Capitalism, Socialism, Communism And Other ‘ISMS’

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-Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya

Continuing…
The communists do not believe in competition but in class-struggle. This system also gives rise to competition-that of the class instead of the individuals. The West thus doesn’t think of the whole but rather of the parts….

Some people treat freedom as absence of all restraints. Western thinking is that, be it society, nature or all creation as such-all is meant for the individual. The West says-’conquer nature’. The frequently used English expression is-exploiting natural resources-that is to say, using everything for personal consumption and

“Man is big and mighty, hence everything is meant for him. Man, sure is big and powerful, but our conception of ‘big’ is: ‘Big is one who is for others and, for the service of others’”

aggrandizement. Slaughter animals and eat them up because everything is meant for me. This is their world-view. Man is big and mighty, hence everything is meant for him. Man, sure is big and powerful, but our conception of ‘big’ is: ‘Big is one who is for others and, for the service of others’.

In the West, one talks of the conquest of nature. They call climbing the Everest the ‘conquest of the Everest’. We too went to the Himalayas, climbed peaks, but with a sense of worshipful renunciation. “I will conquer, I am the mightiest”-this attitude is egotistical. It is this egotism that gave rise to Capitalism and Communism. The communism that obtains today is also not true communism. This is also a kind of individualism. The communists say that the owner of the machine employs labourers, pays little to them, and consumes the most himself. They arouse a feeling of jealousy among the workers (against the entrepreneurs), stating, “They move around in cars on the fruits of your labour. You labour, but being alone, you are Weak. You should hence all unite.” Statements such as these do not reflect a sense of society, but rather of envious otherness.

The communist organisation too implies the rule of labour and not of society. In the labourers’ collective, the worker cannot do anything by himself. He is asked to surrender his power for the collective. Thus the worker loses his freedom too. It is, therefore, a Dictatorship of the Proletariat, not the sense of society. Communism is a totalitarian ideology which leads to total loss of freedom of the individual; the entire ideology is predicated on conflict and struggle.

Conflict is inherent in capitalism too. Competition forms its basis and the principle of survival of the fittest provides its underpinnings. The communists do not believe in competition but in class-struggle. This system also gives rise to competition-that of the class instead of the individuals. The West thus doesn’t think of the whole but rather of the parts. This mode of thinking is, in our view, partial and not holistic.

Co-Operation, Not Struggle

It is not just the fittest who survive in this world, the weak survive too. That is precisely the meaning of civilization, that the weak too are protected. So that the weak may also survive is exactly why medical sciences like Ayurveda are required. The strong and fit will survive anyway. Police too exists for the protection ofthe weak. The State was created to obviate the justice of the dominant. Society and laws are created so that the strong do not run over the weak. It can hence be said that the basis of society is co-operation and not struggle. Nature also follows this principle. Vegetation and human life are complementary. There is no struggle between the two. We need oxygen, plants carbon-dioxide; the two thus complement each other.

The Good And The Evil

Struggle is also visible at times, but it is not natural, it is only superficial. Differences are also seen, but they too can be complementary. The character of the lame and the blind is different. Both can’t move forward alone but both can help each other do so. In God’s creation one suffers from one deficiency and another from another. It is the law of nature that the lame and the blind complete each other. This is the divine spirit. The absence of complementarity denotes the demonic spirit. It has been said by us that there is no plant or herb that is not medicinal in nature. The milkweed plant is harmful when consumed as such, but is beneficial when administered as a medicine. It is essential to mate sickness with the right medicine.

Western Dualism And Indian Monism

It is therefore not right to seek struggle in nature. To create unity where there is struggle is our tradition. The West looked for difference only to accentuate it further. That I should survive by eliminating others necessitates the creation of differences and that’s the Western approach. Dualism has existed in the West right from the beginning. Some believe that this dualism emanates from the biblical dualism of God

“We believe in neither capitalism nor communism, we believe in integral humanism. We believe in oneness and unity. We have a soul. In harmony, lie divine riches”

and Satan. Marxism and Darwinism reinforce the same dualistic view. As against that, our approach is non-dualistic and non-differentiating. Difference and dualism is only external. The question is how to perceive the underlying oneness. Marriage in our tradition creates oneness between two distinct individuals, that is, husband and wife. In the West they are bound by a contract, they don’t become one. Marriage is treated as a contract which may last or may come to an end. We treat husband and wife as one in this life, in the previous one and also in the life to come. Parvati had married Shiva in her past life itself and does the same in her present life too. Oneness of life and complete absence of difference is a unique aspect of our world-view.

Not Struggle But Oneness The Basis

Differences permeates everything western. Even in communism there is no equality. Struggle and class conflict form its substratum. We haven’t looked at struggle as the basis. Struggle is possible but we don’t treat it as fundamental to existence, it is not in our nature. We have looked at envy, jealousy etc. as essential enemies of the man. We have not viewed struggle as forming the basis of anything. Integration and unity form the basis of our thinking. The evils of casteism and untouchability grew in our midst, but we made all efforts to eradicate them. As has been said by Saint Ramanand:

जाति पाँति पूछे नाहिं कोई।
हरि को भजे सो हरि का होई।।

God is not bothered about anyone’s caste or creed, whoever sings of God, becomes one with Him.

Self-Centeredness And Selfless Good Deeds

We believe in neither capitalism nor communism, we believe in integral humanism. We believe in oneness and unity. We have a soul. In harmony, lie divine riches. We progress by according primacy to the divine spirit, by viewing it as the basis of everything. People in the West give primary importance to demonic and destructive practices. They put self before everything else. On the contrary, we have accorded primary Importance to selflessness and selfless good deeds. Both selfishness and selflessness reside in man, but that the latter Predominates, is a godly conception.

(Excerpts from the book – “Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya A Profile” edited by Sudhakar Raje.)