By Taraka
Across the face of this planet we find the greatest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. 125 million people are in need of aid due to famine, wars and other crimes against humanity. We are seeing societies being torn apart by various forms of hatred, discrimination and violence based on narrow sentiments. And the crisis is a planetary crisis in that we are currently undergoing the 6th greatest extinction of plant and animal species in the history of this planet and for the first time this is an unnatural crisis caused by the omnicidal culture of today’s capitalist societies. In fact, when we start to examine the various so-called societies on this planet we begin to realize that in fact we have not even begun to create a genuine society worthy of the dignity of the ardent hopes, anguished expectations of suffering humanity. Never before has this predicament and mission been revealed with more sublime clarity and urgency than by the Preceptor of PROUT, Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar,
“The entire humankind of the universe constitutes one singular people. All humanity is bound together; those who are apt to remain oblivious of this very simple truth, those who are prone to distort it, are the deadliest enemies of humanity. Today people should identify these foes very well and build up a healthy human society, totally ignoring all obstacles and difficulties.
It must be borne in mind that so long as a magnificent, healthy and universalistic human society is not well established, humanity’s entire culture, and civilization, its sacrifice, service and spiritual endeavour, shall not carry any worth whatsoever.” (1 January 1973, Ananda Vanii)
Before we go further we should understand that for Shrii Sarkar there have been only two personalities in human history who have laid the foundations for a true society. The first was Lord Shiva whom Shrii Sarkar revealed was a historical personality who lived 7500 years ago. In an age of conflict due to Aryan invasions and narrow clan division, Lord Shiva laid the foundations of human society. He did this firstly by creating the first families. Prior to this, men and women led hedonistic lives and children were the victims. By spiritual, mental, verbal and physical persuasion and force Shiva created the first true marriages based on the foundation of service of husband and wife to each other based on Tantra yoga which enabled them to realise Consciousness in their family members. In the tradition of Tantra women were actually given more status and control than men. The second way Lord Shiva created a new society was by propagating the ideal of sama-samaja tattva (Principle of Social Equality). As Shrii Sarkar explains,
“So Shiva held one ideal before them: ‘Remember, you are all the loving children of the Supreme Father, You are entitled to live in this world as the sons and daughters of one and the same Cosmic Father. And I am always ready to help you to establish yourselves in your right to cosmic inheritance and a truly ideological life.’” (Discourse 2, Namah Shiváya Shántáya)
He not only propagated this, He also established this by firstly uniting the indigenous Indians (adi bharatiiyas) to fight Aryan imperialism but then also building peace amongst the various racial groups and setting the example by marrying one woman from each of the major racial groups (Parvati (Aryan), Kali (Dravidian) and Ganga (Oriental)). Lord Shiva went further and created the first cosmopolitan city in the world based on Sama-Samaja in Varanasi. In this city all clans, all races lived together as one family before the Aryan conquest of Varanasi several centuries later. The third way Lord Shiva created a new society is by creating human civilization. In countless dimensions of civilization such music, arts, yoga, health, architecture, literature Shiva and Parvati created the forgotten foundations of human society.
The second personality who laid the foundations of a genuine human society was Lord Krsna. We shall not dwell at length on His manifold contributions as many of them generally are known to us today. We should mention however that Shrii Sarkar has mentioned that one of the cardinal contributions of Lord Krsna to human society is to arouse social consciousness. People then, like today never seriously thought how they were living together as a society. By traveling across India, Lord Krsna aroused the spirit of the Indian people to question their small society in which they lived and to question the various dogmas that were causing divisions in the society. Even as a small boy Lord Krsna convinced His community to stop worshipping Indra, the main Vedic god. He further in the Gita stated that Arjuna should not blindly accept the scriptures but should only accept the sentient, rational portions of the Vedas and above all should seek to transcend the Vedas. The second thing that Shrii Sarkar revealed is that Lord Krsna did not want to unite India into Mahabharata simply for the sake of crude nationalism but rather as a mission of service. As Shrii Sarkar stated
“The guiding factor behind the creation of the Mahábhárata was Dharma – the creation of a great human society in which there would be peace, happiness, fraternity and no poverty. In that period, it was the rule that the country was held responsible if a person died of starvation. Not merely this, if there was an early death, if a child of five or so died, people regarded it as a flaw in the ruling structure.” (“Planning for the Mahávishva”, Discourses on the Mahábhárata)
Finally we can note that Shrii Sarkar revealed that buried underneath Purana Qila in Delhi is the Pratiika (spiritual symbol of Lord Krsna) upon which Lord Krsna made King Yuddhisthira, the first king of united India, take an oath that he would care for every single one of his people like his own children and rule according to the tenets of Dharma.
Understanding Samaja
Samánam ejati ityarthe samájah. The verb “ejati” means “to move with a particular purpose”. So when inspired by a common ideology different individuals move towards the common goal and become active for its achievement, this can be called a society. This genuine society starts with the family. As Shrii Sarkar explains
“In a family, where each individual gives importance to the comforts and well-being of the other members, however physically or intellectually underdeveloped they may be, we see a society in miniature. There are many families in the world where every member is concerned about the welfare of the others, despite differences in their physical or intellectual capacity. This is an ideal family. This should also be the ideal form of society, although this is extremely rare today.” (“The Responsibility of Society”, Prout in a Nutshell Part 21)
This is why Shrii Sarkar describes the entire universe as the Cosmic joint-family. This vision is not a matter of utopian sentiment but rather arises from the spiritual stance attained by Tantra yoga which creates a revolution in one’s outlook and state of Consciousness. We should note that by ideology mentioned above, we do not mean a rigid set of ideas such as in the case of communism or a series of abstract intellectual ideas. Ideology involves the assimilation of spiritual experiences of harmony and divine oneness (bhava) into one’s thinking, behaving and socializing. The ideal of the Cosmic family is found in cultures all over this world. This ideal Shrii Sarkar names as Ananda Parivara. In the Taittiriya Upanishad, the radical rsi Bhrgu revealed that everything has emerged from, exists at present in and will merge into Ananda or limitless happiness, or Bliss. This bliss was revealed in the gana-cakra (circle of Tantric disciples) of Lord Shiva and the rasaliila (circle of devotees) of Lord Krsna. Hence this entire creation is the common, Cosmic Inheritance of everyone. This is known as the principle of Cosmic Inheritance. The corollary to this is that no individual has the right to hoard this cosmic property, thereby depriving, starving and otherwise harming the other members of our Cosmic Family
The second metaphor by which Shrii Sarkar reveals the essence of that of a genuine society is that of a pilgrimage. Now as a Dharma Guru, Shrii Sarkar rejected pilgrimage as a social superstition. Herein, He primarily refers to the pilgrimage of devotees who are not absorbed in superstitious beliefs of being relieved of their sins by visiting holy places but rather who are moving singing devotional songs pouring out their love to their Beloved Lord. Shrii Sarkar describes this as follows,
“What is society like? It is like a group of people going on a pilgrimage. Try to imagine the scene! Suppose one of the pilgrims is struck down by cholera. Will the rest of them continue on their way, leaving the sick man behind? No, that would be inconceivable for them. Rather, they will break their journey for a day or two, and cure him of his disease. If he is still too weak to walk they will carry him on their shoulders. If some people run short of food, others share what they have with them. Together they share their possessions, and together they march ahead, singing in unison. In their eagerness to move ahead with others they forget their trifling differences which might have led to angry exchanges and court cases in their families, even down to three generations. It is because of the petitions of the complainant in a land dispute that some people go so far as to spend ten or twenty times more than the piece of land is worth. The essence of cooperation resulting from this collective movement aims at expanding a person’s mind by striking down the barriers of meanness. I repeat that a true society is like such a group of pilgrims who attain a deep psychic affinity while travelling together which helps them solve all the problems in their individual and social lives.” (“The Spirit of Society”, A Few Problems Solved Part 6)
Three Dimensions of a True Society
As per Shrii Sarkar, “The superiority or excellence of the social structure, culture or civilization of a community of people is derived from the degree of pramá which that community attains in its individual and collective life.” (“Pramá-1”, A Few Problems Solved Part 8) Prama means dynamic equipoise, equilibrium and harmony. This concept emerges out of Shrii Sarkar’s new revelation of Tantric cosmology rooted in it. One of the key hallmarks of the present planetary crisis is the breakdown of social, ecological, cultural and intellectual systems revealing their innate distortions and lack of inner balance and harmony. This is why Shrii Sarkar states,
“If we analyse the history of different [communities of people of] the world, we notice that despite their tremendous physical, psychic and spiritual potentialities, they did not utilize the opportunity they had to establish pramá in individual and collective life. This was due to their defective ideas and practices and their faulty social and economic systems. They were not able to strengthen human society by developing different branches of knowledge, by evolving culture and civilization, or by bringing about intellectual and spiritual advancement. In the absence of pramá, they could not make the fullest possible contribution to human society by developing different branches of human knowledge, uplifting the standard of culture and civilization, and raising the level of intellect and intuition.” (Ibid.)
This is a vast science having countless applications and dimensions. Let us very briefly consider the three primary dimensions of prama.
1) Pramá Saḿvrddhi: This involves prama or balanced dynamic development reaching great progress (without any inequality) in the material world while maintaining harmony and equilibrium with the psychic and spiritual realms. To achieve this in each of the countless arenas such as agriculture, industry, medicine, athletics and discover how the matrix of forces underlying them evolve from a triad of primary forces. By restoring balance to each of these forces, increasing their dynamism and intensifying their harmony with related forces in the psychic and spiritual realm prama samvrddhi is established. This also involves restoring and developing ecological balance. Four factors that need to be considered in this regard are i) The physical demand at present and the physical demand in the foreseeable future; ii) the physical supply at present and the physical supply in the foreseeable future; iii) the maximum utilization of land; iv) The Five Fundamental Principles of PROUT as they apply to the physical stratum.
2) Pramá Rddhi: This involves when there is maximal progress (without any discrimination or animosity) in the psychic realm (comprising the various presently known as well as unknown domains of intellectuality, sentimentality and intuition. As we have seen earlier this entails discovering the matrix of idée-forces (thought energies) and the primary triad of forces underlying various intellectual fields and underlying the realms of sentimentality and intuition. Restoring balance to each of these realms is much more difficult as human beings identify themselves far too much with various physical sensations, thoughts and emotions. As a result it becomes difficult for people to maintain rationality which requires transcending these low states of Consciousness so that one can understand them, control them and sublimate them. Hence maintain psychic balance in one’s inner ecology (of countless thoughts, feelings, sentiments, intuitions) involves yoga or the elevation of mind and merger into Pure Consciousness. It furthermore entails the balanced, dynamic blossoming of all the various levels of the mind or kosas including a) crude, desiring mind, b) subtle, rational mind, c) supramental mind, d) subliminal mind and e) subtle causal mind. We should note that while these may be somewhat developed in the individual mind they are quite primitively developed or not at all developed in the collective mind. This is why crowd psychology often becomes mob psychology. Hence to prevent various exploiters from using the media to create a mob psychology we need to develop the higher levels of the collective mind in a balanced manner. Furthermore, there are various levels of higher Consciousness which need to be developed in a balanced way. We should note that for Shrii Sarkar those magnanimous psychic propensities, ideals, actions and patterns of behaviour that establish one in psychic prama or prama rddhi are the principles of morality. Morality for Shrii Sarkar is in fact this state of psychic harmony. This equilibrium that is dynamically evolving towards merger of the mind in Pure Consciousness expresses itself diversely in different natural and social environments. To develop this Prama Rddhi one requires i) spirituo-psychic urge this is essentially an urge of love that Supreme Beloved who is one’s innermost Self. As Shrii Sarkar explains,
“What is that spirituo-psychic urge or spirituo-psychic propulsion? It is: I love my Lord, I love Him. My love knows no barriers, and in the field of activity I will be ready to do anything and everything for Him. I will recognize no obstacles, I will not care for anyone’s blame or censure. The chariot of my victory will move undaunted, smashing all hindrance.” (“Physical Propulsion, Psychic Propensities and Spiritual Attainment”, Neohumanism in a Nutshell Part 2)
Next is required, ii) psycho-spiritual action or actional progress. This progress involves firstly the withdrawal of psychic energy and attention from various propensities, thoughts, sentiments and intuitions. Secondly it involves the focusing of all that energy upon that Supreme Self, that Supreme Consciousness in the core of one’s “I-feeing” or one’s existence. The result is as Shrii Sarkar explains,
“In this state of pramá rddhi, the ectoplasmic stuff of the mind gets powdered down. It develops not only in mass and volume, but moves forward towards the pinnacled intellect (agryábuddhi), while maintaining psychic adjustment, in order to attain sharp penetration of the mind.” (“Prama-1”)
Thus to conclude, it is by developing one’s spirituality, that one develops psychic balance and harmony. Finally we should note that as per Shrii Sarkar the cardinal human values such as Ahimsa and Satya that illumine and energize social progress evolve from this effort to develop higher psychic faculties related to the spiritual realm. The most important aspect of Prama Rddhi is to create unity in this psycho-sentimental realm by inspire humanity with cardinal human values.
3) Pramá Siddhi: This psycho-spiritual dynamic balance results in the merger of the mind into pure Consciousness. This process is the path towards prama-siddhi. We have seen earlier that as the mental stuff of the mind is powdered down it become sublimated into Consciousness. This is the practical result of meditation that is too subtle and complex a topic to be discussed at this time. It is important that rejecting the spiritual capitalism of many yogis of the past, Shrii Sarkar states that this Prama Siddhi is not done out of self interest but for the promotion of the interests of all. By attaining this state one will be able to take the psychic burdens of others upon oneself and one will become a medium for divine energies to function in the struggle to establish a society based on righteousness (Dharma-rajya).
Six Essential Elements for a Genuine Society
Shrii Sarkar reveals that the very existence of society is dependent upon three factors: Asti, Bhati and Anandam. Asti refers to the fundamental factors to exist in the world today such as food, water, clothing, housing, medical care and education. Obviously as society develops more items need to be considered as basic to existence such as the right to information and communication and of course for basic civil liberties. Anandam refers to that ecstatic stance of spiritual oneness mentioned earlier. Bhati signifies holistic or comprehensive development and comprises six crucial factors Let us briefly examine them.
1) Social Outlook: In every so-called society in history and even today we find a lack of a genuine social outlook that as we have seen above cherishes and cares for every member of society as a child of immortality (amrta putrasya). As Shrii Sarkar states, “The inculcation of the spiritual outlook will not strengthen the boundaries between nations but will lead to the establishment of a universal state, a global nation, with a common thread of unity and aspiration. That nation will be known as the human nation.” (“Human Society Is One and Indivisible – 2”, A Few Problems Solved Part 2)
2) Socio-economic Theory: Now in most societies there is no socio-economic theory guiding society and that is why there is so much poverty, exploitation and degradation of humanity. Today most of the so-called liberal democracies do not even admit that their society is based on legalized looting and mafiadom called capitalism. In fact capitalism as a theory evolved far later than capitalism as a social reality primarily as a propaganda exercise and not as a system by which society is guided. Communism has a very clear socio-economic theory but the theory is brilliant at critiquing capitalism and woefully void when it comes to articulating just exactly how a communist economy should function. The result has seen in the chaos and famines of various communist regimes and in the ensuing crimes against humanity that followed. What is required is a clear socio-economic systems that serves as the foundation for the unbarred development of humanity in the material, psychic and spiritual realms. Some basic elements of a genuine socio-economic theory are i) decentralized planning: so that the local people control their economy rather than being slaves to bureaucrats or to capitalist or corporate exploiters and where the entire economic production, distribution and trade is geared towards the holistic development of that local society ; ii) a balanced economy where thirty to forty percent of the people should depend directly on agriculture, and about twenty percent on agro-industries, twenty percent on agrico-industries, ten percent on general trade and commerce, and ten percent on intellectual or white collar jobs iii) a cooperative commonwealth where the entire economy is governed by networks of various forms of cooperatives and iv) socio-cultural ecoregions based on the following criteria: a) same economic problems; b) uniform economic potentialities; c) ethnic similarities; d) the common sentimental legacy of the people; and e) similar geographical features. As per Shrii Sarkar creating unity in the socio-economic realm is the foundation for a progressive society. This means removing all social disparities like casteism and racism and removing all pernicious economic inequalities such as the fact that certain regions of India like Chattisgarh, Vidarbha, Orissa and Bihar suffer severe poverty, neglect and exploitation.
3) Spiritual ideology: As we have seen a spiritual ideology (samaja adarsha) is at the heart of a true society. Thus far in history, we have seen religions and not genuine spiritual ideologies. In general there are four kinds of spiritual philosophies: i) matter-centred: many religions are centred around continuing material enjoyment after death in heaven. Communism believes in a similar heaven in the future when the socialist state withers away and communist utopia arrives. Thousands have died for these greed-based fantasies; ii) dogma-centred: traditional religions are based on irrational, outdated but rigid beliefs that lead to discrimination and violence. Crores and crores have suffered and are suffering today because of these dogmas; iii) self-centred: capitalist religions are centred around selfish pleasure for even yoga and bhakti is pursued as a kind of selfish pleasure heedless of suffering in the society; and iv) God-centred: in which one’s direct experience of union with Supreme Consciousness moves outwards in the form of philosophical and social expressions of divine love and union. So, a genuine ideology must be a Cosmic ideology and not bound by dogmas related to a particular place, race or time in history. This involves explaining the origin and culmination of the evolution of the Cosmos from Consciousness to matter and thereafter evolution towards merger in pure Consciousness. The one Cosmic Ideology will have to be realised and disseminated; that one Supreme Father, the Cosmic Entity, is the goal of all living beings. This spiritual sentiment will keep humanity united for all time to come. It will form the entire planetary world and even the universe into a nation. No other theory can save the human race.
4) Scripture: Thus far we have seen scriptures that only propagated superstition. In addition, the Aryan scriptures have propagated violence and discrimination towards outsider social groups and to those who refuse to accept these scriptures. A genuine scripture is that which helps one’s spiritual practice and inspires and aids one to attain merger of one’s mind in the supreme state of Pure Consciousness. One example of a genuine scripture is the Guru Granth Sahib which only consists of devotional songs with noble social and spiritual ideals. However society today requires scriptures or systems of realization in every sphere of life. In particular the main types of scripture are i) social scriptures that provide practices, ideals and collective events that create social unity; ii) philosophical scriptures that enable one to manifest one’s spiritual experiences in countless dimensions of human knowledge so as to enable the creation of a universal, benevolent, culturally prosperous and just society based on social equality; iii) Dharmic scriptures: or rational scriptures that aid one in practically moving beyond lower states of mind and merging in Pure Consciousness or one’s true self and endow one with sublime righteousness (Dharma)
5) Preceptor: This English word comes from the Latin prefix “prae” meaning “before” combined with the verb “capere” meaning “to grasp, take, catch, undertake, hold, comprehend, be large enough for.” So a preceptor is someone to is able to grasp the absolute Truth and who is an entity large enough to grasp the inifinite dimension of Truth and who can bring it before the disciples so they can experience it as a living reality and not as an abstract philosophy. As we know the Sanskrit word is Guru or someone who removes one’s inner darkness and empowers one to remove it from the society. Now a social teacher is called a samaja guru but here we are referring to a Mahasamaja Guru. This is a profound subject about which, even after decades of meditation one only gets glimpses. In essence the criteria of a true Preceptor is that i) in the spiritual world, he alone can be a guru who by innate spiritual power can lift downtrodden humanity to a high spiritual level, who can illumine humanity with spiritual effulgence; ii) one must have profound knowledge of existing scriptures about spiritual practice and devotion and also the capacity to reveal new scriptures iii) spiritual power to reward and punish disciples to bring them onto the path of liberation iv) profound knowledge of human psychology to enlighten and guide humanity v) to guide humanity comprehensively a preceptor must be able to enlighten humanity in all dimensions of intellectual knowledge and hence must know all languages; vi) to liberate humanity a preceptor must be able to guide humanity in all dimension of material knowledge such as agriculture, economics, law, politics, physical, biology, chemistry, cosmology, etc..
Pseudo-Societies Based on Group Psychology
The above society is based on service psychology – upon the desire to love, blossom and liberate every single created being in this universe. Where such a psychology or social outlook is weak due to lack of one or more of the above aforesaid qualities, then one develops a group psychology. As Shrii Sarkar forthrightly remarks,
“As long on this earth as group mentality or collective mentality – a collective mentality behind which operates a sentimentality based on innumerable superstitions – persists in a noticeable form, it is bound to cloud the otherwise clear human intellect – unless a rationalistic mentality awakens in humans. In the absence of rationalistic mentality, human beings are bound to harm other groups, and even subgroups of their own groups.” (“Living Beings and Their Mentality”, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism)
Shrii Sarkar states that all these sentiments arise from the propensity of moha or blind attachment. This in yoga is considered to be one of one’s ripus or true enemies. This propensity in the new science of biopsychology (revealed by Shrii Sarkar) is associated with the Manipura Cakra or igneous plexus in the navel region. Based on this and other ripus (physical desire, anger, greed, vanity and jealousy) various forms of socio-psychological bondages arise in the society known as pashas (jugupsa [hypocrisy, backbiting], fear, shame, hatred, doubt, cultural superiority complex, family superiority complex and vanity). This is why social liberation involves not merely physical and psychic revolution but also requires a psycho-spiritual revolution in the form of yoga. The primary sentiments around which group psychology is formed is
1) Geo-sentiment: Irrational, selfish love for a particular land which leads to the exploitation and abuse of other people in other lands. Furthermore in order to maintain control over the land it requires the partial or full enslavement of one’s fellow residents of that land. This sentiment is by nature a form of himsa or violence. Nationalism resulted in two world wars in the last century and national imperialism is plunged us deeper into another world war at present. Narrower sentiments like provincialism have been causing civil wars since the dawn of social groups. Still narrower sentiments, such as the desire to seize small plots of land, has led to legal and martial battles and stained the beautiful soil of this planet with the blood of the innocent since the dawn of humanity on this planet. Shrii Sarkar clearly states that such nationalism or any other geo-sentiment is the number one enemy that prevents one from developing bhakti or mystical love and hence from developing genuine social spirit.
2) Socio-sentiment: Irrational, selfish love for a particular social group. This can be sentiment for one’s particular family or clan which is the basis of aristocracy which has brought misery to so many. Then there is sentiment for one particular social group or caste or varna. Millions have suffered and died from this social vice – especially since the demise of Buddhism. The entire structure of economic exploitation in South Asia is based on casteism and hence as Shrii Sarkar said, fighting casteism is a fundamental part of PROUT. Then there is tribalism which still plagues countries like Afghanistan, India and African nations and leaves them ripe for capitalist exploitation and genocide. Then there is racism which was largely vanquished in the 20th century but has now returned with a vengeance in the current global ideological vacuum. In reality the entire global economic and social order is based on racism in that white nations face less brutal exploitation than darker nations. A most virulent form of socio-sentiment today is cultural imperialism. Capitalist culture is a crude caricature of Anglo-american and Japanese culture that is used to create debasing imitation cultures in other places such as Bollywood culture. The aim is to use pornography, self-centred lifestyles to divide and alienate individuals so as to prevent them from resisting economic exploitation and to make them insecure and susceptible to media advertising of their products. In addition various social divisions such as caste and religion are made the basis of a new culture of hatriotism. The aim once again being the blinding of the public to capitalist economic exploitation by involving them in vicious cycles of fear, hatred and violence.
Finally the most pernicious form of socio-sentiment is obsession with a particular religion which led to the partition of India in the past and which threatens its future. Based on various environmental conditions various social practices and doctrines evolve. When these rituals and doctrines start being treated as divine, then they become dogmas or psycho-physical diseases. A collection of dogmas is an “ism” and a collections of “isms” is a religion. Shrii Sarkar spent more time combating the pernicious influence of dogma than any other social vice including capitalist exploitation. The main weapons of such religions are the propagation of stories, myths and parables to create superiority, inferiority and fear complexes. Since such religions are innately unnatural, any small shock in the realm of politics, economics or the intellectual realm can disturb them severely and thus they tend to lash out in hatred and violence. Religions thus create a global cycle of hatred as each religion adopts the culture of himsa from the religions it fights. Religions are based on i) sentiments that create these complexes through scriptures, priests and religious communities; ii) ritualistic observances based on these sentiments that provide a false sense of pseudo-spiritual satisfaction and enable priests to extract money; iii) dogmatic traditions that enable priests to isolate the community from the rest of humanity.
3) Pseudo-Humanism: This is the culmination of socio-sentiment. Where an international world order is created but there is no expansion and liberation of the human heart from selfishness and inner vices, humanism becomes a form of hypocrisy. Just like communists used to preach equality and keep stores with high-class goods for themselves, so also internationalists are full of pious expressions of humanity and global society but create as we see today the greatest level of violence seen in human history. As Shrii Sarkar clearly states, “So as long as there are bondages of nationhood…the tendency to exploit individuals or the collectivity will continue to exist.” (“Pseudo-Humanism”, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism)
This new era of extreme violence is especially seen in our current ecocide of plants, animals as well as in our destruction of rivers, the air and of the Earth in general. This is based on the ideology of speciesism or that the human species is superior to all other species and hence has the right to use, abuse and kill other species. Arising from human hubris rooted in dogmas in most religions, human beings have been exploiting animals and plants and the planet far more than human beings. In fact human slavery evolved after patterned itself upon the human enslavement of animals. This is a vast topic in PROUT philosophy but we shall simply note that every created being has an existential value that supersedes any utility value it may have for human beings. Secondly it is important to note that violence and exploitation of animals and plants will eventually lead to violence towards other human beings. Many cruel dictators and warmongers began their careers with torturing animals or with starting fires.
Overcoming Narrow Sentiments
Shrii Sarkar calls for geo-sentiment to be fought by i) intensive study of history, social psychology, economics and other fields so as to expose the lies and crimes of geo-sentiment and also to be able to synthesize the diverse social trends and create empathy, harmony, solidarity and unity; ii) to develop a rationalistic mentality and develop it in others as well and then to awaken one’s conscience and awaken it in others as well. Shrii Sarkar describes five forms of conscience or viveka. They are:
a) Nityanitya viveka or discrimination between what is permanent (nitya) and what is impermanent (anitya). The only permanent Entity is Paramatma or the Cosmic Nucleus or Supreme Self (Subjectivity). When we do not keep this as mere philosophy, when we make it the basis of our psychic and physical and social life then we are practicing Nityanitya Viveka. Otherwise we may “Believe” in Nityanitya Viveka but we are living in materialism or the pursuit of transient pleasures (anitya) or in other words we are religious and not spiritual. This discrimination requires meditation to liberate oneself from one’s propensities, mental complexes and crude states of Consciousness. Only then will that permanent, eternal Entity become a reality in day-to-day life. Shrii Sarkar aims to make this no longer an individual realization of renunciate yogis but to make it a collective realization of a spiritually awakened humanity.
b) Dvaetádvaeta viveka: Through this form of discriminating conscience one realizes that the permanent, eternal entity cannot be more than one. Hence all form of duality of self and others that lead to self-centredness and exploitation or forms of plurality that lead one to be prejudiced against various people, places or things that arise from a crude state of Consciousness. Then, we realise that all our so-called enemies from Pakistan or elsewhere and all the things we supposedly hate are nothing but ourselves and we realize that we ourselves are nothing but the limitless bliss of Pure Consciousness. This can no longer remain a philosophy or brief samadhi but must be made the foundation of a Neohumanistic society otherwise the very existence of humanity on this planet is imperiled. As Shrii Sarkar states:
“This eternal human entity alone is Brahma [Consciousness]. In order to attain this power, meanness must be shunned, because this is the sádhaná for the Infinite. Feelings of differentiation are a great impediment. The feelings that a particular person is a Muslim, another a Hindu, yet another a Brahman and the fourth a Vaeshya come from mean thoughts. When every living being is a manifestation of Brahma, how can you know yourself, without shedding these differentiating feelings? No one is high and no one is low. Of course, according to one’s virtues and vices one is happy, one is miserable, one is rich, someone is poor, one is a fool and another is erudite, but all human beings. Differentiating feelings are the principal obstacles in the path of sádhaná and an elevated position cannot be attained without annihilating them.” (“The Form of Sádhaná”, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 1)
c) Átmánátma viveka: This is the realisation that our identity is not our family, our country, our race, our life-history. Our identity is nought but that infinite Consciousness who is our true self. When this realisation becomes more and more strong one is able to discriminate and act with conscience and avoid running after temporary pleasures. It is the greed, anger and frustrated desire for these pleasures that are the primary obstacles to forming a true society. Above all this form of conscience will enable one to also to resist and overcome violent sentiments of religious nationalism. It is this form of conscience that humanity requires most on the collective level.
d) Paiṋcakośa viveka: This follows from the previous forms of discrimination. Normally our minds are guided by crude states of consciousness associated with one of the mind’s layers or kosas. Our aim is to blossom forth all the innate potentialities of each layer of mind and to harmonise and merge them all in the stance of Pure Consciousness. Those who can do this on the collective level are known as Preceptors.
e) Mahávákya viveka: enables one to realise that the realizations gained by the other four forms of conscience are not enough to liberate ourselves or liberate humanity. We must develop intense forms of spiritual love which alone can solve all the problems facing humanity. A mother may be ignorant but if her child has any medical, educational problem she will learn all she needs to do in order to care for our child. Similarly when on the collective level we start loving every person in our town, region, country and planet more and more we will do what needs to be done in order to end the endless suffering in the world today. The way in which one develops this love is by Pránipátena (surrender of all one’s being unto the Supreme Self), pariprashnena (proper questioning that aids this surrender), sevayá (indirect external service and direct internal service to that Supreme Beloved in order to express this surrender).
Socio-sentiment is fought by i) sama-samaja tattva or the Principle of Social Equality. This is the foundation for any genuine social programme. As Shrii Sarkar beautifully explains,
“A firm foundation will have to be created which will support humanity to face all these conflicts. What is that firm foundation? It is the realization that all the creatures which have come to live in this world, do not want to leave it – they all want to survive. Thus we must grant them their right to remain in this world, their right to survive. We must forever fulfil their needs so that they will not have to leave this world prematurely. We must make arrangements for the food, clothes, education, shelter and medical treatment of each and every individual, so that all can live in this world as long as possible and become assets to the earth. We must provide them with the inexhaustible resources for their forward movement towards their spiritual goal. This very mentality is known as sama-samája tattva. All the expressions of human life will have to be based on this sama-samája tattva.” (“Living Beings and Their Mentality”)
Shrii Sarkar states that if intellectuals and spiritualists compromise with social inequalities and injustice, they and their societies are bound to fail to establish prama in their societies. In fact, it is this betrayal of basic humanity on the part of intellectuals and spiritualists that is the primary cause of social downfall. And it is the uncompromisingly firm rejection of these kinds of hypocrisy that is the primary path to social elevation. As seen earlier, the spirit of sama-samaja is to advance in the psychic and spiritual realms so as to bring about the welfare of everyone and furthermore to advance collective as part of one flow of affection and give-and-take. What is important is to reject any dogmas such as materialism and superstions. Every culture, no matter how undeveloped or maldeveloped has expressed the ideal of Sama-samaja at one time or another. Hence all these traditions need to be rescued from neglect and revived so that diverse forms of social unity thrive. At the same time those traditions that violate or attack sama-samaja must be combated in a universal way. As Shrii Sarkar states,
“Any narrow ‘ism’ may be transformed into universalism and accepted by all only when all physical barriers, psychic hindrances and spiritual impediments have been removed from the periphery of that ‘ism’.” (“Religious Dogma”, Prout in a Nutshell Part 21)
What this means for example is to take a negative sentiment like Chinese nationalism and to recreate it based on social equality of all beings and based on loving the Supreme in all aspects of the land, culture, collective psychology and spirituality of China. In this way, the diversity of human civilizations will only enhance the unity. This work is part of socio transformation and cultural renaissance that is a hallmark of PROUT’s socio-economic movements for bioregional economic sovereignity (swaraj). Social animosity arises often when a local language is undeveloped and disrespected. This is why such PROUT movements also demand that the local language be used in schools, in government administration and the media. Furthermore PROUT movements create cultural movements to develop local pride and self-respect in their cultural and social heritage. In this way social equality can be established at the grassroots level. From the time of Lord Shiva to the present day, the foremost task of humanity has been to establish sama-samaja in every place upon the face of the Earth.
The second way to defeat socio-sentiment is proto-psycho-spirituality. Thus this is the primary state of psycho-spirituality. What is psycho-spirituality? It is simply means bháva or a spiritual experience where the mind attains a state of ecstasy when harmonizing with Pure Consciousness. So most people are starting with a primitive form of bháva and gradually it becomes more subtle, intense and expansive. So we realise that it this pursuit of mystical communion and union that is the way to fight socio-sentiments like religious, racial and caste sentiments. For when people constantly ideate upon Pure Consciousness their minds become all pervasive and hence they only think for the collective welfare and never of harming others. Thus it is by constant spiritual mediation and spiritual ideation in daily life that one can fight negative sentiments in the society. Shrii Sarkar explains how this takes place saying,
“When a person is guided by it to think in a particular way, and sees that one’s own benevolent mode of thinking is not reflected in other people’s activities, then that person can easily realize their true nature. So those who practise this proto-psycho-spirituality can easily recognize those demons in human framework. Then, after recognizing them, it is their duty to expose them to others also, to make people understand that they are repeatedly harming human society. It is not enough for one to personally unmask them; one must open the eyes of others also. Only in this way can the well-being of the world be promoted.” (“An Ideology for a New Generation”, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism)
The more one progresses the more power one has to fight social sentiments and the culmination of this progress bestows infinite power to accomplish this. As Shrii Sarkar reveals,
“This circum-rotarian universe is controlled by one Centre both collectively and on a unitary basis. Thus each and every grain of dust, each and every blade of grass – all are being equally controlled by that Supreme Hub. Now, if, by some means, an individual can make his or her individual psycho-spiritual hub coincide with that circum-rotarian spiritual Hub, then that individual will feel oneness with every grain of dust, with every blade of grass – that will be his or her psychology. This very realization will make one’s life-force throb throughout the entire universe. By means of this proto-psycho-spirituality one can fight against all sorts of socio-sentiments. The human chameleons who use socio-sentiments or geo-sentiments, can also be easily detected in the light of proto-psycho-spirituality.” (Ibid.)
When one’s life force becomes part of every place, every language, every community on this planet, this is the start of attaining Cosmic humanity or one’s ultimate destiny as a human being. This is why the sentiments of a common spiritual heritage and a common spiritual goal are the only sentiments which can bind people together permanently. This is how unity is created in the spirituo-sentimental sphere. As Shrii Sarkar states,
“By inculcating universal sentiments, socio-economic unity and fraternity will be based on a strong fundament. People will think in terms of cosmic paternity and universal fraternity. My firm conviction that we have all come from the same Entity and we will all merge in the same Entity will generate a unique unifying sentiment. All people will feel united by the ties of universal love and friendship, which will ultimately pave the way for a universal society.” (“How to Unite Human Society”, Prout in a Nutshell Part 21)
Pseudo-Humanist sentiment is fought through the dynamic unfolding of devotion or bhakti or spirituality. This happens in 3 stages: Devotion as Yoga (Cult), Devotion as Principle/Essence and Devotion as a Mission.
Devotion as Yoga: This is essentially the same path as proto-psycho-spirituality but in this stage, devotion arises out of intensive yogic meditation. This meditation shows us how to remove the defects of the psychic world and also the external world, and enable us to move towards the spiritual world without any delay. This movement towards the spiritual goal will also help us to establish ourselves in the psychic and physical worlds, so we will be able to render greater service to the people.
Those who become adept in this bhakti yoga are known as samaja gurus or preceptors of the society. In this regard Shrii Sarkar states that these actual preceptors are our teachers and in fact it is our primary teachers who first socialize us and teach us how to move together, how to empathise with others and how to serve others who are the most worthy of our reverence. As per Shrii Sarkar, such “teachers must possess such qualities as personal integrity, strength of character, righteousness, a feeling for social service, unselfishness, an inspiring personality and leadership ability.” (“Education”, Human Society Part 1) Shrii Sarkar stresses that they must not abandon their students when the year ends but must devote themselves to their welfare for the rest of their lives. Furthermore by their wisdom gained by years of service and by their love arising from their yoga they are to guide society. As Shrii Sarkar states,
“Samája gurus are those who lead the entire society by virtue of their extraordinary intelligence, deep wisdom, towering personality and leadership ability.” (Vraja Krśńa and Sáḿkhya Philosophy)
Devotion as Principle/Essence: As Shrii Sarkar states “Once a person is established in this proto-spiritualistic flow, what happens within his or her mind? Devotion as a cult is transformed into devotion as a principle. Only at this stage, when devotion becomes a principle, can one fight against socio-sentiment.” (“Bondages and Solutions”, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism)
One may ask why can socio-sentiment only be defeated at this stage. Firstly, whereas devotion as yoga is a path of individual spiritual practice to transform the individual mind, devotion in principle is a collective spiritual practice to transform the collective mind. Through collective expressions of devotion (Hari Pari Mandala Goshtis) by small, selfless groups of people, powerful waves are created in the collective mind resulting in transformations in the collective social outlook and social life in general. Shrii Sarkar decribes this change saying,
“It will occur in the collective psychic mind, in the collective ectoplasm of all humanity. Then the global thought processes of humanity will take an entirely new turn, and that will also strengthen humanity’s collective spirit. Humanity as a whole will become converted into a powerful spiritual force, and in that stage, no pseudo-humanistic strategy will work. All other ástras [weapons] will become completely powerless before this Brahmástra [mightiest spiritual weapon]. (“Neohumanism Is the Ultimate Shelter”, The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism)
Thus here the entire humanity becomes a tremendous force for rationality, enlightenment, liberation and love. This process is fundamentally a spiritual one and hence beyond ordinary understanding. However we can describe it as be akin to how crystals are made into a liquid and then used to create a laser beam. The primary differences between the individual and collective mind and the Cosmic Mind is as the lower levels of mind and in fact at the higher levels they are essentially one reality. Thus when through the process of devotion these lower levels of mind are sublimated and transcended, then the individual minds become a unitary force through which the laser of enlightened love can cut through the bondages of various pernicious sentiments.
To accomplish this state of consciousness and to actually change the collective psychology is not the feat of an ordinary person. Rather it is the feat of devotional heroism (bhakti-viiratva) and is the start of the process of becoming a sadvipra or spiritual revolutionary. While some can launch a revolution in the external world, and few can launch a revolution in the intellectual or sentimental words, a sadvipra can launch a revolution in the psycho-spiritual or devotional realm as well.
Devotion as a Mission: This is the path of ultimate union of the devotee with the Supreme Self. As Shrii Sarkar explains,
“When the devotional depth will come, love, too, will be out-brimming with high sentiments – will be full and over-flowing. When love will reach its completeness – its saturation point, self-immolation will become easy and simple. In that state alone will come your final realization of the Supreme Consciousness. Where “I” is, “He” is not… where “He” is, “I” is not. Remember, devotion is the pre-requisite of Sádhaná. Maturity of devotion is love and maturity of love is He.” (“Desire and Detachment”, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 3)
This state of ultimate union causes one to become the embodiment of the cosmic samkalpa to establish a genuine Neohumanistic society. As Shrii Sarkar eloquently explains,
“And when this surging Neohumanism overflows in all directions, making all things sweet and blissful, unifying individual life with collective life, and transforming this earth into a blissful heaven – that very state of supreme fulfilment is the state of spirituality as a mission. That is the highest state of attainment in human life, the source of all inspiration.” (“Bondages and Solutions”)
This stance is the culmination of being a sadvipra. However a sadvipra can merely be a part of this process and to create this process in society requires a far more extraordinary personality. As Shrii Sarkar explains,
“Those who help people adapt themselves to the changed situation, I have called “sadvipras”. But the one who actually initiates the major change is called a “mahasadvipra”. Sadvipras know how to lead people in perfect adjustment with the changed circumstances, and guide them along the right path.
So, the initiation of a revolutionary change is not the work of a sadvipra, but the work of a mahasadvipra. Mahasadvipra is the philosophical term; in the scriptures he is called “Táraka Brahma.” (“Sadvipra, Táraka Brahma, Sadáshiva and Shrii Krśńa”, Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 8)
Taraka Brahma we shall simply note means Supreme Consciousness in the role as the Supreme Liberator of suffering souls, the Supreme Unifier of humanity vivisected into endless forms of groupism.
Social Psychology and the Sadvipra
To understand the sadvipra we have to understand Shrii Sarkar’s revelation of the dynamics of social development. This is indeed a vast subject of which we shall give only a simple outline here.
Firstly we have to understand how pseudo-societies evolve and furthermore what is history. History as per Shrii Sarkar is the history of the collective psychology of various societies. The average psychic momentum derived from the unit psychic momentum is the momentum of the collective psychology, whose manifestations are the new events on the pages of history. In ordinary life we see in schools and neighbourhoods various social groups rise to create a collective flow and then over time subside. Over time when these social groups do not die as a result of their shared history and shared environment they develop a collective psychology Shrii Sarkar reveals the components of this as follows:
“The essence of the parallel psychic waves of society is determined by the medium [average degree] of the following factors: 1) a common language; 2) similar manners and customs; 3) a similar mode of living; 4) similar traditions; 5) racial similarity; 6) religious similarity; 7) a common culture; and 8) a common objective or goal. Unfortunately, these factors are generally neglected at the time of building a social structure because they are not the causes of the collective psychology but the means through which the collective psychology flows. In actual fact a common sentiment, common psychic waves, form the essential vital force of a social structure. This is the reason we say that society is the expression of parallel psychic waves, and arises because of the mental tendency of moving in unison.
It is clear that society is supported by the immense collective power of many individuals. This is why the popular concept of society is that of a collection of individuals. But a mere aggregate of many individuals whose psychic waves move in different directions, that is, whose psychic waves are not parallel but divergent and distorted by dissension, cannot be called a society.” (“The Responsibility of Society”)
The speed of social progress will go on accelerating by clash and cohesion. This rate of progress depends upon how developed the collective ideology or philosophy is. As Shrii Sarkar states,
“Among the different schools of philosophy, the cruder the philosophy, the weaker the social cohesion. When people unite for a subtle motive, the philosophy becomes subtler and subtler, and the social ties become stronger. When this subtlety reaches absoluteness, it becomes permanent.”
By philosophy we do not necessarily mean a complex theory but sometime simply a set of values and goals assigned to living. In studying these various philosophies that arise in the individual mind, we see they arise from various goals. Based on one’s goals there are four basic psychologies in the individual and collective mind. The history of any society is naught but the evolution and corruption of each one of these psychologies. Firstly there arises the worker or shudra psychology which is dominated by physicality. Then there arises the warrior psychology which is dominated by the physic-psychic urge to control the physical world. Then there arises the priestly or intellectual psychology which is dominated by the psychic urge not just to control matter but also to control the minds of others. Due to the increasing crudity of the collective psychology there arises the psychic urge neither to control material objects nor to directly control other people’s minds but rather to control everything indirectly by controlling the flow of wealth. As per Shrii Sarkar this is followed by a Shudra Revolution, after which the military warrior class seizes control and the social cycle begins anew. We should note that these various collective psychologies arise out of mental colours. Shrii Sarkar explains this saying,
“I have already told you that the sentient principle is white. So the people in whose minds white vibrations are flowing we call Sattvaguńii or sentient (also known as vipra varńa or the colour of sages). The mutative principle is red. So those people whose minds are filled with red vibrations we call Rajoguńii or mutative. Due to the greater crudeness in the mutative principle, the Rajoguńii mind is more partial to crude activities than the sattvic one. Such mutative people are popularly considered to be of the Kśatriya Varńa or warrior temperament, possessing energy and valour. The sentient principle is cognitive, and the mutative principle is energetic. Vaeshya varńa, the temperament of the business class is concerned with activities much cruder than those of the Vipra and the Kśatriya. Here the Citta or the mental plate is dominated by yellow vibrations, which are created by the combined influence of the mutative and static principles.
Those whose Citta is predominately influenced by the static principle, naturally possess a greater degree of inertness than others: they have neither the knowledge of the sentient persons nor the valour of the mutative ones nor the capacity for activating things of those dominated by the mutato-static principles. This static inertness or crudeness is black. Those whose minds are predominately black are popularly known as shúdras or the labour class.” (“Vibration, Form and Colour”, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 3)
Each of these four stages of the collective psychology starts in a dynamic and partially balanced state. Over time this crude equipoise is lost. Shrii Sarkar describes the different stages of this process as follows,
“In the first phase there is balance in the lokatrikońa [worldly triangle of forces] of individuals, but in subsequent stages, due to the influence of time, space and person and the clash of propensities, the balance of lokatrikońa or pramátrikońa gets lost. This state of loss of balance in pramatrikońa or lokatrikońa is called “the stage of derangement”.
“If at this stage the lost pramá is re-established, well and good. If it is not re-established, the lokatrikońa degenerates and enters the stage of disruption. If people fail to counteract this trend of downward movement, the lokatrikońa further descends to the stage of degeneration.
“Human society today has reached the stage of degeneration and, as a result, is lost in the wilderness of economic bankruptcy, social unrest, cultural degeneration and religious superstition.” (Pramá-1)
In this final stage of degradation these four psychological types no longer carry any of the virtues of traditional warriors, capitalists etc. Hence they are termed as pseudo-ksatriya, pseudo-vipra and pseudo-vaeshya. This degradation is followed by the rise to power of the next psychological class. One way this happens is through evolution or gradual change brought about by force exerted by the social struggle of the emerging and exploited classes. The second way this happens is through revolution in which a more rapid change takes place due to tremendous force being applied against the ruling psychological class. This change is not always inevitable as often there are counter-revolutions or even counter-evolution in which the previous psychological class seizes back power. However, these reversals of the social cycle are temporary and are soon effaced in history.
Let us simply try to understand these four collective psychologies who together make up the social cycle that is the essence of human history.
Firstly when the mind is dominated simply by the desire to for pleasure there arises the goal of Kama or ultimate physical desire such as seen in the dream of nearly every society of paradise as a land where one can enjoy endless pleasure. Such people are completely controlled by their crude physical environment and to materialistic thoughts and sentiments. Such minds tend to become static and hence lack will power and a developed mind. As a result they are controlled by their local environment. Such people are called Shudras or workers. By shudras we are not referring to the victims of the caste system in Indian history but rather to psychological personality types. Many of the so-called higher castes today have a shudra psychology. While talking about history it is easy to see the shudra qualities in today’s so-called advanced cities and advanced societies in the description of Shrii Sarkar:
“People had no sense of duty towards each other and no social order had evolved. People generally felt uneasy if they came too close to each other. In fact, the shúdra society of that time could not claim to be much better than the present-day society of monkeys or dogs.
Frankly stated, shúdras live only for physical enjoyment. They neither bother about ideology nor give any value to rationality. Of the three aspects of time – past, present and future – they think only about the present. They have neither the time nor the inclination to think about the past or the future. Religion, spirituality and a genuine social system have no significance for them. Whatever religion, spirituality or social order we observe in shúdra society results from an unholy alliance between their fearfulness and their self-interest.” (“The Kśatriya Age” Human Society Part 2)
Secondly when the mind starts becoming dominated by the desire to control and master one’s environment through one’s physical strength or physical craftsmanship or technical skill, then one becomes a warrior of ksattriya. In the beginning of history the main purpose of being such a warrior was simply to hoard and enjoy material pleasures. But gradually out of this crude desire arose the ideal of a society that was not simply a material paradise but rather society founded upon order and justice. In every society there was such a dream of a righteous warrior kingdom such as Camelot of King Arthur and the Dharmarajya of the Mahabharata. With Krsna the simple warrior’s ideal of Dharma as righteous conduct and creating a righteous social order, became a form of psycho-spiritual life in action. In various societies ideals of a spiritual warrior and spiritual warrior societies arose such as zen samurai warriors of Japan and the sufi javanmardi warriors of Iran. Still today we see societies dominated by this type of psychology such as in Afghanistan and African societies like the Zulu. Shrii Sarkar reveals the characteristics of such personalities and societies saying,
“Throughout both the ancient and modern history of the human race we observe that people with a kśatriya nature went to their deaths gladly, or thrust their necks into a noose, or bared their chests to bullets, or, rather than face the humiliation of total defeat, shot themselves in an attempt to escape probable indignities. People with a shúdra mentality do not come in the reckoning, but those with a kśatriya mentality, particularly those with an extremely kśatriya mentality, cannot stay out of the public eye. Willingly or unwillingly, they inevitably come into the limelight.” (“The Kśatriya Age”)
Thirdly when one wants to control the material world more and more with one’s intellect, one develops an aversion for physical labour oneself. As a result one starts to manipulate and control the minds of others to induce them to follow one’s orders. Thus one become a vipra or intellectual. From this exploitation the first priests were born. In order to manipulate the fears and give meaning to the spiritual inituitions of the masses, these vipras developed subtler different intellectual fields. Gradually as religions evolved as a means of justifying priestly control there arose the ideal of spiritual salvation. In every society this ideal is to be found. In India this was the ideal of moksa or merger with the supreme stance (nirguna) of spiritual development.
Since vipras thrive on manipulation, deceit and diplomacy becomes their way of life. It is a sad fact that even today we see so many people with intellectual talent misuse and waste their potentialities in petty politics and groupism. In burning words Shrii Sarkar describes their nature today saying,
“In today’s world also, satanic vipras, the protected agents of the capitalist vaeshyas, have led and are continuing to lead millions of people along the path of death and destruction. Evil vipras are fanning the flames of the capitlists’ insatiable, demonic hunger. Neither the worker masses nor the warlike kśatriyas are responsible for the problem of the millions of refugees in different countries, for the heart-rending cries of the mothers, wives, sons and daughters of the soldiers who died on the battlefields, for the blazing flames of communal riots, for communalism itself, provincialism, nationalism and casteism. The responsibility lies with a small group of shrewd vipras who, out of petty self-interest, have instigated the shúdras and kśatriyas to commit heinous acts.” (“The Vipra Age”, Human Society Part 2)
Fourthly, when one no longer wants the trouble of manipulating people materially, when one simply wants to enjoy controlling the flow of wealth based on which developed societies depend, then this psychology is that of the capitalism. The higher ideals that a few capitalists held were to use money to alleviate the suffering in society by charity. This is the ideal of Artha. The practical reality however is that most capitalists became truly omnivorious in devouring the other members of human society. Only in capitalist society is it normal to see mass starvation, mass dispassion of lands, mass murder of those who resist. Shrii Sarkar reveals their heinous nature saying,
“If, after analysing the economic structure of society, I described capitalists from developed countries as polished devils, I would find it extremely difficult to find a suitable term for their counterparts in underdeveloped countries. Such capitalists are not satisfied with just sucking people’s blood, they often devour their flesh and bones as well; then they beat drums made from the skins of their victims as they deliver religious and philosophical discourses, build temples and construct lodgings for pilgrims, and undertake various other activities. They criticize materialism and try to retard its progress not because they object to it philosophically or psychologically, but because in a materialistic system there is every possibility that their vested interests would be adversely affected. Although they support spirituality, they are not motivated by spiritual sentiments. The fake spirituality they preach actually injects impotency into society. In their endeavours they are assisted by like-minded exploiters who trade in religion. There is an unhealthy collusion between capitalists and those who trade in religion to try to prevent human beings from forcefully asserting their rights.” (“Various Occupations”, Human Society Part 1)
One hallmark of capitalist society is that they destroy all nobler values of the warriors, intellectuals and priests. The entire society is reduced to the pursuit of selfish animal pleasures. The primitive psychology is fostered by the most advanced technology that not only degrades the youth but isolates them from each other and from their natural destiny to lead society onto a new path. Those warriors and intellectuals who are reduced to crude workers due to poverty and who rather than surrendering themselves are resentful, angry or even outraged at their humiliation are called the vikshubdha shudras or the disgruntled workers. Eventually there is a worker revolution that overthrows the capitalists. However, the workers can never hold power. In both Russia and China we saw how the military class seized power from the revolutionary peasants by brutal massacres in a civil war. After this the social cycle begins anew. Shrii Sarkar reveals the desperation of humanity at this endless tragedy of human history saying,
“Society belongs to all, but its leadership will be in the hands of sadvipras. The responsibility for leading society cannot be left in the hands of the kśatriyas, because they will try to enforce kśatriya rule. They will exploit the non-kśatriyas and chew the bones and marrow of the weak. Nor can the responsibility for leading society be left in the hands of the vipras, because they will try to establish vipra rule. They will exploit the non-vipras and chew the bones and marrow of the non-intellectuals. Likewise, the responsibility for leading society cannot be left in the hands of the vaeshyas, because they will try to impose vaeshya rule. They will exploit the non-vaeshyas and chew the bones and marrow of the toiling mass. Shúdras cannot undertake the leadership of society. Hence the victory mark (tilak) of the successful shúdra revolution indeed embellishes the forehead of the kśatriyas.
“The responsibility for leading society can only be entrusted to the sadvipras because they are well established in Yama and Niyama – they are imbued with Cosmic ideation. The social cycle will surely rotate, and as a rule the dominance of the kśatriyas, vipras and vaeshyas will take place in succession. But if sadvipras control the nucleus of society, these social classes may attain some degree of prominence in social life, but they will never be able to become the absolute rulers.
Sadvipras will never have any rest. They will have to continue fighting tirelessly. This fight is the life of living beings. In the absence of this fight, the creation will cease to exist. Sadvipras are vipras, kśatriyas, vaeshyas and shúdras all in one, hence the leadership of the sadvipras will mean the victory of every social class.” (“Problems of the Day”, Prout in a Nutshell Part 3)
Sadvipra Age
Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar is the only spiritual personality in the history of the world who has advocated not just a temporary revolution but rather has called upon humanity to attain its new stage of evolution as a relentless fighter against injustice or a permanent worker for revolution in every sphere of life. In this regard Shrii Sarkar has called for a nuclear revolution or a revolution in every aspect of human life. This is the mission of the sadvipra.
The sadvipra is someone who as we have seen has all of the qualities of the other psychological classes. This is because the sadvipra has transcended all the colours of crude psychology. As Shrii Sarkar has said,
"The attraction between one object and another is always chromatic, pertaining to rága or colour. The word rága is derived from the root rańj which means “dyeing”. Anurága means to dye one’s mind with the colour of that Infinite Entity. Nothing will result from dyeing one’s clothes with saffron colour only for show. Dye yourself within…
Dye your mind with His colour. Those who have not done so cannot attain Him, for this very coloration is Prema or Divine Love. The differences in colour are signs of distinction; without these differences there is identity.
All people have a particular attraction for one or another object or activity and as soon as they become attracted to an object, then their minds become coloured with the colour of that object. You can withdraw your mind from the colour of that object and dye yourself in His colour by offering Him the captivating colour of the object that has attracted you: this is the real Pratyáhára Yoga…
When this practice of offering your own colours – your own attachments, becomes natural and easy, you will then merge in Him. Then you will have no need for any colour, for you will become colourless – you will go beyond the reach of any colour." (“Vibration, Form and Colour”, Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 3)
Shrii Sarkar has said that this is the path of the Gopii. He has explained that a Gopii means someone who is alive only to give bliss to their Supreme Beloved. Furthermore Shrii Sarkar has stated that a Sadvipra will have to have the qualities of a Gopi in addition to the qualities of a spiritual warrior and that of an avadhuta or a realised person completely liberated from all inner and outer bondages.
What is the sign of a sadvipra? Shrii Sarkar said that when a saintly person (sadhu) takes up arms against exploitation then they are to be considered as a sadvipra. Only those who are actually fighting exploitation can be considered sadvipras. Above all, someone who makes you and I into a sadvipra and whose fighting spirit arousing the sadvipra within us all, giving us the courage to dare to dream to bring an end to seemingly omnipotent global capitalism – only they are the sadvipras. They have the mission to make every single human being on this planet into a spiritual revolutionary.
Conclusion
So we must conclude by saying that Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar was not satisfied with revealing the nature of a genuine society. He also gave the vision and mission of those revolutionaries who could establish it and bring to an end the pseudo-societies of today who are destroying our planet.
Shrii Sarkar did not stop there, he gave the radiant vision of a Cosmic Society and a Cosmic Humanity. He said in words that astound those who ponder them,
“So in this phase of introversial movement, when crude physicality is being transmuted into psychic, we can expect that the day is sure to come when the whole world will move from the subtle psychic realm and cross the threshold of the still more subtle spiritual world. And that day when the entire living world – dashing through a transitory phase of psychic – will become spiritual will not be in the distant future.” (“Biological Transformation Associated with Psychic Metamorphosis and Vice Versa”, Yoga Psychology)
And so with this vision before our eyes, we call out to everyone of you and to everyone on this planet in the words of one of the songs of Shrii Sarkar radiant with the delight of universal love.
639 (02/07/1983) D
ÁLOR EI JÁTRÁPATHE SABÁR
ÁJ NIMANTRAŃA
ÁMI, ÁHVÁN KARI TÁI
MAHÁ JÁGATIK DOLÁY DULIYÁ
DHARÁ HOLO SUNDAR
KONO BHEDÁBHED ÁJI NÁI
ÁMI, ÁHVÁN KARI TÁI
ESO REŚÁ REŚI BHULI SABE MILE BOLI
EKI MORÁ EK THÁKIBO GO
EKI MANIHÁRE BENDHECHI HRIDAY
EKI RÁGE GÁN GAIBO GO
UNCU NICU NÁI SÁDÁ KALO NÁI
VISHVE SABÁI BHÁI BHÁI
MORÁ, VISHVE SABÁI BHÁI BHÁI
ÁMI, ÁHVÁN KARI TÁI
EKER DUHKHA SABÁR DUHKHA
EKER ÁKUTI SABÁR ÁKUTI
EKERI DOLÁY DULICHE VAKŚA
AMIYA SÁGARE EKI GIITI
BHARE BHÁLOBÁSÁ JÁGÁIÁ ÁSHÁ
PHOT́ÁIÁ BHÁŚÁ SUMUKHE CÁI
DIYE MITRA ARÁTI SABÁKÁRE PRIITI
GEYE KŚAMÁ GIITI EGIYE JÁI
ÁMI, ÁHVÁN KARI TÁI
I send out my call
to invite all
onto a journey,
traversing a path of effulgence!
The earth,
swinging in the great universal cradle,
has beautified itself.
Today, no discrimination persists.
Come all, forgetting rivalry!
Let us jointly announce
that we are one
and that we will remain one.
All hearts are threaded
in the same garland of gems.
Let us all sing our song
in the same tune!
There is neither
high nor low,
black nor white,
for, in this world,
we are all brothers,
we are all brothers.
The pain and earnestness of one,
is pain and earnestness to all.
Within the ocean of nectar,
all hearts oscillate
in the same swing
and sing a single song.
Remaining filled with love,
arousing hope in others,
speaking in the same tone,
let us look ahead!
Extending love
to both friend and foe,
singing the song of pardoning,
let us move forward!