Acharya Prashant: You look at the last few centuries. Even the declaration of the rights of man came just three hundred years back. Then came the declaration of the rights of slaves. And in the last century came the Declaration of the Rights of Women.
I am seeing that in the current century, we will see a very clear declaration of a new relationship between man and the environment. Climate change will catalyze that new relationship, the threat of climate change.
In a superficial way, it will be called ‘an acceptance of the right of animals to live’, just as the last century saw men accepting the rights of women to vote. You will soon see a broad consensus emerging on the right of all species to live and survive in their own particular way, whether or not that way is agreeable to man.
That will happen. That has to happen. That has to happen for mankind’s dignity and mankind’s survival.
Mankind cannot survive even in a physical way—and I am just talking of the self-interest of mankind. Mankind cannot survive even in the physical way if mankind does not know how to relate with stuff outside of his own body. It would be simply calamitous.
So, those who will understand will live out of understanding, and hence live in a harmonious way, in a way of Love. And those who will not understand will be compelled, because of their own self-interest, to live harmoniously; otherwise, their physical survival will be threatened. So, both ways it is going to be very fresh and very new. Very fresh and very new.
