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Book: Hindu Dharma, Written by Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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The question arises: "What about countries other than India? And what
about the religions practised there? They do not have a system of jatis
nor do they have in force any division of labour based on heredity. Why
should we alone have such an arrangement? . "
It will be conceded that even such countries as do not have any social
division based on vocations have produced wise men who have
contributed to the growth of knowledge and statesmen, administrators,
agriculturists, traders and labourers. But if you look at the matter
impartially- and not necessarily as a proud patriot-you will realise
that no
other country has had such a great civilization as we have had. It is
true
that great civilizations flourished in other lands too, but they did not
last
thousands of years like ours. To say this is not to blow our own
trumpet.
From the time of Alexander until today-when we seem to have fallen into
an abyss from the heights of glory-foreigners have been filled with
wonder for the Hindu civilization.
Other countries, it is true, have given birth to great men, to men of
God,
to philanthropists, to men of sacrifice. But if you take a census of all
nations, you will see that no other nation would have given birth,
generations after generation for thousands of years in an uninterrupted
manner, to such a large number of great men, saintly men, wise men,
philosophers, devotees and philanthropists. They will outnumber all such
men produced in other countries put together. Foreigners refer to India
as the "land of saints", as the "land of sages". They express their
profound
admiration for our Vedanta, for our metaphysics, and all our ancient
works.
The whole world acknowledges our unparalleled contributions to art,
sculpture, music, poetry, astronomy, medicine. It never ceases to wonder
at our great works of philosophy and literature like the Upanishads, the
Bhagavad-Gita, the Ramayana, the Sakuntalam, etc. Scholars abroad are
of the opinion that there are hardly any devotional works outside India
like the Tamil Tevaram and Divyaprabandham. They note the Kural, in the
same language, to be an astonishingly profound and lucid ethical work
that is yet so brief. Foreigners come to our land, leaving their home
and
hearth, to find out all about our gopurams, our sculptures, our dances
like
Bharatanatyam all of which have cast a spell over them. Europeans
enslaves us, ascribed all kinds of faults to us and held us in bondage
with
their policy of divide and rule. But, all the same, out of admiration
for our
culture they have sought out our sastras, our ancient texts, conducted
research into them and translated them into their own languages.
To what special factors are we to attribute the existence of such a
great
and unique civilization? In looking for an answer you will discover that
there was something in our social structure that was not shared by other
countries, that is varna dharma. According to our reformers all our ills
are
due to the caste system. But it is this land with this unique system -
varnasrama - that has excelled all other nations in metaphysics, in the
arts, in social values and in wisdom. Stability in society and peace go
hand
in hand. Without them, without an atmosphere conducive to creative
work, no arts, no philosophy, no culture could have flourished
generation
after generation. Philosophers and sages and geniuses in the field of
arts
would not have otherwise been thrown up in such amazingly large
numbers.
The religions that governed life in other countries did not evolve a
social
structure capable of creating this kind of stability. One might say that
the
question of creating a sociological foundation was overlooked in them.
They did not lay down rules for orderly social life and had but general
interdictions and injunctions like "Do not steal"; "Do not tell lies";
"Do not
commit adultery"; "Live a life of sacrifice". In Buddhism and
Christianity
the institutionalized system is meant only for the monks. Unlike in
Hinduism in none of these religions was attention directed towards
weaving together the entire society into a fabric in which one member
formed a support to another.
One does nod deny that there was scientific advancement in other
nations. they had a system of defence and they carried on trade and
commerce. But the spirit of rivalry vitiated all walks of life in these
lands.
No community had an occupation entirely to itself. Everyone could
compete with everyone else for every kind of job. In our country people
had their own hereditary calling and they were assured of their
livelihood. This meant peace and stability in society. We must remember
that it was because our people were bound together in their unique
varna system that they excelled in culture and character, not to mention
the fact the stability afforded by the system facilitated the birth of
countless numbers of individuals who exemplified all that is noble in
mankind. In contrast, in the absence of a similar institution, jealousy
and
rivalry became disturbing factors in the life of other countries.
Our nation should have witnessed many a revolution if, as claimed by our
social reformers, the people were kept suppressed in the varna system.
However, the term "social revolution" was new to us until recently. It
is
only after reading a about the French Revolution, the American
Revolution and the Soviet Revolution that we have known that
compulsions would arise for great masses of people to be plunged in
unrest. The common people in other countries were again and again
involved thus in revolutionary movements. But we note- and this is
important - that no revolution has achieved anything of permanent value.
If there is an upsurge today there is another fifty or a hundred years
later.
we have to conclude from this that people abroad have remained
discontented most of the time.
Today's situation is all too obvious to be stated. The whole world is in
turmoil. Indiscipline, strikes, social upsets and savage orgies of
violence
have become the order of the day. It is only in a country like the
Soviet
Union where there is a dictatorship that comes down heavily on those
who voice any opposition to it that there is hardly any unrest. However,
it
is said that the volcano of unrest might erupt any time there. Now and
then an intellectual or writer escapes from that land to tell us about
the
tyranny from which people suffer there. Obviously in the Soviet Union
too people are not happy and contented.
India has seldom had an autocracy or dictatorship of this type. It would
not have taken the strides it did in the sciences and arts had it been a
slave country or a country ruled by despots. people here never lamented
before others that they were kept suppressed. All our works of
knowledge and wisdom, all our arts and all our temples would not have
been possible if the mind was not enabled to unfold itself in an
atmosphere of freedom. It would also be preposterous to suggest that a
majority of the common people were victims of superstition and delusion
and lived in fear of witchcraft. You could speak thus of the tribes
living in
the forests of Africa or South America. In these places the priest was
like
a king. He would be fearsome even to look at and he was able to impress
his tribesmen that he could do anything with his utterances(his
mantralike
formulae). He had also the power to punish people. Such was not the
case in our country. People here were fairly knowledgeable irrespective
of the jatis to which they belonged and they were devoted and advances
in matters pertaining to the Self.
If you go through the Puranas (including the Tamil Periaypuranam) You
will learn that there were great men in all jatis. Imperial rulers like
Chandragupta and ministers like Sekkizhar belonged to the fourth varna.
Our priests had no authority to punish anyone, According to the
canonical
texts the priest must be a man of spotless character and, if he commits
a
wrong, he must punish himself. If a white man happens to come into
physical contact with a black man, the latter is taken to task. But if a
priest in our country comes into similar contact with an untouchable, it
is
he (the priest) who is enjoined to have a bath. Let us leave aside for
the
moment the question of untouchability. The point to note is that it was
not by inspiring fear, by the threat of punishment or by suppression,
that
such customs were practised. A civilization like ours that is glorified
all
over the world could not have flourished if some sections of the people
were suppressed or were victims of deception. It is only when the
dharmasastras are advantageous to all that there will be no cause for
any
section of the people to revolt.
When the ancient varna system was in force, our civilization grew
steadily
without giving any cause for revolt or discontent among the people. But,
that apart, look at the state of India after it broke with the old
system of
division of labour and took to the new path adopted by other countries
on the pretext of "progress" and "equality". Everywhere you se
immorality, dishonesty, corruption and prostitution. Agitations,
strikes,
demonstrations, hartals, curfew, etc, have become the order of the day.
Is it not obvious from this that there is much discontent among the
people? In matters of trade we have come to such a pass that we are the
target of attack and ridicule of other nations for our dishonest
practices.
The time is past when everyone had nothing but praise for India. Even a
small country like Pakistan drags us into war. Does this not show that
our
spiritual strength has diminished so much?
How did we lose our inner vitality? By giving up what have we become
weak? What was it that nurtured our civilization and kept it growing for
thousands of years? By parting with what have we descended so low as
to be ashamed of calling ourselves heirs to this civilization? The fact
is
that, so long as we practised varna dharma that is unique to our
country,
our civilization stood like a rock arousing the admiration of all the
world.
But after this dharma began to decline we have been on the descent day
by day.
Why should this country alone practise varna dharma? Because this
dharma is necessary if we want to sustain a civilization that can
promote
the growth of philosophy, nourish our arts and culture, inspire us more
and more in our inward search and help us in the realization of Godhead.
If the varna system, is followed at least in this country, it will be an
example to the rest of the world.
If there is not varna dharma, it means at once the growth of social
disharmony, the rise of jealousies and discontent among the people. Men
will compete with one another for the jobs they like or are convenient
to
them. There will be competition for education on the same lines. Since
all
will not succeed in their efforts or in their desire or ambition being
satisfied, the result will be hatred and resentment everywhere. Look at
what is happening now in India. When educated unemployment is on the
increase, it is suggested that admissions to colleges must be
restricted,
that there are too many engineers already in the country and that some
engineering colleges must be closed down. Here we see that the theory
of throwing open everything to everybody does not work; imposing some
restriction on people is seen to be inevitable. In the old days a man's
work, whatever it was, became second nature to him and he had a sense
of pride in it as an "asset", legacy that had come to him from his
forefathers, indeed a prized family "possession". He also did his job
efficiently and sincerely. Money was a secondary consideration then.
Since everything was done on the basis of trust and with a high degree
of
personal involvement - the worker was always conscious that he was
doing his work- there were no problems. The whole society prospered.
No civilization can flourish in the absence of a system that brings
fulfilment to all. Varna dharma brought fulfilment and satisfaction to
all.
Is it possible to bring Varna dharma back to life? Whether we fail in
during all we can in reviving the system or whether we abandon our
efforts finding them to be futile, we must at least recognise that it is
this
system that our thousands of years brought well-being to all communities
of our religion and to our country and throughout them to the whole
world outside. Again, we must at least have the good sense not to find
fault with such a system. |
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