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HAPPY -
A Documentary Trailer combines
cutting-edge science from the new
field of
"positive psychology" with
real-life stories of people from
around the world
whose lives
illustrate these findings.
Available on Netflix, Amazon.
Support
Arts
Integration Into Education through the United
Nations Arts initiative.
THE
ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE
Stephen
M. Apatow
Founder,
Director of Research & Development
Humanitarian
Resource Institute (UN:NGO:DESA)
Humanitarian University
Consortium
Graduate Studies
Center
for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine &
Law
Phone: 203-668-0282
Email: s.m.apatow@humanitarian.net
Internet: www.humanitarian.net
The
weapons are active care, compassion, concern
and focused
efforts to confront the causes of violence,
bigotry, hatred and
depravity. The vehicle encompasses
successful initiatives that
address the ills
of conflict, ignorance, poverty and disease.
"When
campaigning, be swift as the wind; in
leisurely march,
majestic as the forest; in attack, like
fire; in standing, firm as the
mountains.
As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a
thunderbolt to protect the
weak."
-- Adapted from Sun Tzu. "The Art of War"
In
Christianity,
the true test of a connection with
divinity is the
manifestation of love (agape: Greek) in
the context of care, concern,
compassion and benevolence. To
comprehend the significance of
love (agape), we need only to refer to the
scripture that explains the
substance of God, I John 4:8: "God
is Love." It is in this divine
conception that the importance of every
human being is expressed, Matthew
25:40: "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of
these my brethren, ye have done
it unto me."
In
Buddhism,
as
expressed by the Dalai Lama: "Compassion
and love are not mere
luxuries. As the source both of
inner and external peace,
they are fundamental to the continued
survival of our species." -- The
Four Immeasurables: Love, Compassion,
Sympathetic joy, Rudy Harderwijk,
A View on Buddhism.
In
Baha'i:
"You must manifest complete love and
affection toward all mankind. Do
not
exalt yourselves above others, but
consider all as your equals,
recognizing them as the servants of one
God." -- Abdu'l-Baha:
Promulgation of Universal Peace, page 453.
In
Confucianism:
Chang Tsai’s Western Inscription (eleventh
century) was
inscribed on
the western wall of hang Tsai’s study and
was enormously influential in
Neo-Confucian thought. Describing the
essential kinship of all beings
with heaven and earth, it maintains that
compassion is the highest
expression
of kinship. -- Confucianism Sacred
Texts, Harvard University
Center for the Environment, Forum on
Religion and Ecology.
In
Judaism:
The Torah commandment to love your
neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18),
which Rabbi Akiba described as the essence
of the Torah. -- Judaism
101, Love and Brotherhood.
In
Hinduism,
Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself'-- because thy neighbor
is thyself; God is in both
thee
and thy neighbor, and both are in God. He
who acts in this spirit need
not
fear that his acts will bind him to further
existence." -- The Bhagavad
Gita,
trans. Franklin Edgerton, p. 165. Hinduism:
Ethics and Society, World
Religions
Area/Country Studies Cultural Awareness
Language Resource.
In
Islam:
"You will not enter paradise until you
believe, and you will not
believe
until you love one another." Sayings of
the Prophet Muhammad, Selected
and Translated by Kabir Helminski.
In
Jainism:
Nonviolence is based on love and kindness
for all living beings.
Nonviolence in
Jainism is not a negative virtue. It
is based upon the positive
quality of universal love and
compassion. One who is actuated by
this ideal cannot be indifferent to the
suffering of others. -- Five
Great
Vows (Maha-vratas), Complied by Pravin K.
Shah, Jain Study Center
of North Carolina.
Love
inspires an interest and focus on every
need, plea or cry for help and
prompts a desire to provide
assistance.
In
the
grand
picture of divinity at work in all facets
of the interfaith community,
love
is the common theme that unites and
encompasses the true potential
through
which the scope of suffering and
affliction can be alleviated and peace
achieved (International Interfaith Peace
Declaration).
THE GOLDEN RULE
The
work of
divinity in all faiths is embodied in the
golden rule as the universal
objective of the interfaith community:
- Christianity:
"So in everything, do to others, what
you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the law and the
prophets" -- New Testament: MT 7:12
NIV
- Buddhism:
Treat not others in ways that yourself
would find hurtful.--
Udana-Varga 5.18
- Baha'i:
Lay not on any soul a load that you
would not wish to be laid upon you,
and desire not for anyone the things you
would not desire for yourself.
-- Baha'u'llah Gleanings
- Confucianism:
One word which sums up the basis for all
good conduct...loving
kindness. Do not do to others what you
would not want done to yourself.
-- Confucius Analects 15:23
- Hinduism:
This is the sum of duty: do not do to
others what would cause pain if
done to you. -- Mahabharata 5:1517
- Islam:
Not one of you truly believes until you
wish for others what you wish
for yourself. -- The Prophet
Mohammed, Hadith
- Judaism:
What is hateful to you do not do to your
neighbor. This is the whole
torah; all the rest is commentary.
-- Hillel, Talmad, Shabbat
31a
- Native
Spirituality: We are as much alive as we
keep the earth alive. -- Chief
Dan George
- Janism:
One should treat all creatures in the
world as one would like to be
treated. -- Mahavira, Sutravitanga
- Sikhism:
I am no stranger to no one; an no one is
a stranger to me. Indeed, I am
a friend to all. -- Guru Granth Sahib,
pg.1299
- Taoism:
Regard your neighbor's gain as your own
gain, and your neighbors loss
as your own loss.-- T'ai Shang Kan
Ying P'ien, 213-218
- Unitarianism:
We affirm and promote respect for the
interdependent of all existence
of which we are a part. --
Unitarian principle
- Zoroastrianism:
Do not unto others what is injurious to
yourself. -- Shayast-na-Shayast
13.29
THE
UNMET NEEDS
Poverty
Facts and Stats: From Globalissues.org
unless otherwise noted
Almost half the world — over three billion
people — live on less than
$2.50 a day.
Water problems affect half of humanity:
Some 1.1 billion people in developing
countries have inadequate access
to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic
sanitation.
Out of 2.2 billion children in the
world, 1 billion live in
poverty (every second child)
According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die
each day due to poverty. And
they “die quietly in some of the poorest
villages on earth, far removed
from the scrutiny and the conscience of the
world. Being meek and weak
in
life makes these dying multitudes even more
invisible in death.”
Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a
result of diarrhoea...
(preventable diarrhoeal
illness)
Shelter, safe water and health
For the 1.9 billion children from the
developing world, there are:
-- 640 million without adequate shelter (1
in 3)
-- 400 million with no access to safe water
(1 in 5)
-- 270 million with no access to health
services (1 in 7)
Today, the
United Nations Arts Initiative Millennium
Medicine Project targets 5 Billion
people across the globe who lack access to
basic surgical services and
advanced medical technologies.
According to the Association of Rural
Surgeons in India, "Only one
billion out the total of six billion
population of the world has any
access to the type of surgical care seen in
the hospital of Western
Europe and America. In India, out of the
population of one billion as
of today, not more than 10% has any access
to this type of surgical
care."
Based on enrollment data, about 72 million
children of primary school
age in the developing world were not in
school in 2005; 57 per cent of
them were girls. And these are regarded as
optimistic numbers.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st
century unable to read a book
or sign their names.
According to the World Bank, in 2005, the
wealthiest 20% of the world
accounted for 76.6% of total private
consumption. The poorest fifth
just 1.5%
1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity —
live without electricity:
Breakdown:
South Asia: 706 Million
Sub-Saharan Africa: 547 Million
East Asia: 224 Million
Other: 101 Million
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41
Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (567 million people) is less than
the wealth of the world’s 7
richest people combined.
The world’s low income countries (2.4
billion people) account for just
2.4% of world exports
For every $1 in aid a developing country
receives, over $25 is spent
on debt repayment.
The poorer the country, the more likely it
is that debt repayments are
being extracted directly from people who
neither contracted the loans
nor received any of the money.
For economic growth and almost all of the
other indicators, the last
20 years [of the current form of
globalization, from 1980 - 2000] have
shown a very clear decline in progress as
compared with the previous
two decades [1960 - 1980]. This included:
-- Growth
-- Life Expectancy
-- Infant and Child Mortality
-- Education and literacy
It is
in pursuit of strategic planning and
project development, to address
the size and scope of unmet needs that
exist in the global landscape,
that Humanitarian Resource Institute
exists today.
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