Editorial
Enlightened Electorate
Unchanging Politicians Referring to his experience of elections in Europe, Swami Vivekananda writes in ‘The East and the West’ of the ‘class of people who, in the name of politics, rob others and fatten themselves by sucking the very life-blood of the masses…’ He warns, ‘If you ever saw, my friend that shocking sight behind the scene of acting of these politicians — that revelry of bribery, that robbery in broad daylight, that dance of the Devil in man, which are practiced on such occasions — you would be hopeless about man! … They that have money have kept the government of the land under their thumb,…’ Does it appear like he is writing about the politicians of our day? As on 16 April 2019 (when this issue goes to the Printer), the Election Commission of India has seized cash, liquor, drugs, gold, and other freebies worth 2,550.75 crores! And we have another month to go before the show ends! How shall we keep alive our hopes about man, about our democracy? Whom to Elect? W h o m s h o u l d we e l e c t a s o u r representatives or our ministers? In the Mahabharata when Yudhishthira wants to know what qualifications his legislators should have, Bhisma replies: ‘Those who have modesty, self-restraint, truth, sincerity and the courage to say what is right should be your legislators.’
May 2019
Democracy through a Dictator Swamiji opened the meeting with these words: ‘The conviction has grown in my mind after all my travels in various lands that no great cause can succeed without an organisation. In a country like ours, however, it does not seem quite practicable to me to start an organisation at once with a democratic basis or work by general voting. People in the West are more educated in this respect, and less jealous of one another than ourselves. They have learnt to respect merit. …. When with the spread of education the masses in our country grow more sympathetic and liberal, when they learn to have their thoughts expanded beyond the limits of sect or party, then it will be possible to work on the democratic basis of organization. For this reason it is necessary to have a dictator for this Society. Everybody should obey him, and then in time we may work on the principle of general voting.’ A society of sannyasis and devotees, who were recipients of Sri Ramakrishna’s personal counsel and blessings, were deemed unprepared for democracy! And in our ongoing 2019 Indian general elections where 900
million voters are exercising their right to vote, God knows how many understand democracy and are prepared to fulfil their democratic duties.
9 The Vedanta Kesari
PA G E S P O N S O R : S A S T R Y FA M I LY, P U N E
On 1 May 1897, the foundation day of the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekananda made an interesting observation on democracy. A number of devotees, and sannyasi brotherdisciples of Swamiji had gathered at the house of Balaram Basu, one of the close house-holder devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. They had assembled at the invitation of Swamiji to initiate the formation of an association that would spread the message of Sri Ramakrishna.
