How do I confront them if I have to? As someone who’s just entered the classroom of geopolitics, how do I know what’s right and wrong? And I found myself thinking about only one book to start with: The Foundations of Indian Culture and Human Cycle. But Our Father’s words sound very ciphered sometimes. So how do I start, with what basic books, my classroom of geopolitics?
There is no need to delve into knowledge of geo-politics? It is one profession among many. No one is expected to learn about every profession, isn’t it? What one must know is about the nation and the people where one lives, their roots, thoughts, attitudes, especially something about the culture, the deepest tendencies, the highest aspiration. All these you can learn through the Foundations of Indian Culture. There is ofcourse Kautilya’s Arthashastra specifically about politics and money, but it is rather contextual. The ideal kind of politics, as it should be, at least as the creative mind of India conceived it, is best understood through the Mahabharata and to an extent the Ramayana. It is based on Dharma, which is a vast and subtle truth underlying creation. To understand dharma is to understand the soul of politics. The other way, as far as the core of modern politics is concerned, you should read political writings of Sri Aurobindo such as Bengali writings, Early Cultural Writings and the Human Cycle. Also read all that The Mother has said on India in CWM 13.ย
There are so many people in my contact list who are supporting this Anti-national, Anti-Hindu narratives; how do I respond to them? How should I treat them? Should I be friends with such people? The immediate answer I get within me is No. But some of them I know since school and college. I feel like I can’t just confront them while I am still new to this myself, but deep down I know they stand not with me but against me in terms of this. What do I do?
It is best not to get into political discussions, as people have fixed and formed opinions. Discussion helps when people want to learn from each other and not simply to prove a point based on incorrect and partial information, which is what most discussions are about.ย
Affectionately,
Alok Da
