Contents
- 1. Necessity of kshatradharma sadhana
- 2. Importance of kshatradharma sadhana
- 2.1 In the context of the future generation
- 2.2 False credit!
- 2.3 Spiritual practice for the sake of society
- 2.4 Spiritual practice of the destroyer form to attain Absoluteness (Purnatva) in spiritual practice
- 2.5 Spiritual practice for the sake of society according to time
- 2.6 The test of spiritual progress
- 2.7 The mission after Self-realisation
1. Necessity of kshatradharma sadhana
1.1 Irresponsible behaviour in today’s society
Many people consider themselves fearless, conscientious and powerful. Whatever they do and struggle for is to earn money and other pleasures from the Great Illusion (Maya). Today everyone is helpless before the evil attitude of society. No one has the courage to raise his voice against injustice. Today it is unsafe for women to move about or go out to work. A handful of evildoers rule society and make it dance to their tunes. In every field corruption is so rampant from the top to the bottom that opposing it is considered foolish because everyone believes that this will go on forever. No person or organisation is sufficiently trustworthy to be approachable for assistance. People are living with the false belief that ‘I am happy’ and pulling wool over their eyes. They try to forget the tensions and worries of tomorrow by indulging in momentary pleasure.
Each one’s nature is that of God. That infinite divine potential exists in each and everyone. Then why should society deteriorate to such an extent? Why can each one not acquire His basic inherent potential? In the heart of hearts each one wishes to oppose this but either does not dare to do it or faces opposition from relatives. It is because these evil attitudes have been ignored that today they have become formidable.
A. The average citizen and the seeker:
Seekers repose their faith in the invisible God, surrender their body, mind and wealth and undertake spiritual practice day and night. Actually they are the ones who are really fearless and courageous. If you have the capacity then undertake spiritual practice which needs sacrifice of the body, mind and wealth and display your fearlessness. Then you will actually perceive The Lord manifesting before you. Thereafter you will not fear the evildoers in society and the ability to destroy them will be generated in you through spiritual practice.
Only spiritual practice can endow one with the strength to face unfavourable incidents. A seeker undertaking spiritual practice conducive to his spiritual level finds even difficult situations favourable to him. During the unfavourable period God protects only seekers. A seeker who has attained a spiritual level of 60% will be unaffected even in those circumstances. However unfavourable circumstances will affect the family and relatives of seekers. Because of the strong and fearless mind of a seeker of 60% level not only will any of his actions not be affected by adverse circumstances, on the contrary he will be able to decide the course of action to be adopted to destroy evildoers. Even physical needs such as hunger and thirst will be fulfilled by The Lord Himself. Besides since such seekers shall receive subtle forewarnings about every movement of evildoers it will become easy for them to undertake action to destroy them.
Since all seekers will not attain a spiritual level of 60% obviously depending on their spiritual level seekers will be affected to a smaller or larger extent. However if they remain united they can combat that with courage and determination.
1.2 Importance of leadership
A seeker should make constant efforts to kindle the effulgence of a Kshatriya (warrior) in the people.
अग्निस्तेजो महल्लाके गूढस्तिष्ठति दारुषु ।
न चोपयुङ्क्ते तद्दारु यावन्नोद्दीप्यते परै: ।। - महाभारत ५.३७.६०Meaning: On the earth a large amount of radiance in the form of fire lies hidden in wood. The latter does not use the radiance till someone kindles it (through means such as friction). (Similarly some people possess the inherent qualities of extraordinary courage, etc. but do not display them until they are intensely harassed by others or till they receive inspiration.)
1.3 Only the physically powerful can undertake this spiritual practice
In the ancient times sages were not afraid of interruption in Their spiritual practice. If someone did venture to pose such an obstacle then They would intimate the king about it. Today whom can we intimate? On the contrary in several places evildoers themselves are the rulers, so to facilitate smooth spiritual practice we will be compelled to destroy those evil rulers. For that seekers themselves have to become powerful.
1.4 Spiritual practice is impossible with raja-tama pollution
This point will become clear from some of the following examples.
A. So long as evildoers exist in society we cannot live in peace. No matter where one goes, an office, during travel, etc. one is adversely affected by evildoers. When a woman walks on the street someone whistles, jostles against her or looks at her lustily. In such circumstances how can one have mental peace? When the mind is at unrest due to news appearing in the dailies about corruption, murder, rape, etc, indicating a rise in the raja-tama components and also about being cheated in day-to-day transactions, it becomes rather difficult to undertake the practice of Spirituality.
To be able to undertake spiritual practice the atmosphere has to be sattvik (sattva predominant). Raja-tama frequencies are constantly being generated by evildoers in society just like emission of sattva frequencies by saints. How will we create a sattvik atmosphere with so much raja-tama pollution? It is possible to begin some spiritual practice like chanting, meditation, recitation of holy verses (parayans), etc. only by quietening the atmosphere by putting off the radio, television, etc., stopping children from shouting and reducing the noise pollution. We try to alleviate noise pollution from a radio or television in the neighbourhood or of traffic if one’s house is situated close to the road by shutting doors and windows. But it is not possible to control the pollution of raja-tama components likewise. The particles of these components are so subtle that even if a steel wall ten feet wide is erected, they penetrate it and continue their bombardment. Then we complain that we cannot concentrate during meditation or even while reading. How will it be possible? At such a time one is left with only one path and that is to destroy the very evildoers who are responsible for generation of these raja-tama particles. Otherwise we will not be able to undertake spiritual practice. Some people try to get the benefit of a sattvik environment by visiting a place of pilgrimage (tirthakshetra). But how long can one stay there? Is it feasible for everyone to do it? In other words we should be able to undertake spiritual practice from wherever we reside and for that we should take care to see that the atmosphere is sattvik (sattva predominant) and to accomplish it destruction of evildoers is imperative.
B. A man suffering from tuberculosis takes antibiotics to kill those germs because he wants to live. He is well aware that if he does not destroy those germs they will certainly kill him. Even a seeker who is a patient takes medicines to kill these germs. Why does a seeker need his body? Not to experience worldly pleasure. He needs it to undertake spiritual practice which he knows can be done only on the earth and not in the nether region (bhuvalok) or heaven and that he has to make as much spiritual progress as possible in this birth itself. ‘शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम् ।’ means the physical body is the main tool for practising Righteousness, that is for making spiritual progress. That is why the body should be strong.
Eliminating evildoers is exactly like this. Society has been invaded by germs in the form of evildoers. If these germs are not destroyed then the entire society shall be destroyed. One cannot afford to say ‘How am I affected if society is destroyed?’ You are not distinct from society. Remember that there is non-duality between society and you. If a house in the neighbourhood collapses you can very well say, ‘It is not mine. Why should I be bothered?’ But in the case of society one cannot think likewise because if society is destroyed then you too, a part and parcel of society shall be destroyed. So in order to protect yourselves it is now imperative to destroy the evildoers in society, otherwise they will destroy you. Between being destroyed by evildoers and destroying them of course the second one is a better option.
C. Take the case of a diabetic patient. He injures his leg. Later it becomes gangrenous. To save him physicians advise amputation of the leg and the patient willingly consents because his life is at stake. Similarly it is absolutely essential to destroy evildoers in society.
D. Terrorists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir are constantly infiltrating the Indian territory. This border is heavily guarded with security arrangement worth crores of rupees. Yet the infiltration continues as it has never become possible for any country to seal its borders totally. During the war between North and South Vietnam, America posted a number of soldiers on the small border of the two, planted mines and even carried out aerial bombings. They were sure that this would stop the movement of soldiers from North to South Vietnam. But in reality thousands of soldiers from North Vietnam entered South Vietnam and conquered it. When America could not stop the enemy at the border, how will India accomplish it? That is why terrorists reach Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. We are always worried as to where the next bomb blast will occur and what news tomorrow will bring.
In contrast let us consider Israel, a small country surrounded by large Arab countries like Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. When a terrorist enters Israel from Lebanon or Jordan the Israelis bomb the entire enemy camp from where the terrorist has entered and thus destroy it totally. They have great pride for their country. That is why a citizen of this tiny country is respected anywhere in the world. On the other hand when an Indian goes abroad he has to hang his head down in shame. He does not receive the same respect as an Israeli because he has no pride for his country. Why should others respect us if we cannot protect ourselves? In short whether it is an individual or a country, to maintain peace evildoers have to be destroyed.
2. Importance of kshatradharma sadhana
2.1 In the context of the future generation
With great pride we praise the older generation and accept that it was because they fought for freedom that today we are brought up in free India. But when the younger generation asks us what we have done in these 50 years after independence, what ideals we have placed before them we have to hang our heads down in shame. Now we are going to undertake the spiritual practice of protecting seekers and destroying evildoers with such zest that the future generation, that is your children and grandchildren will proudly say, ‘They did something for us so that now we are able to lead a happy life and are able to undertake spiritual practice smoothly’.
2.2 False credit!
As predicted by seers, with the passage of time destruction of evildoers is bound to occur irrespective of whether anyone does or does not do anything. When Lord Krushna showed Arjun His universal form (vishvarup) He gave him a vision of the Time (kal) and said, “The Kouravs are already dead. I have killed them. You merely become an excuse for it.” Like Arjun we too should just perform our actions because in reality God Himself will slay the evildoers. After destroying them we will simply get the credit for it! It is important to perform these actions because if we do not, then we will lag behind in spiritual practice. When Lord Krushna lifted the Govardhan mountain on His little finger to protect the people of Vrundavan from torrential rains, the gopas and gopis (cowherds and their wives) did not simply waste time chatting or sleeping. They too held their sticks against the mountain. We are going to do the same. Though evildoers are going to be destroyed according to The Lord’s wish (Ishvarechcha) we too should participate in the destruction as our spiritual practice.
2.3 Spiritual practice for the sake of society
Spiritual practice is of two types - individual and that for the sake of society. The former aims at individual spiritual progress and the latter at spiritual progress of the entire society.
A. Spiritual practice for the sake of society is more important than individual spiritual practice: ‘Shrikrushna has explained a beautiful doctrine to the Pandavs. It says, “If adhering to your personal vows and resolves is harmful to the mission then do not pay any importance to them”. The Pandavs emerged victorious behaving in accordance with this doctrine. Accordingly Yudhishthir had to say ‘नरो वा कुंजरो वा’ meaning either a man or an elephant when answering a question whether Ashvatthama, son of Dronacharya was slain when actually an elephant with the same name had been killed. Bhim attacked Duryodhan by striking his thigh violating the rules of a mace fight and Arjun struck Karna with an arrow when he was defenceless and the wheel of his chariot was buried in the ground. Contrary to this Dron, Bhishma and Karna tried to remain steadfast to their personal attitudes. Bhishma said, “I will not fight Shikhandi” while Dron said, “What is the use of fighting when Ashvatthama is dead?” and Karna proclaimed, “I will not enter the battlefield as long as Bhishma is fighting there”. In this way all acted in accordance with their vows and consequently the Kouravs were defeated.’ (1)
B. Spiritual practice for the sake of society and the class (varna): Spiritual practice for the sake of society mainly includes spiritual practice of the Brahman (priest) and Kshatriya (warrior) classes. Spiritual practice of a Brahman involves preaching spiritual practice to the masses and guiding them on to the path of Self-realisation. Spiritual practice of a Kshatriya is destruction of evildoers to protect society and even sacrificing one’s life for that cause should the need arise. Due to tremendous increase in the number of evildoers nowadays the spiritual practice of protecting seekers and destroying evildoers has gained a lot of importance.
The table below gives the importance of individual spiritual practice and spiritual practice for the sake of society with respect to the class.
| Amount of spiritual practice % |
Brahman (priest) |
Kshatriya (warrior) |
Vaishya (businessman) |
Shudra (labourer) |
| 1. Individual | 30 | 40 | 90 | 99 |
| 2. For the sake of society |
70 | 60 | 10 | 1 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
2.4 Spiritual practice of the destroyer form to attain Absoluteness (Purnatva) in spiritual practice
Now look at spiritual practice for society’s sake from The Lord’s perspective. Who do you think will be dearer to God, the one making efforts for individual spiritual progress or for the progress of society? Obviously the one who is aiming for spiritual progress of society will be dearer to God. So if you wish that God should consider you as His then you should do spiritual practice for the society’s progress.
Since most seekers follow the Path of Devotion (Bhaktimarg), they worship God. However they are unaware of the two forms of God - the saviour and the destroyer. All of you only know His saviour form. You have only seen saints and deities bestowing blessings. Just look at idols of deities. They have variable number of arms like four, eight, sixteen, hundred, thousand. But are these hands empty? Every hand wields a weapon. These weapons are neither toys nor ornaments. Every deity in every incarnation has used these weapons to destroy evildoers. This is the destroyer form of deities.
You are not aware of the spiritual practice to be undertaken for this destroyer form. That is why your state resembles the six blind men from the story of ‘The elephant and the six blind men’. Once six blind men went to see an elephant. Their seeing was by touch. One of them felt the elephant’s leg and described the elephant as a pillar. The second felt the ear and thought of the elephant as a sifting pan, the third came across the tail and felt the elephant was like a broom. Thus each of these six men described the elephant differently and did not realise what it actually was. As they were blind they remained ignorant.
Your state is similar. You choose only to look at the saviour form of deities. As a result you simply imagine a male or a female deity and do not realise its nature completely. Therefore you remain ignorant and are never able to experience the different kinds of Liberation like Salok Mukti, Sarshti Mukti, Sarup Mukti, Sayujya Mukti, etc. which you read about. They remain as mere words as far as you are concerned. To realise God completely you should worship both His saviour and destroyer forms, that is along with devotion unto Him one should perform the spiritual practice of His destroyer form as well. Only then will one be able to make spiritual progress. The following two examples will illustrate this point.
A. If a drop of a substance is instilled into a glass of water it mixes completely with the water if the components in both are alike. If the drop is tinged with even a trace of oil it cannot blend with the water in the glass and it remains separate. Similarly if out of the spiritual practices of the destroyer and saviour forms of The Lord one undertakes spiritual practice only of the saviour form then one will not imbibe both the aspects of The Lord. As a result there will be duality with God and one will never be able to blend with Him completely and achieve Sayujya Mukti.
B. Suppose there is an infant with a very charming smile, you constantly feel like adoring the child, hugging and kissing it and you tell everyone how enticing its smile is! If someone offers to cut off the child’s cheeks and give them to you because you like the child’s smile so much will you accept it? Definitely not, you could not even tolerate the thought of doing that. You would want the entire child. In the same way God says, “How can I cut off My hand endowing blessings and give it to you? If you want Me then I will come to you with both My forms, otherwise I cannot come”.
2.5 Spiritual practice for the sake of society according to time
The importance of individual spiritual practice and spiritual practice for the sake of society keeps changing according to the time. A long time ago it was the Satyayug. Then there were no evildoers in society, there were only seekers with a sattvik (sattva predominant) temperament. As a result there was only individual spiritual practice. Each one undertook his own spiritual practice. Evildoers came into being with the passage of time. As their number went on increasing the importance of spiritual practice for the sake of society began to rise. The table below gives the importance of individual spiritual practice of the saviour form and spiritual practice for the sake of society of the destroyer form in each yug (era).
| Yug | Importance of spiritual practice % | ||
| Individual spiritual practice of the saviour form |
Spiritual practice of the destroyer form for the sake of society |
Total | |
| 1. Satya | 98 | 2 | 100 |
| 2. Treta | 90 | 10 | 100 |
| 3. Dvapar | 70 | 30 | 100 |
| 4. Kali | 30 | 70 | 100 |
From the above table it is evident that in today’s times the importance of individual spiritual practice is only 30% whereas that of spiritual practice for the sake of society is 70%. For example if you are able to sacrifice 4 hours of the day for spiritual practice then utilise 1 hour 12 minutes (30% of the time) for individual spiritual practice and the remaining 2 hours 48 minutes (70% of the time) for spiritual practice for the sake of society. If one undertakes spiritual practice for the sake of society instead of individual spiritual practice for 4 hours then one acquires the benefit of (4 * 70/30 =) 9 hours and 20 minutes of individual spiritual practice. If two schemes in a bank yield an interest rate of 10% and 10.5% respectively, then surely one would choose the second scheme even though the difference in the interest rate is a mere 0.5%. Thus one will realise how important it is to emphasise on spiritual practice for the sake of society.
2.6 The test of spiritual progress
In reality, while undertaking the practice of Spirituality adopting the Kshatriya attitude the battle is more within the mind than outside it. In the Bharatiya war, Arjun had to prepare himself mentally to be able to fight his teachers and relatives. Thus remaining unaffected by external factors even a war, not feeling emotional about anything and not claiming doership for one’s actions are indicators of spiritual progress. Only when the external battle is to be fought do most people realise just how prepared they are in these aspects.
2.7 The mission after Self-realisation
One should be able to carry out a mission after Self-realisation just as one performs devotion after it. Our Guru H.H. Bhaktaraj Maharaj said, “Do not consider the stance of a spectator to be the ultimate. One should be able to go even beyond that. Remember ‘Whatever one sees is one’s duty’.” In this context too, reacting to wrongdoings in society is one’s duty.
Reference:
‘Spiritual practice of protecting seekers and destroying evildoers’, published by Sanatan Sanstha.
1. Sanskruti-pujan. Pandurangshastri Athavale Yanchya Pravachanancha Sankalanatmak Prasad. Page 92, Publisher : Mr. Vallabhdas Jhaveri, Sadvichardarshan Trust, Vimal Jyoti, Second floor, 6/8 Dr. Wilson Street, V. P. Road, Mumbai 400 004.
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