Swami Vivekananda and Sudra Jagaran or the Awakening of the masses - His visions for a future world order - Part 5

Did the Kshatriya rule do any good to common men? Swamiji did not think so. In his words, Even if the kings be of as godlike nature as that of Yudhishthira, Ramachandra, Dharmashoka, or Akbar under whose benign rule the people enjoyed safety and prosperity, and were looked after with paternal care by their rulers, the hand of him who is always fed by another gradually loses the power of taking the food to his mouth. His power of self-preservation can never become fully manifest who is always protected in every respect by another. Even the strongest youth remains but a child if he is always looked after as a child by his parents. Being always governed by kings of godlike nature, to whom is left the whole duty of protecting and providing for the people, they can never get any occasion for understanding the principles of self-government. Such a nation, being entirely dependent on the king for everything and never caring to exert itself for the common good or for self-defence, becomes gradually destitute of inherent energy and strength. If this state of dependence and protection continues long, it becomes the cause of the destruction of the nation, and its ruin is not far to seek.

Even the most benign for Kshatriya rule is not desired because it does not promote the masses. It only perpetuates the self interest of a ruling elite class. The same applies for a democracy in which elite oligarchy control all privileges. Swamiji succinctly puts together how a Kshatriya rule declines. “The king, the centre of the forces of the aggregate of his subjects, soon forgets that those forces are only stored with him so that he may increase and give them back a thousandfold in their potency, so that they may spread over the whole community for its good. Attributing all Godship to himself, in his pride, he looks upon other people as wretched specimens of humanity who should grovel before him; any opposition to his will, whether good or bad, is a great sin on the part of his subjects. Hence oppression steps into the place of protection — sucking their blood in place of preservation. If the society is weak and debilitated, it silently suffers all ill-treatment at the hands of the king, and as the natural consequence, both the king and his people go down and down and fall into the most degraded state, and thus become an easy prey to any nation stronger than themselves. Where the society is healthy and strong, there soon follows a fierce contest between the king and his subjects, and, by its reaction and convulsion, are flung away the sceptre and the crown; and the throne and the royal paraphernalia become like past curiosities preserved in the museum galleries.” These are exactly the factors that caused the decline and fall of Rome, the decline and demise of the Holy Roman Empire, of the Ottomans, of the Sultanate in Delhi and the Mughals and also the lesser powers like the Vijayanagara in the South or Rajputs in the West.

In the global context we see a sea change in Europe during the medieval age. With Renaissance, the power and influence of the priestly class, the Church, waned and a new but growing scientific community challenged the prevailing dogmas. Also, with the decline in the influence of the priestly class, and with the need of the ruling class to exploit new opportunities to fill their dwindling coffers, the trading class became more and more powerful. With the discovery of new sea routes, first signs of establishment of worldwide trade and commerce were seen. So this probably heralded the advent of Vaisyas or the trading community. They became the second most respected entity after the Kshatriyas and the priests began to increasingly depend on them to spread their ideas and influence across the globe. England, among the European powers became prominent in this respect. They were the ideal Vaishyas, and their influence soon spread far and wide through the establishment of colonies. During Vivekananda’s time England was the supreme force, occupying half the world and hence he wrote, “That mighty newly-risen Vaishya power — at whose command, electricity carries messages in an instant from one pole to another, whose highway is the vast ocean, with its mountain-high waves, at whose instance, commodities are being carried with the greatest ease from one part of the globe to another, and at whose mandate, even the greatest monarchs tremble — on the white foamy crest of that huge wave the all-conquering Vaishya power, is installed the majestic throne of England in all its grandeur.”