What if I told you that it is not US or ME but BOTH
- That it is not Society or Individual but BOTH
- That one does not exist without the other
- That the inside and the outside always go together
- That the relationship between the individual and society is intrinsic, not extrinsic
- That it is dynamic, not static
- That 'No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe'
- That 'just because you don't take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you'
What if I told you that our leaders do not drop down from the stratosphere
That they are home grown, on the ground
That leaders mean followers
That followers lead by their acts of commission, omission and acquiescence
That followers lead by choosing who to follow
That our leaders are more representative of us than we may want to admit
That ‘only you yourself can be your liberator’
What if I told you that Mahatma Gandhi was right when he declared that ‘We must become the change we seek in the world’
What if I told you that there can’t be any large scale revolution until there is a personal revolution
That 'you cannot hope to build a better world without improving individuals'
What if I told you that ‘our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’
That ‘the man of action is the true philosopher: and the philosopher must of necessity be a man of action”
What if I told you that change will not come simply by moaning about what is
That neither will it come from a simple minded moralising about what ought to be
That it is when our words begin to coincide with our deeds
That what we say will emerge with power to influence
What if I told you that Sri Aurobindo was right when he said that ‘it is wrong to demand that the individual subordinate himself to the collectivity, but it is true that as the individual advances spiritually, he finds himself more and more united with the collectivity and All.’
What if I told you that ‘activism without spirituality is just an angry mob’
That it was Brazilian Archbishop Heldera Camara who said 'when I give food to the poor, they call me a saint, that when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist'
What if I told you that ‘economic growth accompanied by worsening social outcomes is not success, it is failure'
That the legal framework within which the 'free' market functions, is man made and is not cast in stone, and can be changed to secure better social outcomes
That a fundamental contradiction does not exist between socialism and a market economy
What if I told you that it is not socialism OR private enterprise but BOTH
That the left wing and the right wing belong to the same bird.