Your first Dharma

Under all circumstances, your first Dharma is self-preservation. You are duty bound to protect your all-round wellbeing, be it physical, financial, or mental. 

What this means is that you have an imperative to understand fully well the functioning of your body, and the role played by anything that nourishes it, or harms it, or as in the case of most objects, both (too much of a good thing can be poison, too). I would also strongly urge you to learn and master self-defense - a practical tool like Boxing, Brazilian Jiujitsu, or Krav Maga. However, always remember that violence is the last (and usually the worst) option, and the best fights are the ones avoided. To that extent, even the ability to outrun the aggressor is a superpower worth having!

Curiosity killed the cat, goes a popular English proverb. This could not be more true in the Indian context, what with most public places being death traps for hapless citizens. This means you never fiddle with "public infrastructure" like exposed wires, man holes, barbed wire fences, and all other sorts of stuff, and be extremely wary every time you're on the road - since "everything can kill" is an axiom in India, as is "nobody is responsible for your death". Government parks are known have live wires hidden among the grass, flooded roads hide crater-sized potholes and open drains, and everything the government takes claim for "building" can come down crashing 10 times faster than it took to erect in the first place. 

For preserving Artha (or, financial self-preservation), you must acquaint yourself with all sorts of illegal/unethical schemes (Ex: multi-level marketing, phishing etc.) run by all sorts of people (especially banks) and protect your assets at all costs. Remember that for building long term wealth, avoiding a downside is more effective than chasing upside. It is also important to understand tax laws, applicable not only to your present condition, but to other conditions you could potentially navigate to (ex: 1 person company, LLP, Hindu undivided family etc.) to aggressively reduce your tax outlay and save your wealth from state-sponsored extortion. 

Reflections on Indian "democracy"

From childhood, we've been fed that democracy is the latest and the greatest form of governance, that it is a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people", without even attempting to to define what 'governance' is. The situation is muddied further when economic philosophies of the incumbent government come into play, be they capitalism, communism, socialism, or a hogdepodge of whatever fancies the high and mighty who rule over us, "democratically". Furthermore, given the dismal quality of primary and even graduate level education in India, entire generations have passed without learning  or worrying about (ignorance is bliss!!) what words like governance, capitalism, communism etc. really mean.

That the Indian democracy is a sham can be readily proved, especially the parts - "of the people" and "for the people". The manner in which the constitution that all political parties across the spectrum claim to pledge allegiance to, and the other arms of the government rely on for functioning, was written, by coping most of the *constitution* of the foreign power that looted enormous wealth, oppressed natives for centuries, and treated them worse than wild animals, inspires no confidence that it would even attempt to deliver a "democracy", based on the definition above. No wonder, then, that every single government since "independence" (another undefined word), has turned out to be a kleptocracy, or a mobocracy, or a plutocracy, or a kakistocracy, or, more accurately, a mix of all of the above. You can't do the same thing and expect a different outcome. 

On the economic front, admittedly, there is no country that is a 100% capitalist, or socialist. But, that should not stop us from trying to identify where, on the spectrum, we stand as a country. After all, should we decide to move in a particular direction, it serves us well to know where we stand, in which direction we ought to turn, and how far we must travel before reaching the destination we intend to reach. I confess it is impossible for me to pinpoint where, on paper, or ideologically, the Indian government claims to stand. However, as I write this post, I know well where it stands, really.

It is my lived experience that nearly every arm of the Indian state is deeply corrupt, and beyond redemption in its current form. Having born before liberalization and grown up during days without ubiquitous smartphones and the internet, I can vouch for the fact that *some* basic services (telephones, gas connections) are easier to avail, but more as a side-effect of globalization that led to commoditization of these services, than any real intent from the government in improving lives of its hapless citizens. 

As things stand in 2022, 75 years after "independence", you cannot get an electric connection or a water connection without paying a bribe. You also cannot register property in your name without running from pillar to post like an Indian street dog, unless you pay a hefty bribe and employ "agents" who will do the dirty work for you. Note that property registrations are another avenue for state-sponsored extortion rackets in the name of "stamp duty", a hefty fees collected by government without delivering any value-added service. Heck, the government cannot even guarantee that the property you're purchasing will legally remain yours in the foreseeable future. You also have to pay a bribe to get your building plan approved, and face regular harassment when you build, unless you pay a bribe every single time. Note that there is not a single 1km stretch of road anywhere in India that is spotless, has usable footpaths, streetlights, does not flood, and is safe for motorists and pedestrians alike - forget the disabled and the old, this is no country for such folks. I can summarize my interactions with other "arms" of the government (law enforcement, mostly), with just 1 word - thoo. The politicians do not even deserve that. 

Such is the state of the the world's largest "democracy" and rising economic superpower.

Reflections on Poverty, by Shri Rohit Arya

[I follow Sri Rohit Arya on Facebook, and I've found his commentary on the human condition one of the best I've ever come across. This post is a reproduction from his wall.]

Poverty damages the psyche more than anything else. Those who have never been poor can never understand that to be poor is to be in a permanent war zone with no exit and no ceasefire. And you inevitably develop PTSD. Every choice you make is not a financial one but one of survival. What will you do without so that you and family can eat? It is that stark. High rates of alcoholism are almost inevitable. There is no other way to last and many decide it is not worth it. A person who travels by bus or local train all the time is not the same kind of human being who moves by car. A train and bus option creates one sort of personality while the same journey by plane and private taxi makes another sort. We have this fetish for equality without realizing it is impossible. Leftists think making incomes equal will fix matters. No, all it will do is make more broken people.

It is worst of all for the intelligent who are poor. They feel the shame of it, they develop a permanent hunger for things they can’t have, and many of them become rabid leftists out of spite, malice and envy. They know all the things they could have done to be a productive member of society had they the slightest break. One story was of somebody who could not afford taxi fare for an interview and was rejected for wearing ‘shabby crushed clothes’ because the bus did that to them. The person who told me that drives a Merc today but his eyes were wet. Poverty creates this permanent sense of humiliation which leaves a person without dignity or self-respect. Movies lie about the nobility of poverty, which may soothe for a while, but then reality pushes the person back into the mud pit. I always regard Deewar’s Vijay as a genuine positive breakthrough in the Indian psyche, because he refused to go back into poverty even when his mother disowns him.

Those who know they are doomed to poverty finds ways of coping. I once learned a hard lesson about not being pompous from a bai who announced she was marrying off her minor daughter. I gave the English education liberandu lecture on how sad that was and how bad she was too. She knocked me flat with a no holds barred description of what life was like in that environment and how girls needed protection even from within family. The mangal sutra was a social protection. All my notions of right were upended and I was shown up as being shallow and ignorant of reality. It is not that I was that much better than her financially but between living in a flat in a mid-level housing society and a chawl there was already an impassable gulf of comprehension. It was a most valuable lesson in perspective and context.

The utter all pervasive reality of such a life is Lack. Of Everything. And such a person receives so much damage to the mind and spirit they hardly ever recover. When I started my spiritual process I learned the hard way that sadhana is not for the struggling. Most of my mentoring is to fix income issues because one may go a long way without fixing that but one day it explodes in the face. You renunciate and become a sanyasi. Then it may work. Some basic modicum of comfort is needed for the average person however. The damage caused otherwise is too great to repair. Those who come from poverty very soon learn that those who have do not care. It disturbs and upsets them and many of them are snobbish and put down the person for their ‘background’.

Silence about the past is the mark of the poor person who has escaped poverty. They have learned there is a taint they will never shrug off if it was known they were poor. I had a friend who had climbed out of poverty and whose breakup tactic was to send his girlfriends to his childhood family home. Once they saw his home, they were full of praise and admiration for how far he had come up in life and dumped his ass in less than 3 months. Every single time. He and I would laugh over it but the taste in our mouths was not good.

The single most important thing a society can do is wealth creation. ‘Kosha purva sarvarambham’ as Chanakya so grimly began in his Arthshastra. It is not a coincidence that every golden age of Bharatiya Spirituality overlaps with an age of great prosperity.

First one must live well. Then one can be good and noble. Dharmasya moolam artha!

A mindset of prosperity

[I follow Sri Rohit Arya on Facebook, and I've found his commentary on the human condition one of the best I've ever come across. This post is a reproduction from his wall.]

Prosperity and abundance is a mindset, before it becomes reality. People do a million small things to reveal an unconscious poverty consciousness even if they wish to have better circumstances. In the days when I would still be foolish enough to personally advise people on such things, when visiting the house I would always ask to see the kitchen. In the kitchen, which was usually a filthy mess, I wanted to see the main knife used. In almost all cases the handle used to be broken and was held together with wire or rubber bands. You are preparing your food, which nourishes you, with an implement that communicates this is all you are worth. Which is not very much.

I am not saying a good knife will bring abundance instantly. But you won’t attract prosperity by using a toota foota piece either. Get a decent knife and then take care of it. And for the love of god have a clean and tidy kitchen In the old days there used to be a puja space in the kitchen so that food was sanctified even as it was being cooked. Today that is too much to ask perhaps, but food eaten from a dirty place will never nourish you into abundance.

I could go on and on, but will restrict myself to one other dead giveaway. Unless it is the clothes used for sadhana , and that too for many years, - never ever wear clothes with holes and patches. Most of all socks. Don’t do it. Don’t train yourself into accepting a poverty mindset. Get good quality clothes even if fewer in number and take care of them. Your mind is very susceptible to what you do and if you keep communicating an acceptance of phate haal circumstances you will always live in such…

Advice on dating and mating

[I follow Sri Rohit Arya on Facebook, and I've found his commentary on the human condition one of the best I've ever come across. This post is a reproduction from his wall. Original link here]

This was originally a comment on Rohit Arya SGRA's wall, converted into a post on his advice.
In spite of SGRA's explicit and tacit warnings and caution, many folks seem to conflate red pill advice with game. This post will make an attempt to expound his caution, and present some experiences. The idea is not to preach, nor to amuse. This post is mostly for thin/ skinny/ weak young men who are trying to navigate the world. This post would also be of interest to Aspies( men with Asperger's syndrome/ extreme male brain).

If you are a well built male who is on firm footing, and feel on top of the world- then you can stop reading further. This post is not for you. Like many millions of 80s kids, and as a tall thin man who was brought up under daily moral preaching, middle class monetary ethos(parents sarkari mulazims), a B&W TV and the ever looming corporal punishment for infractions(bad marks, school fights, stealing and lying) I entered the dating market woefully ill prepared.

Parents of that era and societal situation were prisoners of the scarcity mindset. They were and are intensely god fearing, pious Hindus who lived life only to scrimp and save. The said savings were poured into kid's education and marriage. That was the unitary driving force of their lives. To give a solid education and Hindu ethos to their kids. All in middle class flavor. Take the bus, walk to school, no wastage of food, speech, sleep or resources. Gandhian, if you can live with that word. A permanent sermon when I was growing up was-' hard work and sacrifice is the only way to success.'

I was told for long years that boys who don't smoke, drink, behave well and focus all their waking hours on studies <shall> land a nice, susheel, chaste and pretty wife. In fact the prettier the girl; the more her parent's inclination and desire to hitch her to a well educated sanskari non drinker boy. So that was the text which was etched into our slate.
I was told to get a haircut every week, cut my nails every day, stay miles away from the partying, fun loving boys my age as they are the worst company a young man could keep. It was sort of a factory line prepping up a man to be a ramrod straight army officer, doctor, lawyer, engineer or a civil servant. The pinnacle of success as per our parents.

So that was the dumb/ incorrect programming with which I plunged into the the dating pool at 18. The first red pill lesson arrived when in the small, conservative city where I grew up- I saw this curious event. As the board results and JEE/PET/PMT results came out: typical small town girls latched onto and snagged the boys who had cracked IIT! These 'simple' girls knew that an IIT catch is a good investment. That too at a time and place where having held a girl's hand would assure either a severe beating, or being feted as Rambo!

As for the 'not so good' girls at school and later college- they cared zero effs whether the boy had a proper haircut, cut his nails, or smoked. Badder the boy- the more the number of women wanting him. This is where it also (painfully) became evident that most girls don't want a thin guy. Your susheel 'Mr Yogi' is only good as a friend. Men with a broad chest wet panties. There.

From age 18, to the current middle age era. Those female mate selection strategies mentioned above have shown themselves in Indian women so many times that the 'sati-saavitri' drama put forth by any woman only induces eye rolls. And even the 40 something women I cross path with won't let go of claiming their chastity. Which is comical because I see married women swooning when a gorgeous dude with a chest bursting out of a tight T-shirt walks by. It is also evident on dating sites where man after man is posing bare chested, and are getting picked up by well educated women by the hour. All this while decent men wait like losers for a match. It also becomes evident when young guys call me to seek mentoring and counselling and I find that thin guys aren't getting laid. The pattern is hard to miss or deny.

Now, coming back from biological laws of attraction, to everyday wisdom. I hope all young men reading redpill literature, SGRA'S posts, blogs on game do not get it wrong.
As I mentioned to SG, men reading your posts should/ are expected to work towards physical fitness, staying away from intoxicants, cultivating a healthy bank balance and investing in themselves. If you were to read them only with an intention to get laid: you are doing a great disservice to yourself and men trying to help you.

Rather than waste time and money on broads to get laid: buy books, travel, go skydiving, hiking, trekking , buy bikes, ride fast cars, find a guru, find a financial adviser, find a dietician, find a Hindu network and contribute. Go to temples. Do teerths. Climb high mountains to pay your respects at Hindu shrines. Carry heavy bags ( with due advice and training) and challenge yourself. It will not be easy, but there is no other option. You chasing skirts without a big chest, bike, car and confidence with amount to poor ROI.

Being alpha is not about how many women one has bedded. It's imo about being a better version of you, every day. It's about fighting anxiety, depression, nihilism, the desire to reach out for a beer or drink whenever stressed, or lonely.

Bedding woman- In today's world finding action is simply a function of your body shape-size and your willingness to tolerate bs and inane conversations. As Charlie Sheen said- 'you can bed any woman, you just have to throw many dinners, drinks and time her way.' Plus you have to be charming( read vain). Aspies cannot do it. They are not biologically wired to be good listeners. They can't engage in a long drawn conversation, even if sex is on the cards. Accept that reality, and make peace with it. Don't jump headlong to fight hypergamy.
Work on yourself. Women will follow. You might not get quality, but the quantity will never be a challenge. That is not a reflection of your worth. There are extraneous factors such as karma, destiny, providence, luck, fortune, stars, time and space that often determine carnal success. We live in a world which no one could predict. The genie of female sexuality is out of the bottle, and can't be put back in.
Someone recently told me : women are like salt. Most men make the mistake of thinking that women are the meal....

I'll leave you with some goals worth chasing:
1. Net Worth - your net worth(INR lakhs should exceed your age). By age 30- you must have in excess of 30 lakhs. That amount should grow by 10% each year. Find men who can teach you wealth management. Treat them with respect. They are not your pals, but your teachers. We are not Americans- we don't hi our teachers.
2. Weight gain - aim for a BMI of 20. Find strength training coaches for expert advice on exercise and diet.
3. STDs - Stay wary of STDs: Everyone is having sex. Casual or otherwise. Do note that while there is awareness about HIV, other STDs like Herpes are rampant. Around 60% young people in India have herpes. Look up the net.
4. Hinduism - Do not give up on your culture. We proudly worship monkey god, divine pillars, phallic energies and had flying chariots. Those who don't find them to be scientifically true can indulge in their own empirical fantasies. Stay steadfast on your path. There are many spiritual gurus on SM that you can follow and thus find your own answers. We are seekers, and need to find our own path.
5. Drugs - Never do drugs. That includes marijuana.
6. Hookers - Never patronize hookers/ CSWs. Period. Suffer in solo agony but don't take a step on that path.
7. Married women - Don't sleep with married women. There comes a time in every man's life when he will finds that the number of married, divorced and separated women who are sexually interested in him far outweigh available single women (both in quality and quantity). Be worried. Be very very scared. Sleeping with a married woman will open gates of hell. Sooner or later...

The son who excelled his father

PERUNTHACHAN WAS A renowned architect. He was famous for his skill in constructing temples, houses and tanks. In olden days, huge temples and palatial houses used to be constructed on a grand scale and the supervision of an efficient architect was considered necessary for planning them and carrying out the work. Every stage of work was done in his presence. There was a difference between the architects of those days and today. They used to work with the labourers, eat with them and live with them. Perunthachan too, whenever he took up a piece of work, lived with the labourers and worked with them. The carpenters, masons and others were happy to work with him.

One day the people of a village approached him to dig a big temple-tank. In the past, every temple had a big tank near it, in which the devotees took a dip before entering the temple to offer prayers. A temple committee had been formed to look after the construction of the tank and the job was entrusted to Perunthachan. He started the work of digging the tank with the help of his assistants, but then arose some difference of

opinion among the members of the committee. Some wanted it in the shape of a square, others in a rectangular form, some in oval shape and some others in the form of a circle. Perunthachan said, “All right, I shall dig a tank which will satisfy you all.”

When the tank was completed, strangely enough it had all the shapes, if seen from different angles, and all were satisfied and they congratulated Perunthachan. But Perunthachan's son, who always worked with him, raised a point. He said, "Father, you've constructed this tank for the use of devotees who want to bathe before going to the temple. Who will come to bathe in this tank when there is a river before they reach the tank? People will always prefer to bathe in the fresh water of a river rather than the stagnant water of a tank."

Perunthachan asked, "Are you mad my boy? The river is far away and those who come to worship in the temple are staying on this bank of the river." The son simply laughed and said, "The river is likely to flow touching the temple tank, father." "That is impossible," answered Perunthachan. "The river is far away." "That does not mean that it will not flow this side. The river can alter its course, or someone can change its course." Perunthachan was furious. He didn't like his son's reply. "Then do it!" he shouted.

The son took up the challenge. He, no doubt, had learnt work from his father. But he had improved upon his knowledge. He started thinking how best he could alter the course of the river without his father ever knowing it. He slipped away in the night and was at it until dawn. He chose a particular place from where he could change the course of the river, and lo! It started flowing, almost touching the temple tank. A person who wanted to come to the temple had to cross the river first. The father was very much impressed by the ingenuity of the son, but at the same time he felt that he had been outsmarted.

After a few days, the villagers again wanted the help of Perunthachan; this time to construct a bridge across the river, so that the people on the other side of the river could easily come to the temple without the aid of a boat. He built a nice bridge for them within record time. But just for the sake of some fun he installed a doll on one side of the bridge. Whenever a person came from the other side of the bridge, this doll would go down, fill its mouth with water, come up to its former position and spit at the passer-by. And sometimes Perunthachan would stand at a distance and enjoy the 'fun'. 

One day his son was coming along the bridge. The doll emptied a mouthful of water on his face. Perunthachan standing at a distance saw it and was very much amused. The son laughed and went away. The very next day another doll was seen at the other end of the bridge. This doll would go in front of anyone who started crossing the bridge. When Perunthachan's doll dipped down to fill its mouth with water and came up ready to spit at anyone, the second doll would give it such a slap on its face that its face would turn and the person walking along the bridge would go unscathed. Perunthachan saw the second doll and he knew that it was a trick played on him by his son. He had to accept defeat at his son's hands but he was happy that his son had excelled him.

The Jackal that was too clever

A JACKAL was wandering in search of food. He was extremely hungry, as he didn't get sufficient food for two days. Suddenly an idea struck him.

A farmer named Kelachar, had a large sugarcane field nearby. When the sugarcanes had grown to full size, he had fenced the field safely, and he himself was staying there in a raised hut to see that no one destroys or steals sugarcane from his field.

One day, he was sitting in his Machan when the clever jackal approached him. The jackal said, "Kelachar, something is going to happen this night. You know there is a big elephant staying in the forest. That elephant has an eye on your sugarcanes. So be alert with your bow and arrow." Kelachar was very perturbed. Due to his hard toil and the rich manure he put, his sugarcanes had grown up very well. If the elephant attacked it, all his efforts would go waste. So he had to be on his guard. Kelachar took his bow and arrow and cleaned them. He took his food early that night and lay in wait for the elephant.

From Kelachar's place, the jackal went straight to the hideout of the elephant. The elephant was crouching on the ground near a pond. The jackal stood at a respectable distance and spoke to the elephant; “You are my mighty uncle of the forest. But I know that now a days you are not getting enough food to fill you belly. The difficulty is because you are a vegetarian. And you eat only plants, and that too a selected few.”

"You are right, my friend," replied the elephant. "I can't eat all plants. And actually I have to go from forest to forest to get my food. It is a difficult task and on some days I have to go without food. Of course, this forest is better, but still..." the elephant sighed. "Uncle, I have come all the way to give a piece of good news to you. You will have feast for one full week." "Interesting! Tell me, tell me. What is it? Where is the feast?" asked the elephant. 

"You know that Kelachar has a big sugarcane field. You might have seen it. It is just at the foot of this hill. He is about to cut the sugarcanes tomorrow. They have grown to full-size and this is the proper time to eat them. No doubt he has fenced it, but that fence is nothing for you! So you can easily go there this midnight when Kelacher will be sleeping, and eat to your heart's content. Don't lose this opportunity."

  

"Thank you very much for giving me this information. I shall attack the field at the dead of night," said the elephant. "That will be ideal. When Kelachar sleeps he sleeps like a pig and you don't worry about any danger." Saying this, the jackal went down the hill.

He reached the boundary of the sugarcane field where there was a lonely tree. Kelachar was there. He went near him. "What are you doing here ?" the jackal enquired. "Nothing in particular. I was just seeing from which place I can shoot my arrow at the elephant," replied Kelachar. "I was about to tell you that," the jackal said. "Do you see a lonely tree at the boundary of the sugarcane field ? That is the ideal place for shooting your arrow. You can hide behind the tree. The elephant wouldn't see you." "You are right, my dear friend. That is the right place." Saying this, Kelachar went to his hut. 

The jackal went near the tree. In a hole near this tree a snake was staying. The jackal went near that hole and called it. It came out. "My dear brother," began the jackal, “You are facing a grave danger. Have you ever seen Kelachar?” “Yes, Yes. Isn't he the farmer who owns this sugarcane field?” "Well, he is going to destroy you, wipe you and your family out of this world. He has come to know that you are staying here, that you are very poisonous and in one bite you can kill anyone.”

"Is that so? Then what shall I do jackal brother? Please advise me. You are very resourceful. If I die, my wife and little ones will be put to trouble. The little ones are too young to look after themselves. And my wife will die if she hears of my death. Please show me a way out," implored the snake.

“The best way is to kill Kelachar before he kills you. So do one thing. At midnight he will come this way. Sometimes he stands near this tree to see whether his sugarcanes are safe on not. At that very moment, go and bite him ; not once, but four or five times. You are so poisonous that he will die immediately.” Saying this, the jackal bid him good-bye, wished him success and went home with great satisfaction. He was very happy. He was confident that his plan would work well. From the next day onwards he would have plenty to eat. The huge elephant’s flesh would be enough for him for a month, and that of Kelachar's for not less than a fortnight. At night the huge tusker entered the sugarcane fields. The fence was no obstacle for aim. Kelachar saw it from his observation point. He took his bow and arrow and aimed at the elephant.

He sent three arrows. He was an expert archer. All the three arrows struck the elephant at vulnerable points. Suddenly he felt an inscrutable pain on his ankle as if some insect had bitten him—not once but three or four times. He looked down and saw a snake gliding at fast speed on me ground. Immediately he trampled on it with all his might. The snake died at once. But suddenly Kelachar's bow and arrow fell down from his hands and he too fell dead. 

The jackal, seeing all this from a distance ventured to come near the dead body of Kelachar. Even though it was dark, he could see the bow lying by his side. On the bow, were some blood spots and so he decided to lick it first, before he started the grand feast. But while licking, his teeth touched the string of the bow and it broke. The string was so tightly tied to both ends of the bow that due to its impact there was sudden jerk and one end of the bow went deep inside the jackal's mouth cutting it into two. And that was the end of the cunning jackal too.

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