1. Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society is that of a non-violent and democratic social order in which there is a just balance between individual freedom and social responsibility. He has a very high regard for the place of ideals in human life. Without ideals, he says, life can have no meaning because there would be no goals towards which human endeavour can be directed. 2. His supreme ideal, is self-realization, or knowing God and merging in him. But this, he admits, is not possible entirely as long as man exists in the flesh and remains subject to its desires. What is possible for him is to lead a life and help construct a society (for man is a social being) that will help him come closest to the supreme goal.
OPINION,
13/05/2019,
1788.
SUB :
1. Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society is that of a non-violent and democratic social order in which there is a just balance between individual freedom and social responsibility. He has a very high regard for the place of ideals in human life. Without ideals, he says, life can have no meaning because there would be no goals towards which human endeavour can be directed.
2. His supreme ideal, is self-realization, or knowing God and merging in him. But this, he admits, is not possible entirely as long as man exists in the flesh and remains subject to its desires. What is possible for him is to lead a life and help construct a society (for man is a social being) that will help him come closest to the supreme goal.
REF:
1. Gandhi’s Vision of the Ideal Society in India!
2. Ideal World – Rama Rajyam – Hinduism
NOTE :
1. Individual Freedom : Swami Chinmayananda
2. Nation Building : Swami Chinmayananda
CONCLUSION :
OPINION :Dynamics of Togetherness - Swami Chinmayananda
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Ref : 1. Gandhi’s Vision of the Ideal Society in India!
The discussion focuses first on the elements that Gandhi thought contributed towards the making of an ideal society, second on his continually evolving concept of swaraj followed by his conceptualization of Ram Rajya, democracy, the republic, citizenship and education, and third on his views on the legal and medical professions and on industrialization.
Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society is that of a non-violent and democratic social order in which there is a just balance between individual freedom and social responsibility. He has a very high regard for the place of ideals in human life. Without ideals, he says, life can have no meaning because there would be no goals towards which human endeavour can be directed.
His supreme ideal, is self-realization, or knowing God and merging in him. But this, he admits, is not possible entirely as long as man exists in the flesh and remains subject to its desires. What is possible for him is to lead a life and help construct a society (for man is a social being) that will help him come closest to the supreme goal.
Apart from the influence of his upbringing and education, Gandhi’s conception of the ideal society is in a large measure the result of his distaste for the modern civilization of the west. His views on this subject are set forth in the booklet he wrote, Hind Swaraj. He clearly states in his introduction to the book that his negative ideas on modern civilization are not original, but acquired from the writings of several great writers and thinkers.
Another factor that moulded Gandhi’s vision of the ideal society was his love for the simple life. This arose in the first instance from his own roots in the small towns of Porbandar and Rajkot in Kathiawar. Later, his reading, though selective and generally restricted to theological and philosophical works, affected him deeply.
The Phoenix Trust Deed is a very significant document for it contains a model of the type of society he wished to create for humanity. Among the objectives of the settlers on Phoenix Farm were: to order one’s life so as to earn a living through handicrafts and agriculture without the aid of machinery; to promote better understanding between peoples; to live a pure life and thereby set an example for others; to try and promote the ideals of Ruskin and Tolstoy; to introduce vernacular education; to propagate the philosophy of ‘nature treatment’ in the medical field; to train for social service; and finally to conduct a journal for the advancement of these ideas.
Gandhi was critical of industrial civilization not only because it led to severe and wasteful competition for goods and markets leading to colonization of weaker nations and exploitation of the countryside, but also because it led to displacement of manual labour and growing unemployment.
In contrast was Indian civilization in which there was “no system of life corroding competition”. Each followed his own occupation or trade and charged a regulation wage. On balance, Gandhi finds that the tendency of Indian civilization “is to elevate the moral being”, while “that of western civilization is to propagate immorality”.
This rather harsh condemnation of the west may be viewed in the background of his deep faith in a supreme creator and the necessity of spirituality in a civilization, both of which he found lacking in his experience of western life.
Another element in Gandhi’s thinking is very significant for his conceptualization of an ideal society. This is the doctrine of bread labour. It has already been discussed in relation to its emergence; here, we propose to examine his belief that it would, if implemented, create an ideal social order.
In broad terms, bread labour means that one should eat only after doing adequate labour to earn it. Gandhi is positive that bread labour meant manual labour alone and not intellectual labour. His logic is: “The needs of the body must be supplied by the body.”
He also feels that in any society, there are many individuals who can work physically or mentally to an extent that is more than is required to sustain themselves. The products of their surplus labour capacity should, according to Gandhi’s principle, be devoted to the common good.
If this principle were followed, he asserts, there would be “no rich and no poor, none high and none low, no touchable and no untouchable”. He believes that it is the wide gulf between manual and intellectual labour that is the cause of poverty and inequality in society.
If each of us, he writes, performed only enough physical labour for our bread, even that, though short of the ideal, would go a long way in producing a just society – our wants would be reduced and our lives would be simplified and each would “derive the greatest relish from the production of his labour”. In his ideal state, those doing intellectual labour, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, should not expect payment because such work is done for its own satisfaction and not for the self, according to him.
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Ref : 2. Ideal World – Rama Rajyam – Hinduism - SANATANA DHARMAM -MAHATMA GANDHI JI
However it’s to be noted that the legend of Ram whose exemplary character and governance more than 10,000 years ago, makes it the most popular text book on moral living and righteous polity.
In post-colonial India, Ram Rajya as a concept was first projected by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji announced that Ram Rajya would be brought once Independence arrived. When he was asked about the ideal State, he talked about Ram Rajya. By using the Ram Rajya slogan, Gandhiji implied an ideal Rajya (without being communal) where values of justice, equality, idealism, renunciation and sacrifice are practised.
To quote Mahatma Gandhi on Ram Rajya, he said and wrote on February 26, 1947, “Let no one commit the mistake of thinking that Ramrajya means a rule of Hindus. My Ram is another name for Khuda or God. I want Khuda Raj which is the same thing as the Kingdom of God on Earth.” Obviously this meant an ideal society where everybody follows a code of righteous living and more or less happy, meeting all their essential needs.
Ram Rajya according to many scholars meant that the state (Rajya) was the sole legitimate agency wielding power (force), which imposes limits upon its exercise of power, either for the greater happiness of the people, or to evade a greater tyranny that could be caused by moral outrage or self-righteousness.
Historically, from the Ramayana, the chapter on Ayodhya gives a majestic description of Ram Rajya, where peace, prosperity and tranquility reigned, for there was no one to challenge the seat of Ayodhya, literally the land without wars. Incidentally in Hindi, “Ayodhya” means “a place where there is no war.” Hence “Ram Rajya” is described as an ideal society. Is there any country that doesn’t want peace, prosperity and tranquility?
*Rama Rajyam
Lord Rama was Maryada Purushottama. He was a Prema Murti. He was an ideal son, an ideal brother, an ideal husband, an ideal friend, and an ideal king. He can be taken to embody all the highest deals of man. He led an ideal life of a householder to teach humanity. He ruled His people so nicely that His rule came to be called Rama Rajya, meaning the rule of righteousness, the rule which bestows on all happiness and prosperity.Rama was an ideal king. He ruled the kingdom in a wonderful way. He was just and righteous. He was courageous and kind. He was endowed with a gentle and generous disposition. He was civil and courteous.
Therefore His subjects loved Him immensely. Not a single man was unhappy during His regime. He often used to say, “I will do anything and everything to please My subjects; and, if necessary, I can even abandon My dear wife for their sake.” That is the reason why His reign was called “Rama Rajya.” There were not dacoits during His regime. All led a virtuous life. Nobody spoke any untruth. Anybody could place a bag of gold or jewels even in the main street. No one would touch it even.
Rama Rajya was based on truth. Dharma was its foundation. Shastras were the guiding principles. Rishis, Yogis, Munis and Brahma Jnanis were the guiding lights. The Vedas were respected and followed. Therefore, Rama Rajya endured and prospered. And it is even now spoken of as the most perfect form of government.
The government of Sri Rama was an ideal one. Rama’s kingdom was free from evil-doers, thieves and dacoits. People did not put locks to the doors, nor bars to their windows. A bag of gold could be kept quite safe even in the highways. No calamity ever befell anyone. The aged people never performed the funeral rites of the young. No one injured another. Everyone was devoted to Dharma, righteousness or duty. All the people always narrated Sri Rama’s stories. They always uttered Rama, Rama. The whole world reverberated with the Name of Rama.
In due season, rain and shine came. The air was fresh and cool. The trees were laden with plenty of fruits. There were abundant flowers of sweet fragrance. There were plenty of crops in the fields.
Every man had a long life. He had children and grandchildren. Wives were devoted to their husbands. They were chaste and pure.
All the people were hale and hearty. They were rich, contented and virtuous. They were free from disease, greed and sorrow. They were truthful, righteous and self-controlled. They led a pure and taintless life.
The Brahmins were well-versed in the Vedas. They were virtuous. They stuck to their own duties. The Kshatriyas were brave. The Vaishyas and Sudras did their Svadharma. They were free from passion, greed and envy. The twice-born were faithful to the rites and scriptures. They were truthful in their words and deeds. They had God-fearing nature. They had love for all creatures.
The troops were very strong and brave. They were fierce like fire. They never retraced their steps in battle. They guarded the ramparts well.
There were neither want nor fear nor pain anywhere. The sons were noble and manly. The daughters were handsome, modest and pure.
Every town and province had plenty of gold and corn. Fathers never lost their children, nor did wives their husbands.
Poverty was unknown in Rama’s kingdom. Everybody had horses, cattle, gold and grain. Nobody spoke falsehood. No one envied others’ wealth. The poorest man was richly blessed with wealth and knowledge.
Sri Rama’s dominion was free from fire, flood, storm, fever, famine and disease.
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NOTE : 1. Individual Freedom : Swami Chinmayananda
In all periods of history great thinkers had contemplated for long and conceived plans for the progress of man, and the sum total of it all is the civilization or culture that we have now come to live as our inheritance. Into this common pool of knowledge and progress, political pundits, economic rishis, social thinkers, and religious prophets have continuously poured all their invaluable efforts and visions.
As students of history, when we analyse them all and reach beneath the subtle differences and the apparent contradictions - in the subject matter or in their mode of expression or in the very nature of their emphasis - we shall see that all of them but preach the glory of "togetherness" in life. All ethics are contained in it; all social-patterns are catering to it; all religions are constantly preaching it, and all economic plans have this "togetherness" as their very goal.
In a healthy community, individuality must be respected and there must be freedom for individuals to grow and to develop. This freedom should never be allowed to sink low as to touch the depths of licentiousness. No doubt, every individual should have all the freedom, but when this, individual freedom destroys the harmonious development of the society, as a crime by the economists, as a treachery by the politicians.
This controlled individual freedom is the secret demand in all civilization, progress and culture. In the sad stories of any nation's fall, in the recorded reports of any decadent culture or in the history of any destroyed civilization, we find the individual freedom has been misused and consequently the communal life ended in a tragic disaster,(failing to be an effective community)
In short, a population living in a geographical area cannot in itself constitute a nation. A nation is born only when people come to live in a given area on the globe. Therefore, population must become a people, and all efforts at social, political and economic progress have been, and shall ever be, a constant dedicated attempt to raise people out of the available population.
Population is mere number. A community, wherein each individual lives his own selfish, self-centered life, careless of others, unconscious of the disruptions he is creating around him, is not a community at all; it is only a crowd. In a community of sheer numbers there never can be an intelligent progress.
When members of a community to discover the capacity in themselves to sink their mutual differences, and thus unite together and thereby come to live and strive for a common purpose or goal, there we watch the formation and the glorious achievements of people (which makes an effective community)
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NOTE : 2. Nation Building-Swami Chinmayananda
"Is there in us a ready capacity today to sink our differences and prejudices in order to cheerfully strive for and willfully arrive at a common purpose, which is acceptable to all?"
I need not answer these obvious questions. In case, your answer is that Bharat is today already a united, self-disciplined nation, and that her people are putting forth this integrated strength to reach a common national aspiration, we must congratulate ourselves for it, because, then our future is assured and progress alone can be ours. But, in case, in Bharat we feel that we have yet to consolidate and discover our fuller unfoldments and thereby come to evolve ourselves to be people, the question is "how can we achieve this now?"
The political and the social sciences give no direct method for immediately reversing the disintegrating forces playing so relentlessly now upon the fabric of the community.
An economic vision no doubt, for a short time, may give an artificial look of integration and to that extent we find a temporary communal or national integration during the natural enthusiasm of an age of planning or during any period of revolution, or in any era of war. This cannot accomplish an integrated full development of a nation, as this enthusiasm is never sustained long enough to yield any perceptible fruits. It is at such junctures in history that the available political system crumbles, the economics planning fails, the nation falls and the man decays.
I am not at all an alarmist. But I must admit that, if we were to rub our eyes and look around us today, at least with a minimum sense of scientific detachment, we shall observe that we have much more to do in building up our nation. As we have already indicated, a nation is not built merely by the great things we might posses, or manage to procure. It is essentially rooted in the texture and quality of each individual and his attitude towards the world around him.
This is a problem wherein other objective sciences have no solution to give. The social and political philosophies have no practical remedy to suggest. And yet, none of these philosophers will willingly ever admit their helplessness. Thus we find, improvement of health, enriching the pockets, stepping up of production, removal of communal equalities, a social law discarding religion, an administration advocating secularism, and encouraging technology etc. are suggested by the modern sociopolitical philosophies, as remedies for improving the texture and quality of man, and as sure schemes for nation building.
The fallacy in the argument must be obvious even to the very promoters and champions of pure materialism and sheer objectivity in political and social reconstruction.
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OPINION :
Dynamics of Togetherness - Swami Chinmayananda
I am not one of those who do not believe in the necessity for social revolutions, nor am I blind to the urgency of planning for my country. The tragic poverty of Bharat must be removed and national wealth must be increased. Industrial adventure and the consequent wealth production must be successfully undertaken and pursued with determination. But along with these the quality and texture of vision and character of the members of the community also must expand and improve.A science, which has a ready plan for the unfoldments of individual man, is found in all the scriptures of the world. And when a student declares that among them all Vedanta is the most complete, he is not saying so because of his blind fanaticism but his assertion is because of the completeness of its total scientific approach. The theories that explore this problem, contemplated upon and discovered by the specialists, called the "Rishies", constitute "Philosophy". and the practical instructions upon how to subjectively achieve the perfections, indicated as possibilities by the philosophers, constitute "Religion"
The Science of Man-making is the essence of all true Scriptures. The pure science of life, is "philosophy", and the technology, meaning he applied science of life, is "religion".
In Bharat, during all our illustrious past, we had lived and achieved as people, and we have a full grown national consciousness of to get he mess. Inspired by the common ideal, we lived an integrated life of progress and glory, of profit and prestige, supremely creative in every field of our national endeavour. This entire national spirit seems to spring up in Bharat from the spiritual culture of this sacred nation.
To revive it, therefore, should mean at once the remaking of Bharat and fulfilling all the dreams of those who are working in the different fields of nation building. Remember, the father of our nation conceived and planned our political freedom, through methods based upon our own national philosophy, by intelligently inspiring the people through an appeal to the immortal traditions in our culture.
Serious study of, and open discussions upon, the scripture alone can help us discover a way of life, which can inspire all, because it springs from the very National genius. Integrated individuals, constitute among themselves a healthy community, and the coordinated inspired efforts of the communities come to build up the nation (to reveal the dynamics of togetherness)
Such a united country, wherein each citizen is inspired to give his best in a spirit of dedication and selflessness, demanding for himself nothing more than the privilege of serving the country, becomes a nation of destiny, with power and strength, to make its own future. This dynamics of togetherness is to be discovered immediately, and this is an urgent demand upon us forced by the present history of the world.
To the extent we come up to answer this challenge of the times, to that extent we are assured of our continued future, perhaps not only as a happy, united, progressive nation but also as a beacon-star for the restless world to follow and reach a more rewarding peace and a more meaningful progress.
THE END.
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LAST WORDS :
1. CONGRESS, COMMUNISTS, ALL REGIONAL POLITICAL PARTIES ARE SHAMELESS BUNCH ASSORTED DEVILS, NATION BREAKING FORCES;
2. AFTER PROLONGED CONGRESS MISMANAGEMENT, HIGH VOLTAGE CORRUPTION, BHARATHAM RELIEVED BECAUSE OF THE EFFORTS OF BJP ON 2014;
3. THESE BREAK INDIA FORCES ALONG WITH FEW MEDIA, URBAN NAXALS, " KHAN MARKET GANG"," LIEUTENS OF DELHI", SUPPORT STARTED OBSTRUCTING PARLIAMENT PROCEDURES;
4. THE BJP LED NDA GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE WAS BETTER THAN CONGRESS LED CORRUPTED UPA GOVERNMENT;
5. OUR WORLD RANKING IS IMPROVED NOW, NATION IS FAST PROGRESSING, THEN ON WHAT ACCOUNT ALL OPPOSITION JOIN GRAND ALLIANCE TO DEFEAT MOST APPRECIATED MODI GOVERNMENT?
6. DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM ARE WIDELY MISUSED BY PEOPLE IN INDIA, THE POLITICAL PARTIES, ESPECIALLY BREAKING INDIA FORCES SUCH AS CONGRESS, COMMUNISTS, ALL REGIONAL PARTIES,;
7. NO RESPECT TO THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA NO RESPECT TO WISE MEN, ALL STUPID RASCALS ALL OF SUDDEN BECOME JNANIS AND TALK NONSENSE;
8. THE NEHRU FAMILY PRESENT GENERATION ALL DIRTY, CORRUPT BUGGERS, COMMUNISTS ARE ANTI NATIONALS, KEJRIWAL, MULAYAM, AKILESH, MAYAWATI, LALU, MAMATA, NAIDU, TELANGANA CM, NAVEEN PATNAIK, ALL FOOLISH DRAVIDIAN PARTIES, CINEMA IDIOTIC DECAYED STARS, UDF, LDF NCP, SHIVSENA ALL KASHMIR SEPARATISTS HURRIYAT, MUFTI, ABDULLAH,AND MANY MORE USELESS FOOLS SHOULD BE ELIMINATED FROM POLITICS, ALL DANGEROUS TO THE DEMOCRACY OF BHARATHAM; ALL MISUSE THEIR FREEDOM.
JAY HIND
JAY BHARATHAM
VANDE MATARAM
BHARAT MATA KI JAY
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