Greetings Reader,

I hope you had an inspiring No Kings Day yesterday.

Here in our nation's capital, as in many other cities big and small, the creativity of protestors was on full display with clever banners and costumes designed to ridicule Trump and his administration.

There was also a lot of singing and joyfulness, which was very encouraging because prioritizing joy is one of the most important elements of a successful resistance movement.

Tyrannical governments want to be feared; joy demonstrates the absence of fear. And since joyfulness is the natural characteristic of the true self (YSP II.5), we can safely conclude that tyranny is antithetical to yoga.

So what form of government is compatible with yoga?

Last week I proposed that, just as the founding fathers of the United States asked, “How can we form a government that won’t collapse into tyranny the way the Roman Republic did?”, we can look back to yoga wisdom’s ancient literature and ask, “Can the principles of varṇa-dharma — the social system described in the Bhagavad Gita and many other books of ancient Vedic wisdom — be practically applied to produce a modern system of government that supports individual and collective peace and well-being?”

This question rolls out into a few other questions that I said I would try to answer, so here goes.

And by the way, if I seem to be getting a little wonky about this topic, chalk it up to the long-term effects of living in Washington, D.C., a town where the sports bars open early so that policy wonks can come in and watch congressional committee hearings on multiple big screens.

No, I'm not just making it up — that actually happens here.

1. How does the varna-dharma system help to maintain civic virtue and prevent the kind of corruption caused by vast wealth inequality?
   • I'll start by defining our terms: varna-dharma refers to the naturally occurring division of human society into four general fields of work — ideas, government, resource management, and artistry and support — according to individual temperaments, natural aptitudes, and spontaneous inclinations (again, this is not the caste system).
   • "Virtue" refers to a sense of duty; a willingness to put the greater good of society ahead of one's personal ambitions.
   • The varna-dharma system helps to maintain civic virtue by A) providing a structural container for a culture of selfless service rather than a culture of self-aggrandizement and B) a system designed for reciprocity and the equitable distribution of wealth rather than one designed for exploitation and the concentration of wealth in the hands of the very few.
   • In the varna-dharma system, capitalism is constrained to the field of resource management as a business-to-business financial system rather than being the overarching economic paradigm for the the whole society, thus preventing the exploitation of members of the other fields of work.
   • The dharma of government is protection but not just protection of business interests; resource management is held accountable by government and government is prohibited from profiting from the private business of the resource managers (no holding stock in companies whose industry you regulate, no oligarchy or kleptocracy - all super adharmic).
2. How does the varna-dharma system help to limit or eliminate partisan gridlock?
   • Unlike modern democratic systems where individuals compete for any and all positions, varna-dharma is designed to support each person's pursuit of their own vocation based on duty and aptitude. Rivalry, jealousy, and social unrest are diminished, as people do not feel the need to chase the same "prestigious" jobs.
   • The system is compared to a body where different limbs (varnas) cooperate rather than compete, creating a social contract based on interdependence to ensure the functioning of society.
   • Varna-dharma has a lot of localized autonomy hard-wired into the system: through smaller occupational groups (jatis) within the larger field of work manage their own affairs, resolving conflicts internally rather than overloading the central government with disputes, thus ensuring smoother administration. If you miss the good old days when kids worked it out among themselves on the playground without adults mediating their experiences, this system is for you.
3. How does the varna-dharma system prevent the concentration of power in ways that allowed military and political leaders like Caesar to subvert the Roman Republic?
   • Unlike the Roman Republic, where leaders like Julius Caesar combined military command, immense wealth, and political influence to subvert the state, the varna-dharma system requires that such powers reside in different hands. For example:
     • Those who are qualified to work in the field of ideas are the custodians of religion, morality, law, and knowledge, holding the highest social prestige but possessing no military command or tax-collecting power.
     • Those who are qualified to work in the field of government hold political and military power but are accountable to the field of ideas and have strict restrictions on how they conduct warfare, collect taxes, and provide for the common good.
     • Much like the ideal of the United States military, a warrior’s duty is to the dharma (Constitution) of the state, not to the personal ambition of a single commander.
     • Unlike the flawed system of a corrupt theocracy, neither political leaders nor religious leaders can claim divine power or alter the law for personal gain without facing censure in the varna-dharma system of checks and balances, effectively preventing the rise of a "priest-king" or a military dictatorship.

I closed out last Sunday's email with this verse from the Bhagavad Gita, followed by a few more questions:

Why would a king need to understand the science of yoga? To be able to perform his duty without attachment to the power and majesty that comes with the position and thus act in a manner that supports his liberation from material consciousness rather than in a way that perpetuates material entanglements.

What qualifies a monarch as being “visionary?” When they look at the world through the eyes of received knowledge, see the spiritual equality of all beings, and maintain an awareness of the omnipresence of divinity.

What purposes are served by transmitting and receiving knowledge about the science of yoga “through a chain of disciplic succession?” When I teacher repeats what they have heard as they have both understood and realized it, the changeless principles are preserved without adulteration and the recipient is free to apply the variable details appropriately according to time, place and circumstance, allowing for a spiritual tradition to be renovated as needed to remain both consistent and relevant.

Do you have any thoughts about these questions and how I've answered them or other questions about how yoga’s ancient social system can be re-imagined to fit the needs of the modern world? If you do, please share them with me.

Wishing you all good fortune,

- Hari-k