A progressive caste system. What we can learn from bees and ants.
In course of time, there will likely be a change in the pattern of the current day caste system, which is based on birth and not one’s abilities. The new system would ideally be based on one’s capacity to learn and hold that knowledge, and importantly use that knowledge to the betterment of society. The benefit of earning a good living should be a secondary consideration. In such a system, there would be three distinct categories of people. The first would be those who set the course and act as guides for our collective well being. Second would be those who support and execute these ideas. And thirdly, those who work towards maintaining the progress made by the leaders. As human beings we are all one, but in order to society to function and prosper, keeping that sense of oneness within our hearts, we should divide the different roles amongst people based on their abilities. In such a system, there is no high or low, all are equal in the eyes of the Lord and the law of the land.
Tiny creatures such as bees and ants are able to manage and organize themselves without any external prodding. In their society, some are at the top, such as the queen bee or ant. The queen is in charge of the overall well being of the beehive or ant colony respectively. Although there is a distinct hierarchy, the queen ants and bees also work for the survival of their colonies, although their duties may differ from those of the worker ants or bees. In olden days we also had kings and queens. Queen ants and bees are selected by their respective workers based on the queen’s ability and not through the chance of birth. In contrast, current and erstwhile kings and queens don that mantle purely based on the lucky chance of being born in a royal lineage. This same principle has percolated into the current day caste system. Merit aside, caste has become a birthright or a curse depending on which way one looks at it, whether through the lens of a benefit or a disadvantage.
A democratically elected leader of a nation is the closest comparison to the queen that worker bees and ants select from amongst themselves. We have a lot to learn from those tiny creatures that select their leader based on ability. Once a leader or queen is selected, there is no rebellion as all the ants and bees in the colony are busy working. A nation is like a bee colony whose survival depends on the abilities of not just the queen bee but the contribution of all bees. As long as everyone works and contributes in one way or another, there will be peace in the land. Working can also mean taking care of the aged and the infirm who may have given their contributions at some point in the past. Ants and bees take care of their own, unlike humans who have become selfish and self centered.
In a beehive or an ant colony there is no room for lazy bees or ants, the lazy ones risk being driven out. With the comfort of a lifetime inheritance of a particular caste, we foster laziness. If the distribution of work and its resultant perks are based on their knowledge and ability, society will grow and prosper on the foundation of this healthy hierarchy.
Just as honey is uniformly sweet throughout the beehive, all the benefits of the hard work of every member of our society ought to be shared, so all lives and not just for a few have the privilege of partaking in the sweetness called human life. It becomes sweet when we know its value. As long as we complain and take life for granted, it may turn bitter. Why wait till our time is up to realize the sweetness of human life?
Blessings to all
Swami Ponnurangam
Tiny creatures such as bees and ants are able to manage and organize themselves without any external prodding. In their society, some are at the top, such as the queen bee or ant. The queen is in charge of the overall well being of the beehive or ant colony respectively. Although there is a distinct hierarchy, the queen ants and bees also work for the survival of their colonies, although their duties may differ from those of the worker ants or bees. In olden days we also had kings and queens. Queen ants and bees are selected by their respective workers based on the queen’s ability and not through the chance of birth. In contrast, current and erstwhile kings and queens don that mantle purely based on the lucky chance of being born in a royal lineage. This same principle has percolated into the current day caste system. Merit aside, caste has become a birthright or a curse depending on which way one looks at it, whether through the lens of a benefit or a disadvantage.
A democratically elected leader of a nation is the closest comparison to the queen that worker bees and ants select from amongst themselves. We have a lot to learn from those tiny creatures that select their leader based on ability. Once a leader or queen is selected, there is no rebellion as all the ants and bees in the colony are busy working. A nation is like a bee colony whose survival depends on the abilities of not just the queen bee but the contribution of all bees. As long as everyone works and contributes in one way or another, there will be peace in the land. Working can also mean taking care of the aged and the infirm who may have given their contributions at some point in the past. Ants and bees take care of their own, unlike humans who have become selfish and self centered.
In a beehive or an ant colony there is no room for lazy bees or ants, the lazy ones risk being driven out. With the comfort of a lifetime inheritance of a particular caste, we foster laziness. If the distribution of work and its resultant perks are based on their knowledge and ability, society will grow and prosper on the foundation of this healthy hierarchy.
Just as honey is uniformly sweet throughout the beehive, all the benefits of the hard work of every member of our society ought to be shared, so all lives and not just for a few have the privilege of partaking in the sweetness called human life. It becomes sweet when we know its value. As long as we complain and take life for granted, it may turn bitter. Why wait till our time is up to realize the sweetness of human life?
Blessings to all
Swami Ponnurangam