Thus Spake the Divine - Government, Dharma And Compassion

Thus Spake the Divine

Government, Dharma And Compassion

There is an old saying, “The King forms the fundamental axis for Dharma”. Let us first analyse what is Dharma all about.

All those who are born as human beings on this earth need the basic requirements of food, clothing and shelter. To earn his living, man has to engage in some activity or the other to meet his needs. Apart from fulfilling his own needs, the person has the duty of taking care of his family. He also has duties towards the society and country.

One’s requirements can be fulfilled by any means. But one must keep himself away from activities that cause harm to others. He should not carryout any activity with extreme lust or anger. He should perform his duties for uplifting himself and also for welfare of others. For the purpose, our Hindu religion and Shastras have prescribed certain sets of rules, known as Dharma.

The Government’s goal should be to ensure that the society functions smoothly for development of one and all in the society. To accomplish that, the Government has to create every possible opportunity for all people in the society to fulfil their needs as per the rules of Dharma.

Governments and individuals carry out different kinds of activities. Where there is an action, there will always be a reaction. When there is a doer of an action, there is also the beneficiary of that action. So, any activity should be with compassion towards beneficiaries.

Sometimes, war becomes inevitable in affairs of the world. Reprimands and punishments are also inevitable. Even these should be carried out without any feeling of animosity towards the victim. Irrespective of the action, the doer of activities should be filled only with compassion for people.

Compassion here has a different connotation when compared to non-violence (Ahimsa), as propagated by Gandhi and Lord Buddha. There could be some violence or harm in the form of punishment to those who commit crimes.

In that case, violence against them is not wrong. However, we must still be compassionate towards those being punished. Our objective should be to relieve them from their sins. We should realise that we have been forced to punish them only for their good, so that they do not commit any further mistakes. If all our actions are filled with love and compassion, then, all evils will gradually vanish. This is not my message. This is the essence of the message given by the rishis and saints of our country.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.