Articles

Presented at the PGDPS, MLCU, Shillong, August 2009 by Richard Schneider

THE UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

There is much talk in the name of peace
But there is much, much action toward war;
There seems great effort to solve conflict
But there is violence and hatred everywhere;
There is a wave of positive energy, direction
But there are barriers of anger, hostility,
Surely the time has come for real change
In the hearts, minds, actions of humankind.
It seems that we have built walls of mistrust
Rather than bridges of truth, understanding;
Most really do want the world to be different,
But in their own image of what different is,
Often ego and self –interest do trample right
And bigotry and prejudice darken the way.
We speak even eloquently of ridding hunger
Then squabble about overproduction, surplus,
The time has come to be true to ourselves
And true to all human kind of every place.
Lets quit speaking in forked tongue of past
And speak in the universal language of love.
Not a word of pollyana and sugar sweets
But for constructive work, honest efforts.
Strength is measured in refugee going home,
Forests saved, wars ended and books written.
You and I can make the difference with voice
And commitment, dedication and willingness.
A world that is upside down must be arighted
Because we believe it can be done and do it.

Dr Rodrigo Carazo, former president of Costa Rica and co-founder of the United Nations University for Peace and very dear and beloved friend has said “ If you want peace you must educate for peace” He is still a powerful voice in building an atmosphere and attitude to foster understanding and cooperation with other nations as well as individuals.

Most citizens of this Earth are programmed into small geographic segments of the world, into harmful values and narrow ideals and interests of which they remain prisoners for the rest of their lives.

To quote Dr Robert Mueller, who spent thirty eight years at the United Nations and then as Chancellor of the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica where I worked beside him for a long time said “ Prophets and religious leaders are mediators between individual consciousness and cosmic consciousness. Right education should help them in their tasks”. He created and designed what has become known as the World Core Curriculum philosophy. It goes from the micro to the macro and has four harmonies; Our planetary Home and Place in the Universe, The Human Family, Our Place in Time and the Miracle of Individual Human Life through spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.

The concern becomes one when individuals and groups stop doing their own thinking and  rely on thinking and dogma that they have been taught. They have not learned to discern the differences and nuances of thought. In fact, what has to happen is  we all  must sometimes put aside our new brain thinking of logic and reasoning and also use our old brain thinking using our senses. You may be surprised to know that you have been taught there are five senses, when in fact it has been discovered that there are atleast fifty three senses and perhaps even more. Unfortunately, most have been dissected from our sensory nature by the time we begin school.

We will not solve the problems of peace by either logic or concrete thinking alone but rather letting our senses incorporate our perceptions in nature and the world around us. It is true that we cannot live by bread alone. It is also true that we cannot live by thought alone. We must develop our sensory capacities by a new connection with our own nature and nature around us.

Peace is not the absence of war  but the basic element of nature itself which we have distorted and hidden even from ourselves. We imagine we are peaceful even when are boiling inside . We live in judgement of others and their beliefs and are quick to discern that if we right then the other person or the other side must be wrong. This leads to an immediate conflict even within ourselves. We fail to accept that there is a dark side in all of us and in nature that we must embrace that dark side if we are to achieve a balanced and peaceful nature. Do we imagine or interpret what other people are saying or are we simply hearing our own interpretation of what we hear. There is a saying “ I know you think you heard what  I said but what you don’t know is that what you think I said is not what I said but your interpretation of it”.

It is important to center ourselves on what and who we are and what we are doing on this earth and in this universe. It is important to see ourselves in the relation to another and to our planet.

WHO, WHAT AM I ?

I am 400 rupees worth of chemicals
I am molecules in motion
I am a “a rag, a bone , a hank of hair”,
I am member of the global human family.
I am a child of the universe

I AM MORE THAN A BODY

I have an intellect
I have emotions and feelings
I can learn from the past and store the knowledge of my parents and their parents and their grandparents.

I have the power to glimpse of the science and mathematics and literature
I am able to communicate with my fellow humans and the earth
I have personality which is uniquely me.

I AM A CHILD OF GOD

I am loved.
I am worth.
I am interdependent.
I am a whole being
I am needed,

I AM A PERSON

I love,
I desire.
I dream
I search for strength beyond my own- and in searching , discover

IN GOD, I FIND MY BEING AND KNOW BECAUSE GOD IS- I AM.

Our humanity is based on love. Love and peace are interchangeable.

The process of peace is LOVE.

LOVE FOR OURSELVES
LOVE FOR OTHERS
LOVE FOR OUR PLANET.

We either find ourselves in the Cosmic Plan by our free will or we remain estranged from ourselves and others and from God.

So the question and answers to what and who am I lead naturally to the question what and who are WE?

We are a community committed  to a cosmically ordained spiritual value system.

We are individuals souls who have agreed that our collective efforts are greater than our individual efforts. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We have further agreed to join our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energies.

We have agreed that our source is God-that God is a universal Principal. Thus , god is within us as well as outside. God is the Great and I AM- the Cosmic Force and the Beauty of the universe.

We have agreed  that the most powerful force is human thought- and that the greatest and most powerful energy is LOVE.

We believe that the thoughts of LOVE transformed is human thought- and that the greatest and most powerful energy is LOVE.

We believe that the thought of LOVE transformed into human action and process can and will transform the world.

We are gathered together for a remarkable and fantastic journey:
The journey to the crystal clearness of transforming purpose-
The journey to unconditional LOVE and UNDERSTANDING-
The journey to oneness with ourselves, each other and the Universe-
The journey to the oneness with God.

The journey is our ultimate purpose in this life and its true meaning.
This journey is our chosen destiny-freely accepted-freely embraced- freely undertaken.

We freely accept LOVE from the Universe and we freely return LOVE to the Universe. This is our gift to ourselves, to each other and to the planet.

U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations, who began his career as a teacher said: “ What was my approach to all problems? It was the human approach. I attached the utmost importance to the human element in all problems; political economic, social, racial, colonial or other. Some of you are aware of my philosophy regarding the human community and situation. In my view there are certain categories and priorities in values. I believe that an ideal man or an ideal woman is endowed with four virtues, four qualities : physical qualities , mental qualities, moral qualities and above all spiritual qualities. Still I would rate moral qualities higher than intellectual qualities over physical qualities. I would attach greater importance to the mental or intellectual qualities over physical qualities. Still I would rate spiritual qualities the highest. It is far from my intention to downgrade or denigrate the physical and intellectual aspects of life. I am  in no sense an anti-intellectual, but the stress of education in the schools of the highly developed societies is primarily on the development of the intellect or on physical excellence, without taking into account the moral and spiritual aspects of life. To me the moral and spiritual aspects of life are far more important than the physical and intellectual aspects. That is why I have tried to develop, without perfection alas, those moral virtues and spiritual qualities like modesty, humility, love, compassion the philosophy of live and let live , the desire to understand the other person’s point of view, which constitue the keys to all great religions…”.

U Thant believed that peace on Earth could be achieved only through proper education of the younger generations and that spirituality deserved the highest place in such eduction. May the current concern for proper global education allow for spirituality, love and compassion to be given generous room in all the world’s education systems. It is in our highest interests to do so, so if we want to stem war, violence, crime and unhappiness from endangering the peace, civilization and progress already achieved in our march toward optimum fulfilment of the miracle of life.

May all humans heed these wise words of U Thant , one of the first global teachers and spiritual masters of the nascent world community.

It is easy to be pessimistic about the world today, much too easy. In fact , there are visible signs of positive change and enormous leaps forward. For example, two terrible and destructive world wars were waged in Europe killing millions and destroys much and yet less than sixty years later these countries are bound together in a single  political union called the European Union. Another example, is the destructive hatred between the Japan and United States. Yet today they are bound together as two of the world powerful nations in the world bound by political, social and financial conditions. If these things can happen then other miracles and solutions can be found if there is will and willingness.

As Bruce Lipton says,” Because we are machines made out of protein, by definition we are made in the image of the environment. That environment being the universe or too many, God”.

So simply put , peace is an attitude, and interchangeable with love, and as basic to our human condition as our soul and our heart.

Is this going to be an easy task? It certainly is not. We are on the brink of environmental and nuclear catastrophe. It will take enormous effort and high risk. It will take sustained work. It will take global citizens. It will take cooperation beyond anything yet attempted. It will take compromise beyond our imagination.

There are practical matters on a global scale; we must greatly increase the influence and role of the United Nations, we must expand and enlarge the Security Council of the United Nations, we must create a Parliament of citizens at the United Nations, we must give up discrimination both economic and social. It is not a matter of winning others to our side but rather to find the ground that we can all stand on together.

There are many practical thins we can do in our daily lives and with each other to further our intentions of peace. We must give up much of what we call nationalism and become global citizens, we must search for social harmony and stand up against discrimination of any kind, we must support the improvement of the justice systems especially at the local and state level, we must encourage the democratic process. Wherever  it is found and to improve it where it is not found, and in our daily lives we can think and feel peace within ourselves, we can treat each other with kindness and consideration , and we can live according to our own ideals and values.

Give up nationalism does not mean giving up our culture. In fact, giving up nationalism strengthen our cultural identification and values. Discrimination , however in any form , must go.

I do not come with any panaceas. Nor do I think on plan in directions fits all. Every situation is unique, every personality different with differing views , strengthen and indeed even weaknesses. But what I am saying  we must think it can be done, and that co-operaton and engagement with the right attitude is the way. Can we really succeed? In my opinion we have no choice, we either make  steps forward, however small or we perish.

Let us join together and let us embrace our chosen  destiny, freely undertaken, with enthusiasm, and with profound respect for life and each other. It is an individual journey for each of us in many ways, but it must finally be a collective journey if we are to succeed. We then will not have to search for peace, we will have it.

***
Compiled by : Leban Serto
Coordinator, Peace Studies
MLCU, Shillong

This article was written by Dr. Bernard Starr, and originally published in March 2009 his column Spiritual Psychology at ReligionAndSpirituality.com. (link to original article)

A biblical scholar once told me that God actually makes few direct interventions in the Old Testament to initiate miracles. Most miracles, he said, are performed at the human level by inspired people who rise to an occasion to address a crisis or desperate need. The story of Esther is a prime example. She placed herself at great risk in revealing to her Persian King husband Ahasuerus that she was Jewish, and then asking him to save her people from the evil Haman.

Today I have a story of another miracle performed by a mortal saint named Ruth. Not Ruth of the Old Testament but Ruth of the NGO—The Institute of Global Education (IGE)— that I represent at the United Nations.

This story begins in 1987 when Ruth retired from her job as director of food services at several skilled nursing facilities. Ruth, a mother earth type of great warmth and compassion, seemed destined to play out her life traveling frequently from her home in Oregon to Costa Rica to dote on her three grandchildren whom she adored. Her daughter and son-in-law operated a short wave radio station in Costa Rica—Radio For Peace International (RFPI)—that was founded by Ruth’s husband, Dr.Richard Schneider, along with the former President of Costa Rica, Dr. Rodrigo Carazo. Dr. Corazo joined Dr. Robert Muller (Asst. secretary General of the UN at the time) in establishing the United Nations University for Peace (UPAZ) in Costa Rica. Radio for Peace International was located on the campus of the University for Peace. In addition to its own broadcasting RFPI did daily UN broadcasting.

Ruth’s life at that point seemed like an idyllic peaceful playland of simple joys and serene happiness. But that was about to change dramatically. I first learned about Ruth’s incredible journey in 1995 at a yearly gathering in Costa Rica when I joined Radio For Peace International as a broadcaster and member of the International Board of Directors.

Here’s the story of Ruth and the miracle of the Mucherla Global School told to me in an interview with her husband Dr. Richard Schneider:

Question: Richard, tell us how Ruth came to establish the Mucherla School in a remote part of rural India—something that seems so improbable on the face of it.

Answer: When Ruth started drawing social security at age 62 she decided she wanted to reach out and do something with her own educational ideas and with her own small social security funds. She had lived and taught in several states, including Alaska, while I worked for several federal, state and private social service organizations. She wanted to go to a rural area where the various conditions could be contained. Then I met John from the Mucherla area in India (a remote area about 200 miles from Hyderabad in the State of Andhra Pradesh) at an international meeting while serving as Chair of the Education Commission of the World Citizens Assembly. John invited Ruth to take over his Telugu (the state language) medium school and convert in to an English speaking elementary school in Mucherla. She had never been to India, but the idea seemed right and so was the rural place.

Q: Tell us about the journey to Mucherla and what you found there when you arrived.

A: I went to India as the advance guard in early 1992 to evaluate the possibilities. In early August, Ruth took the long plane flight from Portland, Oregon through Delhi to Hyderabad. It was a full two day trip at the time. She had five suitcases of materials and supplies. She then made the eight hour trip by jeep over almost impassable roads to Mucherla.

We found a village of 12,000 in a very rural area in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south central India. The illiteracy rate was above 60%.There were no toilets, and water came from hand dug wells. The area was mostly divided into small farms of one to five acres and entirely dependent on agriculture. There was one vastly overcrowded public school where the failure rate approached 80% . There was also a 30 student Telugu (the state language) private school. We found an enthusiasm and intense desire for better education for all the children. There was a great desire for learning English—it was seen as the stepping stone to higher education.

Q: What inspired Ruth to launch such an ambitious project under such difficult conditions?

A: Ruth had spent five years in Costa Rica and was in frequent conversation with Dr. Robert Muller, who had developed an educational philosophy while at the United Nations for 38 years. It was called The World Core Curriculum. She had been a long time teacher and was deeply interested in his concept and in the philosophy of effective multilingual education in general. She was well aware of the relationship of poverty to education with Eskimos and American Indians when we lived and worked in Alaska.

Q: What were the obstacles to setting up a communal school in a diverse rural community.

A: The village was deeply divided by the caste system. The largest group was BC’s (Backward Class) in three different divisions. The binding force was poverty— the average annual income was less than $200 per family. The population was largely Hindu, with 20% Christian and another 10% Muslim. There had been frequent and sometimes violent disputes among these groups. However, the village immediately came together for the new school and provided support and help.

Q: What kind of facilities did you have? And how did you get staff and equipment?

A: Ruth started with what was there: 30 students, none spoke a word of English, two tiny classrooms, with another room for living, and a nearby church. She slept on the floor of the church for more than a year. There were four teachers from the local area, none with degrees or education above the Tenth Level, who spoke rudimentary English or none at all. The exception was the managing director that Ruth appointed. He had been to Costa Rica as an intern for six months. Ruth brought her own books and materials since there were none, except for simple chalkboards. She also brought her “down to earth, it can be done” unflappable attitude and pioneering spirit. Within a month she was teaching entirely in English. She had intensive daily English lessons with the teachers. She believed that change came about with education and had to be part of personal values. Her Nine Rules for Living have lasted to this day. Remember to: Be kind, Be courteous, Do your best, Be honest, Respect yourself, Be happy, Accept responsibility, Thank God, Dream big.

Q: What was the more formal educational philosophy and guiding educational principles of the Mucherla School?

A: Ruth and I believed that the emphasis on personal and planetary transformation can be accomplished through education on a significant multi-dimensional scale. Ruth was driven by the conviction that education is a very potent force in shaping values and in harmonizing the forces of tradition and innovation. Education, though, must be sustainable, holistic, and experiential. Additionally, education must respect and draw on the resources of cultural and individual diversity by encouraging individuals, groups and organizations to discover their special talents and potential contributions. We must educate toward an international world view as never before. We must educate for global citizenship as well as local and national identity.

Q: The first year must have been extremely difficult.

A: That’s putting it mildly. The first year was fraught with many challenges. The summers (May and June) are hot —up to 115F degrees. The nearest town to buy food and necessities was 20 miles away over very bad roads that were impassable during the rainy season. Many of the children came to school hungry. In fact, Ruth soon had a large garden that was expanded within a few months to include every child. There had been no gardens in the village. The children were riddled with intestinal worms and skin diseases. There was a chicken pox outbreak the first year that sickened the entire school. There were controversies about boys and girls being in the same class together and even sitting next to each other. Quietly and carefully, Ruth simply stated that was the way it was and if they wanted their children to attend these were the conditions. Several higher caste children wanted special consideration such as special seating away from the lower caste children. They didn’t get any. The interesting point is that not a single child was withdrawn or quit due to these rules. The attendance was a remarkable 95% even with the sickness and controversies. Ruth had teacher supervised hand washing before entering the school, a tooth brushing pit for spitting, a visual outside inspection of each child, and an hour free reading program before school started. She started an early morning snack break that was actually breakfast for many of the children; it included porridge and fruit or an egg and chapatti (unleavened flat bread).

Q: Richard, I know you have many compelling individual stories that highlight the unique challenges that Ruth and you had deal with—stories that are far removed from what we call classroom challenges in the united States.

A: Yes, the daily situations that we faced in Mucherla were quite different. For example one day a 14 year old Muslim old girl was taken out of school for marriage. Ruth had the entire school picket the family home for two days before the marriage was withdrawn. I was amazed that Ruth was able to get away with this as I feel certain no one there would have dared try such a thing. Abeda graduated from tenth level three years later and went on to college.

Here’s another example: One day Ruth arrived at the school from across the street to find a 12-year-old boy sleeping on the cement porch. Dilip had walked nearly 20 miles in two days to his grandmother’s house in Mucherla because he had heard there was an English medium school. He asked to stay and attend. In 2009 he is in second year of graduate school in computers.

And this situation you’re not likely to find in New York, Chicago or LA: One day Ruth heard some loud screaming and children running. She quickly went to see what was happening. A six foot cobra snake had slithered under the wall and was in the courtyard. Several men came from the village to remove it.
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Sadly, Ruth Schneider died in January 2000 after a brief battle with cancer. But the miracle of Mucherla has continued. Her husband, Richard Schneider, has picked up the baton and is keeping Ruth’s legacy alive with his “Embrace Program” that provides continued support for the children who graduated from the Mucherla school that Ruth founded.