UPHOLDING DHARMA IN THE PRESENT COMMERCIAL ERA OF KALIYUGA
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
1. INDIA CENTURY- EXPLANATION
2. REASONS FOR EXPECTING THE ARRIVAL OF INDIA’S CENTURY
3. VYSYA ERA AND THE COMMERCIAL CIVILIZATION- THE TIMES WE LIVE IN.
The Commercial Civilization
Capitalism and Dharma are Compatible
Adam Smith and character of virtue
4. DHARMA – CONNOTATIONS
Etimology
In Hinduism
Development
As a Purushartha
The Deity named Dharma
In Technical Literature
In Buddhism
Buddha’s teaching
Qualities of Buddha Dharma
In Buddhist Phenomonology
Righteousness
In Ch’an
In Zoroastrianism
Daena
Asha
Achaeonenid Era
In Sikhism
Background
Scriptures and Dharma
In Jainism
The Two Dharmas
5. DHARMA – EXPLANATION
Dharma – a new angle
Dharma
Dharma as one of the Ideals of Life
Distortion and Decline of Dharma
DDD
Birth of the Nation
Aggressive Intervention
Past Mistakes
Intolerance
Incapacity
Neglect of Sanskrit
Caste Perpetuated
Foreboding
Unifying Factor
Indian Culture and Womanhood
India Century Mission
6. RISE OF COMMERCIALCIVILIZATION IN INDIA &
BRITISH RULE
8. RETURN OF DHARMA – A NECESSITY
New Western & Global Dharmic Schools of Thought
The Western School of Thought in Crisis
Deeper Currets in Western Civilization
Stirrings of a New Western School of Thought
Lack of Knowledge about India
The Neopagan Movement
A World Schoolof Dharma
State of Dharma in India Today
Nature’s Endowments
Discrimination Between Communities is a Distortion of Dharma
7. POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Change in Political System
Electoral System
Restructuring of States
Small States
Linguistic Parochialism
City States
Advantages
Decentralised Development
Better Centre State Relations
Disputes among language Groups
Will be minimized
Development will be more equitable
Regional Aspirations will be fulfilled
Proposed State Reorganisation
Reforms in Professions
Medical
Legal
Engineering
Management
Teaching
Education
Mass Media
Environmental Ethics in
Development Projects
River Pollution
Sacred Rivers
Ground Water Pollution
Displacement of People for
Construction of Dams
The fall out from large dams
Forests
Forests & Climate Change
Forests & Tribals
Sustainable Development
9. REAWAKENING TO SPIRITUALITY AND MAN’S
ESSENTIAL NATURE AFFECTING LOCALITY,
NATURE AND INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY
True Catholcism – For a New Dharmic World
Hinduism & the New Millennium
The Hindu Renaissance & Global Hinduism
Hinduism under Siege
Resurgent Hinduism
A New Era of Spirituality & Self Realization
Resurgent India
Our Three Temples
The Meat Free Life
Social Service
FOREWORD
We live in the Vysia era. The Commercial classes are the dominant group in the world. They have the resources, the expertise and the vision to uphold Dharma. The ills in the world are the result of a fall from Dharmic ideals. India is in danger of falling apart. Divisiveness is not only political but between the rich and poor, between communities, between different religious groups and between different geographical areas. In such troubled times we are looking forward to the commercial classes who are dominant to save us. There are great enterprises, such as Tatas in India and Ikea in the world who have the courage to stand up against corruption. Such firms can not only serve as examples but take a positive role in educating the people in sound ethics and morals. Even the Media which has to titillate the people to be profitable are showing that they can pay their dues to Dharmic ideals. If India Century is to become a reality, India has to be saved. Dharma has to be upheld. We appeal to the only entity that is capable of doing this today, namely the private sector, to come forward and accept this responsibility.
During the first few centuries of Kali Yuga, the Brahminical classes declined in their ideals and resorted to mere rituals and observances without sincerity and dedication. Mere superficial manifestation of religion, without heart and sincerity, led to decline in spirituality and increase in mechanical and inert rituals and acharas, which have practically no impact on the mind.
The inappropriate political economy model is strengthening centrifugal forces. The Centre is getting weaker and the States are becoming stronger. National leaders and parties may not emerge in future. It would be only a set of coalitions, with no ideological identity. Alliances will be a matter of convenience to gather and sustain power. The States may confront to the Centre in the years to come. Political instability will be the order of the day. Ultimately, the States may become strong and Central power may even collapse in the political sense.
Fortunately, in spite of all such disruptive forces, the Hindu renaissance is emerging in an ambience of secularism. More temples and ashrams are coming up all over India. Six TV channels broadcast Hindu thoughts and acharas. The rising generation of youth are slowly recognizing the importance of Dharma. The India Century Mission is engaged in this mass movement and campaign.
N.S. Ramaswamy
INDIA'S CENTURY- EXPLANATION
India's century is a phrase which contains a code. It means many things to those who hear it or read of it. It is used in the same sense that the 19th century was called the British century. It was a time when Britain ruled a big part of the world. Yet, the more important reason for that name was the fact that the whole world aspired to British ideals. It accepted the knowledge, institutions and ideals pioneered by Britain. For a similar cause, the 20th century was called The American Century. American methods and ideas led the whole world. Nine of our earlier booklets had expanded various aspects of our conviction that in the near future, we shall have an Indian century.
Not only we in India but many others in the West hold a similar conviction. For instance, David Frawley in the United states is tireless in propagating ancient Indian wisdom, the Vedanta and Ayurvedic medicine in particular. Such admiration of India started in the western world when the great books of India were translated into English. In England and the rest of Europe as well as the USA, it is the powerful thinkers and the opinion makers who were the first to be deeply impressed. They felt that a new awakening was going to happen in the world, making it a better place to live in. Among Indians, it was Swami Vivekananda who first predicted such a trend. Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo and Dr
Radhakrishnan, all of whom had mastered the dominant idiom of the west, gave a push to this possibility. C Rajagopalachari, the last Governor General of India (the line of which, the first was Warren Hastings, an Indophile himself)- went even further. He suggested the creation of a world economic order based on equity and justice. In other words, he visualised a conjoining of powerful free enterprise systems in a globalized world with the ideal of Dharma.
Rajaji was far ahead of his time; but the time seems to have arrived now. After giving up communism as a bad idea and discovering the pitfalls of unprincipled commercial capitalism, the world is now groping for a new system and a new world order. There is a new insistence on ethical and moral behaviour by not only individuals but also business corporations and governments. The Economist, one of the most respected, influential and also down to earth magazines of the world recently carried several articles on the need for ethical and moral behaviour. It named some top firms such as IKEA, who refused to pay bribes worldwide and also some others that do pay. The article gave several points for and against corruption and concluded that even as a policy, corruption was unprofitable. In fact, it suggested that governments of the home country of the firms devise certain laws which enable a confiscation of gains made by unethical practices. Such laws are already made by the Obama administration in the USA which can serve as a model. They prescribe condign punishment for unethical business practices.
There are many other instances in the powerful, materialist western world which show that they are seeking a major shift. The old outlook has to change and firms have to tighten up their loose unethical practices. The internet is a very powerful medium for changing societies. There are many sites inviting you to help build a better society. You can look for them by making a search for ' criticism of commercial society'. Almost all of them underline the importance of laying a firm foundation based on ethics and morality. In other words, towards a more Dharmic order. In all this one may ask, what has India got to do?
The answer to this question is also an explanation of why we think that the Indian century is about to begin.
REASONS FOR EXPECTING THE ARRIVAL OF INDIA'S CENTURY
Among all the peoples in the world, it is among Indians that the concept of Dharma is most deeply ingrained. It is not to deny transgressions and outrages. Yet it is possible that this is one of the causes of the unbroken continuity of our ancient civilization. All the other civilizations such as the Egyptian which started at about the same time have perished long ago.
Dr Albert Schweitzer, the great 20th century thinker, genius and man of action was drawn to Indian thought by our ancient concept of ethics. Dharma encompassed not only loving our fellow men but also all mankind, all in the animal and vegetable kingdoms as well as the earth itself and the environment. An Indian could claim to have lived right only if he had done the right thing to all. Schweitzer developed and spread his idea of 'Reverence for life'. This in turn spawned such movements as greening the earth, animal welfare, pollution control and protection of endangered species. Schweitzer looked forward eagerly to a synthesis between western experience and Indian thought. In other words, of eastern spirituality and western practicality. This will be the basis of a great new civilization.
This new civilization will have Dharma as its core value. India has the longest experience of trying to establish Dharma. The Vedas, The Gita and the great epics, Ramayana and The Mahabharatha deal with it. This is why they are considered sacred. All life is sacred. The body made of material substance sheaths a sword which is Spirit. Awareness of spirituality is the strong point of Indian civilization. It is a part of the consciousness of Indians since the time of the Vedas. Throughout the ages travellers have noted this and remarked about it. Without spirituality there is no Dharma and without Dharma, there is no enduring future. In fact this is what Christianity is all about. Since India has the foundation, we can say with confidence that the Indian century based on Dharma is just about to dawn in the world.
We shall come back later to Dharma. But let us now consider some more reasons for expecting Indian century. A very obvious fact is a youthful nature of India's population. More than three quarters are below the age of thirty. They are imbued with the 'can-do spirit'. They are open to new ideas. This is despite the fact that at present we have the largest number of illiterates.
The head start gained by India because of widespread education is remarkable. Indians are comfortable with global English, or, 'Globish'. This helps a large number to gain simple employment abroad. They work in the developed world as well as the oil rich Gulf States. They send large remittances home which not only keep the Indian economy solvent but provide funds for development. Further, in a few short years, India has become the 'back-office' of the world's activities, a favourite destination for increasingly complex business processes outsourcing (BPO). This has created a tremendous 'demonstration effect'. The lagging parts of the Indian economy aspires to catch up with the advanced world.
The trouble with 'globish' is that only very simple matters can be communicated- at the most, use it for an assembly manual. To formulate great ideas, to convince and to lead, it is necessary to be adept at good English, which is a language that is full of allusions and idioms. It is the English used by the dominant elite of the world. when the occasion requires, many Indians have demonstrably taken that leap forward. The success of Swami Vivekananda, of Gandhiji, of Aurobindo, was due to this. When it comes to it, even the bimbettes of Bollywood are not so dumb after all!
Yet another reason for expecting the Indian Century is the massive investment taking place in human capital in India. Economists agree that such investments can lead to incalculable benefits. Though still short of the 6% of GDP, on the whole, investment in strategic areas such as technology, research, traditional medicine and so on can have a cascading effect on the rest of the economy apart from enhancing the national influence on the world. Further, India's ability to provide doctors and nurses and also hospitals and nursing homes at a fraction of the cost elsewhere is a great opportunity for the country. Similar is the case with the large numbers of youngsters in India getting trained in information technology and modern management. If properly done, packaged and promoted, all these are found to usher in the Indian century.
Further, there has been speculation since 1905 that Europe's innings as the 'centre of gravity' of the world was about to end. It was the year when Japan defeated Russia in the Russo -Japanese war. Europe had been considered invincible for the previous four centuries. Japan, a tiny Asian country had suddenly turned the tables on a vastly superior European power. The event gave impetus to Indian aspirations for freedom from British overlordship. Japan showed that an asian country could use the techniques of Europe to defeat Europe. These techniques were industrial know-hows, ability to organise which includes the willingness to unite for a common cause and superior fire power. In a recent best selling book, Guns, Germs and Steel, the Fates of Human Societies, Jared Diamond, an evolutionary biologist explains how societies have evolved. After explaining how Europe came to dominate the world so far, he provides an after-word. Future domination cannot be predicted or predicated on these factors alone. Even Europe's success depended on 'missing link'- an X factor. This may be called pre-destiny. By all reckoning, it is time for European civilization (including USA) to pass on the baton to someone else.
When we trace back the causes from proximate to the ultimate, we realize that the effects we see today are those of causes laid as far back as eight thousand years. It is roughly at about this time that the Indian man's conscience awakened to the themes of the Vedas. It is about time for this awareness to come to fruition in the affairs of mankind.
VYSYA ERA AND THE COMMERCIAL CIVILIZATION – THE TIMES WE LIVE IN
THE COMMERCIAL CIVILIZATION
As predicted by the sages we are now in the Vyshya era. The predominant power of the world will be commercial and so will be its outlook. The virtues of the merchant shall be esteemed over that of the warrior and the saint. Prudence and Profits shall be the adornment of manhood; not piety or physical prowess. Does Dharma have a place in this?
Yes; the whole point is that without Dharma even the petty traffic of a merchants countinghouse is doomed to fail. In today’s world, ethical conduct has become all the more important. It is the absence of ethical behaviour which is ultimately the cause of so many of the ills of the world. It is unethical behaviour in the widest sense that has caused several of the world’s crises. The same idea was known to the ancients. The world “ordered” would be in danger they thought as a consequence of immoral behaviour by human beings. In India people were advised to behave in conformity with Dharma. In fact such behaviour alone would keep the world safe. Dharma itself means that “which upholds the great moral order in the universe.” In other words ethical behaviour alone can sustain and hold aloft the great physical and moral order which makes the world fit for humanity.
Modern science has found the inter-linked nature of all things in the world. Poets like John Donna rightly pointed out that the suffering of other people diminishes something in each one of us. It is an idea present even in the Vedas.
David Frawley and others have pointed out: “What happens on the other side of the world can profoundly affect us where we live. It is increasingly becoming apparent that the only solution to the present world crises is to build a global civilization which requires a clearly articulated view of one humanity.
Non local connectedness is a general property of Nature. What we do locally has an impact of the whole world. Our every breath and thought have cosmic consequences.”
The Vedas show that modern humanity possesses a spiritual heritage that goes back to the dawn of civilized history. That heritage has maintained a living tradition of Self-realization to the present generation. Clearly, we must honor such a tradition and seek to benefit from it, whatever our background may be. There have been great teachers in this Vedic-Hindu tradition, like Sri Aurobindo or Swami Vivekananda, who, in modern times, have shown us the way to a true civilization. Many, like Swami Vivekananda or Paramahansa Yogananda, have come personally to the West to sow the seeds for a new world order - a world order that reintegrates our scientific accomplishments with higher spiritual values.
There are other great spiritual traditions in which the highest principles of the perennial philosophy have been kept alive, such as the Tibetan tradition or Chinese Taoism, and to which we can look for significant guidance.
The time has come for humanity to return to a reverential view of life. No Westerner has seen this more clearly, and demonstrated its truthfulness more convincingly, than Albert Schweitzer, who stated:
Defined from outside and quite empirically, complete civilization consists in realizing all possible progress in discovery and invention and in the arrangements of human society, and seeing that they work together for the spiritual perfecting of individuals which is the real and final object of civilization. Reverence for life is in a position to complete this conception of civilization and to build its foundations on what lies at the core of our being. This it does by defining what is meant by the spiritual perfecting of man, and making it consist in reaching the spirituality of an every deepening reverence for life.
We must grant reverence not only to the sacred presence in Nature but also in humanity. It is in this way that we may reconnect with the our spiritual forebears, who honored that presence and made it part of their daily lives and the basis of their cultures and traditions.
Such a return to reverence is not to be equated with an atavistic retreat into the past or a fall into superstition. It does not require that we become primitive or throw away the gains of science and technology. It is a matter of restoration and reintegration, of completing the circle. It means, above all, integrating the modern world into the eternal sacred Reality.
Let it be clear that this reappraisal of the past is not merely a spiritual issue. It is a matter of a more objective and rational examination as well, and one that allows us to establish a truer communication with ancient and traditional peoples. It also helps us see that there was more scientific knowledge, more literary greatness, and more philosophical depth in the ancient world than we have tended to assume.
We must now cast off such stereotypes as “primitives,” “savages,” or “heathens,” by which we have dismissed ancient and traditional cultures. If we continue to take recourse to such labels, it is because there is much in our past that we are avoiding in order to blind ourselves to our present condition. Our political, economic, and sociological interpretations of history may all be part of a smoke screen whereby we fail to deal with the real issues of life, which is our connection with the universe as a whole, not as an outer reality, but as part of our own consciousness.
The fact that we have so deplorably misinterpreted a civilization as spiritually great as the Vedic shows how much we need to purge our vision. Such a reappraisal is just beginning. It will take some years to get established in the academic world, and perhaps even decades to gain wider acceptance. In the meantime we as individuals must ask the fundamental questions that are central to the primordial tradition. The quality of our lives and our common future depend on our answers.
To live in conformity with Dharma in our commercial era has become very difficult. In other words to avoid unethical behaviour it’s very difficult. This is because one does not know easily where to draw the line. In London the Tate Art Gallery is putting on the wonderful exhibition. Meanwhile there are people picketing outside preventing viewers going in. They are doing this because the Tate Gallery is getting funds from the oil company British Petroleum? What is their fault? Their negligence caused an oil spill in the far away Gulf of Mexico causing harm to marine life. Is it ethical to enjoin that exhibition or to picket outside? Does ethics require boycotting the exhibition? There are no clear or simple answers.
Ever so many examples can be given to highlight the complexity of Dharma or Ethics in today’s commercial era. We need to find new ways of ethical behaviour as time flows along adapting old truths to modern situations. That is new ways of upholding Dharma.
CAPITALISM AND DHARMA ARE COMPATIBLE
We have appealed to the private sector to play a very important role. They can take on the role formerly played by the kings, that is the Kshatriyas during their era of domination; they have to play the role of the Brahmins during the Brahmana era. It is a very heavy responsibility. Adam Smith who is considered the apostle of capitalism and the market system is the father of modern economics. However, his role is much more significant. His work as a Moral Philosopher was earlier ignored. Now the world has awoken to the fact that his whole work had the purpose of insuring a better life for large numbers of people. The free market is capable of ensuring this, provided governments and firms rise to the occasion. In other words, Dharma needs to be upheld by human beings. The ‘unseen hand’ is automatic only in a limited role. Capitalism can be compatible with the larger purposes of ensuring a just society.
Adam Smith And The Character Of Virtue
(Courtesy Ryan Patrick Hanley)
Introduction
We live in strange times. Depending on where one looks, the student of capitalist society can discover good reasons for either hope or despair. Even before the most recent global financial crisis, partisans of the latter view were particularly vocal. The titles of two recent books in economics tell much of the contemporary story: warning us of “the moral consequences of economic growth,” they caution us that we stand in the midst of a “battle for the soul of capitalism.” Part of this concern emerges from an ever-growing awareness that our capitalist culture has recently entered a new stage. This “new capitalism,” as it has come to be called, has been criticized on a number of fronts, including its effects on labor, on the corporation, and on political identity. But its most powerful critics have focused on the effects of consumerism and materialism on human well-being. It is a concern that has united a strange set of allies, from postmodernists to paleo-conservatives, from Pope Benedict to Baudrillard, from Lyotard to Leo Strauss. Indeed across the political and the philosophical spectra, an unexpected consensus has emerged over the fact that the moral psychologies and political orders to which consumerism and materialism have given rise have eviscerated the human psyche. And this is hardly a concern limited to “humanists”; social scientists – from psychologists to sociologists to political scientists – have all attested to these dangers as well. But what should we make of this strange consensus? At the very least, we can provisionally conclude that a strikingly widespread conception exists today that capitalism has been detrimental to the human person and that the status of human life in the new capitalism is (to mix metaphors) fit only for last men trapped in iron cages.
But one wonders: are things really as bad as all that? However widespread, the view just described is only one of at least two. Alongside that pessimistic view, a more hopeful perspective is also now emerging. Its most prominent manifestation is the recent boom in popular studies of happiness. A cynic might write this explosion off as merely a consequence of the crisis in capitalism itself; the product of that crisis is, after all, those who claim to have “invented happiness,” and one might uncharitably – but perhaps not unfairly – be tempted to dismiss their rediscovery of their invention as little more than a resuscitation of the narcissism and navel-gazing that distinguish the last men. But doing so would miss the forest for the trees. Many of these happiness studies take as their departure point the well-known gap between happiness and wealth accumulation, and in so doing they reflect a familiar but now urgent longing for a happiness more substantial than that afforded by capitalist success. Other recent studies look even further and seek to defend and indeed revivify a reverence and longing for even more elevated states of human flourishing, whether understood as “nobility of spirit” or “greatness.” All such studies reflect the influence of a growing academic inquiry into the proper understanding of human flourishing, or virtue – an inquiry as diverse as that of the pessimists profiled earlier. Uniting many of these inquiries is the conscious and hopeful attempt to remedy capitalism's iniquities. In my field, the history of political philosophy, this turn was largely inspired by scholars who sought to recover a “republican” or “civic humanist” virtue-centered tradition of political thought as an alternative to procedural liberalism. Yet these concerns were hardly limited to liberalism's critics, for in time the recovery of virtue became a primary interest of political theorists within the liberal tradition as well. And these debates are no longer internal to political theory, as an interest in the necessary conditions and nature of human flourishing is now the focus of philosophers who propose “virtue ethics” or “ethics of care” as alternatives to utilitarian and deontological ethics. So too psychology has a vibrant interest now in both “emotional intelligence,” focusing on the role of sentiments in shaping cognitive states, and “positive psychology,” which focuses on the place of “character strengths and virtues” in the good life, as alternatives to the traditional focus on diagnosing and treating psychopathology.
An explanation of why both capitalism's critics and virtue's champions have grown so rapidly over the past two decades lies beyond the scope of this book. It might be best to limit ourselves to the conjecture that the optimism of the latter camp is perhaps best understood as a response to the pessimism of the former; a renewed interest in our capacity to maximize subjective happiness would hardly be an unexpected consequence of a sense of anomie, isolation, and impotence in the face of seemingly inexorable forces. But leaving to sociologists of knowledge the question of why these two literatures have emerged in tandem, my aim in this book is to explain how their substances are mutually illuminative. In particular, my goal is to explain how a particular understanding of virtue might offer a remedy for specific ills diagnosed by capitalism's critics past and present.
The subject for my development of this claim is the moral philosophy of Adam Smith. For many years, rightly or wrongly, Smith has been famous as a founding father of capitalism. In recent decades, at least in academic circles, he has also emerged as one of capitalism's earliest and most trenchant critics; as several recent works have noted, Smith himself anticipated several of the ills that capitalism's critics continue to insist upon today. But what has not yet been sufficiently emphasized is that Smith in his own name set forth a sustained and developed remedy for the ills he diagnosed. The articulation of this remedy, I want to argue, in fact constitutes the principal intent of one of the most disputed aspects of Smith's corpus, namely the revisions to the sixth (1790) edition of The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In particular I want to suggest that the sixth edition's entirely new Part VI, “Of the Character of Virtue,” was intended by Smith as a remedy for the challenges that he identified with the advent and progress of commercial society and indeed contains Smith's most direct effort to fulfill the mandate implicit in his own insistence that the amelioration of commercial society's moral defects is indeed “an object worthy of serious attention”. Smith's study of virtue in Part VI thus represents at once his mature answer to what he considered the primary question in moral philosophy – “wherein does virtue consist?”– as well as his considered response to the ills of commercial corruption that he himself so powerfully articulated.
Smith's study of the character of virtue can thus on some level be understood as an effort to demonstrate how “corruption” can be ameliorated by “virtue.” At the same time, these all-too-familiar categories have to be handled with great care by students of Smith. In the first place, Smith's conception of corruption is itself quite subtle. A great deal of excellent commentary has illuminated the ways in which various aspects of his conception resonate with the expositions of the deleterious effects of commerce to be found in either republican or Marxist critiques. Yet Smith's own position, I argue, is less concerned with the political effects of commercialization on which republican and Marxist critiques focus than with commercialization's psychological effects. So too his conception of virtue. While Smith's theory of virtue bears some broad similarities to the conceptions of “civic virtue” familiar from republican accounts, the horizon of Smith's vision goes well beyond the virtues conventionally associated with the good republican citizen – and indeed well beyond the virtues conventionally associated with the good bourgeois of whom Smith is also often considered a champion. Smith's vision of virtue encompasses these perspectives but also speaks to the aspirations of those seeking a less qualified excellence. In so doing he speaks to the longings for transcendence and nobility and greatness that he presumes to persist in his readers’ hearts – categories impossible to subsume under the republican or Marxist or bourgeois perspectives yet central to Smith's account. Smith's theory is also many-layered as a consequence of its intent; rather than offering a stock “civic virtue” to remedy corruption, it offers instead a synthesis of multiple visions of virtue, each element of which forms an integral response to a specific type of corruption. As a result, this theory, seen from a distance, may appear a hodgepodge of commercial, classical, and Christian virtues. His synthesis of elements of these traditions is, however, as unified as his conception of corruption. The thread that unites the various strains in his vision of virtue is moreover precisely the same thread that connects the various elements of his conception of corruption: namely, self-love. Indeed just as Smith's differential diagnosis of several discrete effects of commercialization can be traced to his conception of the way in which commerce corrupts self-love, so too his remedy is founded on the rehabilitation of self-love through its education, elevation, and ennoblement.
Smith's understanding of virtue's normative role in ameliorating the challenges of commercial modernity in turn compels us to reconsider a familiar characterization of his broader commitments. In particular, it compels us to reconsider the propensity to regard Smith as principally or exclusively committed to a conception of inquiry that privileges descriptive or phenomenological analysis – broadly speaking, “scientific” analysis – over normative or prescriptive analysis. This position, common among both his supporters and his detractors, minimizes Smith's normative concerns in favor of a vision of Smith as an objective and detached student of economic and ethical phenomena. But this view not only obscures Smith's commitment to normativity; it also has given rise to the assumption prevalent among specialists and generalists alike that Smith, intentionally or otherwise, deflected, displaced, or deflated the traditional questions of how human beings might best live and best live together to a new question of how they might maximize profits, thereby substituting economics for politics as the central human concern.
This view has been recently restated by Pierre Rosanvallon. Arguing that Smith's faith in the benefits of well-regulated self-interest is the seed of a “utopian capitalism” destined to culminate in the “withering away of politics,” he points to the most destructive aspect of this doctrine:
The essential consequence of such a conception consisted in a global refusal of the political. It is no longer politics that should govern society but the market instead. The latter is thus not the limited technical instrument that organizes economic activity, but has a much more radical sociological and political meaning. Reread from this perspective, Adam Smith is not so much the founding father of modern economics as the theorist of the withering away of politics. He is not an economist who does philosophy, but a philosopher who becomes an economist as a continuation of his philosophy. For this reason, Smith is the anti-Rousseau par excellence.
This view, I want to suggest, is misguided – not least for the perhaps pedantic reason that it minimizes Smith's debts to and agreements with Rousseau, some of which are documented in Chapter One. The more important reason is that this common view can only be defended at the expense of excising those aspects of Smith's corpus that reveal both his awareness of the limits of the economic conception of man and his commitment to providing a normative resolution to commercial society's moral challenges. These reveal that Smith is neither a participant in nor an advocate of what has been called modernity's “great disembedding,” the process by which impersonal markets governed by the logic of “the order of mutual benefit” replaced the legitimating and order-inducing bonds afforded by the reciprocal ideals of Christian charity, premodern aristocratic social hierarchies, or shared commitments to teleological orders in biology and cosmology.15 Smith may not have chosen to wave the flag for any one of these particular commitments, but advocating their subversion through the great disembedding was neither his implicit nor his explicit aim. His interest – and his interest to us today – lies in his effort to chart a course whereby we might best navigate the challenges of a world in which freedom and subjectivity have displaced the order and security afforded by certain traditional institutions and beliefs.
Taken together, this work's principal claims, in the order in which they appear in the text, are the following:
1. Smith is first and foremost a champion of commercial society on the grounds of its capacity to maximize opulence and freedom and especially its capacity to maximize the opulence and freedom available to the poorest and weakest (Chapter 1, section one).
2. Smith's enthusiasm for commercial society hardly blinds him to its faults, and chief among the faults he identifies is the propensity of commercial society to induce and exacerbate such psychological ills as restlessness, anxiety, inauthenticity, duplicity, mediocrity, alienation, and indifference to others (Chapter 1, sections two and three).
3. In forthrightly addressing himself to the amelioration of these ills, Smith reveals himself to be a true friend of commercial society, and his commitment to remedying them reveals his conviction that ethics is a normative enterprise that supplements the empirical social science and purely descriptive ethics with which he is often associated (Chapter 2, sections one and two).
4. Smith's normative approach is best understood as a virtue ethics rather than a deontological or utilitarian ethics – a virtue ethics that aims to harmonize the longing for individual perfection with the conditions of liberal commercial society (Chapter 2, sections three, four, and five).
5. Smith's normative virtue ethics receives its fullest expression in the new Part VI of the sixth edition of TMS, in which Smith consciously set forth “a practical system of morality” (Chapter 3, section one), dedicated to the articulation of a moral education that uses a specific rhetoric and ascending dialectic to improve and ennoble our self-love in three discrete stages (Chapter 3, sections two and three).
6. The first stage of this education lies in Smith's effort to inculcate the virtue of prudence to ameliorate the anxiety, restlessness, and deceit to which he thought commercial civilization susceptible (Chapter 4, sections one, two, and three) – a remedy that itself exacerbated the propensities to mediocrity and individualism to which he also thought commercial civilization prone (Chapter 4, section four).
7. The amelioration of mediocrity and individualism was the aim of the second stage of Smith's moral education, which took the form of an effort to recover the virtue of magnanimity, the peak ethical virtue of the ancients (Chapter 5, sections one, two, and three) – a remedy that in its turn exacerbated commercial society's encouragement of excessive self-preference and indifference to others (Chapter 5, section four).
8. The remedy for such excessive self-preference and indifference is to be found in the third stage of Smith's moral education, dedicated to recovering the Christian virtue of beneficence, a demanding active virtue that transcends sentimentalism (Chapter 6, sections one and two).
9. Smith's account of beneficence culminates in his portrait of the wise and virtuous man, at once the embodiment of his vision of human perfection (Chapter 6, section three), as well as Smith's apologia for his own life and the key to his decision to turn from the study of moral philosophy to the study of political economy (Chapter 6, section four).
My development of these claims in turn rests on several interpretive assumptions that readers similarly deserve to have made fully explicit at the outset. First, this book is written from the perspective of a student of political philosophy principally concerned to “get right” Smith's conception of virtue and thereby illuminate a crucial but understudied aspect of his thought which offers an important response to a central political problem of both his day and ours. As such, in what follows I aim to provide a reconstruction of the motivations for and the coherence of one of his core philosophical claims rather than an illumination of its intellectual antecedents or contexts. These are themselves projects of great import; in the future I hope to execute a study of Smith's sources in this vein. But that project is not this one, and although I have not avoided referring to contexts that demonstrably bear on aspects of Smith's thought examined here, the present work privileges theoretical over contextual analysis.
Second, my efforts to reconstruct Smith's theory of virtue have led me to take recourse to his unpublished drafts and lectures and correspondence to present his theory as accurately as possible. As Smith specialists know too well, this hermeneutical approach has certain risks, not least of which is that it challenges Smith's own solicitude for his published work – a solicitude famously evident in both his constant revising of his published corpus and his insistence that his unpublished manuscripts be destroyed on his death. But on the whole the risks involved in interpreting Smith's published work alongside the drafts and lecture transcripts available seem less great than the risks involved in ignoring them. These writings do not always show Smith at his best, and they certainly show us a Smith sensitive to the duty to accommodate his presentations to the needs of varying audiences, but they also offer glimpses into the development of his thought. I have, in any case, in all instances attempted to minimize these risks to the greatest extent possible by drawing on only those aspects of the unpublished corpus that speak directly and demonstrably to themes treated explicitly in his published writings, and by marking where and how Smith revised his presentations of these ideas. Relatedly, throughout my analysis I have been guided by the assumption that Smith is a sophisticated and deliberate writer whose arguments need to be reconstructed with care – though never a deceptive or secretive writer, and merely one who consistently strove to say what he meant and indeed who became better at so doing over time.
Third, as the present work is squarely focused on Smith's answer to his question concerning the nature of virtue, it gives considerably less attention to his second question at TMS VII.1.2, which concerns the nature and sources of moral judgment. As a consequence, the mechanisms of sympathy and spectatorship central to this theory of judgment are not nearly so thoroughly examined in the present work as they have been in most other recent studies of Smith's moral philosophy. It would be folly to neglect the impartial spectator or sympathy altogether, but I have limited my treatments of these to those aspects that bear directly on Smith's understanding of virtue, on the grounds that his virtue theory is both important and understudied, and in light of my recognition that anything I might say on spectatorship and sympathy would be superfluous in light of the excellent treatments these concepts have already received in studies by others.
DHARMA – CONNOTATIONS
This article is about the term in Indian religions.
Dharma (Sanskrit: dhárma, Pāḷi dhamma) is a multivalent term of great importance in Indian philosophy and religions. In the context of Hinduism, it means one's righteous duty, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, class, occupation, and gender. In modern Indian languages it can be equivalent simply to religion, depending on context. The word dharma translates as that which upholds or supports, and is generally translated into English as law.
According to the various Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, beings that live in accordance with Dharma proceed more quickly toward dharma yukam, moksha or nirvana (personal liberation). The antonym of dharma is adharma meaning unnatural or immoral.
In traditional Hindu society, dharma has historically denoted a variety of ideas, such as Vedic ritual, ethical conduct, caste rules, and civil and criminal law. Its most common meaning however pertains to two principal ideals: that social life should be structured through well-defined and well-regulated classes (varna), and that an individual's life within a class should be organized into defined stages (ashrama, see dharmasastra).
Dharma also refers to the teachings and doctrines of the founders of Buddhism and Jainism, the Buddha and Mahavira. In Buddhist philosophy, dhamma/dharma is also the term for "phenomenon".
Etymology
In the Rigveda, the word appears as an n-stem, dhárman, with a range of meanings encompassing "something established or firm" (in the literal sense of prods or poles), figuratively "sustainer, supporter" (of deities), and semantically similar to the Greek ethos ("fixed decree, statute, law"). In Classical Sanskrit, the noun becomes thematic, dharma-.
It is a derivation from Proto-Indo-Iranian root *dhar- ("to fasten, to support, to hold"), in turn reflecting Proto-Indo-European root *dʰer- ("to hold"), which in Sanskrit is reflected as class-1 root √dhṛ. Etymologically it is related to Avestan √dar- ("to hold"), Old Persian √dar- ("to hold, have"), Latin frēnum ("rein, horse tack"), Lithuanian derė́ti ("to be suited, fit"), Lithuanian dermė (agreement), darna ("harmony") and OCS drъžati ("to hold, possess"). Classical Sanskrit word dharmas would formally match with Latin o-stem firmus < *PIE *dʰer-mo-s "holding", were it not for its historical development from earlier Rigvedic n-stem.
From the Atharvaveda and in Classical Sanskrit, the stem is thematic, dhárma- (Devanāgarī:), and in Pāli, it takes the form dhamma. It is also often rendered dharam in contemporary Indian languages and dialects. It is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin—sometimes summarized under the umbrella term of Dharmic faiths—including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It is difficult to provide a single concise definition for dharma, as the word has a long and varied history and straddles a complex set of meanings and interpretations.
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism are called Hindu Dharma, Bauddha-Dharma, Jain-Dharma and Sikh dharma, respectively.
In Hinduism
Development
In the belief (or observation) that a natural justice and harmony pervades, the natural world becomes manifest in the concept of rta, which is both 'nature's way' and the order implicit in nature. Thus rta bears a resemblance to the ancient Chinese concept of tao and the Heraclitean, stoic or Christian conception of the logos.
This "power" that lies behind nature and that keeps everything in balance became a natural forerunner to the idea of dharma. The idea of rta laid the cornerstone of Dharma's implicit attribution to the "ultimate reality" of the surrounding universe, in classical Vedic Hinduism the following verse from the Rig-Veda is an example where rta finds mention:
O Indra, lead us on the path of Rta, on the right path over all evils The transition of the rta to the modern idea of Dharma occurs in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. The Upanishads saw dharma as the universal principle of law, order, harmony, all in all truth, that sprang first from Brahman. It acts as the regulatory moral principle of the Universe. It is sat, truth, a major tenet of Hinduism. This hearkens back to the conception of the Rig Veda that "Ekam Sat," (Truth Is One), of the idea that Brahman is "Sacchidananda" (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss). Dharma is not just law, or harmony, it is pure Reality. In the Brihadaranyaka's own words:
Verily, that which is Dharma is truth. Therefore they say of a man who speaks truth, "He speaks the Dharma,"
or of a man who speaks the Dharma, "He speaks the Truth."
Verily, both these things are the same.
—(Brh. Upanishad, 1.4.14)
In the Mahabharata, Krishna defines Dharma as: "Dhaaranaad dharma ity aahur dharmena vidhrtaah prajaah, Yat syaad dhaarana sanyuktam sa dharma iti nishchayah," or, "Dharma upholds both this-worldly and other-worldly affairs" (Mbh 12.110.11).
As a "Purusartha"
In moving through the four ashrams, or stages of life, viz. Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vaanprastha, Sanyaasa, a person also seeks to fulfill the four essentials (purusartha) of Kama (sensual pleasures), Artha (worldly gain), Dharma, and Moksha (liberation from reincarnation or rebirth). Moksha, although the ultimate goal, is emphasized more in the last two stages of life, while Artha and Kama are considered primary only during Grihastha. Dharma, however is essential in all four stages. As a puruṣārtha (human goal), Dharma can also be considered to be a lens through which humans plan and perform their interactions with the world. Through the Dharmic lens, one focuses on doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong, while the Kama perspective focuses on doing what is pleasurable (in many senses, not just sex) and avoiding pain, and the Artha perspective focuses on doing what is profitable (in many senses, not just money) and avoiding loss.
The deity named Dharma
Dharma is also the name of a deity or "Deva" in charge of Dharma. Mythologically, he is said to have been born from the right breast of Brahma, is married to ten daughters of Daksha and fathers Shama, Kama and Harahsa. He is also the father of the celebrated Rishis Hari, Krishna, Nara-Narayana.
In the epic Mahabharata, he is incarnate as Vidura. Also, Dharma is invoked by Kunti and she begets her eldest son Yudhisthira from him. As such Yudhisthira is known as Dharmaputra. There is also an assimilation of God Dharma and Yama, the God responsible for the Dead.
In technical literature
In technical literature, e.g., in Sanskrit grammar, dharma also means "property" and dharmin means "property-bearer".In a Sanskrit sentence like shabdo 'nityaḥ , "sound is impermanent", "sound" is the bearer of the property "impermanence". Likewise, in the sentence iha ghataḥ, "here, there is a pot", "here" is the bearer of the property "pot-existence" - this shows that the categories of property and property-bearer are closer to those of a logical predicate and its subject-term, and not to a grammatical predicate and subject.
In Buddhism
For many Buddhists, the Dharma most often means the body of teachings expounded by the Buddha. The word is also used in Buddhist phenomenology as a term roughly equivalent to phenomenon, a basic unit of existence and/or experience.
In East Asia, the translation for Dharma is, pronounced fǎ in Mandarin, beop in Korean, hō in Japanese, and pháp in Vietnamese. However, the term Dharma can also be transliterated from its original form.
The tradition says that the Buddha spent forty-nine days in the neighborhood of the Bodhi Tree. Then the two merchants en route from Orissa passed close by and were advised by the spirit of a dead relative to make offerings to the new Buddha, who was sitting at the foot of a certain tree. They offered honey cakes and sugar cane and "took refuge in the Buddha and his Dharma, thus becoming the first Buddhists and the first lay devotees in the world."
In this case, Gautama did not preach Dharma to the two men, but merely received their reverence and offerings. Worship of holy persons is nonsectarian, and does not involve subscribing to their ideas. The Buddhist lay cult is shown developing naturally out of pre-Buddhist practices.
Buddha's teachings
For practicing Buddhists, references to "Dharma" or Dhamma in Pali, particularly as "the" Dharma, generally means the teachings of the Buddha, commonly known throughout the East as Buddha-Dharma.
The status of Dharma is regarded variably by different Buddhist traditions. Some regard it as an ultimate truth, or as the font of all things which lies beyond the 'three realms' (Sanskrit: tridhatu) and the 'wheel of becoming' (Sanskrit: bhavacakra), somewhat like the Christian logos: this is known as Dharmakaya (Sanskrit). Others, who regard the Buddha as simply an enlightened human being, see the Dharma as the essence of the '84,000 different aspects of the teaching' (Tibetan: chos-sgo brgyad-khri bzhi strong) that the Buddha gave to various types of people, based upon their individual propensities and capabilities.
"Dharma" usually refers not only to the sayings of the Buddha, but also to the later traditions of interpretation and addition that the various schools of Buddhism have developed to help explain and to expand upon the Buddha's teachings. For others still, they see the Dharma as referring to the "truth," or the ultimate reality of "the way that things really are" (Tib. Cho).
The Dharma is one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism in which practitioners of Buddhism seek refuge, or that upon which one relies for his or her lasting happiness. The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha, meaning the mind's perfection of enlightenment, the Dharma, meaning the teachings and the methods of the Buddha, and the Sangha, meaning those awakened beings who provide guidance and support to followers of the Buddha.
Qualities of Buddha Dharma
The Teaching of the Buddha also has six supreme qualities:
1. Svakkhato (Pali) The Dharma is not a speculative philosophy, but is the Universal Law found through enlightenment and is preached precisely. Therefore it is Excellent in the beginning (Sīla — Moral principles), Excellent in the middle (Samadhi — Concentration) and Excellent in the end, the only end that could result through fate. (Pańña — Wisdom).
2. Saditthiko (Pali) The Dharma can be tested by practice and therefore he who follows it will see the result by himself through his own experience.
3. Akāliko (Pali) The Dharma is able to bestow timeless and immediate results here and now, though no matter which means of travel, for which there is no need to wait until the future or next existence.
4. Ehipassiko (Pali) The Dharma welcomes all beings to put it to the test and to experience it for themselves.
5. Opāneyiko (Pali) The Dharma is capable of being entered upon and therefore it is worthy to be followed as a part of one's life.
6. Paccattam veditabbo viññūhi (Pali) The Dharma may be perfectly realized only by the noble disciples (Pali: Ariyas) who have matured and who have become enlightened in supreme wisdom.
Knowing these attributes, Buddhists hold that they will attain the greatest peace and happiness through the practice of Dharma. Each person is therefore fully responsible to engage in their own practice and commitment.
In Buddhist phenomenology
Other uses include dharma, normally spelled with a small "d" (to differentiate), which refers to a phenomenon or constituent factor of human experience. This was gradually expanded into a classification of constituents of the entire material and mental world. Rejecting the substantial existence of permanent entities which are qualified by possibly changing qualities, Buddhist Abhidharma philosophers enumerated lists of dharmas which varied by school. They came to propound that these "constituent factors" are the only type of entity that truly exists (and only some thinkers gave dharmas this kind of existence). This notion is of particular importance for the analysis of human experience: Rather than assuming that mental states inhere in a cognizing subject, or a soul-substance, Buddhist philosophers largely propose that mental states alone exist as "momentary elements of consciousness" and that a subjective perceiver is assumed.
One of the central tenets of Buddhism, is the denial of a separate permanent "I", and is outlined in the three marks of existence. The three signs:
1. Dukkha - Suffering ( way to end) (Pali: Dukkha),
2. Anitya - Change/Impermanence (Pali: Anicca),
3. Anatman - Not-Self (Pali: Annatta).
At the heart of Buddhism is the understanding of all phenomena as dependently originated.
Later, Buddhist philosophers like Nāgārjuna would question whether the dharmas (momentary elements of consciousness) truly have a separate existence of their own. (i.e. Do they exist apart from anything else?) Rejecting any inherent reality to the dharmas, he asked (rhetorically):
śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu kim anantaṁ kimantavat
kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṁ nāntavacca kiṁ
kiṁ tad eva kim anyat kiṁ śāśvataṁ kim aśāśvataṁ
aśāśvataṁ śāśvataṁ ca kiṁ vā nobhayam apyataḥ 'tha
sarvopalambhpaśamaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivaḥ
na kva cit kasyacit kaścid dharmo buddhena deśitaḥ|
When all dharmas are empty, what is endless? What has an end? What is endless and with an end? What is not endless and not with an end? What is it? What is other? What is permanent? What is impermanent? What is impermanent and permanent? What is neither? Auspicious is the pacification of phenomenal metastasis, the pacification of all apprehending;
There is no dharma whatsoever taught by the Buddha to whomever, whenever, wherever.
--Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, nirvṇānaparīkṣā, 25:22-24
Righteousness
According to S. N. Goenka, teacher of Vipassana Meditation, the original meaning of dhamma is "dhareti iti dharmma", or "that which is contained". Dharma in the Buddhist scriptures has a variety of meanings, including "phenomenon" and "nature" or "characteristic".
Dharma also means "mental contents," and is paired with citta, which means heart-mind.
The pairing is paralleled with the combining of kaya (body) and vedana (feelings or sensations which arise within the body but are experienced through the mind), in major sutras such as the Mahasatipatthana sutra.
Dharma is also used to refer to the teachings of the Buddha, especially the discourses on the fundamental principles (such as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path), as opposed to the parables and to the poems.
In Ch'an
Dharma is employed in Ch'an in a specific context in relation to transmission of authentic doctrine, understanding and bodhi; recognized in Dharma transmission.
In Zoroastrianism
Daena
Daena (din in modern Persian) is the eternal Law, whose order was revealed to humanity through the Mathra-Spenta ("Holy Words"). Daena has been used to mean religion, faith, law, even as a translation for the Hindu and Buddhist term Dharma, often interpreted as "duty" or social order, right conduct, or virtue. The metaphor of the 'path' of Daena is represented in Zoroastrianism by the muslin undershirt Sudra, the 'Good/Holy Path', and the 72-thread Kushti girdle, the "Pathfinder".
Asha
Daena should not be confused with the fundamental principle asha (Vedic rta), the equitable law of the universe, which governed the life of the ancient Indo-Iranians. For these, asha was the course of everything observable, the motion of the planets and astral bodies, the progression of the seasons, the pattern of daily nomadic herdsman life, governed by regular metronomic events such as sunrise and sunset. All physical creation (geti) was thus determined to run according to a master plan — inherent to Ahura Mazda — and violations of the order (druj) were violations against creation, and thus violations against Ahura Mazda. This concept of asha versus the druj should not be confused with the good-versus-evil battle evident in western religions, for although both forms of opposition express moral conflict, the asha versus druj concept is more systemic and less personal, representing, for instance, chaos (that opposes order); or "uncreation", evident as natural decay (that opposes creation); or more simply "the lie" (that opposes truth, righteousness). Moreover, in his role as the one uncreated creator of all, Ahura Mazda is not the creator of druj which is "nothing", anti-creation, and thus (likewise) uncreated. Thus, in Zoroaster's revelation, Ahura Mazda was perceived to be the creator of only the good (Yasna 31.4), the "supreme benevolent providence" (Yasna 43.11), that will ultimately triumph (Yasna 48.1).
In this schema of asha versus druj, mortal beings (humans and animals both) play a critical role, for they too are created. Here, in their lives, they are active participants in the conflict and it is their duty to defend order, which would decay without counteraction. Throughout the Gathas, Zoroaster emphasizes deeds and actions, and accordingly asceticism is frowned upon in Zoroastrianism. In later Zoroastrianism this was explained as fleeing from the experiences of life, which was the very purpose that the urvan (most commonly translated as the 'soul') was sent into the mortal world to collect. The avoidance of any aspect of life, which includes the avoidance of the pleasures of life, is a shirking of the responsibility and duty to oneself, one's urvan, and one's family and social obligations.
Thus, central to Zoroastrianism is the emphasis on moral choice, to choose between the responsibility and duty for which one is in the mortal world, or to give up this duty and so facilitate the work of druj. Similarly, predestination is rejected in Zoroastrian teaching. Humans bear responsibility for all situations they are in, and in the way they act to one another. Reward, punishment, happiness and grief all depend on how individuals live their life.
In Zoroastrianism, good transpires for those who do righteous deeds. Those who do evil have themselves to blame for their ruin. Zoroastrian morality is then to be summed up in the simple phrase, "good thoughts, good words, good deeds" (Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta in Avestan), for it is through these that asha is maintained and druj is kept in check.
Through accumulation several other beliefs were introduced to the religion that in some instances supersede those expressed in the Gathas. In the late 19th century the moral and immoral forces came to be represented by Spenta Mainyu and its Satanic antithesis Angra Mainyu, the 'good spirit' and 'evil spirit' emanations of Ahura Mazda respectively. Although the names are old, this opposition is a modern western-influenced development popularized by Martin Haug in the 1880s, and was in effect a realignment of the precepts of Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism), which had invented a third deity, Zurvan, in order to explain a mention of twinship (Yasna 30.3) between the moral and immoral. Although Zurvanism had died out by the 10th century the critical question of the "twin brothers" mentioned in Yasna 30.3 remained, and Haug's explanation provided a convenient defence against Christian missionaries who disparaged the Parsis (Indian Zoroastrians) for their 'dualism'. Haug's concept was subsequently disseminated as a Parsi interpretation, thus corroborating Haug's theory and the idea became so popular that it is now almost universally accepted as doctrine.
Achaemenid Era
Achaemenid era (648–330 BCE) Zoroastrianism developed the abstract concepts of heaven, hell, personal and final judgement, all of which are only alluded to in the Gathas. Yasna 19 (which has only survived in a Sassanid era (226–650 CE) Zend commentary on the Ahuna Vairya invocation), prescribes a Path to Judgement known as the Chinvat Peretum or Chinvat bridge (cf: As-Sirāt in Islam), which all souls had to cross, and judgement (over thoughts, words, deeds performed during a lifetime) was passed as they were doing so. However, the Zoroastrian personal judgement is not final. At the end of time, when evil is finally defeated, all souls will be ultimately reunited with their Fravashi. Thus, Zoroastrianism can be said to be a universalist religion with respect to salvation.
In addition, and strongly influenced by Babylonian and Akkadian practices, the Achaemenids popularized shrines and temples, hitherto alien forms of worship. In the wake of Achaemenid expansion shrines were constructed throughout the empire and particularly influenced the role of Mithra, Aredvi Sura Anahita, Verethregna and Tishtrya, all of which, in addition to their original (proto-)Indo-Iranian functions, now also received Perso-Babylonian functions.
Although the worship of images would eventually fall out of favour (and be replaced by the iconoclastic fire temples), the lasting legacy of the Achaemenids was a vast, complex hierarchy of Yazatas (modern Zoroastrianism's Angels) that were now not just evident in the religion, but firmly established, not least because the divinities received dedications in the Zoroastrian calendar, thus ensuring that they were frequently invoked. Additionally, the Amesha Spenta, the six originally abstract terms that were regarded as direct emanations or aspects or "divine sparks" of Ahura Mazda, came to be personified as an archangel retinue.
In Sikhism
For Sikhs, the word "Dharm" means the "path of righteousness". What is the "righteous path"? That is the question that the Sikh scriptures attempt to answer. The main holy scriptures of the Sikhs is called the Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS.) It is considered to be more than a holy book of the Sikhs. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism and Islam.
Sikh Dharma is a distinct religion revealed through the teachings of ten Gurus who are accepted by the followers as if they were spiritually the same. The Gurus are considered "the divine light" and they conveyed Gurbani (the word of God) in the form of the Guru Granth Sahib to the world. In this faith, God is described as both Nirgun (transcendent) and Sargun (immanent). Further, God pervades in His creation and is omnipresent, but cannot be incarnate. The principal Sikh belief lays stress on one's actions and deeds rather than people's religious labels, rituals or outward appearance or signs.
Background
The primary object of a Sikh's life is to seek union with God and hence, liberation from the cycle of births and deaths (cycle of re-incarnation) which is dictated by a person's thought, deeds and actions in this life. Liberation can be achieved through meditating on God, truthful living and sharing ones wealth in the context of a normal family life and through divine grace. Amrit Pahul – Sikh baptism for both men and women – was instituted in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru. All Sikhs, on taking Amrit, are enjoined to lead a disciplined life by following a code of ethics leading to a "Saint-Soldier" way of life. In 1708, Guru Gobind Singh vested spiritual authority in the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh Scriptures) as the eternal Guru and hence Sikh Dharma acknowledges the end of human Guruship. At the same time, the temporal authority was vested in the Khalsa Panth (a community of Sikhs who have taken Amrit).
Other important aspects of a Sikh's life include Sewa (dedication to the service of God's creation) where the emphasis is often upon manual work, undertaking of goodwill towards other faiths and their followers, to defend for justice and assistance of the oppressed. In contrast to many other faiths, Sikhs believe that when all other means to achieve justice are exhausted, then it is just to wield the sword.
Congregational worship includes the following:
1. Paath - Reading of the Holy scriptures
2. Kirtan - Singing of Shabads (hymns).
3. Langar - A communal vegetarian meal also call free kitchen is an important feature of the Sikh way of life, and food is served to everyone at the end of a Sikh service.
4. Ardas - Sikhs conclude their prayers by doing the Ardas and invoking God's blessings on everyone – not just on Sikhs.
Scriptures and Dharma
The Guru Granth Sahib lays down the foundation of this "righteous path" and various salient points are found.
1. Sikh is bound by Dharma: The followers of this faith are bound by Dharma as advocated in their holy scriptures. The committed Sikh is encouraged to follow this path at all times. The first recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib called the Japji Sahib says the following: "The path of the faithful shall never be blocked. The faithful shall depart with honor and fame. The faithful do not follow empty religious rituals. The faithful people are fully bound to do whatever the Dharma wants them to do. Such is the Name of the Immaculate Lord. Only one who has faith comes to know such a state of mind." (14) (Guru Granth Sahib Japji page 3.)
2. Deeds are recorded: The persons thoughts and deeds are said to be recorded and the faithful is warned that these will be read out in the presence of the "Lord of Dharma". Two scribes called "Chitr and Gupt" 1 , the angels of the conscious and the subconscious mind are busy writing ones thought and deeds. On death the soul of the person he brought before "Lord of Dharma" are these account are read out as recoded in this quote: "Day and night are the two nurses, in whose lap all the world is at play. Good deeds and bad deeds - the record is read out in the Presence of the Lord of Dharma. According to their own actions, some are drawn closer, and some are driven farther away." (Guru Granth Sahib Japji page 8, Salok.)
3. Dharma administered by God: The scriptures further outline how the "Judge of Dharma" administers justice depending on the way that one has conducted life on Earth. The soul is either "cleared" or "subject to God's command" depending on the review of the person history. The holy text says: "The Righteous Judge of Dharma, by the Hukam of God's Command, sits and administers True Justice". (Guru Granth Sahib page 38) (4) and those followers who "chant the name of the Lord" are cleared as outlined thus: "Her account is cleared by the Righteous Judge of Dharma, when she chants the Name of the Lord, Har, Har." (Guru Granth Sahib page 78) 5
In Jainism
Dharma is natural. Jain Acharya Samantabhadra writes: "Vatthu sahavo dhammo" the dharma is the nature of an object. It is the nature of the soul to be free, thus for the soul, the dharma ia paralaukika, beyond worldly. However the nature of the body is to seek self-preservation and be engaged in pleasures.
Thus there are two dharmas.
The two Dharmas
Acharya Haribhadra (approx. 6-7th cent.) discusses dharma in Dharma-Bindu. he writes (Translation by Y. Malaiya):
soayam-anuṣṭhātṛ-bhedātdvi-vidho
gṛhastha-dharmo yati-dharmaś ca |
Because of the difference in practice, dharma is of two kinds, for the householders and for the monks.
tatra gṛhastha-dharmo api dvi-vidhaḥ
sāmanyato viśeṣataś ca |
Of the householder's dharma, there are two kinds,"ordinary" and "special"
tatra sāmanayato gṛhastha-dharmaḥ kula-krama-agatam-anindyaṃ
vibhavady-apekshayā nyāto anuṣṭhānaṃ |
The ordinary dharma of the householder should be carried out according to tradition, such that it is not objectionable, according to ones abilities such as wealth, in accordance with nyaya (everyone treated fairly and according to laws).
Somadeva suri (10th c.) terms the "ordinary" and "special" dharmas laukika ("worldly") and pralaukika ("extra-worldly") respectively:
dvau hi dharmau gṛhasthāṇam, laukikaḥ, pāralaukikaḥ |
lokāśrayo bhavedādyah, parah syād-āgama-āśrayaḥ
A householder follows both laukika and the paralaukika dharmas at the same time.
(Courtesy: Wikipediea)
DHARMA – EXPLANATION
DHARMA-a new angle
(K.M.P. Menon)
The Indian Century will become a reality only after the ancient ideal of Dharma is upheld and allowed to flourish. It is not only an ancient ideal but it is sempiternal. That is the meaning of 'Sanathana'. To appreciate this concept, we have to not just look into definitions but borrow from the visions of literary critics, philosophers, and philologists. Literary critics considered some qualities as pre existing the creation itself. In other words, beauty, truth and goodness were already there before man when the world began. They call such qualities 'originary' in character. The modernists among critics argue with the traditionalists on this point. Some so called modernists think that qualities such as morality or beauty are manmade and therefore are confined to certain times and places. What was immoral in the Victorian era is not so anymore in the modern era, and so on. Marxist critics condemned what would have been righteousness in the middle ages. Philosophers like Plato, on the other hand, think that this material world is only a shadow of the real world which is somewhere above and in this real world, the qualities such as goodness and mercy shine brightest. The experts in linguistics consider some qualities as being beyond the ability of words to convey or express. When we say that Dharma is sempeternal, when we talk of Sanathana Dharma, what we mean is that it is something which does not change with place or time but is something that is capable of independent and undying existence. When people say that truth is god, they mean something similar to this. In that originary state before creation, before creating man, beauty, goodness and truth were already there. Dharma partakes of all the three verities- truth, beauty and goodness.
Though eternal, Dharma is very fragile in character. It requires constant maintenance on the part of Man. Man has a free will and it is upto him to support and uphold Dharma. In other words, endowed with a conscience, Man is capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Yet, in all great literature we find this question being raised again and again. 'Why is it that I am unable to do the right thing and in many instances I do not even know what is the right thing to do?' We find this in the Bhagavata, the Mahabharata of which the Gita is a part, as well as the Ramayana. Of course the same question is found in all the other great literature of the world.
The same question has more relevance today when society has become so complex. Today we live in the Vysya era. In the West, this is called the commercial civilization. The changing eras had been foretold long ago in one of our Upanishads. In the beginning, there would be the era of Brahma. Those who are aware of Brahma, the Brahmins, would hold a dominant position. The Brahmin ideals of self sacrifice, spirituality, goodwill to the whole world, austerity and abstemiosness would also be the ideals of society. People with such ideals would be the role models. Kings with earthly power would follow their guidance in order to rule with equity. They would be Dharmarajas.
In course of time, the predominant position would be that of the Kshatriyas. Society would give power to those whose forte is not spirituality but material force. Dominance would be on the basis of the power of arms and the ability to wield it. Great empires would come up on earth including Bharatvarsha. Spiritual power would be very rare and there will be many who pretend to be enlightened. Even in such a stage, spirituality would not wither away. It will not hold centre stage but it would depend on kingly power for its sustenance. If Ashoka had not been interested in it, the Buddhist Dharma would not have spread. If Constantine had not seen a vision, Christianity would not have become widespread. But for the conquering Caliphs, Islam too would have been circumscribed.
In course of time, the era of the warriors would also cease to be. The era of merchants would rise. The ideal of the merchants would become that of the whole society. Thrift, prudence, profit making, accumulation would become the ideals of every man.
DHARMA
(S N Tekur)
Dharma is that which enables the long term ‘upliftment’ of all living beings.
The word DHARMA conjures up visions of “Yama dharma raja”, the GOD of death-a punishment for not treading the path of dharma.
Dharmaraya is also the name by which the eldest of the ‘Pandavas’ Yudhistira was also called- an embodiment of ‘Dharma’. It is said his feet never touched the ground which is sullied by ordinary adharmic mortals. However Yudhistira came down to earth when he uttered the lie so important to win the kurukshetra war-Narova Kunjarova (human or elephant) was the situation where Yudhistra lied. For the sake of getting a short-term benefit, resorting to lies or straying from the straight and narrow path ultimately leads to a long-term failure.
Dharma is also defined as one of the four purusharthas-Artha, Dharma, Kaama, Moksha.
Karma is the actions performed by the individual during his sojourn on the earth plane. Karma performed without linking with dharma result in accumulating reactions which need to be played out either in this or future births. However karmas performed with the right attitude-allowing yourself to be used by the divine as HIS instrument-nishkaama karma-without bothering about the fruits will ensure that the karmic balance is not upset.
A deliberate and conscious performance of one’s duties keeping dharma as the guiding force enables positive results. In astrology this is referred to as ‘dharmakarmadipati yoga’ where the planetary influences denoting ‘dharma’ and ‘karma’ have a strong positive relationship in the individual’s natal chart.
DHARMA is doing the ‘right’ things- RIGHT!
Dharma is also one’s ‘raison de etre’ –why we are here. Following one’s dharma or natural inclination gives the highest level of joy. You are working as per the divine design.
SWADHARMA is knowing who and what you are and being and doing what you are supposed to do.
Doing your own job with 100% sincerity, dedication and commitment without worrying about whether others are doing what they should do, is following swadharma.
Atmadharma are general rules to be followed arising from the fact that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. Unselfishness, Love of all humanity, shunning hatred, jealousy, and greed and displaying the charecteristics of an elevated soul.
Paradharma is the specific duties enjoined on the individual by virtue of his role at that point of time. Being a good teacher, parent, husband, friend etc demands certain duties and norms of behaviour which are enjoined in the list of paradharma
Ethics and values in corporate governance are linked with the following dharmic principles
Dharma-righteousness, the right path which will uphold the family and society.
Loka Sangraha(Public Good) is not just working for private gain, but seeking the welfare of others while also gaining benefit .
Kausalam (Efficacy) optimum utilisation of resources and consciously preserving them for posterity. Efficient use and productive methods avoiding wastage.
Vividhata (Innovation) Constantly seeking better solutions in all enterprises to meet economic and social expectations.
Jigyasa (Learning) Introspection, debates and learning form an important process for remaining viable and keeping afloat amid continual change which is a law of life.
Dharma is also an index such as ‘enthalpy’- the sum total of ‘goodness’ or ‘justice’ existing in a society at a given point of time. It defines the ‘age’ in which we are living. Kali yuga is supposed to be the time when ‘adharma’ reigns and the total dharmic content is at a minimum.
In this, “India’s Century” it is necessary to take the lead in reviving and implementing dharmic concepts in order to move towards a new, enlightened age –Satya yuga.
DHARMA AS ONE OF THE IDEALS OF LIFE
(K.M.P. Menon)
The Ramayana and the Mahabharata have shaped the ethos of India in a remarkable way. It is often asked what in a nutshell is the lesson of the Ramayana. According to some experts it can be put in just two words: “ Mama Vidhi” which can be interpreted as “like myself”. When Sri Rama goes to the forest along with Sita and his brother Lakshmana, it is part of the advice given by Lakshmana’s Mother. He is asked to treat Sri Rama as he would treat the king, his father, Sita as he would treat his own mother and indeed the Forest dwellings as no different from the comfortable palace of Ayodhya. This wonderful advice contains many lessons that would be of help to everyone. It is how we approach anything, rather how we conceive something that helps us to act in an ideal manner. Of course, anyone who treats others as one would like to be treated oneself – “ Mama Vidhi” can be sure of doing the right thing. In another context, it has been said that this policy is “the law and all the prophets”.
Coming to the Mahabharatha, what is the most important lesson? This epic deals with the ideal qualities that a human life should have, the ideals that behooves cultivation – the Purusharthas. They are; Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Sage Vyasa himself has reiterated the most cardinal point of the Epic. It is that people should observe Dharma. This is the most important of all the Purusharthas. The others become infructuous if Dharma is absent. The Sage declares that he had appeal with raised hands this truth; yet people continue to ignore very often the path of Dharma! They easily and naturally strive for the other ideals without realizing that everything else is hollow without Dharma.
What is Dharma? What are the other Purusharthas? The other Purusharthas are easier to realize. Kama is the pleasurable fulfillment of the senses. Man has a natural tendency to indulge in this. In its widest sense not only sexual satisfaction but also every fulfillment that man senses require to be attended to, such as the happiness derived from satisfying hunger or the need for pleasurable surroundings, the delight one gets from a good picture or a song is part of Kama. If such a sensation is not legitimately obtained or in other words the result of Adharma, the sensation is followed by contrition and a feeling of guilt.
Though Artha is often translated as wealth, its wider implication is not confined to the material. It is really “meaning, or that which gives meaning to something” A well known psychiatrist, Doctor Victor Frankel in his book points out how one of the greatest requirements of human beings, which enhances their lives is the meaning that they can find in living. This great author who survived the concentration camps of Nazi Germany had the unique opportunity of studying inmates. He found that those people who survived despite the most horrible conditions of deprivation were those people who had discovered a meaning for life. This spiritual quality helped them to live and also enhanced their lives. One should have a meaning in life to make life worthwhile. This is what Dr Frankel discovered not only in his own life but in that of others. He used this knowledge to treat others suffering from Mental illnesses even in the affluent surroundings of the American life style. This is nothing else but what our ancient sages declare. This is Artha – that which make life meaningful – an ancient Purushartha. It is easy enough to understand that if material wealth or if an intellectual explanation for gaining it, or a spiritual attempt for its provenance is devoid of Dharma, it will be a hollow gain. A well known question in a Christian context asks; “ What avails you if you gain the whole world but loose your own soul? “
Moksha is explained as liberation. It is also described as freedom from the bonds of the world. Sometimes it is considered the union of the individual soul or Atma with the universal soul – the Paramatma. Whenever a demonic personality such as King Hirayankashipu is slain by an Avatar of God that person is supposed to enjoy union with God. Rajaji explains Moksha as gaining freedom from the illusions caused by the veil of Maya. Any one who genuinely repents his sins and wishes to turn a new leaf, it is said, can gain Moksha. Thus Moksha is variously described in different contexts but in each of them different aspects of the same entity is being highlighted. However, it is very clear that Moksha cannot be obtained without the help of Dharma. In any case it has a lower priority than Dharma.
Now what is this all important Dharma? Dr Radhakrishnan once observed that there is no exact English equivalent for it. The Greeks may have had a word for it. In Latin the word closest to it is ‘Charitas”. The King James Bible chose the word ‘charity’.
St Paul in his famous epistle to the Corinthians privileges Charity above all the other virtues. Several generations remember his poetic writing so much so that when the modern version of the Bible substitutes “Love” in the place of ‘Charity”, there was disappointment. Dr. Radhakrishnan had pointed out that what the epistle really meant was to point out to the Corinthians the importance of ‘Dharma’.
Dharma is more than love or charity. It is that which upholds the moral order. The ancients whether in the East or in the West had this idea of a moral order being upheld by the right behaviour of human beings. Any action that violates this is a violation of the order in the world. In all the tragedies of Shakespeare we find this ancient idea being repeated. He is in a way a link between the old world and new. Any violation of the moral order by the committing of a wrong deed is reflected in the order of Nature. Violent deeds are echoed by thunder storms and calamities. St Paul incorporated much of pre-Christian archetypical world views into his Christianity.
Some of the ancient archetypes popular in Greece came from India’s cultural lore. The Ramayana and Mahabharatha emphasise the role of Dharma. To this day the common folk of India sit under the shade of village trees, in temple halls and in recent years in front of TV sets entranced by the stories, the situations, the moral dilemma and its solutions found in our ancient epics – all of which enjoin one to uphold Dharma at all costs.
DISTORTION AND DECLINE OF DHARMA (DDD)
(N.S. Ramaswamy)
DDD is not a sudden development. It was predicted in the Bhavishya Purana. Sri Krishna told Uddava that DDD is inevitable in the Kaliyuga, which began on 17th February, 3102 BC. Brahmins and the intellectual class - Rishis, Socrates and Plato, Confucius and Lao Tse - dominated in the whole world in the first 3,000 years and Kshatriyas in the next 1500 years. The Vysia class – merchants and traders – began their period from about 1500 AD, and they are at their summit now. They would continue for 200 years more, when the Sudras – working class (not Sc/St) - will have their chance, as predicted by Swami Vivekananda.
When one class declines, the next class would come up. There will be a period of transition when the outgoing and incoming classes would co-exist. One class would serve the functions of other classes. Now the Brahmins and Kshatriyas are under the rule of the BIS. Sudras have been helping the earlier three. Now it is the duty of the BIS to uphold Dharma. They would be biggest of beneficiaries of protecting Dharma, as they would have supportive political system and not an obstructive and corrupt system as at present. , country’s unity, and peace in the society. But they are doing nothing now to foster Dharmic ideals. If the systems collapse, they would be worst sufferers
During the last 100 years, the Business and Industry Class (BIC), with the help of Scientific and Technological miracles, made fantastic and unimaginable contributions to the materialistic prosperity of mankind by instant communication, rapid transport, removing drudgery, improving conveniences, abolishing diseases and hundreds of innovations, all of which is more than what was achieved in the previous 3000 years. .
The BIC has the resources – financial and managerial – to save mankind from suicide, if they take on an additional role of changing the systems and values in the various sectors of the political economy and segments of society, that is in a) Governance of the Political system, b) Pubic Administration in the Central, State and Local governments, c) Ethical and moral management in all economic, social, cultural and religious organizations, and d) Control of the Body-Mind-Intellect equipment of individuals forming the society by secular and humanistic as well as spiritual methods and value-based education.
BIC has the financial and organizational resources and managerial competence to protect and uphold Dharma, as they have already demonstrated their ability in the Corporate Sector, where merit, character, justice, non-discrimination, transparency, fairness etc have been enforced by managerial systems and ethical values. There is not much of corruption or partisanship or parochial passion in most of the 500 large corporate houses in the private sector. . They have earned the public esteem of the people. On the contrary in the Pubic sector and government controlled organizations, including the vast Education system and Hindu temples, there is wide spread rampant corruption and nepotism due to interference by politicians and bureaucrats who consider these organizations are their private property. There is open misuse of government funds. Government controls every human activity with draconian controls. Wherever, the sector is free of Government and politicians, performance is better.
In the West, the government is more transparent, since the government is not in business. In India is the largest businessman, which is not the responsibility of the government, except where private sector will not enter, such housing, health care and education for the poor. In the West, particularly in US, the private sector was greedy and corrupt. In most cases, it is the system that is responsible for corruption and unethical behaviour. Government controlled temples are corrupt, while Ashrams and Missions managed by Swamis are generally better in Ethics. Even Education system is corrupt due to government interference and political interference. Hence Government should get out of all these sectors and concentrate on governance and helping the poor.
The Political system, Government administration and organisations controlled by government are full of scams, scandals, betrayals, favoritism, parochialism etc. Mere prayer and religiosity are not sufficient. 80 m go to temples and worship centers. Hundreds of Swamis preach Ethics and Dharma. But India is the most corrupt country in the world. Our environment is filthy. 300 m are illiterate and poor. Our ills are enormous and all-pervasive and shameful by any international standard. We are cruel to animals and we exploit nature, though Hindus worship them fervently. Religion cannot uphold Dharma without the help of good governance and management. But Spiritual and Ethical managerial approaches together can do wonders to uphold Dharma.
Not many go to Church in Sweden and Finland. But they are the most ethical society. They have better systems of governance and management. Singapore and Shanghai have shown how cities are to be governed and managed.
The greatest tragedy of Independent India is that they did not give an honorable place to Sanskrit, which is the mother of major European and Indian languages. Sanskrit based literature unites the people. But regional languages rouse parochial passions, and India may break one day on language based passions which express in antinational feelings. While Pakistan was formed based on religion, we opted that we would not touch religion. Thus the wisdom of India, admired all over the world, is not available to Indians. In addition to NRIs, most Indian, particularly Hindus, are RESIDENT NON- Indians ( RNIs). The government and the Media are generally anti-Hindu, in the only country where Hindus ( and tiny Comunist Nepal) are the majority. India minus Hinduism is not a nation. And yert Hinduism is suppressed in the name of Secularism. This is pure Adharma in the land of Dharma.
From what is going on all over the world, it is clear that the present secular and materialistic approach can only make the planet not fit for life. Thousands of atomic bombs are ready to kill civilizations. States and religions are getting ready for confrontation and mutual destruction. . We are looking at superficial and trivial solutions to these fundamental problems. India’s ancient wisdom is the only solution to save mankind, and hence this booklet on Dharma. We are aware that we would not be hard by the rulers and opinion moulders. But we do our duty to mankind, animals and nature by presenting our views on what can be done – technically feasible, economically viable, socially acceptable, ecologically desirable and politically wise and safe.
Birth of the Nation
India was born at the midnight hour of August 14th 1947. Midnight is the period when energy levels are lowest according to Indian philosophical concepts. The time of a sunrise is auspicious. Thus India’s horoscope does not have auspicious planets as they are insentient, and this is clearly demonstrated by the conditions existing today. Dharma has declined to low levels. Adharmic and evil forces are seen everywhere. India as a country has committed many adharmic acts.
Aggressive Intervention
In 5000 years of history Indian soldiers did not go outside the borders of their nation and nor did they convert others to Hinduism. However India attacked Goa, which was an independent country. We violated the International law. Honkong was only a leased territory, yet China did not annexe it. It waited for the lease period to be over. China maintained water supply to Hong Kong people. After being a colony for 1000 years under the Muslims and the British, there was no great urgency to annex Goa.
Similarly we interfered in Bangladesh. We had every right to rescue Hindus in Bangladesh but we had no right to cause a defeat of the Pakistan Army. Our Indian Army General accepted the defeat of Pakistani forces. General Nayaz of Pakistan and 90,000 soldiers were taken prisoner and brought to India. India was not at war with Pakistan.
We interfered in the affairs of Nepal and sent Indian Peace Keeping Forces to Sri Lanka. There were allegations that India helped LTTE with money and arms, which was pointed out by the then Sri Lankan President, Srimavo Bandara Naik while on a visit to India. Thus we showed our ‘Big brother’ attitude to our neighbour and that too after professing that as per Panch Sheel we will not interefere in the internal matters of neighbouring countries.
Past Mistakes
This seed for Pakistan was sowed in 1937. At that time Jinnah was the President of the Hindu-Muslim unity league. Ms. Sarojini Naidu was the secretary. Yet Jinnah led the movement for partition. Though Gandhiji said that India could be partitioned only over his dead body, we agreed to partition concurrently saying ’We do not believe in the two nations theory’. Jinnah openly declared that “WE MUSLIMS ARE INSECURE in a Hindu majority India. Our culture is different from that of the Hindus” When questioned as to what would happen to the thirty million Muslims left behind in India surrounded by Hindu majority, Jinnah’s answer was “we shall safeguard the Hindus of Pakistan in order to ensure the safety of Muslims in India. Subsequently Bangladesh pushed out millions of Hindus into India and thus eliminated Hindus from Pakistan. India could do nothing to protect Hindus. Even today, two lakh Kashmiri Pandits live as refugees outside Kashmir. Very little is being done to give them a decent life. A government subsidy of 25 thousand crores per year is spent by the government just to retain the valley.
Intolerance
Invaders and conquerors destroyed thousands of temples and plundered our wealth apart from forcibly converting Hindus to other religions. By establishing the rule of law, a democratic country, structured judiciary, legislature and police force were given to us by the Britishers. They built dams and bridges as well as Hill Stations and hundreds of other assets. However our leaders removed the statues of those great men who loved India. The Englishman who built our beautiful capital was not given any honour. The lathi charge in 1942 at Chowpathi is being shown on the TV to show how cruel the British were, but everyday our police lathi charge our own people. All this shows our partiality towards the minorities and our contempt for the British who gave us English which became a window for India to look at the whole world. Even today a million Hindus are working in Britain where they are respected. Many immature politicians are our rulers now. Rule-makers protest in the House of legislatures, throw tables and chappals. We are electing the wrong kind of people while ignoring the large number of patriotic men who had helped shape the legislatures and Government in the past.
Incapacity
We condemn the Babus, British Administration and the British Education System but we neither have the courage nor the ability to change them.
Neglect of Sanskrit
During the discussions about the constitution and the choice of a national language, we committed the biggest act of adharma. Sanskrit has been acknowledged as the mother of major European languages but we did not care even to give it the national status as a cultural language of India. Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. Even in the four southern states of Dravidian origin, their languages have 52 to 80% Sanskrit words. Sanskrit is not being taught nor given a correct place. In Kerala a Sanskrit university was established and yet the V.C of the university does not know Sanskrit. Hindu temples are being administered by the Government. Though the Government considers itself to be secular, they are not administering Christian Churches. Money offered by Hindu devotees to Hindu temples is being utilized for improving roads and bridges and in some places these funds are even used by the Government. Using the money given by Hindu devotees for Non-Hindu purposes is a great act of adharma by the Central and State Governments.
Caste Perpetuated
The latest adharma is the enumeration of caste by the Centre. Caste is slowly disappearing in most business undertakings. Caste is not a factor at all. Only caste has been the criteria for electioneering and giving favors to preferred castes of our leaders.
The influential and powerful segments of our society are:
a. Political parties, the systems processes, elections, central and state legislatures etc.
b. Public administration - Central and local govt.
c. Government controlled organizations – PSUs, Nationalised Banks, Reserve Bank, LICs etc.
d. Universities like UGC AICTE,
e. CSIR, ICMR and innumerable boards directly or indirectly under them
f. Railways, state transport undertaking
g. The private sector – Organised Business Industry
h. NGOs
i. Religious Institution such as Temples etc.
j. Media – Controlled by Private Sector / Business
The political economy system is totally inappropriate to our conditions. The system functions well in Britain because it is a mono-society of the same religion and language. India is a multi-religious society with 20 major languages, with diversified culture. The electoral system in India is of high cost. India is more divided today than ever before in the history of the sub continent. During the freedom struggle we were one single nation in mind and heart. This unity had been nurtured during the last five thousand years by Hinduism. This is manifested in Art and Culture, literature, festivals, customs, traditions pilgrimages Acharas, Samskaras etc. Within fifty years of independence Indian Nationalism has eroded. The Railway Ministry remains headless since the minister gives priority to Bengal. To live and earn a livelihood in Maharashtra, you have to learn Marathi or leave Maharashtra. Language is the greatest divider and European nations came into being, based on language even though they are all Christians. Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are broken now.
Foreboding
The potential dangers in India which will become evident during the next twenty years is the collapse of the political system; during the next election no national party will come to power; it will be a loose coalition of regional parties with no loyalty to nation building; The emergence of Sonia Gandhi has only saved the Congress from collapse. Even BJP which has a potential to govern the nation is losing its merit. The next election will find a weak centre and stronger state Governments who will confront the centre in major policy decisions. They will partner in the coalition and will thereafter press for funds blackmailing the majority partner.
Electoral Reform:
The solution lies in electoral reforms instead of electing individuals as legislators. A party should be voted to power thus the winning party should submit a list of the nominees to be sworn in as ministers. These should be voted to power. Parties getting votes can decide on the nominees. The proposal can be introduced to remove the anomalies of the present situation where only 50% vote and a party getting 35% gets majority. They do not represent a cohesive government and the larger part of India is not represented in the central parliament and in the cabinet.
This structure would have been alright if the government did not participate in developmental work. In Britain and other European countries, a different structure is followed where the party governs and development is done by private sectors. In India the state is an entrepreneur with enormous funds. Government is in business. It is a strange situation where the government is both a player and referee which is theoretically unsound and practically dangerous. Central funds are being allocated by Ministers who favour their own states. It is no longer possible for national leaders or parties to emerge without linguistic fanaticism. This situation may fragment India further.
Unifying Factor
The above is an analysis of what could possibly happen if the present trend continues. The only segment which is uniting India comprises the central undertakings, private business and industries of all India operations. The politics of public administration and all institutions controlled by the government is dividing India sentimentally and emotionally. It is only in the Industrial Sector that decisions and actions are based on merit and without discrimination on the grounds of religion, caste or language. Tatas, Infosys, other MNCs and major business houses have an all-India approach. They give merit the highest priority while our Government gives least priority to merit but goes by language, caste and other sectorial considerations. The third danger to India is the decline and decay of culture, distortion and conversion of attitudes and values, criminality and violence, rising feudalism, exploitation of the weak etc.
Indian Culture and Womanhood:
One thousand years of foreign rule is destroying the cultural heritage of 3000 years. Commercially oriented media is influencing the youth of the country in the name of fashion destinations, modernization, globalisation etc. They believe they are market–oriented. They openly declare that the media is in business and their only goal is to make profits which can come only by increased circulation of journals and increased telecast of serials. Therefore cheap, ugly, vulgar materials are printed and distributed or are screened in theatres and on television. The commercial classes are aiding this trend as they want their advertisements to get attention. Therefore the media dishes out sexuality and vulgarity in order to cater to the baser instincts of man. India is the only civilization where a woman is treated as a Parashakti. The other religions do not give much importance or respect to women. In the case of Hinduism, women are placed on a higher pedestal. Rama is known as ‘Sitapati’ i.e Sita’s husband, Shiva is known as ‘Umapathi’ i.e Parvathi’s husband . They are worshipped with equal reverence. Most of the saints and sages led a householder’s life and they gave equal respect and devotion to women. The woman of the house is Griha Lakshmi i.e. Queen of the house. Manu has written “WHERE WOMEN ARE RESPECTED GOD RESIDES” Civilizations and Cultural societies are judged by the way women are treated. The wars in the two Etihasas – Ramayana and Mahabharatha are centred around Sita and Draupadi, whose honour was hurt. ‘Lalitha Sahasranamam’ is an important devotional song where Lalitha, lord of the universe is given a thousand names. ‘Ganga’ is the name bestowed on a river. Earth is also conceived as our Mother. Thus women have a special place. However the media are treating women as mere commodities to entice people to consume goods and services. Dharma attempts to elevate us from ordinary carnal desires to higher states of spiritual experience and bliss. Instead of elevating man as a human being to a destination nearer to God, the media is bringing him down to the level of animals which have no sensibility of culture, which are in effect least restrained and concerned for others.
Marriage is conceptualized as a social institution among Hindus where the society’s wellbeing and harmony depend on the stability of married life which requires adjustment, accommodation, patience, concern for the other partner, cooperation, love, affection, sharing, caring etc. However the media has made married life a joke and a contract. The trend is to imitate the west, where families are already getting fragmented. 50% of marriages end in divorce. Such a trend is also becoming evident in India, namely due to the bad influence of the media. The media is now one among commodities such as consumer durables and consumables, which can be produced and marketed by the commercial classes. The media in the hands of the commercial classes has become an instrument for pulling down mankind from divinity to beastliness. Our national prestigious newspapers are best in every sense but they carry advertisements treating women as commercial goods.
Business is the only segment of our society which has the resources, organizational ability and managerial competence to reverse the above trends that are tending towards political instability, fragmentation of the country and cultural decline.
They have already shown their competence to ensure EMV within the organization. In this commercial era of Kaliyuga, it is their duty to rise to the occasion and save India from further decline. After 20000 years of existence our cultural entity called India became a national state in the modern sense of the word. This was mainly because of the British who ruled us for 200 yrs. In this century India requires to survive in order to save the whole world from the present trend of decimation of planet earth, global warming, fragmentation of the family and cultural decay.
India Century Mission:
Therefore, from the global point of the view, India has to be saved which is the campaign of the India Century Mission launched by IHA. This requires massive campaigning all over the country and across all sectors of the economy. Huge funds and organization are required to accomplish the target to keep India united with Dharma.
RISE OF COMMERCIAL CIVILIZATION IN INDIA AND OF BRITISH RULE
(K.M.P. Menon)
The spread of commercial civilization in India went hand in hand with the establishment of British rule in India. Starting with the East India Company, whose main aim was commerce, rise to power of the English was only by the way. They found that settled conditions were essential for trade to flourish. Trade was the aim, not spreading Christianity. The event kept out Christian missionaries out of their territories from the very long time. The East India Company’s rule gradually gave way to rule by the British Government.
On the 1st November 1858, it was announced by proclamation that the East India Company was abolished, and that the Government of India had been taken over by the Queen, with Lord Canning, the reigning Governor-General, for her first Viceroy. Incidentally the suppression of the mutiny had laid the uneasy ghosts of certain great names and offices which had long perished in substance from India. “The phantom of a Mogul Emperor and his Court vanished from Delhi; the last pretender to the honours of the Maratha Peshwa disappeared from Cawnpore.” The East India Company, whose authority had been long threatened and continually weakened by successive Acts of Parliament, was finally extinguished. The British Crown assumed the unquestioned sovereignty of India; the new ruler, Queen Victoria, announced that she would always labour for the prosperity of her newly acquired dominions; and she faithfully kept her word.
With the takeover of India by the Crown the commercial era dawned over India. In England itself Queen Victoria represented the rising commercial middle classes. Only a few years earlier, Napolean had sneered at the English as a nation of shopkeepers. Disreali, the Queen's favourite prime minister was himself the son of a Jewish immigrant. Only in England could such inclusiveness for brilliant people have been possible. It was Disreali's idea to make Victoria, the Empress of India. Queen Victoria herself took an active interest in her Indian empire. She took Hindi lessons and invited Max Mueller for lectures to the royal court. She took on as her wards some of the princes and princesses of India. Dilip Singh, son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Gowramma, the princess of Coorg, were notable among them.
The establishment of a commercially oriented society required not only peace in the land but also an effective system of law and governance. Further, education of a modernising society had to be done on the best lines as then possible. Lord Macaulay proved to be the man of the hour for both these requirements. A modernised legal system and a modern educational system were both his contributions to India. Such modern institutions were being grafted on to a very conservative age old traditional society. Macauley himself was fully aware of what he was doing. In the long run, and looking back we can aver that these developments proved to be very valuable for India. Long after the British left, further development continued on the same foundation laid in the 19th century. The Universities, the legal system, the administration and business organization laid on very solid foundation have continued to provide the structure for an integrated India even though a cultural unity had pre existed the advent of the British. In business Carr-Tagore and Sons, a business management agency, the scion of which was the famous Indian nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, is particuarly noteworthy. The foundations of some of the great Indian firms were laid at this time. The climate had been firmly laid for many new ones to arise.
Macaulay's legal system combined the best elements of English common law and traditional Indian practices (in fact, it is the desire to know more about the Indian code according to Dharma that provided the impulse to learn the ancient classics; Sir William Jones was a jurist before he became a phylologist). For commerce to succeed in a society, one of the most important requirements is effective commercial law and typically, a tradition of enforceable contract law. The Indian legal code provided all this. The language of the High courts was English. But within a couple of generations, the Indian universities, thanks to Macaulay, provided sufficient Indian lawyers who could rival the english in their own language.
India became independent from British rule in 1947. The people in charge of the country for the first few years were brilliant men of modern sensibility and very well versed in the best practices of the modern world. We may mention especially Rajaji, Patel, Sir VT Krishnamachari, Sir RK Shanmukham Chetti, John Mathai and so on apart from Gandhi and Nehru who are too well known. With the advent of the five year plans, in the early fifties, there was a flirtation with the now defunct USSR. Commercialisation went ahead but the full potential of the country could not be realized. It was only with Rajiv Gandhi and more prominently, with Narasimha Rao as prime minister that a so-called liberalisation, meaning, freedom from the choking beaucratic controls over economic and commercial activity became possible. Under Manmohan Singh and the new look planning commission of Montek Singh Ahluwalia, there has been tremendous spurt in economic and commercial activity. There is a new awareness of the effectiveness of private enterprise in enriching the country. About three thousand new large commercial firms were registered in the past year compared to about two hundred in the year 2000. India is on the way to becoming an economic super power and is acknowledged thus by the world. Agriculture now contributes less than 18% to the annual GDP. The major contributions are from the industrial and services sectors. The economy grows at an annual rate of 9.5%. India is firmly in the commercial or 'Vysya' era.
Despite all the shortcomings in other fronts, the country is on the way to becoming a Knowledge society. This is the trend for future societies in other parts of the world. To be sufficiently advanced, there has to be social equity and justice. It behoves very little if only a small minority remains as an island in a sea of socially deprived people. In fact, it is a potentially explosive situation. Very wise statesmanship is called for and this is possible not only for a well educated society aware of the world around it but also a society which cares sufficiently for equity and justice. These two are aspects of the many sided virtue which we call Dharma. A new British prime minister of the conservative party, Cameron, has in his think tank those who advocate 'recapitalizing the poor' which can be done effectively by 'remoralizing the market'. We in India can express this as ' to encourage the corporate sector, to uphold and to spread Dharma'. This requires statesmanship without the blinkers of party, dogma or doctrine. Some names have been mentioned here of Indian leaders. It may be wrong to think that progress is the result of personalities who push history forward. It is the view of theorists that movements are caused by great men. Carlyle thought so. But there is another view. Otto Von Bismark was a very hard headed realist who succeeded in unifying Germany in the 19th century. He thought that human progress is not the result of just great leaders or statesmen. Statesmen become great, he said, because they tune their ears to 'god's footsteps marching through history, and trying to catch on to His coattails as He marches past.'
RETURN OF DHARMA
Return of Dharma is a necessity for removing the ills of the world.
All the aspects which trouble India’s Body Politic are symptoms of one disease. It’s cause is the miscarriage of Dharma. When individuals act in violation of Dharma, it harms the moral order of the world and it rebounds on them. It is Adharma that is the root cause of all troubles of a person’s mind or body. So also is the case with the Body Politic.
For example, when caste was made hereditary and exclusive, it weakened the country’s strength. We are still suffering from its ill-effects.
When rituals were mistaken for the essentials, Religion goes berserk. Vivekananda saw Hinduism reduced to absurdity in Kerala and called the place a lunatic asylum. Whenever truth is twisted for the sake of expediency, it becomes a glaring Adharma! Ever so many examples can be given for Dharma is a dynamic concept. The practice of Sati in North India is another. Such practices have no religious sanction. Dharma is not a matter of religion alone. Nor is it confined to the East. When respected western banks passed off ‘toxic debts’ to other investors as attractive investments, they were indulging in Adharma – leading to eventual downfall!
Whenever one does to others what one would not do to oneself, there is Adharma.
No wonder it is said that ‘if you uphold Dharma, it will save you’. This is why Rajaji suggested a ‘Dharmic World Order where international trade is based not on ‘beggar my neighbour’, but mutual enrichment. In fact the basic impulse of Adam Smith in writing Wealth of Nations, was ‘ethical and moral’. The Corn Laws in the England of his day was unethical because it made rich land owners prosper at the cost of the poor people. Adam Smith wanted it to be repealed. Eventually it was done. His book helped to change public opinion. We can hope that in future, some such work can alter public opinion in such a way that reforms will be made to rid us of the plagues that afflict our Polity.
New Western And Global Dharmic Schools Of Thought are on the Rise
The Western School of Thought in Crisis
The current western school of thought operative behind the spread of western culture today is actually more a school of non-thinking, not really a school of thought at all (just as the modern monoculture is no real culture at all). Its basis is commercialization, standardization, mass production and media stereotypes. It is mainly a school of advertising and marketing or of projecting political slogans. Just as the modern monoculture destroys other cultures, so too the current western school of thought destroys other schools of thought, which become at most footnotes within it.
Western culture today contains little deep thinking or seeking to get to the reality that transcends appearances, except in the counterculture and alternative thinkers that look to other civilizational models. The prevalent western school is a practical or business school aimed at getting results, which means accumulating money and winning the masses to a western way of life or, at best, improving the world through technology.
The western intellectual culture of Europe that developed from the Renaissance and flourished through the nineteenth century is almost dead today. European traditions of classical music, art, literature and philosophy were the first victims of the commercial monoculture that arose in the West. Their creative roots dried up. Their productions became commercialized. They remain more as museum pieces or as performance extravaganzas to encourage another level of spending. Classical Indian music and dance on the other hand are more popular than ever.
Western academia today similarly lacks deep thinking or spiritual insight. It falls into several characteristic traps. The first is justifying western commercial culture because of its technological advances, particularly in the field of medicine. The second is promoting a simplistic ideology of political correctness and human rights (often ignoring the rights of cultures), generally of a leftist nature. The third is developing an apologetic for western monotheism or trying to reform it in a modern light, without correcting its fundamental errors or being open to other religious models. The fourth is following the latest trend in science, creating an intellectual rationale for it, with philosophy tagging along behind science with no real vision of its own.
However, we should note that few people in the West directly follow academia, including relative to eastern traditions. Most westerners that study eastern traditions follow popular trends of Yoga, meditation and spirituality. In fact, western academia has little relevance to the West as a guiding school of thought. The guidance for the western civilization today comes more from Wall Street or the Pentagon than from Harvard or Yale (which function not to guide but rather to excuse or apologize for such military or business groups). Humanities departments in western universities are disappearing and universities are now mainly schools of either science or business.
For all the books, computers and universities in the West, there seems to be little creative thinking or deep spiritual inquiry going on, except among those who are looking to the East. At present we see few great thinkers on the horizon in the West, in spite of the flood of new information technologies. The progress in quantity in the West appears to have destroyed quality in culture as well. America as the world’s sole superpower does not reflect any real vision in its intellectual elite relative to humanity, the future, or a higher age of consciousness. The country seems more concerned with enjoying and sustaining power for its own benefit, rather than using it to advance the planet. The American government has been at the rear, not at the forefront of ecology, pollution control and arms control, though it likes to use the charge of human rights violations against its enemies. Similarly, American leaders no longer lead, but follow the public with the help of opinion polls and other devices that tell them what the public wants to hear. This is one of the down sides of Western democracy.
Deeper Currents in Western Civilization
However, deeper currents do exist within western civilization with affinities to the Indic school of thought and an orientation to Dharma or cosmic law. Some of these currents are very ancient, like the mystical impulses of the older Celtic and Greek traditions and their Druidic, bardic, Orphic and philosophical trends. Others are more recent and reflect the influence of the East through Theosophy, Vedanta, Yoga, Buddhism and Taoism, or the influence other native traditions like the Native American and Shamanism.
Within the European intellectual tradition are dharmic trends, though these remain generally scattered and broken without a yogic methodology to develop a higher consciousness. One can cite the nineteenth century Romantic era, whether mystical German philosophers or mystical English poets, with their emphasis on nature and a connection to the East, particularly India. Another example is the Existentialists of the early twentieth century with their examination of the workings of consciousness and perception. Recent physics with its search for a universal field of consciousness is yet another such trend.
In western mysticism has been a kind of hidden Vedanta, which resurfaced to some degree among European philosophers in the nineteenth century, and occurred in Greco-Roman thought through Parmenides, Plato and Plotinus. In Christianity were figures like Meister Eckhart, who had a Vedantic like philosophy out of place with the medieval church, or St. Francis, who had an approach of non-violence quite apart from Christian crusading. Some Sufis, like Rumi, also reflected Vedantic like ideas. But these were seldom part of orthodox traditions. We seldom find in them a full articulation of the greater Vedantic teaching of karma, dharma, Samsara and Nirvana. In the new era of global communication, people are beginning to discover that such mysticism is more common in eastern traditions and are no longer seeking it through western religions, which have been generally hostile to it anyway.
Behind Christianity itself is also a hidden form of Goddess worship, carrying on old Pre-Christian ways more in harmony both with nature and the spirit. Europeans in the Middle Ages worshipped the Virgin Mary as the great Mother Goddess, though according to the church she was actually only the ‘mother of Jesus’, not the Divine Mother, and was a minor figure in the Gospels. It was this devotion to the Divine Mother, manipulated by the church through the image of Mary, which gave beauty, depth and compassion to European culture. Now that the rule of the church is over, people are discovering the Goddess directly apart from any church control or limitation. It may lead also to a revival of the ancient Gnostic tradition, which was driven out of early Christianity
Stirrings of a New Western School of Thought
One could argue that a new western school of thought is struggling to emerge from the current culture, relying on traditional teachings both eastern and western, as well as cultivating a futuristic planetary vision. Through the earth wisdom of native traditions and the yogic spirituality of Asia, the western mind is beginning to undergo a slow metamorphosis. New ideas and insights, a seeking of consciousness and universality, are arising, with a turning away from any mere material, personal or outer definition of reality.
Perhaps the most obvious sign of this is ecological thinking which, since the collapse of communism, has emerged as perhaps the main idealistic movement in the West. It is seeking to restore the organic order of unity and diversity such as is the basis of Hindu thought, emphasizing consciousness even in animals and plants. This incipient western school sees a life-force and consciousness behind nature, an intimation of the Hindu perception of the great Gods and Goddesses of the cosmic mind. It recognizes a need to reintegrate society into the cosmic order and the rhythms of the natural world. It regards human beings as stewards of nature, not owners of capital. Many individuals within it are vegetarians, practice ahimsa, follow natural forms of healing and meditate regularly. Some are connected to eastern gurus or enlightenment traditions. Some are independent and draw on a variety of sources. New Buddhist thinkers in the West are emphasizing the concept of Dharma, though their understanding of the term is mainly in terms of Buddha Dharma and its psychological/humanistic orientation.
The dominant influence from India on western thought over the last century has been the Western Yoga movement. However, while beginning with a Vedantic orientation and a seeking of Self-realization with teachers like Vivekananda and Yogananda, it has moved away from its spiritual roots, following more popular and commercial physical trends. The Yoga movement in the West has failed to produce much by way of deep thinking. It has mainly become a body-based exercise system that is generally anti-intellectual. As in the case with many Indians, when there is spirituality, disciples think that it is enough to imitate the guru and repeat what he has said rather than think for themselves and produce something original and insightful.
The Western Yoga movement has added new insight in healing and medicine, including care of the dying (the hospice movement), but has produced little by way of real philosophy or useful critiques of knowledge or of civilization. At best, western Yoga students have done good practices to achieve a higher state of consciousness for themselves or helped others relieve personal suffering. They have not examined the issues of culture or sought a broader impact upon society, much less tried to create models of a new intellectual or cultural order.
A neo-Advaita movement has come up in the West under the influence of such teachings as Ramana Maharshi or J. Krishnamurti. It can sound spiritually sophisticated on a verbal level, but lacks the depth of true realization. Its main concern is individual enlightenment and the glorification of new guru personalities, not any global thinking or dharmic orientation to life and society. Such new gurus are often westerners who, with a quick enlightenment experience, think that they are ready to enlighten others and cultivate their own followings apart from any tradition. People in this movement are often anti-intellectual and seldom understand the Vedantic tradition behind such great sages as Ramana.
The Western Buddhist movement has created a number of interesting thinkers and many new books, with Buddhist approaches to ecology, psychology and feminism that can have some depth. This is largely owing to the work of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetans. However, the new Buddhism often falls into the same traps as the Yoga movement of commercialism, personality worship and a catering to western cultural values and appearances. Some neo-Buddhist thinkers, like many modern Yoga teachers are trying to create a politically correct form of Buddhism, turning it into a form of rational humanism in order to make it more appealing to the West, losing much of the real tradition along the way. Such efforts are more like a new American marketing, not the creation of a real dharmic school of thought in the West. A dichotomy between traditional and modern western views exists in Buddhism as it does in the Yoga tradition.
Western Buddhists are seldom aware of or look into the Indic roots of Buddhism and the greater dharmic tradition that Buddhism is part of. They don’t emphasize that Buddhism defined itself as an Indian or Bharatiya tradition, calling itself ‘Arya Dharma’, ‘Sanatana Dharma’, ‘Saddharma’ or other terms shared by the Hindu tradition, as well as using many common symbols (like the swastika). They forget that the terminology of Buddhism they admire like karma, dharma, nirvana and samsara is common to the Indian tradition as whole and not unique to Buddhism, which only has its spin on a common dharmic heritage. They could benefit from a broader examination of the Indic tradition and the place of Buddhism within it. They don’t realize that the Hindu tradition is a dharmic ally, though there may be philosophical differences between the two traditions as there are within each.
In addition to these groups are certain independent or synthetic thinkers. Westerners like to mix and match spiritual teachings until they get a combination that they find suitable. Generally, westerners like eastern teachings but don’t want to follow any of these in a strict manner as they are against authority and don’t like discipline. They try to put together what they think is the best in eastern traditions or develop their own system out them, a new western approach. Some of these efforts are a western intellectualization of eastern traditions, which the western mind, in its cultural arrogance, can’t quite subordinate itself to, but other times they produce important new insights. Such trends are useful in a long term bridging of East and West. They may not have yet produced western thinkers or traditions of the same stature as those of the East, though they may do so over time (and if such thinkers do exist, they may not be known or popular).
Lack of Knowledge about India
It is surprising how uninformed or misinformed the western mind is, even in its occasional spiritual openness and how little of Asian traditions, particularly Hinduism, it has understood, examines or even bothers to read. Living in America and contacting many people in the Yoga and Buddhists movements, I have met only a few scattered individuals who possess real knowledge of the social and religious movements in India over the last century, much less the Vedic background of Indic civilization. Apart from knowing the names of a few great Indian gurus like Ramana Maharshi or Sri Aurobindo, they have little understanding or recognition of the Hindu mind and its concerns. Few are aware of the broader cultural and intellectual foundation of the Hindu tradition. Almost none know of the Hindu traditions of Dharma Shastras and the perennial Hindu urge to create a dharmic society.
Most eastern spiritual movements in the West are concerned mainly with their own particular following and that of their guru. They want to avoid anything that might be offensive in the eyes of mainstream American culture or prevent non-Hindus from joining them. They distance themselves from Hinduism so as not to have to deal with the distortions about Hinduism that are still common in the West and might prejudice people against them. Naturally, this does little to remove such distortions or to help improve the image of the very tradition that they are benefiting from! For this reason, some Hindus find the western adaptation of their teachings to be self-serving and ungrateful.
Whatever knowledge western Yoga teachers have about India is usually what they have heard from the western media, which they naively accept as true, though they don’t trust the media in other areas. Those who are truly knowledgeable are generally only those who have lived and worked in India for some time, but most of them either haven’t made any effort or don’t have the means to articulate their knowledge.
In fact, many people in the West who claim to represent or teach eastern spiritual traditions are not well educated in their own traditions. They seldom read books, particularly of a traditional nature. They are not aware of India as a cultural and civilizational entity and its concerns. Their lack of knowledge of Sanskrit and regional dialects in India removes most western students from direct contact with the tradition and limits them to second hand sources that are often incorrect or, at best, keep them confined to the literature of their own lineage.
The Neopagan Movement
The neo-pagan movement is an important movement within western culture that contains the basis of a genuinely native western spiritual or dharmic school. It has two main branches. The first and perhaps largest consists of pre-Christian Celtic, Greek, Roman, Germanic and Slavic traditions from Europe—an Indo-European tradition that can easily be linked by common language and culture to India and to the Vedas. The second consists of a revival of pre-Christian and pre-Judaic traditions of Egypt and Mesopotamia, which have a similar temple worship and a long standing trade with India. Both branches have strong mystical traditions and a worship of the Goddess, as well as a supreme Deity like Hindu Shiva, the lord of the Yogis. In fact, it could be argued that unless the West rediscovers its own native spirituality that its spiritual awakening will remain incomplete, if not inauthentic.
Several scholars within this movement have studied eastern teachings, particularly the Hindu tradition as the oldest and best preserved pagan tradition in the world. Though few in numbers, they provide an excellent forum for dialogue. In addition there are many teachings and artifacts from these ancient traditions that remain and can be the basis for new modern teachings. A new scholarship is needed to handle this East-West convergence of ancient traditions.
In fact, the western New Age movement, with its embracing of many Gods and Goddesses, sages, spiritual paths and healing traditions, looks a lot like a new western Hinduism developing. Hinduism alone of the world’s major religions has a comparable complexity and diversity that can really encompass all spiritual teachings without their diminution.
A World School of Dharma
It may be wrong to expect too much of the West, particularly America which is a young country, in terms of leading the world spiritually, intellectually or culturally, particularly in its mainstream forces. What America has to offer that is really transformative is through its counterculture that is allied to native and eastern traditions. Any real spiritual awakening in the world is likely to come primarily through Asia, though it will be felt worldwide. India will likely be the first country to really manifest this, with a movement in this direction that is already over a century old and now pushing forward in a dynamic way. China will probably follow in a few decades, when it adds a resurgent Chinese Buddhist and Taoist culture to its genuine nationalism that is presently distorted by the hangover of communism. Eventually, Iran will return to its pre-Islamic traditions that have been its real strength through the centuries. Then we will see a new spiritual age for humanity with these three perennial civilizations active once more on their higher levels. The nexus of these three countries could create a real new dharmic order for the world.
Europe will probably be more significant in global spiritual awakening than America. A Celtic revival in Britain or a reawakening of mystical traditions in Russia linked to the East may prove important. One should note that India is a much more important country for Britain or Russia than for the United States, which for Asia will focus on China. Awakenings in native traditions in America, Africa and Asia will prove crucial for a global spiritual rebirth.
Eventually, a new world or planetary school of thought is required, seeking to establish a new sacred order for human life, a kind of neo-Vedanta. It will recognize the higher Self (Atman), the Absolute (Brahman), the Creator (Ishvara), the cosmic mind (Mahat) and Nature (Prakriti). It will accept the entire range of spiritual paths, the Yogas of knowledge, devotion, service and inner practices. At the same time, it will seek to create new intellectual, social and political orders in harmony with the inner knowledge, with new communities, tribes and lineages. This will provide a real foundation for advancing not only human but cosmic civilization on Earth, linking all time and space, this world and all the worlds. This is the universal order of Sanatana Dharma.
State Of Dharma In India Today
(Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy)
The fundamental tenet and ideology of Hinduism and the three offshoots of Hinduism (Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism), though with separate identities, is the concept of Sanathana Dharma, which means the oldest and still fresh for all times.
Dharma cannot be defined in precise terms. But the term has elements and ingredients of ethics, morals, good values, truth, ideals, righteousness, concern for others, ahimsa, doing one’s duty, etc. The Dharma Sastras have specified Raja Dharma, Puthra Dharma, Pithru Dharma, etc, defining the duties and expectations of Man’s role as king, teacher, wife, husband, son, merchant, etc. When Yudhishtira asked Krishna on the Raja Dharma, he directed him to Bhishma who gave him a discourse on duties and obligations of a ruler. Vidura has also given a prescription as Rajaneethi; so too Bharthruhari. Vasishta advised Rama on how to rule in Yogavasishta. Even Sri Rama, before departing for the forest, advised Bharatha on to how to rule. Bhagavatha prescribes the duties, responsibilities, obligations and codes of conduct for rulers. Vibheeshana advised his brother Ravana, that he was doing wrong. Most of the mythological personalities in the Itihasas and Puranas observed Dharma.
A casual look of the way our rulers have conducted themselves from the day of independence would show that none of them have observed elements of Dharma. Though a few have tried, the compulsions of the political system and the complex circumstances did not permit them to implement Dharmic principles. Our political leaders have set a bad example. Other segments of society and professionals have also not observed the principles of Dharma. In the Indian ethos, even the rulers followed the advice of teachers. Sri Krishna learned from Sandeepani, Sri Rama from Vasishta and Sankara from Govinda Pada. In India now, teachers do not enjoy respect from the society or students. Every character in our mythology represented Dharmic principles. For instance, Harischandra stood for truth, Savithri for chastity, Bharatha for loyalty to brother, Sri Rama and Bhishma for adhering to the promise given, etc.
Gandhiji and Rajaji were possibly the two leaders who tried to observe Dharma and succeeded to a reasonable extent. But even they have faltered. Though most of the provincial Congress Committees recommended Sardar Patel for the Prime Ministership of India, Gandhiji chose Jawaharlal Nehru. Indians are religious. The Unique genius of India is spirituality. Nehru was a great and popular leader, loved and adored by millions. But Nehru was an agnostic. As an undisputed leader of the Congress Party, his policies were not as per Dharmic principles. Thus independent India started its journey under the leadership of a person who did not have much regard for our ancient wisdom. His policies and even personal life were not in keeping with the high ideals of Dharma.
His concept of secularism, though well meant, was misinterpreted and misapplied against the interest of the majority of Hindus, who have only one country (besides tiny Nepal) where they have majority. Kashmiri Pandits are refugees in their own land. Bhagavad Gita is being taught in many American Universities, but not even in one College or school in India. The US Congress began their session by reciting from Vedas. Four US Legislatures also started their sessions, where the speaker and all members chanted the Vedas. This is unthinkable in India.
Meanings of secularism are: the states or individuals or institutions should treat all religions on par, should not discriminate in favour of one, should not act against another, etc. In conversation, an individual should not prejudice against the other based on religion. Hinduism is already secular. It accepts all religions as equally true, as different paths to the same godhood. Hindus gave refuge to Jews and Parsis, who were driven out from their home land. Christians came to preach and convert, for which they were given the opportunity. Islam came as traders and conquerors. They now form 150 m in India. Both Islam and Christianity convert Hindus to their religions, which is against the ideals of the secularism. In Hindu prayers, other religions are mentioned. Hinduism is theistic-atheistic, while as Buddhism is agnostic and Jainism is atheistic. But Hindus revere even those who do not even believe in God, such as Charvaka. Christianity and Islam insist that, if their followers married from Hinduism, they should change their religion. Hindus do not insist on such a condition.
Hinduism has a long tradition of tolerance and acceptance. Christian and Muslim nations attacked other countries. But Hindu soldiers have not crossed the borders for conquest. Hindu ideas and ideals have spread to other countries. Even now, Hindu monks preach Vedanta. But there is no conversion. In spite of such a tradition of thousands of years of secularism, the Government establishments, education system and public affairs are not allowed to use any of Hindu teachings for improving the personality and relationship. Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India, got Bhagavad Gita translated into English and got printed at government expenses. He even wrote a foreword, saying that Bhagavad Gita will illumine the world even after Britain ceases to be a nation state. Yet, the road named after Warren Hastings was changed. Roads and statues named after Britishers are removed, while those named after Muslim conquerors who destroyed Hindu temples, have been retained. It is a clear case of discrimination.
Many Hindu temples are administered by the Government, who dare not take over the administration of Mosques and Churches. There also is a clear case of discrimination. Thus the concept of secularism has been used against Hinduism and Hindus.
Great scholars, like Arnold Toynbee and Will Durant, Dr David Frawley, Romain Rolland and hundred others have praised India and India’s spiritual literature. Some have even said that India is a cradle of civilizations, mother of the human race, grandmother of European languages through Sanskrit, great grandmother of Science and Mathematics. In fact, India is the mother of all humanity. Einstein has said that the whole world owes a great debt to India who taught mankind how to count (September 2009 issue of our booklet series has given samples of opinion of foreigners about India and Hinduism). In spite of this, Educational Institutions in India are not allowed to inform and teach students about India’s Ancient Thought and Wisdom. Such a negative attitude towards Hinduism is against the concept of secularism.
There is reluctance or bias against anything directly or remotely connected with Hinduism, that is Sanathana Dharma. This is not to suggest that those elements which are commonly associated with religions should be taught or propagated. What is admissible for inclusion in education and public affairs is ethical and moral values, philosophy, spirituality, yoga, meditation, principles and guidelines for good attitude and behaviour, etc., which are in any case common for all religions. The two Itihasas and 18 Puranas, Neethisastras, teachings of Vidura and Bharthruhari, etc, are helpful to improve the cultural and ethical level of our people.
Indian chronology states that the Planet came to existence 2.4 billion years ago, which is more or less the same as the findings of the modern scientists. Dr. George Gamow has admired the Indian concept of time into Yugas, Maha Yugas, Kalpas, Manuantaras, etc. We are now in the Vivaswatha Manuantara, Swetavaraha Kalpa and Kali Yuga. Kali Yuga is believed to have stated on Thursday, 17th February 3102 BC, the day on which Sri Krishna believed to have left his mortal body. Earlier Yugas were Krita Yuga, Threta Yuga, when Rama lived, and Dwapara Yuga, when Krishna lived. Archaeologists consider that the Indian civilization started in 8000 BC along the bank of Saraswathi river, which disappeared, reasons for which are not known. These four Yugas are associated with colours of white, red, blue and black, and are also known as golden, silver, copper and iron age. We are now in the iron age. The Bhavishya Purana and the Garuda Purana and other Puranas had described the nature of values of mankind in these four Yugas. They had predicted that Dharma will decline progressively during the period of Kaliyuga. From that point of view, it appears as if it is the destiny of the Planet, particularly in India which believes in all this, to go down in Dharma and values. Though the scriptures say that Kali Yuga is four lakh years old, many scholars do not believe in that. The Hindu concept of time is based on the factors of two. That is Dwapara Yuga is twice of Kali Yuga, Threta Yuga 3 times of Kali Yuga and Krita Yuga four times of Kali Yuga.
According to me, the first 3000 years of Kali Yuga were dominated by the Brahminical class and their values, when teachers and gurus were highly respected. Even the kings followed their advice. In the next 1500 years, the Khastriyas dominated, who were advised by the teacher and priestly class. The Vysya or Commercial era, which started 500 years ago, were dominant of the business classes and traders. Now, we are at the height of the Commercial era, which is dominated by businessmen and affluent class.
As per the Hindu concept, the period of Brahminical era is 3000 years, Khastriya era is 5000 years and Vysia era is 750 years. Business men will dominate for 250 years more. Thereafter, the Sudra era (working class and not Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribe or Dalit) would emerge, who would rule for 375 years, thus completing one cycle of about 5625 years. Each class will rise first, climb up to the mid point and slowly decline, when the next class will emerge. The Commercial classes will slowly decline in influence and the working class will slowly come up asserting themselves. There will be a common period of the ascendants of one class and descendents of the earlier classes. Thus as per Hindu concept, it is inevitable that the Commercial classes will dominate, rise in power and slowly decline.
However, during the Commercial era, there will be tremendous progress in material prosperity by way of industrialization, mechanization, automation, information dissemination, etc., which have already taken place. The progress during the last sixty years is far-far more than the previous 3000 years. Therefore, mankind has to be grateful to the business class for having made life more comfortable, with better transportation, communication, less drudgery at work, elimination of many deadly diseases, discovery of the mysteries of the nature, etc.
Scientists and technologists are visualizing greater progress in the next 50 years, all of which is desirable. But, concurrently, a great deal of damage has been done to the Planet because of extraordinary exploitation of natural resources, unimaginable suffering to animals, emergence of new diseases, stress and tension in life, increasing inequality between rich and poor, development of atomic bombs and missiles, which can destroy mankind and life on earth, increasing crime and violence, loss of humanistic values like love, breakdown of families, communal hatred, pollution of air and water, possibilities of desertification, and hundred other ills, which are afflicting mankind, animal species and Nature’s endowments. Thus, while materialism has helped mankind, concurrently happiness has not increased. In fact, there is more tension and unhappiness now than ever before. Such lopsided development is due to deviation from dharma and adharma pervading all nations and society. Solution lies in getting back to dharmic ideals and spirituality.
Strangely, our ancient saints and sages had more or less predicted possibilities of such developments long-long ago in their visualization of what would happen in Kali Yuga. Those saints and sages were trikalajnanis who knew the future far ahead of time. They got this ability to predict and see the future because of their spiritual sadhana, meditation and developing paravidya, that is higher knowledge, with which they could develop knowledge of knowing future events from the COSMOS.
Even today, in India, 80 m Hindus go regularly to temples and they observe festivals, such as Ramanavami, Krishnashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Shivarathri. Yet we are considered to be the most corrupt country in the world. India survived 69 invasions and 2000 years of cultural onslaught and 1000 years of foreign rule. Yet we remained a single entity. But within a short period of independence, we are more a divided nation than ever before. Thanks to British conquest and rule, a 5000 years old cultural entity became a nation state. We could not defend our country against invaders. Hindus are still disunited. The unifying bond of India is Hinduism and its manifestations as well as shared beliefs, values, acharas and samskaras.
But Hinduism is being downgraded by the Establishment and ridiculed by mass Media controlled by the commercial classes. Unlike in the West, India’s rulers were noble persons who kept people’s happiness as the top priority. But the present political system, which is totally inappropriate for our conditions, is compelling our rulers and administrators to be selfish, greedy, corrupt and indifferent to the welfare of the people. It is a shame and a tragedy that our legislatures are of people with criminal background and who get elected using money, liquor and other inducements to pamper voters.
By ignoring, belittling and ridiculing Hinduism by Establishment and mass Media, India’s unity as a nation state is being eroded. Language is the greatest divider of people all over the world. European nations are formed based on language, though they are all Christians, based on Greeco-Roman philosophy. European nations fought each other for millennia. It is the commercial civilization and globalization, which is uniting Europe with a common currency and open borders. But the Christian-Muslim confrontation unleashed terrorism in certain parts of the world. India also is subjected to terrorism by Pakistan and internal strife like Maoists, Naxalites, insurgents and separatists. In addition, the linguistic fanaticism is increasing every day, resulting in interstate disputes. Language has become the passion, which is being exploited by politicians, and which has even given rise to powerful regional political entities, such as in Tamil Nadu, Assam and other States. The Shiva Sena movement is a significant force in Maharashtra, which may spread to other States also.
The only redeeming feature is the rise of the commercial and business classes uniting India by their all- India outlook and operations. Their raw materials are spread all over India and so too the market. Thus the commercial classes have a direct stake in keeping the country together. But they are not doing anything to strengthen the unity. They have to depend on Sanathana Dharma to unite India at the heart and mind level. The adharmic nature of the political economy model and downgrading of Hinduism are bound to give rise to centrifugal forces and divisive elements. Thus dharma not only plays a positive role in ethical conduct of man, but has also the potential to keep India united, which ought to be the concern of Hindus who are taking unity into granted.
Nature’s Endowments
India’s approach to Nature and Natures endowments is entirely different from that of the West. According to the Western concept and practice, animals and nature have been created by God for meeting man’s needs, which means that they are inferior and are mere commodities for man’s needs and pleasure. It is true that man is dependent on animals and Nature for a variety of his requirements. But our sages treated animals and Nature as partners in progress, and that they should be respected with gentleness and not to be treated cruelly as at present.
The Commercial era has intensified exploitation and cruelty. Indian wisdom conceptualized God permeating the whole Universe. The Nirguna concept of God is energy, which is known by various names, such as Chaitnaya, energy, intelligent, information, awareness, consciousness, spirit, force, etc. This Chaitanya moves the electrons around the nucleus, moves the planet and stars and galaxies, makes the sperms-ovum combination becoming a man/woman, a seed becoming a tree, digest the food and convert the same to blood and energy, etc. Thus Chaitanya is a witness and does not discriminate between Man, Animal and Nature. As per Nature’s law, God sleeps in inert matter, wakes up in plant life, walks in the animal and thinks and talks in human being. As far as we know now scientifically, inert matters, like metals and minerals, do not have life or feelings. In the case of plant life, there is some evidence that they also respond to care and love by man. It has been reported that in US, Daxtar was able to grow a rose flower stem without thorns by being simply loving and assuring it that she would protect the plant from harm by outsiders. Dr. Gopalakrishnan spoke to the coconut tree and stopped it from leaning from the neighbour’s compound. But there is no evidence so far that they have pleasure and pain as they experienced by mankind and animal species. The concept of Dharma includes ahimsa, which means non-injury and not causing pain to other entities – physically or mentally.
It is true that man depends on plant life for his sustenance. But he cannot do without meat, which involves inflicting pain and killing of animal species. Even as a choice, man can do without meat eating. But 95% of the world population is meat eaters, causing enormous pain to animal species. The ill-effects of meat eating on the environment, ecology, health, etc. are well-known. But mankind is encouraging meat eating in this Commercial era, causing enormous pain to animals. One million whales are tortured and their fins are cut off and left to die a painful death. Man even uses animals for his pleasure by hunting, organizing bull fights and dog fights and hundred other sports, all of which are simply inhuman and unnecessary. Even circus animals are trained causing tremendous pain to them during training. Six million or more guinea pigs are subjected to enormous pain during experimentation in the so-called research for finding remedies for various human diseases. Volumes can be written on the fate of animal species in the hands of human beings to inflict pain on them while using them for food, pleasure, experimentation, etc. There is no justification at all for cruelty from the point of view of Dharma.
In the case of animals, carnivorous animals have to necessarily depend on other animal species for their food. There is a saying “Jeo jeevasya jeevanam”, which means one species is the food for the other species. The big fish swallow small fish. Lions, tigers and crocodiles necessarily need other species for their sustenance. Man also kills millions of bacteria, pests, mosquitoes and other animal species in order to survive. Therefore, the dharmic concept in treatment of one species by the other depends on necessity for survival. But where ever there is a choice, ahimsa has to be practiced.
Hindus worship the cow. Jains object to all killings. Hindus worship animals and many plant species. Such worship is meant to develop our sense of love and care towards other species so that we don’t resort to meat eating, Hunting, experimentation, etc. There is a school of thought which suggests that India is a land of nonviolence, where hundreds of Rishis were born because of the ambience of non-injury and respect for other species. It is well known that India did not go outside their borders for conquest of territory. Also, it is well-known that India has 30% vegetarians. There is also a forecast that in the next100 years, India’s influence would spread in the rest of the whole world, where vegetarianism will be increasingly accepted as a way of life in most part of the world.
But compared to the past, the Commercial era has found profit in exploiting animal and plant species, which is an incentive for them to intensify the exploitation to the extent that animal species suffer pain and plant species are endangered. It has been suggested that many parts of US may become a desert in the years to come because of wastage of food grains, which affect the animals to produce meat. For instance, 10 kg of food grains are being fed to cattle to produce one kg of meat, that 12000 gallons of water are spent to produce 100 kg of beef, etc. In order to produce so much of food grains, soils have to be treated with inorganic fertilizers and using pesticides, which affect the fertility of the soil. Traditionally, India has been always using dung and vegetable waste as fertilizer.
The long term ill-effect of such exploitation of soil may lead to drought, soil infertility, change of climate etc. It is also feared that new diseases are bound to come due to use of cloning, artificial methods of agriculture, which are against the law of Nature. At a time, when a billion people go hungry, one billion tones of food grains are fed to animals. It has been estimated that the wastage in US and Europe in food utilisation can feed a billion people. This is a case of Adharma, encouraged by the Commercial classes, who induce people to eat more and do not care about the wastage for which they are responsible.
Discrimination Between Communities is a Distortion of Dharma – (Contributed)
Though secularism commands separation of state and religion, many state governments in India have taken over all prominent Hindu temples. And only
Hindu temples have been brought under government control whereas no Christian church or Muslim mosque has been touched.
And Constitution’s Article 30 granting special rights to minorities has divided the nation into majority and minority with damaging consequences. As seen from the Supreme Court’s judgement reported as Bramchari Sidheswar Shai & Others versus State of West Bengal (AIR 1995 SC 2089), even Rama Krishna Mission, a prominent Hindu organisation, felt compelled to claim a minority (non-Hindu) status to get the benefit of Article 30. Late Pope John Paul II’s outrageous call to convert Asia to Christianity was given in secular India’s capital in 1999. Since secular India did not help Hindu Nepal, combined power of Maoists, Christian missionaries and Pakistan’s ISI divested Nepal of its Hindu identity in 2006.
And to complete Hindu humiliation, allotment of a piece of forest land in 2008 to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board to provide temporary shelter for pilgrims visiting Amarnath shrine in Kashmir was cancelled by the state government due to violent protests from Kashmiri Muslims. This fact shows that in
secular India, Hindu-majority areas belong to everyone but Muslim-majority areas belong to Muslims only.
Though Hindu identity of Bharat is being wiped off by floodgates of phony 'secularism', Indian government’s affidavit filed before the Supreme Court in 2007 rejecting the existence of Ram and Ram Setu de-legitimized Hindu faith itself.
And Hindu history is being falsified by spurious secularists to rob Hindus of their national identity. Terrorist and demographic invasion To dismember India and plant more Pakistans and Bangladeshs on Indian soil, Pakistan and Bangladesh have sent countless terrorists and crores of their
nationals into India. While India is being grabbed bit by bit by Pak-Bangla terrorists and infiltrators every day, steeped in secular stupor, the Indian government, mainstream media and political parties are silent spectators.
Despite the Supreme Court’s judgements delivered on July 12, 2005 and December 5, 2006 to deport infiltrators, no infiltrator has been deported by the ‘secular’ government. Rather, Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangla trains and buses
are bringing more Pak-Bangla infiltrators every day. And instead of being deported, infiltrators are given voting rights.
Article 370: country within a country And though Article 370 of Constitution negates the very concept of one unified India, and though this Article has brought genocide and eviction of
Hindus from Kashmir, ‘secular’ political parties do not want its abrogation though the Constitution framers had inserted this Article in 1950 only as a “temporary provision”. Because of Article 370, Kashmiris can colonise the rest of India but the rest of Indians cannot settle in Kashmir.
No uniform civil code Though Uniform civil code will make India a really secular country; though Supreme Court has emphasised its enactment in a number of judgements; and
though Article 44 of the Constitution stipulates that, “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”, secularists oppose this move.
Beside other secular absurdities, Muslims are allowed four wives in India though even Muslim countries like Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria etc. permit only one wife.
Way out Blatant fraud in the name of secularism is not only outrageous. It is beyond outrageous. Sham ‘secularism’ has weakened nationalism, strengthened terrorism, separatism and evangelization. It has helped the growth of organizations like Indian Mujahideen and SIMI which want to establish Muslim rule in India. Since the so-called ‘secular’ India has proved to be a disaster, it has to be transformed into Hindu Bharat before ‘secularism’ completely destroys Hindus and Bharat.
Since Hinduism is all embracing, Hindu Bharat will give justice to all and appease none. In Hindu Bharat, there will be one law and one nation; no distinction of majority and minority; no discrimination against any community; and equal rights for all citizens. Hindu Bharat will save Hindu
identity of Bharat; and remove laws which discriminate against Hindus. It will re-settle Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir, and restore their homes and lands to them. Hindu Bharat will dismantle fake-secularism; and liberate the nation from Pak-Bangla terrorists and infiltrators. It will prevent the creation of more Pakistans and Bangladeshs on Bharat’s soil. No one can object to emergence of a Hindu Bharat when all the 57 Muslim majority countries (including Pakistan and Bangladesh which used to be Hindu lands) are declared as Islamic countries.
Since those who shun politics are governed by their tormentors, all nationalist individuals and organisations must actively participate in politics to acquire state power; and to transform the present fake ‘secular’ India into a really secular Hindu Republic of Bharat by all peaceful, constitutional and lawful means. Ralph Nader has put it very aptly, “If you are not turned on by politics, politics will turn on you”.
POLICY PRESCRIPTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
CHANGE IN POLITICAL SYSTEM
(Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy)
The following reforms are proposed for removing part of the ill-effects of the present system. They are to be implemented at the national level.
• Electoral System
• Reorganisation of the States within the Republic of India
• Reforms in Professions.
• Media
• Law and Judiciary
• Indian Railways
• Bureaucratic Systems
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
The Electoral system should be changed to:
• Party to be voted on, and not individuals, as at present.
• Each Party can nominate upto three names for each constituency, which for the whole country would form the LIST for the Party.
• People to vote for the LIST as a whole of each Party.
• Proportionate representation.
• Depending on the percentage of votes obtained, each Party can nominate as many to the Parliament from the LIST.
• To begin with, this system may be tried only for the Lok Sabha.
• The PM to be elected by the majority Party.
The changes proposed in the existing system may be summed up as follows – at the risk of nominal repetition.
(i) It is a party that would be voted to power rather than individuals as at present.
(ii) Each party will nominate five persons per constituency instead of only one as at present. All the candidates found in the consolidated list would together constitute the National Congress of that party.
(iii) Out of the five, three will be chosen for political reasons, and two will be professionals and specialists.
(iv) The number of seats in Parliament/Assembly won by a party will be proportional to the votes polled by it in the aggregate. Parties which get less than five per cent of the votes will be denied representation altogether.
(v) Voters will indicate the party of their second preference, and the second preference vote will be taken note of and distributed if the first preference party does not qualify, that is to say, if does not poll the minimum of five per cent votes necessary.
(vi) Professionals should be found a place in the second tier of the Central and State Cabinets. They could be appointed as Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.
RESTRUCTURING OF STATES,
Small States
India can be compared to Europe in size and population. Our large States are as big, or bigger than European nations, such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy. UP, with a population of 166 m is the 7th largest entity in the world. 90 nations in the world have less than four million population, while many of our 540 districts have the same population. Our Districts are governed by a Collector or a Deputy Commissioner from the Civil Service, with 3 to 4 years of experience. New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Albania and 50 others are administered by a Prime Minister, supported by a Cabinet. Moreover, in most of the nations of the world, except Communist countries, economic and social development is carried out by the private sector, while the Government is mainly concerned only with Foreign Affairs, Defence, Public Administration, Finance and some regulatory activities. In India, however, the Centre and the States are involved in almost every economic activity, which imposes a heavy burden on the Government.
Linguistic Parochialism And Unity
Unfortunately, after Independence, Indian States were reorganized on linguistic basis. Language is the greatest divider of peoples all over the world. Language is highly emotive, which brings in conflicts and confrontation. European nations were formed on language basis, though they are all Christians. Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Pakistan broke on the basis of language cum other divisive lines. In order to gain popularity, Indian politicians whip up parochial feelings among their followers, based on language. This is a potential danger to India‘s unity.
City States
Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai should be made City States, adding on to them the surrounding areas. These metro cities have been developed with resources from the whole nation. The present tendency of the local people claiming all the benefits may lead to tension, as it happened in 1969, when Shiva Sena resented the presence of south Indians in Maharashtra.
After leaving responsibilities to the States, Centre can concentrate on governance of the country, which is not receiving sufficient attention now due to preoccupation with development problems. One third of India is still very backward. When Telengana and Vidarbha are formed, they will have more motivation in developing their States.
Advantages
Decentralised Development
One major advantage would be that Central Government, which is heavily burdened now with developmental responsibilities, can decentralise most development work to the States, by giving autonomy to the States for development. Centre can retain those functions which are inter-State in character. At the moment, it is not prudent to decentralise, because the large States, such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra, led by local leadership, may not listen to the sage advice of the Centre. A stage may come when some of the States may refuse to attend NDC meetings or implement what the Centre wants. At present, they are dependent on the Centre for development funds, and therefore they toe the line.
Better Centre-State relations
It is also difficult for the Central Government under one Party to maintain good relations with those States, which are ruled by other political parties. The natural tendency of the States is to plead for more money and to blame the Centre all the time for their poor development.
Disputes Among Language Groups will be minimised
Another advantage would be that inter-State disputes, such as Belgaum, would be between South Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. Cauvery dispute will be between Tamil Nadu-B and Karnataka-B and not between Tamilians and Kannadigas.
Development will be more equitable
Inequality in size of States will only bring tension, particularly in respect of Centre-State and Inter-state relationships. One major reason for the backwardness of some districts is that development effort does not reach areas far off from the capital. In erstwhile Madras and Bombay Provinces, backward districts were those which were away from the State capitals. Smaller States will ensure more equitable development. They can be better managed too.
Regional Aspirations will be Fulfilled
Smaller States would satisfy sub-State regional aspirations, as in Telengana and Vidarbha. Linguistic parochialism will be reduced. Small States can be easily disciplined by the Centre, which would become a real arbitrator in Inter-State disputes. Centre-State relations will be smoother. Development responsibility can be decentralised to States, and Centre can concentrate on governance in the core areas.. There will be room for 20 more Chief Ministers. Twenty more capitals will come into being, thus reducing congestion in the present capitals reducing migration from villages to cities and towns. Legislatures will be more compact. The extra cost of administration will be more than offset by the enormous economic and social benefits. Finally, India’s unity will be strengthened.
Both BJP and Congress have accepted this idea in principle. A new Commission has to be constituted to make recommendations.
PROPOSED STATE REORGANISATION
The 10 large States are to be split into 27 smaller States, taking into account sub regional identity and aspirations, such as Telangana, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Magadha, Mithila, Mahakosal etc. Present population (in millions), number of States proposed and the average population (in millions) of the split States are given below:
A.P 76 3 = 26 Bihar 83 3 = 28
Gujarat 51 2 = 26 Karnataka 52 2 = 26
M.P 50 2 = 25 Maharashtra 97 3 = 32
Rajasthan 57 2 = 29 Tamil Nadu 62 2 = 31
U.P 166 5 = 33 West Bengal 80 3 = 27
There will be no change in the other 18 States and 3 Union Territories. Population (in millions) is given below:
Haryana ………. 21 Chatisgarh ………. 21 Nagaland .………. 2
Jharkhand ………. 27 Delhi ………. 14 Meghalaya ………. 2
Orissa ………. 37 J&K .………. 10 Manipur .………. 2
Assam ………. 27 Uttarkhand ………. 8 Mizoram ………. 1
Kerala ………. 32 H.P ………. 6 Arunachal ………. 1
Punjab ………. 24 Tripura ………. 3 Sikkim .………. 1
Pondicherry (U.T) …. 1 And’n & Nic’r (U.T) Lakshadweep (U.T)
Thus we will have 34 States with population ranging between 21 and 37 million, which together would form 80% of the total population of 1014 million. The rest 9 and 3 U.T’s will have a population of 20%.
A Twenty Point Agenda For Ushering in of India Century
• Electoral Reforms, where a single Political Party should be voted to power, instead of individuals; and proportionate representation, unlike the single member simple majority system, as at present.
• Constitution of Second State Reorganisation Commission; Splitting the 10 large States into 30 smaller ones; Converting the 6 Metros as City States as in the case of Delhi, which should become centres for national integration, instead of fragmentation of the country on the basis of language as at present. These Metros belong to the whole nation.
• Simplification of the present bureaucratic system. Obsolete rules and regulations should be eliminated. Procedures should be simplified. All archaic policy decisions based on precedence, file notings, etc should be abolished. Implement accountability and responsibility among politicians and bureaucrats.
• Constitution of an India Development Service (IDS), to which talented officers from the present IAS cadres with managerial abilities to be seconded. They would be in charge of developmental functions, leaving general administration to present IAS officers.
• Changing the system of recruitment to Civil Service cadre, where all candidates will answer the same questions rather than subjects of their choice. Appraisal to be done after the first year of performance.
• Government to concentrate on governance, leaving all possible development functions to private and/or joint sector under the PPP model.
• Centre to become powerful for governance and States to be allocated with required resources for development.
• Physical infrastructure, such as Railways, Ports, Roadways, etc., to be expanded and modernized with the active cooperation of the private sector,
• Capacity of the Education and Health and Cultural sectors to be doubled by encouraging private sector, giving them incentives by way of subsidized land and soft credit. These three sectors should become destination for tourism. Facilitate 60m PIOs and 6 m NRIs to be the ambassadors of India through these sectors.
• Government to make massive contribution for promotion of culture which is uniting the country.
• The present labour laws are benefiting only 10% of the work force, while 400 m workers in the unorganized sector are orphans who are suffering, while the well-off middle class people in organized sector are enjoying most of the fruits of development. Amend the Labour laws for inclusive growth of unorganized sector.
• Livestock contribute 7% of the GNP, while allocation of Plan fund is less than 1%. Appropriate technology and relevant management to be introduced to upgrade the unorganized livestock system. The Animal Power and Slaughter System to be modernized where nothing is being done now. The budget for Animal Welfare is only Rs. 10 crores while Livestock contributes Rs. 2 lakh crores worth of products.
• To change the legal and judiciary system, where justice can be obtained within a year rather than 20 years, as at present. All the 2 crore pending cases in the court should be disposed by the Courts on a time bound basis.
• Ethical and Moral Values to be an integral part of Education and Public Administration.
• Municipal services are totally inadequate and are in a deplorable condition. These are to be modernized and managerial system to be introduced with transparency, responsibility and accountability.
• All Doordarshan Stations should promote all languages rather than the local languages only as at present. There are sufficient private channels to take care of the regional needs.
• Special provision to be made to provide education facilities to Muslims all over the country so that the false propaganda against India by Pakistan could be counteracted.
• Resume dialogue with Pakistan on the J&K issue and border dispute with China and arrive at a settlement, even making concessions in fixing territory so that we can concentrate on development.
• India and China cooperation to be expanded and strengthened through exchanges programmes.
• 300 m poor and 400 m illiterates, 30 m handicapped, 300 m children who are malnourished and other oppressed sections to have special consideration by a system outside the Government so that they can be lifted out of this sad situation within the next 10 years.
REFORMS IN PROFESSIONS
Medical
The management of rural health calls for an inter-disciplinary approach. Doctors, and paramedical and public health, personnel, too, need reorientation if they are to face up to the problems peculiar to rural environment. The establishment of additional hospitals deploying more doctors are not likely to change the present situation substantially, This is an instance where the professionals should venture out in new directions in order to make their services more meaningful to growing numbers of people
Legal
The Institution of suitable laws as part of a larger legal code, their acceptance by the people and the efficiency with which they are enforced are all indications of the progress of a society. Our country can be legitimately proud of its legal institutions. Yet law and justice are so expensive in this country putting them out of reach to the common man who, when he is aggrieved, cannot have ready recourse to it. Prohibitive costs, inordinate delays at the courts of original jurisdiction and at the appellate courts and the complexity of the legal structure combine to deny the advantages of the fundamental laws, directive principles and enabling legislation generally to the large majority of common men. Some way has to be found by the profession itself through its voluntary labours to carry the benefit of positive laws to the people for whom they are purposively directed. There is a need to simplify the existing laws for the convenience of unlettered people and others who are ignorant of the legal system.
Engineering
Our engineers and scientists have yet to find adequate solutions for the problems of social engineering arising from rural development and from the implementation of anti-poverty programmes. A modern design for the bullock-cart is a case in point. It is astonishing how the fact that this ancient mode of transport still commands an important place n the economy and in the lives of whole masses of people in the rural areas have been overlooked. Other examples of indigenous technology that need to be improved and stabilized are the methods of drawing water from wells by animals; the hand-pushed carts; the plough used by bullock-power; the hazardous kerosene stoves and hurricane lamps, etc. Similarly, the various tools and equipments used everyday in households and on the farms by a large number of people would have become more serviceable and productive if the most rudimentary changes of design and materials were effected.
Management
Management techniques and principles are equally applicable to such programmes and projects. Since management is a vital resource which mobilizes and utilizes all other resources, it should be orientated as to foster and develop entrepreneurial and productive attitudes among the people who are the users of these services. These professions are at present limited, because they are service-oriented to a fault.
Teaching
Teaching is by far the largest of the professions, and one that is traditionally recognized for its dedication and service to mankind. It is a sad commentary on our contemporary system that we now find our teachers becoming more remote from social reality.
Education System
Our education system has admittedly undergone enormous changes since the day of Independence. This is all to the good. But we have to go a very long way yet to make sure that the systems really become productive and useful to the community as intended. Vocationalization, job orientation, preparing children for a socially conscious and productive life, analytical and problem solving skills, on-the-job training for the work force, functional literacy, adult education, non-formal education for two or three more age-groups are only some of the avowed objectives of education that have still to be meaningfully transformed into reality at project level.
Mass Media
Professionals in charge of the mass media have a special social responsibility. Next only to religion and caste they mould and shape the opinions of producers, consumers, the citizenry and large groups and the masses of people generally. They influence the views of children and grown-ups alike. How far have the mass media been able to fulfill the noble mission with which they have been entrusted? This sector propounds a management view of sectors of activity which are proximate to political systems; and the following section deals with mass media in more extended fashion in view of their importance according to this reckoning. It is in the interests of freedom that newspapers, journals, films, etc. function in the private sector of enterprise.
Environmental Ethics in Development Projects (T.N.K. Kurup)
Ethical considerations merit serious review on our developmental activities as they make major dents in environment and the lives of landless labourers and tribal population. This article is devoted to two major entities, Water and Forests.
River Water Pollution
The major cause for river water pollution is the result of urbanization and human settlements along the banks of the rivers. Untreated sewage, effluent discharges from distilleries, tanneries, chemical and fertilizer plants wastes from slaughter houses discharged in the rivers make them polluted to the extent of being unfit for bathing. Clean water available a few decades ago, has become a premium and is only available in bottled form. These contaminated water needs extensive treatment running into crores of rupees, as are evident by the amount spent on cleaning rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, without any tangible benefits. These rivers are the main sources for drinking and extensive treatments are required to make them potable.
In earlier times, water resources were considered as public property and it naturally fell upon the enlightened leaders of the community to safeguard this precious resource. With Government taking over the functions of water supply, Community interest and participation dwindled and with no control on the number of habitations, towns, cities, chemical plants and commercial establishments came up and their untreated effluents found a way to these water bodies. Now the pollution of river water has become so serious, it requires the concerted actions of the Government, industries and monitoring agencies and people at large to prevent the inflow of untreated effluents. The amount involved for sewage treatment plants are also considerable and they are to be spent wisely to ensure proper purification of river waters to a reasonable level of purity.
Sacred Rivers
River Jamuna is considered the most polluted and is a source of water for our Capital City Delhi. Ganga though pristine in places like Gangotri, Rishikesh, etc when she enters the plains are saddled with untreated sewage, effluents from tanneries, agricultural fields, etc with the result during religious festivals when millions take bath in places like Allahabad and Varanasi their health and well being are in danger. It is a sheer miracle that no serious diseases have been reported so far. The river Cauvery considered to be the most sacred in South India is contaminated with toxic chemicals report the “DECCAN HERALD” in their issue of November 2007. CHEMPLAST a P.V.C. manufacturing unit situated off Mettur in Tamil Nadu has been discharging toxic chemicals through their effluents. The Chennai based Community Environment Monitoring Committee (CEM) in their report say that 52 toxic some of them carcigenous are contaminating the river.
Ground Water Pollution
Farmers in 15 villages of Bhavanagar District of GUJARAT went on a relay fast in March this year protesting against land allotment to detergent manufacturers ‘NIRMA” for construction of a Cement Plant and lime stone mine near Mahuva Tehsil reports the journal “DOWN TO EATH” in the issue of March 15th 2010. The villagers contention is that the farm produce in the area is high enough to sustain 51 vegetable dehydration plants which can employ 10,000 having an annual turn over of Rs.300 crores.
Palchimada in the Palakad District of Kerala is another instance where the ground water resources have been depleted by the production of Coca Cola to such an extent water is not available for the residents of the area. They have now sought for compensation and closure of the plant. These are all instances of development totally devoid of environment ethics.
Displacement of people for construction of Dams
In the year 1950’s when I was attached to the Ministry of Irrigation and Power, GoI it was my schedule to visit the major irrigation and power projects of the Eastern regions of India, viz., Hirakud in ORISSA, Mayurakshi in West Bengal, and all the Damodar Valley Hydro and thermal power projects. It was with a great sense of elation I saw the multitudes of people working in the “temples of modern India” the foot print for other multipurpose river valley project to follow. Little did I think about the displacement of people in the upper regions, their unsettled future and the loss of forests and bio-diversity of the sub-merged area. The only figure which stuck in my impressionable age was that of increased agricultural production and the added up power generation. The social and environmental costs registered in my mind only when the resettlement of displaced persons from Narmada Valley came up and pioneered by Medha Patkar – Narmada Bachao Andolan spearheaded by her. Same is the case with Tehri Dam on the river Bhagirathi in Uttarkhand and the consequent submergence of a bustling township.
In Kerala when the State Government wanted a hydro power unit in KUNTI RIVER submerging part of Silent Valley and the hot spots of BIO DIVERSITY, and home for rare flora and fauna, agitation from environmentalists stopped the Project. A recent newspaper report indicate that the proposed Chalakudy Hydro project, the seventh along the 145 km journey of the already dammed river would submerge 140 hectares of prime forest land which is home to diverse species of fauna, including the great Horn Bill and the Asiatic elephant. It was also reported that 104 species belonging to 34 families of fish will be endangered with the construction of the proposed dam.
The Fall out from Large Dams
Despite substantial evidences assembled by the World Commission on Dams in the year 2000 about the problems that are created by dams exceeding a certain size, the thrust of our Government is to pursue construction of large dams as a preferred strategy for meeting the Country’s irrigation and power needs. As on January 31st 2006 the installed capacity of 254 hydro electric power stations constructed in the various parts of the Country is 31754.45 MW. It is a common knowledge that this capacity can be achieved only at peak levels of water reservoirs. The reduction of power from the year 1994 – 2004 is around 31 per cent. The Govt.of India plans to add 5040 MW of hydro power every year to reach a peak level of 1,55,228 MW in the year 2031-32. The fund requirement is estimated to the order of Rs.30,000 crores every year as per present level for the generation component alone. Other fall-outs are displacement of 0.67 million people each year and submergence of 1,00,000 hectare of land including 40,000 hectares of forest land (Survey of the Status of Environment 2006 – The Hindu).
Similar is the case with large dams constructed for irrigation purposes which have never achieved the targeted areas of irrigation and many of them flooding the areas because of faulty laying of canal systems. In spite of the potential created by these dams, farmers mainly depend on the ground water resources for tiding over their agriculture short-falls with the result the ground water table has gone down badly. Except in a few cases where rain water harvesting structures have been constructed the ground water levels have reached dangerous depths. This is a dangerous situation and the answer is concerted action in rain water harvesting.
Forests
Indian forests range from ever green tropical rain forests of Western Ghats and Andaman to the dry alpine scrub, high in the Himalayans. Between the two extreme there are semi green rain forests, deciduous monsoon forests, sub tropical pine forests and temperate montane forests. These forests are habitats for wide range of flora and fawna notable among them being the National pride Tiger and Peacock. These forests also provides a homeland for various tribal population who have made forests their abode for thousands of years. But with the multifold increase in population in other areas, the forest cover has dwindled over the years and the pressures of land, livelihood and development over the years have taken a toll on the forests and their inhabitants.
Mining has created large swathes of red moonscapes in Jharkhand Landscapes and natural beauty have been totally altered in Jharkand, ORISSA and Bellary regions of Karnataka. Railways passing through forest areas have mowed down many elephants in Assam and dams in Subansiri have submerged wild life areas. Roads cutting across National parks and forested areas are threats to wild life movement in search of food as in the case of tiger which need large tracts of land for their movement and survival. In spite of 25 tiger reserves the number of tiger during the last two decades have been dwindled from 3500 to 1500 as per recent census. Even at this juncture there is a face off between the Ministry of Surface Transport and Ministry of Environment and Forests as their interests are divergent for construction of National Highways through forests and wild reserve areas.
In the year 2002 Justice Arigit PASAYAT of the Supreme Court declared “By destroying nature Man is committing matricide having one way killed the Mother Earth”. Chief Justice Venkatachaliah of the Supreme Court was equally clear in enunciating “I place Government above big business, individual liberty above Government and the environment above all”. In spite of these pronouncements from the highest judiciary, encroachment and destruction of forests are taking place in the name of development.
Forests and Climate Change
As per the report of I.P.C.C. forests offer one of the cheapest, most efficient and immediate solution to the world to prevent global warming. Apart from carbon storage and tranquility, their services include water storage, rain fall generation, climate buffering, conservation of bio-diversity and soil stabilization. They moderate the flow of rain water limiting floods in the lower regions and prevent land slides. It takes centuries to create forests wealth but a few days for destruction. These great assets of the country call for preservation.
Forests and Tribals
Ms. Arundhati Roy in her seminal essay published in the ‘OUTLOOK” weekly dated 29th March 2010 says that the tribal people in Central India have a history of resistance that predates Mao by centuries. The HO, the Oraon, the Kols, the Santhals, the Mundas and the Gonds have all rebelled against the British, Zamindars and money lenders and the establishment of the day could never conquer them. She adds further that the Indian Constitution adopted in Parliament in 1950 was a tragic day for tribal people. The Constitution ratified the colonial policy and made the Government, the custodian of tribal homelands. Overnight it turned the tribal population into squatters in their own land. It denied them their traditional rights for forest produce and criminalized their way of life. She says that in exchange for the right to vote, it snatched away their right to livelihood and dignity.
Even in progressive States like Kerala where tiller got his right to the land, the policy of reservation in jobs secured the rights for the backward communities, tribal right to own land is yet to materialize. The agitation spearheaded by Janu needs special mention in this context. In all the development schemes undertaken after independence, the tribals are the most affected and they do not get a place for their settlement after their displacement. Now the major threat to their livelihood, habitation and security is the thrust on mineral rich areas located in forest hinterland by big business and industrialists.
Chhattisgarh, Jharkand, Orissa and West Bengal have signed M.O.Us with Corporate Houses and Multinational Corporations worth billions for steel plants, power plants, aluminium refining and processing plants and Mines and in the process the tribals living in the regions are the worst affected. No wonder they have taken up their causes and unfortunately so through MAOIST Leadership. The problem has to be addressed from their habitation, livelihood and welfare aspects so that lasting solutions are found failing which the establishment will continue to be at logger heads with the affected population endangering the security and sovereignty of the State.
Reports from journals like “Down to Earth” have brought out serious lapses by the monitoring and controlling authorities of the wide spread illegal mining of the forest area by unscrupulous mining overlords. Excessive mining transformed the area to waste lands while the prospective agencies wallow in richer and opulent life styles. Govt. of the day both in the States and Centre should ensure that these natural resources are not depleted by these unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Some of them are in very high positions and they control a few of the State Governments. Judicial interference appears to be the only solution if the politicians and bureaucrats do not stop the carnage.
Sustainable Development
Are we going on correct lines is a question which comes first to my mind. After more than sixty years of planning and development the shortages of power , water, essential food items are persisting mainly due to faulty implementation. From the British time to the present day the development pattern adopted is top down Centre to States to District to taluk down to the people. The chain has many weak links especially lack of commitment and too much of corruption. Results could have been better if the participation of people from bottom to top was initiated for effective implementation. The need of the people must have been better addressed and they would have ensured better and tangible results. Whenever communities have organized themselves there are results for every one to see.
Another worrying aspect is that development of metropolises and mega cities is taking place without any regard for sustainability. A case in point is Bangalore. Deccan Herald dated 28th March 2010 quotes a report from the reputed Indian Institute of Science (IISc Bangalore) which indicate that increasing built up area, rapidly depleting greenery and over exploitation of ground water resources are threatening the City dry and dead. Between 1973 and 2006 the City’s ecological degradation was 66 per cent. The area covered by the water bodies is reduced by about 489 hectares and the built up area has shot up by 632 per cent from the year 1973 much of which took place between 2006to 2008. No wonder with the advertisement appearing in Newspapers about construction of multi storeyed apartments in erstwhile green locations every day, the future for the garden city is bleak. While the State Government wanted all the residents with site measuring 60’ x 40’ to have rain water harvesting installed, we are yet to know what the multi-storyed apartment builders are doing? Not a single apartment has mentioned that they have commissioned R.W.H. and the bore wells from where they are drawing water are being recharged. Is it not mandatory for them to ensure sustainable water supplies? Why the State Government and the people occupying the apartments do not ask this probing question? It is sheer indifference.
India’s huge rural population is directly dependent on climate dependent resources –the forests, the agricultural land, grasslands, etc which are under threat by water shortage and flooding. This endemic situation need be addressed with the help of experts to stop this recurring problem, if necessary with transparent public and private participation. It cannot be left only to politicians and bureaucrats. Harness of renewable energy, clean energy sources, protection of depleting national resources, water and green cover retention are all sustainable schemes to be implemented with Public-Private participation and therefore calls for new initiatives and leadership for development with a strong ethical content. Future is at stake if the present situation continue unabated.
REAWAKENIHNG TO SPIRITUALITY AND MAN’S ESSENTIAL NATURE AFFECTING LOCALITY, NATION AND INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY
It is necessary to bring about religious harmony by creating a synthesis of the best in all religions. We can see that, at the core, various religions have the same values. It may be necessary for a person to have a multiple identity. For example, the Vedic scholar Raimondo Panikkar is a Chatholic theologian who calls himself a Christian, Hindu and Buddhist at the same time. He is the author of the well-known “The Vedic Experience”. Like Albert Schweitzer, he holds a doctorate in three disciplines. In Sai Baba’s presence, it is said that the devotees forget their religious differences. Perhaps this is the way of the future.
True Catholicism – For a New Dharmic World (Contributed)
On the morning of Monday 26 June 2002, Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvami Maharaj had a meeting with Father Alfred Agius, a Jesuit priest who is the head of the Westminster Interfaith group of the Catholic diocese of Westminster. Father Agius, who had been a missionary in India for many years, can speak fluent Hindi and Bengali. He is also familiar with Vedic literature and has a great respect or Indian theological schools of thought. First, Maharaj addressed the “Interfaith” theme of the day by defining the word “Hinduism”. “If you look up the word ‘Hinduism’ in the Oxford dictionary,” he said, “you will find this definition: ‘religious system racticed by a Hindu’.”
Everyone laughed at this. “So,” he continued, “if you look up the word ‘Hindu’, the Oxford Dictionary says, ‘One who practices a system of faith involving the worship of many gods and goddesses and belief in the caste system.”
Maharaj went on to explain the vital difference between the idea of modern ‘caste system’, which is based upon birth, and the varnasrama system, which is based upon the character of a person. He showed how the varnasrama system is a natural thing. He said, “If someone has the tendency to worship and study scripture, he is a brahmana; if he has the tendency to rule, then he is a ksatriya. It does not matter if you use a different word, in your own language. The word is not important, but the concept is universal.” Father Agius agreed whole-heartedly with this explanation.
Maharaj then went on to explain the misconception that Hinduism involves the worship of many gods and goddesses. He explained how the Vedas are designed to appeal to every type of human being, all of whom are influenced by the various modes of material nature. There has to be some system by which even those who are in ignorance may make advancement. Thusly, those who are addicted to eating flesh and consuming intoxicants can be gradually elevated to a higher level by worshipping the goddess, Durga, who is the embodiment of the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. By this gradual process, even the lowest of human beings can come to the higher platform, to rajo-guna, then to sattva-guna and eventually to nirguna, or transcendence. Maharaj clearly explained how this method was in no way ‘polytheistic’, as the ultimate goal was always devotion to the One Supreme Lord.
Father Agius and the other devotees listened most attentively as Maharaj went on to describe the nature of the soul, atma, and how it differed from the body. Next, he described dharma and was particularly emphatic as he differentiated it from the word “religion”. In great detail, he described the ten Vedic dharmas, explaining how they “hold society together”. One by one, Maharaj explained the efficacy of these dharmas, including celibacy, truthfulness, charitableness and non-violence.
When Maharaj came to describing non-violence, he gave a clear explanation of how violence always comes back to the person who projects it. He slapped the tabletop with his hand. He said, “If I hit this table, what happens? The result is that I hurt my own hand. Similarly, if we perform any act of violence, it will immediately come back to us. This shows us, logically, that violence cannot sustain society; only the practice of non-violence can.” Maharaj went on to describe sanatana-dharma, and Mahaprabhu’s formula for World Peace, in which God must be at the center of all thought and action. He used the analogy of many circles with differing centers. “At some point, their circumferences will cross, indicating conflict,” he said. “Only when their centers are focused on the same point will the circumferences stop crossing each other. Some may be larger, some smaller, some will perform a little service, while others will perform a lot; but all will fall around the same central point.” This, he said, was the only actual formula for World Peace.
Then Maharaj went on to describe how the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu contained the tools to activate that formula. He beautifully began to describe the lovely kirtan of Sri Krishnachaitanya, especially in His pastimes during His pada-yatra through the jungles of India. “When Mahaprabhu chanted to the animals, the tiger and the deer were kissing!
How is such a thing possible? Because the Holy Name awakened their true nature.” Maharaj described how they are not tigers and deer; they are not enemies; they are not hunter and hunted. These are all illusory attributes-they are actually part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. The Holy Name has the power to awaken the true self in all living beings. In a trancelike state, Maharaj chanted, “Hari o’ rama rama, hari o’ rama rama!” (Caitanya Bhagavata, Madhya-lila, 23.92).
Father Agius said, “Well, I have to thank you so much for that beautiful explanation of…of…well-reality!” He then humbly submitted to Maharaj that there were some branches of Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox Church in particular, who share the view of the potency of chanting the Holy Name. He recited a prayer that he called the “Jesus Prayer”, which, he said, is recited repeatedly by adherents to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Repetition of the Name of Jesus was its focus.
Maharaj then mentioned to Father Agius that he had been to the Vatican on a previous European preaching tour. He described how he found it odd that the devotees there did not take off their shoes before they entered sacred places. “Perhaps it is because it is a cold climate?” Maharaj offered. “Then perhaps, when it is warm weather, they might be encouraged to take off their shoes?” Father Agius smiled at this, understanding the point.
Maharaj then went on to describe his impressions when he had viewed the “Pieta” of Michelangelo. The “Pieta” is a marble sculpture of the body of Jesus lying in the arms of his mother Mary, after His crucifixion.
Maharaj said “When I saw this statue, frankly I was shocked!”
“Shocked?” we asked.
“Yes! I was so shocked to see how Jesus died! And for the sake of the living beings!” Maharaj’s face showed genuine compassion when he spoke about this. Father Agius seemed clearly touched by the experience of that meeting with Srila Tirtha Maharaj.
As we got up to go, Father Agius offered the devotees a little cultural exchange, and he began to sing a Bengali song by Rabindranath Tagore. It was a sweet and light-hearted end to an inspirational morning.
To conclude in a manner in keeping with Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Gosvami Maharaj’s teachings, we note that the English dictionary defines the word “Catholic” as “wide-ranging”, “broad” and “all-embracing”. Our sampradaya, descending from Sriman Mahaprabhu is often also referring to the “all-embracing doctrine of Divine Love”. This memorable meeting between His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj and His Grace Father Alfred Agius elucidated the true meaning of the word “Catholic”, of “Interfaith” and of “Divine Love” for all sentient beings and their Ultimate Source, the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna Posted in Krishna conciounsess. By hare krishna – April 18, 2007 -- Don't try to see God but work in such a way that God will want to see you
Saraswati PrabhuPad
Hinduism And The New Millennium
(Courtesy : Dr. David Frawley)
Hinduism through History
A new millennium is nothing new for Hinduism, which is now in its sixth millennium of the present Kali age, not to speak of its recognition of longer ages or yugas before that. The Hindu tradition has crossed many thousands of years, going back to the very origins of civilization as we know it some ten thousand years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. From the early beginnings of civilization in India on the banks of the now dry Sarasvati River up to the present technological age, Hinduism has remained as a steady flame of spiritual light in the world. It is the most enduring religion and culture in the world, continuing remarkably age after age. Over the course of time Hinduism has seen numerous civilizations come and go. It witnessed the fall of Egypt, Babylonia and Rome, as well as the arising of Christianity and Islam, and the coming of the modern age. What is the secret behind Hinduism's ability to endure? It has not continued age after age simply because of a conservative culture that has preserved old customs. It has endured because of its ability to adapt to time changes and to reinvent itself in a dynamic way in successive eras.
The Hindu tradition is not based upon any particular historical revelation that would tie it down to a particular era or cause it to look to any end of time or end of the world. It accepts the existence of different ages (yugas) of humanity and different civilizations, of which our current cycle of civilization is only one. Hindu Dharma sees history according to the cycles of nature, with the rising and falling of cultures like the coming and going of plants and animals through the seasons of the year. Hinduism positions itself above time in the eternal, looking to link humanity with what transcends time.
The Hindu tradition is not based upon any specific savior or prophet or historical personality. It recognizes many sages and seers, known and unknown, both inside its tradition and outside of it. It accepts many great teachers of the past but also those of the present and of the future. It has no chosen people but addresses all living beings, not merely humans but plants and animals as well. Nor is it simply an earth tradition but looks to beings of all worlds, including the denizens of subtle worlds beyond the physical.
Hinduism defines itself as Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal or Universal Dharma. Dharma means universal law, the fundamental principles behind this marvelous universe like the law of karma. Sanatana means perennial, referring to eternal truth that manifests in ever new names and forms. Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world because it is based on the eternal origins of creation. But it is also the newest religion in the world because it adjusts its names and forms to every generation and looks to living teachers, not old books, as its final authority.
Because of this background, Hinduism views the new millennium in a different way than most people today. Christians view the new millennium as either bringing the end of the world along with salvation for the faithful that they have long prayed for, or as marking a new era to spread their religion further in the world through renewed evangelical and missionary efforts. Other people look to a new millennium as defined by the inventions of science and taking us into a new era of technological wonders and space travel.
From the Hindu perspective no religion owns time and no revelation defines history. Each person and each culture has its own time or duration, which should be used for self-discovery and self-realization. Hindu sages look at the new era for humanity arising today through science and globalism as but the dim beginnings of a greater age of consciousness and spirituality that is as yet only touching the horizon. They don't see this new era defined by the year 2000 but by the events of the past few decades and yet many more decades to come. The industrial revolution gave way to the information revolution but the information revolution must in turn give way to an age of consciousness that is the real goal of human striving. Humanity is still in transition between an era of materialism and one of spirituality and the decisive turn has not yet been made. The coming century is bound to bring ecological and cultural crises that will force us to move in a more conscious direction. This will bring not only great new discoveries and breakthroughs as we advance in knowledge, but also suffering and karmic reckoning for our immature and arrogant way of dealing with our environment.
The Hindu Renaissance and Global Hinduism
Hindu Dharma has already undergone a remarkable renaissance in the modern age. Less than two hundred years ago Hinduism seemed to be on the verge of complete collapse. It was caught in inertia and under siege by the missionary and colonial forces that had been ruling India for centuries. Yet at that extremity it didn’t collapse but renewed itself, going back to its ancient roots to provide for new and expansive growths.
The result was that in the nineteenth century the modern Hindu renaissance began from several angles. Swami Dayananda Sarasvati of the Arya Samaj issued a call to return to the Vedas. Swami Vivekananda brought forth a new awakening of Hinduism to Yoga and Vedanta. Many other such leaders arose throughout the country to follow such a vision.
The Hindu renaissance was not limited to India. Vivekananda spread his message throughout the entire world, which rediscovered Hinduism as the deep philosophy of Vedanta and the profound practice of Yoga. With this Hinduism began to go global. It became the main tradition pioneering dialogue and synthesis in religion, promoting a recognition that sages throughout the world have always taught the same message of oneness. After the counterculture movements of the nineteen sixties, many other India-based spiritual groups started in the West.
The twentieth century marked a new and independent India in which Hindus were the majority and no longer had to suffer under the rule of a religion seeking to convert them. This led to a building of many new temples throughout the country. Recent decades witnessed a Diaspora of Hindus throughout the globe, particularly as professionals in new technology fields. With the many new immigrants from India in the last two decades, almost every important sect in Hinduism can be found in the West, with Hindu temples in the main cities of Europe and North America.
Hinduism under Siege
Yet in spite of this renaissance, Hinduism as a specific religion did not truly flourish in the twentieth century. It remained under siege by colonial and missionary forces that remained active even after colonialism by Christian countries had ended. On top of these, a new leftist and communist thinking arose that attacked it further by allying themselves with residual colonial forces and Islam. Many countries of Asia like China and Indochina became communist and under its rule tried to destroy their older religious traditions. While India as a whole did not become communist, several states like Kerala and Bengal did, and the communists gained a favored position in the media and universities of the country from which their anti-Hindu message became magnified beyond their political power. Indian intellectuals embraced Marxism as their new religion and few remained to articulate a Hindu point of view to the world.
Free India under Nehru opted for a socialist-communist model that perpetuated the British system of education and a leftist way of thinking that was often unabashedly anti-Hindu and sometimes pro-Islamic and pro-Christian. The economic problems of India, which resulted from the same socialist economies that failed all over the world, were blamed on Hinduism. The social and class problems of the country that were based on medieval customs developed during foreign rule were turned into a permanent stain on Hinduism itself.
At the same time, their Hindu background was downplayed by the very global movements that it spawned. Western Hindu-based groups preferred the names of Yoga, Vedanta or that of their particular guru or sect and sometimes failed to recognize their Hindu connections at all. This was because western Yoga students were so taken in by the anti-Hindu propaganda that they did not want to be associated with such an apparently regressive religion, no matter how great the spiritual teachings they found in it!
The result was that, in spite of the global spread of Hindu teachings and an independent modern India, the world still looked down upon the Hindu religion as primitive or oppressive. Some scholars were reluctant even to recognize Hinduism as a world religion, seeing it rather as a disorganized collection of various cults. The Aryan Invasion theory was used to assert that India had no indigenous culture but was a hodgepodge of various invaders, with the original Hindus being pre-Vedic Dravidians, a very different group from the Vedic sages that the country had always looked to for the origin of its traditions.
Resurgent Hinduism
This situation has begun to change dramatically during the past few years. Hindus are finally awakening to the many distortions about their religion. They are beginning to assert their rights and insist upon a proper presentation of their tradition in the world forum. More pro-Hindu political movements in India have gained power on both state and national levels, and without the anti-minority pogroms that it was insisted that they intended to do by their opponents. Such Hindu groups are largely responsible for the economic liberalization of the country, as they are the main opponents of the socialist economic policies that modern India under Nehru adopted.
Hindus, both in India and in the West, are becoming affluent through modern jobs in science, medicine and software. In the process, they are realizing that nothing in their religion is out of harmony with progress and success in the modern world. On the contrary, they have seen how Hindu family values have granted Hindu children in the West greater home and emotional stability. They have seen how the traditional Hindu emphasis on learning, including languages and mathematics, has given Hindu children an advantage in schools. In recognizing how Hindu spiritual movements have influenced the world, overseas Hindus are comfortable maintaining their religion in the countries to which they have migrated. They are often better educated, more scientific in outlook and more affluent than their Christian neighbors who would still associate Hinduism with poverty and superstition.
Hindu groups are challenging media distortions both in India and in the West and with success; for example, protesting the use of chants from the Bhagavad Gita in erotic scenes in western movies or beef flavoring in so-called vegetarian McDonalds French fries. While such issues may seem minor, it is curious how the world media will respond to such challenges and now considers the importance of not offending Hindus because of these. Such protests help counter the sense of moral offense that westerners like to assert about Hinduism, often because of misinformed stereotypes about the religion. After a few short years, people are aware of Hinduism as a religion and must recognize Hindu activist groups that will no longer tolerate centuries old denigrations or modern stereotypes.
The Ayodhya movement in India, the effort to restore the Ram temple or Ramajanma Bhumi alias Babri Masjid—whatever one may think about it —served to awaken Hindus to their history of oppression by outside groups. It brought about a new examination of what Hinduism is and what it means to be a Hindu. While the term Hindu had long become almost a term of denigration, it is now being rediscovered as a term of pride (Hindu gaurava).
Much has been made in the western media of Hindus resisting Christian missionary activities in India, with allegations of Hindu violence against missionaries (though most of these reports were erroneous or exaggerated). Yet, a few excesses aside, it shows that Hindus are more confident of their religion than in previous decades when even devoted Hindus felt a need to invite missionaries in India as if they alone could uplift the country. Missionaries in India no longer have a free reign but must face local Hindu challenges to their attempts at conversion. This is disturbing for them because of the lack of challenge they had in the past from Hindus. In India, Christian groups still have a freedom for their activity not found in any nearby Islamic or communist states.
A New Era of Spirituality and Self-realization
Whatever particular calendar we may employ, humanity is undergoing a major change of civilization during this period. We are moving out of the industrial age into the high tech age. We are moving from nationalist cultures to an international culture. Though western civilization remains the dominant outer force in the world, we must recognize other cultural groups of which Hindu-predominant India is one of the most important.
The problem is that the new global culture is still being defined according to the same old materialistic values or by religious dogma from the Middle Ages. This has created a modern commercial culture of sensation, on one hand, and massive funding for conversion efforts on the other, mainly through petrodollars. While Christianity has declined in the West it has become more assertive in its conversion efforts in the non-Christian world, particularly India, whose traditional tolerance keeps its doors to other religions open. Even in America, the Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant sect in the country, continue a conversion effort against Hindus that labels the Hindu religion as one of the devil, at the same time promoting the Biblical view of creation in schools in America, fighting science as well.
However, longer and more powerful forces are arising than current cultural trends. The destruction of the biosphere and the deforestation of the planet must eventually force us to enter an age of ecological responsibility. This is giving birth to a new ecology philosophy, recognizing the spiritual value of the animal kingdom. Hindu Dharma is being recognized for its importance as a religion of nature. It honors the Divine everywhere in the world around us. It finds holy places on every mountain or where any rivers come together. It honors the Earth as the Divine Mother incarnate. Such a religion that embraces nature as part of ourselves is necessary to save the planet in the years to come.
The global encounter between religions is causing people to recognize that many different religions have their validity and that no single religion, any more than any single race, can claim truth or salvation belongs to it. The old exclusive beliefs of the Middle Ages are falling under the scrutiny of a global reason that must honor all the spiritual aspirations of humanity and can no longer confine itself to the beliefs of one community.
This emerging planetary age provides a much different and more favorable scenario for Hinduism, in which it is bound to spread much further. Hinduism is the world’s largest pluralistic religious tradition. It is based upon the view that there is One Truth but many paths. It is not based on any single savior, church or holy book. There are probably more religions inside of Hinduism than outside of it. Within its broad embrace can be found monotheism, polytheism, dualism, monism, pantheism and even atheism. Hindu temples accommodate many names and forms for God, many scriptures and many great sages both ancient and modern. The planetary age is a pluralistic age and must learn to do with the religions of the world what Hinduism has done with the religions of South Asia.
The coming age is one of spirituality and Self-realization, not of formal religion and subservience to God or prophet. It is one of a spiritual culture such as we see in Hindu Dharma that embraces all life and nature. The coming planetary age does not belong to conversion-seeking religions, which divide humanity into the believers and the non-believers, but to the spirituality of consciousness such as revealed in yogic traditions, and sought by great mystics everywhere, which unite humanity into one great family with the entire universe.
Hindus welcome a new era of Self-realization and God-realization beyond the boundaries of dogma and institution, honoring all individuals, all cultures and all spiritual aspiration. Let us honor that Self in all beings regardless of religious affiliation, ethnicity or culture. This will not only lead us to a truly new millennium but also allow us to transcend time and karma altogether, which is the real goal of our eternal striving.
RESURGENT INDIA
(T.R. Ramalingam)
SRI AUROBINDO, the sage of modern India had written that he writes for those who admitting the claims of modern thought, still believe in India, her mission, her gospel, her immortal life and her eternal rebirth.
These extracts are from “Bhawani Mandir” : -
“India, the ancient mother, is indeed striving to be reborn. We have abandoned Shakti and are therefore abandoned by her. The wish to be reborn is there in abundance. The beginnings are mighty but they have neither sequel nor fruit. Now we have started a great industrial movement. But this too would go in vain if we lack strength.
Is it knowledge that is wanting? Or is it love, enthusiasm or Bhakthi? This is a land where Jnana has been stored and accumulated. The latter is ingrained in our culture.
It is the fuel of Shakthi that is lacking. We need to acquire physical, mental, moral and spiritual strength. Everything else will be added easily and naturally. India has to be made young again. Rushing and billowing streams of energy must be poured into her; her soul must become calm or turbulent, an ocean of action or force.
Many overcome by Tamas, the demon of inertia, are pessimistic. India is doomed to extinction. No man or nation needs to perish unless so lit is chosen. What is a nation? What is our motherland? It is a mighty shakthi just as Bhawani Mahisha Mardini sprang into being from the Shakthi of all the million gods welded into unity. We need a nucleus of men in whom the Shakthi is developed to the uttermost extent, in whom it fills every corner of the personality. These will go forth and carry the flame to every nook and cranny of our land.”
Swami Vivekananda speaks: India will be raised not with the power of the flesh but with the power of the spirit; not with the flag of destruction, but with the flag of peace and love .. .. One vision I see clear as life before me, that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on Her throne – rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim Her to all the world with the voice of peace and benediction.
Let New India arise – out of the peasants’ cottage, grasping the plough; out of the huts of the fisherman, the cobbler and the sweeper. Let her spring from the grocer’s shop, from beside the oven of the fritter-seller. Let her emanate from the factory, from marts, and from markets. Let her emerge from groves and forests, from hills and mountains.
Truth, purity and unselfishness – wherever these are present, there is no power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with these, one indvidual is able to face the whole world in opposition.
You are the pure one; awake and arise, O mighty One, this sleep does not become you. Awake and arise, it does not befit you. Think not that you are weak and miserable. Almighty, arise and awake, and manifest your own nature. Say that to the world and to yourself and see how everything changes. Show mankind their power.
# # # #
Both India and China are slated to become leading world economies in the near future of two decades or so. One swears by state socialism and the other is a pristine democracy. One has been inspired by a zealous spirit of rediscovering the old glory of the Ming dynasty and the other strides a formidable pool of skills segued seamlessly with; foreign capital inflow atop a considerable indigenous driven demand of needs, goods and services.
India has indeed come a long way from the time she had to pledge her gold reserves to stave of a payment crisis. Now her coffers are brimming over from FDI inflow and considerable expatriate earnings.
The Science and Technology manpower of India is indeed awesome. We have built Dubai and other Emirates besides Saudi Arabia. We are reconstructing Iraq and Afghanistan. We have corporate presence in many countries offering a variety of services in the fields of consultancy, erection and manufacturing.
Barring products of military hardware and commercial Aircraft there is little that India does not produce. We build our Nuclear Reactors and Power Stations. We manufacture tiniest Integrated Chips and huge Turbines at the other end. We offer Information Technology Enabled Services within and outside the country forming a considerable segment of the GDP.
Our advances in Missile Technology and Space Technology are impressive and totally indigenous. Recently Engineering students placed a satellite of their design in space! Bio-technology, Agroproducts, Ayurvedic Pharmaceuticals and therapy, Medical services, a wide swathe of Industrial and Consumer Products, advanced Universities and Research Institutions, and above all an aggressive and competitive pool of manpower covering every conceivable area of modern economic activity..... We can discern the realization of Jawaharlal’s dream for a Modern India.
Technologists have long held Patents in many fields. Indians are right at the helm in many fields in US, Europe and other countries. Indeed, if only our sons come back turning their backs on the lure of the lucre, India – already considerably technically advanced would acquire the cutting edge in many areas boosting our bid for more elbow space. It of course calls for sacrifice.
On the negative side our insensitivity to the poor and the venality that looms as a many-headed hydra monster polluting practically every area of activity pose a great challenge. It is not as if our intelligentsia is not aware. But from mere awareness we need to build a strong movement which requires conviction, courage and tenacity.
We owe it to the exhortations of Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda, Rishi Bankim and the many famous and nameless fighters for our freedom to render at least the lesser European standards of living to our poor while India marches to the logical apex of our macro-economic flux.
Our National Resurgence shall be on the basis of Dharma. We should take ideas from the West but not their decadent culture. Swami Vivekananda had declared that the Soul of India is religion. Religion is not ritual nor a throwback to the past. It is practising ethics in all walks of life. The West is recently discovering the importance of corporate ethics. The Repression that US and Europe are still battling resulted from corporate and lack of discipline. We have a hoary past. Let us draw inspiration from our legendary heroes and teachers.
JAI HIND.
Exclusiveness of every kind is rampant in the world today. Keeping people away from a productive life by denying job opportunities is Adharma. Denying anyone a chance to grow to full potential is Adharma. As with persons, so with countries. Nature has endowed India with a variety of climate and soil and intelligent farmers. Yet agriculture is a chronic problem area. This liability needs to be turned into an asset. This requires a proper vision, its acceptance and forceful follow-through. It is necessary to consider agriculture not as a target for hand-outs. On the contrary, it ought to be accepted as a source of the country’s strength in future. Proper management in a very broad sense is the key essential here.
- KMP Menon
The task of commerce is to break down barriers; the barriers of distance, of size, of time, of risk – that stand in the way of production, distribution and consumption. For a better India we have to prevent all forms of barriers. One glaring need is to prevent the inter-state border checkposts slowing down lorry traffic. Surely, a better way can be found to collect taxes than by the present method of taxing sales and checking at state borders.
- KMP Menon
OUR THREE KINDS OF TEMPLES
The community temple, the home shrine and the sanctuary inside you are readily available to stabilize and uplift your daily life.
By Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
It would be hard to overestimate the power and importance of the temple in Hindu culture and spiri- tual practice—the home of God to which we go for solace and connection with the divine. Then we think of temples, we naturally think of community temples, those always welcoming, often ornate, magical spaces which I like to call pura mandiras. Worshiping in thesetemples is a central practice in Hinduism. But there is a broader, seldom discussed understanding of the temple in Sanatana Dharma which embraces two other sacred places of communion as equally important. One is the home shrine, or griha mandira, and the other is the soul temple or atma mandira.
The Community Temple, Pura Mandira
Hindu communities revolve around the local temple, which serves as the hub of culture, worship, festivals and more. For the devout, the ideal is to attend a puja at the community temple daily, or at least once a week, and to participate in the major holy festivals celebrated within its precincts. This allows us to experience the blessings of God and the Gods regularly and to enjoy frequent fellowship with other devotees, which is uplifting and engaging. Though God is everywhere, it is easiest to receive His blessings at the temple. My Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, had many insights into temple mysticism: the ray of the temple, its subtle forcefi eld and how the three worlds work together in that sacred space. All this was apparent to his inner sight. He wrote, “If you could view the temple from the inner worlds, you would see a brilliant ray coming from the Third World, or world of the Gods, right into the temple on the physical plane.
This ray allows communication similar to a live video conference. The priest opens the connection by performing puja. When the puja is performed with loving devotion, the ray becomes strong and inner doors open from God’s world to ours; the angelic helpers, called devas, hover around and through the temple, and blessings pour out to the devotees. A Hindu temple’s devonic rays have the power to transform the course of karma, open inner doors to new opportunities, ssuage long-held hurts and provide inner visionsequaling the fullness of devotion.”
Regular worship at the community temple deepens our humility and our devotion to God. It also purifi es and lifts our energy into higher chakras. In addition to worship, we can also perform service (seva, or karma yoga) at the temple and accrue even more spiritual benefits. The Tirumantiram, an ancient scripture by Rishi Tirumular lists a number of traditional chores in verse 109: “The simple temple duties, lighting the lamps, pickingfl owers, lovingly polishing the floors, sweeping, singing the Lord’s praise, ringing the bell and fetching ceremonial water—these constitute the dasa marga (path of the servant).” Additionally, those who are qualifi ed can volunteer to teach Hinduism to the youth.
If you arefi nding fulfi llment by worshiping in your community temple, don’t stop there. Consider extending your devotional life to the griha man-dira, or home shrine.
The Home Shrine, Griha Mandira
The ideal Hindu home centers around the home shrine, a special room set aside and maintained to create a temple-like atmosphere which holds us close to our spiritual goals and practices. In this holy space we conduct puja, read scripture, perform sadhana, sing bhajana and do japa. Here we can always feel the resence of God and the Gods,whom we honor especially in the morning and eveningand before meals, which we offer to them before we partake. Here worship traditionally begins before dawn, with the simple act of dedi- cation for the coming day. After a bath, morning puja is performed, usually by the husband. The wife and older children may also perform their own puja at another time of day. The form of home wor- ship, called atmartha puja, is simple: we lovingly invoke the Deities, tender choice offerings and beseech their blessings for our family and the world. This early morning worship begins the day on a reli- gious note, blessing the work and activities that follow. Evening de- votionals include a simple arati, bhajana, meditation and reading of scripture—a day’s-end routine that carries family members to lofty, celestial realms during sleep. The temple-like atmosphere of the shrine room can prevail throughout the home if family members handle disagreements and difficult issues in a harmonious, professional way, avoiding arguments and expressions of anger.
You can bring some of the power of the community temple into your home shrine by lighting an oil lamp when you return from the temple. This sacred act brings devas who were at the temple into the home shrine room, where, from the inner world, they can bless all family members and trengthen the religious forcefi eld of the home. This is one of my guru’s unique insights into the mysticism of temple worship.
How elaborate should the home puja be? It can vary fromshort and simple to long and complex. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Mahaswamiji (1894–1994) of Kanchi Kamakoti Pitham commented, “Every family must perform puja to Ishvara. Those who find it convenient to do so may conduct elaborate types of puja after receiving proper initiation into them. Others need perform only a brief puja, not lasting more than ten minutes or so. Offi ce-goers must offer at least this brief worship. The sacred bell must ring in every home.”
Ideally, all members of the family gather together in the shrine room for a puja each morning. Additionally, visiting the shrine at other key times brings special benefits. Visiting the shrine before leaving the home reminds you that work is also worship when approached in a spiritual way, a strategic attitude that helps you maintain a religious perspective during your time out of the home.
Visiting the shrine upon returning home provides a few moments to release any negative, worldly vibrations you have taken on while away. Visiting before an important event, such as a job interview or a major exam at school, you can pray for special blessings and guidance. Retreating to this oasis when emotionally disturbed or reflecting on a personal problem reminds you to spiritually center yourself and overcome the challenge or upset condition with the blessings of God and the Gods. These are several ways the home shrine can
benefi t the family. By your example you teach these practices to your children—practices that will sustain them as they make their passage through life.
Performing your own individual puja in the home shrine with sincerity and regularity unfolds a relationship with the Divine that is likened to that of a child to a parent, called satputra marga, or “path of the dutiful child.” TheTirumantiram summarizes, “Puja, reading the scriptures, singing hymns, performing japa and unsullied austerity, truthfulness, restraint of envy and offering of food—these and other self-purifying acts constitute the flawless satputra marga” (verse 1496).
If you are finding fulfillment by worshiping in the home shrine, don’t stop there. Consider worshiping in the atma mandira, if you are not already practicing yoga meditation.
The Soul Temple, Atma Mandira
The third place of worship is the temple within the body, which I call the atma mandira. My paramaguru, Yogaswami of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, said, “God lives in this house built of earth, water, fire, air and ether. Therefore, keep the house clean and the mind pure, and conduct yourself with calmness.” His disciple Markanduswami recounted his guru’s instructions: “Yogaswami said, ‘Leave your relations downstairs, your will, your intellect, your senses. Leave the fellows and go upstairs by yourself and find out who you are. Then you can go ownstairs and be with the fellows.’”
Yogaswami was describing the internal form of wor ship—meditation in the sacred chamber of the soul, wherein we quiet our physical body, still our astral and mental bodies, become centered in our immortal, spiritual body of light, and strive for, discover, near and ultimately merge with God within. Through meditation, we temporarily set aside our mundane concerns and experience our refined, spiritual nature that is always serene and centered, the source
of intuition, solace and strength for all our activities. Consistent practice of meditation has the power to increase our concentration, observation, understanding, compassion, appreciation, cooperation, mental acuity, emotional stability, willpower and our ability to see God in all things and all people.
Awakening Wisdom
God abides in all three of these temples. In the community temple He is worshiped in elaborate, formal ways, mystical ways that bring His shakti, or power, into the inner chamber to bless the world. In the home shrine He is worshiped in simple, loving ways which bring His presence into the home to guide the family through karma’s sometimes difficult passages and bless their pursuits. In the chamber of the heart He is worshiped as the Life of life, as the Self of ourself, to awaken peace of mind, insight, inspiration and enlightenment.
The three temples stand as a central pillar of Hindu life.
Successful worship in the three temples over many lifetimes
culminates in jnana, divine wisdom, which we see in an enlightened being, a soul in its maturity, immersed in the blessed realization of God, while living out earthly karma. In verse 1444 of the ancient yogic text Tirumantiram, Rishi Tirumular sums up our thoughts: “Being the Life of life is splendrous jnana worship [achieving jnana]. Beholding the Light of life is great yoga worship [meditation]. Giving life by invocation is external worship [performing puja]. Expressing adoration is charya [attending puja].” As you see, our experience of the three temples of Hinduism is an ancient one that survives in the 21st century.
THE MEAT-FREE LIFE
(Courtesy: Hinduism Today)
Five good reasons to be a vegetarian and 10 arguments against eating meat
There are more that a few Hindus today who guiltily abandoned the vegetarian ways of their own parents and grandparents when they decided to be "secular" and "modern." But our ancient seers had it right when they advocated living without killing animals for food. Today vegetarianism is a worldwide movement, with adherents among all religions, daily gaining converts through one or more of the five basic reasons to adhere to a meatless diet: dharma, karma, consciousness, health and environment. Each is explored in this insight section, which concludes with the famous essay, "How to win an argument with a meat-eater."
Just how widespread is this movement? In the UK, polls show more than 15 percent of teenagers are vegetarians, and six percent of the general population. In America, eight percent of teens and three percent of the general population declare themselves vegetarian. It is a movement with a broad base, for one can find advocates as diverse as philosophers Plato and Nietzsche, politicians Benjamin Franklin and Gandhi, Beatle Paul McCartney and Rastifarian singer Bob Marley, actresses Brooke Shields, Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone, and actors David Duchovny, Richard Gere and Brad Pitt. It's also helped that a multitude of rigorous scientific studies have proven the health benefits of the vegetarian diet.
Vegetarianism, an Ancient Hindu Ethic
Vegetarianism was for thousands of years a principle of health and environmental ethics throughout India. Though Muslim and Christian colonization radically undermined and eroded this ideal, it remains to this day a cardinal ethic of Hindu thought and practice. A subtle sense of guilt persists among Hindus who eat meat, and even they will abstain at special times. For India's ancient thinkers, life is seen as the very stuff of the Divine, an emanation of the Source and part of a cosmic continuum. They further hold that each life form, even water and trees, possesses consciousness and energy. Nonviolence, ahimsa, the primary basis of vegetarianism, has long been central to the religious traditions of India—especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Religion in India has consistently upheld the sanctity of life, whether human or animal.
The Sanskrit word for vegetarianism is sakahara, and one following a vegetarian diet is a sakahari. Hindu vegetarians commonly consume milk products, but not eggs, which are definitely a meat product, containing cholesterol which is only present in animal flesh. The term for meat-eating is mansahara, and the meat-eater is called mansahari. Ahara means "to consume or eat," saka means "vegetable," and mansa means "meat or flesh." The very word mansa, "meat," conveys a deep appreciation of life's sacredness and an understanding of the law of karma by which the consequence of each action returns to the doer. As explained in the 2,000-year-old Manu Dharma Shastra, 5.55, "The learned declare that the meaning of mansa (flesh) is, 'he (sa) will eat me (mam) in the other world whose flesh I eat here.' " There developed early in India an unparalleled concern for harmony among life forms, and this led to a common ethos based on noninjuriousness and a minimal consumption of natural resources—in other words, to compassion and simplicity. If Homo sapiens is to survive his present predicament, he will have to rediscover these two primary ethical virtues.
Is Vegetarianism Integral to Noninjury?
In Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's book, Dancing with Siva, this question is addressed as follows: "Hindus teach vegetarianism as a way to live with a minimum of hurt to other beings, for to consume meat, fish, fowl or eggs is to participate indirectly in acts of cruelty and violence against the animal kingdom. The abhorrence of injury and killing of any kind leads quite naturally to a vegetarian diet, sakahara. The meat-eater's desire for meat drives another to kill and provide that meat. The act of the butcher begins with the desire of the consumer. Meat-eating contributes to a mentality of violence, for with the chemically complex meat ingested, one absorbs the slaughtered creature's fear, pain and terror. These qualities are nourished within the meat-eater, perpetuating the cycle of cruelty and confusion. When the individual's consciousness lifts and expands, he will abhor violence and not be able to even digest the meat, fish, fowl and eggs he was formerly consuming. India's greatest saints have confirmed that one cannot eat meat and live a peaceful, harmonious life. Man's appetite for meat inflicts devastating harm on Earth itself, stripping its precious forests to make way for pastures. The Tirukural candidly states, 'How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh? Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is not to sacrifice and consume any living creature.' "
Amazingly, some people define vegetarian as a diet which excludes the meat of animals but does permit fish and eggs. But what really is vegetarianism? Vegetarian foods include grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy products. Natural, fresh foods, locally grown without insecticides or chemical fertilizers are preferred. A vegetarian diet does not include meat, fish, fowl, shellfish or eggs. For good health, even certain vegetarian foods are minimized: frozen and canned foods, highly processed foods, such as white rice, white sugar and white flour; and "junk" foods and beverages—those with abundant chemical additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives.
According to Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, "In my forty years of ministry it has become quite evident that vegetarian families have far fewer problems than those who are not vegetarian. If children are raised as vegetarians, every day they are exposed to nonviolence as a principle of peace and compassion. Every day they are growing up they are remembering and being reminded to not kill. They won't even kill another creature to eat, to feed themselves. And if they won't kill another creature to feed themselves, they will be much less likely to do acts of violence against people."
Vegetarian Animals
Vegetarians come in all sizes and shapes, but the elephant is the largest of all, with a sophisticated social life, loving and affectionately caring for its own. Elephants live long, vigorous lives, have a very large brain and, of course, are renowned for their excellent memory. They do not suffer any weakness for not eating meat. In fact, so many muscular and the most intelligent animals the horse, the cow, giraffe, zebra, rhinoceros, the apes, and more—are lifelong vegetarians and friends of men. Lean animals, thin and wiry, who are feared by man and beasts alike, are all hunters and killers and eaters of flesh—tigers, sharks, hawks, wolves and the like. Similarly, no one fears a gentle vegetarian, but all have reason to fear the unpredictable meat-eater. Scriptures admonish that it is wise to fear what should be feared.
Food and Consciousness
Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousnes, in peace and happieness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and the terrible fear of death, all of which is locked into the flesh of butchered creatures. It is said that in ancient India meat would be fed to the soldiers during military campaigns, especially before combat, to bring them into lower consciousness so that they would forget thier religious values. They performed these deeds in fulfillment of a warrior's way—with not the least restraint of conscience. The inner law is ever so simple—not eating meat, fish, foul or eggs is essential to awaken consciousness into the seven higher chakras (the uttara-chakras), up to the crown. Nonkilling—and noneating of that which is killed—is a must to pass from realms below.
Dharma
How many there are who resent the very mention of becoming a vegetarian, being instinctively repulsed by the idea, for they intuit the road ahead. They sense that once the more sattvic diet of pure foods are taken in place of meats (and other dead foods, packaged, processed and cellophane-wrapped) they will feel a great guilt occasioned by their transgressions of dharma, as they have so well perfected over the years their adharmic ways. Adharma means all that stands against Indian spirituality, against the path of the good and the pure and the natural, against dharma in all of its intricate dimensions. None of the other dharmas—stri dharma, the duties of women; purusha dharma, the duties of men; ashrama dharma, the responsibility of one's stage of life; varna dharma, one's position in society; and svadharma, one's own perfect pattern—even when performed properly will have the same results without fulfilling this virtue. Even Rita dharma, cosmic order, is upset by man's insatiable, aggressive appetites expressed through flesh-consuming.
Hindus Were the First Vegetarians
The book, Food for the Spirit, Vegetarianism and the World Religions, observes: "Despite popular knowledge of meat-eating's adverse effects, the nonvegetarian diet became increasingly widespread among Hindus after the two major invasions by foreign powers, first the Muslims and later the British. With them came the desire to be 'civilized,' to eat as did the saheeb. Those actually trained in Vedic knowledge, however, never adopted a meat-oriented diet, and the pious Hindu still observes vegetarian principles as a matter of religious duty.
"That vegetarianism has always been widespread in India is clear from the earliest Vedic texts. This was observed by the ancient traveler Megasthenes and also by Fa-hsien, a Chinese Buddhist monk who, in the fifth century, traveled to India in order to obtain authentic copies of the scriptures. These scriptures unambiguously support the meatless way of life. In the Mahabharata, for instance, the great warrior Bhishma explains to Yudhishtira, eldest of the Pandava princes, that the meat of animals is like the flesh of one's own son, and that the foolish person who eats meat must be considered the vilest of human beings [Anu. 114.11]. The eating of 'dirty' food, it warns, is not as terrible as the eating of flesh [Shanti. 141.88] (it must be remembered that the Brahmins of ancient India exalted cleanliness to a divine principle).
"Similarly, the Manusmriti declares that one should 'refrain from eating all kinds of meat,' for such eating involves killing and leads to karmic bondage (bandha) [5.49]. Elsewhere in the Vedic literature, the last of the great Vedic kings, Maharaja Parikshit, is quoted as saying that 'only the animal-killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth [Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.1.4].'"
Common Dietary Concerns
Those considering a vegetarian diet generally worry about getting enough nutrients, since the belief that meat is a necessary part of keeping strong and healthy is still extremely widespread. Recently a group of eminent doctors called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), themselves members of the American Medical Association, have decided to change the US consciousness on human nutrition, particularly among the medical community. The PCRM is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., consisting of doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research and health promotion. Founded in 1985, the PCRM is supported by over 3,000 physicians and 50,000 laypersons. PCRM president (and vegetarian) Neal D. Barnard, M.D., is a popular speaker and the author of The Power of Your Plate. Armed with decades of nutritional research data, PCRM addresses these dietary concerns head-on:
"The fact is, it is very easy to have a well-balanced diet with vegetarian foods. Vegetarian foods provide plenty of protein. Careful combining of foods is not necessary. Any normal variety of plant foods provides more than enough protein for the body's needs. Although there is somewhat less protein in a vegetarian diet than a meat-eater's diet, this is actually an advantage. Excess protein has been linked to kidney stones, osteoporosis, and possibly heart disease and some cancers. A diet focused on beans, whole grains and vegetables contains adequate amounts of protein without the 'overdose' most meat-eaters get."
Other concerns are allayed by the PCRM as follows:
1. Calcium is easy to find in a vegetarian diet. Many dark, green leafy vegetables and beans are loaded with calcium, and some orange juices and cereals are calcium-fortified. Iron is plentiful in whole grains, beans and fruits.
2. Vitamin B12: There is a misconception that without eating meat one cannot obtain sufficient vitamin B12, which is an essential nutrient. This is simply not true. The PCRM advises: "Although cases of B12 deficiency are very uncommon, it is important to make sure that one has a reliable source of the vitamin. Good sources include all common multiple vitamins (including vegetarian vitamins), fortified cereals and soy milk."
3. During pregnancy nutritional needs increase. The American Dietetic Association has found vegan diets adequate for fulfilling nutritional needs during pregnancy, but pregnant women and nursing mothers should supplement their diets with vitamins B12 and D.
4. Vegetarian children also have high nutritional needs, but these, too, are met with a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian menu is "life-extending." As children, vegetarians may grow more gradually, reach puberty somewhat later, and live substantially longer than meat-eaters. Be sure to include a reliable source of vitamin B12. Besides the fortified cereals and soy milk mentioned above, vitamin B12 is widely available in multiple vitamins, brewers yeast and other potent dietary supplements.
Those interested in supporting or learning more about the work of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine should visit: www.pcrm.org.
Converting to Vegetarianism
Making the transition from carnivore to herbivore is not as hard as you might think. According to the book, The New Vegetarians, by Sonia Partridge and Paul Amato, 73% of vegetarian converts stated that the transition was not difficult. It is easier for people who do some homework on the subject and have a bit of cooking skill. The time it takes for people to totally convert varies greatly. About 70% of people make the transition gradually, while 30% stop all at once. A year is the most transition time to stop with red meat, which is almost always the first flesh to go, followed more slowly by fowl and fish.
One recommended method for the transition is to set a series of goals for yourself. Start simply with getting through one day without meat. Then, try one weekend, then one week. Make a realistic timetable for reaching them. Two to three months might be reasonable for some people while six months to a year might be better for others. Rewards can also help. For a major accomplishment such as a week without meat, treat yourself to a nice vegetarian meal out.
One can also take a formal Hindu vow of vegetarianism, sakahara vrata, available on-line at www.hinduismtoday.com/in-depth_issues/veggie_vow/. The vow may be taken privately, before elders or parents or as part of a temple ceremony. It reads in part, "I accept the principle of sakahara as the method by which I may acknowledge my compassion, my karuna, for all living beings. As an act of dedication, I am resolved this day to begin (or continue) the regular practice of eating a strict vegetarian diet and not eating meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs."
The most common problem with conversion is not knowing enough about vegetarian diet. Some people who decide to be vegetarian, have no idea what to eat and end up with soggy vegetables and undercooked brown rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They become discouraged and rightly wonder how they will survive. But decent vegetarian food isn't boring. A little reasearch with books and websites will put your mind at ease. Get a vegetarian cookbook. Ask restaurant waiters which menu items are vegetarian.
Vegetarians are often asked "Don't you miss eating meat?" For about half of beginning vegetarians the answer is yes, acording to The New Vegetarians. They miss the texture and flavor of meat in the early weeks and months. Almost everyone though, gets over this within six months to a year and for many it becomes nauseating even to think about eating meat. Eighty-two percent of fully adapted vegetarians say there is no way they would consider eating flesh again.
Conclusion
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes, "Modern meats are killed by chemical treatment of the animals, the hormones of fear and chemistry of death before and during slaughter, killed again by refrigerating them, killed again by grinding them, killed again by preserving them, killed again by packaging them, killed again by freezing them, killed again by storing and shipping them, and finally really killed by cooking them to death. How can such so-called food nourish a human being? Why should we ever think of eating meat, fish, foul, eggs, anything with eyes or, as some say, with two or more senses. The cock-a-doodle-doo who wakes us up in the morning is dinner on the table at night. How gruesome. How ruthless to thus forever close the eyes of an animal, or have someone else do it for them in order that they may buy the carcass, closing their eyes to the fact, which is even worse, and keeping their own eyes closed to that creature's suffering to consume it without conscience during jovial small talk over the dinner table. How easy in turn for such a person to turn and maim or kill a fellow human in the same way in times of stress as a natural reaction, in 'justifiable righteousness.'As the Rig Veda (10.87.16) proclaims: 'One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head.'
More reasons for not eating meat:
Reason 1
Dharma
Vedic Scripture proclaims ahimsa, nonhurtfulness, is a primary religious obligation in fulfillment of dharma, divine law.
Reason 2
Karma
By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused.
Reason 3
Consciousness
By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of the butchered creatures.
Reason 4
Health
Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity. Thus they live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills.
Reason 5
Environment
In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of ancient rain forests to create pasture lands for livestock, loss of topsoil and the consequent increase of water impurities and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet.
SOCIAL SERVICE (SS)
FOR
HAPPINESS AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Professor N.S. Ramaswamy
Man is only one among one million animal species, and hence getting a human birth is a rare privilege. How we became eligible for this good fortune? The creator is considered to be non-partisan, fair, just, impartial, etc. He would not do this without valid reason. If we assume that the Creator has nothing to do with such decisions, then there must be a Natural Law, or Prakrithi, or an Unknown force, which decides such matters. The whole Universe observes the Law of Order. Speed of light, gravitation, movement of planets and stars etc remain the same. A coconut tree would not bear betel nut. Cows do not eat meat. In the case of man, he deviates from norms, Dharma, ethics, etc., and hence there is inequality, iniquity, injustice etc. According to the four religions, born in India, and the opinion of great thinkers all over the world, we are the arbiters of our own destiny. Our life is based on our good and bad deeds done in previous births and in this birth. Good deeds would result in good outcomes in this birth or subsequent births. In any case, doing good things and leading an ethical life would bring in happiness and public esteem. Social service, in that sense, would be beneficial from the Law of Karma and a practical way of leading a peaceful life, useful to society. Social Service Organisations (SSOs) are doing a great service to mankind by giving opportunities for individuals to engage in social service. The very process of working in a SSO has multifarious benefits to individuals and their families.
Social Service (SS) can be to individuals who are suffering due to poverty, handicap, ill-health, mental depression and various other causes who need financial and psychological support. SS can be to the neibourhood, community, caste group, religion and nation. SS can also be to animals for prevention from cruelty to them and also to protect them from over exploitation. SS can also be to protect the environment from pollution, for conservation of ecology, stopping over-exploitation of nature and its endowments, respect for nature, etc. SS can also be for promoting culture, social relationship and harmony in society, inter-religious harmony, international understanding, etc. Most people are not engaged in SS. After retirement, people waste their time by watching cinema, TV serials, gossiping in Clubs, traveling for relaxation, etc. The following article analyses social service to individuals and communities, which would show that those who are engaged in SS would benefit far more than the target beneficiaries, individuals and NGOs engaged in SS. They can enhance happiness which is the true success in life. They will earn public esteem and acquire organizational and leadership qualities. They will develop capability and courage. They may even develop immunity and live long. They would grow in the spiritual ladder towards divinity. They would even develop a purpose in life and avoid loneliness and alienation. They need not be afraid of death and can live with equanimity and calmness. This article proposes a massive social service movement for the welfare of mankind, animals and nature.
All over the world, people join the Rotary and Lions Movements and other NGOs with a variety of motives, one of which is interest in community service. However, they themselves would benefit a great deal through such service by way of enhanced happiness, which is an index of success in life, as well as self development in terms of improved competence and character.
Social Service Organizations (SSOs) have noble missions, with many sided goals and objectives, which benefit individuals and their families, Community and Nation, Mankind and Planet Earth. SSOs bring people together on a common platform, transcending the differences in ideology, profession, religion, language, ethnicity and several such barriers which divide peoples. SSOs bring together nationals from different parts of the world, thus fostering international understanding and peace. Ultimate aim of mankind is to unite under one banner, composed of humanism, brotherhood, peace and harmony. SSOs have social, cultural, professional, philosophical and spiritual dimensions, some of which are obvious, while others are latent in the movement, but which would blossom in the years to come.
The noble ideals of SSOs are by themselves sufficient justification to work in the service of the community. After all, we are all connected in some form or other and are mutually dependent directly or indirectly. Every entity in the world is connected to other entities. While some linkages are strong as in the case of the family or an organization, in the case of others it is weak and less obvious. We depend on the sun, moon, air, water, other nature’s endowments, animal species, fellow-men in various professions and business. We owe a great deal to hundreds of scientists and technologists in the world, Prophets of various religions, teachings of sages and scholars and our forefathers. They have toiled and suffered and have given us this beautiful civilization, which we are enjoying merrily. In every society, Gratitude has a high ethical value. We are expected to contribute (whatever we can to the community) as repaying in return to all these entities for what we have received from them directly or indirectly. Community service is one way by which we can express our gratitude for those known and unknown persons who have made, and still are making our life happy. Innumerable scientists discovered medicine and surgical techniques. Edison and Bell gave us the technology of light and communication, Einstein has stated that mankind owes a great deal to Indian sages who taught the whole world how to count and discovered the concept of zero, decimals, infinity, etc. The present generation cannot do anything to them directly. One way by which we can materially and emotionally express or manifest our gratitude to them is to get engaged in dedicated social service to the community. Also, we ought to be thankful to the community for giving us an opportunity to express our gratitude. People should thank the SSO movement for giving them an organization, platform and opportunity for this. Alone, we cannot do much.
Saints and humanists with compassion have declared “by giving, we become more. Concern and sacrifice for others are the two virtues which distinguish gentlemen from others, who lead a mundane and self centred existence. Happiness lies in giving, and not in taking. Only those who have sacrificed are remembered for ever.” Community service thus gives us an opportunity to climb the humanistic ladder, end point of which is experiencing divinity and happiness.
At the social level, SSOs give members a number of opportunities for enhancing happiness. Husband and wife jointly work, and be together while attending SSO meetings and engaging in social service. SSOs meet professionals of other fields and thus enlarge their horizon and vision. They can learn from each other, thus expanding their knowledge and adding new dimensions and values to themselves. SSOs meet in a non-conflict and non-competitive situations, unlike is the case at home or in business or engaged in professional work. In order to earn livelihood and acquire wealth, most people are engaged in professional work or business, where motivation is generally selfish, i.e. to gain out of transactions and relationships. In the case of SSO meetings and community services, Members in SSOs transit from selfishness to selflessness, from mere careerism to a mission, from grabbing to giving, from individualism to community, from smallness to bigness, from loneliness to camaraderie, etc. From good people, we can learn good things, and from bad people we can learn how to avoid those wrong things. Thus, we have a ‘win-win’ situation, when we get together in SSO meetings or are engaged in community service.
The whole world consists of ‘duality’, such as light – darkness, good – bad, rich – poor, truth – lie, etc. Socio-political systems have not yet found a solution to bring in equity and equality. Destiny and environment make some people rich, while others remain poor. In spite of working very hard, many fail, while others are fortunate by inheriting wealth and lead an affluent life. Therefore, the less fortunate ones need help and support from the more fortunate few. The beneficiaries may even bless the altruistic persons and philanthropists. In a market economy society, there is always an element of exploitation of nature, animals and mankind in transactions and relationships. Already, the whole world is paying a big price for the over-exploitation of nature, animals and mankind as labourers and consumers. What one can do is to reduce such exploitation to the very minimum. SSOs give an opportunity to compensate for such selfishness by giving to the needy what we can afford which can be money or service to those who are less fortunate.
Religious and spiritual people emphasize that our wealth is not really ours, but belongs to God or to humanity. They also say that you can serve God through man, or man through God. In either case, there is a spiritual dimension to sharing wealth and our fortunes with those whose needs are more than ours.
Success in life is really “enhancement of happiness”. Purpose of life itself is to avoid sorrow and suffering and to increase happiness and peace. When we are in non-conflict and non-competitive situations, we are happier than we are while in stress or in conflict or in competition. Thus SSOs give us an opportunity to spend a little time in a happy state when we are engaged in service and that too in a group setting. Group consciousness, at least temporarily, subdues our Ego and individualism role and self importance, on which we usually concentrate most of the time. The word Ego: “mine, my success, my possessions, my family, etc.” restricts our boundary of thinking and acting. When we are engaged in collective effort, we are able to suppress or submerge our narrow minded Ego and sense of self, which takes us away from the vast humanity of which we are only a small part. By being attached to an ideal or a worthy goal, we become closer to the divine and spiritual being. We grow as good human beings and liked by others. There is a theory that we are all connected by Chaithanya or some Divine force, which gives energy to the trillions of electrons and galaxies to move, to tick our hearts, to make a seed become a tree and a human sperm-ovum to become a man. In that sense, we are part of the whole universe. SSOs give an opportunity to give expression to this theory. In small ways, we demonstrate that “you and me are one”, I am part of the Universe”.
Man has a mind. As our minds so we are. Core of management is management of mind. Whatever is outside the mind cannot give us pleasure or pain. Everything is in the mind. Joy, pleasure and happiness are in the mind. Millions like cricket, meat, violent movies, etc., while others don’t. Many eat snakes, dogs and cockroaches, while others don’t. 200 TV serials attract different people. Destiny, education, environment, religion etc condition the mind. Mind wants variety, and hence jumps from thought to thought as well as topic to topic, like monkeys jump from tree to tree. Diversifying and regulating the mind is the essence of Management of Life. SSOs help in developing this essential principle of Management of Life. In office and factories, mind gets stressed due to innumerable factors. We go home fatigued and distressed. In SSOs, we learn how to lead a healthy life – calm, serene, accepting the inevitable, treating all alike, respecting others etc., i.e. good attitude and behavior.
When one comes to SSO meetings, all such anxieties and fears are temporarily set aside. There is an atmosphere of goodwill and bonhomie. Everybody is in a joyful mood, exchanging pleasantries. Mind gets diversified. Members of SSOs meet people of different ideas and ideologies, attitudes and behaviour, interests and motivations, etc. These differences expand the mind, giving it resilience and capacity to endure suffering and to avoid negative tendencies. Thus in meetings and collective community service, mind expands and enhances happiness, which is the real success in life. Money or position cannot give such happiness automatically. Rich people are unable to go to sleep, while millions of poor drop off to sleep the moment they hit the ground. They accept destiny and reality; and surrender. The rich and ambitious struggle and manipulate people and situations. SSO meetings and service give an ambience of ego-lessness, cooperation, camaraderie, service to others, adjusting to others etc. It is a good training exercise.
Body and mind are intimately connected in every sense. The state of health affects the mind and vice versa. Thus a happy mind improves health, enabling the 50 billion cells to multiply, thus improving health and immunity, which in turn, enhance the life span. SSOs recognize merit and concentrates on looking at the good aspects of every body. Negative tendencies are ignored. Even a bad speech is admired. The attitude of “See good things, hear good things, think good things” enables Members of SSOs to develop a positive outlook in life and work. Thus SSOs provide the ambience and opportunities to enhance joy and happiness. Life is a mix of joys and sorrows. SSOs help to increase the former and reduce the latter.
SSOs also help in Self development, in terms of improved health, enhanced life span, increased competence and communication skill, genuine leadership qualities, earning public esteem and goodwill, holistic development of life during productive life as well as during retirement, enlarged friendship circles who help personally and professionally, good thoughts and character resulting in good children, ability to withstand suffering and failure, patience and forbearance, acting as an instrument of god and society, thereby bringing achievement of professional competence and success in business.
Normally, administrators and officers in government, managers and executives in business, professionals in various fields, spiritual teachers, religious leaders as well as all those in positions of power derive their authority by virtue of their position in the hierarchy, money based power, manipulated mass following, compulsion of followers to obey masters, etc. Ability to reward and punish, opportunities for dispensing favours and privileges, etc are the tangible advantages of being in positions of authority in government or business. Managers, officers and administrators are given formal authority by organizations. Subordinators have to simply obey. However, leaders derive their authority over hundreds or even millions by virtue of their service, goodness, charity, compassion to others, sacrifice, ethical and moral life, knowledge, god’s grace, etc. Among these, service to the community, animal species and Nature’s endowments are the major activities which foster leadership qualities and confer informal authority.
All over the world, we have spiritual leaders who exercise their authority over millions by virtue of their spiritual attainment and dedicated service to humanity. In India, we now have Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Amritanandamayi who have millions of followers all over the world from all regions and nations. Gandhiji, as a political leader, is admired and adored by millions in India and abroad. Einstein and Stephen Hawkins are admired and have followers because of their knowledge. Jesus and Buddha have millions of followers by virtue of their sacrifice, truthfulness and compassion. Florence nightingale is remembered for her service to the nursing profession. Like this, in every field, world has produced great leaders in the political, economic, social, cultural, religious and spiritual fields on account of their selfless service and sacrifice for the welfare of mankind, animals and nature. Leadership is universal and eternal, while managerial and official authority is temporary and lasts long only during their position. After retirement, most officers in Government and managers in business do not enjoy public esteem or respect. But leaders are remembered throughout their life and even after they die. Thousands of saints and sages served humanity without even putting their name, as they were totally selfless with no ego or concept of doership.
Most of us cannot attain that high stature, as we are too small and do too little to deserve such a following. But SSOs give us the opportunity and training ground to develop adequate leadership qualities. They will be admired and adored for the quantum and nature of their selfless service to the community, and that too when done without the concept of ego, boastfulness and notion of doership. What is done anonymously for the wellbeing of mankind earns spiritual merit. But, in the secular field, as in the case of SSOs, one gets leadership authority by virtue of service to the community during their life time. Silent service is more effective than what is done for self glorification and publicity. Ideally, one should be a leader while being an officer, manager or professional.
Some Members of SSOs may think that by doing a service to the community, they are making a sacrifice. Engaging themselves in various fields of community service, whether it be in education, poverty alleviation, counseling, etc they lose time and leisure. But in reality, Members of SSOs themselves benefit far more than what they give by way of money, time and effort. Therefore, the motivation for being in the SSO movement could be even selfishness, which means that the selfless service will bring in more benefit for themselves. It is not holy to say that we are holy, or it is not smart to say that we are smart. Community service has its own inherent and intrinsic potential for bringing in enhanced happiness at the personal level at one end and self development at the other. These enable to make life a real success from the societal happiness stand point and also for success in the materialistic world.
From the point of Religion, Spirituality, Culture and Philosophy, the SSO Movement has special significance. The four religions, born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism - believe in the Law of Karma, which simply means that our present life has been designed by the actions done earlier in this birth and previous births. Good deeds done earlier would bring favorable results and evil deeds the opposite. The Karma concept has two parts – the fixed and irrevocable part and the other the variable which can be modified by present good actions. Death is a certainty. Our birth place, parents, religion, attitude and behavior, successes and failures, luck and ill luck are all determined by the Karma, Fate, and Destiny etc, which are different names for the same concept. Thus, by doing good deeds through the SSOs that is by leading an ethical and moral life, compassion, patience, forgiving, friendliness, cheerfulness, selfless work etc we can erase or alter the unfavourable variables of Karma to become favourable. The other four religions of the West Asia – Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam - also emphasize the need for leading an ethical life, service, charity, service, forgivance, sacrifice, prayer, etc. Though these religions do not postulate the Law of Karma, Plato, Shakespeare and most modern scholars like Durant, Toynbee, Frawley and hundreds of others believe in the Law of Karma. The religious part is equally important, which includes Prayer, surrender to God, acting in the name of God, desire-less action, detachment, acting without the notion of non-doer ship expecting no reward etc.
Thus Community service in the SSOs help to grow spiritually and religiously, which in turn would earn the grace and blessing of the God as well as of the community. Even atheists would benefit if they do service in the name of humanity, since in Philosophy, God is present in every animate being and inanimate entity. This means that service has secular and spiritual dimensions, where we would benefit far more than what we put in by way of time, effort an finance to help the beneficiaries of our service. Therefore, those who join the SSOs with an element of differential self interest would find that they would benefit more than the Community, together with better health, longer life span, immunity, bright face etc. Every element of SS, including the organizational discipline, rituals and conventions, would enhance happiness and professional self development, and further hopefully help to get a better life in the next birth for those who believe in it. In any case, we would develop courage and capability. We would not be afraid even of death, which we can really welcome with calm confidence.
Thus SSO is a noble mission where one enjoys life and spreads happiness to all entities. “The time to be happy is NOW, the place to be happy is HERE, and the way to be happy is to make someone else happy and create a bit of HEAVEN right Here”.
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In the Bhagavatham, we find a talk between Sri Krishna and Udhava. Sri Krishna tells him about the decline in Dharma. He prophecies that this would happen in the Kali Yuga which would dawn upon mankind at his own death. He describes how Man can be sabe saved. Some people consider this ‘Gita’ even more important than the better known ‘Gita’ advice to Arjuna at the battlefield.
- KMP Menon
An Appeal to the Leaders of Business, Industry
and the Media
We appeal to the influential leaders to save India. Our country is in danger of emotional, cultural and political disunity. Fragmentation is a threat. Only the Private Corporate Sector has the expertise to avert it. They have proved their ability. This is an urgent appeal to them to uphold Dharma in its broadest sense.
Please see the ‘Afterword’
AFTER WORD
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy
Leaders of Business and Media World
The Indian Heritage Academy has launched an ‘India Century Mission’ (ICM) to fulfill the dream of Swami Vivekananda to make India materially prosperous with moral excellence. Mr. Mukesh Ambani, of RIL, is supporting this mission through Dhirubai Ambani Foundation. This is an appeal to other leaders of the Corporate Sector to help this Mission.
Due to the inappropriate political economy and bureaucratic system our country is facing many dangers, such as, political instability, emotional fragmentation, Centre-States and interstate conflicts, etc. Among the various sectors of the economy and segments of society, only the Corporate Sector has the necessary resources and managerial competence to avert this impending crisis. This booklet on ‘Upholding Dharma’ explains the situation and proposes alternative systems.
India is surrounded by hostile neighbours. Internally, Maoists, Naxalites, Separatists, Insurgents and Terrorists are growing spreading their network, and are causing damage to life and property. Our representatives in the Legislatures look least concerned. Some of them are acting like hooligans. Democracy has been replaced by Mobocracy. Crime and violence have increased. Regional leaders, elected by rousing linguistic passion, have become more powerful. They are confronting and blackmailing the coalition based Central Government. Money and liquor power are dominating politics. Grabbing power and sustaining it and plundering Government funds have become the main objective of some political parties and leaders.
Changing the political economy and public administrative system is the only solution. The other sectors, such as political parties, public administration, organizations under the control of the Government, media, education system and others do not have the capability to take on this onerous responsibility.
The Corporate sector has a stake in the unity of the country, as their raw materials and markets are spread all over the country. Their assets will be the first to be burnt when law and order breaks down. We have suggested various alternatives, such as Electoral Reforms, Small States, De-bureaucratization, making the Media more positive, reforming the Education system, etc. The Corporate sector has the necessary financial, organizational and managerial resources to influence the Government and to educate the people for creating awareness on the need for a major change in the systems.
Our idea is that a few Corporate organizations, such as Tatas, Birlas, Ambani, Godrej, M&M, L&T, Mittals, Hindujas, Infosys, HLL, ITC, Wipro, Dalmias, ESSAR, GMR, Bajaj and a few others to collectively, or independently, establish institutions for research and campaigns for this purpose. The Corporate Sector is already upholding some ideals of Dharma.
Shankara TV has offered a weekly slot, to Padma Bhushan Professor N.S. Ramaswamy, National Professor in Management, to speak on topics of National importance, which requires Corporate Sponsorship of Rs. 11,500 for a half an hour telecast. It will give good publicity also.
We visualise establishment of a Development Centre, like the Brookings Institute, World Watch Institute, SRI, etc., which can provide alternative ideas and policies to the Government and also create public opinion to compel politicians to reform the systems.
Prof. Ramaswamy Padma Bhushan & National Research Professor in Management , Founder Director IIM Bangalore, Director NITIE. Kindly become a Member of INDIAN HERITAGE ACADEMY (IHA) and give donation to IHA and support our Mission in order to protect India’s Unity and Culture Monthly Journal will be sent free. We welcome your Feedback/views/articles and we shall publish them.
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