MINGLE, do not remain single, and globalise compassion! This message emanating from the Civil-20 segment of the G-20 meeting at Nagpur has a tremendous importance of its own. It can certainly be the mantra for an enhancement of the concept of Vasudheiva Kutumbakam -- One World One Family One Future. Chairperson of the Civil-20 meet Mataji Amritanandamayi, and Nobel laureate Dr. Kailash Satyarthi made the best use of the opportunity to awaken the global civil society by emphasising the idea of togetherness and compassion as the two dimensions of a truly civilised human community. Nobody can miss the tremendous value of this thought.

May there be no confusion in understanding the idea of togetherness and compassion. The two eminent personalities did not talk impractical poetry; they talked of a practical idea of how the world-community can be bound together, leaving aside the narrow-mindedness of being single national entities focusing entirely on their respective individual needs and fulfilling those at any cost. And this can happen only with a conscious effort to globalise the most endearing human value of compassion -- feeling a sense of oneness of emotion with the rest of the world.

Can this really happen in this highly complex and politicised world? -- is the natural question everybody would want to ask. And the answer to this question has to come in two layers: One, the belief should be that it is possible and practical; and two, such a truly harmonised world order should be the common goal for which all would be needed to work. Obviously, this may not happen in one single day. But the start of work on this concept should begin at some one day. That day has come, so to say. This simply means that the day to start a concerted effort has arrived. In still other words, there is no scope for a laxity in putting the thought into action properly, systematically and with sense of mission for the strong bonding in the family of man.

That such language is still spoken in the complex world of today is certainly a welcome event. That there are people -- across nations -- in increasing numbers welcoming the thought of the family of man is also something worth celebration. That a grouping such as G-20 weaves into its ideation the nuance of civil society as a key point in strategy to harmonise the global human community, is also something the world must cherish, and carry forward with the value it expresses.

However, the road to this goal is going to be arduous, to say the least. For, no matter the philosophical expression of an idea, in the practical arena of the world, what dominates the overall thought and action is international realpolitik. The entire world order revolves around this realpolitik in which ruthlessness is a virtue and self-centredness a value. Despite this, the work on the mantra of ‘mingle, not single’ and ‘globalise compassion’ instead of menaces like terrorism, must be initiated in the right earnest. The Civil Society vertical, thus, has its own importance -- as a tool to sculpting a better world. There also is a thought doing the rounds about whether groupings such as G-7 or G-20 should be remodeled. That possibility cannot be totally rejected. No matter that, the stress on using civil society as a platform to keep up the importance of an apolitical launch-pad for humane ideation is of immense use to the larger humanity. The mantra thus emanating from Nagpur’s C-20 meet needs to be carried forward in form and content and should be put to use in every possible international forum for its intrinsic worth.