Welcome to another edition of PROUT Gems. The quest for war ----------------- Narrow geo-sentiments are pushing agendas along today in situations that involve world crises. Democracy has not ever been well developed and indeed is used as a label to cloak other objectives. For over a century democracy has been hijacked by political party dictatorships. Often there is no difference between parties that stand fundamentally for the same thing because of the popular culture and pop politics that must be played out, pushing out the voices of debate and raising of awareness against narrow sentiments and policy objectives. With the help of a media controlled by the hands of a few tycoons around the world, it is quite simple to fool the mass of people with doublespeak and easy for dictatorial processes in one form or another to lead society astray. Propaganda is another thing in common. War is not unity for humanity ----------------------------- It is so often heard that a particular country was never so united as during the war. This is entirely due to love of one's motherland, since all of the individuals hold a common ideal and goal -- to fight and face the perils of wars. This common ideal is, however, a temporary phase that disappears when the dangers of war decrease. The true seed and development of a common ideal must be sewn from the very beginning of a child's life through all our days on this planet and until we depart. The only common social goal worth pursuing is the realisation that human society is one. Such an ideal will never disappear like the common ideal of facing the dangers of war, so the unity in a society founded on the ideals of universalism will be everlasting. However great might be the strength of weapons in a war, or however powerful their controllers might be, their grip will one day be loosened. This applies wherever the goal of universalism is absent. Evolution of human consciousness has always demanded universal outlook. Universalism does not depend upon any relative factor, hence it is free from the vices of ism such as nationalism, patriotism, provincialism, communalism, casteism, etc and free from religious isms. In war we often see recourse being made to religious isms. Catch cries such as "God Bless America" are constantly spouted by the US President, under the blind superstition that such prayers will give victory of some sort. Such isms are prevalent not just in the USA. Ism thrives on the narrow angle of group interest. Among many other factors, ism is a major factor in war. War is not an ideological clash for the establishment of any high ideals. Those who are eager to establish peace should shake off nationalism and other allied isms. It is utterly foolish and irrational to pretend that peace will come about in the world through the USA superpowerism or US patriotism or US foreign policy pretending to be a medicine for people of the Middle East. What must happen is that each must move in unison with many, in synthesis and non-differentiation. True leaders of universal vision can never engage themselves in any fratricidal war. Their only endeavour is to inspire people to develop a pinnacled intellect and pursue the synthetic path of knowledge, action and devotion, a path which is totally free from narrow, communal prejudices. Universalism in economics ------------------------- If the standard of living for most people around the world is not very high because people's purchasing capacity remains very limited, then because of the low capacity for purchasing consumer goods and because the import index always remains lower than the export index, it means the area has to remain a satellite of a developed country. Consequently, the balance of power in the world is jeopardized and war is always possible. Again there is lack of common vision and synthetic understanding. So, in the economic field there is also a common ideal that follows universalism, and this is that the whole property of the earth is the common property of all and is to be shared by all members of society. All have the usufructuary right, ie the right of enjoyment but none have the right to abuse. Proper and just means of distribution and allocation of rights need to be developed on the basis of collective interest. Thus for example, people can hold their own title to their homes, but wherever the work required in society extends beyond the family level, then those environments should, as far as possible, be co-operative environments, eg co-operative workplaces with shareholding participation, co-operative banks, etc. None of the things and objects of the universe can ever be equal (in quantity or quality) cent per cent, but from a basic principle that the minimum necessities of life should be made available to everybody through proper purchasing capacity, society can progress from there on. This will immensely assist in the collective security of all persons and living things on this planet and assist in peaceful existence. In other words food, clothes, medical treatment, homes, education, etc, must be provided for all through adequate purchasing capacity. If anybody gathers much wealth and hoards it, that person directly curtails the happiness and conveniences of others in the society. However, that tendency of capitalistic hoarding is prevalent in society and business. The implications and results have been disastrous. The person's want to hoard physical wealth is a behaviour that is flagrantly anti-social. No-one should be allowed to gather excessive physical wealth without the permission of the society. That is, no one should be allowed without restraint to unceasingly accumulate wealth for himself or herself. Excess wealth accumulation is a mental disease, in that it shows the person's mind is incapable of detaching itself from the crude forms of existence and there is an addiction to material things and money due to a number of complexes, be it superiority complex, fear complex, dislike for other, etc. The surplus wealth of society after meeting the minimum necessities of all will have to be distributed among persons of special merits according to the degrees of service thereof. The objective is to allow people to render more social service in their working and community lives. For example, in any age where a bicycle is good enough for a common person, a motor car will be necessary for a doctor. Having due regard to the merits of the accomplished person, he or she has to be provided with a motor car with a view to giving them greater opportunities of social service. Their remuneration (including non-cash benefits should allow for it). When motor vehicles or public transport is common then in some cases doctors who can offer more social service may need a light plane, eg in rural areas. The Marxist dogma of 'serve according to your capacity and earn according to your necessity' sounds well in the ears but will reap no harvest out of the hard soil of the world. A system of distributing excess wealth based on ability to render social service, all persons provided with minimum necessities through proper purchasing capacity, and special amenities being provided to those who contribute more to society - with the gap between minimum necessities and special amenities always narrowing - will give dynamism to the economy and form the physical base for a real society. Forming a real society ---------------------- Although different types of calamities may confront humanity, doomsday will never happen. The very idea of doomsday is based on dogma. It is another religious dogma. The calamities caused by human beings are mainly of two types. First, many calamities are caused by the bifurcation and trifurcation of society. The bifurcation of society is exemplified by the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the recent war between North and South Vietnam. The division of the Indian subcontinent into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is an example of the trifurcation of society. Secondly, calamities are also caused by the destruction of the environment and the indiscriminate exploitation of subterranean resources such as coal, oil and water. One of the greatest causes of environmental destruction is deforestation. In the call for war, the need to take care of the planet and increase the welfare of all its people is forgotten. Indeed war is the black spot on humanity and those advocating it have darkness in their minds due to their narrow thinking. While there is a higher thinking involved in solving things by diplomatic channels, the problem here is that if that thinking is not surrounded by thoughts of universalism it will not give rise to long term solutions. If we take the full meaning of the term society into consideration, it will be seen that until now human beings have not been able to form a real society. A real society requires a psychic tendency of moving together in unison. The glory of human society lies in the formation of a universal consciousness inspired by exalted ideas. It is ethics or morality that leads human beings to the fullest expression of their finer human qualities. So, the concerted effort to bridge the gap between the first expression of morality and establishment in universal humanism is called "social progress". And the collective body of those who are engaged in the concerted effort to conquer this gap, is called "society". (Sarkar) If India builds a society for only Indians, Pakistan for only Pakistanis, and England for only the English, then three separate societies will exist, but we cannot look upon them as the society of humanity. The same applies to a society for Jews, another society for Muslims and another society for Christians - all are based on narrow thinking. Because humanity is divided into groups, one society will naturally try to thrive by exploiting the vitality of others. On observation you will notice that efforts are being made to establish so-called societies in some particular part of the world, for some particular section of the people, and based on some particular `ism' or faith. A narrow social consciousness based on such divisions lies latent in the minds of the people or more so their 'leaders', so they remain absorbed in thoughts of their smaller groups. Examples of anti-social fissiparous tendencies do not stop here. Even in different regions of the same country people do not live recognising each other. The anti-social spirit of self-differentiation does not end here. There are the even smaller groups and there is the anti-social eagerness for relative supremacy in the social and economic spheres. To what state has society effectively been reduced? Human beings have still not been able to form a human society, and have still not learned to move with the spirit of universalism. Although many small groups, motivated by self interest, work together in particular situations, not even a small fraction of their work is done with a broader social motive. By strict definition, shall we have to declare that each small family unit is a society in itself? If going ahead in mutual adjustment only out of narrow self interest or momentary self-seeking is called society, then in such a society, no provision can be made for the disabled, the diseased or the helpless, because in most cases nobody can benefit from them in any way. Hence it will not suffice to say that all people marching ahead is only a collective form of segregated psychic phenomena; for in that case there always remains the possibility of some people getting isolated from the collective. All human beings must attach themselves to others by the common bond of love, and march forward hand in hand, then only will we be able to proclaim it a society. Solving problems together ------------------------- You will hear many a vain and assuming person say, "We will go it alone and do not need anyone's help". Nothing could be more foolish than this statement. No created being or collective or persons or country is independent. No one can exist alone, everyone has a relationship with the whole, at times prominent, at times indistinguishable. In this scheme of mutual relationships, even the slightest mistake or discord will raise a furious furore in the society. All have the same existential value, having combined together to make the universal family. Similarly, in human society, the importance of a powerful and eminent person is no less than that of a disabled and dying patient. None can be ignored. The least injustice done to anyone will cause the breakdown of the social framework. In this universe of living beings there are some fundamental problems applicable to all which are to be solved by all. These problems may be taken as the common features in the life and dharma of living beings, and the all-round health of living beings depends on the happy solution of these problems. The more these problems are solved with mutual cooperation, the more beneficial it will be. We must remember in this regard that rights and responsibilities belong to all. Lack of consciousness about rights and responsibilities drives social beings towards a tragic end. It results in the collective fate of living beings being determined by a particular dominating group. The vital energy of society is sapped through such group or class exploitation or imperialism or one nationality claiming superiority over another. Nature's wealth belongs to all living beings. What is a burden to the earth is a burden to all. Disregard of these ultimate truths eventually leads to disorder in social life, and society's potentialities are destroyed before they have a chance to develop. The truly universal or spiritual person understands these things. Where there is no ideology based on universalism one becomes narrow minded. Human beings always endeavour to expand and human life is an ideological flow. Nationalism, patriotism, imperialism, superpowerism are not ideological flows but rather are limiting and constricting sentiments of the baser nature of the lower propensities of the mind. These may be called geo-sentiments. Dangers of geo-sentiments ------------------------- Now let us see what the impact of geo-sentiment is. This geo-religion, geo-economics, geo-sociology, geo-social sentiment -- these "geo's" are limited to a particular country or a particular direction. And those countries or directions which are beyond its confines are considered profane. To one group, judging according to this so-called holiness or profanity, the east is sacred, while to another group the west is sacred. Thus conflicts arise between these contradictory sentiments, leading to war and bloodshed. People have forgotten the fundamental spirit of humanism, and deviated from the principles of one human society. So now we see that the greatest threat to the inner asset of humanity is this geo-sentiment. Where does this geo-sentiment come from? Where does it originate? It is born in that place where people do not follow the path of rationality, the path of conscience. Universalism is the ultimate goal of the path of conscience -- it is not related to geo-sentiment. Geo-sentiment is very cheap. Universalism is not attainable by superficial means. Something very great is attainable only by greatness. One must pay a high price to buy a costly thing. Universalism is not so cheap; it is not attainable by geo-sentiment. Geo-socialism, geo-religion, geo-economics, etc, which are based on this geo-sentiment, not only confine people in the bondages of limitations, but also alienate one particular social group from another. And, what is more harmful, different groups become violent towards each other, which is extremely dangerous for human civilization. World 'leaders' or groups of persons seduced by lower instincts hidden in the secret recesses of their minds, surrender to these base propensities. This is the greatest danger to society. It is interesting to note that the September 11 2001 attackers are said to have spent time in strip clubs and gambling casinos before the attacks were carried it. It shows that they did not follow any high ideals which could be found in Islam, but their minds were crude, the attacks were crude and the motive was crude. Now, the same crudity is taking place on the world stage in relation to the 'go-it-alone' stance of the USA. No lesson has been learnt. The problem must be solved collectively. Only collective thinking has any chance to inculcate some higher sentiments into the solution and negotiation of the problem. Collective action and processes ------------------------------- It is with the assembling of many individuals that a society comes into being. In a society it is impossible for individuals to move exclusively according to their individual inherent momenta alone. Although it may be possible in the subtle and causal spheres, it is not possible in the physical sphere. The totality of various individual flows of movement constitutes collective social movement. Each individual flow is influenced by the collective flow and strives to move ahead in adjustment with it, at least in the mundane sphere. Similarly, in the international sphere, a collective movement is also required to solve problems and to move towards a common goal. There is no doubt that there are problems in the Middle East that are causing disturbance and that stymie peace in the world. They must, however, be solved collectively. Today the primary duty is to rectify the errors committed by the leaders of different countries and to unite people in those regions through an anti-exploitation campaign. This anti-exploitation campaign, be it against excesses of royal families in the Middle East, excesses of capitalism in the West, control of the economy by mafia type influences in eastern Europe and Russia, etc must unite those peoples and in turn with each of the poor and backward countries. A strong nation or group of nations will thereby grow up. It matters little what name is given to that nation or that group of nations. Although the anti-exploitation sentiment is important, this sentiment will not be able to sustain a nation or a group of nations for a long time. One day exploitation must cease. If it is not stopped completely, it can be confidently said that in the future the intensity of exploitation will be much less than what it is today. As soon as administrative power passes into the hands of moralists, then exploitation will cease to exist. In the absence of exploitation the anti-exploitation sentiment will die out, and consequently a nation or a group of nations based on the anti-exploitation sentiment will not exist either. What will happen then? The sentiment of universalism will keep people united. This will definitely unite the entire planetary world into a 'nation'. Then there will be only one nation a universal nation. Today human beings, to whatever country they may belong, should, on the one side, propagate an anti-exploitation sentiment (exploitation does not mean exploitation in the economic sphere only, it includes all sorts of exploitation), and form strong nations in their respective countries which have as their base the need to elevate people; and, on the other side, preach the theory of universalism or one spiritual inheritance which at the highest conceptual level is that every living being is the child of the Supreme Entity, and that all the people of all nations belong to the same family. There will only be clash among different nations as long as national feelings exist. People may talk of disarmament, but military preparation will go on underground. But if people dedicate themselves to the welfare of the entire human race, their respective nations will also be benefited indirectly because their nations are not outside the human society! The Universal Nation -------------------- A world body is needed to assist in this objective. The current United Nations is of some, but limited assistance, as the isms of superpowerism and nationalism also reign there. Ultimately, a new body being the Universal Nation is required (see issue number 19 of PROUT Gems for details). As long as the feeling of nationalism remains alive, mutual conflicts are inevitable. Human welfare depends on the degree of psychic expansion. When nationalism cannot embrace every human being, that nation cannot attain perfect well being. 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 - the human nation. Aspects of unity should be encouraged. Aspects of disunity should be discouraged. Whenever differences arise, it is wise to ignore them. When human beings come close to one another with a genuine feeling of unity, when they share the common joys and sorrows of life, those external differences gradually vanish as a matter of course, they are removed through natural fusion. It is not possible to eradicate them by force. Let us take the necessary steps to implement cultural synthesis and the Universal Nation, where all cultures have a venue for their elevated expression. Let us project the great ideals of all cultures for all to see. Let us celebrate the Universal Family of Humanity. - From the writings of P R Sarkar, annotated and formed into a collage for this issue of PROUT Gems. --- Compartmentalized democracy By P.R. Sarkar Now let us discuss some reforms to democracy. Democracy cannot succeed in countries where people are illiterate, immoral, or backward. Countries like England, the U.S.A. and France are suitable for democracy, but even these countries need to introduce some reforms. First, legislators in the states and at the centre should be elected on the recommendations of the people at large. At the time of electing representatives the people should pay heed to their education, moral standard and sacrifice for the society etc. If the representatives are elected keeping in view these factors, they will not be guided by party interests but by collective interests. In their minds the interests of the entire human race and society will dominate, and not any class interests. They will be able to enact laws keeping in mind the problems of all and sundry, thereby accelerating the speed of social reconstruction. Their impartial service will bring happiness to all. To provide a fearless and independent ambience to the administration, the secretariat / executive should be kept free from pressures from the cabinet. The cabinet should confine itself to legislation, the passage and passing of the budget, the implementation of its plans and policies, defence etc. The power of ministers should remain confined to the parliament and they should not poke their nose into the workings of the secretariat. The chief secretary should not be under the president or the prime minister but should act independently as the executive head. All the secretaries should work under the chief secretary. Free from cabinet pressures, every department will serve the people well. The judiciary should have the right to function independently. In no case should the chief justice be treated as inferior to the president or the prime minister. Only moralists and honest persons should be installed on the hallowed seat of justice. If people fail to keep this issue under their close scrutiny, injustice will take the place of justice. Finally, for the proper utilization of the public exchequer, the independence of the audit department too, is a must. The auditor general should be independent of the sceptre of the president or the prime minister. Only an independent audit department can keep proper accounts of every department. Thus, there should be four compartments in a properly constituted democracy - legislature, executive, judiciary and public exchequer - and all of them should be independent from one another. But in such a situation there is still the possibility of injustice and exploitation. So to supervise or monitor the function of all these compartments, the benevolent rule of moralism is required so that universalism will reign supreme. P R Sarkar 17 July 1961, Bettiah, Bihar Prout in a nutshell 14 --- Democracy By P.R. Sarkar Let us now discuss democracy. It is claimed that democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people. After the proletarian era at the beginning of the social cycle power passed into the hands of tribal chiefs. In the course of time clan leaders became feudal kings. The theory of democracy was born out of feelings of revolt against the tyranny of the monarchy exercised by these feudal kings. The history of democracy is very ancient. History teaches us that it originated during the reign of the Licchavii Dynasty in ancient India. Being so ancient, it is not surprising that democracy has some defects. Let us now analyse the assertion, "Democracy is government by the people". In a democracy, do people have the requisite education and consciousness to judge what is right or what is wrong, what they should do or what they should not do? Does the power of understanding and judgement come as soon as one attains a prescribed age? Is age the yardstick of wisdom and education? Alas, this happens to be the accepted fact! If those who talk big about the democratic system read the history of the Licchavii Royal Dynasty they would learn that in those days not everyone had voting rights. Only the Licchavii leaders, not the people in general, could exercise and enjoy adult franchise. Democracy can only be effective and fruitful where there is no kind of exploitation. Every person has certain minimum requirements in life which must be guaranteed. There may be a little adjustment in these minimum requirements as per differences in time, space and person. The people of Kashmir may need a greater quantity of warm clothing. Therefore, they should be provided with more woollen clothes than the people of Bihar. The minimum requirements vary with the change of era and time. In ancient times, people were satisfied with a dhoti [a piece of skirt-cloth], a shirt and a pair of wooden sandals. Not only that, they did not even feel the need for shoes. But today a suit is an absolute necessity. In olden days people would travel long distances on foot, but today a cycle or motorcar has become essential. True democracy requires that the minimum necessities of life be provided to all through proper and adequate purchasing capacity. Minimum necessities must be provided to every individual. There is no limit to these minimum requirements. Every progressive society should bear in mind that the minimum requirements will go on increasing day by day. In the not too distant future a day will come when every individual will acquire access to rocket. Then, for example, it will be very common for one's father's house to be on this planet and one's father-in-law's house to be on Venus. The social system that will come into being, keeping parallelism and harmony with time, space and person, will be called progressive socialism. Our Prout is that very progressive socialism. Society will have to make provisions to ensure an increase in the living standard of every individual. When progressive socialism is established within the framework of democracy, then democracy will be successful. Otherwise, government of the people, by the people and for the people will only mean government of fools, by fools and for fools. Mass education is one of the basic necessities for the successful and effective running of democracy. In some cases even educated people unjustly abuse their voting rights. In many countries, people cast their votes at the insistence and inducement of misguided local leaders. To approach a polling booth like a herd of cattle to cast votes in ballot boxes is meaningless. Is this not a farce in the name of democracy? Thus, the spread of education and proper knowledge is essential. Education does not only mean literacy or alphabetical knowledge. In my opinion, real education means proper, adequate knowledge and the power of understanding. In other words, education should impart an awareness of who I am and what I ought to do. Full knowledge about these things is what education means. Merely having some acquaintance with the alphabet is no education. Literacy certainly serves some purpose. I am not saying that literacy is absolutely useless and lifeless. There were some countries in South America where only literate people enjoy franchise. Political parties in these countries launched literacy campaigns and people naturally cast their votes in favour of those parties, which have made them literate. Thus, the government remains free from all responsibilities and expenditures in this regard! But this system cannot serve its full-intended purpose. First, it is not reasonable to think that mere literacy will awaken full wisdom about what to do and what not to do. Second, if the responsibility of literacy is left to political parties, then those political parties will spread their respective party propaganda popularising themselves among the people. People will become intellectually bankrupt, and this curse will undermine their rational judgement and discrimination. Nevertheless, education is of prime importance. Without education democracy can never be successful. Morality is the second fundamental factor for the success of democracy. People sell their votes because they lack morality. There are some countries in the world where votes are bought and sold. Can we call it democracy? Is it not a farce? Democracy cannot succeed unless 51% of the population follows principles of ethics and morality. Where corrupt and immoral persons are in the majority, leaders will inevitably be elected among these immoral people. Today there are too many obstacles on the path of morality. Urban civilisation is one of the chief reasons of moral degeneration because many people are compelled to live undesirably in small, congested places. This is inimical to morality in individual life. Solitary living for some time is essential for the cultivation and development of morality. In a democratic society immorality is a big issue, which cannot be avoided. The ghost of immorality lies hidden in today's democratic system. This situation induces sentiments like provincialism, communalism, casteism, sexism, racism, etc, which are devoid of morality. Suppose that in a certain constituency person A represents a majority community, but B, C, and D are capable and competent representatives. In such circumstances, representative A may be able to fully exploit the majority community by kindling narrow-minded communal sentiments in order to win elections. Such anti-social activities create suspicion in people's minds and thus deal a staggering blow to their morality. In some democratic systems social discrimination becomes so rampant that different groups and parties find ample scope to propagate and disseminate their defective ideas and fissiparous sentiments. So we see that morality, which should be the basic factor of democracy's victorious march, goes unprotected. Thirdly, social, economic and political consciousness is also indispensable for the success of democracy. Shrewd and cunning politicians may misguide even educated people if they are not sufficiently conversant with social, economic and political issues. Democracy can be successful only when people imbibe these three kinds of consciousness. Without this awareness, the welfare of the society is not possible either in theory or in practice. Intellectuals, therefore, must never encourage unrealistic ideas of this sort. But even if these three requirements for the success of democracy are met, the real welfare of the society is only possible by enlightened benevolence - that is a moral governance invoking universalism or spiritual outlook. Moralists, though in a minority today, have no reason to worry. Once society is led by people who are intellectually and intuitionally developed, there will certainly be no scope for exploitation and injustice. Just because everybody has the individual right to enjoy everything, it does not follow that everybody has the individual right to run the administration of a country. For the good and the welfare of the people in general, it is not fitting to leave the onus of the administration in the hands of all. Democracy is not a simple system and is not highly developed even today. But unless an alternative, better and more agreeable theory or system is evolved, we will have to accept democracy in preference to other systems, and make use of it for the time being. From "Dialectical materialism and democracy" Prout in a nutshell 6 --