Ishopanishad

What has the Ishopanishad to do with socialism? Most of us would shun the idea at the very outset and call this a sham. However, it would indeed be amazing to note that the strong socio-economic statement contained in this short Upanishad makes it not just a preamble of Socialism, but of Communism too. Thus it is a pity that this sacred book of Hinduism has remained under spiritual wrap and most of its social meaning has been lost. The philosophy of Communism could be stated as ‘from each according to one’s ability; and to each according to one’s need’. This is a little different from the philosophy of Socialism that says, ‘from each according to one’s ability; and to each according to one’s input’. Remarkably, in both these cases it is the State, which ensures that the socio-economic order is maintained. Ishopanishad too calls us to ‘work according to the best of our ability and withdraw as per our basic requirements’. Still, what makes it different from the two socio-political orders is the fact that unlike the other two, here the socio-economic order is not maintained by any law of the land, but is the result of our own conscience. Whereas Communism warrants that the means of production be held by the State or the Community only, Socialism allows it to be owned also by the public enterprises and cooperatives. Ishopanishad on the other hand tells in unequivocal terms that whatever we see around us belongs to the Isha. Remarkably, Isha refers to the one who administers or governs and could imply anyone from the King to the President or from the State to the Community. Still, it would be improper to think that the connotation of Ishopanishad is far from spiritual. It indeed is primarily a spiritual text, but its author is equally concerned about the world and the society. Though the subject of his contemplation is not the world with boundaries drawn by human beings, but it is the world without fences designed by the super being. This world is necessarily equal and in equilibrium and it has been reflected well in the Ishopanishad. Harmony is the natural order whereas imbalance is thrust upon it by external factors. The idea of the scripture is not as much to project the God, as it is to portray the Godly World that is a case in unparalleled equality and equilibrium. Obviously, the Ishopanishad does not abolish religion or metaphysics as Communism does. In fact, Socialism is more akin to the scripture as it gives all individuals the freedom of religion. The Ishopanishad too gives a total freedom to choose one’s own God. It makes no reference to any particular God or Religion and leaves it to its readers to decide on that. The Isha referred to in the Ishopanishad is in fact the collective power of all individual entities sans religion. Can a scripture be more secular? Although Communism and Socialism both advocate equality as a way of life, but Ishopanishad takes equality as the very basis of life. For it, people are not equal since they are born equal; they are equal because they are one. It is hard to find a stronger voice in favor of equality. Whereas Communism demolishes all class distinction in order to achieve this equality, Ishopanishad makes it very clear that all being are one and there is absolutely no duality; thus there cannot be any inequality if there is no duality. While Communism calls for a classless society, Ishopanishad makes us aware of our identity as an undistinguishable whole. For the Ishopanishad, all individual entities are one with Isha or the Great Administrator and so there remains no difference of status either. Ishopanishad demolishes all forms of inequality, whether it is between the administrator and the administered, the subject and the ruler, the people and the government, or even between the man and the God! Could there be a more profound voice for equality? Unlike Communism or Socialism, Ishopanishad isn’t concerned with the production or the market, its sole concern is the human factor. It doesn’t see the world as the slaves and their masters or the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, but as a single entity manifested in various forms. Those who truly realize this, they will never differentiate or discriminate between beings on the basis of their forms, colors, creed or caste. Thus the sole aim of Ishopanishad is to reveal this truth to us and introduce us to our real identity. Perhaps this is as utopian as the society proposed by Thomas More or maybe as unrealistic as the communism put forward by Karl Marx, yet it is totally achievable by individual endeavors and calls for no struggle or conflict between varying forces. Amidst several attempts to make us a better Christian, a better Muslim, a better Hindu based on various scriptures; or a better Indian, a better Israeli, a better Norwegian based on various constitutions, Ishopanishad tries to make us a better citizen of a unified world that is governed by our own moral code. Driven by this ethical code, if we all were to do our very best and expect the very least in turn, the world would certainly be a better place to live with equal opportunity, equal space and equal share for one and all. This is precisely the call of the Ishopanishad. The Ishopanishad may seem quite insignificant in terms of its size. It has merely eighteen verses contained in it. Yet, it required eighteen long chapters of Bhagavad Gita to elaborate on the teachings of this Upanishad! Still, Ishopanishad is not only the gist of Bhagavad Gita, or the Karma Yoga in a nutshell, it is the constitution of the unified world and the preamble of humanity. Even then if I have chosen to call it the Handbook of Socialism, it is because as social beings the society should be our prime concern and I firmly believe that the learned author of Ishopanishad didn’t think otherwise.