The Cosmic Tree - Eternally Creative

When the world was created, Prajapati said:
"This world will be your wish-fulfilling cow."

— The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, verse 10

long, long ago …

Long, long ago, in ancient India there was a gurukulam (a system of education, in which a pupil, after his initiation, lives in the house of his guru for education) of a very revered guru (teacher), who knew how the Universe works. The guru lived with Brāhmaṇī (his wife) in a small house by the river. Apart from the house, they had a cow and a wish-fulfilling tree. He also had five shishyas (disciples) … bright young boys who were eager to learn how the Universe works.

One of his disciples were much younger than the others and seemingly the weakest one. However, the guru seemed to think, the youngest of them all was the most attentive and the brightest pupil he has ever taught.

On the last day of their education, the guru told his disciples that he was extremely pleased by their performance over the years and he thought they were ready to go out in the world and work toward improving the human condition.

“I’m extremely pleased,” he said. “All of you have performed brilliantly and have graduated successfully. I give you permission to ask for anything you want from the wish-fulfilling tree.”

All of his five disciples were delighted to hear that they can ask for anything they want. All of them ran to the center of the courtyard where stood the wish-fulfilling tree. In the commotion, the youngest one was pushed aside by his older and stronger companions. He tried to catch up but stumbled and fell on the ground. Seeing that the boy had injured his leg, Brāhmaṇī rushed toward him and helped him get back in the hut.

The youngest and the brightest one sat beside the window and saw in amazement the spectacle that was unfolding at the center of the courtyard. Whatever his companions wished for was granted to them. They wished for clothes … they got clothes. They wished for grapes … they got grapes. They kept wishing and they kept getting. They kept on trying out the clothes till they got bored. They kept on eating the grapes until they got severe stomach ache.

The youngest one saw it all. He did not feel hurt anymore at being pushed over. His heart was filled with compassion at the suffering of his older companions.

All four of the disciples ran back to the hut and the eldest one asked the guru, “What kind of grapes are these? I got a severe stomach ache. Why are these causing me so much pain?”

To this the guru said, “There is nothing wrong with the grapes, it’s your greed that is causing all the pain. You’ve succumbed to your own greed. Give up your greed and the pain will vanish. You must understand that the wish-fulfilling tree gives you anything you want … but it also gives you the opposite. You wanted grapes … it gave you grapes. It also gave you pain. You wanted clothes … it gave you clothes. It also gave you boredom. You cannot have one and not have the opposite. That is how life works. That is how the Universe works. Be careful what you wish for. Even better, give up what you want … instead focus on what you can give. Then … you will receive.”

That was the guru’s last lesson to his disciples. It seemed that all of his disciples had learnt their lesson. Four of them had learnt through selfish actions and the brightest one had learnt through observation.

few years later …

In the world outside the gurukulam there is no wish-fulfilling tree. Life is the cosmic wish-fulfilling tree. Whatever the four wish for they get … through selfish actions. But they also get the opposite! Primarily, they wish for only four grapes … sex, fame, money, and power. And along with those four grapes they also get boredom, insecurity, fear, and anxiety.

The brightest one observes. His heart is filled with compassion at the suffering of his older companions. He wants none of it. He has received the divine gift of equanimity in selfless work … in working for others … in giving.

present day …

The story of our world is the story of four grapes … sex, fame, money, and power! There are no other grapes … there is nothing else to be had. The greed in us seeks more and more of the four grapes. When we get them we also get the opposites—boredom, insecurity, fear, and anxiety. And when we don’t get them we’re angry. This collective anger has now spilled all over the world. Adharma (unrighteousness) is flourishing … and the time to re-establish dharma is here and now.

There are two key questions that keep resurfacing on my mind.

How did we get to where we are today?
Where do we go from here?

To answer the first question, let’s go back in time and assume the role of the youngest and brightest disciple by simply being an observer of the events. And for the second question … I believe our future is not just in our past but also how we react in our present.

1839 – 1858 — Opium Wars

In the 18th century, China enjoyed a favorable trade balance with Europe, selling porcelains, silk, and tea in exchange for silver. In the late 18th century, the British East India Company, expanded cultivation of opium in its territories in Bengal, India. It sold this Indian opium to private traders who transported it to China and sold it to Chinese smugglers (opium was illegal in China based on the edicts of the Chinese Jiaqing Emperor of Qing dynasty). By 1787, the Company was sending 4,000 chests of opium (each weighing 77 kg) a year to China. By 1833, the number of chests of opium trafficked into China soared to 30,000 per year.

In 1834, the East India Company’s monopoly ceased. However, the illegal trade continued to grow. Partly concerned with the moral problem and partly with the outflow of silver, the Emperor placed matters in the hands of High Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu. In 1839, Commissioner Lin published a “Letter to Queen Victoria” in Canton pleading for a halt to the opium contraband, but did not send it to the Queen. Lin issued an edict ordering the seizure of all opium in Canton, including that held by foreign governments and traders. Lin initially offered the foreign companies to forfeit their opium stores in exchange for tea. However, there were no takers. He then confiscated all supplies and ordered a blockade of foreign ships and got them to surrender their illegal opium supply. The smugglers lost 20,000 chests (1,300 metric tons) of opium without compensation.

The British trade commissioner in Canton, Captain Charles Elliot, wrote to London advising the use of military force against the Chinese. Some months later a skirmish happened between British and Chinese vessels in the Kowloon Estuary on September 4, 1839. In May 1840, almost a year later, the British government decided to send troops. On June 21, 1840 a British naval force arrived off Macao and moved to bombard the port of Dinghai. In the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy used its naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire.

The war was concluded by the Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing) in 1842—the first of the treaties between China and the Western powers. The treaty forced China to cede Hong Kong and the surrounding smaller islands to the United Kingdom in perpetuity, and it established five treaty ports at Shanghai, Canton, Ningpo (Ningbo), Foochow (Fuzhou), and Amoy (Xiamen). The treaty also demanded a twenty-one million dollar payment to Great Britain, with six million, paid immediately and the rest through specified installments thereafter. Another treaty the following year gave most favored nation status to the British Empire and added provisions for British extraterritoriality. France secured concessions on the same terms as the British in treaties of 1843 and 1844.

In 1853, the Taiping Rebellion established its capital at Nanking and threatened northern China. In spite of this, a new Imperial Commissioner, Ye Mingchen was appointed at Canton, determined to stamp out the illegal opium trade. In October 1856 he seized the Arrow, a ship claiming British registration, and threw its crew into chains.

On December 15, during a riot in Canton, European commercial properties were set on fire and Sir John Bowring, Governor of Hong Kong, appealed for military intervention. Following the murder of a French missionary, Britain now had French support. Britain then sought greater concessions from China, including the legalization of the opium trade, expansion of the trade, opening all of China to British merchants and opium traffickers, and to exempt foreign imports from internal transit duties.

The war resulted in the Treaty of Tientsin (June 26, 1858), which forced the Chinese to pay reparations for the expenses of the recent war, open a second group of ten ports to European commerce, legalize the opium trade, and grant foreign traders and missionaries rights to travel within China.

During the same time Nikolay Muraviev—Governor-General of the Russian Far East—camped tens of thousands of troops on the borders of Mongolia and Manchuria, preparing to take control over the Amur from past settlement. Muraviev seized the opportunity when it was clear that China was losing the Second Opium War, and threatened China with a war on a second front. The Qing Dynasty agreed to enter negotiations with Russia. Russia annexed Outer Manchuria by the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Treaty of Peking in 1860.

1894 – 1895 — First Sino-Japanese war

The first Sino-Japanese war grew out of conflict between the two countries for supremacy in Korea. Korea had long been China’s most important client state, but its strategic location opposite the Japanese islands and its natural resources of coal and iron attracted Japan’s interest. The two countries went to war on August 1, 1894.

Although foreign observers had predicted an easy victory for the more massive Chinese forces, the Japanese had done a more successful job of modernizing, and so they were better equipped and prepared. Japanese troops scored quick and overwhelming victories on both land and sea. By March 1895 the Japanese had successfully invaded Shandong province and Manchuria and had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing. The Chinese sued for peace.

In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the conflict, China recognized the independence of Korea and ceded Taiwan, the adjoining Pescadores, Senkaku Islands, Ryukyu Islands, and the Liaodong Peninsula in Manchuria.

1888 – 1914 — the British expeditions

In the nineteenth century, the British conquered Burma and Sikkim, occupying the whole southern flank of Tibet. The Tibetan Ganden Phodrang regime, which was then under administrative rule of the Qing dynasty, remained the only Himalayan state free of British influence.

The Sikkim expedition in 1888, was a British military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim in present-day north-east India. The roots of the conflict lay in British-Tibetan competition for sovereignty over Sikkim.

Thereafter, the British expedition to Tibet, also known as the British invasion of Tibet began in December 1903 and lasted until September 1904. The expedition was effectively a temporary invasion by British Indian forces to establish diplomatic relations and resolve the dispute over the border between Tibet and Sikkim.

In 1914, the British colonial administrator, Sir Henry McMohan proposed the demarcation line between Tibet and the North-east region of India, which was agreed and signed between British and Tibetan representatives at the Simla Convention.

1914 – 1918 — World War I

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, to realize the idea of “liberating” the South Slavs of Austria-Hungary.

On July 28, war was declared and Austro-Hungarian artillery began to bombard Belgrade the next day. On July 30, Russia ordered mobilization against Austria-Hungary. On July 31, Germany sent a 24-hour ultimatum requiring Russia to halt its mobilization and an 18-hour ultimatum requiring France to promise neutrality in the event of war between Russia and Germany.

Both Russia and France predictably ignored these demands. On August 1, Germany ordered general mobilization and declared war against Russia, and France likewise ordered general mobilization. The next day Germany sent troops into Luxembourg and demanded from Belgium free passage for German troops across its neutral territory. On August 3, Germany declared war against France.

In the night of August 3–4, German forces invaded Belgium. Thereupon, Great Britain, which had no concern with Serbia and no express obligation to fight either for Russia or for France but was expressly committed to defend Belgium, on August 4 declared war against Germany. Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 5; Serbia against Germany on August 6; Montenegro against Austria-Hungary on August 7 and against Germany on August 12; France and Great Britain against Austria-Hungary on August 10 and on August 12, respectively; Japan against Germany on August 23; Austria-Hungary against Japan on August 25 and against Belgium on August 28.

On September 5, 1914, Russia, France, and Great Britain concluded the Treaty of London, each promising not to make a separate peace with the Central Powers. Thenceforth, they could be called the Allied, or Entente, powers, or simply the Allies.

On January 8, 1915 the Empire of Japan made a set of 21 demands to the government of Republic of China. The demands would greatly extend Japanese control of Manchuria and of the Chinese economy, and were opposed by Britain and the United States. In the final settlement, Japan gained a little but lost a great deal of prestige and trust in Britain and the US. The Chinese public responded with a spontaneous nationwide boycott of Japanese goods and Japan’s export to China fell by 40%.

In China, the overall political impact of Japan’s actions was highly negative, creating a considerable amount of public ill-will toward Japan, contributing to the May Fourth Movement, and a significant upsurge in nationalism. The term “hundred years of national humiliation” arose during that time and was used to describe the period of intervention and subjugation of the Chinese Empire by the West, Russia, and Japan.

World War I was one of the great watersheds of 20th-century geopolitical history. It led to the fall of four great imperial dynasties in Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey, resulted in the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, and, in its destabilization of European society, laid the groundwork for World War II.

1939 – 1945 — World War II

By the early part of 1939 the German dictator Adolf Hitler had become determined to invade and occupy Poland. Poland, for its part, had guarantees of French and British military support should it be attacked by Germany. Hitler intended to invade Poland anyway, but first he had to neutralize the possibility that the Soviet Union would resist the invasion of its western neighbor. Secret negotiations on August 23–24, led to the signing of the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in Moscow. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed that Poland should be divided between them, with the western third of the country going to Germany and the eastern two-thirds being taken over by the USSR.

Finally, on August 31, 1939, Hitler ordered hostilities against Poland to start at 4:45 the next morning. In response, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. World War II had begun.

World War II was a conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the Axis power—Germany, Italy, and Japan; the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history.

From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.

Initially, most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany, but as time went on different groups were arrested, including “habitual criminals”, “asocials”, and Jews. Prisoners lived in constant fear of brutal treatment and terror detention including standing cells, floggings, the so-called tree or pole hanging, and standing at attention for extremely long periods. There were 32,000 documented deaths at the camp, and thousands that are undocumented.

After the beginning of World War II, people from German-occupied Europe were imprisoned in the concentration camps. Following Allied military victories, the camps were gradually liberated in 1944 and 1945, although hundreds of thousands of prisoners died in the death marches.

World War II resulted in the extension of the Soviet Union’s power to nations of eastern Europe, enabled a communist movement to eventually achieve power in China, and marked the decisive shift of power in the world away from the states of western Europe and toward the United States and the Soviet Union.

1946 – 1971 — independence days

The Indian Independence Movement was a series of activities that led to the ending of British rule in India. The movement spanned a total of 90 years (1857–1947).

The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. In early 20th century political self-rule (Swarāj) was proposed by leaders such as the Lal, Bal, Pal triumvirate, Aurobindo Ghosh, and V. O. Chidambaram Pillai.

The last stages of the self-rule struggle from the 1920s was characterized by Congress’s adoption of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s policy of non-violence and civil disobedience, and several other campaigns. Nationalists like Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Bagha Jatin, Surya Sen preached armed revolution to achieve self-rule. Poets and writers such as Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Subramania Bharati, Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Kazi Nazrul Islam used literature, poetry, and speech as a tool for political awareness. Feminists like Sarojini Naidu promoted the emancipation of Indian women and their participation in national politics. B. R. Ambedkar championed the cause of the disadvantaged sections of Indian society within the more significant self-rule movement.

The period of the World War II saw the peak of the campaigns by the Quit India Movement led by Congress and the Indian National Army movement led by Subhash Chandra Bose with the help of Japan. The work of these various movements ultimately led to the Indian Independence Act 1947, which ended the suzerainty in India and the creation of Pakistan.

On October 1, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), which broke out immediately following World War II and had been preceded by on and off conflict between the two sides since the 1920’s. The creation of the PRC also completed the long process of governmental upheaval in China begun by the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The “fall” of mainland China to communism in 1949 led the United States to suspend diplomatic ties with the PRC for decades.

In 1971, the Indo-Pakistani War was sparked by the Bangladesh Liberation War, a conflict between the traditionally dominant West Pakistanis and the majority East Pakistanis. The political tensions between East Bengal and West Pakistan had its origin in the creation of Pakistan as a result of the partition of India by the United Kingdom in 1947; the popular language movement in 1950; mass riots in East Bengal in 1964; and the mass protests in 1969. The geographical distance between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan was vast; East Pakistan lay over 1,000 miles away, which greatly hampered any attempt to integrate the Bengali and the Pakistani cultures.

The war began with preemptive aerial strikes by Pakistani Air Force (PAF) on 11 Indian air stations, which led to the commencement of hostilities with Pakistan and Indian entry into the war of independence in East Pakistan on the side of Bengali nationalist forces. Lasting just 13 days, it is one of the shortest wars in history. On March 26, 1971, East Pakistan declared independence as the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

During the course of the war, China harshly criticized India for its involvement in the East Pakistan crises, and accused India of having imperialistic designs in South Asia. China was also critical of the Government of East Pakistan—which used ruthless measures to deal with the Bengali opposition—and didn’t endorse the Pakistani position. It is estimated that members of the Pakistani military and supporting Islamist militias killed around 3,000,000 civilians in Bangladesh. As a result of the conflict, a further 8 to 10 million people fled the country to seek refuge in India. Moreover, members of the Pakistani military and supporting Islamist militias called the Razakars raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bangladeshi women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape.

1962 — Sino-Indian War

On October 20, 1962 the Chinese People’s Liberation Army launched two attacks, 600 miles apart. In the western theatre, the PLA sought to expel Indian forces from the Chip Chap valley in Aksai Chin while in the eastern theatre, the PLA sought to capture both banks of the Namka Chu river. Some skirmishes also took place at the Nathula Pass, which is in the Indian state of Sikkim (an Indian protectorate at that time). Gurkha rifles traveling north were targeted by Chinese artillery fire.

After four days of fierce fighting, the three regiments of Chinese troops succeeded in securing a substantial portion of the disputed territory. The war ended when China declared a ceasefire on November 20, 1962 and simultaneously announced its withdrawal to its claimed “Line of Actual Control”.

It’s interesting to note, that China had no border issue with India throughout history until it occupied Tibet at the turn of the second half of the last century.

1950 – 2019 — the American wars

In 1950, communist North Korea, supported by China, invaded non-communist South Korea. UN forces, principally made up of U.S. troops, fought to protect South Korea. The Korean War is the first armed conflict in the global struggle between democracy and communism, called the Cold War. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict. In April 2018, the leaders of North and South Korea met at the DMZ and agreed to work towards a treaty to formally end the Korean War.

In 1961, the United States orchestrated the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion, an unsuccessful attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba.

In 1955, communist North Vietnam invaded non-communist South Vietnam in an attempt to unify the country and impose communist rule. The United States joined the war on the side of South Vietnam in 1961, but withdrew combat troops in 1973. In 1975 North Vietnam succeeded in taking control of South Vietnam. The Vietnam War is the longest conflict the U.S. ever fought and the first war it lost.

In 1965, U.S. president Lyndon Johnson sent marines and troops to quash a leftist uprising; he feared the Dominican Republic might follow in the footsteps of Cuba and turn communist.

In 1982, U.S. troops formed part of a multinational peacekeeping force to help the fragile Lebanese government maintain power in the politically volatile country. In 1983, 241 U.S. Marines and 60 French soldiers were killed by a truck bomb. The multinational force withdrew in 1984.

In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan invaded the Caribbean island nation of Grenada to overthrow its socialist government, which had close ties with Cuba. A U.S. peace-keeping force remained there until 1985.

In 1989, U.S. President George H. W. Bush invaded Panama and overthrew Panamanian dictator and drug-smuggler Manuel Noriega. Noriega was later tried and convicted on a number of charges, and was imprisoned in the United States.

In 1991, Iraq invaded the country of Kuwait. The Gulf War began and ended swiftly when a U.S.-led multinational force came to Kuwait’s aid and expelled dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces.

In 1993, a U.S.-led multinational force attempted to restore order to war-torn Somalia so that food can be delivered and distributed within the famine-stricken country.

In 1994, after Haiti’s democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is ousted in a coup in 1991, a U.S. invasion three years later restored him to power.

In 1994, during the Bosnian civil war, that began shortly after the country declared independence in 1992, the U.S. launched air strikes on Bosnia to prevent ethnic cleansing. It became a part of NATO’s peacekeeping force in the region.

Yugoslavia’s province of Kosovo erupted in war in the spring of 1999. A U.S.-led NATO force intervened with air strikes after Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbian forces uproot the population and embark on a plan of ethnic cleansing of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian population.

In 2001, the Taliban government harbored Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist group, responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

After Afghanistan refused to turn over Bin Laden, the U.S. and UN coalition forces invaded Afghanistan. The Taliban government was ousted and many terrorist camps were destroyed. Thereafter, the Taliban began regrouping. The year 2006 was the deadliest year for U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001.

On May 2, 2011 (May 1 in the U.S.), U.S. troops and CIA operatives shot and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

On May 1, 2012 President Obama and President Karzai signed the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America. The Agreement provides for the possibility of U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014, for the purposes of training Afghan Forces and targeting the remnants of al-Qaeda.

Despite plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, ongoing instability (and continued U.S. interest in the region) has led to the U.S. remaining heavily involved. There is still no clear end in sight, as the Taliban has resumed offensive operations as of March 2020.

In 2003, the U.S. and Great Britain invaded Iraq and toppled the government of dictator Saddam Hussein. The U.S. engagement in Iraq continued for the next several years amid that country’s escalating violence and fragile political stability.

On August 31, 2010 President Obama announced the end of U.S. combat missions in Iraq. Effective September 1, 2010, the military operations in Iraq acquired a new official designation—”Operation New Dawn.” The U.S. is still committed to providing support to Iraq for further development in the areas of defense and security; education and culture; energy; human rights; services; and trade.

In early 2011, a coalition of nineteen states began intervening in the civil infighting in Libya. By March, NATO officially took control of the situation, and assisted rebel forces against the government of Muammar Gaddafi. The intervention lasted until November, when fighting dropped off following Gaddafi’s death.

In 2012, militants in Iraq and Syria declared a new caliphate and rapidly seized a large territory. They began a widespread propaganda campaign to cultivate domestic terrorism in other countries and to recruit new members. The United States and other NATO allies began a long campaign to contain and reverse the spread of ISIL.

By 2018, ISIL no longer held any territory in Iraq, and severely declined in Syria. The United States continued airstrikes against the Assad regime as well as against the remaining ISIL holdouts. These airstrikes, by March 2019, contributed to ISIL losing all of its remaining territory. In October 2019, a US airstrike caused the death of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

It’s quite apparent from the numerous wars that America has been involved in, especially from its wars against Cuba and Vietnam, that military and economic might doesn’t necessarily translate to victory on the ground. Moreover, it’s also obvious that wars cause massive destruction and often results in unresolved conflicts (the wars in Korea and Afghanistan being prime examples).

2020 – 2030 — the future is in our present

On July 8, 2013, the pro-PRC Chinese-language newspaper, Wen Wei Po, published an article titled “Six wars China is sure to fight in the next 50 years.” The anticipated six wars are all irredentist in purpose—the reclaiming of what Chinese nationalists believe to be national territories lost since the Opium Wars. The losses are widely considered by the nationalists as “hundred years of national humiliation.”

According to Wen Wei Po the wars are:

The 1st war – unification of Taiwan
The 2nd war – reconquest of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea
The 3rd war – reconquest of Southern Tibet (territories located south of the McMohan line consisting of parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India)
The 4th war – reconquest of Diaoyu (Senkaku) and Ryukyu Islands
The 5th war – unification of outer Mongolia
The 6th war – taking back lands lost to Russia

Now, Wen Wei Po’s article may not necessarily reflect the official position of Xi Jinping or the Communist Party of China (CPC). However, recent activities of the Chinese government only adds fuel to the fire. The following list of events say more about China’s intentions than China would ever acknowledge:

If the above list is not enough to comprehend China’s designs, let’s see what Russia and Mongolia are doing to take pre-emptive measures against the future 5th and 6th wars as mentioned in Wen Wei Po. Russia has invited a military contingent from the Armed Forces of Mongolia to participate in its annual Victory Day parade, designed to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.

It seems that other nations have also started realizing China’s ambition. The following events provide a glimpse:

So where does China and the world go from here? In my previous blog apo-Kālī-pto, I had talked about a series of astronomical events that indicate a major war is in the cards. And China’s intentions seem to corroborate that prediction. So what are the possible scenarios? What does the Cosmic Tree tell us about the possible outcomes? Let’s explore.

The calm before the storm. Somewhere around the LAC between India and China.

Scenario 1

Objective: China wants to be a responsible superpower. It’s benevolent and wants to help the world fight the Coronavirus. It wants to save its face and work toward economic progress through global collaboration.

Sequence of events (predictive):

China realizes that for its continued economic progress it needs to collaborate (Guanxi) with the world, show respect (Mianzi) to its neighbors, and return favor (Renqing) for its economic prosperity. This is Chinese philosophy for maintaining interpersonal ties in society. This is China’s philosophy for righteousness. No one knows this better than China.
China abolishes mass surveillance and revokes Hong Kong security law. By doing this, the Chinese government regains trust (Mianzi) from the entire world.
China take steps to withdraw its vessels from the South China Sea and its troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. By doing this, the Chinese government shows respect (Mianzi) to its neighbors.
China comes out with a Coronavirus COVID-19 vaccine and distributes it to the world for free. By doing this, the Chinese government returns the favor (Renqing) for its economic prosperity and technological progress.
China learns to “let go” of the past and networks (Guanxi) with the world toward a bright future.
China becomes a superpower, both economically and politically. The world look up to China.

Scenario 2

Objective: China wants to dominate the world. It wants to reclaim the national territories lost since the Opium Wars. It wants to conquer and destroy all its enemies to realize this ambition.

Sequence of events (predictive):

China is unable to “let go” what it refers to as “hundred years of national humiliation.” It plans to wage wars to reclaim its territories lost since the Opium Wars.
China doesn’t want to attack India yet since it knows that it’ll severely affect its economic progress. China also wants to keep India distracted from the issues at South China Sea. China provides support to terrorist organizations and Pakistan for attacking India simultaneously from within and without.
India’s COVID-19 vaccine is approved for launch. China is concerned about India’s growing influence in world politics.
Terrorists attack key cities in India and a civil war breaks out. Indian government struggles to maintain peace.
China moves aggressively in South China Sea. U.S. elections draw closer. Trump’s electoral ratings are at its lowest. To improve his ratings, Trump orders attack on Chinese vessels in South China Sea and a war in the middle-east.
Pakistan attacks India. India gives a fitting reply and takes control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. China is busy fighting with U.S. in South China Sea and is unable to support Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan disintegrates.
The world rallies against China. Protests and riots within China escalate. Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong gains liberation. China disintegrates.
India becomes a superpower, both economically and politically. The world look up to India.

Only one of the two scenarios will play out in the real world. But which one? The answer is coded in the verses of The Bhagavad Gita.

yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata |
abhyuthanamdharmasya tadatmanang srijamyaham ||7||

paritranaya sadhunang vinashaya cha dushkritam |
dharmasangsthapanarthayay sambhavami yuge yuge ||8||

When dharma declines, and adharma flourishes,
I give myself birth, to restore the balance.

And every age witnesses my birth;
I come to protect the good, and destroy the wicked.
I come to re-establish dharma.

— The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, verses 7 and 8

The one free from greed, fear, and anger will be protected. The wicked will be destroyed. The time is here and now!