(15)
“In the embryonic stage of the human race, those who became the slaves of nature due to circumstantial pressure were the shúdras. But those among them who came in contact with the relatively harsh aspects of nature and made even a small amount of effort to survive by fighting against them, were, in the world of those days, the fathers of the kśatriyas.
Later on, those shúdras who made a habit of fighting against nature due to the inspiration of the fathers of the kśatriyas guided – and are still guiding and will continue to guide – the development of kśatriya society. In fact, the seed of human greatness was dormant in the shúdras and germinated in the kśatriyas…
We may call the day the kśatriyas started to protect the shúdras the beginning of the Kśatriya Age in human society, but that age did not come overnight. Numerous fragmented shúdra societies gradually accepted the authority of the kśatriyas and began to unite under their hegemony. In other words, many shúdra societies would unite into a new social system, and in each case one kśatriya would be the symbol of that new system. This acceptance of a kśatriya as the symbol of shúdra unity, which came about through a process of transformation, represents the first kránti [evolutionary step] in human history…
Kśatriyas only think about the past and the present. They do not worry about the future. Ignoring future consequences and inspired by their ideology, they jump into the licking flames of a fire, leap from the top of a lofty mountain and take off in their rockets to explore planets and satellites. They want to conquer, to be conquerors, and not merely to live…
Kśatriyas also think about the past. They do not like to forget their traditions. The inspiration of the past helps them to determine the speed of their movement into the future. They get inspired by the annals of bravery of their ancestors or group. They seek revenge against the enemies of their forefathers. It is not possible for them to decide on their course of action without first analysing the significant and insignificant events of the past…
A close scrutiny will lead us to the conclusion that the physical clash of animal life resulted in the creation of shúdra life, and the physical clash of the shúdras, together with the struggles of their underdeveloped minds (mental clash), created the minds of the kśatriyas…
In fact, what spirituality the kśatriyas have is not free from the influence of matter. Their spirituality is actually limited to the effort to acquire material things or the effort to conquer matter. It is not easy for their intellect to understand the meaning of spirituality, that is, spiritual progress. The high standard which is necessary for the struggle involved in spiritual sádhaná [spiritual practices] is absent to some extent in most kśatriyas because their minds are extremely restless…
In kśatriya society people do not follow religion or develop a sense of discipline out of what we would call a fear complex, exactly, but a strong desire for self-preservation certainly plays a part. Although unholy alliances based on self-interest exist among groups of kśatriyas, such alliances do not exhibit the base mentality of the shúdras.
Were the kśatriyas intellectually superior or inferior to animals? An animal knows how to meet its physical needs; it enjoys crude pleasures and has a sense of responsibility towards its children and to some extent towards its mate. But if we analyse the way in which kśatriyas are prepared to protect others, sacrifice for an ideology, or give up their most precious possession, their lives, for the sake of honour or for some other reason, it becomes clear that they are far more developed mentally than animals. In fact, it is the life of shúdra society that is only a little more developed than that of animals. Kśatriyas’ lives are more developed, their minds more fully expressed.
The warlike kśatriyas regarded nature as the collective embodiment of different forces. To their limited understanding this idea of a synthesis of forces did not appear to be impossible, but to think more deeply than this was beyond their capacity. An outlook of enjoyment caused their minds, through physical clash, to move sometimes towards crudity in a process of analysis, and sometimes towards subtlety in a process of synthesis. The Brahmaváda [spiritual philosophy based on Brahma] of the Upanishads was the remarkable historical culmination of this synthetic process. The idea that the polytheism of shúdra society might rest upon monotheism first originated as a vague idea in the minds of the kśatriyas, and that is why it is said that the propounders of Brahmaváda were kśatriyas…
A subtle analysis therefore reveals that the kśatriya spirituality stemmed from their desire to attain more and more and to express themselves to the maximum extent.
Where ideas are of secondary importance, the factor of gain or greed comes to be primary. The kśatriyas’ hope of probable eventual gain, born out of their greed, later helped the vipras to achieve absolute power…
There cannot be any doubt that in kśatriya society, whether it is a genuine society or not, there must be a well-knit system. Under this system the chariot of exploitation may run over the weak without slowing down, the hunger of millions of people may provide opportunities for one person to live in great luxury, and a relationship of exploiter and exploited may be established among people instead of fraternal relationships, but it is still a system. Regardless of its merits and demerits, it is the nature of kśatriyas to try to perpetuate the system they are living under.
But kśatriya society has a sensibility which is not like that of merciless nature. What stands out most is hero worship. The weak submit to the leadership of the strong, and the strong protect the weak in exchange for their submission. That is why, in the kśatriya social system, it is considered a virtue to save those who are distressed and seek protection; and this type of dutifulness is recognized as an important mental outlook in the life of society. For this reason alone and not for any other reason, parents will be looked after and protected when they become incapable of looking after themselves due to senility or physical infirmity.
In kśatriya society people are divided as a matter of course into innumerable groups which fight incessantly among themselves, but an unquenchable thirst for victory makes life somewhat like a game of chess, and the call to do battle and to display a powerful personality also gives meaning to life. Thus it is not the tendency of kśatriyas to carry the burden of all life’s disappointments. Kśatriyas enjoy the delights of collective living more than shúdras, because the collective sentiment that inspires fighting people to stick together in weal and woe makes even pain, since it is collective, sweet.” (The Kśatriya Age)

(16)
“But the Egyptian civilization which once preserved mummies and developed so many spectacular things, also began to lag behind due to the lack of kśatriyan spirit which is essential for the preservation of civilization.” (Genius and Technician)

(17)
“There was also a close link between the educational system and the social system, i.e., the society wanted persons coming from kśatriya families to be expert in military skills, as it was the duty of the kśatriyas to defend the country. The social system was that only the kśatriyas were to defend the country, if invaded; this resulted in a great weakness of the society, leading to the defeat of India when invaded by outside forces 2000 years after the Mahábhárata, wherein the majority of the kśatriyas had been killed, causing a great reduction in their numbers.” (The Education System of the Mahábhárata Age)

(18)
“Kśatriyas bring the materialistic waves under their control through their physico-psychic waves.” (Nuclear Revolution)

(19)
“An analysis of history will show that in the Kśatriya era kings and emperors were honoured most. In their courts everyone bowed before them in spontaneous respect for they had conquered the hearts of the people by virtue of their heroism, valour and chivalry.”…
The progeny of the noble Kśatriyas, on gaining power, engaged themselves in the pursuit of pleasure and comforts, utterly neglecting their sacred duty to serve their subjects. They never cared to know people’s suffering. They were not concerned by the bent old man, decimated by poverty in the Himalayas, being mercilessly beaten by a royal servant for defaulting on his tax payment. Kind-hearted and philanthropic kings did exist, but was there any king who, besides meeting the psycho-physical needs of his people, opened the gateway to realization of the Infinite? For self-aggrandisement and in a bid to conquer the world they invaded countries, one after another. How could they afford to inquire into the tragic plight of the common people?” (Social Values and Human Cardinal Principles)

(20)
From ancient times there has been social life but no stable society. This stability in social life is, to some extent, the gift of the Kśatriya Age (the age of the warriors) and of the post-Vaeshya age (the post-capitalist age). (The Interplay of Culture and Civilization)

(21)
“The ego of the kśatriyas draws objects of enjoyment to itself through a physical struggle with all opposing forces…
The path of the kśatriyas is straightforward – there is no scope for duplicity…
A kśatriya seeks happiness only through physical enjoyment…
In this regard it is an incontrovertible fact that the vipras were more broad-minded than the kśatriyas. Time and again in their social system the kśatriyas had demonstrated a kind of obstinacy characteristic of foolish dictators; whereas the vipras at least did not make this mistake. The reason for this is quite clear. The prestige of the kśatriyas derived from their dictatorship, and so by any means they wanted to maintain this system. But the prestige of the vipras was based purely on intellectual supremacy, and so, after ensuring that they had sufficient scope for intellectual exploitation, they considered it expedient to keep pace with the requirements of the age.” (The Vipra Age)

(22)
“Kśatriya society in its early stages had been based on the matrilineal order. Later, as mentioned, male dominance developed, bringing with it the patrilineal order. In the course of time, as the vipras became dominant, the gotra-pravar system came into being…
The kśatriyas tried to structure their social system and matrimonial relations to meet the needs of both men and women…
The way in which the kśatriyas rose to power varied from country to country… In the Kśatriya Age women were the partners of men; that is, they shared both good times and bad times, and shared the same social status…
When knowledge first began to bloom in the Kśatriya Age, women also would impart knowledge to others. They composed mantras and offered libations to sacrificial fires alongside the men…
The matrimonial system of the Kśatriya Age regarded women as both the assistants and co-workers of men…
In the Kśatriya Age, a woman was considered to be the valuable property of a man. Although women did not have the same rights as men, they still commanded considerable respect…
In the Kśatriya Age a woman was considered to be a “hero’s reward”, and abduction by the strong was considered a virtuous act” (The Vipra Age)

(23)
“The kśatriyas, as an expression of their svabháva dharma [natural characteristics], had thought deeply about how to increase their numerical strength, and as a result – quickening the pace of human beings’ struggle against Nature – had not only laid the foundation of the vast edifice of human civilization, but had also flung themselves into the task of constructing the walls…
Those to whom the shúdras look for leadership are kśatriyas. The kśatriyas control the shúdras under their command like machines. If together they achieve something great, the shúdras will gain little or no recognition for their efforts. The names of generals and courageous soldiers have been recorded in the annals of history, and minstrels have composed epic songs in their honour, but the shúdras who have shed their blood in the rank and file have remained unknown. The impact that kśatriyas create through their heroism and powerful personalities have never gone unknown or unsung as regards the people of their era, because their impact was on that era itself; but shúdras remain unknown, because although their contributions are recorded on the pages of time, they do not make an impact on people’s minds. That is why no space is allocated by the newspapers to publish the news of their deaths and why a permanent grave with a tombstone for each of them is considered unnecessary. How can so much land be sacrificed for one man? They are buried in mass graves or thrown into the river half-cremated…
In the ancient Kśatriya Age the selection of the kśátra-pitá or sarddár [kśatriya leader] was based on his abilities as a kśatriya. This was not always achieved by peaceful means. Later the system of primogeniture was introduced to avoid divisions and conflict…
The religiosity of the kśatriyas developed out of their infatuation with conquest and with acquisition. They thought that if they had faith in God they would be able to acquire a great deal of worldly wealth. They would acquire it through military force and enjoy it through military force. That is why kśatriyas worshipped their imaginary gods and goddesses before going into battle or plundering wealth from others – in many cases sacrificing animals and even human beings to propitiate them…
The work of kśatriyas is to come to understand various kinds of force as they experience them through the medium of struggle…
To kśatriyas life is like a game of chess, because they do what they have to do, even if it costs them their lives. The insatiable longing for victory compels them to behave in such a manner. A great, imperialistic leader and a most ordinary labourer equally welcome the call to a life of heroism and personal forcefulness. Kśatriyas try to wash away their defeats and their sense of despair in the blood of the battlefield.” (The Vipra Age)

(24)
“In the first part of the Middle Ages the power of the government, which was controlled by kśatriyas, was used to launch various campaigns whenever and wherever necessary to limit the hoarding tendency of the vaeshyas.
Chanakya said that a business person who becomes extremely rich is harmful to the state. If a king finds that somebody has become extremely wealthy, he should reduce the person’s wealth and property by imposing direct and indirect taxes on them. If he does not do this, the vaeshyas may destroy the structure of the government unless they can make it the tool of their exploitation. Chanakya also said that if the imposition of taxes fails to stop or control extremely wealthy vaeshyas, the king should poison them to death through a secret agent. These are indeed strong recommendations, but in that age of social darkness there was no alternative. Vaeshyas received the good advice that their responsibility was to earn money and undertake charity, not to hoard wealth.” (Various Occupations)

(25)
“In the high point of the Kśatriya Era smuggling and hoarding were controlled, but as soon as the influence of the vipras or vaeshyas emerged, the control over these corrupt practices slackened.” (Cooperatives)

(26)
“Kśatriyas want to dash forward with an all-conquering attitude, but without distinguishing between darkness and light. In darkness, failing to ascertain the strength of their opponents, they challenge them to fight, and as a result they often leave the world prematurely, mauled and mangled. The history of the kśatriyas is painted with blood, but not illumined with intelligence. They display powerful personalities, spiritedness and courage, but no far-sightedness or wisdom, nor the support of subtle intellect. Therefore, after the Kśatriya Age had lasted for some time, intellectuals began to control the kśatriyas with their keen intellect.” (The Kśatriya Age)

Next: Vipra