FREEDOM AT MIDNIGHT

When the union Jack was brought down and the tricolor flag went up at the stroke of midnight of 14-15^th August 1947, India attained political freedom. When the whole world was sleeping India awoke to life and freedom. A moment that comes rarely in the history, we step from old to new. India, whose voice was suppressed for a long time found its voice. We gave unto ourselves the constitution on 26^th January 1950 and India became republic.

Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru became the first prime minister of free India. Panditji is considered as the architect of modern India. ‘Long years ago we made a tryst with Destiny. Now the time has come to redeem the pledge’. Nehru thus spoke after assuming the power of Prime Minister Ship. Nehru knew that the bedrock of modern India was to be democracy and the culture of India was and is ‘Unity in Diversity’. He knew that India can progress only through pluralism.

Nehru, adopting five year plans laid the foundation for the growth of industries, agriculture, science and technology. India which was importing rice and wheat saw green revolution. The foreign policy was based on ‘Panchsheel’. The dream run of free India into a powerful and democratic India for the last 2-3 decades received a blow. The wicked China attacked India in 1962. India under Nehru thought that since India was a peaceful country run on panchsheel wouldn’t be attacked by any country. Hence the defense preparedness was not given that much of attention. After the blow India prepared well enough to defend itself militarily. India is strong militarily and with nuclear forces to defend the motherland.

After the Gandhi-Nehru dream and 70 years later India saw many ideological somersaults. Today it is shouting patriotism (television channels). The mood of the people that prevailed at the time of independence has gone. The thoughts that the wounds of partition would heal has gone wrong.

Idealism of the Gandhi-Nehru era has gone and the politics of opportunism prevails now. Democracy has become an instrument of power. Votes can be got by inciting communal hatred among people. India’s culture ’Unity in Diversity’ is put in the back burner. In such a situation what a thinking person can do?

‘Light a new candle’.

THOUGHTS ON BHAGAVAD-GITA

Amidst death life persists.  Perhaps to prove this old saying, Bhagavad-Gita, a philosophy and a guide to life was explained by lord Krishna to Arjuna .   Bhagav-Gita is in  a dialogue form between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the battleground of Krurukshetra .

Bhagavad-Gita trains the body and the mind.  Gita deals with Dharma.  “Every man is unique in nature (Svabhava).   Swadharma  for each and every individual is also unique.   Kshatriya Dharma is to fight in the war.   Do not yield to unmanliness ” tells Lord Krishna to Arjuna when Arjuna expressed his sorrow at the prospects to killing his uncles, relatives and teachers in the war.

Sri Krishna was perhaps the first psychologist in the world of man.  The subject psychology deals with the matters of the mind.  Krishna analyses the three types of Gunas (Swabhavas) of the mind.  Sattva (illumination) Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance).  Overpowering Rajas and Tamas  Sattva prevails.  Overpowering Sattva, and Tamas Rajas prevails and over powering Sattva and Rajas Tamas prevails.

When the light dawns in the body as well as in the mind and the senses then Sattva predominates.  When Rajas predominates greed prevails.   When tamas predominates disinclination to perform one’s duty prevails.  Therefore when the mind is controlled and all the senses are controlled it leads to righteous path, says Krishna.  The reward of the righteous act is Satvika that is faultless in the form of joy, wisdom and dispassion.

Gita contains divine words, Gita embodies the supreme spiritual mystery and secret.  Gita contains the essence of all vedas.  Kurukshetra war is only an allegory.  Gita sums up esoteric significance which means the war which is constantly going on in the mind of man between the tendencies of good and evil.

Bhagavad-Gita remains eternally new.

VISHWAROOPA DARSHANA

Vishwaroopa Darshana or cosmic form is a revelation by the one without a second existence, which is Krishna, the eighth avatar (reincarnation) of Lord Vishnu. Virat roopa is also the reaffirmation of the Advaitha philosophy (monism).  The empirical reality, that this world is Maya. When Arjuna expresses his sadness to kill his relatives in the battle ground of Kurukshetra war, Krishna tells Arjuna that “I am the doer”.  Vishwaroopa is considered as the supreme form of Lord Vishnu and the entire Universe is contained in Lord Vishnu. 

Naughty Krishna was the embodiment of mischief.  Krishna displayed his cosmic form more than once.  As a young boy growing up in Gokula, Krishna displayed his cosmic form to his foster mother Yashoda.  When playing along with his young friends. Krishna started eating mud as if he was eating a rare dish prepared at home.  His young friends were horrified and rushed to his mother Yashoda to inform her about Krishna eating mud. Yashoda rushed to young Krishna and asked him to open his mouth. When Krishna opened his mouth Yashoda saw the whole universe in his mouth.

Krishna displayed his cosmic form to Duryodhana when he went to him as a messenger to try stopping the inevitable war between the Kouravas and the Pandavas. Duryodhana true to his wicked nature wanted to arrest Krishna. To his astonishment he saw Krishna wherever he turned. Everyone and everything looked like Krishna. Krishna appeared with many arms and weapons like the sudarshan chakra, gadhe and inside his body he had deities, sages and even Kouravas and Pandavas. Duryodhana couldn’t withstand this sight.

The third time Krishna displayed his cosmic form was in the battleground of Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kouravas. Faced with moral dilemmas Arjuna tells Krishna ‘How shall I kill my cousins and relatives in the war’. Then Krishna tells him about life and death and reveals his Vishwaroopa to Arjuna. All creatures of this universe were a part of him. He is the infinite universe without a beginning or an end, containing peaceful and ghastly forms. Unable to bear this terrible sight of Krishna’s Vishwaroopa Arjuna begs Krishna to return to the form he knew.

Krishna is an amazing phenomenon. Through his cosmic forms, Krishna cautions all the wicked characters in the universe, not to tempt ‘The Providence’.

(Next week discussion on: Bhagavad-Gita).

BIRTH OF THE BLUE GOD: KRISHNA

  It was midnight and pitch dark on the 8^th day of the Lunar month and the 8^th month of the        solar     year. The Star Rohini was in the ascendant. All the other stars were in their respective auspicious positions. This was about 5000 years ago. It was stormy and raining. The wind was howling furiously. Lightning flashed across the sky. This was the situation described at the time of the birth of Krishna, the most important character of Mahabharata. If there were no Krishna there would not have been Mahabharata.

      Devaki, Krishna’s mother was in labour pain. Devaki and her husband Vasudeva were put in a jail by Kamsa, the wicket brother of Devaki for the fear that the son born to his sister would kill him. Both Devaki and Vasudeva intensely prayed that the baby should not be born to be butchered like the 7 babies previously. Then an unseen divine voice was heard and assured them that the wicked Kamsa would be killed. The voice guided them to take the new born baby to Vasudeva’s friend Nanda’s house in Gokula, as Nanda’s wife has also just given birth to a daughter and to place the new born male child there and bring Nanda’s daughter back here. This was the way wicked Kamsa would be misguided because he only kills the boy baby.   ‘’The path is open to you’’. The divine voice had said. When Devaki gave birth to a boy baby (Krishna), Vasudeva tenderly took the baby in his hand. The heavy doors of the jail gently opened.  It was still raining heavily. The gate keepers were sleeping. Vasudeva started to move towards Gokula, the other side of the river Yamuna. Shesha, the divine serpent protected the father and the child against the rain and wind. 

    Vasudeva holding the baby tenderly, reached his friend Nanda’s house.  Even there all the doors were wide open as if to invite Vasudeva and the divine child. He went into the room of Yashoda. Yashoda and her maid companions were fast asleep influenced by Maya.  In no time, Vasudeva placed the male child (Krishna) on Yashoda’s lap and took the female child and started returning back.  The return journey was also a success.  He returned to prison.  Heavy doors which were opened automatically closed again.

          All babies cry soon after the birth.  But Krishna, the divine child came into the world not crying but smiling.

(Next week discussion: - Vishwaroopa Darshana (Cosmic form)

Gayathri Mantra: The Universal Prayer

Depressed mind longs for liberation and invokes Gayathri, the sun deity for inspiration. Gayathri Mantra is the mystical utterances and in the mantra we invoke Gayathri, the sun deity, who illuminates all, recreates all, from whom all proceeds, to whom all must return for inspiration. Gayathri mantra forms a universal prayer and is dedicated to the sun deity. It manifests as the totality of existence from the external most physical to the internal most spiritual being. This is a prayer to the supreme infinite Divine Reality for the enlightenment of all human beings to enable them to realise the supreme truth. One of the most venerated rishis (sages) Vishwamitra is credited as the author of the Gayathri mantra. The recitation of the Gayathri mantra is proceeded with the syllable OM.

Kshatriya king Vishwamitra also known as Koushika becoming Brahmarshi (super sage) is spiritually a highly inspiring story. Once Koushika and his soldiers took rest in  sage Vasishta’s ashram (hermitage).  The whole army was well fed and taken care of by Brahmarshi Vasishta. The king Koushika doubted the possibilities and expressed his surprise to Vasishta as to how he was able to take care of the entire army.  Vasishta replied that he was gifted the calf Nandini (the daughter of the cow Kamadhenu) by Indra and Nandini takes care of everything he needs.

Koushika was surprised and he thought that such a rare and invaluable cow should be with the king rather than with the rishi. He expressed his desire to Vasishta. Vasishta politely refused to give the cow to the king, then Koushika got angry and ordered his soldiers to drive the cow to his kingdom. Vasishta saved the cow by destroying the army with his super human spiritual powers. Koushika went away in anger and vowed to return to get the cow.  After this, there were several encounters and Vasishta won all the encounters.  In the final encounter, Vasishta brings out his brahma danda  a wooden stick imbued with powers of Brahman.  Brahma danda consumed all of koushika’s most powerful weapon including brahmastra.  Koushika then realisedthat he should also become Brahmarshi to possess such spiritual powers and did intense Tapas.  He was called Rajarshi.  But Rajarshi is not same as Brahmarshi.  Koushika renounced the kingdom and began his quest to become Brahmarshi and attain the same spiritual powers as Vasishta.

Koushika faced many challenges on his journey to attain  the position of  Brahmarshi and eventually gave up his greed to possess Nandini, the holy cow. Koushika at last obtained the title of Brahmarshi from Vasishta himself.

The Gayathri mantra helps us to know our true selves and to become one with supreme reality.

                                                                   (  Next discussion on Krishna, The Blue God)

AN ENIGMA CALLED "KAFKA"

Among all the novelists, Kafka, perhaps was the most difficult writer to understand.  Kafka was an enigma.  His novels (The Trail, The Castle) too were as difficult as the author to understand.  His novels were an experiment to explore human understandings.  The Trail, his unfinished novel pushes its readers to think.  The Trail gathered highest critical interpretations.  His description of faceless organisations make a suffocating reading and utterly difficult to digest.

Kafka (1883-1924) comes from a Jewish family.  Kafka had a difficult relationship with his parents.  Kafka’s father was a forceful personality, a tyrant of sorts had a profound impact on Kafka’s life and writings.  His characters were simple men and women, who often come up against the ruthless rulers who breaks the will of man and makes them spineless.

The storyline of The Trail is very simple.  Hero (for name sake) “K” was arrested by the authority on his 30^th birthday although he had done nothing wrong.  One year later “K” was arrested again on his 31^st birthday and was driven  outside the town and was killed  in the name of law.  The Trial is a satirical plot during Hungarian tyrant rule of Kafka’s day,  a mirror for any tyrant ruler of that time. 

K’s struggle with Invisible law is ultimately ends with self’s destruction.  Meaning is far from clear.  Author uses this psychological weapon to make readers to think in which “Kafta” certainly succeeds.  This was the author’s way of fighting injustice in the society and the Government.  Strangely Kafka also succeeds in making his readers feel as if they were too on “The Trial”.

DON QUIXOTE

Man has landed on moon and visited Mars but has not learnt how to live on earth. It is always ‘I to I’ and ‘I for I’ attitude. Greed, selfishness, violence and terror has turned earth into a virtual hell. Great souls Jesus Christ, Buddha and Sankara took birth on earth to persuade man to tread the right path. There is another tribe, novelist who have taken a similar path in a different way. They create another world similar to ours and show us our real face. They mock us in their novels. Jonathan swift, in Gulliver’s Travels has turned man into Lilliputians (six inch height). Another writer Cervantes in his novel ‘Don Quixote’ creates a character called Quixote who does not see the world for what it is. Don Quixote is a great novel from Spain.

Read on….

The novel ‘Don Quixote’ is an imaginary adventure story of Quixote who always reads chivalric romances and loses his sanity and sets out to revive chivalry to undo wrongs. He recruits a simple villager Sancho Panza as his squire. Quixote wants to bring justice to the world. Sancho panza very wisely uses earthly wit in dealing with Quixote’s rhetorical orations in antiquated knighthood. Quixote once imagined a non-existent enemy in the air and fights with that enemy with his sword.

Don Quixote is a great Spanish novel which had a major influence on the literary community. Throughout the novel, Cervantes uses literary techniques to make Quixote that he is living a knightly life. Any unreasonable idea man may have is commonly called as quixotic ideas. The novel had a direct reference in Alexander Dumas (The Three Musketeers) and Mark Twain (well-known American writer) philosopher and writer Arthur Schopenhauer said Don Quixote is one of the greatest novels.

It is time to pause and reflect. Should the world go in the same old ways? Or will man rid himself from the image of ‘Lilliputians and Quixotes’?