Envisioning the Modern Kurukshetra

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Introduction

The imagery of the Kurukshetra continues to be a powerful one in the mind of Bharatvasis. The gathering of great armies preparing to clash in the name of Dharma and Desha is one that is both captivating and cautionary. For many it was about fighting for liege-lord, for others it was about family blood ties, and for still more it was about securing personal advantage through proximity to throne. But to draw armies from the length-and-breadth of Bharatavarsha—that is the entire Indian Subcontinent—to do battle in the Madhyadesa makes this titanic conflict far more resonating than the mere rights to the throne or even Dharma-samsthaapana. The Restoration of Dharma was verily Krishna’s purpose, but the Kurukshetra itself was more than just about the Field of the Kurus. It was about the Kurukshetra we fight every day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fxwSd0AhEk

Do we press our thinly reasoned rights for personal profit or do we bow out of the contest in the name of the common good? Do we foresee the catastrophes of impending fratricide or do we up-the-ante, refusing to part with even 5 villages?  Above all, do we see position as responsibility, or merely entitlement to privilege?

The Kurukshetra was about the purification of not only the Land of Adharmic rulers, but also the Mind of its Adharmic inclinations.  It is why it is the greatest of ironies that those of us schooled in the Blut und Eisen tradition of no-nonsense statecraft would find ourselves understanding the central importance of restoring the character of the individual, before we can Restore the National Character. Poorna Vijay is not possible for Bharatvarsh unless the individual Bharatvasi first makes effort for the Antar Vijay.

Individual ambition continues to the prioritised over National aspiration. Greed for sensual pleasures and quick fame perpetuated as perennial plague. Casteist delusions continue to predominate rather than common societal feeling.

But above all, the widespread pervasiveness of Sanctimoniously, Selfish, Stupid, and Spoiled Brats, has made winning the narrative not only easy for the other side, but a near foregone conclusion. If the scale has tipped in recent years it’s in fact less because we’re winning it and more because the other side is losing it.

In the wake of articles such as Niti, Exigencies of the Politico-Strategic, and Dhanurveda, it becomes important to understand the precise nature of the clash and why Self-Improvement is pivotal before Societal change is even possible.

What Faces Us

Although reams have been written on “Ram Raj” and “Rishi raj” and “Renaissance” and regurgitation of knowledge, little time has been spent on the exact nature of the challenge facing Bharat today. While there is plenty of rhetoric about the “Clash of Civilizations”, this too is a distraction. What in fact faces Bharat faces all of Mankind. This statement is being made not without having done a survey of world history or a detailed study of Bharat’s millennium horriblis, but rather, it is specifically because of it.

Yes, people are interacting without barriers more than ever before. Yes, the injunction to let go of ancient hatreds and bigotries is upon us more than ever before. Yes, conveniences of technological consumerism are accessible more than ever before.  But look around, the soul is dying.

In the quest for convenience, mankind has forgotten its priorities. In its drive for ambition, it has destroyed its relationships. In its celebration of selfishness, it is has lost its soul. All this not only makes for consumption-driven, college-credentialed zombies, but also disunited and atomised sheeple. No wonder there is an epidemic of loneliness. Consumption of all things, satisfaction of all impulses, and even hedonism may feel good for a while, even a long while—but ultimately end up the same way: self-loathing misery.

It’s why despite apps such as tinder, people are dating and “hooking up” more than ever before, but are also lonelier more than ever before. This is because if your relationships mean nothing and are replaceable, then you truly are alone. This may be bearable when all is well, but what happens during times of vyasana? After all, if you “love everyone” and are “accountable for everyone” you are in fact responsible for no one. While we all have a duty to help our fellow man, there are circles of trust. Spouse and immediate family, extended family, friends, acquaintances, and then only the rest of society. But as in the Brave New World, an atomised, hedonistic society is one that is easily controlled. Statism or Scientism then reign supreme, and even “Mother” becomes a bad word rather than the root of all that is good.

“everyone belongs to everyone else” emphasising the system of forced promiscuity, brainwashed into the people from the moment of birth. At the core of this book is the horrific idea of eugenics and despite being written several decades ago, its message remains valid for our generation.

Brave New World explores the negatives of an ostensibly successful world in which everyone appears to be content and satisfied, with excessive carnal pleasures yet really, this stability is only achieved by sacrificing freedom in its true sense and the idea of personal responsibility.

Many from the Chetan Bhagat school of foreign policy believe there’s nothing wrong with sacrificing “a little bit of sovereignty for a little bit of security“. But how much freedom are you willing to sacrifice before you sacrifice your own freedom of will? In the name of technology and technocracy, will you submit to singularity? In the name of security will you sacrifice privacy? The technology for many of these things is in fact not only real but here. It is not for nothing that truth is said to be stranger than fiction. Rather than being distracted by obvious distractions and digital virtual passtimes, perhaps its time you open your eyes and understand what is in fact so fully invested in destroying your culture is in fact invested in destroying all culture.

The contributions of Rajiv Malhotra have been courageous and intellectually rigorous, and Malhotra himself coined the phrased Intellectual Kurukshetra. The time has come to take it forward and expand it to the full battlespace, with the Intellectual sphere being only one dimension. If the Battle for Sanskrit has now officially expanded to the Battle for Sanskriti, what is at stake is not only the loss of our traditional culture, but traditional culture and humanity the world over. Therefore, the Intellectual Kurukshetra is but one Dimension of the overall Field of the Modern Kurus. As convenient as binaries such as “abrahamic vs pagan”, and “aryan vs dravidian” may be for some simple-minded sections, the only binary that matters in the coming days is Dharma vs Adharma. As Sun Tsu teaches us, know yourself, and know your enemy and you will be victorious in a hundred battles.

Above all, it becomes critical to know what the dimensions are, why the answers aren’t so simple as “revolutionary netaji-ism” or a ballot box or even “traditional patriarchy”. What is required is understanding what is being faced, what must be done, and what individual parts might be in the days ahead. In short, understand the Purva Paksha, understand the Dharma Paksha, and then understand one’s own Svadharma.

Dimensions of the Kurukshetra

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Surveying the terrain is obligatory before any battle. Surveying the geography is even more important before any war. The geography of the Modern Kurukshetra may involve the jargon of the economic, the financial, the technological, the martial, and even the cultural, but these are all factors at play in each dimension. While discussions of hard power are important, and even Chanakya touched on soft power’s culture factor, the faceoff between Dharma and Adharma is fundamentally spiritual. It is about Satya vs Asatya (Truth vs Untruth) and Rtam vs Anrtam (Moral Order vs Immoral Order).

Therefore, preparation for the days ahead necessitate understanding how simple solutions and quick conflicts can’t simply take us back to business as usual. A fundamental desire and willingness to change (parinamavasya) will be needed across all sections of society. If the muck of the the Kali Yuga must first be cleansed off before one is battle-worthy, then no section is free of muck. If a Dharmic Society is what is desired, then it must be one that works for all sections of the Dharma Samaaj, not just one or two. Above all, nationalism and civilizational revival cannot be mere rhetoric for advancing caste agendas. If the difficult problems of unwieldy reservation and rural caste atrocity are both to be tackled, a sense of harmony and common good must reemerge. Jaathi is by birth, but those who assert the privileges of varna must prove themselves worthy of it. No one is beyond question, and all will be held accountable.

Is this how you build Dharmic unity? What authority do such people have to  lecture?

If care only about your own caste & rationalise its wrongs, how can you claim leadership?

Rabid casteist rants (however subtle…) achieve nothing and alienate everything and everyone. Therefore, rather than twiddling our thumbs on twitter like tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, or like AIT proponents (tweedle-dum and tweedle-dummer), let us understand what will be required of us, all of us. It is easy to excoriate Shri Modi and decry his “do-nothingness on core”, but it is much harder to understand exactly what Modi, or Yogi, or any neta actually faces. Those who lead lives of full-time spectator sport and contribute nothing have no right to demand anything. First demonstrate that you understand what is actually taking place, then you can give your gyaan. And if you don’t, then take steps to visualise it and begin to envision actual and workable solutions.

In the mean time, one must begin by understanding each dimension of the Kurukshetra, starting with the Intellectual one.

Intellectual Kurukshetra

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Decoding the Intellectual Kurukshetra is no easy task. As was written in that previous ICP article, “propheteering” is a lucrative industry, from Karl Marx to Karl Popper. Rajiv Malhotra has naturally been the pioneering (and remains the leading) voice here, and the issues related to tackling this dimension are naturally best covered directly by him in his works. Nevertheless, there is a particularly aspect that is jarring at this stage that in the interests of unity, has not been discussed much. We, after all, do not have the same burdens to be diplomatic that he does.

And the issue is this: Shalyas masquerading as Rishis and Acharyas.

Beef-in-Vedas, Eugenics,  and Alternative Lifestyles are all looking for legitimation from louts looking for lucre as Rna. This is the danger of fake Acharyas, foreign and domestic: they mislead and make way for the immoral agenda. Many “modern Rishis”—many of whom are foreign origin—are being pushed online and off to replace not only our traditional Pandits and their orthodox interpretations, but also to replace dharmic political leadership as well.

The Rishi, understandably has had a storied place in Dharma, with the most important of them recorded as mind-born sons of Brahma. But one must be wary of conflating the role of the Brahmana or even Rishi with that of the Raja.Like the words Acharya and Guru, even the word Rishi is now increasingly bandied about today, as though there could be a Peter Drucker based management course to train such leadership.It is not enough to call for the Leadership of Rishis if Daivic Spiritual Power is in fact lacking.

As such, spiritual leadership cannot be conflated with political leadership. The two are distinct, though they must work hand-in-hand and must be native in nature.

This dimension also necessitates challenging intellectual “white elephants” being foisted as “dharmic”, whether it is “dharmic liberalism” or “dharmic paganism”. “Dharmic capitalism” is another such oxymoron, and Swaminathan Gurumurthy correctly termed this “Baahuka Economics”.

Here is the Indian equivalent of Greenspan’s economics — the economics of Bahuka. Bahuka figures in the Bhagawata Purana, and was the advisor of Jarasandha, who was Kamsa’s father-in-law. Kamsa, who regarded Sri Krishna as his enemy, asked Bahuka’s advice on how to make his subjects state-dependent. Bahuka told him: “Open your treasury to the people. Make the people eat, drink and enjoy themselves. Bring up children to look upon parents as old and useless. That will make them laugh at those who talk of duty, love and compassion. Like well-fed cattle at the mercy of the cowherd, the people will be completely dependent on you. [2]

Therefore, the Intellectual Kurukshetra necessitates a sense of discretion and a healthy skepticism of ‘saviours‘ presenting themselves as rishis and acharyas. Critical thinking is indeed critical.

Individual

While the Intellectual Kurukshetra has been much discussed, the Individual Kurukshetra has not. This might strike new readers as surprising, but as we will show in subsequent dimensions, the individual is the building block to the overarching Kurukshetra we have today. And stupid individuals cannot a strong society or sena make.

In a preceding Post, we identified the following as the elements of Indian Stupidity: Attention Deficit Disorder, Missing the Woods for the Trees, Rote Memorisation, Status Obsession, Sentimentality, Sore-loserness, Inability to Shut up, Action vs Reaction, & Lack of Focus resulting from Loss of Culture. Ultimately, these all radiate from the need for Character.

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Strength in character consists of having the qualities that allow you to exercise control over your instincts and passions, to master yourself, and to resist the myriad temptations that constantly confront you.

  • Strength of character allows you to carry out your will freely, while enabling you to cope with setbacks. It assists you to accomplish your goals in the end.
  • It allows you to inquire into the causes of ill-fortune, instead of just complaining about it, as many are inclined to do.
  • It gives you the courage to admit your own faults, frivolousness, and weaknesses.
  • It gives you the strength to keep a foothold when the tide turns against you, and to continue to climb upward in the face of obstacles.

If there is a single aspect critical in creating effective participants on the Kurukshetra it is character. And in order to build character, one must rely on the basics of Dharma. The Dharmasastra of Vaidika Dharma obviously provides an exegesis in tomes. Sikh Dharma emphasises Naam Japo (chanting the name of God), Kirat Karo (work diligently), and Vand Chakko (doing good for society). Satya (Truth) and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) are part of the Five Vows of Jain Dharma, and Bauddha Dharma provides the 8 Fold Path.

More than Trivial Pursuit, GK games, IQ obsession & Eugenics theories to preserve your favourite perspective, wisdom and intellectual humility are needed to do the intelligent thing. That can only come from character. Udhaarabhaava (good character) or Aryabhava (Noble character), that is what is lacking today. Instead we have people full of Kusheela or Paapasheela (Bad and Ignoble Character). The Rishi has been replaced by the Marjaar.

Character is about building a community, not using people and throwing them away after.

Character is about building institutions for the common good, not just promoting your own brand or clique or popsicle stand.

Character is about having the courage to do the right thing, even if it is the difficult thing. It is in putting societal duties above personal obligations. It is in looking after the common welfare rather than merely private social-climbing.

Much has been written about degeneracy and depravity, but the root to this is Selfishness.

Character is the opposite of Selfishness, because it looks to do what is necessary and hard rather than what is easy. Enjoying the bonhomie of the decade-old digital salon is easy. Recognising a Jaichand in your midst and disavowing when apparent is the sign of true character…not dp’s of grave looking European men in statue form.

The Romans had many intelligent slaves to serve as tutors in intellectual matters—yet, they remained the rulers. After all, “High IQ” slaves are still slaves. Among the Greeks, Alcibiades too was “high iq”, but ultimately betrayed his nation. Carthage had the more brilliant general in Hannibal, but Rome’s character & citizenry ensured Scipio had the support to defeat him. That is the importance and criticality of Character.

Oordhva

We are all human beings who naturally have needs. But character teaches us how and when to fulfill those needs, or even transcend them. Dharma is the path to Character.

DharmaMandir

Familial

Family is an important dimension of the Modern Kurukshetra precisely because of what is being pushed in the name of the “Modern Family”. If traditional family values are under threat it is because for too long individuals have been winking at or turning a blind eye at abuses of family power. This is of course seen best in the lead up to the original Kurukshetra itself.

The infuriating and sinful disrobing of Draupadi fueled not only the Pandavas’, but Krishna’s desire for the destruction of the Kauravas. However, even Krishna achieved justice for Draupadi after weighing all the factors: When, Where, How, Who, What, Why. He did not merely advocate war immediately. He took into account the factors against and even tapasya required on the part of the Pandavas, before, in the name of all women, Duryodhana and Dushasana could be brought to justice. And brought to justice they were, in the most terrible of fashions.

But this was achieved and societal attitudes corrected because even an humiliated and vengeful Draupadi patiently listened to the wisdom of Sri Krishna. Rather than putting her cause above Dharma, she focused on Dharma, which in due time, gave her the justice she so richly deserved. That is because, no matter how just the cause, weighing and prioritising of all interests (not just one) and correction of all crimes (not just one) is required. A family is governed, protected, and ultimately restored in the same way. It is not about the dictatorial interests of a patriarchy or matriarchy, but about the head-of-household governing the family in the interest of all its members.

Indeed, it is the failure not of pursuing one’s interests, or frequently even societal interests, but the failure and stubborn refusal to prioritise interest properly that frequently leads to problems not only for societies but even for relationships.

If you only prioritise your interest, if you only care about yourself, if you only look after yourself, how can your relationship, any relationship, survive? Romance isn’t dead today because modernity makes it impossible or obsolete. Rather, the Death of Romance took place because individuals (the constituent parts of a relationship) are too selfish to make the relationship work. What self-absorbed, selfish woman (no matter how physically beautiful) will inspire continued romantic sentiment in her husband? What selfish brute of a man can continue to retain the romantic affections of his wife? Indeed, it is not compatibility, but selfishness and brutishness, that makes a relationship impossible. Even the classic English drama Pygmalion demonstrates this.

If divorce rates are increasing, if violence against women is increasing, if isolation in society is increasing, it is because of selfishness and self-centeredness.  A nation of narcissists and selfish brats will not long last. And a nation of people that know not how to prioritise, will not become strong. If the externalities of the “bastard society” are to be avoided, these aspects must be kept in mind.

Prioritisation also means preparing for the unexpected and working as team when the unexpected happens.

Plan & prepare for contingencies. Develop Survival skills.

§ Learn to stock up and keep provisions for a rainy day or week or month

§ Learn to work in teams (castes don’t count)  like professionals in institutions

§ Learn to plan & train. Waiting until stuff happens isn’t a strategy. Emergencies happen

If such situations occur, what will you do?

If you haven’t done any of these things in your spoiled little existence, start today. This is why we wrote of the importance of critical thinking. Gyaani-ism results in living in your own made up world of assumptions. Critical thinking necessitates understanding the world as it actually is. Dharma is not assumption-based. Dharma is reality-based, and reality changes based on circumstances . Modern/Post-modern living may make it seem like you are just a mall or a single-brand retail store away from food, fashion, and water, but what happens when the power goes out? 1 hour or 1 day power cuts are the norm in less densely populated towns and villages, and even many cities, but what do you do if you live in a crime-ridden metro? Gated community or not, foreign or domestic, these are things to consider.

This is also why it is important to value Wisdom over Knowledge. Knowledge is important. But remember as Kant wrote: Science is organised Knowledge, Wisdom is organised life.

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Bhodrolok?

Value wisdom over knowledge. Knowledge is important, but not what is pivotal in the end. Learn the differences. Debasing yourself like a gunga din, following orders, taking instructions, or just taking advice (or saying you’ll think about it) are not the same thing.

This leads into the next point. While it’s good to differentiate between those who openly attack our culture and those foreigners who openly support it, understand that you don’t always know who’s doing what covertly. A traitor is still a traitor, but understand that there still is a difference between native and foreign. Foreigners can be allies and friends, but regardless of the behaviour of casteists, only natives are your real family. There are some things only natives can do. Have the self-respect to understand this.

Gandhi remains controversial, and this movie ever less appreciable by the day. Nevertheless, every now and then, there are some relevant scenes, and this is one of them.

https://youtu.be/E_oaSYFG1ic?t=1h31m48s

It is good to appreciate friends, but your friends cannot run your own household. It is good to acknowledge well-wishers, but they cannot lead your way. It is good to be a good global citizen,but start by being a good national citizen first. Then, not only will you find that you will be more successful in attaining your objectives, but that your circle of friends (foreign and domestic) will increase, not because you are likeable, but because you are respectable.

All this is also why, rather than chasing after the approval of others, silence is golden.

VN_SilenceSocietal

https://youtu.be/0QuKTBkGC_Y

Some of the most sanctimonious societal moralists are those least in line with the spirit of morality. After all, what happened to all those eminence grises, those ancient worthies who watched the vastrahaaran of Draupadi in criminal inaction?

But societal solutions are not as simple as simplistic sloganeering. Civilizational Revival is only possible if all sections are uplifted and given dignity and a stake in society.

Gender

From human trafficking to acid attacks to forced intercourse to everyday run of the mill lechery, women are overwhelming the victims of indecency and violence. But no amount of legislation can completely prevent such behavior in all settings. Thus, the mistake of these ladies is not in speaking out, but knowing where to speak out, realising how to correct, and having the willingness to listen.  Sadly, even in the ranks of those who presume to speak out in favour of or in support of dharma do so only so far as it advances their self-interest. Statements like this show that soul-searching must be done by both genders.

smartgirl

Modern Girls need to start understanding that it takes two hands to clap. It is easy enough to criticise men (we do it here all the time), but both genders must assume responsibility.  Modern and post-modern life has made people soft and selfish and sybaritic. If you value preyas (the pleasant) over shreyas (the good) then society finds itself unwound. But don’t take it from another “chauvinistic pig”, take it from a lady who was once young herself.

Girls: Who you gon’ tell when the repercussions spin?
Showing off your ass ’cause you’re thinking it’s a trend

Guys: How you gonna win if you ain’t right with them?

This Lauryn Hill ‘feat is in many ways a lament of Post-Modernity and the tragic downfall of her community (mentioned here). The obvious contrasts between 1967 and 1998 are clearly seen in split-screen. She soulfully sings of how easily women are prepared to “give it away” for material things and how men are prepared to take advantage of women for “that thing”, leaving behind 3-4 kids on child support they don’t pay.  She asks men, how can they think they win if they don’t treat women right?

And before you think this is just another lecture from old-fashioned people, understand how the above leads to the below.

Coming_Apart

In America, IQ champion Charles Murphy is now bemoaning the coming apart of his theories in The Coming Apart of White America, and in India, we now have “Char bottle Vodka”. Women are not chattel or baby factories. The due place of women is not only as mothers and wives but also as co-equals and partners in society.  But the way to dignity, justice, and respect for women is not through outside intervention, but internal reform.

From Basava to Annamacharya to Vivekananda, voices rooted in the native and indigenous were the ones that most successfully appealed to our conscience and reformed society in the process.  Achara is the building block for this, because it restrains our behavior to encourage the common interest instead. It is not more laws but better conduct that will improve society and women’s safety.

This leads to the next point. At a time when foreign elements are doing there utmost to split Hindu society along caste lines, only an idiot plays into it by making it worse.

Class

classvclassEven our self-proclaimed patriots and social media saviors are guilty of this sin of selfishness, and have even less reason for it. Dharma is merely a flag or (temporary) party—ambition is their cause.

Rather than think of the common good, they prioritise advancing their own personal, career, and caste interests. These pseudo-trads would do well to remember that Sukra Niti prescribes strict punishment for those inciting caste hatreds.

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Start with yourself, and show you have self-respect by treating others with respect. This is the first step to rebuilding personal character, which in turn will rebuild society.

Regional Kurukshetra

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To rebuild the character of the state necessitates leaders. Real leaders, not just entitled buffoons who like to boss people around or boast of credentials or give flattering lectures, but real people of action. Real action is not in producing hackneyed memes that mimic analogues from the West, but in actually taking tangible steps in collaboration with like-minded people.

Samarth_ramdas_swami_&_kalyan_swami
Samarth Ramdas Swamy

Reach out to the local traditional Pandits. You can find ways to give qualified ones patronage or support the events they and others like them hold to teach all children. There is a lot of junk colonial history out there and junk colonial scriptural interpretation as well. It is only the traditional pandit who can give the correct interpretation and advise your effort to properly restore your regional history and culture. Only orthodox Pandits are the authorities on our scriptures anyway—not some beef-eating baboo, foreign or domestic, from the ivory tower.

Promote native/regional language & language bookstores. “But it’s cheaper on amazon” isn’t an excuse. That should be a last resort not a first one. Give patronage as much as you can and suggest book titles to your friends and family and followers. There’s no point whining about how your kids or the younger generation doesn’t speak  your mother tongue when you didn’t make it a point to show them what to read, and why.

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Kashyapa Muni Statue in Andhra

KP’s should teach their children Sharda (and of course, Koshur). This will ensure not only the ability to read the treasure of Sanskrit literature that came from the Land of Maharishi Kashyap, but that there will be motivation to re-collect the many lost manuscripts of our civilizational heritage that are in that lipi.Our Sikh brothers in Dharma have provided an excellent example in preserving not only the Punjabi language, but the Gurmukhi script.  Those speaking various Hindi dialects should begin emphasising them as well. We touched on that issue here. There is no reason why the purveyors of a persianised pidgin patois should look down upon the venerable bhashas of Braj and Avadh and Mithila.

Also remember, culture isn’t static. Nor is it 1 dimensional or only religious in character. You can’t just regurgitate whatever traditional learning you learnt. The next step is to revive cultural equities not just by documenting them,but by supporting artists, dancers, weavers, craftspeople, fashion designers, poets, etc etc.

If you are fed up with bollywood insulting our culture, give the parallel vision, the real vision of real India. Enough talk. Put your money where your mouth is. There are plenty of short film directors and film students looking for funding online. Crowdsource. Pool your resources and give the ones with the right vision and right attitude the funding they need. One small film can lead to bigger ones. They are all one google-search away. This also means investing in your regional language industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpstw1xepk0

That is how state culture is revived—not through twitter threads—but through giving patronage to pandits, support to arts & crafts, ticket sales to traditional & folk theatre & dance, and funding to up and coming filmmakers who are culturally & nationally rooted.

National Kurukshetra

If the regional front has its share of issues, they are manifold at the national level. Everything from national history and historicity to central administrative language is contested. This necessitates not only nationalists at the regional level but regional thinkers to think nationally. But only a cultured elite (whether municipal or regional) can function that way.

A New Elite

RamayanReturn
Ram Raj requires Bharatas & Lakshmanas as Lieutenants

Ram Raj was not built in a day. Nevertheless, it remains a perennial and even millennial aspiration throughout India. But such a selfless elite, such duty-bound/self-sacrificing leaders who verily gave us the definition of Tyaagi, require more than 1 giant personality. Whether Maharaja or Mukhya Mantri, such a leader requires secondary leadership to back him up (as Bharata did for Rama) and loyal lieutenants who rejected ambition for service to the leader (like Lakshmana), and more importantly, his cause (Dharma). But where are such lieutenants today? Every nitwit with some basis for ahankar (birth, gotra, education, money) sees himself as the saviour and will tear down any putative rival with a viciousness he doesn’t even show to national enemies. That is why Dharma is needed, as it rejects ambition in favor of duty and aspiration. Duty must come before self-interest—then and then only is the national/civilizational cause served. Ask yourself “is there someone better qualified?”—if so, politely step aside, and if you have it in you, help (that is, after all, what a true leader would do).

India’s record is actually slightly better than that, as there was resistance and even rollback throughout the 1000 years (which is closer to 5-600 years if one thinks of all of India, rather than just Northwest India). But the point of the honourable Minister is spot on. In our obsession for IQ, we are forgetting the need to evaluate character. Do you hang tough and stand by your countrymen when the going gets tough—or do you cut a side deal to keep your ill-deserved kingdom or because you feel he wronged you.

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Our modernism zombies may laugh instinctively that any elite in any time could be politically (let alone morally) superior to their own. But in an era when selfishness and greed itself have become virtues, perhaps the time has indeed come to review aspects of Aristocracy that indeed made them aristos (the best) as opposed to the current crop of kakistos. Perhaps there is indeed a way to imbibe the self-sacrificing and rootedness of the old elite in our democratic framework without restoring monarchy’s dictatorial worst. To do that, we must first understand what the purpose of an elite really is.

Also understand how the game is played. Overcompensating bravado, caste prejudice, and even overt religious bigotry are merely going to ensure you play directly into our shatrus’ hands with quotable soundbites—many of you are experts at this already…And misogyny is downright suicidal. We at this site reject it prima facie, but if you don’t reject it on principle, at least have some sense. Political sense. When your shatru is trying to pit women against men, you don’t play into his hands.

Civilizational Kurukshetra

For Romans it was Virtus, for the Chinese it is Tianxia, for Indians it is Dharma. The character of a nation or civilization is determined by the driving principle. It is an ideal that gives courage in dark days, high minded thinking in peaceful ones, and moral thinking in prosperous ones. Above all, it not only gives a nation its character, but builds character among its nationalists. When character is corrected, then attitude is corrected, and not only fellow countrymen but neighbouring countries will hearken to your call.

Our previous articles on the Global Crisis of Character and Why Character is so Important, were composed so that people, especially self-declared civilizational saviours, understand that their personal character is ultimately what deprecates or elevates National Character.

Character also teaches you to plan for succession. Team, Family, Community, Business, Army, Government, all need depth not just in the ranks of enlisted man or common member, but depth in leadership as well.  From Dahir to Anandapala to Hemu, too many battles have been lost because a cause was personality-focused. To get loyalty from your subordinates show loyalty and respect (not the same as subservience) to seniors. Personalities do matter, but institutions matter more. That is how civilizations are saved.

Global Kurukshetra

https://youtu.be/9lKfgTuJc-0?t=2249

While video games, dm groups, and wrathofgnon ripoffs may make the Clash of Civilizations fashionable, the truth is there is a Global Clash for Civilization. This is seen not only at the individual level as we discussed previously, but at the structural and military industrial level as well. It is said that Ashoka Maurya once patronised a society of nine men to ensure that destructive technologies from esoteric sciences did not enter the wrong hands. Well, the box is open, Pandora, and humanity is reaping this mutated crop.

Furthermore, as a number of individuals have remarked, colonialism never truly ended, but merely took on a new form. It has in fact expanded to now colonise yester-year colonisers in a more overt fashion, destroying culture in a covert fashion.

While the culture-less are driven by hyper-activity or a desire to embrace the fashionable, the cultured take a moment to reflect on the proper course of action and have the ability to follow through. This is why culture eats strategy for breakfast. An individual, a family, an organisation, a society at harmony will have the ability to not only devise the right strategy and implement the right tactics, but have the cultural wherewithal to execute properly.

This is why mere shows of knowledge are ultimately useless, and due to disinformation and misinformation, can even be dangerous. Institution building, team building, critical and strategic thinking, solution providing…these are what ultimately prepare individuals, citizens, societies, and civilizations for problems that face them. If you are wasting your time in dimwit digital salons that stroke unjustified egos, don’t make pretense to being civilizational saviours with IQ’s of 8 billion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOr7aN7LMu4&feature=youtu.be&t=23m20s

No one is ever what they seem, especially on social media. This is the value of critical thinking, and more importantly, strategic thinking. Rather than getting caught up in self-serving models and self-selecting data, you pay attention to motives and ask…

bono

For God’s sake, when all this is going on, when there are open attempts to recreate medieval colonial kingdoms not only through culture or historical apologia, or language, but even outright political division, do we have time for games of Trivial Pursuit ?

It takes teams to counter teams. But how is this possible with selfish spoiled brats who don’t even like team sports?

To restore the native way of life, native knowledge and literature must be supported.

Give patronage to Civilizational bookstores. They may not be perfect. They may have vsnl-era websites, but these publishers ensure that our common national and civilizational heritage is passed on to anglicised metro youth.

§  Chowkhambha

§  Motilal Banarsidass

§  Sri Yogi Books

§  Vedambooks.net

§  Vedicbooks.net

§ Carnatic Books

§  Exotic India Art

§  Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

§ Nag Prakashak

Spiritual Kurukshetra

https://youtu.be/N03YNGPUkaU?t=2

This may be the most difficult aspect for most us schooled in the politico-strategic tradition. After all, Bismarck famously wrote on Blut und Eisen, not Geist. But the spiritual aspect will be crucial in the days ahead. The degeneracy we see all around us is not just a result of man’s coincidental fall into hedonism from a natural interest in pleasure. It is in fact intended as strategy to entrench a very real asuric panth that is the embodiment of the demonic. This is the danger of fixation with pagan vs abrahamic. There were ancient paganisms that worshipped the asuric, and it is foolish for Dharmikas to equate Daiva worship with Asura worship. Rejecting abrahamism is one thing, being gradually boiled into asura worship is another. Make no mistake, that is in fact what faces not only Bharatavarsha but the world itself.

Cultivating yourself also means developing other sides of yourself with hobbies. Merely watching serials or cricket or idiot bollywood movies is no way to spend all your free time. Some tv time is ok, but the rest of it, spend on developing your artistic or musical side. Pick up gardening, or a sport—a real sport—like wrestling, archery, or field hockey. It also means, not devolving to the emotional equivalent of a child. From godforsaken gameshows to stupid serials and soap operas to infantile cartoons, the modern middle class adult (young and old, male and female) has literally become infantalised through a life of idle pleasure-addling. This results in spiritual demise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_3BXG3texY&feature=youtu.be&t=1m42s

A life of pleasure-addled delusion and pain-avoiding pill-popping leads to the requiem for a dream. Don’t be dependent on drugs. Take what pharmaceuticals you absolutely need, but when possible rely on a healthy lifestyle, traditional medicine, and non-fast-food diet.

In addition, failing to join together to preserve the common interest is not only a recipe for common slavery, but indicative of a loss of character. The ability to endure pain is the sign of the statesman. It is the sign of the kshatriya (intellectual or otherwise), and that incidentally gave away Karna’s true birth. But in our era, whatever your birth caste,  if you play a role in civic affairs, if you wish to have a hand in the destiny of the nation, you must have the character to make the painful decision when it is clear that it is the right decision.

Making false equivalence with asuric paganisms will not stem the tide of abrahamism nor lead to spiritual revival.  Bharat is not supremacist—but it is certainly special. Therefore, rather than paganism uber alles, spiritual regimens will be pivotal for the spiritual warfare that will gradually make itself more apparent in the days ahead.One need not believe in the supernatural to see the very real spiritual crisis that is plaguing mankind. The human love for pleasure first begins as delusion and then concludes as misery. Purushartha is one thing, polyamory and bollyamory is another. It is again why critical thinking is so important so as to prevent careless mistakes, whether spiritual or familial.

This is the cost of being gullible, of not taking precautions, of not doing your homework,  of not focusing on action rather than sweet talk, in not thinking of both intentions and capabilities, in not asking about alternatives.  This is why we have emphasised the importance of Niti. Rule number 1 of Rajniti is Shut up and Be aware of your surroundings.

https://twitter.com/TideFanJoe/status/899332586639691776

“Awareness is Life“. How many make it a point to be aware? Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me. Indians are fooled time and time again. To fail like this is not only a failure of Niti, but a failure of Dharma. After all, preservation of Dharma is the most important Dharma—everything else comes after it.

Bharat has shown the light of holistic living. It is not through pagan confederacy, but through Daiva balam that the Asuric will be defeated. It is also why as much as there may be interest in the Clash of Civilizations (which may be the case at the mohalla level) this is ultimately a Clash for Civilization. This is because in the past, foreign rule meant loss of territory, sovereignty, and dignity, but the present conflict is one that involves the loss of our very humanity itself.

If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. But if character is lost, then all is lost.

Dharmachakra

Conclusion

There is much disenchantment today not only in India but across the world. Political systems are increasingly showing their problems. Nationalists are not necessarily responsive to concerns. And societies themselves are at the brink. But if you only focus on your own problems, if you only care for your community, if you only concern yourself with regional politics, if you only pay attention to national politics, how could you possibly understand what is transpiring trans-nationally?

Caught up in one’s own individual financial problems, the self-absorbed ‘citizen of the world’ can’t be bothered to actually consider the consequences for the common humanity. Easily conditioned to fall for simplistic notions such as “Clash of Civilizations”, our class clowns fail to recognise that the Dharmic War of the Kurukshetra was fundamentally about a Clash for Civilization. The preservation of Dharma necessitates not only preserving our own Civilization but seeing to it that Bharatiya Sabhyata takes up the cause of all mankind. The Lok Kalyan of Lord Krishna  is about recognising this for what it is and restoring Dharma, Rta, and Satya in its stead. For civilization is more than just the mere sum of mega-cultures in the anthropological sense.

https://twitter.com/tim_fargo/status/938439008471875584

Civilization is about ensuring mankind’s freedom by ensuring the first and noblest conquest.  For it is when man (and woman) reaches the stithapragna state of transcending all desire that he (or she) is free to experience without attachment all the joys of life. It is attachment that enslaves, and today, moha has come in the guise of prema. It is why whether it is one’s relatives, one’s caste, one’s region, or one’s digital cult of the demented, bandhutva is the bond that has prevented sinner and sinless alike from doing his Dharma.

Perhaps most disconcerting is the continuing do-nothing sanctimony of the internet hindu. Comfortably ensconsed in AC soothed flats or newly constructed upwardly mobile colonies, they believe they have the luxury of ranting and raving for another year or 6 years. There is never any plan b, because they never care to strategically plan—only scheme like myriad backbiters there since the days of the minister who betrayed Prithviraj.

The reality the current nationalist upsurge is only temporary and is not even India-specific. Open your eyes and look around .The world itself is churning all while you carp and cavil in self-loathing and self-degrading public flagellation. No the problem is not Hindus or Dharmikas in general, the problem is a selfish collection of the well-heeled and comfortably leisured who believe in coasting on yesterday’s “merit-based” examinations rather than today’s necessity-driven societal tests. Pareeksha anya yogyata anya.Exams are one thing competence is another. Do you honestly believe you have the luxury of ranting and raving in your ill-gotten luxury?

One look at the Gujarat elections alone should indicate to you just how much damage Cultural Marxism has done to a generation of youth who were inclined to vote for the perennial (and near pentagenarian) “youth candidate”—leave aside the AAP win Delhi. What happens once nationalism itself loses its appeal (after petering out from its 15-20 year course)? What will you do then? Do you think a generation of good for nothings will pick up the mantle once you prepare for the semi-retirement of advanced middle age or senile dotage? No, you dotard. You must act now.

1.Understand macro-politics before you open your trap

2.Recognise that any leader can only do so much and focus on setting the culture right to set the politics right

3.Make yourself useful. If the other side itself is talking about the coming Kurukshetra, do you think you can just sit around giving gyaan? This is the case not only in India but around the world.

This is the reality dharmikas must face. They must recognise that the government—any government—may not educate their kids correctly on culture & history. So who will? A government is but an administrative structure that takes in political talent and churns out bureaucrats. If government cannot create the societal change you are looking for, then it is up to civil society. As one yester-year political talent once said “In a democracy, yatha praja tatha raja”. What happened to him after he got into government?

quote-character-in-the-long-run-is-the-decisive-factor-in-the-life-of-an-individual-and-of-nations-theodore-roosevelt-158026

Yet another thread, yet another impuissant digital salon, will do diddly squat. Social media itself will only continue to and suddenly get even more adverse to your cause. Rather than bring on board, train, and mentor directionless youth, most are content to shriek like banshees over 2G this and demonitisation that. If you don’t understand the macro-politics you don’t know what you are talking about.

So rather than waste what precious time is still left join together in teams to begin training the next generation. Self-celebratory conclaves that look for “civilisational” ways to further the cultural marxist agenda only end up shooting us in the foot. After all, the goal is global monoculture, international diplomats as internal & national leaders are all but waiting in the wings—freshly powdered, conditionered, and shampoo’d.

But the bulk of the Internet Hindu crowd continues in its storied tradition of proving its general jealous and self-defeating uselessness. If your strategy to save civilization is “do yoo liffft bwro?”, perhaps a smaller box of crayons (and undies) is more your speed (steroids and all after all…).

teddy&character

Physical fitness and self-defence is important—make no mistake. But this must be done in conjunction with mental exercise. Valour, “virility”, and vim & vigour may be all well and good, but they will not alone a leader make, let alone guarantee victory.

Know yourself. Know your enemy and you will be victorious in a hundred battles.

This is the importance of the Politico-strategic.It cannot be conducted by court eunuchs and debauched pseudo-dharmics or militating mimic (half) men. It can only be done by those who understand that statecraft, politics, and strategy are all under the purview of those who understand kshatriyata. Whatever your jati, it is this varna dharma that serves as lead function in the polity of any society. Religio-spiritual leadership provides spiritual advice, but the heavy lifting must be done by those who not only read—but implement. Vision, implementation, accountability, these are the indices of leadership. These require not only upadesh, but protection of the desh, from the myriad threats that are emerging both within and without.

That is also the danger of  binary-ism, which includes not only Capitalism vs Communism, but also Monotheism vs Polytheism or Abrahamism vs Paganism. If you get caught up in the black vs white rather than the grey, you miss the gradations on the Kurukshetra.

It also means not falling for foreign fraudacharyas who are preparing to implement the ultimate pizza effect with adharmic institutions and immoral consequences. It means prioritising the native over the foreign, and when possible, small business over big business. Development too must be Dharmic.

Prioritise business to small business. So what if you might pay a few paise more. So what if the other guys have an app. Like it or not, trust is a key part of the commercial relationship. Giant mega-corporations and malls may look slick and shiny, but it’s small and medium enterprise that employs the most people. Yes, there are crooks who do things like adulterate milk, but how does that compare with the plastic and cadmium rice of corporations in India’s neighbour to the east?

Above all, Dharmic Development rejects plunder. Plunder of natural resources, plunder of human life and dignity, and plunder of our heritage.

Ironically enough, the reader might be flummoxed to realize that Bastiat’s  critique above was actually centered on socialists, but he too acknowledged the rich man’s plunder [5]. As one can see today, capitalists and socialists are two sides of the same coin, only a different “moral” code: one for the bureaucrat and the other for the banker.

Whether private sector or public sector, it is greed which is destroying the world.

AADHAR, demonitisation, Artificial Intelligence, singularity, all are not taking place inside a vacuum but with broader purpose moving forward. Many have spoken about it. Some are discredited, some are diversionary, but some have also…

The economic and political naturally lead into the military. Have you stopped to consider what is in fact ahead? China is at the forefront of manipulating DNA to create a new class of superhumans. How does society respond to such unethical scientific quests nominally to prevent dysgenics, but in actuality to apply towards strategic purpose?

Therefore, rather than perennially obsess about leaderless instrumentalities it becomes important to understand who is running the show and to not just go by their brand name, but to understand what agenda they are actually pushing forward.

Put aside personal ambition & focus on the National Need.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjIf0-8QyuM&feature=youtu.be&t=1m16s

The days ahead will be tall and terrible. So much so that even the heretofore spoiled and brattish will wake up and be shaken from shirking obligation. While they will separate the boys from the men, but they will also make men, real men.

HindiDiChadar
Hindi di Chadar

For once in your lives, recognise we’re all in this together. Emotional discipline, cultured behaviour, professional competence, personal character, all these qualities, all this background literature was composed so that the one thing you truly lacked was the one thing you’d finally recognise you sorely needed: the right Attitude.

The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.

Gobind Singhji, Shivaji, aur Pratap

It is to prepare you for the Modern Kurukshetra that we have written all these articles:

  1. [Ram Raj] was not Built in a Day
  2. Selfishness: The Real Root of All Evil
  3. Are We a Serious People?
  4. Indians are Talkers not Doers
  5. Problem of Indians: Unrepentant Stupidity
  6. Origins of Indian Stupidity
  7. Culture: The Cure for Stupidity
  8. What is Needed for a Civilizational Revival
  9. Niti: The Practical Principles of Life
  10. The Dharma of Collaboration
  11. Why are Indians so Gullible?
  12. Post-Modern Society is a Bastard Society
  13. The Global Crisis of Character
  14. Why Character is so Important
  15. Rebuilding the National Character
  16. The ‘Modern’ Hindu is a Spoiled Brat
  17. Exigencies of the Politico-Strategic
  18. Grow Up, Bharatiyas

Since the hour is now late and time now sparse, we have drawn from many of them to compile this compendium article for those who lead hectic lives.

quote-in-war-three-quarters-turns-on-personal-character-and-relations-the-balance-of-manpower-napoleon-bonaparte-105-56-97

Culture breeds Character. And that is why Culture is banned in the Brave New World.

And ultimately, it is why Culture is at the Core of the Modern Kurukshetra. If cultural degeneracy and depravity are being spread the world over it is because they make possible the pleasureful slavery that is in store for those who choose the easy way out.

Medieval India faced tremendous civilizational danger from barbaric invaders, but it was always able to recover because its culture essence could live to fight another day. But now this is being destroyed root and branch courtesy court restrictions on Diwali and cultural marxism in the media leading to smut in mainstream celluloid.

It is in fact here that the great danger lies. Pop Culture cannot educate our youth, yet it is Pop Culture that is corroding the standards of morality the world over. “The root of National Honour is in National Morality”.

That is why an interdisciplinary response is required to take on a multimedia, and indeed, multi-dimensional assault. It is culture first and foremost that we must defend. And the root of our Culture is Dharma. For it is only when the Cultural Dharma, the Common Dharma, the Saamaanya Dharma is correctly calibrated and revived that Virtue can be restored around the world.

References:
  1. Vidura Niti
  2. Sukra Niti
  3. Malhotra, Rajiv. Sulekha. 2002. http://creative.sulekha.com/the-axis-of-neocolonialism_103313_blog
  4. Swaminathan, Gurumurthy. Economics of Bahuka and Greenspan. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/economics-of-bahuka-and-greenspan/article2598383.ece
  5. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media.
  6. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World.

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