Japan, India, and Africa: What do their ancestral philosophies have in common?
Dec 9, 2024
At first glance, Japan, India, and Africa may seem like completely different worlds. Their landscapes, their languages, their customs... But if you take a moment to pause and look a little deeper, you'll discover that their ancestral philosophies share a common heartbeat. A kind of invisible thread that crosses seas and mountains to remind us of something essential.
This journey is a stroll along that thread.
1. The connection with the invisible
In Japan, Shintoism speaks of kami, the spirits that inhabit nature. Every tree, every river, every stone can be a sacred home.
In India, Hinduism shows us the cosmic dance of Shiva, where everything is part of a great universal energy.
In Africa, many cultures live under the idea of animism, where there is no separation between the material and the spiritual: ancestors, animals, the earth... everything is connected.
What's the common point? The certainty that the visible world is just a part of the story.
2. The value of community over the individual
In Japan, the concept of Wa highlights group harmony, the importance of not breaking social peace.
In India, Dharma is not just a personal path, but also a role within the community, a duty towards others.
In Africa, the philosophy Ubuntu summarizes this idea with a single phrase: "I am because we are."
What's the common point? Individual well-being is intertwined with collective well-being. We do not blossom alone.
3. The impermanence of everything
Japanese Zen Buddhism embraces the idea that everything changes, everything flows (mujo). Nothing is permanent.
In India, the Wheel of Samsara symbolizes the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth.
In Africa, the cycles of nature (rain, harvest, drought) are accepted as part of life, and oral stories reflect that constant fluidity.
What's the common point? Life is a cycle. Resisting change is going against the current.
Why does all this matter today?
Because even though we live in cities filled with screens, our hearts still beat to the rhythm of something much older. Understanding these philosophies is not an intellectual exercise; it is a invitation to remember that we are connected. With others. With the earth. With ourselves.
And perhaps, just perhaps, that is the most universal lesson of all.
