A Clarion Call for Rāma Rājya

On December 4 2019, Padma Bhushan Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya delivered a public lecture at the Tattvāloka auditorium, Chennai, on the ‘Mission, Vision and Values of Rāma Rājya.’ It was followed by a panel discussion with Sri T.S.Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, and Dr. Chithra Madhavan, reputed historian and an expert on temple architecture and epigraphy.

Below are the salient points made by the eminent speakers:

1) Padma Bhushan Dr. Mrityunjay Athreya

“Public frustration becomes amplified when there is excess of law and the delivery is poor. When the same laws are implemented by people grounded in the values of Rāma Rājya, the gap between nīti, law, which is easy to legislate, and nyāya, justice, which is harder to deliver, can be bridged.

“The spiritual revolution of Rāma Rājya has all the ingredients of a collective ‘India dream’. We are the legitimate inheritors of these values and it is our dharma to pursue it, and share it with the world.

“It is not by government diktat that Rāma Rājya can be brought about. The government can only provide the enabling institutions and instruments. The most crucial element is the inculcation of values and the commitment of people to spread the Rāma Rājya idea in their own circles.

“The basis of Rāma Rājya is total development and welfare. It starts with the physical fitness of all the citizens. People have to become mature and avoid unnecessary arguments and conflicts. There must be continuous jijṅāsa, thirst for knowledge of both worldly, aparā, and transcendental, parā vidyā. There is also a very important aesthetic dimension to Rāma Rājya- the appreciation of kalā, fine arts, like temple architecture, design, paintings, sculpture, music, dance, theatre, and so on.

“Material well-being is another important aspect. Artha, however, always comes after dharma in order of priority. Rāma Rājya also accepts the pursuit of legitimate kāma. The Rāma Rājya value is not to keep multiplying material desires, but to earn through dharmic means and spend it in such a way that it does not cause injury to one’s own self or to others.

“Finally, spiritual wellbeing must be given due and rising importance, in line with one’s jivāśrama, life stage.

“It is worthwhile even to sacrifice a little bit of efficiency, if unavoidable, in order to have ethical and effective governance. Efficiency influenced by values becomes sustainable effective governance.”

Dr. Athreya concluded with an Action Plan, with important roles for Parents, Teachers, Organisational Seniors, Officials, Politicians, Press, and, above all, each individual Citizen, to recapture and practice these time tested values.

2) Sri T.S. Krishnamurthy

"The main dilemma in relation to Rāma Rājya is whether we should aspire for efficient or ethical governance. While ethical governance can be considered efficient, it is not always that efficient governance is ethical.

For example, a grievance of a citizen can be disposed of within a reasonable time, say one week. That can be efficient governance. But if the decision taken does not redress the grievance to the satisfaction of the petitioner, then it is not ethical governance. The first step towards ethical governance is to have efficient governance. The quality of decisions taken decide whether it is ethical or not.

"Rāma Rājya may be ultimate ethical governance. However, considering the conditions of administration in India, it is necessary that we aspire for efficiency first and then onto ethical governance.

"There have been many Indian kings who were sensitive to the public grievances. They consulted their educated ministers and provided responsible and responsive governance. Perhaps, they were more democratic governance than many modern democracies. Some modern democratic governments are more dictatorial than the ancient monarchies. Our politicians and civil servants have to be accountable if we want to improve the quality of our governance towards the ultimate ideal of Rāma Rājya.

"Finally, incremental steps to improve the quality of governance in India may not be adequate if our democracy has to provide satisfactory administration. Of late, in many countries, particularly in Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, and even Hong Kong, people power in protesting against misrule are on the increase. It signifies that the people may not tolerate with such governance. It is therefore necessary for those in power to undertake surgical measures for improving the quality of governance if we want to avoid any revolt from the public."

3) Dr. Chithra Madhavan

“If we have to have a dhārmic future, we have to focus on children. Most children, today, do not know the Rāmāyaṇa. We must examine who Rāma is, beginning at the grassroots level.

“Inscriptions tell us about kings of yore who took pride in suffixes to their names like dharma-mahārāja, dharma-mahārājādhirāja, and so on, to show that they ruled according to dharma. The Tiṛuvalaṅgāḍu copper plate of Rājendra Choḷa, preserved in the Madras museum, records that he had studied the Vedas as well as the dharma Śāstras.

“Even at the level of village administration, we have inscriptions mentioning sabhā-s, committees, which was the administrative organ of villages. They were sub-divided into vāriyaṁs or sub-committees. The selections system to these, according to the Uttaramerur inscription, was on the basis of ones understanding of dharma and the Śāstras. Ethics and values were thus put in place and this automatically ensured efficient administration.”