Wednesday, January 14, 2026

When Lotus Genuflects

Hindu sages stood for unity since the time of Sage Kanad (600 BC) who proposed first that matter is made of atoms (kana). John Dalton in the 19th century refined it and called it atomic theory. The next breakthrough came in 1901 when Dr. Karl Landsteiner proposed the ABO blood group system and showed that all humans have blood in common.

The general consensus among astronomers is that our body cells have the same elements as stardust. That is, the beginningless belief by hindus that water, air, earth, fire and space or pancha bhootas make up all the matter in the universe is validated. In 1953, Drs.Watson and Crick discovered DNA putting all humans on an equal footing.

On the other hand, there are a million ways humans are shown to be unequal. The varna system of vedas, gotras to identify the sage from which one has descended, and the recent caste system are testimonials to human ingenuity in dividing and conquering.

In Valmiki Ramayana written eons ago, Sage Vasishtha taught Lord Rama that there is no cause-effect in the universe to make each of us as unique individuals. For the Sage everything is kakataaleeyam. That is, at the same time as a crow (kaka) lands on a coconut tree (taleeya), if a coconut falls to the ground, there is no definite relationship as cause-effect between them. The Sage said everything emanates from universal consciousness and merges in it. He gave examples of waves in an ocean and embers from fire.

The same concept has been adopted by the spiritualists like Adi Sankara who argued that atma or soul is qualitatively the same for all jivas or life forms. They argued that the apparent diversity we see in the world is because of primordial ignorance or maya. The climax is Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection where he proposed that homo sapiens evolved from apes. So there is no need to feel one is superior because of color, caste, education, etc.

Even though our sages and scientists, alike, have been proving and saying time and again that there are not really billions of us fundamentally different from each other, there are occasions when all are not equal. Nowhere it is more pronounced as in the vedic astrology that is based on the axiom: while stars provide matter for our bodies, celestials control our destiny. A prince born to a Queen at the same time and place as a child born to her servant can have different destinies because of the law of karma which is based on cause-effect that Sage Vasishtha rejected.

The modern consensus from budhists to scientists is that cause-effect is the reason for our differences. The ruling class funds and promotes them because it suits their agenda to divide and rule for self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment. The colonies were carved out of religious and linguistic identities giving birth to nation-states. The League of Nations and United Nations were conceived in an effort to promote equal but separate concepts. In other words, gentrification and segregation are legitimate tools at the disposal of nation-states to implement their agenda.

The Internet is the much awaited breakthrough but it suffered from the digital divide. The haves decide the rationing of free speech among individuals. Oligarchs create their own social platforms and promote their divisive agenda. The have-nots or sheep in parlance, meekly submit to their will.

AI is no different. Scientists have coined a phrase called "inductive bias" that basically means AI is as good as its creators. That is, the AI created in North America can use race to make decisions, whereas the AI developed in Bharat may use dharma in its reasoning. Since all AI is as good as the training data, there is no hope for humans expecting equal treatment from machines. The machines will continue to ration medical care to deserving people or make the rich richer.

All is not bleak. The practitioners of yoga (which means union in Sanskrit) have by far the fairest system. If one wants to live long, the yogis give pranayamas; to be free from common diseases, there are yoga asanas; for spiritual enlightenment, there is ashtanga yoga. And so on. Ideally one receives enlightenment with meditation and by minimizing karma or action. The law of karma still applies, but its adverse effects are mitigated with proper sankalpa or desire and reigning in the vasanas or latent tendencies.

As hindus, we should unite against race-based discrimination, while renouncing the caste system or better replacing it with varnas. The problem comes when hindus see the caucasians as their devatas or saviors. The hindus and minorities in Bharat are ecstatic when a hindu emmigrates. The professionals go to the west and the laborers chase the petrodollar. Every year hundreds of high networth hindus leave Bharat with lock, stock and barrel. They all blame the ruling class which could be a legitimate claim.

Ask the google search engine "unkept promises of bjp" and instantaneously comes a long list starting with high unemployment, black money, low farmers' income, inflation, fuel prices, infrastructure, etc. One could say the data has been fed by the opposition to discredit the ruling party . It is highly unlikely given that the Bharat's leader virtually conferred the padma award to the google's captain and prostrated before the captain's mother. The leader's genuflection is legendary in the west and USA. On the other hand, the ruling party also has the freedom to provide data to the same search engine that highlights their achievements.

One should give credit to the rulers of Bharat where it is due. Most people are supportive of Bharat military's defence and offense capabilities even though it means abandonment of non-alignment and alienation from the west. The bharatiya oligarchs are apparently inspired by the Russians even as capitalism of America is considered an epithet. No one is sure where Bharat stands on socialism and fascism. The prevalence of natives up in arms against the invading "aryans" testifies to certain resentment.

Bharat's wealth distribution in 2025 shows extreme inequality, with the top 10% holding nearly two-thirds of the nation's wealth and income, while the bottom half receives only around 15% of income, according to the World Inequality Report 2026.

Perhaps Bharat's highest achievement is the strength and resilience of the middle-class that constitutes nearly one third of the population or about 440 million people. Even if the trading nations penalize them with high taxes, there are no signs that their support for the ruling class will budge. It is not enough to claim unity in diversity, but to get rid of perceived inequalities based on the western and American models of governance.

Regards

No comments:

Post a Comment

Family Photos

Marriage Photo Amma Pellikooturu Amma, Satya, Self ...