International Understanding

International Understanding:

The world today has undergone radical changes. Globalization, the advent of technology in communication network, transport system and life styles, have erased the margin of distance and time. There is a greater awareness for the necessity of establishing lasting peace among the nations of the world after the impact of international wars. In recent years, the concept of one World of one Community has assumed greater significance. After the World War II, the concepts of unity in diversity and the interdependence of nations for the sustained economic growth and political safety have assumed greater significance.

As pointed out by Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, the former President of India and the great philosopher, “The World once divided by oceans and continents today is united physically, but there are still suspicions and misunderstandings. It is essential for us not to live apart but to live together, understanding each other, knowing one another’s fears and anxieties, aspirations and thought. That is what we are expected to do”.

Meaning of International Understanding:

International understanding implies the acceptance of the rights of all nations for an honorable existence. It implies the elimination of the fear of war, ignorance, prejudices, values of co-operation and mutual understanding. It is for the development of global interdependence between people and nation. Internationalism knows no barriers of caste, creed or colour, no differences of religion or culture. It is cosmopolitan and believes in the dignity of the individual and the equality and fraternity of all human beings. It is “interdependent living of independent lives”. Internationalism is for developing awareness, and respect for all people, their culture and ways of life, so as to inculcate the faith in one world society and one human culture and to promote world peace. It emphasizes the need to create conditions for establishing healthy relations between different nations and for settling any disputes among them through negotiations, discussions and compromise.

Need For International Understanding:

To develop a sense of World Citizenship These are the following points:

To prevent human exploitations and large scale damages by war.
To stop competition and promote co-operation and interdependence of nations.
To safeguard the national interest.
To prevent narrow nationalistic ideas.
To promote democratic ideals and the concept of peaceful co-existence.
To prevent exclusiveness and isolation.
To synchronise cultures.

Role of Education in Promoting Internationalism:

Teaching about the United Nations.

Teaching about Human Rights.
Radical changes in the contents of the curriculum at all levels.
Encouraging through music, fine arts, literature and science.
Organisation of international camps, celebration of international days, exhibition of films, organisation of study tours, cultural exchange programmes, and organisation of world citizenship programmes.

Sanyama and Svasthya Related:

Sanyama means the feeling of responsibility in the self (I) for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the body. Self control or sanyama is the control of the mind and its desires, urges, emotions and delusions. It is controlling the outgoing tendencies of the mind and the senses and bringing them back to our self within. Swasthya is the condition of the body where every part of the body is performing its expected function. The word swasthya literally means being anchored to the self, being in close harmony with the self. In other words, Swasthya, in Sanskrit means self– dependence (swa = your own). Also, embedded in its meaning are health, sound state, comfort and satisfaction. So we can say that sanyam ensures swasthya. With right understanding, I get self-organized and take care of the body properly. With lack of right understanding, I am able to do it and the body becomes unhealthy. With right understanding and right feelings, the body gets favourably affected. For example; when I am happy, the temperature and pressure in the body are normal, when I am angry or tense, they get upset. It means if I am in disharmony, say in anger or stress or despair, it immediately starts affecting the body adversely. There are many diseases of the body that are caused due to disharmony in ‘I’. These are called psychosomatic disease, such as asthma, allergies, migraine, diabetes, hypertension etc. so we can say that sanyam has a strong effect on swasthya.