THE PREREQUISITES: ORDER HARMONY AND FAIR PLAY
For man to be happy and mull over anything higher (scientific and economic ambitions,etc.), the basic material necessities like
food, clothing, shelter and some pleasure are to be
met first. Man is a social being; he lives with fellow human beings in what is
called a society or community. Every individual in the community has to work to earn his food, clothing, shelter and some pleasure
in the form of recreation and satisfying his material
desires like possession of wealth, property, procreation, etc. Whether one is
inclined to the quest of higher spiritual matters or not, he/she will have to struggle for the basic
material needs. While man sets out
to earn wealth, property, etc. and establishes a family and relations
for fulfillment of his desires, there has to be order and harmony in
the society. Otherwisehis possessions and enjoyment are not guaranteed. They are rather subject to a constant threat of
encroachment, theft, over-powering, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that every individual engages in this pursuit, without
encroaching on the other individuals'
right to the same. And every person must get equal opportunity in this pursuit. That is to say,
there must be order and harmony in the society and fair conditions for all. What has been said in simple words here is the subject
matter of many of the philosophies
for a wholesome life or right living. For instance, the Vedic-Upanishadic way of thinking terms it
as the 'Purusharthas', roughly the objectives or endeavour of human life. The
four 'purusharthas' prescribed are 'Dharma'
(righteousness, ethics or righteous
approach), 'Artha' (wealth or security), 'Kama' (desires or pleasure), 'Moksha' (liberation).
Buddhism prescribes the 'eight fold path' for right living, while Jainism emphasises ethics, compassion and respect for all objects in
nature. While these are mere
examples, any person can study these as well as other philosophies for greater understanding and
appreciation of the fundamentals.
Whatever the inclination of a person, believer, non-believer or of any other strand, the necessity
of a society which provides harmonious and just conditions for earning a livelihood, to live with dignity, and scope for enjoyment of life
is universal and
undeniable.
Therefore, order, harmony and fair-play, encompassing conditions like liberty, equality and justice,
are prerequisites both for the material wellbeing of man and for his spiritual quest to begin. Thus order, harmony and fair-play
conditions constitute the most
fundamental basis of any human organisation, culture or way of life. This being the case, it is
necessary to have a system based on the spirit of live & let live to establish and preserve order and harmony in the society and to
create and maintain fair-play conditions
so as to enable every individual to endeavor for his material wellbeing and to engage in his
spiritual quest / development.
