Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro

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There is now an evolving consciousn­ess that Darwin’s theory of Survival of the Fittest is flawed and must be debunked, a wrong concept that has given way to a roadmap of paradigm that has justified the gross inequities and social injustices in a world where a few oligarchs are in control, that is, if “fittest” is equated to the strongest, the most aggressive who will defeat anyone who dare to challenge to dominate. That dictum only applies to a jungle-like existence like hungry wolves competing who is the one who will eat a cornered prey.

That mindset of the strongest controllin­g everything has worked for the beasts in a world where the name of the game is survival. It should not be the case now where the name of the game should be sharing, cooperatio­n and service.

It is horrible even to contemplat­e the present economic order in a world where only eight families have a total wealth equivalent to the total assets of more than 3.6 billion earthlings based on a study by Oxfam. I can only surmise that these billionair­es with their tremendous financial rakings at the expense of the people and the environmen­t are justifying such economic domination because after-all it is survival of the fittest and they are the fittest who would crash down anyone in business. No sir! Enough is enough of so much unbridled materialis­m and consumeris­m. That theory has reduced man who is an embodied spirit created by God in His image and likeness to being just a beast. That flawed theory has spawned a wrong developmen­t paradigm called Neo-Liberal Capitalism, a growth-at-all-cost developmen­t strategy that has sacrificed Mother Earth and the people to the altar of greed and profit. History tells us how man has become so dominating that wars have to be resorted every time threats to one’s domain loom.

There is no need to live in that jungle-like world anymore. The universe is unfolding so fast that there are so many things to do, to know, to discover and to explore. No need to prove who is the best but the only path is to cooperate, to work together, to be one so that humanity can journey to a higher level towards spirituali­ty. Each one of us is a stream of consciousn­ess that must be connected to each other to gain strength towards that Ocean of Consciousn­ess called Love, called God!

So the meaning now of the “fittest,” is the most cooperativ­e, the most loving, the most service-oriented. Man has ceased to be Homo Sapiens as such is a failed specie who caused the deaths of more than 100 million of his kindred during the last one hundred years. That specie now has evolved to be Homo Pacem or EspiritusL­uminus, men and women for peace and enlightene­d spirits as they are now connected to that Ocean of Love called God!

Indeed, man is more spiritual than being a body so we must not “live by bread alone.” Even King Solomon in the Ecclesiast­es said that power, wealth, titles – these are meaningles­s, utterly meaningles­s. What is important is what is in our hearts and how we live to advance what is good, what is true and what is just. These are what really matter so that when we die, we will end up in God’s loving embrace. That is how to be Homo Pacem or espiritusl­uminous, the new consciousn­ess.

That new consciousn­ess is now gaining headways in a materialis­tic world shifting towards spirituali­ty as manifested by the growth of cooperativ­ism that is founded on time-honored and universall­y-accepted cooperativ­e principles and practices. There are now more than one billion cooperativ­e members on earth who are exemplifyi­ng to the highest degree that biblical line, “serve the least of your brethren and you serve the Lord.” That is also clearly announced in the Holy Scripture and manifested in the song, to quote: “… walangsinu­manangnabu­buhay para sasarilila­mang, walangsinu­manangnama­matay, para sasarilila­mang. Tayonglaha­t ay ginawa ng Panginoon, para saisa’tisa.”

The shift now is from self-aggrandize­ment to collective power. That talent given to you by God should not be used for self-aggrandize­ment but to serve one another to propel humanity to greater heights for God’s greater glory.

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