Universalism means continuity - a history, a logical coherence at Global level; it is an attempt to understand happenings in light of certain assumptions. So the new construct of Universalism of the ‘West’ or ‘Middle East’ is a construct to justify and continue colonial exploitation. Western Universalism propagated through science-art and modern value based order hide its Abrahamic Christian sectarian roots. Islam in Darul-Islam sees a Universalism in form of Global Sharia rule under Quranic Injunctions, which is not that sophisticated. Many light-minded Hindus affected by Western Education have started imagining a golden Indian tradition with an agenda to propagate Aryan values across the world!
This also means that the linear unidirectional projectile of history and civilization is a myth. This is a typical post-scientific view.
There is a close and inter-dependent relationship between what we call Science and History today. For where can be the history without science and which stream of knowledge other than history (in the West, history and religion go hand in hand, without Jesus, Mohammad and historical veracity of Bible, Torah or Koran these religions become groundless) sets the agenda of science!
We know that the stem cell research funding in US Congress is discussed on biblical and political arguments. The attempt to control the agriculture with gene technology has also this background. Every decision of scientific establishment has this typical bias. What is important to understand is the fact that all values have their ecology, for example the greed for energy of US is different from energy greed of China or that of India, but Western Universalism impose the Abrahamic conceptions over others. Language, scientific research and popular culture are its arms of propagation. This is the reason behind the success of decadent West which cannot survive without its sense of History. Non-Universalist societies can survive without this very well, be it India, China or Japan etc.
Art, ethics and morality presuppose continuity but definitely not Universalism.
We cannot see Virgil, Homer, Socrates, Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Marx, Mozart, Camus etc. in that continuum called the West (as Civilization). This is a forgery and misappropriation. When we speak of civilizational continuum, we impose an anthropomorphic bias on the existence. No doubt the much hated and obscene claims made on behalf of the Great Indian tradition are also there and they are infantile reaction to this world view.
As far the West is concerned, there is a great internal dissonance in the thing that we understand by the Western civilization. They have internal contradictions which are yet to be unraveled. But the material success and general extroversion imposed through popular culture (and inability of self to get into self) has helped them burry these things in the din and glare of light. It lacks cosmic unity and comprehension (spiritual connect of individual with cosmos) except occasional flashes here and there. As far Middle-East they don’t have any such pretence and their Islamic agenda is clear, art has no relevance except craft.
The West’s is primarily a scientific-technological success story. Now if no Western Universalism exists, then there is no Great Indian Universalism either. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ is a forgery, (Are we aware of this interesting fact that this quote has been used by a villainous Jackal to lure a gazelle in Hitopedesha and it has no lofty ideal in it that has so erroneously been claimed on it).
So I don’t believe in this great scientific, golden tradition of India, beguiled and by cunning foreigners and so on. I accept it as an open heathen world, where Universalism is not based on tangible, rational, logical or ideological basis; it is in its relation with nature. To be India and Indian means to tune oneself with this ‘Rta’ and ‘Dharma’.
There is a fundamental artificiality in the ways of these West and so-called Middle Eastern region that has made them create powerful colonial forces. The West is most potent war machine. Their natural artificiality and anthropomorphic deceit are superior to the Islamic Taqqia. This is the reason, despite of superior social cohesion and inbuilt ruthlessness, Middle East will suffer fatal defeat from the (Christian or non-Christian) West.