Monday, December 17, 2012

Philospophical perspectives-II

I wrote in Philosophical perspectives-I as to why Hinduism asks its practioners not to fritter away their lives by going after temporal pleasures.This has been the foundation on which Hinduism has been built.There might be a thousand branches today,but the tree remains the same.Another important thing to be noted is that practicing such an attitude of non-attachment helps us in coming to terms with the vagaries of life.

This is what is known as vairagyam in Sanskrit.Literally put, Vairagya is the "drying up of passions".This "drying up of passions" always happens in our lives.What is the object of pleasure today becomes the object of pain tomorrow.Every thing in Earth has only a relative value,depending on time,place and situation.The AC might give pleasure during the summer season,but during winter the same AC is not required.

Thus,we see that happiness does not lie in external objects.Happiness is a state of the mind.The minds projects certain things as the sources of happiness and sadness.If one were to tune the mind to remain calm and composed and take things in his stride as they come along,it helps a lot in dealing with everyday struggles.A solution can be found only when the mind is calm and composed.Thus we see that non-attachment helps us even in our mundane levels of existence.In the Ramayana,during the battle between Rama and Ravana,Indrajit binds Lakshmana with the naagastra. 

Rama is unable to bear the sight of Lakshmana in that state and he thinks Lakshmana is no more.Then he exclaims,"Of what use to me is the recovery of Seetha or even life itself, since my brother now lying, before my eyes, has been struck down in thh fight?It can be possible, if I were to look for her, to find a consort equal to Seetha in this world of mortals but not a brother, a friend and a comrade in a hostile war, such as Lakshmana!If Lakshmana returned to the five elements, he the increaser of Sumitra's joy, I will yield up my life-breaths while the monkeys stand looking on.What shall I say to my mother, Kausalya or to Kaikeyi? How can I talk to my mother Sumitra, sighing for the sight of her son?Woe unto me to my wicked deed and to my lack of nobility. Through my fault, Lakshmana has fallen and lies indeed on a bed of arrows as on who has yielded up his life!I shall follow him to the region of Yama, as that illustrious warrior accompanied me when I retired to the forest."
At this moment when everybody is struck with grief,it is the monkey-king Sugreeva who gives direction to the army and looks at things dispassionately.He asks Sushena,the doctor among the monkeys,to treat Rama and Lakshman and says that he himself will win over Ravana,rescue Sita from Ravana and crown Rama as the king of Ayodhya.Hearing the words of Sugreeva,all the monkeys regain composure and think about the further course of action.

Thus we see how important it is to remain non attached even for the worldly state of affairs.
But the scriptures advocate dispassion as a means of attaining permanent bliss.The scriptures elevate man from his grosser levels of experience to higher and higher levels of consciousness.And the first step in this direction is to broaden one's outlook.

The Vairagya Satakam is a book,written by Bhartrhari.Bhartrhari was born in a royal family,but later renounced worldly pleasures to become a Yogi.In the book,he beautifully explains the importance of vairagya.

In one particular verse,he explains as how how we undergo all troubles just for the sake of filling our stomachs while the yogis undergo the same troubles to reach the feet of Siva(God).

"We have forgiven,but not out of forgiveness(but out of our incapacity to right our wrongs);we have renounced the comforts of home life,but not out of contentment after satisfaction(but as exile from home in the quest of riches);though we have suffered inclemencies of weather,cold and heat,still it is not religious austerities that we have undergone;with subdued vital forces,night and day have we brooded on money and not on the feet of Siva;thus we have performed those very acts which the recluses do perform,but of their good effects,we have deprived ourselves".

Again,the point is not to deprive oneself of pleasure but to move onto lasting peace and bliss.It has always bewildered saintly recluses as to how people go madly in search of pleasure,seeking it outside,while happiness lies in the mind,not in external objects.

This is why Kulasekara Alwar proclaimed,

"மெய்யில் வாழ்க்கையை மேயெனை கொள்ளும் 
வையம் தன்னோடு கூடுவதில்லை யாம் "

("Am not going to mix with this world which takes the unreal world to be real")

The world is said to be unreal because of its temporal and ever changing nature.Even a little introspection will reveal this to us.But the sad thing is that we never introspect.

Bhartrhari puts across this point in the 8th stanza of the Vairagya Satakam,
"The face has been attacked with wrinkles,the head has been painted white with grey hair,the limbs are all enfeebles;but desire alone is rejuvenating".

In yet another verse he laments,
"Old age looms ahead,frightening men like a tigress;different diseases afflicting the human body like enemies;life is flowing away like water running out of a leaky vessel;still,how wonderful,that man goes on doing,wicked deeds!"

Am reminded of a verse my mother often repeats at home,

"Yuvvanam dhanasampathihi prabuthvum avivekitha
ekaikamapi anarthaaya kimu yathra chathustayam?"

"Youth,wealth,fame and ignorance-even one among these four are enough to bring down a man.What then to speak of a man who has all four detestable virtues?"

So,is it wrong to be rich,as far as Hinduism is concerned.What about those people who are tied to their families,due to social compulsions?And is non attachment just a euphemism for narrow mindedness?

Let us try to answer these questions in the forth coming posts................

(To be continued................) 





Thursday, December 13, 2012

Philosophical perspectives-I

Hinduism is one of the most complex religions the world has ever seen.There are so many dogmas,belief systems and cults that one is often left confused as to whether Hinduism has a strong foundation or not.Some western historians conveniently come to the conclusion that Hinduism is nothing but an assimilation of assorted faiths.The Hindu on the street is often confused as to "which God is the most powerful one" and hops on from one faith system to another,thus making himself vulnerable to nefarious elements.

Such confusion is basically due to ignorance.Due to the lack of the understanding that every religion is based on philosophy.Its philosophy which determines how a religion looks at the world,its being and formulates rules and regulations regarding the conduct of the adherents of a particular faith.

I still remember what i read in Class VIII in zoology.
The zoology text book asked,

 "What is life?"

It went on to add that it was difficult to define life and so they chose the easier option of studying life,rather than enquiring about the meaning of life.

That was probably the first time i had come across the question.I was to come across the same question several times from then on.While am unsure as to whether anybody has ever found out the exact answer,i think it would be worth while to approach the question from the Hindu perspective as it is the Hindu who seems the most confused person on Earth today,without an identity or proper guidance. 

It doesn't need a philosopher to tell us that whatever action we perform in our lives,the goal is happiness.This applies to every being on Earth,from the tiny ant to the gigantic elephant.It is that desire for happiness that drives every being into action.

Now,why is it that that all living being crave for happiness?What makes them shun the other state of mind-sadness.After all,happiness and sadness are two states of mind.Why is it that one state is always shunned and that the other is always preferred,at all points of time in our lives???

Common sense makes us answer,"It our nature to be so".

Philosophy doesn't stop at this.The next question is,

"WHY is it our nature to be so???"

This question is the foundation on which Hindu philosophy is built.............

The Hindu scriptures themselves endeavor to give us an answer to this question.

The answer given by the scriptures is that all living beings have evolved from bliss.Just as how a calf separated from the cow always struggles against the binds of the ropes to reach the mother cow,in the same way all living beings go in search of the source from which they have all evolved.

Birds fly.Deer run.Snakes crawl.Hyenas laugh........All in search of one goal-happiness----in other words,the source from which they've all been derived.They may or may not know that they're running in search of the source from which they've been derived from.Still,they run more and more.

Though they have the feeling to reach the source from which they have evolved from,they are blinded by ignorance and don't know the way to reach that source.Still they run.And they continue to run............

This ignorance makes them run after pleasure and happiness,instead of bliss.The big danger in running after pleasure and happiness is that they are not permanent.Every joy which we experience in this world of ours is temporal and fleeting.

From the simplest of joys to the most animal pleasures,every thing is fleeting.

The sweet tastes good only until it is digested.Once that sweet is digested,we want another.Then another and another.

The scriptures proclaim that such pleasures are worthless,as they are temporary.And there's no means of being satisfied as long as we run after such temporal pleasures.

The aim of the scriptures is to show man the way to that bliss which is permanent.As long as joy is temporary,it will only end in dissatisfaction.This is why the scriptures ask us to root out desire.It is not as if the ancient sages wanted us to be deprived of our temporal pleasures.They wanted to show us the way to ever lasting bliss.....

Thiru moolar,a  tamil saint proclaims in the thiru manthiram,
 "ஆசை அறுமின் ஆசை அறுமின் "
("Root out desire.Root out desire")
We are asked to root out desires for the simple reason that we will crave for pleasure only when there is desire.The sages who leave all worldly desires and go in search of some lonely secluded spot don't do so as they are disgusted with the world.They do so as they are desirous of a greater happiness,and ever lasting bliss.And it is those sages who guide mankind towards a peaceful and joyous living.

What is the path shown by the sages?
What is that bliss which has been merely written upon in this post?
What is the message of the scriptures?
Is the Hindu religion merely for those who want to live a spiritual life or does it have some thing for everyone?

These are of course,difficult questions which require in depth analysis.I hope we shall be able to answer these questions as well as those that which might crop up in the future as we move along this new series,inspite of my rather shoddy knowledge and lunatic tendencies.Comments and criticisms are always welcome.

(To be continued)...........



Sunday, October 7, 2012

India under siege-VIII

I wrote in India under siege-IV  as to how Lord Macaulay devised a plan to make Indians look down upon themselves in order to make colonization total and complete.What strikes us with astonishing clarity is the change in the mindset of the foreigners about how they viewed India and its history over a span of just one century.
In the year 1882 Max Muller,the celebrated historian observed,
"It is surely extremely strange that whenever, either in Greek,or in Chinese,or in Persian,or in Arab writings,we meet with any attempts at describing the distinguishing features in the national character of the Indians,regard for truth and justice should always be mentioned first."

The first British travelers,settlers and rulers were all astonished at the scale and grandeur of the Indian civilization.Thomas Munro wrote,

"If a good system of agriculture,unrivalled manufacturing skill,a capacity to produce whatever can contribute to convinience or luxury;schools established in every village for teaching,reading,writing,and in arithmetic;the general practice of hospitality and charity among each other;and above all,a treatment of the female sex full of confidence,respect and delicacy,if all these are among the signs which denote a civilized people,then the Hindus are not inferior to the nations of Europe;and if civilization is to become an article of trade between England and India,I am convinced that England will gain by the import cargo".

A pity England was hardly interested in trading in civilization.

The German historian Friedrich Schlegal described Sanskrit as the original language of the world and declared in 1803,

"Everything without exception is of Indian origin......Whether directly or indirectly,all nations are originally nothing but Indian colonies....the oriental anquity could,if we consented to deepen it, bring us back more safely towards the divine."

However,this generous estimate of Indian civilization and its contribution to the West started changing at the turn of the nineteenth century.The British had established their supremacy,over most of India and the colonial masters could now concentrate on draining the wealth of India.

This is what Michael Danino writes in his best seller,"The invasion that never was",
"While most of eighteenth century European travellers to india described her as "flourishing",less than a century later,she had sunk into the depths of dismal misery."

One British historian noted in 1901,

"Time was,not more distant than a century ago,when Bengal was much more wealthy than was Britain".another even asserted that Britain's Industrial revolution could not have taken place without the influx of money that followed the conquest of Bengal.

The Britishers' unlike the Portuguese or the earlier muslim invaders,were anxious to clothe their greed in more lofty ideals: the white man's burden of civilizing(and naturally Christianizing) less enlightened races;the "divinely ordained mission" of bringing to India the glory of Europe's commercialization and industrial civilization,and so forth.articles,pamphlets,speeches,volumes poured forth year after year in praise of the "tremendous task of rescuing India" from the darkness into which she had fallen.It was Britain's historic duty to spread the highest kind of civilization."

Understandably,the recognition of India's far more ancient and refined civilization made such noble motives untenable.Thus began a systematic campaign to disparage not only this civilization,culture and society,but the very roots of Hinduism..................................

Deliberate attempts were made to portray India as a land of superstitions,ignorance and never-ending problems.This was done to justify for themselves the legitimacy of the conquest of India.and the first step in the direction was to erase the earlier perceptions about India's glorious past.

This is what Richard Temple said in 1883,in a speech intended to generate donations for missions:

"India is a country,which of all others,we are bound to enlighten with the eternal truth.....But what is most important to you friends of missions,is this-there is a large population of aborgines a people who are outside caste....If they are attached,as they rapidly may be,to Christianity,they will form a nucleus round which British power and influence may gather.Remember too,that hinduism,although it is dying,yet has force........and such tribes,if not converted to Christianity,may be perverted to Hinduism....You may be confident that the missions in inida are doing a work which strengthens the imperial foundations of British power......I say,of all the departments I have ever administered,I never saw one more efficient than the missions department."

The Hindus themselves were in a tizzy as they were under the imperial rule and had no clue about their future.centuries of slavery had more or less snuffed out the bravery in them.They started to believe that the British alone could develop India.

This is what James Mill,wrote in his book,"The history of India":

".The Hindu,like a eunuch,excels in all the qualities of a slave."

That book was published in 1817.You are reading this in 2012.much water has flown down the drain......
But are we any different today,more than 60 years after we obtained Independence?

Am afraid we are not.Of course,we do mint our own coins,have a flag of our own,and elect our people to parliament.But,is our mind free from slavery?Do we have the tenacity to look at foreigners in the eye?Are we today proud of our unbroken civilization,that has seen so much,been put to test so many times,yet reared itself again like a phoenix?

All a child learns today is to look down upon India and her religion.The Macaulayan education system takes care of that.Parents today want their children to be "modern".In their dictionary,westernized and modern mean the same.

Our government seems convinced that India,which constitutes (1/6)th of the world's population,can be developed from outside.So,it has allowed FDI in multi-brand retail.The educated Indian takes pride in using English.The unlettered Indian looks at English in disgust.Either way,they look at English as a status symbol,not as a language.This is the extent to which imperialism has sunk into our flesh,into our DNA and mixed with our genes.Even our names are westernized when they appear online("Ams" for ambarish,"Ham" for Hamsalekha and so on).Independence for the nation must translate into freedom for the people.has it happened in India???

How i wish i could get "yes" for an answer....................

On the contrary,we seem to be all too eager to snuff out the very idea of India.Our government itself does it all the time.I fail to understand how we can do all this,and yet claim to be independent.Youngsters have actually started considering India as just yet another piece of land in which states are administered by a union for the purpose of administrative convenience.It is scary to think of what the future will be like for India,if the present trend continues.........

I would like to end this post with these soul stirring words of Swami Vivekananda,
"Shall India die?Then from the world all spirituality will be extinct,all moral perfection will be extinct,all sweet-souled sympathy for religion will be extinct,all ideality will be extinct;and in its place will reign the duality of lust and luxury as the male and female deities with money as its priest;fraud,force and competition its ceremonies;and the human soul its sacrifice.Such a thing can never be..............Will she die?This old mother of all that is noble or moral or spiritual,the land which the sages trod,the land in which Godlike men still breathe and live?I will borrow the Anthenian sage and follow you,my brother,through the cities and villages,plains and forests,of this broad world-show me such men in other lands if you can."

May God lead this nation from darkness to light;from the bad to the virtuous;from ignorance to knowledge;and from the cusp of death to the glory of life.

May peace prevail.......................

P.S:With this post,the series India under siege comes to an end.I would like to thank my readers for their comments,emails and support.Criticisms and suggestions are always welcome.......


Monday, August 20, 2012

India under siege-VII

I write this post,at a time when you are probably gritting your teeth , cribbing about the 5-sms-per-day rule implemented by the Indian government. One of the effects of the ban has been that it has made one and all to sit up and take notice if the Assam problem.i had been to the barber's today morning , and there too we had a discussion about the problem.

A customer was telling,"The north east people are savage in nature.See what they have done to the muslim community....."

The barber responded , "That's right.It is because of them that we have this sms limit".

"Hmm...the entire nation is affected because of their mischief .Dunno where they get their violent nature from......"

Another customer chipped in,"I've heard that those people have dogs for food .From this we can understand why they are so violent in nature."

"Dogs as food?Well,well....interesting......."

The barber who was attending me asked,"You people are pure veg,right?"

I simply nodded,expecting to get taunts and jibes from one and all that am so used to getting these days,thanks to my Brahmin-hood.

Thankfully,they stuck onto the main theme and continued to deliberate about the north east problem.

And,believe it or not,the word 'Bangladesh' was not mentioned even once.I wish I had the tenacity to speak out my thoughts then and there.But,given my shy nature,i refrained from doing so.

The shop owner asked the person attending to me to get on with the job.

I was lost in thought......

The reason for the unrest in Assam was primarily the illegal infiltration of Bangladesh citizens into India.The infiltration was so high that,in certain areas,the infiltrators constituted almost 75% of the population.This badly affected the ethnic community,the Bodos to such an extent that it threatened their livelihood.

The Indian government,instead of taking steps to prevent infiltration,turned a blind eye,hoping to cash in on the Muslim vote bank created as a result of the illegal migration.The local muslim population,instead of siding with the local bodos,sided with the illegal infiltrators.

The Indian government,decided to issue Aadhar cards even to the infiltrators,arguing that the Bangladeshis were living on Indian soil,unmindful of the fact that their occupation of Indian soil was illegal as per India's own laws.

This callous attitude on the part of the Congress government led to the riots in Assam.

The radical muslim groups,sided with the infiltrators and sent threatening sms es to North East people living in their locality.This created a fear psychosis and led to large scale migration of the North East origin people to their home lands.

Faced with criticism from all sides,the Indian government gave a knee-jerk reaction to the problem and limited the number of sms es to 5 per day for a period of fifteen days.

Still,there is not even talk from the government about infiltration.There is just an appeal to maintain peace.The Congress president Sonia Gandhi , stressed on the importance of maintaining religious and social harmony.She sounded as though the problem was due to some recent dispute.This is what the Congress does all the time.It addresses the effects.Not the root cause.

It is interesting to note that Bangladeshis infiltrate even to Myanmar,not just to India.This also resulted in riots.But,Myanmar,on the other hand,dared to call a spade a spade.Myanmar doesn't speak in favour of the illegal infiltrators,inspite of having there being pressure from all sides.myanmar's military strength is no match for the miltary might of other nations .Still,Myanmar deals with its issues in its own way.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,expresses "grave concern" about the Assamese violence but doesn't even mention the terror unleashed by instigated Muslim youth in Mumbai.Vote,votes and more votes.......This is what politicians want.Even if it means destroying the religious and cultural fabric of the nation.

I wanted to tell all this to the people inside the barber's shop,but some how i could not muster the courage to speak to the elders.So I just kept mum and paid them the 80 rupees they charged for hair cut and shave and came out of Singapore saloon,still lost in thought.

(To be continued)
P.S:I thought of ending India under siege on Aug 15th,but the existing political scenario has forced me to put off my plans.....So,yes,am not not done with you,as of yet.Happy reading :P

Sunday, August 5, 2012

India under siege-VI

The Bhagavadh Geetha is one of the holy books of the Hindus.It is a guide to life,and contains a total of eighteen chapters.The Bhagavadh Geetha is actually an extract from the Mahabharatha.It is considered by many as the essence of the Upanishads.It deals with a variety of topics concerned with ethics,morality,ways of life and God.Millions of men and women,have through the centuries  been inspired by the Bhagavadh Geetha and have led better lives than what they previously lived.


Thus writes Dr.P.Nagaraj Rao,"The Gita is a basic human document that outlines not only man's Godward journey to moksa but also his character of duties,the performance of which secures individual well being and social welfare.No other religious scripture,even remotely approaches the Gita's influence on Indian religion and culture.It is the book of light and love.It is the best introduction to Indian life and culture."

It is interesting to note the setting in which the Gita was spoken.It was spoken to Arjuna,not in a lonely hermitage on a mountain top,but in the thick of a battle,in the hour of crisis.Unlike the books of other religions,there is no attemp at forcible indoctrination,nor pressurizing one into the acceptance of a faith on the basis of authority through threats and intimidation.

One of the most intersting facets of the Bhagavadh Geetha is the chapter on Karma Yoga.In that chapter,Lord Krishna asks arjuna to fight his own cousins,not for the sake of attaining the kingdom,but for the sake of Dharma.He asks Arjuna to fight with dispassion.

"कर्मन एवढी कारस्ते  मा फलेषु कधाचन"

"Do your duty. Don't expect the rewards".

A question might arise in the mind for the reader if krishna is asking us to work with a sense of negativity.A little introspection will clear this doubt.It is a fact of daily experience that the efficiency of output is increased if we do something for the sake of interest rather than for the sake of just the end result.The student is likely to score better if he reads a subject with interest rather than just for the sake of getting high marks.Similarly,the teacher is likely to teach well if she likes what she is doing.A sportsman should focus on winning the match at hand rather than think about lifting the trophy once the match gets over.

In many American universities,this kind of an approach is being taught in order to relieve oneself from stress.If one starts considering his duty as a service to the society,it would give him self respect,irrespective of the work he were to do.On the other hand,if one were to do his duty only for the sake of obtaining material benefits,he would be left with discontent,as the mind itself is tuned that way.i really dont quite remember the last time any of my studious friends were happy with the grades they secured in the examination.But I would console myself  with the fact that I did put in my best efforts for the examination:P

Lord Krishna goes a step further and says that doing one's duty with dispassion is the equivalent of showing devotion to God.In simpler terms,God considers an army jawan fighting for the nation's sake and a preist doing rituals in the temple as one and the same.This is where the concept of swadharma comes into focus.Swadharma means one's own duty.

If everyone were to take pride in doing their own duty,the overall well being of the society could be easily taken care of by the rulers.

The Bhaghavadh geetha is the only Indian scripture which doesn't see any distinction between duty and prayer.in no other Hindu scripture do you find such an approach,leave alone the holy books of other religions.This is what makes the Geetha unique.That is why it is called "the book of life".

It is such a tragedy that such a book is not being taught in schools,under the name of secularism.I cant remember a single good which has happened to India because of secularism.In the hindi translation of the Indian constitution,the word "dharm nirpeksh" is used wherever the word secularism is used in the original text of the constitution."Dharm nirkpesh" means indifference to dharma(religion).It is this constitution which is used whenever laws are being framed for the country.

In an affidavit filed in the supreme court,the central government submitted,"India is a secular country.So,the government has the right to demolish the Ram Sethu".I cant think of any other country which shows such disrespect to a religion which originated in that very land.Such an attitude was professed by Jawaharlal Nehru,the first Prime Minister of India.It has grown in leaps and bound in the years that have passed by.

These days,the more a man speaks lowly of Hinduism,the more secular are his credentials.As the noted columnist S.Gurumurthy observed,"Secularism is an intra-Christian phenomenon. It has no application outside Christianity at all. Secularism resolved the fight between two powerful persons, the King and the Archbishop who were loyal to the same faith, to the same prophet, to the same book and to the same Church. It is not a multi-religious virtue".

But alas,Indians have the habit of copying whatever the west does.So they have blindly adopted secularism.There is a deliberate attempt these days to portray the Bhagavadh Geetha as a book that calls for men to use arms against others.What filthy propaganda is this!!

Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to take up arms only after the Kauravas had refused to give them even an inch of their rightful land.First he tried to bring about a consensus.Then he himself went as a messenger to the court of the kauravas.Then he tried to wean away Karna from the side of the Kauravas by explaining to him the genuineness of the Pandava cause.he decided to take the violent route only because all other options failed.War was the last resort.

It is very easy to read a text selectively and jump to conclusions.Even worse it is if this is done deliberately.Such an attempt would not succeed if children are brought up with the right values.It is such a shame that today's parents donot expose their children to such books.They raise their children with a materialistic mindset and blindly hope that those children will grow up to be ethical people.

The children donot learn it at home.They dont learn it at school either,thanks to secularism.The society also doesn't teach them any ethics.The media portrays only the negative side of the society.If some elder tries to teach them anything good,the children turn a deaf ear to such advice.The movies teach them to do this.The one thing the child learns to do is ape the West in every possible way.I would be happy if such an inclination to blindly imitate results in any tangible good to the society.Go to any city court and you can find for yourself.

If at all the child takes an interest in Indian culture,his friends start making fun of him.Finally what we get is a totally corrupt society,devoid of any moral values.And people start sitting on hunger fasts complaining about the corruption.How can a society be corruption free as long as the children are taught to achieve success,sans ethics??How can a country ever be prosperous as long as the mind is held hostage by some external country?

"A time must come when the Indian mind will shake off the darkness that has fallen upon it,cease to think or hold opinions at second and third hand and reassert its right to judge and enquire in a perfect freedom into the meaning of its own scriptures."
--Aurabindho

I hope Aurabindho's dream materializes one day...................

(To be continued)

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

India under siege-V

There is a perception among the English-educated Hindus of India that all religions have the same goal.It has become such a fashionable to say that the Geetha,quran and the bible preach the same thing.The contention  is that though there might be some difference in the rituals being performed,the concept of these religions is one and the same.

If this were to be the case,the difference between people of different religions would be purely cultural.But is that the case?I really dont think so.Religious fanaticism has taken away so many lives in this world of ours than any thing else.There is definitely some amount of truth in the argument of atheists that the world would be much more peaceful if there was no religion at all.

Religion itself is needed only to raise the level of human beings from being just animals.So,if a man embraces a religion,it must help one become a better person.The purpose of religion itself is defeated if a man becomes a savage after he embraces a religion.This is especially the case because,man having his 6th sense, is capable of causing the maximum destruction to the world than any other animal.

If ethical values constitute the goal of a religion,then certainly there's some agreement among all religions,the ethical values being universal.But should a man be religious to be ethical??

Ethical principles are ingrained in men.How does religion come into this?I wont beat you up,because I know it pains a lot if you were to beat me up.I will try to be truthful because I know its unethical to lie.The world itself is based on the premise that people speak the truth normally.There are thousands of atheists who are ethical to the highest degree.

Religion itself is relevant only to people who believe in the concept of God,or those who want to believe,that is.Each religion has its own theology which guides people how to reach its goal.The problem starts when a particular religion starts claiming exclusivity.

One man comes and says,"This is the only way to reach God.Follow me"

Then another man comes and tell me "Do not go after him,he cannot take you to heaven,you better follow me,I will take you to heaven;I am the latest."

Suddenly a nun appears and says,"I am going to save you."

The nun is rather good looking,so I eagerly ask her,"Thank you mam.May i know from what  you are going to save me?Will you clear my debts?That will be nice.Will you save me from a disease?I would be grateful if you were to do so.What do you want to save me from?"

She smiles a soft,sympathetic smile and says"From your sin dear."

The word dear encourages me to ask "What sin mam?"

She again smiles and says,"You original sin".

I am a bit puzzled and ask her"Original sin???"

She explains calmly,"You have got parents.That is what is meant by the original sin.You need to be saved from that sin".

I get to know from her that some one died for me.She feels that he died for my sake about 2000 years ago.
By now I've over come  the aura of her beauty and am fully back to my senses.

So I find myself asking,"Mam,did he ask my permission before dying for me? I was not even there when he died.So how can you say,he died for me?I am not responsible for it".

She mutters some thing which seems like "eternal damnation" and goes away looking for another school boy. Hmmm...If only she had spoken about some thing else....Nalla dhaan irundichu.....What to do?

I would like to know where there is "unity" in all this.Still,so many Hindus keep repeating,"All religions have the same goal.Aaaaal are one and the same".

After I finished  my schooling , I went on a vacation to Darjeeling with my family.Darjeeling is a beautiful hill station located in West Bengal,near the Nepal border.It is full of Buddhist monastries.There is a belief among the Buddhists that if one were to ratate a particular cylindrical disc,all our prayers will be granted.I was surprised to see my mother suddenly rotating one of those huge discs.

I asked her,"Amma,why are you rotating these discs?"

She replied,"You should get good marks in your exams.Come,you also rotate..."
It was really touching to see as to what extent mothers will go for the sake of their children's welfare.
But common sense made me ask,"Have you forgotten that we are the disciples of Adi Shankara?"
She distractedly replied,"Adi Shankara and Buddha preached  the same thing ".
I had to storm out of the monastry.

Adi Shankara had to introduce the concept of institutionalism into Hinduism only to counter the surge of Buddhism in India.Before the advent of Adi Shankara,there was no such thing as a mutt.Religion was between the Almighty and the Hindu. Adi Shankara had to take this step only to clear the dilemma in the minds of the masses.If it were not for him,there would be no Hinduism today.

Of course,I do acknowledge my mother's right to freedom of religion.I took exception only to her reasoning that both Hinduism and Buddhism were the same.She has a masters degree in computer science and works as a teacher in one of the reputed schools in the country.She is also a pundit in Sanskrit.If such an eminent person can be fooled into believing such nonsense,I can well imagine the mind of the common masses.

The philosophy of Adi Shankara is that the material universe of forms and things is grounded in Brahman(God),but its formation therefrom cannot be described or formulated.It functions on the basis of the law of karma,that is of cause and effect;but its ultimate cause is Brahman which has created the material world and started the process of change that we see occurring in the world.All creation,however is Maya,or the power of illusion.Within the realm of maya,the universe exists and can be concieved as a creation of brahman,who is some times concieved as a personal God.However,from the standpoint of ultimate reality,even a personal deity is a product of maya.The world,as created by Brahman is an illusory superimposition of phenomenon on the basic reality-like a rope which is mistaken for a snake.

Buddhism,on the other hand doesn't even approve of the concept of God.Buddhism talks of nirvana as a state of "nothingness" or "Shunyatha". Buddhism believes in "putting off the light" i.e freedom from bondage.But that doesn't mean entering into a state of bliss.It means entering into a state of complete darkness.Also Buddhism teaches the soul is subject to destruction every second.A new soul appears the next second,replacing the earlier one,thus giving us the illusion of continuity of life.

This view is diametrically opposite to the philosophy of Adi Shankara,who talks again and again about the immortality of the soul.

I leave it to the wisdom of the reader to judge for himself whether there is anything common between the two philosophies.

The reason for such a belief is that Hindus have no identity for themselves.Such has been the impact of foreign invasions and foreign concepts.

I once heard a Hindu business man commenting,
"Love=profit.
Hatred=loss.
This is what the geetha,quran and the bible say.

While I cannot comment on what the foreign religions say,I can say with a fair degree of certainty that no such thing is found in the Bhaghavadh Geetha.
This is what lord krishna says in the Bhaghavadh Geetha:

"Sukha dukhe samae krithva
laba labao jaya jayao".

"View happiness and sadness,profit and loss,victory and defeat as one and the same!!!!"

Everyone is entitled to have their opinion.What i don't understand is why they drag religion into all this.These days so many people with no religious background have started penning books on spirituality.Let them do so.But let us stop mouthing big words like"All religions are one and the same".

I know so many of the so called saints do it for money,but we have only ourselves to blame if we fall a prey to their devilish designs.

Oh God,save me from these saviours.....

(To be continued)








Sunday, June 17, 2012

India under siege-IV

The oxford English dictionary defines economics as,"the science of the production and use of goods and services".There are various ways of looking at economics.The Marxist view of economics and the Anglo Saxon view of economics are two popular ways of looking at economics.India,after 1947,has experimented with both the socialist model and the Anglo Saxon model. 


The interesting thing to be noted is that the economics practiced by the Indian has never changed over the millennia,though the Indian state has experimented with different economic models,after Independence.Any economist will tell you that the difference between the traditional Indian economic model and the Anglo Saxon model is that the indian model is based on saving,while the Anglo Saxon model is based on spending.It was this mindset that led india to prosperity.India was such a rich country that every nation,all over the world was jealous of her wealth and prosperity.India was self sufficient and her children were contended and peaceful.


After India adopted the Macaulay system of education,there was a deliberate attempt to impose the Anglo Saxon model on the Indians.And the Britishers seem to have succeded,to a great extent as far as the Indian state is concerned, though a majority of the Indians continue to  follow to the traditional model of economics,based on savings.


But,slowly one can sense that even the Indian on the street has started to lean towards the Anglo Saxon model.The reason which is often attributed to this change in mindset is globalization.The concept of globalization assumes that it is in the best interests of nations,all over the world,to eat the same food,wear the same dress,speak the same language and so on.Globalization assumes that homogenizing societies is the key to development of the nations.


Any nation has its own people,languages,culture etc.These are influenced by geographic locations,way of thinking etc.It is natural to expect that each nation knows what is good and what is bad for it.It is only when some external power starts dictating that confusion sets in.This is more so when the mind itself is held hostage by the external power.


For the last two decades or so,India has adopted the policy of liberalization,paving the way for globalization.The popular perception in India is that India has boomed because of globalization.Unfortunately,figures and statistics seem to suggest otherwise.


Before 1986,30 percent of India lived below the poverty line.Today,more than 70 percent of India's population lives below the poverty line.How does it matter to the man on the street,whether India's image as a global destination has grown or not,or at what rate Infosys is growing?All that matters to him is whether he and his children have food for the next day.Has globalization helped him feed his children?


The reader will probably be tempted to argue that globalization has worked wonderfully in developed countries like America.While there is no denying the fact that America has indeed benefited from globalization,few are aware that it is at the cost of other nations.


From being one of  the world's largest investors in the 1980s,the U.S,today is the world's largest borrower.America,owes $7 trillion dollars to the world,and it is borrowing at the rate of $2 billion a day.Who gives America the money??


Out of the $1.5 trillion risk loans, the EU Central Bank issued a cheque for $512 billion in December 2007. The EU money was lent in the US, not in the EU. Today, America has become a burden on the world.Without going too technical,let us try to understand the meaning of the term sub-prime loan.


Sub means lower in importance and prime means main.A sub-prime loan is a loan which is given to an unworthy borrower.In other words,the loan is given to a borrower who is highly unlikely to repay the loan.It is one of the most fasionable concepts in America.Loans are given indiscriminately.The question arises,are Americans foolish enough to give loans just like that?


The answer is NO. In fact,the Americans are the most brainy people on Earth.This is because,the sub-prime loan being given is not from America's money.It is the world's money.It is the rest of the world which has made a fool of itself.Americans must go to malls,freak out in pubs and go berserk in parties at the cost of the money lent by the rest of the world. It is the world that keeps America going.Not the other way round,as is being believed.America has become the burden of the world,and the rest of the world must bear the burden.As long as the world keeps pumping money,Americans continue to spend extravagantly.This is precisely the reason why no Indian wants to return back to India,after living in America for about 5-6 years.The hardworking people in India will save their money in Indian banks,which will in turn lend it to American banks through the World Bank route,and the Indian American will continue to lead an extravagant lifestyle.So many Americans consider it foolish to save their money these days.The reason is obvious.


The tragi-comedy is that,Indians who are under the impression that everything that is 
good for the West is good for India as well,has started to emulate America in this 
aspect as well.You see malls coming up everywhere,and teenagers flocking them with 
their friends.Of course,such a mindset has just started to set in.But,its scary to think 
what will happen if this mindset continues to grow among Indians.Unlike America,no 
body is going to pitch in for us if we become spend-thrifts.




My friends often ask me as to why i avoid going to malls.Try telling them all this and 
they might even consider "unfriending" me forever.But,these are the facts.I really 
hope that the reader is able to understand what will happen if this trend continues.

Curiously enough,the idea of shopping in malls reached much popularity in America 
only after the 9/11 attacks.


Recession on one side and terrorism on the other brought down the American economy to its knees. The American Industry experts thought unless the Americans started spending again there was no way to revive the economy . Out of desperation, to make the people spend they came up with an outlandish Idea called “SHOP FOR AMERICA”.


The former President, Mr Bill Clinton asked his countrymen “to get out and shop”. September 30 was celebrated as “SHOP FOR AMERICA DAY”. General motors started their campaign “to keep America rolling” by introducing 0% financial offer. The result was all automakers cleared their un-sold stocks. It was preached that what is good for General motors is good for America. Time Europe Magazine in its Jan 28,2008 issue says ”since September 11,2001 consumerism has been cast as new patriotism”.Shopping was preached as the national duty of every American citizen!!



The consumerism, which was preached as a solution for recession gave birth to Sub-prime mortgage lending on houses. How come the rise in value of houses promotes spending? As the price of their house,rose, people went to the bank, got loans against the increased price of their house as an additional equity and spent them in malls and other extravagant activities. 
For example a house which was priced at Rs 50 Lakhs pre recession rose to Rs 1 crore because of additional demand. The House owner took a loan on this increased value of Rs 50 Lakhs and complted his national duty of shopping.



The money lent on sub-prime basis was not American money. The mortgaged loans of the US banks belong to banks in the Middle East, in Korea, in Taiwan or even in India.It was a US crisis at global cost. That is why it affected the world. 
Globalisation helped America to make the local loans, global loans.This is why,recession,which ought to have been America's problem,became a "global" problem.Recession is America's gift to the world.



Let us understand this in an easier manner.You give me loan.I use the money to buy things from you.I never repay the loan.Thus,you get fooled twice.America imports products from other countries using its sub-prime loans.This is what America is doing to the world,and the world knows it.

It is this life model,which our economists are trying to enforce upon us.Isn't it obvious that such a policy will turn detrimental in the long run??

It is foolish to think of economics just in terms of money.There is a moral,social and cultural aspect to economics as well.Take a look at the society in India and compare the figures for public expenditure for private purposes, which is called the social security system in the West. 30% of the GDP in America is spent for social security, 48% in England, 49% in France, 56% in Germany and 67% in Sweden. This private expenditure is nothing but what you and I do by taking care of parents, our wives and children, brothers and sisters and grandparents, widowed sisters and distant relatives. This expenditure is met by the society in India.

Now,this is where the Anglo Saxon model fails.It looks as economics just in terms of money.The Anglo Saxon model looks at individuals separately.The Indian model looks at the society at large.This is because of the strong family system prevailing in India.It is this family system which keeps the Indian economy stable.

These days,we find so many Indian intellectuals arguing that family based lifestyle is not a must.The Supreme Court itself has given legal sanction to live-in relationships and pre-marital sex.But such opinions are meaningless as long as the aam aadmi continues to uphold the age old traditions and customs of his ancestors.

"Asia is long-lived, Europe brief, ephemeral. Asia is in everything hugely mapped, immense and grandiose in its motions, and its life-periods are measured accordingly. Europe lives by centuries, Asia by millenniums. Europe is parceled out in nations, Asia in civilizations... Everything in Europe is small, rapid and short-lived; she has not the secret of immortality."


These are the immortal words of Shri Aurabindho. He goes on to predict that India shall rise on the ruins of the West.

But that is possible only if a time comes when the Indian mind will shake off the darkness which has engulfed it,and cease to hold opinions at second or third thought,and that is when India shall rise again,to ascend the throne and assert her rightful place among the comity of nations.

I hope that by the grace of God,we shall be able to break the shackles that we have imposed on ourselves.

"Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free.....
Into that heaven of freedom,my father
Let my country awake"
- Rabindranath Tagore


Let us all pray God that Tagore's prayers come true one day.


(To be continued)





Sunday, June 10, 2012

India under siege-III

The date was 1st June,2012.I was to appear for my professional ethics examination on 2nd June,2012.The exam was to be conducted in the afternoon,from 2pm-5pm.I had to read 5 units by then.The first unit  was "Scope and Aim of Engineering Ethics".I was sitting at home with a book written by Mike W.martin and Ronald Schinzinger.Both of them were scholars who lived in America.One of the important topics to be covered in the first unit was about the two theories on moral autonomy.One was proposed by Kohlberg,the other was proposed by  Gilligan,who were again Americans.The book itself was meant for Americans,as was evident from the language used by the authors.(It repeatedly kept referring to America as "our country".)Where was I? Choolaimedu,Chennai,millions of miles away from America.Still,I was reading a book meant for Americans,in order to prepare for an engineering examination to be conducted in Chennai by Anna University,an "autonomous institution".
This really made me think.What is the reason for this?One obvious reason was globalization,which presupposes that it is in the best interests of nations,the world over,to follow the same policies,eat the same food,wear the same dresses and learn the same subjects in the same way(read as,Western way).the other reason that came to my mind was lord Mcaulay's speech in the british Parliament on 2nd February,1875.That one speech that was to impact the lives of millions of Indians for eternity.
The most significant extract of that speech is quoted below:


 “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a begger, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever counquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation. ”

I cannot,at present think of any person with such forthright and devilish planning as Lord Macaulay.The result is for everyone to see.Lord Macaulay lived in India only for four years,from 1834-1838,but he was destined to change the lives of millions of Indians forever.The main difference between the Britishers and the earlier Muslim invaders was that the Britishers succeeded in making us look down upon ourselves.Indians held the Muslims in fear but the Britishers were worshiped. 


Once the mind is mortgaged,there's little the body can do.When an entire nation is tricked into believing that Britishers alone,who came to plunder the wealth,  could develop the nation,there is no thing that can be done to make people have any respect for their motherland,natural resources or culture.


Thus,another dark chapter in India's painful and turbulent history was being written....Not by her children,but the haughty and disrespectful children of a bitch.


Macaulay wrote a note,sitting in Ooty,“We require an education system in India which will produce a class of interpreters, who will be Indian in colour and Englishmen in taste, opinions and morals.”


On March 7, 1835, the Governor General William Bentinck agreed with Macaulay's Minute and wrote, "the great object of the British Government ought to be the promotion of European literature and science among the natives of India," thus promoting and establishing a permanent position for the use of English language in Indian educational institutions. 


Trevelyan writes, "two of the Orientalists retired from the Committee of Public Instruction; several new members, both English and native, were appointed; and Macaulay entered upon the functions of President with an energy and assiduity which in his case was an infallible proof that his work was to his mind"


Take any English book on Indian history and after reading it you will surely get the impression that India was such a good for nothing before the Britishers came to India.Such an impression is being created and the very same books are used as the reference for drafting the syllabus of  books to be read by school children.As you read this,millions of young minds are being poisoned into believing that India was a nation of superstition,castes and inequalities before the British cleansed the system.Of course,there is no denying the fact that India did face such problems.

But,didn't other nations face similar problems?

When you think of America,does Obama strike your maid or is it Apartheid?

When you think of India,does caste strike your mind or is it the Ashoka pillar at Sarnath?

Let us consider an example to understand our history book-The Indus valley Civilization
While reading about the Indus Valley Civilization,the only person given prominence is Mortimer Wheeler,who famously declared,"Indra stands accused".It was his contention that it was the Aryan invasion that brought down the fall of the Indus Valley Civilization.It hardly matters if people lived after him,like S.R.Rao, D.P.Agarwal, B.B.Lal, Ambedkar, Swami Vivekananda, Arabindho etc have disproved this. 

Wheeler,a Britisher,has said it,and his word is law.I can understand if both sides of the story are presented to the student and the final inference is left to the student.Such myths are propagated as though they are matters of fact.

As far as the Aryan invasion theory is concerned,it was first propagated by Max Muller.Later,Muller himself realized his folly and wrote

"I have declared again and again that if i say Aryas,I mean neither blood nor bones,nor hair,nor skull;I simply mean those who speak an Aryan language".

What does the 6th standard student study?

Max Muller's initial theory.For,surely,its impossible that Indians would've prospered without the help of the white-skinned Europeans.The more a historian speaks lowly of India,the more acclaim he gets.No wonder,then that Ramachandra Guha is proclaimed as India'a No 1 historian while S.R.Rao,who conducted extensive research in the Indus Valley sites,is forced to watch from the sidelines for the simple reason that he refuses to but the Europeans' theory.

As a matter of fact,it is now held by many historians the world over that Ancient Hindu civilization was spread over two river-the Indus and the Saraswathy,which dried up later.Will you find this in an NCERT text book?

NO!

The only way you can know this is by reading Michael Danino's "The invasion that never was",unless you are a history geek,that is.

As Prof.Viswanathan said:

"While other countries are uncertain about their future,India seems to be uncertain about even its past".

Shoudn't we be proud of our glorious past?Do we deserve this treatment inspite of being the cradle of civilization?I really wish people introspect on these questions.

The less i write about the English media's reporting on India,the better.

As the investigative journalist S.Gurumurthy lamented,

"Go to any country and the same negative stereotype is echoed that India is suffering from poverty and malnutrition. India has no drinking water. Indian women are burnt. If they are married, they are burnt, if they are widows, they are burnt. See the image that has been built about this country. Who did this? The English educated Indian".

Education must help people put things in the right perspective.Not help them in repeating old dogmas and strengthening stereo types.

Christian missionaries during the freedom movement created the impression that Indians are filthy, rotten, dirty and unhealthy, advertising abroad these are the people who need to be saved. We have to Christianise them, enlighten them, and give us money. I can understand that because it is their business. But what did we do after 1947?


We repeated the same mistakes. We projected India as a country of unending problems.The media still does it.


Every country has problems. Only in India, problems become identities. How many dowry deaths take place in India in a year? Yet, India is projected as a country burning its own daughter-in-laws. And we also talk about it. Every  newspaper will be writing about it. We believe in self-deprecation. And this goes on in the guise of intellectualism in India.

A new "study" says that Indian widows are sexually unsatisfied and they are becoming lesbians.What filthy lies!

What sort of image are we trying to project about India?I can understand if the foreign media,powered by Christian missionaries does this.But, is done by Indian media in such an overzealous manner.

 In the year 1978, an interesting incident occurred in Manhattan. There was a power failure for six hours. Manhattan is in the heart of New York where you find the UN building, the World Trade Centre and the head quarters of many multi-national companies. One third of the world’s health is concentrated in Manhattan. Within six hours, hundreds of people were killed, robbed and assaulted. We don’t need electricity to behave in a civilised manner. How many intellectuals in India have ever articulated from such a sympathetic approach? We have only tarnished the image of this country. We must be ashamed of this.

In so many American homes,the mothers mix the pregnancy-prevention pill in the food without the knowledge of their daughters.

Is this the India we want to shape for the future.I hope not.Going by the rate of westernization and globalization,it appears likely.

Have we really benefited from westernization,globalization as is being perceived?Is globalization the only way out?More on these topics in the subsequent posts.















Thursday, June 7, 2012

India under siege-II

If one were to look into the record books and find out the names of the longest books ever written,he would end up with two books-"1001 nights" and "Mahabharatha".
The 1001 nights is a Russian book while the Mahabharatha is a Sanskrit book written by Vyasa.It is a book which consists of one lakh verses,describing the rise and fall of various Indian empires,the lives of the illustrious and not-so-illustrious princes,warriors,soldiers and ministers of India.It is an epic story with so many twists and turns,so many characters whose lives are interwoven with one other.There are various plots and sub plots which culminate into a single emotional and heart warming ending in the end.An extract from the Mahabharatha is the Bhaghavadh Geetha,considered by the courts to be the holy book of the Hindus.It would not be an exaggeration to say that any study of Indian cultural ethics is incomplete without reading the Mahabharatha.The following is the last verse of the mahabharatha:
"धर्मार्थु कामन नाबयाँ नालोबाथ
धरमंना थ्यजेथ जीविथास्यापी हेथोहो
नित्यो धर्मः सुखा देखे थ्वानिथ्ये
जीवो नित्यो हेठुरास्य थ्वानिथ्यः "
"Dont ever give up your dharma.
Not due to fear,not due to trivial issues.
Dont give up your dharma even if it is for the sake of your life"

Now,a question arises:

What is dharma?

The literal meaning of dharma is natural property.For example,it is the dharma of dogs to bark,of sun flowers to have a yellow colour,of a typist to type and a teacher to teach".
Nature,if left to itself,takes care of itself. It is only when this natural order is breached that a disturbance occurs.Any disturbance has an effect,and that has repercussions on the surrounding depending on the cause and magnitude of the disturbance.
It is under this context that it is worth mentioning lord Krishna's declaration in the Bhagavadh Geetha

"Whenever the society forgets its duties and goes into chaos,
I take birth to uplift DHARMA"

Thus we see that righteousness from the hindu perspective means playing the game as per the rules of nature.It is the dharma of a cow to moo.It is the dharma of donkeys to bray and dogs to bark".

Unless this inherent dharma is violated,there's not  going to be any difficulty in identifying a crow,dog or cow.It is only if suddenly a cow starts barking that one gets confused whether it is a cow or a dog.

The same dharma applies to human beings also.But,man being the roof and crown of creation,has the sixth sense viz. common sense by which he discriminates between good and evil,right and wrong,virtue and vice.

The common sense is a double edged sword that can be used both for constructive and destructive purposes.Only if it is put to the proper use,can the society benefit.Otherwise,it would only lead to chaos and confusion.

Srimadh Bhagavatham,another Hindu scripture says that merely having 2 hands,2 legs and a backbone doesn't guarentee by itself that one is a human being.One can be deemed to be a human being only if he follows his dharma.One is deemed a dog if he shouts unnecessarily at other people,a vulture if he looks down upon others,a worm if he mixes with bad company and so on.

The Hindu puraanas are full of stories of people who stood up for dharma whenever the need arose.
Ramayan,another hindu epic centered an the life of warrior prince Rama says

"रामो विग्रहवान धर्मः
धर्मो विग्रहवान रामः "
"Rama is the embodiment of dharma. Dharma,if it were to be sculpted,the statue would be a carbon copy of Rama"

Another quote from the Mahabharath before we move onto the main theme:
"यथ कृष्णः थथो  धर्मः
यथो धर्मः थथो  जयः "
"Dharma lies where krishna is.
Victory lies where dharma is".

It is this respect for dharma that drove India as a nation towards greater and greater heights before the foreigners arrived with their savagery,sense of cunning and enterprise.Each invading country had a thing or two to learn from the conquests of the other nations.And this is where the Britishers acted with admirable precision and accuracy.

Their aim was not to demolish temples,rename provinces etc,but far more deceitful,far more cunning.They decided to strike at the very core of India's existence-her culture,in other words,her dharma.
This is what Michael Danino writes in his best selling book,"The Invasion that never was":

"Unlike the Portuguese or the earlier muslim invaders,the British were anxious to clothe their greed in lofty ideals:"the white man's burden" of civilizing(and naturally Christianizing) less enlightened races,the "divinely ordained mission" of bringing India to the glory of Europe's commercialization and industrial civilization..........."

It was this deadly plan which was executed with remarkable efficiency by the Britishers that snuffed the life out of the Indian's lungs.India was to die a slow,silent death on her own.The british-educated indians started believing that only imperialism could bring development to India.The home grown techniques,the Indian traditions,heritage,civilization,the result of nearly 4000 years of civilization were discarded with gay abandon. The british alone knew what to do,how to do and where to do.And Indians were to model themselves in the western ways as quickly as possible in order to please their newly arrived masters and for their own development,as the Englishmen wanted the Indians to believe".

And,the result???

The Britishers won,hands down.


Jawaharlal Nehru,the first prime minister of "independent" India was born with a silver spoon.His father Motilal Nehru was an Indian educated by the British system.The British influence on him was so stark that he decided to to become a Britisher in every sense of the term,by mannerism,habit and language.He insisted on the use of knifes and forks for eating and conversed only in English inside the house,inspite of the fact that his wife couldn't understand a word.(Those were the days in which the wife  was considered as a part of the furniture after the first few years of marriage.)

"Like father,like son".

Motilal's son Jawaharlal Nehru,lived up to his father's expectations to an unbelievable extent.He once remarked that he wanted Indians to remember him as the last British prime minister of India.The less said about his character,the better.He was a womanizer to the greatest possible degree.One of the rather nasty jokes is that it was his affair with Mrs.Mountbatten that ensured early independence for India.

If only he had paid heed to these soul stirring words of Swami Vivekananda:

"The debt which the world owes to our motherland is immense.Taking country with country,there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu,the mild Hindu.....Here activity prevailed when Greece did not exist,when Rome was not thought of,when the very fathers of the modern Europeans lived in the forest and painted themselves blue.Even earlier,when history has no record,and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past,even until now,ideas after ideas have marched out from her,but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it,and peace before it".

It is the dynasty of this great nehru which has ruled India for the greater part of India's so called "independence", Little wonder then,that Indian telecommunications and hrd minister has decided to do away with Devanagari numerals,the basis for the Arabic numerals we use today.

Today,Indian polity,media and education system  are guided by three foreigners who died long time ago viz Max Muller,Karl Marx and Lord Macaulay.

We shall see the contributions of these  powerful man and their impact on the Indian fabric in the next post


P.S:Nostradamus predicts that a sikh called CHYREN ROY will be born in the southern part of India,where the three seas meet(Kanya Kumari) and that he shall rule the world one day.Is he the only hope????
I hope not.  





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