"It was the great advent of Abraham Lincoln which brought the uniquely true idea
of democracy into reality in America. He specifically said that the government
should be 'of the people'. Yet today, we find that most countries who call
themselves democracies have been demonocracies. They are ruled by people who
are either money-oriented or power-oriented. Concern for the benevolence of the
people, which should be the main aim of a democracy, has become completely lost
in modern times. It is simply no longer a matter of concern for those people
who are said to be at the helm of affairs. Many people have claimed, and
perhaps they are not entirely wrong, that America is nowadays no longer ruled by
the people, but by the rich only, by big businesses, or by cinema actors and
actresses. The rest of the developed countries nowadays, are also ruled by the
banks, the entrepreneurs, the media and the underworld.
Thus, the idea of Abraham Lincoln, like the ideas of all great saints and
prophets, has become completely perverted, as democracy has degenerated in our
money crazy, modern society. Whatever generous principles were announced at the
beginning have vanished into the mist of violent, argumentative discussions at
various conferences called throughout the world to solve the problems of
democracies. The establishment of higher ethical values, which was originally
meant to be the top priority in any democratic country, is now completely
missing from the agenda..."
"Politicians should be dedicated to the welfare of the people, but sometimes
politics becomes like a game of chess, in which the sole aim is to stay on the
board as long as possible. The politicians do not want to leave their seats, to
which they are glued, until they are forced to admit defeat. Until the last
moment of their lives they want to be in a state of political intoxication.
They only resign when one foot is definitely placed in the grave. Such low
level people cannot work for a real democracy. For democracy you need very
noble, learned and compassionate visionaries, who have a benevolent attitude
towards the people and total dedication to the ideals of democracy."
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Chapter 3 in the book Meta Modern Era, 1995
Index
Page