-Savio Saldanha SJ
DOI – 10.5281/zenodo.18436459
Date – 30/01/2026
Introduction: One Human Family before God
“The One Light is the light in
all bodies” (Guru Nanak, Japji Sahib). This Sikh affirmation
resonates deeply with the Christian conviction that every human being is
created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27) and called into communion.
Across cultures and religions, humanity has repeatedly intuited that life is
interconnected and sacred. From the Catholic perspective, however, universal
brotherhood is not merely a moral ideal or poetic metaphor. It is a theological
reality grounded in creation and fulfilled in redemption.
In Christ, God reveals not only who
He is, but who we are in relation to one another: brothers and sisters, called
into a single human family. Conscience—understood as the “inner sanctuary”
where the human person encounters God’s law (CCC §1776)—is the privileged place
where this truth is discerned, resisted, or embraced. I reflect on universal
brotherhood as both a gift received and a task discerned in a fragmented world.
The concept of Universal brotherhood and the Indian society
today
As I write this article, I am
reminded of an incident from my school days. When I was appearing for my SSC
board exams, we did not have an exam center in my village and had to travel by
train to the nearby town. The trains were limited and missing one meant waiting
for 30 minutes or more for the next one. One day, I was busy doing some last
minute revision and had to rush to catch the train, when I arrived on the
station I saw my train already leaving. I was caught in a dilemma, should I
catch a running train (a big risk) or wait for the next one and reach my exam
late (another risk as I was surely to be late and refused an entry). As I stood
there, I heard people shouting from the train, those on the door were extending
their hands encouraging me to run and get in. And then as if mechanically, I
ran to the nearest compartment and grabbed a hand and was pulled inside the
train. This incident left a lasting impression on me, these men unknown to me
did not ask for my religion or my name. They saw a student; they knew my
problem and rose as one to help me out.
This was
the India that I grew up in. We celebrated each other’s festivals, ate
together, laughed together and lived together. I would not romanticize the past
saying that everything was rosy and comfy. We had our differences - serious
ones at that - but these did not make us behave like wild animals in our
hatred. There were fundamentalists, they were on the fringe of the society and
never part of the mainstream. People kept their distance from them; they were
recognized rightly as gangs of ruffians and characterless persons. For a common
Indian, career, salary, education of children, medical and infrastructure
facilities was more important.
Today, one
cannot post anything on social media without getting hate comments on one’s
religion and caste. Even simple statements like ‘Merry Christmas’ are enough to
set off strings of vicious diatribes. It is almost normal to hear news about
the disruption of prayer services, chanting and dancing on lewd music in front
of mosques and churches and religious violence in several parts of India
directed against the religious minorities. Christians and Muslims are portrayed
as foreigners and invaders and asked repeatedly to prove their patriotism.
Among all this violence and hatred, I ask myself where we lost our narrative.
If we have become more aware of our religious identities and fundamentals, then
shouldn’t we have become more respectful of the others?
Universal Brotherhood in the Religions
I am
reminded of a Sanskrit shloka from Upanishad, ‘sarve bhavantu sukhinah,
sarve santu niramayah, sarve bhadrani pasyantu ma kascid duhkha bhagbhavet’,
which means ‘May all people be happy, free from illnesses. May all see what is
auspicious, and may no one suffer.’ This prayer is often recited since olden
times for the wellbeing of humanity; it has gained a renewed significance
especially during these pandemic times. It also resonates with the same
universal brotherhood aspect which is preached in the Sikhism. An Upanishadic
hymn says ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ - which means that the whole
world is one single family, found its resonance on the other side of the world
when the Spanish Jesuit Jerónimo Nadal said, ‘El mundo es nuestra casa’ (The
whole world is my home). This motto is considered as an integral part of the
Hindu Philosophy, hence language and religion should never be a reason for
discriminating against people based on any differences.
The Quran says: "O
mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female, and have made you
into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Indeed the most
honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Indeed, Allah is
Knowing and Acquainted" (Quran 49:13). The Quran further
says: “whoever kills a human being without any reason manslaughter or
corruption on earth, it is though he had killed all mankind” (Quran
5:32). In other verses, the Quran states “Do not kill souls which Allah
has made sacred except to the due process of Allah” (Quran 6:151). We thus see the aspects of Universal
Brotherhood and equality of human beings are fundamental philosophy of Islam. Islam has
always encouraged its followers to live with tolerance, harmony, love,
brotherhood and peace on the earth adding that humanity is more precious than
any of the religions. God has granted human dignity to all mankind. Islam also
asserts that no nation is created to be above other nations, rather the
differences of region, religion, colour, and gender makes no difference of
man’s worth in the eyes of Allah, rather his good deeds and obedience to the
Will of Allah is what makes the difference.
The
Holy Bible clearly mentions the tenet of Universal Brotherhood several times.
In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus clearly tells his followers that, ‘Whoever does God’s will is my
brother and sister and mother.’ (Mark 3:35). He thus implies that
everyone is a child of God irrespective of race, gender and other differences,
if only he/she does what is right in the eyes of God. In the very first book of
the Holy Bible, Genesis (Gen.1:27), it is mentioned ‘So God created
humankind in His image’, further in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts
17:26) it is mentioned that ‘From one ancestor he made all nations to
inhabit the whole world’, thus the Holy Bible underlines the union of
all humanity as originating from one ancestor, and created by the same Creator
and in His sacred image. To further strengthen the bond, Saint Paul in his
first letter to the Corinthians (1Cor.6:19) asks ‘Do you not know your
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.’, thus confirming that humanity
is not only bound by a physical bond of shared ancestry but also by a strong
spiritual bond. The same Holy Spirit of God dwells in every human being,
irrespective of his/her religion, race, caste or gender.
The three
major religions in the world; Christianity, Islam and Hinduism preach Universal
Brotherhood and bring out the fact that the entire humanity is bound together
through God who is the Creator of all things seen and unseen as well as a deep
spiritual bond of the dwelling of the Spirit of God in everyone which connects
it together. Then there have been saints in all religions like St. Francis of
Assisi in Christianity, the Sufi saints in Islam, Sai baba of Shirdi, and many
others who have raised the bar on Universal Brotherhood to include also the
nature, and planetary bodies like the sun and the moon.
In
the tribal cultures around the world, be it in the several tribes of India as
well as the Native American tribes, the feeling of a Universal Brotherhood was
ingrained deeply. They worshipped the Nature as The Great Spirit to whom all
the spirits of the world moved. Their reference to the earth as the Mother, and
the fruits and vegetables which grow in the nature as her gifts to humanity
proves a sophisticated and deep entrenched philosophy albeit an unwritten and
unorganised existed, passed in the form of oral traditions, generation to
generation. (Saldanha.
S., 2023)
Conscience,
Imago Dei, and the Roots of Brotherhood
Catholic theology understands
conscience as a judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the
moral quality of concrete acts (CCC §1778). Its dignity rests on the fact that
it participates in God’s wisdom and law. Gaudium et Spes famously
describes conscience as “the most secret core and sanctuary of a man” where one
is alone with God (GS §16).
Because every human being bears the imago
Dei, conscience is universal in scope. No one stands outside the horizon of
moral responsibility or divine concern. Universal brotherhood, therefore, flows
naturally from the doctrine of creation: if all are created by the same God and
ordered toward the same ultimate good, then no form of discrimination — based
on race, caste, gender, religion, or nationality — can be theologically
justified. The Church also recognizes that the Spirit’s action is not confined
to visible ecclesial boundaries. Vatican II speaks of “rays of truth” present
in other religions (Nostra Aetate §2) and of “seeds of the Word”
sown in cultures and traditions (Ad Gentes §11). These seeds
often take the form of ethical intuitions about compassion, justice, and
fraternity.
Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Theology of Universal
Brotherhood
Saint Thomas Aquinas provides a
profound metaphysical foundation for universal brotherhood. For Aquinas, all
beings participate in esse, the act of being, which flows from God as
the first cause. Because every human person shares in this divine gift of existence,
each possesses intrinsic dignity.
Charity (caritas), the
highest theological virtue, extends to all because it is rooted in God’s love,
not human preference. Aquinas insists that we love others not merely for what
they are socially or morally, but for what they are in relation to
God—creatures ordered toward beatitude (ST II–II, q. 25). Universal
brotherhood, therefore, is not sentimental universalism but a demand of
theological realism: to love what God loves, as God loves.
Ignatian Discernment and the Practice of Brotherhood
Ignatian spirituality offers a
concrete method for embodying universal brotherhood in daily life. Discernment
of spirits teaches attentiveness to interior movements—those that lead toward
greater faith, hope, love, and justice, and those that foster fear, exclusion,
or indifference.
The daily examen becomes a school of
fraternity, revealing subtle prejudices and resistances within the heart.
Ignatius’ “Contemplation to Attain Love” trains the believer to see God
laboring in all things and all people. Discernment thus guards against two
distortions: relativism, which empties truth of content, and rigidity, which
weaponizes truth against others.
Pope Francis’ call for a “culture of
encounter” draws deeply from this Ignatian heritage. Universal brotherhood must
be discerned, chosen, and enacted—in personal relationships, social structures,
and political commitments. The Catholic
Magisterium has consistently articulated universal brotherhood as a social and
moral imperative flowing from faith. From Rerum Novarum to Fratelli
Tutti, the Church insists that fraternity is not optional charity but a
demand of justice.
Pope Francis writes: “We are all
brothers and sisters, born of the same Creator” (Fratelli Tutti §5), and
extends this fraternity to creation itself (Laudato Si’ §92). Vatican II
condemns “every type of discrimination” as contrary to God’s intent (GS §29).
The Catechism grounds social ethics in the universal destination of goods (CCC
§2402), affirming that the earth is meant for all, not a privileged few. In a
world fractured by nationalism, caste, racism, and religious fundamentalism,
the Church’s insistence on universal fraternity stands as a counter-cultural
witness rooted not in ideology but in revelation.
Conclusion: Working Together for the Common Good
Universal brotherhood is not a
romantic memory from a “better” India or a soft add‑on to Christian doctrine. It
is the Gospel’s own way of naming what happens when the God of Jesus Christ is
taken seriously in history. The same Lord who created each person in the divine
image and likeness now chooses to dwell among us as our brother and sister,
placing every human being — Hindu neighbour, Muslim stranger, Dalit labourer,
Jesuit student — under the same light of a love that refuses both contempt and
indifference. In this light, the hands once stretched out to pull a nervous
schoolboy into a moving train become more than a touching anecdote; they become
a sacrament of what God desires society to look like when grace quietly
overcomes fear, caste, and suspicion.
Yet the present climate of
polarization, digital hatred, and resurgent communalism reveals how fragile
this vocation remains. Universal brotherhood cannot survive on nostalgia or
pious slogans; it requires formed consciences, capable of naming injustice,
resisting ideological manipulation, and choosing costly solidarity when it is
easier to withdraw into our enclaves. Here the Catholic tradition, from
Aquinas’ metaphysics of shared esse to Vatican II’s denunciation of all
discrimination, and from the daily examen of Ignatius to Pope Francis’ call for
a “culture of encounter,” offer not a ready‑made program but a demanding
pedagogy for learning how to see every face as entrusted to us by God.
Writing from the threshold between
Ashram and Church, India and Europe, classroom and parish, the invitation feels
personal. Universal brotherhood is not an abstract theme to analyze for academic
purposes; it is a question addressed to my own life: Will my theological
studies widen or narrow the circle around the crib? Will my choices — online
and offline, liturgical and political — confirm the lie that some lives are
expendable or less valuable before God, or witness to the truth that all are
siblings before the One Father?
To live as if universal brotherhood
were real is to allow Christ to reorder loyalties, unsettle prejudices, and
send us, again and again, toward those whom society teaches us to fear or
ignore. If even a small number of us allow our consciences to be converted in
this way, then the “One Light in all bodies” will not remain a beautiful line
in a Sikh hymn or a Christian creed, but will slowly become a recognizable
pattern in the wounded yet hopeful history we share. Perhaps on that day, we
shall be able to stand together and pray, ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah..’ as
a small earthly echo of the great gathering God desires in Christ, meaning each
and every word as it is and not merely as a formality or a habit.
References
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T. (1981). Summa Theologiae (Fathers of the English Dominican Province,
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Francis.
(2015). Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Vatican Publishing
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Francis.
(2020). Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship. Vatican
Publishing House.
John Paul
II. (1993). Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth. Vatican Publishing
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Saldanha,
S. (2022). Universal Brotherhood of Mankind. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7732610
Smith, H.
(1991). The World’s Religions.
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