Universal Human Values



Truth

Truth is considered as the highest human value connected with the intellectual domain of personality. We accord highest value among the five human values to truth. Because in our firm faith resides its infallibility. Truth is the essence of all world religion and the distinguished hallmark of glory and grandeur of human civilization. Truth is a national motto,truth is nobody's property, no individuals can lay any exclusive claim to it. It is natural of every being. According to Sathya's explanation '' truth is the synchronization of our thought, word and deed. It is managing our inner and outer purity''. Sense of perception,truth inference and absolute truth are the three hierarchical level of perception in truth. Sense of perception: We speak truth,when we describe what we see or hear. This concept of truth is based on sense of perception. The truth sense of perception varies according to time,location,need and etc. Hence, our value judgment changes depending up on the quality and property which we assign to it. Truth Inference: At a higher level,the truth of inference is arrived at through reasoning which is

Non-violence

The aim of non-violent conflict is to convert your opponent; to win over their mind and heart and persuade them that your point of view is right. An important element is often to make sure that the opponent is given a face-saving way of changing their mind. Non-violent protest seeks a 'win-win' solution whenever possible.  In non-violent conflict the participant does not want to make their opponent suffer; instead they show that they are willing to suffer themselves in order to bring about change.  Non-violence has great appeal because it removes the illogicality of trying to make the world a less violent and more just place by using violence as a tool.

One of the most famous leaders of a non-violent movement was Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), who opposed British imperial rule in India during the 20th century.  Gandhi took the religious principle of ahimsa (doing no harm) common to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism and turned it into a non-violent tool for mass action. He used it to fight not only colonial rule but social evils such as racial discrimination and untouchability as well.  Gandhi called it "satyagraha" which means 'truth force.' In this doctrine the aim of any non-violent conflict was to convert the opponent; to win over his mind and his heart and pursuade him to your point of view.  

Gandhi was firm that satyagraha was not a weapon of the weak – "Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstance whatever; and it always insists upon truth."  Gandhi did not think that non-violence was a tool for those who were too scared to take up arms.

Peace

Peace is a certain quality of existence which has been sought after, yet seldom found in a long enduring form, since time immemorial. In a behavioral sense, peace is generally understood to be a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between heterogeneous social groups. Throughout history benevolent leaders have often exhibited a certain type of behavioral or political restraint, which in turn has often resulted in the establishment of regional peace or economic growth through various forms of agreements or peace treaties. Such behavioral restraint has often resulted in the de-escalation of conflicts, or in multilateral or bilateral peace talks. The avoidance of war or violent hostility is often the result of compromise, and is often initiated with thoughtful active listening and communication, which may tend to enable a greater genuine mutual understanding.

The issue of war and peace has always been a focal issue in all periods of history and at all levels relations among nations. The concern of the humankind for peace can be assessed by taking into account the fact that all religions, all religious scriptures and several religious ceremonies are committed to the cause of peace and all these advocate an elimination of war. The Shanti Path recited by the Hindus, the sermons of Pope and the commands of all the holy scriptures of the Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and all other communities hold out a sacred commitment to peace.  Yet the international community fully realized the supreme importance of the virtue of peace against the evil of war only after having suffered the most unfortunate and highly destructive two World Wars in the first half of the 20th century. The blood soaked shreds of humanity that lay scattered in several hundred battle grounds, particularly on the soils of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cried for peace, peace and peace on the earth.

The UN Charter and International Peace and Security

The human consciousness then rallied in the Charter of the United Nations to affirm. “We the people of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our life time has brought untold sorrow to humankind. and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security.  have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.”  Since 1945, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, several international associations and institutions, international peace movements, global and national level human rights movements and in fact all members of the international community have been consistently and strongly advocating the need for the preservation and promotion of peace against war.

Love

Our work is grounded in love, by which we mean the capacity to extend ourselves for the sake of another person’s growth. Our work in community stretches us to understand, respect, and support each other, teaching us why learning to love is one of the most demanding disciplines we can choose.  Why love? Rightly understood, love is the value that undergirds our most noble human values. Love activates, empowers and encourages the growth of our other core values. Love is the ideal touchstone and the ultimate facilitator.

The philosophy of love is a field of social philosophy and ethics that attempts to explain the nature of love. The philosophical investigation of love includes the tasks of distinguishing between the various kinds of personal love, asking if and how love is or can be justified, asking what the value of love is, and what impact love has on the autonomy of both the lover and the beloved.  Many different theories attempt to explain the nature and function of love. Explaining love to a hypothetical person who had not himself or herself experienced love or being loved would be very difficult because to such a person love would appear to be quite strange if not outright irrational behavior. Among the prevailing types of theories that attempt to account for the existence of love are: psychological theories, the vast majority of which consider love to be very healthy behavior; evolutionary theories which hold that love is part of the process of natural selection; spiritual theories which may, for instance consider love to be a gift from a god; and theories that consider love to be an unexplainable mystery, very much like a mystical experience.