Kolkata Rape: Causes & Solutions – QA with Chaitanya Charan

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Today we will get to know the answers of all the questions the youth is asking through our Shastras.
So our today’s podcast is with His Grace Chaitanya Charan Prabhu Ji. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu Ji is a spiritual teacher for last 25 years in the Bhakti Yoga tradition. He is also the author of 27 books that explains the relevance of Vedic wisdom text which includes Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana.
He is also the author of world’s only daily blog on Bhagavad Gita which is called GitaDaily.com on which he has written over 4000 articles on Gita. Prabhu Ji is a renowned speaker and he has been invited at a various TEDx talks, World Peace Conference, UNESCO, Google, Intel, Salesforce and many more. Universities like MIT, Princeton, Harvard, Cambridge and many more.
Prabhu Ji gives 400 talks across 100 cities in 4 continents every year. So today we will get to know from Prabhu Ji himself that what are the views of our Shastras on cases like this. So let’s welcome His Grace Chaitanya Charan Prabhu Ji.
So thank you Chaitanya Charan Prabhu for giving us this opportunity to discuss a very very serious issue which is going on nowadays as we are all aware that in Kolkata something really bad happened and it’s all over media and the youth is really wanting answers. Those who are getting inclined, those who are coming towards God, they are trying to find out why this happened, why did this happen, if God exists then why is this happening and what are the reasons behind it. So everyone is looking towards us to give some answers and I am looking towards you so that with the help of this session we can answer some questions which will give a bit of clarity to the people seeking answers to questions like that.
So if I have your permission can we start? Yes please. So coming straight to the topic, what was the fault of the girl with whom this happened? This question has been asked a lot. First of all, what has happened is terrible and when such things happen our focus should always be on helping the person, on the solution, not on the cause.
When bad things happen, our focus should not be on what is her fault, what is her karma, what is our dharma. What can we do to solve the problem? In Ramayana we see when Sita is abducted, Sita is the wife of Lord Ram, she gets abducted. What is her fault? We don’t even think about what her fault is.
When Ram and Lakshman come to know about this, they immediately try to find a way to save her, how to resolve the situation. So the reason can be on different levels. So if Sita gets abducted, why did this happen? Sita got abducted because she wanted the deer.
That is why Lord Ram got abducted. We can say that Ram listened to Sita. If Ram didn’t listen, he wouldn’t have got abducted.
If Lakshman didn’t listen, he wouldn’t have got abducted. If Ram listened to Lakshman, he wouldn’t have got abducted. If Sita listened to Lakshman, he wouldn’t have got abducted.
If Ram listened to Lakshman, he wouldn’t have got abducted. If Sita listened to Lakshman, he wouldn’t have got abducted. Ram asked Lakshman, why did you leave Sita and come? Lakshman said, Sita spoke ill of me, that’s why I came.
Lakshman said, Sita spoke ill of me, that’s why I came. Lakshman left, that’s why Sita got abducted. We can say, why did Sita get abducted? Lord Ram created this illusion, that’s why Sita got abducted.
We can say, Ravana’s lust for work, that’s why Sita got abducted. We can see reasons for everything in different ways. We can see reasons for everything in different ways.
In Sanskrit, there are many reasons for every incident. In Sanskrit, there are many reasons for every incident. One reason is to see the reason and then to force it.
In this entire incident, no one knows that Sita did some karma in her life. It should not never be used to dodge responsibility. Which is the most actionable cause for this.
As Lakshman said, it is important to fight against Ravana and not Shaitan. So when someone is a victim, we don’t have to look at what that person has done. We can look at what that person could have done to prevent this from happening.
But there is a difference between blaming the person and thinking what can be done to prevent it. In such a situation, there are many reasons for a bad thing to happen. And we have to look at what is actionable.
In Kolkata, the people who have done this, they are responsible for it. Sometimes bad things happen in this world. It is just unfortunate.
So we have to make human systems to prevent this from happening. So when these systems fail, there will always be predatory people. When Ravana was alive, he was like Ravana.
Now we live in the Kali Yuga, so we have such people. So we have to make systems to prevent this from happening. If we are good people, it is a good thing.
But if there is a bull fight, and a bull comes with a red cloth, then a normal person will join the bull fight. The bull will follow the bull. I am a vegetarian.
It is good to be a vegetarian. But being a vegetarian does not mean that the bull will leave its natural habit. In this world, there will be bad people.
And to get rid of them, there should be responsibility on both the individual level and the social level. That is the way to move ahead. Okay.
I will complete one more point in this. When it comes to karma, I have not seen it anywhere in the Shastras. If a person has done something bad, then he has been harmed by someone.
And then people say, this is your karma. So this is injustice. We should look at the person who has been harmed.
So we should not get into the question of what have you done in the past. We should look at their karma. What is our religion? Our religion is on the personal and social level.
Right. Just to follow up on that question, these days, there is a lot of karma everywhere. So a lot of people, as you said, a lot of people are talking along the lines that their karma must have been like this.
Maybe that’s why this happened to them. Or they must have done something like this in the past life. That’s why this happened.
Thinking about this, I don’t know how much it is right or wrong. But at the same time, people start losing a little sympathy from it. So how much right that is, in your point of view.
And how can we prevent from even thinking in that way that he must have done something, that’s why it happened to him. Because that somewhere makes us less, have less empathy towards the person who has suffered this. This is absolutely right.
Actually, look at the scriptures. Where is it shown like this? What has gone wrong? And people are saying that this will be your karma. Now we see in Bhagwatam.
There are great kings in many places. He is also a great devotee. He is knowledgeable.
He is God. He is Rantidev. Or he is Sibi.
Or he is Pruthu Maharaj. So Pruthu Maharaj becomes the avatar of God. When his citizens come to him and say that we are hungry.
There is famine here. There they are burning because of hunger. Then Pruthu Maharaj does not say that this is your karma.
He makes a plan immediately. He is even ready to attack Bhumi Devi. Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? You are not giving food.
So what do they see? What is my duty? I am a king. As a king, it is important for me to do my duty. What is my duty? I have to protect my people.
It is important to give the facilities of my people. So the principle of karma. I can give many examples.
A hungry animal comes to Rantidev and Sibi. He is ready to give his body. You are hungry.
You are hungry because of your karma. It is not good like this. So it is important to understand the meaning of karma.
Two things. Karma is always forward-looking. Not backward-looking.
What does karma mean? If I work now, the result of the work will be there. That is why I have to think before I work. That is the meaning of karma.
Whatever has happened in my life, there can be many reasons for it. It is difficult to understand what has happened because of which reason. Let’s say someone coughs.
Why did he cough? Last night, that person ate a lot of ice cream. He coughed. Is it because of past karma? Yes, it is because of past karma.
It is not the karma of previous birth. It is the karma of previous birth. So when there is a situation in our life, there can be many reasons for it.
Some may be due to this birth. Some may be due to previous birth. Let’s say there is a problem of 100 quantities in someone’s life.
It is possible that he has done the work of 100 quantities just now. If someone puts his hand in water, his hand gets burnt. It has nothing to do with past karma.
He puts his hand in water and his hand gets burnt. But sometimes it happens that a person is walking on his own. Suddenly, there is an explosion of gas and his hand gets burnt.
He has not done anything at that time. So what happens now is that when our result comes, it can be due to combination of present karma and past karma. It can be due to combination of both.
Sometimes it can be that present karma is 100 and result is 100. Sometimes it can be that past karma is 0. Sometimes it can be that past karma is 100 and present karma is 0. And the result is 100. So we don’t know exactly what the combination is.
But we don’t know whose past karma it is. We don’t have to look at it. If we look at it, it will be a complete issue.
People who say that the rule of karma is bad, if someone gets sick in their house, will they say that it is because of their karma? Will they go to take medicine or not? Why do they have to take medicine? They have to do everything. If there is a mother or a father, if they have a small child, if they have a small child, will they say that it is due to their karma? If a child is crying, will they say that it is due to their karma? Try to help them. People will lose sympathy.
People become heartless. They become like a stone. and in a way, the conversion that is happening due to other religions, there are many reasons for it but there is one reason that people say that due to the knowledge of karma, the Hindus have become completely merciless the poor don’t help the poor and the lower caste people say that you are like this because of your karma, you should stay like this and they say that our religion doesn’t teach us like this, our religion teaches us to serve, to donate has it happened like this? it could have happened, but this is a strong criticism there is some grain of truth in it but the truth is that people may be acting like this but that is not the way karma is applied it is said in the Gita that there is knowledge and the aim of the knowledge is important so what is the aim of the knowledge is important even Hiranyakashipu is being taught the knowledge of Atma but why is Hiranyakashipu being taught the knowledge of Atma? because he is thinking that I am immortal I am immortal in the form of Atma so I will keep doing penance for many lifetimes so that in one day I will become so powerful that I can kill Vishnu so what is the aim of the knowledge of Atma? to make us understand that we are Sanatan we have to do bhakti on the Sanatan level, which is Sanatan but why is the focus of the knowledge of Atma being done? it is being done so that I can destroy God so knowledge without compassion defeat is the purpose of knowledge knowledge without service attitude makes a person hard hearted so spiritual knowledge is important but the service attitude is important so what is our dharma? we have to focus on that what is its karma? we have to focus on that because everyone is saying that this is a heinous crime and when it was happening with Draupadi then God himself came and protected her and this was along the same lines so what is God? people are questioning the existence of God existence of Krishna so what is your thoughts on that? see there are two things God’s existence and God’s intervention God’s existence and God’s intervention these are two different things now the same way God intervened in Draupadi’s wedding why didn’t God intervene in Sita’s abduction? so there this incident happened in 1891 God was in Dwarka that God will intervene to protect that God will intervene to protect this is an objection in Shastras there is no justification for this God can intervene but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but I don’t want to stop now.
I don’t want to stop now. I don’t want to stop now. I don’t want to stop now.
So, but the principle is, the punishment is a principle. Because what happens is, three things are told in the Mahabharata. When someone is being punished, there are three stakeholders.
One is the culprit, so that he doesn’t repeat the same mistake. And the second is the victim. In English, the victim is called a retribution.
Retribution means that the victim should be punished as much as he deserves. For the victim, there is a reparation. There should be a reparation for the loss he has incurred.
So, there should be a support system in the society. And the third is, the rest of the people. The rest of the people can be victims or victimisers.
In the Mahabharata, they are not victimisers. But the victims should be reassured that this will not happen. The society is capable of preventing this.
And those who are thinking, that if someone is a culprit, he should be punished. So, I can do it too. So, for the rest of the people, there should be a retribution.
Justice should not just be done, but should be seen to be done. The justice that is seen in the form of punishment, cannot be done by the people. Otherwise, there will be serious consequences.
So, swift and severe punishment should be there. If that happens, there will be deterrence. Right, correct.
This is a great point, Prabhu ji. More than the severity, there should be certainty. Because I am following social media, there are many people who are demanding that, like in the Gulf countries, they should be beheaded in front of everyone, and then they should be killed.
Death penalty on spot. But you are right that, this is, I don’t know when is, I mean, depending upon the severity, it is better that there should be certainty. So that people don’t, the people who are doing it should not have that thought, that if we do it, the case will continue and we will be released.
So, that’s a great point to understand, and maybe to look upon that, there should be certainty rather than severity. And of course, as you said that, depending upon the case, even the severity can go up to death penalty. So, that was a great explanation.
Thank you on that. So, Prabhu ji, following on that, now people are talking about the root cause of it. So, there are different departments, different thought process.
Some are saying like, some talk about girls wearing short clothes, some talk about that, the sanskars which people are getting, which they are doing themselves, their sanskars are not right. Some people talk about not getting education. So, what according to you, is the reason for these kind of, these kind of heinous crimes like rape? What is the reason why this is happening? And then, it’s like not just happening, it is increasingly, it is increasing day by day.
Every other day, we are getting to hear more and more news on this. So, as I told you earlier, single factor analysis, ek moolik nyaay, which is, every person has their own world view. According to that, they think that this is the reason for all this.
And people call all the problems related to that. So, we have to avoid ek moolik nyaay. So, now we can say, let’s look at these reasons.
Whether, okay, women wear scanty clothes. Okay, teek hai. But, in the West, also people do that.
West mein itne crimes nahi ho rahe hain. So, now, I’m not saying defending the West. I’m just saying that we have to look at the holistic evidence of, kya when, jab aise crimes hote hain, toh kya only, does it happen only towards women who are not clothed properly.
Nahi, aise nahi hai. So, we’ll come back to this particular point later. So, okay, koi kahe sakta hai ki, what are the other reasons you’re saying? Koi kahega ki, education nahi hai? Ya, what do you exactly mean by education in this context? I mean, a lot of people are saying ki, kyuki education nahi milta hai, and education ke saath, they get to know, like how to be with people with different genders, how to respect them, and then they, because there is no education.
So, let’s, I think, you know, any of these things could be addressed. Basically kahe sakta hai ki, samaj mein leftist aur rightist hote hain. So, left jo hota hai, wo, uska tendency hota hai ki, social systems ko blame karein.
Left kehata hai, right ka hota hai, individuals ko blame karein. Dono ka, basically left aur right ko hum samajh sakte hai, ki, right is concerned with what is right with the system, to protect and preserve that. The left is concerned with those who are left out by the system, left behind by the system.
Toh dono ka jo hai, ek nama se, uttash ho sakta hai. Aadhaar hai aise nahi kehata hai, ho sakta hai. Toh jo right ke dono se, they focus more on individual responsibility.
Left ke dono se, social responsibility, social change, social justice. Toh, abhi, iske range mein, alag-alag expressions aa karte hai. Toh, jo right mein log hote hai, wo kehate hai ki, like women, dress like this, or, men are animals, death punishment, or, women should be told to dress like this.
Soda right ka worldview. Left ka worldview kya hai, ki social, society, kara ho gayi. Society kara ho gayi, matlab kya hai, kuch log kehate hai ki, jaise aap education bahat kar raha hai, ki, yeh, jaan dhara hai, samajh mein, uske kaarne aise ho raha hai, toh phir kya change karna hai, pura samajh ke thinking ko change karna padega.
So, well, kaise hone wala hai, how, what is the practical application of that? Education, matlab kis pakar ka education? So, I will use one metaphor, to explain. Kehte hai ki, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh, I don’t, I don’t, Geographical means that men used to work in one place, women used to work in another place, mostly women used to work indoors. It could have been their profession, but mostly they used to work indoors.
So, largely, the working area of a woman was the working area of a man. And it’s not like everyone respected her, but there was that boundary itself. And according to that boundary, the male-female interaction was regulated.
So, this is the traditional spread. Now, the Western society, as I said, there are no such incidents in the Western society. It doesn’t mean that there is no lust.
Some people will say that it’s all the effect of Westernisation. Well, if it was the effect of Westernisation, then are there such incidents in Westernisation? Are there such incidents in Westernisation? Yes, there are. But to what extent? No, there aren’t.
So, in the West, the culture has changed a little. Now, the chapter says that dharma is the boundary. Dharma means to get married and have children.
And in that, lust is directed. But apart from dharma, which boundary is there? Traditionally, it’s the geographical boundary. Regional boundary.
That this is the area of men and women. But now, women are also working. Not just working.
In the olden days, women used to work. The fruit sellers in the Krishna district used to sell fruits. Gopis used to go and sell curd and milk.
They used to sell butter. But today, it’s a different area. The area is to work on the boundary.
But now, there is no geographical boundary in the interaction between men and women. But what does it mean that there is no boundary? The boundary that has been established in Western society is consent. What does consent mean? It means that both people are doing something by agreeing together.
Consent can also be unreligious. People can consensually do these things outside marriage, before marriage, etc. But that is the boundary that is accepted in Western society.
And in that boundary, a lot of things happen. But that is the boundary that is generally accepted. Does everyone accept it? No.
But to regulate lust, there must be some boundary. India has become westernised and modernised to some extent. It has become traditional to some extent.
Because of that, the Indians who understand the Western values to some extent, not necessarily everything, but those who are young and educated, they may not accept the religious values. For example, within the boundaries of dharma or within marriage, people may live together and all those things. So, they may reject the boundary of dharma.
But because of the change of value system, it’s not that they have rejected all boundaries. They respect the boundary of consent. India is almost like two countries with one country.
Not in the sense of multiple politics, but multiple ways of thinking, multiple kinds of culture. Some parts of India are very traditional. Some parts of India are modern.
Some parts of India are post-modern. Because of this, some people don’t consider consent as a boundary at all. So, for them, the idea is that if there is availability, that means there is no boundary.
If they think that if a woman is coming out in the streets, if a woman is alone, then for them, availability is the boundary. If there is availability, there is no boundary. So, there is no boundary.
You can say that this is an animalistic mentality. Yes, that’s right. But the point is, the lust for work that doesn’t accept boundaries, the lust for work that is trying to break boundaries again and again, that will become the enemy of the world.
So, in today’s society, what kind of boundaries do we have? Can we turn the clock back and have geographical boundaries? No. Do we want to turn the clock forward and say that only consent is the only boundary? This is a complex situation. The principle is that boundaries are always necessary for work.
So, I’m including this boundary. Now, let’s go back to the metaphor of Agni. Agni, lust for work is like Agni.
When Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it positive? When Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it negative? If Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it positive? If Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it negative? If Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it positive? If Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it negative? If Agni is present in the boundary, then why is it positive? How to establish boundaries? That was the main question. So, going back to the two points that I made, then you can ask some questions. Some people say, I have worn this kind of clothes.
How is this? This is blaming and shaming the victim. The one who has committed a crime, the one who has committed a crime, should be blamed. If a person has a lot of money, and he is on the road, and a thief comes and beats him, and takes all his money, then after that, what should we say to him? Why did you keep so much money with you? Why did you take it? Is it your fault that he has committed a theft? No, the police cannot say that.
The police’s responsibility is that he has committed a theft, and he should get his money back. We should arrest the thief. But, having said that, if a person is going to a deserted place, and he has so much money, that you can see all the pockets.
And you can see all the pockets, and there is no one on the road. And if a thief comes there and commits a theft, then even now, the thief is still the culprit. But, if there is a police officer, or a friend of his, he will ask him, why did you show so much money? So, there is a cause, and there is a factor.
Why did you steal? It is possible that even if you didn’t show the money, someone could have committed a theft. But, if you show the money, then the possibility of a theft increases. Even now, the theft is the culprit.
But, still, why should we increase the possibility? It is my right. It is not a question of right. It is a question of common sense.
If you show money, then the thieves will be after you. It doesn’t mean that the thief is not the culprit. It doesn’t mean that you are the culprit.
But, it is necessary to avoid the factors. So, can modest clothing help in preventing overall crime? Yes, it can definitely help. But, that does not mean that the clothing should be blamed for this.
In the Gita, God explains where lust is present. He says, Indriyani manobuddhir asya adishyanam uchit. He says, Whatever we see, whether it has clothes or not, lust is present in it.
Whatever we see, lust is present in our senses. So, God is not justifying that we should blame the person who triggered lust. It is our responsibility.
So, the victim should never be blamed. The cause is the victimiser’s evil mentality. So, there can be factors.
So, it is necessary to avoid the factors. So, just one last example. In a city, houses are being burnt repeatedly.
So, it is the police’s responsibility to catch the person who is burning the houses and punish him. But, if the houses are being burnt repeatedly, if the houses are being cremated, then it is necessary for the whole city to think about what we are building these houses for. If we are building houses out of wood, then the ashes are being burnt.
Perhaps, we should build houses out of such things so that the ashes do not burn. So, the perpetrator is the culprit. But, it is not easy for the perpetrator The perpetrator should not be affected by the perpetrator’s crime.
So, there is the individual wrongdoer and there are the social factors that trigger or aid the wrongdoer. So, clothing can be a secondary factor that needs to be considered. But, if the house is being cremated out of fire, then it should be changed.
But, that is not the goal. Sorry for this long answer, but I think it was a good way to make it clear. It was very helpful because a lot of people have this mindset that you started talking about that people have a lust and it is because of that.
So, it is a very valid point that there is lust everywhere. And, the way you explained boundary and the way you used the metaphor of showing money and then Agni being at if it is being concise at a place it can be the greatest boon of your life. And, if it is not controlled then it can just burn away anything.
And, certainly what you said is very debatable. Especially in youth, it’s a thing that girls talk about that it’s our body why should we cover it it’s in your mind and then you should train yourself. So, you very well explained how that is not the reason but at the same time that can be a factor direct, indirect that is somewhere pushing things to go wrong.
Maybe you can debate about it but I totally agree that it is a factor and if it is in our hand we can try to avoid those sort of factors. You wanted to say something? So, I will speak something a little more controversial. I will speak something a little more sensitive and controversial.
Like, lust it is in everyone. It is in men, it is in women. Everyone.
Of course, men are more powerful physically and men can be more aggressive. But, like the tendency of lust is in everyone. So, lust attracts lust is there in men.
Men seek it makes men seek pleasure cheaply. Cheaply means that if you want to become an actor you have to find an attractive partner, you have to develop a relationship it takes a long time. So, lust is due to cheap pleasure.
What happens in males? I want cheap pleasure. And in females when lust comes I want cheap power. Cheap power in females is like men desire women women desire the desire of men.
That a woman feels a kind of power that so many people are attracted to me. And that is a sign of power. That is a sign of power.
That is a sign of power. A very powerful person a rich person if that woman is very attractive then she is attracted to him. So, we say that there is a power asymmetry between men and women.
Yes, there is. Men are physically powerful. But, nature gave beauty to women.
It’s not a small power. The power that a person uses is very similar. Men are told that their physical power is used in a way to protect women and not to exploit them.
Women are also told that their sensual sensual power the power of beauty is used in a way to protect men and not to exploit them. What does it mean to protect men? Women are told in Vedic culture that they should be very beautiful in front of their husband so that they can attract their husband. So, use the beauty the power of beauty to protect them.
But, if a person uses the power of his beauty to attract everyone then he gets some pleasure but it is a costly pleasure. So, everyone knows the temptations of lust. Lust tempts men lust tempts women with cheap pleasure lust tempts women with cheap power.
Cheap power means that if a woman is showing her body she is attracting men. I don’t want to attract anyone this is just my body. People wear clothes or whatever kind of clothes they wear they want to show it to others.
They want to show their beauty to others. So, how many people have this conscious mentality is debatable. I am not blaming everyone who wears scanty clothes in a particular way.
The point I am making is this is the way the mentality works. Therefore, everybody has to take responsibility. Men have to take responsibility.
Women have to take responsibility. So, what is men’s responsibility? To restrain physical power and to use it properly. Women’s responsibility is to use the power of beauty properly.
But, again, going back to the point when a crime is committed the victim should never be blamed. So, how does it work? The right-wing blame the individual. The left-wing blame the society.
So, both extremes have to be avoided. There is an individual responsibility and a social responsibility. Both have to be dealt with.
Right. That was a great explanation on building upon what you said. I know you talked a lot about the factors that are causing this.
Somewhere, I know that if those factors are contained, these things will not happen. But still, people are asking how can all this be stopped? How can such heinous crimes be stopped? So, if you can just sum up everything what you said and provide some more instructions on how. Of course, I know there is no rule book.
But, maybe a guide that will maybe prevent things from happening for both men and women as a society as a whole. Yes. So, first of all, there is an individual level and a social level.
So, at the individual level, when a person does something, there are two deterrents. One is conscience and the other is consequence. Conscience means that I know from within that this is wrong and I don’t want to do it.
Consequence means that if I do this, I will get such a result. If I don’t do this. So, generally, everyone has the tendency to do the same thing.
Right? It is possible. It is possible. But some people don’t do it because of their conscience.
For example, there are many people who have digital books. So, digital books are sometimes pirated or downloaded from somewhere. Now, people will download hundreds of such books.
But that same person, even if he goes to a bookstore or a library and steals a book, he won’t do it. So, what is conscience? Conscience is that we all have boundaries. So, there are boundaries.
So, different people have different boundaries. But, I won’t do this because of my conscience. Even if I get a chance, I won’t do it.
So, you need to develop But the second one is consequence. Consequence means the government will face consequences. I will have to bear it.
I will have to bear it. That’s why I shouldn’t do it. So, for individuals, you need to develop both conscience and consequence.
And what comes on top of society? In society, to keep people on the right path, there are two resources. One is law and the other is culture. Law means if you do this, you will be punished legally.
You will have to go to jail. Culture means according to the culture, some things disapprove. Some things are bad.
Some things are totally bad. So, what will people say? That is a factor. They say, don’t care about people.
We all live in a society. We all live in a society. So, law and culture.
So, let’s look at all these four factors now. And we will conclude. On the level of culture, you can say, positive change is happening.
5-10 years ago, 10-15 years ago, if someone was treated like this, basically, the person would be defamed. He would be defamed. And because of that, that person’s life would be destroyed.
Now, culture is changing. A person is not to be condemned. A person is a victim.
Now, instead of shame, there is sympathy. So, this culture is changing. Before, people were afraid to report a crime because it would defame me.
Now, the sensitivity is increasing. How to report? So, cultural values are changing. So, this is a positive.
Right. But still, cultural values, if we look at Bollywood, many times, 10-15 years ago, rape was a joke. There were some movies, if a person was treated like this, if he was humiliated, he raped me.
It was a joke. Now, it is not a joke. Things are changing in terms of values.
In Bollywood, if a girl says no, then the hero pushes her again and again, then the man says yes. In Bollywood, consent is very important. I will come back to this later.
But in culture, what is changing? Nothing is changing. Some people think they can get away by doing something. See, lust is not just a crime of sex.
Rape is not just a crime of lust. It is lust plus power. Lust plus anger that manifests in power.
Like I said, if someone has lust, they can always go to prostitutes. They can pay money and they can go. But here, I want to dominate someone.
I want to have that power. It is lust that rejects the boundaries. So, culture should change.
Law should be stronger. So, is the law changing? Hopefully, it is changing. Now, in some countries, some crimes have special courts for speed tracking.
Like child abuse, child sexual abuse, they have separate courts for speed tracking. So, we should do something like that. Laws are important, but implementing laws is even more important.
If you make new laws and you don’t follow the rules, what happens? There is more disrespect for the law. Increasing laws without increasing the implementation of laws it backfires. So, law’s implementation, law, when you want to establish dharma, there is law and culture.
So, the protest marches that are taking place, what difference does it make? It is a cultural shift. This is something which is not to be accepted. This is something to be strongly protested against.
That is a good thing, but that is not sufficient. Culture and law are at the level of the society. In Bhagavad Gita, dharma is at the level of the individual and at the level of the society.
In Bhagavad Gita, Who is ruling? For what purpose? To change. When Arjuna asks Krishna, dharma is at the level of the society. What is dharma? What does it mean? He is looking at what is his personal responsibility.
So, dharma is social and individual, both. In Bhagavad Gita, it is about conscience and consequence. How will consequence come? Will it come from law or culture? It is very important that people register in their minds.
I would like to say that 10-20 years ago, smoking was very fashionable. Now, smoking is not considered a crime. It is culturally disapproved.
If you want to smoke, go to the smoking area. You are giving cancer to others. Others should also smoke.
It is very rare that a smoker is put in jail. It is culturally disapproved. That is why people smoke in a private area.
People drink alcohol. In today’s world, people drink alcohol. But they do not drive after drinking.
It is a consequence. It is a consequence of law and culture. Boundaries are important.
There should be a consequence. Individuals should have a fear of consequences. The last point is how people develop their conscience.
Conscience develops in the fastest way which is spirituality. Some people do not have a conscience. Such people have to face consequences.
Jatayu tried to teach Ravan. If you want to go straight, why are you coming like a coward? You should fight with Ram. He was not ready to listen.
Some people are sociopaths and psychopaths. They do not have a conscience. Most people have a conscience.
Conscience develops through spiritual purification. We were talking about What happens with values? Conscience is awakened. In Bhagavad Gita, it is said that religion is different.
There is a difference in all religions. Bhakti means when we come close to God through bhakti, all is good. When we come close to God, we also become good.
The more conscious an individual develops, the less bad things happen. The more conscious an individual develops, the less bad things happen. What are your last golden words to all the people who are hearing you and watching you? How youth should react when something like this happens? What is their prime duty? As you said in your last answer, people are protesting on roads, doing candle marches, protesting on social media.
What is the thing that will really make a difference? If there are several factors, what should they keep in account? What should they do so that they know that this is their first way to go? First thing is, there is concern. It is very important to be concerned. If there is no concern, nothing can change.
That is very good. But concern needs to lead to conflict. it will bring change.
Activism is for bringing about a change in society. It is for bringing about a change in my image. I am still a good person.
I am not saying it is happening but it is a temptation. It is a danger. Activism can get mixed with Narcissism.
See how good a person I am. I am protesting against this. I don’t support this.
I am protesting against this. It becomes more about how good I am than how this is actually going to be stopped. So, concern is good.
But if there is concrete action from concern, concrete choices will bring about a change. What are concrete choices? Concrete choices are that we have to develop our conscience. We all have to learn to have boundaries for it.
Time-honoured boundary is Dharma. We can say consent But what happens with consent? There are consensual relationships but they are breaking apart. These are not happening also.
Children live with very common hopes. Especially the western population, they are not even having children. It is because of immigrants.
Otherwise, the population would have fallen. We cannot replace Dharma with consent. That is not going to happen.
We cannot turn back the clock and go back to geographical separation. The more we purify ourselves through spirituality, the more our conscience will become stronger. Strengthening our conscience through concern will make our conscience stronger.
If we do that, that will make sure that we will never become a part of the problem. We will be a part of the solution. And when we purify ourselves, by chanting God’s name, by serving God, when we come close to God, God helps us to become better.
And then not only become better, we can become instruments of God. They were not fighting for revenge. They were fighting for justice.
Each one of us can become an instrument in God’s hands to bring about the change. If we develop our conscience, if we develop our character, then we will be able to do a lot of good. We will be able to bring about positive changes.
Yes, we are creating through protest marches. But each one of us can do much more. If we develop our conscience, if we develop our character, then how much good we can do? How much good God can do through us when we become his instruments? The sky is the limit for that.
But discovering how much good we can do, that can be our life’s greatest adventure. That is the call of the Bhagavad Gita. Let us all become like Arjuna and fight against injustice and oppression.
This is the conclusion of the Bhagavad Gita. People will get a lot of answers.