CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Research and action undertaken by CDRI is carried out within an evolving conceptual framework that addresses beliefs, values, and approaches. Below are some of its salient elements:

AGE OF TRANSITION

Humanity as a whole is passing through an age of transition, one that can be likened to the turbulent years of adolescence in the life of an individual. The present state of confusion and anxiety is to be understood as a sign of the time when childhood is being left behind and maturity is on the horizon. Two parallel processes are accelerating at all levels—village, town, nation, and global society. On the one hand, a process of disintegration manifests itself in corruption, violence, apathy, and alienation. On the other, forces associated with a process of integration move individuals and groups to embrace new values, new forms of organization, and appropriate structures that can lay the foundations of a world civilization embodying the oneness of humanity and the principles of justice. Together, the constructive and destructive forces operating in the world serve to propel humanity along the path towards its maturity. CDRI’s research and action is focused on assisting the individual, the family, and the community to contribute to the processes of integration that advance material and spiritual civilization.

MORAL EMPOWERMENT

At the heart of the conceptual framework of CDRI is the notion of moral empowerment. Power in this context is not meant to suggest the intention to dominate or to induce others to submit to one’s wishes and demands. What is at stake are the powers of the human spirit–the power of pure and goodly deeds, of selfless love, and of humble service. The empowerment of individuals and groups at the grassroots of society to contribute to the building of a new civilization is seen as a historical imperative. The central concern of moral empowerment is how to nurture a twofold moral purpose in the individual: to assume responsibility for developing attributes required of a member of the human race now standing at the threshold of maturity and to consciously contribute to organic change in the structure of society.

MATERIAL AND SPIRITUAL CIVILIZATION

The processes of integration advance both material and spiritual civilization. The two must be combined, for material civilization is like the lamp and spiritual civilization the light in the lamp. When material progress is energized by the morals and virtues of spiritual civilization, the vast intellectual and physical resources of the global society can be directed toward the regeneration and upliftment of humanity. Peace and prosperity for all ceases to be an unattainable dream.

COHERENCE

If the light of civilization is to shine, the material and spiritual aspects of life must be approached in a coherent way. False dichotomies between faith and reason, theory and practice, autonomy and dependence, individual and collective have to give way to complementarity and interconnectedness. A fragmented view of education, work, family, and service to the community has to be abandoned. Particularly those in their formative age must be accompanied in shaping lives that are whole and integrated. For this to happen, families and communities need to participate in the creation of an environment in which youth can learn to resist the forces of disintegration, to separate valid information from propaganda, and to avoid the pull of constant distraction in order to gain the needed clarity as they make decisions about their future. The creation of such a cultural environment requires the gradual adoption by the community of a language of coherent transformation, a language that gives proper meaning to a host of concepts—motivation, talent, excellence, service, participation, success, progress, wealth, prosperity, means and ends, justice, and oppression, to name but a few. 

KNOWLEDGE

The building of a prosperous world civilization requires a fundamental change in the way knowledge flows in society today. Presently, bits and pieces of the knowledge generated in sophisticated centers of research and development reach the masses of humanity, who have become mere recipients and users of technological packages.  Even education claiming to be progressive and student-centered is a hostage to slogans and algorithms. Understanding is reduced to problem-solving and to processing information. The empowerment of the individual and the community to participate in the affairs of a truly knowledge-based society is entirely neglected. Conditions have to be created for the generation of knowledge at the grassroots of society, knowledge that, benefiting from rapid scientific and technological progress, enables people to take ownership of their own paths of development. CDRI considers the nurturing of such learning spaces its principal occupation.