Leo Semashko and GGHA. The Greatest Stars of Social Harmony

III. Harmony Stars

https://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=488

This section of the "ABC of Harmony" contains articles dedicated to the greatest creators of social harmony from antiquity to present day. They either describe personalities their harmonious doctrines, or their harmonious way of living, in some cases it’s all of the above. Of course, every person has an individual expression of harmony in their deeds but they are all alike in their dedication to harmony and their beautiful and noble characters. The harmony Stars are the greatest predecessors of harmonious civilization and its philosophy of social harmony. They have been the real cornerstones, beacons and the frame of the world history of harmony of humankind in the past nearly 3000 years. They will always remain the eternal examples of spiritual and life harmony for generations of the new civilization. These personalities are the most important objects of the studies held by the International Institute for World History of Social Harmony.

Almost all the Harmony Stars ideas from Numa Pompilius to our days were synthesized in Tetrism as philosophy of harmony and in o­ne form or another integrated in the ABC of social harmony, where they were given further development. These persons served the humanity by creating harmony. This fact is the best proof for the eligibility of the ABC of Harmony and philosophy accepted in it for all nations of the world.Dr. Leo Semashko, the Editor in Chief.

Contents

1. Numa Pompilius: The Power Creating Peace and Prosperity from Harmony – Erika Lazarova

2. Lord Buddha: Master of Inner Peace from Harmony – Charles Mercieca

3. Confucius: Great Chinese Teacher of Harmony – Charles Mercieca

4. Jesus of Nazareth: Great Spiritual Power of Peace and Harmony – Charles Mercieca

5. Prophet Muhammad: Faith of Peace and Harmony – Charles Mercieca

6. Francis of Assisi: Ruptures for Harmony – François Houtart

7. Shaftesbury: Aesthetics and Enthusiasm of Holistic Harmony – Harbingers of Harmonious Civilization – Leo Semashko

8. Fyodor Dostoevsky: Beauty Will Save the World, Creating Harmony… – Tatiana Kasatkina

9. Nikolay Danilevsky: First Idea of Harmonious Civilization – Andrey Smirnov

10. Leo Tolstoy: School of Harmony – Svetlana Kuskovskaya

11. Swami Vivekananda: Life and Teaching in Harmony – Maitreyee Bardhan Roy

12. Mahatma Gandhi: Harmony of Non-Violent Civil Disobedience – Surendra Pathak

13. Nicholas Roerich: Concept of Harmony in Culture Doctrine – Julia Budnikova

14. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Essence of Global Harmony – Charles Mercieca

15. Shri Kanhaiya Lal Dugar, Founder of Gandhi Vidya Mandir and IASE University: Embodiment of Brotherhood through Harmony – Kanak Mal Dugar

16. Dalai Lama: Need for Religious Harmony – Leo Semashko

17. The Prince of Wales: Revolution of Thinking – from Grammar of Material Harmony to the ABC of Social Harmony – Leo Semashko

Erika Lazarova

Numa Pompilius: The Power Creating Peace and Prosperity from Harmony

Folklore memory cherishes the legends of the "kind and just" king. Through the works of Plutarch, we meet the embodiment of this seemingly utopian idea in the personality of Numa Pompilius (754–672 BC): "He was endued with a soul rarely tempered by nature, and disposed to virtue, which he had yet more subdued by discipline, a severe life, and the study of philosophy; means which had not o­nly succeeded in expelling the baser passions, but also the violent and rapacious temper which barbarians are apt to think highly of; true bravery, in his judgment, was regarded as consisting in the subjugation of our passions by reason. He banished all luxury and softness from his own home", dismissed his personal guard [80, 100, 104], sought a modest and worthy life.

Basing o­n his high morale, pure religious feeling, probity and stability of the virtuous life "the Senate and the Roman people" chose him to become the second king of Rome in 714 BC [80, 98, 100]. Numa is a founder of the social structure, based o­n the principles of harmony and justice.

His name is associated with the reforms that actually made Rome civilized and harmonized it for 43 years for the entire period of his reign, eliminating all wars and unrest. He would say that he agreed to become king, to soften the hearts of the warlike Romans, excite noble feelings in them and teach them to live wisely. He overcame the tribal enmity between the Latins, Sabines, and Etruscans by "distinguishing the whole people by the several arts and trades… and the new division became a source of general harmony and intermixture". This division allowed Plutarch to highlight that "The frame of government which Numa formed was democratic and popular to last extreme." [80, 116, 123]

This tunes in with the ideas of "The ABC of Harmony"! The idea of dividing the population into four harmonious classes which correspond to four spheres of a social production as well as the harmonious democracy inside these classes both come from Numa 2.7 thousands of years later. Just like for him they were the sources of peace from harmony, the ABC reveals the source of eternal peace o­n Earth in harmony of the four spheral classes of the population. Absolute peace during the reign of Numa was provided by the social structure of his citizens which was based o­n their occupation rather than property. This harmonious experience of peace and democracy was forgotten, both in historical studies and education, but is revived in our ABC.

For Numa peace and peaceful harmonious coexistence of the tribes was the main principle of welfare and prosperity of society. Numa's noble pacifism focused creative efforts of Roman citizen o­n handicrafts, agriculture and trade. He helped the first social group in establishing their professional board. For farmers he introduced the worship of the god of boundaries Terminus along with the land surveying andsanctification of boundary stones together with the neighbours. This would prevent tensions between the neighbors and provide their peaceful coexistence. He also took care of landless peasants by granting them land gratuitously and mitigated slavery. Thus, the "kind king" has become a real legislator of social harmony.

His religious reforms also served to the idea of peace from harmony. Among the orders of priests that he created were Fecials – the guardians of peace [80, 110] – contrary to the prevailing tradition of the worship of the gods of war, the most important of which was Mars, as the main figure of the Roman religious cult. Historically this was the first public act of recognition of the value of peace, which wasn't accepted. (Indian emperor Ashoka, who was rejecting military conflicts, is considered to be "The Father of eternal peace"; however he lived nearly three centuries later than Numa). He established the foundations of religious life, which served to harmonization of society based o­n secularization.

The solar calendar reform introduced by Numa was also dedicated to the creation of peace and harmony: he added two months – January and February, replacing the first month March which was devoted to the god Mars, with January devoted to the god Janus, the patron of the peaceful occupations. The doors of that temple were to be opened during the war, and shut in time of peace: "But, during the reign of Numa, those gates [of the Temple of Janus] were never seen open a single day, but continued constantly shut for a space of forty-three years together; such an entire and universal cessation of war existed…[The people of Rome] began to experience a change of feeling, and partook in the general longing for the sweets of peace and order, and for life employed in the quiet tillage of soil, bringing up of children,… For during the whole reign of Numa, there was neither war, nor sedition, nor innovation in the state…" [80, 118–119]. Considering Numa Pompilius as the first state governor in the recorded history of world harmony, the creator of peace from harmony, who can be viewed as the supreme model of a political leader The United Nations could establish the Numa Pompilius Day o­n the day of his birthday – April 21 [80, 100].

Numa wrote 12 books dedicated to social and religious harmonies, which were buried with him at his request. These books were recovered in his tomb some four hundred years later, and burned by the city governor, who considered them to be inappropriate for disclosure. However, his ideas are getting revived nowadays.

The key contents of the article is expressed in the model of the harmonious tetranet thinking which was put forward and developed in "The ABC of Harmony":

Erika Lazarova – Senior Research fellow, Doctor, Centre for Science Studies and History of Science, Bulgarian Academy of Science. Sofia, Bulgaria.

Web: http://lib.icr.su/node/927E-mail: erikalazarova@yahoo.com

Charles Mercieca

Lord Buddha: Master of Inner Peace from Harmony

Lord Buddha was born in a rich family as Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal. He is said to have lived to be 80 years old covering the years 563–483 B.C. In his early years, he found out that the secret of inner peace and harmony consists of detachment from material things. Thus, he left his family fortunes and went to live in poverty, spending most of his time in meditation and contemplation.

Four Noble Truths & Noble Eightfold Path

In the process, Siddhartha Gautama began to gather quite a number of disciples who were eager to follow his ascetical life. As a result, he developed the concept of the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path. These two elements served as a guideline for his disciples to follow. Later o­n he became known as the Buddha, which means, the enlightened o­ne. Let us now have a good knowledge of these two stated elements. The Four Noble Truths may be enlisted as follows:

1.Suffering is to be viewed as a part of life. We are constantly faced with it in various degrees from the very first days of our existence. Learning how to accept it with patience willingly enables us to become strong and courageous.

2.Sensuality needs to be brought under full control because it is bound to lead to unhappiness. Anything in life that gives us pleasure temporarily will make it difficult for us to develop eventually inner peace and harmony.

3.Identification seems to be o­ne of our major struggles in an effort to really find who we are in terms of character and personality as well as ability to perform. Today many people tend to carry o­n the so called Identification Card.

4.Annihilation, which represents the destruction of everything we can imagine, seems to be, quite often, an element that we cannot avoid easily. Hence, we need to be often o­n the guard with caution.

Soon after, Lord Buddha developed the Noble Eightfold Path, which later inspired a few millions to follow this route. This element deals with basic human rights that could be outlined as follows:

1.Securing Right Understanding: The secret of human relations lies in our ability to develop mutual understanding. This should then make our inner peace and harmony in human relations more possible.

2.Developing Right Thought: Our thought, quite often, represents the seat of judgment. It enables us to form a mind-set, which is bound to do a lot of good when it happens to be positive and constructive.

3.Forming Right Speech: As many ascetical writers and philosophers told us over the centuries that what counts is not really what we say but "how" we say what we need to say. Some tend to call this good diplomacy.

4.Taking Right Action: Very often we are faced with taking an action, which could be beneficial or disastrous. If such an action is beneficial to all people without exception, then we may assume it must be right.

5.Making Right Livelihood: This needs to be done by taking into consideration the welfare of others. We cannot make livelihood at the expense of others, that is, by making people desolate and suffering.

6.Seeking Right Effort: In everything we do we are always expected to make an effort, that is, to do our best to achieve what we want properly and successfully. When we do our best it means we are making our best effort.

7.Enjoying Right Mindfulness: Good and honest people are always expected to be mindful, that means honest and respectful for others. People do expect from us to perform anything that is good and beneficial.

8.Practicing Right Concentration: In every piece of work we do, the more we concentrate o­n it the more likelihood our piece of work is going to lead to success. The power of concentration is often the source of our success.

If we were to make a careful study of the history of religions that evolved over the past several centuries, we would discover that Buddhism has proved to be very peaceful. Lord Buddha is viewed as the founder of Buddhism. When in conflict with other religions, Buddhists always tend to remain silent and resort to contemplation and meditation, rather than to struggles and wars. This explains why Lord Buddha can be hailed as master of inner peace and harmony.

The basic postulates of the article are expressed in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking, proposed and developed in the ABC of Harmony:

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.

President

International Association of Educators for World Peace

Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,

Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament

Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University, USA.

Hon President & Professor, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich

Global Harmony Association Vice-President.

Phone: (1) 256-534-5501 / Fax: (1) 256-536-1018

Web: www.iaewp.org, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=129

E-mail: mercieca@knology.net

Charles Mercieca

Confucius: Great Chinese Teacher of Harmony

One of the greatest Chinese teachers of all time was Confucius, who was also known as Kong Fu Zi. He has been viewed as a good scholar to this very day. This admired philosopher was born in 551 B.C. in Lu, China, which is today known as Shandong province. He died in 479 B.C. In his teachings he adopted a humanitarian approach to social harmony based o­n the belief that, deep inside, all people want to live at peace with each other. His main instructions were conveyed to us by his students under the name of Analects.

Nature of Teachings

By the process of time, his teachings evolved into a political and religious system. This was during the Han Dynasty in the 3^rd century. His teachings soon evolved into becoming the state religion of China until the latter part of the 20^th century. Nowadays, some critics condemned Confucianism because it had been perceived as an impediment to modernization. Confucius was born into a poor family. He was mostly self-educated and developed mastery of six arts known as rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics.

In his thirties he became involved into a teaching career. He viewed education as constant self-improvement with its primary goal to produce noblemen. Throughout his life-time he emphasized the importance of family, school, community, state and kingdom. Most of the quotations of Confucius have evolved to become very popular. Among these we find: Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it…… Forget injuries, never forget kindness…. Ignorance is the night of the mind, but the night without moon and stars….

In addition, we find also: Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart….. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do…. Respect yourself and others will respect you…. Study the past if you would define the future…. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop…. Before you embark o­n a journey of revenge, dig two graves… When anger rises, think of the consequences….

Confucius was a deeply spiritual man who felt convinced he had special and privileged relation with Heaven. He seems to have viewed Heaven as a spiritual power that was capable of providing peace from harmony in the world among all people. For him a good life was revealed in o­ne's compassion and love for others. He always advocated the Golden Rule: What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. This man of wisdom often advocated devotion to parents and older siblings in addition to the practice of self-discipline.

Harmonious Relationships

Besides, Confucius also advocated harmonious relationship between ruler and subjects, between husbands and wives as well as between friends. He also emphasized the importance of the practice of self-discipline. The educational goal of Confucius was simple. He concentrated o­n creating gentlemen with beauty spiritual character who carry themselves everywhere with grace, speak correctly, and show integrity in all things. Confucius spent most of his adult life travelling from town to town in China accompanied by his students and friends.

In these journeys he took the opportunity to provide rulers he came across with adequate advices. In quite a few instances, his advice was not appreciated and, as a result, he was put in jail for quite a few times. At 67 Confucius returned to his native place of Lu where he remained until he passed away. Throughout his life he tried to provide peace and harmony among all people, which explains why he was viewed as a deeply spiritual man who was revered and admired by all those who came across him.

When scholars analyze his teachings and writings they tend to view him as o­ne of the greatest spiritual figures in history. Among such great spiritual figures we find Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth, all the way to Francis of Assisi, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and even the late Pope John Paul II. What did all of these great spiritual figures have in common? They all revealed detachment from the material things of this world. They all attached great importance o­n the spiritual aspect of the human being.

Besides, it was systematically noticed that all those who followed the teachings of these great spiritual teachers never regretted it. o­n the contrary, such teachers tended to feel deeply self-confident and fully satisfied with what they had at their disposal. Each statement they made was so spiritually deep and significant that books could eventually be written for everyone to enjoy and cherish. Considering that Confucian philosophy had dominated China about 3,000 we need to listen carefully to this great Chinese teacher since this way we do have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

The great teaching and practice of Confucius are essential to understanding the meaning of the ABC of harmony for building harmonious civilization.

The article content as a whole is expressed in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking, representing the philosophy of social harmony:

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D., President, International Association of Educators for World Peace, Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University, USA. Hon President & Professor, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich.

Global Harmony Association Vice-President.

Web: www.iaewp.org, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=129

E-mail: mercieca@knology.net

Charles Mercieca

Jesus of Nazareth: Great Spiritual Power of Peace and Harmony

Since the early days of creation, God thought of sending His beloved Son to this world to purify us from our iniquities. His eyes fell o­n a young Jewish lady, Blessed Mary, whose mission was to bring this divine Son into the world. God wanted to show us that our strength is not derived from a well trained military but rather from the practice of virtues that elevate us to a higher level of existence. If we were to be good spiritual beings, all violence will end for good.

Jesus' Role in the World

In Christianity the position of Jesus is very unique since He is viewed not o­nly as a prophet but also as the divine Son of God, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. His mission o­n earth was to teach us by example how to lead a good and holy life that is pleasing to God. In order for all of us to benefit from the wisdom of Jesus we have to listen to what he said o­n some occasions. Here is a list of statements Jesus made, which are not enlisted in any specific order.

1.Do to others what you would want others to do to you. This explains the importance for all of us to help create a world of peace and harmony.

2.Put the sword away for he who kills by the sword will die by the sword. Jesus was quick in condemning the violence Peter was about to perform.

3.When slapped o­n the face turn the other cheek rather than hitting back. Retaliation has a self-defeating purpose, as we observe military actions.

4.Imitate the Father who is in heaven by loving and forgiving o­ne another. All people are God's children whom He loves dearly.

5.Violence breeds violence and more violence breeds more violence. This is vindicated in the history of every war that took place throughout the ages.

6.Whatever you do to the least of your brethren you do it to me. This is o­ne of the great peaceful contributions Jesus made for all of us.

7.Peace be with you forever. The message of Jesus of Nazareth consisted in presenting us with peace and harmony that bring about great joy to our hearts.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Human beings have the potential to do great things through the practice of virtues. Those who do so will receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which become the source of their strength. Such gifts may be enlisted as follows:

1.Wisdom: This enables us to see things into proper perspective as to make always the right decisions that are in the best interest of all people without exception. This way everyone will be a winner and no o­ne a loser.

2.Understanding: This gives us the ability to see anything we pursue from various angles. This way we feel we are truly o­n the right constructive path that proves to be beneficial to everyone without exception.

3.Counsel: This serves always to get the right advice in choosing the best of many possible alternatives. Needless to say, this is very useful since, quite often, we cannot reverse the clock of history.

4.Fortitude: This consists of inner spiritual strength that will enable us to pursue our noble goals and objectives without ever giving up. It certainly reveals in a number of ways, God's power within us.

5.Knowledge: This is bound to direct us to success in our effort to make good and positive contributions to society. The more we know the more we are in a position to become genuine assets to others.

6.Compassion: This reveals God's mercy toward us who keeps o­n loving us and providing us with all the necessities of life in spite of our arrogance, stubbornness, and determination to pursue evil.

7.Fear of God: This spiritual gift is not derived from the fear that God may punish us for our evil doings, but it derives from the fear that I may end up offending such a good and merciful God.

In view of what has been stated, it is obvious that the legacy of peace and harmony that Jesus of Nazareth left us, cannot be taken lightly.

The basic postulates of the article are expressed in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking, proposed and developed in the ABC of Harmony:

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.

President

International Association of Educators for World Peace

Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,

Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament

Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University, USA.

Hon President & Professor, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich

Global Harmony Association Vice-President.

Phone: (1) 256-534-5501 / Fax: (1) 256-536-1018

Web: www.iaewp.org, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=129

E-mail: mercieca@knology.net

Charles Mercieca

Prophet Muhammad: Faith of Peace and Harmony

Every era of history was blessed with deeply spiritual people who often communicated with God as their beloved father. Prophet Muhammad (570–632) [97] was a chosen man of God. According to Islamic belief, the Archangel Gabriel visited Muhammad periodically, to whom he gave messages. These messages later became known as the Qur'an. Muhammad believed that people should assume responsibility for their actions – for which God will hold them fully accountable.

Unfortunate Experiences

Seeing that Muhammad's teachings were taken very seriously, the elite of Mecca started to harass Muhammad and his followers. Following the death of his beloved wife Khadija and his close uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad left Mecca and settled in Medina in 622, where he was the proclaimed leader of the first Muslim Community.

Although Muhammad was spiritually gifted, he was a quite unfortunate person. His father Abdullah died six months before he was born and he lost his mother at the age of six. Later he was looked after by his uncle Abu Talib, who was the new leader of the Hashim clan of the powerful Quraish tribe in Mecca. Muhammad began to accompany his uncle o­n various journeys. This enabled him to comprehend well the various characters and personalities of people.

Muhammad eventually became an honest merchant who married Khadijah in 595. She bore him six children, all of whom arrived before he received his first revelation. o­n Mount Hijira, Muhammad received his first revelation, which made him feel somewhat afraid. However, he was encouraged by his wife who viewed such revelations coming from a good source. Following such revelations, he began preaching. For Muhammad, the year 619 became the "year of sorrow" since this was when both his dear wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died.

In 622, Muhammad went to Medina as a mediator to solve a feud between the Arab factions of Aws and Khazraj. He resolved their differences by absorbing both into his Muslim community, thus preventing bloodshed. From the very beginning, Muhammad wanted to see Jews, Muslims and Christians living together like o­ne big family with love, peace, harmony and respect for each other. Some of his children died in infancy. His daughter Fatima later carried his dynasty.

Muhammad revealed enormous respect not o­nly toward his daughter Fatima but also toward the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. He firmly believed that conflicts should always be solved through dialogue instead of war. At o­ne time Mohammed thought that people may live better in harmony if they shared the same religion. This was merely a proposal just to open the way to dialogue. Later o­n though, there were Muslims who went as far as to condone punishment for Muslims who may be converted to other religions.

Compassion and Love

We need to keep in mind that Muhammad was a sincere man of God who revealed love and mercy toward all of His children. During the decade of the eighties, the Virgin Mary is said to have told the six little children of Medjugorje that God does not belong to any religion, that God's religion was described o­nly by o­ne word: love. She said that all the people were God's children and that God loves them all dearly and that He would not want to see any of His children hurt.

We should all be certain that the Prophet Muhammad was absolutely aware of this, for his love of God was anchored in actions. This explains why Muhammad always sought solutions to human problems via peaceful means and not through wars. He was convinced that violence always breeds violence. When his wife Khadijah passed away he did not have in mind to marry again but his friends insisted he should marry Sawda bint Zama, a widow, or Aisha.

Then Muhammad married them both. Later he had few other wives as well. This gave the idea that Muslims may have more than o­ne wife at the same time. Even so, these marriages were more for social and political purposes, to unite tribes and establish harmony. Muhammad started great reforms in social security and improved rights for women. Historians referred to him as o­ne beloved by all around him. He was viewed as a gentle and honest man of God.

Muhammad was a pacifier who succeeded in bringing peace to so many without bloodshed. Unlike Buddhists, Hindus and Christians, Muslims do not want any visual images of Muhammad for fear that they may lead to idolatry. In our quest for God we should adopt all kind of approaches that lead to this end. All the means we use to reach this end should be respected, o­nce they prove to be successful and as long as those means do not abuse or harm others.

Let us give an illustration. Suppose we all need to be in New York for a specific event. Some may choose an airplane as their means; others may prefer a train, while others may opt for a private car. The various religions might be seen as diverse means of reaching the same end: God, known as Allah in Islam.

The basic postulates of the article are expressed in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking, proposed and developed in the ABC of Harmony:

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D. President, International Association of Educators for World Peace, Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University, USA. GHA Vice-President. Phone: (1) 256-534-5501, E-mail: mercieca@knology.net

Web: www.iaewp.org, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=129

François Houtart

Francis of Assisi: Ruptures for Harmony

Francis was born in 1181, in Assisi, a town of Umbria, at the early beginning of the economic development of the Italian cities [83]. It was the birth of mercantile capitalism. His father, a rich merchant, made his fortune in the commerce of textiles and his son was supposed to follow his path. Very young, he engaged himself in the local army fighting for the Pope against the Emperor, but disgusted by the useless violence, he abandoned the project almost immediately. He was enjoying life with the youth of his town and worked in the business of his father, but without conviction.

The first rupture of Francis was with the riches. He met the poors of the Italian society during a pelgrimage to Rome. Many peasants were landless and the new economic development was creating new social inequalities. In spite of profound conflicts with his family and especially his father, he renounced all property and goods to serve the poors and particularly the lepers. Therefore he was considered as mad, because in total contradiction with the values of the raising economic system. His experience was that riches creates disharmony and that voluntary poverty meant fraternity with the most disposed simplicity, equality, absence of desires for power, peace , liberty and harmony for all. For Francis, this was the essential of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Many disciples joined him, living in poverty, helping the poor peasants, curing the sick. For them, poverty was a source of joy: the greatest joy, said Francis, is to accept being rejected by everyone, including his proper brothers. Not to posses anything means to posses everything. To affirm such values were strong critics of the economic system based o­n profit and accumulation. It was sufficient to be socially marginalized. In a world where money begun to acquire a new status, he rejected it as a "venomous dragon". This was his first rupture, with his social milieu and with his father, but also the discovery of real happiness, because of respect for human beings more than material progress.

Francis took part in o­ne of the first crusade to the Holy Land, in order to "free the tomb of the Saviour". Very rapidly he became totally disgusted by the violence and the plunders of the "crusaders" and thought that they were the first o­nes to be in need of conversion. He began to preach peace and love. This brought him, according to the "Fioretti" (a symbolic history of the life of St Francis) to meet the Sultan Malek Al Kamil, who appreciated his spirit and message of peace.

His love for nature, God’s creation, brought him to speak of the sun, of water, of the stars, of the birds and other animals, as brothers and sisters. Harmony between human beings and nature was the value expressed in this way and again the Fioretti are full of such stories. It is quite similar to the vision of the indigenous peoples of Latin America, where the same vocabulary is used to speak about "mother earth" and the elements of nature, however giving them a divine character.

A second rupture made by Francis, has been with the Catholicism of his time, very institutionalized, full of riches and corruption, implicated in wars for power, internally and externally. For him, to practice poverty meant to rediscover the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The central place of the group of disciple was a poor church and the symbol of the reformation of the Catholic Church was the reconstruction of an old chapel (St Damian). In spite of many resistances in Rome, he got the approval of his group of disciples as a religious order, by Pope Innocent III. He defined the mission of the new order, as o­ne of peace and love.

When the time had come, weakened by a life of sacrifices and dedication for the poor, he hailed the death, calling her his sister, accomplishing the final harmony with his creator. He could remember the prayer he had written during his life: where there is hate, bring love; where there is disseverance bring hope; where you found sadness, bring joy; where there is war, bring peace.

The main article contents model as reflection of Francis of Assisis' way to world divine harmony:

François Houtart, born in Brussels in 1925, Dr in sociology and Catholic priest, author of various books and articles o­n Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Globalization, professor emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) , with intensive research work in Europe, USA, Latin America, Asia and Africa, active in the alterglobalization movement.

Address: Avenue Sainte Gertrude 5, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Web: www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=373

E-mail: houtart@hotmail.com

Leo Semashko

Shaftesbury: Aesthetics and Enthusiasm of Holistic Harmony – Harbingers of Harmonious Civilization

Anthony Shaftesbury is an English philosopher and writer (1671–1713). He wrote a number of literary works published in 1711 entitled "Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times" [15].

1. Nature, society and human as a harmonious whole. Shaftesbury is a deep and powerful predecessor of Tetrism as a philosophy of holistic harmony and its ABC. He is comparable with the other great predecessors – Pythagoras and Plato. Following them, he recognized the reality of holistic harmonious Cosmos (nature) of divine origin, which eternally creates and is being created. For him the whole and harmony – are identical and synonymous. The whole exists o­nly as harmony of the parts, and harmony exists as a whole. There is no other way of their existence he would know. It is a philosophy of harmonious holism and holistic harmonism. (Like the philosophy of Tetrism which is the philosophy of social harmony in our ABC.) All partial dies out as disharmony, as well as all disharmonious dies as partial.

His teaching is based o­n the categories of parts and the whole through which he expresses the harmony of animated nature. For him there is no such question as: how does it exist? – Just as the harmonious whole, or as a holistic harmony. Could it be otherwise? – He asks. He does not assume any other options for the being of nature, and the o­ne mentioned above he recognizes as self-evident, that does not require any proof. Look around, he says enthusiastically: in nature everything exists in the harmonious unity: and o­nly this way it lives. Every part of it is harmoniously linked to the whole and its whole is the harmonious coexistence of its numerous and various parts.

2. Rejection of monism in favor of aesthetics. Unlike other philosophers, Shaftesbury considered his main task to be not the proof of being (it was clear for him from the beginning as well as harmonious Cosmos) but the way of its comprehension, expression and thought. Although he was a disciple of the great English philosopher sensationalist-materialist Locke (1632–1704), he rejected all monistic philosophies of the time: sensationalism, materialism, idealism, empiricism, rationalism, etc. He considered them to be partial, dogmatic in their particularity, o­ne-sided and o­ne-dimensional, and therefore powerless in the face of holistic harmony and inadequate to it by their definition. Therefore, being a philosopher, he chose to abandon the philosophical monistic and guild way of expressing the whole and created a fundamentally different aesthetic way of its realization, which he regarded as the o­nly adequate. He has developed the philosophical aesthetics of holistic harmony, or the aesthetic philosophy of harmony, the main means of which are not concepts and mind, but intuition, imagination and artistic images. This position identifies him not as the philosopher, but as an inspired and thoughtful artist of holistic harmony, as a profound poet and aesthet.

His artistic intuition and aesthetic imagination are built entirely o­n the philosophical categories of the whole and a part. Philosophy for Shaftesbury is a reflection of the parts, rather than the whole, so it is always a guild dogmatic "system", to which the harmony of the whole is not available. o­n the contrary, art and aesthetics is a reflection of the whole in the completeness of its parts, thus harmony is available not to philosophy, but o­nly to art. In his teaching philosophy is subject to aesthetics, mind – intuition and imagination. Those are very difficult to understand, so the teaching remained misunderstood and unappreciated in the industrial monism. It gets understandable and recognized as a powerful precursor of pluralistic philosophy of harmony within Tetrism.

Shaftesbury was the first to acknowledge the impotence of the monistic theories in the face of harmony, and first to anticipate the understanding of the holistic harmonious society, harmonious human and harmonious thinking, was first to define the harmfulness of monistic theories. (Today we witness how such partial theories and their industrial civilization has put mankind o­n the brink of self-destruction.) He was the first in the history to offer the idea of reconciliation of the hostile, antagonistic philosophies and achievement of the agreement between mankind in harmonious way of thinking and worldview, preserving the internal polemics. (This idea is implemented for the first time in tetrism, which has reconciled the four mutually hostile world monisms, synthesizing their principles inside itself.) Shaftesbury is a great thinker of the harmonious whole and holistic harmony in nature, society and human. He becomes very relevant and in-demand in the context of raising awareness and building the harmonious civilization – harmonism. Like Adam Smith (1723–1790) was the first thinker of capitalism (industrialism), Shaftesbury was the first thinker of harmonism. There is no surprise that the second was preceded by the first o­ne, because industrialism toppled the harmonious whole from Shaftesbury's pedestal of higher ideal and claimed the dominance of a part (guild, branch, and corporation) over the whole.

3. Identity of beauty and virtue of harmony. The basis of the philosophical aesthetics of Shaftesbury is higher identity of beauty and virtue (goodness, righteousness) of harmony, which he took from Plato along with his identity mind/truth and justice, and developed it as the fundamental principle of his conception. Their identity is like God / Cosmos, embodying the harmony in beauty of His morality and in virtue of His beauty. Therefore, this identity is based o­n harmony, which is the main feature of both beauty and virtue. Both are characterized by the qualities of harmony: concord, proportionality, balance, measure, coherence, symmetry, etc. Aesthetic beauty is harmony of parts in the whole. The moral beauty is harmony of the human. (Today, in the ABC, it is expressed by harmony of the four individual spheres: see psinome).

Shaftesbury denies the priority of the selfish, partial and disharmonious human impulses and claims the priority of altruistic, holistic and harmonious o­nes. o­nly in this case, the internal harmony of soul and beauty of the human character are born. That’s where social harmony together with moral good and ethical beauty takes start. o­nly internal harmony can save a human from disharmonious selfish motives of hostility, violence, evil, greed and alike, which are destroying their harmonious nature. Inner harmony is a natural state of human, which is expressed in his "moral sense" as a mediator between an individual and social harmony, its beauty and virtue.

This feeling is an expression of virtue, which connects individual and social interests and harmonizes them. Therefore, virtue is good and happiness at the same time, both for human and society in their mutual caring and altruism. Harmony is the essence of virtue, therefore, virtue is the most beautiful thing in person. (Perhaps that’s where the idea of Dostoevsky "Beauty Will Save the World" comes from.) Virtue, according to Shaftesbury, is beneficent for society, and at the same time it is the happiness of an individual. Such conception of morality and happiness is harmonious. It is the opposite to purely utilitarian, partial and disharmonious understanding, which was confirmed in the industrial society and prevails to this day, when the behavior is determined by the narrow profit, private gain or the fear of punishment. Shaftesbury, in fact, creates an understanding of happiness and ethics of a harmonious civilization, becoming its first harbinger being three centuries ahead of it. Tetrism and the ABC have absorbed all the ideas of Shaftesbury considering harmony of virtue and beauty.

4. Enthusiasm of harmony and presage of harmonious future. Creating aesthetic image of holistic harmony in nature, society and human is accompanied by Shaftesbury enthusiasm, which proves to be harmonic, unlike the "heroic" o­ne of Giordano Bruno. According to the definition of Max Scheler, enthusiasm [35] is a dignity of human genius, and by Shaftesbury is considered to be a constant companion of human that has lifted to the level of thinking of holistic harmony, and therefore became a genius. Shaftesbury's enthusiasm and optimism make him the most brilliant harbinger of the harmonious civilization, who was three centuries ahead of it. Hardly can his role be overestimated. His name will be mentioned in all its textbooks, starting from the ABC of Harmony. The postulates of the article are represented in the model of the ABC tetranet thinking:

Leo Semashko, PhD; Philosopher and sociologist; Global Harmony Association (GHA) Founder and President since 2005. Address: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Web: www.peacefromharmony.orgЕ-mail: leo.semashko@gmail.com

Tatiana Kasatkina

Fyodor Dostoevsky: Beauty Will Save the World, Creating Harmony…

Dostoevsky (1821–1881) considers harmony to be a condition in which some sort of community rises to the level of absolute unity. And not o­nly it keeps the character and uniqueness of each of its components and parts, but also by virtue of this fully preserved uniqueness of the characters it bursts into blossom of overwhelming beauty.

Harmony and beauty are not quite synonyms, but the relation between terms seems to be very interesting: if we turn to the Greek language, we will find out that harmony is seen first of all as a connection, ratio of parts. While beauty is seen as availability, ability, i.e. suitability in which a thing is consistent with our intention and with its own purpose. Thus, a beautiful thing would be a thing that is absolutely suitable for being a part of the whole; o­nly then harmony is implemented… Dostoevsky was very sensitive to the word, so he o­nly spoke about harmony when the matter of relation and connection was being discussed. However, it happens that he gives implemented harmony the name of beauty, which means beauty of a perfect whole, rather than of components.

We can call beauty the power of transformation, since the implemented beauty of an individual seems to provide all surrounding people with an impetus towards unfolding their own beauty (that is what the character of the novel "The Idiot" refers to when talking about Nastasya Filippovna: "Such beauty is real power, <…> With such beauty as that o­ne might overthrow the world." [91; 8, 69]), and harmony is the result of such transformation. The impetus given by a beautiful person to those surrounding them, causing the desire of beauty, can lead not to a reciprocal disclosure of inner beauty, but to the desire to seize this property of beauty that has been already manifested. In other words this harmonizing the world and a man aspiration to present their own (personal) beauty turns into a selfish desire to assign beauty of the world. This leads to destruction, demolition of harmony, confrontation and fight. And that is how the novel "The Idiot" ends.

In the novel "The Brothers Karamazov," by virtue of the language peculiarities, preserved by Dostoevsky, the characters which express their views in the central chapters: a young seeking atheist with European education and an Orthodox monk-priest, help us understand what corresponds to the European understanding of "harmony" in the language of Russian Orthodox people. The word "harmony" in the speeches of Ivan Karamazov would sound like "paradise" in the Elder Zosima's speech.

Here is the declaration of Ivan Karamazov, that exactly defines the meaning of "eternal harmony" for him: "And so I accept God and am glad to, and what's more, I accept His wisdom, His purpose – which are utterly beyond our ken; I believe in the underlying order and the meaning of life; I believe in the eternal harmony in which they say we shall o­ne day be blended. I believe in the Word to Which the universe is striving, and Which Itself was "with God", and Which Itself is God… [91; 14, 214]. Ivan considers eternal harmony to be the result of the development of the world and men, the result, which the whole life of the Earth aims to, but which can be achieved o­nly in the end of time, being some kind of inaccessible ideal. In the famous description of an epileptic fit in his novel "The Idiot" the availability of this ultimate experience of harmony is being depicted: "… the moment <…>it seems to have been o­ne of harmony and beauty in the highest degree – an instant of deepest sensation, overflowing with unbounded joy and rapture, ecstatic devotion, and completest life". [91; 8, 188]

These quotations lead us to the determination of the final and absolute harmony, given by Dostoevsky in his famous diary record "Masha is lying o­n the table …" (he doesn't use the word "harmony" in this case, but in comparison with all mentioned above, it is obvious that this is what he is talking about) "Christ has entirely gone into mankind, and man strives to transform into the I of Christ as his ideal. If he should achieve that, he would clearly see that everyone who has this goal o­n earth has come to participate in the makeup of his final nature, that is, in Christ. (The synthetic nature of Christ is astounding. After all that is the nature of God, so, Christ is the reflection of God o­n earth.) Just how each I will be resurrected then – in the universal Synthesis – is difficult to imagine. But what is living, what has not died even before the final attainment and what is reflected in the final ideal – that must revive in the life that is final, synthetic, eternal. We will be people, constantly merging with everything, not giving in marriage and not marrying, in various arrangements (in my father's house are many mansions). All will then perceive and know itself for all time. But how that will be, in what form, in what nature – it is difficult for man to formulate for himself definitively." [91; 20, 174–175].

Thus: "We will be people, constantly merging with everything, not giving in marriage and not marrying, in various arrangements". The first condition of implemented harmony is unmerged and undivided being by image of the Trinity of God, the second "not giving in marriage and not marrying " is the destruction of the idea of an assignment of anything in the world within the humanity, including the other person, and the third "in various arrangements " means considering that all individuals (both human and national, as we shall see later) are different and this difference is not an obstacle for the implementation of unity, but the condition of its implementation, the assurance of its fullness. A man that seeks to transform into I of Christ, as their ideal, is a man who seeks to implement a hidden beauty, the image of God inside them. Dostoevsky described the process of formation of a beautiful individual in the following manner: "A strongly developed personality, fully convinced of its tight to be a personality, no longer having any fear for itself, cannot do otherwise because of its personality, that is, has no use other than to offer its all to all, so that others too may be just such autonomous and happy personalities. That is a law of nature; normally man tends toward this, [91; 5, 79] While commenting o­n an excerpt "Mary is lying o­n the table…", B. Vysheslavtsev used a metaphor which is familiar to the Western understanding of harmony metaphor for "the construction of a temple by the whole mankind" [92, 403–404]. Yet Dostoevsky mentions harmony all the time, using the words which are related not to construction, but to growth, emergence and development of the body, both when he speaks of harmony of human individuals, and when he talks about harmony of national individuals.
Having stated in the "Pushkin Speech" the essence of the Russian idea: "to show the end of European yearning in our Russian soul, omni-human and all-uniting, to include within our soul be brotherly love all our brethren, and at last, it may be, to pronounce the final Word of the great harmony, of the final brotherly communion of all nations in accordance with the law of the gospel of Christ!" [91; 26, 148]… earlier, in "Diary of a Writer," he describes the same process of implementation of harmony of the nations: "We shall be the first to declare to the world that it is not by suppressing the national personalities of other tribes that we strive to achieve our own well-being; o­n the contrary, we see that well-being o­nly in the freest and most independent development of all other nations and in fraternal unity with them, each o­ne enhancing the other, grafting their organic features o­nto ourselves and giving them our braches to graft o­nto themselves, communing with them in soul and spirit, learning from them and teaching them; and so it will be until such time as humanity, having achieved universal unity through the communion of nations of the world, will, as a great and magnificent tree, cast its shade over the happy earth." [91; 25, 100]

What is the difference between Ivan's "harmony" and Zosima's "paradise"? Mainly it is the fact that Ivan suggests that harmony can be achieved o­nly in a distant and inaccurate prospect, beyond the known being of the humanity. Zosima believes that paradise and harmony exist anywhere o­n earth, but that they are implicit, hidden from us by our imperfect vision, blinded by our greed. If our eyes are enlightened with the desire of self-giving, we will see that "life is paradise, we have the keys" [91; 15, 245], as Zosima says in the drafts for "The Brothers Karamazov." And later in those drafts he says: "The man is surrounded by the mystery of God, the mystery of the great order and harmony." [91; 15, 246]

While being surrounded by other frustrated personalities, who has not yet unfolded their beauty, an individual who has carried out inner beauty turns out to be crucified o­n the cross of their imperfections; voluntarily crucified in a burst of self-sacrifice of beauty. At the same time they appear to be locked in a cage with impenetrable barriers, as if restrained by its own self-giving (it gives – but they cannot receive), which makes this suffering unbearable.

Thus, Dostoevsky portrays a single process of the transformation of the world, consisting of two reciprocal steps, repeating again and again during this process, capturing new levels of the creation: implemented beauty of the components of the whole makes harmony possible, implemented harmony of the whole sets the beauty free…

Tatiana Kasatkina: Doctor of Philology, Head of Department of Theory of Literature in World Literature Institute of RAS, Chairman of the Commission for the Study of the creative heritage of F. Dostoevsky, held by Scientific Council of "The History of World Culture" of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Address: Moscow, Russia.

Web: www.imli.ru/structure/theory/kasatkina.php

Andrey Smirnov

Nikolay Danilevsky: First Idea of Harmonious Civilization

The unfairly forgotten Russian thinker Nikolay Yakovlevich Danilevsky (1822–1885) is traditionally considered in the section of Russian philosophy of the second part of the 19 century. Meanwhile his contributions cannot be reduced o­nly to that he explored Russian national culture, people's spirit and forms of its expression. No, his merits for humanity are much higher! He was the first to develop that approach which later brought worldwide fame to Spengler, Toynbee, Braudel and Huntington. The names of these researchers are widely heard, their works are constantly republished, and o­nly specialists know about surprisingly modern and still not well appreciated work of Danylevsky "Russia and Europe" published in 1871. It is hard to explain scientific and philosophical insight of Danilevsky because the information about him is very poor. He himself is also to be blamed for this: because of his modesty and rare selflessness he did not write memoirs, he simply served his motherland, truth and harmony.

N. Y. Danilevsky was born in the family of honored general. He studied in a private live-in schools, later in the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, was a student with free visiting at the faculty of natural sciences of St Petersburg University. Assisted together with Dostoevsky meetings of Petrashevsky's society and for that was arrested and spent several months in Peter and Paul Fortress. He was exiled from St. Petersburg and all his life lived in province working as a clerk. He participated in nine scientific expeditions, made a big contribution to the studies and conservation of natural riches of Russia. He was o­ne of the pioneers of that direction of researches and recommendations that now are called ecological. Danilevsky died in Tiflis in a current scientific trip and not had finished his book "Darvinism. Critical Research".

N. Y. Danilevsky in his main book "Russia and Europe" (81) came to revolutionary conclusions. Its postponed publication did not bring success to the author and was not noticed. Till the death of the author part of the books had not been yet sold though F. Dostoevsky was delighted about this book.

In his work Danilevsky aspired to overcome the confusion of previous theories of general movement of the humanity o­n the way of progress. It resulted in superiority of some peoples and lack of development of others. He suggested refusing to divide the history in periods (formations) and to introduce the concept of cultural-historical types as "independent, original plans … of historical development". In other words, in historical being he defined isolated civilizational units with its specific traces in different areas of human activity. He defined 10 local civilizations or cultural-historical types which conserve them specialties in ages. More diverse these types are, more possibilities are for the blossoming of culture and humanity in general. The recognition of equivalence and diversity of these types makes Danilevsky by the founder of historical pluralism unlike the dominating historical monism. This was his first revolutionary conclusion directed against Euro centrist theories which more often justified European colonialism.

Another revolutionary conclusion of Danilevsky: definition inside the diversity of historical types their general patrimonial (human) essence determining them harmony or disharmony. He recognizes four general categories or spheres of cultural-historical activity: religion, culture (science, art, technics), politics and economy. These are four bases of every type. But some civilizations concentrated their forces o­n o­ne of these spheres of activity (as Jews – o­n religion, Greeks – o­n culture), others showed themselves at the same time in two or three directions; but o­nly Russia and the Slavs according to Danilevsky got possibility to equally develop all four spheres of human activity and exercise the full "four-basis" culture (82). Equal development of four spheres of society is as a matter of fact the first idea of harmonious civilization which example was found by Danilevsky in the Russian historical type.

These spheres were determined first by Marx in "German Ideology" in 1845. Danilevsky o­nly replaces his social sphere with religion as the most important social factor. If at Marx these spheres serve as source of disharmony in a form of eternal class antagonism which is determined by his materialistic monism (primacy of the economy sphere), at Danilevsky as a pluralist recognizing equal need of these four spheres, they are sources of social harmony. That is why we can classify Danilevsky as the first founder of the four spheres of society as deep sources of social harmony, harmonious civilization and as elements of the ABC of Harmony. That is why just Danilevsky and not Marx can be recognized as the spiritual precursor and prophet of harmonious civilization and its ABC which is primarily represented in our book. Danilevsky was the first to investigate social harmony and found its resource – the harmony of spheres and its culmination – harmonious civilization. These are very actual conclusions!

The content of the article in a whole is expressed in a model of tetranet harmonious thinking accepted in the ABC of Harmony.

Andrey Smirnov, Professor, Department of Philosophy and Theory of Culture, Novgorod State University, by name of Yaroslav the Wise.

Address: 173020, Russia Novgorod, Moskovskaya 28/1/33.

Web: www.novsu.ru, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=ru_c&key=305

E-mail: kadet0707@rambler.ru

Svetlana Kuskovskaya

Leo Tolstoy: School of Harmony

"Education will save the world" – this was said by Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) shortly before his death. This thought kept haunting him starting from the youth and through his whole life. The main advantage of the education for him is the absence of pernicious unilateral character and the harmony in the unity of all spheres of each child of which his integrity consists. It is put by the nature and is developed (if is developed) from the early childhood in family and school. Just for this purpose the school of harmony is necessary and Tolstoy was searching for it all his life.

In the history of pedagogics his name is situated next to the name of Jean-Jaque Russeau. Both are recognized as the founders of the free pedagogics. But in comparison with Russeau Tolstoy made a step forward establishing the idea of non- violence education as the most productive way of teaching and education. For him each school is "an experiment" which makes sense when there is the spirit of freedom and love in children, teachers, parents. The non-violence education for him is harmonious, it takes a child as a whole and that is why it is deprived of compulsion and is free for him.

The main purpose of school is that a pupil studies in it well and willingly then they will study successfully. That is why in school a child should be given full freedom: they can choose methods of education offered by a teacher, determine which subjects are to be taught to them, how to behave at a lesson and for how long it should last, what kind of works to carry out. A teacher can not force a pupil to anything. This way all-lateral, harmonious development of creative forces of children is provided. This is the way of free self development [47].

Purpose of school according to Tolstoy is the education of a creative, moral individual as a whole. The purpose of teaching and education is the forming of creative thinking and moral consciousness. A system of education has to assist the harmony of a pupil development.

L.N. Tolstoy paid attention to that usually "a development is wrongly taken for a purpose" and that teachers assist a unilateral, special development and not a harmonious development of a child as a whole, as an individual and a human being. This contains "an eternal mistake of all pedagogical theories". According to him the primal image of harmony, truth, beauty and good is a born child. His further mental development in such school "is not o­nly not the means for achievement of that harmony ideal which we carry in us but is the obstacle… for the achievement of the highest ideal of harmony". A teacher in it is a bad sculptor who instead of scratching out the superfluous is sticking more and more, "inflating, closing up, pumping up abnormalities, correcting, teaching". Though a child "needs o­nly some material for filling up himself harmoniously and all-laterally".

How good the ideas of non-violent pedagogics may be, they still remain just ideas, and if a Teacher doesn't come to school then who is capable to put them in practice. To him threads of searches and inventions are pulled together, through him the axis of Pedagogics of non-violence passes, Culture of non-violence, Self-consciousness of non-violence. "If a teacher combines in himself the love to his work and to his pupils he is a perfect teacher". Later Tolstoy notes o­ne more quality which is necessary for a teacher – a capability of self development, movement forward together with a child. In his opinion a teacher must help a child to answer the following main life questions: "What am I and what is my relation with the endless world?", "What should I consider under all possible conditions good and what should I consider under all possible conditions bad?", "how to live to be happy?". These are as a matter of fact the questions of the world harmony and a human being in it. He created his school to search answers to them [48].

School curriculum was composed by Tolstoy taking into account that his pupils got a wide range of knowledge covering the world as a whole whenever is possible.

Pupils studied 12 subjects: 1. Mechanical and gradual reading, 2. Writing, 3. Calligraphy, 4. Grammar, 5. Holy history, 6. Russian history, 7. Drawing, 8. Plotting, 9. Singing, 10. Mathematics, 11. Conversations o­n natural sciences, 12. Law of God.

Didactical principles: 1. Freedom in teaching and education; 2. Non-violence; 3. Consideration of private experience of a child and support o­n this experience; 4. Development of study interest in a child; 5. Individualizations of studies.

The problem of education methods and forming the concepts gave the work of Tolstoy the meaning of "the philosopher's stone". He pointed out in his diary that the formation of a creative and moral individual with integral and harmonious thinking, that was intuitively realized by the author long before he was recognized in the modern history, depends entirely o­n the solution of this question. [49].

The article content as a whole is expressed in the model of tetranet thinking, representing the philosophy of social harmony:

Svetlana Kuskovskaya, Primary school teacher: School № 2, New Ladoga, Leningrad Region, Russia. Education: Leningrad Pedagogical Institute, specialization in pedagogy and methods of elementary education, 1979: second degree – specialization in Psychology and Valueology, 1998. Have two sons: 1974 and 1981.

Web: www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=479

E-mail: svetlana-5506@bk.ru

Maitreyee Bardhan Roy

Swami Vivekananda: Life and Teaching in Harmony

The religious prophet and a social reformer about whom I want to talk to is Swami Vivekananda .Born to a very rich family of Kolkata India o­n 12 January 1863. He was the son of an Attorney named Mr Biswanath Dutta and was known in his pre monastic life as Narendra Nath Dutta. Unfortunately premature death of his father left the family in destitute. As the eldest son of the family, the responsibility of running the family came o­n him. He had been trying heard to provide food to the family left back o­n him by his father but pain ,distress and poverty in human life as he witnessed in his everyday living left before him a question that whether God exists or not. If God exists then how he looks like? Since he was unable to get a convincing reply from any o­ne he was restless and unhappy.

The English professor of his College told him about Sri Ramakrishna, the God incarnate staying in Dkshineswar Temple. He was a strong believer of Shakti (Power) In Hindu religion we call the deity as Ma Kali (in Hindu religion all powerful figures are shown as female (Goddess)) So Ma Kali (The Goddess of Power) is the symbol of power energy and the destroyer of all evil. Swami Vivekananda went to Shri Ramakrishna and asked him whether he had seen God. Ramakrhishna replied yes he had seen and he had seen God in the same manner as he was seeing Swami Vivekananda. Though Swami Vivekananda had some confusion regarding Ramakrishna's words but he was feeling attracted towards him and started visiting him off and o­n. Sri Ramakrishna also decided to take him up as his disciple. (It need to be mentioned here that Hindu religion under Sri Ramakrishna was free from any form of superstition. He used to see God in human being and through love he wanted to bring changes in them. So we call Ramakrishna as a social reformer. There are stories that narrate how Ramakrishna had protected people surrounding him from vices and attracted them towards pious life. In Hindu religion they are called the Avatar (incarnation of God, who came to the universe to protect people from all vices.)

Sri Ramkrishna was attracted by Swami Vivekananda's personality and intended to entrust the responsibility to him to protect the society and to protect them from odd involvement. So immediately after the death of Ramkrishna, Swamiji started wandering the different parts of India with an intention to see the God and to explore the world. During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was the first religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that the real cause of India's downfall was the neglect of the masses. The immediate need was to provide food and other bare necessities of life to the hungry millions. For this they should be taught improved methods of agriculture, village industries, etc.

It was in this context that Vivekananda grasped the crux of the problem of poverty in India (which had escaped the attention of social reformers of his days): owing to centuries of oppression, the downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to improve their lot. It was first of all necessary to infuse into their minds faith in themselves. For this they needed a life-giving, inspiring message. Swamiji found this message in the principle of the Atman (Heart or Mind), the doctrine of the potential divinity of the soul, taught in Vedanta, the ancient system of religious philosophy of India. He saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion, but they had never been taught the life-giving, ennobling principles of Vedanta and how to apply them in practical life.

Thus to Swami Vivekananda, the masses needed two kinds of knowledge: secular knowledge to improve their economic condition, and spiritual knowledge to infuse in them faith in themselves and strengthen their moral sense. The next question was how to offer spirituality in them? According to Swami Vivekananda this can be done through education of the masses.

Swamiji then came to know that the World's Parliament of Religions would be held in Chicago in September 1893. His friends and admirers in India wanted him to attend the Parliament. Swamiji, however, wanted to have an inner certitude and divine call regarding his mission. Both of these he got while he sat in deep meditation o­n the rock-island. Swami Vivekananda left for America from Mumbai o­n 31 May 1893.

His speeches at the World's Parliament of Religions made him famous as an orator by divine right' and as a 'Messenger of Indian wisdom to the Western world'. o­nly two fragments from his WELCOME ADDRESS, Sept 11, 1893 are:

"I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not o­nly in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation."

"Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal." [105]

After the Parliament, Swamiji spent nearly three and a half years spreading Vedanta as lived and taught by Sri Ramakrishna. Thus Swami Vivekananda as a religious prophet was the first to talk o­n the need for involvement of all in the development of the country. Swami Vivekananda called upon the Indian people to think of all and to love all. In his own words, he pleaded the Indian to love all. To end. it is essential to mention the main mission and vision of Swami Vivekananda as a social and religious harmony Prophet, as a deep lover of Human Being and Hindu religion.

Swami Vivekananda's great experience of harmonious teaching and life has paramount importance for the formation of a harmonious civilization through harmonious education, the essential tool of which is The ABC of harmony. Developing a power heritage of traditional culture of harmony, which found the vivid expression in the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi, India has all reasons to become the educational cradle and world's spiritual leader of the global harmonious civilization in the 21^st century.

The article content as a whole is expressed in the model of tetranet thinking, representing the philosophy of social harmony:

Dr. Maitreyee Bardhan Roy, Kolkata, Basanti Devi College Principal. We train up our students to love themselves, to love each other and to love the world. We involve our students in Social Services through National Service Scheme. Also, we have initiated a Women Study Centre from 2009 o­nward to encourage the locality women residing in the poor neighborhood to develop their skill and to become economically empowered. Back home we have our 'Beautiful Mind', a parental organization o­n disability. We socialize our special children to love the world. We train them up that the world is beautiful and through peace, love and harmony, we encourage them to grow up with confidence. We share our peace and happiness together. So we are self contended and happy. We train mothers to gather strength in them. Thus we are happy and we love all. I am Vice General Director, National Harmony/Peace Academy (NHPA), GHA, India.

Address: 147B Rash Behari Avenue. Kolkata-700029, India

Web: www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=317

E-mail: maitreyee25@rediffmail.com

Surendra Pathak

Mahatma Gandhi: Harmony of Non-Violent Civil Disobedience

Mahatma Gandhi's civil disobedience action as passive resistance and refusal to obey certain laws, also called the Satyagraha. The Sanskrit words 'satya' means truth, and 'agraha' means firmness. As a tool for direct social action, 'Satyagraha' is a 'non-violent civil disobedience' (Ahimsa) insistence o­n truth in the political agitations. This was not a weapon of class struggle it was instead an instrument of unity. It was a way to remove injustice and restore social harmony, to the benefit of all. His experiment with Satyagraha uses people around the world, especially in South Africa and India.

He assumed the root cause of oppression, and poverty was the insensitive & violent behavior of the rulers and officials and their materialist values. He maintained to adopt the culture of non-violence, i.e. Ahimsa, (which is derived from the Sanskrit verb root 'hims', means "desire to kill," and the prefix a – is negation so 'a-himsa' means literally "lacking any desire to kill), which is the o­nly way to attain peace, and harmony. Gandhi explains his philosophy and way of life in his autobiography [50].

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) was the biggest political, social and spiritual personality and, a o­ne of the well known world leaders, India has ever produced. His pioneering initiative was of course, the Indian independence movement, using the non-violence – civil disobedience as the major tool, which eventually turned out to be the most effective method to oust the British Regime from India. Even though he launched the political movement primarily to get India free and make it a sovereign State, his social contribution was no less either. His entire life was full of selfless services, particularly for uplifting the suppressed class. This he did also in South Africa, where he witnessed the unfriendly treatment to the Indian community.

After returning to India Mahatma Gandhi did the same experiment here, as the country was suffering from casteism and other social evils, which was the main hindrance in bringing the Indian population under o­ne umbrella. Then he made people of the country aware of education, literacy, socio-political development and changing world's affairs. Mahatma Gandhi's civil disobedience was perfect in all respects. Gandhi did a lot of welfare activities for women, dalits and other untouchable communities but his dream of maintaining complete harmony remained unfulfilled.

He aimed to achieve Swaraj (self-rule), the independence of India from British colonial rule. Gandhi famously led 'Non-cooperation movement' during freedom struggle of India. To protest the salt tax, imposed by the Britisher, Gandhi led the 400 km 'Dandi Salt March' (1930). He finally led the 'Quit India movement' (1942). People from all walks of life, belonging to different communities, class, caste, and creed joined his movements. These were absolutely non-violent movements. This was his major success to bring about a social harmony.

Mahatma Gandhi had just o­ne fundamental commitment, and that was to establish peace in the country and ensure the basic rights of all individuals. Throughout his life, he traveled across the country, to maintain harmony among different communities like – the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist and Muslims. That is why, he was acknowledged as the "Father of the Nation" in India. Gandhi practiced and advocated non-violence and truth in all situations. His living was simple, organizing an ashram that was self-sufficient in its needs. Making his own clothes, woven with the hand spun yarn he spun o­n a charkha (spinning wheel). He was perfect vegetarian and, later, fruitarian. Gandhi underwent long fasts as a tool for protest and as well as for self-purification.

In the views of Mahatma Gandhi, culture of violence caused by seven social sins (Stephen R. Covey, 1990) of the desperate and confused world: wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; commerce without morality; science without humanity; worship without sacrifice and politics without principles, and this showed that his vision and mission were for the welfare of entire humanity. Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence requires o­ne to live life as an eternal quest for truth. It is often interpreted dogmatically or rejected as impractical, although it is founded o­n the positive and near-universal values of love, respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation. The essence of Satyagraha is to eliminate antagonisms without harming the antagonists themselves and seeks to end the relationship with the antagonist, but instead seeks to transform or "purify" it to a higher level.

To understand Gandhi's harmonious and humanitarian views, I want to quote two of his citations, "I want to think in terms of the whole world. My patriotism includes the good of mankind in general. Therefore, my service of India includes the service of humanity." Another "My mission is not merely brotherhood of Indian humanity. My mission is not merely freedom of India, though today it undoubtedly engrosses practically the whole of my life and the whole of my time. But through realization of freedom of India I hope to realize and carry o­n the mission of the brotherhood of man…." [50a].

Gandhi influenced many world leaders: Martin Luther King Jr., US president Barack Obama, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness Dalai Lama, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and so o­n. The model for main article contents:

Surendra Pathak, Ph.D. in Linguistics. Associate Professor and Head of the Department, Value Education (Chetna Vikas Moolya Shiksha), IASE University. 34 workshops and orientation programmers for the faculty of universities and colleges. President, GHA-India. Mobile: +919414086007

Address: IASE University, Gandhi Vidya Mandir, Sardarshahar, 331401, Dist. Churu, Rajasthan, India. Web: http://iaseuniversity.academia.edu/SurendraPathak,

www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=481

E-mail: pathak06@gmail.com, iase.internationalseminar@gmail.com

Julia Budnikova

Nicholas Roerich: Concept of Harmony in Culture Doctrine

We gather together in the name of culture and each of us of course, feels keenly the need of true unity around this concept which leads the forces of evolution.
N. Roerich "Spiritual Treasures"

Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) spells the word "Culture" with a capital letter. Culture, he says, is "the all-embracing, the all-beautiful, the all-inspiring and all-uplifting" concept [84]. Roerich had his own way of deciphering the meaning of this word. He identifies two roots of the word: cult – "reverence" and Ur – "light". It must be noted here that healso often spelled the word "Light" with a capital letter, signifying its higher meaning. "Culture is reverence for Light. <…> Culture is the weapons of Light. "

Roerich separated the concepts of culture and civilization."If someone believes that the 'civilized' man cannot go wild they must be mistaken. Civilized Savage – is the most gruesome sight," – Nicholas Roerich wrote in 1945, after the horrors of World War II, which showed the ambiguity of achievements of civilization, that were sometimes carrying chaos and destruction. The artist believed that the future of humanity lies in the harmonious combination of achievements of culture and civilization. He drew our attention to the common destiny of our planet and the universe, warned of the danger of the ecological crisis as well as of the break of the harmonic relationships with nature.

"For what can be more resplendent and majestic than the service and realization of the enlightened elements under the shade of which are created great nations? It is necessary, by all means, to strengthen consciousness, that the thoughts of Culture be not abstract, but a constructive affirmation." [85]. By the enlightened elements that make up human culture (the culture of behavior, the culture of relations, the artistic culture) Roerich implied the knowledge of the laws of nature (of man and the world). The o­ne of the greatest value among them is the law of harmony, by which Roerich understood Cosmic Harmony that involves all aspects of our existence. Cosmic Harmony is the original harmony of color and sound, which forms the existence, and the harmony of natural elements, which is the key to prosperity of the Earth and successful management of the economy, and the harmony of body and soul, macrocosm and microcosm and, finally, the harmony of relationships in which the main role belongs to the heart, but not the mind.

Beauty is o­ne of the cornerstones of the philosophy of Nicholas Roerich. Not beauty, but the awareness of beauty will save the world – the phrase that he and his son Svetoslav Roerich, who was also a painter, used to say. Under the sign of beauty we march joyfully. Beauty is our victory. Beauty is what we pray for. Beauty unites us. There is no doubt, that beauty and harmony are indivisible and therefore, the perception of harmony, the vision of harmony and feeling of harmony, the adherence to the laws of harmony make the development of humanity and peace o­n Earth possible.

"Plato ordained in his treatises o­n statesmanship: "one must consider education in music as the most important; thanks to it Rhythm and Harmony are deeply inrooted into the soul, dominate it, dill it with beauty and transform man into a beautiful thinker…" Music had in Athens, as service to all Muses, a far deeper and broader meaning, than today. This conception embraced not o­nly the harmony of sound, but the whole domain of poetry, the whole domain of high perceptions, of exquisite forms and creation in general, in its best sense. The great service to the Muses was a real education of taste, which in everything cognizes the great Beautiful, Just to this eternal Beauty in all its vitality we have to revert, if o­nly the ideas of high constructiveness are not rejected by humanity [86].

For a man to get a clear understanding of the purpose and meaning of their existence, for the laws of creation to reveal to a man, a transformation through harmony should take place first. The conditions for this transformation would be creativity, cultural development and cooperation.

Nicholas and Helena Roerich brought to the modern world the knowledge of the Great Teachers of the East (Mahatmas) – The Teaching of Living Ethics, in which we can clearly follow the idea that the spiritual practice in the coming era should be exercised through Culture (which is viewed as the union of the highest achievements of religion, arts and sciences). Being a synthesis of spiritual knowledge of East and West, the Teaching of Living Ethics is based upon the concept of harmony and proportion as o­ne of the key concepts o­n the way to understanding the world order and performing the right action. "The consequences of incommensurateness are monstrous, and o­ne must not thrust a monstrosity upon the world through o­ne's own ignorance. The structure must be harmonious." "‘Love o­ne another’ – this commandment was wisely given. Nothing can harmonize psychic energy better than love" [87].

In the teachings of Mahatma we find a thought that is of high importance to us. It is the thought that a person is o­nly able to perceive the higher vibrations of the cosmos while being in the state of harmony. "Harmony is not always attainable, even if it is proclaimed verbally. It is a common error to think that harmony can be established by reason. Few realize that o­nly the heart is the abode of harmony. People reiterate about unity, but their hearts are full of stinging arrows. People repeat many sayings from various ages about the power of unity, but they do not try to apply this truth to life. They reproach the whole world for dissensions and at the same time they themselves are sowing disunity. Verily, it is impossible to live without the heart. Heartlessness cannot find a harmonious abode… Do not think that enough has been said about unity and about creative harmony. o­n each page it is necessary to repeat about this very thing; in every letter unity and harmony should be mentioned" [88].

Proclaiming aspiration to the Highest spheres of life as a vector for human development, the teaching of Living Ethics states: "The sounding of harmony conquers the confusion of chaos" [89]. Harmony opens the "hidden entrances" to the Higher World.

"… The consciousness whispers that a hustling about is o­nly pretended movement. Again we come to the path of rhythm and harmony. Hustle is dissonance, and it can o­nly irritate and dismember accumulations. o­nly a broadened consciousness understands the boundary line between striving and hustling. Many, in general, do not understand why there are such subdivisions, but they certainly have not heard the music of the spheres, and they do not know the significance of rhythm." "No o­ne can perceive subtle vibrations if he has not assimilated rhythm and does not understand the significance of harmony. To some it is empty sound, but there are those who have already harmonized their whole life. Not the rhythm of mediocre music but the fiery rhythm of the heart is what I have in mind" [90].

In harmony, therefore, Roerich sees the guarantee of the genuine human evolution, but harmony itself is impossible without the culture of heart.

The basic postulates of this article are presented in the model of tetranet thinking, proposed and developed in the ABC of Harmony:

Julia Budnikova. Graduate: Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University (1988). Vurrently: Deputy Director for permanent exhibition, tours and methodology, St. Petersburg State Museum Institute of the Roerich family.

Address: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Web: www.roerich.spb.ru

E-mail:jb@roerich.spb.ru

Charles Mercieca

Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Essence of Global Harmony

Mother Teresa was born in Skopje in Macedonia under the name of Agnes Gonxha, Bojaxhiu. She was born o­n August 26, 1910 and passed away o­n September 5, 1997. She spent her lifetime bringing peace and joy in the hearts of many that she soon began to be viewed by spiritual writers as the essence of global harmony. Although she was small in physical stature, yet in the spiritual sphere she proved to be a gigantic figure, standing high above others.

Mission in Perspective

For 45 years she ministered the poor, sick, orphans and dying in many countries, although she spent the bulk of her time in Calcutta. Needless to say, she did not have an easy life. In her effort to bring God's peace and love in the hearts of people, she had to struggle and overcome numerous obstacles. She saw the presence of God in every human being, regardless of being good or bad. In view of this, she treated everyone with deep respect.

She firmly believed that with true love and genuine respect for others we can bring about peace in this world. In fact, she viewed love as the secret of success in our work, regardless of how difficult and impossible it may seem to be eventually. She never made money the condition for her work. Her secret of success can be traced to her belief in prayer and sacrifice. She also believed that the more we give to others the more we end up receiving from others.

In fact, many residences were donated to her Missionary Sisters of Charity ending up having 610 missions in 123 countries. By the time she passed away she had 4,000 sisters ministering to those in dire need across every continent in the entire world. The global harmonious community she tried so hard to create led her to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Needless to say, she received a lot of honors from heads of state including the US President Ronald Reagan. Mother Teresa was totally detached from the material things of this world.

This means she lived as she always wanted, namely, to be at the constant service of the poorest of the poor. Needless to say, she got her inspiration mostly from her Lord and Master, Jesus of Nazareth. She tried to join Him in her distress and obstacles she faced in his agony prior to His crucifixion and harsh death. Mother Teresa was full of virtue, from where she got all of her strength. She was humble, patient, determined, courageous and revealed perseverance in all of her undertakings. As many said quite often, she revealed to be a real living saint.

Beneficial Legacy in Operation

In fact, shortly after she passed away people from all over the world that knew her, were looking forward for her canonization. As a result, Pope John Paul II beatified her a few years after and became officially known as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. This is o­ne step that precedes canonization. In her travels around the world, she was treated with great respect by people from all walks of life and professions and by people from every culture and religion.

Mother Teresa, who became the essence of global harmony in the eyes of the world, won the admiration of many to the extent that quite a good number were converted and started to lead a much better life. She proved by her work and actions that the greatness of human beings is not measured by the riches they have, the position they occupy in life or the shape of their body. Rather, their greatness is to be measured by the degree of their virtues.

For those who are genuinely interested in coming across her in person, there are many videos that were made of speeches she gave o­n a variety of topics across the world. She was a soft speaker whose capability to touch your heart deeply could not be ignored or taken lightly. In this world of ours we might have experienced individuals who tried to shake the world through hatred and revenge. This was never the case with Mother Teresa who tried to reform our global community through self sacrifice, true dedication and genuine love.

If we were to study her work properly we could conclude that if the military in every nation were to be replaced by the Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa founded, permanent peace would soon become a feasibility that cannot be taken lightly. The secret of world peace lies in our ability to eventually develop a genuine global harmony, following the example of Mother Teresa without any hesitation.

In view of this, we need to develop the habit to make substantial contributions for world peace through the development of global harmony, which would make everyone a winner and no o­ne a loser.

The basic postulates of the article are expressed in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking, proposed and developed in the ABC of Harmony:

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.

President, International Association of Educators for World Peace

Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,

Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament

Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University, USA.

Hon President & Professor, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich

Global Harmony Association Vice-President.

Phone: (1) 256-534-5501 / Fax: (1) 256-536-1018

Web: www.iaewp.org, www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=129

E-mail: mercieca@knology.net

Kanak Mal Dugar

Shri Kanhaiya Lal Dugar, Founder of Gandhi Vidya Mandir and IASE University: Embodiment of Brotherhood through Harmony

Swami Shri Ram Sharan ji, formerly known as Kanhaiya Lal Dugar, was an epitome of equipoise of Selfless Service and highest Spirituality. He dedicated his life for Humanism and lived o­n the path of Self realization through Service to Humanity.

Born o­n 22^nd February 1922 in a very wealthy business family in Sardarshahar in Rajasthan, Kanhaiya Lal renunciated his material pursuits and dedicated his life in the selfless service till he left heavenly abode o­n 31^st July 2006, with the belief that as long as a human is living and consuming the material wealth of this world o­ne should repay equally to serve the nature and world at large. He believed that this has to go equally along with the intuitional practice to realize the almighty. So, as long as o­ne lives the physical body should be utilized to serve the world and the spiritual body, i.e. the divine mind to dedicate in the Sadhana (intuitional practice) of realization of God.

His service objective was to inculcate harmonious relations among all community, nations, religions to live harmoniously with nature. From 1940s when he was young he moulded his life warding off luxurious material pursuits bestowed to him in legacy.

When he started his social life there were strong caste factions segregating the untouchables, whom he tried to bring them in the mainstream of society and establish harmony. He developed two colonies for homeless poor of backward class. He always tried to eradicate alcoholism, tobacco and drugs from which many people were freed.

Throughout his life he was active in establishing the harmony amongst different religion by organizing inter-religion seminars and inter-faith dialogues amongst religious leaders. He spread the message of communal harmony and selfless service through his discourses throughout India and abroad.

He was multifaceted personality. His knowledge of Indian literature and philosophy, music, architecture, poetry was a rare blending. His motto was –"KOI AUR NAHI, KOI GAIR NAHI"… "KUCH MAT CHAHO, KAAM AA JAO" ("No o­ne is other, no o­ne is another" … Do not have longings, be useful").

He was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's vision of selfless service. He was closely associated with Acharya Vinoba Bhave, with whom he conferred about donating his personal wealth in the service to masses. He was felt that apart from rural upliftment programmes, there was urgent need for spread of education in this areas.

Shri Dugar renounced his Palatial Haveli (mansion), and moved to a Spartan hutment o­n the outskirts of Sardarshahr and pledged himself to the services of the downtrodden. For the selection of the site for his initiative for rural development and reconstruction, the matter was discussed among the top leaders of the country. The then Dy. Prime Minister of India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel offered land in and around Delhi wherever Kanhaiya Lal Ji selected. But Acharya Vinoba Bhave said "light the lamp where it is the darkest" thus Kanhaiya Lal Ji selected Sardarshahr to be his arena of his activities because it was a desert area having very negligible literacy (below 2%), where water was scarce and where people lived in penury and paucity.

In 1947, at the time of partition of the country many Muslim families were felt threatened in Sardarshahr. Shri Dugar offered them assurance and solace and worked tirelessly for communal harmony till the tension subsided. Even today those families do acknowledge this fact, that in spite of the threat they were safe under his protection.

In 1950, a charitable Society (NGO) was registered in the name of Gandhi Vidya Mandir (GVM) at Sardarshahr. Gradually it diversified itself from original adult education and rural development to Institute of Advanced Studies in Education (IASE) Deemed University encompassing departments of Engineering and Management, Life Sciences, Humanities College. Today it has five schools, twelve colleges, and etc.

Right from the inception Swamiji started value based education as an essential part of education. For his any education without values was the main cause of social disharmony. He inculcated the sense of sacrifice and values among teachers and staff.

Swamiji's true vision was to turn around the face of this desert area. Water project has made a very significant change in its topography. Here GVM in his words is:

"Gandhi Vidya Mandir signifies an educational establishment that sows the seed of humanism into each human being. If I were to elaborate, 'Gandhi Vidya' would augment a life-style that is useful to all, benign to all; which could keep the human society held together despite diversity of views, environments and aptitudes, by an abiding bond of love; and that should, as well, be able to prevent degeneration of human society by providing equitable education of the highest order in different streams of knowledge. That would also foster rural upliftment, character building, creation of addiction free-society, self-purification, awareness of health and hygiene, "think no ill – do no ill" to anyone, and an urge to extend a helping hand in fulfilling the basic needs (of the society). I would call it Gandhi Vidya and its veritable sanctum would be Mandir."

Swamiji's vision has taken shape in the form of Gandhi Vidya Mandir doing yeomen service to the cause of humanity at large, particularly those disadvantaged by providing them education, vocational training and health facilities. It is because of his vision that the spirit of service and sacrifice pervades among those who work here.

The article main contents are expressed by the model:

Kanak Mal Dugar, Chairman, Gandhi Vidya Mandir; Chancellor, IASE deemed University; Honorary President, GHA-India. Address: Sardarshahar, Rajasthan, India.

Web: www.gandhividyamandir.org.in, www.iaseuniversity.org.in,

www.peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=481

E-mail: kanakmaldugar@gmail.com

Leo Semashko

Dalai Lama: Need for Religious Harmony

His Holiness Dalai Lama the XIV^th (born July 6, 1935) is the spiritual leader of Tibetan people, Buddhist of Tibet and the adjoining regions. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. He is known best for his commitment to interreligious harmony and the features of his noble character and spiritual wisdom. The most significant event in this respect was his public talk o­n "Bridging the Faith Divide" at Chicago University, July 17, 2011. In this article we will try to describe briefly its basic postulates, using [119].

In his early book "Toward a True Kinship of Faiths" Dalai Lama wrote about his trip to Chennai (then Madras): "There I was first directly exposed to people, and to a movement, that attempted to bring together the wisdom of the world's spiritual traditions as well as science. I felt among the members a sense of tremendous openness to the world's great religions and a genuine embracing of pluralism. When I returned to Tibet in 1957, after more than three months in what was a most amazing country for a young Tibetan monk, I was a changed man. I could no longer live in the comfort of an exclusivist standpoint that takes Buddhism to be the o­nly true religion."

His Holiness said that most religions believe a distinction needs to be made between the sinner and the sin. While the sin has to be opposed, the sinner needs forgiveness, he said.

His Holiness said that at different times different teachers have highlighted the wonderful spirituality, the message of harmony. He said it was understandable when there was conflict over money or power, but conflict over religion was not understandable because the very purpose of religion was to create inner peace. He added that most conflicts in the name of religion are actually not based o­n religious faith but because of power and money.

His Holiness said most of the misunderstandings over religion is o­n account of the lack of awareness. He cited his own experience to substantiate this. He said when he was in Tibet, he used to feel that his religion, Buddhism, was the best religion and that other religions were "so so." He added that it was o­nly after coming over to India and interacting with people of other traditions, like the late Thomas Merton and Mother Teresa, that he has come to appreciate the significance of all faiths. He recalled his conversation with Islamic scholars who said the accurate definition of Jihad was attacking o­ne's own destructive emotion.

His Holiness said all religions promoted the same practice of love, forgiveness, tolerance, self-discipline, moral principle, truth and justice. He said there was philosophical difference among religions, pointing out that all major religious traditions could be divided into two categories: theistic and non-theistic religions.

His Holiness then highlighted the need for several religious traditions in this world. He said the concept of o­ne Religion, o­ne Truth may seem contradicting with the concept of Several Religions, Several Truths. However, he said that at the individual level having clarity with o­ne Religion, o­ne Truth may be more suitable, while to a community and the society as a whole, Several Religions, Several Truths was something that nobody could ignore.

His Holiness then explained the development of human society. Initially, people depended o­n prayers to resolve all problems. He talked about Tibetans depending o­n rituals for solution to their problems. Gradually, with scientific and technological development, people began to repose faith in science. His Holiness said that towards the end of the 20^th century people began to realize that material development alone did not have all the answers. This is indicated by people who succumbed to such addictions as tranquilizers, alcohol and drugs, particularly among the younger people.

His Holiness also expanded o­n his two commitments of promotion of religious harmony (at the level of being a Buddhist monk) and promotion of human values (at the level of being o­ne among the nearly seven billion human beings o­n this earth). His Holiness pointed out that he propagated three ways of promoting religious harmony. First, by interacting with scholars of different religions whereby commonality and differences among religious traditions could be discussed. Secondly, by meeting among religious practitioners who has deeper experiences. Thirdly, organizing group pilgrimages to sacred places of different religious traditions. His Holiness gave his own experiences of implementing these three approaches.

He also talked about corruption in society becoming serious in India, China and even in the United States. He said that corruption occurred not because of lack of education but o­n account of absence of moral values. He said that basic human moral principles were not based o­n religion. He felt secular ethics was something that can provide a solution to better human beings. He explained that his concept of secularism was along the Indian definition in that it did not mean rejection of religion but respect for all religions [119].

The Dalai Lama's experience in the development of inter-religious harmony has historical meaning, because without it the harmonious civilization is impossible.

The postulates of his speech are represented in the model of tetranet harmonious thinking:

Leo Semashko, PhD; Philosopher and sociologist; Global Harmony Association (GHA) Founder and President since 2005. Address: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Web: www.peacefromharmony.orgЕ-mail: leo.semashko@gmail.com

Leo Semashko

The Prince of Wales: Revolution of Thinking – from Grammar of Material Harmony to the ABC of Social Harmony

Late in 2010, Charles, the Prince of Wales (b. 1948) published a book "Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World" [70]. He begins his book with the words: "This is a call to revolution. The Earth is under threat. It cannot cope with all that we demand of it. It is losing its balance and we humans are causing this to happen" [70, 3]. What is it in humans that poses a threat to life o­n Earth?

1. Crisis of industrial worldview. Prince Charles cites the unique words of Einstein: 'The many environmental and social problems that now loom large o­n our horizon cannot be solved by carrying o­n with the very approach that has caused them.' "The predominant mode of thinking keeps us firmly o­n this wrong path. When people talk of things like an 'environmental crisis' or a 'financial crisis' what they are actually describing are the consequences of a much deeper problem which comes down to what I would call a 'crisis of perception'. It is the way we see the world that is ultimately at fault. If we simply concentrate o­n fixing the outward problems without paying attention to this central, inner problem, then the deeper problem remains" [70, 6]. The ambition of this worldview is the specialized knowledge, rather than a holistic view of the world. It is strong in the partial, break knowledge, but is powerless in front of a holistic vision of nature, society and human. He says: "‘right action’ cannot happen without 'right thinking' and in that simple truth lies the deeper purpose of this book". It demands revolution, which he calls a "Sustainable Revolution" [70, 3]. But it is really a revolution of harmony or harmonious thinking/worldview, which he clearly mentions many times "in the twenty-first century we desperately need an alternative vision, that can meet the challenges of the future" and in which the universal principles of harmony that we have lost will be restored. "I fear we are compounding our … sense of alienation and disintegration, which is mirrored in the fragmentation and disruption of harmony we are brining about in the world around us" [70, 27].

2. Revolution of harmonious thinking. It includes "dramatic steps to change the way we consider the world and act in it, but I believe we have the capacity to take these steps" [70, 3]. Moreover, in his opinion, all the tools are at our fingertips, we just have to look around carefully. "I was among a number of people who began to piece together a great jigsaw which revealed, much to my surprise, a profound insight into what really lay at the heart of ancient thinking. I shall explain this with lots of images in the section called 'The Grammar of Harmony' in Chapter 3, which gives context to the history of modernity" [70, 8]. This is, in his view, the grammar of the nature that people knew in antiquity, but they have forgotten today. However they always remain an integral part of the universal and holistic harmony. Harmonious worldview "offers a much more comprehensive view of reality – o­ne which emphasizes our interconnected reliance o­n every other part of the whole and living system we call Earth" [70, 27]. He was optimistic in the conclusion: "This book offers inspiration for those who feel, deep down, that there is a more balanced way of looking at the world, and more harmonious ways of living…. and pull back from the brink of catastrophe. It is a goal I truly believe is achievable, if we remind ourselves of the essential grammar of harmony – a grammar of which humanity should always be the measure"[70, 27].

3. Grammar of material harmony. Prince Charles devotes a special section of 12 pages out of 330 to the essential grammar of harmony as "the center and heart" of the harmonious worldview/thinking. The content of it is in rich illustration of the ancient knowledge of Pythagoras and Plato's universal geometry and the use of the "golden section" or "golden ratio" expressed by the number of 1.618 and represented in the Fibonacci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and so o­n, where each number is the sum of the two previous o­nes. This is the "grammar of harmony." He finds its examples in the buildings belonging to the 10^th millennium BC and further throughout all history, in all the areas of material knowledge and human practice: physical quarts, chemical molecules, biological organisms, in the proportions of the human body, architecture, music and crafts [70, 102–114]. No o­ne would deny the fundamental nature of this knowledge, but all his examples show that it is limited by the material sphere o­nly, and does not concern the social world. Therefore, the grammar of material harmony, as its arithmetic, must be supplemented in harmonious outlook by the ABC of social harmony, as its algebra. The revolution of the harmonious worldview of the 21^st century is in the evolution from the o­ne type of harmony to another, which continues in this book.

4. The ABC of social harmony. It is presented in this textbook in details. It includes, keeps and develops all the ideas of Prince Charles and his grammar of harmony as its arithmetic, which can be seen in the better part of its pages and used sources [17-21, 93, 94]. The path of the revolution from the material grammar/arithmetic to the ABC/algebra of social harmony is the way of their complementarity. It is a long and difficult path of the evolutionary development of the harmonious thinking in building a harmonious civilization of the 21^st century. The book of Prince Charles is the first revolutionary turning point in this way. In this capacity he was awarded the GHA Highest Honorary Title: World Harmony Creator [120].

The article ideas are represented in the model of the tetranet harmonious thinking/worldview, developed in the ABC of harmony:

Leo Semashko, PhD; Philosopher and sociologist; Global Harmony Association (GHA) Founder and President since 2005. Address: Saint-Petersburg, Russia

Web: www.peacefromharmony.orgЕ-mail: leo.semashko@gmail.com