Francis Gonsalves

Raja, today, is a fearful name associated with amazing amassing of wealth. The scamp and his scam notwithstanding, rajas (kings) have always held a privileged place in religious history. The tribes of West Africa, for instance, speak of Nyame ye Ohene, meaning, God is King. Likewise, the Bible highlights two royal images: God as King and humans as kings. Indeed, the latter is expected to reflect the former and the two ultimately merge as one.

The Hebrew-Aramaic word for king (melek) is one of the most commonly used words in the First Testament of the Bible, occurring some 2,700 times. And in the Second Testament, which focuses on the life of Christ, the Greek word for king (basileus) occurs more than 125 times.
Add on other references to royalty, like to rule, reign, kingdom and the like, and we see this prominent theme woven throughout the fabric of the Bible. What is its significance?
A king is normally associated with power. A basic Biblical idea is that God is a Creator-and-Protector King who not only rules over all people but also over all of creation. God reigns forever and ever. The Book of Psalms has many references to God’s kingship (10:16; 22:28; 44:4; 74:12). With God as King, human beings can live in peace, prosperity and harmony. However, Biblical history records the demand of people to have a human king.
The people demand of Prophet Samuel: “Give us a king to govern us”. Samuel is reluctant, but God tells Samuel: “Listen to the people; they have rejected me from being king over them”. After a list of cautions about the dangers of having men as kings, God warns: “You will cry out because of your king, and I will not answer you on that day”. With kings ranging from Saul to the more famous David and Solomon, the Bible describes some deeds, and many misdeeds, of royalty.
One might question the purpose of discussing rajas and rajyas today, when all we see of royalty is Wimbledon finalists curtsying before the royal box or paparazzi pictures of some princess of Kishangarh marrying a prince of Gondal. However, terms like Ram Rajya or “kingdom of God” have wide currency today and must be understood in terms of power: both, religious and otherwise.
When Jesus spoke of “kingdom of God”, he wasn’t referring to a political area, but a state of being where peace, justice and prosperity would prevail for all. He said, “The kingdom of God is among you”, meaning, God had already sown the seeds of truth and goodness in human society. However, it would require human cooperation to make this ideal grow. Thus, Jesus spoke of the “fruits of the kingdom”.
Jesus significantly proclaimed God’s rajya using imagery of sown seeds that yield a harvest, a tiny mustard seed that grows fantastically into a huge tree and a little yeast that leavens a lump of dough. These images show that both, God’s blessings, coupled with human effort, cause God’s reign to materialise.
Hinduism proposes Ram Rajya as the ideal society that existed when Lord Ram ruled. In the Mahabharata, the Divine Designer desires dharma to embrace the welfare of all in lokasamgraha, meaning, “world maintenance”. Beyond religious differences and divides, couldn’t we work together to ensure that neither A. Raja, nor any other raja for that matter, abuses the power entrusted to him/her by people?
On January 30, 2011, I participated in an “India Against Corruption” rally that attracted thousands of citizens, social activists and religionists from all over India. There were demands for the prosecution of corrupt politicians and disclosure about Swiss Bank account holders. Events like these convince me of peoples’ power, especially which comes from being daughters and sons of God.
While striving for the spread of righteousness, Jesus urged his disciples to pray: “Lord, may your kingdom come”. May the Ram Rajya or God’s kingdom neither be nostalgia of the past nor some utopia of the future, but a here and now reality where you and I, as princesses and princes, can fight Raja-scams and be faithful to God, one of whose many names is “Raja”.

— Francis Gonsalves is the principal of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. He is involved in interfaith dialogue and peoples’ initiatives for fostering justice, harmony and peace. He can be contacted at fragons@gmail.com