Differentiating the pleasant and the good.

Many people can't differentiate the pleasant and the good. This is a big problem in a democracy, where people start voting themselves lollipops and vote a bread and circus democracy in, also check what that means by an excellent post from a close ally.

I know, Diwali prayers and the feeling of union with family, laughing and joking are all good, but if you have time, try to get your countries out of such a democracy if it is in one, and if it is not in one, keep it out of it.

In this, a part of the Kathopanishad can be of use. I am quoting an excerpt from a translation of the upanishads by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester. I assume either you have a copy of the Kathopanishad, or can read the part before the part I have taken from online sources.

Nachiketa: "Tell me, O King, the supreme secret regarding which men doubt. No other boon will I ask.

Yamaraj: "The good is one thing; the pleasant is another. These two, differing in their ends, both prompt to action. Blessed are they that choose the good; they that choose the pleasant miss the goal.

Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to men. The wise, having examined both, distinguish the one from the other. The wise prefer the good to the pleasant; the foolish, driven by fleshly desires, prefer the pleasant to the good.

Thou, O Nachiketa, having looked upon fleshly desires, delightful to the senses, hast renounced them all. Thou hast turned from the miry way, wherein many a man wallows.

Far from each other, and leading to different ends, are ignorance and knowledge. Thee, O Nachiketa, I regard as one who aspires after knowledge, for a multitude of pleasant objects were unable to tempt thee."

Please read the rest of the Upanishad from your source. Let us resolve to be like Nachiketa and be able to differentiate between the pleasant and the good this year. At some places, that has already begun to happen. May that light spread and elevate us from this darkness. A very happy deepavaly and a happy new year to all of you readers.

Understanding the Cosmic Dance in the Divine Amphitheatre: Sharad Poornima

Borrowed from a friend, and I have kept the whole note intact without any modifications. This is on understanding the Raas Leela and specially for those who have been thinking that Lord Krishna's Raas-Leela has sexual connotations.

~

Indian legends have it that Krishna danced with milkmaids on the banks of the river Yamuna on the full moon night of autumn. This dance is referred to as Raas-Leela. Western theologians tread this subject with caution, some ascertaining a sexual connotation to the mystery behind it. Indian philosophers have tried to read between the lines focusing on the symbolism of the same, digging for deeper spiritual meaning. To understand Raas-Leela, the dance of celebration, what is first necessary to know is that the whole of life is a meeting of contradictory forces, and that all its happiness comes from this union of the opposites. The very mystery and ecstasy of life lies hidden in this unio mystica. To begin with, it is good to understand the metaphysical meaning of the celebration that our universe holds. And then, together, we will go into the life of Krishna, a complete miniature of this celebrating universe.

Raise your sights and look at whatever is happening all around in this vast universe of ours. Is it anything other than a dance, a celebration, an abounding carnival of joy? It is all celebration, whether it is clouds gliding in the heavens or rivers rushing to the seas or seeds on their way to becoming flowers and fruit, or bees humming or birds on the wing or love affairs between men and women. It is all a panorama of play and dance and celebration.

Raas has a universal meaning; it has a cosmic connotation and significance.

Firstly, the meeting of opposite energies is the cornerstone of all creation, of the universe. To construct a house with a door, we put an arch at the top of the door with the help of opposite shapes of bricks to support it. It is just this placing of opposite kinds of bricks in the arch that upholds not only the door but the whole building. If we use uniform kinds of bricks in the arch, it will be impossible to construct a house. In the same way, the whole play of creation, at every level of life, begins when energy becomes divided into two opposite parts. This division of energy is at the root of all creation, of all life in the universe, and with the cessation of this division all life's play comes to a full stop. When the same energy becomes one, when it returns to its primordial state, total destruction, the ending of the universe happens. And when the same energy again divides itself into two, creation begins anew.

Raas, the dance of celebration, is the most profound attribute of the mighty stream of creation. And creation in itself is the interplay of polar opposites -- thesis and antithesis. When opposites collide with each other it results in conflict, hostility and war, and when they embrace each other there is love and friendship. Without the meeting of the two, creation is impossible. So we have to go into the significance of Krishna's raas in this context.

It is not all that we see when Krishna dances with the gopis, the milkmaids, but we can see only that much with our gross eyes. Krishna's raas with the milkmaids of his village is not an ordinary dance, on a small scale it really represents the universal dance of creation that, since eternity, goes on and on. It epitomizes the everlasting drama of the making and unmaking of the universe. It gives you a glimpse of that divine dance and that immense orchestra.

It is for this reason that Krishna's maharaas ceases to have a sexual connotation. If one literally believes the texts, Krishna was eight years old at the time of the maharaas on the full moon in autumn. It is hard to imagine any sexual interpretation in the mind of an eight year old. And he danced with the gopis. The term "gopi" in Sanskrit means someone who has turned inward to derive pleasure. Such milkmaids who have turned inward would not derive pleasure from ordinary sex. In reality or wider interpretation Krishna does not dance as a mere Krishna, he represents the whole of the male element in creation, known in Sanskrit as purusha. And similarly the gopis represent the entire female element, prakriti. The maharaas represents the combined dance of prakriti and purusha. People who take the maharaas as a sexual representation of life are mistaken; they really don't understand it. And I am afraid they will never understand it. To put it rightly, it is a dance of the meeting of the male and female energies, of purusha and prakriti. It has nothing to do with any individual man and woman; it represents the mighty cosmic dance.

Legend has it that it happened on the full moon night of autumn. The significance of autumn is the representation of balance; it's neither too hot nor too cold in autumn. The full moon represents completeness. The maharaas is Yog, merging of the individual self into the Supreme; call it Brahman, God, Nature, Higher Self or whatever you may. It is the dance of the electrons around the nucleus or the dance of the planets around the sun. The electrons are equally and oppositely attracted to the nucleus and so are the planets to the sun. Their relationship is unique and can be very well represented by the maharaas. Rutherford's model of the atomic structure or Copernicus's and Kepler's model of the solar system can easily be explained by the maharaas that was either conceived, or who knows, happened, thousands of years ago. The gopis represent the electrons and the planets and Krishna, the nucleus and the Sun, respectively.

It is because of this that a single Krishna is shown to dance with any number of gopis. Ordinarily it is not possible for a single man to dance with many women at a time. Ordinarily no man can be in love with many women together, but Krishna does it, and does it beautifully. It is amazing that every milkmaid, every gopi taking part in the maharaas, believes that Krishna is dancing with her, that he is hers. It seems Krishna has turned into a thousand Krishnas so that he pairs off with each of the thousand women present there. It is just a representation, an imagination to make humankind understand the great mysteries of chemistry and physics and astronomy in the simplest terms.

It is utterly wrong to take the maharaas, the celebration dance of Krishna, as that of an individual person. Krishna is not a person here; he represents the great male energy, purusha. The maharaas is a representation in dance of the great meeting between male and female energies. But the question is: Why is only dance chosen as a medium for this representation? The medium of dance comes nearest to the mysterious, to the non-dual, and to celebration. Nothing can express it better than dance. The celestial dance is happening every moment, every second, in every atom and the ethereal cosmos, whether we see it or not.

Let us look at it in another way. Dance is the most primitive form of human language, because when man had not yet learned to speak, he spoke through gestures. If one man had to communicate with another, he made gestures with his face, his eyes, his hands and feet. Even today a dumb person only expresses himself through gestures. Verbal language came much later. Birds don't know a language, but they know how to chirp and dance together. Gestures make up the whole language of nature. It is used and understood all over. So there is a reason why dance came to center stage for the raas, the celebration.

Gesture is the most profound medium of expression because it touches the deepest parts of man's mind and heart. Dance reaches where words fail. The sound of the ankle bells of a dancer says a lot even where speech is ineffective. Dance is more articulate than anything else. A dancer can go from one end of the earth to another and will, more or less, make himself understood through his dance. No language will be needed to understand and appreciate him. No particular level of civilization and culture will be required to understand a dance. Dance is a kind of universal language; it is understood everywhere on this planet. Wherever a dancer goes he will be understood. Man's collective unconscious is well aware of this language.

To me, the great raas happening in infinite space, with millions of stars like the sun and moon dancing rhythmically, is not an ordinary dance. The atomic "dance" is now known to everyone. It is not meant for entertainment; it is not show business. In a sense it should be described as overflowing bliss. There is such an abundance of bliss in the heart of existence that it is flowing, overflowing. That is what we call the river of existence. The presence of the polar opposites in the universe facilitates its flow.

There is a significant saying of Nietzsche's. He says, "It is out of chaos that stars are born." Where there is no system, no order, only the interplay of energies remains. In this interplay of energies, which is raas, Krishna and his milkmaids cease to be individuals, they move as pure energies. And this dance of opposite energies together brings deep contentment and bliss; it turns into an outpouring of joy and bliss. Rising from Krishna's raas this bliss expands and permeates every fiber of the universe.

Although Krishna and the gopis are no more with us as people, the moon and the stars under which they danced together are still with us, and so are the trees and the hills and the earth and the skies that were once so drunk with the bliss of the raas. So, although millenia have passed, the vibes of the maharaas are still with us.

Now scientists have come forward with a strange theory. They say although people come and go, the subtle vibes of their lives and their living remain suffused in existence forever. If someone goes to dance on the grounds in Vrindavan where Krishna once danced with his gopis he can hear the echoes of the maharaas even today. If someone can play a flute near the hills that in the past echoed with the music of Krishna's flute, he can hear those hills still echoing it, everlastingly.

In my view, the raas symbolizes the overflowing, outpouring of the primeval energy as it is divided between opposites. And if we accept this definition, the raas is as relevant today as it was in the times of Krishna. Then it becomes everlastingly relevant. May we always be blissful and perceive this cosmic dance, not just on the full moon of autumn (Sharad Poornima), but every day, every moment. May this maharaas fill us with joy and peace. Greetings on this auspicious festival!

~

Sharad Poornima (The autumn full moon) was yesterday on the 22nd October.

Digvijay Divas Anniversary

On the 11th of September, 1893, Swami Vivekananda arose at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where he arose from near obscurity to hold an audience captive by his mesmerising speech. This day is popularly known as Digvijay Divas, meaning the day (divas) Swami Vivekananda victorious over the world (digvijay).

The transcript of the speech is available here: (click) The website has a list of other speeches by Swami Vivekananda and can be a good place to visit for people who are interested in his works.

Happy Deepavali!!

Wishing all of our readers a very Happy Deepavali and a prosperous New Year. Our sincere apologies for the more than ever sporadic posting these days but our professional life is taking a serious toll on our creative abilities. As of now, the best we can promise is merely one post per month.

But for today, an explanation from a personal blog about the story of the five days of Deepavali.

A brief excerpt is as follows:

On this Diwali day, we light lamps to commemorate the sacred memories of those great men who lived to brighten the lives of millions of their fellow beings:

● Lord Shri Krishna around whom revolved the entire story of our great epic Mahabharat and the philosopher, who preached Karmayog through his Geeta to Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, discarded his body.

● Bhagwan, Mahavir, the Jain prophet also attained nirvana on this day.

● Swami Ramtirth, the beloved "Ram Badshah" of millions of Indians was not only born on this day and took both sanyas and samadhi on this day.

● Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj in 1875 in Mumbai, with his superb yogic powers freed his soul from his body and mingled with divinity on this auspicious day of Diwali.

Another very interesting story about this Diwali day is from the Kathopanishad. In this story, a small boy called Nachiketa believed that Yam, the god of Death was as black as the dark night of amavasya. But when he met Yam in person he was puzzled seeing Yam's calm countenance and dignified stature. Yam explained to Nachiketa on this Diwali day of amavasya that by only passing through the darkness of death, man sees the light of highest wisdom. It is only then only his soul can escape from the bondage of his mortal frame to mingle with the Supreme Power. It was then that Nachiketa realized the importance of worldly life and significance of death. All of Nachiketa's doubts were set to rest and he whole-heartedly participated in Diwali celebrations.

Organized leadership and ministerial building after elections- The way forward for India?

This post was meant for Independence day. However, owing to some amount of thought that had to go into it to make it possible and shortage of time, it has come several days late.

Before going forward with the topic, I'd like to explain the obvious benefits of an organization to do something, rather than its rules being loose and enforced by a single authority at the top.

A single authority at the top of any institution, who might/might not have any expertise in the service is in most cases a loss to the institution. (By institution, I mean something that provides service to the public for e.g.: police, fire station, etc.) Top-down administration of any institution with full authority vested in the top, even authority to change the laws of an institution means that administration is subject to whims and fancies of the person. If the man at the helm is of high dignity and a responsible person, the system will run well. On the contrary, if he is not so, the system will languish.

An organization on the other hand, has a set of rules and regulations. People once recruited follow these rules and regulations, governed by seniors who are talented persons in that particular field, or who are products of that organization itself. In an ideal organization, with no interference of vested interests and if recruits are only possible at the lower ranks, and if people who have just the right amounts of talent and intellect are recruited, than the organization runs like a mineral refining factory. Raw ingredients in the recruits are made available at the bottom, when people are not found to have prerequisites in them, they are thrown out or stagnate at one particular level, and the people who come to the topmost level of the organization would be the best (well, best at least in that particular organization). A person who has been thus prepared is fit enough to rule the organization. He knows from the very first day of his job how the institution should be run and what it lacks. Thus, there is no on the job training, and complete order in the institution.

Taking this analogy to politics, one can argue that this is the basic difference between a monarchy and a democracy. A monarchy in most cases has been the rule of a family over a people (One exception is the first Indian state established by Raja Bharata after the dasrajana (battle of ten kings) wherein the King chose his successor depending on his fitness). An amendment of the difficulty of family rule of a person not being talented enough to rule can be done by the king having many sons and imparting them training, with the best son being chosen to rule the people. But still, training some person to do something often needs harsh lessons to be imparted. This is not often done in families, since people tend to go soft on their own when they would be harsh on the others for same mistakes committed in training programs. Thus, a system of a chosen one to lead organizations thrives only on luck, in some cases it might work, in some cases it might fail. And such failures can sometimes be catastrophic for the nation, as often seen in the past.

The training to do a task, is best imparted in organizations and not in families. A system of government that is based on an organization rather than family rule is more likely to thrive. Thus, totalitarian (party rule) and democracy usually tend to do better than monarchies which might sometimes last very long, or sometimes last very short. The drawback of an organized method of rule is that a certain dogma gets attached to the system. It gets difficult to change, since change can only happen by taking a certain majority into confidence. This difficulty is absent in a monarchy when all powers are vested in the king. However the benefit is that total buffoons are weeded out at intermediate ranks in an organization, hence chances of a complete catastrophical failure in an organization is lesser than that in monarchies. One can say, that the scales get evenly balanced.

The next step after building an organization is that it should take into account the interests of all the members of the society. A fire station cannot neglect a fire in its own street while sending vehicles to extinguish fire in a far-off place. A police station cannot neglect grievances of a particular class of people. Similarly, a government must take into account the grievances of all the people in order for it to be successful. In it, a possibility lies for the failure of totalitarian type governments when it roots for the betterment of only government apparatchiks, causes organized (i.e. ordered from the top and executed at the fundamental levels to please the apparatchiks) and not organic (make incentives for progress) progress of the people it is meant to serve.

A democracy is thus far, the most progressive form of government. The basic tenet of democracy is that the people decide the leaders. The leaders then move on to form the laws and legislature. They get to rule for a limited span of time, after which they have to go back to the people for a vote. If the people are satisfied with the government, they vote it back. If not, they will vote another political party to power.

On the face of it, it all sounds a very good proposal. However, there is one fatal flaw, the over-dependence of the system on the people. Now, the onus is on the people to be aware of happenings around them in order to operate the system efficiently. Moreover, it is also needed that they be able to see through the malicious plans of the leaders and stop them in their tracks. They need to realize that in order to have long term gains, the nation has to sacrifice some short term comforts. All of the people are needed to realize Kautilya's axiom for the training disciple from the Arthashastra.

"The training disciple is the one whose intellect has the qualities of desire to learn, listening, retention, thorough understanding, reflection, rejection of false views and intentness on truth and not on any other person." Ch. 1.5.5 [1]

In summary, they need to be equipped with cutting edge awareness, think long term and place the importance of the nation above their selfish interests.

This is no mean goal. No people can be readied for the challenges of democracy at short notice. The system gets even worse when corrupt people reach the higher rungs of power. Just one jab at power by vested interests can allow them to divide the people, favoring one section over the other. People, if not sufficiently aware of this game can fall for it and vote those that particularly favor their section of the society. This effect is called vote bank politics. A non-intellectual people will not understand learned men and get thugs voted to the higher echelons of power. The thugs will in turn start a positive feedback cycle and by vote bank politics get more thugs voted to power who will shirk their responsibilities and enter politics only to enjoy the spoils of power. This cycle would continue until: 1) People revolt en masse. 2) The country is destroyed by such shenanigans.

So, if all three forms have flaws, what is the way out?

A possible solution is that leaders, after getting elected should be made to attend an organization that hones their leadership skills. It should acquaint them with the basics of human relations, interactions with industry heads, time management, planning and other similar skills that are required for efficient rule of the nation. People who are not genuine leaders will fall short of these skills and must not proceed to becoming MPs of their elected regions.

It would then be essential that instead of the top, the top few M.P.s of a region need to attend the institution, just in case the winning M.P. fails at the organization. Now, this would undoubtedly lead to some situations wherein a member of a losing party from a region gets through the organization. This could be allowed if the member is indeed a genuine ruler. Or perhaps the party based political system can be suspended so as to avoid such chaos. As of now, it really doesn't matter which party our people vote to power since alliances between the parties are decided by the 'leaders' and not the people. The people might then have to see those people as ministers of some portfolio who belong to the parties they voted out of power!

Another possible problem may erupt as in such an organization may become biased and allow politicians of a particular school of thought up the ladder.

But note that such an organization is at least better than a completely unregulated process of allowing anybody to come to power after being voted by the people.

Lastly, we need to ensure that only the Prime Minister (P.M.) is from the people, while all the ministries should be turned into organizations run identical to PSUs with the leader of the organization heading the ministry rather than some elected person who has little knowledge of operating the field of which he might become the minister.

The ministerial organization must be made to have interactions with leaders in respective fields to allow for suitable acquisition of knowledge from the outside world in order to make decisions effectively. They should be given certain form of autonomy that the members of the parliament apart from the Prime Minister himself do not interfere in their operations. The ministerial organizations need to be subservient to the P.M. building organization so that the P.M. can affect changes in other ministries much easily and lobbyists for certain interests are avoided to come to helm in the ministries.

This way, current ministries can be kept out politics and function independently. As of now, while people can elect their P.M. to power, they do not elect the ministers. The former cherry-picks them to his liking and sometimes to the liking of coalition members of the winning coalition. Newer ministries are created to suit the interests of coalition members. Where is the will of the people in all of this anyway? Such chaos can also be avoided by having pre-established ministerial organizations. It would be less difficult to setup ministerial portfolios in such a situation.

Could a temporary implementation of such a system, a combination of people's will and organized political schools of thought be a solution to our decrepit democracy? Note I mention temporary because maintaining such organizations might be a huge strain on our economy if they acquire high complexity. And it would not be justified to have a permanent system in which the people's will is overruled by them, since the ultimate purpose of any government is to remain aligned with the people. But as long as the people are poor, not sufficiently literate and myopic, a temporary crutches of the kind mentioned above might just be what is needed.

To summarize pictorially, an ideal parliamentary kind of government with lesser number of political parties and in which there is no dabbling of parties into the administration would look something like the pyramid below.

Fig. 1 Ideal type of parliamentary government

When the number of political parties get too many, imagine spheres of varying sizes intersecting with levels 2 and 3 first. The system gets worse when there is a winning coalition instead of a winning party and the spheres start intersecting even at levels 4 and barely touching level 5 meaning that they get much more room to meddle at the lower levels and at least cause some chaos in the functioning of level 5. It gets unstable and might even collapse.

What I propose is that there be another stage between levels one and two that can serve to train the politicians before going further.. so as to refine the quality of politicians going ahead and dislodge the previous level 4 and create level A such that it has no connection to the legislature or any parties, and instead recruits people from professional organizations. This way, we can not only permanently (i.e. as long as the program is deemed necessary) cut off interference from the rising number of parties, but also fine tune the raucous lot from the parties that gets elected at the primary level.

Fig. 2: New kind of democracy

Note: A lot more of the detail may be needed to be developed in the above post. Need some help with the above thesis.

References:
[1] P. Radhakrishnan; Management fundamentals in Kautilya's Arthashastra- II; 2005; 16-22

Republic Day Week Special - 3: Fulfilling our fundamental duties

(I request readers to have a breeze past the last two posts to get a better idea on this one)

Ok.. so we come to the last post in the series, i.e. of this festival season.

Now, I will connect once again the quotes from the Gita to the content of the last two posts properly. Well, the point I intended to make was that renunciation, of all kinds is essential for the performance of any kind of duties. For example, in order for you to respect your parents and be able to follow them at all times, you must renounce your ego. In order to effectively learn something with your teacher, you must renounce the urge to belittle your teacher whenever he/she makes a mistake, considering themselves as human as you are. The list of things to renounce thus continues.

The text from the Gita I highlighted opens with Arjuna asking Shri Krishna about the purpose of renunciation by the Sanyasis. As per Shri Krishna, there are two doctrines associated with renunciation. 1) Sanyasa - which is the renunciation of activities that are based on material desire, and 2) Tyaga - which is the renunciation of all activities.

By His opinion, there are some activities, namely charity, sacrifice, and penance must never be given up, but they should be pursued and that should be done without any desire for the goal. (For this doctrine, refer to this post) But infact, they should be pursued as a sense of duty. And that duty has always to be adhered to, without any sense of attachment towards material goals. Only then would we be able to enjoy the true pleasure of renunciation.

Charity, sacrifice and penance,.. these are the qualities that will enable us to fulfill our duties even today. While the world has changed a lot in terms of the sciences, man's baser instincts remain essentially the same. In fact, we have become even more carnal in our desires, but I will leave that for a future post.

Getting back to the fundamental duties enshrined in the constitution, I wish to say that in order for us to fulfill our fundamental duties, we need to renounce:

1) Our petty problems with regard to language, religion, caste and regional issues and come together to forge a unique pan Indian identity. With today's means of education and media, we can make it the most powerful the nation has ever seen in quite a long time.

2) Our greed for money. No other solution comes to mind for the rampant corruption we see in our system. The amount lost in scams just keeps growing every time a new one comes up. This must not be tolerated.

3) Our skills at procrastination. Yes, the bed, the home and the carress of the loved ones are very comfortable indeed. But there is more to life than that. We must develop an attitute of proactivity in life, getting things done on time. We're not to be here forever, we have a limited time to do what we're sent here to do, and we must act with a sense of urgency.

4) Our affinity towards anything foreign. We must learn to respect homegrown or self produced goods and services more than foreign goods. The 'Swadeshi' movement of our freedom struggle needs to be rejuvenated. This will in turn, lead us to respect our composite culture, and as the emphasis is laid on home products, would also lead to in-house scientific research and advancement of science and technology in the country.

5) Our disregard for cleanliness outside our homes, understand the shortcomings of the nation in appointing cleaners for every nook and cranny of the country and take it onto ourselves, to preserve hygiene. Once this is done in the villages, the towns and the cities, the campaign must be taken to the industrial centers and we must have environmental preservation schemes implemented.

6) Our ability to accept anything reported in the Media as satya (truth), all the while forgetting that realizing satya is for us to do ourselves by toil and sweat. Nobody will hand down truth on a platter down to you and if it is happening, then there must be something wrong. Let not psychological/philosophical inclinations delude you into believing something is true. A statement must be accepted only if proof is provided, and even if proof is provided, we must develop a questioning attitude towards it. Nothing should surpass the hammer of our reasoning, and the anvil of truth unscathed.

7) Our affinity for piecemeal measures towards attaining success, and then getting into a state of complacency. We must be resolute in demanding the perfect accomplishment of our goals and only then should we rest. Swami Vivekananda said "Rise and stop not till thy goal is reached!"

It is thus evident that "Tyaga" is not of essence right now, for we still have a lot to do. "Sanyasa" is what is required, an abrogation of material desires, and alligning our minds to our duties, adhering to them till the very last breath.

With this, it is time to depart. Let us make a resolution this Republic day, that we will strive to fulfill our duties to the maximum, and aid India/Bharat/Hindusthan in re-achieving its glorious past.

"JAI HIND!"

Republic Day Week Special: A recap of our fundamental duties -2

This is in continuation from the last post I made on the fundamental duties in the Indian constitution. I have set the background of the post with a few quotes of the Gita describing acts of renounciation, which is very essential for us to achieve our duties. While that is to be discussed in a succeding post, we still have to make a record of our other duties, apart from the three discussed previously.

4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

If we look at national service narrowly in terms of militarily aiding the nation in times of war, I have no doubt we still have many nationalist minded people who are willing to selfless come to the succor of our nation. But when will people start aiding the government in public service projects? When are we even going to start paying taxes lawfully? (Check this article out for more info). Isn't that also a form a national service? Thus, much needs to be done in the real meaning of 'national service'.

5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Apart from sporadic incidents of violence, (although, casualties are indeed large) we should say that there is ample religious, linguistic and regional unity. Few cogs are still rusty though. It remains to be seen if we can stop the rot in time or not. Women too are far well treated these days as compared to some nations.

6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Of all the duties, these has been taken the least seriously. The fad for globalization that has spread across the Indian youth has given a serious beating to our culture. Take a simple example of clothing. Just a couple of generations ago, Indian men and women were wearing traditional dresses. Now, even the poorest of the poor have switched to wearing shirts and pants.

Yet there are some good efforts made in this regard. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities in this regard are one example. For one, check out their mission statement. Also consider their social activity, this time from a more creditable site that most of you would agree with. That of course would be but a small list of the institution's achievements.

7. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures.

Last heard, tiger population in India was dwindling and has reached a mere 1411. We have mixed results for the lion (link) whose population now stands at 359 while in 1907 it was a mere 13. That was when the Nawab of Junagadh stepped in to protect the lion. A rare case of a royal caring for wildlife. As far as people's movements in terms of natural environment are concerned, the Chipko movement comes to mind (a good link on the history of the movement). Yet, much more needs to be done for the cleanliness of our rivers. Perhaps revival of our ancient ethics wherein we regarded all elements of nature as holy is the order of the day over here.

8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

This has been developed to a certain extent. In post independence India, much progress in space and nuclear field has been made, thanks to scientists Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Homi Bhabha respectively. The green revolution in India is another scientific achievement, and the victory of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) is a legend. And so was the white revolution in India important for generating milk sufficiency. The flourishing of the spirit of inquiry and reform would be evident from the growing number of engineering and college students in India. It is but normal to assume that with college education spreading, there is a greater chance of this spirit being established in India on a larger scale.

But this has come at a cost about us missing out on rediscovering whatever scientific progress was made in ancient India. Sanskrit education has not been patronised to understand the scriptures, and we have not picked up from where we last departed from science in our scriptures. Our ancestors might have done this only after heavy aggressions from our North-West. We have to pick the stones up again and build the fort afresh. We need to apply our 'scientific temper' in this field.

9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

Public property has been in a state of disrepair since quite some time. Venture out in the world and you will see what is the status of the same abroad. We should feel bad that anything with the epithet of 'public' in India has got an unclean image among Indians. From bus stops, to train stops, lack of hygiene is appalling. In this field, the work of Sulabh Sauchalaya requires special mention. We must start considering hygiene first in the reorganising of our public properties, for it seems it is viewed as a measure of comfort and not as a measure of promoting health.

Other things too need to be considered for public property. Protection from acts of rioting, terrorism, etc. would in turn partly solve the second part of this duty.

10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

When it comes to striving in excellence in individual activity, we second none. But a lot has to be done in terms of striving towards achieving collective activity. Team spirit lags in India, which could be a reason why fields like Indian sports are stagnating. On the other hand, individual sports like chess, badminton, tennis, golf, etc. have done much better in comparison to team sports in India.

On the whole, while there are some good stories that are worth mentioning, we still need to do a lot to realise our fundamental duties. I sign off this post right now and will return another time, most likely before the 26th of Jan with a few suggestions on how to reform India.

Republic Day Week Special - A recap of our fundamental duties - 1

From the Bhagwada Gita, consider the following conversation at the beginning of Chapter 18.

१

अर्जुन उवाचा
संन्यासस्य महा-बहो
तत्त्वं इच्छामि वेदितुम्
त्यागस्य का हृषीकेशा
पृथक केसी-निसुदाना।

"Arjuna said: O mighty-armed one, I wish to understand the purpose of renunciation [tyaga] and of the renounced order of life [sannyasa], O killer of the Keshi demon, master of the senses."

२

श्री-भगवान उवाचा
कम्यानाम कर्माणं न्यासं
संन्यासं कवयो विदुः
सर्व-करमा-पहला-तयागम
प्रहुस तयागम विकाक्षनाह।

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyasa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyaga]."

३

त्याज्यम डोसा-वाद इत्य एके
करमा प्रहर मनिसिनाह
यजना-दाना-तपः-करमा
न त्याज्यम इति कपरे।

"Some learned men declare that all kinds of fruitive activities should be given up as faulty, yet other sages maintain that acts of sacrifice, charity and penance should never be abandoned."

४

निस्कायम शृणु में तत्र
त्यागे भरता-सत्तामा
त्यागो ही पुरुष-व्याघ्र
त्रि-विधः संप्रकीर्तितः।

"O best of the Bharatas, now hear My judgment about renunciation. O tiger among men, renunciation is declared in the scriptures to be of three kinds."

५

यजना-दाना-तपः-करमा
न त्याज्यम कार्यम एव तट
यज्नो दानं तापस किव
पवानानी मनिसिनाम।

"Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls."

६

इतनी अपि तू कर्मणि
संगम त्यक्त्वा फलानी च
कर्तव्यानीति में पर्थ
निस्सितम मातम उत्तमं।

"All these activities should be performed without attachment or any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of duty, O son of Pritha. That is My final opinion."

७

नियतस्य तू संन्यासः
कर्मानो नोपपद्यते
मोहत तस्य परित्यागास
तमसः परिकीर्तितः।

"Prescribed duties should never be renounced. If one gives up his prescribed duties because of illusion, such renunciation is said to be in the mode of ignorance."

८

दुह्क्हम इत्य एव यात करमा
काया-कलेसा-भायत त्यजेत
सा कृत्वा राजसं तयागम
नैव त्यागा-फलं लभेत।

"Anyone who gives up prescribed duties as troublesome or out of fear of bodily discomfort is said to have renounced in the mode of passion. Such action never leads to the elevation of renunciation."

९

कार्यम इत्य एव यात करमा
नियतं क्रियते ’रजुना
संगम त्यक्त्वा फलं किव
सा त्यागः सात्त्विको मतः।

"O Arjuna, when one performs his prescribed duty only because it ought to be done, and renounces all material association and all attachment to the fruit, his renunciation is said to be in the mode of goodness."

१०

न द्वेस्टी अकुसलम करमा
कुसल नानुसज्जाते
त्यागी सत्त्व-समविस्तो
मेधावी चिन्ना-सम्सयाह।

"The intelligent renouncer situated in the mode of goodness, neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, has no doubts about work."

११

न ही देहा-भरता सक्यम
त्याक्तुम कर्मण्य असेसतः
यस् तू करमा-पहला-त्यागी
सा त्यागिटी अभिधीयते।

"It is indeed impossible for an embodied being to give up all activities. But he who renounces the fruits of action is called one who has truly renounced."

The above passage elucidates the virtue of renunciation. Renunciation aids us in the quest of our duties, and in this case, I'm going to talk about the fundamental duties enshrined in our Constitution. Now consider the fundamental duties . These are:

1. To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem;
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
4. To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
7. To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement.

(Reference)

It is now high time that we realize some of these. Just because there is no law guarding our fundamental duties, we have simply left them out of our 'to-do' list for today.

What is our standing on these fundamental duties at the moment? We haven't even been able to put into effect the first fundamental duty of our constitution namely:-

"1. To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem."

When we saw Pakistan flags being raised in Kashmir and Assam, what do we do? Why weren't all the buggers arrested on charges of treason? We do respect the National Anthem, yawning with mouths wide open on national festivals and often overexceeding the time limit. But why is it that only the National Anthem is respected and not the National Song? Why have we not approached the 13% of our population who disregard the Vande Mataram out of sheer paranoia and misjudgement? Do we know why they do this? Is there some genuine reason or is it just because they are told to not sing the National Song? When are we going to... bell the cat?
(An analysis by pioneer journo Kanchan Gupta to be found on this page.)

Let's look at the second duty.

"2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom."

As per me, two noble ideals that inspired our national struggle are selflessness of struggle for the motherland. Today, we are hardly selfless. While creation of wealth is but a natural tendency of mankind, we should have been aware that a newborn nation like India would not be able to make everybody rich instantly. Yet, our government servants are all willing to earn money by any means possible (read corruption). And we, to have our work done, are but abetting them in their quest of money. Myself included, bribed some of them to get my work done. This can be nothing but detrimental to the well-being of the nation.

"3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India."

This has fallen on the shoulders of none other than - guess who? The common Indian soldier. For I doubt that apart from the Army, there is anything that keeps the fabric of Indian society bound.

Trouble mongers often take refuge in the distorted history taught to us that India has never been one country to deny us the privilege of no internal strife to spread their propaganda. Today, when Naxalites ravage our southern and eastern states, Ulfa in the north east, illegal Bangladeshi immigrants create situations in the east and north east, what has the common Indian done to avoid these problems? On the contrary, I have seen reports stating that these Bangladeshi immigrants being used as cheap labour.

The common Indian has thus by and large done nothing for upholding the national integrity of India. By nothing, I mean in the terms of action, though the sentiment might be there in most of us.

More fundamental duties to be analysed later. The post seems to have gotten too long.

Independence Day Special

Hi all,

This is an independence day special post, on the event of the 61st independence of India. Inspired from the INA marching song 'kadam kadam badhaaye ja' but most of the lines are my own.

Enjoy..

दुआएं

कदम कदम बढाये जा
रुके न तू, झुके न तू
सदा अमर रहे तू।

कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

मुसीबतों चाहे हो हजार हजार है पर हम तेरे अस्त्र करोड़ करोड़
एक्जूठ हम बनके आज
काल के इस पल को लान्गेंगे हम।
कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

हे दुश्मन तेरे हर कही , भीतर भी बाहर भी
कुचले तू, रोंदे तू
पराजय उन्हें दिलाये तू ।
कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

हे तेरे हम दास, हा दीवाने हे हम तेरे
कुछ भी कर देंगे हम तेरे लिए, निश्चिंत रहे तू
बदला लेंगे हम हर तेरे दुश्मनों से, निश्चिंत रहे तू।
कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

लंबी थी तेरी राहें अब तक हा कठिन थी तेरी राहे
फिर भी अजय रही हे तू
और सदा अजय रहेगी तू।
कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

आज तेरे आज़ादी के दिन पर भारत माता, मेरी उनसे येही दुआ हे
कि भर दे वह हमारे बाहों में वह शक्ति, मन में ऐसा विश्वास भर दे वह
अटल रहे हम अपने कदमों में, और हमसे अटल बने माता तू।
कदम कदम बढाये जा तू॥

जय हिंद