Indian Constitution and Vedanta || Acharya Prashant, at SRCC (2023)

Acharya Prashant

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Transcript

00:00Does the person you are with encourage you to read?

00:07You have to ask, what does he bring for me? Roses or books?

00:12If someone has a stake in making you better, that person will push you towards books.

00:18Books are what we all need.

00:31Good Afternoon Sir.

00:34Sir, as you are promoting the Vedantic teachings and want people to adopt to them in their day to day lives,

00:43as per my understanding, Vedanta talks about self-awareness

00:49and the path to self-awareness can be different for different people

00:55as we are all facing different kinds of obstacles.

00:58So it will be subjective and today we live by the constitution.

01:05It has definite sets of rules and regulations which is same for all and objective in nature.

01:12So Sir, how can we adopt the Vedantic way of life working within the framework of constitution?

01:20Few things need to be understood. Great question. Please sit.

01:29Vedanta does not impose any particular way of life.

01:38Vedanta is not commandment based. It does not give you a list of do's and don'ts.

01:46It says no and knowing is something universal.

01:53You may have one path to take and he may have another path to tread.

02:00But you must know your path and you will know your path only when you know who you are and what you want and where you want to reach.

02:08Equally he must know his own path even if the paths are going to be necessarily different.

02:13See the unity lies only at the point of the destination.

02:22That destination has been called the truth or Brahm or Atma.

02:27There is unity at the destination but no uniformity in the paths

02:34or in the travellers or in the ways that they need to take or in their conduct.

02:39So Vedanta is not commandment based. It is not a belief system.

02:47It does not say you must believe in something or you must follow these rules.

02:52It is not doctrine based. The beauty of it is it simply says figure out on your own.

03:01Figure out on your own and reject what you see as false.

03:06Keep rejecting what you see as false till you reach a point where you are able to see the falseness of the rejecter as well.

03:16But that's the final thing. One need not worry about that.

03:22To begin with one just wants to know who am I, how am I operating, how are my relationships,

03:26what am I into, what are my ambitions, what am I targeting, what are my goals, what am I fond of, what do I hate.

03:34When you look at these things you realize a lot about yourself.

03:38And that itself is the very core of spirituality called self-knowledge.

03:44Self-knowledge, Atma Gyan.

03:47Now coming to the constitution of India.

03:51Please keep a slide of the preamble to the constitution ready.

03:59I'll ask for it when I come to that.

04:01Before that a few things on the constitution of India.

04:06We believe as if the constitution of India is largely an imported thing.

04:13We are made to think as if our intellectuals, the founding fathers of the constitution,

04:26they went abroad and they looked at for example the Irish declaration of directive principles

04:38and they said let there be directive principles in the Indian constitution as well.

04:41Or they looked at the French revolutionaries declaration of rights of man and citizen

04:53and they said let there be fundamental rights in the Indian constitution as well.

04:57Or they read the works of Rousseau or Voltaire or Locke or Diderot and they said wow,

05:06such liberal principles, such egalitarian principles,

05:12let them be incorporated in the Indian constitution as well.

05:16Or they looked at the declaration of independence by the American states

05:23and they said wow such great things, we have never heard of these things.

05:26These are foreign concepts, these are alien concepts and they are wonderful.

05:31We are amazed, we are overawed, let them be present in the Indian constitution as well.

05:36That carries a grain of truth but that's not entirely true.

05:42Where is the Indian constitution really coming from?

05:46Please think of it.

05:48Most of those who were in the constituent assembly were also freedom fighters.

05:56Were they not?

05:58Think of them.

06:00Were they not freedom fighters?

06:01So it is coming from the spirit of freedom.

06:06Mind you not even the spirit of independence but the spirit of freedom.

06:11And the spirit of freedom is over and above the spirit of independence.

06:18It was not just an Indian independence movement, it was Indian freedom movement.

06:23What is freedom?

06:25All those, all the names that you know of, if you read their works,

06:28if you get into their minds, you will find that they had defined freedom

06:34in very holistic, very deep, very comprehensive ways.

06:41Freedom was not just about replacing the union jack with the tricolour.

06:46That was independence, that was political independence.

06:50Freedom meant much more and the project of gaining freedom was to continue.

06:55Even after 1947, if you would ask Bhagat Singh, he would say

07:03that the revolution must be on even in 2023.

07:09It is not supposed to come to a standstill or a conclusion at 1947 or 1950.

07:18No.

07:20Are you getting it?

07:22So if you, I asked for the preamble so that you could understand

07:27that the Indian constitution already embodies the highest spiritual principles.

07:38Because it is coming from people who are dedicated to something very very deep.

07:44A lot of them went to the gallows carrying the Gita in hand.

07:49Do you think they will need to turn to exclusively the west for inspiration?

07:56If you count the number of freedom fighters who took the Gita as their inspiration,

08:05you would run short of count.

08:11There are just so many.

08:13Think of Aurobindo, think of Tilak.

08:20Even if you talk of Bhagat Singh, he was an avid reader.

08:31And was he not placing the Gita in high esteem?

08:35He was.

08:37Even as he declared himself an atheist,

08:39what he meant to denounce was the gods that the commons worship.

08:44He had an unflinching faith in the truth.

08:51And Gita is not about god worship.

08:54Gita is about submitting yourself to the truth.

08:58Fighting for the truth alone.

09:01Even if it means fighting against everybody you have been related to in your life.

09:06We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.

09:21Where do you think these words are coming from?

09:24Where do you think these ideals are coming from?

09:29It's very easy to say they are coming from France or UK or America.

09:33And I agree to this.

09:36I agree to this.

09:39In a very contextual way, in the contemporary sense, they did come from Europe and the spirit of the renaissance.

09:54But when you, when you, sovereign, you know what does the word sovereign mean?

10:02Sovereign, what does sovereign mean?

10:05Not ruled by somebody outside of yourself.

10:09Now come on.

10:11That's a spiritual thing, not to be ruled by somebody outside of yourself.

10:16Sovereign does not mean that you will, it does mean that.

10:23It does not mean only that.

10:25It does mean that you will not allow China to lord over you.

10:30That there would be no hegemon that you would tolerate.

10:33Obviously it does mean that.

10:35But it means something far beyond that as well.

10:37Vedanta would say, na kartasi na bhoktasi, muktasi ev.

10:54That's your identity.

10:59You are only free.

11:03Muktasi ev.

11:05You are just free.

11:07That's your identity.

11:09Are you seeing that in that sovereignty?

11:15Otherwise why would, from where would words like freedom and sovereignty come?

11:22Socialist, what does socialist mean?

11:28That you want to have a society in which opportunity and resources and status

11:37are available to all.

11:40You do not want to create a society of unequals.

11:46That's socialism.

11:48And what kind of equality do you want to give?

11:51You want to give equality of opportunity.

11:54Opportunity to do what?

11:56Opportunity to indulge in nonsense?

11:59Opportunity to indulge in nonsense? No.

12:03Opportunity to self-actualize.

12:05Opportunity to reach the purpose of life.

12:09Opportunity to materialize your highest potential.

12:13And what is that highest potential?

12:16That exactly is what Vedanta aims for.

12:19Look beyond yourself.

12:24In the very material sense, socialist would mean, let there be schools for all.

12:33Let there be bread for all.

12:35Let there be uniformity in income distribution.

12:38But that's the beginning, that's not the end.

12:43Just as independence is the beginning, freedom is the end.

12:46You do want people to have access to food, health care, education, opportunities, all these things.

12:53But these are means.

12:55What is the end?

12:57The end of the nation has to be congruous with the end of the individual.

13:01Because the nation is the people.

13:03What does it begin with?

13:05We the people.

13:07Am I right? Yes.

13:09We the people of India.

13:11And that's so beautiful, how did I miss that?

13:13We the people of India.

13:15So Vedanta, what does it say?

13:17Nobody else is foisting this thing on us.

13:22I am the most wonderful one.

13:25Look at my glory.

13:28I bow to myself.

13:31So nobody else can give this to me.

13:34We the people of India, we are giving to ourselves, as the last line says.

13:39And give to ourselves this constitution.

13:42Because nobody else can give this to me.

13:44No God can give this to me.

13:46I decide I'll rule myself.

13:48And that's Vedanta.

13:50Nobody outside of you can be allowed to rule you.

13:54First line, we the people of India.

13:57Last words?

13:59Give to ourselves this constitution.

14:02We, I decide, I will live the way I am.

14:08And to know who I am and to reach the place of my purity.

14:14All this is needed.

14:16Justice is needed, liberty is needed, equality is needed, paternity is needed.

14:19All these are means so that ultimately I can be myself.

14:24This is a purely spiritual document.

14:27This is an Upanishad.

14:29Are you getting it?

14:31So there is no dissonance really.

14:37You cannot say there is the way of Vedanta,

14:41but then we have to follow the rule of law

14:46and we have to live under the constitution.

14:48So the constitution does not arise from a vacuum.

14:52You have to know where it comes from.

14:53So we have all respect for all the different places it came from.

15:03But we also know that at its core,

15:07the constitution of India is arising from the very spirit of freedom.

15:15And freedom as we all know is the very,

15:19the only goal of all spirituality, particularly Vedanta, Mukti.

15:25You look at the philosophies that India has had

15:33and if you just ask a basic question,

15:36what is the aim of this philosophy?

15:38The aim will be Mukti, Mukti, Mukti, Mukti, Mukti, Mukti.

15:43Mukti without fail, without aberration, Mukti.

15:47The means might be different.

15:49Yoga has one particular means, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, they will have other means.

15:53Even those philosophies that do not believe in any God,

15:58like Jain and Buddha philosophies,

16:00even they have only Mukti as their end goal.

16:04So that's the Mukti that you see here.

16:07This is a spiritual document, Mukti.

16:10And Mukti cannot come to you without the right kind of external conditions.

16:14So the constitution of India strives to give you those conditions externally

16:21in which liberation can be possible internally.

16:25Are you getting it?

16:27The constitution of India, if you look at the preamble,

16:31tries to give you those conditions externally

16:34that can make liberation possible internally.

16:40So please do not take it as a conflict between the constitution and Vedanta.

16:46And this question has again and again come to me.

16:49People come and say, you are teaching Gita, you have been at the Gita since many years,

16:54but we respect only Samvedhan.

16:56It's beautiful if you respect the constitution,

16:59but if you respect the constitution,

17:01you must get close to the heart of the constitution

17:04and at the heart of the constitution is freedom

17:06and freedom in its highest way is called liberation.

17:11And if you love liberation, then you will have to come to the Upanishads,

17:14you will have to come to Ashtavakra.

17:16Are you getting it?

17:18The constitution exists to provide conditions

17:22in which the vision of the founding fathers can see, meet materialization.

17:30And where were those founding fathers really drawing their inspiration from?

17:36I am positing that it would be only half correct to say

17:44that their inspiration was coming only from other countries.

17:50If you really look at the spirit of this,

17:54and each word is talking of just one thing, freedom, mukti.

18:00Mukti.

18:02Mukto mukta abhimani.

18:06The one who takes himself as free will become free.

18:12The one who takes himself as free will become free.

18:17Takes himself as free, what does that mean?

18:19Behaves in the way of freedom, strives for freedom.

18:24The one whose abhiman, that is ego, that is belief,

18:29is all placed in freedom itself will become free, mukta.

18:34That itself is what the constitution is trying to bring to you.

18:39That also tells that all this thing about the constitution being a foreign document is all nonsense.

18:49And we are hearing a lot of that these days.

18:51We say the constitution is not really Indian.

18:55The word they use is indigenous.

18:57They say it does not have indigenous origins.

19:00It is inspired from outside.

19:03No sir, please read it carefully.

19:06Please go close to the spirit of the constitution and you will find nothing alien in it.

19:11If anything it has, it represents the universality of human aspirations.

19:17This kind of a thing applies, mind you, not only to India but also to America, also to Africa.

19:24Does it not?

19:27Any people anywhere would be glad to accept this as the preamble to their constitution.

19:32So this is something very very universal.

19:36You cannot say the Indian constitution is an imported thing.

19:40If you will say the Indian constitution is an important thing,

19:42then the result will be that you will try to somehow subvert the constitution.

19:50And there is a certain group of people who are trying even that.

19:54They are saying no, this constitution is not good.

19:57It does not merely need amendments.

19:59It needs replacement.

20:01But why does it need replacement?

20:03It is already the Bhagavad Gita.

20:05It is already the Upanishads.

20:07Why do you want to replace it?

20:09Instead of respecting it as something, if not religious, then next to religious.

20:17Instead of respecting it, you are talking of replacing it.

20:21What is the point?

20:23Why?

20:25Look at the fundamental rights and the directive principles.

20:30You know of the fundamental rights, right?

20:33Those are the rights that allow the individual to blossom fully.

20:40Those are the rights.

20:43If you have them, only then can you actualize your full potential.

20:48Otherwise your life will be spent just fighting all kinds of bondages and superficial battles.

20:57Those rights have been given to you so that there is a secured ecosystem.

21:03An assured environment in which you can work towards the real purpose of your life.

21:10Are you getting it?

21:12And what is the real purpose of life?

21:14That again is not something being imposed on you by Vedanta.

21:17That is something that your heartbeat itself cries for.

21:22Who does not want to be liberated? Hello?

21:24How many of you want to spend your life in various kind of bondages?

21:28So liberation is something that is at the core of existence of every human being.

21:35Man or woman, young or old, Indian or American, right?

21:40Rich or poor, how does it matter?

21:46Are you getting it?

21:48So this is a very fine document and there is no way this is at odds with Vedanta.

21:57Right?

21:59If you love Vedanta, you will find yourself respecting the Indian constitution as well.

22:08Additionally, you cannot modify the sacred texts.

22:13Here, sometimes with 1 by 2 majority, sometimes with 2 by 3, sometimes with other kinds of majorities,

22:21you can make suitable timely modifications as well.

22:25Obviously, you cannot play around with the basic structure of the constitution.

22:31That has been forbidden.

22:34But otherwise, look at the practicality.

22:39There are directive principles.

22:42Stuff that you know cannot be immediately implemented,

22:49has been given to you as a vision for the future.

22:55The directive principles are not justiciable.

22:59You cannot drag a government to a court of law by saying that they have not enforced the directive principles.

23:05But they have been given as a road map.

23:08And if you look at them, they are all talking of very high stuff.

23:13They are not talking of day to day affairs.

23:16They are not saying you know this that.

23:18The language approaches that of spirituality.

23:29If you look at the fundamental rights starting from article 14,

23:36if you go close to them, you might be excused for thinking that this is some kind of a treatise on wisdom.

23:45If you do not know that this is the constitution of a particular country, that it is a legal document,

23:51you will be pardoned for assuming that it is a spiritual thing.

24:04Was this clear or again too convoluted?

24:16Good afternoon sir. My name is Vishal, student.

24:23Sir, as you said, it is a very beautiful document and it is beautifully designed.

24:29I agree with your point.

24:31But what about the points where India being a diversified country,

24:36point of conflict occurs in the constitution.

24:40Sometime it happens.

24:42There is nothing in the constitution that gives rise to conflict.

24:46Conflict is the very prakriti of the ego.

24:50That's how human beings behave.

24:53If you and I fight, that's not the Gita's fault.

24:59So the question is, is the constitution encouraging people to fight among each other?

25:12Is that what is happening?

25:14Is the constitution encouraging people to fight?

25:18People fight in spite of all the guidance.

25:23Students fail in spite of having the best teachers.

25:27Do we then fire the teachers?

25:31But that's what we have been doing.

25:34If you find Hindus in a fallen condition, you start blaming the Gita or the Upanishads.

25:40If you find other religious people behaving in fallen ways, you start blaming their texts.

25:50The question is, are we even following the religious texts?

25:55And if we are not, then how are the religious texts to be blamed?

26:01Did the student fail because he listened to the teacher?

26:07Did the student fail because he listened to the teacher? No.

26:13But then the student says, oh I failed.

26:18This teacher should be sacked.

26:22That's what we Indians have also learnt to do in the religious sphere.

26:28We say, see all these so called great books have been there and yet our condition is so bad.

26:39So surely these books are no good.

26:41Let's dump them, let's burn them.

26:44The question is, when did you read those books?

26:48When did you live by those books?

26:51Even today, do you understand those books?

26:54If you have no relationship with those books,

26:58then what right do you have to blame those books for your failures and sufferings?

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