Patriotism: Democracy v/s Monarchy
One person even with absolute power cannot fulfill the basic needs of humans alone. People need people to rule or govern.
Whether it is Representative democracy (Republic), or military dictatorship or absolute monarchy, or limited monarchy, or direct democracy or oligarchy, governance cannot be done by a single person. Power has the power when people acknowledge it and accept it. One person doesn’t have that much power which can force something to the people without any support from some people. I am talking about normal humans, not about God in the form of human.
Why do people listen to a Kings or Queens? Is it because:
1> People love them?
2> People trust them?
3> They have superior capabilities?
4> They have an army who can punish them?
5> They can provide security?
6> They can provide common infrastructure?
7> They can provide them food, shelter and jobs?
French revolution happened because people of that time felt, enough is enough. Monarchy is not helping their day-to-day life. They wanted democracy. Whereas there are many democratic countries where people feel monarchy or autocracy or authoritarian governance is or was better than democracy, because they are suffering from the inefficiencies and deficiencies of the democratic system.
In India, when people see something good governance or reduction in corruption is happening, they compare that governance with Ram Rajya, i.e. the Kingdom of Ram or the Rule of King Ram, not his kingdom Ayodhya. It is that golden era of King Ram, the modern people of India are dreaming of. But why so?
Some references says, King Ram was born in 5114 BC in Ayodhya, which is currently situated in India. In Ramayana, there are details about his life. King Ram was not elected by the subjects of his kingdom. He was a prince by birth. He was the eldest son of King Dasharatha. Since he was the eldest prince, he was the default future king of the kingdom as per the tradition of that monarchy system.
In modern age, if we are aspiring for governance like King Ram, then have we tried to analyse the the foundation of his governance or the different parameters during his rule which made it the ideal governance?
1> Were all the citizens or subjects of the Kingdom Ayodhya matured, wise, honest, patriotic, admirer of King Ram, hardworking, co-operative and responsible?
2> Were there no criminals or internal enemy or external enemy?
3> What were the strengths and weakness of King Ram?
4> Did he have the strongest military capability to take care of the safety of his own kingdom?
5> Did he have the knowledge and skills to do the good governance?
6> What was the difference between his way of governance and his father’s way of governance? Was he solely responsible for the ideal governance?
7> Were the people of his kingdom loving him because of fear or because of his deed?
8> Was he doing everything alone?
9> Was he punishing people who were dishonest or corrupt?
10> Did he have a council of ministers? Were they ethical and efficient?
11> Where was he getting the money for development? Was he getting the wealth by attacking other kingdoms or the people of that kingdom were contributing to the treasury of the kingdom?
12> Were there any judicial system and prisons?
13> Was he getting support from his brothers?
14> Were there any opposition or agitation in his kingdom?
15> Was he very cruel towards his enemy?
Whether governance is done by the people or by the kings, the requirements of governance do not change. King Ram along with his three brothers were taken education from Gurukul (School run by Sages) on Politics, philosophy, archery, science of that age, martial arts, human behavior, ethics, good governance from their childhood till their adolescence or maybe more. They were given all the training needed for the governance.
Every future king in monarchy system was getting the required training to become a king and perform efficiently. Better the training, better was the King. They were going to fight along with their army side-by-side. A king was an administrator, soldier, philosopher, leader, motivator, disciplined, and some were painter, musician as well. Let’s discuss about his education.
1> In the ancient Gurukul(School), what type of students were getting the education?
2> Were there any students other than princes of different kingdoms studying along with him?
3> Were there any personal or private training to future kings?
4> What happened to the princes who were not eligible to become king or did not become king in their lifetime?
5> Had the kings taught in Gurukul (Schools) anytime to share their experiences?
6> If future sages and future kings were classmates, had they maintained friendship in future? How were the kings treating their classmates?
7> What type of work the common people were doing after getting education along with princes?
8> How long did the golden era of King Ram continue after his departure from earth?
9> What caused the decline of that golden era or Ram Rajya?
10> Is it difficult to sustain good governance and ensure safety and honesty of the people?
11> What are the lessons democratic countries learning from the past successful or failed monarchy systems?
Modern people can learn from monarchy systems of the past, because the past was full of monarchy or limited monarchy systems.
The democratic countries should do the introspection of their system and find out the gaps in their governance. This exercise is for all, who are part of a democratic country. People who demands rights and also have some responsibilities.
First, are the people who are taking the responsibility of governance got the required education like King Rama?
1> Is there any institute which teaches how to become an efficient people’s representative and take part in good governance?
2> If the foundation of good governance is not taken care, how can the citizens of democratic countries expect good governance by design than by chance?
Reactions demand actions. Relevant actions needs common understanding. To develop common understanding, orientation is needed. Who will take the responsibility of orienting everyone and develop a common understanding to have a sustainable and everlasting ideal governance in the entire world. We can start with a handbook. Please read the book “Patriotism Without a country, we are nothing” available on Amazon to get acquainted with a common understanding of human life.
Everyone feels hungry and thirsty. But without the awareness of the requirement of types of food and types of liquid a human body needs, people will eat anything or drink anything to satisfy their hunger and thirst. But a healthy body demands healthy food and healthy drink.
Please read the book, spread the ideas and take part in the process of developing a common understanding of humanity and a human society among each and every human being. Because there is also a lot of power of a single human being. One is not equal to zero.
Book Links:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09QJNZPQL
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QJNZPQL
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QJNZPQL
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09QJNZPQL
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09QJNZPQL
