A Civilizational View of Economy and Human Flourishing

In the long run, an economy can remain stable, humane, and regenerative only when it is aligned with the deeper spiritual and metaphysical core of a civilization. An economy that serves such a civilizational core does not exist merely to maximize output or efficiency, but to sustain a way of life rooted in an experienced understanding of reality.

A civilizational nation – a Rāṣṭra is one in which immense diversity—of languages, beliefs, practices, temperaments, and ways of knowing—coexists with a fundamental unity of vision. This unity is not enforced or ideologically constructed; it is lived, sensed, expressed and often silently intuited. It arises from a shared orientation toward human potential, purpose, and consciousness. What binds such a society together is not uniformity of belief, but a common spiritual destination and a deeply ingrained harmonizing principle—subtle, situational, contextual, and balancing—operating beyond codified rules, commandments, or externally imposed ethics. It is this civilizational grammar that enables the sustained presence of truth, beauty, and peaceful coexistence.

Such a society is not held together merely by laws, markets, or institutions. It is sustained by a shared civilizational orientation—a collective sense of direction regarding what it means to live well, to mature inwardly, and to contribute meaningfully. Within this framework, ethical balance is maintained not only through formal regulation, but through lived discernment, contextual judgment, and situational awareness. These softer, internal regulators of civilization often prove far more resilient than rigid prescriptions or mechanical compliance.

An economy grounded in this civilizational ethos can accommodate difference without losing coherence, encourage creativity without descending into fragmentation, and enable pluralism without eroding harmony. Prosperity, in such a worldview, is not measured solely by material accumulation or consumption. It is understood as the capacity of individuals and communities to live with meaning, dignity, vitality, and well-being—internally and externally.

For such an order to sustain itself, a critical mass of citizens must operate at a higher level of consciousness. These capacities do not emerge automatically from information, incentives, or institutional design alone. They are cultivated through sustained inner disciplines that develop awareness, self-regulation, depth of attention, and clarity of perception.

Across cultures and civilizations, individuals engaged in serious contemplative and reflective practices—whether through meditation, disciplined self-inquiry, or structured inner work—tend to develop greater balance, insight, and ethical sensitivity. When these practices are lived rather than merely discussed, they quietly elevate not only the individual, but also the social and institutional environments in which they participate. Only such societies are capable of nurturing leaders who operate from higher consciousness and possess the Viveka to make decisions that serve not narrow interests, but the well-being of humanity as a whole.

An education system and social culture that legitimizes and supports such inner work—without mandating belief, dogma, or ideology—strengthens the collective field of judgment and responsibility. In doing so, it creates the conditions for economic and institutional systems to be guided not merely by intellect or technical competence, but by mature discernment. This is the deeper foundation of enduring prosperity and civilizational flourishing.

First the purpose of human life as enshrined in the framework of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (purusharthas). And Dharma begins with Swadharma. So Artha is that which is dharmically earned and allows one to follow one’s swadharma and fulfil one’s satvik desires while following the Samanya Dharma.

Thus, first the individual life is designed around the fulfillment of the purusharthas and the design and function of the family is to help the family group achieve individual purusharthas through collective and individual effort. And the design of the society is to again facilitate the individual to follow swadharma and achieve purusharthas. The function of the state then is to create the conditions where society can collectively move towards achievement of purusharthas for every individual and to remove roadblocks and obstacles that may arise. The purpose of the collective wealth is to sustain this system and maintain cosmic order.

So overall, the twin goals for individuals, families and society from a Bharatiya perspective: Abhyudaya and Nihsreyasa (निःश्रेयस).

यतो अभ्युदय निःश्रेयस् सिद्धि सह धर्मः। — महर्षि कणाद

“That, which directs and leads to the attainment of abhyudaya in the world (material prosperity); and get the one to nihshreyasa (ultimate good or moksha) thereafter, is Dharma.”

And is for this reason that Chanakya gave us this formula:

Sukhasya Moolam Dharmaha

Dharmasya Moolam Arthaha

Arthasya Moolam Rajyam

Rajyasya Moolam Indriyaanaam Vijayaha

Indriya Jayasya Moolam Vinayaha

Vinayasya Moolam Vruddhopaseva

And therefore, traditionally the eldest / wisest member of the family as the most valued and respected and everyone followed his / her guidance. Not because of a kind of an oppressive, hierarchical structure – because he had entered a field of consciousness having lived for so long by following his swadharma, saamanya dharma and vishesha dharma as required that he had access to Viveka, he had experience, insight and foresight. Thus, even the King took the guidance of the Rajaguru. That is why we had a good percentage of the population which was purely engaged in the pursuit of truth and higher knowledge, and the society supported them through dana (food, clothing and shelter). And when such saints and seers arrived somewhere they were venerated and people asked them to give “Upadesha” – wise teachings / lessons.

Thus, purpose of life was moksha, dharma was the guide and artha and kama purti happened within the framework of Dharma and Moksha. So, all life was yoga. At this this was the intention and this thought informed and guided all other human endeavors – be it the building of temples, homes or public spaces. Clothing, food and lifestyle were based on the individual and familial situation and station. So, diversity manifested in every aspect of life which created diverse production and consumption patterns. So, there was no question of making everyone eat the same thing, wear the same thing and live in the same way. Thus, there would be natural brakes to prevent unbridled and unsustainable consumption.

Thus, civilizational core metaphysics, social structure, individual fulfillment, the relationship between the state, society, family and the individual, culture, educational system and the model of economy – are all interrelated. Therefore, governance and policymaking and implementation should be born out of this level of understanding and the individuals that make up these governing bodies should be operating at that level. And where can you find such individuals?

Well, for all this to happen our education system has to be built on this foundational knowledge and understanding and for that you need educators and teachers who are in it because it is their Swadharma and not because of any other reason. Thus it is time once again to invest in building a large army of learned and capable teachers.

It is also time to stop pretending that modern science is value-neutral and in fact accept that in any field of human endeavor, values play a major role and thus infuse scientific education and commercial science with the right dharmic values which can then flow into industry and governance.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00451/full

We need leaders who have a systems view of things – a holistic and well-rounded understanding of the world, human beings, society, science, technology and economics and can make policies that are rooted in truth, beauty and cosmic balance. And leaders are a product of the society in which they live which is a again a product of its civilization. A society that forgets where it came from and gets disconnected from its civilizational basis will soon find itself confused and directionless. Even if it achieves, Abhyudaya without an equal effort on Nihshreyas, it is bound to meander and lose its way. This is where Bharath can guide the rest of the world – provided it retraces its steps and finds its own natural swing – natural rhythm again.

Let us close with Sri Aurobindo:

“So, with India rests the future of the world. Whenever she is aroused from her sleep, she gives forth some wonderful shining ray of light to the world which is enough to illuminate the nations. Others live for centuries on what is to her the thought of a moment. God gave to her the book of Ancient Wisdom and bade her keep it sealed in her heart, until the time should come for it to be opened. Sometimes a page or a chapter is revealed, sometimes only a single sentence. Such sentences have been the inspiration of ages and fed humanity for many hundreds of years. So too when India sleeps, materialism grows apace and the light is covered up in darkness. But when materialism thinks herself about to triumph, lo and behold! a light rushes out from the East and where is Materialism? Returned to her native night.”