3 8 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 3 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 1 7 2 The Himalayan Spiritual Tradition In 4th century BC, the Indian empire, at that time as large as the Roman Empire that came several centuries later, was ruled by the emperor Chandragupta, called Sandrogottos by the Greeks. Chandragupta’s prime minister, named Chanakya lived in a small hermitage, following the tradition of the Brahmin philosophers. It was the emperor who would dismount from the chariot several miles away and walk to his mentor and minister’s hut to receive counsel and advice. The major work of this prime minister, titled the Arthaśāstra (Science of Polity and Economy), is a classic in the science of polity. The first few sutras are as follows (Chanakya, verse 330): The root of comfort and happiness is dharma (virtue). The root (support) for virtue is polity and economy (artha). The root of artha is rulership. The root of (successful) rulership is conquest of senses. The root of the conquest over senses is humility and discipline (vinaya). The root of humility and discipline is service to the elders. Through service to the elders one obtains experiential knowledge and wisdom (vi-jñāna). Let one complete and fulfil oneself through experiential wisdom. That one has cultivated and fulfilled the self, means that he has conquered the self. One who has conquered the self finds all his purposes and goals being accomplished. The word artha incorporates all the worldly affairs that provide the means for living, thus it includes polity and economy, which are considered inseparable in ancient Indian political science. However, we can see from the above maxims that the core of success is in conquest of senses, self-control, humility and discipline imbibed by serving the wise and the elders. Based on this teaching we can examine the modern-day approach to artha and determine where it fails in following these ancient ideals. One can write a very detailed thesis to discuss this approach to modern problems in the business and the political world. How much of self-control and conquest of senses, humility, discipline at the feet of elders and the wise is practiced to train ourselves for success? How much experiential wisdom serves to guide us in our business affairs? What exactly is meant by experiential wisdom? This word, vi-jñāna, often occurs coupled with jñāna (knowledge) in the texts like the Bhagavad Gītā. Shankaracharya translates jñāna as theoretical and textual knowledge, and vi-jñāna as “experiential wisdom”. Here, however, “experiential” does not mean that which we gain from our daily life experiences. It means a spiritual experience, which opens up our intuitive faculty. This is where yoga and meditation become relevant. It is not possible to learn to exercise self-control and to conquer one’s senses without the practice of meditation. It is also not possible to reduce one’s ego, to practice humility, without meditation. It is through meditation that one learns that the elders who have gained intuitive wisdom may be honored. Then, through meditation one gains access to one’s own inner gates of wisdom. What does all this conquest of senses, humility, intuitive wisdom have to do with success in the business world where we always have to push, compete, assert, fight? The wisdom of the ages says that it is not necessary to take such aggressive stance in order to succeed. Here is the story of a Moghul emperor, Akbar, and his wise minister named Virbal. All the courtiers were jealous of Virbal because he was obviously the emperor’s most favorite. They asked the emperor why? What is it that he has and we do not have? The emperor promised to answer the question on some other day. One morning, as the courtiers arrived in the court, the emperor posed a question to them. He drew a line on a board and asked them to “make the line shorter”. Well, such a sim-
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