RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP

It is popularly believed that good governance only stems from good leadership. The fate of a country as much as that of an organisation rests in the hands of its principals.  So as and when one observes the stagnancy of his nation, without hesitation he points his finger at the ruling party and the elected head of the nation. But is this a fair exercise?

When all-inspiring leaders like Lord Rama in Ramayana and the Pandavas in Mahabharata were exiled to the forest, their subjects were naturally aggrieved. But they went beyond expressing grief; they offered their will to stand by their masters in the most testing times.

One must note that in both the epics, the subjects shared the responsibility of running the state with their leaders. The pleasure of the leaders was that of the subjects and vice versa. And the concern of the subjects was that of the leaders and vice versa. To believe that leadership is the only root of strong governance is unreasonable. One may compare it to a strong man attempting to pull a big cart full of people who won't cooperate. For how long can he continue like that? The cart needs cooperative and collective effort. What truly gets the ball rolling is inspiring leadership and responsible citizenship.

Today, as we mostly see, the educated class has little or no interest in understanding the dynamics of politics. Their participation in politics is just about making sweeping statements like, 'politics is useless', 'politics is for the goons', 'if you don't know anything then you become politicians', etc. They seem to have no concern about who gets the chair and what does he believe in.

The Mahabharata and the Ramayana illustrate the significant power of maintenance. Lord Vishnu appeared repeatedly, mostly amidst political turmoil and anarchy to establish orderly governance. He induced moral leaders, who were sometimes even reluctant to head the administration because freeing the subjects from an anarchical situation indeed requires a sound mind and intellect.

Honesty towards one's work is not connected merely to honesty towards oneself. One may be an honest and genuine person, but working for somebody who is ruthless towards his duties - maybe national, political, environmental, etc. Such honest people, as they say, make the dishonest flourish. Establishing governance is a greater challenge, and a very exciting one. And everyone has a part to play it in - a small role, if not big. A soldier once stated at an interview, "Sir, even if I cannot make a substantial contribution at the border, I can at least take a shot and reduce the enemy's bullets by one."

Good politicians are born in the mindset of the subjects. An alert and informed citizen of the country may not want to be a politician but must aim to create greater responsibility in the hearts of the potentially honest politicians. As citizens, unless we assign that importance to politics, how will the sincere and concerned take the leap and help us run the nation right? If the collective mindset is that politics is only a dirty game of greed, that is all the others will make of it. The world is a mirror of our mind. We will only see things as we perceive them. And we will only get what we truly deserve. That is the real miracle.

CHOOSING SIDES..

Choices in life, specifically political decisions are like  gambling matches; the politicians have no clue about the consequences after the elections. Some stand at the fringes hoping to benefit either way. They show no loyalty to any policy be it secular, nationalistic, liberal or whatever. Their ideology is: self profit. But there are others who can be good but are on the wrong side, helping no side, and helplessly acting superficially without making any tangible contribution.

This was Duryodhana’s biggest problem, he had  iccha marani Bhishma (he had a boon that enabled him to die at will) but he had taken vow not to kill the Pandavas. Drona vowed to kill his arch enemies the Drupadas and Viratas but not the Pandavas, who were Duryodhana's main target. His most trusted friend Karna too had secretly chosen not to  kill any of the Pandavas, other than Arjuna, and had also decided not to fight till Bhisma was alive.

How can you win, when your main, trusted warriors, the Commander in chief themselves would only do an exhibition war, showing great skills, but not killing the arch rivals of Duryodhana. On the other hand Bhima was very clear in his understanding.Dharma had to be established, and anyone who opposed be it teacher, grandfather or brother, was an obstacle and had to be removed.

A leader who knows his mission clearly will succeed. If you have people physically loyal  but indirectly supporting the other side, you have no hope to win, rather they help your enemy to win hands down.

RAMA AND HIS GOVERNANCE

The clash between Rama and Ravana was not that for a woman, it was far deeper than that.

Ravana personified self-engrossed individualism, far from a community conscious person. Rama, on the other hand, was fully aware of Himself, His position and His responsibilities and discarded any agendas or personal gratification.

Ravana always came across as confident of whatever he did; it was a confidence anyone would not only appreciate, but also desire. But what about the consequence?

Rama was categorized as a person lacking the go-getter attitude and the killer’s instinct. He was soft and slow, walked in the forest and survived with little or no resources. And the result was?

Ravana flew; Rama walked. Ravana had a colossal organized army; Rama’s soldiers were but all monkeys. Ravana lived in a golden city with complete loyalty; Rama dwelled in the forest, making straw huts frequently. But who prevailed in the end?

Of course, Rama did. And that is because He represented some universal principles, nobody can conquer. That is ‘Dharma’. Dharma prevails, maybe later then when we sometimes expect or apparently need, but it never lets us down. Adharma stays, persists, fancies, glitters and eventually shatters to oblivion.

This is the story of each one of our life. And you must choose whose warrior you want to be. Rama? Or the seemingly sophisticated Ravana? The choice is free but the consequences of either are binding. Choice is yours, mine and everybody else’s.

Ravana is present even today, but not as a person. He exists as a concept, a philosophy and a lifestyle. And Rama is here too, as a principle and as a person. He is eternal – He was there then, is here  now and will remain forever. Today, the Lanka seems to be flourishing and Rama seems to be wondering in the forest, looking for His wealth – His eternal consort mother Sita. Who will win now, time will tell. The past has unfailingly confirmed what happens in due course. We can only wait and watch, because it is not an exhibition or a match. In fact we are players, with claims are at  stake too!

KRISHNA AND WHOLESOMENESS

Rukmi, the brother of Rukmini desired to give her hand in marriage to Sisupala. But that wasn't acceptable to Rukmini; she didn't deem Sisupala worthy of her dedication. A marriage born out of the choice of a daughter and the arrangement of the parents stands most chance of becoming successful.

But Rukmi did not consider Rukmini's perspective. He was blinded by the political benefits this alliance could bring him, even at the cost of his sister.

It is unfortunate how people are easily drawn to use, sometimes their closest relatives for personal gain, especially a political one. This was rampant during Krishna's advent. But Krishna broke this cruel legacy.

Rukmini implored Krishna to save her from this marriage. Impressed with her boldness to go against, not the family tradition, but the family stagnation, Krishna was sure to reciprocate. With her own will and assistance, He kidnapped her.

This really disturbed Rukmi, not out of any concern for his sister but upon seeing his calculated plans being overthrown by Krishna's actions. He lost a great opportunity of buying a beneficial relation with Sisupala and his friend Jarasandha for his growth.

The Mahabharata illustrates how to interweave every aspect of life. Marriage, politics, relationship, love, choice and friendship - nothing can be isolated, it must be integrated.

In the absence of an integrated approach, we will only have the innocent like Rukmini getting married to Sisupala, so that the crude like Rukmi can score a point. In the world of matrimony, there have been so many instances where the girls are considered no more than the sacrificial animals for internal benefits. In fact in sacrifice, the animal is killed once; but girls victimized by forced marriages continue to die every moment of their lives.

Thankfully, there is an approach free from oppression - Krishna's, where there is love and it connects all the aspect of one's life. His own sister Subhadra liked Arjuna; she married him and it brought the Yadavas and the Padavas closer, also adding to political stability.

Satyabhama married Krishna and it resulted in increased solidity for the Yadavas. Draupadi loved Arjuna and Krishna translated that love into marriage, and as the Pandavas married Draupadi, Draupada became their ally.

Adding personal agendas to life only fill it with holes. The Mahabharata, instead, offers crucial lessons on wholesome growth, which is both beneficial and forbearing.

DIVERSITY IS DIVINELY ORDAINED

Previously, the distinction of society was based upon the diversity of nature rather than division of labour. Labour was classified as per one's traditional duties.  But diversity of nature stemmed from individual psychology. One could have, occupationally, been a warrior but with the nature of a Brahmana.

Today, division of labour is influenced by need and demand. Owing to the mixture of Varnas, one does all kinds of jobs. A teacher's son could be a warrior, a warrior's son - a doctor, a doctor's son - a lawyer and so on. The Scriptures do throw light on emergency duties. Although, for sustenance, Varnas could take up duties different from those prescribed to them, Brahminical duties were chosen very carefully, so as to retain the purity in that profession. The Mahabharata deals with this in  a great detail.

Some philosophers and social reformers aim and are trying to create a class-less society or a society with one class. Their belief is that division in society gives rise to exploitation. There is no denying that. But is it physically possible to create a class-less society? It's a myth.

In communist countries, everybody is supposed to be at par with one another; complete equality. However some citizens of the nation do enjoy the prestigious post of a President or a Secretary, etc. Distinction is inevitable.

China practices communism but there is certainly a class of people in China who, owing to their income, are unable to rent or purchase residences in certain elite areas of the country.

Some social reformers, in attempt to create one such class-less society, disconnected from the Vedic culture. But eventually they themselves became of a different class within their own community, a distinct jati in the very world that they were trying to modify. Their efforts gave rise to more diversity, not the integrated one, the divisive one.

In nature, amongst fruits, mango is known to be the king, and even amongst mangoes, Alphonso is regarded as superior. In the race of perfumes, the French are the finest; just as when one speaks of rice, Basmati is most appreciated. Dogs are treated better than rats. And even amongst dogs, there are degrees of comparison. The higher you pay, the better your dog; even the socialists choose their dogs, not just any dog.

In the alphabet, can we do away with vowels? Why do they carry special significance? Without them, we can't form words, let alone sentences.

Actually, it is an interdependent society, not a rebellious one. Every aspect of nature comes together with the lesson of cooperation over clash. Reflect upon this and you will see for yourself.

Cooperation creates grace. Conflict creates racism.

DURYODHANA'S STRATEGY

Crookedness too requires intelligence. It includes clear thinking, swift action, negotiation and making allies. Duryodhana proved himself strong in this, therefore he ruled for long. How did he make allies? He saw that Karna had an ambition to be a great archer at any cost. So he bought him by making him the king of Anga desha, (where Karna never went to take care of his citizens). He never challenged adharma. Drona was revengeful towards Draupada and he had a great weakness for his family, especially for his son Ashwatthama. Duryodhana used that trait by being very affectionate to Drona’s son and made Drona give up his most favourite student Arjuna and eventually made him fight against Arjuna. Bhisma was extremely affectionate to Pandavas and was the epitome of self sacrifice. Duryodhana expoited Bhisma’s selflessness and loyalty to the Kuru throne and forced him emotionally to fight for him.

Unfortunately, most of these people were self centered, and their vision  was extremely small. Their worlds revolved around their petty ambitions, revenges and vows.

On the other hand the Pandavas had a larger vision, beyond their own personal agenda. They maintained their personal identity, but not at the cost of public good. When there was conflict between their good and good of the people, they chose to follow the larger good, and they were guided by Sri krishnas, who came to establish Dharma. Through the Pandavas, he punished those who had selfish personal agendas. The battle between the Pandavas and Kurus is not neccesarily  a family fight; it was a battle between personal agenda and public agenda. The Pandavas represented the public agenda under Sri Krishna's guidance and removed people who had little or no vision to establish the rule of a broad vision.

Watch leaders who are small in their vision, full of selfishness and self centered and root them out. Bring those who are broad in their outlook and are willing to make themselves part of the circle of dharma. This kind of leadership is difficult but right.

Kamsa And Fear

Kamsa personified cruelty caused by the fear of becoming irrelevant, and therefore caused great havoc. Always a ruthless emperor, Kamsa caused violence to whomever he considered competition. And after receiving the intervention that the son of Vasudeva and Devaki will be the cause of his death, he extended his cruelty to everyone, even newborn infants weren’t spared. Why? His only fear was that he would be rendered irrelevant by death.

This fear is set deep within the hearts of the autocratic leaders of today. These tyrants cause cruelty not just by physical violence but also damage -- the mental, intellectual and verbal – by their stubbornness. By means of selective vision, they choose to ignore the legacy; instead they attempt to be a permanent legacy themselves. They believe that they can break the laws of the past, present and future and only create a present that suits them best. This is till the cruel (why call it cruel?) death terminates their viciousness in a gruesome way.

Gruesome is not necessarily violent. Instead, violence is persistent in their system, born out of their obsession to permanently govern the helm of affairs. But this is synthetic. And what is not natural goes against nature. Nature cannot abide by such artificiality. If we do not move ahead with grace, she disgraces us.

Kamsa symbolizes incompleteness or deficiency. In Sanskrit, ‘Kamsa’ means bracket, which is not a complete circle, not fully integrated. Krsna is full, teaching us the art of assimilating everything. Death is but a part of this creation, and perhaps as important as life, because it is only another face of time. It is that which helps us move on so that others can take our place and position, allowing the factor of time to perform its duty without hindrance.

This Kamsa-ness has to be fought and Krishna-ness has to be sought. Only then will we be uncaught by the fear of becoming irrelevant. We will understand that we have a role to play elsewhere. This works just as a student becomes irrelevant to the school as he passes out and goes on to play the role of a higher education student in college, which he again moves out of and becomes a part of the professional world, followed by old age. And one day he dies, only to move on to the next step. Moving is inevitable and permanent. But to try to hold on to one place is Kamsa-hood, which Krishna does not allow. Krishna ensures that the wheel of life is in constant motion. As soon as He senses an obstacle, He clears it, just as He eliminated Kamsa and many others, so that life continues to flow, unhindered.