Hare Krishna. The recent Lok Sabha elections in India have brought about quite a few surprises.

If we want to make sense of the world and the events within it, the Bhagavad Gita is an invaluable resource for guiding and inspiring others to make good choices and understanding why people make the decisions they do. Let us examine what the Bhagavad Gita tells us and how it can relate to the elections and their results.

I will talk about three key points: Intelligence, Incentive, and Identity.

Most people make their decisions based on a variety of factors, one of which is intelligence. Intelligence (buddhi) is the faculty that the Bhagavad Gita encourages us to develop. The Gita guides us so that, with intelligence, we can discern our long-term interests. One of the primary duties of a leader is to educate and engage people’s intelligence so they can first see their long-term interests and then take steps to pursue them.

For example, the current government, which was also the government before these elections, worked for the overall economic, cultural, and spiritual development of India. Infrastructure development is essential for the long-term fiscal stability and prosperity of the country. This is something that may not be immediately apparent to people, who may be more focused on short-term benefits. Leaders must activate people’s intelligence and help them appreciate the importance of long-term development.

Similarly, the building of the temple was a healing process for a multi-century-old open civilizational wound. It helped bolster the nation’s civilizational identity and cultural foundation, binding the country together. While this has a long-term positive influence, the vision and value of such actions need to be communicated in a way that people can understand. Hence, appealing to people’s intelligence is crucial so they can pursue their long-term interests.

At the same time, the Bhagavad Gita acknowledges that not everyone will always pursue their long-term interests. People often need incentives to do what is good for them, and these incentives may often be short-term. The Gita says in 3.26 that we shouldn’t expect people who are attached to worldly desires to act as if they are primarily interested in long-term gains. Therefore, the government and leaders also have the responsibility to understand what the immediate interests of people are and to what extent they can fulfill them.

For instance, if infrastructure development takes away people’s land or resources, they might not be concerned with the long-term prosperity that infrastructure will bring, but rather with the immediate losses they are facing. The question then arises: will those concerns be addressed?

On the other hand, if the incentive comes in the form of freebies, people may be carried away by that. This is an unfortunate reality that must be acknowledged. Buddhi helps us perceive our long-term interests, while incentives appeal to the mind. Krishna says that for healthy decision-making, it’s best when intelligence, reason, and emotion are harmonized.

Now, what people perceive as their interests—both long-term and short-term—depends on a third factor, which is a key theme in the Bhagavad Gita: Identity.

The Gita begins with a crisis of identity. Arjuna is torn between his identity as a member of the Kuru family, where he feels he should not fight, and his identity as a warrior, which compels him to fight. The Gita teaches us that we have a fundamental spiritual identity that underlies all our functional identities. There is a paramarthik ahamkara (spiritual ego) and a vyavaharik ahamkara (functional ego). Beneath the mind and intelligence lies our sense of self, or ego.

Often, leaders may try to identify their followers in a particular way, but those followers may not see themselves in that way. For example, leaders may appeal to the Hindu community to consolidate their interests, but many people within the broad demographic of Hinduism may not primarily identify as Hindus. They may identify by their caste, region, or other specific concerns. This creates an identity mismatch.

There has been concern and even criticism about why Hindus did not vote for a government that has done so much for Hindus. The diversity within Hinduism can sometimes be a challenge, where people identify more with smaller sects, regional groups, or castes than with the broader Hindu identity. Additionally, the caste system, with its history of discrimination and exploitation, has left many people feeling disenfranchised and alienated from broader Hindu causes.

Therefore, leaders must help people see their unifying, underlying spiritual identity. This understanding can help unite not only a nation but also humanity as a whole. While the Bhagavad Gita’s foundation talks about this spiritual aspiration, it also recognizes that Arjuna identifies primarily as a warrior. Krishna uses that identity to urge him to fight for establishing Dharma and social well-being (11.33).

The point here is that leaders need to understand what people identify with and ensure that their interests, based on their identities, are addressed. This principle applies not only to politicians but to all of us. Each of us has a circle of influence, and we are all leaders in our own small ways. In fact, the Gita calls everyone to become a leader (3.21).

The idea is that, in our circles, wherever we are, we can encourage others to pursue their long-term interests by engaging and equipping their intelligence. We can also provide incentives to help people make short-term decisions that align with their long-term interests. Additionally, we need to understand how people identify themselves and address their concerns accordingly, while also helping them realize their underlying unifying spiritual identity.

Thank you.