A message for the Former and current UN staff and Member states: Venkatarama Muthuswami

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – From Ancient Wisdom to a Fractured World (2025)

"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"—the world is one family—is not a poetic slogan from India's past. It is a profound civilisational philosophy that views all humanity as organically interconnected, beyond race, religion, nation, or ideology. Rooted in the Maha Upanishad, it declares that narrow self-interest is ignorance, while universal well-being is wisdom.

The Current Global Reality

The world today stands in painful contrast to this ideal:

Wars persist without moral accountability.

Climate change punishes those least responsible.

Technology divides faster than it unites.

Multilateral institutions struggle under nationalist pressures.

The United Nations, conceived as humanity's post-war conscience, often finds itself constrained by the very power structures it was meant to transcend. It saves lives through its humanitarian agencies, yet falters in preventing conflicts driven by great-power rivalry.

The Philosophical Relevance

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam offers something that modern geopolitics lacks:

Moral unity over political division

Shared responsibility over sovereign ego

Collective survival over competitive dominance

It teaches that peace is not a treaty, but a state of consciousness; that security does not arise from weapons, but from mutual trust and ethical restraint.

The Bridge Between Ideal and Institution

The UN may not yet fully embody Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, but its humanitarian, developmental, and climate work already operates in its spirit—quietly affirming that the suffering of any child, refugee, or vulnerable community is a global concern.

The Truth for Our Time: Humanity today is no longer bound only by borders—it is bound by:

A shared atmosphere

A shared digital space

A shared climatic destiny

A shared existential risk

In this century, either the world truly becomes one family—or it risks becoming one shared disaster.

A Closing Reflection:

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam does not ask nations to become saints; it asks them to become sane.

For institutions like the UN—and for those who have served it—this ancient idea remains not a utopian dream, but a practical necessity for civilisational survival in the 21st century.

End

V.Muthuswami, Chennai, South India
UN Retiree / Human Rights Activist
Mobile: 91 98410 26998