Chaitanya Jyothi Museum Opening, 2000

RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.

Countrymen,

ORBIS NON SUFFICIT
SOLUS DEUS SUFFICIT

American Exceptionalism rests on Human Exceptionalism.  One cannot get to American Exceptionalism taking humans as animals or, worse, things. Humans occupy a dimension of reality animals do not: the dimension of power and meaning.  This is the dimension of spirit, the spiritual dimension. Animals are not in it. It is beyond the dimensions of physics and psyche, which animals occupy along with humans.

Only in the dimension of spirit do questions of ethics and morality arise.  Such questions distinguish humans from animals even though humans have all characteristics animals do, but far more.  Humans are exceptional, they transcend the animal dimensions of body and mind, because they grapple with the question of power and meaning, their unity or separation.  These questions stand outside mere physical and psychological inquiry and actually, in practice, govern physical and psychological behavior.  This is the spiritual dimension, the dimension of spirit (German geist, Latin spiritus).  Humans have the spiritual component animals do not.

Another dimension of life is added by humans: the spiritual dimension in which there are questions of personhood and justice.  Animals have no such questions.  From Human Exceptionalism given favorable and enthusiastic recognition and acceptance (e.g., by creators of the US Declaration of Independence and Constitution) arises American Exceptionalism.  And, there is a dimension of reality beyond even the dimension of spirit.  It is the dimension of history, the dimension of teleology, purpose, aim.  And again, only man experiences the dimension of history.

AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA