In Dependent India

Early morning on the last Independence Day, aside an Ahmadabad Highway, I saw a very old lady selling small national flags. Just yards away, I witnessed an old man in tattered and soiled dress filling a century old scooter tank with drops of petrol that were still dripping from a small soft drink bottle. In the School compound to where I followed my grandson for the flag hoisting ceremony, there were music and aesthetically attractive displays. The Chief Guest of the day was a young lady, who hoisted the flag. She stood saluting the flag for a while, her eyes closed. From the few words this high profile lady shared, I understood how serious a patriot she is.  She said that freedom does not mean that we are allowed to create and follow weird laws and regulations like dying in the parliament house is illegal in England. 

Every time I see people stand prayerfully listening to our National Anthem, tears use to roll down my cheeks, because it takes me to solid memories of our fighter heroes willingly surrendering to supreme sacrifices. That day, I heard this Chief Guest asking the listening public if there are any freedom fighters there. I saw an old man and his wife slowly raising their heads from behind the gallery. The lady stopped her speech, slowly walked towards them and respectfully presented the beautiful bouquet the School leader had given her. Further, she bowed her head before the old couple and boldly gave them a salute. This was the first time I saw a New Age Indian offering such a gesture of respect to another lay Indian who could not resist attending a national flag hoisting ceremony. I earnestly wished if I could have stopped aside the old lady with the plastic flags on her hand and given her a big salute.  She could have been a ‘no less freedom fighter’.

In the afternoon on the same day, I happened to read the story of an 84 years old Abidali Lakhani, a devout Muslim, living in Mumbai, which was published in the Times. Lakhani lived a happy life and he eventually decided to make others also happy after his death. In 2002, while he was 74, he collected an organ donation form from JJ hospital Mumbai. After his death, he wanted his body as a whole used by medical students or his usable organs appropriately utilized. The clerics in his community ruled out his plan and his family also refused to endorse the document. Even after 12 years, he is still waiting to hear from somebody who might help him. It is not occasional incidents like this that touch me. I am worried about the quality of consciousness that cover the nation. Who doesn’t know that it is the earnest wishes of patriots like the old lady with the flags and humans like Abidali Lakhani that still keep the nation safe on track? If we do not get a bill for the freedom we enjoy, remember that there is a good reason for it; somebody already paid for it. This is just one thing that I remind my Indian friends all over the world. Though slightly tattered is my ambitions on India, drops of hope still keep dripping down.

Joseph Mattappally

The Janmashtami special!

Krishna – the History 

Krishna appeared in the world in the year 3.227 B.C (on the eighth day of the second fortnight of the month of Sravana of the Visvavasu year) between the intermediary points of the beginning of one day into the next. His birth was extremely auspicious and marked with great predictions from the respected signs that the Jyotisha Vedic Astrology. As per the Shrimad Bhagavatam, Krishna had great features and signs. He was physically good looking, of delicate facial skin, he was tall, thin, broad wide and muscled shoulders, with large beautiful seductive and magnetic eyes. His character was obstinate, firm, he did not change his opinion and he showed himself to be indifferent to contrary opinions, as he did not let himself be influenced by anyone. He was critical with quick psychology to find the defects and errors in others for which his advice from master to masters of Yoga was profound and direct. He was an idealist, with a heart harmonized with reason. He was always ready to sacrifice everything for his family, friends. He valued with preference action to words of false negotiations. He was both loathed and loved. He had a plan that he followed with firmness without ever deviating. There was never a “tomorrow” because for him only the present existed. His mind was absolutely free.

He managed his life with precision. He was the king to a beautiful and mystic kingdom called Dwaraka, which today partly under the sea & some parts in the present state of Gujarat. Dwaraka means “The door of Freedom” in Sanskrit. Krishna lived in Dwaraka close to 100 years. He was the great leader of his subjects who acclaimed and followed him with absolute royalty, given that he was an attentive governor to the needs of his subjects. His family life was especially unrepeatable. He was loved and he loved beyond all conventionalisms. His mother adored him and her example of love was converted into a guide of devotional love for the Vedic tradition. His sense of freedom was also reflected in his life. Krishna is a name full of mystic and philosophical content. Krishna means “black”, a symbol of Eternal Plenitude. Etymologically Krish + Na means “what is taken to the earth, to happiness”. Krishna is the “Most Attractive”, he who seduces everyone to keep them away from Adharma. Krishna is called the divine flutist that plays the flute of the 7 chakras on the Yoga body of the yogis granting them Moksha of Liberation.

Krishna was a Maha Avatara, a Great Divine Complement. An Avatar penetrates energy in the world to reincarnate taking on a body that not always has to have a human appearance or conceivable to the mind and perceptible to the senses. His material body is a vehicle for the divine manifestation (reincarnation). The advent of the Avatar is the complement through the material energy taking on a body of a special nature that allows the expression of the Maha Maya Shakti, the immense power that interacts in all material plains. The ancestral books of the Puranas tell that Shri Krishna lived 125 years, leaving his body in the year 3.102 B.C during the new moon of the month of Phalguna and when the darkness disappeared in the world of man and the era of Kali opened. In Kali Yuga, mans memory is weak, life short and the confusion of Dharma creates a disjointed society, the loss of historical memory, the loss of spiritual references and the beginning of barbarianism. The great teaching of Krishna and his great power is concentrated in the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita, the All-powerful Song, contains the instructions given to his disciple Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where Yoga, Vedanta and the essence of the Vedas were synthesized. The Gita is actually the path which Vedic Dharma flows through. The Sadhana of the Advent has as its objective to give happiness to the Sadhaka, eliminate the sadness caused by pain in life, give potential to the capacity to do Karma Yoga, the integral Yoga of Karma, Bhakti and Gñyana Yoga united in Raja Yoga: correct action, Supreme Devotion, and Perfect Wisdom in the Sovereignty of the Mind.

Wishing you good health & happiness,

Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, Mitran foundation- the stress management people

Black Figures

The decision-making process in Government is still carried out on files. A file generally moves up and down several times before a final decision is taken on an issue which may or may not be the most appropriate one. Several considerations are looked at intervening levels and often at the decision-making level also. That is why Indian bureaucracy is so maligned and notorious for delays. Yet, to be fair, the system has its merits and the accountability in decision-making is one of them. Sometimes the observations or notings at the higher levels hurt us when our viewpoint is not well-appreciated. This is part of the game and those who are in the game take it that way. However, at times the observations can be very depressing and if one is not mature enough, it can take away all the initiative and enthusiasm of the person. It is at this point of time that our inner development has to undergo a test. To pass this test is a difficult proposition and once I had a first hand experience of the same. 

At that time I was the Principal Secretary of an important department and had full confidence of my minister. In one of the matters, the question of revoking the suspension order of a senior officer was involved. The suspension had been ordered in haste and there was a general feeling that it was not only unjust for the officer concerned, but also against public interest. The general reputation of the officer was good and I as well as the minister were in favour of revoking the order. 

Accordingly, a note was prepared on the file supported at all levels including mine and that of the minister. As a matter of fact, the minister wrote a much bigger note in support of mine and the file was sent to the Chief Minister for final decision. When the file came back from the CM’s office to the minister, he was very upset and one day called me to show the observation of the CM. When I went through it, I was also crestfallen. It was so damaging and demeaning that I had to read it several times before believing it. However, in the meantime, my inner strength had taken over my outer weakness. Our proposal was very objective, free from any fear or favour. There was, therefore, no need to feel offended personally. Surely it was due to some communication gap or mischief. I thought that few black figures (words) should not take away my peace. I mustered all the inner strength and shared my feelings with the minister. The minister also was gracious enough to take full responsibility and again sent the file to the CM with greater conviction. This time the proposal was approved and the matter ended.

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Keep Your Promise

Very few people realize, or wish to accept that one of the worst experiences in the life of an individual is a broken promise. We all have moments when we make a promise to someone and cannot keep it, for a variety of reasons. However, when there is a definite pattern in breaking promises, it suggests that the person making the promise is trying to please too many people, perhaps to impress, but failing miserably.

Promises mean a lot to people because they suggest appreciation, value and empathy and carry some pleasure in fulfillment. The effect of broken promises is resentment, undue anxiety, missed opportunities and lack of trust in future promises for one person and a chain of guilt and feelings of incapacity and inadequacy for the other. Broken promises also give a feeling of regret and are rarely associated with success. The most successful people tend to value others and keep their word because it demonstrates integrity – a key attribute for achievement. If not handled sensitively, broken promises can cause ill feeling, damage friendships and even lose business.

Keeping your promises is a way to live your life with integrity. You should especially keep your promises with children. Sometimes parents try to soothe a child’s temper and placate him by making false promises which they have no intention of keeping. Children are too gentle and vulnerable and a broken promise can cause devastation, hurt, grief and frustration in them.

If you find yourself prone to breaking promises, try to limit yourself to genuine promises which you can keep. Do not be forced or pressured and commit yourself only when you feel like it. It is our desire for approval which makes us promise to too many people and when we end up keeping none of them, it makes us feel miserable and we lose our credibility and friends. Be realistic and make promises according to your capabilities. If you value someone’s friendship, or truly respect them, or you value your customers don’t make promise you can’t keep. We can only command respect and be appreciated when we are consistently trustworthy and choose someone else’s interests over our own.

Dr(Mrs) Archana Bharat

Holy Scriptures: A Holistic Perspective – 2

Holy Scriptures play a uniquely important role in the life of the followers of religions. Nobody knows for sure how they are revealed, if they are revealed. I believe they are written by human beings under some kind of special divine inspiration. They may contain errors depending on the world view and the science prevalent at the time. Certainly Galileo would not have been condemned and imprisoned by religious authorities today for concluding that the earth is round against the prevailing scriptural view of the time. I do not believe that certain sections of the Holy Scriptures are inspired. I do believe, though, that the Holy Scriptures as a whole contain teachings that nourish human spirit,  guide faith, and morals.  Certain teachings from these scriptures are invaluable in molding character, conscience, and spiritual life, and guiding humanity along the course to it destiny. There are human flaws of lies, deceptions, and trickeries engaged by important scriptural characters of the Old Testament of the Bible, Ramayana, and Mahabharata. To cite a few instances, the great patriarch Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, in order to save his life, lied and presented his wife Sarah as his sister who then is taken by the Pharaoh in Egypt to his harem. God intervenes with a plague to save Abraham and Sarah. The great king David, the author of Psalms, in spite of having several hundred concubines and, for that matter, any beautiful woman in his kingdom, causes his general to be killed in order to have is wife whom he coveted. Ram, an Avatar (incarnation) of God,  and the hero of Ramayana put his wife, Sita, through a fatal ordeal (agnipariksha) to prove her purity. Not satisfied with that,  he, later on to please his subjects, unfairly and mercilessly abandons his pregnant wife who finally in great sadness ended her life by being swallowed by the earth from whose furrow (sita) she came into this world to begin with.  Krishna, another Avatar of God, gets Yudhishtira, the embodiment of Dharma (righteousness, morality) to trick Dronacharya, the bakbone of Kauravas' army, to his eventual death. Drona, the greatest teacher of Pandavas and Kauravas, was himself unfair in dealing with Ekalavya and Karna. Bhishma, the greatly reverered ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, knowingly sided with evil in the great Mahabharata war.

It may be of interest to note in passing that Koran, coming several hundred years after Christ, combines themes from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Koran says that the Jews are deserving God's anger; and Christians went astray; both corrupted scriptures given by God; both are losers, and are worthy of hell fire. In the prevaling atmosphere of wide spread fear and violence and lack of feedom and human rights caused by    fundamentalist Muslims, it is difficult to make any comment on Mohammed without creating strife and controversies. Yet it is important to have an adequate knowledge of Muhammad to make a fair assessment of Koran. Therefore I recommend a biography of Muhammed: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings. This biography was recommended to me by a physician of Islamic origin from Turkey.  It is also important to note that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on June 29, 2014 established a Caliphate with the avowed purpose of establishing Sunni Islam all over the world by killing all other humans including non-Sunni Muslims. ISIS is a terrorist army currently slaughtering Christians in Iraq, who interestingly speak the same language (Aramaic) as Christ did. (To be continued).

Swami Snehananda Jyoti 

Raksha Sutra

Many times wives have to tie Rakhi’s to their husbands which are sent by their sisters. This is a common scene in the nuclear families we see these days. This year I decided to search for the origin of this festival of Raksha-bandhan. When I asked many elders in my reach, most of them referred to the Incidence of Rani Karnavati and Mughal Emperor Humayun, where the Chittor Queen wanted to save her kingdom from the invasion of Sultan of Gujrat with the help of the Mughals.

When I sat on my friend lappie to get into the googles and wikis, I traced back the festival’s origin to Indra’s wife sachi, who got a holy cotton bracelet from Lord Vishnu to tie it on the wrist of her husband ‘Indra’ to win over the demon king ‘Bali’. I also came across many mythological and historical references of using the ‘Raksha Sutra’ by ladies to encourage their husbands or brothers in order to boost their confidence while they prepare for action. References are also found where Pundits and Brahmins tie such a raksha sutra to the warriors and their kings who are going the battle field. 

Our festivals are full of such symbolic props. Raksha-sutra is definitely one such symbol to remind a person that he is meant to guard the honour of his family members and his motherland. Passing this symbol to us with the hands of sisters or our wives is a good way to remind us of our duties. Hope we all make good use of these festivals as a great reminder system for our duties.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

Experiments

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” We know that no being is complete and there are unique problems that are to be amicably handled and experiments always have a chance. It is clear that Emerson was talking about experiments that you yourself have to do and not with experiments others are allowed to try on you. Galileo Galilei also does not contradict this statement. But he went a step ahead and said, “I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the Scriptures, but with experiments, and demonstrations.” What did he mean by suggesting not to begin with Scriptures? Could he be talking on his unpleasant experiences with the Church? Whatever, I think his advice is relevant in a world in which most people are born into religions. 

A body is always the expression of the mind; experimenting with the mind is dangerous. The story of two high schoolers who experimented with drugs is famous. Both ended up trying heroin and getting addicted. Both wanted to stop. One died and the other fortunately found a second chance at life. People are wise, they refuse to experiment and prefer to move by the inferences most others recommend. Here come Scriptures and the gimmicks religions play. Most religions do not allow their followers to experiment on individual level. They stitch gowns at common sizes and have only one tablet for all ailments. This is addiction, the most harmful of all sorts, into which the common public is pushed into. Once if a follower asks, ‘who in this world can offend an unconditionally loving God’, these religionists may not give any answer. Scriptures talk about noble lives on solid virtues. When these holy verses roll through anointed tongues, they may mean designing a universe with only light in it. Emerson is right, the one who dares to attempt individual experiments only is destined to Realization and all its’ Bliss. 

Joseph Mattappally