Hare Krishna - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan · Lord Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai...

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam“The whole world is but one family”

Hare KrishnaBahai

August 2011 | Vol 9 No.2 | Issn 1449 - 3551

www.bhavanaustralia.org

Life | Literature | Culture

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side - Rigv Veda, 1-89-i

2 | Bhavan Australia | August 2011

Quality/Principle Personal Life Work Life

1. Ahimsa Harmonious Living, inner calm, gentleness

Assertive but not aggressive, equanimity, temperance, cooperation, team work

2. Simplicity Frugal living, simple lifestyle Straightforwardness, refrain from politicking, guidance, open and broadmindedness

3. Character Role model for children, spiritual values

Leadership, incorruptibility, reliability, moral values

4. Prayer Meditation, Self control, inner calm, sacrifice

Stress buster, self control, compromise, positive vibration

5. Discipline Devotion and dedication to family, self control, abstinence

Dedication and devotion to work, adhering to timelines

6. Healthy living Positivism in home life, avoiding junk food, alcohol

Punctuality, regularity, positive mental attitude, increased productivity

7. Truthfulness Honesty, frankness, openness, faithfulness

Integrity, honesty, frankness, accountability, courage to disagree wrong doings, whistle blowing

8. Ethics & Principles Fairness, responsible society member

Corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, integrity, loyalty, responsibility, non attachment, morality, probity

9. Love and Compassion

Caring, giving, sharing, affection, sacrifice

Kindness, concern, helping, humanism, forgiveness, empathy, moral support

Nine Gems of Gandhi for Work-Life BalanceModel Based on Principles and Qualities of Gandhi for Personal and Work Life Balance

Source: Bhavan’s Journal, July 15, 2011

August 2011 | Bhavan Australia | 3

The words you speak out loud, or write down, are but echoes of the thoughts that flit through your head first. When you tell someone that it is a beautiful day, you had the thought first and then spoken the words. Your thoughts are, therefore, behind all your expressions in words, gestures or reactions, for that matter. You cannot even make a movement without thinking the thought first.

It is your thought that determines whether your words and actions are positive or negative. But, how do you judge whether a thought is positive or negative? It is simple. Your thoughts are positive when they reflect your aspirations and what you cherish. Negative thoughts are those which fuel depression and vulnerability.

Most people think and speak only to lament their deprivations, both real and imagined, and what may have eluded them rather than think and talk about their dreams and ambitions. They exude more negativity than positivity and in so doing they are inadvertently robbing themselves of all the good things in life.

You will observe that people of eminence think and talk about what inspires and motivates them whereas others who are struggling solely think and talk about their problems and helplessness or how life has been unfair to them.

One does not live out a year or a month. One lives day by day. You must learn to dwell on the good news of the day. Think and talk about only those things that went agreeably.

Begin with simple things such as how good it is to be full of good health. Talk about the situations and interactions you had in the day that were productive and boded well for the future. To have a positive, vibrant life, think and talk about only what you desire and cherish and this process will unfasten unlimited access to all that is good in life.

What you must realise is that all the good things that you want are raring to come into your life. But, for that to happen, you have to first fill your mind only with positive thoughts that make you feel assured and confident and banish those that make you feel gloom-laden. That will open the doors wide for all that you want, to rush in. Your good feelings alone can harness the grace of Dame Fortune—the power to everything good in life.

Remember, every day is made up of two halves, of light and darkness. Events that make you feel happy and events that make you unhappy come in equal measure. Think only of those events that have made you feel good and let that feeling pervade all the cells of your body. You will then begin to radiate positivity. That radiation will attract everything that makes you feel good and it will flow into you in great abundance.

“Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.” -Rig Veda.

Surendralal G Mehta

President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

You Are What You Think You Are You Are What You Think You Are


For this MonthLest we forget

Lord Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr Rajendra Prasad pleaded with Mahatma Gandhi, as did everybody else in the Congress, to remain in Delhi to join in the celebrations on 15 August 1947, but he politely declined. The Mahatma said his presence was needed among the suffering people of Noakhali.

On arriving in Calcutta, on his way to Noakhali he learnt that the city was once again in flames; there was recurrence of rioting and killing. He was prevailed upon to stay there for sometime and provide his proverbial healing touch. He consented on the condition that Muslims in Noakhali should guarantee the safety of Hindus in that strife-stricken district. Likewise the Hindus in Bihar had to stand as guarantors of the safety of Muslims there. Or else he would not hesitate to sacrifice his life in order to bring this about. When some Hindus told him that his sympathies lay with the Muslims, he responded with tears in his eyes: “how can you ever think like this. I am proud to be a Hindu. I have lived and will die for Hinduism. Every fibre of my being is Hindu. To say that I do not care for Hindus is the worst travesty of truth.”

The Mahatma found the fire of hate was raging everywhere and he did not know how long it would take him to extinguish it but he had to extinguish it or it would engulf both India and Pakistan. Anti-social elements had run amuck, they were destroying the very basis of civilization. Under the League Ministry Hindus were earlier massacred and then under the Congress Ministry Muslims were being done to death. The Mahatma beseeched the people of Calcutta to stop, what he called this “hot goondaism” and this senseless race of retaliation.

As the Mahatma went round the affected areas, Muslims who had been living in terror regained their confidence. Hindus responded to his call and promised to follow his advice. Shaheed Suhrawardy joined him on behalf of the League to create an atmosphere of communal harmony; Shyama Prasad Mookerjee lent his support on behalf of Hindu Mahasabha. Meanwhile in Delhi, preparations were made on a grand scale to celebrate the birth of independence.

On 15 August 1947 addressing the Constituent Assembly in its midnight session Nehru said: “On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation, who embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounds us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we, but the succeeding generations, will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength, courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.”

The Mahatma stayed in the house of his Muslim host in Calcutta on Independence Day, fasting and spinning. There was no joy in his heart though he responded to the thousands of Hindus and Muslims who came for his darshan; it was a moving spectacle of Hindu Muslim fraternity. The next day 16 August hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims attended his prayer meeting. Touched by this the Mahatma said: “…..the delirious happenings remind me of the early days of the Khilafat Movement. The fraternization then burst on the public, as a new experience. Moreover, we had then Khilafat and Swaraj as our twin goals. Today, we have nothing of the kind. We have drunk the poison of mutual hatred, and so this nectar of fraternization tastes all the sweeter and so sweetness should never wear out.” He spoke more about Hindu Muslim unity than of the birth of freedom because the new dominion was infested with the agony of partition.

As the process of inter-communal harmonization was being consolidated, news came from Pakistan that Hindus were being killed and driven out of Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and other cities. This inflamed the crowds in Calcutta and the fragile edifice of unity that the Mahatma had built during his stay began to crumble and collapse. He wrote to Patel on September 1, 1947: “I hear that conflagration has burst out at many places. What was regarded as the ‘Calcutta miracle’ has proved to be a nine days’ wonder.”


Meanwhile Nehru asked him to come to Punjab where the situation had gone out of control. The Mahatma replied to Nehru at once, on 2 September 1947: “I would have started for today but for the flare-up in Calcutta. If the fury did not abate, my going to Punjab would be of no avail. I would have no self-confidence.” The Mahatma therefore stayed on in Calcutta and decided to fast unto death, hoping that what his “word in person” could not do, “my fast may do. It may touch the hearts of all the warring elements in Punjab if it does in Calcutta.”

In less than four days of his fast the attitude of people in Calcutta changed. Leaders of all political parties, religious groups, and social organisations went round the streets and asked Hindus and Muslims to give up their arms, abjure violence and pledge to restore peace. The goondas and their dadas came forward and repented for what they had done. Everyone appealed to the Mahatma to break the fast, but he said that unless mutual trust was restored he would not do so. Finally on the assurance of C Rajagopalachari who had taken over as the Governor of the province, he agreed to concede to their request if they promised him that there would never be a repetition of such a tragedy in the city. And, that they would sincerely strive for genuine change of heart and actively foster communal unity. If they were unable to give such a guarantee, the Mahatma Said he would continue fast.

In the deliberations that followed, a document pledging to work for communal unity was prepared; it was signed by all the prominent citizens; it was endorsed by the governor. The Mahatma said: “I am breaking this fast so that I might be able to do something in Punjab. I have accepted your assurance at its face value. I hope and pray I shall never have to regret it. I would certainly like to live to serve India and humanity, but I do not wish to be duped into prolonging my life.”

The transformations among Hindus and Muslims that the Mahatma brought about were indeed amazing. And that too in the face of raging violence in other parts of India and Pakistan! He was happy at the outcome because he believed that it would bring sanity among the people of not only East Bengal, but also Bihar. He proposed to take a trip to Punjab next. The League organ of Calcutta, Morning News, commented that Gandhi was ready to die so that the Muslims could live peacefully. Likewise The Times, London, wrote that what the Mahatma had achieved, several military divisions could not have accomplished. C.R., the Governor, known as Gandhi’s conscience keeper, observed, “Gandhiji has achieved many things but there has been nothing, not even independence, which is so truly wonderful, as his victory over evil in Calcutta.”

Thus having completed his mission of mercy, the greatest Apostle of Non-Violence, left for Delhi on 7 September, unaware that worse trouble awaited him in the heart of the capital of free India which he had brought into existence, by sheer grit, courage, hard work, suffering and sacrifice even if it was not in the form that he had desired.

Inspired by Late Dr Rafiq Zakaria: Gandhi and the Break-up of India, 1999 Bhavan’s Book University

According to Mahatma Gandhi fortunate people who have amassed wealth are trustees of the wealth in their possession which they must utilise for the benefit of the underprivileged people. The practice codes of the various religious scriptures also encourage keeping aside a proportion of one’s income for charitable causes.

Gambhir Watts Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia


Contents

BoArD of DirECTorS of BHArATiyA ViDyA BHAVAn AuSTrALiA

office Bearers:Chairman Gambhir Watts President Surendralal MehtaExecutive Secretary and Director General Homi Navroji Dastur

other Directors:Abbas Raza Alvi, Shanker Dhar, Mathoor Krishnamurti, Rozene Kulkarni, Palladam Narayana Sathanagopal, Kalpana Shriram, Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Moksha Watts, Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi (Director and Company Secretary)

Patron: Her Excellency Mrs Sujatha SinghHigh Commissioner of India in Australia

Honorary Life Patron: His Excellency M Ganapathi,

Publisher & General Editor:Gambhir [email protected]

Editorial Committee:Shanker Dhar, Parveen Dahiya, Sridhar Kumar [email protected]

Design:The Aqua Agency - 02 9810 5831www.aquaagency.com.au

Advertising:[email protected] Vidya Bhavan AustraliaSuite 100 / 515 Kent Street,Sydney NSW 2000

The views of contributors to Bhavan Australia are not necessarily the views of Bhavan Australia or the Editor. Bhavan Australia reserves the right to edit any contributed articles and letters submitted for publication. Copyright: all advertisements and original editorial material appearing remain the property of Bhavan Australia and may not be reproduced except with the written consent of the owner of the copyright.Bhavan Australia: - ISSN 1449 – 3551

176218For this Month .............................................................. 4

Naturopath’s Advice.................................................... 8

Swami Vivekananda Questions and Answers......... 10

Hare Krishna Movement ........................................... 12

The Bahai Faith .......................................................... 18

Festivals of the Month: India .................................... 20

Soka Gakkai International and Nichiren

Buddhism .................................................................... 32

A Medieval Saint: Dadu ............................................. 40

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Foreign Trade .................. 52

Pranayam: Your Mind and Brain.............................. 55

Papa and Punya.......................................................... 58

The Price of Partition ................................................ 66

Women Warriors of India’s Freedom ...................... 80

Why India is Crazy about Cricket ............................ 85

India’s Functioning Anarchy..................................... 88

Asia’s BRICs Hit the Wall .......................................... 90

Washington and the Art of the Possible ................. 92

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8


Rabindranath Tagore’sGeetanjaliroaming Cloud

I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky, O my sun ever-glorious! Thy touch has not yet melted my vapor, making me one with thy light, and thus I count months and years separated from thee.

If this be thy wish and if this be thy play, then take this fleeting emptiness of mine, paint it with colors, gild it with gold, float it on the wanton wind and spread it in varied wonders.

And again when it shall be thy wish to end this play at night, I shall melt and vanish away in the dark, or it may be in a smile of the white morning, in a coolness of purity transparent.

Lost Time

On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time. But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands.

Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.

I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.

Endless Time

Time is endless in thy hands, my lord. There is none to count thy minutes.

Days and nights pass and ages bloom and fade like flowers. Thou knowest how to wait.

Thy centuries follow each other perfecting a small wild flower.

We have no time to lose, and having no time we must scramble for a chance. We are too poor to be late.

And thus it is that time goes by while I give it to every querulous man who claims it, and thine altar is empty of all offerings to the last.

At the end of the day I hasten in fear lest thy gate be shut; but I find that yet there is time.


Question & Answer

Q. I suffered from jaundice, two years back. Later on, I suffered with malaria, 5 times. Last time, I was given a drug for malaria, after that I suffered severe illness. My count of SGOT and SGPT are rapidly increasing. Doctors have opinion that the liver is damaged due to drugs. Still the problem is not clearly diagnosed, but they are sure of liver damage case. How can 1 overcome this problem? -Naresh Varry, Mumbai

A. Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver slowly deteriorates and malfunctions due to chronic injury. Liver is the only organ in the body that is able to regenerate but in Cirrhosis, the damaging agent such as virus, drug, alcohol, etc., continues to attack the liver and prevents complete regeneration thereby replacing normal, healthy liver tissue to scar tissue. The development of cirrhosis indicates late stage liver disease and is usually followed by the onset of complications.

Many people with cirrhosis have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. As the disease progresses, symptoms may include weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, abdominal pain and bloating, itching, and spiderlike blood vessels on the skin. On deterioration of liver function, complications develop. In your case it is evident that it is an after effect of the drug you have taken. The goals of Naturopathic treatment are to stop the progression of scar tissue in the liver and prevent or treat complications.

Hydrotherapy

Hot and cold fomentation to the abdomen, when applied regularly will improve the circulation in the liver thereby remove the debris and improve its function too. Thus further damage of the liver cells can be withheld. Simultaneously the hot packs,

relieve the gall colic. Hot Hip baths also serve the same purpose. Neutral enema shall be had to relieve the constipation, if present. Gastro-hepatic pack is a special treatment for liver disorders. Mud on abdomen, fomentation followed by mud on abdomen are also beneficial.

Diet

As malnutrition is common in cirrhosis, a healthy diet is important in all stages of the disease. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and staying away from fats and oils will be helpful for the liver by reducing its metabolic overload. If complication like ascites develops, a sodium/salt-restricted diet is recommended.

Jamun fruit & 2-3 grams of powdered methi consumed with warm water, would tone up a sluggish liver. Eating radish in almost every meals, ample volume of buttermilk and lemon/orange juice are the very effective home remedies for cirrhosis. However, milk and milk products, egg, fish and meat should be totally avoided.

Herbal remedies

Extract or the dry powder of Phyllanthus amarus/Jar amla, Juice of Eclipta alba/bhringaraj, Ocimum sanctum/thulasi and Piper nigrum/pepper are the herbal remedies for cirrhosis.

Acupuncture

There are specific points indicated to stimulate the functions of liver, gall bladder, stomach and spleen. On stimulation of those points proper digestive function can be ensured, which says that all those digestive organs functions to their optimal level.

yoga

General yoga practice comprising a set of asana, pranayama and Kriyas are advised to maintain the normal metabolic function. But as there is every possibility of having portal hypertension, i.e increased pressure in vessels from stomach and intestines, and Ascites in cirrhosis, asanas and other practices creating excess abdominal pressure should be better avoided or done under expert guidance.

Dr. D. Sathyanath, nature Cure Physician, national institute of naturopathy (nin), Dept. of Ayush, Ministry of Health & f.W., Govt of india, based at Bapu Bhavan, Tadiwala road, Pune, india. nin provides multifaceted Services and Monthly Activities including, oPD Clinic, yoga Classes, Magazine, Weekly Lectures, Monthly Workshop, naturopathy Diet Centre, Courses and Acupressure Clinic etc. for more details visit: www.punenin.org, Email: [email protected].

Source: nisargopachar Varta, national institute of naturopathy, Vol. 3, issue 7, July 2011

Naturopath’s Advice


The Indian Medical world has now developed a doubt that the viruses causing present pandemic have undergone mutation and because of that the symptoms differ, which makes it difficult to diagnose the exact disease and start any right drug in right time. When is this confusion going to be addressed permanently? Can Hippocrates open the eyes of the existing medical community? He stated, ‘Give me a fever; I shall cure your chronic disease’. Here we have abundance of fever patients, leaving these winged termites to death or misery.

Hippocrates was a revolutionary who fought against the then existing irrational practices in the name of medicine, worked as a cause to evict the witches, demons and spirits from the medical practice, evolved the ethics of medical practice and brought back rationality in application of medicine. Medicine here does not mean any drug. Medicine means, ‘Rational means to achieve perfection from any diseased condition’. And he proclaimed ‘Vix Medicatrix Naturae’, which means “Nature Heals”. His practice mainly depended on natural remedies with limited use of drugs.

I personally have met Dr. K.N. Pai, who was the No. 1 physician of Trivandrum, who had great appreciation for Naturopathy and commonly recognised by the public, as a physician who uses minimum drugs and advises to practice personal hygiene, pranayama and such other natural remedies. But now, to where the medical world is advancing? Are we going back to pre-Hippocratic age? Blind, due to pseudo knowledge, false pride, industrialisation and irresponsibility or lack of commitment to the society.

Is the knowledge of chance of mutation of virus, a new thing? Not at all, it needs only hours to change its appearance and character. Even if it is attacked once and escapes, immediately it will change. This is how simple fever turns in to complex problems, affecting different organs of the body or become a different or new type of fever. Therefore, it is evident that if the entire viruses are not destroyed in one attempt, the consequence will be very bad, unexpected and unknown.

Viruses will turn more fatal as they mutate and develop resistance to the dose of drugs used today, which necessitate higher doses tomorrow, which will lead to more deaths and miseries. This dismay has to be overcome permanently. Drugs are not the solution against viruses. Only external and personal hygiene are the solutions. Where there is proper hygiene, there exists no place for any virus and drug. At least on experimental basis, the State and Central Govts should make use of the govt. Hospitals of Naturopathy to convert them seasonally as fever care centres. If Gandhiji and several other pioneers could prove the Naturopathic modalities successful in treating even epidemics, why the modern world remains reluctant. Let us stop the misery and unwanted deaths, by treating these poor victims through the sure cure system, Naturopathy. Fever or any acute disease is not any actual disease, but only a symptom indicating the toxicity, showing the viruses growing in this toxicity. Through natural ways once we are able to eliminate these toxins through the detox measures of Naturopathy, no virus can exist further, no fever will continue.

Number of cases of fever, chicken pox and other acute diseases are being treated successfully by Naturopathy with no reports of deaths or misery. The simple remedies like fasting with complete rest and covering with a blanket, lukewarm water enema, wet packs to abdomen, chest and forehead, will be sufficient to treat fevers. Rules of personal hygiene should be taught to the public. Need of regular exercise, use of sunlight, air and water, knowledge of good food and eating habits, warnings on use of unhealthy food and drinks, need to avoid bad habits like intake of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, has to be taught to them. If personal hygiene is well-monitored the natural immunity will be at its top, so that the pandemics can be prevented. Along with this if external sanitation is also ensured, no need to fear of these pandemics or any of the epidemics permanently.

Dr. Babu Joseph, Chief Editor, nisargopachar Varta

Source: nisargopachar Varta, Vol. 3 issue 7 July 2011

Run after Virus


Swami Vivekananda

Questions and Answers

Discussion1

Q.— Do all Hindus believe in caste?

A.—They are forced to. They may not believe, but they have to obey.

Q.—Are these exercises in breathing and concentration universally practised?

A.—Yes; only some practise only a little, just to satisfy the requirements of their religion. The temples in India are not like the churches here. They may all vanish tomorrow, and will not be missed. A temple is built by a man who wants to go to heaven, or to get a son, or something of that sort. So he builds a large temple and employs a few priests to hold services there. I need not go there at all, because all my worship is in the home. In every house is a special room set apart, which is called the chapel. The first duty of the child, after his initiation is to take a bath, and then to worship; and his worship consists of this breathing and meditating and repeating of a certain name. And another thing is to hold the body straight. We believe that the mind has every power over the body to keep it healthy. After one has done this, then another comes and takes his seat, and each one does it in silence. Sometimes there are three or four in the same room, but each one may have a different method. This worship is repeated at least twice a day.

Q.—This state of oneness that you speak of, is it an ideal or something actually attained?

A.—We say it is within actuality; we say we realise that state. If it were only in talk, it would be nothing. The Vedas teach three things; this Self is first to be heard, then to be reasoned, and then to be meditated upon. When a man first hears it, he must reason on it, so that he does not believe it ignorantly, but knowingly; and after reasoning what it is, he must meditate upon it, and then realise it.’ And that is religion. Belief is no part of religion. We say religion is a super-conscious state.

Q.—If you ever reach that state of super-consciousness, can you ever tell about it?

A.—No; but we know it by its fruits. An idiot, when he goes to sleep, comes out of sleep an idiot or even worse. But another man goes into the state of meditation, and when he comes out he is a philosopher, a sage, a great man. That shows the difference between these two states.

Q.—I should like to ask, in continuation of Professor’s question, whether you know of any people who have made any study of the principles of self-hypnotism, which they undoubtedly practised to a great extent in ancient India, and what has been recently stated and practised in that thing. Of course you do not have it so much in modern India.

A.—What you call hypnotism in the West is only a part of the real thing. The Hindus call it self-hypnotisation. They say you are hypnotised already, and that you should get out of it and de-hypnotise yourself. “There the sun cannot illume, nor the moon, nor the stars; the flash of lightning cannot illume that; what to speak of this mortal fire! That shining, everything else shines.” That is not hypnotisation, but de-hypnotisation. We say that every other religion that preaches these things as real is practising a form of hypnotism. It is the Advaitist alone that does not care to be hypnotised. His is the only system that more or less understands that hypnotism comes with every form of dualism. But the Advaitist says, throw away even the Vedas, throw away even the Personal God, throw away even the universe, throw away even your own body and mind, and let nothing remain, in order to get rid of hypnotism perfectly. “From where the mind comes back with speech, being unable to reach, knowing the Bliss of Brahman, no more is fear.” That is de-hypnotisation. “I have neither vice nor virtue, nor misery nor happiness; I care neither for the Vedas nor sacrifices nor ceremonies; I am neither food nor eating nor eater, for I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute; I am He, I am He.” We know all about hypnotism. We have a psychology which the West is just beginning to know, but not yet adequately, I am sorry to say.

Q.—What do you call the astral body?

A.—The astral body is what we call the Linga Sharira. When this body dies, how can it come to take another body? Force cannot remain without matter. So a little part of the fine matter remains, through which the internal organs make another body—for each one is making his own body; it is the mind that makes the body. If I become a sage, my brain gets changed into a sage’s brain; and the Yogis say that even in this life a Yogi can change his body into a god-body.

The Yogis show many wonderful things. One ounce of practice is worth a thousand pounds of theory. So I have no right to say that because I have not seen this or that thing done, it is false. Their books say that with practice you can get all sorts of results that are most wonderful. Small results can be obtained in a short time by regular practice; so that one may know that there is no humbug about it, no charlatanism. And these Yogis explain the


very wonderful things mentioned in all scriptures in a scientific way. The question is, how these records of miracles entered into every nation. The man who says that they are all false, and need no explanation, is not rational. You have no right to deny them until you can prove them false. You must prove that they are without any foundation, and only then have you the right to stand up and deny them. But you have not done that. On the other hand, the Yogis say they are not miracles, and they claim that they can do them even to-day. Many wonderful things are done in India to-day. But none of them are done by miracles. There are many books on the subject. Again, if nothing else has been done in that line except a scientific approach towards psychology, that credit must be given to the Yogis.

Q.—Can you say in the concrete what the manifestations are, which the Yogi can show?

A.—The Yogi wants no faith or belief in his science but that which is given to any other science, just enough gentlemanly faith to come and make the experiment. The ideal of the Yogi is tremendous. I have seen the lower things that can be done by the power of the mind, and therefore I have no right to disbelieve that the highest things can be done. The ideal of the Yogi is eternal peace and love through omniscience and omnipotence. I know a Yogi who was bitten by a cobra, and who fell down on the ground. In the evening he revived again, and when asked what happened, he said: “A messenger came from my Beloved.” All hatred and anger and jealousy have been burned out of this man. Nothing can make him react; he is infinite love all the time, and he is omnipotent in his power of love. That is the real Yogi. And this manifesting different things is accidental, on the way. That is not what he wants to attain. The Yogi says, every man is a slave except the Yogi. He is a slave to food, to air, to his wife, to his children, to a dollar, slave to a nation, slave to name and fame, and to a thousand things in this world. The man who is not controlled by any one of these bondages is alone a real man, a real Yogi. “They have conquered relative existence in this life who are firm-fixed in sameness. God is pure and the same to all. Therefore such are said to be living in God.”

Q.—Do the Yogis attach any importance to caste?

A.—No; caste is only the training school for undeveloped minds.

Q.—Is there no connection between this idea of super-consciousness and the heat of India?

A.—I do not think so; because all this philosophy was thought out fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, among the Himalayas, in an almost Arctic temperature.

Q.—Is it practicable to attain success in a cold climate?

A.—It is practicable, and the only thing that is practicable in this world. We say you are a born Vedantist, each one of you. You are declaring your oneness with everything each moment you live. Every time that your heart goes out towards the world, you are a true Vedantist, only you do not know it. You are moral without knowing why; and the Vedanta is the philosophy which analysed and taught man to be moral consciously. It is the essence of all religions.

Q.—Should you say that there is an unsocial principle in our Western people, which makes, us so pluralistic, and that Eastern people are more sympathetic than we are?

A.—I think the Western people are more cruel, and the Eastern people have more mercy towards all beings. But that is simply because your civilisation is very much more recent. It takes time to make a thing come under the influence of mercy. You have a great deal of power, and the power of control of the mind has especially been very little practised. It will take time to make you gentle and good. This feeling tingles in every drop of blood in India. If I go to the villages to teach the people politics. they will not understand; but if I go to teach them Vedanta, they will say: “Now, Swami, you are all right.” That Vairagya, non-attachment, is everywhere in India, even to-day. We are very much degenerated now; but kings will give up their thrones and go about the country without anything.

In some places the common village-girl with her spinning-wheel says, “Do not talk to me of dualism; my spinning-wheel says ‘Soham, Soham’—‘I am He, I am He.’” Go and talk to these people, and ask them why it is that they speak so and yet kneel before that stone. They will say that with you religion means dogma, but with them realisation. “I will be a Vedantist,” one of them will say, “only when all this has vanished, and I have seen the reality. Until then there is no difference between me and the ignorant. So I am using these stones and am going to temples, and so on, to come to realisation. I have heard, but I want to see and realise.” “Different methods of speech, different manners of explaining the methods of the scriptures—these are only for the enjoyment of the learned, not for freedom.” (Shankara). It is realisation which leads us to that freedom.

Swami Vivekananda

Source: Swami Vivekananda’s Works

1This discussion followed the lecture on the Vedanta Philosophy delivered by the Swami at the Graduate Philosophical Society Oxford University, U.S.A., March 25, 1896, Vol. I.


When the sixteen names and thirty-two syllables of the Hare Krishna mantra are loudly vibrated, Krishna dances on one’s tongue.

-Stava-mala-vidyabhusana-bhasya, Baladeva Vidyabhusana in Bhaktisiddhanta’s Gaudiya Kanthahara 17:30

All the grievous sins are removed for one who worships Lord Sri Hari, the Lord of all lords, and chants the holy name, the Maha-mantra.

-Padma Purana, 3.50.6

iSKCon

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known in the West as the Hare Krishna movement, is a monotheistic branch of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition within Hinduism that dates back to Lord Krishna Himself—the Supreme Personality of Godhead who appeared on Earth and spoke the Bhagavad Gita over five thousand years ago. ISKCON follows the teachings of Lord Krishna as revealed in the sacred Vedas, including Bhagavad Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). Essential practices involve the chanting of God’s holy names—among several processes of devotional service—to bring about lasting happiness and peace in society by reviving our loving relationships with God.

Krishna

Krishna is the Supreme Person, the Godhead. Krishna is the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, recognized throughout the world as one of mankind’s greatest books of wisdom. In the Gita,

as it is also known, Krishna says repeatedly that He is God Himself, the source of everything. Arjuna, to whom Krishna is speaking, accepts Krishna’s words as true, adding that the greatest spiritual authorities of that time also confirm that Krishna is God. Traditions that follow in the line of these authorities have carried Krishna’s teachings down to the present day.

The Hare Krishna Movement technically “began” about 500 years ago, its inaugurator being Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the 16th-century mystic, scholar and social reformer, who is accepted by Vedic scriptural evidence to be the Supreme God Himself incarnated on earth to preach the way of Bhakti or love of God.

The Movement

The essential scripture for the movement, the 5,000-year-old Bhagavad Gita, spoken by Lord Krishna, God Himself, explains that religious principles are revived periodically by Him or His authorized representative only, the purpose remaining the same, although due to time, culture and circumstances, the details emphasized may vary.

The final instruction of Lord Krishna in the Gita is that everyone should surrender unto Him only and make Him the ultimate goal of life. This is clearly stated and requires no “interpretation”. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of His own devotee established the congregational chanting of God’s holy names, sankirtana, as the easiest and most sublime spiritual practice for this age. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularized the chanting of the Maha Mantra, comprised of sacred names of God:

Hare Krishna Movement

Swami Prabhupada


Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Swami Prabhupada

In 1965, the prominent emissary of India’s spiritual teachings, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) brought Sri Chaitanya’s movement to the West and founded ISKCON in New York City under seemingly humble circumstances.

iSKCon History

In 1965, at the advanced age of 69, on the order of his spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada left the holy land of Vrindavan, India, to spread Lord Krishna’s message in the West. He arrived in Boston by freight ship, carrying $7 in change and a trunk of books about Krishna. For the first year he struggled alone, booking speaking engagements at yoga studios, YMCAs, and bohemian artists’ lofts, while living in the homes of people he met who sympathized with his cause and would give him temporary residence. He would often take a small bongo drum and sit under a tree in a public park to chant the holy names of Krishna. Curious onlookers would gather. Some joined in the chanting. Some began to take an active interest in his mission.

By 1966 Srila Prabhupada was living in New York City, in Manhattan’s impoverished Lower East Side, and had begun regular weekly lectures on Bhagavad Gita, along with public chanting sessions, kirtan, in Tompkins Square Park. That same year, he incorporated ISKCON in New York City, envisioning that soon there would be centers around the world. From 1966 to 1968, as more and more spiritual seekers became attracted to Krishna consciousness, he opened ISKCON temples in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Montreal, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In 1967, the first Ratha-yatra festival outside of India was held in San Francisco. Ratha-yatra is one of the oldest and largest annual religious festivals in the world, performed each year in the holy city of Jagannatha Puri on the East Coast of India. Several million people line the streets to pull giant 3-story chariots carrying deity forms of Lord Krishna through the streets, accompanied by festive chanting of His names. This festival is now held by members of ISKCON in cities around the world. From 1969 to 1973, temples opened in Europe, Canada, South America, Mexico, Africa, and India. In 1970, the Governing Body Commission, ISKCON’s managerial body, was established to oversee the growing society.

From 1970 to 1977, ISKCON built major centers at the holy pilgrimage sites of Mayapur and Vrindavana, India, and a large temple in Mumbai.

In 1972, Srila Prabhupada founded the publishing house Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), now the world’s foremost publisher of books on Krishna consciousness, or Bhakti Yoga. From 1966 through 1977, Srila Prabhupada translated more than 40 volumes of the great classics of Krishna conscious literature from Sanskrit into English, giving elaborate commentaries synthesizing the realizations of previous masters along with his own. These books include Bhagavad Gita As It Is, the definitive presentation of Lord Krishna’s teachings, Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), the 18-volume history of Lord Krishna’s incarnations, pastimes and devotees, and Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, the 9-volume biography and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. These books have been published by the BBT in more than 50 languages, with several million copies sold and distributed by members of ISKCON to people all over the world.

In 1973, the Bhaktivedanta Institute was formed to promote the teachings of the Vedas in scientific terms. Since 1974, ISKCON Food for Life has run karma-free vegetarian food relief programs in disaster areas and cities around the world. In November 1977, Srila Prabhupada passed from this world. By that time, ISKCON had established more than 108 temples, centers, schools farm communities, with more than 10,000 initiated members.

In 1989, the Hare Krishna movement came out from the underground in the Soviet Union, as glasnost brought an end to persecution. By 1991, more than one million copies of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad Gita As It Is had been sold in the former Soviet Union. In the early 1990s, various Internet web projects were launched, including Krishna.com, ISKCON.com and other Hare Krishna websites.

Today, ISKCON has about 500 centers around the world, with a worldwide congregation in the hundreds of thousands—from all walks of life. “ISKCON,” “Krishna consciousness,” and “Krishna” Himself are non-sectarian and non-denominational terms which refer to the worship of God, the Supreme Person. Krishna consciousness refers to the eternal function of the soul, Sanatana Dharma. As such, it transcends the limitations of temporary material bodies and their associated designations.

Source: www.harekrsna.org, www.krishna.com

“Curious onlookers would gather. Some joined

in the chanting. Some began to take an active interest

in his mission.”

“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new...India discovers herself again.” - Jawaharlal Nehru

After more than two hundred years of British rule, India finally won back its freedom on 15th August, 1947. All the patriotic hearts rejoiced at seeing India becoming a sovereign nation and the triumph of hundreds and thousands of martyred souls. It was a birth of a new nation and a new beginning. The only fact that marred the happiness of the fruits by the blood of martyrs was the fact that the country was divided into India and Pakistan and the violent communal riots took away a number of lives. It was on the eve of 15th of August, 1947 that India tricolour flag was unfurled by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, on the ramparts the Red Fort, Delhi. Each and every patriotic soul watched with excitement and paid tribute to thousands of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom.

Every year, August 15 is celebrated as the Independence Day in India. The Day is a moment of delight and grandeur. On 3rd June 1947, the last British Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten declared the separation of the British Empire in India into India and Pakistan. The announcement was made under the terms of the Indian Independence Act 1947. India shook off the shackles of British Rule and became free. It was a moment of celebration all over the country.

The Partition

With the decision by Britain to withdraw from the Indian subcontinent, the Congress Party and Muslim League agreed in June 1947 to a partition of India along religious lines. Under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, India and Pakistan were established as independent dominions with predominantly Hindu areas allocated to India and predominantly Muslim areas to Pakistan.

After India’s independence on August 15, 1947, India received most of the subcontinent’s 562 widely scattered polities, or princely states, as well as the majority of the British provinces, and parts of three of the remaining provinces. Muslim Pakistan received the remainder. Pakistan consisted of a western wing, with the approximate boundaries of modern Pakistan, and an eastern wing, with the boundaries of present-

day Bangladesh. The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocation of populations; inter-communal violence cost more than 1,000,000 lives. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. In Punjab, where the Sikh community was cut in half, a period of terrible bloodshed followed. Overall, the demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by each country’s accession of a portion of the princely states.

Kashmir and Hyderabad

Adding to the tensions, the issue of the polities Kashmir, Hyderabad, and the small and fragmented state of Junagadh (in present-day Gujarat), remained unsettled at independence. Later, the Muslim ruler of Hindu-majority Junagadh agreed to join to Pakistan, but a movement by his people, followed by Indian military action and a plebiscite (people’s vote of self-determination), brought the state into India.

The Nizam of Hyderabad, also a Muslim ruler of a Hindu-majority populace, tried to manoeuvre to gain independence for his very large and populous state, which was, however, surrounded by India. After more than a year of fruitless negotiations, India sent its army in a police action in September 1948, and Hyderabad became part of India.

The Hindu ruler of Kashmir, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. A cease-fire was arranged in 1949, with the cease-fire line creating a de facto partition of the region. The central and eastern areas of the state came under Indian administration as Jammu and Kashmir State, while the north-western quarter came under Pakistani control as Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas. Although a UN peacekeeping force was sent in to enforce the cease-fire, the dispute was not resolved. This deadlock intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

In 1971, Pakistan was itself sub-divided when its eastern section broke away and formed


Independence Day

“...marred the happiness of the fruits by the blood of martyrs was that the violent communal riots took away a number

of lives.”


Bangladesh. Border disputes continue to embitter Pakistani-Indian relations, as Pakistan has produced a series of military rulers, while India maintained a parliamentary democracy.

Significance

The significance of the Independence Day in the existence of a nation is of greater value. The day is much more than merely celebrating the anniversary of India’s free statehood. 15th August 1947 symbolizes the victory of Indian patriotism. The British, who oppressed India for centuries had primarily arrived to initiate business but steadily captured the entire government of the nation. Men and women from all over India joined hands and fought for India’s freedom. Many were acclaimed while contribution of others went unnoticed. However, praise wasn’t what they desired for. It was the dream of free and autonomous India which motivated them to walk the path of struggle unselfishly. Neither did they battle for their region nor for their natives, but for India and Indians. At the time of growing communal and caste conflicts, it becomes significant to remind us that the people who laid the foundation of free India had always dreamt of an integrated nation. It is our duty to live and sustain their dreams, the sole reason for which Independence Day in India is observed. It is a day to pay a mark of respect to our saviours because of whom we are breathing an air of freedom which does not have the elements of exploitation and repression.

Celebrations

The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over the country. The Independence Day of any country is a moment of pride and glory. Independence Day is considered as a national holiday in India. The arrangement begins a month before the D-day and the roads are embellished with ribbons and Indian flags. Flag-hoisting ceremonies are executed all over India by State Governments. However, the main event is conducted in the capital city of India, New

Delhi where the Prime Minister of India unfurls the Tricolour at the barricades of Red Fort which receives a salutation of 21 guns, and addresses the nation with his speech. The Prime Minister’s speech holds major importance as it pays tribute to the great souls who sacrificed their lives for nation’s independence and reveals the achievements of the nation during the past year beside discussing significant issues and proposing steps for further growth.

The Parade

A vibrant parade exhibiting India’s cultural multiplicity, emblematic portrayals of the nation’s developments in science and technology, a collaborative parade of India’s armed competencies by the three forces and patriotic skits and dramas by school children are an integral part of the Independence Day festivities. On this day the skyline of the capital city gets sprinkled with innumerable multicoloured kites. People indulge in kite flying competitions and children cheer aloud elevating the spirit of the Day. Buildings of national importance are illuminated. People pay rich tributes to the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives and fought to free their motherland from the clutches of the oppressors—British who ruled the country.

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.” - Jawaharlal Nehru (Speech on Indian Independence Day, 1947)

Source: www.festivalsofindia.in, festivals.tajonline.com, india.mapsofindia.com, festivals.indobase.com

red fort


Jainism is regarded as one of the oldest religion in the world. It believes in the cyclical nature of the universe. Jains are the followers of ‘Jinas’, which means conqueror. To conquer love and pleasure, hatred and pain, and thereby freeing his/her vices from the karmas obscuring love, knowledge, perception, truth and ability is called a Jina. Jainism is also a syncretistic religion, which contains many elements similar to both Hinduism and Buddhism.

origin

Origin of Jainism dates back before the Pre-historic culture. The discovery of the Indus Civilization seems to have thrown a new light on the antiquity of Jainism. The evidence suggests that Jainism was known among the people of the Indus Valley around 3000-3500 B.C. Figures, considered to be of Lord Rishabha, on the seals have been discovered at Mohenjodaro and Harrappa. Since its existence more than 5000 years ago, Jainism has never compromised its core principle of non-violence. Rather it upholds non-violence as its supreme religion in the following words of Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah and has strictly emphasized its practice at all levels. Jainism presents a truly enlightened perspective of equality of souls, irrespective of differing physical forms, ranging from human beings to animals and microscopic living organisms. Humans, alone among living beings, are endowed with all the six senses of seeing, hearing, tasting smelling, touching, and thinking; thus humans are expected to act responsibly towards all life by being compassionate, honest, fearless, forgiving, and rational.

The Teachings

The Jains basically follow the teachings of 24 Tirthankaras or Enlightened spiritual leaders. Lord Mahavira was the 24th and last Tirthankara. Lord Mahavira reformed Jainism and gave it more exposure. The history and origin of Jainism dates back to many centuries before Lord Mahavira was born. The Jains have influenced many cultures with their teachings and philosophies. They believe that self-control is essential for the attainment of omniscience or infinite knowledge. The realization of infinite knowledge leads to Moksha or Nirvana. The Jains are supposed to be the most educated religious community of India. Some of India’s oldest libraries are of the Jains. The Jains are essentially of two types:

Digambaras: Jains who believed that monks should not wear clothes.

Shwetambaras: Jains who believed that monks can wear only white clothes.

Beliefs and Practices

The Jains believe in reincarnation. To free themselves of the cycle of birth and death, they practice asceticism that is stringent in nature. They basically struggle to make their present birth the last one. Their professions are chosen carefully and revolve around the protection of lives or doing good deeds for others. The ethical code followed by the Jains is very strict in nature and the ethics are followed with much dedication and sincerity. The Jains believe in the following principles and ethics.

Ahimsa

The Jains believe in Ahimsa or non-violence. They adopt Ahimsa as a way of life. Non-violence does not mean only being calm and letting others live peacefully. It means that one should be peaceful in thought as well as action. All monks are strict vegetarians and regard even the tiniest insect as a sacred form of life.

Satya

Jains believe in speaking the Satya or truth always. They believe that falsehood is a deterrent in the attainment of Nirvana and is not useful in one’s life. Not speaking the truth or running away from it is worthless and does not change the nature of truth.

Asteya

Jains believe in not stealing from others. They believe in being content with whatever they have. According to the Jains, nothing is permanent, not even one’s body. Materialistic pleasures only hamper spiritual growth and create only a temporary sense of satisfaction.

Jainism

Lord Mahavira


Brahmacarya

Jains believe in being loyal to just one spouse for the entire life span. They believe that monogamy is the best way of life and is also a respect to the person you are spending your life with.

Aparigraha

Aparigraha means detachment from materialistic possessions. It means to possess only a few or basic required materials for a lifetime. In the life of a monk, material pleasures have no importance and in fact cease to be of any importance as time goes by.

They are recommended to lead life in four basic stages. The first stage is called Brahmacharya, ashram which means the life of a student. The second stage is called Grihasth, ashram which means having a family or leading a family life. The third stage is known as Vanaprasth, ashram which means doing social services and finishing off family responsibilities. The last and final stage of life is known as Sanyast, ashram which means abandonment of family life and adopting the life of an ascetic or a saint.

Monasticism

An essential aspect of Jainism is the ascetic lifestyle. Monks and nuns undertake the ascetic life full-time. Jain monks and nuns observe other special practices that set them apart. They do not eat when it is dark or in front of a layperson, they do not accept food that is cooked for them, they do not wear shoes, they do not stay in one place for a prolonged period of time, they do not touch any person of the opposite sex, they wear simple white clothes or nothing and they do not create art or get involved in social matters.

Monks are expected to be homeless, shave their heads and beg for food. The vow of ahimsa requires

them to be vegetarians. Some sects take these already strict vows even further. For instance, to more perfectly fulfil the principle of nonviolence to any living thing, some do not eat vegetables, but only fruit, nuts and milk. Also on this principle, some wear masks over their mouth and nose to avoid inadvertently harming insects or microbes by inhaling them.

To more completely demonstrate their non-attachment to material possessions, some sects eat out of their hands rather than own a bowl. The disciplined life is not only for monks and nuns, but for all people. Those who do not undertake the monastic life take lesser vows that closely parallel the greater.

Worship

Worship occurs publicly at stone temples or at home at wooden shrines resembling the temple. Worship rituals may include chanting mantras, gazing at images of the gods (puja) or anointing such images. Although the prime focus of Jainism is self-discipline, adherents may call upon the deities for assistance on their journey.

Meditation

Jain meditation (samayika) focuses on achieving a peaceful state of mind. It usually involves the chanting of mantras. Mantras are a significant part of Jain worship and ritual. Five Homages (panka namaskarais) are said by most Jains every morning. Doing so is believed to dispel evil, cure illness and bring good fortune. Another mantra, the ahimsa vikas, aids in following the nonviolent path.

Source: www.jaindharmonline.com, www.religionfacts.com, www.religioustolerance.org, www.religionfacts.com, www.iloveindia.com, http://festivals.igiftstoindia.com

Jain Temple

The Bahai Faith is the youngest of the world’s independent religions. It started in Iran when the Bab inaugurated a new era in the history of the human race. The Bahais believe that the ‘Promised One’ of all ages and peoples, Bahaullah revealed himself in 1863. He dispatched one of the distinguished Bahai teachers, Jamal Effendi to India to spread the teachings of the Bahai faith in the years 1874-75. The Bahais believe Bahaullah as the Universal Manifestation of God whose advent has been prophesied in all the Holy Scriptures. In the course of a little more than 150 years, the Bahai Faith has grown from an obscure movement within a minority sect of Islam into a worldwide religion.

The Bab (1819-1850)

On May 23, 1844, in Shiraz, Persia, a young man known as the Bab announced the imminent appearance of the Messenger of God awaited by all the peoples of the world. The title Bab means “the Gate.” Although Himself the bearer of an independent revelation from God, the Bab declared that His purpose was to prepare mankind for this advent. Swift and savage persecution at the hands of the dominant Muslim clergy followed this announcement. The Bab was arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and finally on July 9, 1850 was executed in the public square of the city of Tabriz. Some 20,000 of His followers perished in a series of massacres throughout Persia.

Bahaullah (1817-1892)—The founder

Born in 1817, Bahaullah was a member of one of the great patrician families of Persia. The family could trace its lineage to the ruling dynasties of Persia’s imperial past, and was endowed with wealth and vast estates. Turning his back on the position at court which these advantages offered him, Bahaullah became known for his generosity and kindliness which made him deeply loved among his countrymen.

This privileged position did not long survive Bahaullah’s announcement of support for the message of the Bab. Engulfed in the waves of violence unleashed upon the Babis after the Bab’s execution Bahaullah suffered not only the loss of all his worldly endowments but was subjected to imprisonment, torture, and a series of banishments. The first was to Baghdad where, in 1863, He announced Himself as the One promised by the Bab. From Baghdad, Bahaullah was sent to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to Acre, in the Holy Land, where he arrived as a prisoner in 1868.

From Adrianople and later from Acre, Bahaullah addressed a series of letters to the rulers of his day that are among the most remarkable documents in religious history. They proclaimed the coming unification of humanity and the emergence of a world civilization. The kings, emperors, and presidents of the nineteenth century were called upon to reconcile their differences, curtail their armaments, and devote their energies to the establishment of universal peace.

Bahaullah passed away at Bahji, just north of Acre, and is buried there. His teachings had already begun to spread beyond the confines of the Middle East, and His Shrine is today the focal point of the world community which these teachings have brought into being.

fundamental Beliefs

The Bahais believe in the three cardinal principles—oneness of mankind, oneness of God and oneness of religion. The Bahais work for the removal of prejudices based on caste, creed, religion, sex, colour, race and language. They advocate universal education and the inculcation of a scientific outlook among people. The Bahais do not believe in superstitions, ceremonies, rituals and dogmas. Bahais believe that throughout history the Creator has educated humanity through a series of Divine Manifestations. These Manifestations include: Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus and Muhammad. They

The Bahai Faith


Bahai Garden

“The Bahais believe Bahaullah as the Universal

Manifestation of God whose advent has been prophesied in all the

Holy Scriptures.”

believe that in the present age, God has revealed Himself through Bahaullah, whose name means ‘The Glory of God’. He is regarded as their Prophet. The Bahais pray to the one true God, the Creator of the universe. The act of praying is described as ‘a conversation with God’. It is obligatory for every Bahai to pray and meditate on the Words of God every day. There are prayers for all occasions and these can be offered individually or collectively.

rites and Ceremonies

There are few rites and rituals in the Bahai faith. There is however a large number of practices of the Bahai community that create what may be called a Bahai culture or ethos. Although Bahai communities celebrate Bahai holy days, there are very few set forms or rituals. Bahais are free to introduce large elements of local culture—such as music, dance, song, and theatre—into such Bahai meetings as the Nineteen-Day Feast and Holy Day commemorations, as well as into social events such as weddings or funerals.

Laws, rituals and festivals

The Bahai Faith does differ from Hinduism to a great extent in the matter of laws, rituals and festivals. The Bahai Faith claims to be an independent world religion. It does not seek to impose the laws and rituals of any particular previous religion on the whole world but rather it has its own. In general, however, compared to other religions, the Bahai Faith has very little in the way of law and ritual laid down.

Prayer

Bahaullah has said that all Bahais must pray every day. He has given three prayers to the Bahais. They can choose which one of them to say daily. There is a very short one that must be said between noon and sunset, a medium one which must be said three times a day, and a long one that is said once daily at any time during the day.

fasting

All Bahais should fast as fasting for Bahais means that no food and drink should be taken between sunrise and sunset.

reading the Scriptures

All Bahais should try to learn to read so that they can read the holy writings for themselves. Bahaullah has commanded the Bahais to read a part of the holy writings every morning and evening. The aim of reading these passages should be to achieve a better and deeper understanding of them. A small portion read with understanding is better than a great deal read with no understanding. If a person cannot read the writings then some of them can be committed to memory. All of the prayers and readings should be said in the language which the person knows best. Bahai writings have been translated into over 800 languages including over 50 Indian languages.

Marriage & Divorce Laws

The family is the basis of society and so marriage is given great importance in the Bahai teachings. Each man may only have one wife and each woman may have only one husband. Both the man and the woman must agree to a marriage. The parents of both sides must also agree. Divorce is allowed in the unfortunate event that the marriage breaks down completely. But it is discouraged and every effort is made to enable the couple to be reconciled.

Source: www.allaboutreligion.org, http://contenderministries.org, www.patheos.com, www.culturopedia.com, http://bahai-library.com


Lotus Temple


Shri Krishna Janmasthami

Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is a festival full of joy and gaiety. It celebrates with great pomp and show, the birth of Lord Krishna who was born more than 5000 years ago in the 28th year of Dwapur Yug. It is one of the most celebrated festivals for Hindus not only in India but also, all over the world. Janmashtami is about the joy, people all over the world feel for their beloved Lord Krishna. Janmashtami festival also known as Krishna Jayanti falls in the month of August-September every year. Lord Krishna is said to have been born on a rainy and stormy night and it seems as if Lord Varun—God of rain welcomed the Lord himself. The trend continues with Janmashtami falling during the peak of rainy season in India. Janmashtami is celebrated to welcome and enjoy Lord Krishna’s birth. Shri Krishna Janmasthami 2011 falls on 22nd August.

Lord Krishna

According to Puranas, Krishna is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who took birth to kill the evil king Kansa and free the people of Mathura and other nearby towns from his cruelty and save them from his evil clutches. Kansa was the maternal uncle of Sri Krishna who was destined to be killed by the eighth child of his beloved sister Devki. The main objective of Lord Krishna’s birth was to free Mother Earth from the wickedness of demons.

Kansa

The people of Mathura were extremely unhappy with the wicked king Kansa who put his father, king Ugrasen in prison and declared himself the king of Mathura. It was to put an end to his evil ways and other demons that Lord Vishnu decided to take birth on Earth in human form. According to Akashvani (heavenly voice) at the wedding of his beloved sister Devki, Kansa got to know that

the eighth child of his sister will take birth to kill him. So, in turn he rushed to kill his sister. Kansa gave up the idea of killing after being assured by Vasudev that he will hand over all his children to him. He put them in Prison. Kansa killed all the six infants as soon as they were born. The seventh child (Balram) was saved due to divine intervention, when he was transferred from Devki’s womb to that of Rohini’s (other wife of Vasudev). Lord Krishna was born in the prison cell. He took birth in divine form. Soon after the birth, a chain of events astonished Vasudev, when he saw the gates of the cell flow open and all the guards fast asleep. He immediately thought of Nand, his close friend in Gokul and decided to hand over his child to him in order to save him from the clutch of Kansa.

yamuna

The night of birth was witnessed by heavy rains which led to River Yamuna being in floods. As soon as the feet of Lord immersed in the river, the flow became normal and Yamuna made way for the Lord. Sheshnag, the serpent formed an umbrella to save the new born baby from rain.

The Divine Child

Vasudev kept his child next to fast asleep Yashoda and took the baby girl lying with him back to Mathura. The baby girl is believed to be the sister of Lord Vishnu. On hearing the news of birth of the eighth child of Devki and Vasudev, Kansa rushed to the prison-cell and lifted the baby girl to kill her. However, instead of hitting the stone, the child flew up in the air and announced that the annihilator of Kansa had taken birth.

rituals and Customs

Janmashtami festival witnesses many customs and rituals in various states and cities of India. These customs and rituals are followed religiously by all the Lord Krishna devotees year after year.

Fasting: The most common ritual observed all over during Janmashtami is fasting by devotees on the

Festivals of the Month:

India

Janmasthami


day of the festival. Devotees fast for the entire day and break it after the birth of Lord Krishna at midnight. People prefer to have only milk and milk products as they were the favourite of Lord Krishna. Some devotees of Lord Krishna go to the extent of keeping ‘Nirjal’ fast. It involves fasting without having a single drop of water. There are other ardent followers, who keep the fast for two days in the honour of Lord Krishna.

Chanting: Devotees indulge in continuous chanting all day long. They chant mantras and shlokas to please the Lord. Religious atmosphere prevails everywhere. Devotees highlight his feats and his divine characteristics. Chanting of 108 names of Lord Krishna is another ritual that takes place in various temples. Chanting of names is accompanied by showering of flowers on the idol of Lord Krishna.

Devotional Songs, Dances and Plays: Another popular ritual is singing of songs (bhajans) in the praise of Lord Krishna. Bhajans are an important custom of the midnight celebration during the festival. Dances are also performed by devotees depicting the various events of Lord Krishna. Plays depicting various events and accomplishments of Lord Krishna during his lifetime are another important customs during the festival.

Celebrations

Janmashtami is celebrated with fervor in India. Devotees all over make sweets like Kheer, Pedhas during the festival to please the Lord. Euphoria for the festival is not just restricted to Mathura—the birth city Mathura but pervades in rest of India too. The festivities include various rituals being followed religiously. Temples all over India engage in various ceremonies and prayers in honour of Lord Krishna. Important and common customs observed in different states include performance of rasleelas. The ceremony of ‘Dahi Handi’ wherein enthusiastic young men break an earthen pot filled with curd, depiction of ‘Jhankis’ and other decorative items to show important events of Lord Krishna’s childhood.

Janmashtami festival is celebrated all around the world with lot of enthusiasm and devotion. The festival has gained popularity among people of other nationalities as well. Indians as well as citizens of other countries take part in Janmashtami festivity. ISKCON has further helped to spread the awareness of Lord Krishna and his birth anniversary. Janmashtami preparations begin well in advance. Temple associations and other religious groups chart out an itinerary for the day. The day is marked with Krishna chanting competitions, dance dramas, recital of verses from ‘Bhagwad Gita’.

raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is a festival of affection, fraternity and sublime sentiments, a ‘bond of protection’. This is an occasion to flourish love, care, affection and sacred feeling of brotherhood. Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan reflects the sweet and sour relationship of brother and a sister. Though brothers and sisters share and enjoy the bond of love between them throughout the year, but Rakhi is the day when they get an opportunity to express their tender love and feelings for each other. Rakhi also makes them commemorate their loving memories, loyalty, closeness, trust and friendship that is ever lasting and pure. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated every year on ‘Shravan Purnima’ (Full Moon Day of the Hindu month of Shravan), which generally falls in the month of August. Rakhi 2011 falls on 13th August.

Peace and Brotherhood

Raksha Bandhan has a much broader perspective; the festival encompasses true sense of peace and brotherhood. The values propagated by the occasion, if inculcated by all human beings, can bring the much-needed relief from the ongoing violence and mistrust. Rakhi festival encompasses the warmth shared between the siblings but now it goes way beyond it. Some people tie Rakhi to neighbours and close friends signifying a peaceful co-existence of every individual. Rakhi Utsav was first popularized by Rabindranath Tagore to promote the feeling of unity and a commitment to

rakhiShri Krishna Jamnasthami


all members of society to protect each other and encourage a harmonious Social life.

origin

Many epics are related to the day and the origin of Raksha Bandhan. ‘Raksha Bandhan’ (Knot of Protection) came into origin about 6000 years back when Aryans created first civilization—The Indus Valley Civilization.

Legends

The festival finds a mention in most of the epics and its origin can be traced back to the mythological Pouranik times. The legend in the Bhavishya Puran refers to a war between the Gods and the Demons. The demon King Brutra was advancing and the Gods lead by Lord Indra, were on verge of defeat. The King of Gods, Indra approached Guru Brihaspati to find a solution to the situation. Brihaspati asked Indra to tie a sacred thread on his wrist, powered by the sacred Mantras

on the Shravan Purnima. Lord Indra’s Queen Sachi also called Indrani, empowered the thread and tied it on to his hand on the decided day. The power of the sacred thread called Raksha helped the Gods to victory. The tradition of thread tying still continues. It is a gesture of goodwill.

King Bali and Goddess Laxmi

Demon King Bali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had taken up the task to guard his kingdom leaving his own abode in Vaikunth. Goddess Laxmi wished to be with her Lord back in her abode. She went to Bali disguised as a Brahmin woman to seek refuge till her husband came back. During the Shravan Purnima celebrations, Laxmiji tied the sacred thread to the King. Upon being asked she revealed who she was and why she was there. The King was touched by her goodwill for his family and her purpose and requested the Lord to accompany her. He sacrificed all he had for the Lord and his devoted wife. The festival is also called Baleva that is Bali Raja’s devotion to the Lord. It is said that since then it has been a tradition to invite sisters in Shravan Purnima for the thread tying ceremony, the Raksha Bandhan.

yama and the yamuna

Raksha Bandhan was a ritual followed by Lord Yama (Lord of Death) and his sister Yamuna. Yamuna tied Rakhi to Yama and bestowed immortality. Yama was so moved by the serenity of the occasion that he declared that whoever gets a Rakhi tied from his sister and promise her protection will become immortal.

Significance

Raksha Bandhan is now considered as a day to celebrate the sacred relation of a brother and a sister. The Rishis tied Rakhi to the people who came seeking their blessings. The Sages tied the sacred thread to themselves to safeguard them from the evil. It is by all means the ‘Papa Todak, Punya Pradayak Parva’ or the day that bestows boons and ends all sins as it is mentioned in the scriptures.

The practice of tying thread was prevalent among the Rajputs. At the time of war when the brave Rajput soldiers prepared to go to the battlefield, the women folk followed the ritual of tying a thread around their wrists after applying a dash of vermilion powder on their forehead. This was considered a sign of good omen and the ladies believed that it would protect their men from the enemy’s blow and bring them victory.

rituals and Celebrations

On the day of Rakhi, sisters prepare the Pooja Thali with diya, roli, chawal, rakhi thread and sweets. The ritual begins with a prayer in front of God, then the sister ties Rakhi to her brother and

Krishna Vasudev

Goddess Parvati


wishes for his happiness and well-being. Brother acknowledges the love with a promise to stand by his sister through all the good and bad times. Sisters tie Rakhi on the wrist of their brothers amid chanting of Mantras, put roli and rice on his forehead and pray for his well-being. Brothers wish her a good life and pledges to take care of her. He gives her gifts. The gift symbolizes the physical acceptance of her love, reminder of their togetherness and his pledge.

Rabindra Nath Tagore started gathering of people like ‘Rakhi Mahotsavas’ in Shantiniketan to propagate the feeling of brotherhood among people. He believed that this will invoke trust and feeling of peaceful coexistence. Raksha Bandhan, for them, is a way to harmonize the relationship of humanity. The tradition continues as people started tying rakhis to the neighbour and friends.

Teej

Teej festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm and devotion by the women in India. Since Teej falls at the outbreak of the monsoons, it is also popularly known as the ‘Sawan Festival’. Teej is celebrated in the month of July-August. Festival of Teej is dedicated to the divine couple—Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. There are three different variations of Teej, namely—Hariyali, Kajari and Hartalika Teej. All the three Teej fall in different times and are celebrated with fervour and enthusiasm by womenfolk in India. Date of Teej Festival is decided according to the arrival of monsoon and hence it changes every year. There are special rituals and customs associated with every Teej. These traditions hold great importance for women celebrating the festival of Teej. Teej 2011 falls on 31 August.

Significance

Teej festival is an important festival. Rooted deep in Indian religious and cultural ethos, Teej plays a significant role in defining the true nature of relationship between married couples. Besides, the festival provides much needed break to womenfolk from their daily household drudgery. Religious

significance of Teej festival lies in devotion of Goddess Parvati for her husband Lord Shiva. It was on this day that the divine couple Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati reunited with each other after hundreds of years. Even today womenfolk commemorate this mythological event by observing ‘Nirjara Vrat’ for the well-being and long-life of their husband. Climatic Significance lies in the fact that Teej celebrates the advent of monsoon season and thus creates a greater impact for its celebration. Taking full advantage of the beautiful climate at this time women enjoy themselves by swinging, singing and dancing in rain.

Legend

According to Hindu mythology, in the month of Shravan, Goddess Parvati reunited with Lord Shiva after a penance of hundred years. Mata Parvati went through rigorous fasting and a penance of 100 years. She took 108 births to be accepted by Lord Shiva in the form of His wife. Even today the auspicious day is celebrated to honour Goddess Parvati for her true love and positive spirit. Since the celebration of Teej totally relates to Goddess Parvati, so she is also called Teej Mata. This legend is said to be the basis of Teej celebrations. The divine figure of Goddess Parvati is worshiped with earnest dedication at the time of Teej.

rituals

At the time of Teej, certain rituals and customs are followed by women so as to be blessed by Goddess Parvati. It is considered very auspicious for married and engaged women to receive Teej gifts from their parents-in-law and to be parents-in-law. Future in-laws of engaged girls gift them ‘Shrinjhara’ (a gift pack) which consists of henna, lac bangles, a special Laheria dress and Ghewar (a sweet dish). Baya is another traditional package given to women observing fast on Teej. It includes dry fruits, mathris, new clothes, bangles and jewellery. It is given by mothers of the newlywed girls on the Teej Festival day. Women keep fast and perform other customs for long and healthy life of their husband.

Lord Shiva and Parvati


Celebrations

Teej becomes more auspicious and special if it rains on this day. Peacocks come out to dance while women enjoy themselves by swinging and dancing in the rain. Teej is celebrated with extreme joy and craze. A few days before the festival, the image of Goddess Parvati is repainted and beautifully decorated with fine clothes and jewellery. Teej idol is taken out from the pat (holy place where she is kept). The idol is freshly painted and bedecked with gold and other jewellery. Bright colours are used to decorate the Goddess. The idol is offered fruits, milk, chapati, nookti, ghewar and pure jal by Saints performing prayers and chanting holy Shlokas. Teej idol covered with a canopy is taken out in the procession. Performers like folk singers, dancers precedes the procession. Teej festivities and its celebrations are dedicated to Goddess Parvati this is why it’s purely a festival of womenfolk.

nag Panchami

Hinduism as a religion is many-sided yet bound by a common search for Truth and to Hindus it means a way of life and a fellowship of faiths. With the advent of the Aryans, it originated as a simple form of worship of the forces of Nature, drawing in its system action in social organisations, local cults, Deities’ diverse beliefs and modes of worship. Nag Panchami is an important festival and is celebrated on the fifth day of the moonlit-fortnight in the month of Shravan. (July/August). This is the time when serpents invariably come out of their holes that get inundated with rain-water to seek shelter in gardens and many times in houses. Nag Panchami 2011 falls on 19 August.

Legend

The most popular legend is about Lord Krishna when he was just a young boy. When playing the game of throwing the ball with his cowherd friends, the legend goes to tell how the ball fell into Yamuna River and how Krishna vanquished Kalia Serpent and saved the people from drinking the poisonous water by forcing Kalia to go away.

It is an age-old religious belief that serpents are loved and blessed by Lord Shiv. He always wears them as ornamentation around his neck. Most of the festivals that fall in the month of Shravan are celebrated in honour of Lord Shiv, whose blessings are sought by devotees, and along with the Lord, snakes are also worshiped.

Celebrations

Nag Panchami is celebrated throughout India. The most fantastic celebrations of Nag Panchami are seen in the village of Baltis Shirale in Maharashtra. There people pray to live cobras that they catch on the eve of this pre-harvest festival. About a week before this festival, dig out live snakes from

holes and keep them in covered earthen pots and these snakes are fed with rats and milk. Their poison-containing fangs are not removed because the people of this village believe that to hurt the snakes is sacrilegious. Yet it is amazing that these venomous cobras do not bite instead protect their prospective worshipers. On the day of the actual festival the people accompanied by youngsters dancing to the tune of musical band, carry the pots on their heads in a long procession to the sacred-temple of goddess Amba and after the ritual worship the snakes are taken out from the pots and set free in the temple courtyard. Then every cobra is made to raise its head by swinging a white-painted bowl, filled with pebbles in front. The Pandit sprinkles haldi-kumkum and flowers on their raised heads. After the Puja they are offered plenty of milk and honey.

Eid ul fitr

Eid ul Fitr or the ‘festival of fast breaking’ is the most celebratory of all Muslim festivals. The term ‘Eid’ has been derived from the Arabic word ‘oud’, which means ‘the return’ and hence, signifies the return of the festival each year. The festival is significant as much for its timing, as for its religious implications. It is celebrated after the long fasting month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar), on the first day of the Shawwal month of the Hijri year (Islamic calendar). Legend says that the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Mohammed in the last ten days of Ramadan. Eid ul Fitr 2011 falls on 30th August.

ramadan

The month of Ramadan is historically associated with two important victories of Prophet Muhammad—the battle of Badr and the conquest of Makkah. Fasting during the month of Ramadan, according to Islamic beliefs, helps in developing self-control and is a way of getting closer to Allah. The festival of Eid ul Fitr marks the beginning of

naga Panchami


celebrations and merriment for a period extending over three days. Women prepare sweets at home and all Muslims are seen adorned with new dresses on this day. Eid ul Fitr is synonymous with joy and thanksgiving. Such is the spirit of this great festival that even a lot of Non-Muslims participate in Eid celebrations in India. Muslims observe all Islamic festivals with great religious fervour. Ramzan is among the most important Muslim festivals. It acquires the character of a nationwide fair with the Muslim areas becoming bright and lively towards the evening and remaining awake almost throughout the night. Ramadan is a special month of the year for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control.

Significance

Eid ul Fitr, also known as Ramadan Id, is celebrated by Muslims across the world, at the end of the month of Ramadan. It signifies the breaking of the fasting period, with the sighting of new crescent moon in the evening, on the last day of Ramadan. The celebration extends to a fiesta of three days and is also called “Chhoti Eid’’. The significance of Eid ul Fitr stems from the special meaning it holds for the entire Muslim community. Legend says that Prophet Mohammad had laid down Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha as days of rejoicing and feasting for the Muslims, in the remembrance of Allah. Since then, Muslims fast for the complete month of Ramadan and offer spiritual devotions to the almighty Allah. It is believed that whoever fasts during Ramadan with absolute faith shall have his past sins forgiven.

Another important aspect of Eid ul Fitr lies in the distribution of charity on the day. Every Muslim who has some means must pay Zakt al Fitr, a sum to be donated for the month of Ramadan, to impoverished Muslims. It can either be in the form of cash or basic foodstuff, including wheat, barley, dates, raisins etc. It is done to spare a thought to the plight of the poor and is different from

the normal Zakat, which is given to purify one’s wealth. Holy Quran recommends giving donation to the poor on this auspicious day, the best time for which is before going to the mosque in the morning, to offer prayers.

Eid ul Fitr is also a festival that fosters brotherhood and interactions, as people visit each other on the days of festivity. Friends, relatives and loved ones are greeted and offered sweets. Gifts are given to children, mostly in the form of money. Sisters and daughters also receive gifts on this occasion. Some Muslims also pay a visit to the graveyard, a custom which is known as ziyarat-al-qubur, to pay homage to the departed souls. Some scholars also believe that the month-long fasting is undertaken to acknowledge the superiority of the spiritual realm over the physical realm. Nevertheless, the spirit of conviviality surrounds the celebrations of Eid ul Fitr throughout the Islamic world.

Celebrations

While Eid means festivity, Fitr stands for breaking the fast. Together, the term is symbolical of breaking of the fasting period. Eid ul Fitr is a three day celebration. The festive occasion is celebrated with great pomp and show. Kids and adults indulge in offering prayers to the Almighty, seeking blessing. Different parts of the world celebrate the occasion differently.

-Parveen, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Source: www.krishnajanmashtami.com, www.aryabhatt.com, www.festivalsofindia.in, festivals.iloveindia.com, www.raksha-bandhan.com, www.teejfestival.org, www.rrtd.nic.in, www.navodaya.nic.in, festivals.tajonline.com, www.exotiqueindia.com, www.submission.org

Eid


World religions like Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, and Zoroastrianism were a group of religions/belief systems identified in the 19th century as being foundational for most of the world’s current populace, or historically important to the West. But the religious groups which don’t make to these world religions are almost too many to count. There are the traditional tribal and national religions of Africa, America, Asia, and even Europe such as Navajo religion, Candomble, Chinese folk religion, Dayak religion, Eskimo religion, Meri/Cheremis religion. There are “New Religious Movements” such as Cao Dai, Ikuantao, Wicca, and Scientology. There are also the ancient mystery religions and “paganism” of Egypt, Rome, or the Levant such as Mithraism, Cybele worship, Roman religion, and Hellenism.

Some of Minor religions of the world are as following:

Secular/nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist

This is a highly disparate group and not a single religion. Although atheists are a small subset of this grouping, this category is not synonymous with atheism. People who specify atheism as their religious preference actually make up less than one-half of one percent of the population in many countries. The vast majority in this grouping are not aligned with any kind of membership organization.

Chinese Traditional religion

In older world religion books the estimates of the total number of adherents of Confucianism

range up to 350 million. The word “traditional” is preferable to “folk” because “folk” might imply only the local, tribal customs and beliefs such as ancestor worship and nature beliefs. But “Chinese traditional religion” is meant to categorize the common religion of the majority Chinese culture: a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, as well as the traditional non-scriptural/local practices and beliefs.

Confucianism

There are about 5 million Confucianists. They are mainly outside of China, mostly in Korea. About five million Koreans name Confucianism as their religion, and there are even some Confucian schools and institutes in Korea.

Taoism

Fifty years ago religious Taoism was one of the largest, strongest institutions in China. Since the Cultural Revolution and the government’s campaign to destroy non-Communist religion, Taoism lost, for the most part, the main mechanism through which it remained distinct from the larger Chinese religious environment is its large number of temples and Taoist clergy.

Primal indigenous

Alternatively termed “tribal religionists, “ethnic religionists,” or “animists,” estimates range from 100 million to 457 million. This total includes all African Traditional religionists. This group also includes, but is not limited to, people whose native religion is a form of shamanism or paganism (such as millions of people in traditional Siberian shamanist cultures).

African Traditional & African Diasporic religions

Yoruba is probably the largest African traditional religious/tribal complex. Yoruba was the religion of the vast Yoruba nation states which existed before European colonialism. Cohesive rituals, beliefs and organization were spread throughout the world of Yoruba. African Diasporic Religions are those which have arisen, typically in the Western hemisphere, among Africans who retained much of their traditional culture and beliefs but adapted to new environments. These include Santeria, Candomble, Vodoun, Shango, etc.

Other Minor Religions of the World

Vodoun


Vodoun

Voodoo (or “Vodoun”) is not an organized religion, but a form of African traditional religion practiced primarily in Haiti, Cuba and Benin. Vodoun is typically classified as an Afro-Caribbean and/or Afro-Brazilian syncretistic religion, along with Santeria (Lukumi) and Candomble. Vodoun is properly classified as a branch of African Diasporic religion, in the same way that Lutheranism is a subset of Christianity.

neo-Paganism

Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term for modern revivals of ancient ethnic traditions. These are usually polytheistic, but many Neo-Pagans consider their faith pantheistic, and many other concepts of deity can be found among Neo-Pagans as well. Subdivisions within Neo-Paganism include Wicca, Magick, Druidism, Asatru, neo-Native American religion and others.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. It was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster (or Zarathustra) in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago.

For 1000 years Zoroastrianism was one of the most powerful religions in the world. It was the official religion of Persia (Iran) from 600 BCE to 650 CE. It is now one of the world’s smallest religions. Zoroastrians believe there is one God called Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) and He created the world.

Zoroastrians Beliefs and faiths• Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers. • Zoroastrians believe that the elements are pure

and that fire represents God’s light or wisdom.• Ahura Mazda revealed the truth through the

Prophet, Zoroaster.• Zoroastrians traditionally pray several

times a day.• Zoroastrians worship communally in a

Fire Temple or Agiary.• The Zoroastrian book of Holy Scriptures is

called The Avesta.• The Avesta can be roughly split into two

main sections:

o The Avesta is the oldest and core part of the scriptures, which contains the Gathas. The Gathas are seventeen hymns thought to be composed by Zoroaster himself.

o The Younger Avesta-commentaries to the older Avestan written in later years. It also contains myths, stories and details of ritual observances.

The Parsis

According to tradition, the present-day Parsis descend from a group of Iranian Zoroastrians who emigrated to Western India over 1,000 years ago due to persecution by the majority Muslims. The Parsi originally emigrated from Persia. The term Parsi was used in the 13th century in European text, however Indian text does not use the term until the 17th century, before that time Zoroastrian or Behdin was used.

There are approximately 100,000 active Parsi today. Other countries such as Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Kenya have small Parsi populations mostly as a result of immigration. Parsi Religion is in decline today. The Parsi community maintain a rather peculiar standing: they are Indians in terms of national affiliation, language and history, but not typically Indian in culture, behaviour and religious practices. The Parsis are a dying community with UNESCO stepping in to help preserve their heritage.

Spiritism

Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, which are based on the works of Allan Kardec and others. Formed in France in the 19th Century, it soon spread to other countries, but today the only country where it has a significant number of adherents is Brazil.

Source: www.religioustolerance.org, www.adherents.com, http://en.wikipedia.org, www.religious-information.com


The Byron Bay Writers’ festival

The Byron Bay Writers’ Festival had its beginnings in 1997, when a small group of locals led by Chris Hanley wondered whether authors might accept an invitation to spend a winter’s weekend in Byron Bay. They did, and an audience of two hundred locals enjoyed a gathering of fifty Australian writers. Since then, the Festival has grown from a single venue event to fill four huge marquees and venues around town and sells 45,000 individual tickets. The guest list now numbers more than one hundred and over the years the most significant and respected contemporary Australian writers have participated through lectures, lunches, panels, conversations, launches and readings.

The focus of the program is firmly on Australian writing, with recognition of our physical place in the world through the inclusion of Indonesian and Asian authors. The Byron Bay Writers’ Festival enjoys a close relationship with the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and believes that through words and ideas, bridges are formed that cross cultures and schisms. Fundamentally, the Festival provides a forum for intelligent discussion and guests are invited to address the issues that matter to them as writers and which necessarily concern us all. It is a celebration of the vitality of thought and creativity with a healthy emphasis on fun.

The Byron Bay Writers’ Festival is organised by the staff and Committee of the Northern Rivers Writers’ Centre, a member based organisation receiving core funding from Arts NSW. Byron Bay Writers’ Festival 2011 falls during August 5-7.

Darwin festival

Australia’s most northern and only tropical Arts Festival was born out of the destruction and

devastation of a natural disaster over 35 years ago. Cyclone Tracy tore through the Northern Territory’s capital city on Christmas Eve in 1974 leaving behind 68 dead and 25,000 Darwin residents homeless. There was talk from some of abandoning the city site altogether but others were more determined to rebuild.

In 1977, Northern Territory director of health Dr Charles Gurd suggested celebrating the town’s revival with a Festival that would draw the community together and reflect the optimism of those who had returned to rebuild.

Staged in July 1978, the Bougainvillea Festival, held on the first anniversary of the granting of self-government for the NT, was essentially a floral festival to promote the beautification of the city. Evidence of that first Festival can still be seen in the form of a water pipe running along the Stuart Highway that was decorated by 900 school children. The water pipe paintings were created to welcome Rolf Harris who flew from London to entertain over five thousand people.

The early years of the Festival featured such events as the Bougainvillea Queen of Quests competition, Home Garden contests, the Grand Parade; a floral procession with floats and decorated bikes, sporting events, a billy-cart derby, birdman rally and a Mardi Gras concert featuring local and visiting performers.

In the 1990s the Festival shifted its focus toward community arts, celebrating multicultural aspects of the unique Darwin lifestyle, with a vision of becoming a cultural focus for the region. Artists were recruited to work with community organisations and schools to invigorate the Grand Parade and Indigenous communities and Asia Pacific cultural groups were encouraged to have greater participation. In 1996 Darwin’s

Festivals of the Month: Australia

Darwin festival


annual celebration became known as the Festival of Darwin.

In 2003 under the direction of newly appointed Artistic Director Malcolm Blaylock, the Festival was renamed to reflect its international status in the arts. The Darwin Festival is a vibrant arts and cultural event with an eclectic and substantial program that takes advantage of Darwin’s delightful dry season weather and spectacular outdoor venues. The Darwin Festival reflects Darwin’s position at the Top End of Australia, its unique Indigenous and multicultural population and its close proximity to Asia while at the same time showcasing some of Australia’s finest arts performers.

The Darwin Festival is held over an exciting 18 days and nights, with local and touring performances and events including outdoor concerts, workshops, theatre, dance music, comedy and cabaret, film and visual arts. During the Festival, Darwin buzzes with performers, artists, locals and visitors enjoying the vibrant and colourful atmosphere and festivities of the Darwin Festival. Darwin Festival 2011 falls during August 11-28.

Garma festival

The Annual Garma Festival is Australia’s Leading Cultural Exchange event. It is held annually onsite at remote Gulkula, a traditional meeting ground in Arnhem land. The Garma Festival is a nationally significant, intimate, spectacular celebration of cultural traditions and practices—dance, song, music, and art (including presentations, collaborations, sales)—and the annual venue for a major Key Forum on Indigenous issues.

As well as the Key Forum and integrated academic presentations on language and culture, Key Forum participants also have the opportunity to watch the daily bunggul and music performances, enjoy Garma art exhibitions and projects, and participate in evening and night activities.

Garma is a unique combination of education, entertainment and real cultural interaction, exchange and immersion. It is indeed a privilege to experience Garma, and there are several categories of registration available for visitors. Garma Festival 2011 falls during August 5-8.

Mount isa rodeo

A vision to put Mount Isa on the map, a passion for the outback and an intrinsic sense of what could be achieved—that is how the now world-renowned Isa Rodeo got its start. From one idea, grew an event as rich in history as it is in prize money—the year was 1959. The idea was to create an event, a spectacle, which would put Mount Isa on the map. For the members of the city’s first Rotary Club, it was time to think big. And the fact the city had no rodeo grounds, no stock and no experience with

such an event, was certainly not going to stand in this club’s way.

Mount isa rotary rodeo was Born

With the help of committee members from Cloncurry Merry Muster, the guidance of the Australian Professional Rodeo Association (APRA) and the hard work and self belief of the Mount Isa community, local sponsors and Mount Isa Mines, the rodeo became a reality. And in 1959, with some of the country’s top riders listed on the program, the rodeo had its maiden run.

Blokes like Bonnie Young, Vic Gough, Ray Crawford, John Duncombe and Dough Flannagan came for a look and they weren’t disappointed. It was then, at that first event, that the precedent was set. This was destined to be something great—an event revered not only throughout the country but around the globe. It was already the talk of the rodeo circuit and word spread like wild fire.

rodeo Capital of Australia

The buzz had begun. It was labelled as one of the most electrifying events in the country. These days, the rodeo is run as a well-oiled machine. It is managed by a highly professional, acutely skilled team and it is a must for anyone worth their salt on the APRA circuit. With up to $200,000 in prize money up for grabs, Isa Rodeo attracts more than 600 nominations. This is arguably the toughest, most satisfying titles to have to your name. Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo 2011 event falls during August 12-14.

Townsville running festival

Townsville Road Runners have conducted a Marathon in Townsville every year since 1972, however, they have been run over a variety of

courses and in each case the distance has been close ie. approximately 42.195k.

As a result the question was always asked, was it the correct distance long or short?

During the nineties fields dwindled to about 30 and questions were asked about the viability of continuing to stage these races.

A similar lack of competitors was causing Marathons in all other regional centres to suffer and eventually fold. Townsville Running Festival 2011 is to be held at the historic Tobruk Pool on August 7.

Sydney Design

Sydney Design is an annual event produced by the Powerhouse Museum in association with more than 60 cultural institutions, organisations and

individuals. With over 100 events, the program includes inspiring exhibitions, workshops, master classes, talks, installations and tours—unpacking design, connecting people and creating meaningful dialogue around design issues.

In all areas of design—such as product design, architecture, fashion and graphic design, practitioners everywhere are mining tradition and marrying cutting edge technology with an artisanal and human sensibility. You can see it in media, food, popular culture and the arts but nowhere is this more pronounced than in the world of design. Consumers want to connect with makers and growers and hear the voice of the average person. Don’t be mistaken, this is not about nostalgia—it’s a collision between design, tradition, innovation, heritage and experimentation. In lace, for example, practitioners are employing a radical reworking of traditional craft using cutting edge technology and materials—exploding preconceived ideas and stereotypes. Designers everywhere are reworking, recycling, and reconfiguring everything about the way we think, behave, create and consume design. At the core of this is a craving felt by designers and consumers for sincerity, honesty and fairness. Sydney Design 2011 event falls during 30th July-14th August.

Source: www.byronbaywritersfestival.com.au, www.darwinfestival.org.au, www.yyf.com.au, www.isarodeo.com.au, www.townsvilleroadrunners.com.au, www.sydneydesign.com.au

Garma festival

Mount isa rodeo



Mr. Maneck Dalal, Chairman, London Kendra retired from Bhavan after 38 years of service. A farewell event was held on May 15, 2011. Apart from supporters of the Bhavan and admirers of Mr. Dalal, some of the most successful business people and politicians from the Asian diaspora attended the event. Mr. Dalal was continuously credited as being the person who steered the Bhavan, making it the leading Indian artistic and cultural organisation in Britain. A citation was read out by the Vice President of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, worldwide, Justice Shri B.N. Srikrishna. He congratulated Mr. Dalal for his achievements as Chairman of the Bhavan, UK and the way he has been able to persuade many of his trustees, friends and others to give their time, advice and often financial help in the cause of the Bhavan.

India’s High Commissioner to the UK His Excellency Nalin Surie unveiled a portrait of Mr. Dalal, painted by Anupa Sachdev, Bhavan’s student. The High Commissioner who is a Patron of the Bhavan said that Mr. Dalal had played a vital role in strengthening the cultural dialogue between the people of India and the UK. The Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham, where the Bhavan is based, congratulated Mr. Dalal by saying, “The work that you have done has been magnificent and is a tremendous tribute to your community”.

Sir Mota Singh QC, Vice-Chairman of the Bhavan, Dr. John Marr, Honorary General Secretary, Lord Dholakia and Mr. Paul Slawson, Bhavan’s Corpus Fund Trustee and Mr. Andew Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Fulham and Ashish Ray, President of the Indian Journalists’ association, paid rich tributes to Mr. Dalal.

Mr. Dalal took the audience on a trip down memory lane, talking about the challenges during the early days of the Bhavan, when the institute was a little known building in central London. He thanked the Arts Council, Millennium Commission and all the donors who have generously helped the Bhavan. The audience were treated to a special cultural programme by the Bhavan’s dance students.

Bhavan’s News (London Kendra)

Bhavan’s Chairman Retires

Mr. Maneck Dalal receiving the citation from Justice Srikrishna

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) members strive to enact daily the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, a Buddhist monk who lived in thirteenth-century Japan. Nichiren’s teachings provide a way for anybody to readily draw out the enlightened wisdom and energy of Buddhahood from within their lives, regardless of their individual circumstances. Each person has the power to overcome all of life’s challenges, to live a life of value and become a positive influence in their community, society and the world.

In Search of the Solution to Human Suffering

Nichiren was born in 1222 in Japan, a time rife with social unrest and natural disasters. The common people, especially, suffered enormously. Nichiren wondered why the Buddhist teachings had lost their power to enable people to lead happy, empowered lives. While a young priest, he set out to find an answer to the suffering and chaos that surrounded him. His intensive study of the Buddhist sutras convinced him that the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni’s essential teaching, contained the essence of the Buddha’s enlightenment and that it held the key to transforming people’s suffering and enabling society to flourish.

The Essence of Buddhism

The Lotus Sutra affirms that all people, regardless of gender, capacity or social standing, inherently possess the qualities of a Buddha, and are therefore equally worthy of the utmost respect.

Based on his study of the sutra Nichiren established the invocation (chant) of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a universal practice to enable people to manifest the Buddhahood inherent in their lives and gain the strength and wisdom to challenge and overcome any adverse circumstances. Nichiren saw the Lotus Sutra as a vehicle for people’s empowerment—stressing that everyone can attain enlightenment and enjoy happiness while they are alive.

Soka Kyoiku Gakkai—The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy

On November 18, 1930, a relatively unknown Japanese elementary schoolteacher called Tsunesaburo Makiguchi published the first volume of The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy, which outlined the child-centered educational philosophy he had developed through his many years of engagement in education. The publisher was listed as the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, and publication of the book is considered to mark the foundation of what later became the Soka Gakkai.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi was born in 1871 in present-day Niigata Prefecture on the west coast of Japan. When he was 13, he moved to Hokkaido. Working to support himself while he studied, at 18 he gained entrance to the local teacher training college. Upon graduation he began working at the elementary school affiliated with the college. He had long been interested in the teaching of geography, and in 1903 published his first major work, The Geography of Human Life, which emphasized the vital links between human beings and their natural environment. He later served as a teacher and principal in elementary schools around Tokyo.

In 1928, at age 57, he encountered the Buddhist philosophy of Nichiren (1222-82), which he began to practice. Josei Toda, a young teacher from Hokkaido who had been working under Makiguchi since the early 1920s, also began practicing Nichiren Buddhism around this time.

Shortly after this, Makiguchi’s concept of ‘Soka’ education was formalized in the publication of The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy. ‘Soka’ means value creation, expressing Makiguchi’s conviction that the authentic goal of education, and of life itself, lies in the pursuit of happiness. He held that the key to genuine happiness is the capacity to create value under even the most difficult and challenging circumstances. Nichiren Buddhism, which stresses the limitless potential of each individual, resonated with his humanistic approach to education and provided a practical foundation for his philosophy of value creation.

The Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society) originally comprised reform-minded educators who were dissatisfied with an education system that emphasized rote learning and the production of obedient subjects of the state. These teachers saw an effective alternative in Makiguchi’s pedagogy which sought to develop independent thinking and critical judgment. The

Soka Gakkai International and Nichiren Buddhism


group’s Buddhist emphasis steadily strengthened as it developed into a movement dedicated to the reform of society through the reformation of the inner life of individuals. By the early 1940s it had a membership of some 3,000 people, meeting regularly in members’ homes.

A Gathering Storm

Japan’s militarist government was by now steadily tightening controls on thought and expression as part of the war effort. Makiguchi and Toda refused to bow to pressure from the state-controlled war machine and as a result, the meetings organized by the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai came under the surveillance of the Special Higher Police, responsible for the suppression of ‘thought crimes.’

On July 6, 1943, Makiguchi and Toda were detained on suspicion of violation of the notorious Peace Preservation Law and accused of showing disrespect to the emperor. A total of 21 leaders of the organization were arrested. In prison, Makiguchi held fast to his beliefs, expounding the principles of Nichiren Buddhism to his interrogators. On November 18, 1944, Makiguchi died of malnutrition and the privations of his long imprisonment, a martyr to his convictions. He was 73.

Alone among the other leaders of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai who had been arrested, Toda refused to recant. While in prison, he intensively studied the Lotus Sutra, considered in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition to express the essence of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment, and chanted its title, Nam-myoho-renge-kyo—the practice that is the core of Nichiren Buddhism.

Through his highly focused practice, he gained two critical insights. One was that what is described in the sutras as ‘the Buddha’ is nothing other than life itself. The other involved an awakening to his own profound mission as a bodhisattva, to share the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism widely in society to build the foundations for a peaceful world. On July 3, 1945, Toda was released from prison. He immediately dedicated himself to continuing the work of his mentor Makiguchi, rebuilding the organization that had been effectively destroyed by the authorities.

Toda often spoke of the awakening he had experienced in prison, and this, together with the immovable confidence he had gained in the validity of Buddhism, was a driving force for the postwar development of the organization. He revived the traditional format of the small group

discussion meeting, which remains at the heart of the movement’s activities. On May 3, 1951, Toda, who had been general director of the organization under Makiguchi, became its second president, announcing his determination to achieve a membership of 750,000 households. This marked the beginning of vigorous propagation activities in Japan, but Toda’s determination went far beyond mere numerical expansion. He declared that his most cherished wish was to eliminate misery from the face of the Earth, with the practice of Nichiren Buddhism as the means to achieve this. In this, he sought to awaken people to the reality that our individual happiness is inextricably linked with the happiness of others and the welfare of society as a whole. This message had great appeal for the most disempowered strata of Japanese society, the common people who struggled with economic, physical and psychological distress in the wake of defeat.

In 1951, Toda began to publish the serialized novel Human Revolution. The title expresses his conviction in the transformative power of Nichiren Buddhism. The concept of ‘human revolution,’ or inner-motivated positive change, expresses the traditional Buddhist concept of enlightenment in terms accessible to people living in the modern-day world. In December 1957, Toda realized his vow of achieving 750,000 member households. On March 16, 1958, he entrusted the future of the movement to the youth of the organization led by Daisaku Ikeda, who later became the third president, at an event attended by 6,000 young people. On April 2, aged 58, Toda passed away having achieved his


Daisaku Ukeda

goal of rebuilding the organization and establishing a firm foundation for a people’s movement for peace.

On May 3, 1960, Daisaku Ikeda was inaugurated as the third president of the Soka Gakkai. He was 32 at the time. Ikeda had encountered the Soka Gakkai and its second president, Josei Toda, in August 1947, at one of the organization’s discussion meetings to which he had been brought by a school friend. In the physical and spiritual chaos that followed Japan’s defeat in 1945, Ikeda was very consciously seeking a teaching—and, if possible, a teacher—to provide direction and guidance. For his part, Toda was actively engaged in sharing the confidence he had gained in the validity of Buddhism through his awakening in prison and was seeking someone to whom he could entrust the sense of mission he felt in its entirety.

Starting from this meeting, Toda and Ikeda forged a profound collaborative relationship, one that conformed with the ideal described in Buddhism as the spiritual unity of mentor and disciple. Ikeda supported Toda across the full spectrum of his activities, eventually feeling compelled to stop attending college due to the demands on his time and energies. Toda instead tutored him one-on-one before the start of each workday and on weekends, sharing with the young man his vision of a peaceful society realized through the promotion of Buddhist practice and ideals. Ikeda proudly refers to these study sessions as ‘Toda University.’

In these early years of the Soka Gakkai movement, Toda consistently assigned the young Ikeda the most challenging tasks, such as supporting local groups whose morale and propagation efforts were languishing. Ikeda responded to his mentor’s belief by producing concrete outcomes that had a transformative effect on the organization as

a whole. These experiences honed his skills in offering personal encouragement, inspiring people to transform their lives through altruistic religious practice.

Starting from 1955, Toda began encouraging members to run for public office. Toda deemed this kind of engagement necessary in light of Nichiren Buddhism’s commitment to reflecting Buddhist principles, such as respect for human dignity, in the actual practices of society and politics. He was also motivated by the wartime experience of the organization, which had been violently suppressed by an ideology that fused militarist fascism and fanatical worship of the Japanese emperor. He saw the organization’s political involvement as necessary to protect freedom of religion. Following one election campaign in Osaka in 1957, Ikeda was held responsible for the acts of a few individual Gakkai members and was charged with violation of election laws by the authorities. After a drawn-out legal proceeding, he was found innocent of all charges in January 1962.

Under Ikeda’s leadership, the organization in Japan expanded rapidly, reaching a membership of 3 million households in 1962 and approximately 7.5 million in 1970. By this time, Ikeda was convinced that the foundations for the movement had been firmly established; it was also evident to him that an organization of this scale could not function in isolation from society at large. In a speech given on May 3, 1970, he proposed a series of changes that would reorient the organization and its activities. In particular, he emphasized the function of religion as a source of cultural creativity benefiting society as a whole.

Education and other secular concerns were a natural focus for the Soka Gakkai given its origins as an organization of educators seeking to promote founding president Makiguchi’s philosophy of value-creating education. In 1967, Ikeda founded Soka High School in Tokyo, followed by a full range of nondenominational educational institutions including Soka University in 1971 and the four-year liberal arts college Soka University of America in 2001. Ikeda had founded the Min-On Concert Association in 1963 and the Fuji Art Museum in 1973. With the full-fledged launch of peace activities by the youth membership in the 1970s, the three pillars of the organization’s activities—peace, culture, education—were all given concrete form.

The essence of the Soka Gakkai’s practice of Buddhist humanism under Ikeda’s leadership has been the promotion of the process of fundamental transformation—human revolution—


Gambhir Watts

in each individual, with the confidence that this has the power to change society in meaningful and positive ways.

On September 8, 1968, Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda issued a proposal that outlined concrete steps toward the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. ‘The absolute condition for the economic prosperity and political and social stability of Asia is the dismantling of the encirclement of China presently enforced by the United States, and to a lesser degree, by the Soviet Union. It is not an exaggeration to say that the resolution of the China question holds the key to the resolution of the various problems facing Asia.’

Ikeda was one of the first major Japanese figures to call for normalization of relations with China. His call met with fierce criticism in Japan, but it also caught the attention of those, both in China and in Japan, who sought an easing of tensions between the two countries, including Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Today, Ikeda’s statement is widely recognized as having played a catalytic role in the process that culminated in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 1972. In the years after normalization, Ikeda engaged in a form of ‘citizen diplomacy’ among the Cold War rivals, particularly between China and the Soviet Union, which at times seemed on the brink of full-scale conflict. During 1974 and 1975, he repeatedly visited China, the USSR and the US, meeting with Soviet Premier Aleksey Kosygin, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and other key figures. Conveying the concerns and aspirations of the leaders of these hostile powers, as well as the yearning for peace he had felt in his encounters with the ordinary citizens of each society, Ikeda worked to defuse tensions and help build the foundations for mutual understanding and dialogue.

A Global Movement

On January 26, 1975, representatives from 51 countries and territories gathered on the island of Guam, where they created an umbrella organization for the growing membership of Nichiren Buddhists around the world. This became the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), with Daisaku Ikeda as its first president. In his address to the assembled representatives, Ikeda encouraged them to dedicate themselves to altruistic action: ‘Rather than seeking to bring your own lives to bloom, devote yourselves to planting the seeds of peace throughout the world.’

While firmly convinced of the universal validity of Nichiren Buddhism, the Soka Gakkai has never dispatched missionaries to other countries. Just as the spread of the movement within Japan has been ‘organic’—with individuals sharing their confidence and experiences in faith with friends, families and acquaintances—the movement has developed in countries around the world through the natural interconnections of people. In the course of his travels, Ikeda has always found time to encourage members in the countries he visited. Those locally based practitioners took responsibility for what eventually developed into national SGI organizations. This process is described in depth in Ikeda’s ongoing serialized novel The New Human Revolution.

Today, the SGI has a membership of around 12 million in more than 190 countries and territories with 84 constituent organizations. Each local organization develops activities independently in line with the traditions of its own society and cultural context, but they are unified in what the SGI Charter, adopted in 1995, describes as ‘the fundamental aim and mission of contributing to peace, culture and education based on the philosophy and ideals of the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin.’ The purposes and principles listed in the SGI Charter include safeguarding fundamental human rights, protection of nature and the environment, promotion of grassroots exchanges and dialogue among religions, social engagement and contribution to society as responsible citizens.

A New Beginning

The international development of the Soka Gakkai as a dynamic and socially engaged movement led principally by lay believers presented the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood—with which the Soka Gakkai had been affiliated since its inception—with a choice. It could either remain committed to the institutional practices that had taken form centuries earlier—holding firmly to the ritual authority traditionally wielded by priests over lay believers in Japan—or it could fully embrace the open-ended vision of global peace through self-transformation first propounded by Nichiren.

Over the years following the establishment of the SGI, the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood oscillated between these two stances. In the end, under the leadership of Abe Nikken, the 67th high priest of the sect, the priesthood opted for an authoritarian approach, eventually severing its ties with the Soka Gakkai. On November 28, 1991, Nikken unilaterally


excommunicated some 12 million believers throughout the world—an act without precedent in the history of Buddhism. Soka Gakkai members now commemorate this event as a momentous turning point in their liberation from religious authoritarianism. As Professor Jane Hurst of Gallaudet University, Washington DC, has stated, ‘it should be no surprise that a culturally conservative Japanese priesthood built on ideas of hierarchy, ritual, and traditional custom should conflict with a global lay movement built on ideas of egalitarianism, active faith, and rational adaptation to the modern world.’

Following its separation from the priesthood, the SGI has been engaged in a process of reevaluating the role of religion in the face of these tensions, seeking a modern, humanistic interpretation of Buddhism with a stress on its identity as a lay organization that is better equipped to communicate Buddhist ideals to a wider world. It has accelerated its activities to engage in cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue, and has promoted wide-ranging public outreach and education on such key global issues as peace, disarmament and sustainable development.

The SGI’s activities in support of nuclear abolition trace their roots back to 1957 when, at the height of the Cold War, second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda made a public declaration calling for the outlawing of all nuclear weapons at a gathering of 50,000 young people in Yokohama, Japan. Drawing on his conviction and insight as a Buddhist, Toda asserted that all people have ‘an inviolable right to live’ and condemned anyone who would jeopardize that right as ‘a devil incarnate.’ In taking such a stark moral stance and seeking to stigmatize nuclear weapons as an absolute evil, he was articulating the idea that the indiscriminate nature and scale of destruction wrought by nuclear weapons crossed any reasonable bounds of legitimacy as a military weapon. The only way to protect humanity from this destructiveness was to eliminate them completely.

In 1973, youth members of the Soka Gakkai in Japan launched a petition drive for nuclear abolition; they gathered 10 million signatures, which were presented to the United Nations in January 1975. In 1997 and 1998, SGI youth in Japan and around the world collected 13 million signatures in support of the ‘Abolition 2000’ campaign, presenting these to the UN in October 1998. Working with relevant UN agencies and other NGOs, the SGI has also organized a series of antinuclear exhibitions. ‘Nuclear Arms: Threat to Our World’ and ‘Nuclear Arms: Threat to Humanity’ were seen by over 1.6 million people in 24 countries between 1982 and 2002, while ‘From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit,’ launched in 2007, has visited more than 200 cities.

In Pursuit of Dialogue

Ikeda has long asserted that dialogue, open exchanges of ideas and perspectives, is the most certain way to build the foundations of peace. ‘The true value of dialogue is not to be found solely in the results it produces but also in the process of dialogue itself, as two human spirits engage with and elevate each other to a higher realm.’

In 1972 and 1973, he traveled to London to meet with the 80-year-old British historian Arnold Toynbee to discuss a wide range of problems facing humankind. Their dialogue was published in English in 1975 as Choose Life, and has since been published in 28 languages. Since that time, Ikeda has exchanged views with representatives of cultural, political, educational and artistic fields from around the world. Many of these meetings have led to the publication of collaborative dialogues on a diverse range of topics, including history, economics, peace studies, astronomy and the healing arts. Among the individuals with whom Ikeda has published dialogues are former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, Brazilian champion of human rights Austregésilo de Athayde, Indonesian Muslim leader Abdurrahman Wahid and Chinese literary giant Jin Yong.

The peace proposals also provide a focus for the activities of SGI members around the world, who address specific themes through symposiums and conferences, campaigns to promote nonviolence and interfaith dialogue, to protect their local environment or provide humanitarian relief in times of crisis.

All such activities provide opportunities for SGI members to actively engage with the pressing issues of our times, developing a concrete awareness of their responsibilities and potential as global citizens. Reaching out to conduct dialogue with friends, family and neighbors enables individual members to exercise the qualities of courage, compassion and wisdom that embody the Buddha nature inherent in each individual, facilitating their own process of inner transformation while contributing to their local society and the global community.

In addition to their regular discussion meetings and Buddhist study sessions, as different SGI organizations develop their own distinctive activities--be they cultural events, campaigns to combat school violence, reforestation programs, literacy training programs, or public education and awareness exhibitions--the spirit of Buddhist humanism takes root and develops in communities around the world, adding to a groundswell of empowered citizens dedicated to creating a better world for all humankind.


The United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 each year to recognize efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society. It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities. International Youth Day focuses on young people all over the world.

Origin

The UN defines the worlds’ youth as the age group between 15 and 24 years old, making up one-sixth of the human population. Many of these young men and women live in developing countries and their numbers are expected to rise steeply. The idea for International Youth Day was proposed in 1991 by young people who were gathered in Vienna, Austria, for the first session of the UN’s World Youth Forum. The forum recommended that an International Youth Day be declared, especially for fundraising and promotional purposes, to support the United Nations Youth Fund in partnership with youth organizations.

History

In 1998 a resolution proclaiming August 12 as International Youth Day was adopted during the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth. That recommendation was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1999. International Youth Day was first observed in 2000. One of the year’s highlights was when eight Latin American and Caribbean youth and youth-related organizations received United Nations World Youth Awards in Panama City, Panama. International Youth Day is the best time to commemorate the power and strength of the youth all around the globe. United Nations defined the event for highlighted awareness on the requirements of young people in the middle of 10 to 24 years.

The United Nations

The General Assembly on 17 December 1999 in its resolution 54/120, endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that 12 August be declared International Youth Day. The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organized to support the Day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 (resolution 50/81).

Aim

The aim of International Youth Day is to endorse consciousness, particularly among youth. The World Programme of Action for Youth started before 2000. The World Programme of Action wants achievement in 10 main fields. The 10 fields are starvation, poverty, education, employment, health, drug exploitation, childhood felony, recreation events, child and young women, environment. The International Youth Day suggests that people in regional, countrywide and worldwide implement the Programme.

Activities

Many activities and events that take place around the world on International Youth Day promote the benefits that young people bring into the world. Many countries participate in this global event, which include youth conferences on issues such as education and employment. Other activities include concerts promoting the world’s youth, as well as various sporting events, parades and mobile exhibitions that showcase young people’s achievements.

Source: www.altiusdirectory.com, www.timeanddate.com, www.un.org.au

International Youth Day



I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn’t touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God. -Mother Teresa

The life of one of recent history’s most admired women, Mother Teresa, is a life of love. Anyone questioning the meaning of love need not look further than the life and works of Mother Teresa. She taught the world the meaning of charity. The woman went on to show the world the definition of compassion. Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity. She was an Albanian Catholic nun who came to India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Later on Mother Teresa attained Indian citizenship. Her selfless work among the poverty-stricken people of Kolkata (Calcutta) is an inspiration for people all over the world. Throughout her life, she tried to teach others the love she knew so well.

Early Life

“Keep the joy of loving the poor and share this joy with all you meet. Remember works of love are works of Peace. God Bless you.”

Mother Teresa’s original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. She was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia. Agnes’ family was an affluent and loving one. Her father was a successful merchant and she was youngest of the three siblings. Her parents, Nikollë and Dranafille Bojaxhiu had relocated to Yugoslavia from their former home in what is now Albania. Agnes was about 12 when she first knew that she belonged to God. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At 18 she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. After a few months of training at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dublin, Mother Teresa came to India. On May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From

1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught Geography and Catechism at St. Mary’s High School in Calcutta. By 1944, she was the Principal of the same school. Her teaching was brought to an abrupt halt when she contracted tuberculosis and was sent away for a much needed rest. It was during her recuperation period that Teresa was given her second calling from God. Later, Mother described the calling. Her words were “I was to leave the convent and work with the poor, living among them. It was an Order. I knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get there.” However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta had a deep impact on her mind and in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. She taught poor children and learned the basics of medicine in order to treat the sick in their homes. Teresa was given the moniker “Saint of the Gutters” for the work she was doing.

Missionaries of Charity

“Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”

After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, she returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. She started an open-air school for homeless children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and she received financial support from church organizations and the municipal authorities. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to start her own Order. Vatican originally labelled the Order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and it later came to be known as the “Missionaries of Charity”. The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to take care of those persons who nobody was prepared to look after.

The Missionaries of Charity, which began as a small Order with 12 members in Calcutta, today has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and famine in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, Poland, and Australia. In 1965, by granting a Decree of Praise, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa permission to expand her Order to other countries. The Order’s first house outside India was in Venezuela. Presently, the “Missionaries of Charity” has presence in more than 100 countries.

Servants of the Poorest

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.”

Mother Teresa


Some of her former students joined her and they worked with people, the hospitals in the area had, rejected. They obtained a room so that the people they were helping did not have to die in the gutter. The goal, as Mother Teresa described it, was to offer “free service to the poor and the unwanted, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality or race.” Mother Teresa turned what had formerly been a temple in Calcutta into a Home for the Dying in 1952. It was called the Nirmal Hriday Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta. Nirmal Hriday means “Pure Heart.” Mother Teresa was awarded the money from prizes and that money was always used to advance her work. She opened clinics, hospices, and homeless shelters and did everything she could to make the lives of people more tolerable.

Angel of Love

“Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.”

Did she have a secret to such a loving and giving life? If there was one, it was rooted in the way she regarded people. She saw Jesus in everyone. Every wound she bandaged, every hand she held, and every dying soul she offered dignity to, in her mind, she was doing these things for the body of Christ. To many of us, the life she led seemed full of unpleasantness, but to Mother Teresa, she was living the only life that would give her pleasure and fulfilment.

Her uncomplicated and heartfelt words often gave a glimpse into her spirit, and perhaps in her words, her secret lies. “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish” she said. And she practiced it with offering smiles wherever life’s journey led her.

Mother Teresa lived love. It poured from her like a fountain. She explained it all in two quotes concerning love. “There is no greater sickness in the world today than the lack of love” and “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” Yes, she had a secret. Her answer was contained in that four-letter word called love.

Recognition

Mother Teresa’s work was recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she received a number of awards and distinctions. These include the Pandra Shri prize for “extraordinary services” in 1962, the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for Promotion of International Peace & Understanding (1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Bharat Ratna (1980). After learning of winning the Nobel Prize, Mother Teresa answered with a very humble “I am unworthy.” She also opted to donate the $6,000 that would have been used for a ceremonial banquet to be given to

the poor in Calcutta. Her life’s work was explained in her own words when she accepted this high honour: “To care for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society.”

Mother Teresa established a hospice for AIDS victims in New York in 1985 and more of the same were started in Atlanta and San Francisco later. She was awarded the United States’ highest civilian award, that of the Medal of Freedom and was awarded an honorary US citizenship in 1996. Only four people before her had received that title. Her awards from the United States were not yet finished, however, and she was honoured with the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Her thinking was a guiding light and source of inspiration to others.

Final Days

Mother Teresa suffered from heart problems for a substantial amount of time. In 1996, she was hospitalized for malaria and a chest infection and also underwent heart surgery. Cardiac arrest claimed the life of this remarkable woman in Calcutta on September 5, 1997. The last earthly words to be uttered by her were “I can’t breathe anymore.” On March 13, 1997, she had stepped down from the Head of Missionaries of Charity and died on just 9 days after her 87th birthday. Following Mother Teresa’s death, began the process of beatification, the second step towards possible canonization, or sainthood. This process requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa. In 2002, the Vatican recognized as a miracle the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, following the application of a locket containing Teresa’s picture. Monica Besra said that a beam of light emanated from the picture, curing the cancerous tumour. Mother Teresa was formally beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003 with the title ‘Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’.

Source: www.ewtn.com, www.iloveindia.com, www.essortment.com

“She taught poor children and learned the basics of

medicine in order to treat the sick in their homes. Teresa

was given the moniker “Saint of the Gutters” for the work she was doing.”


Medieval India witnessed an interesting phenomenon: she saw for the first time an attempt—and a fairly successful attempt at that—at reconciliation between Hinduism and Islam. And oddly enough, this attempt was initiated not by intellectual India but by what may roughly be called India of the ignorant masses.

Before this, Hinduism and Islam were regarded as irreconcilable. They were like two poles asunder. To the Mussalmans Hinduism was mere idolatry, a mass of blind superstitions. Its ideals, its practices—everything was repugnant to them. It was the very contradiction of all they held dear and sacred in Islam. The Hindu reaction to Islam was of course a bit different. The Hindus have all along been tolerant. They have been used to all kinds of vagaries in the religious world. Within their own fold they have seen all manner of ideals and practices. They have not treated any with contempt. Far less have they tried to smother any. To them everything is welcome provided it originates from a sincere and earnest quest for the truth. And they know they must allow for differences in tastes and temperaments. They do not treat religion like a strait jacket to pin down man to fixed beliefs and dogmas. This explains why there is this amazing diversity in the Hindu religious thought. Moreover through all this apparent diversity they try to seek a real unity. So they were not essentially hostile to Islam. Rather they were curious and interested. Here was a new

pattern of religious thought and they wanted to examine it and see if there was anything in it they could accept with profit. In course of time perhaps they would have absorbed and assimilated Islam as they have done myriads of such ideas and ideologies through countless ages. In that case the Mussalmans would have been today only another sect in the Hindu fold.

But this was not to be. Unfortunately yes, unfortunately—Islam strode into India with the sword of a political conqueror. It did not come purely as a religious movement. It came as an attack, an assault. It was an attack on the political integrity and the religious freedom of the Hindus. This fact made the whole of Islam suspect to the Hindus. And being politically conquered they could not but feel a sting of humiliation in accepting Islam. It hurt their pride. Hence, though so unlike themselves, they assumed an attitude of sullen indifference; they would have no truck with it. And to prevent defections they hardened the caste rules and made social ostracism the price of accepting Islam. Almost an unprecedented step in Hindu history, and how deplorable!

Thus a barrier came to be established between the Hindus and the Mussalmans. It did not of course extend so far as to make social intercourse impossible between the two communities. Also it did not deter their representative theologians from engaging now and then in healthy debates

A Medieval Saint: Dadu


under the auspices of Moghul courts. And true to the Indian traditions these debates were always characterized by an atmosphere of friendship and good humour. Nevertheless the barrier remained and the idea persisted that Hinduism and Islam were fundamentally different, nay, even antagonistic to each other and re-conciliation between them was thought impossible.

Against this background of religious conflicts and confusions appeared a great mystic who addressed himself to the task of bridging the gulf between Hinduism and Islam and also partially succeeded. This was Dadu. Born a Mussulman he accepted a Hindu as his guru. By this very fact he brought Islam and Hinduism nearer to each other. He practised a religion which did not answer to any rigid type. It was neither Islam nor Hinduism. It was something constituting the common core of both. It was the essence of religion.

It was his chief endeavour to synthesize, to harmonize all religious views. This he did by emphasizing that the contents of all religious ideals were the same though their forms differed. To him ‘Hindu’ and ‘Mussalman’ were arbitrary and artificial labels and they surely had no sanction from God. When accused of breaking down the barriers between the Hindus and the Mussalmans his emphatic reply was that such barriers had no right to exist, for man was the same man everywhere and God the same God in every religion and there was no sense in creating barriers among men which, far from helping, hindered their progress towards God. To him religion was intensely personal and it must vary according to individual tastes and requirements.

It was more by conduct, by his own personal example, than by his teachings, that he brought about reconciliation between Hinduism and Islam. Religious disputes arise when the fundamentals of religion are forgotten. Dadu stressed as well as embodied these fundamentals. And what are they? They are: God alone matters and nothing else. And to attain Him what is necessary is love and sincere longing of the heart. Quarrels about creeds and dogmas are foolish; they are the idle sport of intellectual fools. Dadu himself is the best example of all these. He is the example of a man attaining to the highest spiritual grandeur aided solely by the devotions of a longing heart. For his was an approach to God not through the devious ways of scholarship, net through dry contentious intellectualism, but through a burning faith, through an all-devouring love.

Details about Dadu’s origin are a matter of dispute. Many stories are current and it is difficult to tell which are correct and which are not. Nevertheless it is fairly established that he was born of a poor Mohammedan family somewhere in the forties of the sixteenth century and by caste he was a cobbler. As a boy he showed nothing remarkable,

nothing that bore any promise of what he was to be in future; he was like any other boy of his station. At the age of eleven he met in his village Buddhan (Briddhananda), a Hindu monk of Kabir’s school, and this marked the turning-point of his life. Evidently Buddhan was able to see into the tremendous possibilities of the boy and was impressed; so he singled him out from among a host of other boys and taking him aside instructed him about God. What exactly he told him we do not know, nor how Dadu reacted to it. We do not know also how Dadu passed the next seven years before Buddhan visited him again. Outwardly, it is possible, he simply drudged at his family trade as he had been doing before; but, inwardly, it may be presumed, the seed planted by Buddhan in his heart must have been growing, drawing nourishment from those hidden sources of which only Buddhan was aware. So that by the time Buddhan came again, he was ready in his own conscious mind to take a real plunge into spiritual life. Buddhan, too, must have been waiting for this happy development and when he came again, he lost no time to give Dadu fuller instructions about God and to introduce him to the secrets of the esoteric life according to his school. And we know what was Dadu’s reaction this time: as soon as Buddhan left, Dadu discovered he could not live the life he was so long living—the life of a petty workman earning an honest pie and being content with it. He felt a call—an irresistible call, the same to which many have succumbed, beginning with Buddha. This made him throw down his tools, snap all ties with the family and rush out into the big wide world in quest of truth. Roaming about ceaselessly he visited innumerable places and wherever he was he took care to contact sages of different cults and to study their ways. He was like an ever thirsty traveller drinking at whatever fountains he met on the way.

He was equally at home with the Hindus as well as the Mohammedans, with the Shaktas as well as the Vaishnavas, with the Buddhists as well as the Jains. He was like a sturdy plant thriving alike in all climates. He, however, did not commit himself to any particular creed or dogma. For he had no use for any man-made institution. Nor was he to be bound down by any fixed belief or custom. He was a true universalist that accepted everything and rejected nothing. Nevertheless he believed in one God-head and in the ultimate identity of the individual soul with that God-head. In this he was on a par with the Vedantist.

“Born a Mussulman he accepted a Hindu

as his guru”


How Dadu acquired such broadness of outlook it is difficult to say. Of course Kabir to whose school his guru belonged and who influenced him more than any other single individual, held similar views. Still they were not so pronounced in their comprehensiveness and width of vision. It must have been Dadu’s own intuitive experience of truth coupled with wide travels and close observation that lent such catholicity to his character. He brought about a synthesis not only between Hinduism and Islam but also among other warring creeds of the time.

And this he did not by a process of mere juxtaposition or that more grandiosely called eclecticism but by realizing as well as upholding that common truth underlying all the varying creeds and by emphasizing the organic harmony that naturally exists between them. It is a great thing to do at any time and it is wonderful Dadu did it as early as the sixteenth century.

At the end of his long itinerary we find Dadu settled somewhere in Rajputana. He had married some time or other and here he lived a quiet life with his wife and children. A quiet life but not too quiet, for Dadu’s fame soon spread far and wide and people began to flock to him in numbers. He received all with equal courtesy and tried to solve their doubts. Some came to test and some to tease only, but Dadu was unruffled and they went away tremendously impressed. Some, again, came to tempt or to threaten, but Dadu went on, unswayed, with his teaching of the truth and guiding the genuine seekers. Hindus as well as Mohammedans came and sat at his feet and many became his ardent followers. Among his visitors were common men as well as royalties, and among the latter there was Akbar the Great himself. And how interesting reads the story of his interview with Akbar! It reveals the characteristic qualities of both the great souls and it is a matter fit to be recorded in some detail.

Dadu, emperor of the spiritual world, is in his ramshackle house surrounded by his admirers. A messenger from Akbar, the biggest emperor of the temporal world of the time, arrives to say that Dadu is wanted. ‘The Emperor wants me? What have I to do with him—I, a poor fakir? Excuse me, I can’t go.’ This was Dadu’s reply. No sign of elation at such an unexpected honour, no indecent hurry to oblige the emperor!

Soon the messenger comes again. This time he knows better what to say. He says the emperor wants to meet him because he wants to profit by having a religious talk with him. So will he please accept the invitation? Dadu replied he would, but he could not go and meet the emperor in Delhi. His significant excuse was that he lived in a world altogether different from the emperor’s and if he went to the emperor’s world, he would not be himself any longer. To this Akbar sent a clever reply, full of understanding, full of that nobility of spirit of which only he was capable. He said it was not his intention that Dadu should go to Delhi. He had sense enough to understand how foolish it would be to take him out of his environment. It would be like taking a piece of rock from the Himalayas and trying to judge their beauty and grandeur from it. But it was, at the same time, Akbar’s misfortune that he was an emperor. If he went to Dadu’s place, a whole host of ministers and courtiers would then rush to the place and defile its simple native beauty. So would he mind coming over to Fatehpur-Sikri, that city which Akbar meant to be a seat of deep spirituality? Fatehpur-Sikri suited Dadu quite well for he would often go to places around it, and he readily agreed. Accordingly, the time and place were fixed for the meeting.

They met in the quiet deserts outside the city and they met for forty days! It was like two master minds closed in grips with each other. They discussed almost everything bearing on spiritual life and they differed and argued and fought. Together they journeyed far into the spiritual realm, Dadu guiding and Akbar always doubting, questioning and challenging. It is well-known that Akbar, though illiterate, was a profound student of philosophy and was himself a mystic of a sort. His thirst for knowledge was great and he was no bigot to refuse to add to his knowledge from new or even from alien sources. It is this fact that explains why he felt impelled to seek an interview with Dadu, and to secure it he would let no false prestige stand in the way.

In the discussions that took place Dadu must have been impressed by his keen intellect, his deep understanding as well as his wide range of vision, and he must have felt glad at heart to be able to share his spiritual knowledge with him. Akbar, too, with his shrewd understanding of what was genuine and what was spurious, must have been struck by the rich contents of Dadu’s spiritual


experience, his great wisdom, his catholicity and, above all, his wonderful synthesis of all seemingly antagonistic and contradictory creeds and dogmas. And he drank in his words instinct with the living experience of reality. When, in course of discussions, Dadu incidentally pointed out to him that no creed, however perfect and comprehensive, can embody the full truth, ‘just as no bird can contain in its beak the whole of sea-water’, it must have given Akbar the shock of a new discovery and in this perhaps lies a partial explanation of that large-hearted toleration which characterized Akbar’s treatment towards religions supposed to be hostile to Islam.

At last they parted and they parted the best of friends. Each conceived great admiration for the other and their exchange of ideas continued from a distance. It is difficult to say what influence Dadu had on Akbar. Who knows if his deep indrawn moods, his religious ecstasies and his increased abhorrence of bigotry which were all so prominent a characteristic of Akbar’s last days were not the outcome of his contact with Dadu?

Dadu founded a sect named after Brahma and its chief articles of faith were: conquest of ego, prayer, indifference to conditions of body and mind, and love for all. It was a truly non-sectarian sect, for it was open to all and it preached and practised nothing with the least hint of narrowness of outlook. It had on its rolls Hindus as well as Mohammedans, and all enjoyed equal rights, and there was no question of change of religion on the part of those who sought its membership. It was not intended to replace any existing religious ideology but to supplement it, to broaden it, and to free it from all tendencies to collectivize everything stultifying the individual taste and requirement. It did not enjoin any complex rituals and ceremonies or anything tending to interfere with normal pursuits of life. It left every individual free to choose his own mode of approach to God, laying down the only condition that he should not infringe the articles of faith quoted above.

By necessity, but one would like to believe more by choice, Dadu did all his teaching through the popular dialect of Hindi. Among his disciples were men who were deep scholars of Sanskrit; still Hindi continued to receive special preference and thanks to this, Dadu’s spiritual wisdom did not become a

close preserve of the learned and its wide diffusion among the masses became possible. In addition, his disciples translated many Sanskrit books into Hindi in order that common folks might derive their benefit. It was, in short, the interest of the common folks that was always put in the forefront and in every sense the movement became a real people’s movement.

Another feature of the movement was that, besides Dadu, it drew inspiration from various saints, ancient or contemporary, and it became a sort of common pool to which all sects of all religions contributed their share. The idea was to help man advance in his spiritual struggles and not to create a hard crystallized sect centring round a particular personality or principle, so that, rather than co-operate, it would compete with the innumerable sects already existing. That is why sayings of saints belonging to different sects were carefully collected, preserved, and read with the same respect as Dadu’s own sayings in the monasteries dedicated to him.

Names of Dadu’s prominent disciples are on record and they include both Hindus and Mohammedans. His own son, Garibdas, was a disciple and, after Dadu’s passing away at an approximate age of sixty, it was he who was chosen leader of the movement. Some of his disciples were brilliant men, and their gifted writings greatly influenced the religious thoughts of the time. It must be said to the credit of Dadu’s disciples that, unlike what has happened in the case of most saints, they did not tamper with his utterances trying to improve upon them or to suit them more to the popular taste. Not only that; they also remained loyal to their spirit and tried to live up to them.

As time passed, the movement gathered in volume and more and more men came under its influence. As Dadu’s catholic ideas seeped into popular minds, the old atmosphere of religious rivalry disappeared and a general sense of understanding and sympathy towards religions other than one’s own became wide-spread and habitual with the people. Partly because of its catholicity and partly because it had fulfilled its purpose, the movement lost its distinctive role and eventually disappeared. The services rendered by it and its originator, Dadu, can never be overrated for if, until recent times, relations between Hindus and Mohammedans or between one sect and another, Hindu or Mohammedan, have been friendly and sympathetic, it can be safely concluded that it has been largely due to Dadu and his movement.*

Swami Lokeswarananda

*Largely based on Prof. Kshiti Mohan Sen’s Dadu.

Source: Published with Permission. Prabuddha Bharata, Vol. L, No. 5, May 1945

“It was his chief endeavour to

synthesize, to harmonize all religious views”


In a meeting of TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) in Delhi in December, I remarked that it is silly to be obsessed about overtaking China in the rate of growth of Gross National Product (GNP), while not comparing ourselves with China in other respects, like education, basic health, or life expectancy.

GNP growth can, of course, be very helpful in advancing living standards and in battling poverty, but there is little case for confusing (1) the important role of economic growth as means for achieving good things, and (2) growth of inanimate objects of convenience being taken to be an end in itself.

One does not have to “rubbish” economic growth to recognise that it is not our ultimate objective, but a very useful means to achieve things that we ultimately value, including a better quality of life. Nor should my remark be taken to be a dismissal of the far-reaching relevance of comparing India with China. This is a good perspective in which to assess each of the two countries and a lot of my past work—on my own and jointly with Jean Dreze—has made use of that perspective. It is of some historical interest that comparing India with China has been the subject matter of discussion for a very long time.

“Is there anyone, in the five parts of India, who does not admire China?” asked Yi Jing (I-Tsing, in old spelling) in the seventh century, on returning to China after being in India for ten years, studying at the ancient university in Nalanda.

He went on to write a book, in 691 AD, about India, which presented, among other things, the first systematic comparatives account of medical practices and health care in these two countries (perhaps the first such comparison between any two countries in the world).

He investigated what China could learn from India, and what, in turn, India could assimilate from China. Comparisons of that kind—and more—remain very relevant today, and I have discussed elsewhere the illumination we can get from such comparisons in general, and in comparative medical practice and health care in particular (“The Art of Medicine: Learning from Others,” Lancet, January 15, 2011).

What goes wrong in the current obsession with India-China comparison is not the relevance of comparing China with India, but the field that is chosen for comparison. Now that the Indian rate of economic growth seems to be hovering around

8 per cent per year, there is a lot of speculation—and breathless discourse—on whether and when India may catch up or surpass China’s over-10 percent growth rate.

Despite the interest in this subject, comparable to that in the race course (the betting comes from the West as well as Asia), this is a silly focus. This is so not because there are so many elements of arbitrariness in any growth estimate, but also because the lives that people are able to lead—what ultimately interest people most—are only indirectly and partially influenced by the rates of overall economic growth. Let me look at some numbers, drawing from various sources—national as well as international, in particular World Development Reports of the World Bank and Human Development Reports of the United Nations.

Life expectancy at birth in China is 73.5 years; in India it is still 64.4 years. Infant mortality rate is 50 per thousand in India, compared with just 17 in China, and the under-5 mortality rate is 66 for Indians and 19 for the Chinese. China’s adult literacy rate is 94 per cent, compared with India’s 65 per cent, and mean years of schooling in India is 4.4 years, compared with 7.5 years in China.

In our effort to reverse the lack of schooling of girls, India’s literacy rate for women between the ages of 15 and 24 has certainly risen, but it is still below 80 per cent, whereas in China it is 99 per cent. Almost half of our children are undernourished compared with a very tiny proportion in China. Only 66 per cent of Indian children are immunised with triple vaccine (DPT), as opposed to 97 per cent in China.

Comparing ourselves with China in these really important matters would be a very good perspective, and they can both inspire us and give us illumination about what to do—and what not to do, particularly the glib art of doing nothing.

Higher GNP in China has certainly helped it to reduce various indicators of poverty and deprivation, and to expand different aspects of the quality of life. So we have every reason to want to encourage sustainable economic growth, among the other things we can do to augment living standards today and in the future. Sustainable economic growth is a very good thing in a way that “growth mania” is not. We need some clarity on why we are doing what (including the values we have about our lives and freedoms and about the environment), and getting excited about the horse race on GNP growth with China is not a good way of achieving that clarity.

Growth is not all


Further, we have to take note of the fact that GNP per capita is not invariably a good predictor of valuable features of our lives, for they depend also on other things that we do—or fail to do. Compare India with Bangladesh, where, as Jean Dreze pointed out in an article many years ago, “social indicators” are “improving quite rapidly”.

In terms of income, India has a huge lead over Bangladesh, with a GNP per capita of Rs. 3,250, compared with Rs. 1,550 in Bangladesh, in comparable units of purchasing power parity. India was ahead of Bangladesh earlier as well, but thanks to fast economic growth in recent years, India’s per-capita income is now comfortably more than double that of Bangladesh. How well is India’s income advantage reflected in our lead in those things that really matter? I fear not very well—indeed not well at all.

Life expectancy in Bangladesh is 66.9 years compared with India’s 64.4. The proportion of underweight children in Bangladesh (41.3 per cent) is a little lower than in India (43.5), and its fertility rate (2.3) is also lower than India’s (2.7). Mean years of schooling amount to 4.8 years in Bangladesh compared with India’s 4.4 years.

While India is ahead of Bangladesh in male literacy rate in the youthful age-group of 15-24, the female rate in Bangladesh is higher than in India. Interestingly, the female literacy rate among young Bangladeshis is actually higher than the male rate, whereas young females still do much worse than young males in India. There is much evidence to suggest that Bangladesh’s current progress has much to do with the role that liberated Bangladeshi women are beginning to play in the country.

What about health, which interests every human being as much as anything else? Under-5 mortality rate is 66 in India compared with 52 in Bangladesh. In infant mortality, Bangladesh has a similar advantage, since the rate is 50 in India and 41 in Bangladesh. Whereas 94 per cent of Bangladeshi children are immunised with DPT vaccine, only 66 per cent of Indian children are. In each of these respects, Bangladesh does better than India, despite having less than half of India’s per-capita income.

This should not, however, be interpreted to entail that Bangladesh’s living conditions will not benefit from higher economic growth—they certainly can benefit greatly, particularly if growth is used as a means of doing good things, rather than treating it as an end in itself. It is to the huge credit of Bangladesh that despite the adversity of low income it has been able to do so much so quickly, in which the activism of the NGOs as well as public policies have played their parts. But higher income, including larger public resources, will enhance, rather than reduce, Bangladesh’s ability to do good things for its people.


One of the great things about economic growth is that it generates resources for the government to spend according to its priorities. In fact, public resources typically grow faster than the GNP: when the GNP increases at 7 to 9 per cent, public revenue tends to expand at rates between 9 and 12 per cent.

The gross tax revenue, for example, of the Government of India now is more than four times what it was in 1990-91, at constant prices—a bigger rise than GNP per head. Expenditure on “social sector” (health, education, nutrition, etc) has certainly gone up in India, and that is a reason for cheer. And yet we are still well behind China in many of these fields. For example, government expenditure on health care in China is nearly five times that in India. China does have a higher per-capita income than we do, but even in relative terms, while China spends nearly two per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care, the proportion is only a little above one percent in India.

One result of the relatively low allocation to public health care in India is the development of a remarkable reliance of many poor people across the country on private doctors, many of whom have little medical training, if any. Since health is a typical case of “asymmetric information,” with the patients knowing very little about what the doctors are giving them, the possibility of fraud and deceit is very large.

In a study conducted by the Pratichi Trust, we found cases of exploitation of the poor patients’ ignorance of what they are being given to make them part with badly needed money to get treatment that they do not often get (we even found cases in which patients with malaria were charged comparatively large sums of money for being given saline injections).

There is very definitive evidence of a combination of quackery and crookery in the premature privatisation of basic health care. This is the result not only of shameful exploitation, but ultimately of the sheer unavailability of public health care in many localities around India.

The central point to seize is that while economic growth is an important boon for enhancing living

conditions, its reach depends greatly on what we do with the fruits of growth. To be sure, there are large number of people for whom growth alone does just fine, since they are already privileged and need no social assistance. Economic growth only adds to their economic and social opportunities. Those gains are, of course, good, and there is nothing wrong in celebrating their better lives through economic growth, especially since this group of relatively privileged Indians is quite large in absolute numbers. But the exaggerated concentration on their lives, which the media tend often to display, gives an incomplete picture of what is happening to Indians in general.

This group of relatively privileged and increasingly prosperous Indians can easily fall for the temptation to treat economic growth as an end in itself, for it serves directly as the means of their opulence and improving lifestyles without further social efforts.

The insularity that this limited perspective generates can even take the form of ridiculing social activists—“jholawalas” is one description I have frequently heard—who keep reminding others about the predicament of the larger masses of people who make up this great country. India cannot be seen as doing splendidly if a great many Indians—sometimes most Indians—are having very little improvement in their deprived lives.

Some critics of huge social inequalities might be upset that there is something rather uncouth and crude in the self-centred lives and inward-looking temptations of the prosperous inner sanctum.

Those temptations may prevent the country from doing the wonderful things it can do for Indians at large. Economic growth, properly supplemented, can be a huge contributor to making things better for people, and it is extremely important to understand the relevance and role of growth with clarity. Courtesy: The Hindu

Amartya Sen, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1999, is Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is Founder and Chairman of the Pratichi Trust, which he started with his Nobel money.

Source: Bhavan’s Journal March 31, 2011

“Higher GNP in China has

helped to reduce various indicators of poverty and

deprivation...”


A key part of the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) role is to provide a capacity to investigate new and evolving crimes and in the past two years, there has been significant interest in determining the nature and extent to which international students studying in Australia are victims of crime.

Detailed findings are provided from what is the most comprehensive student victimisation study ever conducted in Australia. In addition, supplementary analysis of the AIC’s National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) database, as well as the Australian component of the 2004 International Crime Victimisation Survey (ICVS), are used to provide additional context to the AIC’s investigation.

Primarily, this research was designed to provide the best available estimation of the extent to which international students have been the victims of crime during their time in Australia and to determine whether international students are more or less likely than an Australian comparison population to have experienced crime.

This report provides the best available estimation of the extent to which international students have been the victims of crime during their time in Australia and has enabled the rate of recorded crimes experienced by international students from the five largest source countries (People’s Republic of China, India, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the United States) to be compared with the rate for Australian reference populations. While this research has not answered the question of whether attacks against overseas students are racially motivated, the findings from this research do point to other factors such as employment and the use of public transport, that influence the risk or likelihood of overseas students experiencing crime. This provides direction for crime prevention efforts to reduce the risk of crime for this population. This report represents the culmination of the AIC’s research into crimes against international students.

The Australian Government takes very seriously any allegations that people are being criminally victimised. In 2010 the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, announced that the AIC would conduct independent research into crimes against overseas students with particular reference to crime rates against Indian students.

This is the first major study of its kind in Australia. AIC Director, Adam Tomison, said: “This ground-breaking analysis data-matched 418,294 students from five source countries with police victim records over the five years. The nature of the data did not allow the AIC to engage in specific analysis of racial motivation. That said, there was nothing in the overall findings that lends support to the view that Indian students have been singled out primarily for racial reasons.”

Key findings show: • Rates of assault for Indian students were

lower than or on par with rates for the general Australian population.

• Rates of robbery against Indian students were higher than average for Australians in larger states for most years.

• The proportion of robberies against Indian students occurring at commercial locations was approximately double that recorded for students from other countries.

• Over half of robberies against Indian students on commercial premises occurred at service stations.

Robbery is an opportunistic crime. The higher rates of robbery against Indian students, compared with other international students, and Australian comparison populations, appeared to be more likely to occur because of a range of factors: in particular, differences in employment, with large numbers of Indian students working in higher-risk employment (taxi driving and in convenience/fast food stores and service stations), working evening/night shifts and their use of public transport.

As the data did not include offender profiles, the AIC could not engage in specific analysis of racial motivation. The fact that assault rates on Indian students were either below or the same as the rates of assault for the general Australian community suggests that race is not a primary motivation. The 172 page report provides a detailed analysis across jurisdictions and is available on the AIC website: www.aic.gov.au.

Jacqueline Joudo Larsen, Jason Payne, Adam Tomison

Source: www.aic.gov.au

Crimes against International Students in Australia: 2005-09

“The Supreme Self who is the embodiment of joy and ocean of Bliss, from which a small droplet fills the three worlds with happiness, He is ‘Rama’, the very home of bliss and the comforter of all the three worlds.” -Sri Goswami Tulasidas in Ramacharitamanas

Goswami Tulsidas was a legendary Indian poet, a philosopher and one of the most famous ancient poets. Goswami Tulsidas Jayanti or Tulsi Jayanti is celebrated in honour of Tulsidas, the Author of Ramcharitmanas, one of the greatest epics ever written. It is held on the seventh day after ‘Amavasi’ in the Shravan month (August). The original Valmiki Ramayana in Sanskrit was understood only by a few and it was Tulisdas’s Ramcharitmanas in Hindi that popularized the epic in Bharatavarsha. Ramcharitmanas was written in Awadhi, a dialect of Hindi. Goswami Tulsidas Jayanti 2011 falls on 5th August.

Ramcharitmanas

The originally story related to Lord Rama was written by the great author Valmiki. Ramcharitmanas (‘The Lake of the Deeds of Rama’), which contains sweet couplets in beautiful rhyme known as ‘Chaupai’, solely devoted to Lord Rama is not a literal translation of Valimiki Ramayana. Keeping the main story intact, Tulsidas made vital changes in the beginning and in the end and there is an emphasis on Bhakti in Tulsi Ramayana.

Lord Hanuman

It is also believed that Tulsidas wrote Ramayana as per the instructions of Hanuman, who appeared before him in a temple. It is accounted that Tulsidas wrote twelve books and the most famous is the Ramcharitmanas. The literary work is noted for its rhyming couplets. Ramayan of Tulsidas is read daily and worshipped with great reverence by Hindus all over the globe.

Goswami Tulsidas

Tulsidas was born in Rajpur in the Banda district of Uttar Pradesh in Samvat 1589 or 1532 AD. He was a Sarayuparina Brahmin by birth and is considered to be an incarnation of Valmiki, and is counted among the foremost devotees of Lord Rama. His father’s name was Atmaram Shukla Dube and his mother’s name Hulsi. Tulsidas did not cry at the time of his birth. He was born with all the thirty-two teeth intact. In childhood his name was Tulsiram or Ram Bola. His parents deserted him because he was born under an ominous star (Mul Nakshtra). Since his parents abandoned him, he

was brought up by Baba Narhari Das, whom Tulsi called his preceptor. Although Tulsidas’s childhood was one of poverty and suffering, he was a devout follower of Lord Rama, and was taught by his Guru, Narhari Das during his days at Sukar-khet.

Ratnavali

Tulsidas’s wife’s name was Buddhimati (Ratnavali). She was daughter of Dinabandhu Pathak. Tulsidas’s son’s name was Tarak. Tulsidas was passionately attached to his wife. He could not bear even a day’s separation from her. One day his wife went to her father’s house without informing her husband. Tulsidas stealthily went to see her at night at his father-in-law’s house. This produced a sense of shame in Buddhimati. She said to Tulsidas, “My body is but a network of flesh and bones. If you would develop for Lord Rama even half the love that you have for my filthy body, you would certainly cross the ocean of Samsara and attain immortality and eternal bliss”. These words pierced the heart of Tulsidas. He did not stay there even for a moment. He abandoned home and became an ascetic. He spent fourteen years visiting various sacred places of pilgrimage in his quest for Lord Rama. Ayodhya was his main stay, and it was here that he sighted a vision of Lord Rama who inspired him to compose the Ramayana in Awadhi, the common language spoken by the people then.

Lord Rama

Tulsidas used to throw the water at the roots of a tree which a spirit was occupying. The spirit was very much pleased with Tulsidas. The spirit said, “O man! Get a boon from me”. Tulsidas replied, “Let me have Darshan of Lord Rama”. The spirit said, “Go to the Hanuman temple. There Hanuman comes in the guise of a leper to hear the Ramayan as the first hearer and leaves the place last of all. Get hold of Him. He will help you”. Thus Tulsidas met Hanuman, and through His grace, had Darshan of Lord Rama.

The Thieves and Lord Rama

Some thieves came to Tulsidas’s Ashram to take away his goods. They saw a blue-complexioned guard, with bow and arrow in his hands, keeping watch at the gate. Wherever they moved, the guard followed them. They were frightened. In the morning they asked Tulsidas, “O venerable saint! We saw a young guard with bow and arrow in his hands at the gate of your residence. Who is this man?” Tulsidas remained silent and wept. He


Goswami Tulsidas Jayanti

came to know that Lord Rama Himself had been taking the trouble to protect his goods. He at once distributed all his wealth among the poor.

Nandi

Tulsidas lived in Ayodhya for some time and later shifted to Varanasi. One day a murderer came and cried, “For the love of Rama give me alms. I am a murderer”. Tulsi called him to his house, gave him sacred food which had been offered to the Lord and declared that the murderer was purified. The Brahmins of Varanasi reproached Tulsidas and said, “How can the sin of a murderer be absolved? How could you eat with him? If the sacred bull of Siva—Nandi—would eat from the hands of the murderer, then only we would accept that he had been purified”. Then the murderer was taken to the temple and the bull ate from his hands. The Brahmins were put to shame.

Lord Krishna

Tulsidas once went to Brindavan. He visited a temple. He saw the image of Lord Krishna. He said, “How shall I describe Thy beauty, O Lord! But Tulsi will bow his head only when You take up bow and arrow in Your hands”. The Lord revealed Himself before Tulsidas in the form of Lord Rama with bow and arrows.

The Moghul Emperor

Tulsidas’s blessings brought the dead husband of a poor woman back to life. The Moghul Emperor at Delhi came to know of the great miracle done by Tulsidas. He sent for Tulsidas. Tulsidas came to the Emperor’s court. The Emperor asked the Saint to perform some miracle. Tulsidas replied, “I have no superhuman power. I know only the name of Rama”. The Emperor put Tulsi in prison and said, “I will release you only if you show me a miracle”. Tulsi then prayed to Hanuman. Countless bands of powerful monkeys entered the royal court. The Emperor got frightened and said, “O Saint, forgive me. I know your greatness now”. He at once released Tulsi from prison.

His Writings

Ramcharitmanas is Tulsidas’s magnum opus. He is also the Author of several other works including Vinaya Patrika, Gitavali, Dohavali and Kavitavali. His other works include Baravai Ramayana, Janaki Mangal, Ramalala Nahachhu, Ramajna Prashna, Parvati Mangal, Krishna Gitavali, Hanuman Bahuka, Sankata Mochana and Vairagya Sandipini. He is the Seer of the Hanuman Chalisa,

a powerful and popular Mantra for Hanuman, in 40 verses. The writings of Tulsidas, especially the Ramcharitmanas are works of great literary merit, as well as being examples of an extraordinary combination of supreme devotion and pure non-dualistic philosophy. His works were even admired by the Mughal rulers Akbar and Jahangir. Even today, his writings display an amalgamation of his intense devotion and philosophical ideologies, making him one of the greatest Hindi poets to ever compose such outstanding literature.

Tulsidas had full command of Braj and Awadhi, the most popular language of poetic expression in his time. He preferred Awadhi for his Epic and Braj for his lyrics, and Bhojpuri-tinged Awadhi for his ‘Mangal Kavyas’. He understood the people and their minds, and in the character of Lord Rama he gave them the highest human ideal that could be the anchor of man’s purest thoughts in a world of sorrow and sufferings. Tulsidas achieved a synthesis between various warring religious sects and orders among the Hindus. He also struck a compromise between the Nirgun and the Sagun modes of worship. His Ramcharitmanas is the quintessence of all scriptures and philosophy, and his other works are equally instinct with great power. Tulsidas was a master of verbal art. His works cover a vast range and infinite variety of sound patterns from the simplest to the most complex, and from the most delicate to the most tempestuous. Tulsidas played a vital role in developing our National Language, Hindi.

Celebrations

The main activity on Goswami Tulsidas Jayanti is the reading of Ramcharitmanas and visiting temples of Lord Ram and Hanuman. People get up early and visit the temples of Sri Rama and Sri Hanuman. Brahmins are fed. Seminars and symposiums are conducted on the life and teachings of Sri Goswami Tulasidas.

Final Journey

Tulsi left his mortal coil and entered the Abode of Immortality and Eternal Bliss in 1623 AD at the age of 91 at Asighat in Varanasi.

Source: www.festivalsindia.com, www.hindu-blog.com, www.devimandir.com, www.mapsofindia.com, www.manavdharam.org, www.sivanandadlshq.org, www.geocities.com, www.hinduism.co.za, www.india-forums.com


Nandi


Gurparsaad:

The Grace of the Guru

In the context of the mool-mantra, Gurparsaad also means that the Lord who is Saibangh is Himself the compassionate Guru. The Guru or ‘Teacher’ is He who removes the darkness of ignorance. The Lord or the Reality which is all-pervasive and ever-present in each and every thing in this universe is veiled clue to our ignorance.

Indeed, not only do we not recognize the Truth, but we are not even aware that we are ignorant. So the all-compassionate Lord in His supreme kindness manifests Himself as the Guru to inspire us, guide us and reveal to us His true nature.

He who is the Kartaa Purakh, the one Doer, or Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer, He alone takes the form of the Guru to liberate us from the bondage of samsaara. Therefore we say, “Guru Brahmaah, Guru Vishnuh, Guru Devo Maheshwarah, Gurureva Param Brahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah. Guru is the Creator, Brahma. Guru is the Sustainer, Vishnu. Guru is the Destroyer, Shiva. Guru is the Lord of the Universe. Guru alone is the Absolute Reality, the Param Brahma. Unto that noble Teacher, my humble prostrations.”

Shri Guru Nanak Dev has echoed the very same idea in the “Japji Sahib”: Gur Isar, Gur Gorakh Barmaa, Gur Parbati Ma-Ee. Guru is Isar or Lord Shiva, for He destroys the ignorance and all the evil in us. Guru is Gorakh, the protector of the cows—Shri Vishnu, who protects us, sustains our aspirations for the higher and nourishes us with noble virtues.

Guru is Brahmaa, who creates in us the desire to know the Truth and inspires us to live a divine life. Guru is Mother Parvati, who fulfills all our pure desires and feeds us with the milk of Divine Knowledge.


The Lord is the one Guru of all. In fact, He is the sole Giver of all knowledge. Who taught the birds to fly and sing? Who taught them the fascinating art of building nests? Who taught the animals to find their food? He is the one Guru of all creatures.

It is the Lord alone who is the one Knower and Revealer of all the sciences including the knowledge of one’s own nature, which brings about liberation. He is the Aadi Guru, the First Guru. He alone appears again and again in the form of different Gurus to bless the seekers. He alone is our Guru.

What can be said about one’s Guru? What words can describe His Compassion and Grace, His Parsaad? A mere sideglance of His can transform a sinner into a saint. The cool stream of Ganga flowing from His lotus lips destroys the evil of ignorance, washes away the sins of countless lifetimes and ends the burning sorrows of samsaara.

His lotus feet are the one refuge in the many storms of life. They are the mighty boat which alone can take us across the samsaara saagara, the ocean of transmigration. Even the devtas, the heavenly denizens, cherish the sacred dust of His feet. How can one describe or even enumerate the infinite glories of the Guru? The Vedas become silent in Their reverence, the Rishis are choked with emotion and the poetic saints are at a loss for words.

Shri Kabirdaas once said, “Sub Dharti Kaagaz Karo, Lekhan Sub Ban Rai, Saat Samudra Ki Masi Karo, Guru Gun Likheeya Na Ja-Ee. If the entire earth were turned into paper, all the trees in all the world’s forests into pens, and all the seven oceans into ink, still they would not suffice for me to write about the glories of my Guru.”

Similarly, Shri Guru Nanakji has said: “Je Hau Jaana Aakha Naahi, Kahna Kathan Na Ja-Ee. Even if I knew of Him and all His glories, still I would never be able to describe Him, for He is indescribable.”

The greatest Parsaad or ‘Grace’ of the Guru is that Supreme Knowledge which reveals to us our true infinite nature, shows us our identity with God and destroys all our karmas, the bondage due to the results of actions gathered through millions of lifetimes.

To surrender in devotion at His lotus feet, is the only one direct means of salvation... “Na Guroh Adhikam Tatvam, Na Guroh Adikham Tapah, Tatva Gyaanaat Param Naasti, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah. There is no reality higher than the Guru, there is no tapas or austerity greater than service to the Guru, there is no knowledge higher than knowledge of the Truth. To that Teacher who is my all, my humble prostrations.”

At His feet blooms the lotus of the Scriptures. He alone can expound the mysteries enshrined in the Scriptures. He is that brilliant sun in whose light and warmth the lotus flower of Knowledge blooms. One who has surrendered to Him and is in the protection of the Guru shall certainly realize the Truth.

“Achaaryavaan Purusho Veda,” declare the Upanishads of the Vedas. Gurparsaad is what we should seek. In other words, we should seek the Lord in the form of the compassionate Guru. Surrender to Him, serve Him and open our hearts to His ever-flowing parsaad or grace. The greatest service we can render to the Teacher is obedience to His instruction, for such instruction is given for our benefit alone.

The Guru requires nothing for Himself, and the greatest offering one can make to one’s Guru is to abide in the Knowledge given by the Teacher. In this way one can fulfil the purpose of human existence, which is a rare form of life attained after millions of lifetimes.

Yet, even after gaining the Knowledge, we fail to abide in the Truth. This is because of the impressions and habits accumulated in the past, and the countless agitations and dissipations of the mind, as well as our constant laziness and forgetfulness.

Thus the all-compassionate Guru Nanakji lovingly urges us...

To be continued…Swami Swaroopananda

Source: Meditations on The One Indivisible Truth, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust.

“The all-compassionate Lord in His supreme kindness manifests Himself as the Guru to inspire us, guide us and reveal to us His true nature.”


Kautilya’s Arthashastra described in detail the trade and commerce carried on with foreign countries, and the active interest of the Mauryan Empire to promote such trade. Goods were imported from China, Ceylon, and other countries. Interestingly, the trade was not free from levies. Levies known as a vartanam were collected on all foreign commodities imported to the country. Levies called Dvarodaya which was paid by the concerned businessman for the import of foreign goods was in addition to the ferry fees of all kinds. This helped augment the tax collection. However, the medium of tax payment was either in gold bars or in coins. Kautilya in his treatise elaborated on the extraction of metals from ores, the manufacture of metallic alloys and the minting of coins. For silver coins he has used the term karshapanas.

Coins of foreign origin were also in circulation in the State. Thus, for a long period of thousand years or even more, India’s foreign trade was of ‘surplus nature’. With a continuous inflow of gold in the form of coins or bars used by foreign traders to purchase Indian commodities, India was transformed into ‘Suvarna Bhoomi’ or ‘golden land’. Greek coins with a punch mark were in circulation as the official currency. Later, Roman coins especially those made of gold and silver were brought in by traders. Trade with the Roman Empire flourished from first century B.C. from Rome, India imported chemicals, wines, high quality pottery, some metal alloys and gold and silver in the form of coins and bars, and exported silk and their articles, spices, precious stones, jewellery, etc. This trade was generally very favourable for India.

Kautilya, apart from being a man of wisdom and perfect strategies, propounded duties—Nitishastra—as the ideal way of living for every individual of the society. His principles of foreign trade are even today taught in universities, based as they were on the theory of comparative advantage. His art of diplomacy is well known across India and practised in the areas of defence, strategy formation and foreign relations.

The land revenue was fixed at 1/6th the share of the produce, and import and export duties were determined on ad valorem basis. Import duties

on foreign goods were roughly 20% of their value. Interestingly India, which had import duties often exceeding 100% till a few years ago, has now reached the level of 20%. Similarly, tolls, road cess, ferry charges and other levies were all fixed. Kautilya’s concept of taxation is more or less akin to the modern system of taxation. His overall emphasis was on equity and justice in taxation.

Trade as Revenue Generator

Trade was mostly carried out by the State and private trade was allowed in areas other than in which the State had monopoly. The revenues raised through trading went partly to finance the army and to expand territories.

Supervision and Control over Trading

In order to have effective control over trade, monitoring was done through 7 out of 34 departments envisaged. The head of each of the department was called adhyaksha or chief controller in the present-day parlance. The seven departments overseeing and monitoring trade activities were: (i) State Trading, (ii) Private Trading, (iii) Customs and Octroi, (iv) Ports, (v) Weights and Measures, (vi) Shipping and Ferries, and (vii) Surveyor and Time keeper.

There being neither air cargo nor railways at that time, mention is made only of shipping and ferries. In State trading, the sale of goods over which the state exercised monopoly, collection of the transaction tax (vzaji) and tax on export of crown commodities was the main function. In private trading, the controller ensured orderly marketing and prevented traders from making excessive profits. He was also responsible for consumer protection.

Further, sulka (duty) represented customs duty levied on imports and exports. This duty was collected not at the frontier posts, but at the gates of fortified cities, particularly, of the capital. Kautilya points out that not only foreign goods, but also domestically produced goods which entered the city from the countryside were subject to sulka. Likewise the goods produced in the city and sent outside were also subject to duty.

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Foreign Trade


Thus, there was no distinction between the octroi and customs duty—perhaps due to the relatively smaller size of the area which constituted the country. Since sulka (duty) was levied at the gate of entry of the city, there was no need for government control over the sale of goods in the countryside. However, the government exercised control and prohibited sale of goods at the places of production such as mines, fields and gardens. Penalties were prescribed for violation of the ban on sale at places of production, and the penalties were quite stiff. Sale was allowed in designated markets where the private merchants came under the control and purview of the Controller of Private Trade. The Chief Controller of Shipping and Ferries was entrusted with a wide range of responsibilities which included, among others, supervising maritime safety and reserve, running shipping services, hiring ships and boats with or without crew, organising ferries, controlling the movements of foreign merchants, collecting revenue such as road cess, customs duty and ferry charges and ensuring security by keeping a watch over undesirable persons using the ferries.

Imports of Goods

Consistent with the policy of providing services to the people, the sale of imported goods was permitted in as many places as possible so that they were readily available to the people in towns and the countryside. In fact, assistance was provided to encourage import of foreign goods required in the country. In other words, there was no restriction on the imports of goods, in case these were required by the people so that they did not feel oppressed for want of goods.

Traders were given two incentives:

(i) Local merchants who brought in foreign goods by caravans or by water routes enjoyed exemption from taxes, so that they could make a profit. This specifies the basic principle of management, i.e., to encourage entrepreneurship. Those merchants who took the risk of travel to import goods were encouraged through tax exemption.

(ii) Foreign merchants were not allowed to be sued in money disputes unless they had legal status in the country; their local partners could, however, be

sued. Thus, the liability was always on the citizens to ensure fair trade practices and better goods for the consumers. Thus, the system provided both for an incentive to foreign trade as well as strict procedures and penalties to ensure fairness. The threshold limit of profit was also indicated. Traders were allowed profit margins of:• 5% on locally produced goods.• 10% on imported goods.

When there was an excess supply of a commodity, the Chief Controller of State Trading would build up a buffer stock by paying a price higher than the market price. However, when the market price reached its start price, the Controller was authorised to change the price and work out a strategy. Further, the price was fixed taking into account the investment, the quantity to be delivered, date, interest rate and other expenses.

Exports on Government Account

Since there was no paper money prevailing then, foreign trade was on barter basis. It was the State Trading Office which determined the level of expenses to be deducted for arriving at the allowable profit margin. Basically, there were two main types of expenses, one relating to caravans which included custom duties, road cess, escort

“In private trading, the controller ensured

orderly marketing and prevented traders from making excessive

profits. He was also responsible for

consumer protection.”


charges, tax payable at military stations, ferry charges, daily allowances paid to merchants and their assistants, and two, the share payable to the foreign king. In addition, the cost of hiring ships and boats, and provisions for the journey required, would also be included.

Arthashastra insisted upon foreign trade resulting in a profit and discouraged trade to areas found to be unprofitable. So the risk and reward system was very much prevalent in the Kautilyan era. Nevertheless, the terms of trade was not just dependent on economics but also on other various parameters. The traders had to keep in mind the political or strategic advantages in exporting to or importing from a particular country. Echoes of such strategic considerations can be found today in the continued import of palm oil from Malaysia, despite self-sufficiency in it thanks to the Technology Mission.

With regard to trade, some precautions were indicated;

(i) When goods were transported over land, the chief controller needed to ensure that no more than a quarter of the goods were of high value, presumably to prevent theft of an entire consignment of valuable goods.

(ii) Various officers such as frontier officers and governors were contacted to ensure safety of goods in transit.

(iii) Extra precautions had to be taken in case the caravan contained goods of high value.

(iv) In the event that the caravan could not reach its destination, the goods could be sold wherever it was at the time.

When goods were transported by water, seasonal changes in weather had to be considered to avoid damage.

Source: Kautilya’s Arthashastra, The Way of Financial Management and Economic Governance, Priyadarshni Academy and Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai, India

(To be continued…)

Ram Katha by Pujya Sant Shri Morari Bapu

Nine days of recital and discourses on The Ramayan (in Hindi)

Saturday 17th September to Sunday 25th September 2011, Whitlam Leisure centre, Liverpool, NSW

Saturday 4pm-6pm, All other days 10am to 1pm.

For more info contact: Kantibhai Gokani on (02) 9792 1422

The effect of pranayam on physical health has been well documented and well understood. Even the medical doctors now recognize this fact. Pranayam improves and strengthens the working of respiratory system and the circulatory system and thereby improves the working of the whole body and makes us healthy. Deep breathing leads to five-fold increase in the Vital Lung Capacity (VLC) of lungs, thereby increasing the intake of oxygen four to five times than normal, as a result of which, the blood gets fully oxygenated and gets purified very quickly. This implies that Red Blood Cells are able to carry oxygen to each and every cell of body. Cell life gets increased and the rate of decay of cells and the rate of ageing is considerably decreased. This not only ensures longevity but also the quality of life. ‘Anulom Vilom’ also involves deep breathing, but the process of inhalation and exhalation repeatedly from alternate nostril, purifies and strengthens the central nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system and the para-sympathetic nervous system. Anulom Vilom pranayam is aptly also called Nadi Shodhan pranayam, as it cleanses all the NADIS—all channels and blood vessels of the body by removing impurities in blood. Sustained practice of Anulom Vilom not only strengthens the body but

it also rids the mind and brain of its infirmities like hatred, envy, jealousy, anger, fear, attachment etc. and thus purifies the mind. The physical effects are easily understood, but the effects on mind and brain are not so clearly and logically explained and understood. We must unravel the mysteries of this phenomenon. How does pranayam affect the working of mind and brain? For this, we must first know the functioning of brain.

Functioning of Brain

Human Brain is a very small part of the body, weighs just 2 percent of our normal body weight, its weight being 1.4 kg only. It is very intricate organ shaped like a Walnut (Akhrot). It has four parts:

1. Cerebellum

Lies in the rear part of head. It controls Autonomic Nervous System and the Involuntary Muscular System, which is related to those activities over which we have no control, such as heart beat, respiration, thoughts, etc.

2. Cerebrum

Lies on the left and right side of head. It is called the Upper Brain. It controls will power and the activities of the Voluntary Muscular System. This system is related to all those activities which we can control or manipulate, such as movement of hands and feet, talking, seeing, hearing, eating etc.

3. Hypothalamus

It is the most important part of the body, as it gives messages to brain and vice-versa. It controls both body and brain. The main source of our energy and drive is Hypothalamus. It controls emotional part of brain like love, attachment, fears, anger, envy, jealousy, hatred, etc. It also regulates hunger, sex drive and procreation. Hypothalamus is like the switch board of body and it co-ordinates the activities of the nervous system and the Pituitary gland located in the centre of head. It is this

Pranayam Your Mind and Brain


gland which controls all activities of body like metabolism, growth, sex, hormones etc. It regulates the activities of all other hormonal glands. It controls body temperature, water balance of body, infections etc. in co-ordination with other glands. Hypothalamus is just 1/300 part of the brain—just like a tiny dot. It is situated deep inside the brain and linked to Cerebellum.

4. Medulla Oblongata

It carries messages from brain to whole body and it controls breathing process also. It is situated between Hypothalamus and Cerebellum.

Thus, Hypothalamus, Medulla Oblongata and Cerebellum together constitute the Emotional Brain, while Cerebrum is the mathematical, logical and scientific brain.

The function of the brain is to control all other parts and system of body. It consists of about 30 Billion Cells (Neurons) and about 150 to 300 billion supporting cells (Glial Cells). All these cells work independent of one another, and they are attached to a filament like plate which coordinates the activities of brain cells.

Just about 250 years ago, almost nothing was known about the brain, as its working is extremely complex. With the development of science and technology of sciences like physics, chemistry not only the working of the brain has become better understood, but also, it has led to a very sharp development of the upper brain (Cerebrum), while the lower part of brain, linked to Hypothalamus, remained dormant, thereby weakening the vital link between upper and lower brain. The rapid development of the logical, mathematical, analytical part by brain has led to non-development

of the controlling power of the upper brain over the lower brain. This had led to mental tensions, selfishness, a rise in aggressive behaviour, anger, fear, hatred, etc. The lower brain is Mind and the upper brain is Intellect. The tremendous scientific and economic advancement has created a dichotomy or a hiatus between mind and brain.

Wave Patterns of Brain

Recent studies have shown that there are four wave patterns in our brain, created by the electrical changes in the brain:

1. Beta waves, with a frequency greater than 14 cycles per second, which are usually associated with our daily normal working life or active mind.

2. Alpha waves, with a frequency of 8 to 13 cycles per second, associated with a Pleasant, Relaxed and Passive states of mind when eyes are closed.

3. Theta waves, with a frequency of 4 to 7 cycles per second, are associated with anxiety, tension, frustration, etc. when pleasant situation comes to an end.

4. Delta waves, with frequency below 4 cycles per second, occur during sleep.

These waves can be measured on EEG (Electroencephalogram). During our daily waking life, beta waves are pre-dominant. At the end of the day, when we are physically and mentally tired, we resort to addictives like wine, sex or watch TV serials for diversion/entertainment i.e. for temporary pleasures. But, when these temporary pleasures come to an end, theta waves take over, leading to anxiety, frustration, etc. Hence, the increase in suicide rates, violence, etc.


Delta waves occur during sleep only. They are soothing. That is why a good deep sleep is very relaxing, but our sleep patterns get disturbed due to Theta waves.

It is the Alpha waves, which are the most important for Relaxation of both Body and Mind. These alpha waves produce a hormone called Serotonin, which has a calming Effect on mind (Hypothalamus). Pranayam and Meditation leads to production of alpha waves in abundance, thereby having a very soothing effect on mind.

Pranayam leads to an establishment of control of upper brain over lower brain, of brain over mind. It creates a balance between Cerebellum and Cerebrum, between right and left brain and thus releases us from shackles of everyday fear, anger, hatred etc.

Through pranayam, the functional hierarchy of the nervous system gets reoriented and even the Autonomic function of lower brain (Hypothalamus) comes under the control of the Cortex—the upper brain or the Will.

Though breathing is controlled and regulated by Medulla Oblongata and Hypothalamus, through autonomic nervous system, we can control the breathing process through pranayam. The whole purpose of pranayam is to regulate the breathing process through voluntary control. Remember, the breathing process comes under the control of autonomic nervous system and thereby is under the control of Involuntary Muscular System.

Normal Breathing is autonomic; we have no control over it. We normally breathe 18 times per minute, but when we are under stress or we are angry or frustrated, the breathing rate gets shortened and we start breathing rapidly and thus get exhausted very quickly. Pranayam does exactly the opposite. The deep breathing process of pranayam reduces the breathing rate to 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 or even 2 breaths per minute after sustained practice.

Pranayam involves four steps: 1) Deep Inhalation 2) Holding breath after Inhalation 3) Deep exhalation and

4) Holding of breath after Exhalation. These steps mean control over the breathing process.

Thus, through sustained practice of pranayam, we are able to transfer the functioning of breathing from Involuntary Muscular System, (Hypothalamus or Mind) to the voluntary control system (Brain) or from lower brain to upper brain and the higher consciousness. The brain (The Will) thus establishes a supremacy and control over the mind. When this happens, emotions like fear, anger, hatred, etc. can be controlled by our Consciousness and we can reach a continued state of Blissful Living, devoid of lower emotions.

Thus pranayam enables us to establish supremacy of the Will/Cortex/ Cerebrum/Upper brain over the Mind/Cerebellum/Lower Brain, and we do things more methodically, more purposefully and more scientifically and we can control the Mind. We can, thus, achieve the almost impossible task of controlling the Mind and Mind related functions like attachment, hatred, anxiety, etc. Pranayam (particularly Anulom Vilom) is the easiest and the surest method of controlling the mind.

Since, almost 90 percent of the modern diseases are life style, psycho-somatic diseases (which flow from mind), we are able to not only prevent these diseases, but also cure them, by sustained practice of pranayam. One hundred rounds of Anulom Vilom pranayam daily in one or two phases can definitely release us from all mental anxieties, stress and physical ailment and thereby rejuvenate both Mind and Body realizing energy for creativity.

Dr. R.K. Puri

Source: Nisargopachar Varta, National Institute of Naturopathy, Vol. 3, Issue 1, January 2011.



Nobody wants to be known as a sinner, but all the same we keep transgressing the bounds of morality and disobeying the divine law. We wish to enjoy the fruits of virtue without being morally good and without doing anything meritorious.

Arjuna says to Bhagavan Krsna: “No man wants to commit sin. Even so, Krsna, he does evil again and again. What is it that drives him so?” The Lord replies “It is desire. Yes, it is desire, Arjuna1.”

We try to gain the object of our desire with no thought of right or wrong (dharma or adharma). Is fire put out by ghee being poured into it? No, it rises higher and higher. Likewise, when we gratify one desire, another, much worse, crops up. Are we to take it, then, that it would be better if our desires were not satisfied? No. Unfulfilled desire causes anger, so too failure to obtain the object we hanker after. Like a rubber ball thrown against the wall such an unsatisfied desire comes back to us in the form of anger and goads us into committing sin. Krsna speaks of such anger as being next only to desire (as an evil).

Only by banishing desire from our hearts may we remain free from sin. How is it done? We cannot but be performing our works. Even when we are physically inactive, our mind remains active. All our mental and bodily activity revolves round our desires. And these desires thrust us deeper and deeper into sin. Is it, then, possible to remain without doing any work? Human nature being what it is, the answer is “No”.

“It is difficult to quell one’s thinking nor is it easy to remain without doing anything”, says Tayumanavasvamigal. We may stop doing work with the body, but how do we keep the mind quiet?

The mind is never still. Apart from being unstill itself, it incites the body to action.

We are unable either to efface our desires or to cease from all action. Does it then mean that liberation is beyond us? Is there no way out of the problem? Yes, there is. It is not necessary that we should altogether stop our actions in our present immature predicament. But, instead of working for our selfish ends, we ought to be engaged in such work as would bring benefits to the world as well as to our inward life. The more we are involved in such work, the less we shall be drawn by desire. This will to some extent keep us away from sin and at the time enable us to do more meritorious work. We must learn the habit of doing work without any selfish motive. Work done without any desire for the fruits thereof is punya or virtuous action.

We sin in four different ways. With our body we do evil; with our tongue we speak untruth; with our mind we think evil; and with our money we do so much that is wicked. We must learn to turn these very four means of evil into instruments of virtue.

We must serve others with our body and circumambulate the Lord and prostrate ourselves before him. In this way we earn merit. How do we use our tongue to add to our stock of virtue? By muttering, by repeating, the names of the Lord. You will perhaps excuse yourself saying: “All our time is spent in earning our livelihood. How can we then think of God or repeat his names?” A householder has a family to maintain; but is he all the time working for it? How much time does he waste in gossip, in amusements, in speaking ill of others, in reading the papers? Can’t he spare a few moments to remember the Lord? He need not set apart a particular hour of the day for his japa. He may think

Papa and Punya

Krishna and Arjuna


of God even on the bus or the train as he goes to his office or any other place. Not a paisa is he going to take with him finally after his lifelong pursuit of money. The Lord’s name (Bhagavannama) is the only current coin in the other world.

The mind is the abode of Isvara but we make a rubbish can of it. We must cleanse it, install the Lord in it and be at peace with ourselves. We must devote at least five minutes every day to meditation and resolve to do so even if the world crashes around us. There is nothing else that will give us a helping hand when the whole cosmos is dissolved.

It is by helping the poor and by spreading the glory of the Lord that we will earn merit. Papa, sinful action, is two-pronged in its evil power. The first incites us to wrong-doing now. The second goads us into doing evil tomorrow. For instance, if you take snuff now you suffer now. But tomorrow also you will have the yearning to take the same. This is what is called the vasana2 that comes of habit. An effort must be made not only to reduce such vasana but also to cultivate the vasana of virtue by doing good deeds.

It is bad vasana that drags us again and again into wrong-doing. Unfortunately, we do not seem to harbour any fear on that score. People like us, indeed even those known to have sinned much, have become devotees of the Lord and obtained light and wisdom. How is Isvara qualified to be called great if He is not compassionate, and does not protect sinners also? It is because of sinners like us that He has come to have the title of “Patitapavana” [He who sanctifies or lifts up the fallen with His grace]. It is we who have brought him such a distinction.

“Come to me, your only refuge. I shall free you from all sins. Have no fear (sarvapapebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah)3.” The assurance that Sri Krsna gives to free us from sin is absolute. So let us learn to be courageous. To tie up an object you wind a string round it again and again. If it is to be untied you will have to do the unwinding in a similar manner. To eradicate the vasana of sinning you must develop the vasana of doing good to an equal degree. In between there ought to be neither haste nor anger. With haste and anger the thread you keep unwinding will get tangled again. Isvara

will come to our help if we have patience, if we have faith in him and if we are rooted in dharma.

The goal of all religions is to wean away man—his mind, his speech and his body—from sensual pleasure and lead him towards the Lord. Great men have appeared from time to time and established their religions with the goal of releasing people from attachment to their senses, for it is our senses that impel us to sin. “Transitory is the joy derived from sinful action, from sensual pleasure. Bliss is union with the Paramatman.” Such is the teaching of all religions and their goal is to free man from worldly existence by leading him towards the Lord.

Source: Candrasekharendra Saraswati, Hindu Dharma The Universal Way of Life, Bhavan’s Book University, Mumbai

Notes & References1 Arjuna uvaca: Atha kena prayukto ‘yam papam carati purusah Anicchannapi Varsneya baladiva niyojitah? Sri Bhagavan uvaca: Kama esa krodha esa rajo-guna-samudbhavah Mahasano mahapapma viddhyenam iha vaihnam. — Bhagavadgita, 3. 36-37

2 The word “vasana” is from the root vas “to dwell in”. It means that which sticks to a cloth, for instance, a smell. There is thus the “smell” of earlier births adhering to the subtle body. Vasana is the latent memory of past experience, the impression left on the mind by past actions.

3 Sarvadharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja Aham tva sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah. — Bhagavadgita, 18.66

Candrasekharendra Saraswati

Bhagavad Gita


Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India. He became Prime Minister at the age of 40. Rajiv Gandhi came from a family that had great political lineage. He was the eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi. Her mother Indira Gandhi and grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru were Prime Ministers of India. As a Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made invaluable contribution in modernizing Indian administration. He had the vision and foresight to see that information technology will play a key role in the 21 century and worked actively to develop India’s capacity in this realm.

Early Life

Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944 in Bombay (Mumbai) in India’s most famous political family. His grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru played a stellar role in India’s freedom struggle and became independent India’s first Prime Minister. His parents lived separately and Rajiv Gandhi was raised at his grandfather’s home where her mother lived. Rajeev Gandhi did his schooling from the elite Doon school and then studied at the University of London and at Trinity College, Cambridge in Britain. At Cambridge, Rajiv Ghandi met and fell in love with an Italian student Sonia Maino and they got married in 1969.

Sanjay Gandhi

After his return from the United Kingdom, Rajiv Gandhi exhibited least interest in the politics and focused onto becoming a professional pilot. He, later, worked for Indian Airlines, as a pilot. Unlike Rajiv, his younger brother had developed an interest and knowledge in the subjects of public administration and political developments. Although he had not been elected, Sanjay began exercising his influence with police officers, high-level government officers and even the Cabinet Ministers. Many senior ministers, as a protest against Sanjay Gandhi, resigned from office. Sanjay, gradually promoted as a close political advisor to Indira Gandhi. On June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash in Delhi.

Entry into Politics

After the death of his brother Sanjay, the senior members of the Indian National Congress party approached Rajiv Gandhi, in order to persuade him joining politics. But, Rajiv was reluctant about joining and said “no” to them. His wife, Sonia Gandhi, also stood by Rajiv’s stand of not entering into politics. But after constant request from his mother Indira Gandhi, he decided to contest. His entry was criticized by many in the press, public and opposition political parties. They saw the entry of Nehru-Gandhi scion into politics as a forced-hereditary-participation. Within a few months of his election as a Member of Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi acquired significant party influence and became an important political advisor to his mother. He was also elected as the general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee and subsequently became the president of the Youth Congress.

Indira Gandhi Assassination

Following the assassination of his mother, on 31 October 1984, the Congress leaders and partisans favoured Rajiv as the immediate successor to Indira Gandhi. The decision was also supported by Zail Singh, the then President of India.

Prime Minister

In his initial days as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi was immensely popular. During his tenure as Prime Minister of India, he brought a certain dynamism to the premiership, which had always been occupied by older people. He is credited with promoting the introduction of computers in India. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi began leading in a direction significantly different from Indira Gandhi’s socialism. He improved bilateral relations with the United States and expanded economic and scientific cooperation. He increased government support for science and technology and associated industries, and reduced import quotas, taxes and tariffs on technology-based industries, especially computers, airlines, defence and telecommunications. He worked towards reducing the red tape in the governance and freeing administration from bureaucratic tangles. In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi announced a national education policy to modernize and expand higher education programs across India.

Rajiv Gandhi

“His grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru played

a stellar role in India’s freedom struggle and

became independent India’s first Prime Minister.”

Achievements

As Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi endeavoured to eliminate the corrupt and criminal faces within the Indian National Congress party. To deal with the anti-Sikh agitation, that followed the death of his mother, Rajiv Gandhi signed an accord with Akali Dal president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, on 24 July, 1985. The key points of the pact were:

• Along with ex-gratia payment to those innocent killed in agitation or any action after 1-8-1982, compensation for property damaged will also be paid.

• All citizens of the country have the right to enroll in the Army and merit will remain the criterion for selection.

• For all those discharged, efforts will be made to rehabilitate and provide gainful employment.

Rajiv Gandhi brought a revolution in the field of information technology and telecom. The idea helped in originating the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, popularly known as MTNL. Rajiv Gandhi was the man to transcend telecom services to the rural India or “India in true sense”.

Controversies

While commenting on the anti-Sikh riots, that followed the assassination of India Gandhi in Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi said, “When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes”. The statement was widely criticized both within and outside the Congress Party. Many viewed the statement as “provocative” and demanded an apology from him. Beside, Rajiv Gandhi’s name had also surfaced in the major controversies like Bofors and the formation of Indian Peace Keeping Force.

Bofors Case

The infamous Bofors scandal that still haunts the political walls of the country was exposed during Rajiv Gandhi’s reign. A strong corruption racket involving many stalwarts of the Congress Party was unearthed in the 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India and several others prominent leaders were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors for winning a bid to supply India’s 155 mm field howitzer (a type of artillery piece).

IPKF

In 1987, the Indian Peace Keeping Force was formed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military. The acts of the military contingent was opposed by the Opposition parties of Sri Lanka and as well as LTTE. But, Rajiv Gandhi refused to withdraw the IPKF. The idea also turned out to be unpopular in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu. The IPKF operation cost over 1100 Indian soldiers lives and over 2000 crores.

Death

The Bofors scandal and IPKF case rapidly eroded his popularity and he lost the next general elections held in 1989. A coalition comprising government came to the power but it could not last its full term and general elections were called in 1991. While campaigning for elections in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 by a suicide bomber belonging to LTTE. On that day, on his way towards the dais, Rajiv Gandhi was garlanded by many Congress supporters and well wishers. At around 10 pm, the assassin greeted him and bent down to touch his feet. She then exploded an RDX explosive laden belt attached to her waist-belt. The act of violence was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), expressing their resentment over the formation Indian Peace-keeping Force.

Source: www.iloveindia.com, www.culturalindia.net


Sri Aurobindo was a revolutionary, poet, philosopher, writer, and spiritual master, during the course of his life. He became one of the primary leaders fighting for Indian independence, from British rule. With time, Aurobindo drifted from his political career and found a new motive in life—bringing a new spiritual consciousness amongst people. Yoga and meditation became his primary concerns in life. His philosophy was based on facts, experience and personal realisations and on having the vision of a Seer or Rishi. Aurobindo’s spirituality was inseparably united with reason.

Early Life

“I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but as the sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides my steps on the work with which I began life, the beginning of its full fruition.”

The date has an even greater and deeper significance. Sri Aurobindo has explained it thus:

“The 15th August is the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary; it implies that the physical nature is raised to the divine Nature...”

And this was in a way the goal of Sri Aurobindo’s life. To divinise the earth, to make matter the Spirit’s willing bride.

Sri Aurobindo Ghose was born on August 15, 1872 at Calcutta now Kolkata. His father was Krishnadhan and his mother, Swamalata was very beautiful and gracious. She was known as the “Rose of Rangpur”. Sri Aurobindo was the third among five children. The two elder brothers were Benoy Bhushan and Monomohan and the younger sister was Sarojini followed by the youngest brother, Barindranath. Aurobindo Ghose had an impressive lineage. Raj Narayan Bose, an acknowledged leader in Bengali literature, and the grandfather of Indian nationalism was Sri Aurobindo’s maternal grandfather. Aurobindo Ghose owed not only his rich spiritual nature, but even his very superior literary capacity, to his mother’s line. When Sri Aurobindo was five years old, he was sent to Loretto Convent School at Darjeeling and for higher studies to England. He developed a love for poetry, which was to last him throughout his life. Even at that young age of eleven he contributed a few poems to the local “Fox” Magazine. The Headmaster at St. Paul’s in London was so pleased with his mastery of Latin that he took it upon himself to teach him Greek. Sri Aurobindo plunged into the literature of the Western world and studied

several languages, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Latin. He absorbed the best that Western culture had to offer him.

He completed his schooling from St. Paul’s in London. In 1890, at the age of 18, Sri Aurobindo got admission into Cambridge. Here, he distinguished himself as a student of European classics. Aurobindo had got himself immersed in his books and was feasting on the thoughts of the great. He got the Butterworth Prize for literature, the Bedford Prize for history and a scholarship to Cambridge.

To comply with the wish of his father, Sri Aurobindo Ghose also applied for the (Indian Civil Service) ICS while at Cambridge. He passed the Indian Civil Service Examination with great credit in 1890. But he was not meant to be an ICS officer serving British Government. He looked for a way to disqualify himself from the ICS and did not appear for the horse-riding test. In normal circumstances this would have been a very minor lapse but the British Government, too, was aware of his political views and activities, and found this a good opportunity to reject him.

In 1893, Aurobindo returned to India, and became the Vice-Principal of the State college in Baroda. He was held in great respect by the Maharaja of Baroda. Aurobindo was an accomplished Scholar in Greek and Latin. From 1893 to 1906 he extensively studied Sanskrit, Bengali literature, Philosophy and Political Science. In 1901, Sri Aurobindo married Mrinalini Devi. She had to go through all the joys and sorrows which are the lot of one who marries a genius and someone so much out of the ordinary as Sri Aurobindo.

Freedom Struggle

Aurobindo’s father, Dr KD Ghose was aware of the atrocities being committed by the British on Indians and sent paper clippings of these to him. Aurobindo felt that a period of great upheaval for his motherland was coming in which he was destined to play a leading role. Aurobindo sailed back to his country in 1893, at the age of twenty-one, having spent the most important and formative fourteen years of his life, in a foreign land. He had grown up in England but did not feel any attachment to it. Now India beckoned him, he wrote in his poem called “Envoi”. He began to learn Bengali and joined a secret society, with the romantic name of ‘Lotus and Dagger’, where the members took an oath to work for India’s freedom.

Sri Aurobindo Ghose


He plunged headlong into the revolutionary movement and played a leading role in India’s freedom struggle. He was one of the pioneers of political awakening in India. The period of stay in Baroda, from 1894 to 1906, was significant in several ways for Sri Aurobindo. It was here that he started working for India’s freedom behind the scenes. He perceived the need for broadening the base of the movement and for creating a mass awakening. He went to Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, contacted the secret groups working in this direction, and became a link between many of them. He established close contacts with Lokmanya Tilak and Sister Nivedita. He arranged for the military training of Jatin Banerjee in the Baroda army and then sent him to organise the revolutionary work in Bengal.

Bande Mataram

He edited the English daily ‘Bande Mataram’ and wrote fearless and pointed editorials. He openly advocated the boycott of British goods, British courts and everything British. He asked the people to prepare themselves for passive resistance. The famous Alipore Bomb Case proved to be a turning point in Aurobindo’s life. For a year Aurobindo was an undertrial prisoner in solitary confinement in the Alipore Central Jail. It was in a dingy cell of the Alipore Jail that he dreamt the dream of his future life, the divine mission ordained for him by God. He utilized this period of incarceration for an intense study and practice of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Chittaranjan Das defended Sri Aurobindo, who was acquitted after a memorable trial.

Yoga and Meditation

During his time in prison, Aurobindo Ghosh had developed interest in yoga and meditation. After his release he started practicing Pranayama and meditation. He migrated from Calcutta to Pondicherry in 1910. At Pondicherry, he stayed at a friend’s place. At first, he lived there with four or five companions. Gradually the number of members increased and grew into what is today the Sri Aurobindo Ashram which continues to publish

his books and propagate his wisdom. In 1914, after four years of concentrated Yoga at Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo launched Arya, a monthly review. For the next six and a half years this became the vehicle for most of his most important writings, which appeared in serialised form. These included Essays on The Gita, The Secret of The Veda, Hymns to the Mystic Fire, The Upanishads, The Foundations of Indian Culture, War and Self-determination, The Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, and The Future Poetry.

Later Life & Death

Though Sri Aurobindo retreated from his ashram life in November 1926, he spent hours replying to the letters of his disciples and followers. His letters gave him the opportunity to explain about yoga and its applications. Sri Aurobindo brought relief and respite to his followers and released them from their pain, fear and anxiety. Apart from his spiritual mission, he also took interest in the political scenario of the world. Sri Aurobindo died on 5th December 1950, refusing to undergo any surgery or even healing himself on his own. He believed that by leaving for the heaven abode, he would effectively continue his spiritual mission.

Sri Aurobindo Quotes

• Hidden nature is secret God.

• India saw from the beginning, and, even in her ages of reason and her age of increasing ignorance, she never lost hold of the insight, that life cannot be rightly seen in the sole light, cannot be perfectly lived in the sole power of its externalities.

• India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and the human peoples.

• India is the meeting place of the religions and among these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization and aspiration.

• Metaphysical thinking will always no doubt be a strong element in her mentality, and it is to be hoped that she will never lose her great, her sovereign powers in that direction.

• Life is life—whether in a cat, or dog or man. There is no difference there between a cat or a man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage.

Source: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in, www.iloveindia.com, www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in, www.cosmicharmony.com, www.thecolorsofindia.com

“Sri Aurobindo plunged into the literature of the

Western world and studied several languages, French,

Italian, Spanish, Greek and Latin. He absorbed the

best that Western culture had to offer him.”



The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. -Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, sister of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was Indian diplomat, politician and an active member of the Indian freedom struggle movement. She was the first female President of United Nations General Assembly. She was India’s first woman Cabinet Minister and the first woman to lead a delegation to UN. She was the world’s first woman Ambassador who served three prized Ambassadorial posts at Moscow, Washington and London. She considered Indian National Congress as her own family as she was born into it. She was instrumental in the politics of the country. According to her, politics is a means of social and economic reform, which strengthens human rights and empowers women.

Early Life

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born on 18 August, 1900 at Allahabad. She was the daughter of Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani Nehru. Her father had great admiration for the west and took the best he knew from it. According to him, “Western” meant discipline, rationality, a sense of adventure and a practical approach to problems. He was a rebel who was against caste barriers and outdated customs. Her childhood was a period of contradictions and contrasts and a period of transition from age-old traditions and prejudices to new ways of living and thinking. Motilal Nehru’s powerful moulding influence was greatest on Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who, of his three children, resembled him in her temperament, her zest for life and her involvement with other human beings. Her own home was the centre of the contrasts present in the country. In her home, tradition and modernity co-existed harmoniously. At the age of 21 she got married to Ranjit Pandit, who was a cultured Litterateur, Aristocrat, and Barrister from Kathiawar. Chandra Lekha, Nayantara and Rita Vitasta were born to her.

Politics

At a very early age Vijaya Lakshmi was very much interested in politics. At sixteen she attended her first political meeting, organized by her cousin Rameshwari Nehru at Manyo Hall of Allahabad University to assemble women in a protest against the treatment of Indian labourers in South Africa. At sixteen, she wished to join Annie Besant’s Home Rule League but being too young, she was allowed to enrol only as a volunteer. In her mid-thirties she was elected to the Allahabad Municipal Board. She was arrested and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for presiding over a crowded public meeting where the Independence pledge was taken. This was the first of her three imprisonments. When the Indian National Congress took part in provincial elections she and her husband, Ranjit S. Pandit, were elected to the U.P. Assembly.

Mahatma Gandhi

For two continuous years she was the President of the All-India Women’s Conference. Tragedy struck her with the death of her husband after his last imprisonment in 1944. As he had left no will, she was left virtually penniless, as Hindu widows had no inheritance rights. His brother claimed all his investments and earning and made everything in his custody. Shaken by her grief and without knowledge of future and with no source of support, she left for Bengal to work, where cholera had spread in the wake of famine, and to set up a Save the Children Fund. During this time, Gandhiji was released from jail and he asked her to go to America to speak about actual conditions in India. This became possible when Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (President of the Indian Council for World Affairs) included her in an Indian delegation to the Pacific Relations Conference to be held in Virginia. She became the member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

“She was the world’s first woman Ambassador who served three prized

Ambassadorial posts at Moscow, Washington and London. She considered

Indian National Congress as her own family as she was born into it.”


In the year 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature of the United Provinces and became the Minister of the Local Self Governing Body. She held this position for two consecutive years. Later, in the year 1946, she was re-elected for this position. After Independence she was twice elected to Parliament and she led India’s first Goodwill Mission to China. In the post-independence period, she made an entry into the diplomatic services and served as the Ambassador of India to various countries like Soviet Union, Ireland, United States and Mexico. From 1962 to 1964, she served as the Governor of Maharashtra. Thereafter, she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Phulpur, which was the former constituency of her brother, Jawaharlal Nehru and was vacated as a result of his death. She held the post for four years till 1968.

Retirement

When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister in the year 1966, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit took retirement from active politics. After taking voluntary retirement, she went to the peaceful Dehradun city. In the year 1979, she was chosen as the representative of India to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Thereafter, she went far away from public life. She had an interest in writing. Her writings consisted of ‘The Evolution of India’ (1958) and ‘The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir’ (1979). In fact, her daughter named Nayantara Sahgal, is a wonderful novelist.

Final Days

Vijaya Lakshmi collected more than eight honorary degrees from the world universities besides those offered to her in India. She celebrated her ninetieth birthday by inviting her family members. It was a grand function and it happened to be her final farewell as she died two months later. Vijaya Lakshmi used to say that none should mourn her

death as she had lived long. Her family members took her word to heart and at Sangam instead of mourning her death they celebrated her life. Her life was actually an example, which all humanity could follow. She had great will power; she was courageous in her agonizing situations and led her life triumphantly. Till the end she was fully involved in her life. This great personality breathed her last on 1 December, 1990 at Dehra Dun.

Source: www.bookrags.com, www.iloveindia.com, www.indianetzone.com, www.brainyquote.com


Early Initiation

My salad days, When I was green in judgement. —Shakespeare

In 1937, I came to Bombay from Poona and joined Ismail College at Jogeshwari, a suburb about twenty miles from the city. The institution was started by the Government in 1930. A Muslim philanthropist, Sir Mohamed Yusuf, had donated to the Government eight lakh rupees for the purpose. This was a huge amount in those days. It lay with the Government for almost fifteen years until Moulvi Sir Rafiuddin Ahmed, once a tutor of Urdu to Queen Victoria and then Education Minister of the Bombay Presidency, decided to utilise it by founding the college to give higher education particularly to Muslims; it was to be run by the Government. The college was named after the donor’s father. It was open to all communities but because it provided special facilities for the teaching of Arabic, Persian and Urdu and since it awarded a number of merit scholarships to Muslim students, a large number of them from all over the Bombay Presidency were attracted to it. Soon it became the centre of higher education for young Muslims and acquired great prestige. Its distinguished Principal, Dr. Mohammed Bazlur Rehman, worked hard to generate a broad-based, cosmopolitan environment albeit with a healthy Muslim ambience. He was admired for his qualities of leadership; he was immensely popular with all sections of the college community, loved by the staff and the students and respected by their parents—both Hindu and Muslim. As the Muslim League grew more and more powerful, especially in Bombay, the permanent home of Jinnah, its leaders tried hard to convert the college into a

centre of their politics; but by tact and ability, Rehman thwarted their attempts. The best tribute to his unique leadership was paid by B.G. Kher, the first Chief Minister (then known as the Premier) of Bombay, when on his visit to the college he described it as “a miniature of the India to be”.

Living in a city as politicised as Bombay, my interest in politics heightened. I came into contact with activists of the All-India Students’ Federation, an umbrella organisation of Indian students, and attended many of their meetings. Though I was instinctively drawn to the Congress, I continued to waver because the emotional hold of the League, especially on the younger generation, was intense. Most of my friends were taken in by Jinnah’s utterances; they pressured me that as a Muslim I too should stand by the community. I remember spending sleepless nights wondering whether by associating with the Congress I was doing the right thing by my religion. But somehow I could not be moved by the separatist overtones; I felt more at ease in the company of nationalists than communalists. Moreover the writings of Azad, with their Islamic background, made a deep impact on my mind.

I also enjoyed the intellectual duel between Iqbal, the poet-philosopher of Islam and Madani, the President of Jamiatul Ulama-i-Hind. Iqbal deprecated nationalism and extolled the universal brotherhood of Islam. He wrote:

Among modern idols, the worst is nationalism. Its robe is the shroud of religion.

Madani asserted that in the Indian context Muslims must unite with Hindus and form a united front against the British. Iqbal’s was a romantic

The Price of Partition


call, couched in fine poetry. Madani, the great theologian, quoted chapter and verse from the Quran and the Traditions of the Prophet, including the latter’s compact with the Jews and pagans of Mecca, to prove that an alliance with the Congress was in conformity with Islamic tenets and conventions. It was, indeed, a stimulating encounter between two intellectual giants which convinced me that there was no conflict between Islam and nationalism. This, however, did not diminish my love for Iqbal nor for his poetry. His poems enchanted and enthralled me. They have a magic all their own. But I disagreed with his politics, although it was more pro-Muslim than anti-Hindu. In fact his entire way of looking at life was different from that of Jinnah. Even so some Hindu intellectuals in the Congress bracketed the two. This was mainly due to their ignorance of what Iqbal really stood for. True, they were disturbed by his Presidential Address to the Allahabad Session of the League in 1930, wherein he had pleaded for the formation of an autonomous north-western Muslim state (“A Muslim State within India”), as he called it. But he never asked for partition; he made this clear in his letter to the London Times. Moreover, just a few months before his death in 1938 in a broadcast on All India Radio he made his position unequivocally clear: “Only one unity is dependable and that unity is the brotherhood of man, which is above race, nationality, colour or language”. As for those critics who thought Iqbal was anti-Hindu, his well-known Persian poem stresses the brotherhood of man:

It is not right to utter a wrong word For believers and non-believers are alike; Both are the creatures of God. Humanity asks for respect for man; Be conscious then of the dignity of man

For one who loves God Takes guidance from God And God loves all his creatures alike, Be they believers or non-believers.

There is a world of difference between Iqbal’s poetry and his politics; that was the reason he had been such a success as a poet and such a failure as a politician. Never did Jinnah take Iqbal seriously; he did not include him in his Working Committee or in the League’s Parliamentary Board. In my book Iqbal: The Poet and the Politician, I have exploded many a myth attributed to him, including his support to partition. This was, in fact, true of most Muslim intellectuals; even the theologians continued to support the Congress because of its aggressively anti-British stance. Yet, somehow Hindus and Muslims continued to look upon one another with a certain amount of distrust. The toadies prided themselves on their loyalty to the British; they were given high positions and managed to exploit the communal differences to mislead Muslims. Among my college friends many were carried away by the utterances of these so-called champions of the Muslim cause. They openly encouraged hostility against Hindus. They exploited religious differences to create fear and insecurity among not only the illiterate but also the intelligentsia. The British bureaucrats played their game of “divide and rule” with Machiavellian tactics. In the result Muslims were made to believe that they would be worse off under free India, which would be governed by the much more numerous Hindus, who had not only utter contempt and disdain for Muslims but harboured a deep-rooted animosity against them, blaming them for the misdeeds of their so-called ancestors.

“Ambedkar wrote his monumental work, Thoughts on Pakistan. Though he supported the League

demand the book was out and out anti-Muslim.”


I was also fortunate at this time in coming into personal contact with Jawaharlal Nehru, who was then the Congress President. I met him first when, as a member of the Managing Committee of my College Union I was deputed to bring him to our college. He had agreed to address the staff and students. I went to fetch him from his sister Krishna Hutheesing’s home in south Bombay. We travelled by car to Jogeshwari —a distance of over twenty miles. All through the journey he was warm and affectionate. He told me that young Muslims like me should not be carried away by communal politics; they should develop a national outlook. His address to the college though rambling was in the same vein and not only I but many Muslim students were greatly inspired. In his vote of thanks, Prof. Correia Afonso reminded Nehru that between Hindu and Muslim unity, there was a hyphen, which the Christian provided. This aside pleased Nehru and the audience lustily cheered the professor for his sharp-witted comment.

As an offshoot of my interest in politics, I started writing articles in the daily press. By now, my fellow-students had begun to take me seriously; the nationalists hailed me, the communalists denounced me. I came to know S.A. Brelvi, editor of the now defunct Bombay Chronicle. It had become the mouthpiece of the Congress. Its editorials reflected the nationalist Muslim point of view; I read them carefully and was enlightened by what Brelvi wrote. He had a facile pen. I wrote for his newspaper articles on current topics, stressing the need for joint action by Hindus and Muslims against the British, Brelvi published them. I took them personally to him and he always met me with great affection. I also came to know Frank Moraes, who was then an assistant editor of The Times of India. Moraes encouraged me to write for his paper; but it was too British and would not entertain articles with a nationalist point of view. So I occasionally wrote letters to the editor on current topics which were published by the Times. Moraes took me to meet his editor (later Sir) Francis Low who was a gentleman and liked young Indians. These contacts were valuable in nurturing and furthering my interest in journalism.

Moraes also brought me in touch with Prof. Humayun Kabir, a close friend of his. My meetings

with Kabir were most instructive. He had a liberal outlook on political issues and a good grasp of the communal problem. He gave me the much needed courage at this stage to face the intellectual onslaught and the compelling pressure of my Muslim friends and colleagues. Kabir was an earnest patriot, endowed with a sharp, analytical mind. He had no knowledge of Urdu, yet he possessed an understanding and empathy for Muslim sentiments, which was subsequently to be the main link between him and Azad, who became after independence, the minister of education. Kabir had an excellent rapport with him and served as secretary in his ministry. Admired by the youth in those days, Kabir came to Bombay to preside over the All-India Students’ Convention in 1939. Unlike many other nationalist Muslim leaders, Kabir did not indulge in abuse of Jinnah or the Muslim League. He tried to allay the fears and apprehensions of his community and presented a logical case for fostering better relations between Hindus and Muslims. He pleaded with the leaders of the Congress to adopt a sympathetic attitude towards the League and urged Jinnah to be more conciliatory and helpful.

In this respect Brelvi and Kabir thought alike, but while the Congress, of which Brelvi was a member, frowned upon him for what was considered his “soft corner” for the League, it applauded the role of Kabir because he was an outsider, belonging to the Krishak Proja Party of Bengal, of which A.K. Fazlul Haq was the leader. This schizophrenia made the task of Muslims in the Congress not only difficult but also awkward. I often found Brelvi morose; it was not easy to cope with suspicion of those whom he admired and respected. Undeterred he went ahead with his sober and balanced editorials which helped to considerably ease the tension between the Congress and the League. I read these with great interest; they helped me to formulate my political outlook.

With my initiation in the student movement, I became more active in politics. This was the period when students were in the forefront in the agitation against the British; there was unity among various groups, socialists, Gandhians and communists formed a united front. Even Muslim students were by and large with them. Subsequently


under Jinnah’s advice they drifted away from the mainstream, but that was much later. There was only one umbrella organisation, known as the All-India Students’ Federation. It was founded in 1936; it aimed at keeping itself free from sectional and communal controversies. For its inaugural session in Lucknow the organisers invited both Nehru and Jinnah. Among other notables who participated in its deliberations was Subhas Chandra Bose. At first after the outbreak of World War II, the communists and the socialists worked together but after the entry of the Soviet Union on the side of the Allies, the communists suddenly turned loyalists. “The imperialist war” became the “peoples’ war” for them. This created a deep cleavage between them and the socialists and the Gandhians who continued to oppose the British war effort. I was a silent spectator to the fight which was directed on the one hand by such rising youth leaders among socialists as M.R. Masani, Asoka Mehta and Ram Manohar Lohia and among communists by firebrands like S.A. Dange and P.C. Joseph. The war of words caused much confusion in the rank and file of the Federation.

At the annual session of the Federation in January 1938 at Madras, the first open split between the two groups took place. I felt sad at the development; it did not auger well for the future. Nehru intervened and some sort of patch-up arrangement was carried out. But it did not last and at the Nagpur session of the Federation in 1940, there was almost a fist-fight between the supporters of the two groups. They split thereafter. I watched the proceedings with dismay; it wrenched my heart. One major outcome of this was the support that the communist-dominated Federation gave to the demand of Pakistan by the Muslim League. I forcefully argued with some of the young communists and even their mentors, Dange and Joshi, but they stuck to their stand, perhaps, more to embarrass the Congress which was opposing the war effort than out of any intellectual conviction. Whatever might have been their compulsion, the communists provided a valuable weapon to the feudal and bourgeoisie elements in the League, who used it to influence the educated Muslim youth to support the pernicious “Two-Nation” theory. The Marxist jargon proved helpful to the League leaders who used this to intellectually justify a patently religious

demand. It was a blunder which the communists later regretted. The rift between the two groups so deepened that with the passage of time two rival bodies, the All-India Students’ Congress and the All-India Students’ Federation indulged more in mutual vituperations than the fight against the Raj.

Muslim students formed their own body called the All-India Muslim Students’ Federation. The tripartite formation gave a setback to the student movement. I aligned myself with the All-India Students’ Congress, whose general secretary was Dinkar Sakrikar. He was a good organiser and worked hard to streamline its set-up. We became good friends and we kept up our contacts through correspondence even after I left for London in 1944. After the launching of the Quit India movement by Gandhi, most of the activists in the Students’ Congress went underground and the organisation suffered; the Students’ Federation, on the other hand, flourished as a result of active support from the government. I became more involved in the Muslim Students’ Union which had been in existence for more than three decades. It had become a major force in Bombay’s academic circles. It was quietly sympathetic to the Congress though it did not dabble in active politics. In 1943, the Leaguers managed to take it over. Thereafter it became aggressively communal, propagating the demand for Pakistan. Saleem Merchant, a practising lawyer, who had been its President and I, as the General Secretary along with other like-minded friends, tried our best to prevent the take-over by the League but we were out-voted and forcibly thrown out of the organisation.

Friends continued to argue with me trying to convince me that as a Muslim I had no option but to accept Jinnah as my leader. They insisted that we could not have a better advocate or greater champion of our rights; but Jinnah’s politics failed to impress me. His logic was at times plausible but somehow it left me cold. Muslim grievances were, no doubt, genuine but was the solution Jinnah offered right? I had my doubts. Jinnah tried at first to come to some kind of understanding with the Congress, but the response he received was negative. In fact I was surprised at the attitude that Nehru adopted at the All-India Students’ Convention at Lucknow which I had attended as


a delegate. He called the League a reactionary body and rebuffed Jinnah who was invited to preside over it. He tried to win over Nehru to help him build bridges between the Congress and the League; but Nehru’s hostility baffled him. He bluntly told the students that he did not recognise any communal problem. Most of the delegates were disappointed at Nehru’s nonchalant treatment of Jinnah, especially when Jinnah had in fact gone out of his way to be conciliatory. The organisers had desired that the coming together of these leaders would break the ice; Nehru put cold water on their efforts at reconciliation, thus shattering their hope of being able to foster communal harmony.

After the Congress victories in the provincial elections in 1937, what surprised me even more was the Mahatma’s reaction to a message from Jinnah requesting him to bring about Hindu-Muslim understandirtg. Jinnah sent it through B.G. Kher, who was soon to take over as Congress Premier in Bombay. Gandhi replied thus: “Kher has given me your message. I wish I could do something but I am utterly helpless. My faith in unity is bright as ever; only I see no daylight.” I could not understand this cynicism. Was it because of the Mahatma’s disappointment at the Round Table Conference which he had attended as the sole representative of the Congress? But he wavered under pressure from the Hindu Mahasabha stalwarts, Moonje and Malaviya, who refused to concede even the most reasonable demands of Jinnah, who had come round to accepting even joint electorates. I remember discussing the implications of Gandhiji’s reaction with M.Y. Nurie who had joined Kher’s cabinet as the Muslim minister. He told me that Kher was of the opinion that the Mahatma was sore because he had failed, despite his best efforts, to make the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha agree to an amicable settlement. Hence his cry of utter helplessness. He looked upon the Communal Award, which Prime Minister MacDonald gave, as a slap on the face of every Indian who attended the Round Table Conference. It was because Indians disagreed among themselves that the third party could impose it. Maulana Mohammed Ali often remarked, “The British do not divide and rule. We divide and they rule.” Jinnah took the Mahatma’s indifference as a rebuff; it hardened the League’s attitude towards the Congress. But Muslims then

were not hostile to a Muslim minister of a Congress government; I found that out when I organised a huge reception for Nurie in Sopara, which had a large Muslim population. Nurie was greeted with tremendous enthusiasm. The Leaguers, eager to please ministers, greeted Nurie with open arms. Jinnah had begun to make his mark in the cities but he had yet to reach out to towns and villages.

Encouraged by the poor showing of the League candidates in the provincial elections, Nehru concentrated on bringing Muslims nearer the Congress. Earlier as president, he had already launched a Muslim mass contact movement and established a department to run it. He put Dr. K.M. Ashraf, a rising young Marxist, in charge of it. He was ably assisted by Z.A. Ahmad and Sajjad Zaheer. Both were intellectuals of a high order. But all three were active members the Communist Party, which had always been an eyesore to the Congress High Command. Hence Muslim stalwarts in the Congress took no interest in their work. Azad, Syed Mahmud, Asif Ali and the other old Khilafatists who had a solid base among Muslims kept aloof. Because of their indifference, even the ‘Hindu leaders of the Congress took little interest in their activities. In fact Patel was said to have remarked, “With the Communists around, Nehru should forget that Muslims will ever come nearer the Congress.” I met Dr. Ashraf briefly in Bombay; he told me frankly that the old Muslim leaders in the Congress, in their heart of hearts, wanted the League to succeed. He was indeed so (disgusted with the whole lot of them that he wrote to Nehru in September 1938, while the latter was on a tour of Europe: “The Congress President has not even come to visit us or given us any instructions whatsoever. I feel every day that I am a parasite on the AICC funds. My life is being wasted. Under these conditions I have decided to give up the office work in any case as soon as you are back in Allahabad.” Govind Ballabh Pant, the Congress Premier of U.P. remarked that there was no need to make any special appeal to Muslims; they would return to the Congress by themselves when they found that the League was pro-rich and anti-poor. And so the campaign to bring Muslims into the Congress ended in a fiasco; neither did the old, entrenched Muslim leaders care to exert themselves nor did the Hindu establishment in the

Jinnah and Gandhi


Congress show any interest in them. And still the irony was that Muslim masses were blamed for having heeded Jinnah!

On his return from Europe, I met Nehru at the apartment of Brelvi who had invited some thirty nationalist Muslims to discuss the challenge of the League to the Congress. At the outset Nehru gave us a graphic account of the horrors of Nazism and the manner in which Hitler had consolidated his hold in Germany. He said, “I see the same parallel here, Jinnah is resorting to the same tactics (the dictatorial behaviour, the contempt for others, the generation of hate)”. As Hitler had worked up the Germans to hate the Jews, so was Jinnah making Muslims hate Hindus. Someone pointed out

that while the Germans were in an overwhelming majority and the Jews a minority, the anomaly was not quite right. In India Muslims were in a minority of three to one, even if they had become hostile to Hindus they could not eliminate them; but the reverse was possible. Nehru replied that he was referring to the mentality and the attitude which caused havoc. It was an enlightening meeting and I came back more determined to work for unity, though I did not know how. I had mentioned to Nehru that his Muslim mass contact movement had been a fiasco; Brelvi also pointed out that it did not produce the necessary response. Nehru flared up and in a choked voice remarked, “I know there are persons in the Congress, quite important and big, who did not want it to succeed. They thought it would have made me more invincible”. Apart

from the hostility he faced from his elders in the Congress, Nehru was unfortunately out of tune with the changes in the Muslim “psyche”. He had developed contempt for Jinnah much earlier. As early as 1930, when Gandhi had gone to London to participate in the Round Table Conference, Nehru in a letter to his mentor wrote: “How wonderful you are to argue and argue and yet again argue with this motley crowd. If I had to listen to my dear friend Mohammed Ali Jinnah talking the most unmitigated nonsense about his 14 points for any length of time, I would have to consider the desirability of retiring to the South Sea Islands.” On subsequent occasions, when he negotiated with Jinnah, he found him insufferable.

By the middle of 1939 war clouds had begun to gather over Europe; the British were too shaky to make the right move to enlist the support of the Congress. Though Congress ministries were in the saddle in eight out of eleven provinces, strains had begun to develop between them and the Viceroy. This aggravated the conflict between the Congress and the British, with Jinnah watching the deterioration with eager hope of a better prospect for the League in the future. In Bombay, Ismail College had become the nerve-centre of young Muslims; it had started attracting wide attention. I was fortunate in being elected General Secretary of its Union. I told my Executive Committee that I proposed to invite leaders of different political parties to speak to our students on the topic: “Whither India?” They heartily endorsed it. And so our Union arranged a series of talks on “The Present Political Situation in India”. The first to accept our invitation was Jinnah. He gave us the date: August 5, 1939. He had by then achieved a signal triumph at the Lucknow Session of the League in 1938 which had brought the Prime Ministers of two major Muslim-majority provinces, Bengal and Punjab, A.K. Fazlul Haq and Sikander Hyat Khan respectively to Lucknow to pay their obeisance to him. Being pragmatic politicians, they could not ignore Jinnah’s growing popularity among Muslims and, therefore, vociferously articulated their loyalty to the League, despite the fact that their regional parties had not been affiliated to it. They did not disband them but avowed support to Jinnah in his fight against the Congress. They also accepted his leadership at the

“...governed by the much more numerous Hindus, who had not only utter

contempt and disdain for Muslims but harboured a deep-rooted animosity

against them...”


all-India level. That was more than what Jinnah had expected; it gave a boost to his bargaining capacity both with the Congress and the British. What he had lost in the elections, he gained on the political chessboard.

I went to fetch Jinnah, as previously arranged, from his small but elegant bungalow at Little Gibbs Road on Malabar Hill, we were accompanied in the car by his sister and constant companion Fatima Jinnah. All through the one-hour journey I tried to probe Jinnah’s mind but it was difficult to draw him into a conversation. Being cold and aloof, he would not open up. His answers to my queries were short, precise and to the point. I was too awed by his stern and awesome personality to converse freely with him. Unlike Nehru who enjoyed talking to young students and listening to them, Jinnah was reserved by nature. He was, no doubt, polite to me but most of the time I sensed that he was lost in his own thoughts. I found it difficult to warm towards him.

On the platform when Jinnah rose to speak he was a different man. He was bold and aggressive, very forthright. He acted more like a general giving commands, though he cushioned them with the subtle use of the forensic art of which he was master. His speech was unusually harsh and bitterly anti-Congress; but it was, on the whole, a brilliant performance. He began by criticising a statement by Mahatma Gandhi wherein he had condemned the idea of Pakistan, which was much in the air then but to which Jinnah had until then not responded. “Mr. Gandhi calls Pakistan a sin”, recapitulated Jinnah. “Mind you, the word he uses is sin not crime. He has damned us in both, this world as well as the next.” He also ridiculed the Mahatma for describing him as his brother: “The only trouble with this relationship”, he said, “is that while brother Gandhi has three votes, I have only one.” Elaborating the role of the League in organising the Muslims into “a strong united body” he declared that it “was essential to enable the Muslim community to take its rightful place in the national affairs of the country. Those who took that view might be branded communalists. So far as I am concerned, I am willing to be branded a communalist for doing my duty by Muslims. I was born a Muslim, I am a Muslim and I shall die a Muslim.” Attacking the Congress, Jinnah asked: “Is the Congress really nationalist in character? You do not become nationalist merely by declaring that you are. In my opinion when the Congress speaks of nationalism, it means Hindu nationalism; when

it says nationalist, it means Hindu nationalist.” He elaborated further: “I am forced to take that view because of the developments after the inauguration of Provincial Autonomy. Before the elections it was my hope that the better minds among Muslims and Hindus would get into the legislatures and that they would work in harmony for bringing about communal peace. The Congress answer to that was violent propaganda against the Muslim League during the elections. After elections were over and the Congress formed majorities in some of the provinces, it decided to accept office. Instead of accepting the hand of cooperation extended by the Muslim League, the Congress demanded the liquidation of the League and complete subordination to the Congress. The tactic of corrupting Muslim members in legislatures by offering them ministerships was not becoming of a mighty organisation like the Congress. That was an attitude unhelpful to Muslims, unhelpful to Hindus and to the country.” Jinnah concluded by thundering, “I say to the Congress, ‘Hands off the Muslims’. Trust us and trust our honour. We do not want to be protected by you. We shall take care of ourselves.”

The second lecture was to have been given by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel but at the eleventh hour he expressed his inability to do so due to ill-health. And so I invited K.M. Munshi, then Home Minister of Bombay and one of the closest lieutenants of the Sardar. He was also the principal advocate of “Akhand Hindustan” or “One India”. He came to our college on August 10,1939. Explaining the difference between the old concept of a country and the modern concept of a nation, Munshi said, “we are born in India, but born as Hindus and Muslims. Speaking different languages we were still welded into a unity. But we are not the architects of that unity. Nor is that unity permanent. Hence we have to work for such a unity by becoming nationalists.

Gandhi and Abdul Ghaffar Khan


Every one of us has to make a conscious effort by thinking, behaving and welding ourselves into a nation.” He illustrated, “Asoka and the imperial Guptas, the Moghuls and the Marathas, by their armies of occupation, created a political unity but not a nation. Since then we have travelled far and fast. We have millions of Indians both Hindus and Muslims—thinking, living and working in terms of a nation.”

And then he replied to Jinnah in more specific and clear terms: “There is a school of thought in India which holds that Hindustan belongs to Hindus and that Muslims should be driven out of India as Jews are being driven out of Germany. There is a similar school of thought among Muslims in India which wants to turn them into an armed camp waging a perpetual war against Hindus. What are these tendencies? They say that the language of Hindus and that of Muslims are quite distinct; that their cultures can never mix; that their education must necessarily be separate. Is it so in fact? Is not the founder of Hindi, literature, Jayasi, a Mussalman? Are not two Mussalman converts to Hinduism two of the greatest Goswamis of Vaisnavism? Have not the cult of Ramananda and that of the disciples of Guru Nanak been influenced by Islam? Has not Hinduism coloured the thoughts of Islamic thinkers in India? Have not the fields of Hindustan flowed with the blood of both Hindus and Mussalmans fighting for the same cause? Did Hindus not create Akbar’s Empire? Was not the mother of the Moghul emperor Jahangir a Rajput Hindu? Was not Dara Shikoh a believer in the philosophy of the Upanishads? Have not Muslims like Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. M.A. Ansari and Maulana Azad helped to create the magnificent structure of that great national service which we know by the name of Congress?”

The third lecture took place on September 18; it was given by Subhas Chandra Bose, who had just revolted against the Gandhian leadership and resigned as Congress President, forming his All-

India Forward Bloc. He refused to be drawn

into the Hindu-Muslim

question and dismissed it as an internal

problem which the British exploited to their advantage. He said, “Interested parties harp on India’s domestic difficulties as being a serious impediment in the way of England’s granting complete independence to India. These difficulties have been unduly emphasised. It must be realised that they are artificial and the creation of an alien power. A free India will solve its domestic difficulties much more easily than a slave India can. This bogey of internal dissension, therefore, deserves to be dismissed as being unreal. We shall manage our home, differences or no differences, better than any outsider”. He wanted, therefore, action to free the country. As he put it, “This war is India’s opportunity. It is idle ethics which shudders at the thought of India exploiting the difficulties of England. To help an enemy, who refuses to help us, is against all canons of liberation; it will only tighten his hold on slaves like us”.

Bose was most eloquent when he explained why the Mahatma had failed. He said, “Gandhi has failed because, while he has character, his lieutenants lack it. He has failed because he understands the hopes and aspirations of his followers but he does not understand the moves and objectives of his opponents. He has failed because while he puts all his cards on the table, he does not know how to deal with the British. He has failed because he has not a ghost of an idea of the art of diplomacy. He has failed because he goes after false ideas of unity and does not grapple with the real issues. Lastly he has failed because he has tried to combine two contradictory roles within himself; a revolutionary and a saint. That is why he is resented by Churchi because he is a rebel and liked by the Quakers because he serves as the best policeman for the British in India.”

The last speaker in this series of lectures was Sir Cowasji Jehangir, the well-known liberal leader; he addressed the College Union on December 9. He was bitterly anti-Congress in his speech and accused its ministries in various provinces of aggravating the communal problem by their wrong policies. He said, “The Congress has neither the heart nor the mentality to solve this issue.” He could not understand Congress attacking the so-called communalists, they were no less patriotic than the Congressites. He observed: “This is not a problem that faces India alone. All over the world, one of the causes of tyranny and oppression has been the treatment of minorities”. He opposed the idea of setting up a Constituent Assembly for he characterised it as “a clever device” designed


by the Congress “to drown the voice of the minorities.” He warned that India was too multi-religious a state for its constitution to be framed on the lines spelt out by Western textbooks. It had not only to reflect the urges and aspirations of the different communities but also safeguard and protect their fears and apprehensions.

The lecture series attracted India-wide press coverage; for me it was a great liberal education in formulating my political ideas. I thus enjoyed my work as General Secretary of the College Union immensely; it gave me the opportunity to interact with these luminaries. Of course the turmoil it created within me with different forces pulling me in different directions was painful and traumatic, nonetheless it was an exhilarating experience.

Meanwhile the Second World War (1939-45) had broken out on September 3, 1939 which found Britain unprepared to fight the might of Hitler’s Germany. Suddenly the political climate in India changed. Lord Linlithgow, taken off guard, declared India also a belligerent nation, without consulting the elected legislatures. The Congress reacted by asking its ministers to resign. Jinnah forgot all about the war and mounted an onslaught on the Congress declaring that the exit of the ministers would be celebrated as a “Day of Deliverance” by Muslims. Dr babasaheb Ambedkar expressed his desire to join hands with Jinnah on the issue; he declared that the Scheduled Castes had suffered more under the Congress regimes than Muslims. The League decided to hold a mammoth public meeting in Bombay which both these leaders would address; never had I seen Mohammed Ali Road—the heart of the Muslim locality in Bombay—present such a massive demonstration. I was taken aback by the unprecedented support that Jinnah had managed to garner. He and Ambedkar harangued the gathering, alleging

the atrocities that the Congress governments in different provinces had committed against Muslims and the so-called “untouchables” among Hindus. They hailed the departure of the ministers as “good riddance to bad rubbish”.

Just before the meeting Jinnah’s behaviour startled me beyond comprehension. He arrived at the specified time. He was always punctual. He surveyed the scene and when he could not see the press seated prominently in the front rows, he lost his temper. He turned to the organisers and shouted angrily: “Where is the press?” and then in the full hearing of the public since the mike was on the dais, he thundered: “Do you think I have come to address these donkeys?” He wanted his remarks to be conveyed more to the world than to the assembled crowd. The organisers ran helter-skelter and finally managed to arrange chairs and tables near the dais for the press representatives; Jinnah spoke for more than an hour in English—the audience did not understand a word, but every now and again, they chanted: “Allah o Akbar”, “Muslim League Zindabad” and “Quaid-i-Azam Paindabad”. Ambedkar was equally bitter in his attack on the Congress ministries; he described them as tinpot dictators, who thrived on oppressing the poor and in sucking their blood. He blamed the Mahatma for all the ills that had befallen India. I came back from the meeting contused and disturbed. For the first time it dawned on me that the Congress had more powerful enemies within it than those outside; the battle of freedom would have to be fought by the Congress on both the fronts at home.

A year or so later Ambedkar wrote his monumental work, Thoughts on Pakistan. Though he supported the League demand the book was out and out anti-Muslim.

He argued that Muslims, by the dictates of their religion and their historical past, were incapable of working in unison with Hindus. Muslims were intolerant, oppressive and regressive. It was better, therefore, that Hindus got rid of Muslims by giving them a separate state; otherwise they would continue to be a drag on the progress of India. Some Muslims had thought that Ambedkar, in order to spite Hindus, would embrace Islam. After reading his book I was convinced that Islam would be the last religion to which he would convert; it was, nevertheless, argued that his association with Jinnah, which proved to be of a temporary nature, would bring him into the Islamic fold. There were many Leaguers who harboured such misgivings.

Nehru and Gandhi


They could not have been more wrong. There was no common political bond between Jinnah and Ambedkar except their hostility to Gandhi who was doing, in reality, more than any other leader for the protection and welfare of both Muslims and the “untouchables”.

In Ismail College, we had also a parliament, designed to train students in the art of parliamentary procedure; I was elected its Speaker. There were also other office-bearers: Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and leaders of the Opposition. We held regular monthly meetings to which sometimes eminent persons were invited to address. One evening M.C. Chagla was our guest. He had worked closely with Jinnah but parted ways when the latter became communal and started his tirade against the Congress. Chagla had made a

mark at the Bombay Bar; he was admired for his courage of conviction. He had an amiable nature and a persuasive way of speaking. He took the opportunity to impress upon us that the separatist politics of the League would bring nothing but disaster to Muslims. He had fought along with Jinnah for the solution of Hindu-Muslim differences; but he was clear in his mind now that a, hostile attitude towards the Congress would only harm Muslims. He was sorry that this was not realised by Muslims. Muslims and Hindus must learn to live together, he said, and work for the freedom of India.

Chagla had a knack of putting his point of view across; hence his speech was listened to with rapt attention by all of us. There was no heckling as I had feared from some troublesome students who were involved with the League. The Times of India gave a good report of the meeting and Chagla was pleased with the outcome of his visit. He met me many times thereafter and I always

enjoyed interacting with him. He even invited me once to a dinner hosted by him for Nehru. He was subsequently raised to the Bench. He also acted, for sometime, as the Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University. However his interest in politics did not cease. He was genuinely worried about the destructive role of his erstwhile mentor. He was unable to understand, as he told me one day how an avowed and committed secularist like Jinnah could make such an about-turn and become a rabid communalist. He recounted to me his long association with him and the successful constitutional fights Jinnah waged against the British inside and outside the legislature and the impact he had created all around by the brilliance of his advocacy. Jinnah had, no doubt, championed legitimate political grievances of Muslims, but never, Chagla emphasised, at the cost of Hindu-Muslim unity. He had become bitter because in Gandhi’s Congres he felt like a fish out of water. His ego was hurt and so he decided to carve out a place for himself; the communal platform was then devoid of leadership and Jinnah was able to fill it without much difficulty. He thrived on hate and he used it against the Congress with increasing success. Chagla had begun to develop a peculiar aversion to Muslims, because of their fanatical attachment to Jinnah; the more they were drawn to Jinnah the more he disliked them. Earlier he was sympathetic to their problems; but the break with Jinnah antagonised Chagla against the entire community.

Neither he nor Jinnah were practising Muslims; they had no acquaintance with the history or even the traditions or culture of Islam. They were born Muslims but were brought up right from a young age in a westernised atmosphere. As Indian politics was then dominated by the Hindu-Muslim problem, they had no option but to take an interest in it. To talk of unity was then the fashion; but with the devolution of power by the British to Indians, the communal differences surfaced. At first Jinnah tried for reconciliation; but when he failed he turned hostile. Chagla did not like this transformation in Jinnah; in any case their relationship was always of an impersonal nature, with little warmth or closeness.

That was so even when Chagla worked in Jinnah’s chamber—as his “devil” or assistant. As soon as Chagla stood on his own at the Bar, he started seeing less of Jinnah whose

“A free India will solve its domestic

difficulties much more easily than a slave

India can.”


anti-Congress stand made Chagla distrustful of his motives. The result was that Jinnah went to one extreme of communalism, Chagla went to the other extreme of nationalism. During this period, Chagla had not drifted so far but I could still sense the bitterness he felt against those Muslims who had communalised Indian politics; unfortunately he started finding fault with Muslims alone with the result that he lost whatever little base he had among them.

Chagla narrates two incidents about Jinnah at this time in his autobiography, whereby he reveals the pseudo-Islamic character of the Quaid-i-Azam (the Great Leader). Both relate to Jinnah’s election to the Central Legislative Assembly from a reserved Muslim constituency in Bombay in the early thirties. Chagla had accompanied Jinnah in his election campaign. Jinnah’s wife Rati, daughter of the Parsi millionaire, Sir Dinshaw Petit, brought some ham sandwiches for Jinnah’s lunch one day, while he was canvassing in a Muslim locality. Jinnah was horrified and asked her whether she wanted him to lose the election. Rati, not realising what wrong she had done, exclaimed innocently: “But, darling you love ham sandwiches!” On another occasion during the same campaign, Chagla and Jinnah were having tea and pork sandwiches in a quiet wayside restaurant when an influential bearded Maulana walked up to Jinnah. Chagla invited the guest to join them and offered him the sandwiches. The Maulana not knowing what was in them, proceeded to eat them with great relish. Jinnah was mortified. After the Maulana had gone Jinnah chided Chagla, who told him: “I am sorry but I had to decide on the spur of the moment whether I should entertain the Maulana and send him to eternal damnation or make you lose the election.”

Another anecdote that did the rounds was when Jinnah had started reorganising the League after the assembly elections in 1937; he was on an enticing spree. Hasrat Mohani, who was a

firebrand, went to see Jinnah on some urgent work at his bungalow. He had not taken an appointment. It was after dusk; Jinnah was enjoying his peg of whisky. He called Mohani to his room and thinking then that he was more a revolutionary than an orthodox Muslim, offered him a drink. Mohani, somewhat baffled, said that he wished he had as little fear of God as Jinnah had. Jinnah retorted: “No, Maulana! You are wrong. I have more faith in His mercy than you have.”

In my desire to understand the League point of view, I met several of their leaders who were keen to convince me that Jinnah’s stand was indeed the right solution for the ills of Muslims. One of them, whom I met frequently was the soft-spoken, gentle, I.I. Chundrigar, who later became Prime Minister of Pakistan. He had a good practice at the Bombay Bar and was highly spoken of by friends and foes alike. I first met him when I invited him to the Ismail College Union, as one of the judges for the Brabourne Inter-Collegiate Elocution Competition in 1939. He asked me to his home for dinner thereafter. He was of the view that Muslims, particularly the younger generation, must follow the lead given by Jinnah to ensure their future. Hindus, according to him, never honoured their commitments; Jinnah had tried hard— the Lucknow Pact of 1916 was an instance in point— but whatever agreement the League made with the Congress, the latter never honoured it. That was the reason “the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity” had lost faith in a united India. The Nehru Report of 1928 shattered Jinnah, he told me; a leader like Motilal Nehru had gone back on the Congress commitment to separate electorates for the Muslims. Who among the Congress leaders could then be trusted, he asked. To trust them, he felt, would be suicidal; the Congress, which alone represented Hindus, had no desire to share power with the genuine representatives of Muslims. I argued with him that whatever be the past, Hindus and Muslims had to live together; as they did in every village, town and city. To talk of separation

Gandhi on a train


was not practicable; to do so by generating hostilities would be dangerous. Chundrigar assured me that this was a passing phase; it would disappear the moment the Congress accepted the representative charter of the League. Union could be only between equals; otherwise it would be the rule of the majority over the minority. Muslims had, therefore, to work hard for the fulfilment of their objective from a position of strength; Jinnah had provided them with a leadership which was destined to deliver the goods to them. I was amazed at the confidence he exhibited in Jinnah; he stood by his leader through thick and thin.

Once Sharifuddin Pirzada, who was with me at Government Law College, and I were walking past Jinnah’s newly built palace-like mansion on Mount Pleasant Road on Malabar Hill. Jinnah had spent a fortune on it. Sharifuddin told me that Jinnah had personally supervised every bit of the construction which began after the passage of the Lahore Resolution in 1940; it was completed by the end of 1941. Reginald Coupland saw Jinnah there for the first time in January 1942. Jinnah took him round proudly showing him every part of his grand establishment. Coupland was wonderstruck by its grandeur. It was an architectural marvel with its “beautiful rooms, lavishly furnished, and a most attractive curving marble terrace, with lawns beneath it, sloping to a belt of trees with a gap in it through which the sea passed”. Jinnah loved it. Yet, why did he, a shrewd manager of his finances, build this marvellous mansion in Bombay as late as in 1941? Surely he did not expect Bombay to be a part of Pakistan. I felt somewhat comforted by the thought that he was perhaps not serious about partition; his demand was just a bargaining strategy. I fondly hoped that his new acquisition which he built with such meticulous care might well be indicative of his hidden desire for an undivided India.

Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, with a distinguished career in fields as varied as law, education, journalism, politics and Islamic studies, was active in the freedom struggle, both at home and abroad from his student days. After a successful legal career he was elected to the state legislature of Maharashtra. From 1962 he served as a cabinet minister in the state government for fifteen years. In 1978 he was elected to Parliament and became deputy leader of the ruling Congress Party in Parliament when Mrs. Indira Gandhi was its leader. He was given various important assignments including that of Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Muslim world in 1984. He thrice represented India at the United Nations, in 1965, 1990 and 1996. Dr. Zakaria was a scholar of international repute. He authored a dozen books, including A Study of Nehru. An eminent educationist, he founded more than a dozen educational institutions of higher learning in Bombay and Aurangabad. Dr. Zakaria passed away on July 9, 2005 in Mumbai.

Source: The Price of Partition, Rafiq Zakaria, Bhavan’s Book University, Mumbai, India

Unusual silence. Was it recollection of Gandhi or an overintoxicated state of mind? At least they were unaware of the ruffle among leaves outside the room. Since the departure of the car, the sky had assumed many new facets. A pale, hazy moon was proceeding towards a gradual decline. May be it was the initiation of dawn bringing distant trees into dim focus. A gradual rising light seemed to be divesting them of their darkness.

Silence inside the room did not continue for long. Ajeet instructed them regarding the future course of action. He peeped into their half-dazed, intoxicated eyes and he spoke in well-arranged words. ‘Sooryakant is pleased with your-co-operation. He has already paid you handsome dividends. He assures us of more money.’

‘Well done...Ajeet. What are we fighting for? Money. For us there is no other way to settle...As students we passed our examinations through copying. I am certain we can become very successful leaders. What do you think? Thousands clapping and yelling’s pierced the early dawn. ‘Everyone has his own way of doing things. Moreover, we don’t achieve anything. We have our own talents. I’ll manage certificates for you. Why should we waste our precious time reading books?

We are on a greater mission in our life. Don’t you follow?’ ‘Certificates? How will you manage degrees for us?’ ‘Don’t worry. That’s for me to plan. We can plan burning of a town. Managing certificates is not difficult.’ They clapped to approve satanic utterances of their leader. A riotous pandemonium expressing their intoxicated nerves was created in the small room. Money was distributed by Ajeet. It was almost performing a ritual. ‘I’m a link between you and the leader...’

There followed a wild clapping in the smoke-suffocated room. They bundled their bets and left the room before the sunlight could penetrate the thin pall of pre-dawn darkness. Rajeev entered Krishna’s house with a lot of sorrow poised on his face. He felt guilty, depressed and trodden-upon. Most of the rituals of Krishna’s cremation were already performed. His parents were in a state of shock beyond recognition. The old man was in a state of bewilderment often bewailing. “Rajeev, you are like son to me. Tell me how did Krishna die? I am confounded, helpless. Who is responsible? Who will take to us? Who?”

The mother also joined. Ajeet is to blame. She came there and talked to Rajeev in a comer, “Do you also belong to them?” Rajeev’s tone had a sob in it. ‘They do not like me. They do not like my thinking. Mother, I was expelled. I tried to win over Krishna but he did not bother. Where was the bravery in driving a burning bus?’ He ate the words as his tears rolled in pent-up gush. ‘You see Krishna would not listen, I wish he would listen but, but...’ There was perceptible sobbing in the room.

Krishna’s youngest sister Smita found some room for herself behind the door. Only her eyes staring in the vacancy were visible. In them there was a constant flow of tears. Her eye-lashes were dipped like wings of butterfly. Her stare became constant at Rajeev’s dismayed face. A single flutter in her eyelids. Communication was set up between the two following a deep stirring in their sub-conscious. Smita’s face had prominent contours of being romantic and prosaic. A curious combination of dream and reality! Her voice was melodious and at times resounding. The moment, two were electrically charged and for a while lifted them out of their routine, settled existence. At the moment Rajeev was in the grip of something grim and sorrowful. He had been a witness to the spectacle of devastation, and anguished thoughts. Ajeet was to blame. He became a convenient tool in the hands of a defeated politician and created a clan for him. He was about to get up from Charpoy when Smita caught him with a meaningful grace. May be she needed words of consolation from him! Why not to go and talk to her? For the first time, he felt shy talking to her. Why? He was bewildered at his own sensitive self-consciousness. Was it because of his new-born feelings for her? He questioned himself like an analyst. The old man’s words in his ears. How to carry on the burden of the family? Old age is a curse. What can I do now? Krishna the only bread-earner is gone for ever. His sobbings became louder than his emaciated body could afford. ‘The Government will repair public buildings. Who will repair my loss?’

The old man was almost on the verge of swooning. ‘We’ll do something for you father.’ What will you do?’ ‘I can not tell you. It will take some time.’ He intently looked at the man and left the Charpoy to join Smita inside the room. She stood behind the half-shut door. Her bright face was scarred by her profuse weepings. He discerned a kind of volatile sensitivity on her face. For the first time he found some streaks of uncanny beauty on her face.

TwilightGlimmering and Hazy Landscape of Indian Politics



Perhaps normal looks do not capture the hidden and the essential. We form routine usual pictures of human-beings in our routine contact.

‘How could you neglect us for that long?’ Smita’s question was abrupt. Her thinking coloured her face. Suddenly he found the old man attentive to him ‘Beta Rajeev, does it behove daughters to earn for the old father?’ He looked at the two daughters, fluttered his eyelids and focussed on Rajeev. He was in affix. Should he support the old man or his daughters? The old man should be encouraged to wash off his sense of guilt. Otherwise tension will live in the house.

‘You are Gandhi’s agitators?’ She smiled. There was a free flow of emotion between the two. Their eyes held each other in a focus of happiness. The room was partially dark because of the slant in the entry of the sun-rays. The roof of the room was low and did not allow a direct view of the entrant to the room. In this room she had her moments of loneliness, cutting off from the general flow of humanity At times you seem to be different from others. A queer sort! The common folk are connected with physical, tangible without an awareness. They just complete routine. Rajeev spoke to Smita.

‘You talk philosophy...’ ‘That is fine...’ Smita raised a small giggle. He enclosed her face with his palms and then sought her glance. She kept her eyes-lashes in down-cast posture. Her eyes-lids did not show any movement.

These days lovers are so practical. There is no feeling between the two. She gave a slight nod to her head without lifting her face. And then Smita suddenly lifted her face looking at Rajeev deep and long. She seemed to be overwhelmed and bit panting. She managed to mutter, ‘you say things after my heart, Rajeev.’ ‘Really?’ ‘You never betray them explicitly.’ ‘A girl is supposed to keep mum.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Should I explain woman psychology to you?’ ‘No harm.’

The two words echoed in his ears. Rekha and Sona the other two sisters sauntered in quietly. A flush on their faces. Smita and Rajeev gave the impression of being caught red-handed. Sona’s tone carried a bit of sarcasm. Smita must be talking books to him. They talk films. Rekha too joined conversation, crazy after films. A smart young hero singing to a beautiful girl or they singing together. Films carry beautiful girls, sights, falls, mountains and the open sky. At least on the screen. Rajeev spoke with unusual grimness. ‘I am not interested in movies, same stuff, mere artificial. Why not to start an agitation?’

Smita and her sisters were taken aback. The atmosphere hung with tension and suspicion. Rajeev threw them into enormous curiosity. ‘why? It is to demand justice for Krishna’s death.’ Suddenly a pall of dismay descended upon the

company. They were left pondering to a bootless inquisitiveness. ‘Sorry to remind you of Krishna. An agitation for the right cause. There was a conspiracy behind his death. Someone behind the scene. Krishna’s death should not go unaccounted for.’ ‘We are not stuff for agitations. Who will listen to us?’ Smita expressed her doubts. ‘Agitations for the right cause, for justice. How did Gandhi manage his agitations? Did he possess some extra powers? He was a commoner.’ Rajeev’s tone was firm. It was different with him. ‘He did not fight for himself. He fought for others. Masses supported him. Issues and aims were clear.’

‘No, I do not agree with you.’ ‘Rajeev, Times have changed. Now agitations are taken in stride.’ Smita was persistent with her argument. Rajeev was quiet and was left to a state of inner uncertainty. A fight within and a fight without. There should be a tuning between the two. Otherwise the balance between the two is lost. Sona interposed suddenly. ‘We are more concerned with work and bread. Some work, some kind of engagement to keep on going.’

(To be Continued...)Dharam Pal

Born on October 1, 1941, Prof Dharam Pal, Retd Head, Department of English, Hindu College, Sonepat, Haryana, India has published Novels, Short-stories in Hindi and English. These include, Upnevesh, Mukti, Raj Ghat ki Aur, Tharav, Basti, Avshes, Nirvastra, Ramsharnam, Twilight, The Eclipsed Serialized in Indo-Asian Literature and other stories. Two students have been awarded MPhil Degrees on his Hindi Works. His plays, stories have also been broadcast on Indian Radio. He has been twice honoured by Governor of Haryana, India. He has won Hindi Rashtriya Shatabdi Samman, 200 and also Penguin Award.


Women have rendered a distinct flavor to the Indian nationalism, with their charm and dignity, infinite patience and power of endurance, and through innovative strategies, which they are capable of naturally. They participated in political agitations and revolutionary activities bearing privations of all kinds. They questioned the raison d’etre of the British rule with such burning passion and zeal as have few parallels in the annals of history.

The intrepidity and valour of women like Bhima Bai of the Holkar dynasty, Rani Channamma (1778-1829) of the princely state of Kittur (Kamataka), Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Bina Das, Kalpana Dutta, Pritilata Waddedar, Santi and Suniti of Bengal, Kanak Lata Barua of Assam, Rani Gaidinliu of North-East, Durga Bhabhi of Punjab and many more, have become legendary and continue to inspire people. Women proved that they were not anatomical showpieces but could be a great support to men, float organisations, fight for rights, bear police lathi-blows, undergo prison, and if need be, hold a pistol or bomb in their delicate hands.

During the course of freedom struggle, the ‘eternal feminine’ image of women acquired masculinity

and some of them assumed leadership-role in many parts of India. Women nationalists hailed from all groups and sections of society, but they worked together for a common cause. Women of royalty rubbed shoulders with those from the middle class and the downtrodden sections, and in some cases, even the fallen ones, in their fight against the British Raj.

In the scheme of cosmic opposites, the role of men and women is complimentary and not at odds with one another. Hence the history of freedom movement cannot be seen in isolation, as the work of men alone. If man can boast of his muscular power, woman can rely on her innate patience and the ability to forbear; if he is ingenious, she has the sixth sense; if he is vociferous, she possesses the silent power of influence and suggestion. While man operates at the sensory level, she makes use of her extrasensory perception.

The ruggedness of man is contained by her purity and selflessness. Man’s strength is his weakness but woman’s weakness is her strength. She is superior to man in many ways; for example, her resistance to diseases, sufferings and shocks, is better as compared to man.

She is ‘more practical and down to earth’. Swami Vivekananda observed: ‘If woman cannot act, neither can man suffer.’ However, during the freedom struggle women ‘acted’ as well as ‘suffered’.

The mother being ‘one of the great primordial archetypes of humanity’, the protection of motherland acquired nationalistic overtones. In his novel, Ananda Matha (‘abbey of bliss’), published in 1880, Bankim Chandra Chatterji (1838-1894) used the expression Mother (goddess Kali) as a veritable metaphor for motherland. The salutation Vande Mataram (‘Mother, I bow to Thee’), which occurs in the novel, became the soul-stirring slogan of Indian revolutionaries. It fostered national unity, became a form of greeting, and inspired millions’ of countrymen to bear police atrocities without demur. Revolutionaries like Madan Lal Dhingra (1883-1909) kissed the gallows with Vande Mataram on their lips.

After the Partition of Bengal (1905) by Lord Curzon (1859-1925), the streets of Calcutta resounded with the cries of Vande Mataram and thousands undertook the vows of Swadeshi and boycott. While it became the mantra of nationalists it was the bugbear of the British bureaucracy which considered sloganeering with Vande Mataram as a sign of revolt.

When Bampfyld Fuller, Lt. Governor of the newly created province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, banned the shouting of the slogan, Sarojini Bose (wife of Tara Prasanna Bose) took the pledge in public that she would not wear gold till the government withdrew its circular. Students, both

Women Warriors of India’s Freedom

1

Sister Nivedita


boys and girls, wore badges with Vande Mataram inscribed on them. In organised gatherings, Vande Mataram used to be sung mostly by girls, with folded hands in front of the symbolic portrait of Mother India. The reverence for mother thus metamorphosed into the religion of patriotism.

The first Indian national flag proposed by some Indians in England and France in 1906, had saffron with eight stars across at the top, white with Vande Mataram in the middle, and green with moon to right and sun with left, at the bottom. Vande Mataram was the rallying cry of nationalists of the Ghadr Party formed in 1813 in the U.S. with a view to overthrowing the British rule by force. It resounded in the Central Legislative assembly on April 8, 1929, when Sardar Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) and Batukeshwar Dutt (1910-1965) threw a bomb to protest against the passage of the Public Safety Bill and Trade Disputes Bill. Surya Sen (1894-1934), a Bengali revolutionary of the Chittagong group, proclaimed the Provisional Revolutionary Government while chanting Vande Mataram.

The song was first sung at the annual session of Indian National Congress (estbd. 1885) held at Calcutta in 1896. It became controversial when the Party came to power in six of the eleven provinces of British India in 1937. After independence it acquired the status of a national song. The idea of India (Bharatavarsha) as mother, pervaded the entire course of the freedom struggle and had its roots in the ancient aphorism: Janani janambhumishcha swargadapi gariyasi, which means that ‘Mother and Motherland are greater than even heaven.’

It received a boost when Swami Dayananda (1824-1883), founder of the Arya Samaj (Bombay, 1875), asserted that foreign rule, howsoever good was worse than indigenous rule, howsoever bad it was. Both in his lectures and writings, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) described Bharatavarsha as motherland, the punyabhumi or ‘land of virtue’, hallowed by saints and sages of yore. His ardent disciple, Sister Nivedita (Margaret Elizabeth Noble) perceived India not as a congeries of states but as ‘one living reality’, a motherland (matribhumi).

Sister Nivedita (1867-1911) was the first western woman to be initiated into an Indian monastic order. She came into contact with Swami Vivekananda in England in 1895 when she was the headmistress of the Ruskin School, member of the ‘Free Ireland’ group and Secretary of the Sesame Club. After coming to India in January 1898, she opened a Girls’ School in Calcutta (1898), helped the victims of bubonic plague (1899) and of famine and flood in East Bengal (1906), supported the Swadeshi Movement (1905) and inspired nationalist activity. When the singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ was banned, she made the students of her school recite it as a daily prayer.

Much before Mahatma Gandhi popularised the spinning wheel; she introduced it in her school and appointed a lady teacher (charkha-mai) for the same. She mooted the idea of a national flag, with the embroidered emblem of the thunderbolt (vajra) of Indra, at the annual session of the Indian National Congress held at Calcutta in 1906. She protested against the illiberal provisions of the Universities Act passed during the viceroyalty of Lord Curzon in 1904. She remained associated with such radical organisations as the Dawn Society and the Anushilan Samiti, and was close to Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950), extremist leader of Congress, and Benoy Sarkar (1887-1949), a noted economist.

She exhorted women to worship Mother India: ‘Dedicate some part of every puja to this thought of the mother who is Swadesh. Lay a few flowers before her, pour out a little water in Her name’. ‘Let us realise all that our country has done for us—how she has given us birth and food and friends, our beloved ones, and our faith itself. Is she not indeed our mother?’

Anti-colonial protests and movements in the 19th century were stimulated by a number of factors—political subjugation, impoverishment of peasantry, drainage of wealth, repressive land revenue settlements, destruction of indigenous industries, racial discrimination, cultural subordination, spread of western education, the influx of democratic, liberal and rational ideas, new means of transport and communication, rise of new social classes, socio-religious reform movements and the emergence of new political leadership.

Women did not have much role to play in the pre-Mutiny uprisings in India—of Sannyasis of Bengal and Bihar (1763-1800), of peasants of Rangpur (1783), of Poiligars of Carnatic (1801-5), of Killadars of Bundelkhand (1800-12) or of Kols (1831-32), Faraizis (1838-51), Mappilas (1836-54) and Santhals (1855-56), which were concerned with peasant and tribal issues, and were more or less localised in character. However, women of royal households showed valour during the Rising of 1857. Both Maharani Lakshmi Bai (1828-1858) of Jhansi and Rani of Ramgarh (d. 1858) put a heroic fight against the British; the former died while fighting in the battlefield; the latter after realising that she could

“Let us realise all that our country has done for us—how she has given us

birth and food and friends, our beloved ones, and our

faith itself. Is she not indeed our mother?”


not win against the strong might of her enemy, pierced a sword in her body to save her honour. Rani Tace Bai was deported to Monghyr (1858) and incarcerated for 12 years as she spearheaded a revolt in Mandala district (Madhya Pradesh).

Rani Jindan (1817-1863) was detained in Nepal as the British learnt about her correspondence with the Maharaja of Kashmir and others which revealed that she was secretly making plans to put up a united fight against the Raj. Begum Hazrat Mahal (1820-1879), wife of the deposed Nawab Wazid Ali Shah of Oudh, took refuge in Nepal after failing to resist the British troops. Many other women of nobility like Thakurani of Budri, Rani Digambar Koer, and Rani of Tikri offered oblations in the yajna of freedom.

The Rising of 1857 was suppressed but the embers of discontentment continued to smolder. Sir John Lawrence who became the first Viceroy of India in 1858 sensed the gravity of the situation and informed the Home Government: ‘Yes, India is quiet. As quiet as gun powder.’ Women participation in the annual sessions of the Indian National Congress (INC) was minimal in the beginning. They came from urban areas and attended it as visitors, observers, or wives of delegates.

At the annual Congress session of Allahabad (1888) some women gave their jewellery for party funds. At its Bombay session (1890) representatives of NGO’s like Women Christian Temperance Association, Bengali Ladies Association, Arya Mahila Samaj (Bombay) joined as delegates.

The most prominent among them were: Pandita Ramabai, a great social reformer, Swarna Kumari Devi, sister of Rabindranath Tagore, and Kadambani Ganguli, the first woman student of Medical College, Calcutta. Ganguli was officially deputed to felicitate the Congress President, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Elite women like Hemant Kumari Sukul, Sushila Mazumdar and Hemant Kumari Chaudharani were present on this occasion. In 1901, Swam Kumari Devi, President of the women wing of Theosophical Society, attended the Calcutta session of the Congress to understand its objectives.

The first woman delegate from North India was Miss Jessie Royce, a medical specialist from Ambala who made her presence felt at Bombay in 1890. Another lady of prominence was Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1889-1964) who entered national politics under the guidance of Gopalkrishan Gokhale (1866-1915), a moderate Congress leader, and later served as Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi for sixteen years. Few women figure as delegates in the official records of the Congress in the pre-Gandhian period. Moreover, they did not wield much influence till Annie Besant (1847-1933), a theosophist leader of Irish origin who made

Annie Besant

Gandhi and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

Sarojini Naidu


India her second home, became the first woman President of the Congress in 1917 followed by Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949) in 1925, the first Indian woman to hold this office.

Annie Besant claimed that she had been a Hindu in her previous birth. She launched the Home Rule movement in 1916 and, like her compatriot, Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) campaigned for Swaraj or self rule ‘from Village Council through district and Municipal Boards and Provincial Legislative Assemblies to a National Parliament’.

She argued that it was better to have ‘bullock carts and freedom’ than ‘a train deluxe with subjection’. She preached Swaraj and Swadeshi through her lectures and writings, and launched The Commonwealth, a weekly and New India (earlier Madras Standard), a daily paper, to fulfill her mission. She believed that India had great potential in terms of men and resources, ‘far greater than America’ and that if granted self rule, it could be helpful in countering German militarism effectively.

Although she was an inveterate critic of the British bureaucracy in India, and received occasional warnings, she did not intend to sever ties with Great Britain, and wanted the Congress to help the government in implementing the Montague Chelmsford Reforms of 1919. She dubbed the Non-Cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1920, as a rebellious act, but supported the resolution on Dominion Status at the All Parties Conference, eight years later. Her vast erudition and great ideals, intense love for India and its heritage, and her role in socio-political awakening has few parallels.

Unlike Annie Besant, Sarojini Naidu, was a staunch Gandhian besides being a poetess (Kokila, ‘Nightingale’ of India), social activist, and a defender of women rights. Inspired by Margaret Cousins (1878-1954), she led a delegation of fourteen women leaders to Lord Montague, Secretary of State for India and submitted a memorandum soliciting the enfranchisement of women on an equal basis with men.

This was followed by a number of requisitions to the Southborough Committee by women organisations like Women Graduates Union of Bombay, Women’s branch of the Home Rule League, Bharat Istri Mandal, Bombay Women’s India Association, and others. The demand for enfranchisement of women was turned aside on the plea that Indian society was not prepared for it. Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant pleaded the case again before the Joint Parliamentary Committee in England in 1919, and tried to build public opinion for the same with the support of Herabai A. Tata, General Secretary of Bombay Women’s India Association.

In 1921, Madras became the first province to enfranchise women though in a restricted way, followed by other provinces, in less than a

decade. Sarojini Naidu took an active part in Gandhian Satyagraha movements and underwent imprisonment. She supported the Gurdwara Reform Movement of Akali-Sikhs in Punjab and stood for Hindu-Muslim unity. She was an official delegate to the second Round Table Conference (1931) in London after the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931).

She visited many countries including England, South Africa, Canada and the U.S. and lectured on various subjects ranging from the ideals of Indian womanhood to the miserable plight of Indians in India and abroad. Her amiable disposition, eloquence, literary flights, and depth of feeling and concern for the downtrodden sections of society made her popular even outside Congress circles. Sarojini Naidu was a nationalist to the core and considered herself ‘a loyal daughter of Bharat Mata’. The extent of participation of women in national movement differed from place to place and from time to time.

Initially, the elite women in Presidency towns alone were conscious of the exploitative aspects of the British Raj. Women in Bengal were the first to condemn the Vernacular Press Act (1878) of Lord Lytton (1876-1880) and to express gratitude to his successor, Lord Ripon (1880-84) for repealing it, through the platform of the Indian National Association established by Surendranath Bannerji (1848-1925) with Anandmohan Bose. Enlightened women like Kamini Sen and Abala Das along with the youth of Bethune School, Calcutta, expressed public resentment against the withdrawal of the Ilbert Bill (1883) which could have ensured judicial equality between Indian and European judges.

When Surendranath Bannerji was sentenced to two months imprisonment for contempt of court, consequent to his observations in The Bengalee (founded 1879), women consoled his

“Swadeshi, originally thought of as merely the boycott of foreign goods,

gradually acquired a comprehensive meaning,

and it became the virtual doorway to the movement for Swaraj

or self rule.”


wife, Chandidasi Devi, and supported his cause. There were protests and demonstrations across Bengal, especially in northern and western parts of India. In times to come, even lower-middle class women came into the open to protest against the government policies, whenever an occasion arose.

Women, in many parts of India, took active part in the Swadeshi and boycott movements, discarding foreign jewellery, clothes, kitchen appliances, glass utensils, paper, refined sugar, etc., and joined protest meetings, picketing groups and public processions with patriotic zeal. Swadeshi, originally thought of as merely the boycott of foreign goods, gradually acquired a comprehensive meaning, and it became the virtual doorway to the movement for Swaraj or self rule.

The beginning of the 20th century witnessed agrarian unrest fuelled by inflationary trends, rising prices, famine and plague, oppression of peasantry, exploitation of rural resources by the government, increase in land revenue and water rates in the canal irrigated areas, and the Land Alienation Act (1900) Amendment Bill (1907) which restricted agriculturalists to sell land without government permission. S. Denzil Ibbetson, Lt. Governor of Punjab, saw in these developments, the forebodings of another revolt. The establishment of an organisation, named Bharat Mata Sabha (Lahore, 1907) by S. Ajit Singh (1881-1947) and his elder brother S. Kishan Singh, Sufi Amba Prasad (1858-1919), Mehta Anand Kishore, Lala Pindi Das and others, clearly shows that the ‘Mother’ principle was invoked to unite nationalists against the British Raj. When Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928) and S. Ajit Singh were deported to Mandalay (June 2, 1907), women showed resentment by registering protests till their release after about six months.

The war years witnessed a number of developments which had a direct bearing on the Indian national movement. More than 300% increase in defense expenditure, price rise, unemployment, heavy taxes etc., added to the woes of people. The Home Rule league movements of Annie Besant (September 25, 1915) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (April 28, 1916), Lucknow Pact (1916) which brought about a rapprochement between Congress and Muslim League, Lord Montague’s declaration (1917) that responsible government would gradually dawn in India, Russian Revolution (1917) which ousted the Czarist regime and the Fourteen Points of Woodrow Wilson (January 8, 1918) which included the right to self determination for subject countries, seemed to augur well for the future. However, the inadequacy of Montague Chelmsford Reforms led to a wave of indignation which compelled the government to pass the Rowlatt Bills in the teeth of opposition from Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress.

The anti-Rowlatt Act agitation in Punjab was spurred by Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Satyagraha.

It was marked by hartals, demonstrations and violent incidents, culminating in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. General Dyer with his troops had fired indiscriminately on men, women and children assembled in the Bagh, leaving 379 persons dead and 1200 wounded, according to an official estimate. Subsequent to this ghastly episode, Martial Law was imposed in Punjab, and public flogging, or harassment or molestation of women became common in Lahore, Gujranwala, Kasur and other places. This clearly revealed Great Britain’s intention to rule India ‘not only by force but by bloodshed.’ Sarla Devi (1872-1945), Sarojini Naidu and other enlightened women publicly condemned this ghastly act.

The emergence of Mahatma Gandhi on the political scene increased the level and extent of women participation, and brought them on the national scene. He was convinced that women symbolised power (shakti) but had become oblivious of it, and allowed themselves to be exploited by men. He castigated men for ill-treating women, for depriving them of initiative, and of feeling of self respect. “Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none to me, is so degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity, the female sex, not the weaker sex’, he wrote. Women were nobler than men ‘and even today the embodiment of sacrifice, silent suffering, humility, faith and knowledge.’ He regarded Sita, wife of the legendary king, Sri Ramachandra of Ayodhya as the ideal role-model for women. He goaded women from affluent families to work for the amelioration of the poor, rural and low caste women.

Mahatma Gandhi considered women the incarnation of Ahimsa. To him Ahimsa meant infinite capacity for suffering. ‘Who but women, the mother of men, show this capacity in the largest measure?’ he argued. Carrying the argument further, he observed that women could become ‘the leader in Satyagraha which does not require the learning that books give but does require the stout heart that comes from suffering and faith.’

Mahatma Gandhi felt that women were stronger than men, in the finer sense of the term. ‘If by strength is meant brute strength, then indeed woman is less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior.’ He argued that moral persuasion rather than force, was akin to the innate nature of women, and that India could spin her way to Swaraj with their active support.

(to be concluded)Satish K. Kapoor, an Ex British Council Scholar in History at SOAS (University of London), Local Secretary, Dayanand Institutions, Solapur, India

Source: Bhavan’s Journal, April 30, 2011


The passion that India has for cricket is greater than any other country has for any sport

For a month-and-a-half beginning Saturday, February 19, 2011 India was obsessed, engrossed and riveted. The object of this extreme emotion was, of course, the cricket World Cup. A complex game, cricket has three mainstream formats:• Test match cricket, which lasts five days• One-day cricket, which sees teams bat 50 overs

each and is sometimes called Fifty50 or F50 cricket

• A new, brash and abbreviated version that sees teams bat 20 overs each and is often called Twenty20 or T20 cricket.

Between February 19 and April 2 this year, India co-hosted the World Cup. Immediately after that staged the planet’s richest cricket tournament: the Indian Premier League, India’s flagship T20 event. At the beginning of 2011, India toured South Africa for a series of test matches. Later in the year, it will play top-line test series against England and Australia. In a country that needs few excuses not to immerse itself in cricket lore, 2011 is an extraordinary bonanza. It’s a 12-month festival of quality cricket.

They say you can never understand a society without understanding its major sport. At one point, baseball defined the Middle American dream and the idyllic self-image of the towns and cities of the vast American heartland. Today, the English Premier League is not just emblematic of English football but also of British multiculturalism—it attracts talent from all continents.

That each of the three versions of cricket has a market in India is indicative perhaps of the multiply rhythms of this land and of the many Indias that exist under that one political identity. The languid, never-ending test match could, at the end of five days, leave you with nothing but a thrilling draw.

The F50 game speaks of a broader, smaller, city India which still has limited entertainment and economic options and so can pack a stadium for an entire day. The T20 revolution, with its attendant razzmatazz, is the ideal product for the metropolitan crowd, a direct rival to the three-hour film and tailored to audiences that have more money than time and are in tune with the business and leisure principles of the developed world.

Why India is Crazy about Cricket


“Cricket is the great leveller in India. It unites regions and religions, social variants and economic diversities. It is what binds the business tycoon and

the shop-floor worker”

Cricket Fever: Crowds support the Indian team in a match against New Zealand

Newspaper front pages on February 25, 2010, a day after Tendulkar scored a double

century in a one-day match


Which individual, which demographic and which geography follows which type of cricket? The answer is a snapshot introduction to the Indian—any Indian—you’re interrogating. It’s almost as fail-proof as a marketing survey.

Why is India so cricket-focussed? Modern sport is not an amateur pastime but hard commerce. A large economy—the United States, Australia—can sustain and support many sports. As such, baseball, basketball, American football and golf may all be lucrative in the US. India offers the strange case of an economy that is now big enough to shore up more than one sport but a society that is still essentially a one-sport phenomenon. This causes it to over-invest in cricket. Consequently, the game and its practitioners attract disproportionate media and spectator interest, sponsorship money and advertisement revenue.

Why is India cricket fanatic to the extent of ignoring other sports? The fact is cricket offers the rare example of sustained good performance by Indian players and teams in any sport. Tennis has the occasional Leander Paes or Sania Mirza, badminton the lone world-beater in Saina Nehwal. Indian athletics produces the odd track and field star. The hockey team wins a big tournament about once a decade. Individual golfers are slowly climbing the ladder on the tour. Yet, none of these comes close to the conveyor belt regularity of cricket stars and skills.

Capital breeds capital. The fact that money is poured into cricket makes it an attractive career path for young Indian sportsmen. This makes team selection tough and, to the degree possible, meritocratic. In turn, this leads to successful teams, mass interest and still more money pouring in.

With no other international cultural product cricket still calls the shots. Seventy percent of global cricket revenues are generated in India. Australia sets its cricket calendar to match India’s; England wants Indian players in its domestic tournaments to make its county games worth the while for Indian television channels and audiences; West Indies cricket authorities wait for an Indian tour to make money by selling television rights and in-stadia advertising contracts to Indian companies. Cricket is not just India’s sport; it’s India’s power trip.

The politics and the money of cricket are important no doubt, but not as compelling as the hunger and devotion of the ordinary cricket fan. India is united by cricket, curry and cinema. Listening to radio commentary, stealing a glance at the television in the middle of a busy day at office, asking the next man on the street if he knows the score, rushing home from school or work to catch a game being set up for a close finish: every Indian has many such experiences, many such confessions.

In 2008, when the first IPL was played to unbelievable enthusiasm, the state of Karnataka in south India was in the midst of legislative elections. Political parties had to end public meetings early because people—voters—wanted to leave and catch the evening’s IPL game on television. This is not an apocryphal story; it actually happened.

Cricket is the great leveller in India. It unites regions and religions, social variants and economic diversities. It is what binds the business tycoon and the shop-floor worker. Along with the film industry -perhaps politics as well, in a certain kind of way—it offers the most evocative and salient vehicle of social mobility. In a land of faith and spiritualism, cricket is a self-renewing religion.

India, the World Cup Winner and IPL 2011

On Sunday, April 3, 2011, the final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was played between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. India won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 by 6 wickets. The crowd celebrated the victory and there were some emotional scenes in the ground in the Indian team after winning the cup in 28 years gap. Dhoni was awarded the Man of the match for his brilliant 91 runs in 79 balls. Yuvraj Singh with 15 wickets and 361 runs was given the Player of the Tournament award. After World Cup 2011, IPL 2011 was declared open in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on 8th April.

This Article is based on Why India is Crazy About Cricket by Ashok Malik, a senior columnist based in New Delhi with a passion for cricket, India Perspectives Vol 25, No. 1, March 2011, www.cricket2011worldcup.com, www.iplt20.com.

Preity Zinta cheers for Kings XI Punjab at an IPL Match


New Delhi—Every year, during India’s rainy season, there is, equally predictably, a “monsoon session” of Parliament. And, every year, there seems to be increasing debate about which is stormier—the weather or the legislature.

Consider the current session, which began on August 1. The opening day was adjourned, in keeping with traditional practice, to mourn the death between sessions of a sitting member of parliament. But the adjournment did not come before a routine courtesy greeting to the visiting Speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament was interrupted by Tamil MPs from a regional party, who rose to their feet to shout demands for his expulsion because of his government’s behaviour towards that country’s Tamil minority. The errant MPs were rapidly silenced, and the visitor received a table-thumping welcome from the rest of the House.

Matters were not so swiftly resolved, however, the next day. No sooner had a newly-elected member taken his oath than a number of MPs from the Bahujan Samaj Party, which rules India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, stormed into the well of the House, shouting slogans and waving placards in protest against the government’s land-acquisition policies.

The Speaker attempted for a few minutes to get them to return to their seats, then gave up and adjourned the session for an hour. When the MPs reassembled, the opposition members—now joined by MPs from a rival regional party—marched towards the Speaker’s desk, making even more noise. After a few more ineffectual minutes of trying to be heard above the din, the Speaker adjourned Parliament again. One more attempt was made

before the House adjourned for the day, with no item of legislative business transacted.

That, unfortunately, is often par for the course in India’s parliament, many of whose opposition members appear to believe that disrupting proceedings, rather than delivering a convincing argument, is the most effective way to make their points. Last winter, an entire five-week session was lost without a single day’s work, because the opposition parties united to stall the House, forcing adjournments every day. There has not been a single session in recent years in which at least some days were not lost to deliberate disruption.

It wasn’t always this way. Indian politicians were initially proud of the Westminster-style parliamentary system that they adopted upon Independence. India’s nationalists were determined to enjoy the democracy that their colonial rulers had denied them, and convinced themselves that the British system was best. When a future British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, travelled to India as part of a constitutional commission and argued the merits of a presidential system over a parliamentary one, his Indian interlocutors reacted with horror. “It was as if,” Attlee recalled, “I had offered them margarine instead of butter.”

Many of India’s new MPs—several of whom had been educated in England and observed British parliamentary traditions with admiration—revealed in the authenticity of their ways. Indian MPs still thump their desks, rather than clap their hands, in approbation. When bills are put to a vote, an affirmative call is still “aye,” rather than “yes.” An Anglophile Communist MP, Hiren Mukherjee, boasted in the 1950’s that British Prime Minister

AWAKENING INDIA

India’s Functioning Anarchy


Anthony Eden had commented to him that the Indian parliament was in every respect like the British one. Even to a Communist, it was a proud moment.

But six decades of independence have wrought significant change, as exposure to British practices has faded and India’s natural boisterousness has reasserted itself. Some of the state assemblies in India’s federal system have already witnessed scenes of furniture upended, microphones ripped out, and slippers flung by unruly legislators, not to mention fistfights and garments torn in scuffles.

While things have not yet gone so far in the national legislature, the code of conduct that is imparted to all newly-elected MPs—including injunctions against speaking out of turn, shouting slogans, waving placards, and marching into the well of the House—is routinely hounored in the breach. Equally striking is the impunity with which lawmakers flout the rules that they are sworn to uphold.

There was a time when misbehaviour was dealt with firmly. One of my abiding recollections from childhood was the photograph of a burly Socialist parliamentarian, Raj Narain, a former wrestler, being bodily carried out of the House by four sergeants-at-arms for shouting out of turn and disobeying the Speaker’s orders to return to his seat.

But, over the years, standards have been allowed to slide, with adjournments being preferred to expulsions. Last year, five MPs in the upper house of India’s parliament were suspended for charging up to the presiding officer’s desk, wrenching his microphone and tearing up his papers. But, after a few months and some muted apologies, they were quietly reinstated.

Perhaps this makes sense, for it allows the opposition some space in a system in which party-line voting determines most legislative outcomes. Four decades ago, in more genteel times, an opposition legislator once ended a debate whose outcome was a foregone conclusion, with the words, “We have the arguments. You have the votes.” Years later, the same MP, Atal Behari Vajpayee, became Prime Minister, and took pride in giving the opposition as much leeway as possible.

The result is a curiously Indian institution, whose prevailing standards of behaviour would not be tolerated in most parliamentary systems. In India’s Parliament, many members feel that the best way to show the strength of their feelings is to disrupt the lawmaking rather than debate the law. The Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who served under President Kennedy as US Ambassador to India, described the country as a “functioning anarchy.” We need look no further than the temple of Indian democracy to see it in action.

Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and UN Under-Secretary General, is a member of India’s Parliament and the Author of several books, including, most recently, Nehru: the Invention of India (in German).

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010, www.project-syndicate.org


New Delhi: India’s democratic credentials do not impress Francis Fukuyama, who two decades ago prophesied the “end of history,” as being a catalyst for the country’s economic growth. Fukuyama finds excessive “patronage politics and fractiousness” in India—flaws that stand in stark contrast to China’s speedier, though not necessarily cleaner, political system.

The reality is, however, somewhat different. China’s local governments have been accumulating mountains of debt to fund their construction binges, raising serious concerns about potential defaults. Premier Wen Jiabao himself recognizes the urgent need to address the country’s inequitable growth, calling for means to be found to “share prosperity evenly,” and thus to reduce the widening gaps between “rich and poor, cities and countryside.”

The economist Nouriel Roubini has predicted that China’s economy will most likely slow sometime between 2013 and 2015, the point at which its fixed-asset investments of nearly 50% of GDP will demand social and monetary returns. Until now, says Roubini, China’s export-led growth has depended on “making things that the rest of the world wants, at a price that no other country can match,” a consequence of cheap labor and economies of scale. This cost advantage is diminishing fast.

India is facing severe difficulties as well, but of a different nature. For example, outward investment by Indian companies is expanding fast. Some believe that this is a natural development for a rising power, but critics view outward investment as a reflection of the scarcity of opportunities at home.

Rising interest rates, high inflation, and severe policy gridlock amid a spate of government corruption scandals have impeded both foreign and domestic investment in India, thus slowing economic growth to a level that is below its potential. An unpredictable regulatory environment, inadequate infrastructure, and a sluggish, monsoon-dependent agricultural sector are adding to the economy’s problems.

Clearly, economic turbulence is roiling both of Asia’s major economies, the giants of the so-called BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Consider inflation. On July 6, the People’s Bank of China raised its benchmark interest rate for the fifth time since October 2010. This has generated apprehension about property markets, and fear that local governments could default on part of their staggering debt of $1.65 trillion.

In India, the government’s failure to contain rising prices, pursue structural economic reforms vigorously, attract foreign direct investment, advance infrastructure development, manage expenditure, and avoid liquidity crunches underscores the many challenges it faces. Moreover, a continued standoff between the government and the opposition has weakened political effectiveness, further undermining India’s growth prospects.

Indeed, India’s core challenge remains political. With food prices rising sharply, the poor are being hit the hardest, fueling greater poverty, inequality, and resentment. But the same is true in China: anti-inflation protests are now roiling both countries, owing mainly to rising energy, food, and raw-material prices, with food accounting for one-third of household spending in China and around 45% in India.

Asia’s BRICs Hit the Wall

THE NEW POWER GAME


The fear now in both countries is that inflation shocks could turn into a self-reinforcing price spiral. As the IMF cautions, “core inflation—excluding commodities—has risen from 2% to 3.75%, suggesting that inflation is broadening.”

One reason that Indian prices are rising is that infrastructure growth remains sluggish. Progress on roads, railways, and power projects—all of which could prevent food from perishing prematurely, and energy and commodities from being unnecessarily wasted—is essential to stabilizing prices.

China, meanwhile, finds itself at a critical juncture. Its leadership will change next year— at a time when income inequality is on the march and the Party lacks any consensus on how to stop it. Given that less than 9% of China’s ruling communist party members are actually “workers” nowadays, the regime’s leaders must be even more uncomfortable with growing inequality. But, in the absence of serious political reform, income inequality will widen as crony capitalism sinks its roots more deeply.

India and China both need a renewed commitment to structural reform to sustain their economic growth. Cheap labor and monetary management will not do the trick on their own. The credibility that both governments gained after their countries avoided the worst of the global financial crisis of 2008 is beginning to wear thin. For, as inflationary fears in the BRIC giants grow, second thoughts about the shift in the world economy’s center of gravity are beginning to gain currency.

What both countries need are short-term corrections and long-term structural changes. China needs to prepare itself for an economy

whose performance is not dependent on exports and low domestic wages. India must find other drivers of economic modernization than new information technologies (as welcome as these are). Workers in both countries are now demanding better living standards—a demand that even China’s tightly controlled political system cannot ignore.

India, for its part, needs to open up its economy further in order to take advantage of its continuing rapid population growth and the ongoing changes in the structure of the global economy. It must recommit itself to feeding its population—and thus to attaining its stated objective of a “Second Green Revolution” in agriculture.

China and India have used very different political models to achieve their ambitious GDP-growth targets. Nonetheless, as their economies mature, both will need to embrace structural change— and to address the challenges of overdue political reforms.

Jaswant Singh, a former Foreign Minister, Finance Minister, and Defence Minister of India, is a member of the opposition in India’s Parliament. He is the Author of Jinnah: India—Partition—Independence.



IN SEARCH OF DYNAMISM

Chicago: These days, the United States media are full of ordinary Americans venting their rage at the incompetence and immaturity of their politicians. Even though the US government’s debt limit was raised in the nick of time, the process was—and remains—fraught with risk. Why, the public asks, can’t politicians sit down together like sensible adults and come up with a timely agreement that commands broad consensus? If we can balance our household budgets, they ask irately, why can’t our political leaders?

The reality, though, is that US politicians reflect the views of the American electorate—views that are fundamentally inconsistent. The absence of broad consensus is no wonder. Indeed, the last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceiling is proof that the politicians did what they were sent to Washington to do: represent their constituencies and only compromise in the interests of the country as a whole.

The key question is whether the political gridlock exposed by the debt-ceiling debate will worsen in the run-up to the 2012 presidential

Washington and the Art of the Possible


and congressional elections—if not beyond. That is possible, but we should not overlook cause for hope in what America’s politicians just accomplished.

Let’s start with why the electorate is so polarized. There are two key divisive factors: income and age. Income inequality has been growing in the US over the last three decades, largely because the labor market has increasingly demanded skills that the education system has been unable to supply. The everyday consequence for the middle class is a stagnant paycheck and growing employment insecurity, as the old economy of well-paying low-skilled jobs with good benefits withers away.

Until the financial crisis, the easy availability of credit, especially against home equity, enabled the middle class to sustain higher consumption despite stagnant incomes. With the collapse of the housing bubble, many people lost their jobs and health insurance, risked losing their homes, and suddenly had little reason for economic optimism. The response from America’s Democratic Party, which has traditionally represented this constituency, was to promise affordable universal health care and more education spending, while also protecting government jobs and entitlement programs.

When added up, such spending is unaffordable, especially with current federal revenues at just 15% of GDP. The solution for many Democrats is to raise revenues by taxing the rich. But the rich are not the idle rich of the past; they are the working rich. To balance the budget only by taxing the rich will require a significant increase in income taxes, to the point that it would lower incentives for work and entrepreneurial activity considerably.

This is not to say that taxes on the rich cannot be increased at all; but such increases cannot be the primary way of balancing the budget. Republicans, trying to give voice to many working Americans’ ambient uneasiness with rising government expenditures, as well as to the growing anger of the working rich, find it easier to defend a principle than a particular constituency. Hence their mantra: no additional taxes.

The neat divide based on income is muddled by the elderly. It is understandable that older Americans who have few savings want to protect their Social Security and Medicare benefits. However, even elderly Tea Party Republicans, who are typically against big government, defend these programs because they view them as a form of property right, paid for when they worked.

In truth, rising life expectancy and growing health-care costs mean that today’s elderly have contributed only a fraction of what they expect to receive from Social Security and Medicare. The government made a mistake in the past by not raising taxes to finance these programs or reducing

the benefits that they promised. Unless the growth of these entitlement programs is curbed now, today’s young will pay dearly for that mistake, in the form of higher taxes now and lower benefits when they are old.

But the elderly are politically active and powerful. Not only do many defend their entitlements strongly; some oppose growth in other types of public spending for fear that it will weaken the government’s ability to pay for the benefits that they believe they are owed.

These then are the roots of America fiscal impasse, which has produced passionate constituencies viscerally opposed to compromise. Any political deal significantly before the debt-ceiling deadline would have exposed politicians to charges of betrayal from their constituents. And, given that President Barack Obama would ultimately be held responsible for a default, he needed the deal more than the Republicans did. So he had to coerce his party into accepting a deal full of spending cuts and devoid of tax increases.

Will the deal deliver what it promises? A bipartisan committee has to propose $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by the end of this year, and Congress must either accept that proposal, or see immediate, politically painful expenditure cuts, which would include defence spending—an area that America’s Republicans care about strongly.

If this structure works as advertised, Congress will be forced to reach a compromise, which can be sold once again by politicians to their polarized constituencies as being necessary to avoid a worse outcome. This time, Obama’s Democrats will be on a level playing field, because both parties will be held equally responsible for a failure to reach a deal.

Ultimately, the big necessary decisions on curbing entitlement growth and reforming the tax code will probably have to wait until after the next election, giving the divided electorate an opportunity to reflect on its own inconsistency and send a clearer message. In the meantime, US politicians might have done just about enough to convince debt markets that America’s credit is still good. For that, Americans—and others around the world—should stop pillorying them and give them their due credit.

Raghuram Rajan, a former Chief Economist of the IMF, is Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago and the Author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.



AFL India - Participating in International Cup in Sydney and Melbourne

AFL India team had participated in the International Cup 2008 held in Melbourne which was supported by Bhavan Australia.

This year AFL India will have a team of 30 players and 4 support staff including a coach ready for the 2011 AFL International Cup. They have approached us for supporting the team stay in Sydney from 11 to 22 August 2011. India’s participation in this year’s International Cup is very important, to set a platform to carry the work forward.

Last time Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School in Saltlake, Kolkata invited the AFL India members

as well as the AFL India players to take part in a curtain raiser to their, Intra-school soccer final.

AFL India are planning to involve the 100 plus schools of Bhavan’s group to start with, and Kolkata and Raipur have already been involved. Both of them are eager and willing to lend supporting hands, to use their school premises for development purposes.

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Greatness of Prayag

That brahmin was born to King Suryakanta and Queen Padmavati as their son who later became famous as King Bhoja. The four women too became Bhoja’s queens with the names Sugandhi, Padmagandhi, Kamavati and Chandraprabha. Bhoja, as you know, was a great poet, had a very attractive body, and was well-versed in all the arts. He ruled over the Lata country from his capital, Dhara, for a long time.

Bhoja meets Sarpati

King Maha who was listening to this narration asked Sage Dattatreya in turn: “Sage! I am blessed indeed to know from your sacred mouth the greatness of Prayag. May I now request you to tell me all about King Bhoja and how he ruled the country?” “With great pleasure,” replied the sage and told this absorbing story.

King Bhoja ruled the country in the highest traditions of the ancient rulers of this country. He had mastered all the 64 arts. In fact, it is well-nigh impossible to describe adequately his accomplishments. Even as people saw him, they became endowed with the faculty of lisping in numbers. He had learnt the extraordinary science of alchemy by which all baser metals could be transformed into gold. The life of Bhoja is as sacred as the life of Sri Ramachandra, His capital city, Dhara, provided all the amenities of life. It was a beehive of poets. In the villages of Lata, Yagnas were performed daily.

One day King Bhoja went deep into the forest in the course of a hunting expedition. A small party of his followers was with him. On the way he saw a large banyan tree. Its size and age made him wonder at it. Intending to take rest, he sat for a while under its cool shade. While looking about him, he noticed a siddha performing a terrific form of penance by holding himself upside down on one of the branches of this giant tree.

Thought he: ‘Who could this great tapasvin be? If I address him, may be, his tapas will be disturbed and he may get angry. Well, why doubt unnecessarily? Let me call him.’ So deciding, he addressed the siddha: ‘O Mahatma! Who may you be and why do you perform this terrific form of tapas?’ The siddha no doubt heard him but remained silent as though he had not heard. Bhoja addressed him again: ‘Great man! I am Bhoja addressing you. Please look at me and bless me!’

This time the siddha opened his eyes and replied: ‘You are a dharmic king. Your just rule and conduct are commendable. I may say you have no parallel in the whole world. Is it not because of kings like you that we people are able to perform tapas fearlessly and unhindered? I owe you a duty. You, your ministers-in-waiting and the soldiers with whom you have come to my place are my guests. It is my pleasant duty to play the host to you all.’

So saying, the siddha climbed down the tree. On his coming near, King Bhoja prostrated before him devoutly. Later Bhoja asked: ‘May I have the privilege of knowing your holy name, deva? ‘Listen, King. Do yogis have names, places, family and other paraphernalia? Yet, I do not want to hide mine from you. My elders used to call me Sarpati,’ replied the siddha. As soon as they settled down, Sarpati closed his eyes and contemplated on the celestial cow, Kamadhenu, whereupon large quantities of excellent food appeared before the party and all of them ate it with relish till their bellies refused to entertain more. There was no comfort unprovided at this function.

King Bhoja and party, spent the night under the banyan tree and when the day broke, started towards the capital. At that time Bhoja requested the siddha: ‘May I invite you, Deva, to come along with me and pay a visit to my capital?’ On this the siddha replied: ‘King! Do you not know that the right place for tapasvins is the forest and that their right foods are fruits, roots and bulbs? Is it then right for them to go to cities? ‘Sire! Is it right for you to tell that to me? Is not my abode your own? Am I not your disciple? Please deign to accede to my request and visit my place’, pleaded Bhoja. ‘May God bless you! I do not want to say ‘no’ to you. I accept your invitation’, replied the siddha and started off. King Bhoja made the siddha sit on the royal elephant, and himself rode on a pedigree-horse, as the party moved towards the palace.

Reaching the portals of the city, the party went in procession round the city when the women of the city collected in their balconies and feasted their eyes on the manly form of their king and sang his praise.

To be continued…V.A.K. Ayer

Source: Untold Stories of King Bhoja, Bhavan’s Book University, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Untold Stories of King Bhoja

Bhavan’s

children


Students and Prayer -Mahatma Gandhi

A Tamil saying has always remained in my memory, and it means: “God is the Help of the helpless”. If you would ask Him to help you, you would go to Him in all your nakedness, approach Him without reservations, also without fear of doubts as to how He can help a fallen being like you. He who has helped millions who have approached Him, is He going to desert you?

He makes no exception whatsoever, and you will find that everyone of your prayers will be answered. But prayer is no mere exercise of words or of the ears, it is no mere repetition of empty formula. Any amount of repetition of Ramanama is futile, if it fails to stir the soul. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. It must be in clear response to the spirit which hungers for it. And even as a hungry man relishes a hearty meal, a hungry soul will relish a heartfelt prayer.

Prayer is the greatest binding force, making for the solidarity and oneness of the human family. If a person realises his unity with God through prayer, he will look upon everybody as himself. There will be no high, no low, no narrow provincialisms or petty rivalries in the matter of language between an Andhra and Tamilian, a Kannadiga and a Malayalee.

There will be no invidious distinction between a touchable and untouchable, a Hindu and a Mussalman, a Parsi, a Christian or a Sikh. Similarly, there would be no scramble for personal gain or power between various groups or between different members within a group. True prayer never goes unanswered.

Who is a true Nationalist? -Sri Aurobindo

Nationalism is not a mere political programme; Nationalism is a religion that has come from God; Nationalism is a creed which you shall have to live. Let no man dare to call himself a Nationalist if he

does so merely with a sort of intellectual pride, thinking that he is more patriotic, thinking that he is something higher than those who do not call themselves by that name.

If you are going to be a Nationalist, if you are going to assent to this religion of Nationalism, you must do it in the religious spirit. You must remember that you are the instrument of God.......

But certain forces which are against that religion are trying to crush its rising strength. It always happens when a new religion is preached, when God is going to be born in the people, that such forces rise with all their weapons in their hands to crush the religion.....Nationalism is not going to be crushed.

Nationalism survives in the strength of God and it is not possible to crush it, whatever weapons are brought against it.

Nationalism is immortal; Nationalism cannot die; because it is no human thing, it is God who is working. God cannot be killed. God cannot be sent to jail. When these things happen among you, I say to you solemnly, what will you do? It is a solemn thing; and suppose that God puts you this question, how will you answer it?

Have you got a real faith? Or is it merely a political aspiration?

Is it merely a larger kind of selfishness?

Or is it merely that you wish to be free to oppress others as you are being oppressed? Do you hold your political creed from a higher source? Is it God that is born in you?

Have you realised that you are merely the instruments of God, that your bodies are not yours? You are merely instruments of God for the work of the Almighty. Have you realised that?

If you have realised that, then you are truly Nationalists; then alone will you be able to restore this great nation....

< < < Flashback

From Bhavan’s Journal July 23, 1961 Reprinted in Bhavan’s Journal July 31, 2011


Charter of Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan AustraliaThe Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Bhavan) is a non-profit, non-religious, non-

political Non Government Organisation (NGO). Bhavan has been playing a

crucial role in educational and cultural interactions in the world, holding

aloft the best of Indian traditions and at the same time meeting the needs of

modernity and multiculturalism. Bhavan’s ideal ‘is the whole world is but

one family’ and its motto: ‘let noble thoughts come to us from all sides’.

Like Bhavan’s other centres around the world, Bhavan Australia facilitates

intercultural activities and provides a forum for true understanding of

Indian culture, multiculturalism and foster closer cultural ties among

individuals, Governments and cultural institutions in Australia.

Bhavan Australia Charter derived from its constitution is:

• To advance the education of the public in:

a) the cultures (both spiritual and temporal) of the world,

b) literature, music, the dance,

c) the arts,

d) languages of the world,

e) philosophies of the world.

• To foster awareness of the contribution of a diversity of cultures to the

continuing development of multicultural society of Australia.

• To foster understanding and acceptance of the cultural, linguistic and

ethnic diversity of the Australian people of widely diverse heritages.

• To edit, publish and issue books, journals and periodicals,

documentaries in Sanskrit, English and other languages, to promote the

objects of the Bhavan or to impart or further education as authorized.

• To foster and undertake research studies in the areas of interest to

Bhavan and to print and publish the results of any research which is

undertaken.

www.bhavanaustralia.org

The Test of Bhavan’s Right to Exist

The test of Bhavan’s right to exist is whether those who work for it in different spheres and in different places and those who study in its many institutions can develop a sense of mission as would enable them to translate the fundamental values, even in a small measure, into their individual life.

Creative vitality of a culture consists in this: whether the ‘best’ among those who belong to it, however small their number, find self-fulfilment by living up to the fundamental values of our ageless culture.

It must be realised that the history of the world is a story of men who had faith in themselves and in their mission. When an age does not produce men of such faith, its culture is on its way to extinction. The real strength of the Bhavan, therefore, would lie not so much in the number of its buildings or institutions it conducts, nor in the volume of its assets and budgets, nor even in its growing publication, cultural and educational activities. It would lie in the character, humility, selflessness and dedicated work of its devoted workers, honorary and stipendiary. They alone can release the regenerative influences, bringing into play the invisible pressure which alone can transform human nature.


Holy & Wise

kaamadhenugunaa vidyaa

hyakaale phaladaayinee

pravaase matrusadrushi vidyaa

guptam dhanam smritam

Learning has the qualities of

wish-yielding cow—kamadhenu.

It yields fruit at any time.

Learning is the mother when

one is travelling. Learning is

a concealed wealth (which

cannot be noticed and

gives protection when

necessary).

-Chanakya

Faith & Bread

In the days when asceticism was associated with supernatural powers, the Spirit was emphasised at the expense of material well-being. It was affirmed: “Man can live without bread, but not without faith.” Later, the social and physical sciences were not considered of absolute value, but emphasis was laid on spiritual development rather apologetically. Then it was affirmed: “Man cannot live by bread alone.”

In recent times, the emphasis has been altered. The affirmation is: “Man can live without faith.” The process of the insectification of man has grown apace. The only faith which man is asked to have in some quarters is that there should be no faith: “Man ought to live without faith.”

But I see a change coming over man. Of this change, Sri Aurobindo was the great prophet, Gandhiji the great architect. Toynbee, our greatest living historian, has recently forecast the change. The affirmation of sanity should run: “Faith without bread has no body: bread without faith has no life. By faith alone can man win bread: with bread alone can faith prosper; for both are life.”

Dr K.M. Munshi Founder, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

-Franklin

Andrea: Unhappy the land that has no heroes!...

Galileo: No, unhappy the land that needs heroes.

-Bertolt Brecht, Life of Galileo

Independence means voluntary restraints and discipline, voluntary acceptance of the rule of law.-Mahatma Gandhi

Kulapativani


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