Raj Gurus – need of the hour

This fact was well understood by our forefathers and there existed a post of Raj Guru – a sage who is a teacher/ mentor to the king. The Raj Guru was also supposed to be the ethical gatekeeper to prevent corruption in/ criminalization of the government. This concept is very deep rooted in our Indian psyche and, even today, is widely used in organizations.

In many countries including the US, the involvement starts from the swearing-in ceremony itself (conducted by a religious head – like in ancient and medieval India). Just a day before the Mr. Obama’s oath taking ceremony, there was also a discussion on the church he would be choosing for his Sunday prayers? There are many other countries that have religious heads working closely with the top leader. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI has made it the goal of his papacy to counteract secularism (defined as separation of church and state).

However, today, we look down upon a leader, if he seeks blessings from religious/ spiritual leaders. This is partly attributable to cases like ‘Rasputin’ that misused such a trustworthy post and rest to the post-independence policies that copied the British instead of going back to our roots.

Hopefully, this will change now – as is evident by this letter from Shri LK Advani to all religious and spiritual leaders .

Let’s do our bit for the change… Change for the better. Vote!