A point-by-point analysis of the problem and a positive program for change.
(edited from a pamphlet by His Holiness Siddhasvarupa Ananda Gosvami)
To say that most politicians are incompetent, and in many cases downright dishonest, isn’t very controversial. We’ve all read about their blunders, their tricks, and their schemes. So the aim of this article is not to give proof of their failure to bring about world peace and prosperity; it is rather to show that the root cause of their incompetence is selfish materialism, and that the remedy is the re-spiritualization of society through the worldwide propagation of Krishna consciousness.
The following are some of the reasons why a self-centered materialist is incapable of bringing about a peaceful and harmonious world society:
He has no sense of spiritual brotherhood.
The materialistic leader can never bring harmony to society because he fails to see the spiritual unity of all mankind. Preoccupied with superficial distinctions such as race, class, or nationality, he cannot understand that all living beings are his brothers, being children of God, the Supreme Father. As Lord Krishna puts it in the Bhagavad-gita (4.35)
And when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that all living beings are but part of Me, and that they are in Me and are Mine.
He has a one-sided view of life.
Instead of using his influence to bring about social conditions favorable for both spiritual as well as economic development, the materialist considers economic development to be the all in all. Thus he promotes the creation of an artificial environment that is far from peaceful, contemplative, or healthful. Devoid of spiritual culture, the people become alienated from God, nature, and each other. And the more alienated and materialistic the people get, the more frustrated, angry, and bewildered they become. Thus a materialistic leader takes the people on a “progressive” march to a hellish existence.
He’s ambitious and self-serving.
The materialistic politico, having neglected the spiritual side of life, is never satiated in his drive for power and position. Since his number one consideration is his own political advancement, he continually campaigns for office, and after winning the election, he’s afraid of being removed from his seat. He is so preoccupied with the fear of losing his job, status, power, and wealth that this fear itself—not love, or actual concern for the people—is the primary motivation for his activities. Materialistic leaders are merely merchants, trading empty promises for votes, and the people naturally distrust them. Everyone knows that a sly merchant must be watched very carefully: even when offering a “good bargain,” he ultimately has his own bank balance in mind.
He’s always disturbed and often irrational.
Because the materialistic politician is not at peace with himself, he cannot help others find peace, either individually or collectively. Unable to realize all his political ambitions, he is often subject to deep inner frustration, which may cause him to behave irrationally. A person in such a disturbed state of mind cannot have the clear intelligence needed to solve today’s complex problems. Even if his mind is razor-sharp, his decisions will never be clear if his heart is infected with selfish desires. A crooked politician may be intellectually astute, but an envious person with a sharp mind is like a poisonous snake with a beautiful jewel on its forehead. The snake is still dangerous, despite its fancy ornaments.
His perception is blurred.
Due to the pressures of power, many of today’s leaders try to forget their miseries by dimming their awareness with intoxicants like alcohol, amphetamines, caffeine, and nicotine. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times revealed that the highest rate of alcoholism in the United States is in Washington, D. C., and in Washington, D. C., the area most affected is Georgetown, the suburb where most U. S. senators and congressmen live. A true leader sharpens his awareness; he doesn’t blur it with a haze of intoxication.
He neglects God’s laws.
Today’s politicians are too busy wheeling and dealing to pay much attention to the laws of God. As Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita (3.21):
Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”
A good leader must be an ideal example for the people to admire and try to follow. If he is able to set the standard of perfect behavior, then the people will naturally be inclined to follow. Therefore he must obey God’s laws and possess godly qualities himself. Of course, many politicians go to church and publicly declare their piety. A person is known, however, not by his words, but by his deeds. Certain qualities must be present in a worthy leader, and certain ones must be absent. For instance, a spiritually enlightened leader is free from lust, anger, and greed. Although strong in his determination, he is gentle, compassionate, and ready to respect others. Above all, he actually follows God’s laws; he doesn’t simply proclaim himself to be pious and then act sinfully beyond the range of the TV cameras.
These are just a few reasons why a materialistic person is unqualified to be a leader of society. The list is endless, but they all point to the same conclusion: a materialistic politician, devoid of spiritual knowledge and ignorant of the goal of life, can never help bring about world peace and prosperity. Since the problem stems from ignorance, the obvious solution is education. Unfortunately, present-day educational institutions provide no information about our spiritual nature and our relationship with God. In a recent conversation with Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins of Franklin and Marshall College, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada expanded on this theme:
“People want material gain because they have no spiritual information. If I take care of my shirt very nicely, but I do not care for the person inside the shirt, then what is my position? Similarly, this whole material world is busy taking care of the body, not the soul inside the body. Therefore all these so-called educational institutions are blind. It is a society of the blind leading the blind. The solution is first of all to understand that you are spirit. Then find out what is your relationship with God and act accordingly.”
This, then, is the goal of human life. As long as we ignore our relationship with God and remain caught up in the pursuit of material wealth and physical comforts alone, we will always find ourselves alienated, confused, and anxious about the future. World peace and prosperity do not depend upon more sophisticated weaponry or increased productivity, but on the widespread propagation of genuine spiritual knowledge.
This knowledge can be easily acquired through the practice of bhakti-yoga, especially the hearing and chanting of the holy names of God. The result of chanting the name of the Lord is that the heart of the chanter becomes cleansed, and he sees his true spiritual identity as an eternal servant of God. God has many names, and they are given in the various scriptures of the world. Different names refer to His different attractive features: Jehovah means all-powerful, Allah means all-compassionate, and so on. The name Krishna, however, means all-attractive and thus contains all other names of God within it. Therefore the Hare Krishna mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—is especially purifying and can rapidly awaken our consciousness of God.
Of course, it is not possible to present even an adequate summary of the sublime process of bhakti-yoga in a few short pages. The inquisitive reader is referred to the works of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In his books, especially the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, he has presented a crystal-clear picture of the bhakti-yoga process.
By reading these books and chanting the holy names of God, the people of the world can become spiritually strengthened and convinced of the need for genuine spiritual leadership. Then, when the time comes to choose their leaders, they will naturally select a person with the qualities necessary to guide human society on the path back to home, back to Godhead.
It is necessary to rescue the original books of Srila Prabhupada. Thank you.
Thank you Siddhansvarupananda Prabhu, for your articles, and for being my senior godbrother at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada.
Instead of reading through the entire article, I will take it in sections, and give my little thoughts in response to the text.
Yes,THE ROOT OF INCOMPETENCE, in every varna, is “selfish materialism”. The perfection of one’s God-given nature, according to one’s karmic rewards, is to please the Supreme Lord, Hari by one’s work. This applies accross the board, be one a brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya, or Sudra (not by birth, but by one’s qualities and activities). Either we are trying to please ourselves, or we are trying to please Krishna. And Krishna has “programmed” the material energy, so that the self-centered orientation increases our grief. And this “programming” is Krishna kindness, in the hope that we will come to our senses. Here in the material world, we are all in therapy.
NO SENSE OF SPIRITUAL BROTHERHOOD:
In the material conception of life, one identifies with the material body as “me”. This material identity expands into the false conception of gender, family, society, race, nationality, etc. The false conception of “I” expands into the false conception of “mine”. In this way the material world becomes artificially divided into families, races, nations……all influenced by incentives towards imperialism, mutual exploitation, slavery, and wars. Whereas when Krishna his recognized as the Father of all, these various anomalies abate without separate endeavor.
The ONE-SIDED VIEW OF LIFE, viz. that our satisfaction depends on the satisfaction of our sense, of necessity puts us all in competition. In this way we become covetous, envious, resentful, and critical of each other. Whereas, we we become convinced that the satisfaction of Krishna’s sense is the goal and celebration of life, we realize harmony and prosperity without separate endeavor.
AMBITIOUS AND SELF-SERVING: If the satisfaction of Krishna’s senses is our common goal, no one’s work is at the expense of others. And, when the satisfaction of my senses is my goal, I am in competition with everyone. Everyone’s work becomes a threat to my sense of satisfaction. And I am forced to an adopt a “me first” mentality.
ALWAYS DISTURBED AND IRRATIONAL: The first basic understanding of spiritual life is that “I am not this body.” This is more than a sentimental slogan. Because I am spirit an not matter, no amount of material success, dominance, or pleasure can satisfy the spirit soul. Therefore real satisfaction is impossible. Therefore one becomes afflicted with the desire for “more”. Even the billionaire feels he needs another billion. This never-ending experience of incomplete satisfaction is conducive to feelings of frustration, which in turn becomes anger, which in turn becomes violence towards each other, both emotional and physical. Living in anger and frustration, he becomes mad, and devoid of reason.
HIS PERCEPTION IS BLURRED: Yes. Striving day and night to find satisfaction, like the donkey with a heavy load on his back, chasing a carrot suspended in front of him, always thinking, “One more step, one more step.”, he is chronically frustrated and exhausted. Intoxication becomes his shelter, his aspiration to find relief. In this way, his ability to make wise decisions becomes more and more impaired.
HE NEGLECTS GOD’S LAWS: Yes. Today we live in an atmosphere of phishing and scams. On our cell phone, on our computers….we are inundated with phishing and scams. And all of this is because the man in the street knows within his heart that the powers that run the nation are taking care of their own ambitions, at the expense of the public. It is not “government by the people, for the people”, but “government by the wealthy elite, for the wealthy elite.” Therefore the government of the nation is the biggest scam. And the man in the street follows suite. He wants a piece of the action, according to his lesser capacity “to lord it over”. When the people feel loved and cared for, everyone wants to participate in serving the needs of others. It becomes like the kingdom of Lord Rama. The increase in crime of every kind in the nation is nothing more than an indication of the corruption of those who run the nation.
The Vedic scriptures, given to us by Krishna Himself, through His bonafide representatives, instruct us in the basic sociological understanding that a ruler cannot be a businessman, a man who interested in financial power and profit-making. This creates a most conspicuous conflict of interest. When a business-minded person assumes the position of a government leader, his material nature (that of the low-born vaishya class) induces him to put the needs and interests of the people aside, and utilize his position of power to enhance his financial status. He profits by taking kickbacks from those who are corporate executives. In this way, the earth becomes polluted, the air becomes polluted, the water becomes polluted. His financial ambitions induce him to engage in imperialistic ventures that terrorize less powerful nations, by polluting their environments, and subjecting them to slavery in various ways. And in order to maintain these criminal financial ventures, he requires a strong army, with weaponry. Instead of utilizing the tax dollars of the public for their social needs, he uses this public wealth for these illegal military activities. Such a public leader decreases the taxation of the wealthy who promise to help him maintain his political position, and decrease the social services of the public at large.
Today the peoples of the word are subject to plagues (covid), earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, draughts, forest fires, hurricanes and tornadoes. All of this is because the people of the earth are engaged in breaking nature’s laws, which are God’s laws. Illicit sex, intoxication, meat eating and gambling are the basic 4 sinful activities, from which all sinful activity expands. And these sinful activities are supported by present day leaders who profit financially from the businesses that engage the public these sinful activities.
The bottom line is that the government leader has to be divorced from financial affairs other than taxation of the wealthy class for the spiritual and social welfare of the people of the state. If he has any financial inclinations, that is his immediate disqualification. furthermore, he must rule the nation under the spiritual guidance of the most spiritually evolved persons who are devotees of God. His ultimate responsibility is to rule in such a way that all the citizens, whether they are brahmanas, ksatrityas, Vaishyas, or sudras, are all making progress in their spiritual life, so that all of us can be on the progressive path of going back home, back to Godhead. If they are not oriented, heart and soul in this way…… they are not qualified to rule a nation.
My final words are to express my hope that one day I will have the opportunity to offer my respectful obeisances to my most senior godbrother, Siddhasvarupananda Goswami.
Hare Krishna!
Ishan das