英国新闻听力 印度吠陀文化倡导和谐社会 将固有的精神品质外化

We often use the news to keep us up to date with the frequent changes in societal boundaries.

我们经常通过收听新闻来使自己与时俱进，了解社会的变化。

Whether they're geographical¹, political or familial the trend has generally been that countries are getting smaller and families are becoming more nuclear.

无论这些新闻是关于地理、政治、家庭，其总体趋势都是国家变得越来越小，家庭越来越趋向于核心家庭。

Often these changes are driven by a desire for a solution to our struggles with working together in a spirit of cooperation.

通常这些变化的目的都是让我们以共同合作的精神找到解决问题的办法。

What's prevalent in society often depends on the environment created by our culture.

社会上流行什么取决于我们的文化所创造的社会环境。

The risk of a culture of self-reliance is that it can encourage more division if it's not rooted in values that benefit and unify² the majority.

如果一种文化自立自强，那其危险在于：如果它的文化植根于团结大多数并让大多数人受益，那么它就能鼓励分裂。

The Vedic model of culture suggests that we belong to the whole-as parts of the universe, nature, our communities and parts of our family units.

吠陀文化告诉我们，我们属于整个人类--是宇宙、自然、社群、家庭的组成部分。

It assumes that we are intrinsically responsible and will therefore commit ourselves to the well-being³ of present and future generations with gratitude⁴ for how much we have received from our ancestors and the extent to which our community and extended family nourish us.

这种文化告诉我们，我们生来肩上就有为当前社会和未来子孙做贡献的责任，我们应该心怀感恩，因为我们从祖先身上获得很多，同时我们的社群和家庭也滋养了我们。

The idea being that when we feel connected we naturally accept responsibility for preserving the gifts we have received for those who will come after us.

其理念是当我们感觉与其他人联系在一起时，我们很自然地就能为我们所获得的一切而承担起肩上的重任。

The Vedas recommend that a culture that fosters harmony is based on inclusiveness, tolerance⁵ and acceptance, but they go on to say that to establish a healthy, cooperative environment.

吠陀认为，一种倡导和谐的文化一定基于包容、忍让、接纳，但为了建立一个健康合作的环境，这种文化就要一直宣扬这样的信条。

We must also discover the divine harmony and order inherent within ourselves so that we can express it in the world through our relationships.

同时，我们还要发掘这种和谐之神圣以及我们自身固有的秩序，这样我们才能在人与人之间的关系中体现出和谐感。

That is why for Hindus it is so important to do our inner work of self-observation and self-improvement and notice what has real, lasting⁶ value and treasure what is truly sacred.

这也是为什么印度教徒认为自我观察和自我提升非常重要，同时发现什么才是有持久价值的真实，什么才是真正的神圣。

In today's world, I think it's really important we revitalize the human spirit and it is more natural to us than we realize.

我认为，在当今世界，重新复活这种人类精神要比我们想象的还重要。

The Bhagavad Gita describes how although our spiritual essence is encased in a material body, spiritual qualities of humility⁷, forgiveness and compassion⁸ are inherent to all of us and can always be accessed.

薄伽梵歌描述了尽管我们的灵魂存在于肉体之内，并与谦卑、原谅和同情的精神品质相关联，但我们的灵魂是人人固有的，随时可以贴近的。

We simply need an environment that encourages us to invest time and energy in bringing this spiritual competence⁹ to the surface.

我们只是需要一个环境来鼓舞我们将时间和经历投入到把这些精神品质外化。

It is then far easier to play our role in establishing a culture based on forgiveness, respect and a loving community.

倘若如此，建造一个基于原谅、尊重和关爱的社会和文化就更加容易。

Once established, such a culture will kick start a cycle of positivity.

一旦这种社会和文化得以建成，这种文化就会开启一种良性循环。

I believe this is a realistic and achievable goal if we can persevere¹⁰ and commit to what's required of us.

我相信如果我们能保留并坚持灵魂固有的品质，那么这个目标很现实、可实现。

1 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

2 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

3 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

4 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

10 persevere   

v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
• It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。