The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great pain, agony, death and devastation to the nation. It has added ‘fuel to the fire’ that has been burning in India through various crises facing the country. The increasing poverty and unemployment, the growing intolerance to criticism, the misuse of the State machinery to suppress and eliminate all those who challenge the authoritarian rule, the violent communalism and terrorism, the dehumanizing caste system, the all-pervasive injustice and corruption, and the recent Stan Swamy episode are indicators of the dangerous levels to which the crises facing the nation have grown. 

What India urgently needs is an ‘Integral Renaissance’ that can bring about a moral and spiritual regeneration of the religious, economic, political, social and ecological dimensions of her national life. This Integral Renaissance of India will first of all need an inclusive inter-religious vision of a spiritually awakened, morally regenerated, economically prosperous and politically strong greater India.  Such a vision will require a holistic socio-spiritual ideology to provide the necessary creative dynamism and practical expression to it in the Indian soil. The inclusive vision and holistic ideology briefly outlined below are like the two sides of the mission of the much-needed Integral Renaissance of India.  

The inclusive inter-religious vision of a greater India for the Integral Renaissance of India can be termed ‘Dharma Rajya’. This will be the vision of a spiritually awakened, morally regenerated, economically prosperous and politically strong India that will be a land and light of love, righteousness, unity, peace and happiness on earth. ‘Dharma Rajya’ is akin to the ‘Kingdom of God’ preached and promoted by Lord Jesus Christ on earth.  In the Dharma Rajya of our vision, every Indian citizen, irrespective of his/her religion, caste, class, colour, creed, ideology, gender, language etc. will enjoy the fruits of the Constitutional values of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.  

The ‘Bharatiya Dharma’ constituted by the Fundamental Duties of citizens enshrined under Article: 51-A of our Constitution will provide a strong Constitutional foundation for the Dharma Rajya of our vision. A decentralized democratic system based on the Panchayatiraj-Nagar Palika Acts 1992 and an economic system based on cooperation instead of competition will provide a strong socio-economic foundation for the vision of Dharma Rajya. 

The lessons of human solidarity, unity of all life and interdependent organic nature of Mother Earth taught by the COVID-19 pandemic will provide a scientific foundation for this vision. The edicts of Emperor Ashoka and the Ashoka Chakra at the center of our National Flag will provide strong historical and secular foundations to the Dharma Rajya of our vision. 

The path of forgiving, enduring and self-sacrificing love is the path of liberation presented to the world by Lord Jesus Christ. This Christu Marga (Way of Christ) is termed ‘Sahana Yoga’. ‘Sahana Yoga Mukti Marga’ (The Path of Sahana Yoga is the path of liberation) is an eternal universal law taught and demonstrated to the world by Sadguru Jesus Christ through His life, death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. 

Mahatma Gandhi understood this divine law of Christ well and applied it very effectively as ‘Satyagraha’ for the political freedom of India. Until Gandhiji’s time, the western Christian world had thought, taught and accepted the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ as mere pious platitudes. But Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated to the world the power and wisdom of God in the Cross of Christ. It is an irony of history that it took an unassuming Hindu ‘half-naked fakir’ to teach the mighty western Christian world the power and wisdom of God in Christ.

We have developed a creative application of the Christu Marga in the context of the present pandemic-devastated world as an interreligious sadhana and socio-spiritual ideology of liberation termed  ‘Tyagarchana’. The term ‘Tyagarchana’ comprises two words ‘tyaga’ and ‘archana’. ‘Tyaga’ means renunciation or sacrifice. It is used here to mean voluntary renunciation of something that is dear to one’s heart. ‘Archana’ means an offering made to God with love upon the altar of one’s own life. Selfless service rendered to our needy fellow human beings with love is the best form of ‘Archana’ that we can offer to God. 

We can see God only in and through others.  Hence, serving others with love is serving God with love. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me”, affirmed Sadguru Jesus Christ. ‘Manava Seva, Madhava Seva’ (Service to humanity is service to God) is an ancient Indian dictum that reflects this teaching of Sadguru Jesus Christ. 

Hence, Tyagarchana is an inter-religious sadhana and ideology of sacrificial love and selfless service.  “Renunciation and service are the eternal ideals that have ever inspired the Indian mind” was the conviction of Swami Vivekananda. These eternal ideals that have ever inspired the Indian mind are being put into practical action through Tyagarchana.

Mission of Christians

Mother India has a divine mission to fulfill in the world family of nations. It is to guide humanity in the path of Satya, Dharma & Shanti (Truth, Righteousness & Peace) based on an integral vision of life and reality, and on an all-inclusive Earth Family Consciousness (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam). An inter-religious movement for the much-needed Integral Renaissance of India is to be promoted by the educated and responsible Indian citizens, especially the Christian citizens in India, today. 

The solidarity of humankind, the unity of all life, and the interdependent organic nature of Mother Earth are the three most important lessons taught by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also forced many of us to learn the lessons of humility, simplicity and cooperation in the hard way. We are now called to rebuild the economic, political, social, religious, and ecological dimensions of the pandemic-devastated India on these important lessons. This is the task of the era, Yuga Dharma, entrusted to us by history and destiny. The Integral Renaissance of India will be our creative response to this call of Yuga Dharma.

An Ecumenical Community of men and women disciples of Lord Jesus Christ in India needs to be formed for serving as ‘the salt of the earth and light of the world’ for the much-needed Integral Renaissance of India. The verdict of history will be passed and the destiny of India will depend on the courage these ‘consecrated’ disciples of Sadguru Jesus Christ in India display in the coming years to make this divine mission of the millennium bear abundant fruits for the glory of God and good of humanity through the power and wisdom of God in the Cross of Christ. 

(NB: For further details, please refer to the books ‘Integral Renaissance of India’ & ‘Viswa Shanti Peetam’ authored by Acharyasri. These books are available with Dharma Bharathi Ashram, Mulanthuruthy, Kochi-682314)
                                                                    
(Acharyasri (Swami Dr. Sachidananda Bharathi, DCP) is the Founder & Acharya-guru of Dharma Bharathi Mission (DBM), Dharma Rajya Vedi (DRV), Disciples of Christ for Peace (DCP) & Navasrushti International Trust (NIT) as well as four Ashrams in India.  He can be contacted on Mobile: 8281874941)