Lessons from the East XXVII - The Wisdom of Recession Proof & Ekatamik Economy

Why every few years, does the world through the cycle of Pain and Pleasure?

Can economic equilibrium and economic equanimity ever be achieved by an economy?

Why Bharat is the only economy in the World that has been ruled, controlled, and run by its original inhabitants for over the last 3000 years?

There is a famous Shloka in Sanskrit, which embellishes, embroiders, and expands on the virtue of equilibrium and balance.


Meaning of the Shloka: "A wise man accepts the good and the bad, both at the same time. He appreciates the good by a nod of his head and restricts the bad in his throat, as Lord Shiva adorned his head with the crescent moon and restricted the poison in his throat."

The Recent Recessions

Modern (mostly Western approach of thinking) historians believe that humanity made major progress with rapid Industrialization. The first, the Second, and the present third brought a leap jump to civilization and society.

The arrival of the first Industrial Revolution brought machines, and steam power, that started concocting the world somewhere in the middle of the 18th century.

Scaling up, standardization of goods, en-masse production of goods, the arrival of organizational and Corporate Slavery of humans, rise of mercenary capitalism, and proliferation of colonization of peaceful, self-sufficient, inward-looking nations (like Bharat, Africa, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, & the list is endless..) is attributable to the deadly tight-fisted punch of the first industrial revolution.

This anarchy was followed by the second industrial revolution that perpetuated the exploitation of the Earth’s resources with Oil exploration & extraction, usage of chemicals and alloys, a surge of electricity consumption, and communication technology.

The Second Industrial Revolution ended with the arrival of the First European War which is also popularly termed World War I (WWI)

WWI killed 20 million and wounded and injured ~ 21 million but it also gave an opportunity to capitalists to thrive on the wounded and dead such that the World economy surged. The greed, hunger, and the lust to earn and earn quickly led to a bubble and that bubble blew off in 1929 leading to one of the gravest depressions in human history.
This was followed by the third Industrial Revolution that started somewhere in the middle of the 20th century and brought Semiconductors, Mainframe Computing, and the internet.

This phenomenon is slowly yet steadily changing the human mind and human capability forever. The Unexpected rise of personal & geo-political conflicts and the unprecedented jump in mental illness (mind-related challenges) can be ascribed to this development.

Maybe a small price for Progress and Perfection (Pun Intended).

This en-masse production, unequivocal exploitation of Mother Nature’s resources, and usage of screens didn't only have repercussions on the body, brain, and mind but also on the economic well-being adding to human woes.
Since the time the first Industrial Revolution started, the United States alone has seen recession (a period of an economic contraction where, financial, industrial, and trade activity reduces or in economic terms successive two-quarters of negative real GDP growth) ~ 51 times lasting from 6 months to 6 years.


Source – Wikipedia

The Consistent, Conjoint Collaborative Economy

Bharat on the other hand in the pre-British Era never saw any major economic recession, barring a few droughts or famines only on account of rains and paucity of water. Post-Independence, since 1947 Bharat witnessed recession only 4 times, two times due to poor rains (Bharat was looted and plundered by Britishers during their 200 years+ of rule and an advanced economy of Bharat was pushed into being poverty struck, an agri-oriented economy dependent totally on monsoons) and two times due to Oil cuts by Oil producing nations and the sudden Oil price escalation (Bharat is the third largest consumer of Oil in the World and immediately during the post-independence era, it didn’t have any clout to negotiate the Oil supplies).

What kept the economy going?

The culture, the customs, and the system ancient Bharat created ensured that for millenniums, the economy, the sustenance of the economy, and the Rashtra remained resilient and the same was adopted sub-consciously by contemporary Bharat or Bharat in the post-Independence Era.

Tripods of Economy

Three tenets ensured insulation for Bharat and its economy through centuries & millenniums.

1. Globalized & Interdependent Economy– Humans and Humanity are interdependent and thus can't sustain or survive in Isolation. Bharat took this concept to the next level, implementing it in every economic activity. Thus, Bharat despite having prowess in specialized manufacturing and production, never manufactured only self-consumption.

Bharat manufactured so that the entire World and the entire globe can benefit from the innovation and advancement of its ancient yet advanced technology.

Bharat till about 1100 AD from 800 BCE contributed to ~ 34% - 38% of the World’s GDP.

Bharat remained the largest country in the world in GDP terms for nearly 2900 years and the reign of its economic leadership ended in 1720 AD with Britishers taking over its reigns and cutting Bharat's roots by decimating Bharat's ancient education and Bharat's ancient Family Culture.

Bharat never had significant Gold mines apart from the ones in Karnataka, yet Bharat had so much gold in every household that it was called the Golden Bird.

How did Bharat get so much Gold? Who paid so much Gold to Bharat? Why was it paid?

Bharat never plundered or looted or attacked anyone for gold, precious stones, or food. The Gold was earned by selling muslin, the finest silk, jewellery, spices, and agricultural products. The silk was weaved so well that a 9-yard saree (~ 8.2 meters) could be fitted in a matchbox.

In those days, there was no internet and no video calls and hence traders visited the big cities of Bharat and every city would have Dharamshalas that would provide free stay, free meals, and free hospitality to all guests visiting the city from outside. This creates a sense of a bond between potential buyers and sellers of the merchandise.

Furthermore, Bharat during the era of Raja Vikramaditya who lived from 102 BCE to 15 AD and started the first calendar system in the world also popularly known as Vikram Samvat and defeated Shakas had a fleet of ~ 4000 ships some for trade and some to protect the borders and boundaries of his kingdom.

The winds acted as an enabler in Global trade for Bharat for the mobility of these large ships taking goods and bringing back gold along with merchants.

From Nov till about March North East Trade winds blew from land to Sea from Bharat to Africa and Europe and thus traders would take a large quantum of goods from here to sell them in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe or older civilizations that existed then.

The same winds would reverse from April to June as South East winds bringing the Sailors and traders back.

Africa in the medieval era was prosperous and not colonized by Europeans and thus used to buy huge quantum of goods from Bharat and give Gold in return. West Africa till the Middle Ages and a direct route from Bharat was the largest producer of Gold.

The villages in Bharat produced everything apart from Salt and these products produced in excess were taken to cities to be sold in the international arena.



Quality, Uniqueness, Entrepreneurial abilities, relationships, win-win approach, and value for goods ensured Bharat’s dominance in International trade.

Modern-day Bharat is embracing and resurfacing the same philosophy yet again in the last decade or so and the results are visible with Bharat standing out as the Oasis amid the desert of the Current global banking and interest rate-driven Crisis.

2. Temple-Oriented Economy – Temples the world over are perceived as spiritual and religious institutions. The rest of the world or the present modern world largely misunderstood the Sanatani approach of establishing temples, which is one of the shoring systems for sustained economic advancement.

There is no doubt that Temples gave emotional & social support to the ecosystem but they also acted as the hubs of economic activity. Temples were the natural choice for conducting fairs and events, where local people thronged to purchase items of daily use as well as specialized items. Also, these fairs and melas coincided with festivals which were celebrated with great enthusiasm at the temples.

Santana Dharma doesn’t have 2-3 festivals but celebrates a range of them from 12 to 15 in number and most festivals arrive, during the lean season so that economic activity can be pumped up with festivals and fairs coinciding together.



Additionally, temples acted as the hub of artisans and artists, musicians, and dancers where they displayed and performed their art, craft, and skill earning name, fame, glory, and money all at the same time, thus enabling an entrepreneurial bent of mind.

The lives of the people back then were related in one way or the other to agriculture. Dams and canals existed but there were periods when rains deceived the inhabitants successively through the years. In such a case, temples supported the village or town through their granaries and deposits of gold.


During good times, merchants, agriculturists, and commoners all donated gold and grains voluntarily to the temple, and during periods of scarcity and famines, the temples supported the ecosystem back.

Spiritual Pilgrimage and travel were and continue to remain assistive in building a recession-proof economy. Globally 80% of travel is on account of leisure and in the past ~ 90% of the travel was for conquest or for finding new trade ideas or exploration.


In Bharat earlier and now ~ 70% -75% of the travel irrespective of class, creed, or economic prowess happens due to temples. Irrespective of what economic strata one belongs to, everyone travels to all the temples depending on their means and strength thus keeping the economy vibrant throughout the year.

3. Dharma-Oriented Ekatamik Economy –

The word Dharma is unique and has no similar or exact meaning in any other language apart from Sanskrit from where it originated.

Dharma finds its roots in the word “Dhri” which means to hold, uphold or carry. The way Maa Prithvi (Mother Earth) holds the entire nature and humanity, Dharma holds the entire creation.


Meaning: Dharma is called Dharma because it bears and holds up the entire creation.

Atharva Veda, the last of the four Vedas says


Meaning: This world is upheld by Dharma

In Simple language the righteous universal law created by nature that propels one to realize the “Braham” the all-pervading one is called Dharma.

Going deeper, as per the Santana approach to life, the purpose of human beings is classified into four parts also called Purushartha (the purpose of life) –:

Dharma (pursuing the right thing in conjunction with the Universal laws of nature),
Artha (earn & acquire money & wealth),
Kama (satiation of needs and desires) and
Moksha (cutting down the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth and achieving salvation).

For thousands of years, Santani culture constantly proposed one pursue Artha or money or wealth only through the righteous method.

If by harming, hurting, or wounding someone gains, that wealth or money is not Artha, that’s An-Artha and would lead to Anartha (devastation, destruction, disaster).

This belief got magnified through the years with the establishment of good principles in trade, in dealings, and in businesses thus benefiting both the parties in the transaction.

Furthermore, the Sanatani Approach cautioned Kama or desires should be fulfilled but not the ones that are harmful to others or such that cause addiction or self-destruction.

The Western world’s theory of life, states that man is at the core of the culture and everything revolves around it for its benefit. Also, the West believes that man is a social animal and they all come together for their mutual benefit to satiate emotional, social, or economic needs but with an underlying assumption that self-interest precedes the group’s interest also has holes.

The underlying Principle behind the Western belief system is that all humans, thus the groups they belong to, and the segments of society are all different and disjoint. Hence if each one takes care of their interest, the collective interest of the society as a whole will be taken care of.

Santana Dharma advocated that everything is linked and conjoint, the Jiva-Atma is present not only in humans but in all forms of nature including, metal, plants, rivers, mountains, etc. The Jiva-Atma in one is connected with Param-Atma (the almighty) and thus everything and everyone is inter-connected. All collectively are part of the same human body. Thus pain in one will lead to pain in the entire body and well-being can only be achieved when harmony exists within oneself and with everything else around.

And thus one should only take or consume as much as one needs for one’s existence. If one acquires or takes more such that it hurts another, the imbalance will be created and it will have ramifications.
Money, Wealth, and funds are essential for one’s well-being but not at the expense of others.


Thus concluding this conversation Siddhartha Rastogi says that ecology sustained for millions or billions of years as equilibrium existed. Exactly in a similar manner as long as Equanimity and equilibrium exist, the economy will sustain and prosper, financial catastrophe is a must.

The Trinity of Dharma, Temples, and Global Well-being Conjoint approach exists in the DNA of Bharatn culture, thus it’s pragmatically impossible to derail the Bharatn economy until this DNA is destroyed.


Views Expressed in the note are Personal.