Evaluating Independence and Patriotism

Spiritually everyone must understand their identity as a soul beyond bodily designations—we are all brothers and sisters of a common Father, although he is called by many names. There is one spiritual system in the Universe, and regardless of one’s religious lens, we have to be convinced that the land does not belong to any people, religion, race or nation. The land belongs to God and the responsibility of every human being is to take care of the planet and all living beings as service to God.

The 4th of July was Independence Day in the USA, celebrating the independence of the 13 colonies from British rule, and the beginning of a new country, the Untied States of American. Thursday morning on NPR (National Public Radio) there was a discussion on the Diana Rehm Show about the meaning patriotism in the US. I found it very interesting and would like to share some of my thoughts.

It is really a huge discussion which I can’t give justice to. I bring it up as food for thought to stimulate your asking questions of yourself and of others. We all live in countries in a particular place, and I am sure that wherever it is, there is a sense of national identity and pride.

This discussion in general has applications for anyone in the world, because most leaders and many citizens of countries put forward national interests (economic, political, and geographical, i.e., national boundaries and rights etc ) above what could be considered the interests of the planet—and currently the “health” of the planet is very poor. According to one of the shows guests, the Right (of the political spectrum) puts the national interest above the world, whereas the Left tends to see the world interest above the Nations.

I don’t think the designation of being on the "Right" or "Left" or a Liberal or Conservative really can define a Krishna devotee, as we might we seen as either on different issues. In addition we have a wide spectrum of views by devotees on various social issues. (Indeed devotees may also be characterize Prabhupada (who brought Krishna consciousness to the west) as either as well.) In any case there was a lengthy discussion about the new trend of immigrants to keep their former identification with their country or continent of origin, which the guests thought undermined the future of the “American identity”. They didn’t like the hyphenated designation, like “Chinese-America", "Iranian-American", etc.. They put forward the idea that people should see themselves as Americans first, and their connection with their home country second. We could have a whole discussion of what being an American, or Indian national, or citizen of any country actually means from the material and spiritual perspective. At least we can think about it.

Regardless of how the country or world may categorize me or any Gaudiya Vaishnava, for those of us on a spiritual path it is important to use days like this to reflect on our relationship to our country and the world in light of our devotion to Krishna. I am personally grateful for the religious and other freedoms I have by living in America. I do see my identity partially as American in terms of my body, even thought I see my spiritual relationship with God as most important. I acknowledge that being a member of Nation requires us to have certain responsibilities in exchange for our Rights. At the same time, I am well aware of the huge downside of national patriotism in regards to the peace and ecology of the world. An open minded study of history makes this fact very clear.

Certainly Prabhupada was very critical of any type of body identification or what he called, “skin disease”. So in light of this, let me pose the question, “ If we put our allegiance to Krishna or God or our Higher Power above the National interest, does that make us unpatriotic, or not useful for the national interest?” There are many devotees involved in the US military and in public service. If devotees are law abiding, morally upright, tax paying, are they not to be seen as patriotic? The shows guests emphasized the importance of peacefully expressing disagreement with government policies.

The events of Sept. 11 put a new urgency into the topic of patriotism in the US in the minds of many calling into question the right to disagree with the government. Some leaders tried to exploit this sentiment to their political agenda saying basically “If you are not for us in fighting terrorism, you are against the ideals of America”. And lately, in light of the upcoming Presidential election, the idea of the candidates patriotism is getting much press. The implication is that the candidate who is more patriotic will be a better president. Is that really true, and I am more of patriot by wearing an American flag pin then not?

But we are getting ahead of ourselves here. What exactly is patriotism? Patriotism to what? A Country, a place, freedom, or a way of life?

And is patriotism always a good thing, or is it sometimes bad? Of course this last question was unfortunately not asked on this show. Although I think Diana (the host) is a good person and has an important show, she tends to be rather conservative and narrow in many of her views (everyone has their bias and agenda). The guests were older (no young people were heard) and in agreement about the positive ideal of American patriotism. The discussion was simply to see what people’s conception of patriotism was. Certainly there are good things about patriotism within a certain context, yet it is still not politically correct to discuss its’ negative aspects.

In a broad sense national patriotism is about bodily consciousness, which from a spiritual perspective is the root cause of all problems. Patriotism can be like a person’s religion. We extend our false identification of our self as the body to include our spouse, children, relatives, community, ethnicity, religion, and Nation. Although from one perspective, it is good to expand our limited sense of self from just our body and our small selfish desires, it should not stop at a particular nation, species or even the whole planet. If it doesn’t progress beyond a particular physical designation, then we will be at odds with those who identify with a different one. Whether a family, dynasty, sports team, religion, race, or a Nation, these limited ways of defining our self create enmity, strife, and pit one group against another. On the larger stage of the world, national or religious identifications have brought about all of the wars, and the degradation of the environment.

One of the shows' guests disagreed with a caller who said patriotism should include everyone who lives in the country—including the animals, and the land. He said that is a geographical idea, and to him American patriotism is to the ideals of the Constitution and what America stands for. He said patriotism is not a list of qualities but a feeling in the heart.

I was really taken back by his ideas. They seemed so limited and intangible. I’m sure the mass of people living in this country would not agree with him—perhaps they would theoretically (and about the feeling part), but not in their practical application. Very few people today even know what the American constitution says. There is a vague idea of freedom for what the Constitution says: freedom for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, yet that means different things to every group of people.

Everyone is interested in their bodily sense gratification–and their families--and if their country provides them that then they are patriotic. The “American way of life” which is often spoken of, is to a large extent, a life of material enjoyment and opulence of certain familiar variety. People want to continue that way of life, even though American consumes a huge percentage of the worlds’ resources, and is willing to go to war to preserve that.

Spiritually everyone must understand their identity as a soul beyond bodily designations—we are all brothers and sisters of a common Father, although he is called by many names. There is one spiritual system in the Universe, and regardless of one’s religious lens, we have to be convinced that the land does not belong to any people, religion, race or nation. The land belongs to God and the responsibility of every human being is to take care of the planet and all living beings as service to God.

We may live in a particular country and prefer that country to others, yet our sense of nationalism or patriotism must extend beyond the limited and artificial national borders.

Why?

If we don’t develop a spiritual sense of our true identity and know who the real proprietor of the land is (Krishna or God) it is certain that the number of world conflicts and wars will increase. We can expand our sense of patriotism by expanding our sense of self. Patriotism has its’ place, yet I don’t believe it should be at the cost of other people, animals, countries or the environment. It is a complex topic, though at least the spiritual perspective should be introduced while understanding other perspectives.

Probably people of every religion would say that if everyone believed as they do, there would be peace and prosperity in the world. I not speaking like that. Although the Vedas can be presented in a fundamentalist way, they are actually very accommodating of many different conceptions of God. They provide a profound philosophy for deep thinkers.

Krishna devotees have their natural bias, yet the advanced devotees of history, such as Prabhupada, Siddhanta Sarasvati, Bhaktivinode Thakur and those who are inspired by them, appreciate the many different ways of looking at God. Although the Bhagavad gita is spoken by Krishna, it is actually very universal in it's outlook. I will end with a verse from the Gita which gives us a peace formula and a way to move beyond a limited national patriotism:

Lord Krishna says:
“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”