The Great Ganges

 

If someone asks whether the #Ganga is polluted or pure, the answer will depend upon which part of the Ganges, one is asking about.  Till the great river reaches Rishikesh, it is pure.  After that, pollution starts. (I don’t know whether it has started to be polluted from Rishinkesh itself now)  The one who is at Allahabad or Varanasi may say that the River is sacred, but cannot deny that it is polluted at the same time.  The one who has not traveled beyond Rishikesh with the river may not agree that it is polluted at all.  Someone living on the banks of the river with all its pollution, may feel frustrated that in spite of crores of rupees spent to clean it up, the menace continues.  If he is not getting any benefit out of the river, but is only affected by its pollution, he may say that it is better that the water body be dried up so that atleast the stinging pollution and its ill effects could be done away with.

Not only #Sanathana dharma, but all great religions have high spiritual aspects at their pinnacle, but have been infested by numerous pollutants down the stream.  Whether the sages of the Himalayas, the Sidhas of the Vindhyas or the Prophets of different parts of the world, they have revealed what has been glimpsed by them at great altitudes. Spirituality has been the hallmark of all searches. 

Sage after sage have repeated that all rivers lead to the sea.  But, yet, like babes quarrelling that one’s mother is superior to that of others, the so called followers quarrel with others.  None of them are actually following the real Masters.  Instead of travelling down the lane, they have put up tents on the ways and started bickering over territorial rights. Every religion has been called a way.  But when one stops travelling, there is stagnation and pollution. 

‘Ekam sat, vipra bahuta vadanti’, will be repeated like a mantra.  But the next moment, there will be a quarrel that it can mean so only in some specific religion or language.

Whenever there is a quarrel over whether sanathana dharma is great or not, I am reminded about two stands regarding Brahminism (which was how Sanathana Dharma was referred to in Tamil Nadu).

One was by #E.V.R.Periyar.  He said that he was not against Brahmins, but was against Brahminism.

The other stand was by the great Tamil writer #Jayakandan.  He said he was against Brahmins, but was for Brahminism.

Now, both the above statements may appear to be contradictory.

But on a closer examination of the back ground against which each of them spoke, one will understand that what Periyar meant by Brahminism was the degenerated practices injected by the Brahmin cult, which included castisim (or varnashrama), discrimination against women, etc.  When he said that he was not against Brahmins, he meant that he was not against those individuals, whom he saw as victims of their faith, but was only against their faith system as such.

On the contrary, Jayakandan says Brahminism as the quintessence of Upanishadic teachings.  He felt that it was the pinnacle of the Hindu faith system.  His argument was that the degeneration was caused by the people who practiced it, or rather did not practice it, but only paid lip sympathy to it.

Now, we come back to the question of whether the Ganga is clean.

While Jayakandan stands at Rishikesh, Periyar stands at Allahabad or Varanasi.

Once we understand their stand points, we can reconcile the seemingly contradictory stands.

Once, we resolve that there is pollution and that it has to be cleaned up, there is no more need to quarrel.

If one is going to argue that there is no pollution, then he is ignorant.  There is no point in arguing with him. If one is to argue that even if there is pollution, because it is sacred, we have to put up with it, then again there is no point in arguing with him.

There has not been a greater proponent of the greatness of Hinduism or Vedantism or Sanathana Dharma than Swami #Vivekananda.  Yet, there has not been a greater critique than him, to point out the ills of our system.  He called for a root-and-branch reform.

If we have to safeguard a system, the pollutants of the system have to be removed first.  In Ayurveda, medication is started only after a purging of the stomach. 

But the problem is that we continue to delude ourselves or allow others to delude us for their gains.

If someone calls for a root-and-branch reform today, we say that they are out to destroy.  ‘How can the root be changed and then the plant or tree survive?’ That is our emotional take.  We presume that we are rational too.

“I feel our country has an uncanny way of bringing out extremes in her people.  I suppose, it is because Indians have been both afflicted and enriched by centuries of migrations.  Loyalty to different rulers has dulled our capacity for a single allegiance. Instead, we have developed an extraordinary ability to be compassionate and cruel, sensitive and callous, deep and fickle, all at the same time.  To the untrained eye, we may appear colourful and picturesque, to the critical eye, we are but shoddy imitations of our various masters.”

  These are the words of #A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, in his book, ‘Wings of Fire’.

Unless we are able to come out of this psychological mess, we may not be able to make much headway, socially or spiritually.

 

Realisation and Independence

 

It is very difficult to think about Independence Day, without thinking about Gandhi.

It is not that he alone was responsible for the Independence.  There were very many before him who had sworn the seeds, nurtured it and even went unnoticed and unsung.  There were millions who travelled along with him.  Some of them were known, many, as usual as it happens in such mass movements, have remained mere numbers.  There were several youngsters, during his lifetime itself, who worked in different directions, but towards the same goal. 

Independence from the British was a consequence of the collective efforts of all these persons.

The pulverizing of Great Britain during the Second World War might have fastened the exit of the British.  It was inevitable even otherwise.  Rajaji famously said that the British decided to hand over power because they knew that otherwise they would not have had any power to hand over.

Gandhi had however himself accepted that a non-violent struggle or a passive resistance could have had no effect, if it had been against another power like France.  It could work because the British were conscious of their image.

And the Gandhian movement, essentially was focused on making the English man feel that he was in the wrong.

Gandhi’s employment of passive resistance was directly downloaded from the Bible.  It was superimposed upon the Gita, as per his own interpretation.  That is why he said that if he did not have the Gita, he would prefer to have the Sermons on the Mount.

When there were so many others involved in the freedom struggle, why then is it that we are forced to focus on the half-naked fakir?

It is because he comes to epitomize the best possible political figure that our culture could throw up.  He is a symbol of very many great qualities, which we even shudder to think of.  Even discounting some of his human frailties, he remains unsurpassed in his stature so far.

Apart from the great regard that a sensitive and cultured person like Tagore had for him, the appreciation he was able to receive from the greats like Einstein and G B Shaw, it is the reverence he drew from a person like Vinobhaji that makes me feel his greatness all the more.  Those who have known the personality of Vinobha ji can alone be able to appreciate this. Gandhi himself called Vinobhaji his spiritual heir.  He also said that he was his Guru who had come in the guise of his disciple.

The leftists (to some extent Nehru also included in that group), those like Ambedkar (including Periyar), those opposed to passive resistance (Bose, Bhagat Singh, Sri Aurobindo), the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha were all opposed to Gandhi.  Every group had their own reasons.  Gandhi was at the center of all this.

Without that central point, the other points could not have had a connecting link.  That is the crucial role that Gandhi played.  He was not the point of compromise.  He was the point at which the extremes could come to some point of reconciliation.

And yet, the point was pecked at a very tall place.  The standards that could not be met by any other person, then nor since, in public life. The transparency that he maintained was saint like. Not that of the present-day saints.

The pangs that the man suffered, every moment of his life, till his very death, have been recorded in detail.  First by himself, in his ‘My Experiments with Truth', then by his Personal Assistants, Shri. Mahaev Desai first and then by Pyarelal and Kalyanam.  Apart from that, there are very many anecdotes, interviews and his own prolific writings and speeches.  Each one of them give an insight into the turmoil his mind was going through, in search of Truth and to gain self-rule through self-respect, for the Indian masses.  He was essentially a spiritualist, a communist and also tried to hang on to his roots, which were to some extent fundamental. Some of his most intimate turmoils have been recorded in his letters to C.F. Andrews. 

The present generation has to at least occasionally try to go through these, to understand, what a turbulent life he had led to reach where he had.

And then, one will be forced to understand that we have not come across another such person and is not possible in the near future.  

He was a person who could get the participation of the masses, without giving them any promise.  Particularly, no promise of wealth or power.  If at all he promised, it was only that they were to suffer and without any outer limit.  And in spite of that, if people gathered in huge numbers to participate in his passive resistance, the magnetism of the man speaks for itself.

Passive resistance, he had defined again and again.  It was no substitute to weakness or cowardice.  It was being able to be above them.  He himself was acutely aware that the majority of the masses were of course not above that.  Yet, he continued with his struggle.  ‘Walk alone’ was the command he got from his poet-philosopher-friend.

And, indeed, in spite of being surrounded by a mass of people, he was all alone.

And those who still claim that even without him, we would have gained our freedom, are like those who would say that a wheel can still run without an axle.

When the social fabric is under threat, now one by one of those different strands which were opposed to his position have started to find how much his stand is vindicated.  Now, we are forced to go back to him to retain whatever we have gained so far.

Better late than never.  Otherwise, we will be sucked into the abyss, never to return.

ON ‘THE CROOKED TIMBER OF NEW INDIA’

 

On seeing the release of the book, I decided to buy it, not necessarily to read it, because I almost knew what it was about and have heard many episodes of the author’s ‘Midweek Matters’ and have had a fairly good idea about his thought process and concerns but because I knew that it will contain data and important instances quoted, which will be indeed a document on important socio-politico-economic events of the last decade.  This I anticipated because, in the episodes of the ‘Midweek matters’ I had seen that the author came out with well researched data and quotes and his expressions were not emotional, but one of deep concern.  The author could not be branded a political activist, an economist, a sociologist, journalist, etc.  But he was all of these in parts.

The very of ‘Crooked Timber’ is seen to date back to Immanuel Kant, wherein human basically held to be like a crooked timer and could not be straight, without inspection.

The author of this book perhaps believed that it was natural for the nation to become of crooked timber, if not inspected, questioned and put on the right path.  That way, the book does not disappoint.

Before I get into some of the specific issues dealt with in the book, as a prelude I should say that the book is a record of current history – to stand against propaganda material.  It speaks with facts and data.  It quotes the source of the information and data.  Hence, it is not essays, merely conveying the impressions of the author. 

 Most of the essays are those that have come out as episodes of ‘Midweek Matters’.  The essays are not important just because they are a record or make a remark over the events from 2014, but because they compile the facts and data to prove it. It supports our worst fears, looks at reasons behind or beneath it.

Now some of the observations in the book and comments wherever found necessary (which are put within brackets):

In the Introduction the author says, ‘The Modi regime is obsessed with untrammeled power to do as it pleases.  Democracy is a nuisance’.

 (No it is a vehicle for them to convince the society that they are doing everything in a democratic manner.)

He says, ‘The lofty remarks of their lordships during court hearings and in lectures outside the court rooms are rarely reflected in their judgments and orders.’

(They are also part of the system.)

Further he says, ‘The BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in our Republic, openly said that the 2021 electoral fight in his state was between 80% and 20%, thus framing the election as a fight between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority’.

 (Was it not L.K.Advani who understood and spoke about the ‘bandwagon effect’?  Then how can his followers not be expected to take full advantage of that?)

Then he has said, ‘…China continues to enjoy the fruits of its recent incursions and sit pretty on a major chunk of our territory unchallenged.  But the Prime Minister tells the nation that there was no incursion at all.  Hardly anyone calls him out.’

 (What is there to call out?  Every one, knows.  Every other day, even Subramaniam Swamy tweets about it.  But ordinary people are not bothered whether or not a blade of grass grows in the occupied territory.)

He speaks about ‘Transparency in electoral bonds scheme’.

 (Yes, they are transparent.  Collecting money in the name of the party is not corruption – when done in a legal frame work, which they alone can use.)

He laments that, ‘The government does not share information with Parliament about farmers’ suicides; or the deaths of migrant labourers during the COVID waves and the brutal lock down of 2020; or the loss of jobs due to the pandemic and the loss of lives due to lack of access to hospital beds and oxygen cylinders; or the level of unemployment in the country’.

 (How does one expect all this when they have not been able to count the notes that came back?)

He observes, ‘Between 2016 and 2019, 79% of the funds released went only into media advocacy.  A mere 21% actually went towards any concrete initiative for the education, health and welfare of girls’.

 (One should be happy that it helped those in the media to earn their bread.)

He concludes, ‘To criticize the government or the BJP is to be anti-Modi, and, therefore, anti-national, unpatriotic.’

(Something all powerful rulers right from Indira Gandhi and their supporters propagated.) 

In the chapter about the Pandemic, the author has pointed to the fact that any criticism against the government handling or mishandling the pandemic is projected as an attempt to defame Bharath.

(Yes, the same thing that was done when Domnique Lapire wrote ‘The City of Joy’.)

In the Introduction itself he has said, ‘Our democracy is in crisis, our social fabric is torn, our economy is in peril, and we are being dragged back to the dark ages’.

(But when those exercising adult franchise are more on emotional issues, how do these issues concern them?)

The book says that the dark elements that swim below in the surface are being summoned to increase animosities and cleavages that lie dormant in a stratified and diverse society like India.

The world over, right wings have resorted only to his method.  They try to instigate the animal instincts.  The leaders of earlier generations, atleast after the ‘age of reason’, had tried to make people rise up to higher levels, by overcoming their base instincts.  But, now to allow the base instincts of one set of people to play against that of other and make use of the divide is ‘Chanakya tantra’. 

The rise of the BJP and the Hindutva in India has also been helped by the twin tower blast and Mumbai and Parliament attacks.  This enabled BJP to sharpen their anti-Muslim propaganda by focusing the nature of terrorism and its’ colour.  On this aspect, the Muslim community needs to become all the more vigilant and ensure that its’ youth do not get carried away in the stream of emotions and counter emotions. 

The basic problem in any society is that whenever a group is organized, whether in the name of community, caste, ideology, language, or anything else, the others who do not belong to that group and who do not have any other group which is as much organized, start looking upon the organized group and its people with fear and envy.  The Muslim community like the Sikhs also is a well knit community with strong bonds of brotherhood.  On the other hand, the Hindu community does not have a common bond.  It is a loose-knit one, with no single prophet, no single holy book, no single philosophy or outlook and even a single way of life, to be defined.  The smaller groups within the Hindu community which are organized on lines of the caste structure, get pulled down by other caste groups.  Thus, they are not a match to the Muslim community which is organized.  The Christian community also by its different churches and interpretations of the Bible are also similarly placed.

However, those who know Islam also know that it also has different streams within and a dialogue between the different faiths is the only method to bring a lasting solution to human problem created due to different faiths. 

But, that concept of peaceful co-existence is not desired by vested interests who want to make quick money and power.

The book gives a detailed study on how the theory that Muslims will overpopulate compared to Hindus and take over India is a flawed one, based on hard statistics.  Its analysis of the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of different communities, over a period of time is worth noting.

The book points out that connecting Hinduism to India and India to Hindi are part of the great plan. 

On reading about how the Modi government survived on propaganda, I was reminded of what a veteran told me in 2013 – that Modi was only emulating what Karunanidhi and DMK did in early 60s and 70s. 

The author states that people like Angela Merkel of Germany are living examples that self-confident and accomplished leaders and their parties do not show themselves as extraordinary and superhuman beings. 

-But, even the Germans fell for the macho man image of Hitler.  Indians are still prone to Hero worship.  They tend to depend upon one or the other avathar to come to their rescue.

The author under the chapter ‘Egocracy’, Digital Freedom and Data Privacy’ gives important inputs regarding how dangerously compromised our personal data is.  It is rightly pointed out that while Government wants data for surveillance, business requires it to make money.  He also points out that Government cannot be sole custodian to declare what is fake news.  But most of the BJP supporters will not agree with that, until BJP is out of power.

In the chapter, ‘Poverty data and data poverty’, the author points out how 108 economists and social scientists from around the globe have expressed concern over the loss of credibility of Indian economic data.  He also points out that while tech giants amass enormous amount of our personal data to manipulate our decisions and make money, Government on the other hand does not want to give access to us to it so that we are kept in the dark and confused so that political discourse is manipulated.  He concludes by saying, ‘Both the State and Capital ar working by stealth to construct and economic and political future for us – without our consent.  Both need to be combatted.’  THIS IS VERY SERIOUS AND IMPORTANT.

In the chapter,  ‘Subhas Bose and New India’s Legacy Raiders’, the author seeks to show how BJP has tried to misappropriate the legacy of Subash Bose and Patel by using them against Nehru. ‘But the New India that was announced in 2014 has concocted a folklore, which recruits Gandhiji, Patel and now Bose, along with Sarvarkar and Godse, to serve its crafty narrative of patriotism.  It is not troubled by the conflicting ideas of India these men held, as long as it can fire the gun off their shoulders at Nehru, who they believe with the persons who denied them a Hindu Rashtra and who may do so again through his continuing legacy’, says the author.

But on this I feel that either the author does not want to admit, or admit now, that it is Gandhi who is their main target.  How can a party which thrives on their majority-based claim accept that Right is might and how can they accept that Ends do not justify means?  It was and is Gandhian philosophy which stands in the way of Hindu Rashtra.  They know that in their hearts.  But do not want to say that openly until Nehru is demolished.  That is why they carry Godse on their shoulders.  The attack on Nehru is only like their propaganda against pseudo-secularism.  After it reaches the subconscious mind of the average Indian, they will go for the next step.

On the JNU culture and the students being concerned about all world affairs, the author seeks to know whether it is wrong.  Yes, in the eyes of those who think that students are supposed to think only on lines that they are taught, that discipline is a sine quo non for learning, culture of questioning is anathema.  They may, for sake of argument say that in the ancient India students questioned their masters to learn.  But that was only on the subject.  Not on morality or such things.

In the chapter on sale of PSUs and VIZAG ‘STEAL’ the author makes a very important observation that it is a myth that PSUs cannot perform and that private sector will flourish.  He gives numerous examples and data for that.

In the chapter on ‘Who killed Father Stan Swamy’, the author gives the complete history of legislations which have led to this situation and concludes that all political parties are directly and indirectly responsible for this.

In this connection, questions asked about why the Supreme Court of India convenes special hearings even on holidays when it comes to cases regarding very important persons but many are languishing in jails as under-trials, becomes very relevant. It is something very serious and needs attention of any concerned citizen.

Regarding the attitude of selective speak of the PM and how he conducted Manki Bath during the pandemic, selecting only a few who survived and not anyone who had lost their near and dear to the pandemic, I was forced to think that we should thank our stars that some family who had lost their kith or kin to the pandemic had not been brought up to thank whatever the government did, inspit of their loss ‘which was purely due to bad karma or fate’.

The present regime survives only because of people who want them to ‘teach the others a lesson’, as the author concludes in his last chapter.

This is precisely the problem.

The underlying and hidden animosity of the majority community towards the ‘others’ who are organized, is the real issue to be dealt with.

There have been in the horizon great philosophers and social activists who could rise above petty politics.  They were those who did not seek power, wealth or fame.  The nation requires such personalities, only if we should come out of the crisis.

The real problem is not what we are in today.  It is regarding how we are to come out of the hole. There is a famous adage: Every successor makes the predecessor better.  That way, we have to be wary not only about what if BJP or Modi continues after 2224, but also about whether the next incumbent, even if replacing BJP would be able to set the wheel back.

Already, many of the political parties are falling in line with Hindu appeasement.  This is the inverse of what was being done earlier – as if nothing of Hindu matters.

Between the two extremes of 'India was good for nothing until the British came' and that 'India was the Vishwaguru and everything was known to the Indians all along in human history', rationality requires to stop and think, what was known and what was not.  Then, the present position is to be assessed.  What if my grandfather knew something, but it has no relevance for my present stature – intellectual or economic or cultural.  How does past glory alone matter?

In an environment with social dis-harmony and mutual hate and suspicion between groups and communities, no economic progress can take place.  On one hand seeking foreign investments and on another hand bashing anything foreign unless it falls within our likes would be riding on two horses, without a cart.

The insightful points made by former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai in the interview with Karan Thapar is exactly on these lines.  He emphasizes that not only Hindus, but those with secular outlook in all religions have to speak out, otherwise, our next generations will be in deep trouble. 

People of other faiths have to stop their Hindu bashing – whether openly or within the confines of their closed meetings.  Hindus have to revert back to their real secular roots.

I have deliberately not covered all aspects in the book so that if anyone is interested in reading it, my observations should not stop them from that.  It is to be read and preserved.

Hope more like Parakala Prabhakar come out to stem the tide.

 

 

 

Thoughts – just like that.

 

A friend was quoting Voltaire – ‘I may not agree with whatever you say, but shall defend till death, your right to say that’.

But this tolerance is not an ordinary thing.

Khalil Gibran’s story goes like this:

“Four frogs sat upon a log that lay floating on the edge of a river. Suddenly the log was caught by the current and swept slowly down the stream. The frogs were delighted and absorbed, for never before had they sailed.

At length the first frog spoke, and said, “This is indeed a most marvellous log. It moves as if alive. No such log was ever known before.”

Then the second frog spoke, and said, “Nay, my friend, the log is like other logs, and does not move. It is the river that is walking to the sea, and carries us and the log with it.”

And the third frog spoke, and said, “It is neither the log nor the river that moves.

The moving is in our thinking. For without thought nothing moves.”

And the three frogs began to wrangle about what was really moving. The quarrel grew hotter and louder, but they could not agree.

Then they turned to the fourth frog, who up to this time had been listening attentively but holding his peace, and they asked his opinion.

And the fourth frog said, “Each of you is right, and none of you is wrong. The moving is in the log and the water and our thinking also.”

And the three frogs became very angry, for none of them was willing to admit that his was not the whole truth, and that the other two were not wholly wrong.

Then a strange thing happened. The three frogs got together and pushed the fourth frog off the log into the river.”

Intolerance is not new.

When Gandhi was killed, GB Shaw said, “It shows how dangerous it is to be good”.

What is good? Rabindranath Tagore said, “He who wants to do good, knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gates open.”

When I first read it, I did not know how doing good was inferior. At a young age, we are taught to do good only.

Thiruvalluvar states that purity of the mind is more than anything else.

But will not going on doing good things itself make the mind pure? Does not the Gita say, go on doing your karma without thinking about the fruits?

But there is a contradiction. When we do something, we have a target. Then, how not be worried about the target itself?

It was just like I asked Swami Sachidananda when I was around 20 years old, “When you say that God cannot be perceived by the 5 senses, you are stating it by use of the 5 Senses. How can the senses say what they could not perceive?” He looked at me and said “You are young, and have not got the experience. That is why this question”. I thought it was a typical way of putting one off.

Later I came across that Ramana Maharshi explained it in a different manner – ‘Though you cannot know that you slept well while sleeping, because if you know that then, it means you did not have a sound sleep, still after waking up when asked if you slept well, you are able to confirm that.’

Then I understood what was the experience spoken about.

Same doubt I got when Thiruvalluvar says it is better to fail in an attempt to throw a spear at an elephant than to shoot down a hare. I had this question – Is it not more difficult to take aim at a hare than aiming at a huge elephant? Later only it dawned, that valour was important.

Valour is in one’s thought.

Descartes said “I think, therefore I am”.

I feel it is actually, ‘I think I am’.

Osho speaks about how a frog wondered at a centipede about how it was able to walk on its several legs. When the centipede was told this, the centipede became so conscious that it got it’s legs entangled with one another and could not move.

So it is better not to think. Then I am.

GOOD FRIDAY THOUGHTS

 

The above painting is the Isenheim Altarpiece, created in 1515 by Matthias Grünewald, a German Renaissance painter. 

Good Friday is a poignant occasion to give some thought to persecution and suffering.

Though the killing of Socrates several years before Christ is one of the most painful moments in human memory, the crucification of Christ continues to torment the human psyche by the sheer exhibition of cruelty and injustice to a person who taught his disciples passivism - to be meek like the lamb.

And till date, even in very insignificant places and instances, people still get crucified, though not necessary physically, but in many other forms.  The suffering they endure is all the same real.

The war that Socrates or Christ waged against the establishment, the need for them to ask people to ask questions, to realize the truth, etc, continue.  The reaction of the establishment also continues in different degrees according to the situation.

Everyone on such a path comes to realize that first they will have to cry out, “Why did thee forsake me”, to come to realize the real drama being played out and only thereafter they will be able to make the grand statement, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do”. 

It is not necessary that one should oneself go through the turmoil, to understand the pain and the process of reinventing or resurrecting. 

One can feel it if associated with it with real empathy.

There are instances of Sisters bleeding like Christ on the Cross. Paramahansa Yogananda speaks about meeting Sister Terese, who is one such person and the other being Sister Elena Aiello whose beautification was done in 2011.

There might be skeptics who could question these incidents wherein the condition is known as the Stigmata. 

However, the saivaites strongly believe that Lord Siva came to work for an old lady who had absolute faith in him and when the Pandya King inflicted some thrashes on the worker who was the manifestation of the Lord, it was felt by all and the marks were seen on all beings.

The Vaishnavites also tell several stories where the punishment inflicted on the bakthas of Vishnu or Krishna were seen on the deities themselves.

In the century that went by, we have come across the episode where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was seen intently meditating on a bull that was very far away and when the owner of the bull gave it a whipping, Sri Ramakrishna smarted in pain and on his back there was a reddish mark showing a whip lash.  It was called a psychic wound.

We also come across another instance when an Americal journalist Vincent Shean is said to have experienced such a psychic wound when he was in the spot when Gandhi ji was shot dead, though he was not anywhere near where any real bullet particles could have pierced.  He himself narrates it in his book, Lead Kindly Light.

Dr. V.S. Ramachandran, the world renowned Indian born Neuroscientist states in his book, The Tell-Tale Brain that there are ‘mirror neurons’ in the brain that are capable of getting the experience of another body.  He says that it is these neurons that enable culture to build based on experience and empathy and this is the greatest possibility by which evolution takes place.  However, in order to block all such experience from being mixed up as one’s own or other’s, there are certain cells in the skin. 

There is a misconception that those who empathize with the pain and suffering of others are communists.  No, they are only human beings.  Others, perhaps are thick skinned.

On this Good Friday, let us mediate on the millions of sufferings still being faced by multitudes around the globe, day in and day out, absolutely for no fault of theirs and even for being right and earnest.

For their betterment, let us await for the resurrection of the spirit.