For a system to run smoothly,
it has to be continuously monitored. As we know, sustenance is much more difficult
than inception. Within the Saraswati civilization, the Varna system was
strictly and constantly monitored as there were possibilities of it getting
diluted. Even then, here and there, incidences of some slip-ups were occurring.
People were opting for Paradharma due to several reasons:
- Emotionally enforced by the parents into some profession by calling it ‘Family profession’.
- Temporary over-enthusiasm of the youngster. For e.g. a teenager sees a soldier in uniform and with all weapons. Instead of thinking whether it is his true like, he gets attracted by seeing the end result. He ignores all the qualities and preparation required to become a true soldier. He opts for it, only to suffer later.
- A youngster opting to continue the business of the parents thinking that it would be much easier to slip into an already grown enterprise rather than going after his own interest and building something freshly.
- Laziness – someone may see a Brahmana performing some rituals or sitting and preaching Adhyatma whole day and think that it is such an easy job. But he ignores all the mental purity that has been earned by the true Brahmana by following strictly regulated life. He looks only at the lesser physical activity involved and tries to opt for it. He fails to understand that a true Brahmana overcomes mental laziness which is more important than overcoming physical laziness.
- Cupid's prey! - A boy may opt for a profession in an effort to please and impress his girlfriend. He will get the girl alright, but he will lose something more!
Note - Please do not associate
the word ‘Brahmana’ to today’s caste Brahmana! In today’s world very few are
Brahmana by their profession. Engineers, Doctors cannot call themselves as
Brahmana just because they were born in a particular family. Brahmana is he,
who promotes positivity in the society through Adhyatma and does not accumulate
wealth. His only focus is always Saraswati, not Lakshmi.
This way, there were wrong
choices by some families, but the administrators were constantly trying to
avoid these in their Kingdom. They saw to it that all professions received
almost equal remuneration and there was no bias. A person who was intelligent
by birth is not greater than others, because he didn’t do anything to become
intelligent. Similarly a person who was physically strong by birth is not greater
than others. The inherent talents were only gifts and hence, people were taught
to live with humility rather than conceit. This way, all Swadharmas were
equally great. Skill is a skill and all skills should be given equal
importance.
It is worth noting that
Samskrita has no word for ‘Rights’. It has only Responsibilities - Kartavya.
The word Adhikara in Samskrita does not mean ‘Right’, it only means
‘Eligibility’. It is a surprising fact that such a rich language does not even
have a word for ‘Right’! This means that they did not even think of the concept
of ‘Right’. And their society worked well for thousands of years! All in their
society were only busy performing their duties and fulfilling their responsibilities
and there was no need for anybody to use the sentence ‘It is my right to get
this’. Because one’s right is automatically another’s responsibility. And if
all are fulfilling their responsibilities as per their Swadharma, there is no
question of Right! Because everyone’s needs are automatically fulfilled! ‘It is
my responsibility to do this’ is a positive sentence and ‘It is your right to
get this service’ is a negative sentence. So, the word ‘Right’ didn’t even find
a place in Samskrita. The Saraswati civilization worked solely on the concept
of responsibility and it worked out wonderfully well. It is only the influence
of outsiders that introduced the concept of ‘Right’ in India and ‘Hak’ became a
part of Indian languages. Today even ‘Adhikara’ is thought of to be ‘Right’ in
Indian languages whereas it actually means only ‘Eligibility’ in Samskrita.
Probably now we can look at the verse ‘Karmanyevaadhikaaraste’ with this
perspective.
So, along with identifying the
Swadharma of teenagers, the Kings saw to it that there were no great
differences in the remunerations of different professions. Kings were always
guided by a Rajaguru - some realized Rishis, or at least a Brahmana who is on
the path of realization. This way among the three entities – Saraswati, Durga
and Lakshmi (Knowledge, Power and Wealth), Saraswati was the foundation for
others. Knowledge was kept as the backdrop for all activities.
The system worked wonderfully
well for thousands of years with little hiccups now and then. But the first major
adulteration occurred when Durga took over and suppressed Saraswati by brute
force. Some kings, deluded by the power of the throne, began ignoring the
guidance of the Brahmana Rishis. They took the opinion that muscle power is
superior to everything else. Kshatriyas rose and tried to overpower all others.
When Kings were thus irrational, the whole system began trembling from the
roots. Gurukula system lost the edge without proper monitoring. And all the
feared negative consequences followed one by one.
It is then that Parashurama,
the son of a Rishi, created a revolution by massacring thousands of evil
Kshatriyas. He improvised to fight against the corrupt situation and went
against the traditional Varna system by urging Brahmanas also to wield weapons.
This approach, resolved the problem of Kshatriya supremacy for the time being
and brought balance to the system. But in net effect, the focus of the society had
already begun shifting from Knowledge to Power, from Saraswati to Durga. By the
time of the Mahabharata, Kshatriya craze was widespread. All were obsessed only
with power, knowledge of weaponry etc. Instead of ‘Atman’ and ‘Brahman’, only ‘Astra’
and ‘Brahmastra’ echoed everywhere. This is what we can notice very clearly
when we read the epic Mahabharata.
This way when the focus slowly
shifted away from Knowledge (Saraswati) towards Power, the river Saraswati also
began drying up! Due to some geographical changes in the Himalayas, the flow of
water got diverted or obstructed. And over the years, after Mahabharata war
took place, people began migrating away from the banks of this once-mighty
river which was now thinning out. The Mahabharata war put an end to the
Kshatriya madness. But then it only gave rise to another madness - Money! Slowly
Lakshmi began dominating the scene. And one day, river Sasraswati dried up
completely along with the knowledge of the people. It has been now discovered
through satellite images that a huge river is still flowing fathoms deep below
the desert of Rajasthan. Knowledge is buried deep in us and we have become
deserts on the outside! Self-Realization, which was once abundantly available
like the river of knowledge, has now become an oasis or even a mirage in the
desert of money and power! Lakshmi and Durga have forgotten their loving sister
Saraswati.
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