yet today, there are over 27,000 nuclear weapons in the world; Russia and the USA posses over ninety percent of them. The USA has about 10,000 nuclear weapons — some as battlefield ‘technical’ nukes, some in storage and several thousand mounted on fuelled, hair-trigger-to-launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.The Russians have over 15,000 nuclear weapons — also several thousand of them on fuelled, hair-trigger-alert missiles.Launch on warning continues as if the Cold War had not ended. If the US and Russia demonstrated active fulfilment of disarmament commitments, they would have the strongest argument for stopping any new proliferators.Such commitment could easily be achieved by simply de-alerting the weapons, removing the war heads from the delivery vehicles and taking them off launch-on-warning. These steps would give tremendous credence to efforts to stem proliferation. Thus the Global Harmony Association makes a particular appeal to Presidents Obama and Medvedev to take action towards a nuclear-weapon free world that President Obama has set as a goal in his 5 April 2009 speech in Prague. Nuclear disarmament needs to be part of a plan for general and complete disarmament. Disarmament requires a conscious, coordinated and concerted self-restriction of national interests and use of resources and a move toward finding common interests. There are some signs of a trend which can lead to a qualitatively new era of sustainable harmonious development which would make disarmament possible. We need to work together to strengthen these positive trends. Notes 1)In English: In Search of the Miraculous (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983) 2)In English: Tertium Organum (New York: Alfred Knopf; 1981) 3)In English Strange Life of Ivan Osokin (London: Arkana; 1987) 4)In English: A New Model of the Universe (New York: Alfred Knopf, 1969) 5)Richard Maurice Bucke Cosmic Consciousness (London: Innes & Sons, 1901) It is this first edition which Ouspensky translated into Russian. There is an enlarged 1926 Fifth edition. 6)Peace or atomic war? (New York: Henry Holt, 1958) Rene Wadlow, Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, Association of World Citizens 31/01/10 ** Leo Semashko comment. In this book I excluded the historical analysis of ideas of harmony which I made in other my book Sociology for Pragmatists (1999, in Russian). Here (p. 332) I concern Ouspensky and Gurdjieff’s four-dimensional ideas shortly. Certainly, my historical analysis is also very limited. Creation World History of Harmonious Ideas from Antiquity to Now is a question of future. Tetrasociology as a science of social and individual harmony frees representation about harmony from Ouspensky and Gurdjieff’s mystical form. But their experience, especially the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France in 1922-1932, is very interesting as a step on a way of knowledge of harmony which always interested Russian thinkers.
01/02/10
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A book review on: “HARMONIOUS CIVILIZATION. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects” By: Hon. Tatomir Ion-Marius, poet and peace activist, ROMANIA Since centuries, there is a common desire of the individual to reach Harmony and bring it in the existential plane, to have a better life, with better conditions. During the historical evolution of events and development, though opposite elements to this Ideal have been shown and brought in manifestation, Harmony hasn’t been loosed from perspective, but received a lesser importance and has been treated rather as an philosophic subject then as an realistic, practical solution to the great challenges of the Mankind. Few would imaginated that the Harmony, with so great importance for the antique democracy, could be implemented in the daily life with real impact on the life of the masses. The book “Harmonious Civilization”, conceived by 119 Global Harmony Association (GHA) members and edited under the guidance of Dr. Leo Semashko, President of the GHA, begins in opening with the touching poem of Rudyard Kipling “If”, offering an view on the Harmonious Man, which stays in equilibrium as individual, and also with the collective consciousness, bringing constructive elements in the social life through his harmonious behaviour. The poem is followed by the foreword and a list with the Participants, Authors and Endorsers of the Projects. If someone hurries to get the essence of this publication, perhaps will pass quickly over the names of contributors, but it would be a mistake; the great number of participants from various countries, from all corners of the Terra, is an signal that Humanity reached a new stage in its development, and today we are closer then ever to the Harmonious Era of the Mankind, actually, we can say, we are already at its beginning. Understanding, goodwill and cooperation in this purpose are the key-values in this process. The need for Harmony received huge dimensions in the collective consciousness plane and resonates intensely through various projects and initiatives, movements on global scale, and this book is another expression of the extraordinary shift of Mankind to the level of a Harmonious Civilization. In the beginning of the book are listed the achievements and directions of the Global Harmony since 1947 to the present and the collective projects of the GHA. Two projects are presented with importance for the global change, to be endorsed by world leaders, organizations, individuals: 1) Harmonious Civilization Universal Declaration, and 2) Global Harmony Treaty for Nuclear Disarmament. 1) Harmonious Civilization Universal Declaration defines the necessary characteristics and conditions for achieving Harmony as a reality in all spheres of the global population, with emphasis on peace resolution, peace education and active involvement to reach it. 2) Global Harmony Treaty for Nuclear Disarmament is a fundamental solution to global security, by putting and end to any nuclear menace through the Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.
These projects are analyzed and discussed by GHA members, and the projects are receiving greater sense in the light of this change of opinions, thoughts and impressions.
Global Harmony as Necessary Guarantor for World Security and Nuclear Disarmament is other main point in this book, where two documents are presented and commented: 1. Obama, USA President’s speech in Prague on 5 April 2009, and 2. The report of the FAS and NDRC. The essence of this documents is evaluated and appreciated but also completed where are missing the constructive elements to have an efficient global nuclear disarmament, and the principal conclusion is, that only Global Harmony Treaty adoption by world leaders and nations can bring relaxation on world scene, abolition forever of the nuclear weapons and peaceful cooperation emerging in World Peace and Global Harmony. Scientists, activists, persons working in different fields of the human activity are developing their points of view and conclusions on these issues. Official letters and answers are presented, communications which means a step forward of the GHA purpose.
Next chapters are treating economic (Alternative Reserve Currency of Global Harmony) and educational (World Harmony/Peace Academy and General Harmonious Education in an Information Society, Youth Cross-cultural Harmony Academy) aspects which need attention and involvement from the part of world leaders and international organizations. Harmonization as a tool for peaceful resolution (Russia – Georgia: Harmonization through Education instead of Militarization) and the project of creation of harmonization centers worldwide (WorldNet of Harmony Centers: ”GlobHarmony”) are other interesting proposals to pay attention. World Harmony/Peace Festival 2010: Revolution of advertising and exhibition activity, a meaningful project created to celebrate the Harmony (yearly) through exhibitions of the best results/creations of the social, informational, organizational, technical spheres, in the view that harmonic achievements become known, recognized, appreciated, and they may inspire others to engage in harmonious creativity, for a better, peaceful, harmonious world, in the spirit of the Harmonious Civilization. A detailed presentation of the Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology (*together: Tetrism): a Science of Social Harmony, by dr. Leo Semashko, exposes the Tetrism (harmonism), a global peace ideology that manifests within the global harmonious (sphere) classes of humanity of a harmonious civilization. Tetrasociology, social science initiated by dr. Leo Semashko, constitutes the point of depart for all main Projects of the GHA, and the geniality of this system places its Founder among the Greatest Philosophers of the Humanity. In the end of the book can be seen the profiles of 38 GHA Honorary Members and Active Participants. “Harmonious Civilization” is a proof of harmonious international cooperation and announces a new opening in the History of Humanity, that of the Harmonious Era, characterized by the Culture of Peace and Harmonic Achievements. 30/01/10 ------------------------------------------------------
“Harmonious Civilization.
Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects” By Dr. Leo Semashko and 119 participants from 34 countries. St.-Petersburg, "Lita", 2009, 255 p. A book review by Dr. Laj Utreja, USA In search for an underlying principle or a law about our observations on the various natural or man-made events and phenomena, we classify our ideas (in their various stages of development) as conjectures, hypothesis, views and theories, etc. That’s how the objective or the physical laws (such as the Newton’s Law of Gravitation, and the Newton’s Laws of Motion), the chemical laws (such as the Law of Conservation of mass and the Dalton’s Law of Multiple Proportions), the astronomical laws (such as Hubble’s Law of Galactic Motion and the Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion) are discovered. The principles and laws are nothing more than an underlying order that the constituent elements obey or follow within the domain of their applicability. The physical, chemical and astronomical laws are objective laws pertaining to the material universe and connote the inherent order for the specific physical, chemical or astronomical phenomenon. It is in following a specific law (by following the underlying order inherent in the specific material domain) that the sustainability of the specific phenomenon is assured. Therefore, it is in following all the known and the unknown laws (by following the underlying orders inherent in the material universe) that the sustainability of the universe is assured. Just as the objective laws govern the objective universe, so must there be subjective laws governing the subjective universe of human beings. Whereas, harmony is assured because of the inherent order in the objective world, this order must be introduced in the subjective world to assure harmony among all people of different geographies, races, cultures, faiths and genders. The most fundamental of this law is from the Rig Veda, “Vasudeva Kutumbakam – the whole universe is one human family.” The only way to introduce this law into human beings is if they willingly subscribe to this law. This can be done through teaching and training. It is with this noble intent that one of the great books, ‘Harmonious Civilization’ is written by the 120 Global Harmony Association (GHA) members under guidance of Dr. Leo Semashko, GHA President as one of the leading sociologists of the present era. The book is written for the fragmented world of the 21st century that differentiates people (who are one) as different based on their geographies, races, cultures, faiths and genders. And in that sense it is truly democratic. Stated simply, the core message of the book is that all conflicts can be resolved through mutual dialogs by the principle of respect to the different points of view, originating from the other person’s belief, cultural ideology and political orientation. The message also offers education as a tool to train the present generation for restoring harmonious civilization, the basis for sustainability. The book starts with a summary of the many harmony associated projects undertaken by the GHA since its inception culminating in endorsing two great projects for the world order: 1) Harmonious Civilization Universal Declaration, and 2) Global Harmony Treaty for Nuclear Disarmament. A critical look into the two documents reveals a very well thought out process for finding an order for the global harmony of the subjective world just as one would do for arriving at an objective principle. The noted sociologist has taken into account the human intention from all walks of life – the artists and the scientists, the philosophers and the mathematicians, and the lawyers and the politicians to arrive at the building blocks of harmony. He is successful in engaging them into a dialog on the various facets of harmony resulting into the development of letters to the two key players at the world stage – the President of the USA and the President of Russia. Pragmatically, how can thoughts of being different (exploited by the interested groups) would enable human beings to live in harmony? We may have to the basics of our being a human. Human beings are inherently social beings - we survive and grow only in relation to other people, community, the world, and the environment. We do not exist only as individuals; we obtain our sense and value of being humans by belonging to a human community that includes practice of moral values and our faith to live a human-worthy life. Therefore, for our sustainment alone, we need relationships with people and environment.” And the process of building relationships is through human values. The origin of human values is the source at the core of our beings. The source being non-physical, non-material, without any attributes and qualities introduces values through Rita, the universal order. The order does not delimit importance of one element of manifestation over the other, but provides an avenue for the universe to sustain itself. That order is called dharma, the sustaining principle. From that order follow the objective laws that govern the physical universe and the subjective laws that govern human beings. Consider for instance, if the sun decides not to shine any longer, or the earth decides not to revolve around the sun; there would be no world and life that we know of. Revolving around the sun, the earth does not diminish its role, but follows intrinsic value in the performance of the universal order. Similarly, the roles of a child and a wife in a family are not inferior or superior to the father or the husband, so long as all follow their intrinsic values in the performance of family order. The same goes with any relationship: the employer, employee; teacher, student and the like. All human values follow from the universal order. In the performance of any order however is the underlying human intention. Since human intention cannot be legislated, our actions must be guided by a system of appropriate codes of conduct. Our endeavors for security and pleasure, in the conduct of governance and rule, law and order, education, business, trade, science, philosophy, law, agriculture, performing arts, and other orders of society must be performed according to dharma in space-time continuum. Since dharma is consistent with different cultural traditions, business transactions and trade practices under all social, economic and political conditions, it offers the single most effective choice for global harmony, a sustainable society and global peace. It is to satisfy dharma for the present times that the eminent sociologist offers his theory of Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology: a Science of Social Harmony. Tetrasociology is a synthesis of the industrial (and business) ideologies, with its basis in spirituality. In Dr. Semashko’s words, “Tetrasociology consists of deep integration of Western monistic ideas and the Eastern value of harmony.” Based on his theory, he together with coauthors has presented many concepts such as ‘Alternative Reserve Currency of Harmony,’ and ‘Global Harmonious Education’ and created an organization Youth Global Harmony Association (YGHA) and American GHA to achieve global harmony. To give his theory a practical shape before it is accepted as a principle, the author proposes a World harmony/Peace Festival to be launched in the near future. Based on my Hindu background I can relate the process selected by the renowned professor thusly: “An old brahmin priest spoke with his Lord Shiva (the ‘life and death’ principle) about heaven and hell (which is called Narakaloka in Sanskrit and differs from other hells in not being eternal, but a temporary state of souls between births where they undergo suffering). The Lord said to the aging pundit, “Come, I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of wonderful smelling vegetable curry. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible. “Come, now I will show you heaven (which is called Swargaloka in Sanskrit and differs from other heavens in not being eternal, but a temporary state of souls between births where they enjoy comforts),” Lord Shiva said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first the pot of luscious curry, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But everyone was happy and well-nourished. “I don’t understand,” said the Brahmin. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room where everything was exactly the same?” Lord Shiva smiled, “Ah, it is simple,” He said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”
The universe is imbued with the Vedas (knowledge) and Rita (order); correspondingly it is sustained with intrinsic dharma (sustaining principle) of its constituent elements. Protection of dharma for shanty (harmony among the constituent elements or global harmony) is very important for the world perpetuity and sustenance. Our planet earth came into existence without any borders and preferences. Any disorder (inconsistent with shanty) in the social, economic and political systems breaks the entire system into disharmony and the world falls apart. Vedas state, “Dharmo rakshti rakshitah (the law and order protect one when one protects the law and order).” Therefore, order is of utmost importance for global harmony. The above essence is scientifically explained in the reviewed book, in which harmony social actors – sphere classes of the population – are unfolded. All sphere classes can exist (in harmony) only if all produce necessary resources for each other, and all make available these resources to each other. Laj Utreja, Ph.D.
Laj Utreja’s professional experience includes hands-on engineer to CEO of a small company related to the U.S. space and defense programs. Laj has also accumulated training and experience in yogaasana, praanaayaama, dhyaana and ayurvedic healing. He is founder of the Institute of Spiritual Healing (ISH) where he teaches Vedic disciplines related to wellness, healing, harmony and peace. He is the author of Who Are We? (2006) and What Is Our origin? (2007). Webpage: http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=353
January 23, 2010
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Dear friends from harmony,
I like to acquaint you with Dr. Laj Utreja’s remarkable review of our collective book “Harmonious Civilization”. This review is interesting and unique that it is written from positions of traditional Hindu culture of harmony based on an order of dharma. This review, as well as others, shows, that our collective book of the GHA 120 coauthors answers to the criteria of the basic world cultures: West, Islam, China and India. Therefore, can assert, a new Age of Harmonious Enlightenment in the 21st century and also Harmony Renaissance and Harmony Consensus, about which Dr. Francis Fung speaks, begins with this book.
This review is published on page of responses to the address: http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=407. Some more authors promised to send reviews which will be published and presented you.
Dr. Leo Semashko,
GHA President,
26/01/10
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Harmony one line for a new, clear page of history 2010:
Global Harmony Association is happy to congratulate all people of the world with New 2010 as year of the New, Harmonious Civilization, New, Harmonious Era and New Age of Harmonious Enlightenment and Education, which have begun in 2009 together with nuclear disarmament of humanity and the GHA book “Harmonious Civilization” (http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=379): one Bible and Science for the New, verily human, Spirit of nonviolence, peace, love and happiness from harmony.
31/12/09
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A review by Maria Cristina Azcona on the book called “Harmonious Civilization. Global Harmony Association Innovative Projects” By Dr. Leo Semashko, GHA President and 119 participants from 34 countries St-Petersburg 2009, 254 p. This is a crucial book: This is the first time a group of philosophers and writers coming from different countries, cultural perspectives and faiths start to build an intellectual gnosis, a well-sustained structure around Peace on Earth Conjunctly with this gnosis, centered in Semashko´s Tetrasociology theory of Social Spheres, the philosophers participant in this project have found out a technique toobtaininginternational understanding and peace. Semashko has a virtue: He is capable to understand how to create a sphere of dialogue, a democratic space where to discuss the cultural meanings of non-violence and harmonious peace, freely. He knows how to be intellectual leader and like a professor, guides us towards the development of substantial theories. All of us, at the book are leaders in our respective countries, peacemakers and strong personalities indeed. Anyway, he is able to conduct us in a harmonious way, towards the resolution of our conflicts, towards the development as important articles that are written among us, leaded by him. The Harmonious Civilization Universal Declaration is the Constitution of a new global political order. The Global Harmony Treaty for Nuclear Disarmament is an essential document to be analyzed by students at any college or school. I’m sure Doctor Kahan has insisted in this particular part of the book. The inclusion of email letters and communications through the Peace from harmony group digest gives a picturesque aspect to this book, letting it apart from being excessively structured. This part seems great for me. The reader finds this part instructive to know the “how to” of writing a book like this one. The diversity of matters, like the Alternative Reserve Currency of Harmony (H), Global Harmonious Education and so on, is a proof of democratic discussions at this team of philosophers and peacemakers. The chapter about tetra sociology is very clear, descriptively well written, through logical diagrams and thoughtful schemes. There is a chapter about biographies and images of the Participants: Ada Aharoni, Ernesto Kahan, and other legendary peace heroes of nowadays, like Renato Corsetti, Tatomir Ion Marius, Guy Crequie, Susana Roberts, and many more, that creates an emotional, moving state of mind in the reader of this book. The composition of the book has not been made by an impersonal group of scientists but ha been written by leaders, by strong characters, protagonists of the building out of a New Harmonic Earth. After reading the book, I have developed a certainty: it will serve as a basis to the foundation of a new international order where democracy will be substitute of the actual search for the hegemony of one country or the other. The book indicates clearly that harmonious Civilization is a democratic one, prepared through education of new generations in the respect to all the different points of view, the respect towards each person´s belief, cultural ideology and political orientation. The book resolves the dilemma of humanity of all times: As Ada Aharoni says: How could possibly we, human beings, would be able to learn how to live all together? Maria Cristina Azcona BILINGUAL MCAfounder director Buenos Aires, Argentina 20/12/09
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Dearest soul brothers and sisters,
Leo's new idea about this club is a great one. What is special with Leo is that he always proposes an idea with global interest and benefit. I want to focus on this. And you all who adopt it and work for its success are valuable souls.
My humble opinion is that, we don't offer to others waiting to take back something. But we act in order only to give, without expecting something for us. This GHA is a parameter of Global Love supporting the idea of Harmony.
With Love Peace Justice & Harmony
Takis Ioannides
Writer, Greece, 16/12/09 --------------------------------------------------------
Dear Leo
Today I received the two volumes, one for me and the other for Tel Aviv University.
I am so exited! The book is Great!
When in the far future somebody like you, will write a book dedicated to "Loving memory of the greatest thinkers of humanity: Confucius..." , she/he will add your name "Leo Semashko".
For a 2010 harmonious year!
Ernesto
Prof. Ernesto Kahan. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad de Tel Aviv y Universidad Bar Ilan. Israel
15/12/09
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Dear friends from harmony, I just returned from a week trip to my elder son and was happy to find in my mail box the benevolent response to our book "Harmonious Civilization" of Mr. Sergey Mironov, CHAIRMAN of Federation Council of Russia (it is the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia: parliament of the Russian Federation). Its translation into English, please, look below and its Russian original is published together with my reciprocal gratitude on our site: http://peacefromharmony.org/? cat=ru_c&key=434. As you remember, this book together with the GHA letter has been directed to five leaders of Russia: to Dmitry Medvedev, Sergey Mironov, Boris Gryzlov, Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov on November 17, 2009. The support of the one of Russian leaders of a highest level is very significant and valuable. I am assured, for this recognition will be followed the recognitions of other leaders and their concrete help in realization of projects of harmony as global and for Russia. Best harmony wishes, Dr. Leo Semashko,
GHA President
December 12, 2009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAIRMAN Federation Council of Russia Sergey Mironov 103426, Moscow, Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, 26 November 30, 2009, ¹ 1-27/4270 TO: President, Global Harmony Association Leo Semashko 194356 St.-Petersburg, Ho-Shi-Min Street, 7/4-42 Dear Leo Semashko! I thank you for possibility to familiarize with the book “Harmonious Civilization”. This book contains a rich material, gives all-round representation about that activity which is conducted by participants of projects under the aegis of your international non-governmental organization. Cause respect many not ordinary ideas stated in published materials and also the fact, that you managed to involve in real work on development of principles of a harmonious civilization such quantity of the respected and authoritative scientists and public figures from the different countries of the world. I believe, that you do the great and useful work directed on strengthening of mutual understanding between the nations, strengthening of the global peace and security.
I wish you and other participants of the Global Harmony Association the new successes in realization of the planned projects!
Sergey Mironov -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Sergey Mironov! On the GHA behalf I warmly thank you for a flatter response about our book "Harmonious Civilization" and support of our peace-making activity which is realized through projects of global harmony and global scientific ideology of social harmony. Sincerely, Dr. Leo Semashko,
GHA President
December 12, 2009 ================================================
Aharmonious civilization you wisely advocate the spiritof universal cooperation you elevate the ideas in your book will surely helpeducate andshow people everywhere: we need to congregate Prof. Francisco Gomes de Matos, Educator-peace linguist from Recife, Brazil 12/12/09
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Dear Leo,
I have been reading the New Book of GHA and the explanation made by you. It seems to be interesting. I must tell you, I have been impressed by the idea of Tetrism. I am interested to express my opinion regarding Tetrism. But it need little bit of studies on the ideology. I shall be glad if some time is given to me for a detailed study on the subject. I am at present owed fully busy with my paper for International Sociological Conference last date is 1st December. Also I have my project meeting in Delhi on 2nd December. For all these I have very little time to concentrate on the subject. Please give me some time to join on the discussion and also to add my comment. I have kept in my mind to translate the Book in Bengali. Let’s see how much can be done. I am waiting for the hard copy of it.
I beg your pardon for not responding to the letter. only thing that made me silent in that I wanted to enter to the topic and tried to involve in it whole heartedly.
Sorry for the delay in reply. I appreciate your tenacity and your devotion for the cause of peace and harmony for the whole world. May God bless you and give you more energy and capability so that you can lead all of us towards the world of peace for next hundred years.
Dr. Maitreyee Bardhan Roy, Basanti Devi College Principal, Kolkata, India:
maitreyee25@rediffmail.com, http://www.peacefromharmony.org/? cat=en_c&key=317;
21/11/09
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Dear Leo! You are amazingly consistent in your titanic activities devoted to the harmonization of the modern civilization! You were one of those pioneers who intuitively felt a core break in the worldview, ethics and behavior of the humanities - and who dared to create a theory of the new step of civilization development. Your theory appeared before this crucial break point manifested itself. You have assembled all the Harmony adepts into a strong organization. We are the witnesses of how the Pax Amerikana pulls down and disappears and the Pax Harmonikos is going to replace it. Your input into the all mankind problems rescue is colossal. The seeds of your ideas grow and will grow powerfully in the future. The GHA new program book is one more triumph of the coming harmonious civilization and your personal triumph. So let me congratulate you heartily! Availing this chance let me inform you that my article "New Middle Ages and New Renaissance» about Global Harmony Association is published in the international journal "FORUM", LXIV-LXV, 2009. Concerning the question of the relevant libraries I am sure you have to send your book to the following ones: 1.Moscow State University Scientific library. In the MSU library of Fundamental Researchesthere is a special hall for recent publications(119234, Moscow, Lomonosovprospect, 27) -for detailsseehttp:/ /www. nbmgu.ru /readers/ 2.Central Literature House Library (121825, Moscow, Bolshaya Nikitskaya street, 53) -for detailsseehttp://mp.urbannet.ru/CDL/cdl-bibl.htm 3.Gorky Writers' Institute Library (123104 Moscow, Tverskoy boulevard , 25) Wish you good health and great success in all your activities! Yours truly, Alexander Olshansky, Writer, Moscow, Russia ----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Leo and all,
This is a wonderful paper you have written Leo! Congratulations.
I have only one quick thought - you have information - spirituality in the consciousness.Think of the heart as the centre of consciousness.I know that I drive everyone crazy when I seek information from religious text - but the heart is all through religious text.Its just that we disassociate the material we get from these texts with 'real life' as we live it.But all these people who wrote this material lived 'the real life'- and possibly they were closer to their whole being, as conceptualized in the heart (and indeed if you look up the physical and psychological aspects of the heart, there would be hard data to say that it is, after from a metaphor, the really real centre of a special consciousness with a memory (yes, a memory)and other aspects that enable us to act as 'real' human beings.We are told that we will get a new heart - and in this new heart - there will live the God concepts that will enable us to live happily -harmoniously!Not put together very well, but very stressed.In fact, the most stressed out period in my life I think.If I get my Phd and begin to talk to it, I am going to start off (I do now when I give a paper) of honouring all the wonderful academics I know who have given up their lives in the pursuit of truth.
With my love to you all,
Hilarie Roseman,
Australia
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Dear Leo, This is an amazing achievement; Robert's editing, incredibly painstaking and accurate.
After the first section, my eyes glazed over, so I skipped to the 4th section, where you thank GHA members for participation and encouragement, and sum up the significance of your "deep structure" approach to understanding and correcting human errors: "The tetranet thinking is a positive alternative to the ideological crash of industrial society, i.e. to the crash of all of its one-dimensional ideologies: imperialism of all colours, colonialism, Nazism, Marxism, liberalism, and so on, which are responsible for the whole spectrum of modern crises and social pathologies." I like the Albert Einstein quote, in particular, and your paraphrase of it near the end, that problems cannot be solved by applying the thinking that caused them. You have, indeed, launched a new science: a science of Tetrism, to discover and "balance" the underlying, interdependent forces of a fractured, global civilization that has run amuck.
Martha Ross DeWitt,
Sociologist, USA
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Dear Hilarie and Martha, Many thanks for your appreciation of the philosophical chapter of our new collective book “Harmonious civilization” (http://peacefromharmony.org/? cat=en_c&key=379), for your contribution to it, for your deep thoughts and basic support! I am very grateful to Martha for its text in one of sections of our future textbook on Tetrasociology (or Tetrism) which also will be our collective creativity.
We discuss questions of Tetrasociology with Hilarie and Martha 8 years. Still then Hilarie has brought a great question about the centre of four social spheres. As you could see in the chapter and in the book, now I answer this question definitely: harmony is the centre and heart of spheres as society so and the person. Because harmony is a love, justice, peace and God. In each religion God is the creator of harmony from chaos. God is harmony and vice versa: harmony is God. Therefore harmony is the centre and heart of social and individual spheres. Therefore harmony is the centre and heart in all world religions and also for all nations and cultures.
In this connection, I like to invite Hilarie who has devoted it many years of researches, to choose from your doctor's thesis the text on 3-7 pages under such approximately title: “God and Harmony as Heart and Centre of Social and Individual Spheres” for our collective textbook on Tetrasociology.
I invite also ALL GHA MEMBERS, first of all our philosophers, sociologists, scientists and writers to write and send for the publication two texts:
1. The review of GHA new book of 1-3 pages and
2. Your section in the textbook on Tetrasociology on 4-7 pages.
However, that our discussion of the new book was not scholastic but practically directed, I invite all GHA members to discuss the following text of our letter to the US President and leaders of other countries. This letter should be very short, simple and clear to everyone. I offer the following text:
“To the US President (or Russia, France, England, China, Taiwan, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Germany, Israel, Palestine, Italy, Tunisia, Malaysia, Norway, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Georgia, Greece etc.)
The Global Harmony Association is glad to present you and your children our innovative book “Harmonious civilization” (2009) of 120 contributors (co-authors) from 34 countries of the world. In this book your great ideas of nuclear disarmament, peace and the international cooperation which give rise to a new, harmonious civilization develop. This book offers a way of global harmonization instead of militarization. We will be happy to receive yours some words about this book with support of its mass publication as the manual for schools, universities and army libraries. Ideals of harmony of this book are capable to supersede a spirit of the armed violence from consciousness of people, first of all youth, and to resist to an extending stream of nazi and other extremist ideas. We, as well as you, do not want, that our children became victims of the armed violence at school, university, in the street, in army or as a result of a military or nuclear attack, therefore we trust in your support. With deep respect and hope for your positive response, On GHA behalf, Dr. Laj Utreja, GHA Vice-president for the US. (Signature, address and date).”
Certainly, for each head of the state the letter will be specified, discussed and approved by the GHA members from this country. In each country it will be signed by corresponding GHA Vice-president for this country.
All of you well understand, any similar response, which will open a way for a wide edition of our book as the manual, will be very important for us.
On the other hand, it will be the test for the leaders proclaiming peace, innovation and "change": whether they are capable to support in practice them?
What do you think of this letter text and its motivation? I will be very grateful for its editorial amendments.
One more detail. All of you know, that I will dispatch free to GHA members on 2-3 book copies for personal use and for libraries. Please, let me know: how many copies you would like to receive? The similar information I wait from each GHA member who wishes to have a paper copy of the book. How you like the profiles of 38 GHA members published in the book?
Best harmony wishes,
Dr. Leo Semashko,
GHA President
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Confucius had said,
"Do not judge a person's right or wrong based on the entire villagers' poll. If the ethical villagers say that this person is good, and the evil villagers say that the person is bad, then this person is a truly a good person!"
We don't have our standards straight in the USA any more. I thought that after we elected Obama, the situation would be taken care of. But apparently not. At least from his facial expression yesterday, his conscience was disturbed.
Lana Yang,
USA
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Dearest Leo, I will try to write the reviews and tell you when they are done. I have cried of joy, overwhelmed by emotion while reading all the contents. I am truly fascinated by what you have done, leading us towards the success and the realization of our dreams of peace. I’m plenty sure you have found the PATH TOWARDS THE light. Now I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and this light has your name written in it with golden letters.
Dr. María Cristina Azcona,
Poet and Educator,
Argentina
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Harmonious Civilization: GHA Program Book, Its Dignities and Prospects Dear Friends from Harmony, All of us are shaken today (November 6) by the recent violent convulsion of industrialism when a medical doctor, who had attained the high rank of major in the United States army, shot and killed twelve innocent people in an industrial citadel, that is, on one of the best military bases of the most industrialized and powerful nation in the world! What happens when psychiatrists become mad? What happens when the higher value of freedom is perverted and turned to negative opposition of boundless violence and free murder? Tomorrow another shooting and another similar loss of freedom will repeat in another sick industrial society, at a school or university, in the street or supermarket, in a city or rural community. This the murder of hundreds, thousands and millions of people will be replayed on mass media television screens and become the textbook on violence for new murderers! In recent hours, a similar tragedy repeated in a Japanese city. The sick society bathes in violence and reproduces it! The sick society kills itself slowly but steadily and freely both in a life and on mass media broadcasts. The sick industrial society is the free kingdom of killers, a world empire of free total violence!!! In the 20th century, humankind freely destroyed 200 million people. How many people will be destroyed in the 21st century if society remains industrial? In contrast, the Global Harmony Association has created Harmonious Civilization as the first and only scientific and philosophical book on the harmonious society and harmonious civilization (Harmonism). This collective creative effort by GHA contributors can be the alternative to the industrial society’s sick suicide. This program book of GHA can be viewed on our “Peace from Harmony” web site in Russian and English languages at: http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=405, and http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=379. Let me express my opinion about the dignities and prospects of Harmonious Civilization and each of the GHA members who contributed to it. I will tell without false modesty: it is the first-ever book about a harmonious civilization and the first-ever textbook in history for evolutionary nonviolent establishment of a harmonious civilization. It is our program book. A brief description of its value and significance is expressed in the book abstract: “To create this fourth book, GHA collected basic projects throughout the years 2008 and 2009. We unfolded the philosophy, science and thinking of a harmonious civilization in theoretical and practical dimensions in these projects. The harmonious society, which is replacing the industrial paradigm, hereby receives, for the first time, the scientific theory that unites Tetrasociology with the mathematics of social harmony: Tetramathematics. The fundamental elements of these two new sciences are: sphere resources, spheres of production, sphere classes, sphere matrixes and sphere fractals. They have four- (tetra-) dimensional structure that defined their titles and terminology. Just as Euclid created the “Geometry Elements” and mathematics of harmony on a basis of the harmonious “Platonic Solids” almost 2300 years ago, the GHA created the “Harmonious Civilization Elements” on a basis of the harmonious “Tetra-sphere Social Solids” through its numerous projects over the past five years. Harmonious Civilization is the first example of the four-dimensional network of harmonious thinking at all levels of world harmony, primarily that of a harmonious civilization. The GHA projects illustrate that the most difficult global problems, which have been created by and are irresolvable through one-dimensional industrial thinking, are being solved through harmonious thinking. Therefore, these GHA projects pave a conscious path for a harmonious civilization to solve its basic current problems: nuclear armament, reserve currency, lack of global education, and other social maladies. The Harmonious Civilization Universal Declaration is our key project that most fully expresses culture, thinking and ideology of this civilization on this stage. We present this Declaration as a positive alternative to the bankrupt industrial ideology, which is the cause of all modern crises.
This book is necessary for each person, especially to youth, to cultivate harmony in himself and a society and to prevent violence.” In Harmonious Civilization, the image of a harmonious civilization was born in a sharpened theoretical and pragmatic form as Pallas Athena from Zeus’ head thanks to five years’ diligence by 300 GHA members of which 120 from 34 countries accepted direct participation. Harmonious Civilization essentially differs from the best classical works about an ideal society as described by Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Moor, Comte, Marx, Max Weber, Charles Mills and other ingenious thinkers. Simultaneously, Harmonious Civilization synthesizes all of their theoretical and pragmatic dignities within new paradigm of four-dimensional harmonious thinking and reason. Harmonious Civilization unfolds a new epoch in history of philosophical and sociological thought, representing to the entire world an innovative sample of philosophy, sociology and pragmatism of a harmonious civilization. The great distinction of the harmonious civilization is that it is being consciously born at a truly human level of global harmonious reason and spirit, in contrast to all other civilizations, which burst forth spontaneously at the animal level of violence. The basic dignities of GHA’s new book, Harmonious Civilization, create and establish three firm, stable and mutually strengthening centres: philosophy and theory, pragmatism, and the humanistic human. The first centre presents the dignity of philosophy and theory. This centre is represented by a unique, peaceful and effective ideology that appears in the Harmonious Civilization’s last chapter. The philosophical/theoretical centre reveals a harmonious civilization as a social ideal of humankind and focuses on spiritual dignities that include scientific character, a new paradigm of harmonious tetra-net thinking, the science and religion consent, unified natural and social sciences, unified science and art, humanism by making people and children a priority, and a synthesis of ideas and values of harmony from and by different local civilizations: European, Chinese, Indian, Muslim, Russian and others. The second centre presents the dignity of pragmatism. This centre is represented by GHA’s applied projects, which are collected and published in the book. They are united by the Harmonious Civilization Declaration key project. This centre presents an accumulation of many methods and tools for a peace to evolve and for the conscious establishment of a harmonious civilization through nuclear disarmament, reserve currency of harmony, global harmonious education, a global network of harmonization services, world festivals of harmony and so on. The third centre presents the dignity of the humanistic human. For that reason, this centre also presents the names of GHA’s 120 participant members, who are listed in the Foreword, and it profiles 38 of them whose writings are published in a special section of Harmonious Civilization. The contributions of these authors, presented as dignities, correspond to GHA’s prospects, which it lays before its members. In summary, the harmonious life and civilization begin with harmonious reason and thinking. That is, if there is no harmony in the mind, there will be no harmony in life; if there is only violence in the mind, there will be only violence in life. In other words, violence begins when harmony is absent from the mind, leaving a place only for militant ideology, animal violence and military struggle, as was taught by Darwin and Marx. GHA’s new Harmonious Civilization, as the textbook for tetra-net harmonious thinking, gives examples that can be easily learned by our children, students and friends who are open to harmonious reason and have the intellectual consent necessary to prevent them from violent, pernicious acts against themselves and others. But a harmonious civilization is possible only if each GHA member assumes that similar initiative and responsibility. Thus, self-initiative is the first, moral, most difficult and most worthy prospect that is opened by Harmonious Civilization for its members. Ultimately, this self-initiative, as published in this new book, is the higher, moral criterion of membership in GHA and its authors and participants are the first to correspond to its ideas, values and thinking. I am glad to send you in an attachment the Harmonious Civilization chapter on philosophy (20 pages), with which you might not be familiar because it contains new insights and information that are unlike chapters found in previous GHA publications. This chapter presents the dialectic models (d-models) and the fragment of harmonious network thinking that unites these models. Each of you, separately or together with your children and students and friends, can create similar models and fragments of network thinking for your family, school or university, company or corporation, a city and nation, which will define your collective consent for the principles of harmonious elements and spheres as well as their qualities, laws and priorities. on this Through your network, you will be able to solve your basic problems harmoniously. Please, send us for public discussion your ideas of harmonious network thinking, even if they seem small or fragmented; these can be transformed into excellent materials for schools and the Academy of Harmonious Self-Education for GHA members! Your ideas and input will serve as an excellent educational method to further and elevate GHA’s higher character and moral prospects. I invite all of you to discuss the philosophy chapter. This discussion will be, on one hand, a continuation of our discussion with Reimon Bachika, Noor Gillani, Laj Utreja, Alexei Stakhov and Nikolas Strelkov, which began in July and was published on our web page at: http://peacefromharmony.org/? cat=en_c&key=385. on the other hand, this dialogue will mark the beginning of a new theoretical discussion on Tetraphilosophy and Tetrasociology, which, together, we call Tetrism. I invite each scientist to send three to seven pages of text that includes your basic ideas and that can be incorporated into future corresponding sections of Tetrism. I am ready to discuss with each scientist, personally, the structure of this text and its place in Tetrism. The mental ability and space of Tetrism is infinite because Tetrism contains and synthesizes, within itself, the ideas of natural, social and individual harmony from any of the world’s national cultures. The new discussions and additions offered by scientists and harmonious thinkers will allow the further development of this philosophy chapter into a special collective textbook with a probable name such as Tetrism: Philosophy and Sociology of Harmonious Civilization. Based on these contributions, we could compile three articles — one on Tetraphilosophy, another on Tetrasociology, and a third on Tetramathematics — for international journals. With these, we will demonstrate that we are not “dilettantes,” as some people reproach us, when it comes to theoretical questions of harmony. The similar joint scientific and philosophical work devoted to Tetrism as the peace ideology of a harmonious civilization is the second I invite each scientist to write a review of the new GHA and to publish it, including on our Website “Peace from Harmony,” which will contribute much to our foundational discussion. I suggest that we allocate the next two weeks —until November 20 — for this new discussion. The third prospect that is opened by Harmonious Civilization is pragmatic, covering a wide spectrum: from global to local. This prospect presents very big questions. Therefore, I will highlight only the two most simple and accessible aspects. 1. Each member or group of GHA in any country has permission to publish the new Harmonious Civilization as a manual for schools and universities in the corresponding language of that country. The purpose of this publication is not only to expand the audience for Harmonious Civilization but also to generate profit for the individual who publishes it and for the GHA. To emphasize: we do not reject profit, but we do wish that distribution of Harmonious Civilization and its message remain a priority. Within a year, we could republish Harmonious Civilization, including discussions and as many as 70 or 80 additional personal profiles, by a European or American publishing house. In view of the unique and innovative character of GHA’s Harmonious Civilization, undoubtedly, it will find wide demand in any country of the world and will provide a high profit from this first edition. 2. Each member or group of GHA in any country has permission to offer the Harmonious Civilization book as the topic for regional or national television special weekly hour-long news and current events programs. The title of the discussion could be “A Harmonious Society as a probability in our country (Russia, USA, France, India, China, Argentina and so on)” The GHA book Harmonious Civilization is an excellent information base for this type of wide public discussion on TV. Technical questions. 1.Between November 21 and December 15, I will dispatch two or three copies of GHA’s new Harmonious Civilization book to each GHA member who guarantees to transfer one or two of those copies to libraries in your nearby university and city. Please specify the name and address of the libraries. And please send your corresponding inquiry with your postal address to me by November 20, 2009. 2.You and your friends can buy additional copies from me for $30 with sending. You can become familiar with the contents of Harmonious Civilization through our web site before ordering. 3.In three months — on February 15, 2010 — we will celebrate GHA’s fifth anniversary for which Harmonious Civilization is the best indicator of our achievements. In this regard, I declare a contest to create the best creation of a formal written statement or address in honour of this anniversary. This statement or address should contain some the best phrases written by GHA members for the new Harmonious Civilization. Send your contest entries to me, Dr. Leo Semashko, the GHA President, by January 15, 2010. They will be evaluated and discussed until February 5, 2010. on February 10, 2010, I will declare the contest winner who will receive the award prize of $100 dollars. I am happy to congratulate all GHA members and friends on our great collective achievement: the new book Harmonious Civilization and to wish everyone success for its practical advancement for the sake of peace and happiness of our children. Best harmony wishes, Dr. Leo Semashko, GHA President 06/11/09 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No man is prophet in his own country “A harmonious civilization. Innovative Projects of the Global Harmony Association” Leo Semashko and 119 participants from 34 countries. St.-Petersburg, "Lita", 2009, 265 p. Review by Alexander Olshansky Moscow The turning-point from the 2nd to the 3d millennia of our era made a quantum leap in consciousness of many intellectuals. It led to a strong belief that humankind faces the deadlock because of a set of conflicts and contradictions, and that the only way out lies in harmonization of all spheres of the present civilization and transition to a peaceful way of development. One may treat it as a new Utopia. Then how can we explain the phenomenon of so many adherents of Harmony idea that appeared simultaneously in the opposite corners of our planet? Quite independently. Comparing modern theory of harmonization to any other branch of philosophy or ethical system we can state that none of them originated at once from so many places. Neither had such a collective author. This fact certifies that our civilization has approached its critical point and objectively needs essential changes of basic principles of its functioning. It is natural, that a leader of harmonization appeared - Leo Semashko, social philosopher from Saint-Petersburg. He has not restricted himself to the creating of Tetrasociology-theory of social harmony. Leo Semashko has united intellectuals from 48 countries of the world into the Global Harmony Association (GHA). Harmonization of our world became the noble cause of all his life not accidentally. He was born two days prior to the attack of Hitler’s Germany of the USSR, and within three days he became an orphan - his father, the Soviet officer, was lost in the first battles. Monstrous troubles and sufferings have dropped out on behalf of the USSR in the XXth century, and this scientist could not but reflect on their reasons, searching for the model of a more just world. “Harmonious civilization”-the book that can be found on Russian http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=405, and English http://www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=379. Internet pages (by the way, the content ofthe GHA web-site http://www.peacefromharmony.org is translated into 16 world languages!). This book is also issued by the St.-Petersburg publishing house "Lita" and contains GHA materials on the most topical problems of our days. Here the theory – Tetraphilosophy andTetrasociology – results in concrete practical recommendations. The Harmonious Civilization General Declaration appears to be a complex of the most urgent measures. Philosophy, ethics and culture of harmonism is propped up by offer of the Nuclear Disarmament Treaty and Academy of Harmony project ready to be implemented as the generator of the common/global harmonious education. Letters to the Presidents Dmitry Medvedev, Barrack Obama and General Secretary of the United Nations are the impressing attempt and hoarse shouting of the intellectuals to the ears of the high and mighties of this world who are not always sensitive to the reasonable arguments. The example of their deafness is a long-run fighting of the GHA President L.Semashko for creation of the Academy of Harmony. Textbooks are ready, teachers are picked up, but the lack of starting 27 million dollars for making this unique educational institution self-financing are still not accessible. And what are 27 million dollars for today? The tail plumage of one modern bomber costs much more, but no government has allocated this sum yet. And who are the refused? The leading mathematicians of the present times who have developed mathematics of harmony - A.Stahov, P.Sergienko, E.Soroko and others. Alexey Stahov's works on the Fibonacci numbers and the gold section deserve Nobel Prize, moreover he had created essentially new Fibonacci computer, but the 1991’s events have deprived financing of the unique project, and the scientist left to Canada. It is a refusal to the scientists from different branches of knowledge. To Charles Mercieca, the President of the International Association of the Teachers of the World, to the philosophers and sociologists -Bernard Scott from England,Americans –Marta Ross DeWitt andRudolf Siebert, Dmitry Ivashintsovand Grigory Tulchinskiy from St.-Petersburg,Japanese Reimon Bachika, to art and education workers -Maria Azcona and Susanne Roberts from Argentina, Italian Renato Corsetti, Tholana Chakravarthi from India, to our fellow citizen Henry Skvortsov, Israeli Ada Aharoni,Jean Basabose from Rwanda … And a lot of other persons – well-known, authoritative, possessing high scientific degrees and honors. It is worth mentioning here that the book “Harmonious civilization” has 120 authors from 34 countries. They are the prophets in their own countries and it is not an exaggeration: Harmonious Civilization is inevitable. It is not a spell or a horror story that today’s mankind is on its way to self-destruction, the fact is proved by scientific analysis. For million years humans were compelled to struggle for food, for enforcement of other people, for territory, for sexual partner. A man was at war and killed humans like him - 15 thousand wars known to History killed billions of people. Aggressive attitudes were blocked by cultural institutes, sermons of brotherhood and tolerance. But nowadays All that is alive on our planet can be destroyed at a second. Therefore comes out problem Number1 – the basic change of consciousness on the basis of salutary philosophy and ethics of harmonism. Millions of our contemporaries most of whom never heard about GHA thinks the same way. Public figures and businessmen, intellectuals and students, men and women. Here is the Internet opinion of the unknown to me Natalia Petrova: “The reason in that the mankind develops as an integral part of Nature, not separately, not "above" It. Many scientists have come to the same conclusion. Nature, or Mind, leads mankind to Harmony treating it as a uniform, integral organism. Therefore this global tendency - interrelation and interdependence at all levels, including states- is clear to us now. We cannot escape these new conditions! It is extremely important to realize the changing reality. And it is very important, as they say, "to open eyes" to the high and mighties so that they would understand that people are waiting not for their disputes because of “a piece of land”, but for the real program of how to withdraw humankind from current to a different, better type of development» -http://gidepark.ru/News/Details/id/10149/? There are thousands and thousands of similar opinions in the World Net! And they should be acknowledged as prophetical. What does that mean? This means that the most active and participating part of humankind is ready to transit to the new norms and principles of Planet organization. No one of the “Harmonious civilization” authors believes in the nearest future revolution in human consciousness and behavior. To paraphrase Khruschyov: the present generation will not enter harmonism era. Enormous struggle, perhaps, the last struggle in the mankind history is necessary so that the humans can prove their self-name “reasonable”. To justify this self-name we have to step on a path to a harmonious and prosperous humanity- Homo Harmonikos or Homo Florens, excluding aggression, greediness, envy, individualism, animosities. In the name of sanguineous life, full of good will, brotherhood, love and happiness. Global thinking can name this process a transition from our present, far from humanistic, Middle Ages to a New, spiritual Renaissance. In magnitude and value this phenomenon is equal to a birth of Christianity or Islam, or any other world religion. But it will not come instead of religion, moreover – it will integrate religions into a new outlook. Harmonism is capable to become their general denominator. Speaking on the importance of the book ”Harmonious civilizations”, it is undoubtedly, the first confident and promising step into the future. The future to come. That all of the living nowadays at the turning point of millenia have started to create meaningfully. It is very important to promote this salutary movement. The next and all subsequent steps depend on the attention of the Mass-media to this book, TV discussions, Internet forums . This book is worthy enthusiasm of the humanists, first of all from among the high schools teachers – it depends to a great extent if they bring the ideas of harmonism to the young cohorts who will follow the cause of the pioneer-authors,correcting and developing their ideas in new articles and books. And as a result they will comprehend the new culture of humankind - Culture of Harmony -and make it a reality.
November 22, 2009
Alexander Olshansky, The writer, the publicist, chairman of board of Commonwealth of graduates of Literary institute it. A.M.Gorky, Moscow, Russia, http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=434 (Translator: Gulnara Valiulina)
This review is translated and published in Slovene language: http://organizacija.fov.uni-mb.si/index.php/organizacija-si/article/viewFile/1126/918
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I read the review by the Russian writer Alexander Olshansky and felt truly moved by his words, especially when he says "they are prophets in their countries"- I am plenty convinced, just like him, that the final destiny of our job is the success in the diffusion of a new concept of a civilization based on harmony among cultures.
Prof. María Cristina Azcona,
Argentina
05/12/09
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