Positive Journalism For Establishing a Value-based Society & Better World
Today, in this Iron-Aged Kaliyugi world and society, where man has gone completely astray due to his deliberate deviation from the path of values, spirituality and righteous actions, the need of positive journalism has become quite urgent. The impact of journalism upon the society has become clearly perceptible. The print and electronic media have left their deep and indelible marks on the people of every walk of life and activities. The major fundamental objectives of media are to inform, educate, enlighten and entertain people. Journalism as an indivisible part of media has also almost the same objectives.
Negative Journalism and Positive Journalism
Negative journalism creates despondency, disunity, disorganization, revolt and narcissistic tendencies. An editorial written with bad, negative and ulterior motives can generate and spread negative thoughts and feelings in the whole country.
On the other hand, positive journalism creates hope, unity, organization, peace and stability, creative and constructive tendencies. It can create and spread positive thoughts, feelings and understanding in the people of country, society and world at large. It can also create and establish essential values in life like love, sympathy, empathy, truth, peace, compassion, forgiveness, friendship, charity, unity, nobility, integrity, humanity, spirituality, spirit of co-existence, etc. in a diverse society and world inhabited by people of many castes, colours, creeds, faiths, beliefs, languages, religions, cultures, nationalities, genders, places of births, etc. Positive journalism can also inspire people in positive directions, give them value-and-spiritual orientations and create newer and nobler mindsets.
Core Ethics of Journalism
The very core ethics of journalism is based on positive, creative and constructive thoughts, ideas and ideals. Is not it a sheer compromise and contravention of professional ethics if any media professional or journalist makes destructive analysis and interpretations of someone’s comments or opinions and also subverts and then presents the same unethically by diverting from the core ethics of journalism? For example, Mr. A said, “I love women.” But, if any journalist presents Mr. A’s comment or statement as “He hates women”, it is a burning example of negative journalism that is unethical. Such instances of negative journalism without professional ethics are many in our country.
When we are talking of the need of positive journalism, this means that we feel the lack of positive journalism or, in other words, there is more prevalence of negative journalism. That is why a plausible question arises in mind: “How far media professionals are able to fulfill or satisfy the objectives of media in the atmosphere of negative journalism?” That is why the topic is quite relevant today, and, therefore, it is the need to throw much light upon it when we are desirous of creating a value-based society and better world.
Concept of a Better World
Generally, a better world is a value-based world where people are value-oriented and supposed to have health, wealth, happiness, peace, purity and prosperity. A better world is such a world where there is perfect coordination among the three prime agencies of Man, Nature and God; where there is due balance between love and law; where men, women and children are ideal in their thoughts, words and deeds. They are veritable divine representatives of the Supreme God Father, being the incarnation of all divine qualities, values, virtues, powers, which they inherit from Him as their spiritual and heavenly birthrights; where there will be the reign of Divinity everywhere; where Shree Lakshmi and Shree Narayan, the first Empress and Emperor respectively, will reign over. They will live a life of divine bliss and beatitude along with other deities (gods and goddesses) adorned with double crowns – crowns of purity and wealth. In the state of fruition/liberation-in-life, the deities will be completely free from the seven deadly sins/vices like sex-lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego, jealousy and indolence, and live an ethereal life bliss and beatitude.
Complete Health Means Holistic Health
A positive journalist should have complete health, which means holistic health. The Hindi word for ‘Health’ is ‘Swastha” that contains two words ‘Swa’ and ‘Stha’: the ‘Swa’ meaning ‘self’ or ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ and ‘Stha’ meaning ‘to be’. Thus, the word ‘Health’ or Swastha means ‘to be yourself’ or ‘to remain in the state of one’s own original self’. Thus, the term ‘Healthy’ or ‘Heal-thy’ also means ‘Heal thy self’. When we remain ‘healthy’ (Swastha) by remaining in the state of our own ‘selves’, we can be happy (Sukhi). In true sense, ‘Health’ or Swastha does not mean only physical health, but it also means ‘mental; and ‘spiritual’ health as well. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines ‘health’ as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” In this sense, complete health involves holistic health including physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual health. But, today, the irony is that when people do not have their outer physical health, how can they have emotional, social, mental and spiritual health? When our health system itself has gone astray, how can we be healthy? In order to be healthy in true sense of the term, let us, all stakeholders of our health system, perceive and treat ourselves and others as the inner self/soul – the uniform being or consciousness of all of us.
A Journalist is a Human Soul
A journalist, who is also a human being, is basically an inner self/soul/spirit but not the outer body, which is made up of five natural elements like earth, water, air, fire and ether. The outer body is mortal and perishable whereas the inner self/soul/spirit is immortal, eternal and imperishable, and it has three subtle components such as mind, intellect and soul.
The inner self/soul/spirit experiences happiness and sorrow, peace and peacelessness, sweetness and sourness, etc. through the outer physical senses or organs. A human personality is known and recognized by his inner spiritual ‘self’ or ‘soul’ but not by his outer ‘body’. That is why on the basis of the knowledge, qualities and powers of self/soul, the classification of souls and their personalities is, generally, made such as: Supreme Soul (Param Atma), deity soul (Dev Atma), human soul (Manav Atma) religious soul (Dhrama Atma), virtuous soul(Punya Atma), great soul (Mahan Atma) and sinful/vicious soul (Pap Atma). As per this classification of souls, the media persons/journalists should ask themselves what sort of souls are they and what sort of soul they aspire to be.
As a human being/soul, the journalist should have eternal relationships with the Incorporeal God Father Shiva, the Supreme Soul – the Supreme Spiritual Father of all souls of the humanity. But, ironically, the human being has become completely oblivious of the inner self/soul and has wrongly identified himself with the outer body and turned to be completely body-conscious instead of being soul-conscious. How, then can a body-conscious man or woman can establish his/her connection with the ever soul-conscious God, the Supreme Soul? The body is the outer cover or dress of the soul. When one forgets one’s own inner self/soul (Swa), how can he/she remain established in the state of one’s own inner self/soul (Swa), and become healthy (Swastha)? A journalist can really be healthy in true sense only by being soul-conscious and keeping all relationships with God, the Supreme Spiritual Surgeon.
Positive Journalism for a Better World
Media and journalists can be responsible and instrumental in establishing a value-based society and better world by inculcating values and spirituality in their personal and professional lives with their true, broad and spiritual perception and vision, and by implementing the following steps in their life:
(i) Self-introspection
A media professional or journalist is basically and essentially a self/soul/spirit; he/she can practise positive journalism, if he/she can self-introspect by considering and perceiving him/her as a self, the inner spiritual entity, but not as a body, the outer material or physical entity. He/she can self-introspect, only when he/she can have a real vision and visualization of the self/soul/spirit and of God, the Supreme Soul. But, the soul and Supreme Soul are the spiritual entities, which are invisible to the naked eyes. According to Jonathan Swift, “The true vision is seeing the Invisible.” Thus, seeing or perceiving of the soul and Supreme Soul is the true or right vision. We cannot see the invisible soul and Supreme Soul with our skinny physical eyes but can do so with the third eye of knowledge. But, this eye of knowledge of all of us has been closed, and we can open it with the sincere practice of Rajyoga meditation.
Journalists deal with both words and pictures. A picture is worth thousands of words. Stuart Franklin has rightly said, “In a world of words, pictures still matter.” A journalist presents news and messages through good and crystal clear images and pictures; but a unique journalist whose third eye of spiritual knowledge is open can have a better and broader worldview and see keener and clearer images with his/her sharp, piercing eyes into the heart of things, people and events and present them both in width and depth for the wider public with the power of his/her penetrating vision and self-introspection.
(ii) Practice of Rajyoga Meditation
In order to be a true and positive journalist with professtional ethics, the journalist should make regular practice of Rajyoga Meditation. Rajyoga Meditation is the mental, intellectual and spiritual connection or union of the human soul – a point-of-conscient-light – with God, the Supreme Soul Shiva, the Absolute and Almighty Authority. If and when the media professionals make this connection or union with God Father through meditation, He will transmit the divine powers to them, flow the currents of pure thoughts and languages, and refine their qualities, skills, abilities, potentialities and talents, and also lend them all sorts of helps and supports, because they are also His spiritual Children. If they will take one step towards God, He will take thousand steps towards them. Somebody has rightly said in terms of computer terminology, “God is like a software: He enters our life; scans our problems; edits our tensions; downloads the solutions; deletes our worries; and also saves us.”
(iii) Develop Good and Positive Thoughts
Media persons should understand the fact that health and happiness cannot come in human life only with material wealth and prosperity such as accumulation of money, possession of landed properties, stashing of gold ornaments and jewelleries in bank lockers, etc. It is the human mind that feels and experiences health and happiness by developing and generating good, positive, creative, moral and spiritual thoughts. We are what our thoughts have made us. So, goes the saying, “As you think, so you become.” Good and Positive thoughts lead to good and positive feelings, emotions, words and actions. Good, positive, creative, moral and spiritual thoughts nullifies and neutralizes all negative and narcissistic tendencies; they quarantine the mind against evil, sinful and vicious thoughts, feelings, emotions and actions; they become safeguards against the evil temptations and attacks of Satan/Devil – the symbol of sins/vices like sex-lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego, indolence and jealousy. They keep the mind clean and create the possibilities to germinate and grow in it the saplings of values and virtues, thereby giving true health and happiness in the long run. Healthy and happy people can earn the required wealth for maintaining their life. So, it is imperative that the media professionals should develop good, positive, creative, moral and spiritual thoughts in them to establish a value-based society and better world.
(iv) Develop a True and Sensitive Heart
The media professionals possess great talents, skills and abilities and also avail a great deal of sum, facilities, amenities and things (Sadhan) of comfort and luxuries. But, most often it is observed that they misuse them due to the lack of a true and sensitive heart in them as they lack the practice of meditation (Sadhna) in their life. Regular practice of Rajyoga meditation can enable them to develop a true and sensitive heart to feel and penetrate deeply into the heart of people, things, situations and events and also understand and interpret them in true colours and perspectives. Because, Rajyoga meditation coordinates the mind, intellect and heart and thereby gives the practitioners a true, proper and righteous worldview as it is, without any twists and turns. Thus, the media professionals are required to develop a true and sensitive heart in order to contribute to the establishment of a better world. (To be Contd….)
Dr. Brahma Kumar Yudhishthir, Ph.D., Shantivan, Associate Editor