Philosophy

Philosophy of Action

• 1. For a country to have freedom, communities are to have freedom, for communities to be free, individuals are to have freedom.
• 2. Freedom does not come by itself nor is it given on a platter, it has to be won and secured through meaningful action for achieving the purpose.
• 3. Action at the country level, has to come through action at the community level which in turn has to emanate at the individual level.
• 4. No matter how bad a situation is, there is a little leeway for everybody to act; thousands of such small individual acts make a stupendous impact on the nation.
• 5. Thus individuals have to commit themselves to meaningful action for a purpose.
• 6. Each individual should realize that (a) I can act (b) I have to act and I alone have to start action and (c) together with other members in our community, I have to act.
• 7. When individuals start action through community participation leadership, and indeed true leadership emerges.

• 8. Yet another point that strikingly comes out is the absence of action to help themselves. Even the so-called “self-help groups” in DWACRA Programme (meant to assist women in villages) of the Government of India seems to miss the element of self-help in operation and the participants somehow claim the seed money and be done away with it. Therefore actions for self-help are to be encouraged at every level both in cities and villages as well.
• 9. The last point that needs to be mentioned is the absence of taking responsibility in discharging ones own duties (if parents send their children to school, if teachers teach and students learn, where is illiteracy?) A campaign to impress upon people that the least one can do is to discharge ones duties (not to speak of obligations) for which one is taking salary would start to set the minds and attitudes right.

(From “India of My Dreams” by Dr. B.V. Parameswara Rao, founder of BCT)

Learn More: Seven Kinds of Poverty, Lyrics to The Poverty Song