theguyinallblue Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 SOME IMPORTANT QUOTES FROM CHANAKYA NEETI "A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "A debt should be paid off till the last penny; An enemy should be destroyed without a trace" Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "A good wife is one who serves her husband in the morning like a mother does, loves him in the day like a sister does and pleases him like a prostitute in the night." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Never make friends with people who are above or below you in status. Such friendships will never give you any happiness. " Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Test a servant while in the discharge of his duty, a relative in difficulty, a friend in adversity, and a wife in misfortune. " Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) "Whores don't live in company of poor men, citizens never support a weak company and birds don't build nests on a tree that doesn't bear fruits" Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC)
Lurker Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Okay I am not too sure if after reading these quotes I admire Chankya or disapprove of him. I mean - The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman." WTF!!! :hmmmm2::hmmmm2:
varun Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Hmm.. goes to show how practical and un-idealistic he was. His cunning and "smart" strategies were the main reason why Chandragupta was able to gain power among a slew of idealism-stricken kings
Lurker Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth :sad_smile::sad_smile:
Gambit Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Okay I am not too sure if after reading these quotes I admire Chankya or disapprove of him. I mean - The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman." WTF!!! :hmmmm2::hmmmm2: The real essence lost in translation I bet.
varun Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Okay I am not too sure if after reading these quotes I admire Chankya or disapprove of him. I mean - The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman." WTF!!! :hmmmm2::hmmmm2: Yeah I know it's not politically correct to say it these days, but it's true. I'm sure you know how many bonds and alliances were created in those times by marriage.
Ram Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 SOME IMPORTANT QUOTES FROM CHANAKYA NEETI "A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) did he really say - :D "screwed' first ? "A debt should be paid off till the last penny; An enemy should be destroyed without a trace" Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) Wow ! That is pretty ruthless "The world's biggest power is the youth and beauty of a woman." Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275 BC) Looks like he has used that power a lot !
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Ahh..finally ! If you all remember, i've cried myself hoarse here before saying that our dumb-$hit hinduvta morons like D_R, a certain moderator, a certain alligator and the clamouring support for fundie hindu parties like VHP/RSS/SS are really clueless about how to deal with the 'Islamist problem' in India- in Chanakya-niti lies the answers. It is no coincidence that Chanakya was the main instrument in founding what was one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen- powerful in every sense- economic might, military might and technological prowess. It is also no coincidence that the Romans themselves read Chanakya and that Arthashastra was translated into Mandarin ( if you folks had any idea how superiorist Chinese were and how much they looked down their noses on anything foreign-especially ideas- it is mindboggling that a Chinese emperor would augument Confucianism with Arthashastra). There have been no politician like Chanakya since him- perhaps only Machiavelli comes close to Chanakya's brilliance. The answers to India's security problem lies in impelementation of Chanakya-niti, not the ignorant tirades of hinduvta retards.
Gaurav Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Agree with all the quotes 100% Yes ***** cat does make the world go round :hysterical:
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Btw, one of the most common mispotrayals of Chanakya in Indian culture is that he was a brahmin scholar from Takshashila. That is nonsense- yes, he was a scholar from Takshashila but he was not a hindu, much less a Brahmin. Chanakya followed Ajivika and Carvakara - two schools of thought popular in India back in his time. Ajivika (from little i know) seems like a school that put emphasis on self control, routine and ascetism while Carvakara is the oldest atheist school in the world, its outlook completely materialistic and pragmatic. Hence Chanakya was such a ruthless but efficient policy maker and resorted to 'behind the scene politicking' over aggressive domination of people. In short, he was pretty much the perfect guy for a Prime Minister.
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 @CC Source of your info ? Some wikipedia, mostly from reading Arthashashtra. :tounge_smile:
Ram Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 CC, BTW , do you still stand by your Ashrafi , Ajlafi classes in Bangladesh claim ?
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 CC, BTW , do you still stand by your Ashrafi , Ajlafi classes in Bangladesh claim ? Ofcourse.
Ram Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Ofcourse. k... Asked a Bangladeshi.. Said he has never even heard about it. Coming back to this topic, I wonder why deception plays such a big role in determining the expanse of empires.
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Asked a Bangladeshi.. Said he has never even heard about it. Not surprising, is it ? Ask an arab about slavery and they'd blink and deny it too-they'd say they've never heard of it in recent times/Islamic slaves were treated better than normal citizens in the west/its a dead practice yadda yadda...yet UN reports show that slavery is STILL around in Arabia, mostly from African and indian slaves being shipped to arabia for sex slavery and 'ayah/maid/garden worker' type jobs, not to mention, i've *personally seen* slaves in the middle east a few times. I wonder why deception plays such a big role in determining the expanse of empires. Because deception is a far bigger tool than brute force- look at America- it rules the world through deception. You hear about america ranting about Iran and syria, while being mum about Saudi- the biggest culprit of all. You hear about Cuban-missile crisis but you don't hear that America started it by putting nukes in Turkey, 50 miles from the Soviet border, aiming nukes at Moscow. Deception leaves room for plausable deniability- its far harder to deny a whackload of armed soldiers whacking down someone or crushing a rebellion. It is also in line with our 'soft-power' cultural nature and despite how much our America-worshippers here want to think otherwise, India is far better suited to be a soft power than a hard power. (the term soft-hard has nothing to do with direct military might- Ashoka had 400,000 professional army and he was a soft power after his conversion- soft power means a power that relies on its culture, diplomacy,deception and dialogue to resolve its issues instead of projecting military power first and then comming to the table like America does with its plop-down-bases-everywhere-to-intimidate strategem).
varun Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 k... Asked a Bangladeshi.. Said he has never even heard about it. Coming back to this topic, I wonder why deception plays such a big role in determining the expanse of empires. Do bear in mind however that all the deception and pragmatism that you see in Chanakya-neeti was meant for rulers, and not the common man. It's better to advocate idealism and morality for subjects as they are easier to control that way.
Ram Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Not surprising, is it ? Ask an arab about slavery and they'd blink and deny it too-they'd say they've never heard of it in recent times/Islamic slaves were treated better than normal citizens in the west/its a dead practice yadda yadda...yet UN reports show that slavery is STILL around in Arabia, mostly from African and indian slaves being shipped to arabia for sex slavery and 'ayah/maid/garden worker' type jobs, not to mention, i've *personally seen* slaves in the middle east a few times. . Really cant compare the two. Arabs may deny slavery coz it illegal to have slaves and openly admitting to having slaves may land you in trouble. But , admitting to the existence of the Ashrafi/Ajlafi classes wont harm anyone. And yea , I know that guy pretty well. He has no reason to deny the obvious. So till now , i have seen THREE bangldeshis blink at these terms. Make your own judgements. Deception leaves room for plausable deniability- its far harder to deny a whackload of armed soldiers whacking down someone or crushing a rebellion. It is also in line with our 'soft-power' cultural nature and despite how much our America-worshippers here want to think otherwise, India is far better . And Deception leaves room for springing a surprise. When the enemy thinks you are upto something that you actually arent doing , it leaves you with room for maneuverability.
Ram Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Do bear in mind however that all the deception and pragmatism that you see in Chanakya-neeti was meant for rulers' date=' and not the common man. It's better to advocate idealism and morality for subjects as they are easier to control that way.[/quote'] I quite dont agree with that. Deception is part of everyday life, in yours , mine and all others. Every large-scale excercise requires a certain degree of deception , voluntarily or involuntarily. Its a FACT.
CC1981 Posted August 1, 2007 Posted August 1, 2007 Do bear in mind however that all the deception and pragmatism that you see in Chanakya-neeti was meant for rulers' date=' and not the common man. It's better to advocate idealism and morality for subjects as they are easier to control that way.[/quote'] Oh yes...i thought we were talking from that angle, since Chanakya-niti is about government's perspective towards governance, not about people taking it and implementing it in their daily lives. If anything, Chanakya emphasizes NOT to be a tyrant towards your people- don't piss them off, don't tax them ridiculously to fund your pointless wars and private palaces and above all, don't ignore a land you just conquered as a chattel- instead, send in your engineers and doctors and develop that land to meet the standards in the rest of the empire/union- not only does it lead to better productivity for the region (and thus, for the taxcollector and thus for the state), it also builds loyalty because you are not just another warmongerer ruling by the power of the sword. he also advocates NOT to mess with people's religions or lifestyles, to give them as much liberty as possible and if a religion/philosophy develops that threatens the state and the culture, destroy it from within using moles, plants, etc who will work to discredit the school of thought either by being contradictory or through plain ol 'secret police poisoning the food' methodology. In arthashastra, Chanakya ( who was well practiced in monastic ascetism and self-control) advocated infiltration of troublesome faiths, following it dilligently till rising to power position and then deliberately screwing up to discredit it. A modern day example of chanakya-niti would be to get a 20-something guy to go to Jama Masjid as a avowed muslim, be a regular visitor for the next 15-20 years,clearing the path by eliminating a few of the choicest rivals and then rising to the spot of an imam there or in another mosque and then deliberately (but pretend it is an accident or that you got caught) get caught in a gay relationship or money-laundering. Yes, you do get to face the 'ax' publicly ( but Chanakya ensured that such people would be living in relative luxury in some obscure prison) but you've just done a great service to your nation. Now on a national scale, make that 10-12 incidents of that kind breaking into news over a 1-2 year period and you can imagine how much Islam's own credibility would be destroyed that way. Ofcourse, the emphasis is on timing, on also having 'moles who look/act like good muslims questioning the text in face of the 'gay-imams' incidents' and above all, a fair treatment (atleast on the surface) from the state. It is important to remember that Chanakya-niti deals with a problem and its solution in strictly the best course of action scenario, where it can take 20-25 years to see result ( an action in haste is an action in waste- Arthashastra) or sometimes even a few generations. Chanakya wasn't motivated by fixing the country in a few years or 'making it safer for his children'- he cared about making it safer and saner for his great-grandchildren, even if it meant him and his children toiling away without fruit of labour. His methodology is to identify the problem and then take the best, most efficient solution to it, with timeline not being of much importance. Chanakya was not interested in quick-fixes, his prime overriding concern was to see Indian civilization keep flourishing and to a culture that is 10,000 years old, a few generations is a very short time and a very small sacrifice to make to get the right solution implemented. The way Chanakya envisioned India and his policy-making, he was looking 200-300 years down the road and Chanakya continuously cautions against ONE problem that has no solutions - an unstable government- ie, a government that is continuously in flux and has a string of rulers that last only 5-6 years or less than 10 years: according to him, it is this kind of continuous power-shifts that causes polarity of power and eventual take-over moves from different factions. And this is exactly what happened to hasten the fall of the Mauryan empire- Chandragupta, Bimbisar and ashoka ruled for 90 years in total - that is 30 years per ruler on average. After Ashoka, the Mauryan empire saw six emperors in 47 years and inevitably, a power-hungry and extremist hindu ( Pushyamitra Shunga) wrested power away. In a modern day context, that is a warning against 'hung' parliaments and coalitions of parties to form governments. Such things are good every now and then (because it stirs the pot, breaks the stalemates and stagnation) but to continue down that road for too long is flirting with disaster. All these are basically directly said or basic extrapolations from Arthashastra.
Recommended Posts