A STAR WAS BORN THIS DAY

This day Narendranath who became Swami Vivekananda, the inclusive Hindu Monk was born.

Every Indian ought to remember him every day, more particularly today.

Just some reading on Swamiji and from his lectures:


Jawaharlal Nehru on Swami Vivekananda:

“I do not know how many of the younger generation read the speeches and the writings of Swami Vivekananda. But I can tell you many of my generation were very powerfully influenced by him and I think it would do a great deal of good to the present generation if they also went through Swami Vivekananda’s writings and speeches, and they would learn much from them. That would, perhaps, as some of us did, enable us to catch a glimpse of that fire that raged in Swami Vivekananda’s mind and heart and which ultimately consumed him at an early age. Because there was fire in his heart— the fire of a great personality coming out in eloquent and ennobling language— it was no empty talk that he was indulging in. He was putting his heart and soul into the words uttered.”

(From the lecture delivered at the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi, on 20 March 1949, on the occasion of Ramakrishna’s 114th birthday anniversary.)

“He gave us something which brings us, if I may use the word, a certain pride in our inheritance. He did not spare us. He talked of our weaknesses and our failings too. He did not wish to hide anything. Indeed he should not. Because we have to correct those failings also. Sometimes he strikes hard at us, but sometimes points out the great things for which India stood and which even in the days of India’s downfall made her, in some measure, continue to be great.
So what Swamiji has written and said is of interest and must interest us and is likely to influence us for a long time to come. He was no politician in the ordinary sense of the word and yet he was, I think, one of the great founders— if you like, you may use any other word— of the national modern movement of India, and a great number of people who took more or less an active part in that movement in a later date drew their inspiration from Swami Vivekananda.”

(From the lecture on 17 January 1963 at Ramlila Grounds (Ramlila Maidan), New Delhi, during Vivekananda’s birth centenary celebrations.

“I did not come here to tell you anything. I came here to offer my homage to Swamiji and express the hope that the people of today, of tomorrow— our countrymen, particularly our children and young men— will keep before them the example and memory of Swami Vivekananda and learn from his writings and his life.”

(From the lecture at Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi, on 3 March 1963)

Gandhi on Swami Vivekananda:

“I have come here (Belur Math) to pay my homage and respect to the revered memory of Swami Vivekananda, whose birthday is being celebrated here today. I have gone through his works very thoroughly, and after having gone through them, the love that I had for my country became a thousand-fold. I ask you, young men, not to go away empty-handed without imbibing something of the spirit of the place where Swami Vivekananda lived and died.”

(Mahatma Gandhi at Belur Math on 30 January 1921, during Swami Vivekananda’s birthday celebration)

Rajagopalachari on Swami Vivekananda:

“Swami Vivekananda saved Hinduism and saved India. But for him we would have lost our religion and would not have gained our freedom. We therefore owe everything to Swami Vivekananda. May his faith, his courage and his wisdom ever inspire us so that we may keep safe the treasure we have received from him!”

Subash Chandra Bose on Swami Vivekananda:

“In the eighties of the last century, two prominent religious personalities appeared before the public who were destined to have a great influence on the future course of the new awakening. They were Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the saint, and his disciple Swami Vivekananda. … Ramakrishna preached the gospel of the unity of all religions and urged the cessation of inter-religious strife. … Before he died, he charged his disciple with the task of propagating his religious teachings in India and abroad and of bringing about and awakening among his countrymen. Swami Vivekananda therefore founded the Ramakrishna Mission, an order of monks, to live and preach the Hindu religion in its purest form in India and abroad, especially in America, and he took an active part in inspiring every form of healthy national activity. With him religion was the inspirer of nationalism. He tried to infuse into the new generation a sense of pride in India’s past, of faith in India’s future and a spirit of selfconfidence and self-respect. Though the Swami never gave any political message, every one who came into contact with him or his writings developed a spirit of patriotism and a political mentality. So far at least as Bengal is concerned, Swami Vivekananda may be regarded as the spiritual father of the modern nationalist movement. He died very young in 1902, but since his death his influence has been even greater.

I cannot write about Vivekananda without going into raptures. Few indeed could comprehend or fathom him—even among those who had the privilege of becoming intimate with him. His personality was rich, profound and complex and it was this personality—as distinct from his teachings and writings— which accounts for the wonderful influence he has exerted on his countrymen and particularly on Bengalees. This is the type of manhood which appeals to the Bengalee as probably none other. Reckless in his sacrifice, unceasing in his activity, boundless in his love, profound and versatile in his wisdom, exuberant in his emotions, merciless in his attacks but yet simple as a child—he was a rare personality in this world of ours. …

Swamiji was a full-blooded masculine personality—and a fighter to the core of his being. He was consequently a worshipper of Sakti and gave a practical interpretation to the Vedanta for the uplift of his countrymen. … I can go on for hours and yet fail to do the slightest justice to that great man. He was so great, so profound, so complex. A yogi of the highest spiritual level in direct communion with the truth who had for the time being consecrated his whole life to the moral and spiritual uplift of his nation and of humanity, that is how I would describe him. If he had been alive, I would have been at his feet. Modern Bengal is his creation—if I err not.

How shall I express in words my indebtedness to Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda ? It is under their sacred influence that my life got first awakened. Like Nivedita I also regard Ramakrishna and Vivekananda as two aspects of one indivisible personality. If Swamiji had been alive today, he would have been my My guru, that is to say, I would have accepted him as my Master. It is needless to add, however, that as long as I live, I shall be absolutely loyal and devoted to Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.

It is very difficult to explain the versatile genius of Swami Vivekananda. The impact Swami Vivekananda made on the students of our time by his works and speeches far outweighed that made by any other leader of the country. He, as it were, expressed fully their hopes and aspirations. [But] Swamiji cannot be appreciated properly if he is not studied along with Sri Sri Paramahansa Deva. The foundation of the present freedom movement owes its origin to Swamiji’s message. If India is to be free, it cannot be a land specially of Hinduism or of Islam—it must be one united land of different religious communities inspired by the ideal of nationalism. [And for that] Indians must accept wholeheartedly the gospel of harmony of religions which is the gospel of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda. …

Swamiji harmonized East and West, religion and science, past and present. And that is why he is great. Our countrymen have gained unprecedented self-respect, self-confidence and self-assertion from his teachings.

The harmony of all religions which Ramakrishna Paramahansa accomplished in his life’s endeavour, was the keynote of Swamiji’s life. And this ideal again is the bed-rock of the nationalism of Future India. Without this concept of harmony of religions and toleration of all creeds, the spirit of national consciousness could not have been build up in this country of ours full of diversities.

The aspiration for freedom manifested itself in various movements since the time of Rammohun Roy. This aspiration was witnessed in the realm of thought and in social reforms during the nineteenth century, but it was never expressed in the political sphere. This was because the people of India still remained sunk in the stupor of subjugation and thought that the conquest of India by the British was an act of Divine Dispensation. The idea of complete freedom is manifest only in Ramakrishna-Vivekananda towards the end of the nineteeth century. ‘Freedom, freedom is the song of the Soul’—this was the message that burst forth from the inner recesses of Swamiji’heart and captivated and almost maddened the entire nation. This truth was embodied in his works, life, conversations, and speeches.

Swami Vivekananda, on the one hand, called man to be real man freed from all fetters and, on the other, laid the foundation for true nationalism in India by preaching the gospel of the harmony of religions.”

Rabindranath Tagore on Swami Vivekananda:

“Some time ago Vivekananda said that there was the power of Brahman in every man, that Nàràyaõa [i.e. God] wanted to have our service through the poor. This is what I call real gospel. This gospel showed the path of infinite freedom from man’s tiny egocentric self beyond the limits of all selfishness. This was no sermon relating to a particular ritual, nor was it a narrow injunction to be imposed upon one’s external life. This naturally contained in it protest against untouchability—not because that would make for political freedom, but because that would do away with the humiliation of man—a curse which in fact puts to shame the self of us all.

Vivekananda’s gospel marked the awakening of man in his fullness and that is why it inspired our youth to the diverse courses of liberation through work and sacrifice.

In India of modern times, it was Vivekananda alone who preached a great message which is not tied to any do’s and don’ts. Addressing one and all in the nation, he said : In every one of you there is the power of Brahman (God); the God in the poor desires you to serve Him. This message has roused the heart of the youths in a most pervasive way. That is why this message has borne fruit in the service of the nation in diverse ways and in diverse forms of sacrifice. This message has, at one and the same time, imparted dignity and respect to man along with energy and power. The strength that this message has imparted to man is not confined to a particular point; nor is it limited to repetitions of some physical movements. It has, indeed, invested his life with a wonderful dynamism in various spheres. There at the source of the adventurous activities of today’s youth of Bengal is the message of Vivekananda—which calls the soul of man, not his fingers.”

Now let us hear Swami Vivekananda himself:

Ay, children, to try to remedy evil is not the true way. Our philosophy teaches that evil and good are eternally conjoined, the obverse and the reverse of the same coin. If you have one, you must have the other; a wave in the ocean must be at the cost of a hollow elsewhere. Nay, all life is evil. No breath can be breathed without killing someone else; not a morsel of food can be eaten without depriving some one of it. This is the law; this is philosophy. Therefore the only thing we can do is to understand that all this work against evil is more subjective than objective. The work against evil is more educational than actual, however big we may talk. This, first of all, is the idea of work against evil; and it ought to make us calmer, it ought to take fanaticism out of our blood. The history of the world teaches us that wherever there have been fanatical reforms, the only result has been that they have defeated their own ends.


We are all beggars. Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. And alas! we are also traders in love.


We get caught. How? Not by what we give, but by what we expect. We get misery in return for our love; not from the fact that we love, but from the fact that we want love in return. There is no misery where there is no want. Desire, want, is the father of all misery. Desires are bound by the laws of success and failure. Desires must bring misery. The great secret of true success, of true happiness, then, is this: the man who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish man, is the most successful. It seems to be a paradox. Do we not know that every man who is unselfish in life gets cheated, gets hurt? Apparently, yes. “Christ was unselfish, and yet he was crucified.” True, but we know that his unselfishness is the reason, the cause of a great victory — the crowning of millions upon millions of lives with the blessings of true success. Ask nothing; want nothing in return. Give what you have to give; it will come back to you — but do not think of that now, it will come back multiplied a thousandfold — but the attention must not be on that. Yet have the power to give: give, and there it ends. Learn that the whole of life is giving, that nature will force you to give. So, give willingly.


Sooner or later you will have to give up. You come into life to accumulate. With clenched hands, you want to take. But nature puts a hand on your throat and makes your hands open. Whether you will it or not, you have to give. The moment you say, “I will not”, the blow comes; you are hurt. None is there but will be compelled, in the long run, to give up everything. And the more one struggles against this law, the more miserable one feels. It is because we dare not give, because we are not resigned enough to accede to this grand demand of nature, that we are miserable. The forest is gone, but we get heat in return. The sun is taking up water from the ocean, to return it in showers. You are a machine for taking and giving: you take, in order to give. Ask, therefore, nothing in return; but the more you give, the more will come to you. The quicker you can empty the air out of this room, the quicker it will be filled up by the external air; and if you close all the doors and every aperture, that which is within will remain, but that which is outside will never come in, and that which is within will stagnate, degenerate, and become poisoned. A river is continually emptying itself into the ocean and is continually filling up again. Bar not the exit into the ocean. The moment you do that, death seizes you. Be, therefore, not a beggar; be unattached This is the most terrible task of life! You do not calculate the dangers on the path. Even by intellectually recognising the difficulties, we really do not know them until we feel them. From a distance we may get a general view of a park: well, what of that? We feel and really know it when we are in it. Even if our every attempt is a failure, and we bleed and are torn asunder, yet, through all this, we have to preserve our heart — we must assert our Godhead in the midst of all these difficulties. Nature wants us to react, to return blow for blow, cheating for cheating, lie for lie, to hit back with all our might. Then it requires a super divine power not to hit back, to keep control, to be unattached. Every day we renew our determination to be unattached. We cast our eyes back and look at the past objects of our love and attachment, and feel how every one of them made us miserable. We went down into the depths of despondency because of our “love”! We found ourselves mere slaves in the hands of others, we were dragged down and down! And we make a fresh determination: “Henceforth, I will be master of myself; henceforth, I will have control over myself.” But the time comes, and the same story once more! Again the soul is caught and cannot get out. The bird is in a net, struggling and fluttering. This is our life. I know the difficulties. Tremendous they are, and ninety per cent of us become discouraged and lose heart, and in our turn, often become pessimists.


Now, I shall tell you a theory, which I will not argue now, but simply place before you the conclusion. Each man in his childhood runs through the stages through which his race has come up; only the race took thousands of years to do it, while the child takes a few years. The child is first the old savage man — and he crushes a butterfly under his feet. The child is at first like the primitive ancestors of his race. As he grows, he passes through different stages until he reaches the development of his race. Only he does it swiftly and quickly. Now, take the whole of humanity as a race, or take the whole of the animal creation, man and the lower animals, as one whole. There is an end towards which the whole is moving. Let us call it perfection. Some men and women are born who anticipate the whole progress of mankind. Instead of waiting and being reborn over and over again for ages until the whole human race has attained to that perfection, they, as it were, rush through them in a few short years of their life. And we know that we can hasten these processes, if we be true to ourselves.

(From the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)

THE CAPITAL-IST MENTALITY

 

It is not known whether others have also noticed a tendency among those residing in the capital cities to have a tendency of feeling superior to other citizens elsewhere in the country/state.

I at least have felt so.

In general, the people living in Delhi, at least those who have settled there for quite some time, have a tendency to behave as if they know more than the outsiders.

This could be because they are near the power center.  They get to know more people who rule the Country.  They have access to more inside information about what goes on in the corridors of power, because they have their own relatives or friends there, or get to know of the whispers through them.

Due to being at that place, they feel more confident of having access to any of the wheels or inner wheels of power.  They also therefore have more say in policy making.

This perhaps gets into their brains and their DNA and thus they tend to have a 'superiority complex'.

The same tendency exists among the Capitali-ists of each state, vis-a-vis the rest of those in the same state.

While I have noticed this to those in almost all Capitals, within India however I have also found a counter to the Delhi mentality coming from those in Mumbai and Kolkotta.

They also are in capitals of their respective states.  But the people of Mumbai are seen to have the capacity to overcome the Delhi-ite phenomenon, perhaps because they are from the Commercial Capital of the Country.

The mind set of Kolkatta-an perhaps stems from their capacity to observe the events and come to conclusions before-hand.  I have seen an inherent fear for the Easterners among those in Delhi.  They feel that they do not easily submit to their ‘authority’.

Capital-ists of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi (not Trivandrum mind you) lie in between the mindset of Mumbai and Kolkatta.

Narendra Modi was acutely aware of this syndrome and promised to make a difference by going to Delhi.  But he has handed over his government to bureaucrats (including most of the Ministerial berths) thereby letting this Capital-ist spirit continue to take complete control.

The spirit of a parliamentary democracy lies in balancing the above aspect by allowing people of all parts of the country/state to air their views and policy to be made accordingly.

But due to Parliament and the election process becoming victim of Party identities and the rigidities strengthened due to the anti-defection law, the proceedings in the Parliament have lost relevance.  Policies are decided elsewhere. Parliament has become just a debating hall, at best.

This phenomenon of the Capital-ist could be seen on the world scenario also.

It was visible in the case of Imperial Rome in earlier years, Britain in the last century and is visible now in the tendency of Washington.  And like in our country’s example, Washington’s challenge lies in China and Russia.

On the world stage, India that is Bharath, is placed in the position of the southern states in the above example  within the country.

The basic tendencies therefore appear to be the same.

The tendency of those who are in the capitals, or who own ‘capital’ hence are ‘Capitalistic’.

This holds equally good to the city dwellers also, vis-a-vis those in villages and those in command of a particular influential language vis-a-vis to those who do not possess it.

When in authority, whether due to political power or financial power, you feel superior. The other alternative is to be keen, observant and vigilant against the others’ moves.

The tendency to subjugate is the underlying animal instinct behind every political and commercial activity.

Looking back

 

What started as a visit to the launch of a book written by a child, lead to my own childhood memories.

It was the book launch of the Tamil translation of the book ‘The girl with 17 dreams’ by 12-year-old Punitham Senthilkumar.  Little did I realize that I would be on the stage along with other dignitaries for the book launch.

At the book launch I happened to meet Mr. Rajan of Omni Books.  Omni Books was known to me as a retail outlet for books, Tamil and English, from where I had made several purchases. 

But only at this event did I know that Omni Books had a private library.  

Mr. Rajan explained his passion for books and in encouraging book reading among children.  Punitham had been one of the users of his library.  He explained how God had helped him to construct a three floor library, all on his own.

Upon sensing my curiosity, he invited me to his library.

I visited his library at Peelamedu opposite to the PSG Hostels. 

It is a three-floor library, with spacious, well lit, airconditioned halls, with rows and rows of racks with neatly arranged books for different ages, right from children of very tender age to elders and over a variety of topics.  Some of the books were so costly that I asked him whether he lends them also or are only for reference.  He said that under the scheme where a deposit of Rs. 2000/- is obtained, all books are lent.  For a monthly subscription of 400/- or 500/- they allow any number of books to be read and returned, capping at 10 books at a time.  I asked if any books go unreturned, since they are very costly.  He said, now and then it may happen, but he did not want to stop the practice of lending all books, irrespective of their cost.  Many of the books, particularly for children and on art and architecture, medicine, etc were imported books.

Even as I was going around the shelves, children were flocking in with their parents.  It was a merry sight to see.  Young ones flying around book shelves like butterflies.

I was reminded of my own childhood.

When I was in the sixth standard (10 years old) my Mother had introduced me to the habit of borrowing books from the local library run by the Government.  I still remember the very first book I had brought home to read.  It was ‘Thanga mambazham’ in Tamil meaning ‘Golden Mango’.  It was perhaps selected for me by my Mother.  I do not remember what the book was about. 

The next book I remember to have taken from that library was a short life history of V.O.Chidambaram Pillai.  That night, after reading it, I had got a high fever.  About that, in detail, another time.

The next book I remember is a collection of his essays by Jayakanthan under the name ‘Sudhandhira Chindhanai’, if my memory is right. I was enticed by his language and the style, coming next only to the royal gait of Bharathiar.  The cover photo of the book in which Jayakanthan, with his large glasses and a mustache, was seen to be musing with a pen between his fingers, staring above as if to bring down knowledge and power, with a paper and pad on a pillow on his lap, sitting cross legged on the ground, remains in my mind as a lasting image of a fearless writer.  It sowed seeds in my mind to become a writer too.

Then I read many of the books of Mu Va like Karithundu, Nenjil Oru mul, Kallo Kaviyamo, Agal vilakku, etc.  The flow of language and thought process of Mu Va was arresting.

By the time I reached 7^th and 8^th Standard, I started using the library in our school, Manis Higher Secondary School (at that time Manis High School).  It was one of the best libraries in the city.

The very sight of books and their feel gave me a high.  I liked to be among the rows of racks stacked with books.  I used to go there during lunch hours to help the librarian arrange the books brought back by the students.  The books had to be identified according to their serial number or topic and kept in the rows allotted for them.  Not many students were willing to do such work.  But I was crazy, just to be with the books.

My master Jogi sir, perhaps sensing my fondness for books, used to borrow them in his own name and give me to read at home, because students of 9^th and above alone were allowed to take books in their own names.

Thereafter I started reading Tagore and many other authors, from the school library.

I was remembering those childhood days, sitting at the Omni books library, with Shri. Rajan. 

Then suddenly seeing a set of books under the series ‘Tell me when’, I told him whether he had the book with series ‘Tell Me Why’.  He said, during his very early age at Chennai, he had been selling that series, a five-book set, on instalment basis sale.  I said, I had bought one set and still have it.  He immediately asked me where I had bought it from.  I said it was sold to me by some one at my office table, then at the Madras Port Trust or in the AG’s Office.  He said, it was he who used to cover those areas.  ‘Was it not published by Vishnu Publishers?’ he asked.  (On coming home, I checked and found that what he had said was true. And from the date mentioned on the book, it could be seen that it had been bought on 5.4.1989.  I was in AG's Office, Teynampet, then)  Similarly, another priceless book bought at that time for a princely price of Rs. 120 was ‘The Connan Doyle Stories’.  That too he remembered to have sold, while he was at Chennai.  He said that it should have been issued by Sakthi Book House.  That was also correct.  It had been bought on 23.7.1990. I was in Madras Port Trust Residential Audit on the Rajaji Salai, then. He informed me that Sakthi Book House was their first company.  So that book had also been bought from him only. 

The world is so small, we had come to meet again at Coimbatore, we felt.

The memories were so nostalgic.

I wanted to gift the two books (Thirukkural 108 and Ul Oli Prabanja dhyanam) released last January to their library.  Mr. Rajan insisted that it should be given to him formally, in the presence of the Budha and Saraswathi statues in the library, which I gladly did.

Among people who are bothered only about making money and more money, that such saints who want to enable all to have easy access to knowledge live, is humbling.

Saint Avyaar said that even if there is one noble soul around, it does rain for all beings.

  “நல்லார் ஒருவர் உளரேல் அவர்பொருட்டு

எல்லார்க்கும் பெய்யும் மழை.” (மூதுரை 10)

 

 

 

Dharma and Karma

 

He appeared to be hale and hearty, though looking a bit old. Might be even in his nineties.

He was having his meal in the restaurant in a very relaxed manner.

I took the seat opposite to him which was vacant.

It was '#Onam feast' in the restaurant. Since my family was away, I had decided to enjoy the feast in the restaurant. The ambience was quite, with a light music at the back ground. Families were sitting around and enjoying themselves. Communities have shifted from the dwelling places to restaurants, I thought.

As the server put the leaf before me and I started sprinkling the water and cleaning it up for the serving to start, he was looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes. Smiling eyes.

I smiled back. Had a feeling of having known him for a long time.

“New to this place?”, I asked.

“No I come now and then”, he said.

“Have we met earlier?”

“Might be”.

“Where do you come from?”

“I was there in the north. Shifted down south with my family, long ago. Now keep going places, seeing people and enjoying”.

“Nice that at your age, you are able to move around alone”.

“Loneliness is a state of mind. When people are there around, nature is there communicating to us various things always, where is loneliness? Sometimes people even when surrounded by their kith and kin are lost in their own reveries, personal ambitions and cut off from others. Only they are lonely”.

The server had started putting various items on the leaf and I had started savoring one by one.

I was reminded of people being caught up within their mobile web, even when travelling in crowded busses or trains. There was a time when travelling was to see various places, watch people, etc. Might be the old gentleman belonged to that genre.

“Where do you stay?” I asked.

“Earlier we had settled in the north. But later moved down south”.

“Why?”.

“It is a repetition in history. When someone comes and wants to stay in a part of your land, you allow it by grace, then they slowly take over the entire place and you will be forced to move out”.

“Yes I remember #Tagore’s poem somewhere on these lines I said”.

“Which poem?” he asked.

I tried to recollect. “It starts somewhat like this, ‘they came in the morning and said that they will stay in a corner’

“He slowly started reciting the entire poem:

‘When it was day they came into my house and said, “We shall only take the smallest room here.”

They said, “We shall help you in the worship of your God and humbly accept only our own share of his grace”; and then they took their seat in a corner and they sat quiet and meek.

But in the darkness of night I find they break into my sacred shine, strong and turbulent, and snatch with unholy greed the offerings from God’s altar.’

I think you meant that poem in #Githanjali”, he said.

I was quite beside myself. Not only about his memory, but the grace with which he rendered those lines. As if Tagore himself had presented before me.

“Amazing that you remember those lines so accurately” I said.

“Once someone has realized, then it is difficult to forget” he said. There was a bit of sorrow in his voice, or I thought so.

“It is the same law, whether inner or the outer”, he said.

“I do not quite get it”.

“One has to be guarded as to whom he is letting in. If they are of good merit, they will enrich you by making you stronger and remain with you. If they are inimical forces, they will slowly occupy the entire space and kick you out or the better elements, and completely subjugate you, in the long run”.

“This is a perpetual conflict between the inner forces as well as various races”, I said.

“Yes. It is a yin yang game. The victors always write the history. But truth always has the knack of coming back”.

“But how did you get caught in such a game?”.

“The lad who came and sought a quarter of our land looked very meek, mild and amiable. But we saw his real self only after he was let in. Slowly he grabbed all our possessions and sent us south. Only I could get a lien to go back to our ancestral place, once in a while”.

“Oh. Pitiable. Then how did you find a new place?”.

“Actually, our entire clan moved down south. Then one of the decedents of that lad taking pity on our plight, showed us a new landscape in the forests. It had not been inhabited by humans so far and was therefore rich. It was rather full of snakes. Only we had to toil a bit to make it ‘God’s own country’ ”.

Actually, I had forgotten to savour the delicious and varieties of food. I was just taking them mechanically. Had got glued to his narration. Now and then the server would come and keep on filling something or the other on our leaves.

“I am reminded about the #Vamana avathara and #Mahabali”, I said.

He kept on looking deep into my eyes for some time. Either he had moisture in his eyes, or I at least though so.

“Do you know how much that young lad’s descendants had to suffer?” he asked.

“Which lad?”

“That vamana”.

“Who were his descendants?”.

“Oh all the avatars that came later”.

“You mean #Parasurama, #Rama and #Krishna?”.

“Yes yes. One had to behead his own mother, at the command of his father. He conquered all the kings, but could never reign and could not get peace and left to the forest. Then Rama, was sent to the forests by his own father’s vow, his wife was stolen away, even after getting her back, he never had peace of mind, sent her heavy with his own children to the forests and went down himself into the sarayu. Krishna, right at the moment of birth was separated from his mother, was hunted by his maternal uncle right from his boyhood, even after killing his tormentor could not reign. His best friends, the valiant pandavas also were exiled and after the bloody war to reclaim a land which neither belonged to them legitimately nor to their cousins, nothing survived. Nothing survived - neither dharma nor artha, only the stench of kama was left there with the blood that was let in the battle. Krishna himself had a lonely death. A fatal arrow pierced his feet. Remember that with a feet his ancestor had taken over an entire kingdom earlier”.

I was lost completely. Never ever thought that #karma could have caught up even with avatars.

Then after summoning some energy, I asked him, “when avatars or godheads do something for the wellbeing of others, how does karma catch up?”.

He smiled.

“#Dharma and #karma are two faces of the same coin. It works in the same way for everyone. Its value would increase or decrease depending upon the person who uses it and the occasion”.

Now, I was a bit baffled. How could a coin have different value depending upon the person and occasion? He perhaps read my mind.

“See, when your loved ones gift you something, you attach greater value to it. Hard earned money is worthier than something got by deceit or by chance. Then when you get something when you are in dire need, it is of the greatest value. Money in the coffers without any spending is an utter waste and has no value”.

Oh, how I had overlooked such a fundamental economic principle, I felt. I was a bit ashamed of my earlier doubt.

“#Manushyas, #Asuras and #Devas were all born out of the same #Kashyapa, as per our own puranas. Why only they, everything that is alive, including birds and animals".

What nonsense, I thought.

“Because, Kashyapa himself was born out of the mind of Brahma”, he continued.

“All of us are essentially mental beings. What we wanted to be, we are and what we want to be, we become”.

Now that was a bit rich. I could not gather.

“Have you read the book, ‘Phantoms in the Brain by #V.S.Ramachandran’?”.

“No”, I muttered.

“He has demonstrated what #Shankara proclaimed a thousand years ago ‘Body is the creation of the mind’”.

“The same Shankara also has said, Asuras, Manushyas and Devas are all only humans and it denotes only their different tendencies”.

“I am reminded about reading somewhere that Socrates said that people with a lot of avariciousness for wealth will get reborn as mules or such animals and those who torment others will get born as eagles, kites, etc”.

“Yes, exactly”, he said. “Also the animals in the #Panchatantra, do you think are animals speaking and thinking? They are animals in human form”.

“It is quite an unending cycle, then”, I said.

“Yes. We are all caught up in this web. Action creates opposite reactions and the yin yang continues”.

“Is it a misery or a game?”.

“It will depend upon our station in life. For some it is a misery. Some take it in their stride. Some who are favourably placed get drowned in the mirth. Some alone are gifted with the possibility to contemplate”.

“But when the law of karma is so inexorable, what worth is there in contemplation?”, I ventured.

“There is a story in the #Upanishads. The Asuras, Devas and Manushyas went to their #Guru and asked for upadesha to contemplate and meditate upon. He separately told each of them secretly a letter and asked them to come back if they have found the key. Later each of them came back and told him they have found the key. What was that, he asked. The Deva said, ‘you told me ‘#Dha’, which means #Dhamana. I have to be self-controlled. Yes, said the Guru. When you get power in your hands, you should use it with wisdom and restrain. Asura came and said he was also told ‘Dha’ but he understood that as ‘#Dhaya’. True said the Guru. Your asuric or demonic form is due to your mercilessness and anger. Its remedy lies in being merciful to all beings. Then came the manushya. He was in doubt. He said, ‘Guru, you had told me also ‘Dha’, but I thought it is ‘#Dhana’. Yes, said the Guru. By habit, you want to amass wealth. You are the only one among all living beings who hoards wealth, whether you need it or not. You create an imbalance in the entire nature’s law, which is to flow. So your salvation lies in creating a tendency to give away what you possess. Ever remember that you are not the owner of anything on this earth. You are only the custodian. You are to only pass it on. The river loses its virility if it stays in one place. So does wealth.”

I had finished my lunch. The bill was on my table. I had been completely lost.

“Then the Guru told his disciples. It is not enough if you have got the key. Now you have to enter. Practice it”.

I felt as if a rishi was coming and sitting before me in the modern attire.

He completed his meal, went and washed his hands and came back to bid me good bye.

“How do we come out of this web?”, I asked.

“See the goat or a cow tied to a tree with a rope? It keeps grazing, lying and waiting. If you go round and round the tree, grazing and doing whatever is possible, the rope may snap due to your effort or by the wear and tear. Or if you are able, you can break yourself free. Then you need not be bothered about the butcher”, he said with a twinkle in his eyes and left.

I went and washed my hands, came back, paid my bill and asked the waiter, “What about his bill. I shall pay that also”.

“He is our owner sir”, he said. He keeps dropping in once in a while.

“Where does he live?”.

‘We do not know’ said the waiter.

 

 

 

Rs. 17,48,52,00,00,00,000

 

‘Hindi’ has been substituted with ‘Third language’ and therefore there cannot be any objection for a three language formula, all over India.  This is the argument of the day.  But the above picture itself would show that it is not that any Indian language could be the third language, but what is chosen by the respective state/UT Governments.

The counter that has been posed from those opposed to it is whether children in North India really learn three languages, or even two, with English as the mandatory second.

It has also been pointed out that even in the KVs of Tamil Nadu, the posts of teachers of Tamil have not been filled up.  

There is another argument that learning more languages is beneficial to a child’s cognitive abilities.

To the best of my knowledge, educationists world over prescribe primary education in one’s mother tongue as the best.

Now, for higher education, without doubt English is essential, not because it was the language of our former rulers, but because, it contains a sea of information on whether science or humanities.  To those who want to bring the information to their native languages, it will take much more time and if with the advent of AI, etc, it is going to be much easier, then the barrier for that also is broken and one requires learning only one’s mother tongue for higher learning also. Thus, for this reason also, the need for a third language fails.

Next comes the need to know spoken language of different places when working in those places.

Those who have gone into the Northern parts of India would have experienced the animosity towards those who do not speak Hindi. 

I have felt this, even when I was representing them and fighting for their cause.  Then what happens if your are at their mercy, working for them or being paid by them?

Yes, in all such situations, people have been learning that language for their livelihood, just like North Indian migrants now learn the local languages wherever they are working.

In this regard, we see people of different places easily learning the language of the place where they work, even when they do not have formal education in that language.  For that matter, spoken language has hardly anything to do with the written literature of various languages.

“I ask you, Sir are we going to have this Constitution only for ourselves and our lives ? What about our children and the generations to come ? Are they not to follow this ? I am speaking from my own personal experience. I learnt Hindi, I taught Hindi to some hundreds of women at least, in the South. My experience is this : Those who have passed the highest examinations in Hindi can read and write, but it is impossible for them to speak, because for speaking there must be some kind of environment, some kind of atmosphere. In the South, where do we find this atmosphere? Nowhere in the South have we opportunities of speaking what we have learnt. You will only realise this difficulty when you come to the South and you have to speak one of the provincial languages there. Therefore, be patient and cultivate the spirit of accommodation and tolerance. This is the thing that we ask of you to show to us”. That was Shrimati G Durgabai (Madras: General) speaking in the Constituent Assembly debates on 14^th September 1949.

Still, if we insist that a third language should be there for unity sake, then I would like to work out the cost of imparting that ‘third language’.

Total number of regional languages as per 8th Schedule : 22

Total number of regional language teachers who will have to be employed per school if third language is to be any regional language (At the rate of 3 per school which is a very minimum with atleast one for primary, one for pre-secondary and one for secondary in each school)  : 66

Total number of Schools in India in 2024 as per the UDISE Report of Government of India, 2023-34 (https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-new/udise_report_existing_23_24.pdf )  : 1,47,18,911

Total number of additional teachers that will be required to teach all regional languages as third language (@66 per school): Rs.97.14 Crores

Salary for the above additional teachers @Rs. 15,000 per month : Rs. 14,57,100 Crores

Salary for the above additional teachers per year: Rs. 1,74,85,200 Crores

Now Compare the above with the two figures below:

Total number of teachers in 2024 as per UDISE Report of Government of India, 2023-34 (https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-new/udise_report_existing_23_24.pdf )  : 98,07,600

The total expenditure in India's Union Budget for 2025-26 (Estimate) : Rs.50.65 lakh crore

Thus, it becomes apparent that the euphemism of ‘third language’ is not a real feasibility and what could actually happen is only imparting ‘Hindi’ as a third language in non-Hindi speaking areas – which will be only an imposition, when done without the consent of the respective State Governments and the people.  

It should be left to the option of the respective states to take a call. And release of funds for education should not certainly be linked to that, when the matter is in the Concurrent list.

Thirunavaya temple and Nammalvar pasurams

Thirunavaya Temple, Kerala

When I posted some photos taken during my visit to Thirunavaya temple on the face book, there was a discussion regarding whether it was one of the 108 divya desams.  One friend clarified that it is so and also that Nammalvar had sung 11 pasurams on the deity of the temple Nava Mukunda.  

Nammalvar is my most favorite Azhvar.  He is according to me a great advaity among the Azhvars. His verse is carried on the lay out of this blog.  The verse is an example of his secular outlook. 

For the sake of others who may not be able to search for the pasurams I thought I should extract it below with the English meanings. (The verse numbers differ in some publications though)

 

3750.   

அறுக்கும் வினையாயின*  ஆகத்து அவனை* 

நிறுத்தும் மனத்துஒன்றிய*  சிந்தையினார்க்கு*

வெறித்தண்மலர்ச் சோலைகள்சூழ்*  திருநாவாய்* 

குறுக்கும்வகை உண்டுகொலோ*  கொடியேற்கே?  

If devotees keep the lord in their minds and think only of him their karma will go away. When will the day come when I, so unworthy, can approach Thirunavay, surrounded by fragrant cool blooming groves.

3751.   

கொடிஏர்இடைக்*  கோகனகத்தவள் கேள்வன்* 

வடிவேல் தடம்கண்*  மடப்பின்னை மணாளன்*

நெடியான்உறை சோலைகள்சூழ்*  திருநாவாய்*  

அடியேன் அணுகப்பெறும்நாள்*  எவைகொலோ!

 

He is the beloved of Lakshmi staying on a lotus, her waist as thin as a vine, and the beloved of lovely Nappinnai with large sharp spear-like eyes. When will I, his slave, approach Thirunāvāy where the lord Nediyān stays, surrounded by groves?

3752.   

எவைகொல் அணுகப் பெறும்நாள்?'*  என்று எப்போதும்* 

கவையில் மனம்இன்றி*  கண்ணீர்கள் கலுழ்வன்* 

நவைஇல் திருநாரணன்சேர்*  திருநாவாய்*  

அவையுள் புகலாவதுஓர்*  நாள் அறியேனே

I think always in my faultless mind, “When will the day come that I go to the god?”
and I shed tears and suffer. I don’t know when I will go to the faultless divine Naraṇan of Thirunāvāy.

 3753.   

நாளேல் அறியேன்*  எனக்குஉள்ளன*  நானும் 

மீளா அடிமைப்*  பணி செய்யப் புகுந்தேன்*

நீள்ஆர்மலர்ச் சோலைகள்சூழ்*  திருநாவாய்* 

வாள்ஏய் தடம்கண்*  மடப்பின்னை மணாளா!

O god, you are the beloved of lovely Nappinnai with large sword-like eyes and you stay in Thirunāvāy surrounded by tall blooming groves. I have begun to serve you and do not want to leave you. I don’t know how long my life will last.


3754.   

மணாளன் மலர்மங்கைக்கும்*  மண் மடந்தைக்கும்* 

கண்ணாளன் உலகத்துஉயிர்*  தேவர்கட்குஎல்லாம்*

விண்ணாளன் விரும்பிஉறையும்*  திருநாவாய்* 

கண்ஆரக் களிக்கின்றது*  இங்குஎன்று கொல்கண்டே?  

 

He is the beloved of Lakshmi, he is as precious as her eyes to the earth goddess, and he is the soul of all the creatures of the world and the god of the gods in the sky. When will the day come that I can go to him who loves to stay in Thirunāvāy
and my eyes can have the joy of seeing him?

3755.   

கண்டே களிக்கின்றது*  இங்குஎன்று கொல்கண்கள்* 

தொண்டேஉனக்காய் ஒழிந்தேன்*  துரிசுஇன்றி*

வண்டுஆர்மலர்ச் சோலைகள்சூழ்*  திருநாவாய்*  

கொண்டே உறைகின்ற*  எம்கோவலர்கோவே!

I have became a faultless devotee to serve you and my eyes see you here and are happy. You, the lord of the cowherds, stay in Thirunāvāy surrounded with blooming groves where the bees sing.

3756.   

கோவாகிய*  மாவலியை நிலம்கொண்டாய்* 

தேவாசுரம் செற்றவனே!*  திருமாலே*

நாவாய்உறைகின்ற*  என்நாரணநம்பீ* 

'ஆஆ அடியான்*  இவன் என்று அருளாயே. 

As a dwarf you took the land from king Mahābali, and you destroyed the Asurans when the gods fought them. O Thirumāl, Nambi Narayaṇan of Thirunāvāy,
come to me, give me your grace and say, “This is my devotee!”

3757.   

அருளாது ஒழிவாய்*  அருள்செய்து*  அடியேனைப் 

பொருளாக்கி*  உன்பொன்அடிக்கீழ்ப் புகவைப்பாய்*

மருளேஇன்றி*  உன்னை என்நெஞ்சத்துஇருத்தும்* 

தெருளேதரு*  தென்திருநாவாய் என்தேவே!  

 

Whether you give me your grace or not, make me your devotee and let me stay beneath your golden feet. Give me a clear mind so I may keep you in my heart and not be confused, O my god of Thirunāvāy.

3758.   

தேவர் முனிவர்க்குஎன்றும்*  காண்டற்குஅரியன்* 

மூவர் முதல்வன்*  ஒருமூவுலகுஆளி*

தேவன் விரும்பிஉறையும்*  திருநாவாய்* 

யாவர் அணுகப்பெறுவார்*  இனிஅந்தோ!

The gods and the sages could not see the ancient one of the three gods and ruler of all the three worlds. Thirunāvāy is where he loves to stay— how can we go and see the god? It is a pity!

3759.   

அந்தோ! அணுகப்பெறும்நாள்*  என்றுஎப்போதும்*  

சிந்தை கலங்கித்*  திருமால் என்றுஅழைப்பன்*

கொந்துஆர்மலர்ச் சோலைகள்சூழ்*  திருநாவாய்* 

வந்தே உறைகின்ற*  எம்மா மணிவண்ணா!.

I suffer in my mind and call you, saying, “O Thirumāl!” and I ask you when the day will come that I can come to you who have the color of a beautiful dark jewel and stay in Thirunāvāy where the groves bloom with bunches of flowers.

3760.   

வண்ணம் மணிமாட*  நல்நாவாய் உள்ளானைத்*  

திண்ணம் மதிள்*  தென்குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன்* 

பண்ணார் தமிழ்*  ஆயிரத்து இப்பத்தும்வல்லார்*  

மண்ணாண்டு*  மணம்கமழ்வர் மல்லிகையே.  

 

Saḍagopan of flourishing southern Thirukuruhur filled with palaces studded with precious jewels and surrounded by strong walls composed a thousand musical Tamil pāsurams. If devotees learn and recite these ten poems they will rule the earth for many years and their fame will spread like the fragrance of jasmine.

 

(Source:

For Thamizh original verses: http://tamilvedham.net/index.php?r=site/thivyadesam&username=&thivyadesam_id=76

For the English translation: https://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0624_eng.html )