Modern Politics and Mahabharat

After having read a lot of the Bhagavad Gita and seen the whole of Mahabharat, this post will act as my summary, which I shall also try to relate to modern politics, government and society. Sorry its not in a very readable format, but my guess is that only those who really want to know will read it anyway:

• The downfall of a society is marked by four signs: corruption within politics, the mistreating of women, people bringing children into the world who are not looked after with proper attention, and the overwork and underpay (hunger) of a society
1. When corruption comes within politics, the entire country is destroyed and war is the result. Every politician and citizen should put their country before themselves and actively contribute to the welfare of their country. In modern times, most people are selfish and only look after their own needs and never consider their contribution to their country
2. Women are the heart and blood of any society, and their protection and welfare should be the most important focus of any government. Any person who dishonours a woman has dishonoured the entire of womankind and will be destroyed by God
3. A parent's duty is to bring up children with good values and respect for others. Parents which do not have the time to bring up their children have committed a great sin by bringing a child into a world which does not care about them. Also a parent should never give their children their ambitions, but allow the child to find their own path in life, otherwise it results in anger and self-destruction
4. Anger arises within a society which is over-worked and hungry, and where the poor are over taxed and the rich not taxed enough. A society should be well fed, and people should only be taxed according to what they can afford
• Gambling can have a hold over a human being and destroy his intelligence. A lot of banking and stock market trading is like legalised gambling which ultimately leads to the destruction of society. Banking is not a horse which can be tamed by rules, it must be totally reinvented to bring the welfare of society into its core purpose instead of money.
• Truth, devotion, humility and forgiveness are the highest human ideals which should be practised at every stage of life. Truth means never speaking a lie and having integrity at every level of life. Devotion means having a focus of love, whether a project, God or a Guru. Humility means treating one's own parents, elders and teachers with respect. Forgiveness means to forgive yourself and the mistakes and wrongs others have done to you
• Even the most righteous person can fall under temptation of six things which completely destroy a human's intelligence and the ability to think with clarity:
• (1) greed (gambling or running after wealth)
• (2) lust (uncontrolled sexual activity)
• (3, 4) anger and jealousy (towards yourself or others who have insulted you)
• (5) attachment (to assets, friends, family, partners) and
• (6) ego (always thinking about yourself before society, or caring too much about what people think of you)
• Our mind, desires and senses should always be kept under our own control through:
• (1) knowledge (gyan) - by understanding that the aim of life is learning to conquer these desires, that we are inherently abundant even without anything, life is about learning to remain steady through both sorrow and happiness and continue doing one's duty in spite of it so any thought or desire which is wrong or harmful should be discarded just like a conspiring employee is fired
• (2) action (karam) - by practising self-restraint, meditation and selfless service
• Action is better than no action - and all action should be selflessly done without desiring the reward or worrying about the outcome, but rather focussing on doing your duty in the present moment to the best of your ability
• Two atomic bombs should never be used as they could destroy the whole world [Correction 06/03/2012]

Your Money Is Your Vote

My brother, Onkardeep Singh Khalsa, wrote about the idea of money being a vote in 2009. Money is a more powerful vote than the votes we give to elect governments and local councillors. Business and the private sector is arguably a more powerful force than the public sector.

It is easy for us to forget as individuals the power we wield in our hands. It is possible for society to transform very quickly if we all act consciously.

For example...

Instead of buying non-fairtrade chocolate just because it may be a few pennies cheaper, you can choose to buy fairtrade chocolate and help the third world countries get a fair bargain at the same time.

Instead of buying clothes manufactured in sweat shops to reduce their cost, we can choose to buy clothes which are certified to have been made ethically.

Instead of buying washing up liquid which harms the Earth, we can buy one which is kinder to the Earth.

Instead of leaving our lights on all the time, we can switch them off when not needed so the Earth is less polluted by our coal-fired power stations, or we can even switch to an electricity provider which generates electricity more sustainably and consciously.

Instead of buying chips (fries) which are poor quality from the chippie on the corner, go the extra mile to buy  from a quality chip shop so that all chippies must raise their standards.

Instead of buying milk which has come from sources where cows have been potentially harmed, we should buy milk where cows are treated respectfully or switch to another alternative like rice milk or almond milk.

Instead of buying meat which involves the harm of animals, and which exposes our barbaric human nature, we should err to become vegetarians or vegans. Or if that is too impossible, then at least to become vegetarian one day of the week.

Our money acts as a vote as to what we want in our society to continue and what we want to end. If a service or a product is cheap, poor quality, environmentally destructive, destructive to any species on Earth, or unethical in ANY way, THEN WE SHOULD NOT BUY IT! It's OK if there are no other alternatives, but in the developed world, there are ONLY alternatives. Choice is our basic freedom. So we should decide as a society what we want to continue and what we want to end.

Each person, and every pound or dollar they spend, makes a difference and acts as a vote as to what products or services we want in our society!

If we want animal suffering to continue, then we should continue to buy non-free range eggs. If we want plant suffering to continue, then we should continue to buy inorganic food. If we want human suffering to continue, then we should continue to buy non-fair trade goods. Money is a vote, choose wisely my beloveds.

New Coalition Government of the UK

Personally, I did not particularly like the Conservatives, and especially the Conservative leader David Cameron. He seemed over zealous, over competitive and someone who says one thing but believes something else.

But, as soon as I heard he has now become our Prime Minister, I set aside all my judgements, just perhaps as David Cameron had to set aside some judgements about Nick Clegg. I feel strongly that we must respect our Government leaders if we expect them to give us respect back. We should think more like a soldier. As soon as someone is given legitimate power, we should accept it, side aside our own judgements and serve them.

Also, I think its very interesting what has happened in the UK. The new coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats is an exciting beginning to a new paradigm in politics. In a way, both leaders have had to give up their egos, to come together and serve the country's best interests. Humility and trust has had to become the basis of the new government. Such values within the government I hope will grow over the next 5 years and filter down to all aspects of the government and the country. A transformation in the government will therefore cause a transformation in our country.

And since each country has a huge impact on the rest of the world, as we have seen with the cascading credit crisis, so will the UK's transformation positively impact other countries and challenge the integrity of their governments. Who knows, perhaps the next stage is a coalition much like the European Union, between governments of all different continents, a world government. Well, at least we're one step closer to such a possibility - perhaps in the next 30 years.

Why is coming together better than staying apart? Because the synergy created by coming together could achieve so much more than what the individual countries could achieve on their own. The rule of synergy is 1 + 1 = 3. With a single government it's possible to coordinate resources with complete efficiency to eliminate poverty, its possible to control the world economy to minimise recessions, its possible to have equal standards of living across the planet. So much more is possible by coming together than staying apart.

Well, I guess it's one step at a time. Small moves. Small moves.

Sat Naam.

New Coalition Government of the UK

Personally, I did not particularly like the Conservatives, and especially the Conservative leader David Cameron. He seemed over zealous, over competitive and someone who says one thing but believes something else.

But, as soon as I heard he has now become our Prime Minister, I set aside all my judgements, just perhaps as David Cameron had to set aside some judgements about Nick Clegg. I feel strongly that we must respect our Government leaders if we expect them to give us respect back. We should think more like a soldier. As soon as someone is given legitimate power, we should accept it, side aside our own judgements and serve them.

Also, I think its very interesting what has happened in the UK. The new coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats is an exciting beginning to a new paradigm in politics. In a way, both leaders have had to give up their egos, to come together and serve the country's best interests. Humility and trust has had to become the basis of the new government. Such values within the government I hope will grow over the next 5 years and filter down to all aspects of the government and the country. A transformation in the government will therefore cause a transformation in our country.

And since each country has a huge impact on the rest of the world, as we have seen with the cascading credit crisis, so will the UK's transformation positively impact other countries and challenge the integrity of their governments. Who knows, perhaps the next stage is a coalition much like the European Union, between governments of all different continents, a world government. Well, at least we're one step closer to such a possibility - perhaps in the next 30 years.

Why is coming together better than staying apart? Because the synergy created by coming together could achieve so much more than what the individual countries could achieve on their own. The rule of synergy is 1 + 1 = 3. With a single government it's possible to coordinate resources with complete efficiency to eliminate poverty, its possible to control the world economy to minimise recessions, its possible to have equal standards of living across the planet. So much more is possible by coming together than staying apart.

Well, I guess it's one step at a time. Small moves. Small moves.

Sat Naam.