The One Asia Community Theory, which is gaining momentum these days finds its root into the ancient when Asia was one, geographically like a large peninsula before the rise of the Himalayas, some 10 million years ago. And as one of the finest contributions of ancient Indian mind that cared and nurtured a global society, invoked the concept of “Vasudha eva Kutumbakam”, i.e. the whole world is one family.
These observations were made by the eminent academician and Vice-Chancellor, Amity University Haryana Prof (Dr.) P.B. Sharma, while delivering his keynote address “One Asian Community – A Socio-Cultural Perspective” during the launch of One Asia Community Project at the university campus recently.
At that time the large Asian peninsula was surrounded by sea from all the sides, and no wonder the Indians in their Sankalpa still refer India as a Jambu Deepa, a large island, synonymous to what it was before the rise of the Himalayas and the drifting of the continents, said Prof. Sharma, a doctorate from Birmingham and Founder Vice Chancellor of DTU and RGTU. He also happens to be immediate past President of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), an apex association.
“I feel so happy that the One Asia Community Theory is gaining momentum at a time when Asia is emerging as the greatest economic power and a rapidly advancing human society. India, Burma, Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Java, Sumatra, Indonesia, Malaysia and the countries of the east as well as a large part of Asian Russia forms One Asia Community having its root in one culture, one philosophy and oneness of its divine objective to nurture peace, nonviolence and happiness and its caring concern for the interest of the vast humanity and Mother Nature,” the AUH vice chancellor said.
The former professor of IIT Delhi Prof Sharma said the Vedic Prayer from the age-old Indian civilization “Sarve bhavantu Sukhina, Sarve Santu Niramaya; Sarve Bhadrani Pasyanti, Ma Kaschid Dukh bha Bhavate, Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.” (Let all be happy, Let all be free from disease, Let entire humanity be enlightened and Let no one suffer) sums up the human face of Asian ethos of a global society and its Socio-Cultural advancement that cared for the welfare of the entire humanity.
“For early Asians, each soul is potentially divine and the purpose of life is to manifest the divinity within, as Swami Vivekananda so well put in his discourses on IndianVedantic thoughts. The divine potential of man was in essence derived from the eternity of Atman, the soul that was considered to be the part and parcel of the Divinity that expresses itself in the vast diversity of creation and sustains its existence through successive birth and rebirth on the strength of goodness it creates and the harmony it maintains with Mother Nature and the vast cosmos,” Prof. Sharma further said in his keynote address in the presence of Dr. Yoji Sato, the chairman of One Asia Foundation that has awarded the project to AUH.
While laying stress on the need of awakening the youth in countries like India and other Asian countries for aligning them to great Indian ethos of Aatmiyata, truthfulness, fairness and cultivation of righteousness, Prof. Sharma called them upon to become ambassadors of the great eastern thought that saw unity in diversity and regarded the whole world as one family.
Terming it a goldmine of opportunity, the AUH Vice-Chancellor said that the one Asian community theory rests on the firm conviction that it is possible to create one Asia that is materially prosperous and spiritually highly enlightened so that it leads the world towards global peace and harmonious co-existence.
The keynote address further read that the early Indian Asians of the Vedic times were of the firm view that civilization is to be judged, not by the territory it commanded or the countries it has conquered, but by the care it has taken to advance the human face of its civilized society.
“It is this human face that guarantees peace, progress, harmony, prosperity and brotherhood. For them, power has no value unless it is supportive of cultivation of righteousness, protector of goodness and a patron of promotion of happiness for the vast humanity. Satyamev Jayate Nanratam, Mansa sada Suchi, and Aham Brahmasmi were not mere utterances but conviction and firm commitment and resolve to create a law-abiding society firmly committed to the practice of truthfulness, purity of mind and realistic of the eternity of the soul. No wonder that with strong ethical and moral foundation, the ancient civilization of India not only flourished far and wide, cutting across nationalities, geographical boundaries and created a profound impact on development of “cultural oneness” in the large Asian continent and even beyond up to Mayan Civilization in the Mexico and South America in the west and Babylonian, Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations in the Middle East,” said Prof. Sharma in his address.
Prof. Sharma paid his gratitude to the One Asia Foundation for having considered Amity University Haryana worthy for the award of the project, under the principal investigatorship of our Dr. Santosh K Gupta, Associate Professor at Amity School of Languages headed by Prof Ashok Tikoo, to promote education and research on one Asia concept.
“We feel truly delighted to receive Dr. Yoji SATO, the Chairman of One Asia Foundation at our prestigious university and look forward to our everlasting relationship and collaborative partnership for the cause of One Asia Community under the larger divine objective of Vasudha Eva Kutumbakam,” Prof. Sharma summed up.
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