The Dharma Manifesto

by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

  One of the fundamental priorities of a system administered in accordance with the principles of Dharma Nationalism is to restore the natural balance that should exist, and that must exist, between all diverse classes of human beings, as well as among the genders and the generations, if individuals are to live healthy lives in harmony with Nature. This policy will be coupled with the corresponding elimination of artificial conflict to the maximal degree possible.

  Philosophical Anthropology

  “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern.”

  William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1757–1827)

  In order to fully understand what constitutes the most reasonable and just form of government for human individuals, we must first conduct a brief philosophical and anthropological analysis of what, precisely, constitutes the human person. The Sanskrit term for the human person, or Man, is manushya, or a descendent of the great sage Manu (from which the word “man” itself is ultimately derived), who was the progenitor of the human species.

  The question of what constitutes the primary ontological constituent of the human person differs in accordance with the ideology in question. According to the simplistic and reductionist philosophical anthropology of Marxism, for example, the human person consists of nothing more than matter inexplicably in motion. Man, for speculative Marxists, is just a material thing possessed of a material brain, through which cognitive functioning operates. Man is thus little more than a thinking animal according to Marxism.

  In the Aristotelian and Thomist worldview, on the other hand, the human person is a dual combination of form and substance. For Thomist Christians specifically, that substance of the form is what “soul” consists of. Thus, for Thomists, the body and the soul are eternally inseparable aspects of the human person. For Cartesian dualists, similarly, the human person is nothing more than a combination of body (res extensa) and mind (res cogitans).

  Of all the varying philosophical anthropologies formulated throughout history, however, the understanding of Dharma is the most psychologically sophisticated, ontologically elaborate and hierarchically integrated approach to the essential constitution of man.

  Dharma philosophy teaches us that the human person is simultaneously both complex and unitive in nature. The material aspect of the human person consists of a hierarchically circumscribed functional complexity; while the spiritual, or essential aspect of the human being consists of an ontological unanimity that is both qualitatively superior and existentially anterior to the material. The human person is a multidimensional being consisting of a qualitatively[8] ascending hierarchy of increasingly subtler strata, ontologically speaking, of realities consisting of varying types of energy. These aspects of the human person include (ranging in the order of qualitatively superior to qualitatively inferior constituents within the ontological hierarchy):

  • Eternal Consciousness (atman)

  • Artificially Constructed Ego (ahamkara)

  • Intellect (buddhi)

  • Mind (manas)

  • Emotions (abhitapa)

  • Body (deha)

  The unitive element that integrates these different aspects of the human person in a psycho-physically functional manner is consciousness, which is the pervading energy of atman, the true self.

  The nature of atman in its fully liberated and operative state transcends all aspects of materiality. Atman, though unitive in nature, also has a number of essential attributes. Included among these essential attributes are freedom, will, bliss, cognizance, eternality, beauty, contingency[9] in relation to God, and others.

  Since he currently finds himself situated within the material realm, the human person is an eternal unit of pure consciousness temporarily experiencing, and limited by, material reality. Materiality is necessarily restrictive. Consciousness is necessarily free. Thus, material reality is not intrinsic to his deepest nature as pure consciousness. Consequently, the human person feels a constant sense of alienation from the surrounding world due to his true nature being consciousness, which transcends our restrictive material realm, and which is inherently free. He is an eternal being, experiencing a limited lifespan. He is a being of bliss, often experiencing suffering. He is a being who is inherently designed to know, currently dwelling in a world of doubt. Such internal contradistinctions are symptomatic of the unnaturally conflictual state that the human person finds himself encountering within as he experiences atman-in-materiality.

  Happiness and fulfillment for the human person is attained upon liberating himself from this sense of spiritual alienation, when he once again fully recovers his memory of his true self as atman. Materially, man has the illusion of being in chains. His liberation is achieved upon the realization that his inner being can never be imprisoned, but can only temporarily succumb to the illusion of imprisonment. Everywhere, man is born free. But everywhere, he has freely succumbed to the illusion of imprisonment. True liberation is thus spiritual liberation.

  All day, every day, we are surrendering to something or someone. The vast majority of the time, however, we are surrendering to the wrong something or someone due to our own illusion. Thus, we are often mistakenly surrendering to our own internal shortcomings, such as the false ego, our fears, our anger, and our confusion. We then misguidedly surrender to such external conduits of misapprehension as the messages that we are furnished by the propaganda organs of the media, by erroneous teachers and professors, by our less-informed friends, by corrupt government representatives, and by our own chattering and ever-fluctuating minds. We all too often willingly surrender ourselves to the very instruments of our own bondage.

  It is only when we make the conscious and spiritually-motivated decision to surrender specifically to the Divine, however, that the surrendering process is now being properly utilized in our deepest and most meaningful self-interest. Whether we use such generic names as “Source,” “Divine,” “Higher Power” or “God,” or use the very personal and transcendental names of God that are revealed in the Vedic scriptures is up to us. The important thing is to understand to what and to whom we are surrendering at any given moment in our lives. Do we surrender to illusion, or to Truth? As we have now seen from the above examples, not all surrender is the same. This is why we need the true spiritual master to guide us specifically and directly to the presence of God.

  The primary purpose of the properly functioning Dharma Nation is to assist her citizens in living lives that are free from illusion, spiritual alienation and bondage, and to achieve precisely such spiritual liberation.

  Transmutation of Consciousness and Genetic Morphology

  One of the essential attributive capabilities (shaktis) of the atman is that of abiding within the substrative state of pellucid meditative awareness. The living being necessarily becomes, himself, like that object upon which he meditates. The nature of the object that the human person meditates upon ineluctably forms the phenomenologically qualitative basis of the consciousness of the meditator. If a person meditates on a being whose internal nature is good, the meditator will likewise reflect that goodness in his consciousness, behavior and demeanor. If, conversely, a person meditates on a being whose internal nature is evil, the meditator (or worshipper) will likewise reflect that evil in his consciousness, behavior and demeanor. The meditator becomes like that upon which he meditates.

  This process of meditative transmutation similarly transforms the consciousness, behavior and demeanor of a larger, interrelated group of people. On the larger social level, the practice of intergenerational meditative contemplation upon a given object has a direct genetic influence upon the morphological development of subsequent generations of a specific ethnic community that focuses upon the same object of meditation. Thus, if a group with a shared genetic in
heritance (such as a tribe, a people or a race) worships, and thus meditates upon, a shared object of veneration for a duration of several generations, the end result is an alteration of the very genetic makeup of that people in a spiritual duplication of the inner nature of the object of worship. Thus, for example, if a people with shared genetic inheritance worships or meditates upon a malevolent being for multiple generations, eventually the very genetic makeup of that people will be altered to reflect the malevolence of their object of worship.

  In the following section of The Dharma Manifesto, we will be explaining the meaning of several frequently misunderstood political terms and concepts.

  The People

  A people consists of an ethnically, linguistically, culturally and spiritually homogenous grouping of autochthonous persons, historically tied to the land upon which they thrive. The present morphological and physiological structure of any specific people has been determined by the geographical terrain that they inhabit, by the climatic conditions in which they matured, and by the social, psychological and spiritual circumstances that genetically molded them as a distinct people.[10] A people, defined in a healthy state, is united in social identity by a common sense of community and tradition, stretching across the expanse of history, and united by a common sense of folk kinship. A people is a family writ large.

  The Nation

  The nation consists of the spirit of an ethnically homogeneous people (Volksgeist in German,[11] or Jana in Sanskrit) manifest in a greater, trans-clanish, nation-wide, social-political community. A nation is not solely comprised of geographic or political identification, nor by mere legal citizenship in the modern sense, but primarily of shared ethnic and cultural group identification. Only a homogeneously constituted ethno-cultural political formulation can be a nation proper. Thus, the contradictorily absurd ideation of a “multicultural” political state (such as America and Canada as presently constituted, and increasingly many of the once-homogeneous nations of Europe) can never truly be an organic nation in the proper sense of this term, but rather represents a muddled assortment of overlapping, intertwined and competing sub-nations within the context of a forced political union. A nation is a family writ to its largest geographical extent.

  The State

  The State embodies the interests and aspirations of the nation in the form of a recognized and valid governmental/political authority, as well as a territorially demarcated geographical region that is organized in such a manner as to most ably facilitate the growth, prosperity and happiness of the people and the nation. A State is a family writ to its largest geographical extent — and organized under a central governing authority, and functioning in the sole interests of and for the benefit of its people.

  Principle of the Ideal Leader

  “There will be no end to the troubles of states, or indeed, of humanity itself till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers.”

  Plato, The Republic

  The ideal ruler of a people, a nation, or the State is a natural born leader who personifies in his integral being the dual qualities of martial and administrative prowess, coupled with superior personal spiritual attainment. Often we see these martial and spiritual qualities manifest separately in different individuals. One person will be a good soldier or administrator, for example, but is not a wise person. Such a person is then designated as a king, a ruler or a political leader. Conversely, one person may be a very wise and spiritually advanced being, but not a good political administrator. Such a person is then designated as a sage or a saint. The ancient world recognized, however, that the perfect leader must fully embody both martial and spiritual qualities within himself at the same time.

  Plato called such an integrated leader a “philosopher king.” In the Sanskrit language, such a perfect leader was known as a Rajarshi,, or a “sage king.” Such a person is simultaneously a fighter and a thinker, a warrior and a priest, a politician and a philosopher, a king and a saint. He has the ability to act with both compassion and levelheaded strength. When he is not in the depths of contemplative meditation, he is to be found honing his skills in weaponry and the martial arts. In one hand he holds a sword, in the other he grasps a book of wisdom. He strikes fear in the hearts of all criminals, demonic psychopaths and evil individuals, and simultaneously rains compassion and prosperity upon his good and earnest subjects.

  When such a perfect philosopher-king is recognized as the monarch of the overall Dharma Imperium, the trans-geographical sphere of nations comprising the totality of Dharma civilization, then such a ruler is known by the Sanskrit term Chakravartin: “The Wielder of the Wheel of Dharma” — the universal Dharma monarch. The rule of such a Chakravartin is a rare and universally celebrated event that is sanctioned by God, exalted by the Earth herself, and longed-for by all good people.

  The Ethical Foundation of Governing Authority

  “Practically speaking, at the present moment no honest man can become a government official. This is true everywhere. Unless one is a rogue, a rascal, a dishonest person, one cannot maintain his governmental position. Therefore no noble man goes into the government.”

  Prabhupada[12] (1896–1977)

  The rulers of a nation do not have the luxury of holding a relativist or lax view of ethics, both of which are the cowardly resort of selfish and dishonest people. As the universally acknowledged role models for the nation, and especially the nation’s youth, the rulers of the nation must strictly uphold the most stringent moral and ethical codes of conduct by their own personal, living example. If the rulers are corrupt, then the people will be corrupt. If the rulers are paragons of virtue, then the nation will be a heaven on Earth — in which no citizen would ever be tempted to steal, even if precious jewels were dropped at his feet.

  The Dharma Nation Concept

  The ultimate power of authority and claims to legitimacy that any government claims to make must be recognized as being derived — either directly or indirectly — from the Transcendent, from God, and God’s Laws (Dharma). The Dharma Nation concept proposes using the ancient principle of Natural Law as the new ideological foundation for all political philosophy and governance in the future. Moreover, the Dharma Nation is the practical instantiation of Natural Law principles in the social-political realm. It is the perfect form of government toward which all humans naturally aspire.

  [1] The Sanskrit word “dharma” is etymologically derived from the verb root “dhr,” meaning “to sustain,” “to uphold,” “to support,” etc.; and it is in these verbal derivative meanings that we can begin to clearly detect the precise idea that the term “dharma” is attempting to communicate.

  [2] For a much more extensive examination of the philosophy and nature of Dharma, see the philosophical work Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Natural Way (Raleigh, NC: Lulu, 2011), also by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya.

  [3] These languages include Pali, Tibetan, Persian, ancient Greek, Latin, Norse, Finnish, and many dozens of others.

  [4] Some of these elements include the following: epics capture the spirit of a national people; include interactions between human beings and the gods; are highly poetic in compositional nature; use a large amount of allegory; highlight the heroic qualities of its main characters; present the heroes as models for emulation; thematically convey Dharmic values, behavior and mindset; sharply juxtapose good versus evil; focus primarily on the upper echelons of the subject society, specifically the royalty/warrior class, and the priestly/sage class; and their primary events have vast historical repercussion for those both written about in the epics, and for those reading them.

  [5] Thirty-six large histories of the Vedic people.

  [6] The Lebor na hUidre, or Book of the Dun Cow, is a twelfth-century Irish manuscript. This work contains much Christian content, and is thus highly tainted i
n value and reliability.

  [7] Klassenkampfen, in the German, is how Marx and Engels originally phrased this destructive insurrectionary tactic in the Communist Manifesto.

  [8] “Qualitative” in this case referring to substantiality, existent duration, extensibility, efficient competency, perceptual, experiential, etc.

  [9] In the sense of the attributive (and thus accidental) nature of the atman in comparison to God’s non-contingent (certain) nature.