Respect 229who has a face and faces others. It is by interacting in the larger com-
munity that one becomes more and more authentic and trustworthy. It is
this process of interaction that opens up new avenues to establish new
relationships which naturally provide a larger opportunity for growth.
Religious traditions and different philosophical traditions provide a
world vision encompassing all people and all things in the world. Vasu-
daivakutumbakam, “the world is a family,” is one such Indian world
vision. It is a vision inviting us to extend and expand our relationship to
the ends of the earth. This is an invitation to go beyond the limitations of
the nuclear family. It is to insert ourselves into a greater reality of the
world family and to recognize that everyone in the world is a member. It
is a matter of widening and deepening the virtue of respect. It is similar
to mysticism—I belong to all and all belong to me. It is a beautiful en-
counter of interrelatedness. As the world vision, so the ethical horizon.
The moment one assumes a greater belongingness by being part of
all in the world, then the behaviour undergoes a radical change. Being
and behaviour correspond; behaviour is an outcome of one’s rootedness
and relatedness. A person assuming the world citizenship has to act ac-
cordingly. In understanding the world as the family necessitates certain
changes and offers a myriad of challenges. It is a vision of reality and
hence there is a corresponding mission attached to the vision. If the
world is the family of God, then among human beings all are sisters and
brothers. This perception of this reality brings a broadened view of mo-
rality along with it—I am related to all in God and all are related to each
other in God. This demands embracing all, irrespective of caste, creed,
colour, gender, age, ethnicity, geographic boundaries, etc. Saint Paul
explains this phenomenon from his faith perspective. “There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and fe-
male, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). It is a trans-
forming and defining perspective. Similarly, Saint Paul argues the phe-
nomenon of the Mystical Body of Christ, “the body is one and yet has