When we go anywhere, we see things in a stratified form; we see things differently and then categorise them. We grasp science, and we learn maths. We learn geography and history, understand the culture, and know sociology. So, we have this impression that these are different things. But they are not. You can still learn history and geography together.
Learning science separately from maths is more effective because at first, you know science, you see all science, you know physics, chemistry and biology. And then you separately learn maths, and then as you progress ahead, there will come a time they will start incorporating maths into science.
We all know that we have been to school, and in our early days, it was pure science, and then it was pure maths, but as we go ahead, as we progress, then they will bring this math into science, and they will bring this science into math. Why? Because they are not inseparable, we can not separate them. Because you had to understand the basics, they divided it. Because they knew the basics of both fields, maths and science, they knew where they met. There comes the point where you can not learn science without maths, and you can not learn maths without science.
So, the point here is everything we know is related; it is not absolute, it is a straightforward world, and everything is related. So, we learn different subjects and other kinds of knowledge we know, which are all related. And because this podcast is about sustainability, I wanted to discuss how sustainability relates to many other fields. So, it is related to everything, and we need to know that.
I wanted to talk about sustainability because that is one of my passion as well. How did I develop that passion? We will talk about that. What do I know bout sustainability? We will talk about that. What are the different dimensions of sustainability? We will talk about that too. There is implied sustainability, and we will talk about that too. How does sustainability affect us? We will talk about that too. And what can we do to restore sustainability? We can talk about that too. And I want to make a disclaimer that no one sponsors me. And that is the whole purpose of this podcast and the entire spirit of this podcast.
Sustainability means many things to many people. If you go into literary meaning, sustainability means simply the ability of something to sustain.
Because it is a pilot episode, I must tell you what sustainability means. You see, sustainability means many things to many people. If you go into literary meaning, sustainability means simply the ability of something to sustain. For example, if you have an income source, it can be a temporary income source or a sustainable income source. So, a sustainable income source will provide you with your economic needs permanently and forever.
But in the latest terms, we have used sustainability for the planet. That is the most comprehensive picture we can see. So, nowadays, when someone talks about sustainability in a big forum, they are talking about the planet’s sustainability.
So, the sustainability of the planet is the ability of this planet to sustain itself. You may say the earth will keep going; we are particular about the biosphere. So, there is a biosphere; the biosphere means the living component of the planet. So, the living part of the earth should sustain, and the planet’s life should sustain.
As I said before, this may look like billions of lives on the planet, but their survival is interrelated. Their survival is sourced from the same source. So, their survival depends on an equilibrium. And if we take some component out of it, the balance is gone. And it will take them hundreds of years, thousands of years, to restore that balance. So, the sustainability issue we are discussing is about restoring that balance.
You may not know what happened to the balance. It was congruous; it has been balanced since the start of life on this planet. And nature balances it. But in the last few hundred years, to be precise, our activities, our actions, our ambitions destroyed that balance. It is solely on human ambitions. And I am a human being, so I am responsible for that too. Everyone I know is a human being. So, we are all liable for that. So, the irony here is that we are accountable and are now the victim.
The good thing is we know we are responsible, so that we can go from there. Not so good thing is that even though we know, we are liable, we haven’t been able to do much. Because our ambitions are so big, our aspirations are so high that we want our dreams to carry on, and we want to restore sustainability as well. Yeah, you heard that right. We carry our ambitions, our ambitions are as big as they ever were, and we still want to restore sustainability.
Sustainability is something to be restored, and it was always there; the planet was sustainable and sustained everything until we started jeopardising the system. We will talk about that. How did we do that? What did we do? We will talk about that. But in today’s episode, let’s say our ambitions inhibited the sustainability of this planet. So, it comes to human aspirations, which is why I have seen the special connection between sustainability and spirituality.
Sustainability is something to be restored, and it was always there; the planet was sustainable and sustained everything until we started jeopardising the system.
Modern scholars connect sustainability with the triple bottom line (TBL). The three bottom lines we address and must consider while making our decisions are people, planet and profit. That is what modern scholars discuss. But the fourth bottom line, it has also been considered, is the cultural and spiritual aspects. Because without values, without culture, without spirituality, there is no ethics, there is no morality, and there is no integrity.
But the fourth bottom line, it has also been considered, is the cultural and spiritual aspects. Because without values, without culture, without spirituality, there is no ethics, there is no morality, and there is no integrity.
You must have integrity if you are committed to a sacred cause like sustainability. But, as I said, the other three bottom lines are people, planet and profit. And most people will try to increase profit, with little consideration for people and little care about the earth. That is the truth. Because when it comes to money, when it is about money, everyone wants to maximise it. That’s the whole philosophy of capitalism, maximise profit. So, within this framework we have in front of us, within the framework, we are living, we are living in a framework of capitalism, this is the framework, this is the paradigm, we are living it.
Within this framework, there is the idea of triple bottom lines. Companies are following it, and governments are following it. And on that triple bottom line, there is the fourth bottom line, and they call it quadruple bottom line (QBL), and that fourth aspect is culture, values, spirituality, your inner self, your integrity, your morals, and your ethics. And that is the core because how do we assure that you are honest? How do we ensure that you are not being greedy? How do we confirm that you are being responsible? But, above all, you are human. And that is where spirituality comes for sustainability. And that is what I discovered; that is what my observation is. There is no sustainability without integrity.
If you are not honest about this issue, if you do not know this issue, if you are not committed to this issue, if you are not giving 100 per cent to this issue, if you don’t have that integrity, the case of sustainability is postponed, deferred. So why did you delay it?
Because your wants and desires come first, and you could not help yourself. Suppose you go shopping and buy stuff so much, but you know that is not good for the plan of sustainability. And you still do it; why did you do that? Because you do not see the urgency.
It is because you want to relax and enjoy your life as much as possible before committing to that cause. And that is because you do not have integrity. And it is not just about sustainability. There are many things in life these days; we make many decisions based on our wants and desires and then forget about our integrity. So we will talk about that later. Maybe not on this or the first ten episodes, but we will discuss if it relates to spirituality.
As I said before, my passion is sustainability and spirituality. I want to talk about it because it has been a long time since I have been voiceless, just like everybody else. And we have a voice. We do not speak does not mean we are wordless. We can talk, and speaking up is easy these days because you need to get a microphone and start. Perhaps one person will speak, and one person will listen; at least someone will hear. Perhaps ten people will listen. Oh, that is good, ten people attended, and out of ten, maybe one agreed, and nine disagreed. That is okay; at least you spoke.