Guarding Freedom

All want freedom. All talk about freedom. Only a few are willing to pay the price for it. Christ who came to free humans from bondage was killed because the High Priest of the time decided that be killed for the sake of the Jewish nation. Gandhi who worked to liberate India from colonialism was killed by someone who thought Gandhi catered too much to the Muslims at the expense of Hindus. Ninety years ago on March 10, 1925, Gandhiji inaugurated the Satyagraha (truth-force) at a mass meeting in Vikom, Kerala, against one of the most vicious practices  indulged in by high castes against low castes. Now it is difficult to believe such evil, discriminatory practices prevailed in Kerala society not too long ago. It is interesting to note that these practices were devised by Brahmins of the time who were well-versed in sacred Hindu Scriptures, and who as priests were supposed to be closest to God.

Recently I came across a March 13, 1965, file photo where three white nuns and a white priest joined hands with countless African-American (black) demonstrators to sing freedom songs in Selma, Alabama, USA. They all stood mostly in cold rains for two days to protest against unjust voter registration that deprived the blacks of voting rights. This protest and other sustained protests paved the way for civil rights for blacks in 1965. It is also difficult to believe that legitimate human rights were denied to blacks in the USA fifty years ago. And I was in the USA only 9 years after the Civil Rights Bill. It is also interesting to note that some of the worst discriminations were perpetrated by whites who were supposed to be the best educated, and who were well-versed in Christian Holy Scriptures, and who were also supposed to be closest to God. 

The facts and stories above tell us that the freedom that we enjoy has been won by others who paid for it with their lives. The soldiers who protect our borders also put their life at risk and get killed for us. All this happens for the physical freedom. What about the most precious emotional and spiritual freedom? The consumer society slowly but surely and imperceptibly diminishes the emotional freedom of most persons through clever advertisements. History again and again showed in unmistakable terms that religions with their dogmas, doctrines, harsh disciplines, and hell-fire or re-births have kept their members in constant fear and bondage. Human rights that are good indicators of human freedom have not been won by religions. Religions that are so focused on the other world that they do not have any time for mundane human rights. Most politicians, who are mostly shrewd manipulators, opportunists, and utilitarians, are less concerned about freedom than their own material gain and survival in politics.

The picture I have presented here is pretty bleak. But that is pretty much the reality. However, we do not need to despair if we are willing to take responsibility for our life, and to come out of our deeply entrenched programming and conditioning of long years, and celebrate our life while surrendering to God and the good of humanity. Only we can safeguard our freedom while we live our life according to the will of God manifested in our conscience.

Swami Snehananda Jyoti

Incomplete Festival

I do not why, but this situation happens with me on the occasion of most festivals. This time it was the festival of Holi. Like many other people in our region, family members go to the place where lot of woods are placed to be lit in a particular mahurat of ‘Holika Dahan’. Our family has an additional tradition of visiting this place twice on the same day. Once in the morning to make some special offerings as a part of ‘Thandi Pooja’ or ‘Cold form Worship’ in front of wooden logs, that are just placed as a heap, and then in the evening when the heap is burned. This time we could not go in the morning, as my wife was not well. We went to the place of ‘Holika Dahan’ in the evening only, to perform both the parts of worship together. Somewhere, deep inside my mind the guilt of breaking a long established family tradition kept rolling. I kept telling to me, that it is ok, the situation is due to a genuine reason, but my other part kept pressing me to think otherwise.

I become this kind of split personality especially on the festivals. I start carrying the guilt that if I miss a ritual, God will punish me. I also have another part of me, which has been recently developed, that is a complete atheist. This part tells me to stop all this nonsense and be a sensible person and tells me to stop dramatizing things like this. Don’t know if it is the habit of repeating same things for years that brings this kind of internal conflict or these traditions do have some meaning. 

I think that many of you may have experienced this kind of conflict, especially while following the religious customs. Sometimes you convince yourself, by saying that it is a matter of personal beliefs and individual feelings. Some other times, some attempts are made by some people to explain the rituals giving some strange type of logic. Anyway, the point I want to make is, if we are ready to debate the strange rituals. In the name of symbolism of remembering an ancient story, we keep doing things year after year that may not be relevant now. Burning huge amount of crucial resource of wood on the day of ‘Holi’ is beyond any explanation in current days. Similar things we do on other festivals also. In my opinion the best way of enjoying a festival is to share resources between different classes of people rather than wasting them. Today, I complete my ‘Holi’ celebrations, by sharing these feelings with you. Let us expand the word ‘HOLI’ as (H)appiness (O)f (LI)fe.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

The Great Recycling

The Universe we live in is truly a mystery, full of unresolved riddles. It has been running smooth from the beginning of time; it also has been under constant repair from the beginning. I know that it is not the word repair that fits here because repairing generally implies to mending what is torn or broken. However, this activity also falls under repairing. What is happening in this universe is continuous restoration by continuous replacements or some sort of recycling. The self-repairing of the universe is continuous, changing everything every time. Within a span of seven to ten years all the fifty to seventy trillion cells in the human body are replaced. Each body has different types of cells in it. Depending upon the type, its life span also varies. 

On a close analysis we understand that it is the principles of recycling that the universe follows. Recycling is a process in which waste/unwanted materials are converted into potentially useful materials. We know that the same polluted air in the evening is recycled into refreshing life breath in the morning, at much higher a standard fixed by ISO. According to human norms if there are things that can’t be recycled, the mysterious universe has no such categorization there. Energy at all levels is being recycled, our thoughts too. 

The theory is that everything, except ‘change’, changes. But, how many among us accept this truth? We are worried about everything around. We want to see everything changed, be it our parents or siblings. What most of us generally experience is a change in another’s favour, and not us. Why is it so? The answer is that we do not ever trust that the whole universe is just for us or we don’t have that infinite patience to wait until it discloses in full. We never want to be that old fool who waited to see the sky falling down. Neither we do allow the universe to recycle our attitudes and understandings nor do we do it for ourselves. That is the disaster of the times.

Joseph Mattappally

Gandhiji’s Monkey !

I was posted as the Managing Director of the UP Spinning Company at Kanpur in September 1989. Soon after I took charge, I had a very interesting visitor from an eastern district of UP — Ghazipur. He was completely blind and reached my office with great difficulty. He was a stranger to me and, therefore, I received him with some surprise. I could not guess what the purpose of his visit was. After he settled down on a chair, I politely asked him what he wanted. He said he had no purpose except to meet me. He had heard of me when I was the Collector of his neighbouring district about five years back and had developed a wish to see me. He was very happy to have fulfilled his wish that day, though it had been quite difficult for him to travel from Ghazipur and then to reach my office.

Accepting what he said, I switched on to a general discussion and asked about the cause of his blindness. He told me that he had lost his eyesight in his early childhood during an attack of smallpox. The way he narrated his story gave an indication that he had accepted the reality gracefully and had no bitterness in his mind. This encouraged me to ask a few more personal questions. When I asked whether he missed seeing the world around, he gave a very philosophical reply, saying that there was not much to see in this transitory world which was full of evil. By not being able to see, he was saved from this evil. As a result he always contemplated on God, to see Whom no physical eyes were required. I was touched by his answer and respected his philosophy. After sometime, he left my office and we never met again.

This visitor left a great mark on my mind and I usually reflect on what he said. This also remind me of Gandhiji’s three monkeys, one of whom keeps his eyes shut, the other his ears closed and the third his mouth. The significance of this is that one should avoid seeing evil, listening to evil and speaking evil. This is a necessary condition for inner growth which is the main objective of life. After all, a child is born with a pure mind but as he grows and has interaction with the outer world, his mind entertains evil thoughts which ultimately cause disharmony in society in addition to his own downfall. If, therefore, by some act of God or by controlling the mind, the influence of evil can be kept away, inner growth is accelerated. By this, the inference should not be drawn that in order to grow internally, one has to be physically blind, deaf or dumb. 

This state is only symbolic. The ultimate requirement is to remain uninfluenced by evil either physically or mentally. The gentleman who met me had seen his disability in this light and made use of it for his inner growth. He was almost an illiterate person but had grown into a wise person by constant contemplation. To me he appeared to be a monkey of Gandhiji who kept his eyes closed in order to avert them from evil.

¯

Laughter is the jam on the toast of life. It adds flavour, keeps it from being too dry, and makes it easier to swallow ! Diane Johnson

Rakesh Mittal IAS

Beyond Dogmas and Doctrines

We have only one life that we know about for sure, and that life is lived in this world. If that life is lived well, the after-life will be well taken care of. According to Joseph Campbell, the well-known researcher and writer of myths, all major religions have some sort of creation story. These   stories are similar in origin. They all have basic principles or values essentially similar to the ten commandments of Judeo-Christian religions. Lest persons wonder where I come from, I believe in moral and ethical laws and rules made in societies to govern their members, and to regulate their behaviors and transactions. There is no sphere where regulations do not affect. I also believe there comes a time when all humans who are capable of (at least have average intelligence), should be able to be guided by their own inner light. In other words, they should be able to go beyond dogmas and doctrines, and “god-persons” and personalities who claim to have special prerogatives to represent God or God’s will.

I am aware that we are in a dangerous territory here. Most humans have not come of age. They are immature or dependent in that they look outside of themselves for some guidance or assistance to direct their lives. I am not including here forms of peer consultation that can help in problem-solving, and can certainly enhance one’s life. The modern life engenders dependence on so many specialists. If we dare to go against them, we would be labeled stubborn or non-conforming or even outright rebellious. Many professions are based on what is called medical model that advocates a doctor-patient relationship. The general mode is consultee-consultant or helpee-helper relationship. In a highly technological and consumer world, one is at a loss without some technical assistance. In a technological, scientific world, there are no dogmas or doctrines but specialized knowledge. When I am talking of dogmas and doctrines, I have especially in mind religions and political parties. In religions, for instance, one’s life is guided by a belief system, rites, rituals, and practices (superstitious or otherwise) and is chiefly guided by fear due to what is going to happen in after-life. Fear, perhaps more than love, is the greatest human motivator. Christ in his time challenged many of the sacrosanct religious laws and practices for which he was most cruelly put to death. Socrates before him underwent death for going against societal conventions of his time. Gandhi not too long ago was assassinated by fanatics of his own religion as they thought he was not favoring his religion enough. History is replete with examples of great men and women who are revered now but had to pay the ultimate price for what they stood for in their own life-time.

Dogmas and doctrines evolved in peculiar situations of the past. One is expected to conform and follow them unquestioningly. To do otherwise would be highly imprudent and terribly inconvenient. But religions have a messy history wherein they fought important human discoveries or were too slow in acknowledging and advocating human rights. It is also important to note that they often had the support of immoral but powerful rulers if they themselves did not have the required power to get persons to conform to their dictates. Focusing unduly on an after-life drawn from faith, they often neglected the only sure life that is in this world. Now they are busy canonizing some of their members for heroic virtues in this life or even some members who protected their status quo as they in their misguided zeal even violated others’ rights or at least condoned the violation of these rights. As these dogmas and doctrines eat into the fabric of the glorious freedom of God’s children, it is wise to examine each one of them thoroughly before accepting them.

It is undoubtedly of paramount importance to guide one’s life by one’s inner light, and to fully appropriate one’s God-given freedom. When would one be ready to take this all-important responsibility? As this is uncharted waters, a great deal of dialogue, discussion, and debate is certainly called for. My own thinking is that an individual who has taken the trouble to acquaint himself or herself with the various wisdom streams of religions and great moral philosophers of integrity, and who has thoroughly trained in and live a moral and ethical value system, that benefits the entire humanity, could be ready for it. This person, about 25 to 30 years of age (it takes at least that long to reach the desired level of training and maturity), after rigorous character and conscious formation may be entitled to the task. This person, guided by an on-going discernment of God’s will and common good of humanity, lives by the law of love in a state of complete surrender.

Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti  

Income Tax

I know, the title of this article will immediately push you in the world of finances and budgets. These are surely the buzzwords these days. But here is something, which is definitely related to money, but on a different note.

Around forty years back, when I brought my first earnings home, I was immediately asked by my parents to take out the “share of Bhagwan Ji”. This meant the share I must take out in the name of God. My first earnings was just rupees five. It was a scholarship I earned in a junior class, because of my academic performance. I abided with the instructions and took out rupee one, which was twenty percent of my earnings. When I started being a salaried professional, I gave some portion of my earnings to my mother to lend it to God’s share. On a lighter side I always used to call it the Income Tax, God is charging me for his services. Recently I was watching a TV show, where a noted ‘Tax Guru’ was also recommending to take out some percent in the name of God. He advised that, even when you are earning too low, a minimum of one percent of your annual earnings can easily be put to social welfare. I just worked it out on an entire country basis.

If I consider the per capita income published by UN for India to be true and take that value as one thousand five hundred seventy dollar/annum, a simple working gives that average saving per person for God’s share can easily be rupees one thousand per year. This is assuming if everyone saves just one percent of his income. To arrive what percent is this amount I just divided the total value saved by everyone with the total planned expenditure announced this year. This turns out to be a figure near seven percent of total expenditure. This could be a huge some if all this is put in social welfare. One may actually wonder the wisdom of our elders. A simple self imposed tax in the name of God’s share, can lead to quite a bit of chunk for social welfare purposes. I hope many of our readers are already saving something for helping others. Remember, in return of this Income tax, God also gives us good universal governance.

Dr. Sunil Ji Garg

When You Keep Your Word

I often recall a small event of 1983 when I was posted as Collector of a district, where in an old Sanskrit college a function was being organised. The management of the institution had approached me before the function to be the Chief Guest. The institution was located at a distance from the district headquarters and I was not sure of being able to spare sufficient time for the programme which meant a long journey too. Moreover, I did not consider myself to be the appropriate Chief Guest for such an institution. However, on insistence from the management, I had agreed.

Soon the day of the function arrived. It was in the afternoon and I had some very important papers to see at the headquarters. I was in two minds about whether to go for the programme or not, knowing that a collector can always excuse himself on some pretext or the other. That temptation came to my mind also. But in the meanwhile, one member of the management had come to my office to accompany me to the institution, so I reluctantly went with him. In my mind I was not sure whether the time spent on the function would be worthwhile or not. At that time I had become a life member of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and its fortnightly journal used to reach me regularly. Usually, I read it while travelling, and on that day since the latest issue was with me, I went through the Bhavan’s journal. Apart from the text, this journal contains some sayings and thoughts from various sources written prominently in spare spaces. These thoughts are normally very inspiring. That day, soon after we started, I came across a thought which was like this: ‘Fortunate are those who keep their promise, be it good or sinful’. This single sentence removed all my hesitation and I became enthusiastic about the programme which was organized very well. We all felt very happy about it.

This incident made me contemplate. All of us face situations when we find it difficult to keep our word or promise. Those who are sensitive face a conflict in the mind, particularly when sufficient reasons do not exist for not keeping one’s word or promise. Quite often even such persons give untrue reasons for not keeping them, doing this mainly to satisfy themselves rather than others. Gradually, this becomes a habit; no wonder today we find many responsible persons whose word or promises have no meaning and who keep others in uncertainty even without sufficient justification. My contemplation in this regard has led me to the conclusion that for a sincere and truthful person, situations of such conflict hardly arise. Once we are firm in our resolve that we shall always keep our word or promise, events occur in such a manner that they are kept effortlessly. After the above-mentioned incident, I made it almost a sadhana to keep my word unless a situation arose when not keeping them became my duty. In that case, there has been no feeling of guilt or uneasiness. Gradually, a stage comes when we speak only those words which we are able to abide by effortlessly. Nature also creates circumstances accordingly. Personally, I have experienced many situations where I was surprised by the turn of events which made it possible to honour a commitment. The same situation then extends to our thoughts and we entertain only those thoughts which are actually converted into action. 

I am not giving any specific events here because the intention is only to make a point. Here it is clarified that the point made is not as simple as it appears. The whole process requires a great deal of wisdom and maturity. To reach a stage when one’s words or thoughts are taken care of by nature, one has to undergo constant refinement and ripening. The first step is that words should be spoken after a great deal of thinking, and casual speaking should come to a stop. ‘Think before you speak and not vice versa’ has to be always kept in mind. It is better to keep silent if we are not sure of ourselves. One can always choose suitable words to deal with a particular situation in order to avoid further embarrassment.

Once we start doing so, our words have a weight of meaning and others take us seriously. The process starts from here. The second important step is that a promise or thought of action should arise as a result of duty, keeping in view the means available to us at a particular point of time. At times duty demands certain action on our part but means may not permit it. In such a situation, promises should be given accordingly. Thirdly, while giving promises one should be free from anger, envy, hatred or sentiments. Words spoken in such a state of mind normally create a difficult situation and disturb one’s peace of mind in the long run. Lastly, we must mean what we say and apply ourselves fully to keep our word. Nature helps us primarily through ourselves, and when we apply ourselves sincerely, conditions are so created that others also help. Once the above requirements are met, the process becomes natural and we are effortlessly able to keep our word. In fact, our will in that case becomes His will and we consider ourselves only the instruments. Even an apparently sinful act then becomes a part of our sadhana and leads to perfection.

Rakesh Mittal IAS