Celebrate The Democratic Culture Of Quest
Someone asked me the other day if I was an uncritical believer in the existing political regime. I found the question amusing. Not just because, as a zuru, i am constantlyurging people to seek, not believe. But also, anyone who knows me is aware that i am capable of questioning vested interests unrelentingly There are, however, many ways to question. Questioning can be constructive or destructive. Democracy sa powerful way of disrupting status Joo, challenging power equations, hacking up cliques and cartels, pockets of monopoly and exclusivity. The gift of modern democracy is that t effects the change of power through he ballot box. This is a great achievement that we have found a means of transferring power without bloodshed, o disrupt power non-violently. However, once we choose to respect the allot box, it means that we have tacitly agreed to subordinate our personal will to the will of the collective. Does this mean that we have lost our righto protest? Far from it. It is vital to retain our individual freedom of speech and expression, our capacity to discern and dissent, to dialogue and debate. A democracy is only functional when these individual freedoms are proudly enshrined and robustly protected. Before we become vociferous champions of the cause of individual freedom, it is imperative that we first become individuals. A system that has found ways to manipulate groups to vote en mass whether on the basis of caste, religion, gender, or even ideology -is not a true democracy It is feudalism in democraticgarb. Thriving democracy, like tree an authentic spiritual process, is based on the notion of individual freedom. But only when individuals look beyond the lure of populist political and religious propaganda can true democracy and true spirituality be born. In both cases, the individual mustemergefrom peer pressure and cronyism, narrow group interests and power lobbies. A true spiritual process is never authoritarian. It is always fluid, open-ended and open to debate. This has always been the view of spirituality in this subcontinent. This is a culture of quest, not commandment. Here what we consider to be 'sacred' can be debated. It does not have to be obeyed. Even when beings believed to be divine appeared in this land -from Shiva to Krishna-we did not simply obey them. We questioned them, debated with them. Likewise,the Indian Constitution is not a set of commandments. If it were, it would be the political equivalent of religious authoritarianism Once you emerge as anindividual,important to realise that your freedomhas an impact on others. To live in a decracy means we have agreed to allow everyonethe right to the same freedoYou may choose to protest a policy, or denounce a film, but if youshut downcity or state to express your rage, you amuzzling other people's liberties as we This is personalwhim masqueradingfreedom, irresponsibility masqueradias individual initiative. As we celebrate the 68th year of thIndian Constitution, the question we must ask ourselves as a nation isthisare we exercising our individual freedom constructively or destructively?our freedom truly empowering or is sabotaging other citizens' right to webeing? Before we speak of individual freedom, we have to honestly ask a mefundamental question: have we truly become responsible individuals yet?
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sadhguru Jagi Vasudev kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Sadhguru Jagi Vasudev Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Celebrate The Democratic Culture Of Quest
Someone asked me the other day if I was an uncritical believer in the existing political regime. I found the question amusing. Not just because, as a zuru, i am constantlyurging people to seek, not believe. But also, anyone who knows me is aware that i am capable of questioning vested interests unrelentingly There are, however, many ways to question. Questioning can be constructive or destructive. Democracy sa powerful way of disrupting status Joo, challenging power equations, hacking up cliques and cartels, pockets of monopoly and exclusivity. The gift of modern democracy is that t effects the change of power through he ballot box. This is a great achievement that we have found a means of transferring power without bloodshed, o disrupt power non-violently. However, once we choose to respect the allot box, it means that we have tacitly agreed to subordinate our personal will to the will of the collective. Does this mean that we have lost our righto protest? Far from it. It is vital to retain our individual freedom of speech and expression, our capacity to discern and dissent, to dialogue and debate. A democracy is only functional when these individual freedoms are proudly enshrined and robustly protected. Before we become vociferous champions of the cause of individual freedom, it is imperative that we first become individuals. A system that has found ways to manipulate groups to vote en mass whether on the basis of caste, religion, gender, or even ideology -is not a true democracy It is feudalism in democraticgarb. Thriving democracy, like tree an authentic spiritual process, is based on the notion of individual freedom. But only when individuals look beyond the lure of populist political and religious propaganda can true democracy and true spirituality be born. In both cases, the individual mustemergefrom peer pressure and cronyism, narrow group interests and power lobbies. A true spiritual process is never authoritarian. It is always fluid, open-ended and open to debate. This has always been the view of spirituality in this subcontinent. This is a culture of quest, not commandment. Here what we consider to be 'sacred' can be debated. It does not have to be obeyed. Even when beings believed to be divine appeared in this land -from Shiva to Krishna-we did not simply obey them. We questioned them, debated with them. Likewise,the Indian Constitution is not a set of commandments. If it were, it would be the political equivalent of religious authoritarianism Once you emerge as anindividual,important to realise that your freedomhas an impact on others. To live in a decracy means we have agreed to allow everyonethe right to the same freedoYou may choose to protest a policy, or denounce a film, but if youshut downcity or state to express your rage, you amuzzling other people's liberties as we This is personalwhim masqueradingfreedom, irresponsibility masqueradias individual initiative. As we celebrate the 68th year of thIndian Constitution, the question we must ask ourselves as a nation isthisare we exercising our individual freedom constructively or destructively?our freedom truly empowering or is sabotaging other citizens' right to webeing? Before we speak of individual freedom, we have to honestly ask a mefundamental question: have we truly become responsible individuals yet?
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sadhguru Jagi Vasudev kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Sadhguru Jagi Vasudev Speaking Tree ,Times of India