In his 1776 book ‘An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations’, economist Adam Smith made the most famous observation in all of economics: Households and firms interacting in markets act as if they are guided by an “invisible hand” that leads them to desirable market outcomes.
It is a vital force that can be seen working prominently in certain people, that gives them an intuitive sense of the market and the knack of business. These were known as the Vaishyas, sprung from the ‘abdomen and thighs’ of the Purusha, who embodied the force of production and circulation of the vital power that money represents. We know this invisible hand behind money as the hand of Kubera, who controls and directs the money forces in the world.
But so are the other forces that stand behind wars and warring tribes and nations, the Rudra energies, for example, that aroused pietistic Christian groups into the army of Christ during the decline of the Byzantine empire. They are active when the old world order has to be destroyed. In India, they were the Kshatriyas. So also with other works and types. There are always invisible forces felt as an ‘invisible hand’ by sensitive thinkers.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
