Acharya Tulsi
Question:
In the absence of a change in the social atmosphere is it possible for an individual to remain moral and righteous?
Answer:
Social atmosphere undoubtedly plays an important role in the moral well-being of an individual, but it does not mean that righteous individuals cannot exist without changing the social climate. From time to time there have been such people, though their number has been small. For this reason it is necessary to encourage organizational changes from the social point of view and ideational changes from the ethical point of view in order to make it easy for an individual to lead a righteous life.
Ordinarily one tends towards immorality for two reasons - greed and fear. While some people indulge in wrongdoing under various temptations, others do so out of a feeling of insecurity of their family and property. Greed and fear are two dreaded monsters which are destroying all moral values. Those who succeed in overcoming these two enemies can remain moral and righteous under any circumstances.
Question:
What according to you is real socialism?
Answer:
The true expression of socialism is in the form of the development of the collective consciousness. The objectives of socialism are: the absence of the right to individual ownership of property, common share in social wealth, individual self-reliance in the fulfilment of one's minimum needs, availability of facilities of food, housing, clothing, education and health care, social security for the old and the diseased, and lack of wide disparities in the standards of living and income.
The thought of a socialist order is a reaction to capitalism. There are two big sources of acquiring capital: land and machinery. If the land is owned by zamindars (a class of rich land owners) and machines by a handful of industrialists, the wealth produced by them (land and machinery) is mostly shared by these very people. The majority consisting of workers who earn their living by putting in their labour get a nominal share of the wealth. This gives rise to a state of class war. Under socialism all property vests in the people. A socialist order does not therefore find favour with the vested interests. They refuse to subscribe to it and this in turn leads to regimentation. The socialism of my dreams will be based on a change of heart.
I have been associated with the Anuvrat Movement for many years and I have great respect for it. It is not because I am a follower of Acharya Shree but because I consider it my duty to cooperate with the work he is doing for the country in the field of building character and creating a climate of orderliness and morality.
There can be only one true religion and that is humanism. Different sects and creeds must work in the same direction but it is regrettable that today religious communities are indulging in mutual strife that will put those to shame who do not believe in religion. It is a weakness of human nature that there should be strife in the name of religion. It is for religion to wipe out this weakness. The Anuvrat Movement does not seek to convert anyone to Terapanth, but tries to disseminate religion in its true form and spirit.
The Anuvrat Movement is making special efforts to bring about moral reconstruction in the country. The vows of Anuvrat may be small or atomic but we will have to observe them with respect due to the greatest vows In fact no vow can be small or atomic. All that happens is that we make progress by degrees beginning with the smallest and going to the highest For this reason I believe in the Anuvrat Movement. I have benefited from it and it has also helped me to discover my own shortcomings.
Anything can be imposed upon the people but it has little chance of yielding positive results. The principle of change of heart creates a solid foundation of internal purity, selfless friendship and equality. Such a foundation would allow neither economic exploitation nor the exploitation of labour. Creation of an egalitarian order based on equality is the culmination of humanistic thinking. Such an order makes it impossible for conflicts based on caste, language, religion or class to rear their ugly heads The social order based on nonviolence and nonpossession can take concrete shape only through a change of heart.
The socialist system has been indifferent to spirituality. It is for this reason that it has not been able to achieve the goal of a stateless society. Of course, even a social order based on spirituality cannot overlook organization I can visualize greater possibilities in the form of a third way which will reconcile spirituality and efficient organization. It is my firm belief that to bring about such a consummation the Anuvrat code of conduct can fill a great vacuum in the socialistic system.
