The Dharma Manifesto

by Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya

  [12] Indeed, not only were all the Dharmic religions opposed to usury, but even the Abrahamic sects of Christianity and Islam vociferously voiced their displeasure at this immoral practice. The Qur’an, for example, states the following: “…those you take usury will arise on the Day of Resurrection like someone tormented by Satan’s touch. That is because they say ‘Trade and usury are the same,’ But Allah has allowed trade and forbidden usury. Whoever, on receiving Allah’s warning, stops taking usury make keep his past gains — Allah will be his judge — but whoever goes back to usury will be an inhabitant of the Fire, therein to remain.” (2:275–276)

  [13] Usury is known as neshek in Hebrew, meaning literally “a bite,” due to its painfulness to the debtor.

  [14] Law of Hammurabi, 48 sqq.

  [15] Majjhima Nikaya, 117.

  [16] Laws, v. 742.

  [17] Politics, I, x, xi.

  [18] Clouds, 1283 sqq.

  [19] Cato, De Re Rustica.

  [20] Cicero, De officiis, II, xxv.

  [21] De beneficiis, VII, x.

  [22] Morals.

  [23] Summa Theologica (London: R. T. Washburne, Ltd., 1918), pp. 330–340.

  [24] Inferno, Canto XI.

  [25] The Wealth of Nations.

  [26] The Uniform Small Loan Law (USLL) that was passed in 1916, for example, allowed licensed lenders to charge much higher interest rates (up to 36%) than what had been previously allowed by most state usury laws. This was in return for adhering to strict standards of lending.

  [27]Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 4, Part 2, p. 646.

  [28] Poverty reduction is more effectively achieved via the volunteer work of private charitable organizations, and not through the inefficient and corrupt programs of government bureaucracies.

  [29] Politics 1328b–1329a.

  [30] Not only did Marx himself never work a day of labor in his own life, but he never visited an actual factory or was friends with a living, breathing worker at any point in his career as a writer. His wife bore seven children. Only three of those children lived to be adults. The other four died in their youth from the effects of living in utter poverty as Marx conducted his abstract speculation about the travails of “the working man” from his study carrels at a number of libraries in London and Manchester. This is not an ad hominem observation; it is a case examination of the depths that hypocrisy can reach.

  6. STRAGEGY

  In Defense of Reality

  When did we lose the final memory of our sustaining reality? At what point did we relinquish our understanding of the Eternal Natural Way? When did we lose our precious connection to Dharma?

  Was it when all the ancient sacred temples of the past became the archeological ruins of today? Was it when the medicinal arts, consisting of healing herbs and plants, was replaced by the synthetic poisons we now call pharmaceuticals? Was it when animals went from being our beloved companions to becoming our tortured food? Was is when good conduct and ethical behavior ceased to be a universal value and became, instead, merely a matter of subjective opinion and moral relativism? Was it when nature was no longer seen as a manifestation of God’s loving abundance, but instead seen as a lifeless commodity? Was it when the gods ceased to be beings whom we could speak with face-to-face, and instead became the subject of “myth?” Was it when the bliss of love was replaced by the orgiastic carnival of lust? Was it when works of art stopped being manifestations of beauty and meaning, and became instead exhibitions of narcissistic psychosis on canvas? Was it when we lost the innate human ability to use philosophical discernment and reason, and instead began using our amorphous feelings to make important life decisions? Was it when we sacrificed natural diversity, hierarchy, social sophistication, qualitative depth and personhood upon the altar of artificially imposed conformity and radical egalitarianism? Was it when we abandoned our innate necessity for the expansiveness of freedom and liberty, and submitted instead to the ever-intrusive shackles of the welfare state? Was it when the study of the history of religion eclipsed the impetus to make religious history? Was it when we began to worship dogs more than we worship God? Was it when the uninformed opinions of worthless celebrities became more authoritative sources of truth for us than the sacred teachings of the liberated sages? Was it when we merely settled for mediocrity, rather than strove for the very greatest that the cosmos has to offer? When did reality recede from our vision, and reality television take its place?

  We can once again reestablish our cherished connection with Dharma, with a way of living that leads to health, joy, abundance, meaning and spiritual fulfillment for ourselves and for all sentient beings. We can heal our Earth and ourselves by once again relearning and reclaiming the Eternal Natural Way. We must begin to restore reality now. The following section will outline our strategy for creating such a restoration of Dharma.

  The Four Elements of a Political Movement

  There are four distinct, but very often overlapping, elements of any serious political movement. These four elements are often misapplied by such movements. It is in fully understanding and coordinating the separate strengths of these four elements that a political movement can achieve a greater possibility for success. These four elements are philosophy, policy, strategy, and propaganda.

  Philosophically, a Dharma activist must possess a relatively sufficient grasp of the true nature of reality. Philosophical certitude is the foundational motivating force behind any committed political activism. What the activist knows about the true nature of reality serves as his philosophical vision, his inspiration, and his guide for eventually enforcing specific governing policies at some future date that are based upon his philosophical understanding. Philosophy is intellectual in nature.

  Policy issues consist of philosophical truths that are then implemented legislatively. Policy consists of researched, formulated and codified procedural recommendations on specific issues of the day. Policy is legislative in nature.

  Strategy, on the other hand, is creating an intelligently designed and systematic plan of action for the gradual acquisition of real political power, and the retention of power once that power is achieved. Strategy is organizational and tactical in nature.

  Propaganda is the art of communicating the philosophy of a movement in accordance with the specific audience that the movement wishes to reach. The goal of propaganda, however, is not necessarily to express a movement’s philosophy in its pristine intellectual form, but rather to persuade. Propaganda consists of having the discriminating intelligence to slowly, systematically, and diplomatically bring as many good people to the side of the movement as possible without unduly alienating people who are otherwise very noble. Propaganda is persuasive in nature.

  In order for any sociopolitical movement to be successful, it is imperative that these four elements not be confused. All too frequently, we have seen movements similar to ours mistake either their philosophical or their policy positions for an actual strategy for the acquisition of power. When such movements have made this mistake in the past, they have met with utter failure without exception. The Dharma Nation movement will not make this same mistake. The Dharma Nation movement will, thus, only know success.

  The Three Politeias

  “He who refuses to be involved in politics must endure being ruled by inferior people.”

  Plato, The Republic

  The Italian philosopher Julius Evola felt that, given the seemingly irreparably degenerate condition of our current age, the only efficacious political stance that the spiritually aware person could reasonably take was what he termed apoliteia, or a decidedly non-political stance.[1] As great a thinker as he was, however, Evola was incorrect in advocating this strategic retreat from the necessary political struggle of our cur
rent age of conflict (Kali Yuga).

  There are three alternative courses of political action that one can choose in our current era. These are apoliteia (non-political), politeia (political), or metapoliteia (transcendent engagement in politics). The apoliteia path is ultimately defeatist in nature and assures that one will be affected, both directly and indirectly, by the political machinations of others. Apoliteia is political impotence. The politeia route, on the opposite side of the spectrum, involves direct and public participation in the political process in such a manner that one is attempting to affect others with one’s political machinations. The danger of engaging fully in the politeia path is that of personal compromise and selling out to the prevailing, corrupt system. The metapoliteia approach, on the other hand, consists of rising above direct, participatory political machinations by acting out one’s political activism within the philosophical realm, and attempting to affect the entire realm of politics itself quietly, surreptitiously, and yet effectively, from above. The goal of metapoliteia is not primarily directed toward electoral success, but toward bringing about a fundamental transformation in the culture, ideas, opinions, and attitude of the people, thus circumventing the controlled system and its corrupt political operatives completely. Given the seemingly omnipotent hegemony of the despots presently ruling our iniquitous society, the metapoliteia path is the best strategy for enabling those who are currently powerless to render the forces of the powerful impotent.

  In choosing the best course of action of the three above options, the following elucidating statement recorded in the ancient Sanskrit epic known as the Mahabharata must be our guide:

  Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha

  “As we defend the Natural Way, the Natural Way in turn protects us.”

  From the deepest, hidden recesses of our hearts, we, the emerging spiritual soldiers of the coming Golden Age, are called upon by the thunderous voices of our ancient gods to defend Dharma with all of our thoughts, with all of our words, and with all of our actions. The activists of the Dharma Nation movement have consciously and wisely chosen the transcendently-engaged path of metapoliteia as the only course of effective, swift and victorious action available to us today in our sacred cause to reestablish the rule of Natural Law in our world.

  A Metapolitical Philosophical Movement

  “It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.”

  Samuel Adams (1772–1803)

  The Dharma Nation movement is a non-violent, sociopolitical movement designed to peacefully elevate and positively transform all forms of human cultural, social, and political expressions in such a manner as to unleash its paramount spiritual and material potential. This is a movement predicated upon the advance of the noblest ideals of civilization.

  Only noble members of a noble movement can assure the creation of a noble civilization. Violence, unethical practices, immoral behavior, and illegal acts will never be advocated or tolerated in the name of Dharma Nationalism.

  Our goal is to philosophically influence that segment of the populace who represent the very last honorable and honest remnant of the political, intellectual, religious and cultural leaders of our present society with the purpose of having them increase their positive understanding of the Dharma worldview. We plan, further, to persuade these noble leaders to begin implementing Dharmic policies in their respective areas of concern.

  Lasting social change is achieved not through the machinations of political parties, but by the dissemination of apodictic ideas across the higher spectrum of society. Ours is not a bottom-up, grassroots movement aimed at persuading the masses to do the right thing. Rather, it is a top-down movement designed to appeal to that minority of individuals who constitute the arya, the noble idealists living amongst us, to draw them out of their shells, and to empower them to change their world for the better. Our committed activists will represent a necessarily small minority of extremely high-quality people who will lead the majority toward the realization of a Dharma society.

  The Dharma Nation movement is not a mass movement. It is not a public concern. It is not a populist movement. It does not seek victory in the streets, but in the minds and hearts of the very best of our people. It is a movement, not of the masses, but of the very few who are qualified to lead the masses. Consequently, both organizationally and strategically, our movement represents a complete break from failed attempts to secure systemic change in society in the past.

  The following words are attributed to the Dharma philosopher Pythagoras: “Silence is better than unmeaning words.”[2] What will ensure the ultimate success of the Dharma Nationalist movement will be the adroitness, stealth and long-term vision with which the movement will operate. The guiding goal for each Dharma Nation activist is not the personal glory and egoistic revelry that accompanies public recognition, but the knowledge that they have helped change their world into a more Dharmic society in the most effective and meaningful manner possible to us given the present historical and political conditions. Our patron in regard to our strategy of stealth activism is the Norse god Vidar (Víðarr), the god of silence and foresight.

  The two primary projects of the Dharma Nation Movement are outreach and community building.

  Outreach: The most fundamental way in which the world is changed is through the awakening of minds. The most important goal that our movement works toward without cessation is delivering our message to as large and broad an audience of our people as possible. We cast a wide net in the hopes of catching a small number of the very best of our people. Such propagation of the Dharma worldview is done via every means, both traditional and non-traditional (such as through the Internet) at our disposal. Our plan of action is to share our videos, books, fliers, Website (dharmanation.org), and other materials with as many people, forums, blogs, social networks and other venues of communication as possible. Our goal is to reach at first thousands, and then millions with our message! Thus, the primary activity that we focus on is outreach and education.

  Community Building: Part of what it means to change society is not merely to wait for society to be transformed on a mass global scale, but to begin the process of social transformation on the immediate level by creating many local Dharma communities that will serve as vivid and living models of the world to come. Practical community development is going to be taking place on two scales.

  The first, the local scale, involves encouraging people to begin establishing the crucial elements of a community in their own areas. The Dharma Communities Initiative is a systematic program designed to assist in the creation of such local Dharma communities. The process of community building includes locating local followers of Dharma and organizing them, the creation of a community center and/or temple as a common meeting place, and the creation of local businesses, schools, activities, and support organizations.

  On a larger scale, we will be starting a sizeable community in the Omaha, Nebraska and Iowa areas. The Midwest Vedic Initiative (MVI) is designed to encourage and assist many hundreds of people to eventually resettle in the Omaha area. The community that we will be creating has been envisioned to be a spiritual refuge for our people from throughout the world to either visit or to move to permanently.

  Our goal is to create a healthy, safe and well-functioning spiritual community that is firmly based upon the foundations of Vedic culture and the ideology of Dharma Nationalism. This Vedic community will be a place of positive and constructive personal growth, spiritual practice, cultural celebration, economic development, life-long learning and capable spiritual guidance.

  This community will not be a commune, a cooperative, or a welfare entitlement program in any sense. Rather, each person who chooses to live in or near this community will be expected to be gainfully employed, have their own source of income, own or rent their own home, and to be thorough
ly responsible for their own lives and families. At the same time, there will be both living and employment facilities available for those who choose to be more directly involved in living a more dedicated lifestyle. We firmly believe in personal responsibility, coupled with a healthy sense of spiritual fellowship and folkish community.

  As the world continues along its course toward spiritual degeneration, our growing Vedic communities will provide beacons of hope and models for those sincere souls who wish to band together to help create a society based upon Dharma.

  Dharma Nationalism and Electoral Politics

  “Love of the people is an aristocratic calling. The democrat only loves the people at election time.”

  Nicolás Gómez Dávila

  We are living in the era of post-dual politics in America. For the last two decades, we have witnessed the continuing democratization of the world. The old, staid Stalinist regimes of Eastern Europe have all crumbled to dust. The bloody dictatorships of Latin America have all been replaced by democratically-elected, Harvard-trained technocrats. There are even semi-legitimate elections now taking place throughout the tyrannical Arab world. One of the sole exceptions to this bandwagon of democracy and political pluralism continues to be — surprisingly — the United States of America. Only here have all political parties other than the traditionally accepted Democratic and Republican parties been thoroughly shut out of the system.