Western Philosophy has Right and Left i.e. Capitalism vs. Communism.
These are antagonistic forces and have markedly polar and divisive views.
This post is a critique of typical Leftist-Liberal quotation below extolling the virtue of Love/Peace vs. Hate/War.
Like most Western constructs it believes in duality.
So no wonder that it confuses Love and Peace as opposites of Hate and War as if these 2 artificial pairs are indistinguishable.
If our immune system were not to defend itself against external and internal enemies we wouldn't last a day.
Love and Peace are important most definitely.
However they can best be promoted in an environment of physical and mental security.
We don't live in an ideal world by any leap of imagination.
So till we suddenly discover Eutopia - "Good Fences make good neighbours" with good security to keep them effective.
Like we need doors, windows and gates to keep out unwanted things or people we also need police, soldiers to act as the immune system/guardians of our society.
Conflict is inevitable sometimes. If you can avoid conflict good otherwise keep a strong stick.
Prime example being Tibet. Without our armed forces we would be taken over by "friendly neighbourhood spidermen" in minutes. As it is India is being attacked from outside and inside by proxy fighters like naxals and terrorists.
So what does Dharma have to say on this matter?
Is it Rightist or Leftist?
Answer is "It is Neither" as far as I understand it. It all depends on the situation.
There are umpteen stories which account for various different circumstances in which 'Different Right Ways' are advocated. Because life is dynamic and response should also be dynamic.
If at all it could be said to be Centrist where the Center lies in Ritam/Satyam.
Dharma is based on understanding Satyam (Reality) as it IS.
NOT as we would want it to be i.e. Paranoia or Eutopia.
Like the Sadhu Snake which got stoned to death due to blindly following ahimsa, it is better to bare your fangs and hiss to prevent casual and wanton cruelty by less spiritually-evolved beings.
In fact Ramakrishna Paramahansa advised 2 different personality students to respond to a boatman's insult to their Guru in diametrically opposite ways. The aggressive disciple was advised to be meek and the meek one was told to stand up for his Guru. More of a Centrist approach to reduce domination of Rajas and Tamas respectively.
As far as I could understand a highly advanced soul like Ramakrishna Paramahansa died due to his immune system being so Sattvic that it was no longer Rajasic/Tamasic enough to distinguish between Aham (Self) and Tvam(Not-Self). I assume he viewed the Cancer cells giving his body a lot of pain as valid as the body they were consuming. Rajiv Malhotra gives the very same analogy in his video talk below.
When we are not spiritually-evolved enough to be like that we should be careful not to quote high-sounding Vedanta quotations etc. while being highly materialistic in day-to-day matters.
Only when the words ring true in 'Manasa, Vacha, Karmana' (Thought, Speech AND Actions) in all matters personal, societal and spiritual will be we truly practising the Vedanta which we preach so freely (to others).
Rajiv Malhotra talks about this wanton quoting of Vedanta in matters relating to Society but hypocrisy in highly ambitious personal matters esp. by Western educated Indians : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7SPkhWWTok
Rajiv Malhotra videos clearing up ideological confusion and lack of clarity among Hindus :
Video Part 1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltr22kVSehM
Video Part 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7SPkhWWTok
Video Part 3 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Jw9j3x4oI
Video Part 4 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CahOK5ZFn4
Video Part 5 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03D_zcOkwww
In fact first the Colonial West (incorrectly) tells us that Hinduism is about pro-Spiritual and anti-materialism.
Then when we follow that we are blamed by the same West for being apathetic to social participation etc.
We need to work out our own solutions as per our own ideology without having any "difference anxiety".
We need to "Be Different" in an increasingly uni-polar world.
Rajiv Malhotra talks about the effects of Colonization of our minds in his book "Being Different : An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism" : http://youtu.be/VP5gPVW3XDM?t=1m11s
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Note : I'm not a master of Hindu thought by any measure.
But I just thought about what has happened by mis-applying such high-sounding advice by Indian govts.
Difference in body-language of Manmohan vs. Modi while meeting Chinese counterpart :
Q) In the pictures above which picture makes you think of 2 kings on equal footing...?
To paraphrase the Alexander and Pururava story (or Porus as he was describe in West)
"How should you act in front of another King?"
"A King should act like how he treats other kings - in a Regal Manner".
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Video showcasing relation between Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh:
When the position of a PM is like this within his own party what can one expect in front of global leaders.
