Dwapara Yuga: Creativity and Multiple Culture

There is a tendency in any old civilization to turn in on itself, lack sparkle and creativity as it affirms and reaffirms its norms, turning out conformist, party-line-towers who are able to get by in steady times but fail when circumstances change, whether its leaders are politicians, CEOs, or generals. Such civilizations tend to spiral and decay where the offspring of the elite classes automatically move to positions of power and leadership whether they are capable of them, or not. Placing incompetent but so-called noble-born generals in command of the Roman Legions hastened the Empire's Fall, much as the ossification of Manu's caste system in India stripped it of its independence, and Britain's blind trust in its upper classes caused it to lose not just Empire but most of its influence in the world in the last century. It is a peculiarly Kali Yuga idea to look up to those who inherit titles and wealth from ancestors, particularly where the ancestors were 'robber barrons' profiting from sharp monopolistic practices legal in their times or 'Archduke slept with the King, cut the King's hair, gambled with King' or other Middle Ages beribboned buffoonery.

Saints, sages and epoch changing leaders tend to stand outside of all such considerations, being agents of change representing currents from Satya and the higher Yugas in whatever time periods they arise.

If we look at the particular time-line of England, a potted history goes something like this. The underachieving Anglo Saxon locals lost to the Normans (Vikings in Northern France) in 1066 and picked up both the Viking go-getting spirit and French culture, eventually limiting the power of the King and nobles, developing sea power and one of the world's most outward facing cultures, soaking up information from around the world, leading to a synergy with India and in Dwapara the creation of vibrant, independent new countries such as India, the US, Australia, Canada and so on (a stark contrast to ex French colonies like Haiti, Ivory Coast and Algeria mired in civil wars for decades). Interestingly, from the fall of Empire after WWII, signs of growth in England are tied into reverse immigration with some of the brightest and best of India coming to positions of power.

To the author, a key feature of Dwapara progress is the idea of double or multiple culture, rather than the often narrow, provincial culture of those who have only lived in one place, spoken one language and known one set of ideas, beliefs and traditions. A great many figures of change are themselves products of travel and exposure to multiple languages and cultures, for example Parsis in India, Jews in the US, or Muslims in France. Historically, it took the Italian Napoleon to revitalize the moribund Post-Revolutionary France and the Hungarian Sarkozy is revitalizing the modern Republic. A great many US leaders traveled to Britain as Rhodes scholars and many elite US colleges insist on travel programs to Italy and Europe as part of a broad liberal arts undergraduate education, and no modern Masters in Business Administration would be complete without a couple of world trips to spice up the often US centric materials.

In today's Silicon Valley and Wall Street, what is striking is the number of people with multiple cultures, much as the showcase nuclear and space programs in the 40s and 60s. George Soros attributed his rise on Wall Street to having detailed knowledge of both the US and Europe at a time when the 'blue bloods' knew only their privileged but still provincial New England academies, something similar is happening today with those with knowledge of Brazil, Russia, India and China rise.

Absent international exposure, an access to a second culture can be had from a deep attunement with religion and spirituality for example in the lives of Joseph Smith or John Wesley - Smith read the Bible over and over to tune into it, much as did Wesley. In more modern times we have Saint Lynn's Gita studies prior to meeting Yogananda, IT leaders such as Jobs, Gates and Ellison finding creativity in drugs, dropping out and founding their business empires, and bands such as Led Zeppelin (and others in the 60s and 70s), in attunement with the earth forces in charged, nay notorious locales such as Headley Grange or Boleskine House.

Ironically, in WWII, it was the Nazi insistence on 'purity' that caused their key scientists to flee to the US and build their war-winning devices there. After WWII, it was the balance of German scientists who built the US and Russian space and nuclear programs. Even the AK47 assault rifle, one of the few inventions of the Soviet Union and a terrorist staple, is nothing but a cheap copy of a German rifle. Diversity and difference are not weakness, on the contrary strength much like a field of diverse varieties of corn is much more resilient than a monoculture (especially genetically modified) variety that in perfect circumstances is more productive but is prone to be destroyed entirely by new pests or even slight ecological change. Ireland's potatoe famine was due to a monoculture with little resistance rather than a British genocide as the US sponsors of IRA terrorism claimed. Hitler, with his mixed Austrian-Slavic ancestry, WWI experiences as a trench runner in France, intense individualism and extensive esoteric reading, vegetarianism and yoga was far from a model of collectivist conformity in the Kaiser's Army let alone the later Nazi and Communist models. Much as today's CEOs, religious and political leaders, Hitler's mantra was do as I say, not as I do.

All collectivities have their comfort of being part of a group, not standing out, whether a model Nazi, Communist or just plain 'Joe six pack' with predictable (public) social and consumer behaviors - giant SUV, two kids, married-young-out-of-school, Sabbath Day Saint (other 6 days open-season), Baseball/Football, Prozac, Ritlin, Vallium, Viagra, Mary-Jane and beer which means herd-like success or failure (i.e. strong group karma - nation, race, religion etc.) but little opportunity for creative, financial let alone spiritual growth. Even in India, Yogananda's interest in meditation led him to be called the 'Mad Monk' with kudos coming only decades later. Had Steve Jobs (Apple/Pixar) or Jimmy Paige (Led Zeppelin) not had great fame and monetary success, they would be 'hippy bums'. Sri Yukteswar compared the lives of people fixed to mundane things to those of chickens in coups, simply existing from generation to generation with no purpose.