The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishmachaarya’s lengthy accord on the “Ganatantra Raajyam”, wherein he is explaining certain important qualities that a leader should possess, if this kind of a “Raajyam” should be deemed successful. In this, Bhishmachaarya talks about motivation, and how a leader should be highly motivated and enthusiastic at all times, to face any kind of challenge thrown at him / her. This is a very important aspect in leadership, wherein a leader is always expected to be on top of things at all times. For this, motivation is required at high levels. If the leader is showing signs of giving up the pursuit or panicking / buckling down under pressure, it is seen as a very bad message for the followers. Upon seeing the leader sulking, the followers would also start losing their confidence as well. This can be disastrous to the team / organization / kingdom, as it will pave the way for destruction / defeat. Moreover, a leader should also be proficient in both the “Shaastram” and the “Shasthram”. While the former talks about all the requisite principles of “Dharma” that a leader should follow, the latter indicates how smart a leader should be, when it comes to implementation. 

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya narrates an important point here. He asks Yudishtra a question here – “Oh Yudishtra! I’ve mentioned earlier that the “Ganatantra Raajyam” will fail if the societal unity amongst people breaks down, didn’t I? Now think for a moment – If the society is united, and if an external invader comes to capture your country, the first thing that he has to do is to break this unity, isn’t it? So how will he do it? What will be the ways and means the intruder will employ in order to break this unity?” As Bhishmachaarya asks this question, this makes Yudishtra think. Continuing with his accord further, Bhishmachaarya himself gives the answer here. He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! The first thing that the intruder will try to do is to create a rift between people by saying that one is of a higher stature and the other is of a lower stature. Immediately people will start believing in the intruder’s words, more than those of their fellow pals! This is the opportunity that the intruder is looking for – The moment one falls prey to the intruder’s “divide and rule” (“Mithra-Bedham”) attempt, the unity will slowly start disintegrating, and finally the intruder will start having the say in everything that we do! This is how the intruder will capture us. Hence, as a leader, you should ensure that you maintain this unity amongst people at all times, and constantly keep a watch if any intruder is trying to make such malicious attempts!” 

This is an extremely important and one of the most relevant points that Bhishmachaarya is touching upon here. In fact, this happened in our own country during British rule. As we’ve discussed earlier too, the Britishers came to India on the pretext of doing trade with us, however, they saw an opportunity of breaking the unity amongst us in several regions of the country. They successfully planted divisive narratives amongst the people of our country, and with that, they ensured that we started fighting amongst each other. By doing so, we gradually fell into the trap of the Britishers, who then captured our territories slowly and steadily and made us their slaves! In fact, there is a very interesting accord in history that during the initial days of British rule in India, the British Governor Generals struggled to break our unity. Upon doing their rigorous research, the British found out that the main reason behind unity amongst Indians is their education system. In other words, our ancient “Gurukula” education system was binding us together in several ways. However, the British did not like this. They wanted to modify the education system in India, so that they can use this to break our unity. With this agenda, the Britishers started propagating a narrative saying that the Indian education system is useless, and is leading us nowhere. It is only the “Western Education System” which is the most superior amongst all, and only with this education, will anyone in this world be able to earn more money, name and fame! 

Thus, in other words, our “Gurukula” education system, which was teaching us the “Yogam” (Reality) of life, was destroyed and we were completely pushed towards the education system which teaches us “Bhogam” (Luxury). For pushing us from “Yogam” to “Bhogam”, the Britishers coined a beautiful narrative thus, “Oh! You are sitting on the ground and learning! You are wearing a torn dhoti and learning! You are byhearting unwanted things, which are not going to help you in any way to earn money, name and fame! Whereas on the other hand, look at our education – It is sophisticated! It has all ingredients for you to make a lot of money and live a luxurious life! With this education, you can go from one country to the other and capture them!” This narrative slowly started giving attraction in the minds of our people and within just a span of around 150 years, the entire thousand-year education system of our country was completely destroyed! This is the power of narrative-setting, and we should be extremely careful about this! 

Thus, the point here is that, the intruder will try to break the unity of people by inducing such false narratives, and we as educated individuals with self-awareness should ensure that we do not fall prey to such things. So for today, let us understand up to this point, and we shall continue this important discussion forward into the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya continuing his important accord on the “Raaja-Dharma”, with specific reference to the functioning of the “Ganatantra Raajyam”. In this context, he is explaining the key success factors behind the “Ganatantra Raajyam” wherein he highlights pointers such as unity, having a common goal, having ministers / bureaucrats who are highly qualified, having those people who are selfless in attitude and with the primary goal to serve the country, more than anything else, etc. In this line, Bhishmachaarya also explains the importance of hierarchy in the government structure. While the first level of the hierarchy will be the people on the ground, the second level will comprise the ministers who will be at constant service to the people. Third level in this hierarchy will be the “Advisors”, who will constantly be monitoring the work of the ministers and the final level will be the leader himself / herself. Thus, the role of the advisors here is to give constant inputs about the performance of the various ministers, and if a minister is straying away from his / her “Dharma”, the advisor should immediately report it to the Prime Minister, who should then warn / fire / sideline the particular person. Only if this hierarchy is maintained, will the “Ganatantra Raajyam” (Democracy) be successful. 

In fact, while we discuss this important point, we should also highlight the constitutional structure in India, which is also more or less aligned with whatever Bhishmachaarya explains here. We’ve witnessed a glimpse of this in our previous episode, but extending a leaf out of it, if we look at our “Parliamentary structure”, we have two “Sabhas” as part of it – The “Lok Sabha” and the “Raajya Sabha”. While the “Lok Sabha” will comprise the Members of Parliament (MP’s) who will face the people in elections, the “Raajya Sabha” will comprise the “Members of Parliament (MP’s) who are advisors to the “Lok Sabha” MP’s and Ministers of the Government. Thus in other words, the “Lok Sabha” is the place where the actual government is – Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, along with his / her group of Cabinet Ministers and other MP’s. The “Lok Sabha” is represented by the MP’s from all parts of the country and is subject to elections once every five years. People will choose who will represent them by voting for the candidates who stand in the elections. Thus, we can clearly see how the different levels of hierarchy in the government / constitutional setup gels with whatever Bhishmachaarya explains here – The first level being the people of the country, followed by the second level – Being their representatives in the “Lok Sabha” (Prime Minister and his government), which is further followed by the the third level – Being the representatives of the “Raajya Sabha”, who will not face elections directly, but will constantly monitor the performance of the government and its’ MP’s at all times. This “Raajya Sabha” is directly headed by the “Vice-President” of the country, who is in turn headed by the “President” of the country. Thus, the hierarchy is very clear here, isn’t it?

Moving on further, Bhishmachaarya now explains certain important qualities of a leader in such a setup. Of course, we’ve witnessed thirty-six important qualities of a leader earlier, but this accord on leadership qualities that Bhishmachaarya explains here, suits the context here. Bhishmachaarya explains further thus, “Oh Yudishtra! As a leader of this kind of a setup, you should be a highly motivated individual. You should always be filled with enthusiasm. Secondly, you should be a person who is a “Shoora” (Capability to accomplish any kind of task successfully). This is very important. It is not enough if you are a motivated individual. You should also be able to accomplish tasks victoriously. Moreover, as a leader, you should be thorough with both the “Shaastram” and “Shastram”. Only then will you be able to govern the country well without many hiccups!” 

This is a very important point that Bhishmachaarya is explaining here. As a leader, it is very important to stay motivated at all times. While it might be easier said than done, this is where the resolve of a leader is under test. Of course, not everything will go on smoothly as we anticipate. There will always be times wherein challenges would galore from all directions. When the going gets tough, the tough should get going, isn’t it? The leader should never buckle down under any kind of pressure. He / she should be steadfast in continuing with the journey, and not give up at any point of time. For this to happen, the leader should be well-versed in the “Shaastram”, which constantly keeps telling us as to how to walk the path of “Dharma”, despite having to face several challenges. We’ve seen in the entire Mahabharata story till now as to how Yudishtra had to face challenge after challenge all through his life. Yet, he has never given up on his pursuit of “Dharma” as a leader. This is the hallmark of leadership that we should learn from Yudishtra. Moreover, a leader should not only be well-versed in the “Shaastram” , but also should know the nuances of the “Shasthram”. This means, a leader should be extremely smart and sharp to take quick and sensible decisions at crucial times. We call this “Chaanakya-Buddhi”! 🙂 While the leader should be knowing the “Dharma”, he / she should also have the smartness while implementing it and this is exactly what Bhishmachaarya is explaining here. 

So for today, let us understand these three important points pertaining to leadership in a “Ganatantra Raajyam”, and we shall continue with this discussion further in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of Bhishamchaarya’s detailed explanation on several aspects of “Raaja Dharma” to Yudishtra. Particularly, we’ve been witnessing over the past few episodes with regards to the “Ganatantra Raajyam” (Democracy) and when it would be successful. Bhishmachaarya in this accord, lists out several pointers, saying that if these are satisfied, the “Ganatantra Raajyam” will be successful in any country. Firstly we’ve seen that people in the country should be able to put up a united face. There should be no cracks amongst people. Secondly, all of them should have and work towards a common goal. Thirdly, we’ve seen that people who adorn higher positions in a democracy, such as a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, other Ministers, Government bureaucrats, etc. should be highly qualified in terms of education. They should be scholarly in nature, and only then will they be able to guide people accordingly. Fourth, people in higher echelons should be epitomes in controlling their senses. Only if this is happening, will they not run behind petty money to fulfil their personal brownie points. Finally, Bhishmachaarya explains that people who are in top positions should be selfless in nature, and public service should be their top most priority. If all these boxes are ticked, the “Ganatantra-Raajyam” will be a successful one. 

Moving on further thus, Yudishtra is going to ask a very important question here. So far, he has been listening to whatever Bhishmachaarya was explaining about the “Ganatantra Raajyam”. Now, he is getting slightly confused with what is being said. Yudishtra is asking Bhishmachaarya thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! You’ve been talking about how ministers should be, how people should be aware and united, etc. However, this seems to be slightly contradicting with what you’ve said earlier. You had said before that a friend might be very loyal to you today, however, the same person can ditch you later on. Vice versa can also happen, wherein an enemy might be very fierce with us today, but tomorrow this bitter enemy can also become our good and a loyal friend. If such is the case, won’t this concept apply to the ministers and people also? How can we conclude that the ministers would be having a common goal of serving the public at all times? Won’t their mindset and intentions be subject to change? How do we handle such people and such situations? Should we keep changing ministers time and again?”

Now this seems a valid question from Yudishtra, and Bhishmachaarya is giving an important reply here. Bhishmachaarya explains thus, “Oh Yudishtra! You’ve asked a very important question. For keeping the ministers and bureaucrats under check, you should have a team of “Pandithas” (Scholars) who will monitor them continuously and render advice to you on a periodic basis. In other words, we can call them a panel of “Advisors”. This “Advisors” panel will constantly keep interacting with these ministers, to check if they are on track or not. This “Advisors” panel will not be the ones who will interact with people on the ground. The Ministers are the ones who will be working with the people on the ground. It is like two layers of a hierarchy that you’re creating. First level is the common people in the country. Second level is the team of ministers who will work for the welfare of the people. Third level is the panel of “Advisors” who will be monitoring the ministers. As and when the advisors give some red flags / warnings about the performance of a few ministers who might deviate from the expectation, you as a leader should be in a position to either warn them or in extreme cases, fire / sideline them as well. Thus, in other words, you should constantly keep paying heed to the words of your advisors at all times, so that you can understand what is going on in your “Raajyam”. For you to get quality and authentic inputs, your advisors should be extremely trained and qualified. This is also very important!” 

In today’s context also, we have this setup more or less. If we look at the circle around the Prime Minister, he would have a set of ministers working under him as a cabinet, in different domains like Finance, Defence, External Affairs, Internal Affairs (Home Ministry), Commerce, Agriculture, Industries, Railways, Roadways, etc. The Ministers of all these respective domains will have a big government bureaucrat machinery which will work to execute the orders of the Ministers / Prime Minister. Apart from this, there will be a team of “Advisors” to the Prime Minister for every domain. For instance, the Prime Minister will have a direct “Financial Advisor”, “Defence Advisor”, etc. to give constant updates to him on whatever is happening. These advisors may not directly interact with government bureaucrats, people on the ground, but they will be in constant touch with the ministers of the respective domain. Constant updates on the performance of the ministers will keep going to the Prime Minister’s table, and if the Prime Minister finds someone not performing well as a minister, he will have the direct authority to warn / fire / sideline that person while performing the “Cabinet Expansion / Shuffling” exercise. 

Thus, we can see here that whatever Bhishmachaarya explained around 5000 years ago, is closely being followed even today – Not only in India, but also in several developed Western countries like the USA, UK, Australia, etc. as well. So for today, let us understand up to this point clearly, and we shall wait till the next episode to move further from here! Stay tuned! 🙂