Question: Lithuania is a small country. There are only 3 million of us. We strongly protect our cultural mentality, our native language, and ethnic roots. That is why we are concerned; will we dissolve in the world if we will increasingly be integrating with it?

Answer: I perfectly understand you. I lived in Lithuania back in those years, when the strong pressure from your big neighbor was being felt, Russia. I understand your worry for your people, for the nation, for the identity and identification.

However, we are talking about the need to feel oneself not as an individual, separated, opposite, hating, far away from the neighbor, but on the contrary, to feel commonness with everyone. We are talking about the fact that man is a part of the common world and must work in it accordingly, like a small organ in one unified organism.

The different organs of the body, the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, each one of them works in its direction, but all of them together obey one fixed law, and that is why the body lives. A lot of opposite processes are happening inside of it, but all of them are nevertheless coordinated by one large controlling action.

That is why, the integral movement forward, which will make us, the whole world, to be global, in no way denies the individuality of a person, a country, a people, a nation, or a society. In no way!

Individuality remains, like the uniqueness of each cell or each organ of the body remains, but this is because they harmonize with the rest of the body, and then this body lives.

Then our planet Earth also has the opportunity to exist, and in turn so do each people, each nation, each state inside of it, which have their own culture, their customs, establishments, and so on.

I often hear that fear emerges in people: “I must completely cancel myself? It is as if I will not exist? I must completely give all of myself to others and the society?”

No, no way! And the same goes for a country or a nation, preserve everything that you have!

When you are working on integration, then you create a healthy normal society inside, and on the outside you come in contact with everyone else with goodwill.

Like the heart and the lungs, they are different, but they work in partnership among each other in order to support the whole of the organism. Meaning, the integral direction, unity, does not lead to leveling out or annulment of individuality.
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From a Lecture at Šiauliai University, Lithuania, 3/22/12 

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