Process of training - vRddha samyOga

In the past post - http://sastra-artha.blogspot.in/2013/04/vinaya-adhikaranam-guidance-to-lead.html we have seen the basis for vinaya is vRddhOpasEva or serving an elder experienced teachers.

विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवा 

vinayasya mUlam vRddhOpasEvA - The basis for guidance is serving the elders / knowledgeable ones!  (guru)

वृद्धसेवाया विज्ञानम 

vRddhOpasEvayA vijnAnam - by serving the  Guru, KNOWLEDGE

So, cANakya says by meeting and serving people with "practical experience" in the subject alone can help acquiring the vinaya or skill.

There is an important point mentioned "क्रिया हि द्रव्यं विनयति न अद्रव्यं" - the process of training can polish/improve only the right raw material into the finished product for example a raw diamond can be polished to shine. Only iron ore can be finished into steel. It is not possible to make a diamond or steel from a lump of mud. "adravyam" can't be trained. Only dravyam can be trained, purified, polished by the process of vinaya. (we can't train everyone in all the subjects. One should identify the internal skill in the student and let that skill be shined by the process of vidya)

शुश्रूषा, श्रवण​, ग्रहण​, धारण​, विज्ञान​, ऊह​, अपोह​, तत्त्वाभिनिविष्ट बुद्धिम् विद्या विनयति
One who has strong desire to listen/learn, ability to actively listen, acquire what has been heard, remember what has been acquired, ability to discriminate what is possible and what is impossible, ability to visualize things that have not been explained, ability to reject things that are not reconciling, a strong desire to find out the true essence; a buddhi (resolved mind) that has these qualities can be polished by vidya. न इतरम्. not otherwise!

Only by AcArya pramANa teaching / evidence of a AcArya (one who has followed the vidya i.e., one who has practical experience) theory and application of the vidya can be acquired. 

Vidya should start at the age of 3 yaears and continue till 16th year. (about 12 years) A King should be taught in the military training during the first half of the day and philosophy, vedas, itihAsas, dharma SAstra, artha SAstra in the afternoon.

श्रुतात् हि प्रज्ञ उपजायते । प्रज्ञया योगः । योगात् आत्मवत् इति विद्या सामर्थ्यम् ॥
By studying various SAstras one gains the knowledge (of three time periods i.e, past, present and future) ; by prajna one develops yOga (practical application of SAstra) ; by yOga one realizes the self (self-confidence, self-control, self-respect) This is the USE of vidyas or knowledge.

In modern day, we are not focusing at all on bringing individual skill out during the education. All the 12+4 years of education we spend comparing with others and giving a same yardstick question paper in physics, chemistry, maths, biology, social studies to all students. We have competitive exams to eliminate 99 out of 100 students. Neither the teacher has clarity of what is being taught nor the student. I can only say, the students of past in TakshaSila and Nalanda viswa vidyaalayas have realized their potential having taught by able teachers who have polished students to realize their SELF-POTENTIAL.

This is the end of 5th chapter of artha SAstra which also completes the second topic called vRddha samyOga.

vArtA, daNDanIti sthapana

All the modern education that develops a skill to make money is called vArtA which leads to a vRtti or profession. It could be based on agriculture, animal husbandry or economics & trade. All professions that give livelihood are vArta. That is needed for everyone to earn some money.

But, that vArtA should not go purely profit seeking without giving any fulfillment. When the vArta is based on swadharma, that not only gives livelihood but also gives fulfillment as it helps the society to function properly and sustains the society for generations to come. 

danDanIti is generally accepted by all the teachers as one of the fundamental educations to the King / Leader. “lOkayAtra i.e., the operation of the world is based on application of daNDa. King should use the daNDa always” is the opinion of past teachers. “No” says kauTilya. Harsh punishment leads to hatred. If punishment is soft then people reject the King. Hence,

suvijJnAta praNItohi daNDaH prajAH dharmArthakAmaiH yojayati. … apraNIto hi mAtsyanyAyamudbhAvayati….

सुविज्ञत प्रणीतोहि दण्डः प्रजाः धर्मार्थकामैः योजयति. … अप्रणीतो हि मात्स्यन्यायमुद्भावयति….

One who has properly studied the SAstra of daNDanIti, such King’s punishment will keep the people engaged in dharma, artha and kAma (not the opposites! adharma, anartha, and vidvesha) One who has not understood the SAstra of daNDanIti, such a king’s kingdom slips into the “law of fishes” (big fish eats small fish)

In this world there are two types of nyAyAs. One is the law of fishes and the other is law of humans. In the law of humans big one helps the small one and in the law of fishes the big fish eats the small one. 

चतुर्वर्णाश्रमो लोको रज्ञा दण्डेन पालितः ।
स्वधर्मकर्माभिरतो वर्तते स्वेषु वेश्मसु ॥

In a kingdom that is taken care (pAlitaH - just like a mother takes care of the baby) by a King who uses the daNDa properly, people (lOka constituted by four social orders and four stages of life) engage themselves in the own duties and actions live happily in their houses.

Thus we reach the end of 4th chapter.

Thus we reach the end of first prakaraNa called vidya samuddesyaH.

This first topic has established the right notions regarding the education and removed all the false notions regarding them.

This is my 555th blog post in my overall blogging career! and 8th on artha SAstra.

trayI sthapana - Establishing importance of Vedas in the society

Yesterday, we have seen the discussion around the importance of philosophy as a vidya. Now cANakya goes to establish the importance of Vedas in the third chapter of artha SAstra.

What is included as Vedas?
sAma, Rk and yajur vedas are called trayI. atharvavEda, itihAsas (bharata, rAmAyaNa etc., ) are also included in this part of education. The angas are siksha, vyAkaraNa, nirukta, chhandas, kalpa and jyotisha.

How does it help?
एष त्रयी धर्मः। चतुर्णां वर्णानाम् आश्रमाणां च स्वधर्मे स्थापनात् उपकारिकः ॥
dharma means that which holds everything together as a whole. In modern language we can say it is something like gravity.

It provides a reference model and helps in defining the swadharma (prescribed duties) of four varNas and ASramas. (Please refer to my past post http://plaintruthsfromprasad.blogspot.in/2009/05/true-order-of-society.html#!/2009/05/true-order-of-society.html )

Veda also defines the sAmAnya dharma i.e, universal principles of human race. (as follows)
सर्वेषां अहिंसा सत्यं सौचं अनसूया अनृशंश्यं क्षमा च​।
for all, non injury, truthfulness, agreement between thought-word-action triad i.e, purity called saucam, not feeling jealous of others, not being cruel, forgiveness are the fundamental dharmas. These principles are applicable to all.

That's why king should make everyone follow their swadharma. By following swadharma (one's own prescribed duties) one can be happy here in this world and later in the other world.

तस्मात् स्वधर्मं भूतानां राजा न व्यभिचारयेत्
स्वधर्मं सन्दधानो हे प्रेत्य च् इह च नन्दति

व्यवस्थितार्यमर्यादा कृत वर्णाश्रमस्थितिः
त्रय्या हि रक्षितो लोकः प्रसीदति न सीदति

The lOka (world) which is protected by trayI by establishing the divine regulations will always be happy. It will never get destroyed.

Establishing the importance of Philosophy (anvIkShikI)

This is continuation of the last post - http://sastra-artha.blogspot.in/2013/04/vidya-samuddesyah-comprehensive-view-of.html Yesterday, in the last post we have seen cANakya feels the philosophy is an important part of education (especially to the Leader)

सांख्यम् योगः लोकायतं चेत् अन्वीक्षिकी । धर्माधर्मौ त्रय्याम् । अर्थानर्थौ वार्तायाम् । नयापनयौ दण्डनीत्याम् । बलाबले च एतासां हेतुभिः अन्वीक्षमाणा अन्वीक्षिकी लोकस्य उपकरोति, व्यसने अभ्युदये च बुद्धिं अवस्थापयति; प्रज्ञावाक्यक्रिया वैशारद्यं च करोति ॥

sAmkhya, yOga, lOkAyata together are anvIkShikI. dharma and adharma will be known through trayi. artha and anartha are discussed in vArta. naya i.e., governance and apanaya i.e., mis-governance are understood by daNDanIti. By means of evaluating the pro and cons and by testing through the reasoning philosophy helps the worldly transactions. Also, philosophy establishes a equanimity towards the situations of bad (vyasana) and good (abhyudaya) times. It also improves the ability to perform duties properly, makes one to express better and improves the concentration of mind.

प्रदीपः सर्व विद्यानां उपायः सर्व कर्मणाम् ।
आश्रयः सर्व धर्माणां शश्वदन्वीक्षिकी मता ॥

Elders state "(philosophical inquiry is) the light that shows proper meaning of all vidyas,
provides techniques (upAya) for all the actions (karmas)
covers all dharmas"

That is the importance of philosophy in the view of cANakya. It is the number one skill needed for the Leader. That is why we call the Leader as rAjaRSi. (kingly sage!)

Vidya samuddEsyaH – A comprehensive view of “knowledge”

Unlike modern Science, sAstra deals with the subject under discussion in a comprehensive manner and leaves no scope for doubt in it. At the same time sAstra will not enforce its views or ideas on the student. In arthaSAstra, the first topic is on vidya i.e., knowledge.

 अन्वीक्षिकी, त्रयी, वार्ता, दण्डनीतिः च इति विद्याः ।
anvIkShikI, trayI, vArtA, daNDanIH ca iti vidyAH.

Critical philosophical enquiry constituted by samkhya, yOga and lOkAyatana etc. (anvIkShikI), sAma-Rk-yajur Vedas (trayI), livelihood subjects like agriculture, animal husbandry, economics/commerce/trade etc., (vArtA) and Law & the art of punishment (daNDanIti) are called vidyas.

Then he gives the views of others as follows: 

The followers of Manu’s Artha sastra say trayi, vArta and daNDanIti alone are vidyas as philosophy is part of Vedas.

The followers of Brihaspati’s artha sastra say vArta and daNDanIti alone are vidyas as trayI is not helpful in the matters related to worldly transactions.

The followers of SukrAcArya say daNDanIti alone is needed for a King as all the livelihoods are based on the Law setup by the King.

But, kauTilya says all the four are needed for a King and constitute the vidya. After all, vidya is vidya only because it provides proper understanding to discriminate between dharma and adharma & artha from anartha.

When we observe the way sAstra is dealing with the topic under discussion is very comprehensive in nature. It starts the topics, gives various opinions and finally concludes with reasoning.

There is no force or mandating stuff on the student. It is left to the student to make his own deductions from the topic presented. No “Axioms” …

This nature of Indian SAstras will keep them alive forever!

vinaya-adhikaraNam - Guidance to Lead

In the last post we have seen the focal point of the Kingdom i.e, King or Raja. In modern terms we call him the Leader. He leads the territory. The basis on which he attains the territory is called "vinaya"

artha SAstra has 15 adhikaraNas or sections. It is also divided into chapters (total 180 chapters). The first adhikaraNa with 21 adhyayas is called vinayaadhikaraNam.

"naya" roughly means "to direct" or "to lead" and nAyaka means the leader. vinAyaka is the god who leads all the gaNas. "vi" prefix has +ve and -ve meanings. Coming to our subject, vinaya means leading the leader or "how to make and direct a successful leader?"

So, cANakya says, the vinaya is of two types. One which comes naturally by birth (svAbhaavikaH) and the second type is that which is (kRtakaH) acquired. ( कृतकः स्वाभाविकस्च विनयः )

A great emphasis is given to both natural and acquired knowledge just as the raw diamond shines when polished and cut.

A vijigIshu or rAjaRShi is made by identifying such a leader (raw diamond) and training him to shine with the required skills.  (vidya)

The sequence to vinaya (from cANakya NIti)

सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः

Sukhasya mUlam dharmaH - The basis of happiness is righteousness.

धर्मस्य मूलमर्थः 

dharmasya mUlam arthaH - The basis of righteousness is society (human resources)

अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यम 

arthasya mUlam rAjyam - The basis for society is kingdom (territory i.e., natural resources)

राज्यमूलमिन्द्रियजयः 

rAjyasya mUlam indriyajayaH - The basis of kingdom is victory over senses!

इन्द्रियजयस्य मूलं विनयः 

indriyajayasya mUlam vinayaH - The basis for winning over senses is vinaya (i.e., proper guidance / training )

विनयस्य मूलं वृद्धोपसेवा 

vinayasya mUlam vRddhOpasEvA - The basis for guidance is serving the elders / knowledgeable ones!  (guru)

वृद्धसेवाया विज्ञानम 

vRddhOpasEvayA vijnAnam - by serving the  Guru, KNOWLEDGE

विज्ञानेनात्मानं संपादयेत

vijnAnEna AtmAnM sampAdayEta - by knowledge realize your own potential (of SELF)

संपादितात्मा जितात्मा भवति
sampAditAtmA jitAtmA bhavati - Having realized self, one becomes WINNER of SELF. 
 
Such is a man is one who can LEAD and be the LEADER. jitAtma is the rAjaRShi. Everyone should strive to follow this sequence to properly achieve meaningful and sustainable wealth.
 

King's Duty - rAjapraNithiH

The holistic system mentioned in the past post is run by a "rajaRSi" ( An enlightened King )

In 19th adhyaya of artha SAstra, cANakya describes the duties of such King.

राज्ञो हि व्रतमुत्थानम् यज्ञः कार्यानुशासनम्
दक्षिणा वृत्तिसाम्यं च दीक्षितस्याभिषेचनम् 

"One should always remember this. A King should always be ready to protect. He should consider the maintenance of kingdom as sacrifice (yaJna). The dakshiNa is respecting all vRttis (all people) equally. His dIksha (holy owe) is governance alone.

प्रजा सुखे सुखम् राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम्
न आत्मप्रियम् हितम् राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियम् हितम्

In the happiness of people is indeed the happiness of the King. In the well-being of the people indeed is the well-being of the King. King should never think what is good for him is good for people; Indeed, whatever is good for people is really good for the King.

So, the King should always be upright and OWN the governance of the territory that is only good for kingdom as well as the King.

Such a rAjaRSi is also referred as vijigIshu who owns the complete responsibility for the establishment and governance of the holistic system.He is not alone, he is supported by several other roles making up the system. But the key is to have a focal point for the System. It is the "Enlightened King" or rAjaRSi.

tri-varga and its opposite

We have understood that artha is meaningful livelihood for an individual and the society in the last post. The intention of the SAsta is to provide the technique (i.e, upAya) to acquire and maintain the artha.

The artha is not alone. It goes closely with "dharma" and "kAma". Dharma precedes artha and kAma succeeds it. So, the triad of dharma-artha-kAma, I translate as Orderly-Meaningful-Fulfillment of human purpose!

cANakya concludes his SAstra:

धर्ममर्थं च कामं च प्रवर्तयति पाति च ।
अधर्मानर्थविद्वेषानिदं शास्त्रम् निहन्ति च ॥

dharmam, artham, ca, kAmam ca pravartayati pAti ca; adharma, anartha, vidvEshan, idam, SAstram, nihanti, ca. 

It is not only promoting and protecting the the tri-varga; Proper study and implementation of this SAstra eliminates disorderly (adharmam) -meaningless (anartham) - conflicts (vidvEshA) seen in the individuals and societies.

So, the SAstra prayOjana i.e, purpose of this SAstra is not just acquiring and maintaining mere livelihood of individuals and societies. It is providing a proper order, meaning and fulfillment to them.

This is only possible with a holistic system. Not with a combination of corrupted political system and greedy economical system trying to regulate each other with a powerless judiciary sub-system.

"artha" - What is it?

| Om SrI gaNESAya namaH |

 | Om namaH SukrabRhaspatIbhyam |

A "sAstra" gives a holistic treatment towards a subject area and reveals important definitions, techniques and processes to achieve the desired results without causing undue harm to the environment.


In this blog, I intend to make notes/posts from "artha sAstra" compiled by cANakya or kauTilya and translated to Telugu by AcArya pullela SrIrAmacandra.


The first topic is "What is artha?" i.e, what is the subject matter of artha SAstra?

मनुष्याणां वृत्तिः अर्थः । मनुष्यवती भूमिः इति अर्थः । तस्याः पृथिव्याः लाभ पालनोपायः शास्त्रम् अर्थशास्त्रम् इति ॥

The livelihood of humans is called "arthaH", the territory containing human resources with different skills is "arthaH", the sAstra dealing with the techniques relating to acquiring and maintaining such territory is called "artha SAstra".

Unlike modern capitalism, capital is NOT non-living money, gold, land or natural resources alone! A meaningful livelihood of humans is considered as artha. A territory with live human beings is considered as artha. So, the artha sAstra deals with the art and science of building a sustainable political-economical system and maintaining it for really long duration over multiple generations.

SAstra is a living tradition. It is passed from generation to generation in a Guru-Sishya parampara. Always, it is made sure that the techniques revealed by the sAstra do not get into the wrong hands and cause destruction in the world. Due to that reason, every SAstra is encrypted sufficiently so that the non-deserving people do not get to the right essence of the SAstra.

Even when I blog and make notes publicly on the internet, the tradition is maintained intact and it is made sure by the teachers Sukra (the teacher of rAkshasas/dAnavAs i.e, daemons) and bRhaspati (the teacher of devas i.e, gods) sitting above in the vast space controlling the "artha" down here on the Earth from time to time.

Having bowed down to the teachers, I hope to continue making some posts/notes on the subject to this new blog started this SrI vijaya nAma samvatsara, chaitra suddha daSami, magha nakshatra i.e., 21st April 2013.