Politics: India, China, America

1. AMERICA [Scene: A school inspection]

Teacher: Good morning, sir.
Inspector: Good morning.
Teacher: Welcome to our school.
Inspector: Thank you.
Teacher: Our school is the best school in the city. Our boys are the best boys in the city.
Inspector: Really?
Teacher: Yes, sir.
Inspector: Can you show me some of your boys?
Teacher (points to 1st boy in 1st bench): This is John. He is our 1st rank student. He will study law, enter politics and become President of the country.
Inspector: Excellent!!!
Teacher (points to 2nd boy in 1st bench): This is James. He is our 2nd rank student. He will study law, enter politics and become Governor of the state.
Inspector: Excellent!!
Teacher (points to 3rd boy in 1st bench): This is Joseph. He is our 3rd rank student. He will study law, enter politics and become Mayor of the city.
Inspector: Excellent!
Inspector (points to the boy in last bench): What about him?
Teacher (embarrassed): He is Alex. He has flunked 3 years in a row.
Inspector: Don't worry. He will drop out and become a drug addict. Then he'll become a rock star.

2. CHINA [Scene: A school inspection]

Teacher: Good morning, sir.
Inspector: Good morning.
Teacher: Welcome to our school.
Inspector: Thank you.
Teacher: Our school is the best school in the city. Our boys are the best boys in the city.
Inspector: Really?
Teacher: Yes, sir.
Inspector: Can you show me some of your boys?
Teacher (points to 1st boy in 1st bench): This is Chang. He is our 1st rank student. He will study engineering, join the government and become President of the country.
Inspector: Excellent!!!
Teacher (points to 2nd boy in 1st bench): This is Ching. He is our 2nd rank student. He will study engineering, join the government and become Governor of the province.
Inspector: Excellent!!
Teacher (points to 3rd boy in 1st bench): This is Chung. He is our 3rd rank student. He will study engineering, join the government and become Mayor of the city.
Inspector: Excellent!
Inspector (points to the boy in last bench): What about him?
Teacher (embarrassed): He is Cho. He has flunked 3 years in a row.
Inspector: Don't worry. He will drop out and learn kung fu. Then he'll become a movie star.

3. INDIA [Scene: A school inspection]

Teacher: Good morning, sir.
Inspector: Good morning.
Teacher: Welcome to our school.
Inspector: Thank you.
Teacher: Our school is the best school in the city. Our boys are the best boys in the city.
Inspector: Really?
Teacher: Yes, sir.
Inspector: Can you show me some of your boys?
Teacher (points to 1st boy in 1st bench): This is Rama. He is our 1st rank student. He will study medicine and become a doctor.
Inspector: Excellent!!!
Teacher (points to 2nd boy in 1st bench): This is Shyama. He is our 2nd rank student. He will study engineering and become an engineer.
Inspector: Excellent!!
Teacher (points to 3rd boy in 1st bench): This is Bhima. He is our 3rd rank student. He will study management and become a manager.
Inspector: Excellent!
Inspector (points to the boy in last bench): What about him?
Teacher (embarrassed): He is Timma. He has flunked 3 years in a row.
Inspector: Don't worry. He will drop out and become a politician. He will become a corporator, MLA and MP. He may become Chief Minister or even Prime Minister.

India's Middle Class and Politics

Q: Why does India's middle class not participate in politics?

Middle class is a modern/industrial class. But Indian society is not yet an industrial society. It is still an agricultural society. Worse, it is a feudal society. So India's middle class is an industrial island in an agricultural/feudal ocean. An industrial society runs on merit, knowledge and education. A feudal society runs on money, muscle and caste.

A country's politics is a function of its society. That is, a country's politics is decided by what kind of society it has. An industrial society has industrial politics – ie, professional knowledge-based politics. A feudal society has feudal politics – ie, the politics of money, muscle and caste. Since India is a feudal society, it has money-muscle-caste politics.

Since the middle class is an industrial class, it has only merit, knowledge and education – but not money, muscle and caste. So it is unable to operate in India's money-muscle-caste politics.

Therefore the Indian middle class does not participate in politics.

Middle Class Indians' Marriage Obsession

Middle class Indians are obsessed with marriage. But there is a small exception to this rule:

Group	% obsessed with marriage
Brahmins	99%
Non-Brahmins	100%

Why is it so?

In ancient/traditional India, there were two types of people:
1. Grihasthas (householders)
2. Sanyasis (ascetics)

The vast majority of the people were Grihasthas. They married, had children and took care of their families. That is, they pursued Kama and Artha. Then there were a few Sanyasis. These stayed single and devoted themselves completely to working for society or to spirituality. That is, they pursued either Dharma or Moksha.

Both these options were open to all the Varnas. But since only Brahmanas had knowledge, only they (ie, a few of them) became Sanyasis. Since non-Brahmanas did not have knowledge, none of them became Sanyasis; they were all Grihasthas only. Thus society became like this:

Group	Grihasthas	Sanyasis
Brahmanas	99%	1%
Non-Brahmanas	100%	0%

This system has existed for 3000 years. So today's society is a result of 3000 years of social programming – which is very powerful. Therefore we have the situation described by the first table. Non-Brahmins (most of them) know only one thing: make money, marry and have children. But Brahmins (a few at least) are aware of an alternate path: devote oneself completely to society or to spirituality.

Thus the middle class Indian marriage obsession has a small Brahmin exception. But among non-Brahmins, it is total.

The Sanyasi system is and should be an exception. If everybody becomes a Sanyasi, then society will cease to exist.

Life, Love, Duty, Society, Country

COUNTRY

# There is Absolute Truth and there are relative truths. And the greatest relative truth is India.

# Love is the greatest force in the world. And love of one's country is the greatest love in the world.

# What can be more natural than the love of one's land, its people and their culture?

# If there is any cause in this world worth living for, fighting for and dying for – it is India.

# The 3 greatest blessings in the world:
1. To be born in India
2. To live in India
3. To work for India

LIFE

# Life is war. The world is a battlefield. And we are all soldiers.

# Life is a war. Every day is a battle. Give every day/battle your 100%.

# Life|War = 1/3 Preparing + 1/3 Fighting + 1/3 Waiting. The last is the toughest.

# A man's life must be judged by how much it increases the order of the System (ie, society).

DUTY

# Dharma is the highest Purushartha. And Rashtra Dharma is the highest Dharma.

# Great nations are not built by people who seek their own happiness. They are built by sacrifice.

# A patriot's life is dedicated 100% to his country. There is no 'balance' in his life. 'Balance' is for vegetable sellers, not patriots.

# The lofty ideals of country/nation/Motherland and duty/service/sacrifice can only be achieved through the mundane thing called SYSTEM – ie, getting into the right system and working in it.

LOVE

# What is love? It is surrender. It is submission. It is sacrifice. To an ideal greater than our petty individual selves.

# Romantic love, or male-female attraction, is a chemical reaction inside the brain. It is a program written by evolution to ensure the survival of the species.

# Most people don't know the meaning of love. They equate love with sexual attraction. True love is dedication to a great ideal.

# The concept of love has been hijacked by the entertainment industry, which has reduced it to sexual attraction. Patriots must take it back and make it their own.

# All love is good. But all love is not the same. There is the lower/ordinary love (family/friends) and the higher/great love (country/society).

SOCIETY

# Society/civilisation is the constant struggle of Order against Chaos.

# First law of thermodynamics says that energy cannot be created – it can only be converted from one form to another. Brahmacharya transforms sexual energy into social energy.

# Second law of thermodynamics says that a system's order can be increased only by supplying energy. For the system called society, where must this extra energy come from? It comes from Brahmacharya.

Nietzsche: A Brief Life Story/Biography

Today is the 170th birth anniversary of the great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). A brief life story/biography:

Nietzsche (pronounced 'neecha') was born on 15 October 1844 in a village called Roecken in the kingdom of Prussia (today's east Germany). His father, a priest, passed away when he was 5 years old. The family then moved to a nearby town called Naumburg. There he studied at Prussia's most prestigious school - Schulpforta - and excelled as a student. He then went to Bonn University to study philology – the study of the ancient Western languages: Greek and Latin. After one year, he moved to the University of Leipzig.

At age 23, Nietzsche joined the Prussian army and excelled as a cavalry officer. But a horse-riding accident injured his chest severely and forced him to quit the army. The injury would stay with him all his life. 2 years later, he volunteered as a paramedic in the Franco-Prussian war and contracted dysentery and diphtheria. These diseases too stayed with him till the end.

[That year (1870), Otto von Bismarck (Prime Minister of Prussia) completed unifying the 40 different kingdoms of Germany into a single kingdom – for the first time in history. Germany was now Europe's largest – and most powerful – country]

Nietzsche finished his PhD at age 25. He became a professor of philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. He was the youngest philology professor in Europe. But he suffered a lot from his injury and diseases. 10 years later, at age 35, he retired and got a small pension. He spent the next 10 years (age 35 to 45) living in different places in Italy, France and Switzerland. This was the period when he wrote his greatest books: Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1885), Beyond Good And Evil (1886) and others.

At age 45, when he was in Turin (Italy), Nietzsche had a mental breakdown and became insane. His mother took him to Naumburg and looked after him. 10 years later, he passed away at age 55 in Weimar, on 25 August 1900. His body was buried in the Roecken churchyard. His notes were published as Will To Power the next year.

Nietzsche is the greatest thinker produced by Western civilisation. He went far ahead of Western philosophy. He had the honesty, the courage and the intelligence to ask the right questions. Unfortunately, 19th century Europe was unaware of Hindu/Indian philosophy – which has the answers. So he had only the pain of his questions (which finally drove him insane). He never found the peace of the answers (which he so richly deserved).

We are filled with respect and admiration for Nietzsche's genius. Equally, we are filled with sadness at his tragic fate. My pranaams to this great Rishi of the West.

See Nietzsche's Superman theory.

Education in the Agricultural Age/Society

In the Agricultural Age, there were 4 groups in society:
1. Scholars
2. Warriors
3. Merchants
4. Farmers
This was true for all civilisations (India, China, Europe, etc).

Knowledge in the Agricultural Age was low. The knowledge required in people for the effective functioning of society was also low. Whatever knowledge existed was required only for the scholars. It was not required for the other groups – ie, warriors, merchants, farmers. So in all civilisations, only the scholars got education. The others (warriors, merchants, farmers) did not get education.

In India, these social groups were nothing but the Varnas:
1. Scholars – Brahmanas
2. Warriors – Kshatriyas
3. Merchants – Vaishyas
4. Farmers – Shudras

Thus in ancient India, only the Brahmanas had education. The others (Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras) did not have education.

India's Middle Class: Money, Marriage, Family

India's middle class is obsessed with two things: money and marriage. Why?

An industrial society (US, Europe, Japan) has welfare systems like social security, social welfare, etc. An agricultural society (like India) has no such systems. Because there is no social security, people must rely completely on their savings. Because there is no social welfare system, people must rely completely on their family (ie, wife/husband and children). Therefore people in agricultural societies are obsessed with money and marriage. Obsession with money and marriage is a feature of the agricultural mindset. People with a truly modern/industrial mindset are not obsessed with money and marriage.

As India industrialises and becomes an industrial society – and builds the systems of an industrial society, this obsession will reduce.

1944: Russia's "Year Of Ten Victories"

This year Russia celebrates the 70th anniversary of The Year Of Ten Victories. During World War 2, USSR won 10 major battles against Germany, as the Red Army pushed the Wehrmacht west:

Month	Battle
1. January	Leningrad
2. February/March	Korsun
3. April	Crimea
4. June	Finland
5. June	Belorussia
6. July/August	Ukraine
7. August	Moldavia/Romania
8. September	Estonia/Latvia
9. October	Hungary/Czechoslovakia/Yugoslavia
10. November	Norway

At least 2 crore Soviet men, women and children died in World War 2.

Chanakya/Kautilya's Arthashastra

From Chanakya/Kautilya's Arthashastra*:

By following this book one can create and preserve Dharma (good), Artha (wealth) and Kama (happiness) – and also destroy their opposites: evil, poverty and sorrow. [15.1.72]

The four branches of knowledge are philosophy, the Vedas, economics and politics. Philosophy is the lamp that illuminates all sciences; it provides the techniques for all actions; it is the pillar that supports Dharma. We must study philosophy because it helps us to distinguish between Dharma and Adharma in the study of the Vedas, between profit and loss in the study of economics, and between good and bad policies in the study of politics. Studying the other three sciences by the light of philosophy keeps our minds steady in adversity and prosperity, and makes us proficient in thought, speech and action. [1.2.10]

May the wisdom of Chanakya and the strength of Chandragupta be with us always.

*The Arthashastra – L N Rangarajan (1987, Penguin)

India, My India

India, my India
You are my passion, you are my obsession
You are my dream, you are my nightmare
You are my hope, you are my fear
You are my blessing, you are my curse
You are my mission, you are my destiny
You are my mother, you are my goddess
You are the best thing to happen to me
You are the worst thing to happen to me.

I live for you
I work for you
I die for you.

Every breath of my body belongs to you
Every ounce of my strength belongs to you
Every moment of my life belongs to you
My body, my mind, my soul
Everything I have belongs to you.

24 hours are not enough
365 days are not enough
One life is not enough
To serve you.

Two arms are not enough
Two legs are not enough
One head is not enough
One body is not enough
To fight for you.

If I can bring but one smile on your face
I will consider my life fulfilled.
To see you sitting on your throne
Wearing your crown, ruling the world
Would be the greatest joy of my life.
I would give everything, I would do anything.

No cost is too much to bear
No price is too high to pay
No burden is too heavy to carry
No sacrifice is too big to make.

I will walk on thorns for you
I will stand in fire for you
I will burn in hell for you.

Hunger, thirst, heat, cold
Fear, pain, suffering
I will bear anything for you.

What care do I for wealth?
What care do I for luxury?
What care do I for comforts?
What care do I for happiness?

All I care about is you
All I think about is you
All I want is you.

To be born in your womb
To live in your lap
Is the greatest gift of all.
To pour my life at your feet
Is the greatest privilege of all.

My intelligence, my knowledge
My ability, my energy
And my insanity
Are given to me
So I can serve you.

Darkness, loneliness
Fear, frustration
Doubt, depression
And meaninglessness;
One glimpse of your beautiful face
Is enough to drive all demons away
And bring back the shining light.

You are the sun in the day
You are the moon in the night
You are the stars in the sky
You are the lighthouse in the stormy sea
You are my guide
As long as I have you
I cannot stray.

You are my aim, you are my way
You are my ends, you are my means
You are my goal, you are my path
You are my purpose, you are my meaning.

You are the air I breathe
You are the water I drink
You are the earth I stand on.

Every pore of my skin is filled with you
Every cell of my body is filled with you
Every thought of my mind is filled with you
My whole being is filled with you.

You are my father, you are my mother
You are my brother, you are my sister
You are my friend, you are my lover.

What deeds did I do to deserve this boon?
What good did I do to deserve this grace?
What merit did I earn? In which life?
To bathe in the sweet waters of your love
Sinner that I am.

God, give me strength
Turn my body into iron
Turn my mind into metal
Turn my nerves into steel
Turn my heart into stone.

Let me not flinch
Let me not hesitate
Let me not look back.
There is only way to go
That way is forward.

I love you, I hate you
I laugh for you, I cry for you
I wake for you, I sleep for you
I sing for you, I dance for you
I sweat for you, I bleed for you
Everything I do, I do for you.

If I have you I have everything
Without you life is not worth living
India, my India.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Purusharthas

Correspondence between Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Purusharthas:

Maslow's Need	Purushartha
1. Basic/Physical	Kama
2. Security	Kama
3. Emotional	Kama
4. Success	Artha
5. Self-actualisation	Dharma/Moksha