Independence Day and politics

In response to an article on ISKCON News

Rigth, as you said,* each Independence Day first invites its citizens to honor the immense sacrifices of those who gave their lives and energy so that India could regain her dignity and autonomy. Without their struggles, there would be no freedom of worship, no civic space where temples, festivals, and spiritual communities could flourish. Politics, however imperfect it may be, remains an absolutely necessary condition for the flourishing of any society, including a spiritual society.

For the devotees, this recognition does not diminish but rather enriches the celebration: political freedom is a precious value, but it must not be confused with the ultimate freedom. Laws, institutions, and public debates belong to the sphere of the necessary; japa, kirtana, prasadam, and sadhusanga belong to the sphere of the vital. One provides the conditions, the other gives the purpose.

This indispensable framework also protects the very heart of politics: the possibility for devotees of Krishna to speak openly in forums of discussion —istagostis— where all subjects can be addressed among mature participants, “adults in the room,” and not, as Srila Prabhupada would sometimes say, in the manner of “dogs and cats” which unfortunately is often what misapplied democracy reflects (if such democracy ever existed...).**

Thus, we do not say “no” to politics, but rather “yes, at its proper place”: integrated wisely into social life, respected as an indispensable framework, but without colonizing the devotee’s interiority or substituting itself for the spiritual revolution that alone heals the forgetfulness of Krishna. In this complementarity lies the true balance: to pay homage to national independence while remembering that the ultimate independence is that of the heart, awakened to divine love. 

*Madana-gopala Dasa in ISKCON NEWS.ORG

** A few words regarding democracy. It was born in Athens, they repeat, like a mantra of light. This idea, which is meant to be edifying and joyful, is a poor illusion that is revealed today in its true colors: Ukraine and Israel are given, with the utmost seriousness, as examples of this progressive regime inherent to the genius of Western civilization! Yet, during the deliberations in Athens, "The tension was sometimes so high that social categories were excluded from the assemblies or that coups d'état suspended democracy for a certain time. A few procedures existed to protect the assembly and force participants to intervene thoughtfully. A citizen who had proposed a decision to the assembly that turned out to be harmful could be subjected to ostracism, meaning deprived of their political rights and forced into exile for a few years. The procedure known as 'graphē paranómōn' allowed the assembly to accuse and condemn a magistrate, a strategos (general), or an orator for having put forward a proposal that was illegal or harmful to the city, even if it had been adopted by the assembly. The punishment could take the form of a fine or the loss of political rights." 

— Francis Dupuis-Déri. Démocratie. Histoire politique d'un mot. (Democracy. A Political History of a Word.)

Let us not follow in the footsteps of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.*

Madana Gopal wrote: “Alongside that charge came a deeper caution, often summarized as, ‘Politicians will change, but politics will remain.’ In other words, even legitimate victories in the civic sphere cannot heal the root disease of forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa. That task requires a spiritual revolution.”**

— What I would say is that a minimum of politics is necessary. No society can survive without it. No revolution can happen without it.

He wrote also: “Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s point was not quietism; it was prioritization.”

—How could it be otherwise? Krishna told Arjuna to fight. Didn’t Prabhupada (our Prabhupada) say: “Work now, samadhi later”?

* They don’t want to build a society with armed forces. Killing is a crime. Therefore, if their community is attacked, they will not defend themselves. Such a society simply cannot function. In practice, they always rely on the police or the army for their protection, yet they refuse to acknowledge this political reality or integrate it into their worldview —if their worldview can even be called a philosophy. By contrast, Vaishnavas —Hare Krishna devotees— recognize varnashrama-dharma as the foundation of a viable and realistic social order.

** How can you have a spiritual revolution without varnashrama? Brahmanas do not do the job of kshatriyas.

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