Sri Sadhguro Pahimam Parama Dayalu Rakshamam

[Guest guest]

Dear Members

" Hindu Dharma " is a book published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan which contains

English translation of two volumes of the Tamil Book " Deivatthin Kural " ; which

is a collection of invaluable and engrossing speeches of Sri Sri Sri

Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi MahaSwamiji.

 

http://kamakoti.org/hindudharma/part3/chap5.htm

 

Why only in this Country

 

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 acknowledge 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

mantra- like 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.

JAYA JAYA SANKARA HARA HARA SANKARA

 

Thwameva Maathaa Cha Pithaa Thwameva

Thwameva Bhandhuscha Sakhaa Thwameva

 

Thwameva Vidhyaa Dhravinam Thwameva

Thwameva Sarvam Mama Dheva Dheva.