The New Story: A Tool for Change
To change the direction of politics we have to change the implicit narrative, or “story” that it’s based on, and today we have a great opportunity to do that. All of us can be involved in this critical change.
The “old story” that came to dominate our thinking (in the West) about the time of the industrial revolution held that everything consists of matter, and several assumptions followed: being inert matter, there is naturally no meaning to the universe. Evolution (for those who believe in it!) was or is a series of random events; there is no way to explain how human beings can think and feel, and most importantly, we are separate from one another and the planet, which keeps us always on the verge of competition ¾ if not outright violence ¾ because we can only be satisfied by more and more outside resources. Finally, there is no way to change this situation; we are the result of our genes, or physical brain, or outside forces.
This story encountered a severe shock with Einstein’s theories of relativity and especially with Max Planck’s discovery that what we thought was solid matter is in fact an indeterminate field of possibilities that resembles consciousness more than ‘stuff’ ¾ and the entire universe is deeply interconnected. Thus science came back into alignment with timeless traditions of human wisdom that had always maintained that human beings are body, mind, and spirit with an as-yet-unrealized destiny.
This ‘new’ story, a consensus of modern science and ancient wisdom, is an invaluable resource for social change activists. At Metta we recommend familiarizing ourselves with this inspiring story and take to telling it wherever we get a chance. That will greatly help the shift to the new paradigm and in turn make the key values of peace, justice, and nonviolence far easier to implement. The core of the story is about human nature, and here are some key points it reveals. Please adapt them as you see fit and use them wherever possible to articulate why we do the work we do.
One. We are deeply interconnected. Our happiness is bound up with the happiness of others, and our real fulfillment comes from our adding to their happiness. As Swami Vivekananda said, “Western civilization has in vain endeavored to find a reason for altruism. Here it is. I am my brother, and his pain is mine. I cannot injure him without injuring myself, or do ill to other beings without bringing that ill upon my own soul.”[1]
Two. We have untapped inner resources. Once our basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are met (and as Gandhi said, ‘there is enough in the world for everyone’s need’), happiness does not come from exploiting the earth (much less others) but from building relationships toward “loving community.”
Three. No conflict is unresolvable. We can never be secure by punishing ‘criminals’ or defeating ‘enemies.’ The only real security comes from rehabilitating those who may have committed an offense and reconciling with those with whom we have a disagreement. Conflicts are about wants, not needs, and they often provide opportunities to learn from and grow closer to one another.
Four. We are active agents in our destiny. We are very much ‘works in progress,’ still evolving, if not physically, mentally and spiritually, and this is not merely a passive process: we can learn to unfold the capacities within us, particularly the capacity for nonviolence. This is just what people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. have done. They are pioneers in human evolution, as the capacity for nonviolence is, as Gandhi said, “the hallmark of our species.”
On the physical plane man is but an animal. On the intellectual plane (s)he is a rational being. On the moral plane (s)he is a power for good. On the spiritual plane (s)he is a radiant being full of divine light, love, and bliss. Humanity’s ascent from one plane to another is its natural movement. (Swami Ramdas)
[1] Swami Vivekananda {Burke, 1985 #635} A New Gospel, Part One. [December, 1900(?) lecture in LA] Note also Vivekananda (at Parliament, 1893): “Science has proved to me that the idea that I am limited to an illusory body is an illusion.”
