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Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

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Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts such as the Maha Upanishad, which means "the world is one family".

Contents

Translation

The phrase Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्) consists of several words: "vasudhā", the earth; "ēva" = indeed is; and "kutumbakam", family.

History

The phrase appears in Maha Upanishad. It is in Chapter 6 of the text. This verse of Maha Upanishad is engraved in the entrance hall of the parliament of India.

The original verse is contained in the Mahopanishad VI.71-73. Subsequent ślokas go on to say that those who have no attachments go on to find the Brahman (the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe). The context of this verse is to describe as one of the attributes of an individual who has attained the highest level of spiritual progress, and one who is capable of performing his wordly duties without attachment to material possessions.

Influences

The text has been influential in the major Hindu literature that followed it. The popular Bhagavata Purana, composed sometime between 500 CE and 1000 CE, the most translated of the Purana genre of literature in Hinduism, for example, calls the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam adage of the Maha Upanishad, as the "loftiest Vedantic thought".

Dr N Radhakrishnan, former director of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, believes that the Gandhian vision of holistic development and respect for all forms of life; nonviolent conflict resolution embedded in the acceptance of nonviolence both as a creed and strategy; were an extension of the ancient Indian concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

References

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Wikipedia