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The Benefits of Vegetarianism

Bhagavad Gita AS IT IS
Chapter 17: The Divisions of Faith

TEXT 8-10

ayuh-sattva-balarogya-
sukha-priti-vivardhanah
rasyah snigdhah sthira hrdya
aharah sattvika-priyah
katv-amla-lavanaty-usna-
tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah
ahara rajasasyesta
duhkha-sokamaya-pradah
yata-yamam gata-rasam
puti paryusitam ca yat
ucchistam api camedhyam
bhojanam tamasa-priyam

SYNONYMS

ayuh—duration of life; sattva—existence; bala—strength; arogya—health; sukha—happiness; priti—and satisfaction; vivardhanah—increasing; rasyah—juicy; snigdhah—fatty; sthirah—enduring; hrdyah—pleasing to the heart; aharah—food; sattvika—to one in goodness; priyah—palatable.

TRANSLATION

Foods in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such nourishing foods are sweet, juicy, fattening and palatable. Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, pungent, dry and hot, are liked by people in the modes of passion. Such foods cause pain, distress, and disease. Food cooked more than three hours before being eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid, decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance.

PURPORT

The purpose of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the mind and aid bodily strength. This is its only purpose. In the past, great authorities selected those foods that best aid health and increase life’s duration, such as milk products, sugar, rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables. These foods are very dear to those in the mode of goodness. Some other foods, such as baked corn and molasses, while not very palatable in themselves, can be made pleasant when mixed with milk or other foods. They are then in the mode of goodness. All these foods are pure by nature. They are quite distinct from untouchable things like meat and liquor. Fatty foods, as mentioned in the eighth verse, have no connection with animal fat obtained by slaughter. Animal fat is available in the form of milk, which is the most wonderful of all foods. Milk, butter, cheese and similar products give animal fat in a form which rules out any need for the killing of innocent creatures. It is only through brute mentality that this killing goes on. The civilized method of obtaining needed fat is by milk. Slaughter is the way of subhumans. Protein is amply available through split peas, dhall, whole wheat, etc.

As highlighted in the previous article on the topic of the Yamas and Niyamas, the principle of Non-Violence (or Ahimsa) is a core value of the philosophy of Sanatana Dharma, and a guiding tenet in the lives of all practicing Dharmis.

This principle is primarily, but not exclusively, expressed through the dietary parameters adopted by the devotees of Sanatana Dharma. Non-violence is practiced by the strict observation of a lacto-vegetarian diet, a diet that excludes all meat, fish and eggs, but that includes dairy products, such as milk, cheese, ghee, yogurt, etc.

Vegetarianism has gained a great measure of popularity and acceptance in wider society throughout the world in recent years, for many reasons.

Medical data continually arises, linking meat-eating with a number of illnesses and ailments in life, such as cancer and heart disease. Contrary to popular belief, meat foods are not a necessary component of the human diet. In fact, evolutionarily and biologically, humans are not designed to be carnivores. Our teeth and intestinal structures are best suited for an herbivorous (vegetarian) diet.

The advent of technology and instant communication has allowed the wider propagation of leaks and footage from within the industrial slaughterhouses and medical/commercial testing facilities alike. Likewise, so too have the environmental impacts of wide scale livestock production for the sake of industrial distribution become more widely known, as well as the wasteful policies of the meat industry. Like humans, animals are sentient living beings, and have been proven to be capable of feeling pain and suffering. Animals, like humans, cry out if cut; they scream if killed; they mourn if separated from those they are attached to. Knowing this, then witnessing footage from behind the scenes of a slaughterhouse, is enough to turn any right persons stomach. As a result of that natural human capacity for empathy, many people have rejected the dietary inclusion of meat products solely in protest of those inhumane acts.

Economically, the global meat production industry has had damaging effects on the natural environment of the world, and the effects are far reaching. In order to sustain an ever growing demand for flesh, Central and South American rain forests are being decimated at the alarming rate of 2.5 acres per second, and growing. Much of this destruction is occurring in order to provide grazing land for beef cattle. Every burger we eat represents a tree mowed down in a rain forest, and by association the death of wild fauna, the destruction of natural habitats, the erosion of soils and damage of natural water tables. The latter especially, given that the the meat industry has been repeatedly cited as one of the major industries responsible for massive amounts of pollution, including the dumping of noxious wastes into the global water supply.

These, and many other considerations, make it astoundingly clear why the vegetarian lifestyle is an ethical alternative that is both reasonable and healthy for your body, mind and soul. Violent minds lead to violent lifestyles. In such a state of consciousness, it is impossible to make any serious advancement on the spiritual path, so for anyone inclined towards Sanatana Dharma, the adoption of a vegetarian lifestyle is an easy decision to make.

Mankind has long been aware of its seemingly God-given position of superiority over over animals within the hierarchy of being. Abrahamic and neo-pagan constructionist thinkers alike have long used such an argument as justification for the consumption of our so-called ‘inferior’ companions within this material existence. It is, however, important to consider that mans higher status does not automatically give us the right to kill other lifeforms simply for our selfish ends.

To rule does not give justification for abuse or mistreatment.



In fact, the rulers of men who come to view their people as chattel to be used, traded and discarded at a whim often end up losing their own heads in time. The mere position of superiority over another sentient being can never be interpreted as a license for abusing a less capable being, or a class of such beings. Superiority means responsibility, a duty of care, to those below.

If we argue that we as humans have the right to exploit so-called inferior lifeforms for the sake of the tongue, then it would be morally permissible for one human to enslave and victimize another, for the sake of base sense gratification. An intellectually or physically more powerful man could justifiably kill another, weaker man, solely at a whim or because his ego desires it. Physically weaker women and children would be at the mercy of stronger, aggressive men. Societies that permit such acts rarely last long, for tolerance of such philosophy only leads to mayhem and the decline of civilization.

This does not preclude the “ownership” or collaborative existence with animals that mankind has engaged in since time immemorial. To engage the services of those lesser lifeforms with which we share this planet, in turn rendering to them protection, sustenance and shelter, is not abuse. As a caring and protective parent engages a child in chores to keep them occupied, and to ease the burden of labour of the family, so to can we engage those non-human lifeforms who’s companies we keep.

For example take the hound and the cow. The human relationship with both creatures has been around far longer than records go back. The hound has often aided man in endeavors such as tracking, protection and threat detection, and pest control. Humans in turn provided the animals shelter, company, consistent sustenance and other forms of protection.

As for the cow, the cow is the backbone of human civilization. Human agriculture, before the advent of modern petroleum fueled machinery, was only made possible on a wider scale thanks to the labour of the bull as much as as the labour of man. The bull would pull the plow, and the cart, and the cow would give up its milk, excess to the needs of the calf, for the sustenance of man.

The cow especially is revered within vedic culture for this reason. The human and the cow have a symbiotic nature unsurpassed by any other creature. Whilst this connection has for the most part been lost in the wake of the cold and impersonal form of modern agriculture, were society to collapse overnight and man forced to rebuild from the ruins, the men amongst the ruins would soon realize the value of the cow beyond their mere base desire for their flesh. That is one reason why Vedic culture places such reverence upon cows.

“The Lord is the protector of cows and the brahminical culture. A society devoid of cow protection and brahminical culture is not under the direct protection of the Lord, just as the prisoners in the jails are not under the protection of the king but under the protection of a severe agent of the king. Without cow protection and cultivation of the brahminical qualities in human society, at least for a section of the members of society, no human civilization can prosper at any length. By brahminical culture, the development of the dormant qualities of goodness, namely truthfulness, equanimity, sense control, forbearance, simplicity, general knowledge, transcendental knowledge and firm faith in the Vedic wisdom, one can become a brāhmaṇa and thus see the Lord as He is.” 



This reverence of cows, and understanding of the symbiotic relationship that man is capable of having with the lifeforms of the animal kingdom, is the reason why followers of Sanatana Dharma can and will partake in the consumption of dairy products such as milk and cheese. We do not promote or encourage veganism by any measure, though for some it may be the only option when faced with an unfortunate intolerant to dairy products. Excluding specific health reasons, the encouragement of veganism is not regarded as dharmic, and seen as detrimental to the human body and mind.

Linked below is a video by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya on the subject of vegetarianism and its relationship to Sanatana Dharma, that goes much more in depth on the subject. A must watch.


Leading a Moral Life – The Ten Ethical Principles of Dharma

For most walking our path, the motivating factor behind their acceptance of Sanatana Dharma is their innate desire or motivation to know and live truth.

As a result, it is crucially important for the Dharmi to live as ethical a life as possible. For the follower of Dharma, the Good, the True, the Real, the Beautiful, the Eternal, and the Absolute, in the highest metaphysical sense, are all one and the same. Thus, one cannot know the Absolute unless one also knows the Good. And one cannot know the Good unless one also is good.

Every religious or philosophical system in the world holds some position in the realm of ethical thought. Life and the consideration of ethics are inseparable. The realm of ethics, stated very simply, centers upon the question of what constitutes good versus bad behavior on the part of human beings. Symptomatic of the fallen age we reside in, many of the so called ethical conclusions that a man comes to are anything but. Nonetheless, however, objective morality and ethical principles do exist.

It is the goal of the Dharmi to strive to embody that which is right and good. To take the most ethical action possible in any given situation. The nature of goodness itself is seen as being ultimately rooted in, and as being a reflection of, the Divine. Thus, good in this world, both in the form of Goodness itself as a metaphysical reality and in the form of good actions, has its origins in Transcendent reality…in the very essential nature of the Divine.

How though, in the tradition of Sanatana Dharma, is this expressed?

In the teachings of Sanatana Dharma, that which is good is separated into two different categories: a) good as a virtue, and b) good in action.

Goodness as an inherent virtue of the living being has its origin in the very soul (atman) of each living being. The goal of the spiritual seeker is to make the inherent goodness of our internal soul manifest in the external world for all to see and benefit from. To perfectly manifest our own soul’s inherent goodness is synonymous with being an enlightened, liberated being, and reflecting that inner state outward for the world to benefit.

Goodness in action, on the other hand, consists of the day-to-day, free-will decisions that we need to make in always seeking the higher path in how we treat others. These good behaviors in action are the ethical and moral principles that we must each follow as we are on the road to full self-realization and God-consciousness.

The forms in which Goodness is expressed, both through thought and action, is best found in the Yamas and Niyamas, as explained below. The following commentary was given by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya in his book “Sanatana Dharma- The Eternal Natural Way”.


Five Yamas – Proscriptions

Ahimsa (Non-Violence) –

Ahimsa is one of the most important of the ethical proscriptions. Contrary to the false notion that Vedic spirituality believes is passivism, the principle of ahimsa does not support passivism or a lack of will to defend oneself. On the contrary, we are called upon to be strong and courageous warriors for our people, our nation, and for Dharma. However, the principle of ahimsa does insist that we are to be as maximally non-violent in our minds and in our hearts as is possible, even as we defend Truth, and especially in how we treat our fellow Dharmis and all innocent living beings around us.

Satya (Truthfulness)

For followers of Dharma, Truth is much more than merely the opposite of a lie. Rather, Truth is seen as being one of the infinite, positive attributes of the Divine. Truthfulness is followed both in our attempt to always tell the truth, but more, also in that we are meant to manifest Truth (God) in our everyday lives in all of our thoughts, words and actions. In practicing the telling of truth verbal, we are manifesting the highest Truth spiritually.

Asteya (Non-Stealing)

All property, up to and including the very Earth herself, ultimately belongs to the Supreme. To not steal means both to not take from others, as well as to acknowledge who is the ultimate owner of all things. Theft is the direct result of suffering from the illusion that we are in lack. For those who are devoted to God, we know that the soul can never lack,
and that the very source and owner of all reality is none other than our very best friend.

Brahmacharya (Sexual Continence)

Sexuality is one of the most powerful natural forces found in living beings. We must have fidelity to the Good in how we relate to others sexually; never exploiting others for selfish pleasure, but always reflecting the pure and healthy love that is God’s gift to us. What this means in concrete terms is that sexuality only finds its ultimate fulfillment within the context of a loving marriage between a man and a woman.

Apirigraha (Non-Covetousness)

It is in transcending the ugly impulse of greed that we overcome the illusion of the egoic self. To be non-covetous is to realize that wealth, material goods and property alone are not sufficient to give us the lasting fulfillment and happiness that we seek. Rather, it is in living within our means, pursuing a life of simple living and high thinking, that we find both material fulfillment and spiritual enlightenment.


Five Niyamas – Prescriptions

Shaucha (Purity)-

Purity consists of both scrupulous external hygiene, and internal cleanliness of mind. The former is achieved by bathing, brushing one’s teeth, etc., every day without fail. The latter is accomplished by allowing only good, pure, positive and spiritual thoughts to flourish in our minds, and by conversely not allowing the opposite – evil, impure, negative and materialistic thoughts – to dominate our minds.

Santosha (Contentment)-

Discontent is the root of all immoral and unethical actions. It is because we are discontent that we feel the false necessity to exploit and harm others. When we are content, we approach the world as God’s kingdom, rather than a mere playground for our own selfish exploitation. As is true of all the Yamas and Niyamas, contentment is a quality that can be cultivated by daily spiritual practice.

Tapas (Austerity)-

Tapas is choosing to challenge ourselves each day to take the path that will make ourselves stronger, rather than weaker. It means taking the stairs up to our apartment rather than the elevator whenever we can. It means walking the four blocks to the store rather than driving. It means pushing ourselves toward excellence, increased strength and health, and personal growth whenever we see the opportunity to do so arise in our day to day lives. It means always choosing that path that will further elevate us in our personal life.

Svadhyaya (Self-Education) –

Svadhyaya includes both the daily self-analysis that is such a crucial exercise in our spiritual journey, as well as daily study of the wisdom of the Dharmic scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, Narada Bhakti Sutras, Srimad Bhagavatam, and the Upanishads. In addition, self-education occurs when we study the teachings and writings of our own guru (spiritual teacher).

Ishvara-Pranidhana (Devotion to the Divine) –

The daily cultivation of devotional consciousness (bhakti) is the ultimate path to knowing the Divine, because devotion is the very opposite of selfishness. In selfishness, we merely try to take from the world around us. In devotion, we give of ourselves, and in love, back to our Source, which is God, and to all other living beings. Devotion to the Divine can be practiced by meditation upon such Holy Name mantras as “Aum Namo Narayanaya”, by conducting simple but meaningful puja ceremonies in one’s own home, or by serving God directly by supporting those authentic gurus who teach the world the path of liberation by supporting such gurus either with one’s volunteer service (seva) or charitable donations.

In addition to the Yamas and Niyamas, there are twelve primary qualities that every Dharmi should strive to cultivate in themselves. These include:

  1. Humility
  2. Simplicity
  3. Devotion
  4. Compassion
  5. Loyalty
  6. Wisdom
  7. Equanimity
  8. Balance
  9. Excellence
  10. Discernment
  11. Strength
  12. Courage

After all, there is no spiritual progress without the prerequisite practice of conscious and concerted ethical development. To be a Dharmi means, by definition, to be a wholly virtuous person. By sincerely and strictly following the Yamas and Niyamas, as well as cultivating the above twelve indispensable virtues in your life, you will begin the process of manifesting the innate virtue necessary to fully open yourself to God’s presence and grace, and realizing the ultimate reality of your true spiritual self.


You can purchase Sanatana Dharma – The Eternal Natural Way at Dharmacentral.com
http://dharmacentral.com/Sanatana-Dharma-Book.html


An Offering to God – Puja Introduction


In the wake of Dīpāvali, the act of Puja is a phenomena that is likely be fresh in the minds of many, devotee or spiritual seeker alike. As custom, on the night of Dīpāvali, individuals around the world will light ghee wick laps as an offering to Lord Sri Rāma (the incarnation of God), in celebration of his return to His kingdom of Ayodhya as the rightful king.

Ghee wick lamps, offered in celebration of the triumph of good over evil during Dīpāvali.


One of the most effective means of devotional meditation is known as Puja. This post is intended as an introductory guide for anyone interested in performing their own Puja at home.

Puja involves the direct meditative worship of God through the making of various symbolic offerings to God with devotion. Usually conducted before a temple altar, or at home with your own personal altar, the performance of Puja is an important devotional activity that can and ideally should be conducted as part of ones daily Sādhanā.

The ultimate goal of Sanatana Dharma (the Eternal Natural Way) is to re-establish our innate relationship with God. Through the re-establishment of our connection to God, a devotee is able to overcome trauma, rid themselves of the bonds of material attachment, and otherwise grow spiritually as an individual. We do this by cultivating a devotional consciousness towards the Supreme.

Puja is not merely a ritual or ceremony however. It is not “ritualism”. It is an active act of meditation, in which a dharmi is systematically transforming their consciousness into a mode of natural surrender of the individual self to the Supreme Self that is God. Through the process of Puja meditation, a devotee offers various pure substances to the murti, or divine image, of God. With each item that a dharmi offers, they are meditating on the fact that they are, in actuality, offering their inner being at the lotus-feet of the Divine.

The performance of Puja can be a profound and humbling experience, and is thus a recommended and beneficial practice to take up at home as part of ones practice.

In order to perform a Puja ceremony at home, ideally one should have an established home altar. This altar can be as simple as a small table or shelf, or as elaborate as putting aside an entire room or a section of a room just for the purpose of performing sadhana. The size and scope of ones altar is secondary to the quality of the practice itself. The most important thing to keep in mind is that, more important than how large your altar might be, is how much awareness and sincerity you bring to your puja practice.

As stated in the Bhagavad Gita (9:26), Sri Krishna Him self explains:

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” The quality of devotion with which we offer anything to God is much more important than the quantitative value of what we offer.

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” The quality of devotion with which we offer anything to God is much more important than the quantitative value of what we offer.


There are several items that a dharmi should ideally have if they are to perform puja. At a minimum, one should have access to incense and an incense holder, a means of lighting them, such as a lighter or matches, a hand bell to ring, and a ghee-wick lamp (which subsequently require wicks and ghee to utilize fully.) The uses for these will be layed out shortly.

You must be bathed and clean before performing puja. This is very important.

As one of the Niyamas, or prescriptions, to which a dharmi should strive to adhere to, Shaucha, or purity, applies to physical cleanliness as much as it does to purity of mind.

Purity consists of both scrupulous external hygiene, and internal cleanliness of mind. The former is achieved by bathing, brushing one’s teeth etc, every day without fail. The latter is accomplished by allowing only good, pure, positive and spiritual thoughts to flourish in our minds, and by conversely not allowing the opposite (evil, impure, negative and materialistic thoughts) to dominate our minds.

As a result of this, when we perform Puja, a dharmi must strive to ensure he is clean of body and mind before commencing.

To start the act of Puja, a dharmi should situate themselves before their altar. First, one should center themselves. This is best done by closing your eyes and taking a few normal breaths with awareness, allowing yourself to be at peace and open to God’s grace.

Next, opening your eyes, place your hands together in ‘namaste’ gesture and offer your obeisances to the murti, reciting “Jaya Sriman Narayana” (Victory to Sri Sri Lakshmi and Narayana).

Light a stick of incense. Now begin ringing the bell rhythmically with your left hand. Gently wave the incense stick in your right hand in a clockwise circular motion – three times to the face of the image, three times to the belly, three times to the feet, and finally four times around the entire image. Then place the incense stick in a safe holder. The offered incense is now prasada, or the sanctified grace of God. Smelling its aroma is spiritually beneficial because its scent was first accepted by God.

Next, light the ghee wick lamp. Offer the ghee wick lamp with your right hand, ringing the bell in your left hand in the same manner and with the same numbers as the incense was previously offered (three times to the face, belly and feet, then four times around the entire image). When you are done, quickly pass your hands over the flame of the ghee wick lamp and place your hands to your forehead for a blessing. The flame of the ghee-wick, too, is now sanctified prasada. Thus, seeing the flame and smelling its aroma will be spiritually beneficial.

You may then offer other items in a similar manner to how you offered the incense and ghee-wick lamp. Other items that you can offer include: a flower, water, or some simple food such as almonds or raisins (which are afterwards eaten as a sacrament, or “prasada”).

After the puja is over, you may again place your hands in the ‘namaste’ gesture and offer your obeisances to the altar. Offering obeisances is performed by placing your forehead to the ground while having the top of your head facing the deity. Please then recite the following mantras.

aum ajnana timirandhasya
jnananjana shalakaya
chakshur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri guruve namaha


“I offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual teacher, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.”

he krishna karuna sindho
dina bandho jagat pate
gopesha gopika kanta
radha kanta namo’stu te

“Oh Krishna, ocean of mercy, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the cowherdmen and the lover of the gopis, especially Radha. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.”

tapta kanchana gaurangi
radhe vrindavaneshvari
vrishabhanu sute devi
pranamami hari priye


“I offer my respects to Radha, whose bodily complexion is fair and who is the Queen of Vrindavana. You are the daughter of King Vrishabhanu, and are very dear to Lord Krishna.”

Sriman Narayana Charanau Sharanam Prapadye
Srimate Narayanaaya Namah


“I seek refuge at the feet of Sriman Narayana. My salutations to Sriman Narayana.”

Having completed the puja, this would now be an ideal time to now perform your daily meditation practice in front of your altar, smelling the sweet aroma of the incense and ghee-wick.

Linked below is a video by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya performing a puja before the Lakshmi-Narayana murtis at the ISDS temple in Nebraska.


A Place For Dharma

Dharma, globally, is in trouble. It needs to be saved. We need to save Dharma. Otherwise it will indeed disappear from our sight. Oh, Dharma itself doesn’t disappear, of course, we know that. But it will disappear from our sight. To the point where we will not be able to reach up and reach it anymore. We cannot allow this to happen. In order for Dharma not to disappear we need a place where Dharma is alive.” -Sri Acharyaji

We live in a world seemingly rotten almost to its very core. One that seems to decay further and further with each passing day.

Our cities are hives of decadence and debauchery. Almost any perverse desire can be satiated, for a time, if one knows the right place to look. Children are groomed and pushed into sexual deviancy at every younger ages. Our schools teach them not how to think, but what to think. Our politicians and so-called “leaders” serve anyone else but the people they govern, and use the positions of public office to line their own pockets, or to further another’s agenda.

Massive corporations work their employees to the bone for a relative pittance, in unfulfilling and soul destroying ways, and pollute the world around them in order to create items we dont need, solely to make a profit. Forests are felled, fields farmed beyond recovery, and the very earth is strip-mined with increasing greed. The oceans have been over-fished and over-polluted, and animals are slaughtered on an industrial-scale in their tens of billions every year, often in inhumane and unconscionable circumstances. Root and stem has been paved over to make room for a sprawling world of concrete and steel.

Tradition, culture and faith are often viewed as relics of a bygone era, and discouraged as ‘oppressive’ or ‘superstitious’. The gods of the modern world change on a daily basis. One day its a celebrity or sports star, the next its a doctor or so-called scientist. At the end of the day. The true gods of the modern world are lust and greed. Morality is viewed as subjective, thus almost anything is permissible as long as its packaged in the right fashion.

One can be forgiven for seeing the world in an irredeemable light.



Man has lost touch with Nature. As a result, man has also lost touch with Dharma.

Anyone who has lived close to nature in any reasonable capacity will be conscious of the fact that life (and thus our human reality) is composed of cycles – the seasons being the most obvious example of that. Other examples include reproductive cycle of animals, the phases of the moon and its effects on crops, the cycle of aging in humans, rotations of crops and depletion of soils, and so on.

A brief observation of nature shows us the cyclical nature of our world. Therefore a linear view of reality is but the symptom of a “diseased” mind. The mind of a man cut off from the true reality of nature.

Understanding this does not make witnessing the current state of the world any easier. But understanding it should offer one some context, and some certainty in knowing that just like every other thing in this world, the nature of nation and human civilization is also cyclical. No country, kingdom or empire in history has been untouched by the decline of civilization and the ravages of time. In the end, each and every one of them has reached its inevitable expiry date, often characterized by periods of natural disaster, pestilence, civil conflict, war, social decadence and the decline of morality. The unsustainable existence of a nation in decline always catches up to it, leading to its inevitable downfall. Likewise from that downfall likewise comes a form renewal or rebirth from the ashes of old.

In realizing this, we can look upon the state of the world in a different line. The end is not an end. The end is simply a new beginning, and that beginning can be whatever we as a people are willing to make of it.

How are we, as individuals, to have any meaningful impact on the renewal of civilization itself?

To a single person alone, the mere idea of it must seem almost insurmountable. Like trying to divert a flooding dam with a bucket. Such thoughts, however, are also not entirely unreasonable. Very few men in history have had the power required to be able to reshape the entire fabric of a nation or world in one fell swoop.

However, that does not render individual actions pointless. One man with a bucket cannot stop a flood. but a thousand men with shovels and buckets can divert an entire river with enough will and dedication to their task.

The river is civilization, and its redirection is our task.

To find a place for Dharma to thrive in our world, first we must allow it to truly take root and flourish in ourselves.

As a result of this world of decadence and decay, it is all but inevitable that a generation of highly virtuous men and women will undoubtedly arise, resolute in their rejection of the “old” corrupt world, and motivated by their desire to see the world renewed more in line with Dharma.

Like a sword forged in the heat of fire, so too will the dharmis of this generation forge the world that is soon to come. That is the Golden Age – an age within the Kali Yuga, where human quality is at it’s highest, and where the best of the best will once again stand at the top. As that age progresses, those men of virtue will progressively build the civilization anew, forging something more healthy, more holy and more pure than the society we know and live under today.


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In fact, we already see this coming into shape today. With increasing regularity, the teachings of Dharma, and view points more in line with its philosophy, continue to become evermore prevalent in the public sphere of thought and discourse. A burgeoning renaissance of traditional thought is beginning to show signs of its arrival, if one looks around. A renaissance that we can all be a part of.

For this to occur, each and every one of us must first allow Dharma to take root in ourselves.

We must become the embodiment of the world which we desire to see manifest. We must become reflections of Dharma. Before the Golden Age is manifest externally, it must first be manifest internally.

Then, moving up from the mere individual, comes the time of action. From engaging in grassroots political activism in your own community, to organizing a group of devotees, or even participating in the Vedic Heartland Initiative, there are countless actions an individual can take in order to bring the world one step closer to Dharma. The world we all seek comes first in ourselves, then through our healthy and thriving communities, and finally will take root within the scope of our very nations themselves.

This all starts with cultivating an unassuming attachment to God. By doing that, we can live a life that is untethered by the constant entanglements of the modern world. By giving everything in your life to Him, and expecting little in terms of material boon or sense gratification, we can raise ourselves to be more worthy vessels of Dharma within the material world. In doing this, we open ourselves to being empowered in our pursuits to right the wrongs of this world. So take shelter of the lotus feet of the lord, for he is the source and sustainer of all things, and when the time is right, the world as we know it will be radically different to the one into which we were all born.


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Finding Calm Amongst the Storm.

The world many of us find ourselves living in today is a radically different one that the one we all knew just a few years ago.

Despite having witnessed over recent decades the ever increasing trend towards state intrusion into our lives, and the seemingly endless downward spiral of morality within wider society. The sudden and impactful nature of events over the last two years left many of us reeling. The events that have unfolded may have been inevitable, and it is no surprise that many politicians and ‘social leaders’ alike took advantage of a perceived global catastrophe to pursue their own perverse agendas.

The experiences of recent months and years have impacted everyone differently. Some dharmis may have been impacted greatly on a daily basis, and lost much in the past few years. Others may have felt little to no impact at all, or even inadvertently benefited in some way. Regardless, in the face of such turbulence and uncertainty, it is very easy for one to fall into the trap of negative thinking, or to adopt a defeatist mentality. After all, even the great warrior-prince Arjuna found himself overwhelmed upon the eve of battle.

B.G 1.30

na ca śaknomy avasthātuṁ
bhramatīva ca me manaḥ
nimittāni ca paśyāmi
viparītāni keśava

na—nor; ca—also; śaknomi—am I able; avasthātum—to stay; bhramati—forgetting; iva—as; ca—and; me—my; manaḥ—mind; nimittāni—causes; ca—also; paśyāmi—I foresee; viparītāni—just the opposite; keśava—O killer of the demon Keśī (Kṛṣṇa).

TRANSLATION

I am now unable to stand here any longer. I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling. I foresee only evil, O killer of the Keśī demon.

As His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explained in the purport to this verse, fearfulness and loss of mental equilibrium take place in persons who are too affected by material conditions. Arjuna envisioned only unhappiness in the battlefield-he would not be happy even by gaining victory over the foe. When a man sees only frustration in his expectations, he thinks, “Why am I here?” Everyone is interested in himself and his own welfare. No one is interested in the Supreme Self. Arjuna is supposed to show disregard for self-interest by submission to the will of Kṛṣṇa, who is everyone’s real self-interest. The conditioned soul forgets this, and therefore suffers material pains. Arjuna thought that his victory in the battle would only be a cause of lamentation for him.

“Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna. Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure. Such evenness of mind is called yoga.” B.G 2.43


None of us may compare to the great Arjuna, and we may not have found ourselves upon the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Nonetheless, there are many important lessons we can draw from such verses that can be applied to the state of the world at this very moment, and how we conduct ourselves in the face of such turbulence.

Much like Arjuna, we are faced with great uncertainty in outcome, and it often can seem like that no matter what we do, all possible futures are doomed to be bitter-sweet at best, outright tragic at worst. Despite this, it is important for us to remember that it is because of the excessive attachment to our societies and this world around us that we experience such fearfulness and anxiety. A good man experiences suffering in the presence of un-righted wrongs. Like Arjuna, we are passionately attached to aspects of the world around us, and because of that we are invested in the outcomes and possibilities that are yet to come. As a result, we are caused great anxiety.

In the face of such calamity and chaos, it is increasingly important for every devotee to take time to reconnect with God and turn their attention to their sadhana. By cultivating detachment from material world, the dharmic activist is able to view the world with increasingly greater clarity, and to see things through a wider lens. By minimizing attachment, and therefore reducing the degree in which one invests themselves in outcomes well beyond our individual control, the dharmi can live a life of purpose and understanding, even as the world burns down around him.

This does not mean the dharmi should not care, nor does it mean he should not act. To the contrary, each and everyone one of us, now more than ever, must live with integrity and be sure to do whatever is within our power to bring about a positive change within this world. A change more in line with Dharma. However, the dharmi must act with detachment. The dharmi must act in understanding that all things are in the hands of the Divine, and that whenever God has deemed the time to have come, the demons that rule our world, who at times appear to have us out-numbered in every way, will be washed aside to make room for the Golden Age that is to come. All injustice and evil is temporary, but the divine is eternal.

Thus the dharmi should ultimately take shelter of the divine, and in turn Kṛṣṇa will protect the devotee who comes to him submissively and with affection.

“We live in a world that we know is infinitely complex, overpoweringly beautiful, and often times deeply mysterious. From time immemorial, human beings have peered into the heavens and contemplated the meaning of the world around them, and the meaning of their own lives within this world. When we human beings do begin to contemplate the meaning of our reality, there are really only two mutually exclusive conclusions that we can possible come to. And we must choose between one of these two possible explanations. The first way of viewing reality tries to convince us that the world we see around us is ultimately devoid of any real and lasting meaning. That everything happens in a thoroughly random manner. That the world is an inherently chaotic place, without an ultimate purpose, or any higher principle governing what happens in our cosmos or what happens to us. We are alone. This uninspired response to the mysteries of the world around us is the typical secular materialist response. It is the depressing conclusion that the atheist comes to. This atheistic way of viewing reality is now the dominant worldview, purposefully and systematically foisted upon us for over two centuries by those who control public discourse and culture.

The second way in which we can choose to see our world tells us just the very opposite of the above pessimistic and ultimately hopeless scenario. This second way envisions the universe around us as being full of deep meaning and alive with exciting possibility. Our cosmos is understood to be a reality in which, while oftentimes seemingly chaotic or confusing at a cursory glance, is in actuality governed by a higher and benevolent intelligence. It is a reality in which a nuanced order, balance, harmony and purpose lay hidden behind every important occurrence. Ours is a cosmos that is ruled by Natural Law. Though each and every one of these eternal principles of this Natural Law are not necessarily all known to us at all times, they are nonetheless discernible by those among us who are wise, patient and sensitive enough to listen to the quiet whispers of nature and to humbly open ourselves to the many lessons to be learned from Her.

When we fully realize the nature and power of this Natural Law, and live according to its wise guidance, then we are living in harmony with the cosmos, and we open ourselves to experiencing the peace, health, joy, sense of oneness with all of creation and with every being in creation, and deep sense of meaning that each of us, in our own way, yearns for. This second response to the mystery of our cosmos represents the optimistic and hopeful world-view of Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Natural Way. The spiritual path of Sanatana Dharma, or “The Eternal Natural Way”, is the most ancient spiritual culture and tradition on the earth. Indeed, it is “sanatana”, or eternal. To one degree or another, it forms the archetypal antecedent of every other later religion, denomination, and spiritually-minded culture known to humanity.”
― Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya, Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way


March 15th Primary Analysis

march 15 primaries

 

March 15th Primary Analysis

Five states (Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio) held their primaries yesterday.

On the Democratic side, despite his seeming popularity with Millennials and many trade union members, Bernie Sanders lost all five states to Hillary Clinton. Despite not winning any states, however, he came extremely close to winning in several of these states (specifically Illinois and Missouri).

Given the deep corruption and criminal activity that is systemic to the Clinton machine, this development does not bode well for the future of the Democratic party. Of the two contenders for the Democratic nomination, Sanders is arguably the more sincere, populist and honest. Sanders represents a voice of hope; whereas Clinton represents a whine of entitlement. Indeed, as has been pointed out repeatedly by many political pundits, it cannot even be assured that Hillary Clinton (the only candidate on either side who is currently being actively investigated by the FBI) won’t be formally charged with serious crimes before the general election is even over!

On the Republican side, Donald Trump also swept the field, winning four of the five states up for grabs last night. In what has now been the final nail in the coffin of Marco Rubio’s campaign, Trump even beat Rubio in his own state of Florida – and by almost 19% points! As we predicted, Rubio has already suspended his campaign and very wisely (if not soon enough) dropped out of the race.

The slight surprise of the evening was how well John Kasich did in the state of Ohio (of which he is the Governor). This win (his only win in the entire primary season thus far!) now has Republican establishment supremos and donors flocking to his banner as the newly anointed “only person who can stop Trump“. Of course, Jeb Bush was supposed to have been the establishment’s great hope to beat Trump…and then Marco Rubio…and now…the one state wonder known as John Kasich.

Our guess is that this thoroughly corrupt and out of touch Republican establishment will eventually find themselves on their tenth great hope as the “only person who can stop Trump” deep into Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States.

To the hearty celebration of all supporters of Dharma everywhere, fundamentalist Evangelical fanatic Ted Cruz lost every single state he campaigned in last night. Like Marco Rubio, it would be wise for Cruz to drop out now, rather than face greater embarrassment later – and perhaps even the final end of his political career entirely.

But very few have ever accused Ted Cruz of being wise.


February 23rd Republican/Democrat Primary Analysis

Pres_CandidatesThe Dharma Nation Movement has not endorsed a candidate for President of the United States, and will not be doing so in the present Presidential race. The following, however, is our analysis of the race thus far.

With his latest massive crushing of his opponents in the Nevada caucuses last night (Trump 46%, Rubio 24%, Cruz 21%), it is clear that Trump will be the Republican nominee.

If Rubio at any point during the present race ever even had a chance to overcome the front-runner, which he does not, he is correctly perceived as being too young, too inexperienced and too inconsistent in his positions to truly be taken seriously by the majority of voters.

From a Dharma perspective, a potential Cruz presidency is a disaster just waiting to happen. A Christian Evangelical fanatic, Cruz is by far the most dangerous candidate for any voter who does not spend the majority of their time dreaming of the eventual rapture!

A potential Cruz administration would see all non-Christian religions actively suppressed in America. His campaign is all but over at this point, despite “winning” Iowa via dirty tricks, which has consistently gone with losing Evangelical candidates every caucus cycle (Huckabee in 2008, Santorum in 2012), thus being a bell-weather of nothing.

We say, good riddance to the Cruz campaign.

On the Democratic side, on the other hand, it is still a very close race between Clinton and Sanders. Of the two, Sanders is the only honest and reputable candidate, Clinton representing Washington corruption and cronyism personified. Indeed, that Hillary Clinton is not sitting this primary out in a prison somewhere is a testament to the corruption of the present justice system in America.

Unlike the Republican side, the Democratic Nevada caucuses was extremely close for Clinton and Sanders. (52% Clinton, 46% Sanders) Sanders won New Hampshire by a landslide; and all by won Iowa, but for the dirty tricks and corruption of the process by the criminal Clinton campaign. In an honest primary race between Clinton vs. Sanders, Sanders would win the nomination by a landslide!

Next on the primary schedule is Super Tuesday, which will be on March 1st, and in which 12 states will be having primaries, including the crucial states of Texas and Virginia. More analysis then!

Aum Shanti Aum


A Vedic Critique of Marxism

A Vedic Critique of Marxism
By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

Indian Marxist
The following article is from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new book “The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya. This paper represents the first seriously philosophical, Vedic critique of Marxism ever written in history. The book can be purchased at:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

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If you can cut the people off from their history, then they can be easily persuaded.”

– Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Marxism is arguably the most monstrously destructive and morally reprehensible worldview the world has ever known. The perpetual violence that has been instigated by Marxist movements, totalitarian Communist dictatorships, bloody guerrilla wars, and terrorist bloodshed has been responsible for more deaths and suffering during the twentieth century than any other rival ideology of that era, including National Socialism. Marxism has led to the destruction of cultures, the dehumanization and misery of large segments of the global population, and the degeneration of the human spirit. Marxism is an atheistic and materialistic philosophy that views human beings as purely mechanistic, characterless and utilitarian automatons. For Marxists, human persons are to be reduced, both philosophically and in practice, to nothing more than soulless and bland laborers, whose existence only has meaning in direct proportion to their degree of utility by, and enslavement to, the state.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German citizen of Jewish descent who in his youth had been interested in the views of the German idealist philosopher and theologian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). Though Hegel’s philosophical system was theistic, and most of his followers at that time were themselves primarily religious individuals, Marx’s introduction to Hegel’s thought was via the Young Hegelians, a group dedicated to misusing Hegel’s philosophical methods to undermine and eradicate religious thought itself, rather than uphold it. The two main leaders of the Young Hegelians were Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) and Bruno Bauer (1809-1882).

Karl Marx had initially (pre-1844) subscribed to the Feuerbachian program of the critique of religion. While he continued to employ the notion of a philosophical anthropology – the attempt to discern the human meaning behind every experience – he went further than LudwigFeuerbach with his attempt to perform a critique of political economy. In the following section, we will briefly examine what led Marx to attempt such a critique, and talk about the ways in which political economy is thoroughly resistant to such a Marxist critique.

Fueurbach and the Young Hegelians felt that the very apex of both the philosophical and the theological enterprises had been achieved by Hegelianism and German Lutheranism, respectively. Thus, in their monumentally insular view, the end of the philosophic enterprise had suddenly commenced in their lifetime.[1] Now, the only project left was the creation of a philosophical anthropology – an attempt to show that all philosophical ideas were dependent upon what is essentially human in the purely biologically behavioral sense. Once a general account of humanity would be attained, so their belief went, then such an account could be applied to all things. The primary tool of this project was the use of the process of criticism, which would purportedly reveal the conditions for the very possibility of any object under observation.

The Young Hegelians, including Feuerbach and Marx, had applied this process of critique to the nature of the theology of the so-called Right Hegelians, who were primarily Lutheran theologians loyal to Hegel’s theistic philosophical underpinnings. Feuerbach, specifically, felt that religion was merely an unreal projection of essential, alienated humanity. Furthermore, for Feuerbach, God was no more than the construction of human beings, and actually represented the conceptual personification of what were in actuality very human traits. By critiquing God and religion, Feuerbach thought, a greater knowledge of human beings could be attained. Marx would later fervently agree with this general premise.

While Feuerbach felt that there was at least a trans-historical human essence, however, Marx felt that such an idea was too much of a concession to the “metaphysical”, and that man’s essence was only ever revealed under real world, materialist conditions. Human beings, for Marx, are in essence, primordially, producers and makers. Work, for Marx, was both the raison d’être and essential attributive nature of the human person. Therefore, on Marx’s account, self-actualization consisted in nothing more than having the freedom to perform meaningful work. Production, for Marx, was labor that is transformative towards creating a certain outcome, a praxis. Political economy was a body of theories formulated by the classical economists (such as Adam Smith) that sees human beings as essentially productive animals. Therefore, political economy – the realm of production and exchange – now became the central object of any Marxist critique.

The French Revolution supposedly succeeded in creating political emancipation, so Marx insisted, but state equality displaced inequality into the social sphere. In the social sphere, human beings were subject to an overwhelming sense of alienation. The proletariat (the working class) was separated from what they essentially are – biologically-determined producers unleashed to create, as an expression of their own essence. Political economy was thus seen as nothing more than the projection of our collective human praxis.  Instead of political economy serving human purposes, however, Marx felt that humanity was presently serving the needs of political economy. But the present political economy is nothing more than our own creation. Now a human revolution was needed. In order to begin this purportedly emancipatory process, Marx felt that the economic system of his time needed to be translated into a philosophical anthropology.

Marx’s attempt to translate the critical program to political economy proved immediately problematic for three reasons. 1) While God is immaterial, economies are very material; 2) It was impossible at Marx’s juncture in history to imagine a world without alienated labor; 3) Marx used Adam Smith as his primary economic theorist, though many of Smith’s ideas no longer applied.

Thus, while Marx made the attempt to translate Fueurbach’s failed critique of religion into a critique of political economy, such an application was itself a complete failure, to say the least.

The Failures of Marxism

We are ruthless and ask no quarter from you. When our turn comes we shall not disguise our terrorism.”[2] – Karl Marx

The failures of Marxism are legion and have been well documented for many decades by a wide variety of scholars, researchers, thinkers, economists and political scientists. Marxism eliminates all incentive for people to engage in any form of labor, whether intellectual, artistic or physical. By eliminating wages directly reflective of the value of individual instances of labor, people living under Marxist regimes are forced to work for a rationed amount of food and basic resources. Without a fair wage to work for, people naturally lose the motivation to work at all, thus leading to economic stagnation and a sense of hopelessness. We have seen such instances of economic failure in every Communist nation in history, and we are now beginning to see such economic breakdown occur in Europe and America as a direct result of the incremental introduction of crypto-Marxist economic policies.

A nation under the bondage of Marxism is destined to failure because such a state provides its people with no reason to strive for anything higher than being a personless atom in the social mass. With no distinctions, diversity, hierarchy, or classes to order the varying social strata of society in a sane and reasonable manner, a doctor will be paid the same wage as garbage collector, and a factory laborer has no hopes of ever earning a better life even if he acquired a Ph.D. All people are paid equally for work that requires unequal levels of skill, talent, education and personal natural propensity, so the person who aspires to be a doctor has no motivation to go to school for so many years of hard work only to be paid the same amount as someone who has not gone to school at all.

Marxism is predicated upon the idea of radical egalitarianism. Consequently, Marxists strive to utterly eliminate any sense of ethnic and national diversity, pride or celebration. The policy of eliminating a people’s natural and inherent sense of distinct cultural identity is designed to deprive people of any identity-sourced empowerment to dissent against the totalitarian, atheistic government. It is precisely for this reason that we must hold on to our ethnic and cultural identity at all costs, expressing a healthy pride in who we are, and in the ethnic heritage that made us who we are. Marxists, both those who have already gained power and those who seek to force their way to power in non-Marxist societies, promote and force ethnic amalgamation at the direct expense of ethnic diversity, often in the very name of ethnic diversity. We must never allow any government to eliminate the rich and beautiful diversity of the many cultures, languages, ethnicities, races and unique peoples that make our world the fascinating and meaningful place it is.

Marxism enforces its own beliefs and forcefully prevents all free speech that departs from their own belief system. Marxism is based upon fanaticism, hatred, doctrinaire closed-mindedness, dogmatic slogans, and blind faith in unsound historical, social and economic theories. Those found dissenting against the Marxist system are taken from their families and put into re-education centers or Gulags for merciless and systematic brainwashing. Those who continue to dissent are often summarily executed, with the family expected to pay for the bullets. The nightmarish Marxist model of the state represents the very opposite model that is presented by Dharma.

Comparison of Marxism with Sanatana Dharma
(Please compare both lists side by side)

MARXISM:

Materialism.

Biological Determinism.

External environment creates human essence.

Nurture trumps Nature.

Atheism.

Radical egalitarianism.

Globalization.

Class, gender, race and social conflict.

Multiculturalism.

Ethnic disintegration.

Eradication of gender differences.

Destruction of Tradition.

Culture reflects the lowest common denominator.

“Socialist realist” art.

Destruction of the family structure.

Exploitation of Nature, and degradation of the environment.

Relativist ethics (the ends justify the means).

Lack of civil freedoms.

Personhood subsumed in the amorphous masses.

Democratic centralism.

Omnisexuality.

Abortion on demand.

All means of production controlled by the state.

DHARMA (NATURAL LAW):

Spirituality.

Vitalism.

Human beings create their external environment, which in turn can have an effect
upon the natural development of the person.

Will trumps both Nature and Nurture.

Theism.

Qualitative Hierarchy.

Tribalism/Nationalism.

Class, gender, and social harmony and cooperation.

Ethnic Plurality.

Ethnic integrity.

Celebration of gender distinctions.

Celebrating Tradition.

Culture reflects the highest ideals.

Aesthetics inspired by ideal forms, transcendent insight, eternal archetypes,
and inspiration from Nature.

Upholding the traditional family.

Preservation and reverence for Nature.

Firm non-relativist ethics.

Human values based upon transcendent truth.

Inherent freedom of the human person.

Human personality never subsumed in the amorphous masses.

Leadership principle.

Heterosexuality.

Respect for innocent life.

All means of production controlled by free and creative human persons and
families.

Marxist philosophy, and the Communist movement in general, is without doubt the most destructive ideology humanity has ever been subjected to. Marxism represents the exact antithesis of Natural Law, of religion, of positive culture, of any form of national ideal, and of healthy tradition. Marxism is the polar opposite of life itself. It is the embodiment of the final, quintessential stage of the 4000-year-old failed Abrahamic experiment.

Communism has been responsible for the death, murder, torture and pain of more human beings than any ideology in world history (with, arguably, the possible exception of Islam). In China, the former USSR, and the former Communist nations of Eastern Europe, it has led to environmental degradation that is unprecedented. Marxism is a culture-destroyer. Far from being “progressive” and leading societies toward greater advancement, Marxism has led the nations under its rule back to the dark ages. In each and every significant way, Marxism is the very exact opposite of everything that Dharma and Natural Law has ever stood for. This explains why for the last 150 years of history, communists have been one of Vedic civilization’s very greatest enemies, and have tried to destroy us every chance they get. Marxism is the natural enemy of Dharma. Every follower of Sanatana Dharma must oppose Marxist materialism with every breath we have.

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This article is the most in-depth critical analysis of Marxism from a Vedic perspective ever written. It is taken from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new book “The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.  The book can be purchased at:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

The Dharma Manifesto serves as the first ever, systematic revolutionary blueprint for the nascent global Vedic movement that will, in the very near future, arise to change the course of world history for the betterment of all living beings. The Dharma Manifesto signals the beginning of a wholly new era in humanity’s eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.

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About the Author

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has been acknowledged by many Hindu leaders throughout the world to be one of the most revolutionary and visionary Vedic spiritual masters on the Earth today.

With a forty year history of intensely practicing the spiritual disciplines of Yoga, and with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Sri Acharyaji is one of the most eminently qualified authorities on Vedic philosophy, culture and spirituality.

He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization – the very first Hindu think tank in American history.

His most historically groundbreaking politico-philosophical work, “The Dharma Manifesto”, is now offered to the world at a time when its people are most desperately crying out for fundamental change. Available here:

http://www.arktos.com/sri-dharma-pravartaka-acharya-the-dharma-manifesto.html

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[1] Which was, on the face of it, merely another ego-driven manifestation of what I have termed the psychological defect of temporal-centrism – or, believing that the historical era in which one is presently living represents the apex of all human achievement.

[2] Neue Rheinische Zeitung (May 18, 1849) ”Marx-Engels Gesamt-Ausgabe, Vol. VI, p. 503.


Taxation is Theft

The America Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

– Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Taxation is theft.   This one of the foundational political mantras of the Dharma Nation Movement.

Taxation is TheftGovernment produces no wealth. It only confiscates wealth in the form of taxation from those who do actually create wealth, and redistributes that wealth to those who did not earn it. Moreover, government officials and corrupt politicians engage in such taxation theft, not for the actual betterment of the poor, but to buy the votes of the poor. Writing about the duplicitous nature of such corrupt politicians, Prabhupada stated the following:

“Tax exaction is not meant for the sense gratification of the so-called administrative heads. Tax revenues should be distributed to the citizens in times of need, during emergencies such as famine or flood. Tax revenues should never be distributed amongst governmental servants in the form of high salaries and various other allowances. In Kali-yuga, however, the position of the citizens is very horrible because taxes are exacted in so many forms and are spent for the personal comforts of the administrators.”

(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.16.6, Purport)

Wealth belongs exclusively in the hands of those individuals, families and businesses who are directly responsible for its creation, and is not to be forcefully redistributed by the government to those who did not create it – even in the name of poverty reduction.[1] Taxation must be recognized as a necessarily unavoidable evil that all governments must seek to reduce to the absolute minimum degree that is necessary to provide basic and foundational services to the people.

A Dharma Nationalist government would call for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, abandonment of the current complicated, confusing and inequitable tax system, the elimination of the progressive income tax, and a rapid transition to a more fair, flat tax system. Very simply, all households with a combined family income above the poverty level (income reflecting the year 2012) will pay a simple and fair 10% maximal tax rate, and when an atmosphere of economic prosperity warrants it, less than 10%. Whether a family makes $50,000 per year, $500,000 per year, or $5,000,000 per year, the yearly tax rate will never exceed 10% of that family’s total earnings. The property tax, marriage penalty tax, death tax, and inheritance tax will be abolished outright

 



[1] Poverty reduction is more effectively achieved via the volunteer work of private charitable organizations, and not through the inefficient and corrupt programs of government bureaucracies.


A Vedic Examination of Abrahamism

The following article is from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new work The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

 

A Vedic Examination of Abrahamism

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

The Abrahamic worldview is today represented by five closely aligned ideological tendencies: 1) Judaism, 2) Pauline Christianity, 3) Islam, 4) Marxism, and to a less significant extent 5) the Baha’i movement. Of these Abrahamic tendencies, Marxism is the only self-stated atheistic one, the others being religious in nature. The greatest real-world challenge and exact philosophical juxtaposition to the entire Dharmic worldview has historically been, and continues to this day to be, the Abrahamic mentality and worldview.

While some very important theological and ritual distinctions can be seen between them all, nonetheless the specifically religious-oriented aspects of Abrahamism – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – share a common worldview, psychological make-up, and guiding ethos. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are historically referred to as the “Abrahamic” religions because all three religions trace their origins to the prophet Abraham, and can thus be seen to be quite similar in many aspects of their respective outlooks. The following are only a few of the similarities that they all share.

1. All three religions have a shared acceptance of the teachings of the Old Testament prophets (Christianity, in addition to the accepting the Old Testament prophets, also accepts Jesus. Islam, in addition to the Old Testament prophets and Jesus, also accepts Muhammad).

2. Anthropomorphic monotheism. The supreme god of Abrahamism is seen in very human terms, including in his exhibition of such very human emotions as anger, jealousy, prejudice and vengeance.

3. A profound sense of religious exclusivity, creating two strictly delineated camps of “believers” in opposition to everyone else.

4. The belief that there is only the sole true faith, and that any other form of religious expression external to the “one true faith” is necessarily wrong.

5. The acceptance of terrorism, violence, mob action, looting and aggressive missionary tactics to spread their religion.

6. A common sense of being at a war to the death with the Dharmic (“Pagan”) world that preceded Abrahamic ascendency.

7. The centrality of unidirectional prayer to commune with their god, with systematic meditation practice playing either little or no part in the practice of their respective religions.

8. A belief in the existence of angels, the devil, demonic spirits, etc.

9. All three teach the bodily resurrection, the Final Judgment, the creation of the soul at the time of conception or birth (as opposed to the soul’s pre-existence, which all Dharmic spiritual traditions teach), the binding effects of sin, etc.

10. The importance of a specific holy day of the week set aside for prayer and rest: For Jews – Saturday. For most Christians – Sunday. For Muslims – Friday.

These are only a few of the elements of the Abrahamic worldview, of which mainstream Christianity is an integral part.

Up until 2000 years ago, the Dharmic worldview was by far the predominant worldview for most of humanity – from Ireland in the West to the Philippines in the East. Though there were thousands of diverse individual cultures, languages, foods, customs and traditions among the ancient Indo-European peoples, most of these ethnically varied cultures were united in their deep respect for, and attempted adherence to, the Natural Way (Dharma).

This ancient uniformity in adherence to Dharma was the case for tens of thousands of years until the radically anti-human and anti-nature Abrahamic ideology suddenly burst upon the world scene 4000 years ago with an evangelical fury, religiously-inspired violence, and zealous civilization-destroying vengeance the likes of which the civilized world had never seen previously. Never before had the multiple ancient and noble pre-Christian cultures of the world ever experienced such massive destruction, death, persecution, forced conversion, and cultural annihilation performed in the name of an artificially expansive religion as it witnessed at the hands of the new Abrahamic ideology that had arrived, seemingly out of nowhere, onto the world stage. It was in the wake of this never before experienced juggernaut of Biblically inspired destruction that the light of Dharma began to swiftly wane, and that Reality as it was known up till then was turned literally on its head.

Religiously inspired imperialism began with the more localized expansion of the Israelites in the Levant region two thousand years before the birth of Christianity.[1] However, it was soon after the appropriation of the original teachings and spiritual movement of Jesus, and the massive expanse of this later, corrupt form of post-Constantine Christianity, that the expansion of the Abrahamic ideology began to take on truly global proportions. As the French thinker Alain de Benoist explains this catastrophe in the context of European history,

“. . . the conversion of Europe to Christianity and the more or less complete integration of the European mind into the Christian mentality, was one of the most catastrophic events in world history – a catastrophe in the proper sense of the word…”[2]

With the ascent of the Abrahamic onslaught came the counter-proportional descent of the Indo-European world’s traditional Dharmic civilizations.

Christianity, in retrospect, was but one of several artificially constructed, new movements that all fall under the general term “Abrahamic”, named after the infamous founder of fanatical religious exclusivity, Abraham (1812 BC – 1637 BC).  These four anti-nature ideologies are 1) Judaism, 2) Christianity, 3) Islam, and 4) Marxism.  Whether we speak of Judeo-Christian “holy wars” and Inquisitions, or the bloody and unending Islamic jihads against “infidels”, or the genocide of over 100 million people in the name of Marxist revolution, all four of these Abrahamic movements have been responsible for more destruction, loss of life, and social mayhem than all other ideas, religions, and ideologies in world history combined.

The Abrahamic onslaught has been an unparalleled juggernaut of death. More, while all four ideologies have remained seemingly divided by dogmatic, sectarian concerns, all Abrahamic movements have been fanatically united in both their common origin, and in their shared aim of annihilating their perceived enemy of Dharma from the earth, and seeking sole domination of world power for themselves alone. While Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been at war with each other for millennia, they are all united in their insistence that Dharma is their principal hated enemy. The essential driving principle of Abrahamism is to bring about the immediate death of Dharma.

Dharma and Abrahamism are exact opposites in every way.  Dharma and Abrahamism stand for two radically opposed visions for humanity’s future. Dharma stands for nature, peace, diversity, and reason. Abrahamism stands for artificiality, war, uniformity, and fanaticism. They are the only two real ideological poles of any true significance in the last two-thousand years. There has been an ongoing Two-Thousand Year War between these two opposing worldviews that has shaped the course of much of human history since this conflict’s start. Every philosophical construct, religious denomination, political ideology and general worldview of the past two millennia falls squarely into one camp or the other. Every human being living today falls squarely into one camp or the other. Dharma and Abrahamism are the only two meaningful ideological choices for humanity today. And for all too much of the duration of this Two-Thousand Year War, Dharma has been on the losing end as Abrahamism has continuously succeeded in its unrivalled ascendancy.

The destructive ascendancy of Abrahamism is, however, about to come to an end. We are now about to witness a period of Dharmodaya – of Dharma ascending – in this very generation. As is explained in thorough detail in the two books “The Dharma Manifesto” and “Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way”, we are about to experience the rebirth of Dharmic and Vedic civilization throughout the totality of our world.

The Dharma world-view represents a positive moral and philosophical alternative to the many ills and cultural distortions of Abrahamic modernity. Vedic culture is human culture, because Vedic culture is the model of spiritual civilization. Our world is not without meaning. Our future is not without hope. Though the darkness of the Kali Yuga (our current “Age of Conflict”) and a civilizational crisis has now descended upon us, the Sun of Dharma will soon be seen again. No cloud can obscure our vision of the Sun forever. We will live to see Dharma triumphant again, and to see a Golden Age of compassion, true culture, and the Natural Way be firmly established.



[1] One of the prime example of such Abrahamist expansion was the conquest of Canaan (circa 1400-1350 BC), described in the Book of Joshua and the first chapter of Judges.

[2] Alain de Benoist, On Being a Pagan, ed. Greg Johnson, trans. Jon Graham (Atlanta: Ultra, 2004), p. 5.

_______________________

This article is from chapter 3 of the groundbreaking new political work “The Dharma Manifesto“, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

The Dharma Manifesto serves as the first ever systematic revolutionary blueprint for the nascent global Vedic movement that will, in the very near future, arise to change the course of world history for the betterment of all living beings. The Dharma Manifesto signals the beginning of a wholly new era in humanity’s eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.

About the Author

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has been acknowledged by many Hindu leaders throughout the world to be one of the most revolutionary and visionary Vedic spiritual masters on the Earth today.

With a forty year history of intensely practicing the spiritual disciplines of Yoga, and with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Sri Acharyaji is one of the most eminently qualified authorities on Vedic philosophy, culture and spirituality. He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization.

His most historically groundbreaking politico-philosophical work, “The Dharma Manifesto“, is now offered to the world at a time when its people are most desperately crying out for fundamental change.


Reaction, Revolution and Dharma Renaissance

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Reaction, Revolution and Dharma Renaissance:
The Case of “Hindu” Nationalism

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

The following article is from chapter 2 of the groundbreaking new political work “The Dharma Manifesto”, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

Every major question in history is a religious question. It has more effect in molding life than nationalism or a common language.”

– Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)

The following paper will examine the Indian social movement known variously as “Hindu” Nationalism, or “Hindutva”[1].

The overtly political aspects of the ongoing Hindu renaissance that has been haphazardly developing for the last approximately 135 years, along with its repeated failure to secure its self-stated aim of instantiating Rama-rajya (Dharmic rule) on the political scene, are crucial topics that very few Hindu intellectuals have addressed in an ideologically cogent and politically mature manner.  Some of the few intellectual leaders who have, in fact, addressed this issue in a truly systematic and well-formulated ideological way include Dr. David Frawley (Sri Vedacharya Vamadeva Shastri), Sitaram Goel, Ram Swarup and Dr. Koenraad Elst.  I have also written about this topic very extensively, but have only begun releasing a limited number of my writings on this matter to the general public starting in early 2011, The Dharma Manifesto being the ideological dénouement of these writings.  The following are a few thoughts on the current state of contemporary Dharma politics on the South Asian subcontinent, with an emphasis on the specific case of what is often termed “Hindu” Nationalism.

As we will see, the primary stumbling block that has relegated the greater Hindutva movement to near irrelevancy in the dual realms of both ideological development and engaged political action has been:

1) Its preponderance of reactionary thinking and action, rather than proactive cultivation of a more revolutionary outlook and practical strategy to both a.)gain political power and to b.) consequently govern the Indian nation-state along purely Dharmic principles.

2) The lack of the divinely-bestowed spiritual empowerment that is necessary for any self-described religious-based movement to secure meaningful success.

By the time the British and other European powers began the incremental process of colonial domination in India and the rest of South Asia in 1757, much of the Hindu community in north India specifically had already experienced hundreds of years of genocidal religious cleansing at the hands of the Mughals and other Islamic invaders before them. Without doubt, the establishment of European rule over India directly saved Hinduism (and, arguably, much of Vedic spiritual culture that served as the ancient basis of the later phenomenon of “Hinduism”) from inexorable extinction at the hands of Islam.  If the British had not assumed the administration of India when they did, Hinduism would most likely not exist today, and all of present day India would be an Islamic state. All followers of Dharma must be eternally grateful to the British for this inadvertent rescue of the non-Islamic elements of Indian culture.

During the more liberal atmosphere of the British Raj period (1857-1947), history witnessed the beginning stages of a budding, if often very confused, and ultimately self-abnegating, Hindu renaissance with the emergence of such neo-Hindu movements as the Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission and Hindu Mahasabha, as well as such Hindu leaders as Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), Bhaktivinode Thakura (1838-1914), Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), Arumuga Navalar (1822-1879), Gedong Bagus Oka (1921-2002), Sister Nivedita (1867-1911)[2], Annie Besant (1847-1933)[3], and many others. As a result of the rediscovery of their Vedic heritage on the part of many 19th century and early 20th century Hindu intellectual leaders, a new sense of political activism in the name of a rediscovered “Hinduism” cautiously developed with the nascent political theories of such people as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966) and Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940).

The culmination of this new movement, which was decidedly devoted to a Hindu identity politics, has resulted in the overwhelmingly dominant role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (founded in 1925) and its greater Sangh Pariwar family of front organizations over the realm of Hindu politics in India for the last 85 years.  The overtly political manifestation of the Sangh Pariwar movement was eventually manifest in the later Jana Sangh political party.  The party operated under this name from 1951-1980.  It was founded by Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953), who was subsequently murdered by the Congress Party regime in 1953. Since 1980, the party has been known by the name Bharatiya Janata Party.[4]

There has been a clear, multi-stage trajectory in which pro-Hindu political ideology and activism have progressed in the last 135 or so years.  Before I discuss the nature of that trajectory in any significant depth, first I need to lay out the three general morphologies that most political formulations have historically taken.  There are three general forms of political activity observable in the modern political realm: 1) Utopian, 2) Reactionary, 3) Revolutionary.

Utopian designates a primarily futuristic-oriented politics that tends to be very unrealistic and fantasy-fueled.  In many cases utopian-based ideologies tend to be eschatologically-driven and millennial in outlook, with the never-achieved (or achievable) promise of a perfect paradise on earth that can only be delivered by the particular political movement making the given promise. Such disastrously failed movements as Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, Anarchism and the political Left in general are Utopian in nature.

Reactionary, on the contrary, is primarily past-oriented[5] and looks toward a “better, more ordered time”, that is historically usually no more than several generations previous to the present era, as the archetypal hallmark and model for present-day cultural renewal.  As Nicolás Gómez Dávila  explains the mindset of the reactionary: “The reactionary is, nevertheless, the fool who takes up the vanity of condemning history and the immorality of resigning himself to it.” American reactionaries, for example, tend to see the 1950s as the apex of American civilization. As is clear from the term itself, reactionaries are capable only of reacting to assaults on tradition that they detect around them, and are usually incapable of proffering pro-active and positive ideas for how to foundationally transform society for the better in the face of modernity’s degenerate encroachment upon traditional values and culture. Reactionaries are especially known for timidity, intellectual incuriosity, lack of vision, as well as narrow parochialism and immaturely expressed xenophobia.  Republicans, Tories, and the conservative Right in general fall under this general heading. Utopian and Reactionary represent the two furthest opposing extremes of the political spectrum.

Revolutionary, on the other hand, describes a political stance that is proactive and constructive in nature, rather than merely utopian or reactionary.  Rather than supporting either unrealistic utopian goals, or merely reacting in an ineffectively knee-jerk fashion to the incessant attacks of its opponents,  the revolutionary perspective proffers positive systemic change designed to transform the basic characteristics of a presently-given social reality in a wholly original and fundamental way.  Revolutionaries seek to alter society, not merely peripherally and incrementally, but foundationally and swiftly.

In the very specifically Hindu/Vedic context, the revolutionary perspective looks at the ancient past (and not merely two or three generations back, but millennia back) as the source from which to derive eternal principles that are designed to be used in the present day to create a radically better future. The Dharmic revolutionary subscribes to an archeofuturism, to use Guillaume Faye’s instructive terminology.[6] Rather than merely dreaming about an unobtainable future based upon blind faith and wishful thinking, or conversely, merely reacting in a frustrated manner to the negative occurrences happening around them, revolutionaries seek systemic (and not merely cosmetic) change in the here and now.

The term “Revolutionary” tends to carry with it the stereotyped, and wholly inaccurate, notion of political violence, which is not at all the technical denotation of this word in political science terminology.  Rather, by “Revolutionary” is meant a concept, ideology or movement whose aim is to affect fundamental systemic changes (i.e., a change of the prevailing system itself), rather than merely cosmetic or surface change alone (i.e., minutial changes and readjustments within the confines of the system).  With this proper understanding of the terminology, the term “Revolutionary” does not in any way denote violence.

In brief, a Revolutionary movement must have the following features:

A) It is predicated upon a grand, but rationally achievable, vision.

B) It is led by a professional vanguard of elite leaders dedicated to achieving the vision, (b.i) who are capable of intellectually formulating that vision into ideological form, (b.ii) who know how to organize the masses in both the largest and most effective ways necessary to achieve the vision, and (b.iii) who themselves wholly personify the vision of the movement in their own personal character and lifestyle; i.e., the leader is the movement.

C) It has a clearly and systematically formulated ideology that encompasses the totality of political concern, including a comprehensive and defensible internal ideological structure, the minutia of economics, a philosophy of governance, social relations, geopolitical formulations, etc.

D) It has the ability to both formulate constructive alliances with like-motivated movements/organizations, and has a keen understanding of all aspects of the opposing forces.

E) Most importantly of all: a revolutionary has the resolute will to win.

As we look at the last 135 or so years of modern Hinduism, we see that Hindu forms of political expression have progressed roughly and sequentially, though certainly with significant overlaps, through the above three stages of Utopian, Reactionary, and Revolutionary.

“We Are One” – Utopian Stage (1875-1925)

Beginning in the Colonial era, and continuing down to today, such historical trends as the 19th century neo-Hindu movements and Radical Universalism, as well as such historic figures as Swami Vivekananda, Gandhi, and many of the earlier gurus who came to the West, clearly represented an early Utopian stage of Hindu political expression.  The concerns of such Hindu Utopians included such unrealistic liberal Western notions as radical egalitarianism, universalism, evolutionary and historico-progressive world-views, temporal-centrism,[7] and such emotionally-driven eschatological visions as the future establishment of a pan-ecumenical world political order – what today would be more accurately termed the New World Order.  Such intellectually puerile sentiments, however, did not (and could not) lead to the type of strong Vedic restoration movement necessary to revive Dharma globally.

Such a Vedic restoration is necessarily radically traditionalist in nature, and is thoroughly opposed to all the key corrosive elements that have rendered modernity non-viable. The German intellectual Edgar Julius Jung (1894-1934) presciently describes a similar vision of such a restoration in the following way.

Restoration of all those elementary laws and values without which man loses his ties with nature and God and without which he is incapable of building up a true order. In the place of equality there will be inherent standards, in the place of social consciousness a just integration into the hierarchical society, in the place of mechanical election an organic elite, in the place of bureaucratic leveling the inner responsibility of genuine self-government, in the place of mass prosperity the rights of a proud people.”[8]

For Sanatana Dharma to both survive and thrive in the coming decades and centuries, a thorough Vedic Restoration along the lines of Jung’s words above must be brought about – a reaffirmation of Sanatana Dharma’s most ancient and orthodox cultural and spiritual expression in direct contradistinction to the values of both Western materialist modernity and shortsighted Indian nationalism (i.e., “Hindu” Nationalism).

Most of the formulators and present-day thinkers of the “Hindu Nationalist” movement represent, to one degree or another, a rather sharp historical and conceptual disconnect from the traditional Sanatana Dharma that had been taught by the Vedic Acharyas and that had been practiced by the common Hindu people for thousands of years.  After 1000 years of genocidal battering on the part of Islamic invaders, modern Hinduism was definitely not at the height of its intellectual, cultural, spiritual and political/military glory by the time the British arrived on the scene.  By the time the British had saved Vedic culture from extinction, a radically traditional Sanatana Dharma, in its unapologetic, pristine, and consciously Vedic-centric form, needed desperately to be reconstructed by her intellectuals and spiritual leaders. Unfortunately, a serious process of tradition-oriented reconstruction was not seriously attempted at that time.

Instead of seeing the dire problems with Hinduism that were present by the 18th and 19th centuries as something that needed to be addressed and cured from within the confines of Sanatana Dharma, the neo-Hindus instead turned to external, non-Vedic, sources for their guiding inspiration. As a result, rather than attempting a true reconstruction of authentic Sanatana Dharma, which would have made Sanatana Dharma strong and pure once again, they instead attempted an unnecessary “reform” of Sanatana Dharma along the lines of Christian norms and ideals.

Thus we saw the Christian-inspired, neo-Hindu obsessions with eliminating “caste”, eliminating sati, eliminating murti worship, Christian style monotheism, “social reform” at the expense of intellectual/spiritual development, Hegelian historicism, and Radical Universalism. Attendant upon these superfluous “reforms”, we now witness the sad legacy of a Hindu world confused about what it believes, about what even constitutes a “Hindu”, about its future, as well as Hindu children who are not interested in Hinduism, and a Hindu community of almost one billion people many of whom suffer from inferiority complexes and the psychological scars of a people disconnected from their true spiritual heritage.  What Sanatana Dharma really needed was never “reform” along these neo-Hindu lines, but rather a positive tradition-based reconstruction of its eternal ideals. “Hinduism” needed to re-embrace its true essence as Sanatana Dharma – the Eternal Natural Way.

What Sanatana Dharma needed – and still needs! – were two interdependent developments.

A) A reclamation of Vedic-based, traditional Sanatana Dharma, with a highly orthodox, Vedic-centric understanding of the unitive and integral Vedic culture that had sustained Sanatana Dharma for 5000 years. It needed a purely Vedic understanding of pramana (valid means of knowledge and derivation of authority), of the nature of Dharma (in the strictest of philosophical senses, not just the popular sense), of what constitutes Vaidika (Vedic) vs. Avaidika (non-Vedic), etc.

B) Once the pure Tradition of Sanatana Dharma was reconstructed, the next organic development needed to be a strictly Vedic-based strategy for both juxtaposing, but also actively interfacing, traditional Sanatana Dharma with the modern world.

The latter project of fostering dialogue between Sanatana Dharma and modernity needed to be done, not by falsely denying the differences between the two (as almost all of the 19th century proto-Hindutva figures attempted via Radical Universalism), but in the same manner that every other ancient culture had met the challenge of modernity: recognition of most modern religions/ideologies as purva-pakshas – opposing ideological constructs; friendly and open debate with these purva-pakshas; unapologetic assurance in the exceptional status of Sanatana Dharma, and a concomitant refusal to concede to the forced imposition of an inferior status.

Unfortunately, because the unneeded distraction of “Hindu reform” became the more easily accomplished dominant paradigm of the hour, to this very day the real project of Vedic reconstruction outlined above has barely gotten off the ground.  It is now time to begin the process.

Many of the “Hindu reformers” were well-motivated and sincere persons who truly felt that they were acting in the interests of Sanatana Dharma. Many of Ramakrishna’s words are very inspiring and wise. Swami Vivekananda was a truly courageous and talented leader who the Hindu people can and should take immense pride in. More, many of these personalities did accomplish some good in providing at least some modicum of a vehicle for interfacing Sanatana Dharma and modernity, however self-destructive this particular vehicle has ending up being in the long-run.  In formulating a Christian-inspired paradigm for Vedic survival with only short-term successes in mind, however, they did not have the long-term implications of their syncretism in mind.

“We Are Different” – Reactionary Stage (1925-1945)

Beginning roughly in the Interwar period (the 1920s and 1930s), we then see the formulation of a strictly Reactionary form of Hindu politics with the emergence of Savarkar, Savitri Devi (the European Pagan writer Maximiani Portas, 1905-1982),[9] the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, etc. The uniformed paramilitary formations, martial aesthetic, stress on character development, egalitarian ethos combined with a rigid hierarchical structure, and much of the generic patriotic rhetoric of the RSS was directly appropriated from the newly immerging, parallel nationalist movements that were sweeping the European continent during the 1920s.

Unlike their much more successful European counterparts, however, this new reactionary Hindu movement had very few innovative ideas, did not know how to successfully engage in politics either electorally (not till the 1980s at the earliest) or in terms of mass mobilization (other than borrowing heavily from the paramilitary structure earlier developed by their much more successful counterparts in the various nationalist organizations of contemporary Europe), were wholly disconnected from the traditionalist and orthodox Vedic understanding and practice of the Yoga tradition, had no clear understanding of Dharmic political theory, and most importantly, did not know how to construct an elite political vanguard capable of leading the people by their own spiritual example.

The RSS and Sangh Pariwar defined itself, both historically and to this very day, exclusively in negative juxtaposition to what they were not: they were not Muslims; they were not Christians; they were not Marxists; thus, if only by necessary default, they were “Hindus”.  However, to this very day, the RSS has found itself incapable of defining in positive identitarian terms what it actually means to be a Hindu in the spiritual sense of this term. Savarkar’s blind imitation of then-fashionable European racialist theory in the formulation of his interpretation of “Hindutva”, or “Hinduness”, as designating a specifically racial group was doomed to failure from the outset. For Savarkar and all those who followed in his footsteps, being Hindu meant being Indian; being Indian meant being Hindu. Thus, Hinduism for the Hindu Nationalists was merely another term for the Indian race![10] Being a politician, and not a Vedic philosopher, Savarkar did not understand that Sanatana Dharma does not equate to the Indian race. Sanatana Dharma is a world-view and spiritual tradition. It is the sacred heritage, not merely of those people who happen to possess an Indian passport, but of the entirety of the Indo-European peoples.

To this day, rather than facilitating the radical, systemic change necessary to bring about a new Dharma civilization (which is clearly not at all the aim of these Hindutva movements, and never has been), the Reactionary tendency in pro-Hindu politics has shown itself to be an un-visionary, anti-intellectual, philosophically impotent and currently irrelevant political force. It finds itself dedicated more to a rather light version of Indian Nationalist conservatism than Vedic nation building.

The deepest extent of their political program essentially consists of a return to an era more within the comfort zone of the octogenarian men who lead this reactionary movement – possibly a return to India circa 1855 for Savarkar and Hedgewar, or an India circa 1955 for an Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani. A Dharma Nation will never be achieved by the feckless Reactionaries, if only because such a goal is not even within the scope of their actual aims or intellectual understanding.

Sadly, the vast bulk of so-called “Hindu activism” that takes place today still falls under the category of Reactionary, and is more a reflection of amorphous Indian Nationalism, and general pride of place and ethnicity than any serious attempt to reorder society (either Indian, American, or global) in such a manner as to reflect Dharmic principles instantiated in concrete political form.

Many of the attempts at polemical and ideological writing that we have seen arising from “Hindu Nationalists” make it all too apparent that they are not yet politically mature enough to either vie for power or to govern a working nation-state. When, and only when, it comes to the point that self-described “Hindu Nationalists” develop the philosophical maturity to engage in the nuanced ideological struggle necessary to win power, and only when they learn how to develop temporary and practical alliances with others while also keeping the greater goal of political power in mind, will they be ready to govern the current nation-state of India. Only then will “India” become Vedic Bharat once again! Contemporary “Hindu Nationalism” needs to move away from the fantasy-rhetoric level that they have wallowed in for so many decades, and begin the hard work of engaging in real politics in the real world.

“We are Vedic!” – Transforming the RSS into a Revolutionary Movement

Without doubt, the current attempt at Vedic restoration is seen as almost being synonymous with the vision, leadership, organizational structures and ideological pronouncements of the RSS movement.  With approximately six million dedicated activists, the RSS is officially the largest volunteer organization on the Earth today. Unfortunately, the RSS has served as a sadly flawed and ideologically challenged vehicle for Vedic restoration.  The RSS will need to address the following problems if it is going to transform itself from a Reactionary movement to a Revolutionary one:

A) Distinguishing between Indian Nationalism versus Vedic Restorationism.  Many difficulties arise when these two separate concerns become indistinguishable, as they very clearly have in the minds of almost all “Hindu Nationalists”.  Indian Nationalism is an ethnicity/national/racial movement.  Vedic Restoration, on the other hand, is a religious/cultural/philosophical one.  The RSS has, in my opinion, been more of an Indian Nationalist movement than a Vedic Restorationist movement. More, this is the primary reason why the BJP so badly lost the Indian national election of 2004 – because they tried to appeal to Muslims, Christians, pseudo-secularists, and other non-Hindu Indians merely as patriotic Indians, rather than appealing exclusively to the majority community as follower of Sanatana Dharma[11].  The RSS’s main concern has become Indian Nationalism rather than Sanatana Dharma…and this has only set the movement back.

B) Within the current day Vedic Restorationist movement, we must clarify the difference between Hindu Revival (a political/social/cultural phenomenon), which the RSS is predominantly engaged in, versus Vedic Reconstruction, (an intellectual/academic/philosophical/spiritual matrix of projects), which is precisely what such individuals as David Frawley, Swami Dayananda Sarasvati, Shrikant Talageri, Subhash Kak and myself, as well as other, more traditionalist, Vedic thinkers are engaged in. Both are projects of seemingly rival significance, and the different natures, goals and methods of these two separate projects need to be understood.

C) Within the parallel projects of Hindu Revival and Vedic Reconstruction, we need to distinguish between a Neo-Hindu versus a Traditionalist world-view, which has been addressed to a much greater extent in the book Radical Universalism: Are All Religions the Same?, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

The RSS is currently a neo-Hindu, revivalist, Indian Nationalist movement. What it needs to become is a Traditionalist Vedic Reconstructionist movement. Like some of the 19th century neo-Hindus of the past, the RSS has done much good for the Indian nation-state historically. The RSS has been on the front-lines of defending Hindu India from foreign aggression, both military and missionary.[12] The sacrifices of countless individual RSS members are too numerous to mention.  Today, however, both India and Sanatana Dharma need radically more. The RSS needs to change quite radically if it is going to maintain itself as an effective organization in the future.

The following is a ten point program that Hindu Nationalists should implement if they truly wish to transform their nation of India for the better.

1) Annihilate the immediate existential threat from the Communist terrorists, Islamic Jihadists and Christian missionaries who have enslaved your country.

2) Stop graduating countless engineers, “IT professionals” and medical personnel, and instead begin to once again encourage your children to become philosophers, sadhus (sages), artists, thinkers, warriors and leaders.

3) Revive the Kshatriya warrior spirit of your ancestors and no longer revel in weakness in the name of ahimsa.

4) Re-Aryanize, re-Vedicize and re-spiritualize the entirety of your present-day culture.

5) Eliminate the Dalit problem once and for all by allowing those many individuals who are eligible among this community to enter the varna system in accordance with their inherent individual psycho-physical nature. If a Dalit behaves like a brahmana, then he is a brahmana. Period!

6) Learn to interact with modernity in a successful manner. That means, without excuses, rededicating yourselves to excellence and perfection in everything you do and communicate.

7) Build your own economy instead of depending upon the West for economic success via immigration and outsourcing of jobs. To do this, you will need to completely exorcise your economy of even the slightest taint of socialism and collectivism. Once and for all – Socialism simply does not work!

8) Start to carry yourselves with courage and pride in your Vedic heritage, rather than viewing this heritage as an embarrassing burden from the past. If you do not reclaim your immense Vedic heritage, someone else will reclaim it from you.

9) Make spoken Sanskrit the sole recognized language of your nation.

10) To successfully achieve all of the above, stop reaching for any and all excuses for why you have not yet been able to achieve these goals. Victory belongs only to those who reject excuses. Then, and only then, will Bharat regain the respect of the world.

Dharma Nationalism: A New Revolutionary Approach

The new stage that Hindu activism needs to take is undoubtedly the Revolutionary approach. It is clear that Indian Hindus now need to enter the Post-RSS phase of Hindu activism. As a starting point, 21st century Hindu activism needs to make a sharp break from its more paranoid and pessimistic past, and begin to start thinking in much more realistic, concrete, strategic and winning terms.

The enemies of Dharma have had the gift of being able to think and strategize on a long-term basis. Their end goal has always been the end of Dharmic civilization and the creation of their own dystopic vision of reality ranging centuries into the future! Contemporary Hindu activism, on the other hand, has only seemed able to operate reactively, only thinking about some immediate injustices that have just occurred in the news today – and even then only rarely reacting effectively, if at all. The contemporary Indian Hindu activist movement needs to stop looking for excuses, and beat the enemy at their own game.

A truly Revolutionary Dharma activist movement has not existed on the world scene until 2012.  The seeds of its birth have now come to fruition in the form of the Dharma Nationalist movement.

Indeed, the Indian nationalist fueled “Hindu” activism of the past will now quickly take a back seat to the spiritually fueled Dharma Nationalist activism of the future. Unlike parochial “Hindu Nationalism”, Dharma Nationalist activism is, indeed, comprehensively total in its application. It is based primarily upon spiritual/philosophical concern, and only secondarily on ethnic/national concern. It is motivated by the spiritual insight and compassion gifted to us by the eternal Truth of Sanatana Dharma, and not merely on an empty pride residing in the relative and temporal, ever-changing geographical boundaries of the nation-state of India. It fosters a true selfless action akin with that of the rishis, and not merely a series of political calculations based upon the personal need for power and aggrandizement.

More crucial than any other juxtaposing comparison to the failed Hindu activist endeavors of the past: Dharma Nationalism presents a clear, realistic, and achievable strategic diagram revealing exactly how society should be best structured in order to ensure the maximal amount of happiness and prosperity, to the fullest degree of qualitative and spiritual depth, for the greatest number of living beings. This fact will be abundantly evident upon an attentive reading of The Dharma Manifesto.



[1] Tentatively translated as “Hinduness”.

[2] Born as Margaret Elizabeth Noble, an Irish social worker who abandoned Christianity and became a follower of Sanatana Dharma.

[3] The second leader of the Theosophical Society after Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891).

[4] “Indian People’s Party”.

[5] Reactionaries do not look to ancient or Classical antecedents for guidance for the present, but tend to only look back a few generations at most.

[6] See Guillaume Faye’s Archeofuturism: European Visions of the Post-Catastrophic Age for more on this innovative concept.

[7] My term for the deceivingly comforting psychological phenomenon exhibited by any given generation that convinces them that the particular era in which they find themselves represents the most important and advanced era in history. A much more healthy approach in reconciling one’s subjective perception with the particular times in which one finds oneself was nicely stated by the German philosopher Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) in the following manner: “Live with your century, but do not be its creature.” (On the Aesthetic Education of Man)

[8] Edgar J. Jung, Deutsche uber Deutschland (Munich, 1932), p. 380.

[9] Savitri Devi and Savarkar were in agreement on several basic issues of Hindu Nationalism. Babarao G.D. Savarkar, brother of V.D. Savarkar, even wrote the Forward to Savitri Devi’s book “A Warning to the Hindus“.

[10] “India is dear to us because it has been and is the home of our Hindu Race, the land which has been the cradle of our prophets, and heroes and Gods and godmen …. The real meaning of Swarajya then, is not merely the geographical independence of the bit of earth called India. To the Hindus independence of Hindusthan can only be worth having if that ensures their Hindutva – their religious, racial and cultural identity.” (Vinayak Damodar Savarkar  Hindu Rashtra Darshan, vol. 4, pp. 218-9)

[11] Approximately 83% of the Indian population are followers of Sanatana Dharma – a clear majority.

[12] Balraj Madhok, the president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh party in the late 1960s, is a living example of the patriotic fervour of Hindu Nationalism. He wrote the following in 1970: “Western countries also have been exerting to exploit India’s illiteracy and poverty by using their economic aid measures, their cheap and provocative literature, and, above all, their missionaries as instruments for a campaign of mass conversion. We want to warn these foreign powers not to indulge in activities that violate India’s sovereignty and independence and demand that the Government of India take stern measures to curb them.” (Indianisation? What, Why and How. New Delhi: S. Chand, 1970, p. 103)

This article is from chapter 2 of the groundbreaking new political work “The Dharma Manifesto”, by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

The Dharma Manifesto serves as the first ever systematic revolutionary blueprint for the nascent global Vedic movement that will, in the very near future, arise to change the course of world history for the betterment of all living beings. The Dharma Manifesto signals the beginning of a wholly new era in humanity’s eternal yearning for meaningful freedom and happiness.

About the Author

Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya has been acknowledged by many Hindu leaders throughout the world to be one of the most revolutionary and visionary Vedic spiritual masters on the Earth today.

With a forty year history of intensely practicing the spiritual disciplines of Yoga, and with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, Sri Acharyaji is one of the most eminently qualified authorities on Vedic philosophy, culture and spirituality. He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Dharma and Civilization.

His most historically groundbreaking politico-philosophical work, “The Dharma Manifesto”, is now offered to the world at a time when its people are most desperately crying out for fundamental change.


The Sikh Temple Shooting

On Sunday, August 5th, a psychopathic coward opened fire on a Sikh temple in the state of Wisconsin, killing six innocent worshipers before he himself was gunned down by police officers. One heroic police officer, Lt. Brian Murphy, was shot by this coward nine times and is currently in the hospital. As officer Murphy lay bleeding on the ground, he insisted that the medical responders take care of the wounded Sikh parishioners first before treating his own wounds.

In his courageous heroism and selfless actions, Lt. Brian Murphy represents everything that Dharma stands for.  We wish him a speedy recovery.

The Dharma Nation Movement vociferously and unequivocally condemns this cowardly and meaningless act of violence. Regardless of one’s political or ideological beliefs, terroristic violence against innocent civilians can never be justified. Despite the amoral pronouncements of such ethically shallow ideologies as Marxism and other anti-Dharmic movements, the ends never justify the means. It is for this reason that the Dharma Nation Movement, since its very inception, has followed a rigid policy of always observing the highest ethical behavior possible in the pursuit of our peaceful political ends.

The ends never justifies the means.

Our prayers and well wishes go out to all the victims of this tragedy.


Government Regulations are Killing America

In America today, there is very little that you can actually do without getting some sort of a “license” or a “permit” first.

Do you want to leave your home?
You better get a license to drive first or find someone that does.

Do you want to start a business?
You better get ready for a very long relationship with licenses and permits.

Do you want to open a Hot Dog Stand?
A 13 year old boy up in Michigan has had his hot dog stand shut down because of a zoning violation. His parents actually thought that they had all the proper licensing.

Do you want to collect rainwater?
Could you imagine being sent to prison for collecting the rain that falls from the sky on your own property? A rural Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and over $1,500 in fines because he had three reservoirs on his property to collect and use rainwater.

Care for a Smoke?
Santa Monica, California has decided to make it illegal to smoke inside your own home.

Want to take a drive with Fido?
In New Jersey, if you are driving around with an “unrestrained” cat or dog in your vehicle you can be fined up to $1000 for each offense.

How about a bake sale?
Hazelwood, Missouri it is actually illegal for little girls to sell girl scout cookies in the front yards of their own homes.

Don’t let junior play with chalk.
In one Denver neighborhood, children have been banned from drawing on the sidewalk with colored chalk.

And forget that lemonade stand.
All over the United States, lemonade stands run by small children are being shut down by police because they do not have the “proper permits”.

How about reading some religious scriptures?
Recently a man that was arrested for hosting a Bible study in his own home. It turns out that he is still in prison serving his 60 day prison sentence.

Are you growing a garden?
Denise Morrison in Tulsa, Oklahoma had her survival garden brutally ripped out and carted away by government thugs. She was relying on that garden to provide the things that she needed. But the government control freaks savagely ripped it all out and left her with nothing.

Does junior ever throw temper tantrums?
If so, your child may get arrested and sent to a mental institution if he or she throws a tantrum in front of the police. A 6-year-old girl down in Florida was “throwing objects, hitting administration personnel and screaming uncontrollably” so police handcuffed the 40 pound little girl and shipped her off to a mental institution for evaluation.

Don’t pack plastic utensils with juniors lunch.
An 11-year-old kid down in Florida was actually arrested by police, thrown in jail and charged with a third-degree felony simply for bringing a plastic butter knife to school.

Better get your dose of Fluoride
In Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch. In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children.

Blogging? Forget it in Philly
It is illegal to make even a single dollar from a blog unless you buy a $300 business license. The Philly government even went after one poor woman who had earned only $11 from her blog over the past two years.

Spare some water Buddy?
In Louisiana one church was recently ordered to stop giving out water because it did not have the “proper permit” to do so.


USDA Prepares to Green-Light Gnarliest GMO Soy Yet

In early July, on the sleepy Friday after Independence Day, the USDA quietly signaled its intention to green-light a new genetically engineered soybean seed from Dow AgroSciences. The product is designed to produce soy plants that withstand 2,4-D, a highly toxic herbicide (and, famously, the less toxic component in the notorious Vietnam War-era defoliant Agent Orange).

FULL ARTICLE


Vegetarianism: Celebrating Life

Vegetarianism: Celebrating Life

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

The reasons for becoming a vegetarian are many. Vegetarianism makes sense from every possible perspective.

Health – Vegetarians have been shown to live longer, as well as suffer much less from such health problems as cancer, heart-disease and other illnesses. Contrary to popular belief, meat foods are not a necessary component of the human diet. In fact, evolutionarily and biologically, humans are not designed to be carnivores. Our teeth and intestinal structures are best suited for an herbivorous (vegetarian) diet.

Economic – A cow has to be fed up to 16 pounds of grain in order to produce only one pound of beef. If this grain were to be fed directly to human beings, world starvation could be eliminated. In addition, the meat industry is one of the most heavily federally subsidized industries in America. Your tax dollars are being wasted supporting an industry that produces an inefficient and unhealthy product.

Environmental – Central and South American rain forests are being decimated at the alarming rate of 2.5 acres per second. Much of this destruction is occurring in order to provide grazing land for beef cattle. Every burger we eat represents a tree mowed down in a rain forest. Also, the meat industry has been repeatedly cited as one of the major industries responsible for massive pollution, including the dumping of noxious wastes into our nation’s water supplies.

Ethical – To kill or give pain to any living creature, especially when such actions are unnecessary and not in self-defense, is morally unjustified. Like you and I, animals are sentient living beings, and have been proven to be capable of feeling pain and suffering. Animals, like humans, cry out if cut; they scream if killed; they mourn if separated from those they love. God created animals, not for us to torture and gobble up thoughtlessly, but to cooperate with, learn from and protect. If we are, indeed, vastly superior to animals in both our ethical development and in our sense of justice, should we not perhaps behave as such?

Spiritual – Most of the world’s varied religious traditions are opposed to creating unnecessary suffering. The two most important qualities that many spiritual paths attempt to instill in their adherents are wisdom and compassion. These qualities are impossible to develop as long as we engage in violence of any sort. However insignificant or distant an act of violence may appear to us (such as the killing and eating of animals), it nonetheless contributes to an overall social attitude of justifying violence. Violent minds lead to violent lifestyles. In such a state of consciousness, it is impossible to make any serious advancement on one’s chosen spiritual path.

These, and many other considerations, make it quite clear that the vegetarian alternative is a lifestyle that is both reasonable and healthy for your body, mind and soul. We hope these facts have given you a little food for thought, and that you will consider becoming a vegetarian. For more information on vegetarianism, please visit Dharmacentral.com


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