Acharya Prashant addresses questions regarding the necessity of countries, armies, and nationalism, and their compatibility with spirituality. He begins by stating that all worldly issues must be understood from the perspective of the human being, who is fundamentally the ego. This ego is small, fragmented, and fearful, and this inner fragmentation is projected outward, creating divisions and boundaries in the world. Therefore, most of these external boundaries are not worthy of respect. However, he introduces a crucial exception. He explains that while most divisions are born of the fragmented ego, there is one auspicious division: the one that separates the path of fragmentation from the path of wholeness. Applying this to nations, he argues that not all nations are the same. The nation of India, he posits, is the political manifestation of the Vedantic tradition, founded on the highest human values. This makes the nation of India worthy of protection. He contrasts this with nationalisms based on inferior values like race or bloodline, which are foolish. The foundation of a nation is what matters. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that the world is a dangerous place and the great spiritual experiment called India is under threat from both internal and external forces. He cites historical examples like the destruction of universities like Takshashila and Nalanda, and the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, to illustrate that places of culture, art, and spirituality, if left without an army, are destroyed by invaders. He refutes the argument of using army funds for schools and hospitals by pointing out that without an army, these institutions themselves would not survive. He dismisses the notion of the army being used as professional killers as a baseless idea, at least in the Indian context, and warns against blindly applying Western historical models like fascism to India, whose cultural foundation is different. He concludes that for spirituality and the inner world to flourish, a secure external environment is indispensable. This security requires physical power and a strong army to protect the nation where higher values can be pursued. He distinguishes between the armies of darkness, like Duryodhana's, and the armies of righteousness, like Krishna's. The army is necessary to protect against those ruled by base instincts. Therefore, a nation like India, which is a sanctuary for spirituality, needs an army for its protection and preservation.
