Material resources wealth - which is the measurement of success in this world, and for which humans kill, wage wars, commit most crimes, and subdue others need to have an essential link with spirituality. Because it is in this world humans strive for spirituality, the most sublime goal for humanity. Unbridled capitalism is making a mockery of democracy. Multi-national corporations working out of democratic nations making windfall profits shared by a few wealthy individuals and their families when the rest of the people on the globe are crushed under the weight of poverty, lack of basic needs, economic slow-down, and recession are morally and spiritually unacceptable. Without awareness of the spiritual goal of humans, their only motive appears to be profit. They have the physical muscle power to almost work as parallel governments. They are posed to choke and swallow democracies realizing little that their huge profits can only be realized under the law and order of functioning democracies. They set up their offices in small island enclaves to avoid taxes or shelter their enormous wealth. They run their sweat shops in countries with cheap labor that is in turn turned into enormous capital that is further invested to kill competition, and blight small scale industries and middle class entrepreneurs. They stash their ill-earned loot (money) in the vaults of Swiss banks in utter secrecy. I strongly believe that anyones wealth anywhere in the entire world should be public information available to all. This kind of transparence directly correlated with spirit life will greatly discourage morally illegitimate gains and undue hoarding. Everything legal is not moral. Once, slavery and caste system were legal but grossly immoral. Ironically such an economic order (truly, disorder) is rampant in democracies more so than in authoritarian states.

             Agro-complexes have gone into nations with cheap labor for agriculture and cattle farms, and sell their processed produces and products back in their economically well-to-do countries at a cheaper rate driving small farmers and business persons out of business. Outsourcing and globalization, ultimately very good for oneness of earth and humanity, is very bad currently as they are solely managed by unscrupulous corporations for their own material wealth. Currently they are instruments of exploitation. It is always good to produce what one needs locally. A time will come when humanity has matured sufficiently spiritually, and when interdependence on the basis of needs, distributive justice, and fairness for all prevail, outsourcing and cooperation will have a place. Very few in the world have heard about the ridiculous anomaly whereby farmers in the US are being paid by the government for not cultivating their lands. Surplus food is destroyed or given to animals to maintain price at a certain level in a world where millions die of starvation. This is morally reprehensible. Agrochemical corporations distributing non-organic fertilizers and pesticides at a huge profit is not only breaking the backbone of small farmers but also destroying the capacity of soil's natural resiliency and renovation. Insatiable consumption and exploitation of earth's resources in the march for so-called economic progress and competition are turning our earth into a wasteland made more and more uninhabitable by humans. While China leads the world with regard to carbon emissions polluting the earth with 25.64% of the total pollution, the two democracies, the USA (17.84%) and India (5.27%) rank second and third. What price do we pay for economic progress? An ecological theology and its applied spirituality are conspicuous by their absence.

Own Soul for Sale

            The current great debate and the Indian governments decision related to FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) are very important in a democracy like India. I strongly feel we are sacrificing our spiritual goals for quick economic progress. Questionable models and solutions from USA do not need to be imported to India that needs to find its own unique economic solutions in its own soil keeping very much in mind its own social responsibility and spiritual milieu. India has over three times the population of US while it has only a little more than one third of the land mass of USA. Above all, it is mighty difficult for India to resist the global domination and influence of the dominant power in the world. But resist India must before India sells its own soul as it did to the colonizers and foreign invaders in the past through its own internal dissensions. The present unprincipled political infighting in India smacks of the times the colonizers and invaders took over India. US and India have a lot to give to each other in various spheres. But presently the exchanges unfortunately are not taking place in areas of mutual benefit that builds respect for human rights and spirit life. This is an era of economic colonialism and spheres of influence. US borrows from China to finance its unnecessary spending habits. India does not need to borrow from the West to finance its projects, however necessary it may be. Tightening its own belt, rooting out corruption, bringing back illegal money locked up in foreign bank vaults will go a long way for India to achieve economic prosperity. Talking about an inexperienced young man becoming the prime minister of the largest democracy just because he happens to be the son of an influential clan or president of a major political party does not speak well for Indian democracy. There is no political heir who needs to be groomed. Indian democracy deserves better than that. Dynasty and democracy do not go together.

            While I lived in the USA for a long time, and still live two to three months a year, I did not and do not follow the so-called economic theories of experts to put my finance in order. Deficit financing could only be a short term solution. Chronic deficit financing sooner or later leads to troubles. It ends up managing one's life, and robbing one's freedom. Balancing the budget is the wisest solution for all times. In other words, one should not spend the money that one does not have. A spiritual person is content with what she/he has, and does not live high on the hog. Credit card living leading to eventual bankruptcy spells disaster in a democracy. Sound fiscal policy needs to be in place for a strong economy. I like shopping, for instance, in 24-hour, super Wal-mart stores to buy practically everything that I need in one quick stop. Sam Walton started Wal-mart in a small way in a little town in Arkansas and grew it into one of the largest corporations in the world. India can develop its own indigenous stores rooted in its own soil encouraging cooperation and not snuffing up healthy competition. I do not think India needs Wal-mart stores spreading their tentacles across India sapping its vital fluids. India does not need to tie up with big multi-national corporations that in the guise of FDI may turn out to be like the Trojan horse that will destroy the Indian economy by making it dependent on volatile foreign investments. FDI will not be required if the Indian government brings back billions of dollars of unaccounted black money of wealthy Indians hidden away in secret Swiss banks, and check rampant corruption in the government. In a recent lecture on India 2047 (September 1, 2012) in New Delhi, Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi stated: We need politicians and bureaucrats who are not made immensely richer by a few years of service. Becoming a minister in a government is not for accumulating wealth through patronage and influence peddling. Unprincipled strikes at the whim of political parties that paralyze Indian economy also need to go. India has a very fragile democracy that needs to be carefully nursed and strengthened.

Autocracy, Rituals, and Spirituality

            We have examined and found that democracy alone in civil governments as well as religious and ecclesiastical institutions can develop humans to full maturity, responsibility, and spirituality. We all live, work, and play by the same rules. Nobody is above rules. Nobody has any special privilege that exempts him/her from any rule. We are all equal before the law, and equal before God. No religious scriptures give any special power to any individual. The civil authorities, for instance, rightly got into the scene of sexual abuse by priests and pastors, because religious authorities were not able to monitor and set things right. This is a glaring example of the grievous failure of the unaccountable autocratic system of governance. This cannot and must not be tolerated anymore by anyone of us in civil or religious institutions without ourselves being accused of rank negligence and dereliction of our own rights and duty. We cannot blame anyone else but ourselves if we fail to exercise our own God-given rights. Autocracy is a remnant of the past. Historically the secular world mostly moved from monarchy to democracy, or sometimes from monarchy via dictatorship/autocracy to democracy. In any case autocracy is a less enlightened and mature stage before democracy with all its shortcomings. The course of the Western History that deeply affected the rest of the world was greatly influenced by the Pope, the unquestioned leader of the Christian world before the age of reformation and enlightenment. The great monarchs of Europe looked for the blessings of the Pope who considered himself to be the unquestioned ruler of the whole world as the Vicar of Christ. Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) born in Italy set sail to discover India to increase the wealth of his country was sent by the powerful Catholic Monarchs of Spain. After a long voyage against all odds, he finally landed in the Americas, called the native inhabitants Indians because he wrongly thought he reached India, and initiated the Spanish colonization of the New World (the American continents). Vasco da Gama, the first European to set foot in India, landed in Kappadu, near Kozhikkodu (Calicut) in Kerala was sent by the Catholic Portuguese Monarch to increase the wealth of his country. The monarchs enjoying the patronage and blessings of the pope had also in mind, besides colonization, the conversion to Christianity of the natives of the land they colonized. During the latter part of the middle ages till modern times the history of the world was essentially the history of Western Colonization and Occupation wherein autocracy flourished. Monarchy, the power of absolutism, and despotism began to wane considerably in the age of enlightenment and reason. But somehow Catholic Church remained a bastion of authoritarianism and autocracy tied to obedience and misguided holiness. Religious orders with the vow of obedience became powerful organizations buttressing the claims of the official, clerical, hierarchical church that got gradually distanced from ordinary lay members.

            While the secular governments moved on the Catholic Church that has about 1.2 billion of worlds roughly 7 billion people (about 17.2% of worlds total population) got entrenched in suffocating autocracy. The logic is simple. Christ was obedient to his Father unto death on the cross to save the world. Ordinary Catholics being obedient to the will of Christ and to his Vicar (the pope), who interprets the will of Christ on earth, are certainly facilitated to attain salvation. Thus autocracy that requires unquestionable obedience and fealty now becomes part of the divine plan, and consequently a divine right. This kind of thinking that has become part of the churchs outdated theology of salvation needs to go. It needs to be replaced by authentic teachings of Christ found in the Gospels and the best traditions of the early church. All rituals also need to be closely scrutinized for their relevance and their ability to uplift the human spirit. All God-men and God-women, especially in India, who lull people into falsely believing that they have true answers for the angst and the despair in spirit many people are currently experiencing also need to disappear. All religious institutions whether Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or Islam need to let go of autocratic ways. In the 1980s I had to take an oath against Modernism (modern ideas not approved by the official Catholic Church) before teaching at Jnana Deep Vidyapeeth (the premier Institution in India for training priests), Pune, that included also the Papal Seminary. India culturally is still a very patriarchal, autocratic, bureaucratic society with a veneer of democracy in civil government. United States also has a long way to go to clean up and strengthen its democratic institutions. The world is closely watching these two countries as possible models of democracy that captures the best of the human spirit. With realization of equality of all persons, especially of men and women, with greater awareness of human rights for all, and with better education and consciousness we can gradually demolish the ramparts of autocracy and authoritarianism for a better and more humane and spiritual world.