Army major asks its platoon,"How's the josh", the platoon shouts in chorus, "High Sir!" He repeats, 'How is the josh??', the platoon shouts back in double the volume, "High Sir!!"
This is the value system (principle) that is incorporated in the army personnels. They are charged up. They take the arms in their hand, shouts at the enemies and save their motherland, by killing them. When they are doing so, they do not care about the privileges. The privileges of being a uniform person. Of being in army, of being in elite services. The services do offer them privileges, special rights, not offered to the ordinary population: the army, however, places the duty to serve the nation above them.
The example is from army, which is a group of people with the same mentality. A societal set up. They have armed forces tribunal, hierarchy, motivational session, yogic sessions, drill exercises and so on. So a perfect society that is aware of its principles and its privileges. If they place the privileges above their principles, the next day they lose respect. Then they will lose both principles and privileges.
Lets go back in time. In pre historic times, the principles were different. They lived together, they ate together. The rock paintings in Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh reflected their principles. The red oxide paintings which still exist, show how their merry making activities together. There basic principles were to support each other, in the marriages, in collecting food, in hunting. The privileges of the society to give the more learned more food, or the more powerful to get more food, would have crippled the society. The society would have lost both.
This is emphatically true because there is always increase in the randomness, starting from the days of big bang. Randomness increase in this order: first big bang, then stars, then atoms, then supernova explosion, then elements, then unicellular organism, then multicellular organism like dinasours, then amphibians, then humans. In the same order, the next level has borrowed something from their previous level. Similarly, in present times, as society progresses, it learns from its ancestors. The learning is from principles and not the privileges. So, the society, which has valued its principles higher than its privileges have survived. The society, which has placed privileges higher than their principles have perished, because they have lost both.
There are excellent mythological examples to support this.
Ikshavaku dynasty in the Northern empire, of which Lord Rama was a part. Then Mahabharata period. Let us take them one by one.
In Ramayana, Lord Ram always values his principles above his privileges. He believed, his first principle was to listen to his father. To listen to his mother Kaikayi. So when King Dashrath hesitantly asked his son for exile for 14 years, he did not hesitate. He was elder son of the king. Se he was privileged to be the king of the empire. But he placed his principles above his privileges. Then he left for the forest. Instead he fulfilled his mother's wish. Bharat had to be the next king.
Had he placed privileges above the principles, then the empire would have lost both. The principles and privileges. This is true if we think deeply. Because he was exiled, Raavan captured Sita. Only then Lord Ram could kill Ravan. So triumph of god over evil could be possible.
Similarly in Mahabharat, Lord Krishna valued his principles above his privileges in the the great Dharmayudha. He was privileged to use the weapons in the war. But he did not use it. Because he was almighty. He had already declared, he will not pick up a single arm in the war. And so he valued his principles more than his privileges. If had chosen the other way round, the war would have ended within a second. But the dharma would not have been established. The triumph of good over evil would have faded. Similar arguments can be held for the society. For a society that places principles over its privileges will eventually lose both.
Let us come to democracy. In present times, the society has principles and privileges both.
The principles of the society are deeply engraved in them. These may have origin from their ancestors. Some of them may be customary. Some of them may be a result of the governance, good governance, in fact. In all of these, let us pick up principles which benefit the society in the long run. Like maintaining peace and order, helping someone needy in the society are principles , to name a few. They must be placed above the privileges of the society.
The privileges may come from the rule book of society (in self ruled scheduled areas via autonomous district councils), from the statutes of the states, or from the provisions of the constitution. These privileges are not the driving force. The driving force comes from the principles. If one person from society helps the other, the other will help some other person and so on. A chain process will start. The goodness will travel like explosion. Then the privileges will come to rescue when the link gets broken. Suppose, a person is not able to help the other person, in his or her marriage. Then the autonomous councils can frame rules of marriage. Though they will have to be confirmed by the governor of the state. But the goodness will travel.
If it happens the other way round, where
* The laws become prime moving force, people are not self motivated
* When the privileges have over empowered the people, that people start becoming self centered. Selfish.
Then there will be erosion of the institutions, erosion of principles further to an extent that both will be lost in due course of time.
In that case, we will need someone to yell and shout, " How's the josh?"
Then people may start afresh, shouting, "High Sir!"
