christmas epics of the world - bharatiya vidya bhavan · sri aurobindo stated the bhagavad-gita has...

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam“The whole world is but one family”

Dec 2010 | Vol 8 No.6 | ISSN 1449 - 3551

www.bhavanaustralia.org

Life | Literature | Culture

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side - Rigv Veda, 1-89-i

Christmasin India

Epics ofthe World

Festivals ofthe month

2 | Bhavan Australia | Dec 2010

The tremendous irreparable damage and loss ofvaluable human lives in the Second World Warshook the whole planet! Besides myriads ofpriceless lives lost, the world witnessed probablythe most macabre human rights violation duringthe time. The war was a wakeup call in a way, forthe entire human race. In 1945, the foundingmember countries of the then newly establishedUnited Nations, join hands to draft many solid lawsto promote and protect the primary human rightsof its citizens. In 1948, after a lapse of 3 years, thecombined efforts of these counties paid off in theform of proclamation of “Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights” by United Nations’ GeneralAssembly. This was the declaring whichestablished that respect for human rights andhuman modesty “is the pillar of freedom, peace andjustice in the world.” Thereafter in 1950, the UNcalled on all member States and organizationsaround the globe to commemorate World HumanRights Day on 10th of December every year.

Human Rights

Human rights are interlinked and interdependentrights inherent to all human beings without anydiscrimination of any nationality, ethnic origin, sex,religion, language, or cast and creed or any otherstatus, as stated by the UN. The 60th Anniversary of“Universal Declaration of Human Rights” was observedin 2008. To celebrate this eventful year, the UN floateda yearlong campaign during which all its countrymembers revitalize the vision of the Declaration in theform of commitment to universal modesty and justiceand not to be viewed as a wish-list or luxury.

Treaties and Guidelines

All governments across the world are liable touphold, express, and guarantee the basic humanrights in all its purity by means of laws in the formsof law, general principles treaties, primarytransnational laws, and other international laws.

While the focus of the Universal Declarationremained the same of safeguarding human rights,wherever its violations occur, the economic, social,cultural, and political changes in all these years hascreated the requirement to have a new network ofinstruments and tools in place. In the wake of theeconomic meltdown faced by almost all the entirecountries, the UN High Commissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR) conducted convention andseminars to discuss the human rights violations onmarginalized populations in various membernations. It has appealed the countries to doeverything possible by all means to ensure that thecurrent slowdown does not affect the fundamentalrights to work, food, housing, health, education andsocial security of the people.

What we should do!

The UN has streamlined many methods throughwhich the Day could be utilized as an opportunityto create and inculcate an awareness and assistprotect our community and beyond. Generalcampaigns like distribution of hand notes based onhuman rights or as SMS messages, or conducting ameeting or publicizing the real-life stories ofactivists, or submitting petitions to complement

Human

Rights Day

Dec 2010 | Bhavan Australia | 3

the rights of an organization or body in our area, allthese could be a great option and opportunity tocelebrate the Day in a fruitful way. However, the bigsupport has to come from the government!

In the genre of human rights, UNESCO works topromote and display human rights research; toadvocate education in human rights; to take actionand combat against all kind of discrimination atregional, national and international level; topromote coordination among all actors and socialnetworks; and to advocate democracy.

UNESCO

UNESCO consolidates awareness, works as acatalyst for regional, national and internationalpromotion in human rights and nurturescoordination with all actors and social networks.UNESCO tries to detect the obstacles hamperingthe full execution of human rights: therepercussions of nationalism, discriminationagainst minorities, religious intolerance, and otherforms of discrimination arising from technologicalprogress or from illness such as HIV and AIDS.

In 2002-2003 UNESCO developed a strategy for aninternational program on democracy. This strategyis cooperated by the International Centre for HumanSciences at Byblos in close coordination with theDemocracy and Development International Panel.

UNESCO advocates and conducts research on newform of violence and promotes regional plans forhuman protection by enhancing links with local

authorities to prevent conflicts at their level, throughrespect for human rights and policies towardsustainable progress and for eliminating poverty.

The Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council is an individualindependent entity. It supports the work ofrapporteurs, working bodies, and representativesvia its Special Procedures Division and theResearch and Right to Development Division thataims to develop the integration of human rightsprinciples and standards, including the rights todevelopment; whereas the Field Operations andTechnical Cooperation Division assists the work ofcountry-mandates.

History is the witness to all our combined efforts toprotect the fundamental rights of human being, butwithout the contribution of each and everyindividual we cannot reach the target of viewing aunbiased planet where every individual is free totake his own decisions on his own sweet will,irrespective any kind of pressure from any cornerof society and system.

Source: www.altiusdirectory.com


Epics of the World

raja-vidya raja-guhyam pavitram idam uttamampratyak savagamam dharmyam susukham kartum avyayamThis knowledge is the king of all wisdom, the king of all that isconfidential. It is the purest and the topmost and because it givesdirect perception of the self by realization it is the perfection of allreligion and everlastingly joyful to perform. Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 9, Verse 2

Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita on the battlefield ofKuruksetra in 3102 BC; just prior to the commencement of theMahabharata war. This date corresponds to 1700 years beforeMoses, 2500 years before Buddha, 3000 years before Jesus and 3800years before Mohammed. Thus the eternal knowledge of theBhagavad-Gita has not been influenced by Buddhism, Christianity,Hebrewism or Islam. A number of knowledgeable Indologistsendorse the date 3102 BC based on the fact that this was the yearwhen the Pandava King Yudhisthira ascended the throne and wascoronated as Emperor of the Earth. Also according to the Aiholeinscription of Pulakesin II, the Battle of Kuruksetra took place in3102 BC with Lord Krishna reciting the Bhagavad-Gita before itscommencement. As well precise information of the positions of theconstellation at the commencement of the Battle of Kuruksetrahave been given in the great historical epic Mahabharata itself,which is based on the 26,920 year astronomical cycle known as theprecession of the equinoxes which is the time it takes our solarsystem to revolve around the central sun.

Bhagavad-Gita is the very essence of Mahabharata. The Bhagavad-Gita literally translates as the Song of God! It was originally revealedin the classical language of Sanskrit spoken on the Indian sub-continent. It was first translated into English in 1785 by CharlesWilkins. It was translated into Latin in 1823 by Schlegel, into Germanin 1826 by Von Humbolt, into French in 1846 by Lassens and intoGreek in 1848 by Galanos. By now it has been translated into all themajor languages of the world such as Russian, Chinese, Japanese,Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Portugese, Arabic, Hindi andBengali. Many great and notable individuals from modern times aswell as bygone eras have read the Bhagavad-Gita and have extolledits universal message.

Albert Einstein stated that when reading the Bhagavad-Gita hethinks about how God created the universe and then everythingelse seemed so superfluous.

Mahatma Gandhi stated that the Bhagavad-Gita calls onhumanity to dedicate mind, body and soul to purity.

Dr. Albert Schweizer stated that the Bhagavad-Gita has aprofound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion toGod which is manifested in all actions.

Chairman


Sri Aurobindo stated the Bhagavad-Gita has a new message forevery age and every civilization.

Herman Hesse stated that the wonder of the Bhagavad-Gita is itsbeautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which has made philosophyblossom into religion.

Ramanuja has stated that the Bhagavad-Gita reveals the goal ofthe all the Vedic scriptures.

Aldous Huxley stated that the Bhagavad-Gita is the mostcomprehensive statement of perennial philosophy.

Madhvacarya has stated that the Bhagavad-Gita is apauruseyawhich means divine origin and eternal.

The knowledge found within the Bhagavad-Gita is incomparable. Itgives specific information regarding the purpose of humanexistence, the immortality of the soul and our eternal relationshipwith God. This applies to each and every one of us withoutexception. Without realization of our divine relationship with theGod it is impossible to establish our eternal relationship with Him.This divine relationship is our natural constitutional position andbirthright of every human being.

Many of us have been taught by our religions that God is to befeared. Many of us have been taught that this life is found only onceand after this life there is nothing more. Others have been taughtthat after death one goes to heaven or hell. Still others have beentaught that it is possible for the soul to be possessed. Some of usbelieve the possibility of reincarnation and others among us cannotfathom what is true and what is false. Many of us have beenconditioned by erroneous conceptions, programmed by falserealities and even brainwashed to follow belief systems thatintelligently are difficult to follow.

Bhagavad-Gita gives everyone the opportunity to learn the eternalmessage. All intelligent species of life, human being and otherwisecan take advantage of these instructions and benefit eternally bythe transcendental knowledge contained within the Bhagavad-Gita.

Gambhir WattsChairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia


Contents

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN AUSTRALIA

Office Bearers:Chairman Gambhir WattsPresident Surendralal MehtaExecutive Secretary and Director General Homi Navroji Dastur

Other Directors:Abbas Raza Alvi, Shanker Dhar, Catherine Knox, MathoorKrishnamurti, Rozene Kulkarni, Palladam Narayana Sathanagopal,Kalpana Shriram, Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Moksha Watts

Patron: Her Excellency Mrs Sujatha SinghHigh Commissioner of India in Australia

Honorary Life Patron: His Excellency M Ganapathi, Currently High Commissioner of India in Mauritius (Founder Member/Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia)

Publisher & General Editor:Gambhir [email protected]

Editorial Committee:Shanker Dhar, Parveen Dahiya, Sridhar Kumar [email protected]

Design:The Aqua Agency - 02 9810 5831www.aquaagency.com.au

Advertising:[email protected] Vidya Bhavan AustraliaSuite 100 / 515 Kent Street,Sydney NSW 2000

The views of contributors to Bhavan Australia arenot necessarily the views of Bhavan Australia orthe Editor. Bhavan Australia reserves the right toedit any contributed articles and letters submittedfor publication. Copyright: all advertisements andoriginal editorial material appearing remain theproperty of Bhavan Australia and may not bereproduced except with the written consent of theowner of the copyright.Bhavan Australia: - ISSN 1449 – 3551

225852Epics of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Christmas in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

SBS Chairman’s Address SBS 30th Anniversary . . 24

Deepavali Treats Vimala Sarma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Eid-al-Adha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Epic Is Eternal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Epic as History With Embellishment . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Epics A Voice Forever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Role of Epics in the Modern Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Yoga in Daily Life in Macedonia.doc . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Mool Mantra and Mangalaacharan The One Indivisble Truth Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Rogue Diplomacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Samskrutotsavam - Celebrating Sanskrit . . . . . . . .58

Subramanya Bharathi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Education in Vedic Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

The Alliance of World Religions and Ecology . . . .64

The Evils of Adhikarivada Swami Vivekananda . . .67

The Beginning of My Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

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Prisoner‘Prisoner, tell me, who was it that bound you?’‘It was my master,’ said the prisoner.‘I thought I could outdo everybody in the world in wealth and power,and I amassed in my own treasure-house the money due to my king.When sleep overcame me I lay upon the bed that was for my lord,and on waking up I found I was a prisoner in my own treasure-house.’‘Prisoner, tell me, who was it that wrought this unbreakable chain?’‘It was I,’ said the prisoner, ‘who forged this chain very carefully.I thought my invincible power would hold the world captiveleaving me in a freedom undisturbed.Thus night and day I worked at the chainwith huge fires and cruel hard strokes.When at last the work was doneand the links were complete and unbreakable,I found that it held me in its grip.’

Free LoveBy all means they try to hold me secure who love me in this world.But it is otherwise with thy love which is greater than theirs,and thou keepest me free.Lest I forget them they never venture to leave me alone.But day passes by after day and thou art not seen.If I call not thee in my prayers, if I keep not thee in my heart,thy love for me still waits for my love.

Little of MeLet only that little be left of mewhereby I may name thee my all.Let only that little be left of my willwhereby I may feel thee on every side,and come to thee in everything,and offer to thee my love every moment.Let only that little be left of mewhereby I may never hide thee.Let only that little of my fetters be leftwhereby I am bound with thy will,and thy purpose is carried out in my life—and that is the fetter of thy love.

Give Me StrengthThis is my prayer to thee, my lord—strike,strike at the root of penury in my heart.Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.Give me the strength never to disown the pooror bend my knees before insolent might.Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.

Rabindranath Tagore’s

Geetanjali


Muharram

The festival commemorates the martyrdom of theprophet Mohammed’s grandson, Hazrat ImamHussein. It is celebrated with great fervour by theMuslims especially the Shia community. Tazias,glittering replicas of the Martyr’s tomb, are carriedin procession through the streets. The Tazias ofLucknow and Hyderabad are noted for theirsplendour. In places like Lucknow, Delhi, Agra andJaipur, grand scale processions are held. Peoplebeat their chest in mourning to the tune of beatingdrums and chants ‘Ya Hussein’. Devotees beatthemselves and inflict wounds on their own bodies.This festival starts at the 1st day of Muharram andlasts for 10 days until 10th of Muharram. Muharramis the first month of Islamic calendar. Muharram in2010 will start on 7th of December. Muharram is nota particular day, but the name of a month thatmarks the beginning of the year according to theIslamic calendar. Muharram is one of four monthsthat have been designated as holy according to theIslamic calendar, the other three being—Dhul-Qa’adah, Dhul-Hijjah and Rajab.

Auspicious Time

The month of Muharram is also associated withmany auspicious events in Islamic history. Allah is

supposed to have created the heavens and theearth on this blessed day. On this day He gave Hisinfinite blessings and bounties to many of HisProphets and released them from the clutches oftheir enemies.

Allah created Hazrat Adam in this month andpardoned him of his mistake. Hazrat Noah’s Arklanded successfully on Mount Judi during this timecenturies ago. God is also said to have savedHazrat Ibrahim from fire and rescued Hazrat Musafrom the Pharaoh during the month of Muharram.

The Tragedy at Kerbala

In the month of Muharram many centuries ago,(approximately October 20th 680 A.D.), an eventtook place in Iraq at a place known as Kerbala onthe bank of the river Euphrates.

A large army, which had been mobilised by theUmayyad regime, besieged a group of personsnumbering less than a hundred and put them underpressure to pay allegiance to the Caliph of the timeand submit to his authority. The Caliph was a manmuch taken with earthly pleasures that deviatedfrom the Islamic way of life. The small group resistedand a severe battle took place in which they were allkilled. The leader of the small band of men who were

Festivals of the Month


martyred in Kerbala was none other than ImamHussein, the grandson of the Holy Prophet.

Imam Hussein’s martyrdom at Kerbala represents aconscious confrontation with anti-Islamic forcesand a courageous resistance for a sacred cause.The tragedy was that the one who stood up todefend Islam was cut down in so cruel a manner. Itis for this reason that the death of Imam Hussein ismourned annually in the Muslim world.

Fasting

Fasting is advocated in the month of Muharram.The Prophet is believed to have said: “The bestfasts after the fasts of Ramadan are those of themonth of Muharram.” Although the fasts of themonth of Muharram are not obligatory, yet onewho fasts in these days out of his own will isentitled to a great reward by Allah Almighty. Fastingon the tenth day of Muharram, called Ashura, isparticularly important, as it leads to great rewards.A person does not have to fast for the wholemonth, on the contrary, each fast during thismonth has merit.

Observance

Some sects of Muslims hold meetings wherespeeches are made on the happenings of Kerbala

and on the lives of martyrs. The Shias, however,observe this festival in a different fashion. AsMuharram, the first month of the Muslim year,approaches, they put on black clothes, as black isregarded as a colour of mourning. Majalis(assemblies) are held every day during the firstnine days where Shia orators relate the incident ofthe martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussein and hisparty in a great detail. On the 10th day ofMuharram, large processions are formed and thedevoted followers parade the streets holdingbanners and carrying models of the mausoleum ofHazrat Imam Hussein and his people, who fell atKerbala. They show their grief and sorrow. A whitehorse beautifully decorated for the occasion, isalso included in the procession, to mark the emptymount of Hazrat Imam Hussein after hismartyrdom. Sunni Muslims also commemorateHussein’s death but in a less demonstrativemanner, concentrating instead on the redemptiveaspect of his martyrdom.

Gita Jayanthi

Gita Jayanthi or the birthday of the Bhagavad-Gitais celebrated throughout India by all admirers andlovers of this sacred scripture on the 11th day(Ekadashi) of the bright half of the month ofMargaseersha (December-January) according to

Muharrram Tazia


the Hindu almanac. That was the day on whichSanjaya narrated the dialogue between Sri Krishnaand Arjuna, to King Dhritarashtra, and thus madethe glorious teachings of the Lord available to us,to all the people of the world, and for all time. GitaJayanti 2010 date is December 17.

The Gita Jayanthi marks one of the greatest days inthe history of mankind. Nearly six thousand yearsago on that day a dazzling flash of brilliant lightninglit up the firmament of human civilization. Thatspiritual effulgence, that flash, was the message ofthe Bhagavad Gita, given by the Lord Himself onthe battlefield of Kurukshetra. Unlike ordinarydashes of lightning which die away after dashingfor a split-second, this brilliant dash of thatmemorable day continued to shine through thecenturies and even now illumines the path ofhumanity on its onward march to perfection.

True Philosophical Song

The Gita is the most beautiful and only trulyphilosophical song. It contains sublime lessons onwisdom and philosophy. It is the “Song Celestial’. It

is the universal gospel. It contains the message oflife that appeals to all, irrespective of race, creed,age or religion.

The Gita was given to Arjuna, an Indian prince, bySri Krishna, the Lord incarnate. The teachings arebased on the Upanishads, the ancient, revealedmetaphysical classics of India. The Gita shows away to rise above the world of duality and the pairsof opposites and to attain eternal bliss andimmortality. It is a gospel of action. It teaches therigid performance of one’s duty in society, the lifeof active struggle, keeping one’s inner beinguntouched by outer surroundings and renouncingall fruits of actions as offerings unto the Lord.

The Gita is a source of power and wisdom. Itstrengthens us when we are weak and inspires uswhen we are feeble. It teaches us to embracerighteousness and resist unrighteousness.

The Gita is not merely a book; it is not a merescripture. It is a living voice carrying an eternallyvital and indispensable message to mankind. Itsverses embody words of wisdom, coming from theinfinite ocean of knowledge, the Absolute Itself.

Call of the Supreme

The voice of the Gita is the call of the Supreme. It isthe divine sound explained. The mightiest primalsource of all existence, all power, is the manifestedsound, Om. This is the divine Word. It is the NadaBrahman whose unceasing can is: “Be ye all evermerged in the eternal unbroken continuousconsciousness of the Supreme Truth”. This is thesublime message that the great Gita elaborates andpresents in all comprehensiveness and in auniversally accepted form.

Kurukshetra

Srimad Bhagavad Gita was spoken by Lord SriKrishna at the place now known as Jyotisar Tirthaamid the waring families of the Kurus and thePandavas at Kurukshetra. Devotees come to

Lord Krishna Gita Jayanthi


Kurukshetra (Dharmakshetra) and recite BhagavadGita from early morning until the next morning,perform arati to Bhagavad Gita and to Krishna andArjuna upon the chariot, offer lamps ‘deep daan’ atBrahma Sarovar, shloka recitals, shobha yatras andseminars on the significance of the Gita today.

Devotees remember the blessed event by recitingBhagavad Gita, performing Bhagavad Gita ahuti ofeach verse or selected chapters into the sacredfire, and discussing the subject matter of BhagavadGita. Distribution of Bhagavad Gitas’ on this day isalso a very auspicious activity to perform.

Saphala Ekadashi

Saphala Ekadasi is observed during the waningphase of the moon in the month of December-January. In 2010, the date of Saphala Ekadashi isDecember 31. It is mentioned in the BrahmandaPurana that fasting on Saphala Ekadashi is believedto help in cleansing the sins committed and it alsoopens the door of fame in earthly life. Ekadashi is ahighly auspicious day dedicated to Lord Vishnuand it falls on the eleventh day of every lunarfortnight in Hindu calendar.

Legend

Legend has it that Lumbaka, one of the four sons ofa famous king, was always questioning theauthority of Lord Vishnu. Due to this attitude, hewas exiled. Lumbaka continued with his behaviorand started plundering the wealth of poor villagers

and made his home under a banyan tree. He startedkilling animals and eating the raw meat.

Once on Saphala Ekadashi day he fell very ill and asa result he kept a fast the whole day and stayedawake during the night and thus unknowingly heundertook the Safala Ekadasi Vrat. Next morning hefelt good and realized that all this was due to theblessing of Lord Vishnu. He realized his mistakeand returned to his father and lived a happy life. Allthe normal rules associated with Ekadasi areobserved during Safala Ekadasi.

Upvaas

Millions of Hindu devotees observe Ekadasi, whichis considered highly auspicious by Lord Vishnudevotees. The traditional approach is to abstainfrom food completely on the day.

Karthigai Deepam

Karthigai Deepam is the popular festival ofsouthern part of India and is the oldest festival withsplendid and elaborated celebrations all over thestate of Tamil Nadu. The festival is also termed as“Festival of Lights” and is also considered theextension of Deepavali Festival. According to Tamilcalendar the festival falls in the Tamil month ofKarthigai. Karthigai Deepam is celebrated on thefull moon day f the Karthigai month whichcoincides with the Krithigai Star. Even the nameKarithigai of this month was also derived on thebasis of the name of the star Krithigai. The month

Saphala Ekadasi


of Karthigai is of special importance as it isbelieved that Lord Muruga, the divine light of LordShiva, took his form during this month. In 2010, thefestival is on December 1.

Legend

Once upon a time the Devas, the heavenlyimmortals, put in their best possible efforts to havea complete Darshan of Lord Shiva. During thisprocess Lord Brahma took the form of a swan andLord Vishnu in the form of a boar conducted anextensive search in the sky and in the neither worlddid they find him. Lord Shiva asked Lord Brahmaand Lord Vishnu to find out the exact location ofhis head and his feet.

Since Lord Shiva took a gigantic form, they werenot able to find him anywhere. Then Lord Shivaappeared before them in the form of a flaming lightwhose ends cannot be defined on the hill ofThiruvannamalai. Therefore, this festival is alsoknown as Annamalai Deepam. Here, a special torchis lighted on the zenith of the hill and it is believedthat Lord Shiva’s Jyoti will be visible on this day.The festival is celebrated in a special manner inThiruvannamalai.

Lord Muruga took the form of six babies in a lakecalled “Saravana Poigai”. On this day, Parvati (hismother) united all his six forms and so Lord

Muruga has six faces. Special pujas are performedto Lord Muruga on this day.

Antiquity

Karthigai Deepam is the oldest festivals celebratedin Tamil Nadu and Southern India, even beforeDeepavali and Navarathri celebrations. Thereference of Karthigai Deepam can be found inmany ancient Tamil literatures like ‘Ahananuru’(200 BC to 300 AD) ‘Tolkappiyam’ that dates backto 2,000 or 2,500 BC, ‘Jeevakachintamani’, an epicwritten by Jain poet, Thiruthakka Thevar, in theSangam period, ‘Karnarpadu’, ‘Kalavazhi Narpadu’dating around 1,000 BC and ‘Pazhamozhi’.

Extension of Deepavali

Many families practice the trend of doubling thenumber of lamps every day from the day ofDeepavali till the festival day of Karthigai Deepam.Large number of blazing lamps offers a captivatingmanifestation during the night.

Like Deepavali, there is general practice of cleaninghouses and decking up houses beautifully withstunning illuminations and multihued ‘Kolams’ orRangoli. People place lamps or Agal in their pujaroom and place them at different places in thehouse after the completion of ‘Deeparathana’(puja). The streets provide visual treat on thisfestival with lamps all around.

Celebrations

The festival is celebrated for nine auspicious dayswith each day having its own special importance.The celebrations begin with the flag hoisting on theUttradam day and the festivity continues for ninedays. The popular Bharani Deepam in five‘agantams’ is lit in Arunachaleswarar’s Sannithi inearly morning hours of the tenth day. Devoteesmove to the Annamali Hills to worship the BharaniDeepam on the final day of the festival. It isbelieved that the flame of the lamp does notsputter on this day and divulge into the form ofLord Muruga, reaching up to the sky.

The Bharani Deepam is actually a colossal circularmetal vessel with a capacity to hold about 2,000liters of ghee, a height of five and half feet anddiameter of five feet. The wick of the lamp itself ismade up of 30 m of ‘Ghada’ cloth burnt using 2kilos of camphor. It is claimed that on the night of‘Karthigai Pournami’, when the lamp is lit it can beseen across an area of 35 km around the shrine.

In the evening, the Pancha Murthis are brought tothe Katchi Mandapam. At dusk (Pradosham), withthe Karthigai day harmonizing with full moon day,the deity, Ardhanareeswarar, is taken in a grandprocession on the decorated vehicle to this placewith the five deepams, which are put in a bigreceptacle near the flag staff. At the same time, theguiding light on the hill is lit and huge crowd raiseLord Vishnu


cry in a loud voice “Annamalaikku Arogara”. It is asight for the Gods! The lighting of the beacon onthe top of the hill is the finale of ten days ofmerriment in the town. The burning lamp with thedivine flame is considered an auspicious symboland believed to fend off evil forces and escortecstasy and prosperity.

Hanukkah

The Jewish celebrates the re-dedication of the HolyTemple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BC.Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew,begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrewcalendar and usually falls in November orDecember.” This year, the 25th of Kislevcorresponds to December 1st, 2010.

History

Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewishrituals and ordered the Jews to worship GreekGods. In 168 BC the Jews’ Holy Temple was seizedand dedicated to the worship of Zeus. Some Jewswere afraid of the Greek soldiers and obeyed them,but most were angry and decided to fight back.

The fighting began in Modiin, a village not far fromJerusalem. A Greek officer and soldiers assembledthe villagers, asking them to bow to an idol and eatthe flesh of a pig, activities forbidden to Jews. Theofficer asked Mattathias, a Jewish High Priest, totake part in the ceremony. He refused, and anothervillager stepped forward and offered to do it instead.Mattathias became outraged, took out his sword andkilled the man, then killed the officer. His five sonsand the other villagers then attacked and killed thesoldiers. Mattathias’ family went into hiding in thenearby mountains, where many other Jews whowanted to fight the Greeks joined them. Theyattacked the Greek soldiers whenever possible.

Judah Maccabee and his soldiers went to the holyTemple, and were saddened that many things were

missing or broken, including the golden menorah.They cleaned and repaired the Temple, and whenthey were finished, they decided to have a bigdedication ceremony. For the celebration, theMaccabees wanted to light the menorah. Theylooked everywhere for oil, and found a small flaskthat contained only enough oil to light the menorahfor one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eightdays. This gave them enough time to obtain new oilto keep the menorah lit. Today Jews celebrateHanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in amenorah every night, thus commemorating theeight-day miracle.

Celebrations

Hanukkah is celebrated with excellent food, anexchange of gifts, and the lighting of beautifulmenorahs (special Hanukkah candelabras) filledwith brightly colored candles. The celebration alsoreaffirms the continuing struggle to live by God’scommandments and to lead Jewish lives.

Parveen DahiyaBharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Source: http://festivalsofindia.in,www.festivalsindia.com, www.hindu-blog.com,www.aryabhatt.com, www.salagram.net,www.scribd.com, www.history.com, http://joi.org,www.theholidayspot.com,www.indiaparenting.com

Karthigai Deepam Hanukkah


An epic (from the ancient Greek word epos) is alengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning aserious subject, containing details of heroic deedsand events significant to a culture or nation. An epicalways opens in ‘medias res’ (in the middle of things)and has a setting that is vast, covering many nations,the world or the universe. It begins with aninvocation to a muse and a statement of the theme. Ituses epithets, long lists and long and formalspeeches. Humans and human affairs are alwayssubjected to divine intervention. The epic heroillustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifiescertain morals that are valued by the society fromwhich the epic originates. Here is a brief account ofthe epics of the world that historically ante-dated ourown Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Epics of

the World

Gilgamesh


Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient poem fromMesopotamia is among the earliest known works ofliterature.

Scholars believe that it originated around 1300 BCas a series of Sumerian legends and poems aboutthe mythological hero-king Gilgamesh.

The most complete version existing today is preservedon 12 clay tablets from the library collection of 7thcentury BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Gilgamesh was probably a real ruler in the lateEarly Dynastic II period (ca.27th century BC). Thestory revolves around a relationship betweenGilgamesh and his close companion, Enkidu.

Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods asGilgamesh’s equal to distract him from oppressingthe citizens of Uruk.

Together they undertake dangerous quests thatincur the displeasure of the gods.

Firstly, they journey to the Cedar Mountain todefeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian.

Later they kill the Bull of Heaven that the goddessIshtar has sent to punish Gilgamesh for spurningher advances.

The latter part of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh’sdistressed reaction to Enkidu’s death, which takesthe form of a quest for immortality. Gilgameshattempts to learn the secret of eternal life byundertaking a long and perilous journey to meetthe immortal flood hero, Utnapishtim.

Ultimately the poignant words addressed toGilgamesh in the midst of his quest foreshadow theend result: “The life that you are seeking you willnever find. When the gods created man theyallotted to him death, but life they retained in theirown keeping.” Gilgamesh, however, was celebratedby posterity for his building achievements, and forbringing back long-lost Celtic knowledge to Uruk asa result of his meeting with Utnapishtim.

Iliad and Odyssey

No other texts in the Western imagination occupy ascentral a position in the self-definition of Westernculture as the two epic poems of Homer, thelegendary Greek poet, the author of the Iliad andthe Odyssey. These two epics are among the oldestextant works of Western literature, and its writtenversion is dated to around eighth century BC.

The Iliad (or Song of Ilium) is set during the TrojanWar, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition ofGreek states. The Trojan war was waged against thecity of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris ofTroy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the

king of Sparta. The epic tells of the battles andevents during the weeks of a struggle between KingAgamemnon (brother of King Menelaus) and thewarrior Achilles. Though both are on the sameside, the two men come to hate each other, andtheir conflict nearly leads to Greek defeat.

The end of the war came with one final plan.Odysseus devised a new ruse-a giant hollowwooden horse, an animal that was sacred to theTrojans. The hollow horse was filled with soldiersled by Odysseus. The rest of the army burned thecamp and sailed away. When the Trojans discoveredthat the Greeks were gone, believing the war wasover, they “joyfully dragged the horse inside thecity”, while they debated what to do with it.

Some thought they ought to hurl it down from therocks, others thought they should burn it, whileothers said they ought to dedicate it to Athena (theGreek goddess of war). The Trojans decided tokeep the horse and turned to a night of mad revelryand celebration. At midnight, the soldiers frominside the horse emerged and killed the guards.

Although the story covers only a few weeks in thefinal year of the war, the Iliad alludes to many of theGreek legends about the siege.

The Iliad begins with the poet’s famous evocationof the Muse:

Anger be now your song, immortal one, Achilles’ anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the Achaeans loss on bitter loss and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving so many dead men-carrionfor dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.

The Iliad has several themes running through thepoem. The poem’s principal theme, established bythe very first word of the poem is Wrath—the“Wrath of Achilles”—his personal rage andwounded soldier’s vanity, propels the story— theGreeks’ faltering in battle, the slayings of Patroclusand Hector, and finally the fall of Troy.

There is a strong theme of Nostos or homecoming,Kleos which is the concept of glory or fame earnedin heroic battle; the theme of time (respect,honour), the concept denoting the respectability anhonourable man accrues with accomplishment(cultural, political, martial), as per his station in life.

The Iliad also explores the power of fate, and howone cannot avoid one’s fate.

The Odyssey, the other major ancient Greek epicpoem, also attributed to Homer is, in part, a sequelto the Iliad.

It is the second—the Iliad being the first—extantwork of Western literature. It was probablycomposed near the end of the eighth century BC,


somewhere in Ionia, the Greek-speaking coastalregion of what is now Turkey.

The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus(or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) andhis long journey home after the fall of Troy.

It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca afterthe ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it isassumed he has died, and his wife Penelope andson Telemachus must deal with a group of unrulysuitors, the Mnesteres, competing for Penelope’shand in marriage.

Like the Iliad, the Odyssey begins with anevocation of the Muse:

Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story ofthat man skilled in all ways of contending, thewanderer, harried for years on end, after theplundered the stronghold of the proud height of Troy.

The Odyssey tells of the great adventures of Odysseusand his crew as their ship makes its way home fromTroy to Ithaca. Driven off-course by storms, they visitthe lethargic island of the Lotus-Eaters.

Then, they are captured by the CyclopsPolyphemus, only escaping by blinding him with awooden stake. They re-embark and encounter thecannibalistic island of the Laestrygonians.Odysseus’s ship is the only one to escape. He sailson and visits the witch-goddess Circe, in the islandof Aeaea.

They finally leave the island of Circe after a yearand skirting the land of the Sirens, pass betweenthe six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpoolCharybdis, and land on the island of Thrinaciabefore finally reaching Ithaca.

In Homer’s Odyssey the adventures of the heroOdysseus are arranged around a vision of moralpurpose and national identity.

At times Odysseus nearly forgets his goal-to returnto Ithaca and his family.

At other times he is shown as the lonely Greek whostands against the alien and barbaric customs ofthe foreign places in which he wanders.

Virgil’s Aeneid

Virgil was a classical Roman poet, best known forthree major works—the Eclogues, the Georgics, andthe Aeneid.

The Aeneid is widely considered Virgil’s finest workand one of the most important poems in thehistory of western literature.

Virgil worked on the Aeneid during the last tenyears of his life (29-19 BCE), commissioned,according to tradition, by Augustus.

The hero Aeneas was already known to Greco-Roman legend and myth, having been a characterin the Iliad. Virgil took the various disjointed talesof Aeneas’ wanderings, his ambiguous associationwith the foundation of Rome and fashioned thisinto a compelling nationalist epic that at once tiedRome to the legends of Troy, glorified traditionalRoman virtues and legitimized the Julio-Claudiandynasty as descendants of the founders, heroesand gods of Rome and Troy.

The epic poem consists of 12 books which describethe journey of Aeneas, a prince fleeing from Troy, toItaly, his battle with the Italian prince Turnus, and thefoundation of a city from where Rome would emerge.

The Aeneid’s first six books describe the journey ofAeneas from Troy to Rome.

The poem’s second half tells of the Trojans’ultimately victorious war upon the Latins, underwhose name Aeneas and his Trojan followers aredestined to be subsumed.

The Aeneid is full of prophecies about the future ofRome, the deeds of Augustus, his ancestors, andfamous Romans, and the Carthaginian Wars.

The Aeneid was written in a time of major politicaland social change in Rome, with the fall of theRoman Republic having torn through society andmany Romans’ faith in the “Greatness of Rome”severely faltering.

However, the new emperor, Augustus Caesar, beganto institute a new era of prosperity and peace,specifically through the re-introduction oftraditional Roman moral values.

The Aeneid was seen as reflecting this aim, bydepicting the heroic Aeneas as a man devoted andloyal to his country and its prominence, ratherthan personal gains, and going off on a journey forthe betterment of Rome.

“The poem mainly

centers on the Greek hero

Odysseus (or Ulysses, as

he was known in Roman

myths) and his long

journey home after the

fall of Troy.”


The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written byDante Alighieri between 1308 and before his deathin 1321. It is widely considered the pre-eminentwork of Italian literature, and is seen as one of thegreatest works of world literature.

The poem’s imaginative and allegorical vision ofthe Christian afterlife is a culmination of themedieval world-view as it had developed in theWestern Church.

It is divided into three parts, the Inferno, Purgatorio,and Paradiso.

On the surface the poem describes Dante’s travelsthrough Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven; but, at adeeper level, it represents allegorically the soul’sjourney towards God. At this deeper level, Dantedraws on medieval Christian theology andphilosophy, especially the writings of ThomasAquinas. The poem is written in the first person,and tells of Dante’s journey through the threerealms of the dead, lasting from the night beforeGood Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in thespring of 1300.

The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell andPurgatory; Beatrice, Dante’s ideal woman, guideshim through Heaven.

The poem begins on the night before Good Fridayin the year 1300.

Dante is thirty-five years old, half of the biblical lifeexpectancy of 70, lost in a dark wood and unable tofind the ‘straight way to salvation’. Conscious thathe is ruining himself and that he is falling into a“deep place”.

Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two ofthem begin their journey to the underworld.

Each sin’s punishment in Inferno is a contrapasso, asymbolic instance of poetic justice. Allegorically,

the Inferno represents the Christian soul seeing sinfor what it really is, and the three beasts representthree types of sin: the self-indulgent, the violent,and the malicious. Having survived the depths ofHell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of theundergloom; to the Mountain of Purgatory on thefar side of the world. The mountain has seventerraces, corresponding to the seven deadly sins.

The classification of sin here is more psychologicalthan that of the Inferno, being based on motives,rather than actions. Allegorically, the Purgatoriorepresents the Christian life. Christian souls arriveescorted by an angel. In Paradiso, after an initialascension, Beatrice guides Dante through the ninecelestial spheres of Heaven.

Dante meets and converses with several greatsaints of the Church including Thomas Aquinas, St.Bonaventure, St. Peter, and St. John.

The Divine Comedy finishes with Dante seeing theTriune God. In a flash of understanding, which hecannot express, Dante finally understands themystery of Christ’s divinity and humanity, and hissoul becomes aligned with God’s love:

“But already my desire and my will were beingturned like a wheel, all at one speed, by the Lovewhich moves the sun and the other stars.”

though the Divine Comedy is primarily a religiouspoem, discussing sin, virtue, and theology, Dantealso discusses several elements of the science ofhis day. The Purgatorio repeatedly refers to theimplications of a spherical earth, such as thedifferent stars visible in the southern hemisphere,the altered position of the sun, and the varioustime zones of the earth. The Paradiso discussesastronomy extensively, but of course in thePtolemaic sense. It also discusses the importanceof the experimental method in science.

Aeneid Trojans wooden hourse


Paradise Lost/Regained

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the17th century English poet John Milton. It wasoriginally published in 1667 in ten books, with atotal of over ten thousand individual lines of verse.A second edition followed in 1674, redividing theepic into twelve books in the tradition of Virgil. Themajority of the poem was written while Milton wasblind, and was transcribed for him.

The poem concerns the Christian story of the Fallof Man—the temptation of Adam and Eve by thefallen angel Satan and their expulsion from theGarden of Eden. Milton’s purpose, stated in Book I,is to “justify the ways of God to men” and elucidatethe conflict between God’s eternal foresight andfree will. Milton incorporates Paganism, classicalGreek references, and Christianity within the poem.

It deals with diverse topics from marriage, politics,monarchy and grapples with many difficulttheological issues, including fate, predestination,the Trinity, and the introduction of sin and deathinto the world, as well as angels, fallen angels,Satan, and the war in heaven. Milton draws on hisknowledge of languages, and diverse sources—primarily Genesis, much of the New Testament, thedeuterocanonical Book of Enoch, and other parts ofthe Old Testament. Milton’s epic is generallyconsidered one of the greatest literary works in theEnglish language.

Later in life, Milton wrote the much shorter sequelto Paradise Lost entitled Paradise Regained,charting the temptation of Christ by Satan, and thereturn of the possibility of paradise. The reputationof the sequel never equaled its antecedent.

Paradise Regained written as a sequel to Milton’searlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lostwas published in 1671. It shares similar theologicalthemes to the earlier poem and deals with thesubject of the Temptation of Christ. The poem wascomposed in Milton’s cottage in Chalfont St. Giles

in Buckinghamshire, and was based on the Gospelof Luke’s version of the Temptation of Christ.Paradise Regained is four books in length, incontrast with Paradise Lost’s twelve.

One of the major concepts emphasised throughoutParadise Regained is the play on reversals. Asimplied by its title, Milton sets out to reverse the“loss” of paradise.

Thus, antonyms are often found next to each otherthroughout the poem, reinforcing the idea thateverything that was lost in the first epic is going tobe regained by the end of the mini-epic.Additionally, this work focuses on the idea of“hunger”, both in a literal and in a spiritual sense.After wandering in the wilderness for forty daysJesus is starved of both food and the Word of God.

Satan, too blind to see any non-literal meanings ofthe term, offers Christ food and various othertemptations, but Jesus continually denies him.

Beowulf

Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old Englishheroic epic poem set in Scandinavia, commonlycited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.

It survives in a single manuscript known as theNowell Codex. Its composition by an anonymousAnglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and theearly 11th century.

In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes tothe aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whosegreat hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel.

Beowulf kills both Grendel and Grendel’s mother,the latter with a magical sword.

Later in his life, Beowulf is himself king of theGeats, and finds his realm terrorised by a dragonwhose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in aburial mound. He attacks the dragon with the helpof his thegns (noblemen), but they do not succeed.

Beowulf decides to follow the dragon into its lair,but only his young Swedish relative Wiglaf daresjoin him. Beowulf finally slays the dragon, but ismortally wounded. He is buried in a tumulus inGeatland by the sea.

The events described in the poem take place in thelate 5th century, after the Anglo-Saxons had begunmigration and settlement in England, and beforethe beginning of the 7th century, a time when theSaxons were either newly arrived or in closecontact with their fellow Germanic kinsmen inScandinavia and Northern Germany.

Beowulf thus depicts a Germanic warrior society, inwhich the relationship between the lord of theregion and those who served under him was of

La Araucana


paramount importance.

This society was strongly defined in terms ofkinship. If someone was killed, it was the duty ofsurviving kin to exact revenge either with their ownlives or through weregild, a payment of reparation.

La Araucana

La Araucana is an epic poem in Spanish about theSpanish conquest of Chile, by Alonso de Ercilla. Itwas considered the national epic of the Kingdom ofChile and one of the most important works of theSpanish Golden Age. Published between 1569 and1589, La Araucana consists of 37 cantos that aredistributed across the poem’s three parts.

The author of the poem, Alonso de Ercilla was borninto a noble family in Madrid, Spain He occupiedseveral positions in the household of Prince Philip(later King Philip II of Spain), before requesting andreceiving appointment to a military expedition toChile to subdue the Araucanians of Chile.

He joined the adventurers and distinguishedhimself in the ensuing campaign. La Araucanadescribes the initial phase of the Arauco War, aconflict between colonial Spaniards and theMapuche people in what is now the Araucania andBiobio regions of modern Chile.

The conflict lasted three centuries, making it oneof the longest wars in history. Ercilla placed thisconquest of the Spanish in Chile at the core of hispoem, because he himself was a participant in theconquest and the story is based on hisexperiences there.

It was the first epic poem of its kind written by aparticipant in the course of the events narratedand the first to immortalise the beginnings of amodern country.

In the minds of the Chilean people La Araucana is akind of Iliad that exalts the heroism, pride, and

contempt of pain and death of the legendaryAraucanian leaders and makes them national heroestoday. Thus we see Ercilla appealing to the conceptof the “noble savage”, which has its origins inclassical authors and took on a new lease of life inthe renaissance. Ercilla embodied the Renaissanceideal of being at once a man of action and a man ofletters as no other in his time was. He was adept atblending personal, lived experience with literarytradition. He was widely acclaimed in Spain.

The Tale of the Heike

The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari) is an epicaccount of the struggle between the Taira andMinamoto clans for control of Japan at the end ofthe 12th century in the Genpei War (1180-1185). Thestory of the Heike was compiled from a collection oforal stories recited by travelling monks whochanted to the accompaniment of the biwa, aninstrument reminiscent of the lute. The most widelyread version of the Heike monogatari was compiledby a blind monk named Kakuichi in 1371.

The Heike is considered one of the great classics ofmedieval Japanese literature. It is primarily asamurai epic focusing on warrior culture—anideology that ultimately laid the groundwork forbushido (the way of the warrior). The Heike hasalso many love stories, which dates back to earlierHeian literature.

Mikhail Matveyevish Kheraskov

Mikhail Matveyevish Kheraskov (1733-1807) wasregarded as the most important Russian poet byCatherine the Great and her contemporaries. In1771 he wrote Rossiad, the only Russian epic in thetradition of Homer and Virgil, about Ivan theTerrible’s taking of Kazan in 1552.

Vindhya Source: Bhavan’s Journal October 31, 2010

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In December a joyful spirit embraces everybody;homes, offices, public places are decorated andpeople join together to celebrate Christmas. Weshould remember the real meaning of this holidaythat is the Birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas feastis a festival full of joy. The Church longed ardently forthe coming of our Savior. She celebrates His birthwith unrestrained joy. “The Word was made flesh anddwelt among us.” The Son of God became man togive us a share in that divine life which is eternallyHis. The longings of the patriarchs and prophets arefulfilled. With the shepherds we hurry to the mangerand adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us andfor our salvation descended upon earth. Thepurpose of the Christmas feast is delightfullyexpressed in the Preface of the Nativity: “For by themystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy gloryhath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so thatwhile we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, wemay be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen.”

The word for Christmas in late Old English is CristesMaesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, andCristes-messe, in 1131. In Dutch it is Kerst-misse, inLatin Dies Natalis, whence comes the French Noël,and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest, fromthe preceding sacred vigil. Christmas time beginson December 24 with the first Vespers of the feastand ends on the feast of the Baptism of Christ.

The traditions and customs aim to represent whathappened. We should know their reason and meaningto deeply live them. There are plenty of traditions andcustoms which help us to live the Christmas spirit.

Advent

Advent, from the Latin word adventus meaning“coming”, is originally a time to reflect and preparefor the symbolic birth of Christ each year similarlyto how Lent is in preparation for Easter. It cannotbe determined with certainty when the celebrationof Advent was first introduced into the Church.Advent is a period beginning with the Sundaynearest to the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle and

embracing four Sundays. Purple is historically themain color used for it because it reflects penitence,fasting, and the color of royalty to welcome theAdvent of the king (Jesus Christ). ThroughoutAdvent we have seen how the preparation forJesus’ coming became more and more precise.

During this period, it is a custom to have an Adventcrown also known as an Advent Wreath. It is madefrom evergreen wreath. It symbolizes God iseternal, with no beginning or end. Four candles arefixed round the circle. One by one is lit up everySunday. This presented how God gradually leadfrom the darkness of the sin to the light of salvationwith the coming of Christ to our world.

Christmas Crib

The popular tradition of the Christmas crib orNazareth scene was adopted by St. Francis of Assisiwho conducted the first performance in Greccio,Italy, on Christmas 1225. Then Saint Clara spread itthroughout Franciscan convents in Italy and thenthe order contributed to the extension of the livingmanger or represented by figures.

It is a concrete and vivid way of representing toourselves the Incarnation and birth of Christ. Itdepicts in a striking manner the virtues of thenewborn Savior, especially His humility, poverty,and charity.

During the middle Age and the Renaissance it wascustomary to depict scenes of Christmas in thechurches. In both traditions started the currentcribs with figures of wood, plaster, lead, clay orcardboard. It reached its peak in the kingdom ofNaples in the eighteenth century and from there toSpain, where he was taken to Latin America.

The Christmas Tree

The ancient Germans believed that the world and allthe stars were held hanging from the branches of agigantic tree called the “divine Idrasil” or “god Odin,who worshiped it each year at the winter solstice,

Christmas


when they supposed life is renewed. The celebrationof this day was an oak tree decorated with torchesrepresenting the stars, moon and sun. They dancedand sang around this tree worshiping their god.

It is said that Saint Boniface, evangelist of Germany,shot down the tree that represented the god Odin,and at the same place he planted a pine tree, symbolof God’s eternal love and decorated with apples andcandles, giving it a Christian symbolism: the applesrepresented the temptations, original sin and the sinsof men; the candles represented Christ, the world’slight and grace given to men who accept Jesus asSavior. This custom spread throughout Europeduring the Middle Age; with the conquests andmigrations came to America. Gradually, the traditionhas been evolving: the apples were replaced byspheres and lights by candles representing the joyand light that Jesus brought to the world.

Carols

The carols encourage participation in the liturgy ofAdvent and Christmas. Caroling is a way to showour joy and gratitude to Jesus and hear duringAdvent helps prepare the heart for the Christmas.

The first known Christmas carols is “OmniumRefulsit Iesus” (Jesus, Light of all nations) in IVcentury, and it is attributed to St. Hilary of Poitiers.In the thirteenth century, St. Francis of Assisispread the tradition of Christmas songs.

The best known, however is “Silent Night.” Itsoriginal title is “Stille nacht, heilige Yach” and waswritten by the Austrian priest Joseph Mohr in 1818.Now it is translated into 330 languages.

During the Christmas season there is an extensiveexchange of greetings and good wishes among friends.These greetings are a reminder of those “good tidingsof great joy that shall be to all the people, for this dayis born to you a Savior Who is Christ the Lord” (Lk.2:11). They are a reminder, too, that all blessings andgraces come to us from Christ: “Hath He not also withHim given us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).

During the Christmas season there is also anexchange of gifts. This custom should recall to usthat on this day God Himself gave to us the greatestof all gifts, His beloved Son: “God so loved the worldas to give His only begotten Son” (John 3: 16).

Priscila Molina M.

Business and Development Project Management,working in Bhavan in a cultural exchangethrough AIESEC

Source: www.aciprensa.com, www.zenit.org,http://www.catholicculture.org,www.catholicity.com


Christmas is embraced by people from differentcreeds and beliefs in India. Indians commemoratethe Birth of Jesus with carols, cribs and deliciousChristmas food. Even in India the proportion ofChristians is relatively small. December 25th is anational holiday. Most Catholic Schools andCatholic Universities get the week off from 24th ofDecember to the 2nd of January.

The main celebrations of Christmas take place onChristmas Eve, which is December 24th. That day,family and friends join together and go to Mass bymidnight. Afterwards, the celebrations continue.The traditional midnight Mass is called Missa deGalo or Cock Crow as people take part of it intoearly hours of the morning. Cribs are very welldecorated and displayed at parks, shops, etc. MostChristian families will also have a crib and aChristmas tree outside their homes. In addition, thesending of greeting cards is common.

In Mangalore, people get together at home to sharea variety of delicious Christmas dishes, such as,Rice ‘chakli’, crispy chocolate slices, parsley cake,potato ‘chakli’, ‘bebinca’, ‘karakaddi’, FatherChristmas cake, cashewnut macroons, Christmaschoco cake, ‘besan’ (chickpeas), rice marbles,‘kokkisam’, rose cookies, rosettes, Christmas fruitcake, rich cake and ‘sooji’ coconut cake.

During Christmas time in Delhi all the churches arebeautifully lit up and decorated, especially the SacredHeart. Santa Claus can be found in public spaces.

Hanging a Christmas star outside homes and shopsis one of the most popular traditions in Keralan andGoa. Usually the star is made from bamboo log

pieces and covered with translucent color paper. Alighted lamp or oil-lamp is placed inside the star atnight. In addition people prepare clay oil-burninglamps as Christmas decorations and place themoutside the house along with the star.

It is a very common tradition that children jointogether to form local carol troops. They visit theirneighborhood homes and perform in the courtyard.

As pine trees are not common in India plastic treeswere introduced roughly 10 years ago. Traditionallythe Casuarina tree was used and decorated asChristmas tree.

There are some different Christmas celebrationsaround the country. In South India, Christians lightclay oil-lamps on the rooftops and walls of theirhouses. In several states ofIndia a popular custom is todecorate banana or mangotree instead of traditionalpine tree. In northwest India,the tribal Christians of theBhil tribe go out night afternight for a week duringChristmas to sing theirequivalent of carols thewhole night through.

Priscila Molina M.

Business and Development Project Management,working in Bhavan in a cultural exchangethrough AIESEC

Source: www.happywink.org/christmas-day/christmas-in-india.html

Christmas in India


New York: Over the last two years, the majority ofcountries in the world chose to expand publicspending in order to buffer the impact of the globalfinancial crisis on their economies and populations.But, this year, with signs of economic recoveryemerging, advanced countries have quickly shiftedfrom fiscal stimulus to fiscal consolidation.

Now developing countries are also following thetrend to consolidate. A recent UNICEF survey of 126countries shows that a significant number of low-and middle-income countries are expected toreduce public expenditures in 2010-2011.

This comes at a bad time, just after worldgovernments committed themselves to achievingthe development goals, such as reducing povertyand infant mortality, agreed last September at theUnited Nations’ Millennium Summit.

For most low- and middle-income countries, theincipient economic recovery appears to be fragileand uneven. Indeed, many of these countries remainvulnerable to volatile commodity prices, financial-system weaknesses, depressed demand from worldmarkets, and shortfalls in external finance, overseasdevelopment assistance, and investment.

More importantly, according to the UN and theWorld Bank, the social impact of the globaleconomic crisis continues to be felt in terms ofrising hunger, unemployment, and social unrest.The combination of rising food and fuel prices andthe financial and economic crisis has reduced poorfamilies’ purchasing power, access to socialservices, and employment opportunities.

Moreover, poor households have reduced foodconsumption, with the UN Food and AgriculturalOrganization estimating that nearly one billionpeople are hungry and malnourished.

In the 1980’s, adjustment programs requiredcountries to cut back on their expenditures,including outlays on education, health, water,agriculture, and other sectors that make a differenceto poor households. As the late Tanzanian PresidentJulius Nyerere demanded publicly: “Must we starveour children to pay our debts?”

Infant mortality rates rose among low-incomegroups in many developing countries, andinequality increased. This period came to be known

as the “lost decade.” UNICEF responded withAdjustment with a Human Face, which argued thatchildren must be protected during economic crises.It argued for more expansionary macroeconomicpolicies to generate employment, public-sectorinvestments to serve the poor, and theestablishment of social-protection systems.

Thirty years later, déjà vu, the same messageapplies. The poor in developing countries are againbeing made to endure the worst consequences of acrisis that they played no part in creating. It iscritically important that this does not lead to a newlost decade of development, and that poorhouseholds—especially children—do not suffer asthey did in the 1980’s.

And yet that could very well happen. Our UNICEFsurvey of 126 developing countries found that amongthe nearly one-half that are reducing publicexpenditures, common adjustment measures includepublic-sector wage cuts or caps, withdrawal of foodsubsidies, and the targeting and rationalization ofalready meager social-protection systems.

As the global recession ebbs, the most urgentimperative is recovery for all—a recovery that isinclusive, expands employment opportunities,reduces inequalities, and sustains developmentprocesses.

This can be achieved. It requires that aid to poorcountries be sustained; that governments focus onexpansionary macroeconomic policies that supportemployment and broad-based economic activities;that new schemes be introduced to extend healthservices and social protection for the poor; andthat investments in education, water supply,sanitation, agriculture, and food security receivethe support they need.

A Recovery

for All

Isabel Ortiz

Isabel Ortiz is AssociateDirector, Policy andPractice, UNICEF

Copyright: ProjectSyndicate, 2010Source: www.project-syndicate.org


Tonight is a celebration, and I trust you will enjoyseeing, hearing and tasting from our multiculturalbuffet. At the same time it is important to reflect onsuch an occasion as to how we are fulfilling ourmission, and how we think of the future. Thecontext for SBS is that Australia is a new worldmulticultural society, absorbing successive wavesof migrants from different countries. SBS wascreated to welcome and support them, and toinform and educate them in their own languagesand in English about Australia, and at the sametime inform, educate and entertain all Australiansso that they better understand and value culturaldiversity at home and abroad.

From humble beginnings, with coverage of eightlanguages on radio with limited coverage, SBS hasgrown to be a national broadcaster, broadcasting in68 languages weekly on radio, reaching about 40%of Australians each week across two free-to-airchannels, in addition to World Movies and STVDIOon subscription television, and over a million visitsa month across our websites in English and in 68other languages.

It is indisputably not only Australia’s, but theworld’s most distinctive and diverse broadcaster,and has been a potent factor in making Australia acosmopolitan society in a rapidly globalising world.

It has garnered numerous international andnational awards for its programs along the way,including an Academy Award, and this year themajority of the peer group awarded Logies—and,just last night, 8 nominations for the AFI.

Now the success of Australia as a multiculturalsociety could lead some to think that SBS is“mission accomplished”. They would be wrong.Today there are more than 3 million, or twice as

many Australians as in 1975, who speak a languageother than English at home, and the diversity ofrace, religion and cultures has multiplied amongnewer arrivals, so that the mission has in factexpanded, quantitatively and qualitatively!

Technology has presented fresh challenges. Globalsatellite distribution and cheap home receiversmean many, especially newer migrants, can and dotune into home country broadcasts to the virtualexclusion of English language Australian media,posing the risk of them falling into “media ghettoes”,where their principal source of knowledge aboutAustralia is through the eyes of their old countrymedia. Our surveys show that they distrustmainstream Australian media, other than SBS.

So the need for SBS “in language” and Englishservices is greater than ever. The cohesion of ourmulticultural society cannot be taken for granted. Itis a work in progress, and requires continuing andsophisticated government programs, including avigorous SBS to ensure its success.

In recognition of these enormous social andtechnological changes impacting upon our servicesand industry, we recently re-examined theorganisation’s strategic direction and reshapedSBS’s corporate plan.

The plan outlines our ambitions for the future, andexplicitly states that the role of SBS is to contributeto social inclusion in Australia.

Our aim is to be a vital factor in the harmoniousintegration of migrants into Australian society,whilst valuing their distinctiveness; to be a catalystfor the nation’s conversation about multiculturalism— informing and educating all Australians so as topromote harmony and enable us to minimise

SBS Chairman’s Address: 28 October 2010

30thAnniversary


friction and maximise the benefits of the skills,cultural and linguistic richness and global networksof our diverse migrant communities.

The strategies to do this are based on creativelyexploiting new technologies. Digital TV has tripledthe channel capacity of SBS TV. This resolves thedilemma of the past, whereby with just onechannel, English language programming of broadappeal across all communities competed withniche “in language” programs in prime time.

Across all its TV channels, SBS will be able to beboth broad and distinctive, with much more “inlanguage” programming.

Another new strategy which I can announce tonightsees the further development of SBS “on demand”services to pilot Virtual Community Centres forindividual language groups. These will be the “goto” media destination for those communities,providing on-demand access to SBS TV and radioprograms, additional on line content speciallycommissioned or acquired, links to community andgovernment services information and, a first forSBS, user generated content from the individualcommunity itself.

The first of these Virtual Community Centres willbe for Australian Chinese speaking communities,and will be launched next month, including thepilot of an Australian-Mandarin language newsservice. This will be a first for Australian television- a domestic in-language news service. We have hadin-language Australian news on radio, but now willpilot extending that to television.

But some things will not change, notably ourcommitment to drama and documentaries thatreflect the reality of our multicultural society in a

way that other broadcasters simply do not. Thismeans more programs like the award winning EastWest 101, The Circuit and First Australians.

So, this is the anniversary vision for SBSincorporated in its new corporate plan. It will beimplemented progressively as funding permits.

On behalf of SBS, thank you for being part of thestory so far, and welcome to the next excitingepisode of SBS, “six billion stories and counting”.

Joseph Skrzynski, AOChairman, SBS

Appointed 27 March 2009 for five years, Mr Skrzynskiwas appointed Chairman of SBS on 6 November 2009.Mr Skrzynski has made a significant contribution tothe community, arts and the media since 1969.

He is a Board Member of the Sydney Film School anda Fellow of the University of Sydney Senate. Heserved as the Chairman of the Sydney Opera HouseTrust (1996-2004) and on the Major OrganisationsFund of the Australia Council (1995-2000). He hasextensive experience in managing private and publiccompanies and strong expertise in financial matters,including his position as Founding Partner, CHAMPPrivate Equity.


The World AIDS Day is celebrated on 1st Decemberevery year. It is dedicated to elevate the awarenessof AIDS pandemic sources by spreading of HIVinfectivity. AIDS stands for: Acquired ImmuneDeficiency Syndrome. It is ordinary to holdremembrance to respect persons who have expiredfrom HIV/AIDS on this day. Health officials and Govtdetect the event, often with forums or speeches onAIDS theme.

This disease has killed above 25 million peoplebetween 1981 and 2007. About 33.2 million peoplelive with HIV/AIDS as of 2007. It has become themost critical epidemic in the recorded history.Many people think there is a ‘cure’ for AIDS, whichmakes them feel safer, and perhaps take risks thatthey otherwise wouldn’t. However, there is still nocure for AIDS. The only way to stay safe is to beaware of how HIV is transmitted and how toprevent HIV infection.

In all parts of the world, people living with HIV stillface AIDS related stigma and discrimination, andmany people still cannot access sufficient HIVtreatment and care. In America and some countriesof Western and Central and Eastern Europe,infection rates are rising, indicating that HIVprevention is just as important now as it ever hasbeen. Prevention efforts that have proved to beeffective need to be scaled-up and treatmenttargets reached. Commitments from nationalgovernments right down to the community levelneed to be intensified and subsequently met, sothat one day the world might see an end to theglobal AIDS epidemic.

History

The World AIDS Day was primary conceived inAugust 1987 by Thomas Netter and James W. Bunn,information officers for Global Program on AIDS atWorld Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.Netter and Bunn took their scheme to Dr. JonathanMann, Director of Global Program on AIDS(UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the idea, permitted it, andconsent with the proposal that the initial ceremonyof the World AIDS Day ought to be 1st December,1988.

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS(UNAIDS) became equipped in 1996, it captured thepreparation and endorsement of the World AIDSDay. UNAIDS made World AIDS crusade in 1997 tofocus on constant communications education andprevention.

Theme

In the year 2004, World AIDS crusade became asovereign organization. From its beginning until2004, UNAIDS organized the World AIDS Dayoperation, selecting annual topics in discussionwith other worldwide health associations.

As of 2008, every year’s World AIDS Day idea ischosen through the World AIDS Campaign’suniversal Steering Committee following extensivediscussion with organizations, people, and Govtagencies occupied in the treatment and preventionof HIV/AIDS.

For all World AIDS Day from 2005 through 2010, thesubject is “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise” with anannual sub-theme. This overarching topic isintended to persuade supporting leaders to keeptheir pledge to achieve worldwide access toHIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, support and careby the year 2010.

Source: www.avert.org, www.altiusdirectory.com,www.worldaidsday.org

WorldAIDS Day

“This disease

has killed above 25

million people between

1981 and 2007.”


Most of us slip into a state of paranoia beset byanxieties of knotty and insufferable problems thatare conjectured rather than factually occurring.

Mental exhaustion comes to those who look aheadwith premonition and, as it were, psychologicallyattempt to climb mountains even before reachingthem. Hence, already sapped and worn, they stumblewhen confronted with the actual mission of climbing.

Most of our present-day misgivings are colouredand conditioned by our experiences of the past, inparticular, of disappointments. We hardly everpause to consider the positive experiences of ourbygone years.

We must learn to admire and derive aestheticpleasure from the colour of a rose and its headyfragrance instead of contemplating the thornsbelow, on the stem of the plant. Anything thatcheers, even if it is a fantasy, is any day better thansomething that depresses, even in fantasy.

Emerson wrote “I find the gayest castles in the air thatwere ever piled far better for comfort and for use thanthe dungeons in the air that are daily dug andcaverned out by grumbling, discontented people”.

God has endowed each one of us with a free willand the faculty of discrimination to choosebetween being optimistic and pessimistic. Most ofus easily slip into pessimism refusing to look at thesunny sides of life.

He alone is the happy man who has learnt to gleanhappiness, not from ideal conditions, but from theground realities about him. The man who hasmastered this ingenuity will not wait for the idealconditions to form; he will not wait for a betterhour of the day, a better tomorrow, month, year ora decade or until he becomes rich or famous.

He will make the most out of life today, now andright where he is. If only we look hard enough wewill discover enough to cheer up our dispositioneven if circumstances seem to be dark and murky.

When you wake after a night’s sleep, begin the dayonly by remembering those events of the previousday that filled you with hope and satisfactioninstead of those that made you wince with pain ordistaste. That alone is sufficient to help you beginyour day with verve and optimism.

When you begin your day on this cheerful note youwill discover the air to be balmier, the sky to be

bluer, the trees fuller of foliage and the flowers tobe more beautiful and fragrant. You will findyourself to be enjoying the emerging rays of thesun. You will find your pulse pounding and you willbe thrilled by the consciousness of strength andvigour in every cell in your body.

All the riches of the world cannot make you happy ifyou still feel that you need more than what youhave. The poorest among the poor can burst into adelightful happy smile if he is content with what hehas chanced to come by even if it is a morsel of foodthat will douse the fire of hunger gnawing inside him.

Here is a poem that is very pithy and expresses thisconcept beautifully

“Believe in yourself,And remember thatAnything is possible.

Believe in what makes you feel good.Believe in what makes you happy.

Believe in the dreams you’vealways wanted to come true,

And give them every chance to.Life holds no promises

As to what will come your way.You must search for your own idealsAnd work towards reaching them.

Life makes no guarantees as towhat you’ll have,

It just gives you time to make choices,And to take chances,

And to discover whatever secrets might come your way.If you are willing to take theopportunities you are given

And utilise the abilities you have,You will constantly fill your life

With special moments andunforgettable times.

No one knows the mysteries oflife or its ultimate meaning,But for those who are willing

To believe in their dreams andin themselves,

Life is a precious gift in whichanything is possible”.

Dena Dilaconi

Surendralal G MehtaPresident, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Anything is possible


Chakravarti

Rajagopalachari


Chakravarti Rajagopalachari known as Rajaji or C.R.,was an Indian lawyer, writer and statesman. He wasthe second Governor-General of independent India.Later he became the Chief Minister of Madras State,and was one of the first recipients of India’s highestcivilian award Bharat Ratna in 1954.

Early Life

Rajagopalachari was born in a small village calledThorapalli of the then Salem District on December10, 1878. He had his school education at Hosur andcollege education at Madras (Chennai) andBangalore. He was married to Alamelu Mangamma.They had five children. His wife died when he was 37.

Academic Career

Rajaji studied law in Bangalore and started hispractice at Salem. He was even elected as theMunicipal Chairman of Salem and he held that postfor two years. Rajaji started to take part in thepolitics of the nation at the beginning of the 1900s.At first he was drawn towards Bal Gangadhar Tilak.In the year 1919 Rajaji chose to follow MahatmaGandhi, who had just returned from South Africa.

Mahatma Gandhi

After Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa in1919, Rajaji made up his mind to follow him. C.Rajagopalachari was appointed the general-secretaryof the Congress in 1921 and thus, got opportunity togain acquaintance with other leaders like JawaharlalNehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Azad, RajendraPrasad. Rajaji steadily rose in rank and even came tobe regarded as Gandhiji’s successor. He shared closekinship with Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel too,despite the difference in their viewpoints. Rajajideveloped differences with Nehru later, but still bothrespected one another tremendously. Nehru wroteabout Rajaji in his autobiography of how Rajaji’s“brilliant intellect, selfless character, and penetratingpowers of analysis have been a tremendous asset toour cause”.

Indian National Congress

Being among the five most important leaders in theIndian National Congress, C. Rajagopalachariplayed a pivotal role in the life history of this party.Rajaji was the member of its Working Committeefrom 1919 to 1942 and then again from time period1950 to 1955. Rajaji was active in Congress forabout half a century. In the year 1932, he waschosen as the acting president of the Congress andplayed crucial role in formulating the Poona Pactwith Ambedkar. Later when he was asked byGandhiji and Nehru to head the Congress a coupleof times, he refused.

Man of Principles

Rajaji was the earliest Congress leader in the fortiesto admit to the likelihood of Partition. As a founder

of the Swatantra party in the fifties, he attacked the‘permit-license Raj’ fearing its potential forcorruption and stagnation, even while the tide wasin favour of Nehru’s socialistic pattern.

Rajaji was amongst the initial Congress leadersduring 1940s to accept the right of Muslims to self-determination. He even worked out a solution bywhich there could be common defense andcommunications between the two nations. But thisidea was discarded by Ali Jinnah and also someCongress leaders. Rajaji was always known to be astaunch protector of his political principles andnever hesitated to disagree with his closest allieseven in front of the public.

Profound thinker

Rajaji was also a profound thinker in matters ofspirituality and religion. A popular anecdote recallshis encounter with the Hindu spiritual leader SwamiVivekananda, during his student days. Swami wasvisiting a student hostel where Rajaji was staying,and he drew the attention of the inmates of thehostel to a painting of Lord Vishnu hanging over thewall and asked them as to why Vishnu in all hisimages, was always depicted blue in colour? Rajajishowed some amazing intellect by answering thatthe Lord has been ascribed the color of the infinitesky and the unlimited sea, which were both blue incolour. Rajaji received rich praises from theimmensely pleased spiritual leader, for his profoundunderstanding of the Hindu spiritual philosophy.

A writer

As a writer, besides his own material, he publishedEnglish translations of many important Indian andHindu works: Ramayana, Mahabharata, BhagavadGita, Upanishads and Bhaja Govindam. He alsotranslated the Ramayana into Tamil. Kurai Onrumillai, I have no unfulfilled desires left, oh! God, is avery famous song in the semi-Carnatic music genrewritten by Rajaji. The most popular version,(widely acknowledged as soul-stirring) was beenrendered by MS Subbulakshmi.

Rajaji died on December 25, 1972 after a shortillness. The nonagenarian’s public life, spanningnearly eighty years are perhaps best recognized byMahatma Gandhi’s rich tribute to him praising himas the: “the keeper of my conscience”.

Source: www.biographybase.com,www.iloveindia.com, www.indiainfolibrary.com

“Rajaji steadily

rose in rank and even

came to be regarded as

Gandhiji’s successor.”


New Delhi: As stage-managed elections ratify theconsequences of three decades of military rule inBurma, the perspective from its neighbor India mayhelp explain why there is continued internationalacceptance of the country’s long-ruling junta.

Burma was ruled as part of Britain’s Indian Empireuntil 1935, and the links between the two countriesremained strong after Burma gained itsindependence in 1947. An Indian businesscommunity thrived in Burma’s major cities, andcultural and political affinities were wellestablished. India’s nationalist leader and firstPrime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a closefriend of the Burmese nationalist hero Aung San,whose daughter, the Nobel laureate and oppositionleader Aung San Suu Kyi, studied in New Delhi.

For many years, India was unambiguously on theside of democracy, freedom, and human rights inBurma—and in ways more tangible than therhetoric of the regime’s Western critics. When thegenerals suppressed the popular uprising of 1988,nullified the overwhelming election victory byAung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy(NLD) in 1990, shot students, and arrested thenewly-elected leaders, India’s government initiallyreacted as most Indians would have wanted. Indiagave asylum to fleeing students and a base for theirresistance movement (along with some financialhelp), and supported a newspaper and a radiostation that propagated the democratic voice.

But then reality intruded. India’s strategic rivals,China and Pakistan, began to court the Burmesegenerals. Major economic and geopoliticalconcessions were offered to both suitors. TheChinese even began developing a port on theBurmese coast, far closer to Calcutta than to

Canton. And the generals began providing safehavens and arms to a motley assortment of anti-Indian rebel movements that would wreak havoc inIndia’s northeastern states and retreat tosanctuaries in the newly-renamed Myanmar.

All this was troubling enough to Indianpolicymakers, who were being painfully remindedof the country’s vulnerability to a determinedneighbor. The clincher came when large deposits ofnatural gas were found in Burma, which, it wasclear, would not be available to an India deemedhostile to the junta. India’s rivals were gainingground in its own backyard, while Indianbusinesses were losing out on new economicopportunities. The price of pursuing a moralforeign policy simply became too high.

So India turned 180 degrees. When Pakistan’sPresident, Pervez Musharraf traveled to Myanmarto celebrate his country’s new relationship with hisfellow generals, India’s Foreign Minister JaswantSingh soon followed. The increasingly forlornresistance operations staged from Indian territorywere shut down in the hope of reciprocation fromthe Burmese side. And India sweetened thegenerals’ tea by providing military assistance andintelligence support to their own never-endingcounter-insurgencies.

India’s journey was complete: from standing up fordemocracy, India had graduated to aiding andabetting the military regime in Rangoon (nowYangon). When monks were being mown down onthe streets of Yangon in 2006, the Indiangovernment called for negotiations, mutteredbanalities about national reconciliation, andopposed sanctions. India also sent its minister foroil to negotiate an energy deal, making it clear that

Burma:India’s bad

neighbour policy


the country’s real priorities lay with its ownnational economic interests, ahead of its solidaritywith Burmese democrats. (At the same time,Indian diplomats intervened discreetly from timeto time on behalf of Suu Kyi, though theireffectiveness was limited by India’s unwillingnessto alienate the junta.)

All of this was in fact perfectly understandable.Officials in New Delhi were justified in reactingacerbically to Western critics of its policy. Indianeeded no ethical lessons from a United Statesand a Britain that have long coddled militarydictators in India’s South Asian neighborhood,notably in Pakistan.

Any Indian government’s primary obligation is toits own people, and there is little doubt that theeconomic opportunities provided by Burmese oiland gas are of real benefit to Indians. There is alsothe strategic imperative of not ceding ground toIndia’s enemies on its own borders. India confrontsan inescapable fact of geopolitics: you can put yourideals on hold, but you cannot change who yourneighbors are.

India’s governmentcannot be blamed fordeciding that itsnational interests inBurma are moreimportant thanstanding up fordemocracy there. Themember countries of theAssociation of South East Asian Nations,on Burma’s eastern flank, have madesimilar calculations.

But many Indians are asking themselves whatsuch a policy does to India as a civilization. Ifthat idealistic democrat Nehru had not beencremated, India’s stance toward Burma mightcause him to turn over in his grave. It is apolicy that is governed by the head rather thanthe heart, but in the process India is losing a littlebit of its soul.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010Source: www.project-syndicate.org

Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian Minister of State for External Affairsand UN Under-Secretary General, is a member of India’s parliamentand the author of several books, most recently Nehru: the Invention ofIndia (in German).


A lecture series was organised on 27th August, atthe YB Chavan Auditorium to celebrate the 90thbirth anniversary of communist leader YB Chavan.Eminent personalities Nandan Nilekani, Chairman,UID, historian Ramchandra Guha and journalistKumar Ketkar graced the event and shared theirthoughts with the audience.

Mr. Guha talked about India’s ‘Yesterday’. Henarrated tales from cricket history about how oneof the first Dalits to have broken the barriers ofexclusion was P.R. Balu, a bowler who was part ofthe Hindu team during British regime. In sum hespoke about the structure and thinking of theIndian society.

Mr. Ketkar talked about ‘Today’. He touched uponhow India’s future is linked to that of the world andabout events happening around the world whichimpact India. He stressed upon the fact that wemust accept ‘change’ so as to progress as a nation.

Mr. Nilekani spoke about ‘Tomorrow’. He talked aboutthe challenges that our country is facing today andhow the UIDIA (Aadhar) project can solve numerousproblems and promote inclusive growth. He said thatthere is an impending need to change existingsystems to outpace this dynamic environment,

He spoke about how the UID (a mobile identity)would be a ‘number for life’ for millions of Indianswho are now excluded from access to publicschemes due to lack of identity proof. The UIDwhich would be given to every Indian irrespectiveof his/her financial or residential status wouldmean that even the poorest Indian would get achance to reap the benefits of India’s growth story.

The audience which consisted mainly of studentsfrom colleges TISS, SPJIMR and HR among otherswas enthralled by the speeches. At this juncturethe Indian youth especially those who are going tobe tomorrow’s managers must understand how thecountry has evolved, where it stands today andwhat lies ahead in order to contribute better andthis event addressed exactly that.

Source: Bhavan’s Andheri Parivar, Vol. 4, October 2010

India: Yesterday, Today

and Tomorrow

From top: Nandan Nilekani; Kumar Ketkar;Ramchandra Guha


“Deepavali Treats” by Nayika Indian Dance played toa full house at the Seymour Theatre on 18 November.It was a program of classical Indian dances with a fewsurprises, like the chanting of the names of the 24single hand gestures in Sanskrit from the Natyasastratext the Balinese mask dance, depicting charactersfrom the Ramayana, and a Katha told in English withsinging in Sanskrit about how the epic poem theRamayana came to be written in a new verse form,the sloka, by the poet, Valmiki.

One member of the audience, Pamela Schuttler,who has been coming to Nayika Indian Danceperformances over a number of years, had this tosay about the show.

“The first dance by Vimala, Gajah Vadana Beduve,was beautifully mimed. It was very expressivedancing with beautiful costume—just like atemple dancer. Her second piece was anAnnamacharya song, Muthugare Yasoda. Eventhough we did not understand the words, weloved the melodic song, and Vimala minedthe roles of characters in the stories toldin the dance very convincingly. Thechanting of the Sanskrit verses with thenames of the single hand gestures, fromthe theatrical text, the Natyasastra,written in about the 2-5th centuries, bystudents Carol Ng and Evgenia Titova,was really interesting as one does notrealise the amount of practice and skillrequired to remember those twenty-fourhand gestures. An unexpected twist wasthat the gestures were demonstratedwith a white glove on the hand giving anunusual western effect. The Balinese maskdance, done by Sisca Hunt, had aninteresting storyline, and set to verydramatic kechak music. The death of thevulture, Jatayu, was particularly effective.Tillana by Aziz Haque and SheetalChallam had quite complex footwork,although the stage was a little small forthem to be really expressive in their

dancing. Finally, the Katha which occupied the restof the time (one hour) was very compellinglistening. I particularly liked the contemporaryasides of Ananth Rao. The Sound Lounge providedjust the right intimate atmosphere for him as wellas his accompanying musicians.”

Vimala Sarma

Deepavali Treats


Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first President ofindependent India. He was the President of theConstituent Assembly that drafted theConstitution. He had also served as a CabinetMinister in the first Government of independentIndia. Dr Rajendra Prasad was one of the foremostdisciples of Gandhiji and he played a crucial role inIndian freedom struggle.

Early Life

Dr Rajendra Prasad was born on December 3, 1884in Ziradei village in Siwan district of Bihar. Hisfather’s name was Mahadev Sahay and his mother’sname was Kamleshwari Devi. Rajendra Prasad wasyoungest among his siblings. Mahadev Sahay was aPersian and Sanskrit language scholar. Dr RajendraPrasad was greatly attached to his mother andelder brother Mahendra.

When Rajendra Prasad was five years old, hisparents put him under a Maulavi to learn Persianlanguage followed by Hindi and arithmetic. Afterthe completion of traditional elementary education,Rajendra Prasad was sent to the Chhapra DistrictSchool. At the age of 12, Rajendra Prasad wasmarried to Rajavanshi Devi. He, along with his elderbrother Mahendra Prasad, then went on to study atR.K. Ghosh’s Academy in Patna. Mahendra waseight years older than him.

Academic Career

Dr Rajendra Prasad was a brilliant student. Hestood first in the entrance examination to theUniversity of Calcutta, and was awarded a monthlyscholarship of Rs 30. He joined the famous CalcuttaPresidency College in 1902. Here his teachersincluded the great Scientist Jagdish Chandra Boseand the highly respected Prafulla Chandra Roy.Later on he switched from Science to Arts andcompleted his M.A. and Masters in Law. Meanwhile,in 1905, Doctor, Rajendra Prasad was initiated intothe Swadeshi Movement by his elder brotherMahendra. Dr Rajendra Prasad was instrumental inthe formation of the Bihari Students’ Conference in1908. It was the first organization of its kind in thewhole of India. The move produced the entire

political leadership of the twenties in Bihar. He alsojoined the Dawn Society run by Satish ChandraMukherjee, and Sister Nivedita.

Nationalist Movement

In 1911, during his stay in Calcutta (now Kolkata) asa legal practitioner, Rajendra Prasad joined theIndian National Congress Party and wassubsequently elected to the AICC. In 1915, RajendraPrasad passed with a Gold medal in Masters in Lawexamination with honors. He then went on tocomplete his Doctorate in Law. Rajendra Prasadused to practice his Law & studies at Bhagalpur inBihar and eventually emerged as a popular andeminent figure of the entire region. In 1916,Rajendra Prasad joined the High Court of Bihar andOrissa. Such was his intellect and his integrity, thatoften when his adversary failed to cite a precedent,the judges asked Rajendra Prasad to cite aprecedent against himself.

Mahatma Gandhi

The arrival of Mahatma Gandhi on the Indiannational scene greatly influenced Dr RajendraPrasad. While Gandhiji was on a fact-finding missionin Champaran district of Bihar, he called on RajendraPrasad to come to Champaran with volunteers. DrRajendra Prasad was greatly impressed by thededication, conviction and courage that Gandhijidisplayed. Gandhiji’s influence greatly altered DrRajendra Prasad’s outlook.

Rajendra Prasad also responded to the call ofMahatma Gandhi to boycott Western education. Heasked his son Mrityunjaya Prasad, a brilliant

Dr Rajendra Prasad

“Dr Rajendra

Prasad was one of the

foremost disciples of

Gandhiji.”


student to leave the University and enrollhimself in Bihar Vidyapeeth. He wouldwrite articles for magazines like“Searchlight” and “Desh”. When theearthquake of Bihar occurred on January15, 1934, Rajendra Prasad was in jail. Hewas released two days later. He set himselffor the task of raising funds and collectedover Rs 38 Lakhs. Nationalist Indiaexpressed its admiration by electingRajendra Prasad as the President of theBombay session of the Indian NationalCongress Party in October 1934.

He sought ways to simplify his life and reducedthe number of servants he had to one. He starteddoing his daily chores such as sweeping the floor,washing the utensils—the tasks he had all alongassumed others would do for him.

Freedom Struggle

After coming into contact with Gandhiji, DrRajendra Prasad, immersed himself fully into thefreedom struggle. He played active role during Non-Cooperation Movement. Dr Rajendra Prasad wasarrested in 1930 while participating in SaltSatyagraha. Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as thePresident of the Bombay session of the IndianNational Congress. He was elected as CongressPresident again in 1939 in the following theresignation of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose.

First President of India

In July 1946, when the Constituent Assembly wasestablished to frame the Constitution of India, DrRajendra Prasad was elected its President. Two anda half years after independence, on January 26,1950, the Constitution of independent India wasratified and Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected asIndia’s first President. As a President, he used hismoderating influence silently and unobtrusivelyand set a healthy precedent for others to follow.During his tenure as President he visited manycountries on missions of goodwill and sought toestablish and nourish new relationships. He neverworried about what people said about him. He

neverlooked into the

mirror of history. There were occasions when hediffered from the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.But that was nothing new. They had differed foralmost three decades and yet worked together inthe Congress. The differences never embitteredtheir personal relations. Perhaps, both realized thatthey arose out of their differing backgrounds,beliefs, approaches and attitudes.

It was in 1960 that he announced his intention toretire, and though there were many regrets andmany tried to persuade him to continue for a thirdterm, his mind was made up.

Final Days

In 1962, after 12 years as President, Dr RajendraPrasad retired, and was subsequently awarded theBharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award.He spent the last few months of his life inretirement at the Sadaqat Ashram in Patna. DrRajendra Prasad died on February 28, 1963.

Source: www.iloveindia.com,www.culturalindia.net, www.maxabout.com


Eid al-Adha (Eid ul-Adha) is also known as the Feastof Sacrifice or Festival of Sacrifice. This observancecommemorates accomplishment. Eid al-Adha alsoserves as a reminder of when Ibrahim (Abraham)was willing to sacrifice his son to God, according toIslamic belief.

Eid al-Adha is one of the special festivals of Muslim.Eid al-Adha is also known as Bakr-Eid and festival ofsacrifice. On this festival Muslims sacrifice theirdomestic animals like goat (Bakr-Eid), sheep, cow,camel etc. This sacrifice made by Muslims is asymbol of sacrifice made by Prophet Abraham.This year Eid al-Adha was on November 17, 2010.

Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj. Thefirst day of Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the tenthday of Duhl-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year.In some areas Eid al-Adha is celebrated for severaldays by Muslims.

Celebrations

Eid is one of the most celebrated festivals aroundthe world. It marks the end of the holy month ofRamadan, during which Muslims perform the ritualsof fasting in a very accurate manner. The Eid al-Adhafestival has a special atmosphere of peace, respect,giving and receiving, as well as sharing and caring. It

Eid al-Adha


is a special day for children because it is a day tosocialize with family, friends and other children incelebrating Eid al-Adha. Many Muslims are united inprayer at mosques and other appropriate venuesduring Eid al-Adha. People exchange gifts with oneanother and celebrate feasts together. Eid al-Adha isa time for many Muslims to make donations to thepoor and the needy.

Eid across the World

There is diversity in the traditions and customs ofcelebrating Eid due to Muslims settled in differentparts of world. While Iraqis and Palestiniansembark on the festivities by having sweetmeatcalled klaicha, Egyptian Muslims go to Mosqueswith an empty stomach and later on have anelaborate luncheon with a fish delicacy in themiddle of it.

People thank Allah for giving the endurance tocomplete the fasting successfully. Be it India orIndonesia, Pakistan or USA, the spirit remains thesame. All wear new clothes and offer prayers toAllah by reciting Namaz.

Eid Fairs at grand level are organized and peopleparticipate and share their happiness with theirfellow Muslims. The religion of Islam preacheshumanity, brotherhood and love. These fairs are thebest way to spread all around the goodness of Allah.

The Day

Muslims celebrate the festival of Eid al-Adha withlot of enthusiasm, enjoying each and everymoment. On this day Muslims dress themselves innew clothes. Early in the morning, prayers arerecited by them to remember God and then the daybeings with the breakfast of Sheer Korma.

Soon after the breakfast the animal is forfeited andthen the meat of the slaughtered animal isdistributed among the neighbors, friends, familyand poor people. It is believed that the meat of thesacrificed animal must be distributed in three equalparts among neighbors and friends, familymembers and poor people.

Muslims greet each other with well wishes for thefestival along with the meat of the slaughtered

animal. Muslims spend time with their near anddear ones to spread love and happiness all around.

In the evening Muslims visit to the places of theirnear and dear ones and celebrate the festival.Delicious food and drinks are served to all thosepeople who visit Muslim places on this festival. Kidsmake handmade Eid al-Adha greetings and presentthem to all their near and dear ones. Marketsremain open and decorated on the occasion of Eidfor all the Muslims to do their shopping.

Chand Raat Eid Festival in Australia

Chand Raat Eid Festival is a unique event as it isheld at night like the Chand Raat late nightshopping in various parts of the Muslim world. It isan open festival-style carnival that starts in theevening and goes late into the night.

The aim of celebrating the Chand Raat Eid Festivalis to promote traditional Eid celebrations inmulticultural Australia among the youngergeneration of multicultural society; especially thoseborn and raised in Australia.

The festival is an opportunity for families to gettogether, do Eid shopping and eat delicious foods.People buy clothes, jewelry, henna, bangles, shoes,food, toys and many other traditional items. It alsoprovides the opportunity for many Australiansunaware of such festivities to get together andenjoy the various different cultural exhibitions. TheChand Raat Eid Festival has become a long awaitedannual event where many renowned South Asiancommunity and local leaders also participate.

Source: www.timeanddate.com,www.chandraat.net, www.theeid.com

“Adha is a time to

make donations to the

poor and the needy.”

“Sacrifice made

by Muslims is a symbol

of sacrifice made

by Prophet

Abraham.”


There must be constant vigilance against racismand prejudice, warned the chairman of theCommunity Relations Commission of NSW, DrStepan Kerkyasharian.

“Make no mistake, racism can only be gratified bythe ultimate removal of the object of its hatred—genocide.

Despite us all enjoying the fruits of a civilised andegalitarian society, he said, racism, bigotry, narrow-mindedness and intolerance for those “not like us”do exist in this country.

Dr Kerkyasharian was speaking at the launch ofWithout Prejudice—Towards a Harmonious Society inthe Strangers Lounge of NSW Parliament House onTuesday, November 9.

The book is a further initiative to combat prejudicein classrooms and is a revision of an earlier projectproduced and supported by B’nai B’rith, theworld’s oldest and largest Jewish communityservice organisation.

Guests included parliamentarians and communityrepresentatives, including Anthony Cleary, theCEO’s director of religious education andevangelisation, who represented the Archbishop ofSydney, George Cardinal Pell.

“What an inspired initiative by B’nai B’rith... toenlighten children at this most influential point intheir young lives,” Dr Kerkyasharian said.

“How better to do it than to provide their teacherswith such a practical guide which can so easily beimplemented in the classroom... so easily dippedinto and out of.

“This handbook is so well designed that just oneexercise of 30-40 minutes could have an impact ona child’s life forever.

“We all know that children approach the world withan open, untainted mind. Their innocence knowsno bigotry until they are presented with it.

“We also know that they are at their mostreceptive when they are young. And most able toabsorb lessons that will last with them for the restof their lives.”

Kerry MyersSource: The Catholic Weekly, November 21, 2010

Inspired Initiative

to fight Racism,

Bigotry Dr Kerkyasharian speaking at thelaunch of the booklet, ‘Practical Guide’


The Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ayodhyadispute has raised a debate on whetherjurisprudence should rely on faith to settle a legaldispute when there is a written constitution andestablished laws, it is injudicious to exercisejudicial liberty to stray from legality.

It is not our intention to discuss the merit anddemerit of the judgment or the disputants’ cases.The fact that at the core of the seemingly nationaldivide is an epic hero, venerated by millions as theultimate divine incarnation and a vandalisedshrine, raises an intriguing question about thehistoricity of epics.

This issue of Bhavan’s Journal seeks to analyse theplace of epics in human history. The theme wasdecided two months ago, when there was noindication of the timing of the court verdict on theAyodhya dispute.

Every civilisation cherished its own system of faithand generated its own myths, legends and epics.Successive generations have accepted these as alegacy to pass on and built their cultural andspiritual edifices around the epics and legendswithout seriously questioning their authenticity.

India in particular, specialised in the oral traditionrelying on phonetic transfer of knowledge andinformation. A stupendous volume of scripturalliterature was preserved by word-of-mouth fromgeneration to generation. There are said to be 18Puranas, each running into million or more verses,four Vedas, 10 major and hundreds of minorUpanishads and two Itihasas (epics), Ramayanaand Mahabharata, all in Sanskrit.

There are later epics in Sanskrit, the most famousof this being Raghuvamsa Mahakavya by Kalidasa.The two epics have transcended linguistic bordersand have independent versions in other Indianlanguages like Tamil (Kamba’s Ramayana and VilliBharatam), Telugu (Pothana Bhagavatham)

Kannada, Oriya, Malayalam, Hindi and others.

The issue takes a broad look at epics in majorwestern languages, some well-known and someunknown but all of them having had their impacton the tradition and culture of the respectivecountries and regions. All of them transcendhistorical veracity but have embedded themselvesin the psyche of the populations.

Epics have a way of mocking at history by theirsheer survival over the ages. History has oftenbeen distorted by the historians moved byprejudiced views and considerations of race,ethnicity and, and above all, by the perception ofthe conqueror over the conquered. An epic likeRamayana for Indians is more real than RobertClive or Warren Hastings. We love our Rama andSita and Radha and Krishna, not as fictionalcharacters but as a part of ourselves. And thatmakes an epic higher history, more real than evencontemporary leaders of society and politics.

To quote Henry Ford, the famous car-maker,“history is bunk”. Epic is eternal.

Source: Editorial, Bhavan’s Journal October 31, 2010

Epic Is Eternal

“An epic like

Ramayana for Indians

is more real than Robert

Clive or Warren

Hastings.”


The debate about the meaning and importance ofthe Ramayana is just as vibrant now as it was in thedays of the medieval commentators on this greatreligious and literary work.

For the vast contemporary worldwide audience ofthose devoted to this immortal work, thediscussion of the meaning of the Ramayana is asmuch a piece of unfinished business as it was forthe learned commentators on the poem of thethirteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Forthem, in turn, the adikavya was as vital a work as ithad been for its original audiences who precededthem by millennia.

Readers of texts like the Ramayana or theMahabharata must approach them after making aprofound but generally unexamined choice, as towhether to see them on the one hand as some kindof historically informed mythology or, on the other,to understand them as inspired records of actualhistorical events.

Early Western scholarship on the epics was oftenharshly critical of the poems for their apparentlychaotic structure, and what European scholars saw,as their fanciful and even juvenile representation ofabsurd events.

For what are we supposed to make of a ‘nationalepic’ like the Ramayana filled with monstrousdemons as huge as mountains and gigantic talkingmonkeys who could fly through the air and build abridge across the sea?

To the rationalist, post-enlightenment scholar suchphenomena call for interpretation. Are these folktales that have expanded to the dimension of epicnarratives? Are the events described in themallegorical? Are they primitive versions of naturemyths in which powerful celestial andmeteorological forces are personified? Are they theliterary analogs of dreams in which the deepestpsychic concerns of a civilisation are acted out inshared and deeply cherished saga?

The medieval Sanskrit commentators on theValmiki Ramayana do not see the work as callingfor interpretation in the sense in which mostWestern-scholarship has read the work.

They do not generally believe that the poem meanssomething other than what it says. For them theevents described in the epic are—however fantasticthey may seem—things that actually happened inreal, historical if very distantly past time.

Vimalasuri, the author of the Prakrit Ramayanaknown as the Paumacariya, there are no talkingmonkeys, only tribal groups that use the monkey astheir banner; while the description of ten heads toRavana derives from the fact that he wore anecklace of nine brilliant gems which bore thereflected image of his one head.

This critical attitude towards the supernatural featsof the epic heroes is charmingly represented in averse from Vidyakara’s eleventh century anthologyof courtly Sanskrit poetry.

In a poem ascribed to Dharmakirti, the poetlaments his lack of critical acclaim, as follows inIngalls’ translation:

Valmiki dammed the sea with rocksPut in place by monkeys,and Vyasa filled it witharrows shot by Partha;

yet neither is suspected ofhyperbole.

On the other hand, I weighboth word and sense

and yet the public sneersand scorns my work.

Oh Reputation, I salute thee!

Indeed, even the epic commentators may balk attoo lofty a flight of fancy, characterising someutterly fantastic episodes as “stories for children”(balakatha).

An example of exactly where some commentatorsmay draw the line between fact and fiction can beseen in the opening sarga of the poems’sSundarakanda.

Here, in the course of his epic leap across theocean—a feat, the historicity of which none of thecommentators questions—Hanuman engages in apeculiar contest with the great Serpent MotherSurasa whom the gods have induced to take theform of a monstrous all-devouring demoness inorder to test the monkey’s mettle.

Each time the giantess opens her gaping jaws themonkey expands ten yojanas higher until hereached the stupendous height of one hundredyojanas. Finally Hanuman shrinks in an instant to atiny size so he can fly in and out of Surasa’s mouthand thus satisfy everyone’s honour.

Govindaraja, an important Shrivaishnavacommentator of the late fifteenth or early sixteenthcentury understands this episode to be aninterpolation that fits poorly with its context.

Epic as History

with Embellishment


Taking a rationalist stance, he argues that some ofthe more extravagant verses are inconsistent andclearly interpolated since it would surely havebeen noticeable both to the monkeys (on thenorthern shore of the sea) and the inhabitants ofLanka (on the southern shore) if indeed Hanumanand Surasa had enlarged themselves to the size ofone hundred yojanas.

Independent minded seventeenth centurycommentator Kataka Madhava Yogindra, finds this passage a perfect place for interpolation. Hecomments, “How fortunate that they quit at onehundred yojanas and did not go on to expand to a thousand!”

It is important to note too that even in regard toexample such as this the instinct of thecommentators is never to falsify the words of thepoet-seer, which according to a well establishedcultural convention can never be other than true.

Instead they resort to another form of scientificreasoning—that of the textual critic—in order toargue that such questionable passages are not thework of Valmiki at all but are instead interpolated(prakshipta) by later hands.

The episode in which Hanuman brings to Lanka aHimalayan mountain rich in medicinal herbs isfamiliar: in order to revive and heal Rama,Lakshmana and the thousands of monkey troopswho have been laid low by the magical arts and

martial skill of the rakshasa champion Indrajit.Indeed the poster-art image of Hanuman carryingthe mountain through the sky is one of the mostcommonly duplicated and widely recognisedamong Hindu India’s popular religious icons.

According to Valmiki the power of the medicinalherbs brought by Hanuman is such that the slainand mortally wounded warriors are revived,restored and healed of their wounds by their merefragrance as it wafts across the battlefield. Yetthose same healing herbs do not revive the demonwarriors whose bodies also would be expected tolitter the field.

This issue has not escaped the attention of thesouthern commentators, several of whom refer to averse unique to the southern recension in which itis observed that the bodies of the slain rakshasashad been cast into the sea “for the sake of honouron the orders of Ravana.”

What is more interesting is that they also supply aplausible military explanation for Ravana’s order.They claim that he commanded that his slaintroops be hurled into the sea in order to concealfrom his enemies the number of his casualties sothat the monkey army does not immediately invadethe city of Lanka in the realisation of how small aforce must be left to defend it.

Mention of this episode calls to mind a similareffort on the part of several of the commentators todetermine exactly how long it took Hanuman tocomplete his heroic feat of fetching the mountain ofhealing herbs. In order for Hanuman to bring themountain from the Himalayas to Lanka, replace it inits proper location once he had accomplished hismission, and then return to the battlefield, hewould have had to make two round trip flightsbetween the Ravana’s island citadel and what istoday Western Tibet.

The herb mountain is close to Mount Kailasa and ifwe make the assumption that ancient Lanka andmodern Sri Lanka are one and the same, then we canestimate four trips of roughly 2000 kilometers eachor a total of approximately 8,000 kilometers in all.

Although the commentators do not specify theprecise distance, they do engage in an interestingdebate over the time that it took Hanuman to makethese trips.

Valmiki’s account of Hanuman’s mission is bracketedby two verses relevant to the question of timing.

In the first of these, Hanuman and the rakshasaVibhisana, Ravana’s defector brother, virtually theonly two of Rama’s champions left standing in thewake of Indrajit’s massacre, search the battlefieldfor other survivors.

After the completion of Hanuman’s mission, themonkeys, now restored to life and health, prepared


to launch another assault on the citadel. Thesecond of the two relevant verses, reads as follows:“Then, when the sun had set and the dread onset ofnight had come, the leaping monkeys with theirtorches marched towards Lanka.”

The commentators differ however as to how muchtime, if any, has elapsed between the two periods ofdarkness mentioned in the verses. MadhavaYogindra and Nagoji Bhatta understand thatVibhishana and Hanuman searched the battle fieldin the waning moments of the night while therevived monkeys’ renewed assault on Lanka takesplace at the onset of the following night.

Thus, allowing for the passage of one tropical day,they calculate Hanuman’s four flights (allowing ofcourse for a brief interval during which he searchesfor the recalcitrant herbs) have taken preciselythirty ghatikas which, at 24 minutes per ghatikacorresponds to a period of exactly 12 hours, thusbringing us to the evening of the following day.

By this reckoning, Hanuman; would have sailedalong at a bit over the impressive jet-age speed ofsome 650 kilometers an hour. On the other handMaheshvaratirtha and Govindaraja, believe that thereference to the sun setting is not a specific markerof the time of day, but merely a way of indicatingthat it is dark. By ‘the onset of night’, Govindarajafurther understands that the first watch (yama), ofthe night his intended and that the assault takesplace at the end of that period so that it occurs notat twilight, but when it is pitch dark.

The idea here is that because of Hanuman’sinconceivable speed, he accomplishes the fetchingand return of the healing herb mountain in a mereinstant.Thus rather than the twelve hours of dayenvisaged by Kataka and Nagoji, Maheshvaratirtha,and Govindaraja believe that no more than the blinkof an eye has elapsed while Hanuman was in the air.In this case, Hanuman would have flown at theastronomical speed of at least 30,000,000 kilometersper hour. But for the commentators this is no light-hearted mental exercise. They are deadly seriousabout the matter. Maheshvaratirtha even responsiblyacknowledges the position of Madhava Yogindra andNagoji as a possible alternative to his own.

The point here is not to determine the actual speedof Hanuman’s heroic flight, but rather to show howintent the commentators are on providing a factualand, wherever possible, accurate chronologicalaccounting of every event in the epic that theybelieve to be part of the text of the original author.

In this way a primary concern of the commentatorswho exert considerable influence on the textualand interpretive history of the poem from aroundthe twelfth to the eighteenth century is to validatethe work as a basically unitary and internallyconsistent narrative of real events, which playedout in real and calculable time in identifiablegeographic locations.

They do not blindly accept everything in theirreceived manuscripts as belonging to the authenticcomposition of the First Poet or therefore ascorrect history.

On the contrary, they argue among themselvesabout many matters both philological andhermeneutic declaring one passage or another tobe either authentic or interpolated and engaginginterpretive disputation with their predecessorsand contemporaries.

Although they may thus disagree, with each otherin these matters, the common goal of each is toedit, and explain the Ramayana as a clear, unitaryand internally consistent narrative of an exemplaryand theologically significant history.

The commentators’ approach to textual varianceand the supernatural in the epics present us withan interesting and useful object of study. It haspresented us with a fascinating and valuablecorpus of textual exegesis that shows us howdeeply imbedded the epics were in the complexcultural and intellectual universe of pre-modernSanskrit scholarship. It also demonstrates theextraordinary intellectual and linguistic resourcestraditional scholars had at their disposal in pursuitof their hermeneutic project.

In pursuit of their interpretive and rationalisingproject the commentators deploy a vast array ofcultural and scientific information that spans thespectrum of the knowledge systems available to


the intellectuals of their era. To commentappropriately on an encyclopedic work like theRamayana a commentator must have access to andbe able to creatively cite a dizzying array of worksincluding, the Vedas, ritual science, grammar,lexicography, poetics, logic, hermeneutics,theology, architecture, military science, the scienceof bodily characteristics, cookery, astronomy andastrology, the various branches of natural history,mythology, as well as an established, but not fullycodified tradition of what can only be calledphilology or text criticism.

The point is that these authors approach the epicas public intellectuals who must have had accessto significant collections of manuscripts to enablethem to carry on their work. For surely they cannotbe thought to have memorised all of the texts andsciences they apply.

Reading these works then can give us importantinsight into what the intellectual universe of thelearned generalist must have been like in thecenturies before the advent of Europena politicaland scientific power began to change theconditions under which this kind of intellectualculture could thrive.

Teaching these texts, moreover, enables us toexpose our students directly to this world with allof its concerns, its intellectual strategies, itsresources and its ongoing debates and discussionsabout the meanings of the culture’s mostfoundational documents.

One should not, however, entertain the idea thatthe Ramayana commentators were simply a groupof objective, disinterested text critics and culturalhistorians. On the contrary, they come to their taskin a spirit of reverence for Rama as an avatara ofLord Vishnu, in order to punish evildoers and bringhis virtuous devotees to salvation. Indeed, it is in

connection with the theology of the epic and thediffering sectarian orientations of the different sub-schools of the Shrivaishnava commentators inparticular that we see some of the most intensedisputes among them.

But in addition, they each often contribute, when thetheological tenor of a passage seems to them towarrant it, different kinds of ‘deeper’ or evenallegorical readings in which they strive to bring out akind of latent of hidden level of meaning.Maheshvaratirtha makes a frequent distinctionbetween the clear, manifest meaning of a verse(spashtartha), and its real, inner meaning vastavartha.

Where the manifest meaning of the text indicatesthat Rama or Lakshmana is defeated, injured, or ata loss, he reads the verse in two ways to bring outits two levels of meaning to demonstrate that inreality (vastutas tu) the Lord is ever victorious,invulnerable etc.

At other places, he will reverse the valence of anemotional speech so as to show, for example, thatRavana’s threats towards Sita and his declaration ofhis carnal passion for her are in reality to beinterpreted as expressions of the bhakti or religiousdevotion of a passionate devotee for the Goddess.

In a related but different way, Govindarajasometimes reads verses or passages in accordancewith what appear to be a particular Shrivaishnavaallegorical interpretations in which therelationships among the epic characters are seenas representing the quest of the individual soul forunion with the Lord.

Several of the commentators, notablyMaheshvaratirtha and Satyatirtha, fully exploit thevirtually unique capacity of the Sanskrit languageto have a given sequence of syllables yield a varietyof different meanings by breaking up words indifferent ways and by making use of theopportunities provided by sandhi and the richlexical resources of the language.

The many interpretive strategies that theRamayana commentators employ to bring out therich, complex and profound levels of meaning inthis magnificent text are worthy of much closerstudy than has hitherto been afforded them.

Robert P. Goldman

Prof Goldman was the Director of a project totranslate Valmiki’s Ramayana. As Professor ofSanskrit and India studies at the University ofCalifornia, he had led research studies on thegreat Indian epics. The article is excerpted froman address he delivered in New Delhi.

Source: Bhavan’s Journal October 31, 2010

“The common

goal of each is to edit,

and explain the

Ramayana as a clear,

unitary and internally

consistent narrative of

an exemplary and

theologically

significant history”


An Epic is a cyclic poem written by time upon thememories of man.- Shelley

The crystallisation of popular belief- Don Piatt

Philosophy learned from examples- Dionysius of Helicarnassus

An epic is a chronicle woven out of elements likecosmogony, chronology, cosmology and Geneology.

It generally tells, at times explains, oftendemonstrates, but nearly always, inspires. Nothingexerts its influence on human life like an epic does.

Great Epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Iliad,Odyssey, Metamorphosis, Shah NamehBudhacharitha, etc. share with us a lot of learnings.They empower us to distinguish between good andbad, right and wrong, truth and untruth and, ofcourse violence and non-violence.

They throw light on the seven cardinal virtues of manthrough the science of interpretation. In short, thereis nothing that has not been touched upon by Epics.

There is an episodic chapter in Mahabharatha (thegreat Indian Epic scripted by Sage Vyasa) whichdemonstrates the fact that broken fortunes will notwalk the earth forever. The sage accentuates howluck changes at the turn of time, by quoting thestory of Nala and his consort Damayanthi.

Damayanthi, the pretty daughter of Bheema, theking of Vidarbha falls in love with Nala, the son of

Veerasena, king of Nishadha. Enchanted by herbeauty Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama too cherishedtheir wish to marry Damayanthi. But when theycame to know that she had given her heart to Nala,they gave up their wish and blessed the lovers. Thefour Lords attended the wedding of the couple. Theybestowed upon Nala a boon each and went back.

Meanwhile, Kali, the incarnation of all evil gotthe news of the royal union. He, who too hadan eye on Damayanthi decided to ruin thehappiness of the newlyweds with someassistance from his friend Dwapara.

After years of awaiting Kali entered Nala at the firstgiven chance. Soon enough, Nala began to lead anunrighteous life. He challenged his younger brotherPushkara to a game of dice (gambling). Pushkaradefeated his brother. Nala had to surrender his landin favour of his younger brother. He then left theland with only a piece of cloth to clad himself.

Damayanthi sent her children to her father’s palaceand followed Nala. Meanwhile, Pushkara hadproclaimed that anyone who helped Nala would bebeheaded.

Nala and Damayanthi wandered across mountainsand forests in search of food and water. As theywere about to collapse due to hunger and thirst,Nala’s eyes caught a glimpse of a flock of goldenbirds. He untucked the cloth from his waist andtried to trap the birds with it. The birds were veryclever. They managed to slip away carrying thecloth along. Nala was stranded naked.

Epics: A Voice Forever


Desperate and despondent he advised his wife tofollow a group of merchants who happened to passthat way. But she insisted on following him.

At night whilst she was fast asleep, Nala tore apiece of her cloth, wrapped it around his waist andleft her side.

The next morning, Damayanthi got up, shocked torealise that her husband had deserted her. She sat atthe foot of a tree cursing her fate and shedding tears.

Suddenly, a python caught hold of her. She wasnearly half-dead with fear when a hunter appearedout of nowhere and killed the snake. Though shewanted to thank him, his amorous advancesantagonised her. “I am a Pativrata (a wife devotedto her husband) and I curse you! You shall fall deadthis moment, on this spot!” She had hardly utteredher curse and lo! the hunter was reduced to ashes!

Damayanthi cursed her fate and wandered here andthere lamenting. Soon she joined a group ofmerchants and reached the land of Chaedi withthem. There, the street urchins attacked thestranger taking her for a lunatic. The queen gotwind of this. She sent her maids and hadDamayanthi escorted to the queen’s boudoir.Damayanthi poured out her sad story to the queen.

However, she did not reveal the fact that she wasthe Queen of Nishadha. The queen of Chaediemployed her as the first attendant of her daughterPrincess Sunanda. Damayanthi began to live intheir palace.

Meanwhile, Nala who was wandering deep in theforests heard a voice calling out his name. Hefollowed the voice and reached a place where he sawKarkkotaka, the king of serpants caught in a blaze.

Since Nala had the blessings of Lord Agni, he savedKarkkotaka from the fire. The moment he was safe,Karkkotaka stung Nala. As a result, of the venom,Nala’s figure turned black.

“Pardon me, oh great Nala. I bit you purposely so asto save you from Kali. My venom will numb him.Now please proceed to Ayodhya and meet kingRithuparna. Live there as Bahuka. You will soon getan appropriate occasion when you shall teach himAswahridaya (A sacred chant that enables one tocontrol a horse). As a token of appreciation he willteach you Akshahridayamantra (A sacred chantthat reveals the secrets of gambling). You willthereafter win back your land and crown”,Karkkotaka said before bidding good bye.

Nala went to Ayodhya and began to live in thepalace as Bahuka King Rithuparna and Bahukasoon became good friends.

Meanwhile at Chaedi, the king came to know thetruth about Damayanthi. He had her escortedsafely back to her father’s palace. Though she was

reunited with her children Damayanthi wasunhappy without her husband.

King Bheema was very clever. He announced hisdaughter’s second marriage. Kings from lands far andnear went to Vidharbha in the hope that Damayanthiwould accept one of them as her husband.

Rithuparna who had heard a lot about herenchanting beauty set off for Vidharbha in hischariot with Bahuka as his sarathi. On the way,Nala taught him Aswahridayamantra on anappropriate occasion. In turn, the king taught hisdriver Akshahridayamantra.

Instantly, after Nala learnt the mantra, Kali, whowas still living in Nala’s being sprang out vomitingthe venom of Karkkotaka. The moment Kali lefthim, Nala regained his charm and virtues.

Both Nala and Rithuparna resumed their journeyand reached the palace of Vidharbha. Thenfollowed a series of dramatic happenings. OnceNala was in the palace, the reunion was inevitable.Damayanthi and Nala embraced each other andshed tears of joy.

“I had no intentions of marrying my daughter off toanyone. It was only a tactic to find out thewhereabouts of my son-in-law. I was confident thatonce he heard the announcement of her marriage,he would reveal himself to claim her hand! And seewhat happened” Bheema explained to Rithuparna,who returned without grudge after wishing Nalaand Damayanthi a happy re-union.

Nala went to Nishadha with a small army andchallenged Pushkara to a game of dice. Thoughreluctant, Pushkara had little option but to acceptthe challenge.

Nala defeated him in no time. But he did not banishhis brother from the land. Pushkara surrenderedback the land belonging to Nala, who ascended thethrone as king. Nala and his Queen Damayanthi leda long and happy life with their children.

The story emboldens us to face the test of time andtake on the challenges of life head on. Epics carrysimilar anecdotes relevant on earth and to lead ahappy, fulfilling and meaningful life. The challengein this day and age is to get our fellow beings toaccept and read these epics and extract thegoodness from them.

Sreekumari Ramachandran

Sreekumari Ramachandran has authored over 20books on various topics. Her English translation of‘Aithihyamala’ (Malayalam) is her latest work. She is the wife of Adv. C. Ramachandra Menon, Hon.Secretary of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kochi Kendra.



According to Concise Oxford Dictionary, an epic is a‘long poem narrating the deeds of heroic or legendaryfigures or the past history of a nation’. A long poemnarrating the deeds of heroic figures becomes an epiconly if: (a) it excels as a poem, and (b) it finds itshome in the hearts and minds of the nation orcommunity whose heroes or history it represents.

In the periods of early human history, epics playeda vital role in maintaining a sense of well-being ofsocieties. As reference points, we may keep in mindRamayana and Mahabharata of our own tradition.

We view Krishna as a friend, and Rama sensitive toa washerman’s criticism. Even when Rama andKrishna are regarded as Gods, they are gods of thisworld. As central characters of epics—and even asGods—Krishna and Rama give us freedom toquestion, debate and disagree.

To throw some light on the role of epics in oldersocieties, let us consider a modern expression ofwhat we presume is an eternal human dilemma.

Simone Weil was a French philosopher who read,thought and wrote about the character of modernsociety. Is there a Marxist doctrine? was anincomplete essay she wrote in 1943, just before shedied at the age of 34. In this essay, she wrote:

The essential contradiction in human life is that man,with a straining after the good constituting his very

being, is at the same time subject in his entire being,both in mind and in flesh, to a blind force, to a

necessity completely indifferent to the good.

Weil cited Plato’s views on the contradictionbetween necessity and good. Let us take thiscontradiction as being a central fact of human life,and ponder over how epics might have helpedearlier communities to deal with it. If thiscontradiction is indeed a fact of life, it must haveexisted even before philosophers discovered it. Wetherefore propose the following hypothesis:

Epics played a vital role in older societies preciselybecause they helped society to resolve—at least ina pragmatic sense—the dilemmas posed by thecontradiction between necessity and good.

From times immemorial, societies have facedthreats and challenges to their survival, originatingin the forces of nature, predators, and conflictswithin and between societies. Challenges faced and

overcome collectively, at great cost, must benarrated as victory of good over evil. This ispsychologically necessary, to turn people’s heartsand minds away from hardships and the negativeaspects of human behaviour, and to help establishpositive shared values and examples essential toget on with life.

Over the millennia, communities have neededinspiration and moral compass on an ongoingbasis, to regenerate hope and assurance amidst theanxiety, uncertainty and threats posed by life.Community members must feel—deep within, andtherefore almost instinctively—the need for sharedvalues which serve as bonds between them, sincethese bonds are essential for collective well-beingand survival.

The heroes and avatars of epics were seen as thegenesis of shared values, and they inspiredcommunities to become stronger and better, to facethe challenges of life with hope and confidence.

Epics might not have had much direct influence onthe actual governance of society. Governance mustnecessarily be constrained by the extremespecificity of challenges faced by society, and bythe personalities of the main actors on the scene. Itwould, therefore, seem that epics have had a muchstronger influence on popular values and culture,and thereby a crucial role in the community’s long-term survival and well-being.

When faced with a moral dilemma in the aftermathof a bloody victory, King Ashoka turned toBuddha’s philosophy to resolve his dilemma. Onepresumes that Ashoka would have been familiarwith all our epics, nonetheless he turned toBuddha’s path of enlightenment.

In earlier times, a society would be made up ofmembers of one community. Later, when differentcommunities began to intermingle in the samesociety, messages of saints—messages such asRama Rahima ek hi hain—attempted to bridge thegap between members of different communities.

We are living in a fractured age. Globalisedcommunication and information flows fill ourminds and shrink our hearts from a tender age.Therefore the traditional epics are beginning tolose their places in our hearts and minds. The stuffthat is displacing them from our hearts and mindsdoes not touch the difficult problems of human life,

Role of Epics

in the Modern Age


and therefore cannot ever fulfill the earlier usefulrole of epics.

Today communities and nations are being churnedthrough the process of globalisation, and losingtheir older identities. Through the high-tech media,a flood of messages is bringing people closer to oneanother, by focusing on common materialaspirations. Covertly, however, these verymessages are dividing people because themessages do not touch people’s innermost beings.

A divide between inner and outer being seems acharacteristic of the present age, and in such aworld, the unifying capacity of traditional epics isthereby inevitably diminished.

Today a positive ‘spin’ is routinely given to facts inan attempt to bridge the gap between necessity andgood. The ‘spin’ created over Britain’s role in theIraq war is an example; ‘spin’ was badly needed inthis instance because there was no sharedperception in the community of a serious commonthreat. The fact that such ‘spin’ is needed testifiesto the unresolved—and irresolvable?—contradiction between necessity and good.

More than a hundred years ago, renownedAmerican psychologist William James made an in-depth study of religious experiences. In 1901-02, hedelivered a series of lectures collectively entitledThe Varieties of Religious Experience—A Study inHuman Nature (available today in book form). In theconcluding lecture, James identified the followingtwo as essential elements in all religious experience:(1) An uneasiness ... a sense that there is

something wrong about us as we naturallystand, and

(2) A solution ... a sense that we are saved fromthe wrongness by making proper connectionwith the higher powers.

As we did with reference to necessity and good, wemay say that epics addressed the collectivepsychological needs of communities by providingsolutions to the unease felt within societies, withpromise of help from higher powers. Thus epicshelped the communities regain the fullness and joyof collective life.

In the simpler, less differentiated societies of earliertimes, epics and religious beliefs thussupplemented each other; epics, in other words,served a religious function.

Today we are living in the age of science,technology and industry, whose ruling principlesdo not provide answers to issues such as thosearticulated by Simone Weil or William James. Theonly values of modern life seem to be individualfame, wealth and material comfort. While naturaldisasters in various parts of the world receivematerial support, psychological disasters in themidst of material prosperity go unrecognised.

One clear symptom of such psychological disastersis the trillions of dollars spent each year in producingand spreading means of death and destruction.

Since only material products and materialexperiences are valued, their true cost to humanwelfare is not correctly reckoned. Denial ofexperiences of the inner life and the values arisingthereby is blatant and extreme.

The powers of technology, mass production andinternational commerce and finance have createdan illusion that society has overcome the types ofcontradiction discussed above. However, thedamage being done to our societies and to theecosystem is likely to soon shatter this illusion.

It is not clear what role the older epics of humansocieties will play as mankind faces the challengesof the future. But surely help received from everycorner will be greatly appreciated in difficult times.

Naresh Jotwani

Dr Naresh Jotwani obtained his BTech degreefrom IIT Bombay, and PhD from Rice University.Bhavan has published his books The Master ofGujarat and Conqueror of the Self: G.D. Birla.


2 December, The International Day for the Abolitionof Slavery, has been adopted by the GeneralAssembly of the United Nations convention for theprevention of the human trafficking and of theexploitation of the human being and of others.

Slave trade is perhaps the biggest human tragedythat affected the highest number of people for thelongest span of time in History.

Today, it exists in the new forms of immense violationsof the human rights proclaimed by United Nations in1948 (forced labour, child labour, prostitution) in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Day

2004 was declared as “The International Year toCommemorate the Struggle against Slavery and itsAbolition” by General Assembly of United Nationson 18 December 2002. Yet again the Assemblyproclaimed March 25, 2007 as the International Dayfor the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary ofthe Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade on 28November 2006.

The declaration proclamation of the year 2004marks, on the one hand, the 200th centenary of the

declaration of the first black state, Haïti,manifestation of the struggle and resistance ofslaves, and victory of the principles of equality,liberty, dignity and the rights of the persons, and, onthe other hand, the fraternal integrity of the peoplesof Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe.

History

Some kind of slavery has existed as time immemorial.Ruling people—often designated as barbarians—andpersons detained and imprisoned for debt weretreated as slaves by the Babylonians, the Egyptians,the Greeks, the Romans and the Persians.

The Middle Ages witnessed the arrival of the Nilotic,Saharian and Great Lakes network of Arab routesfor the depleting of slaves from the heart of Africa.

“In black slavery men,

women and children were

captured and sold.”

International Day forthe Abolition of Slavery


The advent of the Americas by westernersrepresents the beginning of a black slave trade on awide scale. The Portuguese and Spanish, whodivided the new earth between them after 1493,aspired to capture these lands. However, thepopulations of some provinces, specifically theGreater Antilles, were destroyed by war. And theexploitation of American land and gold and silvermines would aspire for big numbers of strong and, ifpossible, cheap human labor. Las Casas, disturbedby the treatment meted out to the Indians, wanted touse Africans whom he considered of sterner stuff.

Over the preceding hundred years the Englishjoined the bandwagon for the American colonies,followed by number of countries of Europeincluding France, Denmark, and the Netherlands.Colbert wanted to control slavery when heconstituted the first Code Noir in 1685, thustransforming slavery official. Thus the slaveryincluding the Indian and the black communitieswas of entirely of different natures.

In black slavery men, women and children werecaptured and sold. The various waves of slaverywitnessed the deportation of approximately 25 to30 million persons, excluding those who died onboard ship or in wars and raids.

UNESCO Projects

Slave Route Project was launched by UNESCO in1994. Its objective was to break the silence and stira universal issue of the transatlantic slave tradeand slavery, its reasons and results, by means ofscientific methods.

An International Scientific Committee wasestablished for this project to examine the wholeissue of the slave trade and its influence on theprevailing economic and political scenario in anumber of nations as well as to act as a medium ofadvocating trans-cultural dialogue. This committeeemphasized the importance of related materials asthe source for the study of the slave trade.

The Slave Trade Archives Project was floated in 1999with the aim of accelerating access to, and protecting,original documents pertaining to the transatlanticslave trade and slavery around the world. As part ofthe UNESCO Memory of the World program and in co-operation with the International Council on Archives,a study was carried out to recognize national archives

and related organizations in several Latin American,African, and Caribbean countries, with a mission toupgrading their amenities and services to ensureadequate protection of original records, to get copiesin appropriate formats of records and other papersrelated to the slave trade and slavery. The 1st phasewas limited to Atlantic Slave Trade.

This project emphasized on enhancing knowledgeof subjugation of slave trade records. Digitization ofthese sources, particularly those inclined todeterioration, would help to establish a widememory of this aspect of human history. A strategyof access is streamline, with a view to launching on-line access through the UNESCO web site and othercommitted sites, and through release of multimediaCD-ROMs on slave trade, including information onmethods of resistance to slavery.

Presently the project is operating in eleven nations:Senegal, Benin, and Ghana in Africa, Cuba, Brazil,Argentina, Colombia, Gambia, Cape Verde, Barbadosand Haiti in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Let’s join hands together to consolidate this noblecause of UNESCO in whatsoever way we could andcontribute our part of efforts towards this cause tomake this planet a better place to live in withoutany discrimination of race, gender, caste and creed.

Source: www.altiusdirectory.com

“...affected the highest

number of people for the

longest span of time

in history.”


International Day

of Disabled Persons

International Day of Persons with Disabilities isannually observed on 3 December with anobjective to promote an awareness of disabilityissues, the fundamental rights of persons withdisabilities and integration of persons withdisabilities in the main stream of each aspect of thesocial, political, economic and cultural status oftheir communities. The day extends an opportunityto initialize action to reach the target of full andequal pleasure of human rights and contribution insociety by disabled persons, launched by the WorldProgram of Action for Disabled Persons, declaredby the UN General Assembly in the year 1982.

United Nations and Disabled Persons

Over the period of the United Nations’ first 50years, disabled persons have become importantlyproactive in asserting empowerment andconfidence in their own respective abilities to leadself-dependent lives. History represents efforts bythe UN which have endorsed their efforts.

The foundation of The United Nations was basedon the principle of equality for all. The Preamble tothe United Nations Charter states the elegance andworth of every human being and provideselementary significance to the advocacy of socialjustice. Disabled Persons are entitled to all thefundamental human rights declared by the Charterand their human rights instruments.

The General Assembly launched the foundation forthe protection and promotion of human rights in theyear 1948, when it endorsed the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights. Article 25 of theDeclaration proclaims that each person has “theright to security in the event of unemployment,sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lackof livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

People across the world have joined together torecognize the persons with disabilities expressingsupport, and enhancing awareness. It is focused on

the right to act. People with disabilities should beassisted and supported by other people of theirown free sweet will in taking their decisions.

The right to act is universally endorsed as afundamental and basic human right. Itsimplementation as a right to all individuals seemsso rudimentary that we forget that for persons withdisabilities, the right to work is not alwaysimperative. In terms of physical, institutional andattitudinal barriers, disabled persons are oftenrefrained from their right to act.

Today, Change is Imperative!

The Committee on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities had called upon all states to revise thelaws, practice and regulations in their respectivecountry in tune with the Convention on this particularday of recognition. It was a call for the end ofdiscrimination for all disabled persons and theendorsement of the right to act, as a basic andfundamental virtue for every person all over the world.

This day provides us with a chance to make adedicated commitment to the principles ofentrusting powers to the disabled persons with theright to act.

International Year of Disabled Persons

1981 was proclaimed The International Year ofDisabled Persons (IYDP) by the General Assemblyin 1976. It launched a plan of action at the national,international and regional levels, with an emphasison similar opportunities, rehabilitation andprevention of disabilities.

The theme of IYDP was “full participation andequality”, designated as the right of disabledpersons to participate entirely in the life anddevelopment of their respective societies, enjoygood living conditions similar to those of otherpeople, and have an equal share in developedconditions after socio-economic development.


Objectives

Enhancing public awareness; knowledge andacceptance of disabled persons and enablingpersons with disabilities to build bodies throughwhich they can manifest their views and promoteactivities to improve their conditions.

The United Nations Decade of Disabled Personswas held from 1983 to 1992 to enable governmentsand organizations to implement measures toimprove the life of disabled persons all over theworld. On October 14, 1992, as this decade drew toa close, the UN General Assembly proclaimedDecember 3 as the International Day of DisabledPersons. This day was first observed on December3, 1992. On December 18, 2007, the assemblychanged the observance’s name from the“International Day of Disabled Persons” to the“International Day of Persons with Disabilities”. Thenew name was first used in 2008.

Handicap International

Since its inception, as long as 20 years, HandicapInternational has transformed from being anemergency body with a medical emphasis ondisabled people, to an institution which promotesthe human rights of disabled people.

The organization is working in collaboration withDisabled Peoples’ Organizations at regional,national and international levels to understanddisabled people worldwide and encourage theirinclusion into the stream of society. HandicapInternational assists organizations in developingcountries and Europe to incorporate the conventionand other legal techniques in everyday life.

Facts and Figures

The World Health Organization affirms that thereare 600 million disabled people living worldwide,about almost 10% of the entire earth population. Itis also evaluated that about 80% of these disabledpeople live in developing nations.

Globally, it is assumed that one in every ten peopleis a person with a disability and recent studiesstates that persons with disabilities populates upto 20 per cent of the population living in underpoverty line in developing countries. Number ofpersons with disabilities still face barriers to theirparticipation in activities of their communities andare mostly compelled to live under the povertyline. Many disabled persons are also forced into

organizations, a simple breach of the rights tofreedom to live in their respective communities.

Activities

The day is full of activities and observance. Theseinclude conducting days of discussion andcampaigns raising awareness on the theme of rightto act. Thus ensuring that legislation ensured thatthe disabled people are provided with the right toselect helps on their own free will and takingmeasures to extinguish the guardianship methodand to replace it by a process in which personswith disabilities are assisted only in their owndecision making.

Observance

• Involve: Observance of the Day providesopportunities for participation by all interestedcommunities—governmental, non-governmentaland the private sector—to focus upon catalyticand innovative measures to further implementinternational norms and standards related topersons with disabilities. Schools, universitiesand similar institutions can make particularcontributions with regard to promoting greaterinterest and awareness among interested partiesof the social, cultural, economic, civil andpolitical rights of persons with disabilities.

• Organize: Hold forums, public discussions andinformation campaigns in support of the Dayfocusing on disability issues and trends andways and means by which persons withdisabilities and their families are pursuingindependent life styles, sustainable livelihoodsand financial security.

• Celebrate: Plan and organize performanceseverywhere to showcase—and celebrate—thecontributions by persons with disabilities to thesocieties in which they live and conveneexchanges and dialogues focusing on the richand varied skills, interests and aspirations ofpersons with disabilities.

• Take Action: A major focus of the Day ispractical action to further implementinternational norms and standards concerningpersons with disabilities and to further theirparticipation in social life and development onthe basis of equality. The media have especiallyimportant contributions to make in support ofthe observance of the Day—and throughout theyear—regarding appropriate presentation ofprogress and obstacles implementing disability-sensitive policies, programmes and projects andto promote public awareness of thecontributions by persons with disabilities.

Source: www.altiusdirectory.com,www.timeanddate.com,www.disabilityrightsoregon.org

“Globally one in every

ten people is a person

with a disability.”


Serbia, Novi Sad, November 29, 2010: On a coldbut bright winter day, His Holiness Vishwagurujiplanted his 50th World Peace Tree in the park ofan orphanage village in the city of Novi Sad,Serbia. He was officially greeted and introduced asone of the greatest humanitarian workers inEurope and worldwide by Mr. Vladimir Kopici, theDeputy Mayor of Novi Sad, and other officials fromthe City Council and the Assembly of Novi Sad.Hundreds of children as well as delegates andguests from several countries followed theceremony. In his address His HolinessVishwaguruji emphazised that this tree shouldstay as a symbol of Peace and at the same timeshall fulfill the wishes of all who come and touchthis tree with pure heart and wishes.

Yoga in Daily Life in Macedonia

Bear performs Yoga

Meet the female brown bear who performs a 15-minute yoga routine every morning.

‘Santra’, from Ahtari Zoo in Finland, stretches bothlegs before balancing on her bottom and pullingthem up around her ears.

The hilarious display was captured by amateurphotographer Meta Penca, reports Rex Features.

Penca said: “It was exactly the same as when yousee people do yoga —easy, slow, focused and calm.

“She looked pretty into it, a really straight face, nolooking around just very serious and calm and kepther eyes slightly opened and focused.

“We were all trying to be as quiet as possible. Mostlooked amazed and were just smiling and notsaying anything. She looked like she didn’t noticeus at all.”


The evening before, His Holiness delivered a highlyappreciated lecture on “Yoga - Ancient Wisdom forModern Man” at a fully booked hall in the SerbianNational Theatre. More than 1,000 people offeredtheir standing ovations to Vishwaguruji after thelecture. Both events attracted great attention ofmedia and interviews and reports werebroadcasted on more than 10 TV channels,newspapers and magazines.

www.yogaindailylife.org, www.swamiji.tv


Fundamental Meanings and Philosophical Implications

Mantras are those mystical sound symbols, orwords of deep significance, which serve to protectthe person who chants them and reflects upon theirmeaning. In fact, they are minute “word-capsules” or“phrase-capsules” filled with immense knowledge.

In the term mool mantra, mool means ‘root’. Everytree has roots without which it cannot exist. Thetree is sustained and nourished through theseroots. They constitute the very foundation of thetree from which it grows and expands. In the sameway, mool mantra means ‘that mantra in which liesthe very essence of the Scripture’, the entireScripture being an elaboration, expansion orexplanation of that mantra.

Just as Om is considered to be the mool mantra ofthe Vedas and the name Shri Ram the essence ofthe “Ramayan”, so too Ik-Onkaar Sat Naam Kartaa-Purakh Nirbhau Nirvair Akaal-Moorat Ajuni SaibanghGurparsaad is considered to be the mool mantra ofthe “Granth Sahib”. Revealing and expounding onthe Truth enshrined in this mantra is the entire“Japji Sahib”, and the elaboration of the “JapjiSahib” is the entire “Granth Sahib”.

From time immemorial it has been the tradition ofall the great Rishis of the Holy Land of Bharat tofirst invoke the Higher to bestow auspiciousnessupon Them before They commence writing orcomposing any sacred textbook. All such prayers,invocations, and praises are called mangalaacharan.

Through these invocations the Rishis surrenderedTheir ego, Their sense of limited individuality, so thatit would not “contaminate” or influence the sacredtask They were about to embark on. At the same timeThey sought the blessings of the Higher, by whoseGrace alone can anything be successfully achieved.

Shri Guru Nanak Devji is the Rishi who is themantra dhrashtaa or ‘seer’ of the ‘Ik-Onkaar...’ moolmantra, which means that this mantra was revealedto Him in His meditation. It was with this moolmantra as well that He performed mangalaacharan,praising the Lord before starting on His majorworks, the “Japji Sahib” and “Sukhmaniji”.

Ik-OnkaarSat-Naam Kartaa-PurakhNirbhau NirvairAkaal-Moorat Ajuni Saibangh Gurparsaad Jap

Ik Onkaar: The One, the Reality, Om

Sat Naam: Of Name ever True and Eternal

Kartaa Purakh: The Prime Doer, the Creator

Nirbhau: Fearless

Nirvair: Without enmity

Akaal Moorat: Of Eternal Form

Ajuni: Without birth, Uncaused

Saibangh: Self-existent and Self-illuminating

Gurparsaad: Known by the Grace of the Enlightened Teacher

Jap: Constantly repeat

(This word is not part of the mool mantra, but canbe taken as the instruction of the Teacher toconstantly repeat and contemplate on the mantra.)

Swami Swaroopananda

Source: Meditations on The One Indivisble Truth, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, p. 7-10, to be continued…


Mool Mantra and

Mangalaacharan


It is yet another example of India and the US joininghands and this time it is for creativity. MusiciansAnoushka Shankar (daughter of Pandit RaviShankar), Sheryl Chow, Seal and Sting among manyothers have come together to promote Indian yogaamong school children in the US.

A highly placed informer reveals on conditions ofanonymity, “It’s still not in black and white and soit’s all hush-hush. A record company hasapproached them all to be part of a yoga CD thatwill have around 14 tracks.

It will have diverse mixes of Irish folk, rockanthems, world music, vedic chants, hip hop beats,new age kirtan etc. The idea is to bring the soundsfrom across the world into one project that inspirespeople and tells them about the goodness of yoga.”

The informer says, “It is also a novel projectbecause we hear all of them will be raising fundsfor the CD that will aim at providing in-school yogaprogrammes for kids. The CD has been titled YogaRevolution and it will also feature the likes of SarahMcLachlan, Ziggy Marley, Peter Gabriel, MichaelFranti, Krishna Das, Anjelique Kidjo, Guru Singhand Donna De Lory.”

The Hindu community in the US has lauded thisIndo-US venture and they are also urging otherHollywood and sports celebrities to come forwardto help incorporate yoga in the lives of youth andchildren. The rise of violence in the world has seenmany countries incorporate yoga in their schooland college education programmes.

Source: Bhavan’s Andheri Parivar

Abode of God

Never ending diamonds on a field of greens,Sparkling to the tune of the birds’ song,

That is the sound of music,That is the sound of dawn.

Those leaves rustle in a familiar way,Those birds descend on your path,

That silence in itself, music,That peace in itself, God.Can the sky be so clearWith no cloud in sight,

Maybe the man has cleansed his heart,Soul and mind.

That gust of wind brings stories from far far away,It even takes back the stories that I narrate.

The leaves have stopped their motion,The birds make sound no more,

My thoughts have reached a standstill, At the place so longed for before.

I have found my destination,My feet need no longer trod,As I realize I have reached,Reached the abode of God.

Source: Bhavan’s Andheri Parivar, Vol. 4, October 2010

Promotion of Yoga in US

for School Children

New Delhi: “Such very fine brains” filled with “suchbad ideas.” That was how the late Daniel PatrickMoynihan, a former United States senator andperhaps the keenest mind to enter US politics sinceWorld War II, once described India, where he was USambassador in the 1970’s. That snappy descriptionof my country is also a very good way to describethe current—and seemingly unending—contretempsbetween the leaders of Iran and the US.

As a new round of negotiations with Iran begins—with European Union High Representative CatherineAshton the first into the breach—finding a way tomove Iran-US relations beyond their freighted pastis an urgent matter. In both countries, deep andmutually paralyzing suspicion has poisonedrelations for three decades. Negotiations in such anatmosphere are almost fated to failure.

America’s acceptance of Iran’s current regime isgrudging. Iranian leaders demonize the US as if themillions killed in the 1980’s in the Iran-Iraq War (inwhich the US backed Saddam Hussein’s invadingarmy) died only yesterday. So long as these darkshadows are allowed to linger, “resetting” relationsbetween the two countries, in the manner of US-Russia relations, will be impossible.

The list of disputes between the two countries isalmost endless, but Iran’s plan to enrich uraniumnow stands above everything else. The Iranians insistthat they need nuclear power to generate electricity.Their secretiveness, maintains the US, betrays theregime’s drive to develop nuclear weapons.

Not surprisingly, given the Americans’ deeplyingrained suspicion, the agreement reached earlierthis year between Iran and Turkey and Brazil toallow for the export of low-enriched uranium from

Iran in return for fuel rods was “not acceptable” tothe US. Indeed, after years of sanctions, threats,negotiations, and then more sanctions and threats,the US remains unclear about what specific nuclearprogram it might accept.

So what does the US want? “Crippling sanctions,”Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once said, thoughshe quickly retracted that impromptu remark. Butno such caution restrains US senators like SouthCarolina’s Lindsey Graham, who says that the “evil(of) a nuclear … Iran” will affect the US “far morethan (any) conflict.” Following the hopeful earlymonths of the Obama administration, this “stopIran” policy has become America’s focus.

Iran, of course, repeatedly asserts its commitmentto the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), butits past relations with Dr. A.Q. Khan—the self-proclaimed “godfather” of Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program, and the world’s most notoriousnuclear proliferator—invites skepticism. Indeed,the US holds the “Khan network” responsible forhelping Iran start its own nuclear program.

Mistrust is compounded by Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad’s incendiarypronouncements, particularly about Israel.Although the origins of Iran’s nuclear program areto be found in the “enlightened” presidency ofMohammad Khatami (1997-2005)—it was just beforeAhmadinejad’s inauguration that Iran ended its self-imposed moratorium on uranium enrichment—Ahmadinejad’s bombast has made matters worse.

And not just with the US. In September 2005, theInternational Atomic Energy Agency deemed Iran“non-compliant” with the NPT. Between 2006 and2008, Iran was subjected to three United Nations


Rogue

Diplomacy


Security Council resolutions, each imposing yetmore sanctions. Yet, despite increasing economiccosts, Iran’s response only hardened.

Iran’s insecurity goes back at least to 1953, whenUS and British officials plotted the military coupthat removed from office Mohammed Mossadegh,Iran’s first elected Prime Minister and an ardentnationalist, and installed General Fazlollah Zahedi.Mossadegh’s sin was his plan to nationalize Iran’soil industry. But, in the process of laying claim toIran’s oil, subverting its democracy, andjeopardizing its national security, the US andBritain committed a much graver sin: the woundingof Iranians’ national pride.

Then there is the Shah’s ouster, Ayatollah RuhollahKhomeini’s Islamic Revolution, the absurdabduction of US diplomats, President JimmyCarter’s disastrous attempt to free them militarily,and the “Iran-Contra” scandal, when Reaganadministration officials sought to sell weapons toIran through third parties and channel theproceeds to anti-Sandinista guerrillas in Nicaragua.

Iran sits at the heart of an extremely volatile region.The country’s Shia footprint stretches from theMediterranean to the Hindu Kush. It has a vital rolein Afghanistan; indeed, it was passively supportiveof the removal of the Taliban from power in 2001.

With such a country, “non-engagement” meanshaving no policy at all. America’s failure to talk toIran is as foolhardy as its decades-long failure totalk with Mao’s China. And the ongoing failure totalk to North Korea does not appear to be workingeither, as the recent shelling of South Koreademonstrates. Even if Iranian nuclear weapons arenot acceptable to the US, President Barack Obama

needs to start talking more openly about what is.His Nobel Peace Prize demands it.

And talking should not be impossible. As India’sForeign Minister, I engaged in successful talks withIran frequently. Iran may be a self-proclaimedtheocracy, but it has conducted foreign relationssince the 1979 revolution in a rational, if not alwaysemollient, way. Ahmadinejad may bluster, but thereis usually considerable ambiguity and calculationbehind his outbursts.

Iran is obstinate, prideful, ambitious, and, yes,sometimes paranoid. But it also sees itself asvulnerable. A young population with no memory ofthe Islamic Revolution is desperate for the jobs thatits leaders have failed to provide.

In these circumstances, if Iran is offered adiplomatic ladder that it can climb down with itsdignity intact—above all, a credible promise of anhistoric reconciliation with the US that includesspecific economic benefits, not Obama’s currentvague offers—a tired revolution’s troubledleadership might take it. That, not Western blusterand sanctions, is the way ahead.

Jaswant Singh, a former ForeignMinister, Finance Minister, andDefense Minister of India, is amember of the opposition inIndia’s Parliament. He is theAuthor of Jinnah: India –Partition – Independence.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010, Source: www.project-syndicate.orgVol. 4, October 2010

“Lord Shiva transmitted the Sanskrit language tohumans and its sounds are also known as ‘Devas’.The word ‘Deva’ has three meanings—God, protector(or guardian angel) and cosmic vibration. Lord Shivabrought the Devas down to earth in the form of lettersand this is why the characters of Sanskrit are called‘Devanagari’—the ‘citizens of God’…” saysParamahans Swami Maheshwarananda, a great yogateacher and founder of Yoga in Daily Life Society.While speaking about the power of spiritual mantrain one of his books, he adds, “In Sanskrit, there are52 letters, the same number as the levels (lokas) inthe cosmos. As these levels also exist within us, theSanskrit language is a key to our inner world. In deepmeditation, we occasionally perceive thecorresponding Sanskrit letters and mantras and feelthe qualities associated with them…”

Such being the greatness of the divine Sanskritlanguage, it is with pride that the Sydney SanskritSchool is engaged in the preservation andpromotion of Sanskrit in Australia.

Established in 2006, the Sydney Sanskrit School isheaded by Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan, and issupported by the NSW Department of Educationunder the NSW Community Languages Program.

Sydney Sanskrit School celebrated its secondannual ‘Samskrutotsavam’ day of celebration on 30October at Ermington Community Centre.Samkrutotsavam highlights the achievement of thestudents, teachers and parents in learning theSanskrit language. It also acknowledges communityparticipation and the immense support the SydneySanskrit School receives from organizations such asthe NSW Department of Education, Hindu Council ofAustralia and Hindu Heritage Society to name a few.

Samkrutotsavam 2010 commenced with a prayer‘Ganeshavandana’ and the recitation of some of theUpanishad vakyas by the students of the school.Following this, was the Saraswathi pooja performedby Pundit Narayan Bhat, the welcome speech bySoumya Raman and lighting of lamps by the guestsof honour. In his opening speech, Mr Albert Vella,President of the NSW Federation of the CommunityLanguages Program congratulated the students,parents and the management committee of theschool for organising the celebration. “NSWFederation of Community Languages School is

proud to have Sydney Sanskrit School as one of the56 languages it represents,” he said. “Even though itis a small community, it is important that theSanskrit language is continued to be taught toyounger generations, so they can learn about theirheritage and be proud of their ancestry. Sanskritwhich is one of the 22 official languages of India, isalso one of the threads in the fabric of the diversemulticultural society of Australia,” he said.

Distinguished guests Dr McCommas Taylor head ofthe South Asia Program, Australian NationalUniversity and Ann MacArthur senior coordinatorof Asian Programs, Art Gallery of New South Walesinaugurated the annual day celebrations by lightinga lamp, a traditional gesture to symbolise theimportance of knowledge in the world of ignorance.The gesture was accompanied by rendition of aSanskrit song ‘lead me from the darkness to thelight’ to accompany the illumination of the lamp. DrMcComas, congratulated Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan,Principal of the Sydney Sanskrit School on theoccasion and addressed the audience in Sanskrit.He reminded everyone “what a wonderful livingtradition Sanskrit language is and encouraged thecommunity to use the Sanskrit language in theirdaily life as and when they can”. Dr McComas alsolaunched the first edition of the school magazine‘Medha’ which means ‘intellectual knowledge’. Theschool created the magazine with the aim of it tobecome a platform for the cultural thoughts andexpressions of students, teachers and parents ofSydney Sanskrit School. Alex Di Prinzio, EducationOfficer, NSW Federation of Community LanguageSchools was present at the occasion andcongratulated the school management committeefor their achievements.

Students of the Sydney Sanskrit School thenpresented a cultural extravaganza in Sanskrit. Thecultural programme commenced with aBharatanatyam recital in praise of lord Ganesha, byDeepti Bhat (a disciple of Guru Akila and a studentof Sydney Sanskrit School), followed by Durga Slokaby Siri Srinivas. Students presented a songdedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, father of the non-violence movement leading to Indianindependence. The junior students furtherenthralled the audience with beautiful recitation ofthe Sanskrit rhyme for “I am a little Tea Pot”. Theprogramme also featured Sanskrit Panchatantra


Samskrutotsavam

Celebrating Sanskrit


story narration by Lavanya Raman, violin recital byVikram, Neeti Shastram recitation (sayings thatconvey messages for upliftment of mankind) by thesenior students, ‘Vande Bharata Matharam’, a songwritten by Pareekshit Sharma, recitation of versesfrom Bhagavad Gita and ‘Aham Cricket Kreedami’ aSanskrit rhyme on the game of cricket!

The highlight of the programme was a Sanskritplay, ‘Samskruta Gramam Matturu’, themed on thestory of a village Matturu in Karnataka, India, whereSanskrit is the primary spoken language of thepeople there. The villagers speak in Sanskrit fortheir day to day conversation and Mattur is also ahub for those aspiring to learn the Vedas. And theplay had all the students of Sydney Sanskrit Schooltaking various roles in the village and speaking soeloquently and effortlessly in Sanskrit.

After the play, member for Liverpool, Mr PaulLynch distributed prizes to the winners of theBhagwad-Gita and Subhashitam competitions. Heencouraged and appreciated the participants fortheir hard work and enthusiasm and mentioned “itis one of the strengths of the Australian societywhich has made space for the culture of themigrants to prosper and in this case it beingSanskrit”. Mr Nihal Agar, President of the HinduCouncil of Australia present on the occasionreiterated importance of the living tradition ofSanskrit and appreciated the efforts made bySydney Sanskrit School in up keeping this greatlinguistic heritage of India.

The programme concluded with a Bharatanatyamperformance by Aruna Gandhimathinathan, asenior disciple of Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy. The20-minute presentation featured ‘Dasavataram’from the ancient Gita Govinda composed by the12th C. Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, describing the tenincarnations of lord Vishnu. Aruna is the Founder-Director of Silambam-Sydney, School of IndianTraditional Dance, and offers classes inBharatanatyam at Liverpool.

A quiz in Sanskrit, a song by the parents anddistribution of the prizes to raffle winners were thelighter side of the event. And the compere VandanaAnand, with her cheerfulness and spontaneitymade the whole programme lively and enjoyablefor the audience.

Sydney Sanskrit School offers classes on Sundaysat Marsden Road Public School, Liverpool. Themain objectives of the school are to enablestudents to converse, read and write in Sanskrit,comprehend Sanskrit literature relating to Vedas,yoga, meditation, spirituality, culture and historyand also enable them to appreciate the significanceof the language, its role and influence in their ownpersonal development.

Dr Meenakshi Srinivasan, Principal, SydneySanskrit School


Subramanya Bharathi was a Tamil poet, reformerand freedom fighter during the pre-independenceera. His used his adeptness at poetry to coax themasses in the south to join the great Indianstruggle for independence. Bharathi’s name iscounted amongst the most celebrated bards of thecountry.

Early Life

Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi was born on 11December 1882. Bharathi’s mother died in 1887 andtwo years later, his father also died. At the age of11, in 1893 his prowess as a poet was recognizedand he was accorded the title of ‘Bharathi’ atEttiyapuram. He was a student at Nellai HinduSchool and in 1897 he married Sellamal. Thereafter,from 1898 to 1902, he lived in Kasi.

Bharathi worked as a school teacher and as ajournal editor at various times in his life. As a Tamilpoet he ranked with Ilanko, Thiruvalluvar andKamban. His writings gave new life to the Tamillanguage—and to Tamil national consciousness. Heinvolved himself actively in the Indian freedom

struggle. It is sometimes said of Bharathi that he wasfirst an Indian and then a Tamil. Perhaps, it would bemore correct to say that he was a Tamil and becausehe was a Tamil he was also an Indian. For him it wasnot either or but both—it was not possible for himto be one without also being the other.

Man of Many Languages

Bharathi often referred to Tamil as his ‘mother’. Atthe same time, he was fluent in many languagesincluding Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Kuuch, andEnglish and frequently translated works from otherlanguages into Tamil. His said “among all thelanguages I have known, I do not see any of them”,any as sweet as Tamil, was his moving tribute to hismother tongue.

Sister Nivedita

Subramanya Bharathi got attracted to the Hinduspirituality and nationalism during his stay atVaranasi. He attended the meeting of the All IndiaNational Congress in the year 1905 here and on hisreturn also got the opportunity to meet SisterNivedita, the spiritual daughter of the great Indianphilosopher and thinker, Swami Vivekananda.Subramanya Bharathi felt very impressed onmeeting Sister Nivedita. This phase proved to be acrucial turning point in the life history ofSubramanya Bharathi. Bharathi was a Hindu. Buthis spirituality was not limited. He sang to theHindu deities, and at the same time he wrote songsof devotion to Jesus Christ and Allah. Bharathi wasa vigorous campaigner against casteism. He wrotein ‘Vande Matharam’ :

We shall not look at caste or religion; all humanbeings in this land—whether they be those who preachthe vedas or who belong to other castes—are one

Eventful Life

Bharathi lived during an eventful period of Indianhistory. Gandhi, Tilak, Aurbindo and V.V.S. Aiyarwere his contemporaries. He involved himself withpassion in the Indian freedom struggle. His‘Viduthalai, Viduthalai’ was a clarion call forfreedom from alien rule. He saw a great India. Hesaw an India of skilled workers and an educatedpeople. He saw an India where women would befree. He expressed the depth of his love and thebreadth of his vision for India.

He participated in the 1906 All India Congressmeeting in Calcutta (chaired by Dadabhai Naoroji)where the demand for ‘Swaraj’ was raised for thefirst time. Bharathi supported the demandwholeheartedly and found himself in the militantwing of the Indian National Congress together withTilak and Aurobindo. Aurobindo writing on thehistoric 1906 Congress had this to say:

“We were prepared to give the old weakness of thecongress plenty of time to die out if we could get

Subramanya

Bharathi


realities recognized. Only in one particular have webeen disappointed and that is the President’s address.But even here the closing address, with which Mr.Naoroji dissolved the Congress, has made amends forthe deficiencies of his opening speech.

He once more declared Self-Government, Swaraj, asin an inspired moment he termed it, to be our oneideal and called upon the young men to achieve it.The work of the older men had been done inpreparing a generation which were determined tohave this great ideal and nothing else; the work ofmaking the ideal a reality lies lies with us. We acceptMr. Naoroji’s call and to carry out his last injunctionswill devote our lives and, if necessary, sacrificethem.” (Bande Mataram, 31 December 1906)

In April 1907, Bharathi became the editor of theTamil weekly ‘India’. At the same time he alsoedited the English newspaper ‘Bala Bharatham’. Heparticipated in the historic Surat Congress in 1907,which saw a sharpening of the divisions within theIndian National Congress between the militant wingled by Tilak and Aurobindo and the ‘moderates’.Subramanya Bharathi supported Tilak andAurobindo together with ‘Kapal Otiya Thamilan’V.O. Chidambarampillai and KanchiVarathaachariyar. Tilak openly supported armedresistance and the Swadeshi movement.

These were the years when Bharathi immersedhimself in writing and in political activity. In Madras,in 1908, he organised a mammoth public meeting tocelebrate ‘Swaraj Day’. His poems ‘VantheMatharam’, ‘Enthayum Thayum’, ‘Jaya Bharath’ wereprinted and distributed free to the Tamil people.

In 1908, he gave evidence in the case which had beeninstituted by the British against ‘Kappal OtiyaThamizhan’, V.O. Chidambarampillai. In the same year,the proprietor of the ‘India’ was arrested in Madras.Faced with the prospect of arrest, Bharathi escaped toPondicherry which was under French rule.

From there Bharathi edited and published the‘India’ weekly. He also edited and published‘Vijaya’, a Tamil daily, Bala Bharatha, an Englishmonthly, and ‘Suryothayam’ a local weekly ofPondicherry. Under his leadership the BalaBharatha Sangam was also started. The Britishwaylaid and stopped remittances and letters to thepapers. Both ‘India’ and ‘Vijaya’ were banned inBritish India in 1909.

The British suppression of the militancy wassystematic and thorough. Tilak was exiled toBurma. Aurobindo escaped to Pondicherry in 1910.Bharathi met with Aurobindo in Pondicherry andthe discussions often turned to religion andphilosophy. He assisted Aurobindo in the ‘Arya’journal and later ‘Karma Yogi’ in Pondicherry. InNovember 1910, Bharathi released an ‘Anthology ofPoems’ which included ‘Kanavu’.

V.V.S. Aiyar also arrived in Pondicherry in 1910 andthe British Indian patriots, who were called‘Swadeshis’ would meet often. They includedBharathi, Aurobindo and V.V.S. Aiyar. R.S.Padmanabhan in his Biography of V.V.S. Aiyar writes:

“All of them, whether there was any warrant againstthem or not, were constantly being watched by Britishagents in Pondicherry. Bharathi was a convincedbeliever in constitutional agitation. Aurobindo hadgiven up politics altogether... and Aiyar had arrivedin their midst with all the halo of a dedicatedrevolutionary who believed in the cult of the bomband in individual terrorism.”

In 1912, Bharathy published the Bhagavad Gita inTamil as well as Kannan Paatu, Kuyil and PanjaliSabatham. After the end of World War I, Bharathientered British India near Cuddalore in November1918. He was arrested. He was released after threeweeks in custody. These were years of hardshipand poverty. (Eventually, the General AmnestyOrder of 1920 removed all restrictions on hismovement). Bharathy met with Mahatma Gandhi in1919 and in 1920, Bharathy resumed editorship ofthe Swadeshamitran in Madras.

Final Days

Bharathi died on 11 September 1921. In a relativelyshort life span of 39 years, He left an indelible markas the poet of Tamil nationalism and Indianfreedom. Today, more than seventy five years later,Subaramanya Bharathy stands as an undyingsymbol not only of a vibrant Tamil nationalism butalso of the unity that is India.

Source: www.iloveindia.com,http://neyveliweb.tripod.com

“...he was fluent

in many languages

including Bengali,

Hindi, Sanskrit, Kuuch,

and English.”

“His prowess as a poet

was recognized and he

was accorded the title of

‘Bharathi’.”


KIEL: The new catchphrase in business seems to be“do well by doing good.” In other words,undertaking socially responsible activities boostsprofits. For example, Pepsi bolsters its bottom lineby shifting to more nutritious, healthier food.

Yet, in much of the world, doing well still impliesthat you must be up to no good, especially if youare dealing with the poor. A recent case in point isthe imbroglio in Andhra Pradesh in India, where theadministration has moved to curb microfinance.

Microfinance has become the darling ofdevelopment enthusiasts. After all, who could beagainst an activity that produces uplifting storieslike the cell phone ladies of Bangladesh, who liftthemselves out of poverty by obtaining loans tobuy phones and then selling minutes to others inthe village.

The benefits of microfinance are in danger of beingover-hyped – there are not that many successfulmicro-businesses that the poor can start solely withthe help of loans, because skills and managementabilities are also often necessary. Nevertheless, thebenefits are real: while there is little evidence thatmicrofinance sets substantial numbers of poorpeople on the path to riches, it does help the poorsave, smooth consumption, deal with emergencies,and expand existing businesses.

These are not trivial benefits. One problem thepoor often have in accumulating savings is lack ofeasy access to savings accounts where they candeposit money. The money is kept in a tin at home,and is easily spent when a neighbor is in difficulty,or the ne’er-do-well cousin comes calling. By takinga loan from a micro-financier to buy a needed asset,and then making regular mandatory weekly

payments out of her income, the housewifeborrows to save – she no longer has spare cashlying around for others to fritter away.

The “asset” that is purchased need not be aphysical asset. In India, a big portion of college duesis paid at the beginning of the year. Householdswhose members have steady jobs borrow frommicro-financiers to pay the fees, and then spend therest of the year repaying the loan. That way, they donot have to cut spending substantially in themonths before the fee is due, but can insteadsmooth spending over the year. This is helpful whenpeople live at the margin – where cutting spendingmeans foregoing food or medicines.

Emergency loans are equally important. Whenchildren fall sick, parents do not have the time toapply for a loan from a state-owned bank (perhapsthe only alternative source of loans for the poorother than the moneylender). Usually, the banktakes months to process the application, and maydemand a bribe even in the unlikely event it iswilling to take on the credit risk. The micro-financier,confident of being repaid, is willing to extend theemergency loan quickly and with little bureaucracy.

Finally, while I am skeptical that microfinance alonecan promote a lot of successful entrepreneurship, itcertainly can be helpful in allowing a farmer to buymore cattle or a tractor, or allowing a villageshopkeeper to expand inventory. Thus, it alsohelps expand incomes.

But, despite all these benefits, politicians aregenerally unwilling to accept that money can beearned honestly from those at the bottom of theincome pyramid. If micro-financiers are makingprofits off the poor, it must be because they are

Doing Poorly by Doing Good


bilking them. Suspicions are further reinforced bypoliticians’ underlying paternalism – the poor do notknow what is good for them and are easily fooled.

Of course, the fact that micro-financiers charge thevery poor relatively high interest rates exacerbatesthe perception that they are gouging society’s mostvulnerable members. But micro-financiers mayhave no choice: given the small size of the loans,the costs of processing them and collectingpayments are relatively large, driving up the break-even interest rate.

Matters came to a head in August this year, whenan initial public offering in India of SKS, amicrofinance institution started by Vikram Akula, agraduate of the University of Chicago’s BoothSchool of Business, raised roughly $ 350 million.The IPO valued the company at $1.6 billion. Such ahigh valuation can be justified if SKS provides abetter service than the competition, but darkerinterpretations are possible. If SKS is doing so well,the official thinking went, it must be up to no good.

So the authorities acted. The Andhra Pradeshadministration accused the industry of chargingusurious interest rates, urging the gullible poor toover-borrow, and then driving some delinquentborrowers to commit suicide. It imposed severecurbs on the industry in October.

The widespread belief among micro-financiers isthat the curbs were imposed not because theindustry was exploitative, but because it offered analternative to political patronage. Politicians gainedinfluence and popular support by directing state-owned banks to make loans to favoredconstituencies. By threatening this source ofpower, the microfinance industry created a

powerful opponent, who found an opportunemoment to strike.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle –the microfinance sector has made some mistakes,which politicians have exaggerated in an effort todestroy an industry that undermines them bymaking the poor more independent. There is alesson to draw from all this. There is money to bemade at the bottom of the income pyramid, andbusinesses can do immense good while making thatmoney by giving the poor choices that they havenever had. But skepticism that money can be madeoff the poor extends well beyond the politician. It isincumbent on industries that deal with the poor tobe transparent about how they earn their money –and to make the case for their activities stronglyand publicly. Like Caesar’s wife, microfinance hasto be above suspicion.

Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan is Professor of Finance at theBooth School of Business, University of Chicago,and author of Fault Lines: How Hidden FracturesStill Threaten the World Economy, which wasrecently awarded The Financial Times/GoldmanSachs Business Book ofthe Year Award.

Copyright: ProjectSyndicate, 2010Source: www.project-syndicate.org


The Alliance ofWorld Religionsand Ecology

Getty Images


The world’s major religions are often regarded aspreservers of traditional views and behaviors, and thusconservative in their outlooks. What should not beoverlooked is that religions can also be liberating andcapable of provoking social change. Although religionsdo not immediately spring to mind as catalysts forenvironmental action, the moral authority andinstitutional power of religions means they are wellsituated to help effect a change in attitudes, practicesand public policies in respect to sustainability.

Clearly religions have a central role in the formulationof worldviews that orient humans to the naturalworld and the articulation of rituals and ethics thatguide human behavior. In addition, they have theinstitutional capacity to affect millions of peoplearound the world. Islam, Hinduism and Christianityeach represent more than one billion people.

The size and complexity of the problems we facerequire collaborative efforts both among thereligions and in dialogue with other key domains ofhuman endeavor such as science, economics andpublic policy.

Defining Religion

A broadened definition of religion is helpful forunderstanding this convergence of world religionsand ecology. Religion is more than simply a belief ina transcendent deity or a means to an afterlife. It is,also, an orientation to the cosmos and our role init. Religion thus refers to cosmological stories,symbol systems, ritual practices, ethical norms,historical processes and institutional structuresthat transmit a view of the human as embedded ina world of meaning and responsibility,transformation and celebration. Religion connectshumans with a divine or numinous presence, withthe human community and with the broader Earthcommunity. It links humans to the larger matrix ofmystery in which life arises, unfolds and flourishes.

Nature, meanwhile, provides a revelatory context fororienting humans to abiding religious questionsabout the cosmological origins of the universe, themeaning of the emergence of life, and humanresponsibility for life processes. Religion thus situateshumans in relation to both the natural and humanworlds with regard to meaning and responsibility.

For many religions, the natural world is understoodas a source of teaching, guidance, visionaryinspiration, revelation or power. At the same time,nature is also a source of food, clothing and shelter.Thus, religions have developed intricate systems ofexchange and thanksgiving around humandependence on animals and plants, on forests andfields, on rivers and oceans.

Religions have been significant catalysts in coping withchange and transcending suffering while at the sametime grounding humans in natureís rhythms. Thecreative tensions between humans seeking totranscend this world and yearning to be embedded in it

are part of the dynamics of religions. This realizationleads to a more balanced understanding of thepossibilities and limitations of religions regardingenvironmental concerns. Many religions retainotherworldly orientations toward personal salvationoutside this world; at the same time they have fosteredcommitments to social justice, peace and ecologicalintegrity in the world. There are new alliances emergingnow that join social justice with environmental justice.Concern for how poor communities are being adverselyaffected by climate change has given rise to intensediscussions regarding “climate justice.”

In this spirit, religious leaders are increasinglyspeaking out for protection of the environment.Leaders such as the Dalai Lama, the Greek OrthodoxPatriarch Bartholomew, Rowan Williams, theArchbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Benedict have allspoken out on behalf of the environment. In Decemberof 2009, at a historic gathering of the Parliament of theWorld’s Religions in Melbourne, the environment wasa major topic of discussion. Many religious leadersalso sent messages to the Copenhagen climateconference. The SGI played a major role at theconference and continues to support concern for theenvironment as well as promotion of the EarthCharter, a statement of a global ethics for asustainable future that integrates ecological integrity,social and economic justice, democracy, nonviolenceand peace. A unifying framework for care for the largerEarth community, the Charter has been embraced bymany religious communities around the world. Inaddition, in the United States, Interfaith Power andLight has contributed to new awareness in religiouscongregations of their carbon footprint. The filmRenewal has documented eight case studies ofgrassroots religious environmentalism. Thus, as keyrepositories of values and as indispensable motivatorsin moral transformation, religions are playing anincreasingly important role in projecting persuasivevisions of a more sustainable future.

The Academic Field

The historian Lynn White observed that ourattitudes toward nature have been consciously andunconsciously conditioned by our religiousworldviews: “What people do about their ecologydepends on what they think about themselves inrelation to things around them. Human ecology isdeeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature anddestiny—that is, by religion.” (Science, 1967) Thisperspective articulates one major orientation inwhich the field of religion and ecology has emergedwithin academia over the last 15 years. While it isstill a relatively new field, the academic study ofreligion and ecology is drawing on other disciplinesand thinkers to develop theoretical, historical,ethical, cultural and engaged dimensions.

From 1996-98, an international conference series tookplace at Harvard University’s Center for the Study ofWorld Religions (CSWR). The goal was to examinethe varied ways in which human-Earth relations have


been conceived in the world’s religions. The projectwas launched to provide a broad survey that wouldhelp ground a new field of study in religion andecology. Acknowledging the gap between ancienttexts and traditions and modern environmentalchallenges, it drew on a broad method of retrieval,reevaluation and reconstruction.

The Harvard conferences were also designed tofoster interdisciplinary conversations that drew onthe synergy of historians, theologians, ethicists andscientists as well as on the work of grassrootsenvironmentalists.

The scholars were engaged in critically retrievingaspects of the religious traditions for reexaminationand reevaluation in the contemporary context. Thishas been part of the dynamic unfolding of religionshistorically as they have struggled to balanceorthodoxy with the urgencies of adapting to newcircumstances or cultures.

Religious traditions have never been monolithic,but have embraced a broad range of interpretivepositions ranging from orthodox to reform.Discerning appropriate change and the abidingvalue of tradition has been an important part of thelife of religious teachers for centuries. Jewishrabbis, Christian theologians and Islamic imams inthe West and Hindu pundits, Buddhist monks andConfucian scholars in Asia have all been involvedwith interpretation of their respective traditionsover time. The religion and ecology project drawson that ongoing process of discernment andexegesis so as to move toward a constructivephase in which the scholars of the various religionscan point toward actual or potential sources ofecological awareness and action from within theparticular traditions. The edited papers from theseconferences have been published in 10 volumes byHarvard University Press.

The Forum on Religion and Ecology arose from theseconferences and was formed at a culminatingconference at the United Nations in 1998. The Forumis now based at Yale University where it maintains acomprehensive website and sends out a monthlynewsletter. The Forum continues to work withinacademia and outside academia to encourage thedevelopment of religious environmentalism.

Reverence for Earth

The common values that most of the world’sreligions hold in relation to the natural world mightbe summarized as reverence, respect, restraint,redistribution, responsibility and renewal. Whilethere are clearly variations of interpretation withinand between religions regarding these principles, itmay be said that religions are moving toward anexpanded understanding of their cosmologicalorientations and ethical obligations. Althoughthese principles have been previously understoodprimarily with regard to relations toward otherhumans, the challenge now is to extend them to thenatural world. As this shift occurs—and there aresigns it is already happening—religions canadvocate reverence for the Earth and its profoundcosmological processes, respect for the Earth’smyriad species, an extension of ethics to include alllife forms, restraint in the use of natural resourcescombined with support for effective alternativetechnologies and equitable redistribution of wealth.They can establish a broader acknowledgment ofhuman responsibility for the continuity of life onour planet and help renew the energies of hope forthe transformative work to be done.

Within the last 15 years, religion and ecology hasemerged as an academic field as well as anengaged force in environmental issues. No doubt itwill continue to grow as interest is increasingamong students, clergy and lay people as well asreligious leaders.

Mary Evelyn Tucker is a senior lecturer inReligion and the Environment at Yale University,holding joint appointments as a research scholarin the Divinity School, the School of Forestry &Environmental Studies and the Department ofReligious Studies. She is a cofounder andcodirector with John Grim of the Forum onReligion and Ecology. Together they edited the10-volume series from Harvard on Religions ofthe World and Ecology. She is also the author ofWorldly Wonder: Religions Enter Their EcologicalPhase (Open Court Press, 2003).

Source: www.sgiquarterly.org© Mike Brinson/Getty Images, An interfaith panelon religion and ecology in Israel organized by theSulha Peace Project [© Eliyahu]

An interfaith panel on religion and ecology inIsrael organized by the Sulha Peace Project


In one of his question classes the talk drifted on tothe Adhikarivada, or the doctrine of special rightsand privileges, and Swamiji in pointing outvehemently the evils that have resulted from itspoke to the following effect:

With all my respect for the Rishis of yore I cannotbut denounce their method in instructing thepeople. They always enjoined upon them to docertain things but took care never to explain tothem the reason why. This method was perniciousto the very core, and instead of enabling men toattain the end it laid upon their shoulders a mass ofmeaningless nonsense. Their excuse for keepingthe end hidden from view was that the peoplecould not have understood their real meaning evenif they had presented it to them, not being worthyrecipients. This Adhikarivada is the outcome ofpure selfishness. They knew that by thisenlightenment of their special subject they wouldlose their superior position of instructors to thepeople. Hence their endeavour to support thistheory. If you consider a man too weak to receivethese. Lessons you should try the more to teachand educate him; you should give him theadvantage of more teaching, instead of less, to trainup his intellect, so as to enable him to comprehendthe more subtle problems. These advocates ofAdhikarivada ignored the tremendous fact of theinfinite possibilities of the human soul. Every manis capable of receiving knowledge if it is imparted inhis own language. A teacher who cannot convinceothers should weep on account of his own inabilityto teach the people in their own language, insteadof cursing them and dooming them to live inignorance and superstition, setting up the plea thatthe higher knowledge is not for them. Speak out thetruth boldly, without any fear that it will puzzle theweak. Men are selfish; they do not want others tocome up to the same level of their knowledge, forfear of losing their own privilege and prestige overothers. Their contention is that the knowledge ofthe highest spiritual truths will bring aboutconfusion in the understanding of the weak-mindedmen, and so the sloka goes:

“One should not unsettle the understanding of theignorant, attached to action (by teaching them

Jnana); the wise man, himself steadily acting,should engage the ignorant in all work.”

I cannot believe in the self-contradictory statementthat light brings greater darkness. It is like losinglife in the ocean of Sachchidananda, in the ocean ofAbsolute Existence and Immortality. How absurd!Knowledge means freedom from the errors whichignorance leads to. Knowledge paving the way toerror! Enlightenment leading to confusion ! Is itpossible ? Men are not bold enough to speak outbroad truths, for fear of losing the respect of thepeople. They try to make a compromise betweenthe real, eternal truths and the nonsensicalprejudices of the people, and thus set up thedoctrine that Lokacharas (customs of the people)and Deshacharas (customs of the country) must beadhered to. No compromise ! No whitewashing ! Nocovering of corpses beneath flowers ! Throw awaysuch texts as: “Yet the customs of the people haveto be followed.” Nonsense! The result of this sort ofcompromise is that the grand truths are soonburied under heaps of rubbish, and the latter areeagerly held as real truths. Even the grand truths ofthe Gita, so boldly preached by Sri Krishna,received the gloss of compromise in the hands offuture generations of disciples, and the result isthat the grandest scripture of the world nowcontains many things which go to lead men astray.

This attempt at compromise proceeds from arrantdownright cowardice. Be bold ! My children shouldbe brave, above all. Not the least compromise onany account. Preach the highest truths broadcast.Do not fear losing your respect or causing unhappyfriction. Rest assured that if you serve truth in spiteof temptation to forsake it you will attain aheavenly strength in the face of which men willquail to speak before you things which you do notbelieve to be true. People will be convinced of whatyou will say to them, if you can strictly serve truthfor fourteen years continually, without swervingfrom it. Thus you will confer the greatest blessingon the masses, unshackle their bondages and upliftthe whole nation.

Swami VivekanandaSource: Swami Vivekananda’s Works, p. 190–192

The Evils of

Adhikarivada


This history flows like melting ice from Canada intothe Atlantic ocean, sweeping us in its currents back tothe centre—the Caribbean; and across the Kala Panito the source: India.

My Aja, Chhablal Ramcharan

Stemming from planters greed, four hundred“coolies” were or¬dered, thousands followed. Asystem of indentureship ensured cheap labour tofeed the plantation economies of the Caribbean.Indians were taken as indentured labourers toCaribbean from 1838-1917. Return ships back toIndia carrying those who had completed the termsof their servitude began sailing in 1843. The lastreturn ship from the Caribbean sailed in 1955.

The year before he died, my Aja, ChhablalRamcharan, and I engaged in a series ofconversations. He was 87, and still agile. He couldsit in lotus position for the entire length of a Havan(service). And his mind was just as agile.

During the last year of his life (2006), I was enrolledin the Masters of Immigration and SettlementStudies program at Ryerson University, Toronto.My parents and grandparents had left the WestIndies more than thirty years ago, eventuallysettling in Canada. As I asked Aja about our ownfamily’s history of migration, I came to realize hewas a part of history. He was British Guiana’s lastRepatriation Officer—charged with accompanyingthe final group of returning indentured labourersand their families from the Caribbean back to Indiaon board the M.V. Resurgent in 1955.

At that point, nearly forty years had passed sincethe end of Indentureship, and six years since theprevious ship, the M.V. Orna, had sailed. The

reasons for desiring return were as complex andindividual as the returnees, and included hope fordeliverance from hardships, family reunification, ora desire to have one’s ashes scattered in the riverGanges. However, my Aja, attributed the mainreason to sentimental longing. Indentureshiphistorian Hugh Tinker suggested that theBritisher’s suspension of colonial Guyana’sconstitution in 1953 contributed to the Resurgent’svoyage. According to Ramcharan’s first-handaccount, this was not accurate as most returneeswere from villages and estates, not the urban areasaffected by political instability. AlthoughRamcharan’s use of “sentimental” is open to manyinterpretations including nostalgic desire for themotherland, I prefer to understand “sentimental” asa desire to belong somewhere—to find a way not tobe left behind by history.

This journey marked the end of an importantchapter in history, but it had been ignored,silenced, or maybe we had become indifferent?How is it that we do not know?

Fortunately, I had a professor, Dr. HyacinthSimpson, who along with other members of theCaribbean community helped me to see that evenwhen you cross dark waters, connections do notsimply disappear. With her encouragement, I beganto record this history.

Although homeward bound ships of indenturedlabourers attracted less attention than the initialvessels that sailed from India, return ships areimportant. They provide evidence of one of the fewareas in which a marginalised people could asserttheir rights. Initially, the right to return to India (asstipulated in the indenture contracts) wasinstrumental in persuading labourers to leave their

The Beginnings

of My Journey


villages; the West Indies was a long way from home.Likewise, the hope of return sustained indenturedlabourers over a decade or more spent toilingunder the harsh conditions of plantations.

At first glance, the demand for a mid-twentiethcentury return ship appears surprising. The M.V.Resurgent sailed in 1955, some four decades afterthe last indenture/ship (in 1917) brought Indians tocolonial Guyana. As early as 1880, un-indenturedIndians already outnumbered indentured Indianson British Guianese plantations,1 and by 1955,Indians had become the majority ethnic populationin British Guiana.2 With 238,969 indentured Indiansarriving between 1838 and 1917, Guiana had thelargest presence of Indians in the Caribbean3.Though, not everyone was a “victim” of arkatis, fora number, their lives were marked by displacement.

The final number of individuals who opted to returnin 1955 was small (243)4; however the significance ofthe last return journey lies in its symbolism. It wassubversive. To agitate for the right to leave the“West” to return to a decolonized India wasundoubtedly an anti-colonial act, albeit under thecontrolled conditions of return passage regulations.

Nalini Mohabir

Source: Published with Permission. Finding theWest Indies in India, Indira Gandhi NationalCentre for the Arts, Diaspora Cultural ResourceCentre, New Delhi

References:1 Rodney, Walter. A History of Guyanese Working People, 1881-1905. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1981.2 Nath, Dwarka. A History of Indians in Guyana. 1950. London: Self-published, 1970.3 Dabydeen, David. “Indo-Guyanese Resistance.” Indo Caribbean Resistance. Ed. Frank Birbalsingh. Toronto: TSAR, 1993. 27-32.4 “Going Home... to a Home They Never Saw.” The Daily Chronicle 5 September 1955: Front Page.

Clockwise from top left: The Whitby, first indenture/ship to anchorin Georgetown, Guyana; Route of M.V. Resurgent’s voyage, as wellas prior return ships; Nalini Mohabir and Dr. Hyacinth Simpson,Caribbean Migrations Conference, Ryerson University, 2005;Chhablal Ramcharan and Nalini Mohabir, 2005


China & IndiaExposedBerkeley: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’sforthcoming trip to India, following hard on theheels of President Barack Obama’s recent visit, willprovide another opportunity for the media to gushabout the growing global economic clout of Chinaand India. We can be sure that the soft underbelliesof both economies will be kept hidden from view.

After a couple of centuries of relative stagnation,these two countries, containing nearly two-fifths ofthe world’s population, have experiencedremarkably rapid income growth in the last threedecades. In manufacturing and services (particularlysoftware, business processing, etc.), respectively,China and India have made huge stridesinternationally, and their acquisition of globalcompanies has attracted considerable attention.

But some dubious assertions have, throughconstant repetition in recent, often breathless,accounts about the two economies, become part ofconventional wisdom. Much of what really goes oninside these two large countries is often left out.

For example, in terms of value added (the value ofoutput after deducting the cost of materials andcomponents), China, contrary to popularimpression, is not yet the manufacturing center ofthe world. The Chinese produce about 15% of valueadded in world manufacturing, while the UnitedStates contributes about 24% and the EuropeanUnion about 20%.

Similarly, while India’s information technology-enabledservices have gained an international reputation, thetotal number of people employed in this sector is lessthan 0.5% of India’s workforce. As such, it cannot, byitself, transform the Indian economy.

Chinese growth is widely regarded as furiouslyexport-driven, but domestic investment has in factbeen the major component. Even at the height ofglobal trade expansion in 2002-2007, exports (invalue-added terms) accounted for only a little more

than one-quarter of GDP growth, whereas domesticinvestment contributed a substantially larger share.

Moreover, contrary to popular belief, much of thedramatic poverty reduction in China over the lastthree decades was due not to integration into theglobal economy, but to domestic factors likegrowth in the agricultural sector (where masspoverty was concentrated). This is attributablelargely to public investment in rural infrastructure,and, in the initial period, to institutional changes inagrarian production organization and an egalitariandistribution of land-cultivation rights.

Expansion of exports of labor-intensivemanufactures has nonetheless lifted many Chineseout of poverty. That is not true of India, whereexports are still mainly skill- and capital-intensive.Economic reform clearly has made the Indiancorporate sector more vibrant and competitive, butmost of the Indian economy is not in the corporatesector (public or private). Indeed, 92% of the laborforce is employed in the informal sector.

Indian poverty reduction has been significant, butnot substantial. However, in terms of non-incomeindicators of poverty – for example, child mortality,malnutrition, and school dropouts – India’sperformance has been dismal (in some respectsworse even than in sub-Saharan Africa).

In the financial media, China and India havebecome poster children for market reform andglobalization, even though in matters ofprivatization, property rights, deregulation, andlingering bureaucratic rigidities, both countrieshave in many ways departed from economicorthodoxy. According to the US-based HeritageFoundation’s widely cited Index of EconomicFreedom, China and India are relegated to thegroup described as “mostly unfree.” Out of a totalof 157 countries in 2008, China ranked 126th andIndia 115th.


Although socialist economic policies in bothcountries inhibited initiative and enterprise, apositive legacy of that period cannot be denied. Itis arguable, for example, that Chinese socialismprovided a strong launching pad for growth,particularly in terms of a solid base of educationand health, rural electrification, a safety netenabled by equitable distribution of land rights,regional economic decentralization, and highfemale participation in the labor force. Moreover, amajor part of the socialist legacy in both countriesis the cumulative effect of the state’s active role intechnological development.

Unlike in India, where the private corporate sectoris the most dynamic sector, in China state-controlled companies are some of the globallymore successful. Even in famous private Chinesecompanies like Lenovo and Huawei Technologies,the ownership structure is highly convoluted, andthe boundaries of state and private control rightsblurred. The recent purchase of Volvo by theprivate Chinese automaker Geely generated muchpublicity, but most of the money was put up bymunicipal governments.

Powerful political families run many Chinese state-owned enterprises. Indeed, there is some evidencethat the overwhelming majority of multi-millionaires in China are relatives of high-ranking

Communist Party officials. And, thanks to the largepool of savings generated by Chinese householdsand state-owned companies, the Chinese economycan for the time being bear the waste andmisallocation implied by such crony capitalism.

Without political reform, the long-run viability ofsuch a system is in doubt. Premier Wen himselfindicated as much in a speech in August that waswidely noted abroad, but largely blacked out inChinese media. The global media should now gofurther, and begin to examine the many features ofthe rise of China and India that depart from thesimplistic narrative of the triumph of market reform.

Pranab Bardhan

Pranab Bardhan is Professor of Economics,University of California at Berkeley and theauthor, most recently, of Awakening Giants, Feetof Clay: Assessing the Rise of China and India.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2010.Source: www.project-syndicate.org


Rajeev sat tranquil near the moment of eternity. Hemade abortive attempts to console the family but itproved beyond him. The old man was a crumpled,heap of sorrow.

A drizzle at the moment was like the mostunwelcomed guest at mid-night. The outsiderssought shelter under tiny sheds and way-sideprojections. They were waiting for Krishna’s lastrites. But why didn’t they come out to face therioters? Rajeev pondered in snatches over theissue. They have forgotten the language of peacefulprotest. They have forgotten Gandhi’s language.But what about Krishna. He must have been infrenzy. A frenzy fuelled in him by his surroundings.

‘Let’s prepare for his cremation. People can’t wait.Weather is getting out of hand?’ Some one of themsuggested rather meekly. It sent a vibration ofwarning and the waiting came to a sudden halt. Hemust be taken away from the house where he hadspent twenty years of his life. Dispatched from theearth for no fault of his own.

Strife torn town, devastated by a handful of rioters!Who will take care of Krishna’s family? Thequestion assumed a glooming shape in Rajeev’ssub-conscious. Krishna’s father was non-entity andhis mother a wasted human frame. The threesisters all beautiful and attractive. They werepicking up for the final scene of Krishna’s life.

‘Hurry-up... hurry-up...’ a blinking middle aged mantried to make his presence felt. The dog was theresequestered in a corner at the thresh-hold waitingfor the funeral procession to start. Rajeev looked atit and wondered at its fidelity. After all why shouldhe follow him?

Animals have an uncanny sense for human beingsand situations. We, humans, hardly find any time tounderstand them and go into animal psyche.

The procession took the direction and road to thenearest burial ground. There was hardly any mirthand hospitality in the surroundings. The sky wasdrenched, overloaded and hung like a leakingcanopy. Krishna’s father was supported by twomen as it was almost impossible for the drearyfigure to be a step forward. His legs hung like twosticks balancing a tattering table.

Rajeev’s mind went into philosophical ramblingsand he came upon his favourite contemplation,man set against the vastness of the universe. Yetthe tiny human brain carries consciousness of thevast, endless universe. Twenty years grown bodywas given to flames rising toward the sky. The skydidn’t receive any tarnish because of the smokeburnt out ends of the day.

A car was moving along the muddy, broken,cracked path. The landscape lay scattered aroundconsisting of sprawling fields, still, grim trees.There was hardly any movement in the leaves. Thewhole of the moon was there under a big bundle ofpacked up clouds rendering the night partiallyopaque. In the mighty movement a ray or twostreaked out along the distant rims of the sky. Thefirmament of the sky seemed to be oozing in thepartial darkness.

The occupant of the car was silent, lost and fixedwith the day’s happenings in the city. How could hehelp the riff-raff? The burnt precints of the citywere distantly visible to him. It is a part of thegame. He chuckled to himself and adjusted his capon his bald-pate. The movement of the car wasrather slow. He could not help it. He reassuredhimself on the verge of a nagging.

He mumbled to himself, “Politics being what it istoday. We belong to the same flock. All of themraise strikes, dharnas, rigging, bribing, ballot-boxlifting and what not? Why should he feel guilty?’

TwilightGlimmering and Hazy Landscape of Indian Politics

continued from last issue...

Dharam Pal


The car came to a sudden halt.

‘Shahab, very bad path. Pits and pits.’ The driver’scomplaint was low-pitched.

‘Ram Singh, try your best. I must reach there. It’squite important. They are waiting for me.’

‘Yes...Shahab...?

The car made a whirring sound and lurched out likea snail. There was the cry of an owl.

‘Bad omen’... the occupant rather spoke to himself.

‘What does it forecast?’ his palm moved on hisrough forehead touching drops of sweat. ‘Did youspeak to me... Shahab”’ ‘No’ the leader was a bittaken aback at his own mumblings. There theywere. A small room at the receding ends of thetown. A distance of five kilometers. A small roominvisible to the casual, inattentive, naked eye. Cow-dung plastered room.

Sooryakant came out of his car, adjusted his capand headed towards the room. It was a verynarrow-mud path, he trod upon. A bit difficult forhim to balance his bulging paunch.

Ajeet was the first to walk towards the politicalfigure. His face presented an aspect of dismay andexpectation. His furrowed forehead was glaringbecause of the lines on it. ‘Namskaar...’ his foldedhands welcomed Sooryakant.

‘I did my best. Almost all public buildings burnt orleft half unburnt. Fear, tension, rumour in the town.What else do you want? Our project is a completesuccess!’

The leader was already seated on an old chair andwas attentive to the flow of news.

‘Police did not interfere. They arrived after our jobwas over. They didn’t identify us.’ Ajeet drew animmense satisfaction at his brilliant performance.The incumbent of the chair was more interested inlistening to Ajeet than expressing anything of hisown. He seemed to be assured of his supremacy asa background to the chain of events since morning.The town was already in the grip of intense tensionprone silence. The only way to defeat his politicalrivals. He reflected inwardly. His awareness did notgo beyond this. There was an air of causality to hisactive broodings.

‘Krishna’s body reduced to ashes. None of ourfaults. No one prompted him.

‘It wasn’t our scheming.’ Ajeet’s voice echoedsharply.’

to be continued...

Dharam Pal

Born on October 1, 1941, Prof Dharam Pal, RetdHead, Department of English, Hindu College,Sonepat, Haryana, India has published Novels,Short-stories in Hindi and English. These include,Upnevesh, Mukti, Raj Ghat ki Aur, Tharav, Basti,Avshes, Nirvastra, Ramsharnam, Twilight, TheEclipsed Serialized in Indo-Asian Literature andother stories. Two students have been awardedMPhil Degrees on his Hindi Works. His plays,stories have also been broadcast on Indian Radio.He has been twice honoured by Governor ofHaryana, India. He has won Hindi RashtriyaShatabdi Samman, 200 and also Penguin Award.

It was almost thirty years back when I first read anarticle on puppetry in Target—a popular children’smagazine. My interest stemmed from the fact that itfeatured my brother and some of his friends,receiving hands-on training on making puppetsfrom the renowned and iconic puppeteer DadiPudumjee. Though I was overwhelmed by the joy ofsibling celebrity, the field of puppetry heldimmense interest for me even in those early days.With time, I have come to know the art form and itspioneering practitioner better. What follows is abrief overview of a form which has deep roots inthe narrative traditions of this country, which hasseen far-reaching transformations over time andwhich has managed to overcome a phase ofdormancy to reinstate itself afresh in popularpublic taste and elicit appreciation that continuesto increase.

Puppetry is an art form and Dadi Pudumjee firmlybelieves in its divine origins. He says, for a child, a

puppet could be a plaything, for an adult perhapsan intriguing mirror that portrays life and for thescholar a never-ending source of tales and imageslinking and stimulating our subconscious. But, forthe puppeteer, it is a sacred image that should notbe taken in jest as just another inanimate objectthat is temporarily brought to life, a trap that oneoften falls into in modern times. For him, verymuch in keeping with the traditionalist notion, theeyes of the puppets are the focus and the mainfeature. In India, most puppeteers and puppetmakers will, even today, paint in the eye at the veryend of completing the figures, thus infusing themwith life. In many of our languages, therefore, forexample in Hindi, Sanskrit and Bangla, the word fora puppet is putli or putul, panchalika, puttikaa orputulika, all of which share a double meaning - ofthe pupil of the eye and that of a puppet. Manyother languages have similar sounding variationsas well. In fact, the English word puppet derivesfrom the Latin Pupa or Pupula, which describes


Dreaming

a New

Future

Puppetry Today

equally well a little girl and a doll. Pupula alsomeans the pupil of the eye. In German the word isPuppe, while the French one is Poupee. Thesewords ascribe to the puppets a quality ofobservation, of being able to look back into thepast as well as of possessing the ability to see intothe future, that makes the art form at oncetraditional as well as contemporary. For Dadi, andperhaps for many other practitioners as well, this isalso what holds the key to making puppetry aglobal form, one that originates across countries inindividual ways but which also has a deep-rootedshared history and import.

Dadi Pudumjee entered the field as a youngenthusiast in 1958. Today he is well known andestablished as a pioneer of modern puppetry inIndia, but by his own confession, in his early daysin Pune he treated puppetry mainly as a hobby,playing around mostly with string puppets. He hadvery little information on the subject and theknowledge that he possessed was limited to thepuppets of Rajasthan. It was only later at theDarpana Academy of Performing Arts inAhmedabad that he encountered the vast gamut oftechniques and styles of Indian puppetry under thelate Meher R. Contractor. Later, in the mid-seventies in Sweden under Michael Meschke of theSwedish Marionette Theatre Institute he began tounderstand and appreciate what the form wasreally all about. Meschke’s outlook to puppetry wasradically different, incorporating ideas from variousother art forms and transforming puppetry into ameans to something and a form that did not simplyremain an end. This philosophy had a tremendousinfluence on Dadi. In fact, Dadi has always valuedthe inherent similarities of puppetry around theworld and still acknowledges the power of the formhe witnessed in certain other traditions such as theBunraku of Japan and the puppet styles of theerstwhile socialist block which have had a lastinginfluence on the conceptualization and creation ofhis own characters.

Looking back anew at his first creative phase, hesays, “My first job at ISRO SAC in Ahmedabad waswith the serial Hun and Hann where I used modernpuppets for TV. At the time it possibly was the firstpuppet serial made for TV using puppet-charactersspecially made and scripted for that medium andnot theatre puppets shot for it.” Reflecting on thetraditional-modern mix then and now, he finds thatthe traditional forms are rarely stagnant and wherethey haven’t died out, they have surely changed,some for the better and others not so. In all, heconsiders that puppetry in India has used its timevery well, with the art form having had a successfulstint afld a winning revival.

As a puppeteer he is joyous, glad to have made hishobby into a profession after having studied it inAhmedabad and Sweden. And it is no meanmoment for India to have him for the last two yearsas a proud first non-European President in the

eighty-year old history of the world body UNIMA,which is the world’s first registered internationalpuppet-theatre organisation (www.unima.org). Tocelebrate this feat in its true spirit, one has to beaware not only of India and its varied localtraditions but of some sixty-four worldwidenational centres involved in working with puppettraditions, their aspirations and the problems theyencounter, and their efforts to continuouslyovercome them. It is essential as a puppeteer to beaware of the terminologies and ideas of the westwhich can sometimes greatly differ from those ofthe east and near east.

As Dadi sees it, in India there was a traditionalphase, followed by a modern one which saw manychanges made to the older forms. Then there was acohesive phase, where a balance was worked outbetween the two major phases, especially in termsof their content and expression. Today, there aremany young artistes who are carving a niche forthemselves within the field. However, some othersare stuck in the past or in the beginnings of theearly nineteenth century. In terms of an actualpalpable shift in the form, content, story, import,and so on, between the old and the new, betweenthe first crop of modern puppeteers and theyounger ones today, the major changes, ratherwork, seems to be happening mostly in the urbanpockets. There seems to be a far greater need forexposure for many groups to modern andcontemporary trends that are also continuouslyevolving. There is an urgency to create our own,individualistic vocabularies, contexts and themeswhile simultaneously addressing these areas in afresh manner. The first schools and trends ofmodern Indian puppetry were chiefly from Kolkataand Ahmedabad, but today many youngpuppeteers have taken these ideas and evolvednew expressions of their own. For Dadi the fear alsois that puppeteers today seem to be gettingobsessed with technique to look “modern” whileoverlooking the essence of the art form.

Dadi also happens to be the Founder-Director ofthe Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, started in 1986 toacquaint people with puppetry. After severalsuccessful years and growth, the team thought ofthe Annual Ishara Festival, now in its eighth year.This has grown tremendously in scale with majorsupport from the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust,helped by Teamwork Productions, and somesupport from the Indian Council for CulturalRelations, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the NationalCentre for Performing Arts and the FordFoundation. Besides its own productions, theIshara Trust has been working with collaboratorsand agencies, producing puppets and masks forvarious TV and video programmes and events. Ithas spread the use of Muppets and Marrots ineducation through folk tales and satires. Ishara alsoconducts workshops in various forms of puppetry,for children, adults and theatre groups. Dadi’sultimate ambition is to modernize the art to a



degree when puppet theatre can become anacceptable medium of education by itself.

After much hard work, puppi now seems indeed tohave managed to “break even,” with its audiencewilling to pay to enjoy themselves. It seems,therefore, well on its way to being a commercially!sustainable art form. Having witnessed eight yearsof encouragement from audience in Delhi andGurgaon, the te^ at Ishara was encouraged toextend the Festival to Mumbai in the last two yearswhere too it has seen great success. Now Dadi isworking hard on a plan to take it around other citiesof India. The Ishara Festival has definitely created aplatform for puppeteers to showcase their work inIndia but the puppeteers are sure that they will stillneed support from government authorities, culturalorganizations, corporate houses, and other suchlikeinstitutions in order to ensure a fulfilling future anda world-class presence for a form that haslanguished unnoticed for many years.

There are, of course, some cautionary points, themost important perhaps being to come to a happybalance between the modern and the traditional.Though the modern successes of puppetry havegiven a boost and focus in some ways to thetraditional styles and artistes in India, certainpractitioners take recourse to the very strongtechniques of the older ways without giving creditto it. This displaces the respect due to each style.At the same time, traditional puppeteers also needto understand that times are changing and theyneed to be conscious enough to evolve their styles,techniques of production, the quality ofmanipulation and storytelling to fit in withaudience tastes. It is urgent, therefore, for all thoseinvolved with the form to grasp well the languageof puppetry as well as the vocabulary of the times.

It may be apt to conclude with Dadi’s own words onwhat puppetry means to him as an art form. “Iconsider myself to be at par with a painter, writeror dramatist who uses new techniques in a givencontext to elevate his work to universal andcontemporary levels of acceptability. If this artform remains static it will definitely lose itsaudience.” And it is this stasis that he is trying towork against.

The author has worked as Assistant Director for thepublishing wing of Katha, a pioneering non-profitventure in the field of translations, set up thepublishing outfit Indialog of which she was the ChiefEditor, and has also been Editor, Indian Horizons, aquarterly journal on art and culture published by theIndian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.

Chandana Dutta

Photographs: Dadi Pudumjee, Vipul Sangoi, IndiraGandhi National Centre for the Arts, S.Thyagarajan, Sanjoy Roy, Anay Mann

Source: India Perspectives, Vol. 24, No. 3/2010


Enigma

Expressions of Students from SPIT & SPCE(DISHA’10)

A thought came to my mild today.

About how innocence in today’s world, is reallylost. We knew long back that innocence inthought had been long lost, in actions too.

But the fact which startles me is how we’ve evenlost innocence in feelings. About how there is noinnocence left even in any emotion we experience.

No innocence in the feeling of happiness. If we’revery honest to ourselves, we’ll think to find thatthere have been very few moments in the ‘non-childhood’ part of our lives where happiness hasnot been accompanied by a hint of pride or ego.

No innocence in the feeling of sadness withoutthe disgust and jealousy, mostly because ofhappiness being experienced by someone else atthat point.

No innocence in the objective of thought. No onethinks without a motive. How often do we just sit

and think, just for the sake of if?

No innocence in the feeling of ambition withoutthat portion of selfishness, superiority.

No innocence in the feeling of faith, devotionwithout that part of impatience, weakness or fear.

No innocence in the feeling of love without thatpinch of insecurity and frustration.

Maybe all this have always been realities of adultlife, side effects of the society our fore fathershave built. Succumbing to this is very simple,fighting it exponentially hard. But in whateverlittle way I can, I shall try and hold on to thatschool uniform, my window seat in the bus,those walks in the rain to retain that innocence.In the smallest way possible.

“Don’t care what people say,Just follow your own way,Don’t give up and use the chance,To return to innocence”

Ashmita SenguptaSource: Bhavan’s Andheri Parivar, Vol. 4, October 2010

(Moving to the other side of the Mansion/Feeling)

Pratipaksh Bhawana consists of three words, 1) Prati—is Unfavorable or negative. 2) Paksha—in favor orPositive, and 3) Bhawana—Is feeling or emotions.

The literal meaning of this term is “moving to theother side of the mansion feeling” and it points tothe mind’s ability to completely transfer itsawareness from a negative object to another morepositive one (prati—other, opposing; paksha—wing,half; bhavana—dwelling, home, mansion, being).

Our feelings are a natural response to our thoughtsand intentions. Actually it’s one’s natural reaction tothe situation. We don’t really choose our feelingsdirectly. Our feelings are a feedback mechanism. Theyindicate whether we are moving with our positivefeelings or we are going with our negative feelings.

I think emotions are the driving force of our actions.Negative and positive feelings are the two sides of acoin. With the knowledge and experience your mindmakes the decision that how you are going to reactto that situation, positively or negatively?

Most of the time feelings arise from our ownthoughts.

Some emotions could be towards others and somecould be for your inner self. And your inner feelingwill always reflect in others what is going on inyour mind—that is very important.

The positive feelings can create a very positivesurrounding in the society, and on the otherhand—negative feelings can destroy everything.Negative feelings reveal that I moved away from mytrue desires.

If we can control our emotions or feelings we cancontrol our lives, our surroundings which can helpto build a healthy society.

Rajesh K. Singh(Student, Bhavan’s Yoga Bharati)Source: Bhavan’s Andheri Parivar, Vol. 4, October 2010

Pratipaksh

Bhawana


The Golden Age

The first of the four ages, the Golden Age, lasted for1,728,000 years. During this time, all people werepious and religious, and understood the soul andLord Krishna through meditation. Going to forestsor mountains, they would lay a deerskin on theground (to keep away snakes), and cover it with asoft cloth. They would sit there perfectly still, witha straight back and crossed legs. Half closing theireyes, and staring at the tip of the nose, they relaxedthemselves by deep breathing. This helped to makethe mind calm and steady. Looking within, andconcentrating on the heart, they would eventuallysee the beautiful form of Lord Krishna.

Did you know? Meditation is still an important partof yoga, which originally comes from India. Thereare many types of meditation. In one process,people chant a mantra, a short prayer, over andover again. Some take a vow to recite a set numberof mantras each day. They count the mantras on astring of 108 beads, made from wood of the sacredTulasi tree or from dried Rudraksha berries.

Some people chant the Gayatri mantra three timesa day—at dawn, noon and dusk. Like many otherprayers, it begins with the famous ‘Om’ mantra. Omconsists of three letters—A, U and M. It representsthe sound of Krishna’s flute, as Brahma heard it justbefore the creation.

The Silver Age

The second age, known as the Silver Age, lasted for1,296,000 years. During this period, priestsperformed sacrifice to thank Lord Vishnu for thegifts of nature. The cow was especially important inthese rituals. She gave the milk needed to makeclarified butter (ghee), which the priests pouredonto the sacrificial fire. The priests also offered toLord Vishnu various other gifts of the earth, suchas grains, fruit and coconuts. The utensils, such asthe ladle for pouring ghee, were fashioned fromprecious metals like gold and silver.

These costly rituals were performed to satisfyVishnu, and other deities such as Agni, the fire god.The Vedas explain how Vishnu, pleased with thesacrifice performed in his honour, wouldsometimes appear there, descending fromVaikuntha on the back of Garuda.

Did you know? Vedic worshippers still performthe havan (sacred fire sacrifice) on specialoccasions. At weddings, the bride and groom sitside by side and toss grains into the fire. Theylater walk round it four times. If the ceremony is atnight, the groom points to the pole star, indicatingthat the couple will be fixed in their devotion toeach other. In some traditions, the couple praysthat their children will be liberated from the cycle of reincarnation, and return home to thespiritual world.

Source: ISKCON Educational Services

Extract from Creation: A Story from Ancient India

Bhavan’sChildren


reader.com

Acharya Vinoba Bhave—An Exemplary Life

Acharya Vinoba Bhave was a grand personality ofgreat purity and a true embodiment of the spirit ofGita. Vinobaji was neither a politician, socialreformer nor a revolutionary but service to manwas the motto of his life, accelerating hisendeavours to unite with God. Consequently, hecould transform the hearts of land lords, capitalistsand communities, when even a piece of legislationcould not change the minds of the landlords.

His mother imbibed the culture of teaching himsome of the deepest truths of philosophy as “givingis divine, hoarding is devilness.”

There was a jack fruit tree in their compound. Whenthe fruits ripened his mother told him to distributethe fruits in their neighborhood. “Give first to othersand afterwards eat” was her motto.

Vinobaji’s mother was a good teacher. When he wasbarely six years old his mother instructed him towater the Tulsi plant. One day after his bath hecame straight to the kitchen. His mother asked Vinu(his personal name): “Have you watered the Tulsi

plant,’ his reply was ‘no’. ‘Then go and do it now. Iwill not give you food unless it’s done.”

Vinobaji’s mother never refused alms to any beggar.One day a sturdy looking beggar came and mothergave him alm. Vinobaji protested “Mother, Gitateaches us to give alms only to a worthy person”.Mother replied, “Vinu, who are we to judge who isworthy and who is unworthy? We should regardevery one who comes to our door worthy.”

Vinobaji’s mother passed away at the age of 42.Once his mother asked Vinu, “Have you kept mygold bangles intact.” He replied “yes”. But later onhe prayed to the Almighty that those banglesshould not become an obstacle in her eternaljourney.

M.S. Trivedi, Ratlam

Note: We invite frank opinion from our readers. Source: Bhavan’s Journal, October 15, 2010


Charter of Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan Australia

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Bhavan) is a non-profit, non-religious, non-

political Non Government Organisation (NGO). Bhavan has been playing a

crucial role in educational and cultural interactions in the world, holding

aloft the best of Indian traditions and at the same time meeting the needs of

modernity and multiculturalism. Bhavan’s ideal ‘is the whole world is but

one family’ and its motto: ‘let noble thoughts come to us from all sides’.

Like Bhavan’s other centres around the world, Bhavan Australia facilitates

intercultural activities and provides a forum for true understanding of

Indian culture, multiculturalism and foster closer cultural ties among

individuals, Governments and cultural institutions in Australia.

Bhavan Australia Charter derived from its constitution is:

• To advance the education of the public in:

a) the cultures (both spiritual and temporal) of the world,

b) literature, music, the dance,

c) the arts,

d) languages of the world,

e) philosophies of the world.

• To foster awareness of the contribution of a diversity of cultures to the

continuing development of multicultural society of Australia.

• To foster understanding and acceptance of the cultural, linguistic and

ethnic diversity of the Australian people of widely diverse heritages.

• To edit, publish and issue books, journals and periodicals,

documentaries in Sanskrit, English and other languages, to promote the

objects of the Bhavan or to impart or further education as authorized.

• To foster and undertake research studies in the areas of interest to

Bhavan and to print and publish the results of any research which is

undertaken.


The Test of Bhavan’s Right to Exist

The test of Bhavan’s right to exist is whether those who work for it in different spheres and in different placesand those who study in its many institutions can develop a sense of mission as would enable them to translatethe fundamental values, even in a small measure, into their individual life.

Creative vitality of a culture consists in this: whether the ‘best’ among those who belong to it, however smalltheir number, find self-fulfilment by living up to the fundamental values of our ageless culture.

It must be realised that the history of the world is a story of men who had faith in themselves and in theirmission. When an age does not produce men of such faith, its culture is on its way to extinction. The realstrength of the Bhavan, therefore, would lie not so much in the number of its buildings or institutions itconducts, nor in the volume of its assets and budgets, nor even in its growing publication, cultural andeducational activities. It would lie in the character, humility, selflessness and dedicated work of its devotedworkers, honorary and stipendiary. They alone can release the regenerative influences, bringing into play theinvisible pressure which alone can transform human nature.


Science and Religion - Swami Rajeswarananda

Can science, as practised at present, do anything tomake the world a better and happier place to live in?

Physical science reads through its sense of touchlike a blind man. As such, man cannot adopt thevery poor philosophies it constructs. Whereas inphilosophy it is reasonable for science to ceasereasoning on things above reason.

As true spiritual knowledge advances, neither sciencescoffs at religion nor religion frowns at science.

Science is not the enemy of the religion proper,though it may be the antagonist of school-divinity.

Science and religion can dwell together in unity and goodwill. They will have to mutually illustrateand demonstrate the wisdom, power and grace ofthe Almighty.

Science should adorn and enrich religion andreligion should ennoble and sanctify science.

My Belief - Rajendra Prasad

My belief is—and it is the opinion of all truefollowers of all religious—that true religions isconcerned with belief in a supernatural power.

Since that supernatural power is above all, and allothers are like her children, all human beings must be,more or less, like brothers and sisters to one another.

If that is the teaching of all religions, then, in spite ofdifferences in the way in which we worship God, thereis no reason why we should not really be brothers.

Here in India, our ancestors—the Rishis of old-realised this and laid down once and for all that thetruth is one but the wise reach it by different paths.

We want a realisation of this truth not only as amatter of intellectual conviction, but also as a rule ofconduct to be followed every moment of our lives.

It is impossible for us to rise to any height withouta realisation of this truth.

This is one of the fundamental problems which thiscountry has been tackling from time immemorial,but its urgency needs to be re-emphasised todaywhen we have freed ourselves from foreigndomination and are left to our own resources toshape our destinies.

News & Notes Discourses on Ramayana

Brahmasri S. Anantharama Dikshitar ofSengalipuram conducted a series of religiousdiscourses on Srimad Valmiki Ramayana at theAsthika Samaj, Matunga.

The discourses began on October 2 and ended onNovember 6 after which he started discourses onSrimad Bhagavata. Sri Dikshitar recites verses fromgreat epics and expounded with stories,illustrations, philosophy and humour. A greatteacher and preacher, who knows by heart thegreat epics and the Bhagavata, his discourses aredaily listened to with great attention by a very largeand appreciative audience.

On October 22, he paid a visit to the BharatiyaVidya Bhavan, where he was welcomed by Sri andSmt. Munshi. On November 2, Sri Sri Prakasa,Governor of the Maharashtra State, attended SriDikshitar’s discourse.

< < < Flash back

From Bhavan’s Journal November 27, 1960Reprinted in Bhavan’s Journal November 30, 2010


Holy & Wise

“May we follow the motion of the sun and moon in the

sky, that gives us light and delight, expecting nothing from

us in return. May we also never destruct the passage of

others nor injure each other.”

Rig Veda 5.51.15

“The scriptures of Christians, Mussalmans and

Hindus are all replete with the teaching of

ahimsa.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“The moon is a friend for thelonesome to talk to.”

Carl Sandburg

Kulapativani

I went, I saw, I was Conquered

Accompanied by Mummy, members of the familyand close associates, I went to Andheri, in Bombay,on May 15, 1968, where a Trust created by SriSathya Sai Baba’s devotees has put up amagnificent building, Dharmakshetra, in the shapeof a huge cement lotus. Thousands of peoplecrowded on its grounds for his blessings; or tosecure his healing touch. We were taken to acircular hall in which about 40 or 50 followers hadgathered. Among them were several foreigners.

Baba suddenly entered the hall in an informal way.He was clad in an overall of yellow or orange-coloured silk from neck to ankle. He would besomewhere about 40 or 45 years. He was clean-shaven. He was well-built; his broad features had arare dignity, his eyes were highly expressive. Hislocks were gathered in a huge mop of thick blackhair. His voice was resonant. He speaks in Telugu,his mother-tongue, and his sentences aretranslated by a disciple. He instructed that thechair reserved for him on the platform should beremoved and sat on the edge of the platform. Hereferred to my friend, the late Dr. B. RamakrishnaRao, and said a few complimentary things aboutthe Bhavan. What struck me most was Baba’shuman touch, which enables him to enter thehearts of those who come into contact with him.

The mental reservation with which I hadapproached Baba, disappeared. Julius Caesardescribed his campaign in Britain: Veni Vedi Vici—‘Icame, I saw, I conquered.’ In this case, I went, I saw,I was conquered.

Dr K.M. MunshiFounder Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Friday 18 March - 6:30pm - 10pm> Orchestra and Bhangra Dances

Saturday 19 March - 11am - 8pm> Cultural Performances, Prayers, Meditation, Yoga and

Ayurveda demonstrations> 12:30pm - Rath Yatra departs from Hyde Park (North)> Food and Craft Stalls

Sunday 20 March - 11am - 7pm> Cultural Performances> Colour Throwing Sessions at regular intervals> Food and Craft Stalls

18 - 20 March 2011Darling Harbour, Sydney

www.holimahotsav.com.au1300 BHAVAN (1300 242 826)

[email protected]

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