Swami Vivekananda and Sudra Jagaran or the Awakening of the masses - His visions for a future world order - Part 4

If we look back to India once again, we’ll see that a very great and enlightened itinerant monk named Sankara had been able to resist the general decline of the values of the society and almost dispelled a decadent Buddhism from the soils of India and reestablished semblance of the order and social harmony, but he did not attempt in changing the prevailing social system of dominance of the Kshatriyas. Instead he helped in raising the status and power of the Brahmins through his reformist measures which infused new life into a moribund India.

Thus worldwide class struggles had resulted in the establishment of Kshatriya power, which, ruled for a considerable period of time, aided by the Brahmins or the priestly class, who were contented to share that power and influence. This period saw the establishment of large empires across the world, and not merely smaller kingdoms. The large empires were testimonies of the Khastriya powers and might. At this stage Kshatriyas treated Vaishyas as milch cows. In the words of Swami Vivekananda - To protect the State, to meet the expenses of the personal comforts and luxuries of himself and his long retinue, and, above all, to fill to overflowing the coffers of the all-powerful priesthood for its propitiation, the king is continually draining the resources of his subjects, even as the sun sucks up moisture from the earth. His especial prey — his milch cows — are the Vaishyas.

He goes on further about Kshatriya rule, ” during the Kshatriya supremacy, a strong desire for pleasure pursuits has made its appearance at the first stage, and later have sprung up inventions and developments of arts and sciences as the means for its gratification. “

Art and culture flourished during the Kshatriyas, as we have seen during the Gupta age which is said to be the golden age in India – “Delightful gardens, pleasant groves, beautiful galleries, charming paintings, exquisite sculptures, fine and costly apparel began to displace by gradual steps the natural beauties of rugged woods and the rough and coarse dress of the simple rustic. Thousands of intelligent men left the toilsome task of the ploughman and turned their attention to the new field of fine arts, where they could display the finer play of their intellect in less laborious and easier ways. Villages lost their importance; cities rose in their stead.”

In the early stages of the last millennium in India the class struggles once again came into the forefront. The caste system, in order to curb the influence of the marauding foreigners and in order to protect the prevailing religious discipline, had become more rigid and stringent. Therefore it became a burden on many of the so called lower classes, who now did not have the protective umbrella of Buddhism. The Islamic principles of universal brotherhood appealed to them and many were converted to the new sect, lured by the promise of a better treatment in the hands of fellow men and to gain respect in the society. Many more were willing to change and at this stage a tidal wave swept through. The bhakti or devotion, as a path became a movement almost by divine dispensation and two spiritual giants, Ramanuja in far South and Sri Chaitanya in East and North, led the movement and their influence helped in bringing a large number of people into its fold. The class struggle had just begun, but it had become more meaningful now. A large number of the so called outcasts got their respect and social status back as Vaishnavas, a new and powerful sect, esp. in North. The class struggle continued as the exploitation of the masses by the elitists of the ruling class and the priests still continued in various forms. Probably as a reaction there emerged spiritual luminaries from the backward classes like Ruhidas and Kavir. A new and powerful sect, the Sikhs who did not believe in caste distinction and within whose fold many exploited peasantry, esp. in Punjab took shelter, under the guidance of several spiritual giants, the Gurus, posed a mighty challenge to the established Mughal Empire. A backward tribal leader, Shivaji, became the new harbinger of hope among the Hindus who had long aspired for a revival, but who were betrayed hopelessly by the pure Kshatriyas – the Rajputs. As if, to indicate the trends of the coming decline of the Kshatriya power and the rise of the Sudras, Shivaji’s caste was changed to Kshatriya, ironically by the same Brahmins, who had established such rigorous rules in matters of caste distinctions. Necessity is indeed the mother of inventions. So we had first signs of emergence of Sudras into the realms of spirituality and governance, i.e. their claims to Brahmin and Kshatriyahood.

Swamiji gave a beautiful summary of this period from Sankara to the coming of the British – “Thus the priestly power — which sages like Kumârila, Shankara, and Râmânuja tried to re-establish, which for some time was supported by the sword of the Rajput power, and which tried to rebuild its structure on the fall of its Jain and Buddhist adversaries — was under Mohammedan rule laid to sleep for ever, knowing no awakening. In this period, the antagonism or warfare is not between kings and priests, but between kings and kings. At the end of this period, when Hindu power again raised its head, and, to some extent, was successful in regenerating Hinduism through the Mahrattas and the Sikhs, we do not find much play of the priestly power with these regeneration. On the contrary, when the Sikhs admitted any Brahmin into their sect, they, at first, compelled him publicly to give up his previous Brahminical signs and adopt the recognized signs of their own religion.”