the bitter pills

जनपदार्थं ग्रामं त्यजेत्॥३८३॥
ग्रामार्थं कुटुम्बस्त्यज्यते॥३८४॥
कुटुम्बार्थं पुत्रस्तज्यते॥३८४॥
आत्मार्थं सर्वं त्यज्यते॥३८४॥
चाणक्यसूत्राणि
janapadārthaṁ grāmaṁ tyajet||383||
grāmārthaṁ kuṭumbastyajyate||384||
kuṭumbārthaṁ putrastajyate||384||
ātmārthaṁ sarvaṁ tyajyate||384||
cāṇakyasūtrāṇi

This is one of the most important advices of Chanakya regarding priorities in human relationships. The idea is more or less echoed  in viduraneethi of Mahabharatam.
For the welfare of the Country, one may have to sacrifice the interests of his native village.  When it comes to the interests of his  native village, one has to give it priority over his own family.  If the family's welfare is compromised because of a son, such son should be abandoned in the interest of the family.  And if one's good name  and uplift of the soul are at stake, one has to sacrifice all he has to redeem his name and soul.

Uplift of the soul and one's good name should not be construed as selfishness.  If a human being cannot exist without sacrificing his good name and the purity of his soul, it is better that he dies, because without these he has lost his identity and genuine existence already.
If a situation will arise where the presence of a wayward son would ruin the family as a whole, the son should be abandoned.  Dhritarashtra failed to do this in Duryodhana's case and the result was that the entire family was annihilated the  a gory battle of Kurukshetra.
Family as a safe and secure unit is the dearest possession of every person.  But if the family as a whole becomes a threat to the welfare and existence of the bigger unit of a village, the interests of such village should take precedence over the family. This is more so because without the edifice of a well established and mutually cordial set of people  whose activities in co-operation alone can ensure social stability, it may become necessary to sacrifice the particular interests of the family to a great extent because the family will lose its relevance in the absence of the wider setup.
And sure, if one finds that the inhabitants of his village are indulging in activities that would endanger the unity and the sovereignty of his nation,  the interests of the nation should be upheld even by abandoning the sectoral interests.  The spirit of patriotism should take precedence over anything else.
The ideas would appear very difficult to digest  but the bitter pills will have to be swallowed if one is unwell and eager to redeem his health

--

।श्रीकृष्णो रक्षतु।
|śrīkṛṣṇo rakṣatu|
Have a nice and happy day
with profound respect and warm regards
K V Ananthanarayanan
(kanfusion)
blog   http://kanfusion.blogspot.com/
त्यजन्तु बान्धवाः सर्वे निन्दन्तु गुरवो जनाःI
तदापि परमानन्दो गोविन्दो मम जीवनंII
let all my relatives abandon me, let the great people insult me, still I am in supreme bliss since my life  is GOVINDA alone.
Iकृष्णात् परं किमपि तत्वं अहं न जाने"I
लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु।
lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu|