One
question which is regularly asked and which must come to the mind of anyone
seriously studying Chanakya is: why to study Arthashastra or what is the
relevance of Chanakyanism is in the 21st century. After all Chanakyanism and
Arthashastra are more than 2300 years old. The treatise itself is written in
Sanskrit which is the language of antiquity and rather tedious and difficult to
understand.
In
order to answer this question we must understand the life and times of
Chanakya, the changes which they saw and the forces which shaped them.
Acharya Vishnu Gupta or Kautilya or Chanakya
as most of us know him was born in an era of radical changes and massive
political upheavals. It was an era which saw the invasion of India by Alexander
the Great, Destruction of the old political order by Nanda Empire, the rise of
Buddhism and Jainism and their conflict with Vedic religion and finally the
unprecedented rise of Chandragupta Maurya.
The
times we are living through are also witnessing swift changes. Globalization
and the information revolution are changing the dynamics of business and
economy on an unprecedented scale. The power centers of the global economy are
slowly shifting back to Asia. Power itself is getting more and more
democratized. From Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street to Anna Hazare movement
in India, it's an era of radical changes.
However
what has not changed is the human nature. Human nature is as twisted and
unpredictable as it was 2300 years ago. Men are still ruled by hedonism and
desires of erotic and fantasy. Religion and superstition are still the best
tools to fool and enslave the masses. Money not morality continues to be the
prime commerce of the elite. Kings are still there – we just call them Ministers
and CEOs. Aggression is still there, it has simply morphed into more sublime
forms. On the top technology has advanced but at the bottom, Human Nature is
same, the human soul is still black and selfish.
Arthashastra or
Chanakyanism in general is an honest acceptance of this unethical element of
Human Nature. It is in fact beyond ethics and morality .The overall approach is pragmatic, practical and
aimed at acquiring and maintaining power and material wealth. Unlike the ideals
of the Ramayana and Ahimsa of Jainism – Chanakyanism is sheer pragmatism. It
does not concentrate on any abstract moral values, but focuses upon how people
behave and what strategies work in actual practice.
As a treatise,
Arthashastra is a tailor made advice for Kings in an era of opportunism.
Interestingly the current environment where the old order is being eroded by
the forces of technology and social change, the avenues to practice this
opportunism are everywhere. Arthashastra is thus the treatise for our times.
