Back to Content

 

The Boundaries, Rights, Nationalism, and Dharma

By  “Maadhav”

 I have heard an advanced Hare Krishna (HK) saying that HK’s are spiritual communists, not material communists like former USSR or China .  Thus some religious groups do not want national boundaries.  Some so-called world powers also do not want boundaries, meaning that they want the whole world as their nation. 

So, the question is, is it possible to have a boundary-less world or society? Or, Is it really desirable?  Below is an analytical approach to answer the questions.

1.  The creation includes material planets and spiritual planets. The material planets have their boundaries.  Each planet is different in many ways: location, size, orbit, environment, etc.  The Vedic literature tells that there are many spiritual planets. These planets also are different. The devas worshipped there are different for different planets.  The way of worship and the activities of the populations there are different. So, all planets – spiritual or material – have boundaries.

2.  Now let us look at one of many planets: The Earth.  Within this planet, the nature has made natural boundaries with the mountains, and the rivers.  When there was no mechanical means of travel, then the societies used to live within these natural boundaries.  And we humans lived almost 99.99999.. % of the life of the human race’s age like that.  This living within the natural boundaries caused growth of different cultures.  The Vedic culture grew in Bharat.  It is very old.  Islam and Xianity grew in the deserts. 

3.  Each culture has its own behavior boundaries.  For example:  Islam cannot stand the existence of a non-Muslim any where.  Islam does not want woman to be seen out of burkha, and Xianity does not mind if women roam almost naked.  Islam forbids wine, and Xians cannot live without it.  Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) cannot allow cow killing, and the Xian world has produced millions of cow slaughter houses.  Xianity says we all are sinners, and Hinduism says we are not.  Xianity says God is jealous, and Hinduism says God cannot be jealous.  Enjoying sex, particularly in the heaven of Islam where they think there are 72 virgins is the most desired happiness for the Muslims. In contrast, Hinduism says, sex pleasure is the least desired for happiness. It says that one after sex cannot go to god or be free from the cycle of births and deaths.

 So, because of these cultural boundaries, when the cultures touch earth other or mix due to modern high-speed travel means, and then conflicts arise.  An Author, Samual Huntington, has written a book - The Clash of the Cultures - about this.  

4.  In the conflicts of cultures, Xianity has wiped out several cultures of the world. Even now they still kill other cultures, e.g. in the NE part of India .  Islam sent invaders to India for 1000 years, and they all slaughtered millions of the Hindus and destroyed thousands of their Vedic temples.  The Hindus did nothing like it.

5.  Now let us look at the most intimate boundary - the body.  Per Hinduism, we the humans (and every living being) are actually the souls within a body.  We are not the body. The proof is that we say, "This is my body".  No one ever says, "I am this body."  So, our material body is our material limit around us, the souls within.  Every soul tries to keep its body well functioning, so that the soul can enjoy (jiva) life using the senses of the body.

6.  What is the best use of this human body?  The different cultures have different answers for this.  But on the following things, all agree.

a. One should not harm or miss-use the body.

b. One should keep the body strong and healthy.

c. One should not harm a friend or relative's body.

d. One should not commit suicide, nor should kill others, generally.

e. One should not take away the freedom of another to move around feely, generally.

Thus, we have this body boundary, and it cannot be given up. No sane person says, give up this body boundary.  When strong conflicts arise due to clashes of the cultures or interests, then one wants to get the soul of the enemy out of its body boundary.  As a general rule, all respect the body boundary of the self and others.

             7.  Every one wants to do minimum or no labor to keep the body in comfort.  The body needs protection from the natural environmental elements and from other living beings.  This caused the development of clothes and houses.  Every culture developed their own styles of the clothing and houses.  Now, a house has a boundary.  All want to keep their house in good condition and beautiful.  So, in general, all respects the house boundaries.  No one wants to remove these house boundaries and live under the sky.  This however is possible in some countries like India .  Therefore, some Vedic religious sects really do say so.  It is not possible, however, to live under the sky in extreme weather countries.

             8.  Now, when you have a house, you do not want your enemy to live next to you or near you.  So, the people of same culture live in same neighborhood.  Each person loves his culture, good or bad in the opinion of other.  Mexico has a culture of cockfights and dogfights, and gambling, and bullfights.  This is unspiritual, and no Hindu likes it.  Even some Xians do not like it, but some Mexicans push to preserve this culture.  "It is our cultural heritage," they say.  A culture is transferred to new generations by living together at a location in a society.  The first basic unit of a society is a family, and family lives in a house.

             9.  When people of a culture live in a neighborhood, then that neighborhood has a boundary.  Now, this neighborhood does not want an enemy culture live next to its own neighborhood.  This caused the development villages and cities of same cultures.

A number of villages and cities of a common culture trade with each other.  This caused the rise of nations.  Now, a nation does not want an enemy country at its border.  But the people of the other cultures cannot go in space. They need to live where they are.

As the nations grow in size, their boundaries touch other nations' boundaries.  This fact that the earth has limited land to live and a limited resource at certain locations only, is the cause of the conflicts when every one wants more or better land and more resources.

             10. We came from a body boundary to nations' boundaries.  As long as there is body boundary, there will be nations' boundaries.  It is said that all boundaries are political.  There is an ancient Vedic saying that money (gold, silver, diamonds, etc.), land, and women are the causes of conflicts.   

a. As a general rule, one (a person, group, or nation) should not take away another's wife, but some will not honor this rule.  Then conflict is inevitable.  This is social boundary - one's wife, not everyone's wife.

 b.  As a general rule, a land-owner (person, group, or nation) should not expand his land boundary illegally, but some would do.  Then conflict is inevitable.  Every land that is owned by some one has a boundary.

 c.  As a general rule, one (person, group, or nation) should not take away another's money or wealth, but some would do.  Then conflict is inevitable. The wealth has a legal boundary, whose wealth and how much.  The total wealth of the world remains the same.  The owners change over time.  As a general rule, every one has right to increase one's wealth, and one does not want to illegally take over another's wealth.  Some violate this rule, and conflict is inevitable.  

11. By now, it should be obvious that conflicts, violent or non violent, cannot be avoided as long as we have bodies.  So, if conflicts cannot be avoided, then we should know when to fight and when to not fight, and we should fight to win.  Sometimes it is dharma to fight and die, than live without fighting the demoniac asura emery.  

12.  Even if a nation has all the people of same culture, there will be conflicts within due to crimes related to illegal possessions or use of wife, wealth, resources, or land.

            13.  Every culture or nation has somewhat different rules for when to fight and when not to fight.  All cultures or nations never stick to their own rules all the times.  

            14.  Every person, or a group, or a nation, small or big, strong or weak, has the right to fight against the demoniac asuric persons or nations or ideologies.  

            15.  When the existence of nations is inevitable and cannot be eliminated, the existence of nationalisms is also inevitable and cannot be eliminated.  There are some rules a family lives by.  Same for any nation.  If one loves, one's self, family, culture, and the mother land, then one loves one's nation, and this love reflects in one's nationalism.  So, every one who loves his nation is a nationalist, and most people love their nation.  Thus there are American nationalists, British nationalists, Arab nationalists, Hindu nationalists, Israel nationalists, etc.  

            16.  If you love sanatana dharma (Hinduism), what is wrong in loving a nation that is the cradle of Hinduism?  Nothing.  What is wrong in wishing and making efforts to keep that nation for the Hindus and for the friends of the Hindus?  Nothing.  If that nation is taken over by Islam or Xianity or any anti Hindus, then Hindus will not have a place to live like Hindus.  The Jews roamed as home-country-less for at least 2-3 thousand years till recently when they re-claimed their country - Israel - back.  So, my request to the Hindus and all the Vedic people is this:   

a. Understand the value of sanatana dharma for the people of the world of this and future times.  

b. Know dharma well and live by it.

c. Stop any malpractice of dharma.

e. Keep out of Bharat the ideologies that have invaded in Bharat, and are anti-Vedic.

f. Preach Hinduism to interested people.

g. Declare Islam illegal in India .  It is not compatible with Hinduism.  There is no wisdom in allowing an enemy to live in your own home.  

i. Convince the Muslims of India to given up Islam if they want to live in India .

j. The followers of the invaded ideology should not be given any benefit of the invasions. 

k. The invaded ideology has no right to hinder or disrespect our dharma practice in our own homeland.  

If sanatana dharma is good for all, as we know it, then there is nothing wrong to secure its birthplace - Bharat - as a safe place on this earth where no one can act as an enemy to Hindus or Hinduism.  Thus there is nothing wrong in the purpose of the Hindu nationalism. Hinduism is a universal dharma.  

So, is it possible to have a boundary-less world or society?

No.  

Is a boundary-less world really desirable? 

No.  Not possible. 

Even if the world comes under one government, it will have many state-nations with different cultures and religions. The wars will happen, and they will be called civil wars.  So, any ideology or persons that advocated non-violence as the absolute principle is not wise.  Krishna in Gita says when to fight.
 

 

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1