Citizen of the Universe

A citizen of the universe understands that life is one unified wholeness and to injure any part of life is to injure the whole of life. He not only understands this intellectually but is actively trying to translate this knowledge into action in his daily life.

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Transcript

My name is Barbara Ann Briggs -The subject of today's podcast is citizen of the universe.
A citizen of the universe is what is needed in the world today. There are citizens of India,
citizens of England, citizens of America, citizens of Iraq, citizens of Israel, citizens of Brazil,
citizens of all the countries of every nation on earth. An overemphasis on the narrow
boundaries of national patriotism has led to the fragmentation of the world.
The world needs citizens who can embrace the whole world as one family. Citizens who embody the Vedic ideal contained in the Manu Smriti, "Vasudaiva Kutumbakam"- The world is my family.

The world urgently needs people who can vow their lifelong allegiance to their fellow men
everywhere, who pledge their life to prevent injustice to any human being, who are committed to serve the needs of their fellow men irrespective of their race, religion, caste, or professional status. Such people can see beyond the artificial boundaries, separating human beings from each other. Such people will be able to see that their own individual lives are inextricably interwoven with the life of the universe as a whole.

A citizen of the universe realizes that material possessions can never bring lasting happiness because everything in the material world is always changing. Material wealth comes and goes. The only true wealth is mastery of the self, for that alone brings lasting happiness and fulfillment. The self is the source of infinite bliss, eternal peace, and total knowledge. Citizens of the universe are committed to the path of self-realization for the sake of benefiting all living beings. They know that the ideals of love, peace, and brotherhood can only be achieved when one's inner spiritual life is fully developed.

A citizen of the universe understands that life is one unified wholeness and to injure any part of life is to injure the whole of life. He not only understands this intellectually but is actively trying to translate this knowledge into action in his daily life. He seeks to become a living example of his beliefs.
A citizen of the universe honors the integrity of his culture, religion, and traditions while
simultaneously respecting and appreciating the diversity of all cultures, religions, and traditions in the world. His desire is that we should all grow together, prosper together, and enjoy fulfillment together. This wish is expressed in the Vedic prayer:
"May all be happy. May all be healthy. May all see auspiciousness.
May none suffer." 

According to the Vedic knowledge contained in the Upanishads, suffering
arises from the delusion of duality, the delusion of difference, when there is, in truth, only
oneness. Whenever there is a sense of two, fear and suffering will arise.
In the Viveka Chudamani, Sri Shankaracharya says, "Whenever the wise man sees the least difference in the infinite Brahman, at once that which he sees as different through mistake becomes a source of terror to him". In the state of full enlightenment, when the ultimate truth of life is fully established in one's awareness, one perceives the basic unity of all beings. In Chapter 5, verse 18 of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, and I quote, "In a Brahman endowed with learning and humility, in an elephant, in a dog, and even in one who has lost his caste, the enlightened perceive the same." end quote.
When the unity at the basis of life is fully enlivened in individual awareness, the age-old ideal of help thy neighbor will be spontaneously fulfilled. Society will be established in evenness, harmony will prevail, and differences, although remaining, will not dominate the perception. The surface differences will not be able to overthrow the awareness of the eternal unity at the very basis of life.

The conflicts, dissensions, and disharmony prevalent in the world today are all based on
ignorance. In the state of ignorance, differences predominate to the exclusion of the
underlying unity of life. By focusing on the differences, the mind erects artificial barriers
between people, which divide life from itself.
All problems arise from weakness of mind. When the mind, like a small-angle lens, becomes focused on narrower and narrower boundaries, then the unbounded grandeur of life gets broken into so many bits and pieces. The awareness gets entangled in the fragmented world of politics, religion, race, and culture, and overlooks the common bond shared by all living beings.

But the citizen of the universe is a universal individual who realizes that all differences have a common meeting point, the unified wholeness of life, the field of eternal silence that transcends the boundaries of time and space. The universal individual naturally honors all living beings as an expression of the self. Those who cherish the happiness, peace, and fulfillment of all living beings as much as they cherish their own are truly citizens of the universe. Only such people can restore harmony in the family of nations. Only such people can nourish the basis of life as a whole. This is what I wanted to share with you today, and if you'd like to learn more about my work, I invite you to go to my website, barbaraannbriggs.com, and I also invite you to visit my YouTube channel, Living Wisdom.
It's been a great pleasure speaking to you today, and I look forward to meeting you again very, very soon. Until we meet again, very, very best wishes to you.