This inaugural issue of Neohumanist Review honours and puts on record the great contribution of Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar— the propounder of Neohumanist philosophy. Shrii Sarkar was a philosopher-seer besides being a spiritual giant. He made many path breaking contributions in different fields of knowledge. This journal owes its birth to his desire to establish a global neohumanist university called “Ananda Marga Gurukula” that would focus on research, teaching and service. In his words the purpose of Ananda Marga Gurukula is to serve humanity with a neo-humanist spirit and to acquire knowledge for that purpose. The Neohumanist Review is a small step to further the goals of the Ananda Marga Gurukula University.
Most of the articles of this inaugural issue seek to situate neohumanism; what sort of philosophy it is and what it may mean in today’s world and in future. The authors selected for this issue are all celebrated neohumanist scholars and help us enlighten the neohumanist perspective.
Historian Marcus Bussey discusses the crisis of modernity and the need for human beings to draw on their deeper, timeless spiritual resources. Linguist Marco Alexandre de Oliveira views neohumanism as promoting both a reformulation and a revision of classical humanism, being transmodern while reinforcing the foundations of modernity from a position of alterity, and decolonial, for deconstructing the bases of coloniality from a condition of subalternity. Educationist Kathleen Kesson deliberates neohumanism as a revolutionary philosophy of a required all-round education of the whole human being and human society. Celebrated author Marilyn Mehlmann writes on Transformative Learning. Aditya Mohanty, professor of philosophy, offers neohumanism as a panacea for the global malaise. The world famous economist Dr. Ravi Batra shares a treatise on recent cycles of inflation, and his views on neohumanist economics expounded in an interview with Neohumanist Review staff. Ramesh Bjonnes draws from the works of Shrii Sarkar and expounds on the unconventional view of yoga history.
For the benefit of our readers, we have added a theme, Shabda Cayanika, where we get a glimpse of Shrii Sarkar’s omni-telepathic vision in his famous extempore Sunday discourses delivered towards the end of his mortal life.
The Neohumanist Review comes to you with a fresh perspective on creating a new world based on love, compassion and universal spirit. After all, “Neohumanism is fundamentally extending the love of the human heart to embrace the entire living and the so-called non-living world.”
– Acarya Shambhushivananda Avadhuta
Published in Neohumanist Review, Issue 1, September 2023