Ibonio D’Souza
Everyone is pleased that our country is aiming to clean itself. The present goals of Swatch Bharat are largely sanitation and physical cleanliness. But for a life of fulfilment, it is necessary not only to have physical cleanliness in our surroundings, but also mental and spiritual cleanliness.
It is only education and social co-operation that will help, and not punishments and regulations alone. The power of education, social mobilisation, and getting people together, is indeed great. Fortunately, we have institutions like panchayats or elected local government today which provide a mechanism or people to get together and manage common problems.
Clean India involving cleaning of the mind is the very foundation for a happy country. Wherever there is dirt, we will not be able to enjoy the desired quality of life. A clean mind is a must for a clean India. A clean mind is one which is not egoistic and over ambitious, which is not jealous, and which takes pride in cooperation, where people work and achieve together. It is like a football or cricket match, where all the players take pride if their side wins. It is a collective victory and not a pursuit for an individual glory.
The cleanliness of mind is fundamental to cleaning other areas, such as our atmosphere and living environment. Therefore, what we need in our education system is to begin with an emphasis on cleanliness of the mind and pride in collective endeavours.
Mahatma Gandhi taught us to be humble. He himself was extremely humble and always felt that humility is an important virtue for a human being. Even when he was fighting the British he was humble enough to admit mistakes. He never displayed the enormous social power he had. There are large number of complaints and scams and improper use of natural and other resources. We should make a beginning with cleanliness of mind with a love of nature. In nature we find that all living beings exist in harmony. The web of life is a common one. If one part of the web is broken, the other parts too are broken. A clean mind will make a large difference in getting an understanding of unity in diversity. Hence Swatch Bharat must include not only physical cleanliness, but mental and spiritual cleanliness.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness. This can be only realised if the concept of cleanliness includes the mind and spiritual values. Great tasks considered to be impossible, can be achieved through cooperation and with a clean mind which brings everybody together, rather than creating discord and dissent.
Ego, selfishness and intolerance of diversity and pluralism are the major ingredients of an unclean mind. We need to promote humility, love and understanding of diversity and pluralism and a frame of mind which understands the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family).
