As the King, so the People...यथा राजा तथा प्रजा

The scriptural saying "As the King, so the people"...(in Sanskrit, it says "Yatha Raja Tatha Praja.. यथा राजा तथा प्रजा") is a universal phenomenon and finds echos across the globe.

With respect to Indian perspective, it is equally true. And above all, there is another truth of the democratic set up that there is no one king but there are multiple layers of kings, the multiple centers of  power in the hierarchial order from local administrations, district administration, state administration to center administration and therefore , there are layers of pyramids within pyramids of these kings. These kings usually deviate from their duties towards the nation for their individual vested interests and commit many evil & sinful acts. The peoples of the country too do not remain untouched by the consequences, influences and inducements of these sinful acts and consequently, the wheel of nation's progress is badly affected. The whole system of  governance with all the bigger, less bigger & lesser kings coupled with the people influenced not only becomes corrupt but they all become partners & collaborators of the greed and loot. Every palm in the multiple layers of pyramids from a peon & babu (clerk) to a minister is to be well oiled and looked after. Though,  every political king claims to be working for the service of the nation & people but usually possess a hidden agenda to remain in power by hook or crook and make enough money for himself/ herself as well as for his/her many future generations to come. Every king sitting at the top of the pyramids and at other layers also makes a solid succession plan for his/ her children & family member to become future kings of his/her ill-gotten kingdom. These dynasties exists and flourished perpetually at all levels from states to centre which goes unchallenged due to the so-called political compulsions  and greed of money. Publically, the bigger & smaller kings criticize the other kings from opponent's political set up for their wrongs doings and even make promise to send the wrong doers to jail but when it comes to acting on the promise, they shy away and take covers by saying that the law will take it's own course. Even if some one is convicted and jailed, they are bailed out soon  using the loopholes in laws. In fact, their promise remains as hollow as their commitments to serve the nation, which are only used in political speeches to draw louder clappings  and fooling the voters.

There appears hardly any crime which now a days these kings are not committing. Large scale scams involving crores & crores of Rupees, land grabing, illegal mining, bribery to push the files, cheating & stealing,  money laundering, amassing  black money, tax avoidance, committing murders, frauds,  rapes,  breaking, laws,  dividing people in the name of caste, community, race, sect, minority, non minority, dalit, non dalit, OBCs, financing & engineering riots, terror and anti national acts and many more have become so common among these kings  that every now and then many incidents comes to media highlights but many more remain suppressed & unreported. The mighty, powerful, musclemen & spoiled lot among the people too get encouragements from the unpunished acts of the political kings and they are pampered secretly to use them for garnering electoral gains. As these goons & bad elements become supporters of these kings, they too join the politics, get party tickets and even get elected due to their muscle & money power at later stages. The end result of this process of criminalisation produces growing lot of  law makers from the ever growing lot of law breakers. One can see in India thousands & thousands of such modern kings,  the VVIPs & VIPs. One can imagine the fate of a country when the people, the laws breakers, who possess least respect for law becomes law makers.  A simple politician who starts his political career with torn shoes and a torn bag on shoulder with the great promises of public service with utmost honesty & integrity, amasse huge wealth within a short span of time. The new king after joining the bandwagons of kings, within a short span, accumulates multiple high end cars at his/her disposal, acquires multiple real estate properties in his/ her own name and in the name of his/her family members & even fictitious names, becomes business owners, open hospitals & educational institutes, flies in chartered flights & helicopters, makes world tours and stay at five star hotels & resorts. This becomes a vicious cycle which turns a common man into a corrupt king, making the  wheel of governance weaker & weaker as the days pass. The nations suffers while the poverty of the Netas (leaders) is eradicated for generations to come.

So what is the solution?

The king at the topmost pyramid has to change. The following story will illustrate this.

There was a king who himself was very honest but had a loose structure of administration. The people at various layers in the pyramid of his governance were taking advantage of the weaknesses in the system and to accumulate personal wealth, were harassing common people. As a result there were disturbances, quarrels, thefts, corruption, loots, riots, molestations, rapes and total disharmony & chaos in the society. The king was very upset & disturbed by the turns of the  events and sincerely wanted to rectify the ills cropped up in his state. He called his ministers for a meeting to discuss the problems and evolve a solution. The ministers were speaking in different voices and nobody could give any solution to solve the complex problem. Seeing this, the king announced that he will give half of his state to anybody who comes with a solution to set the things right. The king's pronouncement was widely published all over the territory of his state & beyond. Days passed but nobody came to give any solution. The king was loosing his patience and sleep over the matter.

One day suddenly a sage entered the king's palace and offered to give a solution to the king. He was produced in the court of the king. After saluting the king, the sage told the king that he has a solution to set the things right in his kingdom which he will tell to the king only on the pre-condition that whatever solution he suggests, the king has to abide by it and implement truthfully. Further, the sage told the king that he does not want any wealth or half of the state in return but he would set the things right if the king accept whatever solution he suggests. The king was happy and he accepted the pre-condition to abide by the suggestion. The sage asked the king to announce to the people of his state to submit their complaints without any fear in writing whatever they are. The king followed and announced to his people to send their complaints in writing. Within few days, boxes and boxes filled with complaints started arriving at the palace. The sage kept his cool and suggested to the king to let the complaints flow till they stop pouring. After few more days, the complaints reduced and one day it stopped totally. Then, the sage asked the king to pick up a complaint from a box. The king picked up a complaint and read it. It said; "My Lord, I am a poor farmer and have a young daughter. The young son of the king is harassing my daughter. One day he even tried to molest and rape my poor daughter. Where should I report and lodge my complaint?" After reading the complaint, the king became very sad but did not know what to do as the complaint was about his own son. The sage advised him to put his son in jail as punishment for his wrong doing. The king got very disturbed and was almost praying to the sage  to save his only son from punishment. The sage said that the king has made a promise to act on his advise and now the king cannot go back from the promise. The king had no option and he put his only son next day in jail.

Then the king called the sage and asked him that now he had put up his son in jail, he will pick up the next complaint to read it and act upon it. The sage calmly told the king that now there is no need to pick up and read the rest of the  complaints. The sage also advised the king to put these complaints on fire. He explained to the king that in a state, where the king could send his own son to jail on a complaint of a poor farmer, nobody would dare to commit any crime in future. And to the great surprise and joy of the king, within few days the crimes & chaos disappeared from his kingdom and people lived happily ever after.

That's why the truth  "As the King, so the people...यथा राजा तथा प्रजा" finds universal echos across the globe.

Does India has a king at the top of the Indian  pyramid to make it a reality from the age old saying? 

A Robber becomes a Great Sage and writes the Indian Epic, Ramayana

A child , named Ratnakar while playing with his friends, was lost in a jungle. He was found by a hunter who brought him up. Ratnakar also became a hunter when he grew. On attaining adulthood, he was married to a girl from another hunter's family and had children. Later, he found it very difficult to feed his family by hunting and in order to survive, he took to robbery. He used to attack whosoever passed through the jungle and rob him of his belongings. One day a famous sage (ऋषि), Narada was passing through the jungle singing his favorite devotional song; Narayana Narayana.... Narayana and playing Veena (a musical instrument)  in praise of Lord Vishnu (Narayana).  Ratnakar interrupted Narada on his way and raising his arm holding an axe asked him to hand over all his belongings else he would kill him. Narada said that he was a sage and does not have anything to offer. Narada was very calm and did not even offered any resistance. Seeing this, Robber Ratnakar asked him why he was not afraid of him as he appears fearless. Narada said that he fears  none but Lord Narayana only. Narada said on the other hand , the robber appears to be fearful. The robber said he was not afraid of anybody and he can kill the sage without any fear. Narada said that the robber was not speaking the truth as he was living & hiding in jungle out of fear of being caught. Narada also questioned him why he was committing sins of harming innocent people and robbing them. Ratnakar replied that he has to survive in the jungle and also has to support his a family, a wife,  children and old father at home.  To this reply, Narada questioned the robber whether his family would also share his sins of killing innocent people & robbing them since he was committing these sins to support his family. The robber said; why not, they have to share the sins too as he his committing the crimes to support them. Narada asked him to go back and check with his family members if they too share his sins. Narada also said he will wait for him to return with the answer and promised not to leave the place. On getting this promise, Ratnakar left for his home in the jungle.

As he reached his home, everybody was surprised for his early return and asked him why he has returned so early. Ratnakar asked his wife if she shares his sins of murders & robbery. She said that she as a wife, has committed to share his happiness and misery as her duty of being his wife but not his sins. He asked the same question to his children and the old father and they too said that they do not share his sins. Ratnakar got deeply disappointed and with a sad face, returned to the place where the  sage Narada was waiting for him.

Seeing him returned with a sad face, Narada asked him why he was looking so sad. Ratnakar narrated the whole story that nobody is prepared to share his sins. Narada taught him the lesson that for any good or bad Karma (acts),  only the person committing the karma is responsible and only he/she is entitled to get the fruits of such karma. Narada also taught him the sacred verse (मंत्र) of Rama Nama (राम नाम मंत्र) and instructed him to do meditation on it as repentance. The robber was reformed and with deep devotion he sat in meditative pose and  started singing " Ra.....Mara, Mara, Mara .... the reverse of Rama, Rama, Rama ...as he was unable to pronounce the holy name properly in the begining. It is said that Ratnakar meditated sitting on the same place for years together and as a result, his body got completely covered by an anthill.  The sage Narada came to see him after many years and hearing the name of Lord Rama from within the anthill,  uncovered his body. When Ratnakar came to his senses, Narada said that  his penance has paid off and the God was pleased with him.  Narada honoured Ratnakar with a title of Brahmarshi and given him the name, Valmiki, since he was reborn from the Valmika (the ant hill). The robber Ratnakar became the great  sage Valmiki who founded his ashram (hutment) at the banks of River Ganga.

Valmiki later wrote the great Indian Epic Ramayana in Sanskrit which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Lord Rama who rescued his wife Sita, kidnapped by the demon king Ravana and performed his duties as an ideal king of Ayodhya. Valimki is also revered as the Adi Kavi (आदि कवि), the first poet.

Ramayana is a holy book of Hindus in India which depicts ideals to mankind; to perform ones duties as the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. The governance system established during the period of Lord Rama is called Rama Rajya ( राम राज्य) where all are equals, with equal opportunities & justice. It sets an ideal for the modern society and politicians to imbibe the values into their lives for eternal peace, harmony & true happiness. In India, even today when the people talk of good governance, they recall the Rama Rajya.

Political Funding! Whose Money is it? यथा राजा, तथा प्रजा...

The facts:

As reported in media recently, following are some of the facts about political funding in India.

1. Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR, a non-partisan, non-governmental organization which works in the area of electoral and political reforms in India)  says the income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 313%.

2. The total income of national and regional political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at ₹11,367 crore,

3. According to an analysis done by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR),  69% of the income of these parties was from unknown sources.

It means the political parties received major portion of their donations from multiple unknown & undeclared sources (are they  fictitious or from black money holders? Not known!) contributed in lots of Rs. 20,000 or less.

4. The income of national parties from unknown sources increased by 313% during the decade.

For the regional parties, it went up by 652%.

5. The BSP is the party which has got 100% of its income through donations from unknown sources. Its total income increased by 2,057%, from ₹5.19 crore during 2004-05 to ₹111.96 crore in 2014-15.

6. Income of Congress party was the  highest at ₹3,982 crore which is about 43% of the total income of six national parties .

BJP stood second with an income of ₹3,272.63 crore, just over 35% of the the total income of six national parties.

The CPI(M) declared the third highest income of about ₹893 crore.

7. About 83% of the total income of the Congress party, amounting to ₹3,323.39 crore, and 65% of total income of the BJP, amounting to ₹2,125.91 crore, came from unknown sources.

8. The BJP topped the list for declaring the maximum of ₹918 crore voluntary contributions through donations in excess of Rs. 20,000.

The donations declared by the BJP are more than twice the donations declared by the Congress during the same period.

9. The BSP has not reported any donation above ₹20,000 in the past 11 years.

10. The total declared income of regional parties during the period stood at ₹2,089 crore.

The Samajwadi Party has  declared highest income   of  ₹819 crore, followed by the DMK with ₹203 crore and the AIADMK with ₹165 crore.

ADR & Election Commission Recommendations:

1. Based on the findings, the ADR has recommended that full details of all donors be made available for public scrutiny under the RTI.

Some countries where this is done include Bhutan, Nepal, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria, the United States and Japan. In none of these countries it it possible for almost 75% of the source of funds to be unknown, but at present it is so in India.

2. ADR said that any organisation that receives foreign funding should not be allowed to support or campaign for any candidate or political party.

3. The Election Commission had recommended that tax exemption be awarded only to those political parties which contest and win seats in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections.

14. The EC also suggested that details of all donors who donate above ₹2,000 be made public.

15. ADR report suggests that scrutiny of the political party’s financial documents should be conducted annually by a body approved by the EC and the Comptroller and Auditor General for greater transparency and accountability.

The Road Ahead:

1. One thing is to be noted that all the political donations whether it is one Rupee or one crore Rupee is the public money, means, it is funded by you, me & every Indian citizens whether it is individual donation or corporate donation. If it is individual donation, it is a public money, donated by people like us. If it is a corporate donation, it is also a public money earned by corporate houses  from public like us. All forms are money made or earned is public money which is national wealth as they are squeezed from public only. So all forms of  political donations are public money and therefore it demands 100% transparency & auditing by a competent authority like CAG.

2. The law has to be equal for citizens as well as for political parties in terms of declaration of sources of incomes.  Otherwise, it violates the fundamental right of Equality before the law guaranteed under the Indian Constitution which says —The State shall not deny to any person
equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of
India.
The political parties are surely persons & not ghosts.

If income tax rules entitle tax exemption to political parties, let them enjoy the same but don't allow them to hide the source of income even if is one Rupee. If public hides his/her income, he/she would be in jail whereas political parties enjoy total freedom which is totally discriminatory and against the spirit of the  Constitution.

3. In a democracy, the political parties and the people, both are the stakeholders. Through election process, the winning candidates of the political parties form the government. It also does not mean that the government is formed only by the majority party but the remaining parties, the so called opposition parties too are the part of the government, otherwise, if they don’t have any role in government, they should sit outside the parliament and state assemblies and also should not claim any salary and perks. Since the political parties and the people are the stakeholders, the government (meaning thereby all the political parties collectively) must ensure that it’s actions are always in the interest of general public and total transparency is maintained in their funding and expenses in accordance with the Constitution.


On maintaining 100% transparency in political funding, the political parties collectively have been adopting double standards? They form one set of laws for general public and another set of laws for political parties. Subsequent to the recent  demonetization step of the government banning Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1000/- notes to eradicate the black money, terror funding & fake currency menace, the Prime Minister, Modi has been echoing the idea of transparency in political funding, considering it as a root cause in generating black money and giving rise to crony capitalism. The Prime Minister has also welcomed the suggestion of EC that details of all donors who donate above ₹2,000 be made public. Of late other political parties are also taking a positive public posture in favour of transparency in political funding (may be under the political compulsions). The question is who will bell the cat? Few political parties are asking for building a consensus while others are asking BJP government to come up with a law.  No party voluntarily is prepared to declare that from today, they will maintain 100% transparency in funding and are prepared to come under the RTI act.

The public are looking towards the BJP lead NDA government to come up with a stringent law making compulsory for all political parties to maintain 100% transparency in their funding and come under RTI act.Else, you can not ask other person or a party to be honest until and unless you yourselves are honest. The famous saying "यथा राजा, तथा प्रजा" ...Yatha Raja, Tatha Praja... जिस देश का राजा जैसा होता है, उस देश की प्रजा भी वैसी ही हो जाती है, meaning;  the citizens of a country becomes like the  king".

Life & Times of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Today is the Birth Anniversary of the great freedom fighter, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. On this occasion, the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi saluted Netaji and said in his Facebook post;

Quote:

I salute Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary. His valour played a major role in freeing India from colonialism.

Netaji Bose was a great intellectual who always thought about the interests & wellbeing of the marginalised sections of society.

Unquote.

Let us remember few life inspiring things from the Life & Times of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

1.     The great son of India was born on 23rd January, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa.
                   
2.     He was a brilliant student from right from childhood.

3.     He topped the matriculation examination and graduated with a First class in Philosophy from the Scottish Churches College in Calcutta.

4.     He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.

5.     He completed is studies in England in 1920 with flying colors standing fourth in order of merit.

6.     He could have enjoyed a high life after completing civil services studies but the destiny had written something different for him.

7.     The day of 13th April, 1919, the northern city of Amritsar in Punjab province witnessed massacre of thousands of unarmed people, known in history as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which was ordered by British General R.E.H. This incident had created deep anguish in Subhas’s mind left his Civil Services apprenticeship midway to return to India in 1921.

8.     After returning to India, Bose came under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and joined the Indian National Congress.

9.     Bose was a radical Congress leader who later formed his new party, Forward Block over the differences with Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru and founded Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to overthrow British Empire.

 10.  He was jailed 11 times in British rule.

11.  He was elected as Congress President twice but resigned as he opposed Gandhi’s ideology.

12.  He was very unhappy with the hanging of Bhagat Singh and his associates.

13.  Bose’s house arrest in Calcutta, his brilliantly planned escape dressed as a Pathan in January, 1941, his arrival in Germany and his raising an army to fight British in collaboration with Japan is well known.

14.  Bose married Emilie Schenkl, an Australian.

15.  Anita Schenkl Pfaff, the daughter of Bose is a German economist, who has previously been a professor at the University of Augsburg as well as a politician in the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

16.  Bose was influenced by the success of the five-year plans in the Soviet Union and he advocated for a socialist nation with an industrialized economy. Gandhi was opposed to the very concept of industrialization.

17.  In spite of all the differences in ideologies, both Gandhi and Bose admired and respected each other. In 1942 Gandhi called Subhash Bose the "Prince among the Patriots" for his great love for the country. Bose too admired Gandhi and in a radio broadcast from Rangoon in 1944, he called Mahatma Gandhi "The Father of Our Nation.

18.  Though Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have garnered much of the credit for successful culmination of Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of Subash Chandra Bose is no less.

19.  The biggest talking point from the files that were declassified by PM, Narendra Modi pertaining to Subhas Chandra Bose seems to be a letter doing the rounds. In this letter, allegedly written by Nehru in 1945 to Clement Attlee, the former PM of UK, he apparently refers to Bose as a 'war criminal'.

In the letter, Nehru allegedly wrote: “Dear Mr Attlee, I understand from reliable sources that Subhas Chandra Bose, your war criminal, has been allowed to enter Russian territory by Stalin. This is a clear treachery and betrayal of faith by the Russians as Russia has been an ally of the British-Americans, which she should not have done. Please take note of it and do what you consider proper and fit.”

20.  Subhas Chandra Bose's death in a plane crash on 18 August 1945 in Taiwan is still a unresolved mystery despite many commissions and committees set up by government of India in the past.

21.  The greatest hero of Indian freedom struggle, who is loved greatly by his countrymen, has been denied his rightful place in the annals of history by the Congress regime.

22.  Subhas Chandra Bose's family homes and relatives were kept under surveillance between 1948 and 1968 by Indian government.

23.  Prime Minister, Narendra Modi released the first sset of 100 declassified file pertaining to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the National Achieves last year on 23rd January, 2016 in presence of members of the Bose Family

24.  The declassified papers related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, released by the BJP government confirm long held suspicions that documents on his disappearance and death were destroyed

25.  Few of Netajis famous quotes are;

·        Reality is, after all, too big for our frail understanding to fully comprehend. Nevertheless, we have to build our life on the theory which contains the maximum truth.We cannot sit still because we cannot, or do not , know the Absolute Truth.

·        Freedom is not given, it is taken.

·        One individual may die for an idea; but that idea will, after his death, incarnate itself in a thousand lives. That is how the wheel of evolution moves on and the ideas and dreams of one nation are bequeathed to the next.

·        Embodiment of the past product of the present prophet of the future mystery still continue,  but end is near & it must be so.

·        “No real change in history has ever been achieved by discussions.
And above all;

·        Friends! My comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all. I demand of you blood. It is blood alone that can avenge the blood that the enemy has spilt. It is blood alone that can pay the price of freedom. Give me blood and I promise you freedom!

Facts & Truth

The following story will illustrate  the difference between facts &  truth.

A sadhu (saint) was sitting under a bushy tree meditating. A frightened stranger came running towards the sadhu and asked him to save his life as few robbers were running after him to rob him of his gold  & kill him. He requested the sadhu that he will climb the bushy tree under which the sadhu was sitting and hide himself under the dense bushes. The sadhu replied to him that  he being an honest man and a sadhu, he cannot speak untruth. The stranger with folded hands pleaded with the sadhu to save his life. After lot of pursuation, the sadhu finally  agreed that when the robbers come , he will not open his mouth and speak.  The terrified man climbed the tree to hide himself as the robbers were about to reach.

The robbers arrived soon after and started asking the sadhu whether he has seen a man running around. The sadhu remained silent and would not speak at all. The robbers persuaded him for some time but seeing the sadhu not telling anything,  threatened to kill him. Seeing the threat to his own life, the sadhu pointed out his finger upwards. The robbers understood the indication, climbed the tree, caught hold of the helpless man, dragged him down, robbed of his belongings and killed him. The sadhu was sad thinking that he could not save the life of the man but was happy that he did not speak untruth and his own life has been spared too.

When the time came for the sadhu to leave his body after many years of penance and scrupulous regard to scriptural ordinances, he died. His soul was taken by Yamraj (the God of death) and was produced before Dharmaraj (God of Justice) to decide his fate. Dharmaraj after scrutinized his Karmas (deeds) on earth, he was ordered to enter the hell. The sadhu was not expecting this and was greatly surprised on hearing the order. The sadhu was expecting to be taken to heaven as he was a sadhu with noble deeds and tainless life. He questioned Dharmaraj why he is being ordered to be taken to the hell when he was a noble sadhu, never spoke untruth in his life and was a servant of God. Therefore, he deserves a place in heaven and not the hell. Dharmaraj told him that no doubt he was a holy sadhu but he had committed a terrible error of judgement on earth for which he is being punished. The sadhu protested that he has committed no sin and always pursued the path of truth.  On hearing this,  Dharmaraj reminded him about the stranger requesting him to save his life from robbers but he failed to save him. To this, the sadhu answered that he did not speak untruth but just pointed out his finger in upward direction on seeing the threat to his own life. Saving his own life was also his duty as per scriptures. Dharmaraj told him that he could have pointed out the finger in a wrong direction when the innocent man sought his protection from the robbers. His own life would have also been saved. Dharmaraj explained the sadhu the difference between the truth and mere facts. The truth implies real ultimate benifit to self and others. By stating mere facts, the stranger paid the price of his life in the hands of robbers.  This was his terrible sin.

The sadhu understood the difference between the truth and mere facts.  After atoning for his errors in hell, the sadhu was free to enter the heaven.

Indian Spirituality & Politics ...भारतीय अध्यात्म और राजनीति

प्रसिद्ध स्वतंत्रता सेनानी और समाजवादी विचारक व नेता श्री राममनोहर लोहिया ने कहा था कि राजनीति अल्पकालीन धर्म है और धर्म दीर्घकालीन राजनीति है..आज जब धर्म और राजनीति दोनों का ह्रास जारी है ...ईमानदारी,नैतिकता और सुचिता जैसे शब्द तो बीते समय की बातें हो गयीं हैं....आज  जब गुड पालिटिक्स और बैड पालिटिक्स का समय है तब हमें अपनी चेतना को जगाकर अपने राजनीतिक विचार पर मंथन करना पड़ेगा।  हम समुन्द्र मंथन नहीं वैचारिक मंथन करेंगे।

क्या आज राजनीति और धर्म में कोई संबंध है, कोई कड़ी है?

धर्म को राजनीति के लिए उपयोग में बल्कि दुरुपयोग में जरुर लाया जाता है, लेकिन किसी भी धर्म के मूलभूत सिद्धातों को दरकिनार कर दिया जाता है। Spirituality या आध्यात्मिकता  तो धर्म से भी आगे का मार्ग प्रकाशित करती है, जहां मानव  भौतिकता से उपर उठकर स्वयं और स्वयं में स्थित स्वयं के श्रोत की अविरल प्रकाश की धारा  की ओर यात्रा में लीन होता है। इस लीनता को कोई मोक्ष कहता है तो कोई ईश्वर प्राप्ति। धार्मिक रीति रिवाज और अनुष्ठान एक गंतव्य स्थान तक पहुंचने के साधन हो सकते है लेकिन वे पड़ाव कदापि नही हैं।

यहां मै अन्य धर्मों का यथोचित सम्मान करते हुए हिन्दू धर्म की मान्यताओं के अनुसार आध्यात्मिकता (Spirituality) पर संक्षिप्त में प्रकाश डालना चाहुंगा। इसके अनुसार इसमें किसी पारंपरिक  संस्थागत दिशा निर्देश अथवा किसी एक धार्मिक विधान का प्रावधान नही है, और न ही किसी एक धार्मिक ग्रंथ को स्वीकार्य करने का बंधन है। इसके अंतर्गत एक स्वतंत्र, बंधन मुक्त आत्म चिंतन और स्वतः की खोज और स्वतः की खोज द्वारा ईश्वर पाप्ति व मोक्ष का मार्ग प्रशस्त किया गया है। मै कौन हूँ, मैं कहाँ से आया हूँ, मुझे कहा जाना है, इस प्रकार के प्रश्न मनुष्य को अपनी पहचान खोजने की ओर अग्रसर करती है, और यही से आध्यात्मिकता का मार्ग आगे जाता है। इसी खोज में मनुष्य दुसरे व्यक्तियों में भी अपने आपको एवं ईश्वर को देखने लगता है। इसी मार्ग पर चलकर वह आत्म अनुभूति पाता है हर व्यक्ति या वस्तु में ईश्वर के विद्यमान होने के निष्कर्ष पर पहुंचता है। परिणाम स्वरूप उसके अन्दर छिपे हुए अनेकों दुर्गुण और विसंगतियां जैसे काम, क्रोध, लोभ, मत्सर, हिंसा, किसी को पीड़ा देना, किसी को धोका देना, छ्ल कपट,  किसी की निंदा करना आदि बुराइयों को छोड़ने लगता है। उसका व्यवहार साधुत्व अपना लेता है। वह नहीं चाहता कि दुसरों के साथ वह व्यवहार करें, जो उसे अपने स्वयं के साथ अप्रिय लगे। यदि सारे धर्मों का सार भी निकालकर देखा जाए तो यही पिछले दो तीन वाक्यों म वर्णित कथनों और अन्य धर्मों में निहीत अध्यात्म से कोई विरोधाभास नही होना चाहिए।

अब राजनीति पर आते है।

राजनीति क्या है? राजनीति सरल रुप से देखा जाए तो एक व्यवस्था प्रणाली है। इसके अन्तर्गत एक व्यवस्था द्वारा मौलिक व वैचारिक स्वतंत्रता, न्याय, सम्पत्ति, अधिकार, कानून तथा  कानून को लागू करने की प्रक्रिया शामील है। वैध, अवैध की परिभाषा, कानून के उलंघन पर दंड का प्रावधान, नागरिकों के अधिकार, उनके जान माल की रक्षा करना, समाज में सभी को समान अधिकार और प्रगति के अवसर प्रदान करना, समाज में शांति बनाए रखना, राष्ट्र की सीमाओं की रक्षा करना, प्रशासनिक व्यवस्था का निर्माण करना आदि अनेकों कार्य कलाप आते है। ये सब कार्य संविधान के ढांचे के अन्तर्गत निहीत प्रावधानों के अनुसार किए जाते है। कहते है इसी प्रकार की शासन व्यवस्था जो राजा से लेकर एक रंक तक समान रूप से राम राज्य में विद्यमान और प्रचलित होने के कारण ही राम ने स्वतः अपने लिए चौदह वर्ष के वनवास को अंगीकार किया था।

आध्यात्मिकता या आध्यात्मिक दर्शन में जैसे सत्य और स्वतः की खोज निहीत है, वैसे ही राजीतिक दर्शन और चिंतन में भी सत्य की खोज होना चाहिए। अध्यात्मिक दर्शन जिस तरह मनुष्य को साधुत्व की ओर ले जाता है, ठीक उसी प्रकार राजनीतिक दर्शन को भी राजनेताओं को निस्वार्थ जन सेवा की तरफ ले जाना चाहिए।  क्या ऐसा होता है? विडंबना यही है कि आज के युग में इस मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम राम की धरती पर ऐसा शायद ही होता हो। जहां अध्यात्म मनुष्य अपने अन्दर छिपे हुए दुर्गुण; काम, क्रोध, लोभ, मत्सर, हिंसा, किसी को पीड़ा देना, किसी को धोका देना, छ्ल कपट, किसी की निंदा करना आदि अनेकों अवगुणों से मुक्ति पाने लगता है, वही राजीतिक दर्शन आज  राजानेताओं को इन्हीं अवगुणों में लिप्त करने लगता है। मनुष्य राजनीति में झोला लेकर निकलता है, लेकिन चन्द वर्षों में अपनी सम्पत्ति में दिन दुनी रात चौगुनी बढ़त कर धन कुबेर पन जाता है। अपने भाषणों में और बयानों में जन सेवा और राष्ट्र सेवा की बात करता है, स्वतः को गरीबों का मसीहा कहता है, लेकिन यथार्थ भिन्न होता है। यदि वह सच में जनता का मसीहा  होता तो उसकी व्यक्तिगत और सगे सम्बंधियों की सम्पत्ति में कई गुना वृद्धि कैसे हो जाती? वह राष्ट्र को जांत पांत, धर्म, भाषा, दलित, महादलित आदि सम्प्रदायों की कुंठित दिवारों में बांटकर सिर्फ वोट प्राप्त करना चाहता है। वोट के लिए वह राष्ट्र को विखंडित करने तक की बात कर बैठता है; शत्रु राष्ट्र से और राष्ट्र विरोधी ताकतों से हाथ मिला बैठता है। वह राष्ट्र में दंगे करवाकर अराजकता फैलाने से भी नही चुकता। उसका राजनीतिक दर्शन झूठा है, मात्र एक दिखावा है। परिणाम स्वरुप राजनीति एक बेड वर्ड, गंदा शब्द (Bad Word) बन गया है, जिससे आम आदमी राजनेताओं को हमेशा शक की नजर से देखता है।

हर व्यक्ति को उसके अच्छे चरित्र और आचरण के लिए अपने अध्यात्म, अपनी अन्तरआत्मा से जुड़ा होना चाहिए। शायद इस जुड़ाव की कड़ी राजनेताओं में है ही नही।  उनके चारित्रिक पतन का मूल कारण उनका अध्यात्म से विमूख होना ही है। वह अपनी स्वतः की पहिचान भूल चुका है।  सत्ता की लोलुपता, अथाह संपत्ति की चाह और लालच, लूट खसोट और बेइमानी की राजनीति और अन्य पतित वासनाओं ने उसकी अन्तरआत्मा की आँखे छिन ली है। वह अंधा और मदमस्त हो चुका है। वह मरते दम तक सत्ता सुख भोगना चाहता है। वह पीढ़ी दर पीढ़ी शासन करना अपना पैदायशी अधिकार समझता है। वह एक सामान्य व्यक्ति नही बल्कि एक व्ही आई पी और  ०ही व्ही आई पी  बन चुका है। वह आम जनता के लिए माँई बाप बन जाता है। वह अपने को शासक समझता है और बाकी सबको गुलाम समझता है। ये लोग भारत छोड़ चुके अंग्रेजी शासकों की मानसिकता की बिमारी से पीड़ित है। एक नया राजनेता भी जब आम आदमी की बात कर और इमानदारी की कसमें खाकर राजनीति में प्रवेश करता है, वह भी इन्हीं रंगों में रंग जाता है। इनके सुधरने के कोई आसार भी नही दिखते। राममनोहर लोहिया की बातें आज भी सच है। उनके अनुयायी भी गुड पालिटिक्स भूल चुके है।

क्या हमारी शिक्षा प्रणाली इसके लिए दोषी है? क्या हमारे समाज में और घरों में नैतिक शिक्षा की कमी है? क्या अध्यात्म की टूटी हुई कड़ी को जोड़ने की जरुरत है? क्या राममनोहर लोहिया के विचारों के अनुसार धर्म के पतन को भी पुनः जीवंत करने की जरूरत है? क्या ईमानदारी, नैतिकता और सुचिता को राजनीति में पुनः प्रस्थापित करने की जरूरत है? ये सब प्रश्न चिन्तन के विषय है। भारत के राजनेताओं और हर नागरिक को इन पर गहन  चिन्तन करना चाहिए। आज  भी गुड पालिटिक्स और बैड पालिटिक्स पर समुद्र मंथन नही वैचारिक मंथन की जरूरत है।

शायद राजनीतिक अध्यात्म के प्रति सच्चे समर्पण और लुप्त हो चुकी कड़ी को जोड़ना ही अंतिम पर्याय है!

Jallikattu Uproar in India

Torturing, cruelty, terrifying bulls in the name of religious customs is bad and so it is  bad for other animals too.

Massive protests are being held across Tamilnadu and around. Not only Tamil Hindus are protesting but massive support is found among other sects also. Big film artists and stars have also come forward and joined the protests.

The present impasse is the result of failure of politicians to act timely as for them politics was more important than caring for people's sentiments and reforming the evil practices.

The animal activists are also found lacking in their sincerity & honesty in dealing with other ills like cow slaughter and sacrificing goats on the occasion of festivals like Bakri Eid. They remain conveniently silent on such occasions which show their hypocrisy & double standards. Many  politicians also play their usual politics.

The societal norms & customs (सामाजिक मान्यताए और प्रथाए ...in Hindi) do change with the passage of time and must change for betterment. The practice of terrifying bulls during Jallikattu should also change which the Tamil people are willing to accept too. However, banning it altogether is not the solution as the sentiments of millions & millions people are attached to the 2000 years old custom. The ban is also seen as assault on Hindu traditions by pseudo secularists and animal activists.

Only solution lies in allowing the practice with certain regulations which is a win win situation for everybody else it may take a different turn.

भारतीय राजनीति का कटु सत्य......The Bitter Thuth of Indian Politics..

भारतीय राजनीति का कटु सत्य......
और यहॉ का राजनेता....

गठबंधन, महागठबंधन
सत्ता के लिए भ्रष्टबंधन, महाभ्रष्ट बंधन

दल बदल, मन बदल, चाल चलन बदल
सत्ता के लिए कर्म बदल, अर्थ बदल, धर्म बदल

जांत-पात, उंच-नीच और धर्म की राजनीति
देश विभाजन, देश द्रोह की  घिनोनी ये कुटनीति

लोगों को भड़कावों, कटवावों और दंगे करवावो
हिंदु मुस्लिम, दलित महादलित में समाज को बंटवावों

मुस्लिम वोट के लिए  नारा देकर ये खून बहाते है
हिन्दू की बात करें कोई तो उसे साम्प्रदायिक ठरवातें है

देश बाँटने के लिए पैसा देकर  सेना पर पत्थर ये फिंकवाते है
लालच देकर असहिष्णुता के नाम पर अवार्ड वापसी करवाते है

समाजवाद के नाम पर सभी ये परिवारवाद चलाते है
राष्ट्रवाद का नाम लेकर जनता को खूब ठगाते है

झोला लेकर, फटी चप्पल पहन निकले थे ये राष्ट्र बनाने में
धनकुबेर बन स्वतः उड़ते है आज चार्टर्ड विमानों में

जनता त्राहि त्राहि, अनसूनी कर चलती रहे इनकी वाह वाही
गरीबी हटाव, नही, गरीब बढ़ाओ नीति से चलवाते  आवाजाही

राष्द्रप्रेम, भूल जावों, एक ही प्रेम है इनकी नीति में
लूटों, लूटों और लूटों ये लक्ष्मीपूूजारी माहिर है ठगनीति में

सिपाही सीमा पर गोली खाता है राष्द्र रक्षा के लिए
इन्हें क्या, उसके खून से लथी रोटियां खाता है वोटों के लिए

भगतसिंग और सुभाष के बलिदानों को ये मिट्टी में चुनवाते है
नकली गाँधी बन, गाँधी के नाम को वोट के लिए भुनवाते है

कब तक चलेगी ये देश विरोधी घिनोनी बाँते
भारत बदल रहा है, जाग रहा है, खत्म होगी ये अंधकारमय रातें

सूरज एक, दुश्मन अनेक पर है ये सूरज सब पर भारी
अंधकार की इस नगरी में की है उसने शेर पर सवारी

साथियों, उसका नाम तो बताओ...


Political Mahagathbandhan...

I was trying to write about the poltical jugads, the political convenience, the politics of Gathbandhans....about the forthcoming state elections but some how after two three  lines....it got a flow like some poetry. So this is the outcome. A first ever attempt after my college days.

At the end, there is a ray of hope...and a question pointing to an answer...towards whom  the majority of Indians are looking.

Media Wars in India, in the Making

Can you say it's a Modi effect or a mere  coincidence? The two big  rivals of Indian TV space, Arnab Goswami & Barkha Dutt seem to take their fights further by announcing their  independent ventures. How much independent they will be and who will win the war, the time will only  tell. Bits of information is in circulation in social media about financing plans of Arnab's Republic channel  while details of  Barkha's exact venture and financing plans are yet to be known.

Arnab Goswami was the widely acclaimed editor-in-chief and anchor of Newshour debate and also a host of television programme Frankly Speaking with Arnab on Timesnow TV. He is also envied but credited to be the first journalist to interview Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he took office in 2014. The Arnab's Newshour programme was way ahead with Barkha Dutt's  NDTV programmes like We the People and The Buck Stops Here in terms of TRP ratings.
Arnab has already  announced  launch of his upcoming news channel, "Republic" on 26 January 2017 while Barkha has just given an indication of her intent of a new venture. Arnab Goswami is expected to walk on his ideas of nationalism and will probably toe the line more  vigorously. He aims to put his channel at   international pedastals like BBC and CNN while Barkha Dutt is yet to announce her aims.

Barkha Dutt had emerged as a prominet journalist after her frontline war reporting on the Kargil Conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999 and  has also faced controversies like her links in the Radia tapes  and her views on secularism (psedo-secular, popularly called sickular  on social media). Barkha Dutt was also  criticised for her coverage of 2008 Mumbai attacks when she reported from Taj Mahal Hotel and Trident and in the process, indirectly helping terrorists' handlers in Pakistan and putting lives of hotel guests  at risks. She is a much liked journalist by sponsors of terror across the borders due to  such obvious reasons.

Arnab had also faced criticism of a different nature for airing his loud  judgemental views.  Many called his Newshour programme a "Tu Tu Mai, Mai Programme" and charged him of playing the judge, the audience and  the jury simultaneously. However, there is no doubt, he enjoyed a greater viewership and fan followings due to his boldness of not sparing any leaders   irrespective of their party affiliations and positions held.

Let us wait & watch.!

The future holds interesting media wars on the Idiot Box in our homes.

The game has just begun!

Gautam Buddha

What a great land, India which has produced great man like Gautam Buddha...

"Gautam Buddha was an incarnation of mercy. It is told that he even offered his own life to save a goat that had been made ready for sacrifice. The king who was performing the rite spared the animal's life and became a devout follower of the "Enlightened One.""

.... Paramhansa Yogananda in The Bhagwad Gita...Royal Science of God Realization.

The teachings of Gautam Buddha are more relevant today when the civilisation is witnessing mass violence, killings, murders, rapes, loot, acts of terrorism and hatred everywhere. The need is the percolation of little awareness in the minds of perpetrators of such heinous crimes against the humanity. The perpetrators have to realize where they are leading the humanity. But, the most difficult task is how to make them aware as they are blind and are leading the blinds. Can we do it by modifying the seeds? Surely, we can but it will take time for the seeds to germinate and become a fully grown up trees. We have to revive and reintroduce the teachings of Buddha & Gandhi for the little children at school levels. The politicians, the governments, students, the youth, teachers, families and we,  the everyone in society have to reboot their thinking and philosophies for inculcating value based teachings at home, schools, clubs, societies and everywhere. We organise many social & cultural events in societies but forget the basic theme behind such events which must not be missed. The theme has to be love, compassion and truthfulness. The reprogramming has to be done at the level of seeds then only we can have a blossoming tree of peace, harmony, love and mutual respect.

The great men like Buddha have shown the path. The path is available to us fully guided by these noble men. We have to only walk the path. The seed is important and so the role of gardener too. We cannot escape the responsibility of walking on the path and creating a good ground for planting future trees of love, peace, harmony & truth.

गाँधीजी का नाम

गाँधीजी का नाम वोट के लिए उपयोग में लाना...सही!

गाँधीजी का नाम अपने असली नाम के जगह लिखना... सही!

लूट-खसोट, घोटाले, भ्रष्टाचार, व्यभिचार, जाति, धर्म की राजनीति कर गाँधीजी के सिद्धांतों को रोंदना.... सही!

मोदीजी की चरखे के साथ तस्वीर....गलत!

यदि "मै" एक आम आदमी चरखे के साथ सेल्फी लू तो......

Sad!... Grow India...Grow!

Don't waste energy & resources on such issues and play politics to confuse people. You have already gone too far to confuse & divide people.

चरखा किसका? गाँधीजी या मोदीजी का....या हर भारतीय का!

चरखा किसका? गाँधीजी या मोदीजी का....या हर भारतीय का!

आज मोदीजी की चरखा चलाते हुए खादी ग्रामोद्योग कमीशन के केलेण्डर पर छपी तस्वीर की चर्चा जोरों से हो रही है। गाँधीजी का चरखा भारत के स्वराज आंदोलन, विदेशी कपड़ों का त्याग और भारतीय उद्योग को बढ़ावा देने की भावना से जुड़ा हुआ है। मोदीजी की चरखे के साथ तस्वीर से कुछ विपक्ष का नाराज होना    स्वाभाविक है। वे समझते है कि चरखे का स्वामीत्व केवल उनके ही पास है। मोदीजी पहले प्रधान मंत्री है जिन्होंने खादी के प्रचार और प्रसार की बात ही नही की बल्कि खादी उद्योग का तीव्र गति से विकास किया। मोदीजी ने ही देश में Make in India का नारा दिया और कई क्षेत्रों में भारत में निर्माण के लिए ठोस कदम उठाए। मोदीजी की चरखे के साथ छपी तस्वीर गाँधीजी को विस्थापित करने की द्रष्टि से नही देखना चाहिए बल्कि गाँधीजी के सिद्धांतों को और आगे बढ़ाने की नजर से देखना चाहिए।

भारत में और कई चिन्ताजनक विषय है, उन पर चर्चा और चिन्तन होना चाहिए न कि केलेण्डर पर किसकी तस्वीर हो।

गाँधीजी का चरखा हर भारतीय का है जो हमें विरासत में गाँधीजी से मिला है। नेताओं को अपनी  व्यर्थ की भड़ास निकालता बंद करना चाहिए। पहले वे अपनी लूट, खसोट, भ्रष्टाचार, हिंसा, बेईमानी और समाज को बाँटने की राजनीति बंद करे जो ये भूल चुके है, तभी वे गाँधीजी की विरासत के सही मायने में हकदार हो सकते है।

ONE INDIA

How ironical it may look but it is a fact that we, the Indians (I am not using  the word Hindu here) are not united as Indians today and we were never united as Indians (I can use the word Hindu  here as I am referring to pre Mughal era when majority of the population was predominantly Hindu) even in the long past prior to Mughal era though we were sharing a common culture and more or less common religious views. Prior to Mughal era,  India was fragmented and had many  princely states ruled by Kings; some states had friendly relations or were operating under the command of powerful ones while some were constantly fighting with each other for supremacy and expansion of their kingdoms.

The Mughals invaded northern India in thirteenth century and ruled it's few parts. By late sixteenth century only, they could bring most of the India under their dominance. This could happen as the numerous princely states were not united, some  sided with the Mughals and surrendered easily while few brave kings like Chhatrapati Shivaji and  Maharana Pratap gave nightmares to Mughals. In the late eighteenth century, the British East India Co. set it's foot in India and by middle of nineteenth century, most of the India had come under the British Dominion. The Britishers also played the trick of further dividing India and ruled it ruthlessly. Some Indian Kings accepted British dominance, some surrendered in wars but some brave ones like Yashwant Rao Holker of Indore and Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi fought and became martyrs.

The most important lessons Indians can take from the history is that the foreign powers could come and rule India easily, was only due to our own weaknesses and inner disarrays. Though unitedly we were more than capable enough to thwart any external invasions, we were selfish and to make invaders job easy. Indian kings never fought unitedly, some of them gave up under the influence of power, positions  and some gave away under the influence of money & other bribes. Under such influences, some people became informers and supporters of foreign powers which lead to defeats of brave sons & daughters of India. Rani Laxmibai, at her prime age of 23 years, also fell victim of such designs and had to die for her motherland.

The Indian Independence struggle could see almost the entire India standing agaisnt the British rule for freedom but that came after paying a heavy price of dividing India into two parts and killings of millions of people in retaliatory genocide during partition. The truncated India remained India while a new nation, Pakistan was created with one part in the north west part of India (West Pakistan) and other part in the eastern part (East Pakistan)  on the political designs of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of Muslim League, a political party which was formed basically  to safeguard the rights of Muslims in India.  Post Independence, the leaders like Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel could make the  India as India of today by persuading or forcing few princely states like Junagadh & Hyderabad to join India. Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir had signed the Instrument of Accession with India when Pakistani forces invaded Kashmir. Due to mishandling of Kashmir conflict, the matter had reached the doors of United Nations (UN) which passed a resolution (a non-binding one which has no mandatory enforcability) to restore peace. The  resolution was to ensure holding of  impartial  plebiscite in Kasmir with the  precondition that Pakistan would withdraw all the forces from Kashmir under it's occupation and India would maintain only the minimum troops needed to keep civil order. Pakistan ignored the UN resolution and never withdrew its forces. The rest is History and the northern parts of Kashmir remains under Pakistan occupation (called Pakistan occupied Kashmir, PoK) till now and became an epicenter of constant conflicts between the two nations and inflicting repeated grievous injuries to India  by Pakistani supported cross boarder terrorism.

Coming back to today, leaving aside other things, where we the Indians, the citizens of this country stand? Are we united today as citizens of one nation? Do we claim to be Indian first before anything else.? Are we really not Indian first before being Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christians, dalit, non dalit, OBC?  Do we speak in one voice even on   the fundamental question of national interests like national territorial integrity and national sovereignty? If the answer is yes then why there are protests on hanging of anti nationals conspiring to attack Indian parliament and terrorists killings of innocent citizens? Why there are anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans within India every now and then? Why there are Pakistani flags hoisted in some parts of country? Why some students shouts “Kashmir ki azadi tak, bharat ki barbadi tak, jang rahegi jari”  ‘Hum kya maange — azadi’, ‘Bandook se lenge azadi’, ‘lndian army murdabad’, ‘Pakistan zindabad’ and ‘Bharat ki barbadi tak jung rahegi’? Why prominent Netas (leaders) visit such students and offer sympathy & support to such anti nationals? Why such anti national slogans are considered pardonable in the name of  freedom of speech? Have the governments of the day found wanting on such anti national acts. Why  elected CMs and leaders behave in one way when a tragedy  strikes to a person of one community and behave all together differently when the similar tragedy happens with a person of different community? Why riots take place in this country? Why we Indians damage & burn our own houses and our own Indian property? Why the riots in one part of country gets more attention and riots in other parts get suppressed? Why some  politicians look opportunities like vultures to politicise a tragedy of a common man?  Why the media too behave differently on similar unfortunate incidents in different parts of the country? Why policy of minority appeasement is practiced by political parties? Why uniform law is not applied to all citizens irrespective of their religion and faith? Why we do not have one law for the whole nation?  How & why a religious preachers can issue  fatwas against an ordinary citizen or a prime minister of the country and go unpunished? How some politicians speak the same language as that of a neighboring country which is bent upon to disturb the peace & progress of our nation?  Is it not the freedom of speech has been stretched too much?

Are we not ashamed of our characters as Indians?

Stop this  too much and too dirty politics in the name of common men, in the name of caste, creed, race and religion. India had enough of it. The politics is an instrument to serve the nation, not to  break the nation. If the nation breaks, you break.

There are many questions like the above few which cannot be accepted as normal in a civilised country. There may be hardly any action  in the developed world which can accept such self defeating anti national acts and behavior which can go unpunished.

Enough is enough. We have to and we must change this. India is one nation and we are one, even if we are scattered, we have to gather ourselves and become ONE for the benifits of all of us and for the welfare our our coming generations. The world is a beautiful place to live, don't make it a so dangerous and convert it into a hell on earth for the coming generation. There is always a time in the history of citizen or a nation and every day offers that opportunity to introspect and reorient our characters and nature  to think of nation first above all other things. A soldier at the front only think for the nation first while facing the bullets on his chest. Don't insult him sitting safe in the cosy comfort of our houses by putting the nation below it's due place. Don't insult the numerous freedom  fighters who laid down their lives for freedom of the country and make it one nation.

This India, the Bharat is our motherlad. Let us live & die for it.  Our forefathers have taught us..
जननी-जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी....
Mother and motherland are superior to Heaven. Don't deceive these words.

Remember, nobody will live if the nation does not live.

Jai Hind

What a Speech!

What a speech! Makes us speechless! What a great voice! What a great personality behind! An epitome of pure truth India has produced!

11th of Sept. 1893;…..Sisters and brothers of the America…...I thank you in the name of…..I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of  all classes and sects,……..I am proud to belong to  a religion which has taught the world both the tolerations  and universal acceptance……We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions to be true…….I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the world,……different streams having their sources in different places…leading to sea…..wonderful doctrine preached  in Gita….whosoever comes to me through whatever form, I reach him…..

The essence of humanity, the truth expressed in few words! Each word a great pearl!

The world would have been a conflict-less place today had it walked on the doctrine given by Swami Vivekananda before more than a century ago. All the problems the world is facing today would have been non-existent had it followed the path shown by the great saint and a highly evolved monk from Hindu religion, who was much beyond the narrow boundaries of any sect or religion.

Alas! The irony and tragedy today is that in the same great land of Swami Vivekananda, talking about Hindu religion; talking about Gita is termed as communal and anti-secular!

The pearls are lost!

The Village Ganda

The society has to learn a lot from the honest  sensitivity of a class VIII girl, Harpreet Malkat from a village called "Ganda" (गंदा) who rises to write to PM, Shri Narendra Modi for the name change of her village. Her courage leads to a new respectable name "Ajit Nagar" for the village, after the name of the eldest son of revered guru Gobind Singh ji. We salute her for her honest courage and  sheer sensitivity.

What is wrong with the word "Ganda"? It means dirty, an absence of cleanliness. The absence of cleanliness can refer to any dirtyness, physical or mental. If one is physically unclean, he/she is called dirty. If he/she wears dirty clothes, he/she is called wearing dirty clothes. If one wears dirty mind and conducts dirty acts, he/she is also called a dirty person. The dirtyness encompasses all morally and ethically impure thinking and acts, all evil conducts like untruthfulness, stealing, injuring & killing, lustful & corrupt acts for money, power & sex, anger, absence of compassion towards all beings, hatred towards fellow citizens, injustice and all other social evils. As a matter of facts, amongst us we have a society with many unclean & corrupt people covering normal citizens, professionals, doctors, engineers, bureaucrats, businessmen, lawyers, bankers, social workers and politicians etc. etc. Are we not ashamed of ourselves of our dirtyness? If we are not then we should. If we don't want to be a person of virtues and remain dirty then we should be prepared to be called the "Ganda", the dirty person by our fellow citizens. The society also must name & shame them.

The society has to learn much from the honest sensitivity of the girl Harpreet by introspection and feel a sense of disgust if we possess and hold any evil thoughts and acts within us. Like her, we have to rise to change the dirty name tags we are carrying with us (even if it is unknown & hidden from the society) and get ourselves purified, reformed & cleaned. If everyone strives for this like the little girl, we can certainly lead to a cleaner and peaceful society.

Remember, the cleanliness is next to Godliness. If you don't remember this, all your pujaas, worships, pilgrimages and prayers are a waste and deceiving self, others and your own Gods.

The Essence of Hindu Religion...in few words

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
मनः षष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥

(Verse 7, Chapter XV, Shrimadbhagavat Gita)

Bhagwan Krishna Himself declares in Gita...

An eternal part of myself, manifesting as a living soul in the world of beings, attracts to itself the six senses, including the mind, which rest in Prakriti.

इस देह में यह जीवात्मा मेरा ही सनातन अंश है। और वही इन प्रकृति में स्थित मन और पाँचों इन्द्रियों को आकर्षित करता है॥

Tat Tvam Asi... तत्त्वमसि... Thou art that....

The essence ...you have come from Him, you are the origin and you are the end...

The Brahman...The Spirit...

 Aham Bramhāsmiti .......अहं ब्रह्म अस्मिति.....

I am Brahman..

Aham Brahmm Asmi...... I am the Infinite Reality.....

Om Tat Sat...

ओम् तत् सत्,

The Supreme Absolute Truth..All That Is.

The Truth beautifully  expressed in few words in ancient Indian scriptures

This is the eternal truth, ancient way of life and ancient knowledge.

People today call it "Hindu Dharma"..the Hindu religion, but astonishingly in Veda, Upanishads and Gita, the holy scriptures of Hindu religion, no word like " Hindu" appears.

This eternal truth poses a challenge to modem science to prove it wrong...

And surprisingly the day does not seem to be very far away when the science and spirituality... will lead to the same conclusion, the same TRUTH......the truth  of you, me, he/she, everything and  the phenomenon, called UNIVERSE.

Om Tat Sat

Christmas Celebrations and The Hindu Idea of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam

The Hindus in India and world over are liberal people, open societies in modern age and they do participate & celebrate all festivals of different sects & religions. They believe in coexistence and idea of "Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam...वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम meaning THE WOLE WORLD IS A FAMILY. The phrase is taken from an ancient Upanishad called Maha Upanishad. This verse is also engraved in the entrance hall of the Indian parliament. The Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi  used this phrase in his speech at the World Culture Festival, organized by Art of Living (AOL), adding that "Indian culture Is very rich and has inculcated in each one of us with great values, we are the people who have come from Aham Brahmasmi (अहं ब्रम्हास्मि..I am the Brahman, ....I am the Truth) to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, we are the people who have come from Upanishads to Upgrah (उपग्रह..Satellite)". True, today the nations of the world though different in beliefs, faiths, culture, language, history and geography are so integrated and inter-connected that any small event in one part of the world triggers echos &. Vibrations in other part.

The Christmas day is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ among billions of people around the world. Christians consider Jesus to be the Messiah (Christ) and believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life. These ideas are no different from what Lord Krishna echoed in the Bhagwad Gita, the spiritual guide for mankind which promises him/her to achieve self realization and ultimately, the moksha ((मोक्ष... Liberation), the God realization by walking on various paths like karma yoga, gyan yoga, bhakti yoga etc.  Christmas day coupled with the  new year celebrations every year are big international events and I think there is hardly any nation or boundaries (except few Islamic and atheist countries where the celebrations of Christmas are banned)  where the festivities and joyous mood is not found during these days.

In India, some proponent of Hindu faith take objections in celebrating the Christmas & Christian new year and advocate in celebrating only Hindu festivals and Hindu new year. Many messages and posts are found on social media now a days  suggesting this. However, they forget that the Hindus do celebrate their Hindu festivals and also Hindu new year (of course with varying dates of new year, like Tamil new year, Marathi new years, Bengali new year, Gujarati new years etc.). They also forget that when the Hindu faith believes in the idea of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam, what is harm in celebrating festivals of other religion and fellow custodian of planet earth? Hindu religion is not so weak and it does not get polluted by simply celebrating the Christmas or an Eid. The true Hindus do believe that their holy scriptures,  the Vedas and the Bharwad Gita unequivocally proclaim that there is one God that is described in many ways. A quote from Vedic literature says that;

In Sanskrit....

आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथा गच्छति सागरम् ।
सर्वदेहनमस्कारः केशवं प्रतिगच्छति ॥

akashat patitam toyam, yatha gacchati sagaram, sarva deva namaskaram kesavam prati gacchati:

Translation in Hindi...

आकाश से गिरा हुआ जल, जिस प्रकार सागर में ही जा मिलता है; वैसे हि किसी भी रुप की पूजा/उपासना/नमस्कार, एक ही  परमेश्वर को पहुँचती है ।

Translation in English...

As the rain water falling from the sky go to the same ocean, the worship of every deity goes to the  one and same God.

Having the strong  beliefs in one God in a pure Hindu mindset, a true Hindu will not hesitate to go to a church, a mosque or a temple to close his/her eyes and pray to his own God. The place, time, attire & any physical boundaries are of no significance or consequence to him/her. So, why some Hindus oppose the celebrations of Christmas by Hindus? Such people are not true Hindus and are in fact involved in the business of religion. They  definitely do have some agenda and vested interests. Their other objection is that why Hindus follow English Calendar and not a Hindu calendar? The Hindus do follow the English Calendar as most of the nations follow it and due to the very nature of international business and today's modern need of a common international interface & reference point of time for all communications, it becomes mandatory to use the English Calendar. The historical fact of legacy of British rule is also a reason for following the English Calendar as even after achieving Independence in 1947, India could not switch over to Hindu calendar  for which, reasons may be many. However, Hindus do follow the Hindu Calendar too to celebrate their Hindu festivals and perform important rituals, pujaas (worships), marriages etc. and the choice is also purely left to individual for doing or not doing  so due to openness and liberal ways of Hindu religion. In every Hindu household in India, one may find a Hindu calendar or a Panchang (पंचांग) too. These proponents of Hindu calendar also use English dates on their cheque books, their property documents and all other correspondence for their personal convenience but show rigidity and aversion when their fellow Hindus celebrate festivals of other religions.

Best way is to ignore such suggestions and people.