Dreaming of a Planet Without Borders

Mahendra Bhandari MD, MBA In the prevailing global environment of protectionism, shallow regional- and I daresay- corporate interests appear to be winning out above the overall interests of humanity. Synthetic dividers have split the global community on geographical, racial, religious, economic, ethnic and social grounds. In this context, it is utopian to dream of a world without borders in the foreseeable future. It is also true; no man-made boundaries could ever contain human feelings and the formidable force of the collective human consciousness. Contemporaneously, passionate individuals continue to follow their individual instincts despite populist political trends. Professor Lubomir Sklenka is one such example. A Professor of Nuclear Reactors at the Vholesovikach Czech University in Prague, he is a frequent traveler to India. For the past several years, he has been called to teach the Tibetan language to students at a remote Monastery in Ladakh. His passion for teaching and love for humanity drives him across the national boundaries to establish a connection with human beings of different nationality, cast and creed. In this noisy world, such individual efforts may go unnoticed and stay under the radar, but the collective wisdom emanating out of similar individual efforts has a multiplying effect. Professor Lubomir Sklenka, and others like him refuse to become fettered by the many restrictions and growing difficulties of international travel.

I have also witnessed in my lifetime the reunification of Germany in 1989, after 45 years of Cold War dividing Germany between Allies in the West and Soviets in the East. The East German secret police’ (Stasi) tight control of the Berlin Wall and the lives of the East Germans was never accepted on both sides of the border. This is a classic example of how human emotions as a collective force defeated the fascist forces. Myself and Dr. Rajesh Ahlawat were among the few privileged individuals to have visited the Berlin Wall in 1988, during a break from our lithotripsy training at Fulda. We witnessed the Stasi in full action at the Grenze (East/West German Border) just a year before the wall was pulled down. I shudder at the memory of the emotionally charged German doctor who accompanied us to the Berlin Wall- and what I witnessed around the dread border back then- even today, decades later.

It was a chance inflight meeting I experienced with Lubomir Sklenka on October 5, 2018, when we traveled together from Amsterdam to Delhi sitting next to each other. The excitement to reach his final destination of a remote Himalayan monastery in Ladakh was reflected on his face. I was intrigued to learn that this was a nuclear scientist sitting next to me, who was traveling halfway across the globe to teach the Tibetan language to children of Monks. Why would anyone travel so far from his home- and teach something so unrelated to his scientific specialty? Perhaps Professor Sklenka best represents the philosophy of the borderless world.

Lubomir Sklenka’s story reminds me of another: The mother of Sri Aurobindo Ashram Pondicherry envisioned a classless society and laid the foundation for “Auroville,” near Pondicherry some 50-years ago. It was February 28,1968, when Mother Mirra Alfassa earthed the Foundation Urn of the utopian city of Auroville, conceptualizing a future society wherein the inhabitants of the planet would have the common identity of Human Beings, respecting each other’s Nationality, Gender, Cast and Creed. This powerful beginning, which was intended to unify humanity, was supported by 124 countries of the world, which sent their representatives with containers of the soil of their country, to lay the foundation of what was to become known as “The City of Dawn.” Subsequently, I very closely followed the project during its formative years from 1979 to 1988 when I lived in Pondicherry.

As Mother Mirra Alfassa conceived, this city has become up as a true cosmopolitan city.Noted for the magnificent Matri Mandir, or Temple of The Mother, and the banyan tree, which are found at the symbolic the center point of Auroville. It was remains today a proof of the concept of her larger plans for our Planet. Today, Auroville is a home for2700 people of diverse 40 nationalities, age gender, cast and creed.

When I think about the current geopolitical scenario, I consider it unrealistic to think of expanding the concept of Auroville. Contrary to the consensus, I am still hopeful and dream of a better planet, which would dissolve all identities other than the label of Humanity. There would be free and unrestricted movement across all borders, and the weapons of war would be dissolved. This could only be achieved by the firm resolve of individuals such as Professor Lubomir, who has drawn his own boundaries, ignoring national boundaries. We should never underestimate the unifying power of a single human being, especially those who have a connection with humanity at the level of one’s soul.

The world witnessed the intense power of the collective consciousness of Humankind as we viewed the Reunification of East and West Germany on Nov.12, 1989. Imagine the collective power of countless peoples in countless societies all over the globe, if suddenly all were free to live in freedom and peace! Professor Lubomir Sklenka exemplifies what it means to be Human. He teaches us that all have more in common than we have been led to believe. All of us should endeavor to use our talents and energy selflessly to make the world around us a better place for Humanity.

Professor Lubomir Sklenka

When I think about the current geopolitical scenario, I consider it unrealistic to think of expanding the concept of Auroville. Contrary to the consensus, I am still hopeful and dream of a better planet, which would dissolve all identities other than the label of Humanity. There would be free and unrestricted movement across all borders, and the weapons of war would be dissolved. This could only be achieved by the firm resolve of individuals such as Professor Lubomir, who has drawn his own boundaries, ignoring national boundaries. We should never underestimate the unifying power of a single human being, especially those who have a connection with humanity at the level of one’s soul.