Individuality and Oneness

In the Indian tradition, basically the very strong emphasis is actually on the hierarchy of being. Quality of one's being. In fact, strictly speaking, if you look at the rigveda, which is the oldest text to which every Indian thinks that they are coming from that, their whole teaching comes from rigveda. And I have hardly ever met a Hindu who has actually read the rigveda, but the same thing is true. Actually, most of my Christian friends haven't read the Bible either. This is the tragedy. But in any case, in the rigveda, very strong emphasis, that right at birth, we are all Shudras, which is to say the lowest class.

And then depending on the quality of our being, whether we are more interested in service, then we become Shudras, or if we are more interested in preserving the culture or the society, then we become vashes. And if we are protecting it, we need to be warriors, etcetera, but if we are much more interested in education or learning, etcetera, then we become brahmins. But of course, every tradition has all kinds of roots, but sooner or later, the worldly powers take over. So hierarchy has become very centrally, heavy in the Indian tradition. Even though, as I said, in the rig veda, I need to find my proper cast.

It's not that I already have a proper cast, but now If I am born of a brahman father, I'm automatically a brahman. If I am born of a Shatrya father, I'm automatically a Shatrya. But this is just really, as far as I'm concerned, more or less degeneration. But in the bhagavith Gita, Krishna, actually even explicitly says ironically that it doesn't matter what cost anybody belongs to. As long as they actually are carrying out their required action, according to Sataguna. You know, there are three different qualities.

Sat Rajas Thomas that if they are carrying it out with the appropriate quality, then they come to me. Krishna says. And just to remind you, in the whole of the Mahabhartha, which is the greatest epic in India, the two of the great sages whose teachings are required, Krishna and Mishishma. They are both Shatriyas. They're not brahmmens. So I'm just reminding you that in the Mahabharata, the two of the greatest, if you like spiritual teachers are non brahmmans, Krishna and Krishna.

And then on the other hand, the teacher of weaponry is a brahmin throne. So to some extent, one doesn't need to get so occupied with this. And, also, the author of the first epic in India, Ramayana, was a hunter. Valmiki. So it is true that there is a general social attitude connected with these things.

But there are very remarkable exception that I just mentioned to you. But it is I should also say again and again that sooner or later, every great idea in every culture gets degenerated. And ultimately what suits the people who are ruling it or what will help them to get more benefit from it that happens everywhere. I'm sorry to say. But for example, I give another very simple example.

In the Christian tradition, particularly in Roman Catholicism, very strong idea that right at birth, we acquire original sin because Adam and Eve had committed sin. And since we are children of Adam and Ian, we are obviously sinful right from birth, which seems very strange to most people, certainly from India, because very repeated emphasis right from the rigveda onwards that we are Amritasya Putra, which means we are children of eternal life. On the other hand, let me remind you. There is no shortage of sin in India. 40% of the elected members of parliament now in India have criminal records against them. And they all have names like Rama and Krishna.

So it's not that there is shortage of sin but still root down. Basic suggestion is that one needs to find that particle in one, which is identically the same as brahman, which is not sinful, etcetera. Complete. So, therefore, overall attitude is really quite different. And one of the great theologians in the Western world, Christian theologian actually had tried. He wrote a book called original blessing rather than original. He was excommunicated.

So things get too fixed. Some of these ideas.