As human beings, we are not just ordinary animals; our dual nature makes us unique entities endowed with a divine atom of autonomy. Our spiritual side is clearly evident in our everyday lives. Societies have justice systems, and individually, we hold our own spiritual values related to personal justice. Both our logical and spiritual sides prevent us from committing injustices against the innocent because universally, we do not accept punishment for crimes we have not committed.
If you are born into a particular race, gender, nation, religion, or group, logically, you cannot be punished for that because you have no control over it. You are not responsible for your birth, regardless of your color or gender. We have evolved from cultures of division. Some religious people claim that you are born a sinner, making even God appear spiritually wrong because punishing the innocent is wrong in all courts. Our political biases, prejudices, and discriminatory actions are spiritual crimes committed by our nations and religions with pride.
The world of divisions may not see it this way, but any punishment or suffering of an individual in the name of political belonging has nothing to do with spirituality and God.
Since God has blessed us with our individual atom of autonomy and personal sense of justice, all our actions’ responsibilities fall on our individual shoulders.
If we were like bees or warrior ants, it would be different. However, as human beings, we are not genetically programmed and controlled. Many do not realize that, even if it feels right to follow our groups, it is not an evolved human behavior.
The bottom line is that, as creatures, we may look different, but spiritually, we have no differences. We all have the same makeup; we are genetically compatible and share the same needs: oxygen, water, food, and love. We live, age, get sick, and die the same way. We experience the same hurts and pains. Our journey from birth to death is the same. Our differences stem from our acquired knowledge, which promotes the idea that life is exclusively physical. While this is important for other creatures, human beings have spiritual needs. Without fulfilling them, human life is incomplete. Our differences are related to our animal side. We fight and kill each other to meet the physical needs of our mortal existence. Resources, housing, and a comfortable life provide physical fulfillment. If we were ordinary creatures, we would think only of ourselves, but we possess a powerful spiritual side, our atom of autonomy, which allows us to think and act individually and respect our spiritual side equally to our physical side. This reciprocity with God provides us with spiritual comfort and fulfillment. Living solely as animals leaves our spiritual needs unmet, potentially tearing us apart from within.
Even if the whole world desires your position, you can feel unfulfilled. You may suffer from disorders that doctors cannot understand, but you feel a pain that cannot be explained. Despite all blessings, your life may not feel fulfilling if you are spiritually unfulfilled. This is a significant loss for an individual due to our mortal nature, but it also affects the community. Unhappy and discontent individuals contribute to ongoing conflicts and wars, stemming from a loss of love.
With today’s weaponry, things can go wrong at any moment. Humanity faces collective problems like global warming, extreme weather, fires, and viral infectious diseases like COVID-19. These require collective attention, acceptance, and solutions. For instance, no wall can protect against fires and rising oceans, and no nation can be safe until everyone is free from COVID-19.
The politics of belonging is an old way of living, but new problems require new and collective solutions. Group politics can lead to issues like vaccine nationalism. Today’s problems are not related to groups; they are humanity’s problems. Groupism plays into old, damaging policies.
This is not just about compassion and spirituality; it is about humanity’s survival. If we do not work together, we will need a new planet, and we are not ready for that. Humanity, God, and our atom of autonomy signal the need for global equal human rights and opposition to racism, inequality, prejudice, and discrimination. Unfortunately, we remain entangled in divisive ancestral knowledge. Moderates should oppose the universal loss of love caused by religious extremists. Racism exists within individuals, so solutions must also come from within. Treating it as a group problem is like putting a band-aid on an infected wound.
Politics of belonging is deeply rooted in individual insecurities. Change must come from within, learning to belong to humanity rather than a group.
Supporting your group’s politics, right or wrong, makes you prejudiced against those born into opposing groups. There is no control over one’s birth, so punishment for it is non-spiritual and entirely political. Even monks are not immune to this politics, so how can an ordinary person fight this political infection to their spirituality?
Regardless of your group’s teachings, as an adult, you are responsible for your actions. If you live life exclusively as an animal or spirit, it is learned behavior. Your responsibility is to balance the two sides blessed by God. Extremes in either direction result in consequences. If you are physically fulfilled but feel something is missing, explore spirituality as a remedy, not political religion. Humans are not designed to be angels, so exclusive spirituality is not for us. We need to nurture both sides equally, regardless of religion, to live a balanced life. Enjoying physical life is our right, as long as spirituality is integrated into it. The bounties of physical life are essential for mortal beings, regardless of religious teachings.
Socialism and religions have similarities but often lack spiritual justice, favoring mass over the individual. True spirituality ensures equal justice for everyone, even against ruling authorities. Most religions choose politics over spirituality because controlling populations politically is challenging without it.
When I mention the “dead dog,” I refer to the root of our problems. If you have been following my blog, you know I use this term frequently. If you are new, let me explain:
There was once a community that dug a well for water and lived around it. One day, a dog fell into the well and died. When the water started to stink, the community was worried. They sent someone down the well to investigate, and he found the dead dog. He yelled, “There is a dead dog in here!” The people looked to the mayor, who said, “Take about fifty barrels of water out, then start using it. But make sure to remove the dead dog first.”
Today, we live in a world that continues without addressing the root problems. From medicine to social systems and religions, we look for temporary solutions instead of removing the dead dog. We take aspirin for headaches without addressing the cause, allowing problems to persist and evolve into major issues. From health problems to social issues, international conflicts, and spiritual deficiencies, we do not treat these as serious problems. We rush through life, ignoring these issues until they become critical. Our attitude of sweeping everything under the rug does not solve problems; they must be addressed head-on.
As a self-employed individual, I see the need for consistent support for poverty, beyond charity. A global poverty tax could ensure continuous help, preventing donations from drying up due to individual insecurities. Charities alone cannot solve poverty; collective action is needed to prevent hunger and other humanitarian crises.
Religions preach helping the poor but often do so with political strings attached. Any human social system is inherently political. Politics starts whenever people gather, including in religious groups. Religions cannot claim to avoid politics because their nature involves political dynamics, evidenced by religious wars.
While I believe in spiritual living, humans cannot survive on spirituality alone. Political systems are necessary for governance, but religious beliefs should not interfere with politics. We cannot cap or freeze evolving knowledge in the name of religious beliefs. Political systems must adapt to the times we live in, and exclusive systems catering to particular groups lack spirituality and are unjust. Spiritual fulfillment is necessary for peace, both inner and societal.
We have tried to achieve peace through group politics without spiritual justice and equal human rights. Compassion, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love have been missing from our governing systems, leading to failure in finding peace.
Today, we have the United Nations, but veto powers and political divisions hinder effective action against human rights violations. Several hotspots exist where people suffer under oppressive regimes, unable to receive help due to political divisions.
Democracy, though better than past systems of kings and dictators, is still flawed. Politicians often prioritize party rules over personal ethics or constituent interests. This system, while better than previous ones, is far from perfect.
The root cause of these issues is the politics of belonging. Religions claim exclusivity with God, condemning others to hell, as if God shares human prejudices. An individual should have a personal ethical protocol, crediting where it is due and balancing group belonging with personal freedom. Free will is a divine gift, meant for us to manage God’s affairs responsibly.
Humanity is a genetic mix. You could be white with black ancestry or a Muslim with Mongolian genes. It is not color, gender, race, nation, or religion that defines humanity; genetics and spirituality do. We share the same genes, and recognizing this can bring us together as one humanity. Organ recipients, regardless of the donor’s race, gender, nation, or religion, can testify to this shared humanity. Start by removing the dead dog of group belonging.
Climate change is real, and rising oceans will displace people. Higher land countries must decide whether to accommodate displaced people or protect their borders. Humanity’s face has been changing, and our political ways must evolve to embrace global unity over group mentality.
Legends tied to specific clans, races, nations, or religions hinder global unity. Optimistically, if we can live as melting pot societies in the West, we can achieve this on a global scale. We need to evolve to the next level, thinking individually while belonging to humanity as a whole. Internet, global warming, gender liberation, sexual freedom, space exploration, and equal human rights are all signs pointing to necessary changes. If we fail to change our ways, we risk severe consequences. Let’s remove the dead dog of divisive politics and focus on unity and global justice.
If we exhaust all our resources fighting each other, how will we manage the real problems looming in the near future? Every ounce of autonomy will soon become crucial.
We rob each other of that autonomy by targeting individuals from opposing groups, but the true loss is to humanity, which holds us back and slows our progress. This leads to widespread suffering while concentrating wealth excessively in the hands of a few.
Imagine if all of humanity pooled their resources to build bridges. I firmly believe we can protect ourselves from global warming, just as we survived the ice age. Today, our challenges stem from the choices we make, allowing us to alter the course of events. We can eradicate poverty and hunger, and cease killing each other in the name of nations and religions, if we can overcome our sense of belonging as a barrier.
Consider our prejudices—not necessarily hatred, but often tied to personal beliefs or group affiliations that make us feel superior simply because of our background or education, reinforcing that our ancestors and groups are always right.
If you’ve been taught that your family or group is superior, it’s time to reconsider, as we now recognize equal human rights. Remember, being human means belonging to humanity as a whole—whether black, white, brown, yellow, red, male, female, homosexual, straight, Pakistani, Arab, American, Canadian, European, Russian, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, believer, non-believer, prayerful, or not. Every individual belongs to the greater humanity. Superiority lies in compassion, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love for humanity, not in mere group affiliation or activities.
Countless medical discoveries have saved millions of lives. I believe each life saved honors God, as it’s the work of living, breathing human beings. Yet, while many rely on life-saving medications like insulin, they may not even know the inventors. Conversely, they might passionately defend their religious leaders but disregard the creators of life-saving drugs.
We must transcend our differences by embracing universal human rights and the spiritual principle of treating others as we wish to be treated. The primary cause of our social issues and wars is prejudice and discriminatory group policies. Since change begins within individuals, then communities, nations, and religions, we must critically examine and challenge this mindset.
It’s time to surpass the boundaries our ancestors couldn’t cross. Our wars begin and end with individuals—it’s the individual who decides to participate, regardless of the cause. At that critical moment, one must question why they would harm innocents for their group’s sake. If the answer is yes, seeking inner peace through spirituality rather than blind adherence to religion may be necessary. Ultimately, you are accountable for your actions, not politics—an excuse often stemming from personal insecurities.
As the CEO of your life, take charge before acting as an extension of a group, nation, or ideology. Personally, I view our sense of belonging in politics as an outdated impediment to societal progress. Our education in prejudice and discrimination continues to perpetuate violence. Until each of us evolves to become the CEO of our own lives, we’ll remain extensions of groups rather than integral parts of the whole picture. Do you believe in being the CEO of your life?
Humanity suffers from the ancient “us versus them” philosophy, inherited from our ancestors. Sooner or later, we must evolve from this curse—for the sooner, the better. Today, we acknowledge racism, gender bias, prejudice, and discrimination as plagues inherited from our past. Equal human rights not only correct these wrongs but also serve as antidotes to these societal infections. Until we address this “us versus them” mentality on an individual level, we’ll suffer both individually and collectively. We must convince each individual that they are more than mere extensions of an ideology—that they are CEOs, with greater responsibilities to effect positive change. Even dictators are victims of this unchecked sense of belonging, committing spiritual crimes against others. Democratically elected governments and self-proclaimed religious nations are equally guilty, perpetuating division in the name of belonging. Until we recognize that there is no “us versus them” in humanity, spirituality, or before God, true enlightenment will evade us.