From the booklet PROUT, What It Stands For
Before analysing the Progressive Utilization Theory in detail, let us see what is actually meant by the term progress. Nowadays a tendency has developed to use to word “progressive” as a means to attract people in one’s favour just as the two often quoted words “democracy” in politics and “socialism” in economics are interpreted loosely enough to hoodwink the unwary public and suit one’s selfish ends. Even die-hard conservatives blow the trumpets of progressiveness only to conceal the stigma of conservatism. This exactly resembles putting a silken bandage on an abscess emitting foul odour.
Materialists also boast of themselves as being progressive. Today people all over are prone to emulate foreign dresses and customs and deem themselves progressive. What is even more funny is that people want to gratify their animal instincts and in justification of their acts misinterpret the spirit of the precise meaning of progress.
If judged correctly progress means well directed movement, derived from the Latin progradi; pro “forward, gradi “to move”. Hence only those who desire to be branded as progressive must always march ahead. In the olden days life was thoroughly materialistic and human beings were utterly bread and butter-oriented. Today, after having traversed a long course of evolution, if anybody still proclaims bread and butter to be the alpha and omega of human life it would be nothing short of naivety to call them progressive. Primitive human beings used to roam about naked. Later on they remained half-clad and then only learned how to dress properly. If today they strut about on the roads like a beast with shameless vulgarity they should better be designated as regressive. In a word the use of the term progressive is often just a useless effort and a coverup of bestial behavior. The real spirit of the term is not being followed correctly anywhere.
According to PROUT, progress necessarily denotes rhythmic movement towards the infinite entity. But one’s march toward infinity has to be effected by wending through relativity; those progressive beings will proceed toward their goal by making happy adjustments with all relative factors. Theirs is an endless journey without any break or pause, a journey eternal. We can never agree with Marx when he says, “There is no more movement, no more progress. The heavenly state desired for has been achieved.” With the establishment of communism human progress will reach its summit! (which in fact is a clear negation of Marx’ own philosophy); people get easily attracted by such grandiloquent phraseology but thereby truth will not come out in its real form, society would not reach the peak of progress.
There are more things than are even dreamt of or imagined; the caution of “thus far and no further” cannot check humanity’s progress. That is why PROUT basically wants society to prosper and progress infinitely and that must be effected in all three main spheres of life – physical, mental and spiritual. Even a country at a stage of development and progress where it is well nigh possible to provide “three cars per family” cannot be said to have achieved maximum progress.
The person who gets a car today can well procure a helicopter tomorrow, a rocket the following day. So where is the end. In the mental world, too, there is no end to movement. But there is an end and that is only in the spiritual realm. Once reached, there is cessation of all movement there, since the goal of movement has been realized.
The individuals separately can reach this spiritual goal but society as a whole cannot. Because society is the conglomeration of countless individuals and on account of being diverse in nature it is constantly moving with various speeds. There is no end to social progress either. Besides, the wealth of society as well as that of the entire universe is very vast though not infinite. It is their utility that satiates human thirst. The physical hunger needs physical food, the mental or intellectual thirst is quenched by mental pabulum and the longing for the great is fulfilled by spiritual realization. But human desire being unlimited the limited utility of any wealth can never give permanent contentment. One must necessarily be progressive in matters of utilization of all sorts of wealth. Besides, this progressiveness is inseparably related to dynamicity and this movement is not uniform but, as it is essentially accompanied by acceleration, the speed with which human ingenity would work hundred years back had incredibly increased today. It will increase much more in future. Thus, progressiveness means both advancement and that with an accelerated speed.
The same is the case with utilizations. Every day new and still newer things will be invented and there will be acceleration in speed as well. This progressive movement, it is to be borne in mind, is not a mere race in a fit of momentary impulse, nor is it a plunge out of sheer emotion. This movement should have a thorough sanction of intuitional guidance. As such human freedom should have necessary checks and balances in order to make it free from danger. And it should be encouraged as well. The course of this movement can well be likened to a river with embankments flowing with high currents thereby rendering fields, villages and towns along the banks all fertile and green.
In this way the application of progressive utilization has got to be guided by a noble harmony of intellect, rationality and intuition. That is why PROUT does not advance the capitalist concept of liberalism. In case of imposing restraints the factor of human welfare has to be taken into consideration. Restraint is not for its own sake but for blessedness. With that end in view only in unavoidable circumstances some degree of restraint may be needed. Hence PROUT rejects any totalitarian principle of dogmatic systems. What PROUT clearly stands for is the blending of individual liberty and collective interest. And to that end, it has laid down its five fundamental principles. These principles have been formulated keeping in view the adjustment between the growing demands and the psychological requirements of humanity. On one side they aim at putting an end to all sorts of exploitation and on the other side provide ample scope for keeping pace with the changing pattern of the world.
Copyright Proutist Universal 2011