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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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The existence of the relative factors of time, space and person is substantiated in the field of cognition, and the cognizant bearing in its inertness is the highest stance of these factors. The inherent dynamicity of an entity, depending on the existential collaboration of another entity (or in certain cases of other entities, in which case immobility becomes of indefinite character), is called its gati [movement], while that of an entity independent of other entities is called its agati [immobility]. When this relative movement loses its adjustment with the temporal factor it may be called a state of pause – in a limited sense, staticity. The movement of an entity in relation to the witnessing faculty may be called its accelerated or retarded movement, depending upon the degree of its actional expression.
The question of whether or not movement and inertness are absolute is a knotty problem for both science and philosophy. In fact, just as dynamicity is characterized by the stigma of relativity, by the same logic inertness is also characterized by the stigma of relativity. So from an absolute point of view, if the existence of movement is denied, the existence of inertness or existential faculty will also have to be denied. When the observable objects do not seem to change place judged by relative standards, we call that state a state of inertness. But in such circumstances the movement of the observer and the observed entity within the Macrocosmic arena remains beyond the comprehension of our crude and subtle minds. That is why this so-called state of inertness cannot be called absolute inertness.
In individual life the supreme stance is that state in which the causal mind, or astral mind, remains inactive. We cannot call the disembodied state of mind the supreme stance because in that case the seed of dynamicity is still active in the Cosmic Mind and the Cosmic corpor with the help of the Cosmic Operative Principle. From this we can deduce that the supreme stance can be attained only when the seed of psychic functioning has been demolished.
The Cosmic Operative Principle, whereby the Citishakti [Supreme Cognitive Faculty] goes on transforming itself into Cosmic ectoplasms and those Cosmic ectoplasms into the bha cakra [spatio-eternal system] without undermining its own status, must necessarily imbibe the witness-ship of the Sambharaka [Supreme Substantial Progenitor] of the ectoplasms. In this very witness-ship the ectoplasm-begotten primeval elements get their existential recognition or cognizance but their own motivity does not. The Supreme Substantial Progenitor witnesses the motivities of the ectoplasms in some of its stances like ota (uniscient), anujiṋáta (post-uniscient) and anujiṋá (post-uniscience).
When movement has the scope of being witnessed, there cannot be an acceleration or retardation in movement due to the self-involvement of unit ectoplasms. Though unit ectoplasms feel their internal movement, their external movement, which is dependent upon other entities, is not felt due to the absence of any second entity other than the unit ectoplasms themselves, and thus, instead of calling their sense of movement movement, it is more appropriate to call it non-movement, or motionlessness.
Unit consciousness, when it is self-dependent (it is dependent on others also), views the transposition of objects, and only that part of movement actually comes under the category of motion. When the self-dependent movement (as also the dependent one), giving up its effort or failing in its effort to exert, surrenders to the state of motionlessness, such a condition indeed is called cessation. Apparently all kinds of movement in this expressed universe are linked with the state of pause. Thus, every action is systaltic. The saḿkocátmaka bháva(1) is an attempt to find stability in a state of pause.
Pause is only a temporary state of inertness. Full expression of action occurs only after attaining momentum for movement from the state of inertness. No action is possible without momentum attained from the state of inertness, and thus every action (roughly, it is also called movement) must be systaltic, or pulsative, by nature.
In the same way, unhindered expansion, or enhancement, and unhindered contraction are impossible in the realm of mundanity. The manifestative bearing of action or movement is directly related to the relative factors of time, space and person, and the contractive bearing is an attempt at detachment from the temporal factor. As the state of contraction is entrenched in inertness, the unit entity loses its awareness of the temporal factor.
Is that state which we call the state of expression a continuous process? In fact, the cause of expression is the momentum derived from the state of pause. With the momentum thus attained, the state of manifestation continues with ever-increasing speed until it reaches a final stage which is also a state of pause. This pause is also entrenched in a state of inertness, but in this state, due to the expressive impact of the temporal factor, no momentum can be acquired from the state of inertness. In the next state of pause, that is, in the second half of movement, the manifestative movement is transformed into non-manifestative inertness. This state of non-manifestative inertness is ever-decreasing by nature. This process of gradual contraction is nothing but an ultimate surrender to the state of inertness.
A structure or an entity, after getting momentum from systolic pause, progresses towards manifestative pause. This is the rule. This momentum is attained in the absence of the assertive presence of the temporal factor. Such momentum cannot be attained when the personal factor is defective or not manifest. This sort of absence of the personal factor or structural defect is termed death.
We can roughly compare this systaltic movement with a trek across a series of hills which are arranged in successive order. Having gathered vital force from the plain, one advances towards the first summit, that is, towards the state of manifestative pause. The trek down the other side of the hill can be compared with the movement towards systolic pause. And then again, acquiring one’s strength, the uphill advance towards the next summit is a renewed attempt to reach manifestative pause. But while climbing up the hill one’s physical speed decreases in relation to the proximity to the summit, although due to one’s increased mental speed, one’s aggregate speed actually increases. If one falls down the other side of the hill and corporeal derangement takes place, one will not be able to climb up the next slope after reaching the plain. This situation is called structural derangement, or death.
The human respiratory system also provides us with a good comparison with the systaltic flow of movement. Puraka [inhalation] can be compared with the movement towards manifestative pause. The retention of breath at the end of puraka (púrńa kumbhaka) is manifestative pause. Recaka [exhalation] is the movement towards systolic pause. And holding the breath after complete exhalation (shúnya kumbhaka) is systolic pause. In the retention of breath after inhalation there is manifestation of time and continuity of movement, but no sense of dynamism. In the total exhalation, however, there is no manifestation of time but there is continuity of movement minus the sense of dynamism. [From the end of] one puraka to the beginning of another puraka constitutes half of the cycle of respiration. After every such half-cycle or trip, that is, in every post-exhalation pause, there occurs the death of the unit being. But after gathering vitality for the second time from this death or state of pause, the unit being comes alive again during the next inhalation. If, after the full cycle of inhalation and exhalation, the physical mechanism is unable to gather vital force from the state of pause, further inhalation becomes impossible and what we commonly call death occurs.
Actually, the unit structure dies thousands of times every day, after every exhalation. In the scriptures this sort of microcosmic death is called the khańd́a pralaya [partial annihilation] of the unit entity. When the temporal factor is evident and the seed of or potential for further inhalation and exhalation is intact, this cannot be considered death. Yogic texts prescribe various methods of recakánta práńáyáma and purakánta práńáyáma [respiratory control] whereby a huge quantity of vital force may be acquired from the five fundamental factors.
When the waves of the unit mind lose parallelism with those of the Macrocosmic Mind or move in the opposite direction, it can be called the degeneration of the unit entity. When the waves of the unit mind move in parallelism, it is called the natural movement of the unit mind. When the waves travel faster, we call it the advancement or progress of the unit mind.
Nothing in this relative world of multiplicities is stationary. Had this not been so, all entities would have become one – all the multiplicities, losing their distinctive individual faculties, would have been reduced to one singularity. Thus, the existence of the manifest world finds its substantiation not in the absolute flow, but in the relative flow, of movement.
It is with the assembling of many individuals that a society comes into being. In a society it is impossible for individuals to move exclusively according to their individual saḿskáras [inherent momenta]. Although it may be possible in the subtle and causal spheres, it is not possible in the physical sphere. The totality of various individual flows of movement constitutes collective social movement. Each individual flow is influenced by the collective flow and strives to move ahead in adjustment with it, at least in the mundane sphere.
The fact is that an inorganic entity is transformed into an organic being due to physical clash. Further development of that being is a result of both physical and psychic clashes. These clashes come directly from the systolic pause of social forces and indirectly from natural sources.
If the resultant cumulative flow of innumerable individuals is termed the social or collective flow, then the latter’s trough and crest is shorter than the trough and crest of the individual flows. And this shortness of the collective wavelength hastens either a kránti [evolution] or a viplava [revolution].
Manifestative movement acquires momentum from its previous state of pause in saḿkocer bháva [systolic bearing]. The mildness or severity of the movement depends on both the length of the period of pause and the inherent strength of the structure. A long period of inertness may be termed death only when an old structure is unable to assimilate the vital force of pause. In this case a newer structure becomes necessary for the manifestative movement [from] the state of pause. This new structure may be either a newer form of the old one or an altogether different form. Whenever there is a state of manifestation following a state of inertness, changes are bound to occur within the structure. But that structure can only be called new when the unit mind or the collective mind cannot perceive the distinct change between the old and new forms.
During the previous state of pause, one structure meets with death due to suppression or destruction by another structure. Such deaths occur both in individuals and in society. When a unit or society devours or suppresses another the necessary assimilation of conflicting waves and the resultant clashes cause its wavelength to become shorter in length, leading to the possibility of structural death. In this process of assimilation, if there is the possibility of vibrational adjustment, the individual and collective structures have a greater chance of acquiring more inherent vitality.
Egyptian Civilization
Take the case of ancient Egyptian civilization. Whether we like all the features of ancient Egyptian civilization or not, it could definitely claim some special characteristics. But the conflict of waves that occurred in its inner body weakened the collective waves of the society as a whole. The various social groups from Asia and the southeast European countries were inherently stronger in their collective waves than the Egyptians themselves, and this led to the destruction of the Egyptian civilization. However, a proper assessment of this historical occurrence will reveal that the ancient Egyptian civilization was not completely destroyed. Although many of the above-mentioned social groups were less saḿvedanashiila(2) (but had greater physical vitality) than the ancient Egyptian civilization and were therefore able to destroy both the vital force of its civilization and its social structure, they themselves were influenced by the greater sensibility of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
The greatest blow to Egyptian civilization came from the section of Arab society that was imbued with Islamic ideology. Due to the influence of these new Arab bhávadhárá [thought-waves], the new Egypt became dissociated, in its thought-waves, from ancient Egypt. Thus modern Egypt has ideologically(3) nothing in common with its ancient past.
The Arab culture was not only full of vitality, it also had a distinct sensibility of its own. Although the vitality of the Egyptian traditions was destroyed at the time of the Arab invasion, Egypt’s inherent sensibility was not. What remained of Egyptian sensibility was diametrically opposite to the new Arab thought-wave. The Arabs assimilated the antithetical Egyptian sensibility, and as a result the Arab thought-wave was considerably weakened. As a result it became impossible for the Arabs to conquer Europe. This was also one of the main reasons for the retreat of the Iberian Moors.
One question remains. Since ancient Arab thought-waves and Islamized Arab thought-waves were different from each other, why did the former not destroy the vital force of the latter? Actually, many ancient Arab thought-waves were assimilated into the Islamized Arab thought-waves. Where there were differences, there was tremendous conflict. However, a common ádarsha [ideology] and a common spiritual awareness, both accepted by a large number of people, greatly helped the Islamized Arab ideas to establish themselves over the ancient Arab ideas.
Islamized Arab ideas suffered the same set-back in Persia on the east as they did in Egypt on the west. Persian society had its own distinct characteristics and only accepted Islamic thought-waves externally, while its own Persian ideology remained for a long time as a subterranean flow. It remains even today, though only as a thin current.
Islamized Arab ideology became weakened as it passed through Persia, and after crossing the Indus Valley and entering India it was unable to exert a deep influence on Indian society. But this was secondary as a reason that the Islamized Arabs were unable to defeat India. The most important reason was the strength of India’s social and spiritual ideology and the rationalistic mentality of the Indians themselves. Although the varńáshrama [caste] system was based on idol worship and created deep divisions in the Indian social structure, the greatness of India’s moral, social and spiritual ideology had generated a powerful wave in her collective life. The Islamic social ideology, modified as it was after passing through Persia, was unable to obliterate that wave.
That modified Islamic social ideology has lived side by side with the Indian social ideology for centuries, but due to the opposite natures of their waves, the exchange between them has been negligible. Of course Islamic society has had some influence on the external forms of Indian society, but Islam has not had any influence on the mental and spiritual outlook of the Indian people. The Sufi influence on Indian society (an influence particularly on Indian Vaishnavism) is actually of Persian and not of Islamic origin. The vibrational expression of the Sufi influence is in harmony with Indian thinking and it has therefore supplied vital energy to Indian social life for centuries.
Shúdra Society
When the waves of the unit mind try to adjust to the rhythm of materialistic waves without attempting to assimilate them, the unit mind gradually becomes materialistic. [[If a person’s mind dwells on matter, that mind will naturally be filled with tamoguńii [static] darkness, and the person will be called a shúdra.]] Those who have a shúdra mentality can collectively be called the shúdra society. Needless to say, such people cannot control anything, because the crudest waves, the waves of matter, control them.
When the human race was in an embryonic stage and humans evolved from animal mentality to human mentality, human beings then, as today, found two paths open to them. The first was to become crude by ideating on matter – the path of shúdra-hood; and the second was to overcome material and psychic obstacles by ideating on subtle things – the path of kśatriya-hood. In those days people’s minds were so full of material thoughts, due to living in a hostile natural environment, that at that early stage everyone necessarily possessed a shúdra mentality.
Due to mutual self-interest people developed social bonds, but they were unable to build a social structure, and society in those days basically meant only a particular individual’s own body, and the wife, to some extent sons and daughters, and close relatives that contributed to the pleasure of that body. As conjugal relations were based on gratification – on the enjoyer and the object of enjoyment – there was no sense of responsibility or humanity. Today there are shúdras with this propensity scattered throughout the world in all societies.
People with a shúdra mentality fall in the same category as all animals that have a strong desire for physical enjoyment. At that time the powerful men, who had a strong desire for physical enjoyment, were polygamous. When such men were defeated, they were either exiled, or killed by stronger men. The little art and literature that existed did not reflect developed sensibilities. It was merely the expression of the greediness of people given to materialistic enjoyment.
The people of that shúdra society felt some parental affection for their children due to their physical contact with them, but once their children grew up and clashes of interest typical of the shúdra mentality would come about, they would not maintain the relationship. So although parents had a temporary affection for their children, the children could have no sense of responsibility towards their parents or close relatives.
People had no sense of duty towards each other and no social order had evolved. People generally felt uneasy if they came too close to each other. In fact, the shúdra society of that time could not claim to be much better than the present-day society of monkeys or dogs.
Frankly stated, shúdras live only for physical enjoyment. They neither bother about ideology nor give any value to rationality. Of the three aspects of time – past, present and future – they think only about the present. They have neither the time nor the inclination to think about the past or the future. Religion, spirituality and a genuine social system have no significance for them. Whatever religion, spirituality or social order we observe in shúdra society results from an unholy alliance between their fearfulness and their self-interest.
Intellectually shúdras are as dull as beasts. Whether it is a natural calamity, or the gloomy night, or the joyful dawn, or a burning desert, they have always viewed and continue to view it either with the eyes of fear or with the eyes of escapism. This type of fear psychology elevates different natural phenomena in their eyes to the status of gods. They learn to worship trees, mountains, forests, seas, etc., as gods out of fear and a greater or lesser degree of self-interest, but not due to the inspiration of the indivisible Supreme Entity. We can thus conclude that the shúdra social order is based on fear alone.
The main sentiment in the shúdra social system is “Let the living live better, and let the dying die quickly. Don’t waste energy trying to save them.” An attitude such as this produces a particular type of selfish social system which, in reality, is neither a society nor a system. Only this much have the shúdras created and can they create.
The rudimental idea of shúdra society, like that of merciless nature, is survival of the fittest. Where there is no love and compassion for the weak, there will be no collective effort to preserve their lives. Children will take no responsibility for their elderly parents. So people will remain divided into innumerable groups and somehow pass their time; for them the joy of collective living – the expansiveness of many minds moving together – is nothing but a disquieting dream.
Shúdras are always sleeping. They can perform work only if someone wakes them up. Once the work is done, they go back to sleep. In order to maintain the cáturvarńika(4) social system, some work will have to be taken from the shúdras. Consciousness should be developed among shúdras in order to protect them from the inhuman greed of the vaeshyas. (All non-vaeshyas slip into shúdra-hood on the eve of a shúdra revolution.)(5) But is it possible to create genuine awareness in shúdras? It is the kśatriyas who make shúdras work, who temporarily inspire them to revolt. Shúdras are mechanical and do only what they are told – they do only the work they are told to do and no more.
There are both honest and dishonest kśatriyas, but the majority of kśatriyas are dishonest. It is often observed that when shúdras are led by kśatriyas they readily support revolution or counter-revolution, like insects attracted to a fire and burnt by the flames. The kśatriyas usually acquire name, fame, wealth and influence by totally cheating the shúdras. To win the minds of the ignorant shúdras they have cheated, the kśatriyas praise them lavishly for their victories. This praise of their hollow victories makes the shúdras forget their defeat. During the post-revolutionary period, the shúdras, instead of thinking about their own interests, believe that the greatest achievement of their lives has been to be the standard-bearers of the deceitful kśatriyas.
Kśatriya Society
If the human mind ideates intensely on pleasure yet does not become subservient to matter but instead controls the waves of matter with its own waves, matter will serve the human mind. Those who through incessant fight have acquired the mental capacity to control matter as they choose, are called kśatriyas. Struggle is the dharma of kśatriyas. They are imbued with indomitable vital force and are not symbolized by the black colour of darkness. They represent spiritedness. Their colour is blood-red.
Shúdras are afraid of high mountains. They regard a towering mountain as a god and bow their heads before it. They try to dissuade the kśatriyas from climbing the mountain, saying, “God will become angry. Please do not climb it.” But the kśatriyas go ahead anyway. After reaching the summit they declare that they have conquered the mountain. Through their mental waves and their intellect they have turned crude matter into dynamite and have advanced by blowing up the mountain. The nature of kśatriyas is to enslave matter.
The collective name of those who have kśatriya propensities is kśatriya society. Kśatriyas spend all their energy controlling matter. They cannot think of or understand anything beyond matter. They protect society by laying down their lives and by taking the lives of others.
How the Kśatriyas Evolved
In the embryonic stage of the human race, those who became the slaves of nature due to circumstantial pressure were the shúdras. But those among them who came in contact with the relatively harsh aspects of nature and made even a small amount of effort to survive by fighting against them, were, in the world of those days, the fathers of the kśatriyas.
Later on, those shúdras who made a habit of fighting against nature due to the inspiration of the fathers of the kśatriyas guided – and are still guiding and will continue to guide – the development of kśatriya society. In fact, the seed of human greatness was dormant in the shúdras and germinated in the kśatriyas. Today the superiority that human beings enjoy over all other creatures in the society of living things results from their endeavours to conquer the animate and inanimate worlds; this was first expressed in the minds of the kśatriyas.
The greatness and paoruśa(6) of the kśatriyas struck the shúdras with wonder. The cowardly and intellectually-undeveloped shúdras accepted the superiority of the kśatriyas and paid obeisance to their bravery and spiritedness. The kśatriyas used the shúdras as servants in their fight against the inanimate world and ensured their obedience by courageously taking responsibility for their safety and protection. So the shúdras also played a role in the kśatriyas’ conquest of the inanimate world, and their role was not unimportant. But most of the credit goes to the kśatriyas, because whatever the shúdras did, they did under the wings of the kśatriyas.
The Start of the Kśatriya Age
We may call the day the kśatriyas started to protect the shúdras the beginning of the Kśatriya Age in human society, but that age did not come overnight. Numerous fragmented shúdra societies gradually accepted the authority of the kśatriyas and began to unite under their hegemony. In other words, many shúdra societies would unite into a new social system, and in each case one kśatriya would be the symbol of that new system. This acceptance of a kśatriya as the symbol of shúdra unity, which came about through a process of transformation, represents the first kránti [evolutionary step] in human history.
Different groups formed, each with a kśatriya as the symbolic head. To maintain the purity of the group’s blood and in order to identify people correctly, brave and spirited women had at an earlier stage been recognized as the group-mothers. All the men and women in a group had been named after that matriarch. As both the mother and the father of a child belonged to the same group, the value of their having separate identities from each other was not felt. When a matriarch died and a new matriarch was elected, or when a group broke into sub-groups, it was only necessary to determine the identity of one’s group-mother. In other words, kśatriya society had initially been matriarchal. The group system of the Kśatriya Age was the first stage in the evolution of a social system.
During the Kśatriya Age the different groups continually fought among themselves to establish their supremacy; hence in the kśatriya social order, love for one’s group was more evident than in the Shúdra Age. The spiritedness and self-confidence of the kśatriyas inspired people to unite and build a society out of a crude, self-centred consciousness; the consciousness and sentiment of prestige also played an important part. In other words, although the struggle for existence was the main concern, the struggle for prestige was not unimportant. This sentiment, this sense, of prestige greatly inspired people in the Kśatriya Age in the work of conquering the inanimate world, and continues to inspire people even today.
The shúdras had fought solely to survive, whereas the kśatriyas fought for their own survival, for the survival of others and for their prestige. The shúdras’ main aim had been to arrange food and security by any means, whereas the kśatriyas’ aim was to conquer with glory. This sentiment enabled the kśatriyas to develop a subtler intellect and awakened their conscience and discriminative judgement. It went against the kśatriyas’ conscience to kill the unarmed, to kill women, children or old people, to kill those who had surrendered, or to kill a retreating enemy. In a word, the kśatriyas’ sense of valour transcended the animal level, and they learned to understand the value of human beings.
The Rise of Patriarchy
It was to a large extent this sense of value that elevated conjugal and domestic life to the human level. Conjugal relations came not to be limited to the enjoyer-and-enjoyed level but to include a sense of duty. As conjugal relations developed, a father’s sense of duty towards his children also awakened. This led to a reduction in the mothers’ responsibilities to some extent, and as a consequence women became partially dependent on men for their food and clothes, particularly during pregnancy and immediately after childbirth. As a result, although couples belonged to the same group, they began to form into families headed by men. Because families were headed by men, the groups also became male-dominated and the matriarchs lost the power they had previously enjoyed.
In olden times kśatriya societies began to recognize a man and a woman as husband and wife, although the bonds of such relationships were not strong. As the society became patriarchal, even in the latter half of the Kśatriya Age men kept many wives as they had in the Shúdra Age. The only difference between the polygamies of the two eras was that wives in the Shúdra Age had no social ties to their husbands, whereas the ties between the husbands and wives in the latter half of the Kśatriya Age were socially recognized. Although the social system which was formed in the first half of the Kśatriya Age was to some extent strengthened in the latter half, the stability of both conjugal and group relations in the latter half depended more on the physical abilities and bravery of the group-father, or patriarch, and other males than on genuine humanism or a sense of discipline. The maxim of the Kśatriya Age was “Might makes right.”
Human beings are creatures of sensibility. A sense of responsibility, as well as love and affection, having already awakened in parents for their children, in the latter half of the Kśatriya Age a sense of responsibility also started to awaken in children towards their parents. Duty-conscious children were careful to maintain the traditions and proclaim the heroism of their fathers, and fathers also wanted their children to inherit their heroic qualities, powerful personalities, and traditions. Thus, as the relationship between fathers and their children was strengthened, society was also strengthened.
In order to properly maintain the heroism and traditions of the family, great importance was given to the careful selection of brides and grooms at the time of marriage. As a result, in the Kśatriya Age socially-recognized conjugal relations gradually evolved, replacing unrecognized relationships.
Phallus Worship
There is no doubt that the culture of the kśatriyas – their music, dance and art – reflected their sensibilities. The art of the kśatriyas depicted their tremendous efforts to conquer the world and not their enjoyment of material pleasure. These warlike people gave great importance to increasing their numbers so that they could fight against their enemies. That is why the courageous but uncultured kśatriyas of ancient times invented linga, or phallus, worship as a symbol for the increase of their numerical strength. This mentality of the kśatriyas can be found in the Mayan civilization of America and the Dravidian civilization of India as well as in particular types of Tantric ritual. No matter how phallus-and-vulva worship be philosophically explained today, it essentially expresses the ancient kśatriya desire to increase their population.
The patriarch, or gańapati (gańesha), of a kśatriya society was worshipped in those days as a god, and in this worship the head of an elephant, recognized as the greatest animal, would be used as the head of the idol. And in fact this gańapati or gańesha [group leader] figure, after undergoing certain philosophical explanations in those ancient times, evolved into the god Gańesha. Even though society is now vaeshya-dominated, both linga and Gańapati are still commonly worshipped. Many people do not understand or deliberately try to forget that what underlies this form of worship is the primitive social outlook of the kśatriyas.
Today some philosophers may say, Yasmin sarváńi liiyante talliuṋgam, or Liuṋgate gamyate yasmád talliuṋgam – that is, “The entity in which everything merges is called liuṋga,” [or “The entity from which everything originates [[and towards which everything is moving]] is called liuṋga”]. In other words, “worship of the linga means worship of Supreme Consciousness.” This interpretation is unacceptable, and the best proof that this is so is that Supreme Consciousness cannot be contained in any receptacle, whereas the physical linga does serve well as a symbol of numerical growth.
Gańapati was also gradually transformed into a scriptural deity. The authors of the Puranas traced the ancestry of Gańapati and claimed that he was the son of the god Shiva, in whose name the philosophically-interpreted phallus worship was practised. An attempt was also made in scripture to synthesize these two ideas with each other. Thus the sensibilities of the ancient kśatriyas were dyed the colour of the intellect of the vipras and accepted in a new way.
The Heroism of the Kśatriyas
We could not say of kśatriyas that they live only for physical enjoyment. Physical enjoyment and following an ideology are equally important to them; sometimes the one may be a little more important, sometimes the other.
Throughout both the ancient and modern history of the human race we observe that people with a kśatriya nature went to their deaths gladly, or thrust their necks into a noose, or bared their chests to bullets, or, rather than face the humiliation of total defeat, shot themselves in an attempt to escape probable indignities. People with a shúdra mentality do not come in the reckoning, but those with a kśatriya mentality, particularly those with an extremely kśatriya mentality, cannot stay out of the public eye. Willingly or unwillingly, they inevitably come into the limelight.
The heroic victories of the kśatriyas were celebrated in the Vedic and Mahábhárata ages and in ancient Greek and Egyptian times, and continue to be celebrated in both developed and undeveloped societies today. The admirers of different kśatriyas have told their tales, while those who have strongly opposed them on principle have nevertheless had to applaud their gallantry and heroism. Even the people of England praise the bravery of Napoleon Bonaparte. Even the people of France recognize the powerful personality of Hitler. Even the conservatives in Indian politics cannot deny the heroism of Prafulla Chaki, Khudiram, Rashbehari and Subhash.(7)
It is only in the case of those who live for physical enjoyment alone that there will be a clash of self-interests. Only they are unable to establish any superiority over the common crowd.
There are tens of millions of people in the world who live only for physical enjoyment. They are born; they eat; they preserve their lineage; they bring up their children to further their own interests; they look upon everything as objects of gratification; and they turn to others out of greed. Their past is dark and so is their future, and they block out the light of the present with the blackness of their petty selfishness. These are the shúdras. They live and die unnoticed, and unnoticed they carry about the burdens of their lives. Their birth, life and death mean nothing to the collective being of humanity. They cannot create any vibration in the human race through their actions, nor can they arouse sleeping humanity with a thunderous voice. No doubt they live in the world, but they are incapable of leaving any trace in its heart.
But kśatriyas are indeed capable of such actions. Their lives, whether they occupy a long span or a short span of human history, do create a stir in the world. By fathoming that stir, one will know which kśatriya it was that came on earth, and when. That is why kśatriyas are regarded as gods by the shúdras, who live only for physical enjoyment. And that is why the Kśatriya Age, accompanying a social kránti [evolution], was easily established in the ancient world.
Time has three divisions: past, present and future. Kśatriyas only think about the past and the present. They do not worry about the future. Ignoring future consequences and inspired by their ideology, they jump into the licking flames of a fire, leap from the top of a lofty mountain and take off in their rockets to explore planets and satellites. They want to conquer, to be conquerors, and not merely to live.
Kśatriyas also think about the past. They do not like to forget their traditions. The inspiration of the past helps them to determine the speed of their movement into the future. They get inspired by the annals of bravery of their ancestors or group. They seek revenge against the enemies of their forefathers. It is not possible for them to decide on their course of action without first analysing the significant and insignificant events of the past.
Religion and Spirituality
Whatever the real meaning of dharma may be, kśatriyas have a certain magnanimity of mind and a certain dharmácarańa [spiritual way of life] based on that magnanimity. They pray to their imaginary gods for a son, a wife, riches, name and fame, to Rudra for fierceness and to Cańd́a Shakti for ruthlessness, and they also beseech universal Prakrti [the Supreme Operative Principle], saying, “Give me beauty, give me victory, give me fame, and give me the strength to vanquish my enemies.” They want such things from their imaginary gods not only for themselves but also for those under their protection. However, they want to keep to themselves the right to distribute these things.
In fact, what spirituality the kśatriyas have is not free from the influence of matter. Their spirituality is actually limited to the effort to acquire material things or the effort to conquer matter. It is not easy for their intellect to understand the meaning of spirituality, that is, spiritual progress. The high standard which is necessary for the struggle involved in spiritual sádhaná [spiritual practices] is absent to some extent in most kśatriyas because their minds are extremely restless.
The Social Structure
Society means a group of people moving together. For the kśatriyas, who thrive on struggle, there is an undeniable need for unity and a need to form a group. Not only must they form a group, they must also maintain a high standard of discipline within that group. It is through the formation of groups and the maintenance of discipline that society is established. So without the assistance of kśatriyas, a society cannot be created.
To maintain society an administration is necessary, and to maintain the administration a system of government is necessary. No one would submit to the administration of a shúdra. The kśatriyas introduced the first administrative system through brute force. The shúdras and the weak kśatriyas submitted to the brute force of the stronger kśatriyas and accepted the latters’ patriarch as king. Under the administration of this king, a social and governmental structure began to form.
The kśatriya social system emphasized a sense of discipline. The kśatriya administration had little concern for what the common people thought about that discipline or whether they were practically benefited by it.
The selection of the kśatriya leader was based on physical might, strength of arms and mental strength. Naturally after the death of a leader, either one of his sons, or that man from one of the groups under his protection who had the greatest number of similar qualities, was accepted as the next kśatriya leader.
In the course of time the age of the kśátra-pitá or sarddár [kśatriya leader] was replaced by the age of the monarchy. This transformation took place mainly for the sake of maintaining discipline. After the death of a kśatriya leader, there would be a violent struggle for power among his sons and among the youths of the groups under his protection. By the time this struggle was finally over and a new kśatriya leader was selected, everything in the group was topsy-turvy, or the group had become fragmented into many smaller groups. A greater sense of discipline was obviously needed to save the group from such disorder or fragmentation. So to avoid internal conflicts, the custom of appointing the son, particularly the eldest son, of the kśatriya leader as the leader’s successor, was introduced in most of the kśatriya groups. Once this became the system, it may be said that monarchy had become established in kśatriya society.
The kings of those days were generally not kings in the sense that we use the word today. Because a kingdom was acquired through heredity, that is, because the system of selecting the kśatriya king or leader was not based on physical might, strength of arms and mental strength, a king had to some extent to cater to public opinion. How much he had to cater depended upon the degree of unity, the level of discrimination and the standard of intelligence of the local people. For example, in most parts of India, when the king made out a deed on támralipi [copper sheets used like writing paper], he would write the following command to his subjects: “You shall accept this deed of gift.” But in Bengal, in such deeds, the king would write the following request: “Please approve of this deed of gift.” This example shows that the kings of Bengal tried to take into account the will of their subjects; they did not act as dictators. Once the system of monarchy was established among the kśatriyas, the work of building society advanced under its sheltering wing.
A strong social structure could not be formed where a monarchy had evolved relatively late or where a democracy or republic had been established after a short period of monarchy. Due to a lack of strong state control in those countries where repeated coup d́ tats took place or where the reigns of the kings were very short, a firm social system could not be built, nor could a proper sense of discipline be awakened in the people. Of course by “the reigns of the kings” here I mean the administrations of the kśatriya leaders. Their long-term dictatorial administrations amounted for this purpose to the same things as long-lasting monarchies.
(The sense of discipline in kśatriyas is the same as that in soldiers. It means that whether one likes it or not, one has to abide by certain rules and regulations lest the defences be breached.)
After the French revolution no French government had the opportunity to govern for a long time. So although the common people in post-revolutionary France came to suffer less exploitation by the king, and less abuse of government power, the big harm done was the lack of a firm, well-knit social structure.
In the United States of America, the world-famous democracy, a social system and social discipline are largely lacking, although there is no dearth of social education, nor the least lack of a spirit of social service or a sense of unity among the general public. If those who are devoid of spirituality are not controlled by the authority of the government or some other group, it will not be possible for them to properly follow discipline.
In some countries in ancient times, a social system meant the caste system. But even the caste, or varńáshrama, system could not be built in a firm way in those parts of those countries where the state or governmental system was weak. As of the onset of Islamic rule, a strong varńáshrama system had never been created in East Bengal [now Bangladesh] or in some other parts of eastern India, due to the weakness of the state administration.
Kśatriya Mentality
In kśatriya society people do not follow religion or develop a sense of discipline out of what we would call a fear complex, exactly, but a strong desire for self-preservation certainly plays a part. Although unholy alliances based on self-interest exist among groups of kśatriyas, such alliances do not exhibit the base mentality of the shúdras.
Were the kśatriyas intellectually superior or inferior to animals? An animal knows how to meet its physical needs; it enjoys crude pleasures and has a sense of responsibility towards its children and to some extent towards its mate. But if we analyse the way in which kśatriyas are prepared to protect others, sacrifice for an ideology, or give up their most precious possession, their lives, for the sake of honour or for some other reason, it becomes clear that they are far more developed mentally than animals. In fact, it is the life of shúdra society that is only a little more developed than that of animals. Kśatriyas’ lives are more developed, their minds more fully expressed.
Factors in the Evolution of the Kśatriyas
A close scrutiny will lead us to the conclusion that the physical clash of animal life resulted in the creation of shúdra life, and the physical clash of the shúdras, together with the struggles of their underdeveloped minds (mental clash), created the minds of the kśatriyas.
The warlike kśatriyas regarded nature as the collective embodiment of different forces. To their limited understanding this idea of a synthesis of forces did not appear to be impossible, but to think more deeply than this was beyond their capacity. An outlook of enjoyment caused their minds, through physical clash, to move sometimes towards crudity in a process of analysis, and sometimes towards subtlety in a process of synthesis. The Brahmaváda [spiritual philosophy based on Brahma] of the Upanishads was the remarkable historical culmination of this synthetic process. The idea that the polytheism of shúdra society might rest upon monotheism first originated as a vague idea in the minds of the kśatriyas, and that is why it is said that the propounders of Brahmaváda were kśatriyas.
(King Janaka of India was said to be the preceptor of Brahmaváda, thus establishing the kśatriya origin of Brahmaváda. But as every student of history knows, no king by the name Janaka ever lived in India. “Janaka” was simply a common title used by many kings. Those admired by the common people for their erudition – such looked-up-to individuals – were also known by this name. Nevertheless, the kśatriya authorship of the Vedas was not an ordinary or insignificant achievement. I have already said that this authorship was the culmination of a remarkable historical process, the like of which is extremely rare. And it took place among the kśatriyas.)
A subtle analysis therefore reveals that the kśatriya spirituality stemmed from their desire to attain more and more and to express themselves to the maximum extent.
Where ideas are of secondary importance, the factor of gain or greed comes to be primary. The kśatriyas’ hope of probable eventual gain, born out of their greed, later helped the vipras to achieve absolute power. The kśatriyas ultimately had to sell their physical brawn to the absolute authority of the vipras.
In the kśatriya social system the saying “Live and let live” is not as important as the saying “Live with dignity”. It is as if within the social structure the kśatriya mind tries to express the sentiment: “A person of honour, like the petals of a flower, will try to shine above all others or will fall in a storm. It is not the nature of petals to live beneath others.”
One who is afraid of various types of force cannot comprehend the truth that underlies this diversity, but one who struggles gradually learns to recognize the nature of diversity and has the opportunity to reach a state of dynamic equilibrium.(8)
We do not have to waste words to convince people that in the life of a fighting group discipline is extremely important. There cannot be any doubt that in kśatriya society, whether it is a genuine society or not, there must be a well-knit system. Under this system the chariot of exploitation may run over the weak without slowing down, the hunger of millions of people may provide opportunities for one person to live in great luxury, and a relationship of exploiter and exploited may be established among people instead of fraternal relationships, but it is still a system. Regardless of its merits and demerits, it is the nature of kśatriyas to try to perpetuate the system they are living under.
But kśatriya society has a sensibility which is not like that of merciless nature. What stands out most is hero worship. The weak submit to the leadership of the strong, and the strong protect the weak in exchange for their submission. That is why, in the kśatriya social system, it is considered a virtue to save those who are distressed and seek protection; and this type of dutifulness is recognized as an important mental outlook in the life of society. For this reason alone and not for any other reason, parents will be looked after and protected when they become incapable of looking after themselves due to senility or physical infirmity.
In kśatriya society people are divided as a matter of course into innumerable groups which fight incessantly among themselves, but an unquenchable thirst for victory makes life somewhat like a game of chess, and the call to do battle and to display a powerful personality also gives meaning to life. Thus it is not the tendency of kśatriyas to carry the burden of all life’s disappointments. Kśatriyas enjoy the delights of collective living more than shúdras, because the collective sentiment that inspires fighting people to stick together in weal and woe makes even pain, since it is collective, sweet.
The Rise of the Vipras
Kśatriyas are always awake, but it can hardly be said that their eyes are always wide open to the light. Those who are already awake may not need to be awakened, but if they do not know which way to look, then they need to be shown which way to look.
Kśatriyas want to dash forward with an all-conquering attitude, but without distinguishing between darkness and light. In darkness, failing to ascertain the strength of their opponents, they challenge them to fight, and as a result they often leave the world prematurely, mauled and mangled. The history of the kśatriyas is painted with blood, but not illumined with intelligence. They display powerful personalities, spiritedness and courage, but no far-sightedness or wisdom, nor the support of subtle intellect. Therefore, after the Kśatriya Age had lasted for some time, intellectuals began to control the kśatriyas with their keen intellect.
Those with intellect encouraged the kśatriyas to look in directions where they had not looked before, and repeatedly explained to them things they had never understood. After this state of affairs had continued for some time, the kśatriyas began to submit to the intellectuals and, recognizing their superiority, began to use their forceful personalities to carry out the intellectuals’ instructions. The intellectuals gradually wrested the right to lead society from the kśatriyas and maintained their supremacy in society with the help of kśatriya power.
Although the kśatriyas remained alert, once they submitted to the intellectuals, to the vipras, the Kśatriya Age ended.
The vipras compiled the Puranas and wrote the glorious history of the kśatriyas. Right in that history they made it clear that it was the dharma of the powerful kśatriyas to worship the vipras. Those powerful kśatriyas could not see through this strategy. In simple faith they submitted to the intelligent, shrewd and deceitful vipras.
An examination of history reveals that the cáturvarńika(9) social system existed throughout the world and that it has continued and is still continuing according to a special type of parikránti [peripheric evolution] of the samája cakra [social cycle]. The most amusing part about it is that when the Kśatriya Age evolved out of the unsystematic Shúdra Age, the shúdras considered the Kśatriya Age a great blessing. The shúdras could not envisage the kśatriyas as exploiters or possible exploiters. Similarly, when the kśatriyas sold all their strength to the intellectual vipras, the kśatriyas did not realize that it had been sold and that they were gradually being bound in chains like slaves. Still later, when the vipras sold themselves to the money of the vaeshyas – when Sarasvatii [the goddess of knowledge] became the slave of Lakśmii [the goddess of wealth] – the vipras at first did not realize that their value was going to be measured in financial terms.
The intellectual exploitation of the vipras reduced the kśatriyas to the level of powerful animals, and the cunning minds of the vipras started to control the strength of the kśatriyas.
When we read in history the accounts of the great kings, it appears as though all these events belonged to the Kśatriya Age. But was that really the situation? A somewhat deeper analysis shows that nearly all the kings were at the beck and call of their vipra ministers. In almost every country we observe the hard fact that even the most powerful and mighty kings were mere puppets in the hands of their vipra ministers. In fact, it is not totally incorrect to say that the history of the monarchy was the history of the “minister-archy”. Vipra ministers protected the common people from the whims of the undisciplined kśatriya monarchy and from the militaristic discipline of the kśatriyas, and introduced into society a discipline that was supported to some extent by the common people. A disciplined kingdom therefore really meant the subordination of the power of the monarch to the vipras.
The contribution of Aniruddha Bhatta to the social system evolved by Ballal [Sen] cannot be denied; the wisdom of Purandar Khan was the guiding influence behind the peace and order in the kingdom ruled by Hussain Shah; and Chandragupta was merely a puppet in the hands of Chanakya.
Once the kśatriyas submitted to the vipras, the vipras, with their sharp intellect, tried to construct a well-knit social system. Though they recognized the king as the supreme head of government, so far as the social system was concerned, they declared the king to be the servant of the vipras. They did not grant him the right to interfere in religious matters, because it was through the religious structure that they found an opportunity to establish themselves. So the kśatriya kings became the “defenders of religion” and the “servants of the vipras” in the social system created by the vipras.
Once the common people had become part of the social system created by the vipras, if it became apparent that a king wanted to free himself from the vipras’ domination, the vipras would use their intellectual power to summon up the support of the masses and, after humbling the proud king, would install a new king on the throne. Thereby the vipras secured their own rule.
The efforts of aware kśatriyas to free themselves from the influence of the vipras can be called kśatriya vikránti [counter-evolution] or kśatriya prativiplava [counter-revolution].
There are more dishonest vipras than dishonest kśatriyas. So most of the intellectual capabilities of the vipras are employed in appropriating a share of the hard-earned wealth of others. Kśatriyas use the shúdras as tools, and vipras use their subtlety to neutralize or to activate the vital energy of the kśatriyas, according to their own wishes. Hence when the Vipra Age began at the end of the Kśatriya Age, and the kśatriyas lay their weapons with complete trust at the feet of the vipras, they did not realize that they had sold themselves to cheats. The illusion of escaping the misfortunes of this life, and going to heaven in the next, clouded their simple minds. All the special qualities, the merits and demerits, congruities and incongruities of the kśatriyas’ mentality were at the fingertips of the vipras, so the vipras achieved their objectives by exploiting the weaknesses of the kśatriyas, giving condescending encouragement to their simplicity.
Employing the kśatriyas’ own resources of vital energy to suck dry their vitality, the vipras found the opportunity to gratify their own desires. The vipras’ power of mind and power of speech are much subtler than the physical brawn of the kśatriyas, so the vipras did not have any particular difficulty in turning the kśatriya occupation into a form of slavery through pressure of circumstances. Those who establish themselves in society through a display of physical strength will certainly be proud of their strength. The vipras used their intelligence to exploit this weakness-born-of-strength of the kśatriyas. By praising the strength of the kśatriyas, the vipras destroyed what little intellect they had and gained control of their strength. Just as a small mahout can control an unruly elephant, the vipras controlled the kśatriyas through an understanding of their inner weakness: the pride they had in their strength. The crown on the head of the kśatriyas considered itself fortunate to be used as a footstool under the feet of the vipras.
Footnotes
(1) I.e., the saḿkocátmaka bháva, or systolic bearing, of every action. The word saḿkocátmaka can be translated “systolic”, “contractive” or “retardative”; throughout this section “systolic” and “contractive” have been used. The word vikáshátmaka can be translated “diastolic”, “expansive”, “expressive” or “manifestative”; throughout this section the latter three terms (or their noun forms) have been used. The word saḿkocavikáshátmaka (“having the nature of both systole and diastole”) has always been rendered as “systaltic” or “pulsative”. –Trans.
(2) I.e., had less depth of feeling. The word saḿvedana that will recur throughout these pages (adj. saḿvedanashiila) may mean “sensation”, “sensibility”, “sensitivity”, “feeling”, “sympathetic response”. Normally “sensibility” will be used here. –Trans.
(3) Bhávadhárá may sometimes be translated “thought-waves”. sometimes “ideology”. –Trans.
(4) Catuh means “four” and varńa literally means “colour”. (When the adjectival forms of these two are combined they become cáturvarńika.) In the root sense which the author intends, a varńa is a social class – the word varńa referring to the predominant psychic colour, corresponding to certain psychic characteristics (which are neither hereditary nor fixed within any individual), of each of the four social classes in the social cycle. (The psychic colour of shúdras is black; of kśatriyas, red; of vipras, white; and of vaeshyas, yellow.) In orthodox tradition, varńa has been used to mean one of the four main hereditary castes: Shúdras, kśatriyas, Vipras (Brahmans) and Vaeshyas. See also p. 36. –Trans.
(5) See the last chapter, “Shúdra Revolution and Sadvipra Society”. –Trans.
(6) The Bengali word paoruśa is derived from puruśa (“male”) and has traditionally been translated “manliness”. It implies a powerful personality, vigour, will power and courage. Throughout this book it has been translated “powerful personality” or “personal force”. –Trans.
(7) That is, Khudiram Bose, Rashbehari Bandopadhyay and Subhash Chandra Bose. They were all great revolutionary leaders. –Trans.
(8) As mentioned above (p. 26), “The warlike kśatriyas regarded nature as the collective embodiment of different forces.” See also “The Vipra Age”, sections on Religious Characteristics and Vipra Mentality. –Trans.
(9) See footnote p. 12. –Trans.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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The intellect of intelligent people can penetrate where the rays of the sun cannot. Such people want to enjoy matter without being subservient to it. In other words, they want to control matter with their mental waves. It is not only kśatriyas who do this, but vipras as well. The fundamental difference between kśatriya-hood and vipra-hood is that the ego of the kśatriyas draws objects of enjoyment to itself through a physical struggle with all opposing forces, while the ego of the vipras or their desire for enjoyment draws matter to itself either by the physical force of others through physical clash, or directly through psychic clash but avoiding physical clash, or through physical or psychic clash or both according to the demands of the situation.
The salient feature of vipra life is that they enjoy the glory of victory and avoid the ignominy of defeat, and that in their personal lives they satisfy their desires for enjoyment without taking great risks. Like kśatriyas, vipras are constantly engaged in fighting, but their fight takes place on the battleground of the intellect. Thus, vipras are intellectuals.
They do not use their intellectual development only to accumulate material wealth; they also surpass all others in their capacity to accumulate subtle psychic wealth. Their intellectual endowment and intuitional longing are especially helpful in awakening agryábuddhi [pinnacled intellect]. And although there is no ideological difference between pleasure-seeking vipras and kśatriyas in terms of psychic dynamism, those vipras who develop a pinnacled intellect are very different from kśatriyas.
The awakening of the pinnacled intellect, together with the momentum of that intellect, enables it to reach almost the highest stance of subtlety, so its movement is in a straight line. Its momentum has speed and moves in all directions. It contains within itself all the varńas [mental colours], which is why vipras are the embodiment of whiteness – their colour is white. As they express themselves less through their motor organs than do kśatriyas, blood-red, the symbol of spiritedness, cannot be their colour.
But how many white vipras are there, who try to develop a pinnacled intellect? Most vipras are busy accumulating objects of enjoyment with the help of the physical strength of others, like parasites. In this chapter, when I use the term vipra, I mean this inferior type of vipra. I will talk later about the superior white vipras, or sadvipras, who try to develop a pinnacled intellect.(1)
Vipra Society
Vipras make use of the back-breaking labour of the shúdras and the powerful personalities of the kśatriyas to achieve their objectives. Shúdras help build society with their physical labour and kśatriyas help with their powerful personalities. Enticing them both, the vipras exact the physical labour of the shúdras, and purchase the personal force of the kśatriyas. If they see a towering mountain blocking the path of social progress, vipras do not sit back in despair or worship the obstacle as a god (or worship a particular disease as a goddess(2) ) – in a way worshipping their own helplessness – like the shúdras; neither do they leap fearlessly into the ocean of action like the kśatriyas. They use their intellects to plan victory over their enemies; the kśatriyas and shúdras translate these plans into action at the cost of their lives. The vipras march to the fore over the kśatriyas’ and shúdras’ dead bodies and proclaim to the world, "Look at what I did. Just see how I won victory." The pages of history are full of examples of the indirect struggles of the vipras.
The characteristic similarities and differences between kśatriyas and vipras are clearly evident in every aspect of life. Kśatriyas and vipras are identified not by their similarities but by their differences. The most important difference is that kśatriyas try to enslave matter directly by fighting with it, whereas vipras, using their intellects, try to enslave the kśatriyas (who can then triumph over matter). The path of the kśatriyas is straightforward – there is no scope for duplicity; the path of the vipras is crooked from beginning to end – there is no scope for simplicity. Whatever simplicity vipras exhibit is merely a veneer to hide their crookedness. A body of people with a vipra mentality is called vipra society.
It should be kept in mind that words such as shúdra, kśatriya and vipra [as used in this book] have no connection with the varńáshrama system of ancient Hindu society. However, it is a fact that those who became vipras by virtue of their intellect declared that the vipras were a hereditary caste in order to perpetuate their own authority in society. They showed the kśatriyas, whom they had defeated and who had submitted to them, a little mercy by giving them a social position just under themselves. (Actually this was not done out of mercy but so they could put them to work in the future.)
Intellectual Exploitation
Vipras use all their abilities for intellectual exploitation. They try to gain prestige in society and maintain that prestige by composing mythological stories which play on the weaknesses of the human mind; by preaching the divine power of certain gods and goddesses under certain circumstances; by convincing people of the vipras’ social superiority; and by injecting the confusion of religion even into spirituality. They spend most of the mental resources of their precious lives scheming to gain prestige and plotting to maintain it.
If one reads the scriptures of any religious community, one will find ample examples of this. Even if one undergoes austerities, practises ritualistic fasting, undertakes pilgrimages, bathes in holy rivers and springs, worships a sacred fire or studies the scriptures, one will not be blessed unless one also offers sacerdotal fees to the vipras. Only the vipras are authorized to recite even ordinary páncálii [long folk poems] about laokik gods and goddesses(3) – and needless to say, a vipra would never visit anybody to recite such poems without remuneration.
Occasionally even sinful, antisocial elements are led to believe that if they frankly confess their sins to a vipra, the vipra through his special efforts will obtain a dispensation saving them from the consequences of their sins; every intelligent person knows that a vipra will never act as an agent of God without some remuneration. Just see the way sins are condoned!
Even so, vipras have more capacities than kśatriyas. A kśatriya seeks happiness only through physical enjoyment, but a vipra is capable of some mental enjoyment as well, however little it may be.
Disasters occur when there is a lack of balance between people’s physical and intellectual efforts. If the reins of society are in the hands of people who suffer from such imbalances, society as a whole will suffer the consequences of those disasters.
The amount of intellectual labour performed by shúdras is negligible compared to their physical labour. Although the intellectual labour of kśatriyas is not completely meaningless, it does not have much practical value.
Even if a vipra administration does not itself create disasters, it will not be able to prevent them from occurring for long. What happens with the vipras is that [intellect] is given a higher valuation than the application of physical force. Thus under a vipra administration others work to enhance the vipras’ prestige and to maintain the vipras’ standard of living, while the vipras use their intellect to live an unbalanced life and to suck the vitality of others like parasites.
Where there is more physical clash in life, physical force will increase faster than intellect or the expression of intellect, and likewise, where there is much psychic clash, there will be only the expression of intellect, coupled with a gradual but eventually severe increase in physical indolence. From a psychological point of view, people dominated by intellect in this way gradually become more and more atrophied, so that whatever magnanimity exists at the beginning of the Vipra Age is lost by the end of the age. The end result of this lack of magnanimity is that the vaeshyas become dominant in society. At the beginning of the Vipra Age the vipras provide advice about how to protect society as well as how to exploit it; they also take advice from others about how to protect and exploit it. But by the end of the Vipra Age the vipras only give advice but no longer accept it, and the advice they give concerns only how to exploit.
How the Vipras Evolve
In the Kśatriya Age, those who were defeated by physical force and military strength resorted to intellectual strategems in an effort to win victory. The psychic clash they experienced in their long, drawn-out struggle for victory developed their intellects. The original fathers of the vipras were those who first used their intellects to exploit the strength of the strong.(4) Kśatriyas, shúdras and relatively-undeveloped vipras came to be exploited by the fathers of the vipras, whom they recognized as their gotra [clan] leaders (or patriarchs), or recognized as founders of a pravar [lineage]. In some countries this gotra-pravar system still exists.
Kśatriyas who developed vipra intellectual abilities due to psychic clash while under vipra intellectual guidance were responsible for the continuation of vipra dominance. Actually, just as those shúdras who had been influenced by kśatriyas had perpetuated kśatriya society, it was those kśatriyas who had been influenced by vipras who perpetuated vipra society.
We see from the past that when, in a natural process, social dominance passed out of the hands of the kśatriyas and into those of the vipras, though still within the kśatriya succession, the main reason was that at that time most kśatriyas were kśatriyas in name only, but were actually shúdras. Similarly, at the time the vipras fell from authority, though the vipra succession went on, it could be observed that those who were vipras in name only outnumbered the vipras themselves, that is, the genuine intellectuals.
Why did this occur?
The Social Cycle and the Right of Inheritance
The rule of the social cycle is that the Shúdra Age is followed by the Kśatriya Age, the Kśatriya Age is followed by the Vipra Age, and the Vipra Age is followed by the Vaeshya Age, which is followed by social revolution. This kind of social rotation is the inexorable law of nature.
Even during the period of their dominance, kśatriyas and vipras both understood (at least) that as nothing in the world stays the same forever, their dominance as well would one day come to an end, and that too due to their unworthiness. For this reason they extolled the right of inheritance and attached greater importance to it than to individual capacity – so that regardless of his ability, the son of a king would become a king and wear the laurels of kśatriya victory, and however foolish or stupid, the heir of a vipra would be respected by society and enjoy the privileges of a vipra. Subsequently the same thing occurred in vaeshya society.
It can be observed that in the Kśatriya Age power gradually passes into the hands of non-kśatriyas who are kśatriyas in name only, and in the Vipra Age power passes into the hands of non-vipras who are vipras in name only, all in the name of hereditary rights. But it is impossible for such unworthy people to maintain their hold on power. Under such circumstances power passes out of the hands of the kśatriyas and into the hands of the vipras, and later passes again from the hands of the vipras to the hands of the vaeshyas; and when the dominance of the oppressive vaeshyas becomes intolerable the common people revolt, thus starting a new chapter in the social cycle.
Satanic Vipras
The development of human society that comes in the wake of the lustrous vitality of the kśatriyas becomes somewhat subdued among the vipras. That vitality gradually surrenders to intellectuality. The strength and sincerity demonstrated in the practical sphere by the kśatriyas in their efforts to conquer matter and consciousness is not matched by the vipras. Vipras certainly do use their intellect to try to acquaint themselves with consciousness, but they do not try to conquer matter through the application of their own physical strength – that also they try to do using intellect as their capital. Through their intellect they use the strength of the kśatriyas to conquer matter.
At the slightest sign from the vipras, major wars break out in different countries and states. The vipras themselves do not fight. By whispering of war in the ears of the king, they send kśatriya generals into battle. Kśatriya soldiers, running the risks for the vipras, wage war on land, on sea and in the air, and the vipras, understanding their physical and mental weaknesses, entice them with food or money, or inspire them with hollow, idealistic-sounding slogans, and land them in a holocaust.
Thus in the Vipra Age kśatriyas fight and die while shrewd vipra ministers receive triumphant ovations. This happens in every country where vipras play a dominant role. The names of vipra ministers are blazoned across the pages of history, but history does not record the numbers of soldiers who died on the battlefield or how many of them saw their golden dreams fade into darkness under cannon fire.
When a vipra minister dies, the newspapers write it up elaborately. Condolence meetings are held; condolence messages come in by the thousands; flags are flown at half mast; and marble statues are erected at intersections in public parks. But the press will never acknowledge the kśatriyas whose blood enriched the ground for the harvest of victory. And actually, why should they? How can so many names be published in a newspaper anyway!
All the great warmongers, the great politicians of the world, belong to this vipra gang of satanic intellect. At their command, or due to their fiery lectures or diplomatic intrigues, millions of foolish shúdras have lost their lives and thousands of hot-blooded kśatriyas have served as instruments in the slaughter.
The pages of world history reveal that all the crusades and jihads of the Middle Ages were plotted by these satanic vipras. Caught in their intrigues, the shúdras took the beatings; and the kśatriyas fought as religious warriors, but never thought deeply about whom they were fighting for.
Was it only in the Middle Ages that this happened? In today’s world also, satanic vipras, the protected agents of the capitalist vaeshyas, have led and are continuing to lead millions of people along the path of death and destruction. Evil vipras are fanning the flames of the vaeshyas’ insatiable, demonic hunger. Neither the shúdra masses nor the warlike kśatriyas are responsible for the problem of the millions of refugees in different countries, for the heart-rending cries of the mothers, wives, sons and daughters of the soldiers who died on the battlefields, for the blazing flames of communal(5) riots, for communalism itself, provincialism, nationalism and casteism. The responsibility lies with a small group of shrewd vipras who, out of petty self-interest, have instigated the shúdras and kśatriyas to commit heinous acts.
The meanness and brutality of such vipras put on a ghoulish graveyard dance, seeming to make a mockery of the vipras’ intellect. In the Vipra Age the vipras drew power from this type of brutality, and through a staged display of black magic, vipras bestrode society. In the Vaeshya Age the vipras commit similar sins in order to shine like fancy shoes on the feet of the vaeshyas.
Have vipras only exploited others? Although they have done more to exploit others than to serve them, and although their service was motivated by the desire to exploit, the list of those services has been considerable. The kśatriyas conquered the physical world through fight, whereas the vipras wormed their intellect into the wealth won by the kśatriyas. Whereas the kśatriyas’ intellect was only capable of obtaining objects, the vipras’ intellect in the Vipra Age was able to devour them.
But even in the vipras’ action of devouring, there is one speciality, and that is, although they demarcated everyone’s field of activity, they allowed people the scope to express themselves within that demarcated area. Even though the vipras exploited and enslaved the kśatriyas, they did not curb their martial nature or deny them the opportunity to display their heroism. And although they were reluctant to recognize the shúdras as human beings, they nevertheless allowed them an opportunity to survive. In the history of human progress and of the effort to establish human superiority over matter, we would be overlooking an important fact if we failed to mention this speciality of the Vipra Age.
The Idea of Supernatural Phenomena
The vipras were successful due to their intelligence. They not only defeated the kśatriyas in intellectual battles but also filled them with awe. Whatever primitive human weaknesses the kśatriyas were unable to overcome, the vipras would take advantage of to exploit them and the rest of society – that is, the shúdras – and this goes on even today.
Whenever they would intellectually defeat the ordinary people, the vipras would cleverly introduce the idea of supernatural phenomena in order to achieve their objectives. In reply to the question, "Where do people go after they die?" undeveloped people had themselves developed the concept of ghosts as the answer. Any frightful or distressing events of the everyday world that could not be understood were attributed to ghosts. The vipras capitalized on this fear of ghosts by becoming exorcists and tricking the vaeshyas and kśatriyas out of their money. Did not the intelligent vipras know that if a ghost is a mental creation, "possession by a ghost" must be just a mental disease? Whether we know the causes of paranormal events or not, they certainly have nothing to do with ghosts.
Knowing full well that a person who is possessed by a ghost is suffering from a mental disease and a disease of the nervous system, exorcists generally beat a "possessed" person to reactivate his or her nerves, make him or her inhale the smoke of burnt chillies in order to return him or her to consciousness, or use numerous psychological techniques to cure his or her mental disease, but they never disclose to anybody what they are actually doing. Instead they inarticulately mutter meaningless mantras and even today make people believe that, due to the force of their psychic power or so-called Tantra sádhaná [spiritual practices], pretasiddhi [power to control ghosts] or pishácasiddhi [power to control evil spirits], the ghosts and demons will be compelled to flee.
Exorcists tell stories about the various supernatural activities of ghosts or about offering food to manes at Gaya to make a patient concentrate his or her mind. The patient’s concentrated mind may then break the branch of a tree or crack a parapet of the roof, but the vipra exorcists claim that such occurrences are caused by the fleeing ghost and are proof of the power of their mantras. Actually ghosts never kill people, only vipras do.
Indeed, vipras earn considerable amounts of money from the public by preaching about the tremendous importance of religiosity and not straying from the path of religiosity.
Visions of gods and goddesses or so-called saints is the same type of thing as possession by ghosts. Don’t vipra priests really know that those who receive medical guidance or divine revelations by prostrating themselves before a temple or a saint’s mausoleum for days together without taking food and water, actually experience nothing more than the workings of their own intuition? Had the vipras not known this, they would not have persistently stressed the importance of faith to their followers. Vipras understand that when through faith the crude mind reaches the realm of the subtle mind and the subtle mind reaches the realm of the intuition, it is the intuition, the innate repository of infinite knowledge, that enlightens the intellect. But the person who receives the medical guidance or divine revelation believes that it comes from the deity he or she was worshipping. If one’s faith is not strong enough there will be a lack of concentration and the intellect will not be able to cross the threshold of the aham [ego] and enter the realm of the intuition. Consequently it will not be possible for the person to receive medical guidance or a divine revelation from his or her so-called deity. Vipra priests understand this and tell those with little faith, "You had better go. Your prayers will not be answered." Had the deity actually been watchful the question of the presence or absence of faith would not have arisen; everybody would have received medical guidance or a divine revelation.
Deception and Trickery
Intellect controls crude physical force. Therefore kśatriyas, who have both intellect and physical strength, make the shúdras work according to their will either at the snap of their fingers at bayonet point. And vipras, who are physically weaker but intellectually stronger than the kśatriyas, control the kśatriyas’ finger snap and raised bayonet through their sharp intellect.
The vipras’ victory is intellectual victory; it would be meaningless without the support of the kśatriyas’ swords and the shúdras’ back-breaking labour. In fact, vipras use their nerve cells almost exclusively in their fights; they make very little use of their nerve fibres. The work of the nerve fibres is done by the obedient kśatriyas and shúdras.
Many major wars have been fought in the history of the world. Millions of unintelligent shúdras and thousands of unintelligent but brave kśatriyas have lost their lives, but the laurels of victory have always gone to the vipra ministers who have never so much as glanced at a battlefield from a distance. Ask any historical analyst, "Who won victory for Great Britain in the Second World War?" and he or she will immediately reply, "The Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr. Churchill." He or she will never mention the millions of British soldiers who fought for Britain with the last drop of their blood, or the hundreds of thousands of scientists, artisans, technicians, clerks, doctors and military officers who saved the prestige of Britain through their tireless efforts. It was as if the combined endeavours of millions of such people, the movements of their nerves and muscles, became eclipsed by the intellect of Churchill.
On that day in medieval history that the kśatriyas, the rulers of the shúdras, laid their bows and arrows at the feet of the vipras and agreed to be their slaves, all the power of their personalities became caught in the net of the cunning vipras. That historic moment was the starting point of the Vipra Age, the era dominated by the vipras.
But did the kśatriyas surrender their vigour and martial skills in a sudden way? No, it took a long time. The vipras gradually used their intellectual power to bring the activities of the comparatively dull-witted kśatriyas under a kind of psychic control. The kśatriyas surrendered exactly at the point where the intellectual pressure of the vipras had brought their powerful personalities under control.
The vipras had scientific minds, and when they knew that some type of natural calamity or beneficial natural event was about to occur, they would present those events to the kśatriyas as expressions of their supernatural powers. The kśatriyas would be filled with awe and think that if the possessors of such miraculous powers cursed them, a disaster might befall them, but if the vipras blessed them, they might be able to conquer the world. Spellbound by such thoughts, the kśatriyas surrendered all their abilities to the intellectual power of the vipras.
We find in the history of that period that in the event of some conflict between the vipras and the less intelligent members of society, the vipras, who had studied astronomy, might discover that a solar eclipse was about to occur. They would utilize this knowledge to defeat their opponents, saying, "The world will soon be covered in darkness due to the power of our curse." After some time the eclipse would occur and the world would become dark. Their opponents would believe that it was really the result of the vipras’ curse, and would surrender to them in a state of fear and panic.
The vipras deceived the kśatriyas in many such ways; sometimes they made use of ordinary stage magic to achieve their ends, and sometimes they confounded the kśatriyas by psychological means. However, it took the vipras quite some time to learn their tricks; hence they did not gain domination overnight.
The Gotra-Pravar System
In the early stages of kśatriya dominance, a group of shúdras would form around an individual kśatriya. Later, when the vipras began to become dominant, [at least] one kśatriya group would form in the same way around an individual vipra, or so-called wise man. Needless to say, there would in turn be many shúdra groups around each kśatriya group. Each kśatriya group would adopt a gotra [clan] name according to the name of the vipra leader around whom the various groups clustered, and also a pravar [ancestral lineage] name according to the name of a deputy vipra leader. Thus evolved the gotra-pravar system which still prevails in Hindu society.(6) When kśatriya groups adopted vipra names according to the gotra-pravar system, that was the beginning of the end of the Kśatriya Age.
With the acceptance of vipra dominance, a new social system evolved centring around the vipras. This social system allowed the exploitation machinery of the vipras to run unrestrained. The administrative machinery remained in the hands of the vipra-boot-licking kśatriyas.
Kśatriya society in its early stages had been based on the matrilineal order. Later, as mentioned, male dominance developed, bringing with it the patrilineal order. In the course of time, as the vipras became dominant, the gotra-pravar system came into being.
Spiritual Advancement
Vipra dominance meant purely and simply intellectual dominance. The vipras made use of every means at their disposal to maintain their dominance while at the same time putting on a show of honesty and spirituality, a fine performance. Through their grandiloquence they could very well exploit the innate weaknesses of the common people.
Although vipras were proud of their learning and wanted to lead society, their aristocratic status did not result from that desire. Though their aversion to manual labour turned them into a kind of social parasite, they tried to establish themselves socially by performing social service and disseminating knowledge. This redeeming quality of a handful of vipras awakened in the minds of the kśatriyas and shúdras a special type of love for vipras. Because of this love, even though they were exploited, they did not bother about it. They thought, "What is the harm if the vipras take a part of what I’ve earned through my bravery, strength, intellect or physical labour."
The belief that serving vipras was the stepping-stone to heaven became firmly rooted in their minds. Regardless of whether this belief was good or not, it helped to build and maintain the solidarity of society.
The vipras tried to maintain their dominant position and continue their exploitation by extolling their own greatness. Although most common people could not understand why, their devotion to the vipras or to the spirituality propagated by the vipras helped them to progress spiritually and to assimilate sublime ideas. It would certainly be inappropriate for people to hold a grudge against the vipras and refuse to recognize this important fact.
The kśatriyas fought to defend themselves, to protect others and to create a social legacy. The vipras utilized all their intellectual power in the intellectual field to protect the mentally-undeveloped kśatriyas and shúdras, so that with their help they themselves could survive, and their own professional needs, subsistence and security would be taken care of; and so that they could become the supreme rulers of society.
The vipras’ total application of intellect made them debaters, logicians and metaphysicians. Such mental expressions addressed neither the spiritual world nor the physical world particularly. On the one hand the vipras used their logic and verbosity to exploit society and present themselves as righteous, and on the other hand their ideology refuted the humble dogma of the shúdra masses and encouraged people to move towards the subtler psychic realm.
Those treading the path leading towards the subtlest realm, whether they were shúdras, kśatriyas or vipras, provided spiritual inspiration to the human race and developed spiritual philosophies. It was possible in the past, it is possible today, and it will be possible in the future for sadvipras to emerge from this section of society.
In the process of criticizing the vipras, we must not overlook the fact that human fraternity, universalistic intellect, the use of the influence of material wealth, and the peak of mental attainment were contributions of the Vipra Age. It should also be remembered that the Kśatriya Age began the process of seeing humans as humans, and the Vipra Age, in assessing the value of humans, gave more importance to intellect than to physical existence.
Social Codes and Religious Scriptures
The onward march of intellect, in order to put the social system built by the kśatriyas on a basis of collective welfare, many times destroyed, then rebuilt, the structure of that system. The vipras would continually write new social codes, basing those new codes on different factors such as environment, social needs, human nature, post-war social reactions, and the blood-mixing of different groups. In order to maintain their control, they had based their machinery of exploitation on so-called spiritual scriptures which they declared to be superhuman revelations (supposedly given by God alone and not by human beings) and therefore immutable. Nevertheless they did recognize that it was necessary to change the social system in order to meet the needs of the age.
In this regard it is an incontrovertible fact that the vipras were more broad-minded than the kśatriyas. Time and again in their social system the kśatriyas had demonstrated a kind of obstinacy characteristic of foolish dictators; whereas the vipras at least did not make this mistake. The reason for this is quite clear. The prestige of the kśatriyas derived from their dictatorship, and so by any means they wanted to maintain this system. But the prestige of the vipras was based purely on intellectual supremacy, and so, after ensuring that they had sufficient scope for intellectual exploitation, they considered it expedient to keep pace with the requirements of the age.
If the vipras had admitted that scriptures were written by human beings (such as those written by Manu), they would have lost their scope for exploitation. So they chose not to do this. But if they had claimed that their social scriptures (or social codes, or smrti shástra) were divine revelations, they would have missed out on the means of exploitation that were available in that era. This is why the vipras accepted that social codes could be changed.
The vipras were inclined towards intellectual exploitation. Regardless of what they constructed or destroyed, they always made sure that they had sufficient scope to exploit people. The intelligent vipras understood that the path of exploitation was not the path of rationality and therefore they never walked that path, leading the ignorant instead down the path of blind faith. So when they set themselves to formulate social scriptures, they did so with an eye to their own convenience. Instead of supporting their views with rational arguments, they propagated high-sounding religious injunctions. That is why the degree of genuine humanity found in the kśatriya social and matrimonial systems did not increase in the social and matrimonial systems of the vipras. The vipras merely covered what genuine humanity was already there with a veneer of religious fanaticism.
The Exploitation of Women
The kśatriyas tried to structure their social system and matrimonial relations to meet the needs of both men and women, but the vipras cleverly tried to maintain a permanent system for exploiting both women and ignorant, neglected men. They did not hesitate to employ any kind of cunning to keep power in the hands of a small group, out of fear that neglected people and women would claim that as human beings they should have the same rights as everyone else.
The way in which the kśatriyas rose to power varied from country to country, but the way in which the vipras rose to power was almost the same everywhere. In order to achieve their aims the vipras composed fanciful stories to suit their purpose in the name of religion, but without regard for dharma or spirituality.
In the Vipra Age, as the dependence of women on men increased, the vipras turned women with vipra intellects into wageless slaves. Conspiring to cripple women in every sphere of life, they wrote "divine" commandments, many kinds of scriptural injunctions, many kinds of specious logic, and imaginary tales of pápa [vice] and puńya [virtue]. To hear or read such things one would think that men, especially vipra men, were alone blessed by God and that others were born only to provide them the wherewithals of enjoyment.
The matrimonial system of the Kśatriya Age regarded women as both the assistants and co-workers of men, but in the Vipra Age, though on paper women were considered sahadharmińii,(7) in practice they became servants or slaves. A woman’s social status lasted only as long as the man maintained her in style.
Today in countries where the women work and the men only sit around and eat, the status of women is similar; the women of such countries are restless because they are strictly controlled by the men. In the developed countries, although women are called the "fair sex" and are shown respect through language and people’s conduct, men are not prepared to accept that women should have equal rights. The strict control that men exercised over women in the Vipra Age continued unchanged in the Vaeshya Age.
In the Kśatriya Age women were the partners of men; that is, they shared both good times and bad times, and shared the same social status. But in the Vipra Age, after the intellectual defeat of women, their social status declined. Men toyed with the prestige of women: sometimes men glorified them and sometimes they neglected them.
In the Vipra Age, particularly in the middle of the Vedic Age, when the intellectuals became all-powerful in society, some women enjoyed the same social rights and dignity as men due to the legacy of the past and were called jáyás,(8) but most women were treated only as objects of enjoyment. Society did not recognize that they had any abilities beyond those of conceiving and bringing up children. Such women were called bháryás. In their social scriptures opportunists clearly stated, Puttrárthe kriyate bháryá ("Women are child-producing machines").(9) To the extent that this type of outdated idea survives, it is a legacy of the Vipra Age.
Of course in that Vipra Age ignorant women were sometimes led to believe that they were not only jáyás or bháryás, but also grhińiis – that is, that they had equal social rights and social status, and equal spiritual rights as well; but in practice their spiritual rights were rarely respected. One or two women who appeared to have been given the opportunity to enjoy those rights did not actually win the rights, but through their great personalities established a kind of right with a type of force. The pandits of those days could not formally oppose this effort to establish their rights, but naturally such endeavours were not viewed favourably. Of course such women later commanded great respect in society, and still do today.
Although it is universally true that no one gives anyone rights – rights have to be established by one’s own efforts – I have nevertheless specifically mentioned this here because vipra society was not prepared to voluntarily respect women’s rights.
The dominance of group-mothers in the Kśatriya Age completely disappeared in the Vipra Age. When knowledge first began to bloom in the Kśatriya Age, women also would impart knowledge to others. They composed mantras and offered libations to sacrificial fires alongside the men. But in the Vipra Age women lost their prestige. Every attempt was made to totally enslave them. The right to participate in sacrifices was taken away and matriarchs were replaced by patriarchs. Opportunities to read scriptures were either withdrawn or drastically curtailed. Ignorant women had no alternative but to silently accept the supremacy of men.
The Vipra Age was the age of male opportunists. While men had the opportunity to divorce their wives or to be loose in character, women had to follow a very strict code of conduct. If any such lapse or defect was found in a woman, she would lose all respect not only as a woman, but also as a human being. Yet when men committed the same crimes, they strutted about arrogantly as leaders of society.
The Vaeshya Age followed the Vipra Age. But in the Vaeshya Age as well, we see that, as a legacy of the Vipra Age, women who have been abandoned by their husbands have not been respected by society. Even today, in places where society has not yet begun to feel the influence of shúdra revolution, society follows the system of the Vipra Age in not open-mindedly accepting divorce. In such places women have been given some opportunities on paper, but in reality they still have to depend on the mercy of oppressive men.
In the Vipra Age prostitution became a profession for the first time, because women were faced with loss of respect in society, economic difficulties and other worldly problems. It should be kept in mind that the profession of prostitution was not a phenomenon of the Shúdra or Kśatriya Age. It is possible to find some degree of bad character among both men and women due to the influence of base propensities, but this is not enough to create a large community of prostitutes in society. This sinful occupation is the creation of selfish vipras. Later, if I get the opportunity, I will discuss this subject in detail.
In the Kśatriya Age, a woman was considered to be the valuable property of a man. Although women did not have the same rights as men, they still commanded considerable respect. But in the Vipra Age the position of women became like that of cows, sheep and goats, no better than the other essential items of a household. In the Kśatriya Age a woman was considered to be a "hero’s reward", and abduction by the strong was considered a virtuous act, but in the Vipra Age this changed a little; in the Vipra Age a woman came to be considered a "pandit’s reward". A woman had no existence in society without a husband.
In some countries more than one woman might be compelled to be married to one man; devious means were employed to bring this about. By creating a fear of hell in the minds of women, by maintaining social strictures through severe punishment, and by crippling women economically, women were made so dependent on men that the very idea that polygyny might be unjust was effaced from their minds.
In some countries unmarried girls were forced to marry old men on the verge of death on the curious pretext that it was sinful for a woman to lead an unmarried life. In some places unmarried girls were married to imaginary gods and were called devadásiis [maidservants of a god]. Needless to say, this type of marriage indirectly encouraged immoral social practices.
Because such injustices continued for a long time, women developed an inferiority complex and a sense of despair. Who can count the millions of women who have spent sleepless nights weeping their grief out in the dark, and died with no hope for redressal of such tyranny. They were pulverized like soft lumps of earth under the steamroller of vipra rule.
Thus we can see, in the social customs and ceremonies of many countries, in little girls’ rhymes and songs to the deities, that mothers have taught their daughters to pray to the gods and goddesses, there being no other remedy, that they should not end up as a co-wife or that their co-wives should live short lives.
In the Vipra Age matrimonial ties became irreversible. The social system became extremely rigid, not only in matters of matrimony but in all spheres.
Great Personalities
In the Kśatriya Age society had been like a well-arranged stack of bricks, as at the brick kiln, but in the Vipra Age the bricks in the stack became cemented together into a firm structure. Just as new stacks of bricks can be built either according to necessity or according to one’s liking, in the Kśatriya Age the social system was rearranged from time to time according to people’s needs and desires. In the Vipra Age, however, the strongly-cemented edifice could not be rearranged at will. In order to change the edifice strong arms and a strong hammer would have been needed.
We can say that in the Vipra Age the leaders of society were more concerned with preserving the existence of their strongly-cemented edifice than with building society according to people’s needs. It seemed as though their social edifice was not created for people, but rather people for the edifice. The sole aim of the vipra leaders became to preserve their edifice, without considering the interests of the people – without thinking about their happiness and sorrow, their pains and agonies – without listening to the supplications of humanity.
In the Vipra Age those who tried to bring about even a little social change in the interest of the common people either died smashing their heads on the hard bricks or broke the bricks with their hammers and strong arms. Those who hammered in this way were welcomed with open arms by the downtrodden masses, but vested interests defamed them. This indirectly helped those great social leaders to popularize their causes. Such great leaders included Shrii Krśńa, Buddha, Vardhamana Mahavira, Hazrat Mohammed, Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, Raja Ramamohana and Ishvarchandra Vidyasagara.
In the middle period [of Indian history] Shrii Krśńa united all the kings of India in order to apply force and to destroy those powerful leaders who were doing evil and who, in the name of morality and justice, were encouraging unrighteousness within the accepted structure of society.(10) He gave a clarion call to the human race and declared that the human body is the medium through which dharma is realized. However, it should not be utilized only for performing spiritual activities and breathing through alternate nostrils in a darkened room. People also have to become karma yogiis so they can destroy the root causes of sin in society. They should even mercilessly take up arms against their relatives if necessary. On behalf of the common people Krśńa declared war on a social system built on a base of selfishness in order to smash it. He stood defiantly against the systems of exploitation of the gurus and priests and propounded his own psychologically-based karmaváda [doctrine of action].
Vardhamana Mahavira tried to evolve a new ideology based on a scientific outlook.
Hazrat Mohammed offered a new way of life to the ignorant and oppressed who were swirling endlessly round and round in the muddy whirlpool of superstition. He clearly declared that all the people of the world belonged to one caste.
Kabir and Mahaprabhu launched open revolts against the casteism which had kept Indian society crippled by creating a tremendous complex of self-aggrandizement in one section of society and a terrible inferiority complex in another section. Although Mahaprabhu had been born into a well-known Brahman family, he suffered many insults because of his opposition to casteism. Despite this he remained steadfast in his ideology.
Burning innocent women to death was once considered by Hindus to be a part of their religious life. Raja Ramamohana opposed this practice and did not rest till he had stopped it. As a result many attempts were made on his life.
Vidyasagara did not rest till he had compelled the Hindus in his region to recognize widow remarriage.
All historians know that the paths of Shrii Krśńa, Buddha, Mahaprabhu and Mahavira were not strewn with roses. Even today the standard bearers of vested interests do not sympathize with such personalities.
Among people who today appear to us as moral leaders, those who protested against prevailing customs and superstitions, such as Lenin, George Bernard Shaw and Manavendra Roy, were criticized and made the victims of false propaganda. They were opposed and abused at every step for no reason at all. Their only crime was to deal a blow at the vipras’ machinery of exploitation.
The most distinctive feature of the vipras’ [social system] was that it had supposedly been built for the welfare and greater good of the people, but where their convenience or the thought of their welfare conflicted with the vipras’ intellectual exploitation, the vipras ruled in favour of their own exploitative system. For this reason the principle of the Kśatriya Age, Viira bhogyá vasundhará ["Might makes right"], was replaced by a new principle in the Vipra Age, Buddhiryasya balaḿ tasya nirbuddhestu kuto balam ["Where there is intellect there is might; where there is no intellect there is no might"].
Parents and Gurus
Though on the one hand the vipras became lazy and physically weak due to the constant exercise of their intellects, on the other hand, in them the sweetness of humanity became fully expressed. The idea that children should do something in return for their parents’ love and affection had first awakened in the Kśatriya Age, but the fact that the mental satisfaction gained from rendering service to one’s parents in this way helps the child to progress towards higher feelings was first deeply felt by the vipras. That is why in the Vipra Age service to parents ceased to be limited to the repayment of a debt, but came to be considered part of one’s dharma sádhaná [spiritual practice].
And why stop at service to one’s parents alone? The vipras deemed all those who bestowed physical, mental or spiritual wealth as a gift of love – as an expression of affection – to be one’s gurus. Duty towards such gurus was not a purely worldly duty, but became an important sádhaná of jaeva dharma [duties enjoined on unit beings].
The sweet relationship between parents and their children made family life in the Vipra Age a lot happier than it had been in the Kśatriya Age. The children of the Kśatriya Age only took care to preserve the heroism, traditions and prestige of their parents, but the children of the Vipra Age learned to think about more than this. Just as parents and other elders in the Vipra Age prayed, Puttrádicchet parájayam ["One should long to be outshone by one’s children"] or Shiśyádicchet parájayam ["One should long to be outshone by one’s students"], their children not only tried to uphold the prestige of their families and of the lineages of their gurus, keeping in view their families’ and gurus’ traditions, but also, in carefully preserving that prestige, kept an ideal uppermost in their minds and moved towards that ideal. That is why the society of that era kept progressing step by step in the intellectual sphere: the thought of the ideal gave it no respite. Thus Vedic rśis [sages] always exhorted people to move forward, saying that the mantra of a living society was Caraeveti, caraeveti ["Move on, move on"].
Vipra society was far more firmly-knit than kśatriya society had been. In kśatriya society it had become necessary to select suitable brides and grooms for marriages in order to maintain the continuity of social traditions, but the personal wishes of the brides and grooms themselves were not disregarded. Grooms and families were selected after giving due consideration to the opinions of the brides and grooms themselves. But this was not the practice in the Vipra Age, when maintaining the continuity of social traditions became the primary consideration. Hence in the Vipra Age the scope for independent decisions regarding marriage disappeared, as undue importance began to be paid to the selection either of families or of grooms.
Cultural and Religious Exploitation
The vipras’ culture included music, dance, arts and crafts. It emphasized the sharpness of the vipra intellect rather than the sentiments of the human mind, so the down-to-earth sentiments of kśatriya culture were substantially lost.
The vipras’ culture was not for the common mass. No doubt it stimulated the nerves of a small handful of people, but it could not move in step with the general mass. Vipra artists wished, through their intellectual brilliance, to conquer the world. Through their poems, dramas, writings and drawings they induced common people to pay homage to the superiority of the intellectuals. But the ignorant people could not understand these big things. The common people thought, "What we cannot understand must be something great," and with this mentality fell obediently at the vipras’ feet.
At times when the intellectual art and literature of the vipras failed to convince the common people of their greatness, the vipras composed countless fanciful puráńas [mythological tales], stories about gods and goddesses that satisfied their own standards, and colourful mythological tales, all designed to dazzle people’s eyes and confound their intellects. They also warned the masses that if they failed to follow the teachings of these stories, or doubted their veracity, they would most certainly go to the deepest level of hell.
Everything in the practical world has some value as well as some defects. The kśatriyas, as an expression of their svabháva dharma [natural characteristics], had thought deeply about how to increase their numerical strength, and as a result – quickening the pace of human beings’ struggle against nature – had not only laid the foundation of the vast edifice of human civilization, but had also flung themselves into the task of constructing the walls. Similarly, the vipras’ expression of their natural characteristics induced them as well to increase their numbers, and for that reason increasing the number of their followers became one criterion of their vipra-hood. Of course in order to succeed in swelling the ranks of their followers, the vipras had to develop a due amount of proficiency; and their efforts to develop it served to build the roof on the edifice of human civilization.
Phallus worship had been invented by the primitive, uncultured kśatriyas as a symbol of increasing their population. The cultured vipras now interpreted it in a new way. They contended that the linga was a symbol for Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] and the piit́ha [vulva] a symbol for Prakrti [Supreme Operative Principle]. The interpretation the vipras gave was, Liuṋgate gamyate yasmád talliuṋgam ["The entity from which everything originates [[and towards which everything is moving]] is called liuṋga"] or Yasmin sarváńi liiyante talliuṋgam ["The entity in which everything merges is called liuṋga"]. When examining the history of phallus worship one should not only consider the mentality of the kśatriyas, but also give due consideration to the mentality of the vipras. However, the vipra interpretation has no relation to reality. Phallus worship belonged to primitive kśatriya society.
And not only phallus worship; most of the gods and goddesses described in the mythologies of different countries were representations of actual kśatriya leaders. People in the Kśatriya Age worshipped these gods and goddesses out of fear and devotion. Indra, Agni, Varuna, etc., of the Vedas had been mighty kśatriya leaders. In the Vipra Age they came to function as gods after winning the support of various scriptures.
The undeveloped kśatriyas would worship all those leaders, or "gods", by offering them their (the kśatriyas’) favourite foods in order to propitiate them. After those leaders’ deaths, all such food would be burnt in a fire, thereby going to waste, for the supposed satisfaction of their souls in heaven. Even in the Vipra Age good-quality food and drink was destroyed by offering it to an imaginary god in a sacrificial fire. Moreover, the vipras received a commission for doing this.
Later, after the vipras had fully established their dominance in society, they began to receive more than a mere commission. A sizeable part of the offerings intended for the sacrificial fires was not burnt, but found its way into their storerooms. That is, the shúdras and kśatriyas had become totally subservient to the vipras. Taking advantage of their tyrannical power and superior intellect, the vipras used every means to consolidate their system of exploitation. Regardless of whether a ceremony was concerned with religious practices, charitable activities, the first step in a child’s pursuit of knowledge, harvesting crops, marriage, a baby’s first solid food, commemoration of the dead, or anything else, a share in the [anticipated] benefits had to be offered to the vipras, otherwise the ceremony would not conclude in karmasiddhi [attainment]. And the vipras had to be feasted and paid, otherwise the ceremony would not produce any result.
The vipra priests also adopted the different gods and goddesses that had been born out of the fear complex of the masses in the Shúdra and Kśatriyas Ages. (For example, they adopted Dakśińaráya, the crocodile-god or tiger-god of South Bengal; Viśahari or Manasá, the snake goddess of snake-infested areas; Shiitalá, the goddess of smallpox; and Olái Cańd́ii, the goddess of cholera.) They also composed various types of dhyána mantra(11) for such gods and goddesses; prescribed according to their own needs the specific materials that should be used for different kinds of worship of those deities; and, conveying strange commands from the deities at odd times, took to fleecing people out of donations, dakśińá [sacerdotal fees], sidhá [uncooked food given in exchange for a priest’s services] and various types of materials to be used for worship.
Another interesting thing about this is that in referring to the gods and goddesses created out of their fear complex, the shúdras and kśatriyas used colloquial language, while the vipras, in order to establish their supremacy and prove their intelligence, erudition and close relationship with God, used ancient languages. They always tried to make the masses believe that they, the masses, did not have the right of access to God, but had to go through the vipras. In other words, the vipras had a monopoly as agents in such matters.
The vipras have invented and are still inventing new ways of exploiting different communities of people in different parts of the world. In some places they have lured people with the prospect of eternal heaven, injecting into them at the same time the fear of eternal hell. By claiming the doctrine of some particular vipra leader to be the word of God, they have blocked the natural expression of the human intellect and made people intellectually bankrupt. With the intention of permanently securing for themselves an exalted position in the eyes of the ordinary people, some vipra leaders have declared themselves to be the incarnation or the appointed prophet of God. Through their own so-called scriptures, they have indirectly let the common people know that no one can achieve the same proximity to God as they – so that an inferiority complex will remain forever in the minds of the masses, and due to this inferiority complex the masses will always follow their teachings, either out of fear or out of devotion. That is why even intellectual people have fallen into their trap and have been compelled to say, Vishváse miláy vastu, tarke vahu dúr ["The goal is achieved not by reason but by faith"] or Majhab men ákl ká dakhl nahii haen ["There is no room for reason in religion"].
Even today there is a group of vipras who keep shouting about "religious education", or rend the air with their calls for a "religious state",(12) but what they really want is to entangle the minds of children, which are naturally inclined towards rationality, in a net of religious superstition, so that later they will become puppets in the exploitative hands of the vipras.
If God is considered to be the perfect ideal, it will have to be accepted that God is always just. Even though God loves everyone, He punishes sinners. But it can be said that when He punishes sinners, His aim is not to give them pain but to rectify their behaviour. In my opinion this concept of God is the highest concept. If God is considered to be the Universal Father, He should not have any racial, national or communal feeling, or any other type of limited feeling. If this is true, how can the vipras contract that the soul of a certain dead person will reach heaven?
I have heard that in some communities vipras claim to have the key to heaven. People even say that for the donation of a sum of money, vipras will sing akhańd́a kiirtana [constant chanting of the name of God] on behalf of the donor to ensure his or her passage to heaven. It is said that if others sing spiritual songs and kiirtana in the donor’s name, the donor will receive the benefit and go to heaven. What a wonderful philosophy for condoning sin!
Anyway, we can see that vipras never have missed an opportunity to exploit human weaknesses, nor do they miss such opportunities today.
Ideology
Neither the kśatriyas nor the vipras lived solely for physical enjoyment; both were devoted to an ideology. Just as the dark frown of meanness and physical over-indulgence was offset in the kśatriyas by a crimson glow of idealism and spiritedness, so in the vipras those defects were offset by the white brilliance of their intellects, which cannot be separated from devotion to an ideology. Even if it does momentarily get separated, it again becomes united, because intellectuality which does not adhere to an ideology cannot maintain its brilliance for long; it gets lost in the darkness of selfishness. So just as in the pages of ancient history we find countless examples of how the kśatriyas, devoted to their ideology, died fighting to establish their prestige, we find similar examples of how the vipras, devoted to their ideology, fought to establish their doctrines, and either won, or died from the mental shock upon losing.
All those who, undaunted by either political pressure or threats of violence from their opponents, have tried or try now, or who have died or are prepared to die, to save their religion, should be regarded as vipras from a psychological standpoint, regardless of whether they are intellectually developed or not. Those people are also to be regarded as vipras who have the desire to resist, protest or retaliate against the forcible imposition of certain doctrines on any person or group. These doctrines include not only religious doctrines, but also social, economic or political doctrines which may not strike at the powerful personality of any particular individual (i.e., may not affect kśatriyas).
Intellectual Recognition
Those to whom the shúdras look for leadership are kśatriyas. The kśatriyas control the shúdras under their command like machines. If together they achieve something great, the shúdras will gain little or no recognition for their efforts. The names of generals and courageous soldiers have been recorded in the annals of history, and minstrels have composed epic songs in their honour, but the shúdras who have shed their blood in the rank and file have remained unknown. The impact that kśatriyas create through their heroism and powerful personalities have never gone unknown or unsung as regards the people of their era, because their impact was on that era itself; but shúdras remain unknown, because although their contributions are recorded on the pages of time, they do not make an impact on people’s minds. That is why no space is allocated by the newspapers to publish the news of their deaths and why a permanent grave with a tombstone for each of them is considered unnecessary. How can so much land be sacrificed for one man? They are buried in mass graves or thrown into the river half-cremated.
Shúdras live and die unknown. But what about vipras? Their circumstances are somewhat similar, are they not? Can we think of the Nine Jewels [nine brilliant vipra ministers] in the court of the kśatriya Vikramáditya, without thinking about Vikramáditya himself? No, we cannot. Still, the intellectual capacity of the vipras does not go unrecognized or unheard of, nor can it.
In an era when the vipras live under the protection of kśatriyas, the prestige of the vipras may pale by comparision with that of the kśatriyas, but this kind of thing does not occur in the Vipra Age. It did not take long for the vipras who rose to power in the Vipra Age to be recognized and accepted. But the genius of the vipras who rose to power in the Kśatriya Age was recognized only in the Vipra Age that followed.
Of course the prestige that these vipras had in terms of economic theory, intellectuality and learning in the Vipra Age was greater than the prestige of the kśatriyas in the social and political arenas in the Kśatriya Age. But it must also be admitted that vipras rarely receive immediate recognition for their strokes of genius. Instead they face many obstacles and become objects of censure, humiliation and slander.
The reason for this is very simple. Human beings have an innate attraction towards the old. Therefore, when the intellect of some vipra reveals or explains something new, the remainder of the population, whether vipras, kśatriyas or shúdras, cannot easily accept it. They cannot keep time with the new rhythm and prefer to stick to the old one. Thus vipras who develop something new face conflicts, acrimonious attacks and unwarranted criticism. But when the theories propounded by such vipras or their new inventions have been around for some time (it may be two or three months or two or three centuries), other open-minded, rational vipras wholeheartedly accept them and praise them, and are careful to see them become established.
This is precisely why the famous philosopher Karl Marx was not honoured in his time, but only long after. Similarly, Shakespeare, Galileo, etc., were almost totally unknown during their own lifetimes, yet today they are celebrated by scholarly society.
When the genius of Rabindranath first started to express itself, the poets and [[authors]] of Bengal did not miss a single opportunity to suppress or ridicule him; yet he is now universally loved and revered as the world’s greatest poet.
It is said that the popular Bengali poet Chandidas (a poet of the pre-Pathan period) was subjected to unspeakable persecution by the people of his time. They set fire to his house and forced him to leave the country; yet 200 to 250 years later, during the time of Mahaprabhu Chaitanya, he came to be revered as the greatest Vaishnava poet of Bengal. Today the people of his village feel proud of him and have built or wish to build a memorial in his honour.
That is why I contend that vipras do not go unrecognized. Generally the reputation of a vipra transcends time, space and person.
When shúdras clash with each other, it is a clash of self-interest only. They live for physical enjoyment, and like other animals are concerned only about their personal and family interests. Because they are unable to generate a powerful vibration in relation to the social progress of humanity, they are naturally considered by society to be of little value. But when kśatriyas clash it is a clash of their powerful personalities – sword against sword – and when vipras clash it is a clash of their intellects – ruse against ruse, duplicity against duplicity.
Whether or not honesty plays a part in these clashes, they have a tremendous impact which shakes the very foundations of society. As a result, long after genuine vipras or vipra leaders have departed from this world, the footprints of their journeys through life remain imprinted on the earth. The vipras’ intellect awakens the powerful personalities of the kśatriyas, while their duplicity withers and destroys the bravery of the kśatriyas. That is why the kśatriyas regard the vipras as gods, surrender at their feet and obey all their commands. The kśatriyas go to battle at the slightest sign from the vipras. It is not easy to establish the Vipra Age after the Kśatriya Age, but once it is established, the Vipra Age quickly gains a strong, octopus-like hold over kśatriya society.
Past, Present and Future
Shúdras are only interested in the present, and kśatriyas in the past and present, but vipras are interested in the past, present and future. Vipras sometimes concentrate on the past and ignore the present and future, and sometimes they concentrate on the future and ignore the past and present, for although they are concerned with all three, they do not maintain a balance among the three. By ruminating over old memories and giving undue importance to the past at the expense of the present and future, vipras have harmed not only themselves but society as well, and continue to do so.
Shúdras at first oppose new ideas, doctrines or ideals in life, then later accept them en masse, but this is not the case with vipras. Some vipras, blinded by their infatuation with the past, oppose new ideas for a long time. Sections of society may break away, but these vipras never come to their senses. For example, today mullahs and members of the clergy, and a group of gurus and priests of Hindu society, are incapable of seeing reason. When sections of Hindu society have broken away, I have heard some say that Sanátana Dharma [Hinduism] was created by God alone, that it has been in existence since time immemorial and that it will continue to exist forever, and that it cannot be destroyed.
I have also heard such beliefs expressed by some of those who have left their homes for political reasons and come to India as refugees in an effort to preserve Sanátana Dharma. In other words, they have still not opened their eyes or developed any common sense.(13)
When the Western system of education was introduced in India, some pandits continued to extol the virtues of their own catuspát́hiis which taught mainly grammar. In their blind infatuation with the past, they refused to send their children to English-medium schools. Did this decision benefit them? Two generations later circumstances compelled them to accept English education, but in the interim their social progress had lagged somewhat behind.
In that same period a group of obstinate mullahs issued a fatwa against the English language, declaring that it was an unholy language because it was written from left to right, and that if Muslims learned it they would lose their religious identity and become Christians. This attitude of the Muslim vipras had a very harmful effect on Indian Muslims. Later they had to found the Muslim University in Aligarh to repair the damage.
Excessive concern about the future is also a bad trait of some vipras. Vipras have exploited the common people by infusing imaginary ideas about heaven and hell into their minds. And at the same time they themselves, persuaded by that outlook to ignore the past and the present, have also been harmed. A doctrine that emphasizes an imaginary heaven and hell and considers the traditions of the past and the solid earth of the present as false and illusory, is extremely dangerous for society. One expression of this type of vipra thinking was Máyáváda [the doctrine of illusion], based on advaetaváda [non-dualism], which tried to reject the existence of jiiva [livings beings] and jagat [the world], and accept the unmanifest Nirguńa Brahma [Non-Qualified Supreme Entity] as the only truth.
Religion Based on Intellectuality
Since vipras are fundamentally intellectuals, it is natural for them to follow religious observances based on intellectuality. (I am not referring here to an ostentatious religiosity designed to exploit others. Although an ostentatious religiosity is indeed part of the vipra’s system of exploitation, I am referring here to the religious ideas which they follow in their personal lives.)
When intellectuals cannot find ways to solve complex problems through their intellect, they ask God for spiritual liberation. This is a type of defeatism or escapism. The vipras’ religious thinking is somewhat like this.
The fear-ridden religious thinking that is clearly evident in shúdras and to some extent evident in kśatriyas and vaeshyas, is not completely lacking in the vipras. This type of thinking has created in the vipras the tendency to live a mechanical kind of religious life regardless of whether they have any reverence for God or not. This is called Yajet yaśt́avyamiti ["One should worship an entity simply because it ought to be worshipped"]. That is, regular worship, telling the beads, or prayer ought to be done so many times a day, at such-and-such time – and therefore we do it – this mentality is very much in evidence in a vipra. And whether they admit it or not, the propensity at work behind this mentality is a fear complex.
Although the genuinely spiritual side of the vipras’ religious practices is indistinct, it is not totally absent. However, their desires for intellectual dominance, exploitation and prestige completely overshadow whatever spirituality they possess. Whereas in logical analysis the religious thinking of the kśatriyas is a direct expression of their worldly desires and therefore rájasikii [mutative], the religious thinking of the vipras is not of the sáttvikii [sentient] category; it is actually a mixture of the támasikii [static] elements of the shúdras and the mutative elements of the kśatriyas. The vipras understand the need for self-restraint in religious life and make some effort to become established in it. But the mixture of elements in their religious thinking causes them to use the religiously-inclined intellect that they have developed through self-restraint to establish themselves in the intellectual field.
Discipline in Society
The cornerstone of society is discipline and a sense of unity, and that is laid by the kśatriyas. Although unity and discipline are regarded as the basis of society, they are not everything, because they depend upon an unexceptional mentality.
A mentality based on the powerful personalities of the kśatriyas cannot construct a well-knit society; for that a mentality based on the intellect of the vipras is what is needed. In other words, social consciousness based on morality is needed. This consciousness is provided by the vipras in the Vipra Age. So what we really understand as a society is properly realized only in the Vipra Age.
Conflict takes place among the kśatriyas because of their powerful personalities, and conflict takes place among the vipras because of their differing opinions and differing scriptures. The end result of the clash of opinions and scriptures is the creation of a variety of philosophies. Within those philosophies and scriptures we can find sufficient expression of the intellects of different ages, but at the same time those philosophies in most cases scarcely conceal the self-interest motivation of the vipras. No matter how much scope for exploitation these philosophies may support, however, they never attack intellect itself. Although these vipra philosophies sometimes afford some indirect advantage to the vaeshyas, to a larger extent they restrict the vaeshyas’ exploitation.
The śad́adarshana [six major schools of theistic Indian philosophy] of the Hindus and the ancient philosophies of Europe are essentially vipra philosophies. Although those philosophies that revolted against both the philosophies and the exploitation of the vipras may not, from a subtle point of view, have been materialistic, they were without doubt atheistic. Some vipras tried to stay philosophically alive in the Vipra Age by writing newer and newer commentaries about their old philosophies, as a means of fighting against the atheistic philosophies. The Máyáváda evolved by Shankaracharya with the aim of demolishing the Buddhist atheism is an outstanding example.
An administration is needed to maintain a society, and a system of government is needed to maintain the administration. The government system established by the kśatriyas by brute force remains intact in the Vipra Age, except that intellectuality takes precedence over brute force; intellectual force controls physical force. Even though the control of the government appears to remain or remains on paper in the hands of the kśatriyas, in reality those kśatriyas are completely controlled by their intellectual vipra ministers. In the Vipra Age the kśatriya kings do not want to bring trouble upon themselves by going against the counsels of their vipra ministers or of the priests of the royal family. In fact even if they want to, in most instances they are unable to; or even if they are able to, their actions, being an instance of counter-evolution or counter-revolution, are very short-lived. The kings of many countries in the Middle Ages acted in this way, or tried to do so, but none of them were successful, because they were living in the Vipra Age.
The Nanda Dynasty of Magadha suffered miserably when it went against the vipra Chanakya. And Chandragupta had to rule his kingdom in subservience to the vipras – as their servant – although he did not lack power, bravery or popularity.
In fact, the administration of a state according to a legal framework, instead of in accordance with the whims and caprices of the king – that is, the control of governmental procedures by a written or unwritten constitution – is a contribution of the vipras’ intellect.
Discipline for the sake of discipline or discipline to achieve success in battle is the real meaning of the sense of discipline that is found in kśatriya society. There is also discipline in vipra society, but that discipline is based on a sense of morality. The purpose of vipra discipline is to maintain and develop the social structure, thus it can never go against social consciousness. Rather, it adapts itself to changes of time, place and person. Vipras do not encourage discipline if it is harmful to society.
Shrii Krśńa once said to the Pandavas in the Mahábhárata, "Once a promise is made it must be kept, for that is dharma. But if to keep the promise will cause harm [to society], then to break the promise will be dharma." This is a maxim of the Vipra Age, not the Kśatriya Age.
The vipras contend that society should give importance not to shásana [administration] and administrative discipline [for their own sakes], but to anushásana, which is defined Hitárthe shásanam iti anushásanam ["Anushásana is shásana for the sake of welfare"].
Patriarchy and the Caste System
In the ancient Kśatriya Age the selection of the kśátra-pitá or sarddár [kśatriya leader] was based on his abilities as a kśatriya. This was not always achieved by peaceful means. Later the system of primogeniture was introduced to avoid divisions and conflict.
The Vipra Age underwent a similar change. In the initial stage, knowledge, intelligence and scholarship were the criteria for measuring ability, on the basis of which criteria the vipra leaders were determined. Those who accepted the dominance of a particular vipra were considered to be under his protection, and members of his gotra [clan]. People could change their clan if they chose. This means that people could abandon the protection of one clan leader, going outside his leadership and guardianship, and accept the supremacy of another vipra; this was called gotratyága [leaving their gotra].
Those who gave up Vedic rituals for non-Aryan Tantric practices, for the sake of dharma, were told, Átmagotraḿ parityájya Shivagotraḿ pravishatu ["Leave your own gotra and enter Shivagotra"].
In Asia in those days there was a great Aryan vipra called Kashyapa. (Was Káshyapa Ságar, the Caspian Sea, named after him?) Many non-Aryans and non-Vedics accepted him as their leader and accepted his guardianship. They all became members of the Káshyapa gotra. Subsequently Aryans and non-Aryans who did not know or had doubts about which clan they belonged to used to be treated as members of the Káshyapa gotra.
In the Kśatriya and Vipra Ages the matrilineal order continued to prevail in societies where close unity was necessary to protect people from external enemies and from the oppression of hostile nature. Even after the introduction of the gotra-pravar system as a result of contact with the Aryans, matriarchy did not die out. It did not suffer any serious set-back until much later, at the end of the [Vipra] Age.
In the Vipra Age contact with the patrilineal Aryans and other groups led to great disorder among those groups who followed the matrilineal system. Once the foundations of the Vipra Age had been firmly laid, they either abandoned the matrilineal system altogether or evolved a blending of the matrilineal and patrilineal systems. Today a matriarchal order still prevails among the Khasias and certain other primitive tribes due to the relatively late-coming and insignificant influence of the patriarchal Aryans.
Traces of matriarchy may still be found among the Malayalese, who live in remote areas south of India. On the other hand, the Bengalees,(14) despite being fundamentally [Austrico-Dravidian], have, for the most part, accepted patriarchy because they came in close contact with the Aryans, although their social system is a blending of the patrilineal and matrilineal systems. In the innermost part of their social life Bengalees still give predominance to mother, not to father, but on the surface their society is patriarchal.
Since the usages, customs, physical features and nature of Bengalees and Malayalese are very similar, many believe that the people of Bengal settled in Kerala and founded Malayalese society. This is a subject for scholars to research.
But in vipra society [[also]] the system of selecting the vipra leader became a hereditary one in course of time. There were two fundamental reasons for this. First, the vipras had gained the opportunity to earn money without doing physical labour, and wanted to pass this privilege on to their descendants, who in their turn would not let go the chance to fill their stomachs without working. Secondly, the kśatriyas and the shúdras not only revered the intelligent, erudite vipras whom they followed, they also viewed the vipras’ descendants with respect and gave them places of honour. Irrespective of their abilities, the children of the vipras began to receive almost the same respect as their fathers. The practice of honouring incompetent vipras for reasons of heredity eventually led to the establishment of the caste system in Hindu society.
Simple Philosophies and Contrived Philosophies
In the Vipra Age the king sat on the throne, but in reality it was the vipra ministers who ruled. If a king went against his vipra ministers, they would take the help of the common people or some other group of kśatriyas and replace him with a king of their choice. The kings were puppets in the hands of their ministers, standing up and sitting down when they pulled the strings. The vipras did not want a democracy or republic exactly as we understand the terms. Whenever the possibility arose for a moment to establish a democracy or republic, the vipras would install the puppet kśatriya of their choice on the throne.
The vipras would try to take military assistance from the less-intelligent kśatriyas in order to continue their march of exploitation unhindered. In the early part of the Vipra Age they created conflicts between one state and another and between one king and another centring around the conflicts between one religion and another. In order to continue their exploitation without hindrance, they tried to confuse people’s judgement by shouting religious slogans and issuing various types of decree, thus inciting one group against another or one state against another in their effort to expand their area of exploitation; and in this they succeeded. The terrible wars and tremendous bloodshed that occurred in the world due to the kśatriyas’ lust for power pale into insignificance before those that occurred in the Middle Ages at the direct or indirect instigation of the vipras, the standard-bearers of religion.
In any society or governmental system where vipra rule lasted for a long time, different kinds of religion or moral philosophy came into being under their aegis. Initially the vipras had introduced religion for the purpose of exploitation and had tried to mislead people through their grandiloquence. However, the new philosophies that emerged in the course of time as a result of clash among vipras propagating different doctrines, came to be somewhat spiritual in appearance, though the tendency to exploit remained beneath the surface. This form of religion, like the form socialism adopted, was in fact a great hoax. With this approach, intellectual satans, instead of exploiting the faithful directly, expanded their sphere of exploitation behind a psychologically-designed mask of detachment from or indifference to worldly things.
Vipras with a simple type of philosophy used to say, "Your father deserves to go to heaven, so make sure that we perform his funeral service," or "The soul of your father needs subtle food. Give us ordinary food and we will send it to him in a subtle form."
But later on the cunning vipras, whom I call intellectual satans, tried to turn the minds of the people from practical reality towards an imaginary void by preaching contrived philosophies. The essence of their voluminous treatises and verbose annotations to lengthy aphorisms was: the world is an illusion; therefore renounce the world and do not be attracted to its illusions. Become desireless, detached and self-abnegating by offering all your wealth at the feet of the vipras. Of course such philosophies did not preach that the world was also illusory for the vipras who received the offerings – clearly because it was through such ploys that they were able to achieve their objectives.
In places where, for whatever reason, intellectual clashes among the vipras were not very intense, their philosophy was very simple. They would say to the people directly, "I am the angel or incarnation of God. The things I have said are not the words of a human being but the words of God," or "I have received the divine revelation that you will eat this and not that, worship in this way and not that, and offer this to God. If you obey my commandments God will bless you and you will go to heaven; otherwise you will be burnt to death in the fire of hell." The people were fooled this easily.
The vipras used to tempt people with an imaginary heaven and inject in them the fear of an imaginary hell. In this way they would accomplish their objectives; their exploitation would proceed smoothly; and moreover the fear they aroused in people’s minds would turn those people into fanatics.
It is noticeable that in the fanatical religious communities that we see in the world today, there is very little intellectual clash among the vipras. However, whenever fanatical religious communities made systems of social rules and regulations – in other words, whenever they made some effort to build a social structure – their social systems would be stronger than those of societies which followed a subtle philosophical theory or those of kśatriya societies. Where there were intellectual clashes among the vipras, each vipra would have his own supporters, and their different supporters would never think of themselves as belonging to the same group. As a result those vipras were unable to build a strong social structure. Though their philosophies may or may not have had some good in them, the Buddhists and Hindus were unable to build strong societies because of their subtle mentality.
Unity in Society
Although due to fiercely-opposing views little social unity existed among the vipras, the exploitative vipras used to form unholy alliances to further their mutual self-interest. Such alliances were much more dangerous than the alliances formed by the kśatriyas.
Whenever any ideology opposing exploitation tries to raise its head, the vested-interest group concerned will resist. But in cases where the exploitation which the ideology opposes is that of the vipras, it faces the strongest resistance of all, because that resistance is supported by the intellectuals.
Groups of vipras may fight against each other, but they will quickly unite against an ideology that opposes vipra exploitation. For example, orthodox Muslims united with orthodox Brahmans against Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; orthodox Sanátaniis united with orthodox Christians against Raja Ramamohana. Thus it is clear that even when vipras belong to different groups, they readily unite to protect their mutual interests. At least in this respect they no doubt demonstrate more unity than kśatriyas.
I have already said that the vipras lack a sense of discipline; at least they are far less disciplined than the kśatriyas. However, they do have a subtle feeling of unity based on ideology. A certain sense of unity and discipline is of course necessary to intellectually exploit the kśatriyas and the shúdras – and that the vipras certainly have.
The kśatriyas think that the intellectual vipras kill their enemies using their cunning brains instead of weapons. From their perspective I would describe the vipra mentality as definitely mean, because it is not difficult to recognize inimical kśatriyas by their manners and features, but it is extremely difficult to understand the schemes that go on in the minds of inimical vipras.
The vipras’ sense of family discipline may be greater than that of the kśatriyas; the vipra social structure is also stronger than that of the kśatriyas; but that structure is not based on equality and love for humanity. It is based instead on the influence intellectuals gain over the ignorant using clever diplomacy.
Vipras earn far greater reputations through their intelligence than the kśatriyas do through their military power. The amusing thing is that the shúdras and kśatriyas who are militarily defeated by kśatriyas understand that they have lost – but the vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras who are intellectually defeated by vipras generally do not even realize that they have lost.
Kśatriya Prestige and the Evolution of the Vipras
In their ideological struggles the kśatriyas are concerned primarily with their prestige. The psychic clash that arises out of this concern for prestige presages the eventual rise of the vipras.(15) It is the main reason for the occurrence of the Vipra Age in the social cycle; but we cannot definitely say that the physical clash of the kśatriyas or shúdras, or the psychic clash of the shúdras, play no role at all in this.
Religious Characteristics
The kśatriyas worshipped nature and regarded it as the collective form of different belligerent forces, and this concept of a collectivity came to be called Brahma.(16) In their minds there was no difference between the collective form of nature and Brahma. They therefore came to regard all the phenomena of nature as expressions of Brahma. The vipras had a vague understanding of another type of expression which was beyond the realm of nature, which they called Átmá, Paramátmá, or Nirupádhika Iishvara [the Non-Attributional Controller]. According to the depth of their intellects, vipras had different ideas regarding the extent to which such expressions were beyond the realm of nature. Philosophically this is the reason why theoretical differences exist among Iishvara, Allah, God and Jehovah.
Ruh, spirit, soul and átmá are not exactly the same thing. A ruh can rise up from the grave; a spirit can move around and frighten people; a soul can cone close to God and sit beside Him; while a non-attributional átmá is not bound by the bondages of time, space or person. This entity beyond the realm of nature was the contribution of the vipras. Their intellectual struggle against the hostile aspects of nature, assisted by the kśatriyas, gave them the opportunity to imagine this kind of puruśa [consciousness] entity beyond the realm of nature.
The religiosity of the kśatriyas developed out of their infatuation with conquest and with acquisition. They thought that if they had faith in God they would be able to acquire a great deal of worldly wealth. They would acquire it through military force and enjoy it through military force. That is why kśatriyas worshipped their imaginary gods and goddesses before going into battle or plundering wealth from others – in many cases sacrificing animals and even human beings to propitiate them.
As the vipras lacked courage and valour of that kind, their spirituality was basically a fascination with acquiring occult powers. They thought that spirituality would bring them such power that their blessings would benefit people, who would then out of gratitude give the vipras a fat dividend out of whatever they had gained. They thought that spirituality could also give them the power to curse or do harm to people, who would then out of fear or devotion heap commodities at their feet. The pervasive efforts to create vipra dominance that can be observed in the stories of the Puranas are also born out of this mentality. According to some Puranas, not only human beings but Náráyańa [God] Himself bore the footprints of the vipras on His chest.
In the course of time the deceitful mentality of the vipras contributed greatly to the emergence of the vaeshyas as social exploiters. The vipras’ desire not to do any work resulted in their becoming parasites of the vaeshyas. So eventually the religious doctrines and social ideals propagated by the vipras became completely mortgaged to the wealth of the vaeshyas.
Vipra Mentality
In the vipras’ social system the idea "Live and let live" was not considered very important, nor was "Live with dignity" the main aim either. The most important thing for the vipras was to "Live by making others small" – to make slaves of others by infusing inferiority complexes into their minds in order to suck dry their vital force and to terrorize them into submission – in order to establish their power. It is as if through the framework of society the vipras are saying: use deception, force, cunning or any other means at one’s disposal in order to perpetuate one’s exploitation, even if it results in temporary dishonour.
The work of kśatriyas is to come to understand various kinds of force(17) as they experience them through the medium of struggle, while the work of vipras is to view all aspects of those kinds of force from a personalized angle and then to express them in a personalized, individual way. However, the importance the vipras give to individuality is detrimental to discipline. Although the idea of discipline is inherent in the fundamental principles or ideals of the vipras, their discipline is weakened by the emphasis they place on individual views. So although from a sociological perspective vipra society is superior to kśatriya society (vipra society is, however, still not a "society" in the true sense of the term), its structure is looser because it gives greater importance to personal freedom.
In vipra society people have considerable scope (though not complete scope) to express their inner feelings, and this led to an increase during the vipra period in the number of intellectual logicians’ philosophies.
In the same way that the weak were exploited by the strong in kśatriya society, the less intelligent were exploited by the more intelligent in vipra society – though on paper the vipras do not approve of exploitation. The vipras who formulate social codes contend that even if society takes no action against sinners, they will still suffer the consequences of their sins in hell. Although in vipra society there is no system for eliminating the hunger of the oppressed, vipras say that it is virtuous to feed the hungry. And although in practice they support a system which discriminates against people on the basis of high and low, on paper they accept the idea that human beings are essentially brothers and sisters. So although the vipra social system is not as strong as that of the kśatriyas, and although in practice it is generally lacking in magnanimity, on paper it is more magnanimous than that of kśatriya society. Kśatriyas cannot be said to be social parasites, but it is not incorrect to say that vipras are. Although the vipras understand the defects in their social system, they nevertheless use their grandiloquence to try to maintain it; such is the nature of vipras.
Religious Conflicts
In vipra society there is more scope for benevolence than in kśatriya society; that is to say, vipra leaders are not oblivious to the pleasure and pain of others. Vipras support those who pay respect to them and try to enhance the social status of such people with quotations from the scriptures. Of course vipras will not harm themselves for the sake of supporting others, no matter how great the logic in those people’s favour or how great the religious obligation of the vipras to do so. Needless to say, vipras will never support anybody if, in the event of that person being made great or being fully accepted by society, their own chariot of exploitation would be brought to a halt; rather they will ignore all humanitarian considerations and harm such people much more than would the kśatriyas.
In the Middle Ages fanatic Catholics, who regarded non-Catholics as unbelievers, burnt them alive; and many orthodox mullahs decreed that killing an infidel was not a sin. Orthodox Sanátaniis tried to murder Lord Buddha. During the reign of Bimbisar, power-mad Buddhist monks oppressed the Hindus. Hindu Brahmans and Muslim mullahs were equally vindictive towards Mahatma Kabir. Similarly, orthodox vipras oppressed Chandidasa, Ramamohana and Ishvarchandra Vidyasagara.
Although kśatriyas acted meanly at times for the sake of their prestige, their meanness had some limit; but when vipras became mean-minded, they became totally blind. Of course out of personal interest they would support those kśatriyas who had sold their own personal force to the vipras’ glib oratory, surrendered at the vipras’ feet, and become their slaves.
As regards the intellectual exploitation of others, nearly all vipras think alike, so when they operate their machinery of exploitation, quite a remarkable unity can be discerned among them. When Mahatma Buddha, Kabir, Chaitanya, Guru Nanaka and Hazrat Mohammed tried to make people aware of religious exploitation, the vipras of those times, irrespective of their religious affiliations or beliefs, united against them. Hindu priests and Muslim mullahs united to fight against Mahatma Kabir. The same thing occurred at the time of Mahaprabhu Chaitanyadeva.
The theory propounded by Karl Marx which was intended to save people from exploitation was opposed by the vaeshyas. Many poor vipras opposed it as well, because although Marxist doctrine makes some provision for vipras who perform social service, it gives no scope to social parasites. (The intellectuality of the vipras recoiled on them.)
Vipras generally behave like bossy, elderly uncles; they are not prepared to behave like young, obedient nephews. Consequently vipra society was divided into many groups and sub-groups, each with differing opinions. No one was able to tolerate anyone else, and each group was busy refuting the ideas of the others. These internal clashes have been responsible for a certain amount of intellectual progress in society, but they contributed little to the development of magnanimity of mind.
Generally the vipras’ logicians’ philosophies encouraged people to find fault with others. As a result people became degraded. Even today the leaders of some so-called religious organizations spend far more time in their meetings and institutes slandering and vilifying others, using diplomatic language to conceal their exploitative intentions, than they do talking about spiritual philosophy, the nature of God or spiritual sádhaná (that is, talking about real spiritual matters). But no matter how much they criticize each other, they are all believers in one doctrine, which is that it is not wrong to exploit people. Of course they put the seal of religion on their exploitation in order to further their own interests.
Cunning and Treachery
To kśatriyas life is like a game of chess, because they do what they have to do, even if it costs them their lives. The insatiable longing for victory compels them to behave in such a manner. A great, imperialistic leader and a most ordinary labourer equally welcome the call to a life of heroism and personal forcefulness. Kśatriyas try to wash away their defeats and their sense of despair in the blood of the battlefield. But vipras behave differently. Vipras regard the winning of intellectual battles and invention of new types of intellectual expression as the highest values in life, and when their minds are completely engrossed in those highest values, they do not even think of exploiting others. At such times they are even prepared to undergo great pain and suffering for the sake of their ideology or beliefs.
Other vipras cash in on the names of those magnanimous and ideological vipras, finding in them an opportunity to exploit others. Whatever respect people today may have for vipras is due to those ideological vipras. This is because more than ninety per cent of the intellectual and spiritual progress which humanity has so far achieved has been the legacy of those magnanimous and selfless vipras. Their contributions can never be forgotten in any age.
Although the vipras’ collective life is not as happy as that of the kśatriyas, they enjoy more peace. This is because they do not spend wakeful nights worrying about the possibility of mutual bloodshed. There is greater security in the society of the Vipra Age than in that of the Kśatriya Age, because despite the extensive factional strife caused by ideological differences, the social structure is comparatively strong.
Vipras are always awake and alert to what is going on around them, but their ability to respond appropriately to a situation is limited, as there is a lack of coordination between their intellects and their actions. When they have someone to work for them they are able to put their feelings and ideas into action, but if they do not have workers or obedient servants or someone to provide funds, most of their ideas come to nothing.
People with intellect should not need more intellect, but the vipras do need more. This is because the vipras’ intellect is in most cases unproductive intellect. Something needs to be done to create a balance between their brains and their hands and feet; yet giving them advice serves no purpose, [because] they refuse to listen. They sell their intellects for money, but they are unable to find a balance between their intellect and their actions.
The vipras ascertain the strength of an enemy and then incite the obedient kśatriyas and shúdras under their control to do battle, but they themselves stay at a safe distance. During the battle the heads of the brave kśatriyas and the cowardly shúdras roll in the dust and a river of blood flows on the earth, but the bodies of the vipras do not get even scratched. At the slightest possibility of defeat, they treacherously betray the shúdras and kśatriyas under them and enter into a secret pact with the enemy. Then they pose as peace-lovers and put the stigma of having fomented the war on the kśatriyas.
Thus vipra history is a history of adroit traitors. Within that history a high degree of intelligence is to be found, but no greatness. In it there are weakness, cowardice and ingratitude; and although there is cleverness, that cleverness is tarnished by selfishness.
The Rise of the Vaeshyas
Because the vipras have so much confidence in their presence of mind they fail to think about the future; consequently they rarely bother to accumulate wealth. They think that they will always be able to make some arrangement in any situation. But this overconfidence leads to their downfall. When real danger arrives and their presence of mind fails them, they have to sell themselves to anyone with any kind of wealth.
The vaeshyas, though endowed with less intelligence, begin to control the vipras with their capital. The subservient vipras then occupy themselves in increasing the wealth of the vaeshyas. Although they lack the capacity to accumulate wealth themselves, the vipras explain to the vaeshyas how to increase their wealth. The vipras show the vaeshyas all the straightforward and dirty ways of killing and cheating others that had escaped the vaeshyas’ attention. The vaeshyas evade taxes and indulge in black marketeering, smuggling and adulterating food and medicine, and increase their profits by paying bribes, but it is the vipras, grovelling at the feet of the vaeshyas, who supply the brains and the techniques behind these activities.
But in the course of time the vipras lose even their intellectual originality. They become servants of the vaeshyas, agents of capitalism. In the vaeshya-dominated society the vipras become like the shúdras and kśatriyas: mere beasts of burden who carry bags of sugar without ever tasting its sweetness. The capitalist vaeshyas gradually wrest the right to lead society out of the hands of the vipras, and establish their dominance using the vipras’ intellectual force.
Almost everywhere in the world the vaeshyas support democracy rather than monarchy, because in a monarchy the administration cannot be as easily influenced. People regard the bravery, tradition, noble birth and kśatriya nature of a monarch with respect, or with a mixture of devotion and fear. For this reason they do not like to oppose a monarch unless he or she does something which severely undermines the interests of the people. If the monarch demonstrates even a little concern for the public interest, the lives and properties of the vaeshyas in that kingdom may at any time be endangered.
In a party dictatorship or any other type of dictatorship, the dictator has to take into account the interests of the people. Even oppressive dictators cannot afford to ignore the welfare of the state, otherwise they will lose power. But in a democracy there is no danger of this.
The unintelligent kśatriyas and ignorant shúdras are easily duped by the mind-stupefying, life-enchaining propaganda of the vaeshyas, assisted by their vipra servants. Even the vipras, despite their intelligence and despite whatever they may say or think, support the vaeshyas out of fear or due to lack of a proper alternative. Thus in a democratic structure, particularly in a structure where downfallen vipras and kśatriyas(18) are few in number and ignorant shúdras form the majority, the vaeshyas can easily win votes.
During vaeshya rule the vipras’ intellect remains intact; it neither sleeps nor becomes rusty. However, though the vipras have intellect, they do not have the courage to apply it, because crude worldly bondages hold them tightly, like the grip of an octopus. It can therefore be said that the day that the vipras submit to the vaeshyas, the Vipra Age dies, even if the vipras themselves do not.
The blood-sucking vaeshyas order the vipras whom they hire to write voluminous books which artfully distort the truth. They try to portray as mean and sub-human those who oppose the vaeshyas and demand the right to live. In order to keep their machinery of exploitation running, the vaeshyas produce deadly weapons with the help of mercenary vipras. On the orders of their vaeshya overlords, vipra scientists willingly or unwillingly take up the task of making weapons in their laboratories that have the potential to destroy human civilization.
Although the vipras understand what is going on, they cannot do anything about it. They look up towards heaven, hoping to see the arrival of better days. They think, "When will the downfallen vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras unitedly save human civilization from the all-devouring greed of the vaeshyas. When will people realize that it is not the desire of providence for some to exploit others." Due to the utter despair they feel, the subservient vipras gradually become consumed with remorse recalling how they themselves once exploited others.
The economic exploitation of the vaeshyas relegates the vipras to the level of intellectual satans, and the money of the vaeshyas controls the brains of those satans. In the Vaeshya Age intellectual progress occurs on many levels: new inventions are brought forth, new types of deadly weapon are invented, and people learn how to produce many types of commodity to increase comfort. Many people believe that these things are creations of the Vipra Age, but actually they are expressions of the Vaeshya Age. The vipras who sell themselves to the vaeshyas for money produce such items at their behest.
A deep analysis reveals that many of those whose creative and inventive ability once commanded the respect of innumerable people, become dependent upon the mercy of the vaeshyas for their food and clothing. Poets and [[authors]] write according to the dictates of their vaeshya publishers or in the hope of winning prizes from the vaeshya-controlled governments. Artists wield their brushes according to the demands of the market, or are compelled to produce commercial art, neglecting more subtle art forms in the process. Instead of writing the truth, journalists turn day into night and night into day according to the wishes of profiteering newspaper publishers because they are afraid of losing their jobs. They go against their own consciences and pervert the truth in order to help unworthy people become leaders. They create spectacular lies with their pens.
Of course there is another side to all this. If vipras engage themselves in intellectual development and research, it is difficult for them to meet their material needs. Because the vaeshyas finance them, this problem is solved, and they are able to work free of worry. But naturally the vaeshyas do not extend their economic support in a disinterested way. Their ulterior motive is to establish themselves in society, and because of this the Vipra Age comes to an end.
Economic Liberation
The subservient vipras employ all their intellectual power to increase the wealth of the vaeshyas in exchange for the basic necessities they need to fill their bellies. Millionaire vaeshyas employ vipras at low wages in order to increase their wealth; with the help of these vipras they build up networks of adulteration, black marketeering and smuggling.
After the vaeshyas secure the allegiance of the vipras, they enlist them to help them consolidate the capitalistic social structure and philosophy. The contemporary Bhúdán movement(19) is an example of this type of philosophy; it is supported by the vaeshyas and propagated by the vipras under their control. As a result of this kind of movement, efforts to fight the exploitation of the vaeshyas decline because people think, "Why fight against rich people when they voluntarily distribute their land and wealth to the poor?" This aversion to fighting will somewhat lengthen the Vaeshya Age; because as the vaeshyas know full well, most of their donations are not genuine, but exist on paper only – and whenever they make genuine donations, they realize double the amount as profits in some other way.
In the Vaeshya Age this type of rotten philosophy gets widely trumpeted in the newspapers. Attempts are also made to mislead students by including such harmful philosophies in textbooks. The agents of the vaeshyas attempt to awaken respect and devotion for vaeshyas in children’s minds by depicting them in textbooks as symbols of peace, love and humanity.
To accomplish this objective a new type of nationalism based on economics is created which is totally different from both the nationalism of the Kśatriya Age, based on personal force and family glory, and that of the Vipra Age, based on learning. The nationalism of the Vaeshya Age leads to a form of imperialism which is extremely dangerous for the unity of the human race.
Although the vipras grovelling at the feet of the vaeshyas wield great authority at various levels of society as the servants of capitalistic imperialism, the vaeshyas never entrust them with the responsibility of leading society or structuring the economy. Only in this way can one easily understand whether a country or state is in the Vaeshya Age. It is not always the case that a state controlled by the vaeshyas is democratic. One indication that is clear is that the vaeshyas always keep the collection and distribution of finance and the corresponding ministerial posts in the hands of orthodox vaeshyas. They never delegate these responsibilities to a learned and experienced vipra economist, because it is their own systems of collection and distribution of finance that provide them the opportunity to establish themselves. Thus in the vaeshya social system, vipra scholars are nothing but paid planners and intellectual servants appointed to materialize those plans.
Whenever, after popular acceptance of the vaeshya-created social system, it became apparent that vipras were trying to free themselves from the rule and exploitation of the vaeshyas, the vaeshyas would buy the support of the masses, rub the noses of the rebellious vipras in the dirt, and then replace them with a group of sycophantic vipras.
The vaeshyas have repressed unrest and discontent among agricultural and industrial labourers, as well as political revolution, with the help not only of their vipra hirelings, but of kśatriyas and shúdras as well. In fact, of all the classes, the vaeshyas have made the most extensive use of the policy of divide and rule. For example, when a group of vipras vociferously demanded an investigation into the mysterious death of Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, another group of vipras immediately diverted their steam by increasing the tram fares in Calcutta and at the same time starting a movement to oppose the increase. Because of this, those typical vaeshyas who were directly or indirectly responsible for Shyamaprasad’s death escaped punishment.(20)
The discriminatory measures adopted by employers or states ruled by vaeshyas to suppress labour agitations are generally known to every educated person. To disrupt the plans and intellectual movements of one group of vipras, a second group of vipras are appointed as spies or informers. Such spies or informers do not work out of ideological inspiration but in order to fill their stomachs. They are merely paid servants of the vaeshyas.
The efforts of intelligent vipras or brave kśatriyas to escape from the influence of the vaeshyas can be called the vikránti [counter-evolution] or the prativiplava [counter-revolution] of the vipras or kśatriyas.
Some people consider what happened recently in Hungary as counter-revolution, but actually it was not.(21) It was a vipra revolution against kśatriya rule. It failed because factors relating to time, place and person could not be prepared properly. Those in power called it counter-revolution in order to belittle it.
In India at present the Vaeshya Age is in full swing. But because there is not sufficient consciousness among the exploited vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras – and because the clever vaeshyas of India, having learned from the experiences of other countries and having become cautious, often employ some psychology and exploit people indirectly rather than directly – the revolution to end the Vaeshya Age has not yet taken place.
What to speak of revolution, even the need for revolution has not yet been felt properly among intellectuals. At present they are in a hesitant frame of mind. They are waiting for the auspicious day when the Vaeshya Age will end naturally through kránti [evolution], without any struggle.
This mentality is reflected in the support which a group of intellectuals extend to the Sarvodaya movement(22) and Gandhism. They deliberately ignore the fact that the Sarvodaya movement and Gandhism will only increase the period of their suffering.
There is also a group of leaders who have genuine sympathy for the masses and who do not in their hearts support the Sarvodaya movement or Gandhism; they nevertheless believe that the vaeshyas will be removed from power without a struggle through their plans for a welfare state. I am not suggesting that their ideas are totally irrational, because they do have an example before them. Great Britain is moving towards socialism by accepting the ideals of a welfare state. If it is possible there, why shouldn’t it be possible here? It is natural to ask this question, because in the rotation of the social cycle it is not imperative for revolution to occur. A change from one age to another can also occur through evolution. However, although it is theoretically possible to establish a welfare state or genuine economic freedom through evolution, in practice it will not work. It is true that in Great Britain some of the minimum requirements of life are being provided to the people, but how great the difference is between rich and poor! Clearly their social system is capitalistic. The exploited and disgruntled people are given a small amount of sympathy to appease them. They are given a small taste of the dainties and delicacies, but their stomachs are never full.
The masses in India face greater privations than the masses in Britain. Due to a lack of political and economic consciousness and the confusion created by the misleading propaganda of the Sarvodaya movement and Gandhism, the people of India may continue to be complacent for some time more, misguided by the false promises of the agents of capitalism. However, this situation will not continue for long.
Because rich people have the opportunity to purchase votes, it is not easy for leaders who are genuinely concerned about the people to become members of parliament. It is therefore not possible to eradicate the sufferings of the people of India by enacting laws befitting a genuine welfare state. It is not possible to bring about the economic liberation of India through the present democratic structure.
Divisive Isms
The predominance of dishonest people over honest is far greater in the Vaeshya Age even than it was in the Vipra Age. The vaeshyas use most of their capital and privileged status to deprive others of the wealth they earn through their hard labour. (Here "labour" certainly includes intellectual labour.) Just as the vipras use their intellects to stupefy and manipulate the kśatriyas’ vitality, the vaeshyas still more ruthlessly turn the vipras, as well as everybody else, into beasts of burden. When the Vaeshya Age begins after the Vipra Age, and the vipras and kśatriyas helplessly sell themselves to the vaeshyas, the vipras and kśatriyas clearly understand that they are sold. They are like chickens that have just been sold to the hungry chicken-fancier.
Only the shúdras fail to realize that they are sold. Although the vipras and kśatriyas know what is happening, they nevertheless accept the dominance of the vaeshyas due to selfishness, infighting and a lack of economic knowledge. The vaeshyas are fully aware of the disunity and other weaknesses of the vipras and kśatriyas, and they use this knowledge to perpetuate their hold on power; they use their financial power to incite one group against another. The kśatriyas, out of obligation to the vaeshyas, lose their lives in needless battles and fracases of different kinds; while the vipras, similarly fed and sheltered by the vaeshyas, keep such factional conflicts permanently alive by creating various types of sentiment such as casteism, communalism, provincialism and nationalism, and by composing the necessary scriptures to accomplish this.
It should be clearly understood that the vaeshyas encourage all isms that divide people. Casteism, communalism, provincialism and nationalism are supported mainly by the money of the vaeshyas. They finance such isms to keep people divided so that they cannot unite and protest against their exploitation.
The funny thing is that the vaeshyas purchase the vital energy of the kśatriyas and the intellectual skills of the vipras with money and use that energy and those skills to perpetuate their hold on power and turn the kśatriyas and vipras into long-term slaves. The vaeshyas’ financial power carries more weight than the power of speech and intellectual power of the vipras, not to mention the physical power of the kśatriyas; therefore the vaeshyas have no trouble buying the vipras’ brains and the kśatriyas’ brawn with their money.
Among those who possess knowledge, intellect, great courage or physical strength, there is hardly anyone who has the courage, or sometimes even the intelligence, needed to take the financial risks necessary to earn money. The vaeshyas understand this weakness of the vipras and the kśatriyas. They lull their discrimination to sleep by praising the kśatriyas’ valour and the vipras’ intellect. Then afterwards they can easily buy them off. In a vaeshya state, poets, scientists, [[authors]] and great heroes are awarded prizes, medals and titles for this very reason. By participating in all this, the vipras and the kśatriyas surrender all their endowments at the feet of the vaeshyas for a little money or some name and fame; and at the same time feel they are fortunate. They fail to realize that they are digging their own graves.
Footnotes
(1) See the last chapter, "Shúdra Revolution and Sadvipra Society". –Trans.
(2) In some parts of the world, certain diseases are thought to result from the curse of a particular goddess who is then worshipped to effect a cure. –Trans.
(3) That is, they were accorded some religious status, but their names do not figure in either the Vedas or the Tantras. Laokik implies something created relatively recently out of popular sentiment. –Trans.
(4) See also the section Kśatriya Prestige and the Evolution of the Vipras. –Trans.
(5) "Community" and "communal" as used throughout this book generally refer to religious communities. –Trans.
(6) Though it still prevailed at the time of writing, it had begun to wane, and has further waned since then. –Trans.
(7) Wives; literally "co-performers of religious rites". –Trans.
(8) The vipras of that period divided wives into four categories: patniis, who were entitled to the same social and religious rights as their husbands; jáyás, who were entitled to the same social rights as their husbands but were deprived of his religious rights; bháryás, who were deprived of both the social and religious rights of their husbands, but whose children were entitled to the same social and religious rights as their fathers; and kalatras, who along with their children were deprived of both the social and religious rights of their husbands. –Trans.
(9) The literal translation of this injunction is, "A bháryá is taken only to produce male children." –Trans.
(10) "The accepted structure of society" refers to the three upper castes. In earlier times those castes had at least sincerely observed certain moral strictures and performed certain benevolent duties prescribed to them by scripture. –Trans.
(11) A Sanskrit verse listing the attributes of a deity, to be used for visualizing that deity in meditation. –Trans.
(12) [[Or "theocratic state". –Trans.]]
(13) Here the author is referring to some among the millions of refugees who have come to India since the partition in 1947. It was the very vulnerability of their religion in their homelands that had forced them to come. –Trans.
(14) Although the languages of Bengal and Kerala [Bengali and Malayalam respectively] have been deeply influenced by Sanskrit, the social lives of the people of these two regions have remained largely uninfluenced by the Aryans. The reason for this is the fundamental difference in mental make-up between the Bengalees and Keralites on the one hand, and the Aryans on the other.
(15) See also the section How the Vipras Evolve –Trans.
(16) See also the section Factors in the Evolution of the Kśatriyas in "The Kśatriya Age" and the section Vipra Mentality in this chapter. –Trans.
(17) See also the section Factors in the Evolution of the Kśatriyas in "The Kśatriya Age" and the section Kśatriya Prestige and the Evolution of the Vipras in this chapter. –Trans.
(18) See the discussion of vikśubdha shúdras in "Shúdra Revolution and Sadvipra Society". –Trans.
(19) In the Bhúdán movement launched by Vinoba Bhave, an attempt was made to convince landlords to donate land to poor, landless people. (Bhú means "land" and dán means "donate".) –Trans.
(20) Shyamaprasad Mukherjee, who was originally from Bengal and had a large following there, was the opposition leader in the Indian parliament and the founder of the Hindu Mahasabha movement. A group of Bengali politicians who supported an opposing political party were instructed by their national leadership to instigate the agitation in Calcutta. –Trans.
(21) The abortive Hungarian revolution occurred in 1954-55. Soviet troops were sent to Hungary to crush the revolt. –Trans.
(22) In the Sarvodaya movement started by Jayprakash Narayan (as in the Bhúdán movement), an attempt was made to convince landlords to donate land to poor, landless people. (Sarva means "all" and udaya means "rise".) –Trans.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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Both the kśatriyas and the vipras like to enjoy material wealth, though their methods of accumulating material objects are different. The vaeshyas, however, are more interested in possessing material objects than enjoying them. Looking at their possessions, or thinking about them, gives them a certain peace of mind. So in the Vaeshya Age the practical value of material goods is less than at any other time. They gradually become inert both literally and in financial terms. This is the greatest curse of the Vaeshya Age, because the less the mobility of material goods, that is, the greater their stagnation in different spheres, the more harmful it is for the common people. In the Kśatriya and Vipra Ages it is very rare for people to die of starvation while grains rot in the warehouses. Although there is disparity of wealth in the Kśatriya and Vipra Ages, kśatriyas and vipras do not kick others into a pit of privation, poverty and starvation while they themselves enjoy their wealth. This is because they see other people as tools to be used for the purpose of exploitation, but do not see them as the wellspring of exploitation as the vaeshyas do. To a vaeshya, the shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras are not only tools to be used for exploitative purposes, they are the wellspring of exploitation as well.
The vaeshyas gain material objects of enjoyment through the physical efforts of others; or directly through mental efforts; or sometimes through such physical efforts, sometimes through mental efforts, and sometimes through both simultaneously, according to the situation. So in this respect the vaeshyas are similar to the vipras. However, the difference is that when the vipras acquire objects of enjoyment, they do not let others know that that is their intention; they resort to various types of logic, quote from the scriptures, fake indifference, and employ many other techniques. The vaeshyas do not do such things. In this regard at least, they are more straightforward than the vipras. They do not hide their intentions, which are to accumulate an increasing number of objects of enjoyment.
As vipras are to some extent guided by conscience, they do not utilize their intellects solely to accumulate objects of enjoyment. If they develop a greater degree of conscience or if their intellects increase, they will often neglect to do this altogether. But this never happens with vaeshyas, first of all because they are somewhat lacking in conscience. And secondly, if any of them do have a bit more conscience, they will satisfy it by making donations according to their convenience, priorities or inclination, but they will never stop accumulating objects of enjoyment. A vaeshya with a conscience may donate a hundred thousand rupees at a moment’s notice, but while buying and selling he will not easily let go of even a paisa.
The consequences of accumulating material objects of enjoyment are not the same for vaeshyas as they are for vipras, either. Because they generally spend some time thinking about higher pursuits, vipras do not ideate on objects of enjoyment. But vaeshyas do. As a result they one day take the form of matter.
Vaeshya Mentality
Whatever glory the vaeshyas gain, they gain at the risk of their lives. In this regard they are definitely greater than the vipras and may also be greater than the kśatriyas. The vaeshyas always keep in mind the possible ups and downs in life and their personal profit and loss; thus they develop the capacity to adapt to a wide variety of situations. They are neither especially attracted to luxuries nor repelled by hardships. This is the key to their success.
Vaeshyas are fighters, but their methods of fighting are different from those of the kśatriyas or even the vipras. Actually they lack the powerful personalities of the kśatriyas and are in fact the opposite – weak personalities. They do not hesitate to sell their personal force, their society, their nation, the prestige of women, or national welfare, which the kśatriyas would never do. Vipras limit their fighting to the intellectual sphere, but this is not exactly the case with vaeshyas. Although they also fight intellectually, they do so only to make money. If a vipra and a vaeshya ever engage in a purely intellectual fight, the vipra will win. But if the fight is between their urges for financial gain, the vaeshya will win; the vaeshyas will lock the vipras’ minds up in their iron safes.
Vaeshyas perceive the world through greedy eyes. They do not have the capacity to correctly or fully understand worldly issues. They do not understand anything except the economic value of things. Their commercial outlook is not confined to the material world only; it also includes the psychic and spiritual worlds.
Even though vaeshyas, as a kind of intellectual, have the capacity to acquire psychic wealth, they do not utilize this capacity properly. However, some vaeshyas do find quite subtle ways to make money – it all depends on the degree of their intellect.(1) Though they may have a developed intellect or a desire to do good, they never forget that their primary aim is to make money. They worship whichever god makes them rich. After earning tens of millions of rupees by cheating people with their business acumen, they use a small part of their profit to construct temples or dharmashálas [pilgrims’ inns], because they believe that this will absolve them of their sins.
Vaeshyas do not like to tread the path of desireless action in order to make their minds one-pointed and realize God. They avoid or usually try to avoid the real purpose of dharma, for they do not have any sense of or feeling for religion other than some degree of fear of God. If this fear decreases, they begin to behave like mean-minded demons. In such a state of mind they can commit any type of sin to satisfy their hunger for money.
A mind which runs after money moves in very crooked ways. Although this movement involves intense effort, due to the crudeness of its objective the movement cannot be straightforward: it is crooked, extremely crooked.
Due to their intense effort vaeshyas are mutative by nature, and due to the crudeness of their objectives they are static by nature; thus they are a combination of the mutative [red] and static [black] forces and are symbolized by the colour yellow.
Though vaeshyas make greater efforts than do kśatriyas, their efforts are more psychic than physical.
Deadly Social Parasites
Vaeshyas believe that only a few people can accumulate material wealth, depriving the rest. Thus there will always be only a few vaeshyas, while those who are the objects and tools of their exploitation form the majority. Like exploited beasts of burden which carry bags of sugar, in their crippled state of mind the majority feel that they do not have the right to taste the sweetness. This feeling is the greatest ally of the vaeshyas, so directly or indirectly they always try to nurture this type of feeling in the minds of the majority. Consequently they propagate various types of isms and ethereal theories with the help of the vipras in their pay whom they have reduced to the level of shúdras. When the majority, unable to tolerate this exploitation any longer or find any other way out, desperately leap into action, the Vaeshya Age comes to an end. But it takes a long time for downtrodden people to understand that the vaeshyas are the parasites of society. Hence thorough preparation is required to end the Vaeshya Age.
By vaeshyas I mean here the low type of vaeshyas. However, I am not prepared to call those who are not low vaeshyas, “high” vaeshyas; because while it is true that they give donations as well as exploit, and that society may be benefited by their donations, that will not bring the people who have died from their exploitation back to life!
The vaeshyas increase their wealth by buying the back-breaking labour of the shúdras, the powerful personalities of the kśatriyas, and the intellect of the vipras, according to their needs. The shúdras, just like beasts, sell their physical labour in exchange for mere subsistence. Because they sell their labour, society survives and moves ahead. The powerful personalities of the kśatriyas build and maintain the social structure with the labour extracted from the shúdras. Through their intellect the vipras utilize the personal force of the kśatriyas, and through their money and capitalistic mentality the vaeshyas utilize the vipras’ intellect to increase their wealth.
The vaeshyas do not confront any social problem directly. Just as they buy the labour of the shúdras, the personal force of the kśatriyas and the intellect of the vipras with money, so they endeavour to solve all social problems with money. They do not win victory on the battlefield; they buy it with money. In poverty-stricken democratic countries they buy votes. As they accomplish everything with money, their vital force comes from money. They therefore take all sorts of risks in life to accumulate money. For money they can sacrifice their conscience, their sense of good and bad, right and wrong, at any moment. So in order to save the exploited shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras from the vaeshyas, money, which is the source of all their power, has to be taken out of their hands.
Of course it is not wise to think that all social problems will be solved just by taking money away from the vaeshyas. Although they will have lost their money, they will still have their greedy, money-making mentality.
Thus the structure of society will have to be built in such a way, and society will have to progress in such a way (maintaining balance among time, place and person), that the greedy, money-making mentality of the vaeshyas is rendered ineffectual. This cannot be accomplished by persuasion or by delivering philosophical talks. Their money-making intellect will have to be rendered ineffectual through physical force, and they will have to be shown the divine truth and made to sit and perform spiritual practices to awaken their pinnacled intellect.
To the vaeshyas the social body is merely a machine for making money. The vipras are the head, the kśatriyas are the arms, and the shúdras are the legs of the machine. The authors of scripture may say that the vaeshyas are the thighs of the machine, but I would say that this is incorrect. Of course the vaeshyas are part of the social body, but they are not part of the money-making machine within that social body. They are separate. They supply the oil, water and fuel to the machine, but they take far more from the machine than they spend on it. They think, “As I supply oil, water and fuel to the machine to keep it running, all of the output is mine. My money built the machine, and with my money I can destroy it. If necessary I will get more work out of it by supplying it with more oil, water and fuel, and if I no longer need it I will send it to the junkyard.”
If, in the history of human struggle, the role of the vipras is one of parasitic dependence on others, I cannot find words to describe the role of the vaeshyas. Both the vipras and the vaeshyas exploit society, but the vipra exploiters are not as terrible as the vaeshya exploiters. The vaeshyas are like a deadly parasite on the tree of society which tries to kill the tree by sucking dry all its vital sap. But if the tree dies, the parasite will also die. The vaeshya parasites understand this and therefore try to ensure the survival of society by making some donations; they build temples, mosques, churches and pilgrims’ inns, give little bonuses, feed the poor; etc. Calamity only comes when they lose their common sense out of excessive greed and try to suck society completely dry.
Once the social body falls unconscious, the vaeshyas will die along with the rest of the body. Otherwise, before allowing themselves to die, the exploited shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras can unite to destroy the vaeshyas. This is the rule.
Crooked Intellect
The path of the vipras is crooked and so is the path of the vaeshyas. The difference between them is that since the vaeshyas’ crooked intellect has no trace of spiritual consciousness, it often proves to be suicidal.
A dreadful calamity will befall society if those who have intellectual capacity squander it by running after mundane pleasures instead of utilizing it to realize spiritual bliss – if they utilize all their intellect to fatten themselves by sucking the vital juice of others. So there can be no social welfare until this type of mentality is eradicated or rendered ineffectual through circumstantial pressure. No political leader or governmental or social system can build a welfare state, a socialistic state or an ideal society if they neglect this fundamental disease. If those who go around looking for opportunities to enlarge their stomachs by sucking the vital force of others continue to control society or the nation through their own group of sinners, what can one expect to see in such a society except a horrid picture of hell!
Most of the evils that occur in society are created due to the exploitation carried out by the vaeshyas. In order to increase the size of their bank balances, the vaeshyas create an artificial scarcity of such items as food, clothing and other essential commodities, and then earn a profit by black marketeering. Those who do not have the capacity to purchase commodities at exorbitant prices steal, commit armed robberies and engage in other criminal activities in order to obtain the minimum requirements of their lives. Poor people deprived of food and clothing work as the agents of the greedy vaeshyas engaged in black marketeering and smuggling. When these poor people are caught, they are the ones who get punished, while the vaeshyas escape thanks to the power of their money. Such ill-fated poor people lose their consciences and descend deeper into sin. Society condemns these sinners, while the rich vaeshyas, the instigators of the sinners, play the role of public leaders. They wear garlands, set off verbal fireworks, and shrilly exhort the masses to make greater sacrifices.
Prostitution
The repugnant social disease of prostitution is also a creation of the vaeshyas. As a result of excessive wealth the vaeshyas lose their self-control and their character on the one hand; and many unfortunate women are forced by poverty to descend to this sinful occupation on the other hand.
In India prostitution has been outlawed, but every rational person knows that it cannot be stopped by legal means. Poor women who once lived in red-light districts have only fled out of fear of the law to respectable localities. As a result the sin which was previously confined to certain areas is now spreading to other parts of town. In order to eradicate this sinful occupation in India, it will be necessary to eliminate the vaeshya social system, because in eighty per cent of cases the cause of prostitution is economic injustice. Of course if due to wrong education or base propensities people (both men and women) give indulgence to this sinful occupation, it will continue even after the eradication of economic injustices. So instead of enacting laws, the exploitation of the vaeshyas will have to be eliminated, as will other social injustices. And instead of legally banning something, a healthy outlook should be encouraged.
Of course it is in the nature of a vaeshya-dominated social system that many good laws are framed just to win cheap applause from the public. However, none of these laws are strictly implemented; because if they were, it would become difficult to exploit people.
The Acquisition of Wealth
Neither the vipras nor the vaeshyas directly produce the wealth of society; instead they accumulate the wealth produced by others. To say that there is a heaven-and-hell difference between their methods of acquiring wealth is to say little. The vipras use their intellect and acquire the hard-earned wealth of others in order to meet their material needs, maintain their reputation in society and protect their prestige. But the vaeshya outlook is different. They are content to simply accumulate wealth, and derive pleasure from thinking about their accumulated riches. Hence even millionaire vaeshyas sometimes neglect the bare necessities of life. They forget their hunger when they are counting their money; they forget their personal needs – their minds get absorbed – when they see the wealth they have accumulated. And as for prestige, they sell it for money without any hesitation.
If a certain commodity is easily obtainable in the open market, a vaeshya will welcome a customer with folded hands, saying, “Please come in, sir, have some betel.” But when the same commodity is only available in the black market, the same vaeshya will not even recognize that customer.(2) In other words, to vaeshyas money is the only thing that matters. Where money is concerned, their own prestige or the prestige of others is of no consequence.
When people use their intellects over a long period of time solely to accumulate material wealth, their intellects, because they have inculcated this sort of thought in their mental bodies, gradually develop in that direction. In other words, “How can I accumulate more?” ultimately becomes their only thought. Their social spirit and sense of humanity gradually disappear until eventually they become total blood-sucking leeches. They do not retain even the tiniest scrap of humanity.
At the beginning of the Vaeshya Age some social spirit still exists in them alongside the desire to make money. Whatever their motive may be, the vaeshyas do sometimes spend generously on social service and charitable activities, but by the end of the Vaeshya Age they lose even the last vestiges of social consciousness, and as a result of their foolhardiness shúdra revolution occurs.
At the beginning of the Vaeshya Age the vaeshyas use their money-making intellect both for social service and for accumulating money, and in these matters they take advice from other members of society. But by the end of the Vaeshya Age they become so irresponsible due to the intoxication of accumulation that they are not prepared to take advice from anyone. They use their money-making intellect solely to exploit society.
How the Vaeshyas Evolve
In the Vipra Age those who were defeated due to their lack of physical strength, courage or intellectual ability tried to discover an alternative way to live and gain social recognition. The particular type of psychic clash which arose in their minds due to their constant efforts to establish themselves developed in them their money-making intellect. This skill helped them to utilize the strength of the strong, the courage of the brave and the intellect of the intellectuals, and the more they were able to do this the more they became known as shreśt́hiis.
Here the funny thing is that the vaeshyas, who had money but no social status, were able to obtain from the vipras whom they exploited titles of respect such as shreśt́hii(3) and sádhu [honest]. (Sádhu became sáhu and today it is Sáu [a common surname].) The vipras took on the worry-free job of priests to these shreśt́hiis and sádhus. They underwent austerities, performed worship and recited scripture on behalf of the shreśt́hiis in return for money. The courageous kśatriyas took upon themselves the responsibility of being armed gatekeepers, and began to salute the shreśt́hiis twice a day. Other vipras became clerks, accountants, etc.; and the shúdras became porters and labourers. Through their work they all gradually began to elevate the status of the shreśt́hiis. This is an objective picture of the Vaeshya Age in every country of the world.
Pseudo-Vaeshyas
Some vipras’ economic intellect is awakened while under the patronage of the economic intellect of the vaeshyas. Such people become pseudo-vaeshyas, and towards the end of the Vaeshya Age their dominance of society becomes evident. The vipras’ crooked thinking blends with the vaeshya-like economic intellect of these pseudo-vaeshyas, but the pseudo-vaeshyas do not possess any of the good qualities of either the vaeshyas or the vipras. So although they carry on the vaeshya legacy up to the very end of the Vaeshya Age, they finally fall into utter disgrace and disrepute.(4)
In their efforts to perpetuate their exploitation without hindrance, the pseudo-vaeshyas make use not only of their economic intellect but also of whatever other intellectual capacities they possess. By hook or by crook they even seize governmental power. They then use that power as an instrument of exploitation, a cruel machine to ruthlessly pulverize the whole of society. Out of fear that their descendants may face financial difficulties in the future due to their lack of competence, they not only continue to exploit the whole of society, but also set aside for those descendants huge sums of money which remain wholly or partially unutilized.
The non-utilization of capital is the worst consequence of economic exploitation. Exploited and downtrodden people who do not want to be exploited to death, revolt. Thus shúdra revolution occurs during the period of the Vaeshya Age which is dominated by dishonest vaeshyas.
The vitality of the Kśatriya Age gives way to the intellectuality of the Vipra Age, and the intellectuality of the vipras is bought for money in the Vaeshya Age. The vaeshyas buy the vipras’ intellect with money, and with the help of that intellect they build up their state, society and economic structure, putting them to work as they choose.
Generating Collective Wealth
Nothing in the world is exclusively good or exclusively bad. Is the Vaeshya Age only an age of economic exploitation? Is there nothing good in this present Vaeshya Age, and has there never been anything good in it? Although it is a fact that the vaeshyas’ economic exploitation has always surpassed their service, they have nevertheless done service, however small or insignificant it may have been. When the vipras collect something (directly or indirectly), they decide how and to what extent it can be put to use, how it can be enjoyed by the people and how it can be utilized for their welfare. But the vaeshyas collect things without thinking about how they can be utilized for social welfare. Instead they think about how to compel people through circumstantial pressure to buy those things so that they can earn money in exchange.
Material goods have no practical value for the vaeshyas, except as a source of income. This type of mentality leads them to illegally hoard foodstuffs out of a greedy desire for greater profits, depriving millions of people of food and pushing them down the road towards death.
We do not expect vipras to do such things. The vipras do promote their personal interests and their domination, but they do not try to deprive the shúdras and kśatriyas of a chance to live. But if the vaeshyas think of the kśatriyas or shúdras as thorns on the path of making money, they will deprive them of a chance, and often out of greed for greater profit indirectly kill them.
Having said all this, I still contend that nothing in this world is exclusively good or bad. For any individual or collective endeavour, capital, either in the form of money or resources, is initially required. The opportunity to create such capital, to create capital in a massive way or in a widely-diversified way, comes in the Vaeshya Age. With the help of such capital, wealth can be generated for both individual and collective needs, and this is what happens.
In order to raise the general standard of living in a society, state or economy, capital is required, whether the capital comes from within a particular country or from outside. No matter where it comes from, it must be controlled partly or completely by an individual. The individual controller is, of course, the vaeshya. But if, without examining how it should or should not be used, the use or control of the capital is entrusted to a government, a cooperative or a representative of the public, non-utilization or misutilization of the capital will be inevitable in all circumstances. This is one of the main reasons why capitalistic countries develop extremely rapidly in the material sphere.
Furthermore, if large amounts of capital are placed under collective management, a small error on the part of the managers will lead to gross misutilization. This is the main reason why the system of collective farming, or the commune system, has failed in socialistic countries. If the ownership of wealth is taken away from individuals and placed in the hands of the state – in other words, if the vaeshya system is abolished by force – managers will not have the same control over that wealth as individual owners would.
State Capitalism
One thing more needs to be said about collective capital: collective capital does not always mean the establishment of socialism. Where collective capital means the capital of the state, if the state tries to increase its national wealth without stopping exploitation in society and without trying to increase individual wealth, increasing the national wealth will mean increasing the individual wealth of only a few people in power. Thus, although there is an increase in the per capita income, the per capita income of the poor does not increase, and the per capita income of the well-to-do does not decrease.
Although one cannot support this sort of state capitalism, one cannot deny that the state has to utilize capital in order to increase the wealth of the state. If state capitalism actually increases the per capita income of every person without constantly seeking to exploit, we cannot but praise it – it can be considered exemplary socialism. After all, a state must invest capital if it wants to increase the national income. Such capital investment is clearly a vaeshya system.
Perpetuating Exploitation
The vaeshyas became established through their materialistic intellect. First they defeated the vipras through their materialistic intellect and financial machinations, then they turned them into sycophants so that they could harness their intellects in order to increase their wealth.
Although the production, accumulation and distribution of things indispensable for the preservation of human life are carried out under the ownership or partial supervision of the vaeshyas, those whose labour, personal force and intellect are actually used to produce and distribute essential commodities are not vaeshyas. In order to meet their own needs those people mortgage their labour, personal force and intellect to the vaeshyas. The vaeshyas clearly understand that their system of exploitation will fail without the help of the shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras.
Thus behind their grandiloquence the vaeshyas continue their psychological manipulations in order to perpetuate their capitalistic rule. Through this process the shúdras and kśatriyas readily become their slaves. Although the vipras understand what is happening, after a short struggle they are also compelled to surrender to the vaeshyas like a fly caught in a spider’s web.
These psychological manipulations, a part of vaeshya philosophy, begin to fail only when the shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras lose their minds due to excessive exploitation. They then become desperate, blind, mindless people who completely lack conscience, intellect or rationality. One day they mercilessly smash the vaeshya structure to pieces. How or why they did it, or how the new structure will be built – these considerations, this type of thinking – never enter their minds. They only jump into the struggle in order to survive. They think, “Since there is no point in living, let us die sooner.” While this directionless revolution is going on, the condition of the shúdras, kśatriyas and vipras becomes almost the same. It is useless to expect from them anything worthy of human beings.
Intellect controls strength; therefore the vipras control the shúdras and the kśatriyas. But, Annacintá camatkárá [“Wonderful are the ways of hunger”] – when even intelligent people find themselves struggling to survive, they readily sell their intelligence for money; for this reason the vipras sell themselves to the vaeshyas. They not only sell themselves, but also surrender the shúdras and the kśatriyas, whom they had previously controlled, at the holy feet of their vaeshya overlords. Without the help of the vipras, it would be virtually impossible for the vaeshyas to force the shúdras and the kśatriyas to work.
It is therefore evident that in a capitalistic structure, when the vaeshyas struggle to perpetuate their system of exploitation, they do not physically struggle, they merely spend money. Upon taking the money, the vipras then fight with their nerves, the kśatriyas with their muscles, and the shúdras with their sweat and labour.
Thus it is clear that in any type of communal or other reactionary-instigated conflict, there are wealthy bosses on both sides behind the riots and fracases. The bosses themselves never take up spears, lances or axes and fight.
The victory of wealth over intellect, the vipras’ surrender at the feet of the vaeshyas, does not come about in a single day. As mentioned earlier, the vipras get caught like a fly in a spider’s web; they do make some efforts to understand their situation, but finally they become so entangled in the web that their vitality gets exhausted in the struggle and they have no alternative but to surrender. They are then compelled to sing the victory songs of the vaeshyas as they beat their heads in despair.
Through the power of money the vaeshyas take over all the constructive work accomplished by, or useful things built by, the intelligence and ideological commitment of the vipras, the sacrifice and personal force of innumerable kśatriyas, and the labour of countless shúdras. Sometimes the vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras seek the help of the unworthy vaeshyas in order to preserve some worthy institution. But for the sake of money, they are compelled to name the institution after those vaeshyas.
However, the vaeshyas’ cunning methods of economic exploitation do encounter set-backs according to time, place and person. Whenever they see the vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras moving towards counter-evolution or counter-revolution, they adopt new forms of deception in order to save their position. Until an actual shúdra revolution occurs, they engage themselves untiringly in trying to discover newer and more artful methods of deception.
It should be remembered that in countries where the dominant vaeshya structure is at present extremely firm and stable, the strength of that structure was not created in a day. The vaeshyas laboured a long time to build it and they will try to maintain it by any means. To expect, under such circumstances, that they will be won over by humble requests, or will voluntarily put on a loincloth and renounce the world, is sheer lunacy. Actually such things are possible if they become inspired by a great spiritual ideology; however, this would require the long-term, continuous propagation of morality-based spirituality among the vaeshyas. Intelligent people should certainly consider whether it is really rational to allow the exploitation of the masses to go on until such a day comes.
The occasional charity works that the vaeshyas undertake are only a trick to maintain their exploitation. Most of their charitable activities are not inspired by humanism; their sole purpose is to keep the machinery of exploitation, that is, the vipras and the shúdras, functioning. If the vipras and the shúdras die, who will there be to exploit? The cunning vaeshyas consider such charitable activities as investments.
The help that vaeshyas extend to poor people in difficult times, during floods and famines, they afterwards recover with interest. They are benefited in various ways. First, their businesses continue to run and they make good money. Secondly, people who are disgruntled with the vaeshyas’ exploitation are to some extent pacified and their wounded minds are temporarily soothed.
Of course these comments do not apply to those vaeshyas who do social service out of humanitarian or spiritual inspiration. No doubt there are some honest vaeshyas who are worthy of veneration by everyone.
Whatever dignity a person possesses as a human being in either the Kśatriya Age or the Vipra Age is dealt its heaviest blow in the Vaeshya Age. In the Vaeshya Age a person’s dignity is measured in terms of money. The repercussions of this defective evaluation of human beings are not confined only to the realm of dignity; they have far-reaching effects in all spheres of society.
No matter how many other qualities they may possess, vipras and kśatriyas who think independently, possess a sense of dignity or are self-reliant, cannot establish themselves unless they learn to flatter the vaeshyas in a psychological way. Even the unworthy son or relative of a wealthy person has the opportunity to sit at the head of society, and through the power of money an unattractive daughter is properly married to a good bridegroom. A good marriage cannot be arranged even for the sons of the poor, intelligent and educated though they may be, let alone the daughters of the poor. In fact in the Vaeshya Age people cannot hope to be respected unless they are rich. Those who hope for respect or have gained it, depend or have depended on the mercy of the vaeshyas.
Yasyásti vittaḿ sah narah kuliinah;
Sa pańd́itah sah shrutavána guńajiṋah.
Sa eva vaktá sa ca darshaniiyah;
Sarve guńáh káiṋcańamáshrayanti.
[Those who have wealth are high-caste, are well-educated, possess many abilities, are good orators and are good-looking. They have all these qualities because they have money.]
The methods of social exploitation used in the Vipra and Vaeshya Ages are somewhat similar. Certain aspects of society in the Vipra Age therefore remain unchanged in the Vaeshya Age, such as the social system, the law, the status of men and women and the right of inheritance.
Breaking the Vaeshya Structure
The difficulties faced by those who have tried and are trying to break apart the structure of the Vaeshya Age in order to rebuild society on a humanistic foundation, are not less, but are in fact a little more, than the indescribable social tortures that great people suffered in the past when they tried to reform the social structure of the Vipra Age. This is because those who wanted to break apart the vipras’ structure had to fight the vipras and also the kśatriyas and shúdras under their protection, but those who want to strike at the vaeshyas’ structure have to fight against all the vipras, kśatriyas and shúdras who are obedient to the vaeshyas.
But there are similarities between the two. The common people misunderstand great people who act on their behalf and for their welfare, or even if they understand them, they do not give them their support. Their nerves, courage and labour are bought with the vaeshyas’ money.
The vipras exploit the masses in the Vipra Age under the pretence of religion, which cannot be challenged. The same thing occurs in the Vaeshya Age, but vaeshya exploitation is more dangerous. In the Vipra Age the vipras exploit others through religion in order to promote their personal interests, but in the Vaeshya Age the vipras exploit others through religion in order to promote both their own and the vaeshyas’ interests.
In the Vaeshya Age this religious exploitation is more psychic than physical, because the vaeshyas use the vipras to try to spread intellectual propaganda among the masses to prevent them from finding any philosophical justification for their suppressed grievances against the vaeshya structure. This intellectual propaganda aims to convince people that they are the victims of circumstance. It argues, “Everything is destiny. Everything is preordained.” Such doctrines help the vaeshyas to perpetuate their structure. They destroy the personal force of people and make them the playthings of fate. People accept the idea that everything is preordained, and support the status quo.
Those who try to break the structure of the Vaeshya Age and show the downtrodden the path of liberation, will have to advise the people to free themselves from the intoxicating effect of the opium of religion; otherwise how will they be able to serve the downtrodden people?
A group of exploiters loudly object to a remark that was made by the great Karl Marx concerning religion. It should be remembered that Karl Marx never opposed spirituality, morality and proper conduct. What he said was directed against the religion of his time, because he perceived, understood and realized that religion had psychologically paralysed the people and reduced them to impotence by persuading them to surrender to a group of sinners.
Footnotes
(1) In the winter of the Bengali year 1368 [end of 1961 or beginning of 1962 BCE], some opportunistic astrologers (vipras) declared that the world would soon come to an end following the conjunction of several planets in a particular house of the zodiac. Perhaps they thought that the public would be frightened by such a declaration, and just prior to the cataclysm might renounce everything and donate a large part of their wealth to the vipras in an effort to ensure that they would go to heaven. This plan of the Indian vipras met with some success; out of fear many sinners undertook charitable activities.
The frightened vaeshyas arranged sacrificial fires presided over by the astrologer-priests. They thought that perhaps the smoke from the sacrificial fires would change the course of the planets concerned, moving them out of the zodiacal house they were in and thereby preventing the destruction. The commercial mentality of the vaeshyas (capitalists) was glaringly evident in their temporary religious fervour.
Along with this there was another amusing thing I noticed. For use in the sacrificial fires the vaeshyas sold unsaleable ghee, which was unfit for human consumption, at exorbitant prices.
(2) [[Because the vaeshya will try to sell the item to the customer at an exorbitant price.]] –Trans.
(3) Shreśt́hii, “man of wealth” was coined from shreśt́ha, “superior man”. –Trans.
(4) For descriptions of shúdras cast in similar roles in the Kśatriya Age, and kśatriyas cast in similar roles in the Vipra Age, see pp. 14 and 39. –Trans.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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Prakrti or the Supreme Operative Principle, the authoress of multiplicities, has been carrying on Her endless creation or diversity. The beauty, the sweetness and the wonder of this diversity is manifest in every place, in every stratum of creation. Human beings have emerged as the highest beings at an evolved stage of Her creation along Saiṋcara and Pratisaiṋcara. And there are a great many diversities and apparent distinctions within humanity itself.
The people of some countries have dark skin, tall bodies, black irises, black hair, thick lips and flat noses, while the people of other countries have a fair complexion, medium height, blue irises and aquiline noses. There is a remarkable difference, a wonderful diversity, in regard to physiognomy – hair, eyes, skin, nose, lips, etc. – among the inhabitants of the different parts of the world. In fact, this difference between human beings is so staggering that sometimes people are wrongly led to believe that the white people are perhaps superior to the black population, and that the blacks are only a little higher than our animal ancestors on the scale of evolution. As human beings were not able to unravel the mystery of this diversity, they wrongly preached the doctrine of racial supremacy, resulting in hated of their fellow human beings and heartless cruelty, and indulged in savagery and bloody warfare – these were the darkest and the most lamented chapters in human history. Even today in Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal, and in the USA, South Africa and Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe], one unmistakably notices the curse of this ignorance.
But is racial supremacy a scientific concept? Is it humanly justified? What does ethnology say? What is the origin of humanity? Did the ancestors of human beings of various colours belong to the same stock, or were they different? According to ethnology the human ancestors were the same. From them originated the Aryans, the Austrics, the Mongolians and the Negroes of today. Those first forebears of the human race have been termed Australopithecus in ethnology. On an auspicious day in the remote past, say 1,000,000 years ago, the first human being saw the light of this verdant earth. The Australopithecus group branched out into two categories of creatures – chimpanzees and orangutans on one side, and human beings on the other side.
The first human beings were born in the vast geographical area between the Java Islands and Palestine. The Australopithecus gradually transformed themselves into human form but this great transformation did not take place overnight, nor even in one century, but by slow degrees. Ethnologists, to be more precise, have conceived of an intermediate stage of beings – the Homo Erectus – who are neither Australopithecus nor exactly human beings in form and nature. The fossils of these creatures have been found in different parts of Java, China, and East and North Africa. These creatures of the Homo Erectus species emerged in the unknown past, chiefly during the Pleistocene Age of the earth.
Everything on this earth is subject to the rule of change and progress. Eventually there came about enormous changes in the environment and natural conditions of the earth in subsequent ages, and consequently thousands of species entirely vanished. Because of the immutable law of nature, these species also had to leave this earth forever, without leaving any trace behind.
But before their extinction they left behind their descendants – Homo Sapiens were the first ancestors of humanity.
The different groups of Homo Erectus spread out in different directions. Some of the groups were doomed to extinction in the face of the fierce onslaught of hostile nature, while other groups had the advantage of congenial environments and gave rise to a higher species. Those who were responsible for the advent of the human race could not maintain their survival because they could not adopt themselves to the enormous changes in the natural environment of this earth.
The first Homo Sapiens did not remain tied to one place. In quest of greater ease, comfort and safety in life, they spread out from Eurasia to the Arctic Ocean, from the Bering Strait to Melanesia, and from there again they moved in other directions, to find new homes in unexplored horizons.
Thus the single species of Homo Sapiens scattered itself over different parts of the world. At first the colour and physiognomical differences between the scattered Homo Sapiens were not very prominent. But with the passage of time, as they passed their lives over long periods amidst diverse geophysical conditions, differences in their physical structures became more and more apparent. Thus the apparent diversity in the human world today is the product of natural conditions.
Geographically this planet of ours is divided into a few distinct zones: the snow-covered poles; the hot, sandy and dreary deserts; the roaring and ruffled seas and oceans extending up to the distant horizons; and the silent and motionless, high and intractable mountains. In some places rivers cut vast plains into two; at other places high waves break upon the banks of great lakes with a thudding sound.
Human beings, since their advent onto this earth, found themselves confronted with these types of conflicting natural environments. They had to fight tooth and nail against those particular adverse circumstances to preserve their existence, and that process brought about marked changes in their outward physical structures.
The greater the heat of the sun, the greater the amount of ultraviolet rays in the sunlight. A study of geography tells us why there are differences in the degree of heat of the sun’s rays. Where the sun’s rays fall on earth obliquely, there is less heat of the sun, and where the sun’s rays fall straight on the earth, the heat is greater. In very hot countries white-skinned people find it very hard to live, because their skin, having less of the chemical substance called melanin, is unable to stand much heat. Body skin with a great quantity of melanin in it turns jet black, and obviously a lesser quantity of melanin makes one’s skin white.
If ever white people are forced for some reason to live long in a hot climate, their colour turns brown. In 1939-40, when British soldiers came to India for war purposes, their colour became brown due to the great heat. Naturally, as the skin of these soldiers had to adjust with the hot climate of India, there were some necessary changes in their skin to effect acclimatisation.
In hot countries the irises of people’s eyes are generally black, because more melanin is required to protect the eyeball from the scorching rays of the sun.
The nostrils of people in hot countries are comparatively large and the front of the nose is extended. Why does this happen? Because external heat makes the internal air heated. The body temperature having increased, the internal heat tries to force its way out rapidly. As a result of the rapid exhalation of heavy, hot air, the diameter of the front portion of the nose increases.
People who live in cold countries develop fatty tissues in their bodies. These tissues are particularly helpful in maintaining body temperature. And though their noses are high, their nostrils are comparatively small because if a large amount of chill air enters the body it will inevitably affect the lungs and vocal chord. That is why nature has made the constitution of the inhabitants of cold countries so ideally suited as not to allow a greater than necessary amount of air to enter the body at the time of breathing.
In the same way the variation in natural environment and climate has variously effected other changes in the physical structure of human beings. Some people are jet-black, some reddish white, some yellow, while others are brown. The one species of Homo Sapiens has become divided into four distinct races (living under different circumstances), but basically they all originated from one and the same source – from Australopithecus to Homo Erectus to Homo Sapiens. The same stock is divided into various so-called races – white, black, brown and yellow. These races are as different from one another as the rivers Ganga, Meghna, Padma and Bhagirathi, which spring from one common source, the Gangotri in the Himalayas.
There are four main races in the world today – the Aryans, the Austrics, the Negroes and the Mongolians.
The Aryans first moved from West Asia and migrated to different parts from the Black Sea to the Danube Valley and then to Central and West Europe. They advanced and settled in Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and Spain, and along the Mediterranean coast. They spread out from West France to the British Isles, and later spread to Afghanistan, the Indus Valley, the Red River Valley, and Korea and Japan in the Far East.
The Mongolians had China as their main homeland. Later they spread out from the Arctic Ocean to the Bering Straight and to the White Sea. They could not move westward because of the obstruction of high mountains in Asia. So they advanced eastward and southward and reached Burma, Siam (Thailand), Indochina, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines and Japan, and joined the original inhabitants of those places.
The Negroes lived near the equator in Africa and New Guinea, near the southern coast of the Indian Ocean. Their descendants are found in South India, the Andaman Islands, the Malayan Peninsula and the Philippines.
Human society comprises these various branches of various races. There is no reason whatever to recognize one race as superior to another race. The external differences in constitution among these human groups cannot alter their basic human traits – love and affection, pleasure and pain, hunger and thirst. These basic biological instincts and mental propensities equally predominate in human beings of all complexions in all countries and in all ages. A mere rustic, unlettered, half-naked tribal mother of an unknown hamlet of Chotanagpur Hills (in Bihar in India) bears deep maternal affection for her young children; in the same way, a well-educated mother of a locality of New York pours out of her heart a great love for her own children. The subterranean flow of love and affection exists in all hearts alike. Every person cries out in pain, everyone feels pleasure when there are occasions of joy and happiness. In different geographical, cultural, social and other environments the lifestyles of different human groups may vary – a few special psychic traits of some of those groups may assert themselves – but fundamentally their mental existence flows along the same channels of ideas and consciousness. Containing the same cosmic momentum and under the same cosmic inspiration, they all have set out for a tryst with the same destiny.
From the unknown past until this day, the various branches of the human society have given rise to different civilizations. The Alpines and the Mediterraneans (two branches of the white race) produced the Hellenic, Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. The Nordics and the Dravidians were responsible for the Indus Valley civilizations. And the yellow race produced the Chinese and Japanese civilizations. The Red Indians built up the American civilizations.
Black people did not lag behind either. True, compared with other races their contribution to human civilization is less impressive, not because of their racial inferiority, but because the so-called civilized races (for their selfish political interests) deprived them of sufficient scope in their development. Furthermore, the hostile natural environment did not allow introversion of their psychic potentialities. There is still the burning desert of the Sahara right in the heart of Africa, surrounded by sea on most sides, and there is still the deep and impenetrable forest thwarting any easy human communication. This unfavourableness of nature prevented the Africans from looking within and that accounts for their failure to build any civilization in the past. In spite of that, there are immense human potentialities lying dormant in them too. And for that the most pressing need is to develop those possibilities by creating a congenial environment.
There is an admixture of blood of different races. In India, all the four prominent races – the Aryans, the Mongolians, the Austrics and the Negroes – have been inseparably mixed up. The present Filipinos are a mixture of Negro, Mongolian and Aryan races, though the Mongolian elements are predominant. Ethnological research has proved that the present Philippino race grew out of a heterogeneous mixture of people from India, Indonesia, Malaya, China, Africa and Arabia. Similarly, the Japanese race was evolved out of a blood mixture of the Aynus (a sub-branch of white people) hailing from the banks of the Amur River, a sub-branch of the yellow race from Korea, and a hybrid community of browny-black coloured people who migrated from Malaya and Indonesia. The Chinese people are composed of people from South Russia and Central Asia. The population of Great China is a mixture of those different communities.
Only recently Hitler fed the German nation on the spurious notions of Aryan supremacy and incited the vain and arrogant Nazis to fight a horrible war. He raised his arrogant slogan – “The Aryans are not to be ruled but to rule”. But is this chauvinistic and blind concept of Aryan supremacy supported by the science of ethnology? No, this science holds that the modern Germans are not a homogeneous race. They are a mixed race. Thus, if analysed, it will be found that none of the existing human races are free from admixture of the blood of other races. Therefore the talk of “purity of blood” of a race is meaningless, for there cannot be any purity of blood of a particular race. Rather, blood is always pure.
In India, the maximum mixture of blood has been in Bengal. The Bengali race evolved out of the Aryans, Mongolians, Austrics and Negroes. The people of Bihar and Orissa and the Kayastha (a high-caste Hindu community of East India) belong to this Bengali race. In southern India, too, Negro blood came to mingle with the Austric blood, and a new race, the Dravidians emerged.
Thus in the dim past of unknown history, different human groups came in one another’s contact. There was unavoidable intermingling of blood, and ultimately there arose many so-called new races after gaps of long periods. The innate migratory nature of human beings has goaded them to journey from one horizon to another, from one hemisphere to another. For more than one reason, human beings have broken narrow geographical boundaries and set out for other lands and associated with other communities. The direct and indirect causes of their association with other races are roughly as follows:
(1) To preserve their existence, fighting collectively against hostile natural forces.
(2) Through wars, victories and defeats of warriors, and expansion of kingdoms.
(3) For inner attraction because of common religion.
(4) Because of geographical proximity.
(5) For reciprocal trade and other communications.
(6) Through linguistic and cultural exchanges.
The above-mentioned factors brought the various human groups in close contact with one another. And goaded by an innate instinct, they freely mixed among themselves. This contact and close relationship among various groups gave birth to the many so-called races of today.
Ultimately this close association amongst themselves culminated in marital bonds. Many small races were fused into a new race through inter-racial marriages. For instance, in South America, as a result of constant intermingling of the blood of the Negroes, the Europeans and the Indians, a new race has emerged. Similarly, in Colombia and Mexico, a new Mestizo community has come into being as a result of interracial marriages between the Europeans and Indians. That is why it is not proper to attach much importance to differences in respect to noses, eyes, hair, height, etc.
Human society is continually striving to arrive at a synthesis through analysis, some sort of unity through diversity. The natural obstructions of small clans, narrow communal interests, geographical distances and intractable customs and usages – none of these obstacles could hinder the steady and silent movement towards a supreme goal. That is why the policy of apartheid, the vanity of racial superiority, national chauvinism or regionalism – these relative doctrines or social philosophies – could not thwart the progress of human society. The outdated ideals of nationalism are crumbling to pieces today.
The newly awakened humanity of today is anxious to herald the advent of one universal society under the vast blue sky. The noble and righteous persons of all countries, bound by fraternal ties, are eager to assert in one voice, with one mind, and in the same tune that human society is one and indivisible. In this voice of total unity and magnanimity lies the value and message of eternal humanism.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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The starting point of the origin of human beings and the culminating point of their movement is the same. It is the natural law for any entity to originate from the same source and to merge in the same source. The fundamental stuff of all the humans of this world is the Macrocosmic Consciousness. All are the children of the Supreme Immortality (Amrtasya Puttŕah). Fundamentally all human beings are equal. Therefore there should not be any discrimination. In the external world, however, we notice numerous conflicts and strife among human beings. The poet Rabindranath Tagore said,
Hiḿsáy unmatta prthvii nitya nit́hura dvandva
Ghora kut́ila pantha táhára lobha jat́ila bandha.
[Mad with violence is the world,
Cruel are the battles which [[rage]] each day.
Crooked indeed are the ways of the world
Bound by the noose of greed.]
The various races and countries have been plagued with clashes and conflicts due to petty, selfish interests. Every house is shaken with conflict. How many wars have plagued the world? How much blood has flowed into the rivers of the world? So can we truly say that there is no difference between people? Where is the unity which creates a common bond among human beings? To get the proper answer, one has to go deep into human psychology because true unity lies in the realm of the human mind. The extroversial mind of human beings, due to inherent Saḿskaras, becomes obsessed with and influenced by the external environment. A person influenced by the imposed Saḿskaras of the society may start to hate another person, but this hostility, this enmity, is something external. Internally, all human beings feel a deep attraction for others. This attraction is the natural wont of living beings. Had there been no balancing force among the objects created by the Macrocosmic Mind, then the entire cosmological structure would have shattered into pieces. The cosmological balance is maintained due to this attraction amongst the different objects and entities. From atoms and molecules to human beings with developed consciousness, all entities feel attraction for one another. He keeps all the finite entities bound to Him by His inscrutable Cosmic Love. All entities drift in the vast divine flow as the minute manifestations of the Supreme Lord. They are entitled to Cosmic Love by birth. That is why one should remember that attraction is the law of nature. Attraction is not negative repulsion, rather repulsion is negative attraction. The so-called differences we notice amongst human beings in the external world are nothing but the expressions of negative attraction. For differences to occur people must enter into some sort of relationship with each other. Without close proximity there cannot be any friction. A serious difference of opinion today may be changed into friendship tomorrow.
Ábád kare vivád kare suvád kare tárá.
[The same people who quarrel today may rejoice together in common friendship tomorrow.]
In the past, people who remained engaged in bloody battles over religious issues reunited after the battles were over. Similarly, on language issues also there were numerous clashes, but after some time, the mutual bickerings were forgotten and as result of synthesis, a new mixed language emerged. Thus, instead of reacting to apparent differences, one should seek internal unity. The various differences which split society must be removed in the interest of collective welfare. In order to do that, one must look for the common link, the points of affinity, in the multifarious lifestyles and diverse expressions of life. The points of affinity have got to be encouraged by all means and the differences must be discouraged. If the various differences such as customs, manners, food, dress, language etc. are given undue importance, the clashes and conflicts will increase. And if those differences are made to unite forcibly, that involves risk. That’s why we will have to adopt a positive approach rather than a negative one. Thus, our policy should be, “Aspects of unity should be encouraged and aspects of disunity should be discouraged.” If this principle is strictly followed there will be an increase in human unity and a corresponding decrease in the degree of disunity. I have already said that no difference lasts long. So if the aspects of disunity are discouraged, the human society will gradually find a universally acceptable link through mutual association and attraction. One should always remember that in the interest of social welfare and unity, fissiparous tendencies should never be encouraged. Whenever differences arise, it would be wise to ignore them. If at all something should be said, then one should say that this is not the proper time to bother about petty differences. Take the case of the national language. There is a group of people who are very vocal about the national language. But is it the proper time to fight over the language issue? Thousands of Indian people still live precariously below the subsistence level suffering from hunger, famine, disease and financial hardship. This is the time to fight against socio-economic exploitation. Those who are creating new problems by overemphasizing unimportant issues instead of solving the immediate social needs are the enemies of humanity. They are dividing the country into battlefields of conflicting interests in the name of national unity, causing severe damage to humanity. In order to establish unity and welfare in the country, the common points of affinity must be found in the following three spheres:
To unify society we must first remove social and economic disparities. In a society where one person wallows in luxury while another gradually starves to death, the bondage of friendship is inconceivable. Similarly, if there is hatred in the social sphere, such as the hatred an upper caste person may have for a low caste person, one can hardly imagine an atmosphere of fraternity. Those who have wealth may try to buy others to serve their purposes but one cannot have unity with a slave.
Táká diye shudhu máthá kená yáy
Hrday yáy ná kená.
[The mind can be bought with money, but not the heart]
To experience the warmth of another’s heart one will have to give up the false sentiments of artificial human-made differences. For that we must first wage a ceaseless fight against poverty. Poverty is a common enemy of all the Indians. When a severe blow is dealt against the common enemy, all the interested parties will become united out of their own selfish motivations. This campaign against poverty will have to be carried on step by step. The first step is to arouse an anti-exploitation sentiment. Each and every person should be convinced that the entire wealth of the world is the common patrimony of all. To utilize that wealth is the birthright of everyone and no interference in that birthright will be permissible.
Tomár deoyá ei vipul prthvii sakale kariba bhog
Ei prthiviir náŕii sáthe ache srjan diner yog.
[We will enjoy this vast world given by You,
We are connected to this earth from the very moment of birth.]
Each and every person should be guaranteed the minimum necessities of life by providing everyone with sufficient purchasing capacity. It is not enough to provide the minimum necessities of life – simultaneously, the wealth of the country should also be increased. If sufficient wealth is not generated to meet the growing demands of the people, seeds of discontent will settle in their minds. So the increase in population should also be accompanied by an increase in the generation of national wealth. Unfortunately, the so-called leaders of modern India do not pay attention to this. Through various development programmes, the shortage of national wealth can be removed to a great extent. Take the case of the Indian province of Orissa. Agriculture, particularly summer crops, is still totally dependent on monsoons. Had artificial irrigation been introduced, Orissa could have achieved a three-fold increase in yields. Orissa today provides food to only fifteen million people. Had agriculture been properly developed, Orissa could be supplying food to forty million people. Orissa is also very rich in mineral resources such as coal, chromium, bauxite, manganese, etc. The present Indian leaders export those mineral resources to overseas countries. If those raw materials were utilized for indigenous industrial production, then four big steel plants can easily be put into operation. This would substantially raise per capita income. But the leaders, instead of paying attention to those things, have been framing five-year plans whimsically. Ultimately, these plans neither remove the economic disparities nor increase the collective wealth. To achieve these twin ends the present economic system is to be thoroughly overhauled. At the very outset, to facilitate socio-economic development, the country should be divided into socio-economic zones. If state boundaries are demarcated on the basis of political and linguistic considerations, then socio-economic plans can never be properly drafted and various economic problems are not given due attention. That is why economic zones are indispensable for expediting economic progress. At the moment, there are various economic units with different economically problematic areas within the same political zone. For instance, in Chottanagpur hills of Bihar, there is an acute problem of irrigation, whereas in the plains of North Bihar, there is a problem of drainage of water. In the same way, Royal-Sima, Shrii Kákulam and Felangana areas have been annexed to the same political province – Andhra – although their economic problems are different. That is why, considering the economic problems, in the interest of those people different socio-economic zones should be created. It may be that converting these different political units into a single economic zone right now, if implemented for administrative purposes, may lead to complications. So one economic zone may be divided into two political units (even one if necessary). There can be more than one economic zone in a political unit. The formation of linguistic states is meaningless: national unity can never be achieved through the creation of political linguistic states. To think that if the exploiters, capitalists, industrial proprietors and labourers speak one language, then unity among them will be maintained, is sheer foolishness.
Human beings, who are predominantly sentimental by nature, establish some kind of relationship with many objects of this world through day-to-day activities. If the sentiment for a particular favourite object is adjusted with the collective sentiment, then that sentiment can be utilized for establishing unity in the human society. Sometimes the human sentiment for many objects runs counter to the collective sentiment and as such creates greater disunity. Hence, those sentiments which are conducive to human unity should be encouraged, rejecting the sentiments which create a rift in human society. Take the case of the Saḿskrta language. Each and every Indian has a common universal love for Saḿskrta because it is the origin of most of the Indian languages. There was a time when human feelings and sentiments were exchanged and official activities were conducted in Saḿskrta, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin. The influence of Saḿskrta on all modern Indian languages is easily discernible: 92% of Bengali, 90% of Oriya, 85% of Maethilii, 75% of Malayalam and 3% of Tamil has come directly from Saḿskrta vocabulary. Obviously no one can oppose the Saḿskrta language. Had national solidarity been the main purpose, then the leaders could have tried to establish national unity by advocating Saḿskrta as the national language of India.
Besides language, people have a natural weakness for their glorious national heritage. Every person loves and respects the past national prosperity and the nation’s glorious traditions. This love for one’s glorious heritage is clearly a psychic sentiment. This psychic sentiment can be utilized to consolidate the national unity. Take for instance the Mohangedaro and Harappan civilizations. The glorious heritage of a country should not be kept confined to school curricula or research scholars. Rather, it should be presented to the public. This will create a sense of confidence and glory in the people’s minds and thus strengthen the bonds of fraternity.
Likewise, the glorious history of a country strengthens the sense of unity among the population. The Saḿskrta term “Itihása” and the English word “history” are not synonymous. History means Itikathá, a chronological record of past events. Itihása means the description of past events to inculcate moral teachings in people’s minds. It is not a mere chronological record, but a work of immense educative value. For instance, the Mahábhárata is Itihása as it has been a source of inspiration for people since its creation. Even today village people, sitting around a kerosene lamp in the evening, read and discuss the Mahábhárata, each one cherishing a universal attitude of love for the book. The propagation of the Mahábhárata will have a beneficial influence on people’s minds. Many of its passages may be quoted to enlighten people about their glorious past, and offer solutions to their worldly problems. Biographies of great saints, sages and personalities of the past should also be presented to the common people to foster unity in them. There is a subterranean flow of love and devotion in people’s minds for those sages and saints, as those saints rose above narrow sentiments to propagate the ideals of unity and fraternity. Their writings create a stir in people’s minds. So the popularisation of these personalities is essential to inspire unity among the masses.
The contemporary leaders do not try to give a practical shape to any of the aforementioned human qualities. They merely deliver high-sounding lectures. Those great personalities of the past provide good opportunities for them to organize bicentennial and anniversary celebrations. They consider that by merely uttering a few well-rehearsed sentences, they are paying a wonderful tribute to those great personalities. These leaders do not realize what an important contribution the great personalities can still give to further the country’s welfare. Thus the great ideals are disappearing from social life and disunity is increasing among the people.
To establish lasting unity in human society, besides the above two sentiments, the spiritual sentiment is indispensable. The unity that grows from the collective psychology in the social, psychic and economic spheres, is the first step towards a greater unity. This can lead to the formation of a nation or greater internal unity in a country. But once the problem out of which the sentiment grew is solved, the common link is broken. That is why for permanent unity a spiritual outlook is necessary. Every human being has a spiritual thirst. Knowingly or unknowingly, human beings are searching for the Supreme Entity. Yet, ignorant of the right path, they remain confused. One of life’s great tragedies is that so many people do not find the object of their search. Their entire life is spent searching everywhere, but in vain. If people are shown the right way, the entire humanity will converge on the same path. As fellow travellers on the same journey, they will move towards the same supreme goal with unison, with a single rhythm. So for the unity of the entire humanity, the indispensable factor is spirituality. This supreme treasure teaches human beings that Parama Puruśa is the Supreme Father, Parama Prakrti [[the Supreme Operative Principle]] is their Supreme Mother, and the entire universe is their homeland. They will sing in joy:
Sab tháiṋ mor ghar áche ámi sei ghar mari khuṋjiyá,
Deshe deshe mor desh áche ámi se desh lava bujhiyá
Parabásii ámi ye duyáre yái,
Tári májhe mor áche yena tháiṋ
Kothá diyá sethá praveshite pái sandhán lava bujhiyá
Ghare ghare áche paramátmiiya táre ámi mari khuṋjiyá.
[My house is everywhere.
How desperately I search for that house of mine.
Every country is my country.
I shall surely discover that country of mine.
I may be a foreigner, but to whichever house I go,
I find my own abode.
I will find the right door to enter the house.
In every house live my dearest relations.
I am desperately searching for them.]
[[So “Cosmic sentiment alone can be the unifying force which shall strengthen humanity to smash the bondages and abolish all narrowistic walls of fissiparous tendencies.”]]
The reason is that this cosmic ideology is based on the absolute truth, which is not confined to time, space and person. When the limited mind accepts that unlimited entity as its object, the mind goes on expanding to a full 360 degrees. The method that brings about psycho-spiritual progress is called spiritual practice. When human beings bring the entire universe within the range of their minds through spiritual practice, the result will be one universe, one universal society. As long as the feeling of nationalism remains alive, mutual conflicts are inevitable. Human welfare depends on the degree of psychic expansion. When nationalism cannot embrace every human being, that nation cannot attain perfect well-being. When the welfare of some individuals remains outside the scope of the limited mind of the nationalists, their sorrows will never be felt. That is why a group of nationalists may attack another group of national ists just to establish their national ego. Not only nationalism, no “ism”, not even internationalism, attains the highest degree of psychic expansion. Who can say that human civilization has not been established on other planets of the universe. The thought of other planetary civilizations remains outside the minds of those who only think about the various nations of this planet. It is not possible for such internationalists to establish universalism. When inter-planetary conflict begins, then internationalism will assume the same role as nationalism does today. The only way to establish universalism is to bring about mental expansion through spiritual practice. The inculcation of the spiritual outlook will not strengthen the boundaries between nations but will lead to the establishment of a universal state, a global nation, with a common thread of unity and aspiration. That nation will be known as the human nation.
Jagat juŕiyá ek játi áche se játir náma “mánavajáti”;
Eki prthiviir stanye pálita, eki ravishashii mather sáthii.
[Throughout the world there is only one race:
Its name is the Human Race.
All are nourished with the same milk of Mother Earth;
The sun and the moon are the companions of all.]
With the help of the previously mentioned factors it would be easy to unite the human race. At the same time, however, it should be remembered that there are certain differences in the society which should be taken into proper consideration. These differences are usually removed through natural fusion. It is not possible to eradicate them by force. When human beings come close to each other with a genuine feeling of unity, when they share the common joys and sorrows of life, those external differences gradually vanish as a matter of course. In the human society there are four main types of external differences: food, dress, language and religion.
Around the world people eat different types of food. There are many differences between the dietary habits of East and West for example, due to different environments and food production. People become accustomed to eating the particular type of food grown in their own countries. In India, for example, there are four food zones each with its own distinctive food production and resultant dietary habits. In one zone mustard oil is used, in another coconut oil, in another rapeseed oil, and in the fourth, ghee. The people of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in Northwest India are accustomed to eating bread, whereas the people of eastern and southern India mainly eat rice. Thus, people’s staple food is determined by variations in climatic conditions. The different dietary habits of the people of the world should never be made uniform by force. It would be unreasonable to declare a certain food as the national food and then force everyone to eat it. Besides that, everyone has his or her own likes and dislikes. In those countries where the commune system prevails, everyone is forced to eat the same type of food in the name of collectivism. People do not dare to speak out against such imposition out of fear, but internally they are not happy. Food is the most important of the primary necessities of human life. If people are not satisfied with their food there will be a simmering discontent in their minds which will seek an opportunity for an explosive expression.
Like food, there is a great diversity in the dressing habits of the people of the world. This is also a result of environmental differences. For instance, many people in Arab countries live in deserts. In the scorching heat of the midday sun the burning sand is blown up by the harsh winds. To protect themselves from these sand storms the people there wear clothes which cover their entire bodies from head to foot, even their face and ears. They live underground to protect themselves from the hostile elements.
If the people of northern Bihar in India were to wear such clothes they would be greatly inconvenienced. Due to excessive rain there is an abundance of rivers and lakes in this area. In such an environment to wear clothes covering the entire body would be extremely impractical. Thus these Biharis wear a Dhoti which can easily be lifted up while crossing a river. People living in cold countries use woollen clothes, which the inhabitants of hot countries would never use. As with food, the differences in dress cannot be removed by force.
There is an almost unending number of languages in the world. Not only do people of different countries speak different languages, but people within the same country use different tongues, too. These linguistic differences are due to raciocultural influences. The different cultures of the world have been responsible for the creation of different languages. Human beings formulate words with various types of sound. This sound is produced by exhaled air which flows over the vocal cord and emerges through the mouth and nose. The sound is modified with changes made in the shape of the mouth, lips and nose. Generally, these linguistic differences are due to the cumulative effect of six main factors: blood, nose, hair, skin, eyes and body height. Differences in these characteristics are also reflected in the four main races of the world: Aryan, Austric, Mongolian, and Negro. Aryans have a reddish white complexion and hair, warm blood, eyes like a cat, an aquiline nose, and tall bodies. Negroes have black skin, slightly colder blood, curly hair, blackish eyes, thick lips and tall bodies. There are also remarkable differences in the physical structure of the Mongolians and Austrics. There are three branches of Aryans: Nordic, Alpine and Mediterranean. In physical appearances the Nordic Aryans have the same characteristics as mentioned above. The Alpine Aryans have a reddish complexion, black hair, blue eyes, and slightly colder blood. The Mediterranean Aryans have yellowy-white complexion, black hair, dark eyes, ordinary noses, slightly colder blood, are of medium stature. People living in southern France, northern Africa and the Balkan states belong to this category.
There has been a lot of admixture of blood amongst the different races scattered throughout the many countries of the world. But the physiological characteristics of those groups who have been living in a particular climate since their beginning are more discernible than in the case of those who have migrated to different countries. These differences have also resulted in differences in linguistic expression.
The main races in India are the Mongolo-Tibetans, the Mediterranean Aryans and the Dravidians. The Mongolo-Tibetans include the Ladhaki, Kinnari, Gaŕhwali, Nepali, Sikhimi, Newari (including the Misoes and Garoes), and Bhutani groups. The Mediterranean Aryans include the Brahmins and other people of Kashmir whose complexion is reddish white. And the Dravidians include the people of Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The present North India, that is the area lying north of the Bindu mountains to Tibet, was submerged under the oceans of the prehistoric past. The area south of the Bindu mountains which now includes South India, the present Arabian sea, the Polynesian Islands, the Malaysian archipelago and southern Africa formed a vast region which was known as Gondowanaland. Austrics inhabited the north of Gondowanaland and Negroes the south. The central part was inhabited by both Austrics and Negroes. The present Dravidians are the descendants of that Austrico-Negroid population.
Not only different races; different languages also blended together on the soil of India. The Indo-Aryan languages include Márát́hii, Rajasthanii, Gujrátii, Punjabii, Kashmirii, Kharáhivalii, Brajabhásá, Bundelkhandii, Avadhii, Chattrisgarii, Bhojpurii, Angika, Maghadhii, Maethilii, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Gáŕhowalii, Kumáyanii and Gorkhalii. The Austric languages are Muńd́á, Ho, Santhal, Khaŕhia, and Momkhám. The Tibeto-Burmese languages include all the languages of Assam except Assamese, Mańipurii and Naga. And the Tibeto-Chinese languages include Ladhakii, Kinnarii, Kirátii, Lepcá, Yiáru, Gáro, Khaśiya, Mizo and Newari.
Languages are also influenced by culture. The culture of one community influences the culture of another community. The rule is that the culture with the greatest vitality has the strongest influence. Sometimes the weaker culture is even absorbed by the more powerful one. When different cultural groups live side-by-side there is a lot of mutual exchange. The members of the weaker cultural group accept everything inherent in the dominating group, including its language. In spite of the tremendous differences between the Aryans and the non-Aryans, the non-Aryans accepted the Saḿskrta language of the Aryans, and the Aryans assimilated the introversial spiritual practice of the non-Aryans into their religion.
Saḿskrta has influenced all the languages of northeast India. Even the southern Indian languages were influenced to a certain degree. Of all the southern languages, Málayálam has been most affected by Saḿskrta. This is because many people migrated from the north through Madras to Kerala. That’s why the root-verbs of Málayálam are of Tamil origin while its vocabulary is by-and-large of Saḿskrta origin. 75% of Málayálam is Saḿskrta based.
The Aryan influence was felt as much in the lower stratum of life as in the upper stratum. In some places this influence was so dominating that people are reluctant to speak their own languages outside their family environment. The Saha community of the Austric group, for example, speak their own dialect [[in their homes, but speak Bhojpurii outside. In the same way the Singmund́á and the Sharan people and the Tipras of Tripura state speak Bengali and not their own ancestral tongue. The Garhwaliis have long stopped speaking their own Tibeto-Chinese dialect]] and have adopted Indo-Aryan languages.
Thus, there are differences in language due to racial traits and cultural influence. These linguistic differences cannot be forcibly suppressed. But a close analysis of history will reveal that many attempts have been made to suppress various languages of the world.
Each of the many languages of the world is equally important. No language should ever be discarded for being inferior. The very idea to suppress one language in favour of another should never be supported. But in modern and ancient India, and in some countries of the West, attempts have been made to suppress language. Such attempts have never proven beneficial. For example, in ancient India Saḿskrta scholars tried to suppress the Prakrta languages, and Vedic Saḿskrta scholars tried to overwhelm the Dravidian and Austric languages. When Lord Buddha started propagating his new philosophy in Pali, the language of the people, the scholars tried to pressurize him into using Saḿskrta. But, ignoring their demands, Buddha continued to use Pali. In medieval India Saḿskrta persistently exerted its influence on other languages. The people’s language was derisively called “bhákhá”. The saint Kabir, objecting to this maltreatment, said:
Saḿskrta kúpodaka, bhákhá bahatá niira.
[Saḿskrta is as stagnant as well-water, whereas bhákhá is as dynamic as the flowing water of a stream.]
Nor did the Saḿskrta scholars give any importance to Bengali: it was considered nothing short of blasphemy to translate the religious scriptures from Saḿskrta into Bengali. The Nabab Hussein Shah personally tried to develop the Bengali language. With his active support Krttivása Ojah translated the Ramayana, Káshii Ram Dash translated the Mahabharata and Máladhra Vasu translated the Bhágavata from Saḿskrta to Bengali. This caused a furore among the community of scholars. They tried to brand Hussein Shah as a saboteur of the Hindu religion because, according to them, to translate the holy scriptures into Bengali was to defile the Hindu religion. Máládhra Vasu had to bear the stigma of being a Moslem convert and was widely ridiculed as Guńaranjiṋa Khan. So incensed were the Saḿskrta scholars over the translations of Krttivása Ojah that he was declared an outcaste for committing an act of sacrilege. All this took place only 450 years ago.
In Europe Latin scholars tried their best to suppress other languages. The Arabic scholars of the Middle East wanted to suppress Persian. And in recent years the people of Wales and Quebec in Canada have protested against the imposition of the English language. They preferred to use their own languages as the medium of expression. In modern India, too, due to selfish political influences, important languages such as Bhojpurii, Maethilii, Mágadhii, Chattrisgaŕhii, Avadhii, Bunddkháńd́ii and Marwarii are being suppressed. Their speakers will certainly not accept this silently, but will surely protect against this unjust domination. Recently there was an open revolt against the imposition of Hindi as the national language of India. That’s why, it is better to brings people speaking different languages closer to one another than to suppress their languages. As a result, people will feel inspired to speak other languages. The arbitrary imposition of any language invites trouble.
There are a variety of religions in the world formulated by different propounders. But instead of enhancing the spirit of unity in the human society, these religions have actually increased disunity and mutual conflict. How many wars have been fought in the name of religion? So, far from being a unifying force, religion should be seen as a cause of disharmony.
One thing should be remembered: Dharma and religion – or “Imán” and “majhab” in Arabic – are not synonymous. Throughout the ages, Dharma or Imán has been propagating teachings to unite humanity. Religions are many, but Dharma is one, and that Dharma is Manava [[Human]] Dharma – a system for the attainment of the Supreme. Based on practical wisdom and logical faith, Dharma is a rational approach for the realization of Absolute Truth. External paraphernalia are not required for the practice of Dharma: the only prerequisite is a unit mind. Within Dharma there is no room for exploiting people entrapped in the snare of blind faith, and no scope for self-aggrandisement or the pursuit of group interests. Love, freedom and equality are its foundation stones. As Dharma is beyond time, space and person, there is no scope for Svajátiiya [[differences within a species]], Vijátiiya [[differences between species]] or Svagata [[differences within the same unit being]]. Dharma is inchangeable.
Eka eva suhrd dharma nidhane’pyanuyáti yah.
[Dharma is the only real friend; it follows one even after death]
Religion is the exact opposite. It is based on the following three factors:
(1) Psycho-sentiment
(2) Physico-ritualistic observance
(3) Tradition
Behind the origin of a religion lies the inborn fear psychology of human beings. Human beings started religious practice to appease the different natural phenomena – the hills and mountains, the rivers and oceans, the forests, thunder and lightening, the morning and evening, and so on. Such religious practice was based on the instinct for self-preservation: the only intention being to propitiate the gods and goddesses of diverse moods. Some kind of imaginary faith worked in the back of people’s minds. Such psycho-sentiments arose after human beings came in contact with the different natural phenomena. The roots of most religions lie in the worship of a particular natural phenomenon. Some religions centered around the moon, some the sun, and others a stone image. Later on people created an improvised philosophy to support the worship of that physical phenomenon. They advanced the philosophical argument that it was possible to attain the unlimited by worshipping its limited form. They declared their temples, mosques and churches made of bricks as sacred places. A strong sentiment developed for the worship of different deities. So blind were their sentiments that they refused to listen to rationality. Take the case of cows: Hindus worship cows as something holy, apparently because they give us milk. But if cows are revered as mothers for giving us milk, shouldn’t buffaloes be given a similar status? Actually, buffaloes give more milk than cows. Unfortunately, the blind religious followers refuse to listed to logic as their religious sentiment for cows has taken root deep in their minds. People are fed these ideas since childhood, so later on it becomes impossible for them to discard them. Science students understand the reason for a lunar or solar eclipse. They know that the eclipse does not occur because the sun or moon has been devoured by the mythological demons Ráhu and Ketu (Umbra and Penumbra). Yet due to the deep rooted Saḿskaras in the mind, they rush to take a holy bath in the Ganges during the eclipse. This is the result of blind faith.
When the wave of physical sentiment becomes stronger than the wave of logic, we call it blind faith or religious bigotry. This leads to the view:
[[
Vishváse miláy vastu tarke bahu dúr.
[In faith you get something substantial, but in logical arguments it is far away.]
]]
Majhabme ákkál ká dakhal nehi hyey.
[In religion there is no room for logical argument.]
India did not see the frenzied expression of religious bigotry evident in other religions, which was the cause of intense religious feuding. How many lives were sacrificed over a single strand of hair? It is very difficult to persuade religious bigots to follow the path of logic because according to them even to listen to others is a sinful act. This is nothing but mere sentiment. According to some religions beef eating is forbidden but the killing of deer and goats is permissible. This is totally irrational.
Out of sentiment arose different ritualistic observances such as the way a lamp should be lit and held and the way one should kneel down in prayer. No logical arguments can be found to substantiate these rituals. Moreover, during the rituals, the mind always remains preoccupied with diverse objects. If it remains obsessively associated with such objects, how can it move towards Parama Puruśa?
Many people consider their temple to be the only sacred place of worship. But the funny thing is that the builders who construct temples are unholy people or untouchables, and are thus barred from entering their premises. Each religion has its own scriptures. Some scriptures are worshipped with such reverence that they are treated as deities. But the paper on which the scripture was written, and the printing and binding of the book were perhaps done by people of other religions. But once the book is complete it is transformed into a holy scripture and those who made it will not have the right to even touch it. In fact, not only the holy scriptures, but all books are considered as a symbol of the goddess of learning. To pay obeisance to the book by repeatedly touching the forehead with it is apart of religious observance. Many people spend huge sums of money to make an idol of clay only to immerse it in a river with pomp and ceremony to conclude the religious festival. But if the people of other religions happen to break even a finger of that idol terrible bloodshed will ensue. Thus, those who advocate the formation of countries on the basis of religious faith will cause irreparable damage by fragmenting human society.
Human beings readily accept traditions without seeking the reasons behind them. Since ancient days the semitic people have been observing the practice of circumcision. Moses and Mohammed accepted this system which today has become tradition. The ancient Austrics used to worship the Sun. Their purpose was to please the Sun God and be blessed with heavy rainfall and bumper harvests. In the social system of the Austrics, women had a predominant role. Thus, in the system of worship and other religious ceremonies, the priest had no significant role. Even the Sun God was looked upon as a female deity and the Moon was a male God. The Sun God was addressed as “mother” and the worship done in her honour was called “Chat Puja”. Even today in Magadh Chat Puja is held twice a year during the harvest time. The sentiment of Chat Puja was so deeply rooted in Magadh that their system of worship is in vogue even today even after such tremendous Aryan, Buddhist and Moslem influence. Of course, in the external rituals of worship some changes have taken place, but the system of worship has not yet become extinct. Even the Moslems participate in the Chat Puja. In some areas they themselves organize the ritual and in other places they get the puja performed through the Hindus. This Chat Puja has now become a tradition. There was a time in Bengal when the Moslems used to worship Satyanáráyańa or the Oláicánd.
From the above discussion it is apparent that religions engender hatred for others, blind faith, etc. in the minds of their followers. Through such religions it is next to impossible to establish unity in the society. Religious differences should be minimized as much as possible, but it should be remembered that blind faith in a religion cannot be forcibly eliminated. To strike at any type of sentiment will only cause that sentiment to grow stronger. Psychological methods will have to be employed to make people realize the irrational nature of blind religious faith. This requires a rational interpretation of philosophy through enlightened intellect. When the human mind is gripped by the fear psychology it gives indulgence to blind faith rather than logic and reason. If human fear is removed through logic and reason, the very basis for blind faith will be weakened. That is why human beings will have to be taught philosophical doctrines in a rational way. Furthermore, to remove the psycho-sentiment for a particular physical object, either the object itself should be removed or, by changing the very outlook through scientific and humanitarian reasoning, the person concerned should be separated from that sentimental object. For example, those who perform religious ceremonies in worship of the moon will find it difficult to continue their practice once, due to scientific advancement, they actually get the opportunity to walk on the moon. Blind faith must be removed through the application of science and humanistic appeals. People will have to be united under the common banner of one religion.
In the absence of knowledge of common psychology, people of different religions try to destroy other religions. This has resulted in the spilling of rivers of blood. In ancient India the Aryans tried to impose their own Vedic religion on the Austric community. In the Buddhist era, particularly during the reign of King Bimbisára, Buddhism was imposed on other religions. Later, the followers of the Sanátana Hindus forcibly converted the Buddhist and Jains into Hinduism. During Moslem rule Islam was imposed on India, Persia and Egypt. Similarly, countless Jews were converted into Christianity. During the British period attempts were made by Christian missionaries to subvert Hinduism and impose Christianity on the indigenous population. All this led to mutual animosity in the world of religion.
Those who indulged in vain criticism and slandering instead of trying to remove the factors diving the human race, created even more problems for society. That’s why there is more disunity than unity in the human society today.
It is the Sadvipras who must take most of the responsibility to remove the disunity. Sadvipras will not give any importance to the points of difference, but will continuously inspire and encourage the common bonds of unity and thus strengthen humanity. Only then will the human society become one and indivisible. Only then will it be worthy of being called a “human society”.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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I have been saying for a long time that human society is a singular entity, that human society is indivisible. Human beings, because of their petty interests, prefer to remain oblivious to this truth. But one should remember that to forget altogether and to remain forgetful are not the same. So many near and dear ones, so many kith and kin, whom you had loved so dearly in the past are no longer in the world. Have you forgotten them? No, you have not. You remain forgetful of them.
Bhule tháká, se to nay bholá,
Vismrtir marme pashi’
Rakte mor diyeche ye dolá.
[To remain forgetful is not to forget altogether. If a thought enters my blood or the core of my memory, it stirs up an inspiring vibration.]
Human beings remain oblivious of many things and events because if one remembers everything one’s life becomes unbearable. Judged from this viewpoint, such forgetfulness is a blessing to human beings. It is not necessary for human beings to remember the dark days of sorrow and misfortune, the calamitous nights of violent thunder and lightning. If all these images are stored in one’s memory, life will become almost unbearable.
One does not forget the fact that human society is one and indivisible, but one may remain forgetful of it. In most cases, forgetfulness is caused by the spell of selfishness. It is evident that the behavioural patterns of selfish people are the same everywhere.
People tend to classify human beings as rich or poor, educated or uneducated, etc. Those who are rich today may become poor tomorrow and conversely, those who are poor today may become rich tomorrow. To permanently divide humanity on the basis of poverty and affluence is therefore neither possible nor feasible. People whom I hate today as exploiters may deserve that hate. Under the influence of inauspicious stars, however, the same exploiters may fall to the level of the exploited. Did the same people change overnight? No, that is not the case. It is only a reversal of roles. They changed from the role of the exploiters to the role of the exploited. Conversely, those who are exploited today may become the exploiters tomorrow. So to divide the human race on the basis of such a frail classification is not feasible. The exploited have the same value as the exploiters. The only line of demarcation between them is exploitation. If we remove exploitation from society there will be neither exploiters nor exploited. The fundamental disease is exploitation, and once it is removed, there will be no further demarcation on that basis. The opportunists who utilize a situation to create rifts in the society will not get any scope to do so when exploitation is removed. That is why intelligent humans keen to promote the well-being of humanity will try to eradicate exploitation from the human society. Consequently, the struggle between the exploiters and the exploited will come to an end. Human beings will realize the supreme truth that all of humanity is bound together by common ties of fraternity.
At various times, we come across ideological conflicts among human beings. What does this ideological conflict really mean? Let human beings follow the path, the ideals, which appeal to them. If a particular theory or ideology is acceptable to some people, let them follow that ideology. Why should there be a conflict between people? Such conflicts should never occur. If anyone wants to drive a wedge into the one and indivisible human society on the basis of some ideology or theory, then this is nothing but a totally mischievous plan. Human beings can easily co-exist despite mere ideological differences.
Suppose there are four brothers in one family. Surely all of them can hold different ideas and views. Of course, these ideas and ideals should not be detrimental for human beings. Those ideologies which are harmful for the human race should never be tolerated. That would be suicidal. Different theories and doctrines with their numerous interpretations and connotations should be developed. No one should object to that, because intellectual clash and cohesion cause the human intellect to progress. Why should we keep all the doors of the human intellect closed? Let sufficient light and air enter the intellect for its overall enrichment.
Let us consider the case of race. Many people identify themselves with a particular race. If we look deeply into the subject we come to the conclusion that the human race is one. Some people have black skin, some people have yellow skin, and some people have white skin. Does it make any difference to the inner human being? No, none whatsoever. The same mother may have two children of different complexions, one fair, the other dark. Will she launch a racial fight over that difference? Will one child join the black community and the other the white community? Of course not. That would be nonsensical. The inner person has nothing to do with the colour of the skin. Differences created on the basis of caste are also pure deception.
Brahmańosya mukhamásiit váhurájanyo’bhavat;
Madhyatadasya yadvaeshyah padbhyáḿshúdrah.
[Brahmans came out of the mouth, kśatriyas were born out of the arms,
Vaeshyas came out of the trunk of the body, and shúdras were born out of the legs.]
This is the interpretation given by supporters of casteism. The true fact is that every created being in this universe longs for shelter at the feet of Parama Puruśa. The shúdras who are also born out of the holy feet of Parama Puruśa certainly deserve to be revered by all. Hence, the system of casteism is totally baseless. The so-called scriptures which are based on casteism are equally baseless. What was the motive behind this? The only motive was individual interest. Later on, the totality of individual interest took the form of collective interest.
Next comes religion. On the basis of religion human beings group together and indulge in internecine feuds. Such religions are responsible for spilling the blood of innocent men and women. I don’t want to single out any religion as most do not follow the path of logic. Instead they prefer to inject a certain type of cheap sentiment into the human mind to cripple the intellect and impair rational judgement.
Majhabme akkalká dakhl nehi hae.
[In religion there is no room for logical argument.]
In actual fact it makes the clear thinking of the human mind turbid. Religion has always commanded its followers to abide by its tenets. Those who dared show any logic were injected with a kind of fear complex. Moreover, the followers of the religions declared that their teachings were the revelations of God and had to be dutifully followed. Out of fear people submitted to this mandate. This is the basic defect of religion. On the basis of this hundreds of so-called scriptures were written in ambiguous language. Anything that destroys free thinking should not be called a scripture at all. Only that which develops the spontaneous development of human beings deserves to be called a scripture.
Shásanát tárayet yastu sah shástra parikiirtitah.
“That which disciplines human beings, that which inspires human beings to follow the path of spirituality, the path of supreme benevolence, that is scripture.”
Anything else is not scripture at all. Religions create undue fear complex in the human mind. Utilizing the lure of heaven and the dread of hell they destroy nationality and humanity. Motivated by their own petty interests they create artificial divisions in the human society. Should intelligent people be bound by the serpentine nooses of such religions? No, they should not; they must not. If at all people allow themselves to be bound by nooses, it should be understood that they are intellectually bankrupt. In all countries of the world such people form separate communities. Perhaps religion has done the most damage to humanity. After all, it is in the name of religion that most human conflicts have occurred. Now the time has come to put an end to the conflict over religion forever.
There is still another thing which sounds a little harsh when clearly described, yet all intelligent people realize its malevolent influence from the depths of their hearts. It concerns the barriers of so-called nationalism. One day, Jessore and Bongaon were in one country [India]. Suddenly, a few people arbitrarily decided to put these two towns in two separate countries. Illiterate people living in Jessore heard one fine morning that they were Pakistanis, while the people of Bongaon, equally ignorant, suddenly, as they cultivated their fields, heard that they were citizens of India. This decision was enforced from the top without the prior knowledge of those at the bottom. Common people could not know anything about the crime which forced them to desert their ancestral homes forever as helpless refugees. They were unable to identify those who made them refugees.
What is the value of nationality when it changes overnight? Is it ever feasible to draw a line of demarcation between one human and another on the basis of such superficial considerations? Or is it wise? Such distinctions, imposed as they are from above, are mere figments of some people’s imagination. They are not supported by developed mentality and do not enjoy the sanction of higher human conscience. On such a basis we should never divide the human race. I repeat again, human society is a singular entity. It is indivisible.
It is often found that people who speak different languages co-exist peacefully within the same nation. Conversely, it is also found that people speaking the same language are divided into different nationalities. So it is quite clear that the question of nationality is completely meaningless and something devoid of rational judgement. One can safely conclude that anything not supported by rational judgement is prompted by selfish motives. Some people enjoy top positions without taking any responsibility or risk. They fulfil their own whims while countless common people have to carry their load, getting nothing in return. Once I said, while quoting Rabindranath Tagore, that the common people who are tortured, neglected, humiliated and exploited are just like the lamp stand, while those at the helm of society are like the lamp. Everything is illuminated by the lamp except the lamp stand, which remains obscure in darkness. Moreover, the lamp stand has to endure the burnt oil from the lamp which trickles down its side. Nationality is something like this. There is no logic behind it, nor, indeed, within it. It, too, should not be the basis for the fragmentation of the human society. Again I repeat, human society is a singular entity.
Next comes the question of language. Language is only a vehicle of expression. How does it occur? There are six stages to the expression of language: Pará, Pashyantii, Madhyámá, Dyotamáná, Vaekharii and Shrutigocará. Pará Shakti, the seed of all expression, lies in the Muladhara Cakra, but the seed is not transformed into language. It is just the seed of the idea. This is called Pará in Saḿskrta. Pashyantii, the stage where the seed of the idea sprouts, lies in the next higher Cakra, that is the Svadiśthána. In the next stage, Madhyámá, the idea is consolidated to give a picture to it. That is to say, people visualise the form of the idea they want to convey. In the Mańipura Cakra there is an urge to transform the idea into sound form. In Bengali we sometime say that such and such word is in my mind but I cannot articulate it. That is, the flow of the expression has reached Mańipura Cakra but it is not transmitted through spoken words. The memory, due to distortion, has become a little old so the picture of the word is hazy. That’s why it is difficult to transform the idea into language. In the next stage, that is Dyotamáná, the idea acquires the form of language. Dyotamáná means vibrational. In this stage there is some vibrational expression but the exact word is not formed. In the fifth stage, when the vibration reaches the vocal cord, the idea gets transformed into language. This is Vaekharii Shakti or the transformation of ideas into language. The last stage is called Shrutigocará and occurs when the word gets vocalized with the help of the tongue. These are the six main stages of the expression of language. In all languages Pará, Pashyantii, Madhyámá and Dyotamáná are uniform. Only in the fifth and sixth stages is the expression different.
So, on the basis of language, how is it possible to divide human beings? If an English-knowing boy is brought up in a Bengali family from his childhood, Bengali will become his natural tongue and he will develop total affinity for the Bengali language. Having listened to Bengali from the beginning of his life, the Vaekharii and Shrutigocará are adjusted with the Bengali language. Suppose his brother is brought up in a German family, then German will become his brother’s natural tongue. Would these brothers fight a fratricidal war on the basis of language? At the same time I will also unambiguously say that no language should ever be suppressed. If anyone tries to suppress any language the result will be disastrous, because human beings will not tolerate any undue pressure on their Vaekharii and Shrutigocará. No injustice against any language can be allowed. All languages must be given equal respect. One should remember that all languages are the languages of Parama Puruśa. I may master perhaps one, two, three or maybe 100 or 300 of these languages, but it does not mean that the languages I do not know are not the languages of Parama Puruśa. Hence, it is absurd to divide humanity on the basis of language.
In this case, as in the case of nationalism, I will sound a word of warning. Petty nationalism is detrimental to human civilization and those who seek the collective well-being of human civilization should abolish the system of passports, visas, permits, etc. The consequences of such a system are not beneficial for humanity. In the same manner I will sound a word of warning that there should be no attempts to suppress any language. The same amount of freedom that was granted to languages during British rule in India has not been granted in post-independence India. Attempts have been made to throttle a few languages, and the result has not been good. Those who have perpetrated this sort of injustice should be cautious in the future.
So we cannot divide the human race on the basis of the rich or the poor, the educated or uneducated. Nor can we divide it on the basis of ideology. It is natural that there should be minor differences of opinion, but we must see to it that the differences do not obstruct human progress. If they do, they must be resisted with an iron hand. If they do not, they should be tolerated. Let human beings follow their professed ideals as that will develop human intellect.
Again, on the basis of race we should not divide humanity into black and white, into Aryans and non-Aryans. All human beings are equal. There are only differences in the colour of people’s skin. And as I hae already said, religion is almost a non-entity. It rests on quicksand. Spirituality and religion are not synonymous; rather they are totally separate entities. Spirituality is an endless endeavour to link the microcosm with the Macrocosm, and this endeavour in individual life will stop when individuals come in closest proximity to Parama Puruśa. Human society will never attain Samadhi collectively. It is never possible to attain liberation or salvation collectively. So in individual spiritual life what is important is the feeling that human beings move collectively and help one another. In religion the feeling is that everything of mine is good and everything of yours is bad. While fighting over this people lose their natural judgement. Humanity should never be divided on the basis of such things.
Next comes nationality. The idea of nationality is so absurd, so nonsensical, that it changes its form overnight. The people of Jessore became Pakistanis in one night, and the people of Bongaon became the citizens of India overnight. So the whole idea is useless.
Finally, language. In connection with language I mentioned six stages of expression. Of the six there are differences only in the last two. The other four are all equal. Furthermore, one should remember that all languages are the languages of Parama Puruśa.
Intelligent people should never try to suppress any language. The result of suppression can never be worthwhile. Intelligent people must avoid these aforesaid factors on the basis of which some selfish people try to create rifts in human society. Wherever there is an excess in this regard they should try to integrate the human society, because the process of disintegration of the human society does no good to individuals, society or to any part of society. The more human beings live in unity, shoulder to shoulder, the greater the welfare of the human race will be. Let no one try to suppress others on the basis of nationality, language, religion or anything else in any sphere of life. Let the path of full expression of human intelligence be kept open forever.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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The economic development of a country depends on the collective labour of different social groups. This is the reason that the system of the division of labour gradually evolves out of the practice of domestic economy. The value of the labour of all groups, including industrial labourers, peasants, carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, physicians and clerks, is equal in the collective development of the economy.
The Economy of Ancient India
In ancient India a form of elastic economy was prevalent which supported the collective economic endeavour of the people. In the Vedic Age the economic system of India evolved on the basis of social classes (varńa). The shúdras, kśatriyas, vipras and vaeshyas – these four social classes evolved and remained content with specific economic activities of their choice. One particular class engaged itself in farming, while other classes undertook different occupations. People did not rush towards agricultural work as is happening today. As this class system (varńáshrama) was hereditary, there was little scope for socio-economic imbalance.
In that age agriculture reached a high degree of expertise and efficiency. Kings used to be directly involved with the different aspects of agriculture such as planting multiple crops according to the different seasons, large-scale and small-scale agriculture, the use of manure, the application of insecticides, irrigation systems through rivers and canals, and dairy farming. In those days the state had the duty to confiscate land from landlords who kept land unutilized, and transfer it to those who could properly utilize it for agricultural purposes. The value of land was determined by the extent of its productivity. The state used to fix the price of agricultural produce, and as a result there was little scope for the business class to exploit farmers.
The Impact of the British
After the arrival of the British in India economic balance was lost, mainly because the British government was totally indifferent to the development of indigenous industry and agriculture. It did not even realize the necessity of planning for this type of development. Instead, it introduced a new system of education which mainly produced a class of clerks which was utilized by the British government to consolidate its administrative power. Many people gave up their hereditary occupations and sought posts in the British administration. This seriously damaged the agricultural system.
The second cause of economic imbalance was the gradual collapse of indigenous industrial enterprises, notably the hand weaving industry. As a result of the supply of cloth from the Manchester cotton mills, the demand for hand woven cloth began to dwindle. The supply of aluminium utensils also destroyed India’s pottery industry. The factories established by the British severely affected indigenous industries because they used the latest technology. Consequently, those employed in these industries gradually gave up their traditional occupations and crowded the agricultural sector for a livelihood.
This problem was compounded by growth in the population, which led to the subdivision and fragmentation of agricultural land. This in turn resulted in decreased production. Food was imported from outside India to feed the population. During the Second World War the importation of food was stopped, causing a severe shortage of food in the country.
To overcome the great famine that struck Bengal in 1943, the Wavell administration introduced a rationing system. Wavell also tried to alleviate the famine by restricting the movement of food from one province to another. But these measures did not solve the problem – rather most people became trapped in the food rationing system.
Post-Independence India
Even after the departure of the British in 1947, about 145,000 people were included in the rationing system. This resulted in the gradual increase of black marketeering, profiteering and other corrupt practices. The central government suddenly abolished the food rationing system in an attempt to solve the problem of corruption. This precipitous step caused the price of food to rise to exorbitant heights. Later the food rationing system had to be reintroduced.
The Indian leaders tried to solve this food problem by calling for a “grow more food” campaign, but the campaign was a failure because the system of agriculture was not changed to increase output. The government adopted the policy of increasing the area of arable land and not the productivity of the existing land. There was no planning to determine whether or not the new land was suitable for agriculture, and no proper irrigation facilities to improve productivity. But above all, in the democratic system bureaucrats had ample scope to neglect their responsibilities, and due to defective administration much agricultural potential was wasted. Consequently, dishonest traders conspired to make the agricultural sector ineffective. They perpetuated the food problem to satisfy their own selfish interests. So from all points of view the agricultural system in India is extremely weak.
The fundamental characteristic of any developed economy is this: about thirty percent to forty-five percent of the people should remain engaged in agriculture and the rest of the population should be employed in industry or other sectors of the economy. Excessive pressure on agriculture is not a sign of a healthy economy. At present about seventy-five percent of the Indian population is dependent upon agriculture for its livelihood. This is a very dangerous situation for the Indian economy. Those who are engaged in agriculture remain unemployed most of the year and this is an enormous waste of human labour. This unemployment problem in agriculture must be solved immediately – it brooks no delay.
Differences Between India and China
Recently, a particular group of politicians raised the slogan of “agricultural revolution” to solve the problem. They wanted to solve India’s agricultural problems by following the example of China. However, there are vast differences between the agricultural problems confronted by India and those confronted by China. The problems of India can never be solved by following the policies of China.
The basic problem in China is that despite considerable agricultural progress, China has not been able to feed its huge population. Moreover, in China there is not even sufficient land to accommodate its huge population – and its population is continually increasing. In the industrial sphere China has already exhausted most of its natural resources. It hopes to preserve its remaining scant resources for industrial development, thus preventing a dark future.
There are three main economic problems in China. First, China must feed its increasing population through agricultural development. Secondly, the percentage of the population employed in agriculture is too high. And thirdly, employment must be provided to the non-agricultural sector of the economy through industrial expansion. Because none of these problems could be solved immediately, China under Mao Zedong adopted a policy of grabbing land from neighbouring states. The recent Chinese attacks in Tibet, India and the Soviet Union were motivated by an insatiable hunger for land.(1) This is a very ingenious plan for agrarian revolution!
The agricultural problems in India are of a different nature. There is ample scope for agricultural development and industrial revolution in India. India suffers economic hardships today because its economic potential has not been properly harnessed.
There are two fundamental economic issues in India. First, the agricultural potentiality of the country must be developed by reducing the percentage of the population working in agriculture. Secondly, the excessively high percentage of the population dependent on agriculture must be reduced by developing industries.
Infusing in people the sentiment of grabbing land from other countries will not solve India’s agricultural problems. The only solution is to increase productivity within the country. Those who raised the slogan, “China’s agrarian revolution shows the way for India” are labouring under the illusion of defective thinking.
The Defects of Distributing Plots of Land
Another political group in India wants to bring about radical changes in the economic sphere by transferring all power to the masses. According to them every citizen should own a certain portion of land – no one should remain landless. Poor people are easily won over by these sentiments. Politicians espouse these ideas merely to lure people so that they can fulfil their own political aspirations. Poor landless peasants become overjoyed at the prospect of owning their own land, then politicians use them to achieve their objectives.
A particular political party today advocates forcibly depriving landowners of their land and distributing it to the landless peasants. By creating a rift between the landowners and agricultural workers, these politicians try to cultivate a philanthropic image.
Let us analyse to what extent this approach would be conducive to the overall economic growth of India. First, if surplus land were distributed among landless people, no one would get more than an acre of land at the most. This acre of land would not be an ideal economic holding because it could not be cultivated with the latest scientific methods. A sizeable portion of the land would be wasted in demarcating boundary lines, so it would be impossible to increase productivity. Increased productivity is the most important agricultural requirement in India today. Besides this, if land were distributed in this way, land would be further subdivided with the increase in the population, further aggravating the problem.
Secondly, this approach would have the effect of increasing the number of petit bourgeoisie. By petit bourgeoisie I mean those who derive unearned income by giving their land to others for cultivation because they are in economic difficulty. If landless peasants acquired a plot of one acre, they would certainly get some psychic satisfaction, but when they failed to earn anything after cultivating the land, they would definitely become disheartened. It would require all their time, energy and money to cultivate one acre of land productively because the land would be too small to utilize modern agricultural techniques. The amount of produce they would get in return would not be enough to maintain their families. They would have to lease a portion of the land and try to earn their income through other methods. By this process, the number of landowners would increase and they would all become part of the petit bourgeoisie. Politicians who claim that they hate landowners and raise slogans for their destruction deviate from their professed platform, because such an ideology only results in the creation of more landowners.
Thirdly, before the redistribution of the land, these politicians forcibly occupy the land, steal the produce, set fire to the crops, and through a host of other subversive methods, instigate hostilities against the landowners. Consequently, landowners become increasingly indifferent to the agricultural production of their land as they have no economic security. When these factors are combined together, they only aggravate the agricultural problem rather than solve it.
Thus, in order to solve the agricultural problems in India, the Chinese system, which is based on the principle that the one who works the plough should own the land, is not applicable. Rather, to solve India’s agricultural problems, there must be a radical change in the entire agricultural system.
Economic Landholdings
According to PROUT, to facilitate increased production economic holdings must first be reorganized. An economic holding means a holding where output exceeds input. It is not possible to predetermine the size of this economic unit. While considering input, output, productivity, etc., to determine the optimum size of an economic unit, factors like the fertility of the soil, climatic conditions, etc., will have to be considered.
Today many people believe that increased production is possible even if landholdings are small. Increased production depends upon the expertise of farm managers and their correct, timely decisions. If managers are competent, then even very large farms can increase production. Of course, it is not necessary that all farms should become large. The main thing is that the holdings should be economically viable. There is no valid reason why there is a fifteen percent loss in the annual production of the large collective farms in the Soviet Union.
To increase productivity and prevent the growth of large exploitative cultivators, the minimum and maximum size of an economic landholding should be determined. The minimum size of a landholding should be equal to the size of an economic holding in a particular region. Thus, the minimum size of an economic holding will vary from place to place. The maximum size of a landholding will depend upon the fertility of the soil, overall production and the expertise of the management. Economic holdings will generally comprise land of the same topography having adequate irrigation and other agricultural facilities. The size of economic holdings must be progressively increased keeping all these factors in mind.
The size of economic holdings may vary from country to country. At the same time the size may also vary within a country. In the Indo-Gangetic plains, a five acre holding is abundantly productive, whereas in Ladakh or the Chotanagpur Hills, even fifteen or sixteen acres of land may not yield enough produce for subsistence. The size of economic holdings in these two places is bound to vary.
The following should be remembered. First, distributing land to people will not solve their problems. The ownership of the land is inconsequential; what counts is the production from the land. Secondly, merely delegating the management of land to someone will not yield the desired production. It is not always possible for one person to invest the money necessary to cultivate the land according to the most modern methods, so the production of the land is bound to decrease. Above all, in a healthy economy, economic decentralization is essential.
The Cooperative System
For decentralization, agricultural land should be managed through the cooperative system. However, it is not wise to suddenly hand over all land to cooperative management because cooperatives evolve out of the collective labour and wisdom of a community. The community must develop an integrated economic environment, common economic needs and a ready market for its cooperatively produced goods. Unless these three factors work together, an enterprise cannot be called a cooperative.
After creating a congenial environment, land will have to be handed over to cooperative management. Then, with the help of appropriate scientific technology, it will be possible to increase agricultural production.
There should be a two phase plan to introduce cooperative land management. In the first phase, all uneconomic holdings should be required to join the cooperative system so that they will become economic holdings. In this phase, cooperatives will only consist of those people who merged their land together to make uneconomic holdings economic. Private ownership will be recognized. For instance, one person may own one acre, another two acres and a third person three acres within the cooperative. Each cooperative member will be entitled to a dividend based on the total production in proportion to the land they donated to the cooperative. Each individual will retain the deed of ownership of their land, but agricultural activities will be conducted cooperatively. Consequently, land which remained utilized as boundary lines will no longer be left uncultivated. In certain places in Bihar and Bengal the total area of arable land is less than the amount of land wasted on boundary lines. If this system is implemented, all will benefit.
In the first phase of the plan, those owning land which is productive as an economic holding need not be persuaded to join a cooperative. But if an economic holding comprises land which is dispersed in small plots, the scattered plots should be consolidated into one holding. Alternatively, wherever small, scattered, uneconomic plots are located, they will have to be joined together under cooperative management.
In the second phase all should be encouraged to join the cooperative system.
In the third phase there should be rational distribution of land and redetermination of ownership. In this new system two factors will determine the rational distribution of land – the minimum holding of land necessary to maintain a family, and the farmer’s capacity to utilize the land.
In the fourth phase there will be no conflict over the ownership of land. A congenial environment will exist due to psychic expansion because people will learn to think for the collective welfare rather than for their petty self-interest. Such a change will certainly not come overnight. Unless there is suitable psychic preparation through internal urge and external pressure, adjusting with the time factor, people will never accept this system, and it cannot be forcibly imposed on them.
The leaders of the Soviet Union were ignorant of the collective psychology of the people, so they tried to impose collective farming by force. This produced severe famines and massive civil unrest. While trying to cope with these problems, the administration resorted to brute force instead of adopting psychological measures, and as a result they annihilated many people. Sadvipras will never go against the spirit of a country and cause its ruin.
Many people raise questions regarding cooperatives because in most countries the cooperative system has failed. On the basis of the examples to date, it is not appropriate to criticize the cooperative system. This is because most countries could not evolve the indispensable conditions necessary for the success of the cooperative system. Cooperatives depend upon three main factors for their success – morality, strong supervision and the wholehearted acceptance of the masses. Wherever these three factors have been evident in whatever measure, cooperatives have achieved proportionate success.
Take the case of Israel. Because the country is surrounded by enemies on all sides, the people are extremely aware of the need to be self-reliant. People want wholeheartedly to consolidate the national economy. Thus, they have converted arid deserts into productive agricultural land through the cooperative system.
As this kind of mentality was never created in India, India is a classic example of the failure of the cooperative system. Indian cooperatives were not created for economic development but for the fulfilment of political interests. Under such circumstances it was impossible for the cooperative system to succeed.
Good examples must be established to encourage people to adopt the cooperative system. There should be pilot cooperative projects, machine stations, adequate irrigation systems, and improved seeds and insecticides. At the same time people must be educated about the beneficial aspects of cooperatives. Instead of educating people how to increase the productivity of their land, the leaders of India show films on birth control in the market place. I call such people the greatest enemies of humanity.
Modernization
PROUT advocates maximum modernization in agriculture and industry. In the cooperative agricultural system, modern equipment must be utilized because such modernization will facilitate increased production. For example, tractors can dig the land very deeply, bring low level soil to the surface and force the the top soil below. The fertility of the top soil is diminished as a result of continuous cultivation, so when the lower soil is brought to the surface through the use of tractors, the productivity of the soil increases. In addition, the depleted top soil has the opportunity to become revitalized for future utilization. This is one benefit of tractors. A second is that farmers do not need to maintain cows for ploughing the fields. Where cows are kept for farming, they are unutilized for six months in a year. During that idle period, many costs occur to maintain them properly. The present age is not the age for utilizing large animals. In Europe horses and elephants are no longer used. To adjust with the times, tractors should be utilized today. One tractor equals the service of at least eight pairs of bullocks. Those who have half an acre or three acres of land need to maintain a pair of bullocks. This is wasteful duplication.
If modern equipment is used in agriculture, agriculture will not remain labour intensive and people can be utilized in other activities to enhance the development of the country. For this, new arrangements will have to be created. If fewer people work in agricultural cooperatives, there will be substantial savings. Simultaneously, women and children will be freed from related work so they will get scope to develop themselves. In addition, increased mechanization will link the villages to the cities and towns, and as a result the standard of living in the villagers will be increased.
No Intermediaries
In PROUT’s system of agriculture there is no place for intermediaries. Those who invest their capital by engaging others in productive labour to earn a profit are capitalists. Capitalists, like parasites, thrive on the blood of industrial and agricultural labourers. Those who act as intermediaries in the agricultural sector are called “agricultural capitalists”. They get their own land cultivated by others and take the profits.
In India, intermediaries have been in existence since ancient times. Different types of landowners such as zamindars, pattanidars, darpattanidars, sepattanidars, jotedars, vargadars and adhikaris constitute the intermediaries. In modern India the zamindary and sharecropping systems have been abolished, but the feudal psychology has not disappeared. The present feudal rulers are not the actual owners of land. They take land on lease from others and pay a certain percentage of the produce to the owner of the land, thus they exploit both the actual owner of the land and the agricultural labourers. The number of these intermediaries is steadily increasing.
PROUT does not support these kinds of intermediaries. Slogans like, “The land belongs to those who work the plough,” or, “Those who sow the seeds should reap the harvest,” are untenable. Policies based on such slogans lead to the creation of a petit bourgeois class.
Agrarian Revolution
According to PROUT, in the first phase of agrarian revolution private ownership of land within the cooperative system will be recognized. People should have the right to employ labour for cultivation, but in such cases fifty percent of the total produce should be distributed as wages to the agricultural labourers who work in the cooperative. That is, the owners of the land will get fifty percent of the total produce and those who create the produce through their labour will get the other fifty percent. This ratio must never decrease – rather it should increase in favour of the agricultural labourers who work in the cooperative.
The managerial staff body of the cooperative should only be constituted from among those who have shares in the cooperative. They will be elected. Their positions should not be honorary because that creates scope for corruption. Managers will have to be paid salaries according to the extent of their intellectual expertise. In addition, the members of the cooperative may also employ their manual labour if they so desire, and for this they should be paid separate wages. Thus, cooperative members can earn dividends in two ways – as a return on the land given to the cooperative and on the basis of their productive labour. For this, the total produce of the cooperative should be divided into equal parts – that is, fifty percent on wages for labour, and fifty percent for the shareholders of the land.
Solving Unemployment
For the development of agriculture there is also a need for agricultural specialists and technicians. Producers cooperatives should employ such skilled labour. Thus, educated people will not remain unemployed, and they will not leave the villages for the cities. This will ensure rapid agricultural development.
PROUT believes in a decentralized economy. So policies must be adopted which not only develop one particular region, but accelerate all-round development at a uniform pace throughout the entire socio-economic area through the planned utilization of all local resources and potentialities. To achieve this aim, local people must first be employed in agricultural cooperatives.
In modern India there are two distinct areas – one of surplus labour and the other of deficit labour. That is why people usually migrate from surplus labour areas to other regions. However, the very concept of surplus labour is a relative one. Where adequate opportunities for proper economic development have not been created, there is surplus labour. Labour becomes surplus in all undeveloped socio-economic areas. When surplus labour moves to another region, the undeveloped area has every chance of remaining undeveloped forever.
According to PROUT, wherever there is surplus labour, top priority must be given to creating employment for all local labour. This policy will raise the standard of living of the local people and the whole area. If this policy is not implemented and surplus labour is allowed to move to other regions, and the Marxist policy that, “those who sow shall reap” is followed, then all tea plantations, coal mines and other natural resources will be controlled by outside labour. Local people will lose control over their natural resources. This will create a very dangerous situation.
PROUT’s opinion is that local people must have first priority in employment opportunities. As long as there is not full employment for local people, continuous efforts must be made until all local labour is fully employed. In addition, no fresh developmental programmes will be started until there is further demand for labour. Scandinavian countries did not commence any new development schemes for this reason.
While creating employment for the local people, consideration must be given to local sentiments. For instance, many areas of India are regions of surplus intellectual labour. People in this category are ready to work as clerks for the very low wage of thirty rupees a month, but they are not prepared to work as porters and earn more money. The problem of surplus intellectual labour is a special one and should be solved in a proper way. In these areas industries which require less manual labour should be established. Thus, different development schemes will have to be adopted in different socio-economic units depending upon time, place and person.
Agricultural Taxation
The present system of collecting revenue on agriculture cannot be supported because it is inconvenient for both the tax collectors and the farmers. Even the zamindary system which was established during the British period for tax collection was defective. Farmers had to pay a specified amount each year to the treasury for the land given to them by the zamindars. In cases of flood, crop failure, or any other reason, this fixed amount still had to be paid to the treasury. The zamindars enjoyed life as social parasites. Even today land tax is determined by the area of land. In cases of crop failure in any year, the government has to reduce its taxes. In cases of abundant harvests, the government has to increase taxes through levies. This system causes great inconvenience to the farmers.
The best system of taxation was in vogue in the ancient Hindu Age. In those days only twenty-five percent of the entire produce was given to the king as taxes. The farmers could also give cows, horses or sheep as taxes. In such a system farmers did not face any inconvenience. Today, however, farmers face much inconvenience because they have to pay their taxes in cash. Farmers cannot always arrange cash by selling agricultural produce, because a proper market does not always exist.
According to PROUT, a certain percentage of the farmers produce should be collected as direct taxes. It is also convenient for the government to realize taxes in the form of goods, because it needs to store produce as insurance against future contingencies. Taxes in such a form can easily be distributed from government stores when the people are in need. Moreover, this system will easily meet the requirements of people in the towns and cities. Such a system can rapidly transform the Indian economy.
If agricultural labourers only raise slogans of agricultural reform and assault and kill the landowners, they will not change the agricultural system. It is only possible to consolidate the economy through a constructive approach. Sadvipras will have to shoulder the great responsibility of implementing this approach to ensure the welfare of all.
Footnotes
(1) China has approximately eleven percent arable land, whereas India has about eighty-nine percent arable land.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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Having progressively crossed the different evolutionary stages since the distant past human beings have at last reached the present stage. The journey has not been solitary: People have advanced together in society. Even in the primitive past, humans lived in clans and tribes, for alone they could not easily procure the means of livelihood. An individual who totally shuns collective life finds existence difficult, for humans are essentially social beings. Whenever one thinks of a human being one automatically thinks of the society in which he or she lives. Human existence is thus two-sided – individual existence and collective existence – and as such it has two sets of values: social values and human cardinal principles.
The social values of human beings are ascertained on the basis of social responsibilities. As a member of society a person has to discharge certain duties and responsibilities. Those who shoulder great responsibility are naturally accorded due recognition and respect, because the good of all depends upon the proper execution of one’s duties.
An analysis of history will show that in the Kśatriya era kings and emperors were honoured most. In their courts everyone bowed before them in spontaneous respect for they had conquered the hearts of the people by virtue of their heroism, valour and chivalry. During the Vipra era the Kśatriyas and other social classes were so overwhelmed by the Vipra’s intellectual might – which they had used to invent various things to further human welfare – that they surrendered before them. The Vipras were regarded as wise because their intellectual research benefited the common people. Out of awe and respect everyone prostrated at the lotus feet of these great people.
The truth is that human beings have always and everywhere paid tribute to social values, but never, not even for a moment, has anyone respected human cardinal principles.
Human Cardinal Principles
Human cardinal principles are the silver lining between the psycho-spiritual and spiritual strata of human existence. The meeting point of the spiritual and psycho-spiritual strata is called the human cardinal stratum. Human existence is trifarious, a combination of three currents: physical, mental and spiritual. Most people cannot transcend the limits of their physical existence: crude worldly pleasures become the only enjoyment of their lives. They embody all that is beastly in nature, goaded and tormented as they are by carnal desires. The subtle feelings of life, the subtle expressions and practices are beyond their reach. Their world is limited to their bodies and physical requirements.
Other people are more concerned with their minds. They feel that it is the supremacy of the mind that has differentiated them from animals. Their lives are guided by their desires for mental satisfaction. By virtue of their endeavours they create poetry, art, music, sculpture, etc. They express the finer human feelings of mercy, sympathy, love, friendship and pity. They believe that the mind flows for the sole purpose of attaining the Infinite, and hence they focus their energies on the contemplation of the Transcendental Entity. They are the spiritual aspirants, they alone are worthy of being called human beings. Drawn by the magnetic attraction of the Cosmic Consciousness they speed forward and reach the stage which marks the end of mental existence and the beginning of spirituality. At that stage one is no longer a human being, one is a veritable god. It is the duty of every person to reach this confluence of the mental and spiritual strata. It is the pinnacle of human progress. The point where humanity ceases to exist as it merges in divine beatitude. The culminating point of animality is the commencement of humanity. The highest peak of human progress is the beginning of divine bliss. Where animality ends, humanity begins, where humanity ends, divinity begins. The meeting point of the highest attainment of humanity and the blossoming of divinity is the base on which the cardinal human principles are established.
A glimpse through human history reveals that nowhere have human values been truly honoured. What is worse, nobody has looked upon humanity with sympathy. Only those were respected who, by serving their self-interests, climbed onto the higher rostrum of society. It is difficult to step down from the high position of vainglory to rub shoulders with the downtrodden. The neglect of humanity was particularly acute towards the end of each era of the social cycle. The progeny of the noble Kśatriyas, on gaining power, engaged themselves in the pursuit of pleasure and comforts, utterly neglecting their sacred duty to serve their subjects. They never cared to know people’s suffering. They were not concerned by the bent old man, decimated by poverty in the Himalayas, being mercilessly beaten by a royal servant for defaulting on his tax payment. Kind-hearted and philanthropic kings did exist, but was there any king who, besides meeting the psycho-physical needs of his people, opened the gateway to realization of the Infinite? For self-aggrandisement and in a bid to conquer the world they invaded countries, one after another. How could they afford to inquire into the tragic plight of the common people?
The Vipra era illustrated the same thing: the scholarly Vipras were hardly accessible to the common people. The innocent masses were busy appeasing the Vipras with oblations, honorariums and floral offerings. Where was the time for them to take of the needy families of the poor neighbourhoods who were perhaps dying of starvation? And what would be the material benefit of such an action? Service to the poor would pay nothing, so let them go to hell, let them die en masse. So nobody had anything to do with the poor. And anyway, the Vipras were busy with worship, prayer and observance of sacraments. All their energies were spent in the appeasement of the gods and goddesses enthroned in the temples, churches or mosques. There was simply no opportunity to inculcate more humane qualities. According to Vipran scriptures, a temple made of bricks and wood was of more value than humanity itself. Suppose an old beggar, numbed with the cold chill of the night, is standing wearily in front of a temple, his begging bowl empty. The temple is reverberating with ringing bells, and the deity is being worshipped in accordance with the scriptural dictates. While the devotees stand before the deity with hands folded in reverence, the beggar shivers bitterly outside. On completing the ritual, the people leave the temple one by one, followed by the priest. The beggar entreats him to let him sleep in one corner of the temple, but the priest replies emphatically, “I can’t afford to pollute the temple for your sake.” And the old man has to trudge into the world of uncertainty, and perhaps bury himself in the coffin of the cold. The sanctity of inert wood and bricks is valued more than a man’s life.
Notions of vice and virtue, codes of justice and scriptural texts – which are claimed to be the word of God – have been formulated by different religions to further vested interests. Those who oppose the scriptures or the system they propound are subject to severe punishment. To socialize with a person of a different caste is a great sin and those who commit such sacrilegious acts will be excommunicated. They have to make atonement according to scriptural decree, and sometimes the magnitude of their penance may be the cause of their death. If they plea for a milder dose of punishment, the priests express their helplessness: one cannot defy the scriptures!
Those who are ensnared by the scriptures cannot be expected to know the value of human life. It takes millions of years, lives and stages to get a human body. But nobody knows how many invaluable lives have been nipped in the bud, or how many innocent lives have been slaughtered at the altar of the scriptures.
Vice and virtue are the outcome of mental perversion under the influence of time, space and person. The mental perversion which is vice in one country or in one age passes for virtue in another country or another age. Thus it is unwise to attach absolute importance to the notion of vice and virtue nurtured by some individuals at a given time. Vice and virtue have their origins either in religious faith or social prejudices, as a of natural or other causes, and they undergo changes in time, space and person. In ancient India grief-stricken wives, mourning the death of their husbands, were dragged pitilessly onto the funeral pyre and burnt to death. Those who did this remained unaffected because according to the their scriptures it was a virtuous act. Today, however it is treated as a vice.
These fabricated religious injunctions have been a repeated cause of exploitation. Placing blind faith in the scriptures people used to derive pleasure from cruel human sacrifice. The scriptures also proclaimed that to live the life of a virgin was a vice. Hence, it was not uncommon for a nine year old girl to be forced to marry an old man waiting at the jaws of death. After the death of her old spouse, hymns were chanted to make the young bride believe that she was destined to return to her husband after her own death and had no right to turn a new leaf in this life by marrying again. What a tragic existence for a sentimental woman to have to live a life of austerity to ensure unison with a husband in the life hereafter.
Polygamy, on the other hand, was not forbidden for men. A woman who was married to a man having a number of wives suffered a life of misery due to her co-wives. The folk lores or doggerels bear an excellent testimony to this: “Peace will come with my co-wife’s death. Oh what joy! I shall kill my co-wife and adorn my arm with bangles.” Even today within the same social group the cutting remarks of the mother-in-law and the husband’s sisters rob the wife of her zest for life. The story goes that a wife had her rice rationed to one earthen cup full by her mother-in-law. One day, as luck would have it, that measuring cup broke into countless pieces. Oh, what joy the wife felt. But the mother-in-law cruelly remarked, “The small earthen cup has broken, but the big one is left for us. Your joy is in vain, daughter-in-law, for my hand will now be your measure.” Can there be any greater cruelty than this? Even when supplying the minimum requirements meanness was perpetrated with such cruelty.
The inhuman rules and regulations and tortures inside the house filled a woman’s life with bitterness. Nobody knows how many have wept away sleepless nights having suffered tortures for which no redress was possible. The dogma of the scriptures crushed their emotional feelings, their hopes and aspirations like a steam roller flattening soft clay. Nobody has paid any heed to their sobs and tearful outbursts. The irrational social dictates based on vice and virtue have been a perennial source of injustice for human beings. Humanity has always been hated and trampled.
I repeat that no scripture should gain supremacy by slighting or neglecting humanity. Scriptures should be written to further human progress. They should provide rules, but these rules should in no way send humanity to its grave. Their utility lies in promoting freedom from bondage and leading humanity along the path of union with Cosmic Consciousness, the source of everything. Scriptures that throttle society to death or arrest its natural movement, should never be accepted.
Vice and virtue should be defined in the interest of human values not on the whims of certain individuals. People must move towards that stage which is the zenith point of human progress and from which no further advancement is possible. That which blocks this movement is vice and that which facilitates it is virtue. To exploit an individual, a group or the entire society for one’s own interest or the interest of the group is vice. To rob a person of the right to exist is also vice. There should be scope to punish such acts; but punishment is not an end in itself. If punishment kills or prevents one from progressing along life’s path, it may also be treated as vice. Punishment should be for rectification. The penal code will be based on human values. Ananda Marga’s social treatise states: First use sweet words and inform the offender of their mistake. Then use harsher words to convince them of the social damage caused by their actions. In the third stage, inform them about the possibility of penal measures. And in the fourth stage, if the situation warrants such action, take penal measures against him, but remember, punishment should be inflicted humanely.
Those who commit acts of vice, for whatever reasons should be given scope for rectification. If they fail to realize what they have done, they should be convinced by logical argumentation. If they ignore such reasoning they will be liable for punishment. Only the offenders themselves will be punished – under no circumstances will their relatives be punished too. Penal measures will be withdrawn as soon as the offenders have corrected themselves. An entire life should not have to be wasted over a single act of vice. On no account should anybody be branded forever.
Those who worship a marble deity in the dark corner of a temple and neglect the poor multitudes – who are themselves an embodiment of God – gain nothing in this life nor for the life hereafter. The neglect of a person who is the embodiment of God is tantamount to neglecting God Himself. A truly righteous person realizes that God does not confine Himself to the temple, but manifests Himself in His creation.
“Why are you lying in the gloom of the temple?
Raise your eyes. Look! God is not confined to four walls.
He has gone where the farmers are tilling and toiling all year round”.
–Rabindranath Tagore
In the Vipra era, humanity was affronted by the creation of divisions between high and low. People of high-birth would lose their caste if they merely stepped on the shadow of the so-called low-castes. Even worse, if a Vedic Brahman touched a person from a low family he was declared an outcaste. In no other age has humanity suffered such hatred and insult. Rabindranath says, “By standing aloof from your fellow man daily, you have hated the God enthroned in his heart.”
Instead of hating anyone, the Sadvipras will encourage everyone to build good careers. This will be Sadvipra’s principle duty. None should feel that they have been doomed for good.
The Present Age and Human Values
At present life is valued on the basis of money.
Yasyástivittam sah sarah kuliinah sah panditah
Sah shutaban gunagnah sa eva vaktása ca darshaniiyah
Sarve gunah kancanámá trayanti.
That is, these days, a person who possesses wealth is respected and revered whereas a person without money is a person honoured by none. The poor, whoever they may be, have to woo the rich just for the sake of earning their livelihood. Human values have become meaningless, for human beings have become the means for the rich to earn money. The rich, having purchased the human mind with their money, are busy playing a game of chess with the other members of society. Bereft of everything, people toil round the clock to earn a mere pittance. Today the motto of people is, “I have to send some food particles into the apathetic stomach after somehow taking a dip in the muddy water amidst hyacinths.”
Those who are at the helm of society, constantly suspicious of others, forever count their losses and profits. They have no desire to think about the plight of humanity. Rather, to gratify themselves they are ready to chew the human bone, and suck human blood. For the self-centred there is no place for feelings of mercy, sympathy or camaraderie. The railway stations and market places are full of half-clad beggars and lepers desperately stretching out their begging bowls, earning their livelihood in the only way they know. They are fortunate if anyone contemptuously flings them a copper coin. The old blind beggars sitting all day long on the steps of a bridge automatically lift their bowls whenever anyone walks past. But their hungry pleas fall on deaf ears. On the other side of the social coin, sumptuous dishes are being prepared to entertain the rich dignitaries. These contrasts ridicule the present human society.
Today, those who occupy high posts are also respected. Dignity is attached to post or rank. A station master will take great pains to prepare the railway minister’s visit, but will never trouble himself with the inconveniences faced by the ordinary passengers. Luxurious houses are built for high-ranking officers while the poor live in shanty towns, barely protected from the elements. I don’t say that large houses should never be built, but that everyone should be provided the minimum requirements. “I admit that both rice and tasty dishes are necessary for people, but I shall not demand a sumptuous dish from the goddess of food until I see that India has been overflooded with an abundance of rice.”
These days educated people are so proud of their erudition that they detest illiterate people and avoid the company of commoners. Thus they shun village life and live in towns. When the question of returning to the village crops up, they say, “What on earth would we do in a village? There’s not a single person to talk to. Only idiots live there.” This explains why almost all attention is focused on the urban areas to the detriment of the villages. While soliciting votes, political leaders pay a short visit to the villages with a mouthful of attractive promises. They promptly inform the ignorant populace about their great achievements in constructing huge dams; though perhaps village cultivation is becoming impossible due to want of irrigation. They give detailed descriptions about their plans to build bridges and bungalows and install television sets, though perhaps in that village people die for want of medicine, or beg for food in poverty-stricken desperation. And yet the common villagers constitute the backbone of society. Even in the towns not everyone gets equal opportunities. The pavements have become the home for so many people. Rabindranath says, “ There are always a number of uncelebrated people in the human civilization. They are the majority, and they are the medium, but they have no time to become human beings. They are raised on the leftovers of the national wealth. They are poorly dressed and receive little education, yet they serve the rest of society. They give maximum labour but are rewarded with ignominy – they die of starvation or are tortured to death by those they serve. They are deprived of all life’s amenities. They are the candlestick of civilization: they stand erect with the candle resting on their head. Everyone gets light from it, while they suffer the discomfort of the wax trickling down their sides. In this way, the dishonest of humanity or the neglect of human values has become a social malady.”
Another glaring example of the neglect of human values is the present judicial system. When arrested, people have to stand in the dock for the accused and face a trial based on evidence and the lawyer’s eloquence, no matter if they are guilty or not. A criminal who can afford to hire a reputable lawyer may emerge from the legal processes unscathed, whereas an innocent person of meagre financial means who is unable to appoint a good counsel, may end up in prison. If a thief is set free it is a crime, no doubt; but if an innocent person is punished it is a severe dishonour to humanity.
One of the primary causes of crime today is the lack of virtuous people. Those who are honest try to follow moral principles in their private lives, but at times have to abandon moralism under the pressure of poverty. Eventually they may find themselves in the dock of the accused, charged with committing theft. The law is not concerned with the poverty which forced them to steal, nor, indeed, does the law make provisions for the maintenance of their families if they are given a prison sentence. As a consequence, their children will have to become pick-pockets and petty thieves and their unfortunate wives have to embrace an ignoble and sinful life in the underworld, for survive they must. On being released from jail, the men will meet social discrimination and alienation and, with little other choice, will be forced to select crime as their profession. In this way hundreds of families are being ruined each day. Nobody feels their agony or offers them sympathy; for today the common people are not anybody’s concern.
The black marketeers who escape punishment by virtue of money are now occupying the commanding positions in society – the more one is devious and hypocritical, the more powerful one becomes.
[This last section was also printed separately as “The Neohumanism of Sadvipras” in Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1. This is the Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 1, 2nd edition, version.]
To sadvipras [spiritual revolutionaries] the value of human life surpasses all other values. So states and scriptures, societies and religions, acquire significance only insofar as they develop humanity to the maximum through learning, culture, physical health and economic plenty. It is for the sake of developing humanity that civilization has so many institutions of different kinds, that states take their various forms, that theories proliferate, and that the scriptures abound in ordinances and regulations. What in the world does the state stand for, what is the use of all these regulations, and what are the marvels of civilization for, if people are prevented from manifesting themselves, if they do not get the opportunity to build good physiques, to invigorate their intelligence with knowledge, or to broaden their hearts with love and compassion? If, instead of tending to lead human beings to the goal of life, the state stands in the way, it cannot command loyalty, because humanity is superior to the state. According to Rabindranath Tagore, “Justice and law at the cost of humanity is like a stone instead of bread. Maybe that stone is rare and valuable, but it cannot remove hunger.”
It is customary to give preference to social value over human value. Sadvipras want to strike at the root of this custom. For them, human value takes precedence over social value. Human beings form the society, and hence human value must lay the foundation for the social value. In other words, those who show respect to human value will be entitled to social value. It was mentioned earlier that human value means nothing but to treat the joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations of human beings sympathetically, and see them merged in Cosmic Consciousness and established in divine majesty. And if one is to elevate oneself to that sublime height, he or she will have to be supplied with an environment suitable to his or her physical, mental and spiritual existence. It is the birthright of everyone to make headway in their trifarious existence. It is the duty of society to accord recognition to this human right. Society has failed to do its duty, and that is why life is full of sorrow and suffering.
No one can say for certain that no great person might have emerged from among those wayward urchins whom we are wont to slight and hate. Women who have turned to prostitution for the sake of their physical existence might have grown into noble personalities if their agony had been appreciated sympathetically, and if they had been rehabilitated by society. But since society has nothing to do with human value, a good number of great personalities are withering away in their embryonic stage. The sadvipras will undertake to revive this neglected section of humanity. To them no sinner is contemptible, no one is a rogue. People turn into satans or sinners when, for want of proper guidance, they are goaded by depraving propensities. The human mind goaded by depraving propensities is satan. If their propensities are sublimated, they will no longer be satans; they will be transformed into gods. Every course of action of society ought to be judged with an eye to the dictum “Human beings are divine children.”
Thus the purpose of the penal code which will be framed by the sadvipras will be to rectify, and not to punish, a person. They will knock down the prisons and build reform schools, rectification camps. Those who [are] inborn criminals, in other words, those who perpetrate crimes because of some organic defects, ought to be offered treatment so that they may humanize themselves. And regarding those who commit crimes out of poverty, their poverty must be removed.
The significance of society lies in moving together. If in the course of the journey anybody lags behind, if in the darkness of night a gust of wind blows out anyone’s lamp, we should not just go ahead and leave them in the lurch. We should extend a hand to help them up, and rekindle their lamps with the flames of our lamps.
Vartiká laiyá háte calechila ek sáthe
Pathe nibe geche álo pare áche tái
Tomrá ki dayá kare tulibená háth dhare
Ardhadańd́a tár tare thámibená bhái.
[While marching together with lamps in our hands, someone’s lamp has gone out, and he is lying beside the road. Brothers and sisters, will you not stop for a moment to lift him up?]
Stop we must, otherwise the spirit of society is in jeopardy.
A rśi [sage] has said: Samamantreńa jáyate iti samájah [“Society is the collective movement of a group of individuals who have decided to move together towards a common goal”]. That is, whether people are pápii or tápii [sinners or victims], thieves, criminals, or characterless individuals, they are so only superficially; internally they are filled with the potential for purity. The principal object of the sadvipras is to explore and bring this potentiality into play. They will accord human value to everyone without exception. Those who have done hateful crimes must be punished, but sadvipras will never hate them, or put an end to them by depriving them of food, because sadvipras are humanists. The pandits puffed up with vainglory could turn their attention to their books instead of attending on the ailing non-Hindu Haridas, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu found it impossible to remain indifferent to him. He took Haridas in his arms and nursed him carefully, and thus showed respect to human value.
However, when the question of social responsibility arises, it must be considered with great care. Irresponsible people cannot be entrusted with social responsibility, because those who shoulder social responsibility will have to lead humanity on the path of development, and correct the ways of sinners. If they themselves are of evil mentality, it will not be possible for them to discharge their social responsibility. It has been said: “The collective body of those who are engaged in the concerted effort to bridge the gap between the first expression of morality and establishment in universal humanism is called society.”(1) So social responsibility should be entrusted to those who are capable of discharging it creditably. If moralism is the starting-point of the journey of society, then those who are at its helm must be moralists. And since society aims to establish universalism, those people must be universalists. And if the gap between moralism and universal humanism is to be bridged, spiritual sádhaná is a must, so those people must practise rigorous sádhaná. Their philosophy of life must be, “Morality is the base, sádhaná is the means, and life divine is the goal.”
This great responsibility must never be entrusted to those who are themselves criminals. Unless and until such people correct themselves, they will not be given any social value, though in no way will they be denied human value. At present social value is given importance, but those who are selected to discharge social responsibility do not possess the aforesaid qualities. They have occupied their posts on the strength of their money or on the basis of patronage, but this has not resulted in any collective welfare. That is why there is an instruction in our social scripture:
Do not be misled by anyone’s tall talk. Judge merit by seeing the performance. Remember, whatever position one is in offers sufficient opportunity to work. One whose character is not in accordance with Yama-Niyama should not get opportunity [[to become]] a representative.… to [[vest]] an incompetent person with power means to push society towards destruction knowingly and deliberately. (“Society” in Caryacarya Part 2, 1999)
The sadvipras will install qualified persons in power, and the social order which will be evolved by virtue of their leadership will give due importance to one and all. In this new society based on Neohumanism, everyone will find their life worth living. All will regain their lost positions of honour.
Footnotes
(1) Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, “Moralism” in Human Society Part 1 (slightly rephrased here by the author). –Eds.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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A few days ago a journalist asked me my views about the destructive effectiveness of atom bombs and their future reaction on the human race. Ordinarily, I do not have any contact with journalists. But I did give a reply to this question. I said, “Human strength is much more powerful than the strength of atom bombs.” Therefore, to think that atom bombs will annihilate the human race is nothing but to defame human intellect and psychic power because atom bombs are the creation of human beings. Human beings are the creators of atom bombs, so how can atom bombs destroy human beings? It is a fact that in the past human beings discovered many destructive weapons and those weapons have killed human beings. In that sense atom bombs can also kill human beings – hundreds of thousands of people may be killed at a time. The operation of many gigantic machines by human beings can kill many lives. This fear of atom bombs is of course there, but that is not the appropriate reply to the question. The reply is that human beings are the creators of atom bombs – the physical strength that a person has is definitely much less than the physical strength or the crude strength that atom bombs have. The physical strength of human beings is much less than that of an elephant, but when a small mahout sits on the elephant, the strength of the elephant is fifty times more than that of the mahout who drives the elephant. No matter how great the strength of an elephant and how little the physical strength of a person, in psychic strength human beings far exceed the elephant. Similarly, if an atom bomb is taken to be a gigantic Rakśasa or ferocious demon which has physical strength but no psychic strength, human beings can keep it under control. Not only that, human beings can easily discover a weapon to counter act the strength of atom bombs, and the function of that weapon will be to obstruct and to hinder the destructive reaction of atom bombs. Now the point is that where the creator is a unit mind, its physical strength will always be less powerful than its psychic strength.
Whatever a person manufactures contains only physical strength; it does not possess any psychic strength. Atom bombs have nothing which can be called a mind. But in the future, human beings may manufacture something about which I have already hinted which may possess a mind also, but in that case the mind of that object will be weaker than the mind of its creator, the human being. Its physical strength may be more – definitely it may be more. So there is no reason to be restless and to cry about the impending dangers from atom bombs. There is only one thing for human beings to be afraid of. What is that? Human beings have to be alert against those who are demons in human form, those who posses immense psychic power and yet behave like demons, causing harm to humanity. Collective efforts have to be made to protect humanity from these demons. That is the only fear. What is the way out?
Yato váco nivartante aprápya manasá saha;
Ánandaḿ bráhmańo vidván na vibheti kutashcana.
[Parama Puruśa cannot be reached by words only but by mind. Words return without attaining Him. One who knows the Supreme Blissful Stance attains Him. One who attains Brahma is not afraid of anything.]
Where did these immoral persons get their psychic strength? They got it from Parama Puruśa. And the moralists who are afraid of the immoralists also got their strength from Parama Puruśa. So instead of thinking that you are fighting the battle alone, if you think that you are the children of Parama Puruśa and have come to this world to accomplish the job assigned by Parama Puruśa, that you are never alone and that you are a small baby always sitting on the lap of Parama Puruśa, why should you be afraid of anything? There is no reason to be afraid of any thing.
Na vibheti kutashcana.
[One who attains Brahma is not afraid of anything.]
You should not be afraid of any power in the universe. Atom bombs are so insignificant. Human beings will discover much more powerful weapons in future, so there is no reason at all why moralists should be afraid of them.
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Prout in a Nutshell Volume 2 Part 7 [a compilation] | |
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During my talks at the Renaissance Universal Club in Siliguri I said that civilization has been advancing. Whether people want it or not they will have to move ahead, they will have to advance. They should not remain static, either in body or mind but should move ceaselessly, because this very movement is not only the sign of life in a body, but also a sign of life in the mind, a symptom of advancement. While moving humans will have to pass through different stages. Human beings are born, and then die to be born again and to die again. In this process what does death mean? Life and death can be compared to taking a step. Lifting up the foot is life and placing it on the ground is death. In individual life, in individual movement, one is obliged to place the foot on the ground – this is the state of pause.
Many people may think, “Is it not possible to move avoiding the state of inertness? Could movement be unbroken?” Neither absolute speed or absolute pause are possible: speed and pause are always relative – the very existence of anything is relative. This universe is thronged with numerous relative factors – nothing is absolute. In our philosophy I have said somewhere that the stage when the foot is placed on the ground may be called “death” in common parlance, but it is not actual death. Actual physical death of human beings – when the dead body is buried or cremated – is not death in the real sense, but a state of pause in preparation for movement into the next step. While moving, if we do not place one foot on the ground, we cannot take the next step forward. So the left foot can only make the next step forward if the right foot makes the preparation by being placed on the ground. This is crucial for successful movement. Thus if we wish to say something about speed, or the characteristics of movement, we will have to acknowledge the necessity of the state of death, otherwise it will not be possible to move into the next stage. Moreover, the systaltic movement must be pulsative. One places the right foot on the ground and makes preparations for the movement of the left foot, which then is picked up and placed on the ground. The right foot then gathers momentum and takes its next step forward. Similarly, there is speed and pause in the psychic sphere too. In the state of pause people gather momentum for the next stage.
When people listen to something, that idea is not assimilated immediately. It only gets assimilated when the mind is in a state of pause. The subsequent expression takes place in the state of speed. When you reply to someone’s words, the matter heard by you enters through the ears, but is only assimilated when the mind is in a state of pause. Thereafter, when the mind is again in a state of speed, you give your reply by utilizing your vocal cords and mouth to produce sounds. Suppose someone said loudly, “Why did you do such a thing?” You heard this through the ears. After hearing this your mind reverted to a state of pause and then you assimilated the idea that someone was saying, “Why did you do such a thing?” Suppose someone says, “Coward, why are you running away?” The message is assimilated by you that someone is calling you a coward. Maybe you are actually a coward, but whether you will admit it or not will depend on the state of pause of your mind. Then in the subsequent stage of speed, you will say, “I won’t run away – never,” or you will say. “Do you think I’m going to stay here? Running away is the best thing to do.” Such things take place in the state of pause. This is how human beings will have to move through speed and pause.
Similarly, while doing Sádhaná in the spiritual sphere, the state of pause may come. Sometimes people say, “How strange! A few days ago I was having excellent meditation, but these days I can’t seem to concentrate at all. That’s very sad.” Or at times one may say, “The other day while meditating my body began to quiver. It was quite a pleasant experience. Why don’t I get the same experience today?” This sort of blissful experience during meditation or in concentration comes within the scope of assimilation. It becomes internalized. But if it does not find any expression within the mind, you can never experience it. Maybe after a few days you may experience an even greater bliss during incantation or meditation. All this means that even in the spiritual sphere also there is pause and speed.
In every sphere of life the same thing happens. This sort of experience is applicable to the individual body, mind and soul as much as it is to the collective mind, body and soul. In collective life the collective body, collective mind and collective soul follow the same pause and speed. During this period of systalsis, what is assimilated in a state of pause is expressed in the state of speed. Sometimes, in certain places, students read something out loud or a listener listens to something through the medium of the auditory sense organ - through the ear – but that listening or hearing alone is not enough. It has to be assimilated. Some people say, “Sh, sh,” or “Keep quiet. Let me listen!” This act of listening is not necessarily listening through the ears only; it is also an act of assimilation. No doubt the listeners listen through their ears, but in subsequent stages when they say, “Sh sh, let me listen please,” this listening is not enough. Here listening is also accompanied by assimilating.
Suppose there is some nice food item – say some Rasamalai or other delicious sweets. (Can you say who first invented these sorts of sweets? Sandesh was first invented by the confectioners of Sarai village in Hoogly District. Another sweet, Nimki, or triangular Nimki, is often found in sweet shops these days. In North India it is called Bangala Nimki and was also first invented by the famous Punt́úm Mayra of Sarai village.) Suppose you are offered a sweet and told to run as fast as you can. If you want to relish the full taste of the sweet you should not run. If you want to run fast you will not be able to taste the sweet properly. After running you would probably say, “Wait a moment, please. Let me take a rest for a while before I taste the sweet bit by bit”. While in a state of motion, the state of pause cannot occur; while running the speed of pulsation is so great that there is no chance of pause. That is why you would not be able to enjoy the complete taste of the sweet. Once you have finished running you will be able to relish the taste of the sweet.
In collective life human beings come to a stage where they prepare themselves for the next stage of speed. In India’s social life there have been long periods of pause. Sometimes during these pauses it appeared as though society would die forever, that it would never be able to raise its head again. During the last part of the British period of India it appeared as if the country had no future. The people wondered if the British would ever quit the country. Some thought that perhaps they would not, so what was the necessity of continuing the struggle for freedom? This thought frequented people’s minds. Behind all these thoughts was the state of pause, the stage of gathering momentum for the next phase.
In the social life of Bengal also there were long periods of pause followed by long periods of speed. During the Buddhist period there was a long period of speed. Then in the early part of the Hindu era the speed slackened. Later the speed picked up during the early part of the Pathan age. During the last part of the Moghul era there was no speed at all. Again, during the early part of the British rule there was tremendous speed, and again, during the last part of the British era, the speed lessened. Now there is no speed at all. But at sometime the speed will again pick up.
This speed and pause will continue. Pause means the gathering of momentum for speed in the subsequent phase. If one closely watches the effect of speed on a particular community or the entire humanity, one sees that generally people eulogize the period of speed. However, we cannot afford to ignore the state of pause, because by judging what the previous state of pause was like, we can discern the speed of the next phase.
There are some people who are pessimistic. They say that the society around us is very bleak, that it has no expression of vitality and that it seems that everyone is in a deep slumber. Pessimists say this because they have never made any detailed study of human history, nor do they care to. Had they done so, they would certainly be optimistic, because if they had looked carefully at the symptoms of pause, they would have realized that significant preparations were being made for the subsequent phase of speed. So under no circumstances should human beings be pessimistic. That is why I am always an incorrigible optimist, because I know that optimism is life.