The art of governance! 

Maharaj Yudhisthira asked Bhisma: How should one go about consolidating all the diverse elements within his kingdom?

Bhisma said: My dear King! Each village must have a headman, and one person should be assigned to supervise ten villages. An officer should work along with two such superintendents & a higher officer should oversee five of these. Thus, he has jurisdiction over hundred villages. A deputy minister should supervise 10 such high officials & directly report to the King’s prime minister

The headman of the village must be able to ascertain the character of each & every resident. When he sees a fault, he should correct it. The produce of the village or villages that he oversees supports the various officers. The king also maintains himself & his government by taking resources from his kingdom & its citizens, but he must do this the way a man milks a cow

If a calf is allowed to drink sufficient milk, it will become strong & thus be able to carry heavy burdens when it grows up, but if the milkman takes all the milk and leaves practically nothing for the calf, it will become lean & weak and thus incapable of doing anything for its master later on

In the same way, if a king drains his kingdom by taking too much of its resources, the citizens will not be able to accomplish very much. Therefore, a king should always be very kind & liberal towards the Vaisyas, because it is they who develop the kingdom’s agriculture, trade & cow population. If a king desires to increase his wealth, he should do so by gradually increasing the citizen’s burden of responsibility & productivity, just as one gradually increases the burden of a young bullock. In this way, by taking more taxes from the citizens, bit by bit, the king’s opulence progressively develops

Despite being the most powerful person, a king’s restraint of his prowess is his greatest strength. If a king exploits, neglects, or offends the weaker sections of the society, he will unwittingly bring about his ruinations. After punishing a minister, the king should completely avoid him, because there will always remain the tendency for revenge

A warrior who dies on the battlefield without having turned his back immediately goes to the heavenly planets, where he is greeted by thousands of Apsaras that vie with one another for becoming his beloved. On the other hand, if one is killed while retreating from battle, he goes to the hellish planets to suffer for an interminable period of time. It is for this reason that a Kshatriya is rigorously trained to fight enthusiastically & without hesitation, making heaven his goal

What practical lessons for people in position of power. How to govern, how to interact, operate and lead his subjects are clearly stated here. When we live according to spiritual principles, our inner desires are not able to sabotage us. We should be vigilant in identifying, who is our real enemy – the degrading passions, the impure desires generated in our mind, which should be kept under control by our intelligence dovetailed to the soul, which is part & parcel of the Super Soul, Sri Krsna

Let’s align ourselves

Thoughts? #gameoflife

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