The recent escalation of tensions between America and Venezuela reminds us of something we keep forgetting. Nations don’t fall because they run out of money. They don’t collapse because they lose military power. They crumble when they lose their philosophy.
Look at what’s happening. Two nations stand on the brink of war, and what are we doing? We’re picking sides. We’re debating who will win. We’re treating this potential war like a cricket match where we need to choose our favorite team. But here’s the truth nobody wants to hear: in war, everyone loses. Always.
This isn’t just about America or Venezuela. This is about all of us. Because when nations lose their philosophical foundation, when they stop questioning their actions, when they act purely from desire and ego, this is what happens. War becomes inevitable.
When India Lost Its Way
As an Indian, I understand this better than most. We’ve paid a heavy price for losing our philosophy. And we’re still paying.
We blame the kings for betraying us. We blame the British for colonizing us. Today, we blame the government for failing us. But when do we look at ourselves? When do we accept that we failed first?
Our ancestors gave us Vedanta. They taught us that we and the earth are one. They showed us compassion for every being. But what did we do? We threw it away. We kept the rituals but forgot the philosophy. We memorized the verses but lost their meaning.
Now we treat ourselves as above everything else. That’s not wisdom. That’s ego. And ego is what creates war, within ourselves and between nations.
The War We Ignore
There’s another war happening right now. A war against the planet. A war against every species we share this earth with. But we don’t call it war because we’re the ones waging it.
The climate crisis isn’t some distant problem. It’s happening now. And what are we doing? A few people talk about it, sure. They discuss what the government should do. They promote green alternatives so we can keep consuming without feeling guilty. That’s greenwashing, not philosophy.
Most people? They just ignore it. “Earn as much as you can and live happily,” they say. Really? You think you can be happy while the world burns? You think your children will thank you for leaving them a dead planet so you could fulfill every desire? This thinking, this ignorance, is what connects war between nations and war against nature. It’s all the same war, fought on different battlefields.
The Root of All Conflict
Every action we take comes from somewhere. Before we do anything, we should ask: Why do I need this? Where does this desire come from? What drives my actions? But we don’t ask these questions. We just act. We want something, and we grab it. We don’t care about the consequences. We don’t think about others. We don’t consider the earth. Look around you. Do people think about anyone else before acting on their desires? No. They just want what they want, and they want it now. At any cost. This is why most people don’t care about climate change. This is why war keeps happening. This is why we suffer as individuals and as nations.
We’ve lost the right philosophy. We lack Vedanta in our lives. We refuse to understand that harming the earth is harming ourselves. We’ve forgotten compassion for every being.
The Illusion of Progress
We think we’re making progress. We have technology. We have systems. We have laws. But what good are these without the right philosophy? India is a perfect example. We have 140 crore people. We create new problems every day. We have outrage on social media. We protest on the ground. Sometimes it works, temporarily. But nothing lasts because we never address the root cause. We want to save the Aravalli. We want to protect forests. But do we talk about overpopulation? No. Because that’s uncomfortable. That requires us to question our desires, our beliefs, our conditioning. We say the earth has limited resources. We know this. But we keep acting like it doesn’t matter. We keep consuming. We keep wanting more. This isn’t philosophy. This is foolishness.
The Contradiction We Live
Here’s the biggest contradiction: We say we want to save the planet. We talk about protecting nature. But we also want to fulfill every desire. How can these two things coexist? They can’t. You can’t save the planet while living a life based on endless consumption. You can’t protect nature while treating it as a resource for your pleasure. You can’t have compassion for beings while eating them, using them, destroying their homes. The same people concerned about climate change get excited about war news. They debate which side will win. They don’t see that at the end, we all lose. Every war, whether between nations or against nature, makes us all losers.
The Line of No Return
We’ve already crossed it. Every climate pact is just words on paper. Every international agreement is a sham. Why? Because they don’t address the real problem: our philosophy, or lack of it. We think we can solve climate change through activism. Through government measures. Through technology. But we can’t. Not without changing how we think. Not without changing why we act. The war between nations, the war against climate, the war against other species—these aren’t separate problems. They’re symptoms of the same disease: a philosophy based on blind desire and endless consumption.
What India Teaches Us
India’s history shows us what happens when you lose your philosophy. We had wisdom. We had systems that worked with nature, not against it. We understood balance. We knew that actions have consequences. Then we lost it. Kings became corrupt. People became selfish. We stopped questioning ourselves. We stopped observing our own minds. We started blaming others for our problems. Today, we’re repeating the same mistakes. We want change, but we don’t want to change ourselves. We want solutions, but we don’t want to question our desires. We want a better country, but we keep doing the same things. This is why we suffer. This is why our country suffers. Not because of bad systems or corrupt leaders—those are symptoms. We suffer because we lack the right philosophy.
The Only Real Solution
No activism will save us. No government measure will fix this. No technology will solve climate change or prevent war. Because these are external solutions to an internal problem. What we need is self-observation. Before you buy something, ask why. Before you support a war, ask what it achieves. Before you ignore climate change, ask what world you’re leaving behind. Self-observation leads to self-realization. Self-realization leads to the right questions. And only with the right questions can we, as a society, tackle any problem. But look at how we handle problems now. We get outraged. We post on social media. We protest for a few days. Then we move on to the next outrage. Nothing changes because we never change.
Women, Control, and False Respect
Let’s talk about something specific: how we treat women. We say we respect them. But then we control them. We limit their freedom in the name of respect. That’s not respect. That’s conditioning. That’s ego pretending to be virtue. This same pattern shows up everywhere. We claim to respect nature while destroying it. We claim to want peace while preparing for war. We claim to care about the future while living only for today. Truth stands naked in front of us, but we choose lies because they’re more comfortable. Because they let us keep our desires. Because they don’t require us to change.
The War Within
The real war isn’t between America and Venezuela. The real war isn’t even against climate change. The real war is within each of us. It’s the war between wisdom and ignorance. Between compassion and selfishness. Between questioning and blind following. Between restraint and endless desire. Until we win this internal war, every external war will continue. Nations will keep falling. Climate will keep changing. Species will keep dying. And we’ll keep wondering why.
A Call to Philosophy
We need to return to philosophy. Not rituals. Not blind beliefs. Real philosophy that questions everything. That observes the self. That understands consequences. Vedanta taught us this. It said: observe yourself. Understand that you and everything else are connected. Have compassion for all beings. Act from wisdom, not desire. This isn’t about religion. This is about survival. Of our species. Of our planet. Of any chance at peace. When nations lose their philosophy, they begin their decline. When people lose their philosophy, they create the conditions for war, suffering, and destruction. America and Venezuela stand at the edge of war. India struggles with climate change and overpopulation. These aren’t separate issues. They’re all fruits of the same poisoned tree: a philosophy of endless desire, ego, and ignorance.
What Happens Next?
The answer isn’t in activism alone. It’s not in government policies. It’s not in technology. These might help, but they’re not enough.
The answer is in each of us choosing to observe ourselves. To question our desires. To understand where our actions come from. To have genuine compassion for every being. When we change, society changes. When society changes, nations change. When nations change, perhaps we can avoid the next war. Perhaps we can save what’s left of our planet. But it starts with philosophy. With wisdom. With each of us choosing to think before we act. The war between nations will only end when we end the war within ourselves. The war against nature will only stop when we stop seeing ourselves as separate from it. India shows us both the problem and the solution. We lost our philosophy and suffered. Now we have a choice: continue suffering, or return to wisdom.
What will you choose?
The recent war tensions show us one thing clearly: we haven’t learned. Nations still act from ego. People still choose sides. And philosophy remains forgotten in a corner, gathering dust while the world burns.
Until we change this, nothing else will change.
Watch for better understanding: Climate Endgame: Power, not principles, run the world || Acharya Prashant (2025)
