1. Question: What are the psychological defects of materialism?

Answer: The dharma of the mind is to seek the infinite. The mind attains this goal by concentrating on a particular idea. As material objects are finite, those who seek to attain the infinite through material objects will eventually feel frustrated. They fail to attain bliss because no one can obtain or enjoy any wealth or material objects or objects of enjoyment in a way that will infinitely quench his or her thirst. Moreover, if those who try to satisfy their infinite hunger with material objects take this too far, their personal interests will come in conflict with those of other people, because in such a situation they try to accumulate excess wealth or material objects or objects of enjoyment by depriving others of the same objects, which are extremely necessary for the preservation of their existence.

Where there is nothing for people to think about except matter, continuous pressure will have to be applied to those people’s minds to keep their thoughts away from this all-devouring hunger. People cannot bear pressure on their minds, so they refuse to accept it. If they see those who are applying the pressure relax their guard, these disgruntled people take to the path of viplava [revolution] or prativiplava [counter-revolution].

But by creating pressure materialism makes it appear as though the path of suppression of material enjoyment is the only path. So in materialistic societies or states people become ever-fearful and consequently one [i.e., people and/or the state] always becomes suspicious of others or depends upon armies of spies.⁽¹⁾ In the absence of spiritual ideas it is impossible to create a strong moral base. What appears to be morality in a materialistic society is merely an immoral alliance to protect individual interests.

In the absence of spiritual ideals true morality based on universal love cannot be established in society. Where the existence of Iishvara, the Creator of all, is not recognized, then, since no Universal Father⁽²⁾ is accepted, a sense of the fellowship of universal humanity also remains unattainable. Only spiritual ideals and spiritual desires can lead humanity along the path of welfare. Universalism, Cosmic ideation and Cosmic bliss, unlike the material objects composed of the five fundamental factors, are not limited. Therefore humanity should be inspired to move along the path of spirituality; if they do not, they will achieve nothing worthwhile.

Social or external pressure will have to be exerted on those who do not accept spiritual ideology to keep in check their greed to appropriate the property of others. They will also have to receive proper education. However, it should be borne in mind that this pressure is not everything and that once people accept spiritual ideology this pressure will no longer be necessary.

People who believe in spiritual ideals but do not support the policy of exerting external pressure, or in other words, the application of physical force, will find it impossible to achieve their goals, because in this world there are many people who are not prepared to listen to good words. Social or other types of pressure will have to be brought to bear on such people. Problems will never be solved by sitting around in the hope that one day their sense of righteousness will be awakened. Like materialism, spirituality based on this kind of non-violence will be of no benefit to humanity. The principles of non-violence may sound noble and quite appealing, but on the solid ground of reality they have no value whatsoever.

2. Question: Are caste distinctions absolutely valueless?

Answer: Nothing in this universe is valueless. In the age when science was undeveloped, when industries were essentially cottage industries, families used to work at the same profession for generations. Children and grandchildren used to follow the same profession for many years, and as a result of their endeavours, made good progress. Therefore, in those days, it was not a bad thing to classify families on the basis of their profession.

However, today we live in a different age and professions are not the preserve of particular families. Due to the rapid expansion of technology, it is not easy to maintain the system of hereditary professions. As a result, social classification on the basis of profession is meaningless today.

Apart from this, even in the age when social classification by trade was justifiable, there was no necessity for distinguishing between different castes in terms of high and low.

3. Question: Can a single economic theory be adopted by all countries, at all times and for all strata of society?

Answer: No. Social ideals and systems should take into consideration temporal, spatial and personal factors as well as the all-round progress of the society. It may be that something which is quite useful for a particular time, place and person is totally worthless for a different time, place or person.

Society is not a static entity, but a dynamic one. The ideology which was formulated to meet the needs of a particular time, place and person and which was once considered beneficial, becomes backward and outdated when these factors change. Due to the progress of society, it is considered to be an anachronism in a later period. One cannot blindly cling to Marxism or any other socio-economic theory, because any theory has value only for a particular time, place and person. After observing the effectiveness of a theory in a particular context, short-sighted people begin to believe in its eternal effectiveness. This is a total illusion.

4. Question: There is no alternative to Ananda Marga to sustain human beings in their joint endeavours. Why?

Answer: Civilization will develop when there is a united human society. The collective effort for survival is what keeps civilization alive. Society is a dynamic entity, and its survival is an indication of its inherent dynamism. When a group of people bound by the ties of a common ideology move together along a particular path, inviting others to join them and share their common joys and sorrows, theirs is a real movement; they are destined to be successful.

In this universe of rapid temporal, spatial and personal change, no single economic, political or religious structure can be the permanent answer to humanity’s needs. This is because theories are born in a particular temporal, spatial and economic environment. People can move along the path of all-round welfare only, first, by accepting Brahma [the Supreme Entity], who is beyond time, place and person, as the goal of life; and, secondly, by continuing to perform all their worldly actions while moving along that path towards the Supreme.

Ananda Marga is that path of progress, and that is why Ananda Marga is the only alternative for the preservation of human existence and civilization. External, ritualistic so-called dharmas should not be called dharma but rather religion. They are subject to change and depend on time, place and person. By manifesting distinctions within themselves and outside themselves (such as the differences among vijátiiya bheda [various species], svajátiiya bheda [the same species] and svagata bheda [different parts of one body]), religions, like other relative factors, have been the cause of the repression of humanity by creating dogmas, bloodshed and other such evils. Thus religion cannot bring peace to humanity.

Footnotes

(1) Here the author is referring to communist countries. –Eds.

(2) Elsewhere the author has said: “Parama Puruśa [Supreme Consciousness] is my Father, Paramá Prakrti [Supreme Operative Principle] is my Mother, and the universe is my homeland. We are all citizens of this universe.” (“Problems of the Day”, section 1.) –Eds.