Hard Power

Hard power is based on disciplining using either fear or greed, using either punishment or reward. Hard power means the political power, where the administration, bureaucracy, the law, court, punishment, reward exists. For example, “You have to do this or you will be prosecuted and put in jail.” Rules and regulations are examples of Hard power.

On the other side of the spectrum, there is soft power. Soft Power is the spiritual power. It is a soft power, where if people follow, they raise themselves out of their own inspiration. Voluntarily, they come and learn to evolve themselves, to raise themselves.

For example, millions of people do whatever Paramahamsa Nithyananda is saying in the morning satsang. Sometimes he is just saying, ‘Please close your eyes. Start inhaling and exhaling, and chant Shivoham.’ All over the world, thousands will be tying the eye-band, and closing the eyes, and inhaling and exhaling, and start chanting ‘Shivoham.’ If they don’t do, they will not be prosecuted, or punished. It is a soft power where, if they do, they raise themselves out of their own inspiration; voluntarily they come and learn to evolve and raise themselves.

A little understanding about hard and soft power will give you a lot of clarity of how to handle yourself and life.

God in Hinduism is Soft Power

In Vedic Tradition, the concept of “God” in Vedic Tradition is so beautiful, so subtle. For example, if you look at Mahadeva, He is not “hard power”. He is an embodiment of “soft power”, sitting in Kailasa and teaching.

Indra is the embodiment of “hard power”; not Mahadeva. Because the concept of “God” is a “soft power” in Hinduism, Hindus also had always “soft power” all over the world. Hindus have not sent a single soldier, but we are ruling the whole China for the last thousand years culturally! We just sent one young man from Kanchipuram – Bodhidharma. This is because, our concept of “God” is a “soft power”. Even now the world’s largest-practised religion is Yoga. And it does not have any “hard power”.

Buddha ruled practically the whole Asia, not because of “hard power”. If he was having “hard power”, he would have been ruling just his kingdom....just his kingdom. But, he left that and took up the “soft power” and he ruled the whole Asia! I tell you, Buddha was ruling a larger area than Krishna! Buddha was ruling a larger area than Rama! Buddha was ruling a larger area than even Meenakshi! Because, he took “soft power”, not “hard power”!

Our concept of “God” is never: He comes and sits in the seat of the Judge, and there is Judgement Day, and all the souls come, and the judgements are delivered. It is completely “soft power”.

We were slaves to some countries as far as “hard power” is concerned; and they were living what we were saying as far as “soft power” is concerned! What we should do as far as the legality and political things are concerned, how much tax we should pay, all that the British was deciding. But, what he should do as far as his body and mind were concerned, we were deciding! Anyone who starts thinking in Vedic Tradition, comes only to the conclusion of “soft power”.

God is not “hard power”. He is the source of “soft power”. See, Mahadeva, he sits in Kailasa. He does not control all the Akhilaanda, Andaanda, Brahmaanda, Bhuvanaanda, all the universes, worlds, planets. No! He just sits in Samadhi. Once in a while he opens his eyes and teaches in silence. And, again, when people have a problem, they come to him, and he blesses them, attends to it. And, again, relaxes into Samadhi. The very description of God is “soft power”. In the western religions, the very description, concept of God is “hard power”. That is why, anybody who wants to play God, they have to become the centre of the “hard power”. And, if I go a little deeper into it, that is why the clash between the politicians and priests always was prevalent in the West. In the East, it was always together. Always the Rajas and Rajagurus were together, because they know their zones are different. Kings never felt threatened by the priests. Kings never felt threatened by the Gurus, because, whether the very way of thinking and acting, the Guru was settled in “soft power”, and the king was always secure.

There are thousands of stories in India about the kings. There are tons of stories where the brother takes over the kingdom, where the son takes over the kingdom from the father, ministers take over the kingdom from the king, but not a single story where the Guru takes over the kingdom from the king! And, among the son, brother, minister, guru, Guru knows more secrets about the king and the kingdom, more information about the king and the kingdom, than the brothers, ministers, the army Commander-in-Chief, and all of them. We have tons of stories where the Commander-in-Chief suddenly imprisons the king and takes over the kingdom, where son imprisons own father and takes over the kingdom, where brother imprisons the king and takes over the kingdom; but we don’t have a single reference to say the Rajaguru imprisons the king and takes over the kingdom! Because, we are settled with the “soft power” and “hard power”! The king feels completely secure! The very thinking of the Guru is all about “soft power”; it has nothing to do with “hard power”.

… You may say, ‘Oh, we allowed politically ourselves to be slaves and ruled by others!’ So many things we can say. But, I tell you, we are, and we were, and we will be the most stable society! Even after so much of attack! Because, we know the technology of “soft power”! When you decide FOR LIFE inside you, please understand, even if it is a simple decision – you have a headache and you decide, ‘I will be free from it and I am going to clear it, I am out of it’ – even that simple decision creates a ripple in the Sun and the Moon! Please understand, I am not teaching something superstitious. If you decide, ‘I will come out of my headache! I will come out of my depression!’, that decision heals the hole in the ozone layer! It is directly related to the hole in the ozone layer, and the ozone layer is healed, Sun is healed, Moon is healed! - Paramahamsa Nithyananda Paramashivam

Run Your Life with Inspiration, Not Fear or Greed

A little understanding about “hard power” and “soft power” will give you a lot of clarity about Vedic Tradition and even about how to handle yourself. If you always handle yourself with “hard power”, you become insensitive to life. For example, if you only think about about the law all the time and move only with that, then your whole life will be controlled only by law. This does not mean you should break the law. Let the “soft power”, the spiritual understandings and power decide many things in your life than the fear and greed of “hard power”.

If you allow more and more the fear and greed of “hard power” to decide your life, you are a slave! Soft power is always inspiration-based; it is not fear-based or greed-based. Order which comes by “soft power” is the permanent eternal order. Order never comes by “hard power”; it comes only by “soft power”. May be, Law & Order can come by “hard power”, but order can come only by “soft power”.

Atheists always run behind “hard power”. Because they are so empty inside, they run behind “hard power”. The most intelligent people will be established in “soft power”. They know life runs by inspiration.

References

http://nithyananda.org/node?page=59#gsc.tab=0