Decision Making in Society

Decision Making in bharatiya parampara

In bharatiya parampara decision making occur at four different levels.

Level One. Follow another person or group. Do what s/he does on the assumption that s/he knows better, on the basis of life experience/knowledge level/ merely because it is easier to follow and/or because of being enamoured of the personality- kama.

Level Two. Decision on the basis of anticipated material advantage, artha.

Level Three. Decision on the basis of what is righteous- dharma. Choosing the option that sustain values in society.

Level Four. Decision on the basis of brahma-jnana. Decision taken with intuitive knowledge of brahma.

How the decision is taken reveals the varna of the person or group or the society.

Traditionally in bharatiya parampara decisions affecting society were taken by the kshetriya under the guidance of brahmana guru, criteria for decision being upholding of dharma. Such decisions encouraged dharmic values in society and fostered prosperity and peace.
Decisions on family matters took into account artha– material aspects, in addition, while on personal level, kama– personal preferences, were also considered.

Decision Making in Modern Democracy

In a modern democracy, it is the majority consent that decides matters at societal level.

Majority consent is shaped by public opinion formed on the basis of the following mediums:-

1. News Media– Television, radio, newspapers, magazines.

2. Art – Movies, TV serials, drama, songs, dance, sculpture, paintings, cartoons.

3. Academy– Educational curriculum, text books, classroom discourse, research programmes.

4. Government, including Judiciary- government sponsored schemes, information campaigns, policies, governmental institutions, offices, government servants, law and law enforcement agencies.

5. Political party/NGO activities– demonstrations, mass movements, public awareness programmes, personal interactions.

6. Commercial organisations– MNCs, private companies, advertisement campaigns

7. Religious discourse– Church, Mosque, Sunday Schools, Madrassas, Satsang.

8. Traditions and Culture.

9. Public personalities– Sports stars, movie/tv stars, Sant, Baba, ‘Intellectuals’, political/society leaders, artists, media personalities.

How each of the above mediums perform vis-a-vis the criteria of kama, artha, dharma and moksha, influences the shaping of public opinion and varna of society.

Tamas

News media that follows the lead of western media, Art forms that are shaped under western influence, Academy that looks towards the west for inspiration and direction, Government that is based on western model, Political parties and NGOs that are influenced by western discourse, Companies that function on the lines of western organisational structure and motivations, Religious discourse based on western thought, Traditions and culture of western origin and Public personalities under western influence. These help form a society that is tamasic in character, sudra in varna, that always seek to follow the lead of somebody else.
On occasions where no previous model exists to follow, such a society defers its decisions until passage of time throws up a default decision or presents an emulatable course to follow.

Tamasic Rajas

When the mediums that shape public opinion act with the motive of material gain, society acquires rajasic quality in addition to tamas. Such a society has media dominated by news of material nature, business and financial matters; Art forms exploring technical excellence, deficient in ethics; Academy oriented towards technological advancement, devoid of morals; Government actively involved in infrastructure building, economy, promoting consumerism; Political Parties, NGOs funded and sponsored by business houses. Commercial organisations dominating society; Religious discourse colored by material motivations; Traditions and Culture stressing on material accruement, and Public personalities selling products.

The discourse of such a society will be on material benefit. Decisions revolve around this criteria.

Sattvic Rajas

When the mediums shaping public opinion discourse on values, society acquire sattvic tinge along with rajas. Such a society will have news media discussing ethical ramifications while analysing current events, Art aimed at inspiring altruistic imagination in minds of the public, Academy oriented towards fostering moral living values in society, Government acting decisively to uphold righteousness in society, Law and judicial decisions reflecting dharma, Political parties, NGOs acting motivated by values, Companies producing goods for sustenance of society as well as Nature, Religious discourse directed towards righteous living in harmony with diverse viewpoints, Traditions and Culture promoting moral values in society, and self-effacing public personalities upholding dharmic values.

In short, rama rajya.

Sattva

When the public concentrates on moksha, the mediums that shape public opinion converge towards that goal. In news media, incidental nature of news lose relevance and karmic causes and ramifications are paid attention. Art forms a medium to experience and express realization. Academic pursuit, like all other, orient towards brahma-jnana. History is no more mere chronicling of incidents, instead record the eternal cycle of creations and dissolutions under karmic effect and their dharmic lessons provide inspiration and guidance towards spiritual living. Centralised government lose relevance as people govern themselves dharmically at local and individual levels. Companies shrink in size and number as materials required by society reduce. Religions disappear as people live spiritually. Traditions and Culture inspire realization and Personalities dissolve upon brahma-jnana.

Society Today

Indian society today, by and large, emulates western society and engages in material advancement at all costs to individual, family, society, nation and Nature. Thus it shows predominantly sudra varna that is transforming into vyshya.
Symbolically, India today is headed by people chosen for their sudra characteristic of followership, though trained to be vyshya – products of the british created education system designed to produce technically qualified workers for the empire.

Way Ahead

As rajas rises in society, represented by the transformation to vyshya characteristic from sudra, to check the deleterious effect on human psyche and on Nature, of unbridled rajasic indulgence in materialism, evident in human society today, and for long term sustenance, of individual, society, as well as Nature, tempering and channelization with dharmic considerations are necessary.

Increased deliberations on dharmic aspects at societal level impart kshetriya varna to society and raise sattvic characteristic.

Sustained rise of sattvic characteristic inspire brahma-jnana.

Aim of Life

 

Traditionally indians considered four aims.

One, to attain atma-jnana, realise brahma.
Person involved in such pursuit was brahmana.
Example – Adi Sankaracharya, Ramana Maharshi

Two, to uphold dharma, righteousness in society.
Person involved in such pursuit was kshatriya.
Example – Sri Rama, Shivaji

Three, to produce things, food, objects of utility.
Person having such aim was vyshya.
Example- All those people who made sure that India’s share in world GDP was always greater than 25% till around 1750 when britishers started looting india.The people who produced the Iron Pillar at Mehrauli that has withstood weather without rusting, without help of paint, for millenniums.

Four, to emulate role models. To live under guidance of respected and wise people.
Person having such aim was sudra.
Example- All those people who helped the vyshyas build the Iron pillar at Mehrauli. Those who helped produce materials. Those who fought alongside the kshatriyas to uphold dharma. Those who gave alms to brahmanas.

The above four aims were pursued to actualise karma. nishkama karma.
Actions without seeking to enjoy results thereof.
Such actions sublimated karma, sustained rta in the world.

There is a fifith aim – self-aggrandizement.
To indulge, ‘enjoy’ life. Motivation here is self-interest and self-gratification. Me and mine takes centrestage.
My life, my body, my looks, my wife, my children, my relations, my friends, my car, my bungalows, my achievements, my degrees, my name, my fame, my money, my empire, my needs, my philosophy, my philanthropy, my broad-mindedness, my Power, my God.
Center of the universe is me and what is mine. Everyting else assumes importance in relation with me.

So if the Dodo bird or the whales do not contribute in any way to his immediate needs, they might as well not exist. If the meat of chicken or goat gives sensual pleasure to him, their life purpose is to satisfy his palate. If the Africans can be subjugated and made to slave for him, that is as per the divine dispensations of his God. If the Native Americans lived on bounteous land, they should give it all up for him. This is the mindset.

A person with such aims was mleccha.

Example- The british and other european imperialists. All those indians who collaborated with britishers to administer (loot) india during brutish raj.

Virtually every west-originated thought and attitude is pervaded by this motivation. Including their so-called ‘spirituality’, ‘religion’ and even ‘science’.

Traditionally mleccha pursuits were shunned by indian society because it brought down dharma.

 

 

Postscript

At certain point in time, some mlecchas, persecuted in their lands, who arrived as refugees, were given a place in indian society.

Many of them were industrious and prospered in commercial activities. Further contacts with such people, their involvement in society fostered perhaps, by certain kings under commercial considerations, possibly changed orientation of society. Alliances with Greeks, sometimes even of marital nature, entered into by some kings may have accelerated this process.

Such a society which had left its moorings in dharma, yet had not completely embraced the self-serving mleccha attitude could not give a unified and appropriate response to invading hordes of marauders such as Khilji, Ghazni, Ghori, Babar etc.
Under the influence of resulting mleccha administration of the country for centuries, indian society has acquired many mleccha attitudes, though the core perhaps still remains intact.

 

—You may like to read this post also – What is your aim in Life ? —

Ancient Indian culture

 There is a distinct calculated attack on ancient Indian culture.

Well, that has been happening for more than 1000 years now starting with the early Muslim invaders. But the British made a nuanced attack by creating an education system that produces mindless idiots brainwashed to look at their own culture with disdain.

The products of such an education system, notaby among the non-technical streams such as history, arts, journalism, law, social sciences, humanities and administration are very useful tools in the hands of those who want to destroy the indian culture.

The British also identified all the ills prevalent in the country an classified them as ‘hindu religion’.

So now a lot of ‘educated’ people consider that practices, developed in certain localities which were under muslim rule, such as sati, covering of face by women, female infanticide, child marriage etc., as sanctioned by this religion and thus feel revolted and guilty about their own religion.

It is the vocal lot among these people who consider it their duty to wean away their countrymen from this destructive religion and culture. The non-vocals feel guilty and try to forget their confusions through cricket, TV, films and money making.

The british also spread the propaganda that ancient Indian culture is all about superstitions, idol worship and primitive rituals, with the result that not even 0.001 percent of the present Indians have considered it necessary or advisable to read and understand even the basic texts such as Vedas and Upanishads.

The language Sanskrit which could have conveyed the meaning of these scriptures to Indians has been removed from the society first by the british and later by the offsprings of their propaganda education system.

An example of how Indian culture is demeaned by chritian propaganda is given here- http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0070/0070_01.asp

Indians need to understand that ancient Indian scriptures are their own and not of any religion. Because those ancient scriptures do not mention any religion.

Indians need to understand that the so-called ‘hindu religion’ is a creation of the british who made sure to identify and classify all the ills prevalent in society as having been sanctioned by that religion and assigned it as ancient Indian religion; whereas actual fact is that such a word is not found in our ancient scriptures.

We who are born in India are Indians and by consequence all ancient scriptures of India are our own.
Only when we acknowedge this fact are we able to benefit from the wisdom of our scriptures; and they are really full of wisdom.

So long as we in our mind consider ourselves and our fellow Indians as christian, muslim, sikh, buddhist, hindu or dalit, brahmin, and so on, and assign some historical personalities and texts as ours and theirs, ancient Indian culture will disappear and with it India will disappear.

There is a false thinking among some of us that ancient Indian civilisation has been around for some 10,000 years and will continue to withstand all attacks and survive for another 10,000 years.

When the river Saraswati that was the cradle of ancient Indian civilisation dried up, the people moved on to other more hospitable areas but they took their spiritual wisdom with them and passed it on to subsequent generations in the form of Vedas, Upanishads etc.
Unfortunately, Indians now living in India are turning away from this almost infinite treasure trove of wisdom.

Unless we Indians appreciate our scriptures and understand the wisdom they contain, we as human beings will not fulfill ourselves spiritually. Moreover, we will deprive our future generations of this immense wealth of wisdom. And that will be the end of the ancient Indian civilisation.

It is my conclusion that there was no ‘hindu’ among the people of Saraswati river civilisation, if there was, it would have been mentioned in the texts they created.
This land we call India was their home as it is our home now. And therefore, we Indians, regardless of the religious or political beliefs that we may hold, are really the civilisational succesors of those ancients and thereby, their inheritors.

It is thus our duty as Indians to appreciate the spiritual wealth of our inheritance, respect it for its infinite worth and discover unity among ouselves by thus identifying ouselves with this land we call India.

————This post is based on comments posted elsewhere ———— Thank you for reading