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Chapter 17
PROGRAMME FOR THE SEEKER
98. The Gita’s Scheme for Harmonious Living
21. Some give importance to the individual and some to the society. This is because the concept of ‘struggle for existence’ has come to have a hold on our minds. But is life meant for struggle only? If it is so, why not prefer death? Discord and strife is a recipe for death. It is because of this concept that we distinguish between self-interest and the supreme interest, that is, the good of all. What could we say of the man who invented the idea that self-interest and the supreme good have nothing to do with each other? He could create the illusion of a difference where none existed! It is indeed surprising that this non-existent distinction is being widely accepted. It is like erecting a wall like the Great Wall of China, setting bounds to the horizon and then imagining that nothing exists beyond those bounds. All this is due to the absence of yajna in life. Therein lies the genesis of the dichotomy between the individual and the society. In reality, such dichotomy is unreal. Suppose a curtain is hung in a room, dividing it in two compartments. As the wind blows, sometimes one compartment appears larger and sometimes the other appears so. The sizes of the compartments are not fixed; they depend on the wind. The Gita has nothing to do with such imaginary divisions. It exhorts us to follow the dictates of the law of inner purification. Then no contradiction between the interests of the individual and those of the society would arise. Their respective interests would not then be opposed to each other. It is in ensuring this, in securing interests of all that the Gita’s ingenuity lies. A single individual following the Gita’s law could make a nation rise. A nation is made up of the individuals comprising it. How can a nation be called a nation if it does not have individuals having wisdom and character? What gives India its distinctive character? India means Rabindranath (Tagore), India means Gandhi, and a few such names. People know India as the land of such individuals. Take a few individuals in the ancient times, a few in the mediaeval period, a few in the recent period, add to them the Himalayas and the Ganga, and that makes India as it is. This is the definition of India. This definition can be elaborated further. Just as the quality of milk is judged by the fat content in it, the quality of a society is judged by the moral stature and worth of the individuals in it. There is no conflict between the interests of individuals and that of the society. How can there be a conflict? In fact, there should be no conflict between different individuals as well. What does it matter if some are better off than others? If nobody is destitute and the wealth of the rich is being utilized for the society, it should be okay. The money may be in my left pocket or in the right one, it is mine all the same. Individual and social life can be organised skillfully in such a way that whenever any individual prospers, everybody prospers, and the nation also prospers. Still we erect walls of divisions. But if the head is separated from the body, both the head and the trunk will be lifeless. So do not imagine any division between the individual and society. The Gita is teaching how an action can be done in such a way that it is neither against the doer’s self-interest nor against the supreme good. There is no opposition between the air in my room and the air outside. If I imagine any opposition between them and shut the doors and windows of my room, I am bound to die of suffocation. If I do not assume such opposition between them and open the doors and the windows, the boundless air outside the room flows into it. The moment I imagine opposition between my interests and the society’s interests and cling to ‘my’ house, ‘my’ land etc., I deprive myself of the infinite wealth that lies beyond ‘my and mine’. If this small house of mine is gutted by fire or collapses, I cry as if everything is lost. But why should I cry? What is the point in making petty and narrow assumptions first and then crying? When I say that a few rupees are mine, I deprive myself of the immeasurable wealth in the world. When I call a couple of individuals ‘my’ brothers, I deprive myself of having brotherly relations with countless other individuals. But we are totally oblivious of this. How petty a man becomes! In fact, self-interest of a man and the good of all should be identical. The Gita is showing a simple and beautiful way to have perfect cooperation between the individual and society. |
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