In pursuit of happiness

27.11.04

In pursuit of happiness

The pursuit of life is undoubtedly the pursuit of hapiness. Why do we pursue hapiness? We call hapiness that state which is most agreeable to us. Why a certain state is more agreeable to us than another depends on what we actually are. If we were a fish we would be more comfortable in water, but certainly not if we were a cat! So to really know what it is that would make us happy, we have to know what we really are.

It is said that this knowing oneself is a subjective experience. If we meditate and get to know ourself, so the masters say, we shall experience a sense of fullness. Once we exeprience this fullness, then we shall no longer pursue hapiness, for the simple reason that we come to realise that we are hapiness personified!

Thus it could be said that we start living only when we realise ourself. Otherwise life becomes one endless pursuit away from ourself.

RSS

RSS

What is the RSS? It is an organisation founded by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in the year 1925 to defend the interests of Hindus. It eventually got an ideology for itself, which envisions a healthy and vibrant Hindu society linked to the idea of a Hindu Nation. It came to see that the Hindus can be united, motivated and energised only on the concept of Bharat Mata. There is nothing like a single scripture, religious icon or way of worship around which all Hindus can be united. The concept of Bharat Mata alone, as upholder of the vision of Hindutva, contained in the clarion calls of ‘Vasudeva Kudumbakam’ ‘Ekam Sat Viprah Bahuta Vadanti’ and ‘Krinvanto Vishvam Aryam’.

By and by, it evolved its organisational genius to concentrate upon creating the ideal individual for furthering the cause of the Sangh – the swayamsevak. Its instrument for creating of the swayamsevak is the Shakha. The swayamsevak was to have the qualities of detachment and commitment – detachment from the material pulls of society and commitment to the cause of Hindu nationalism. The swayamsevak met the challenge of Hindu nationalism by forming ever increasing numbers of organisations to influence each and every level and parameter of national polity. Thus came to be formed the Akhil Bharateeya Vidyarthi Parishad, Jan Sangh, VHP etc.

Today the whole conglomerate, called Sangha Parivar, is a huge network of organisations and charismatic individuals. Its power to influence and even change the course of national polity is not doubted by anyone. Its biggest problem might be, having grown so big and thus inevitably attracting all manner of folks all the while, how to maintained its famed discipline. Discipline might have taken a knock because it was the Shakha routine which imbibed discipline in the foot soilder of Sangha Parivar. But with Shakha not being de-regiur in the scheme of things in all the co-travelling organisations of RSS, discipline faded.

Colonist

24.11.04
Colonist

Ivory Coast seems to be having problems with the French. Shouldn’t the principle of not interfering in the affairs of another country be the golden rule governing relations between nations? But there are other questions. What constitutes a nation? Who decides what a nation is? What about the interference in the affairs of sub-nationalities in the name of nationalism? Where do we draw the parameters? Who draws the parameters? Should it be a fine balance between individual freedom and universal unity?

Love and Duty

23.11.04
Love and Duty

Value is one thing and love is another. Patriotism is one thing and love is another. If my son goes against the nation’s interest and if I have to kill him on that account I would certainly do so. But would my love for him be any less therefore?

Detachment

23.11.04
Detachment

There’s no way one can feel well except that one is detached. An attached well-being is transient. What means detached? Detached simply means the capacity to see. Since we are not talking about physical detachment, the seeing is also not with the physical eye. We must see with the eye of logic. And this we can do only by usage of language to talk to ourself.

Christ and the Da Vinci Code

17.05.06

I do not think any writer should be given the right to present a living or historical individual in a ficticious manner, at least not in a way that would bring the memory of that person into disrepute. (For example, Shakespear's presentation of King Henry VIII, though fictitious by and large, did not really bring the King's image into disrepute. Then again, the librals might ask, what is so disreputable about marrying - in fact, is it not an honourable act to marry a prostitute and give her social security?) If it is an honest presentation of an image in another light on the basis of controversial opinions or evidences, then such presentations should go under the category of scholastic pursuits restricted to the domain of the university and library. But to fictionalise an historical personality and seek to make a quick buck out of it is simply immoral. So as to act as a deterent in future, I would support the ban on both the book and the cinema.

Of course, it might be asked whether the Church itself has not presented Christ in mythical proportions and whether a myth is not in fact a fiction. A myth per se may seem to be fiction but it is not fiction just as fiction is not actually a lie, though it might seem to be so.

Only true religion syndrome of Christianity & Islam

The problem with Islam and Christianity is that they each claim to be the only true religion. This is particularly true of Church assumptions. This stand has caused antagonism and animosity amongst religions. Even in Hinduism there are many schools with such narrow views. However, the saving grace of Hinduism is that its culture permits total freedom in matters of religion. I suppose we must see the fact that it even allows narrow-mindedness in the hope that such views would eventually learn the required lessons in broad-mindedness in due course of time. This approach seems to work if we take the example of the Arya Samaj, who are an iconoclastic order but evenutally did not develop a narrow-minded culture because of the overwhelming influence of the perenial Hindu culture upon it. This is the important point to raise - you may hold radical views but are you engulfed by a culture of tolerence? Do you allow the holding of radical views by others also? Islam unfortunately has not developed a broad-minded (liberal) culture nor have they, in India at least, been able to break out of the straitjacket of Wahaibi Islam and embrace the liberalism of Hindu culture. Modern Christian states do now have a liberal culture. Maybe it is the bringing about of the liberal culture in Islam that is the ultimate aim of Bush’s doctrine of democratising the Middle East. If this is so, then by all means all good thinking persons must support the move. We will have in return a more tolerant world.

A PC at home

20.12.04

I tell myself that if I had a PC with me at home, I could often respond immediately to an issue that I read and therefore actually have put into words my thoughts. Without instant access to a PC, many a rebuttals, comments or insights go unwritten and slip away from my mind.

BJP statergy

21.12.04

Why is Vajpayee soft towards Mulayam? Look, there are two approaches in Sangha Parivar towards organisational advancement – an approach that seeks to work the common denominator of all political parties to weave a political alternative to the Congress and the approach of keeping the ideological purity intact. BJP has taken up the broad-based approach while VHP, Swadeshi Jagran Manch etc. are the most visible exponents of the ideological approach.

Bye bye 2004

30.12.04

So the year’s about to come to an end. The highlights of the year are the defeat of the BJP (and the coming to power of Sonia) and the arrest of Shankaracharya (not to speak of the end of Veerapan). Then of course the Tsunami. Could the Tsunami have been the reaction of nature to an act of extreme insensitivity in form of the incarceration of the Shankaracharya? Maybe because vital poojas could not be performed timely, a subtle balance in nature got upset and forces like the Tsunami were unleashed. Too antediluvian a theory? From the tantric point of view, may be not. Maybe not even from a Theosophic point of view.

Sonia Gandhi

Subramaniam Swamy reveals that Sonia is a very secretive woman. Ought we to trust someone so secretive?

Pen Potraits

05.01.05


Kapil Sibil ought to wipe that grin off his face if he is to cease inviting scorn, whatever be the merits of his wisdom.

===

Mani Shankar Iyer is provocateur par excellence.

RSS and Tsunami

How’s the Tsunami relief going on? Truly speaking, RSS should not advert in any way that it is involved in the relief operations. It should get into the act, and its cadre should know how to work without any publicity. But unfortunately it is in competition with others, and they are well advertising.

28.12.04

The worms that DMK cadres are, they could not stop themselves from stone-throwing merely upon hearing rumours of the death of their leader Karunanidhi even in times of calamity in the wake of the Tsunami.

If I were adviser to RSS!

10.01.05

If I were to advise Sangha, I would suggest the following:

1. Change the ganavesh and model it on Anand Marg’s uniform.

2. Stress more on Yoga in the Shakhas.

3. Bhaudhik should be exposition of Vedantic understanding.

4. Vision of Vasudeva Kudumbakam should replace Hindu Rashtra ideology.

5. Route march to be retained, but with indigenous gosh.

6. Parivar organisation BMS should be disbanded and a new organisation fully dedicated to the principles of Swadeshi to be set up.

7. BJP to be disbanded and Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Marga Darshak Mandal to play the role of Raja Rishi.

8. Shakha to be central to all of Sangha Parivar activities.

Absolute freedom

12.01.05

When there is only one being in the world no laws are required to restrict or guide that person as he can live or perish off his own genius, without anyone else being any the more or less for it. But creation is not of a single entity. Therefore absolute freedom is not possible, only relative freedom, relative to the freedom of the other, is. The creator is therefore not free so long as creation exists. God the creator cannot be absolute. Only Brahman, the non-creator and non-created can be absolute. Therefore when creation begins, in order to regulate the freedom of all within limits, the law of such regulation comes into effect. Such law is called Dharma and dharma harmonizes and dharma is harmony. And yet does not all crave for the state of absolute freedom? Attaining the state of Brahman and thereby attaining moksha, the state of no-birth or non-creation. How do we, from the gross state of creation, pass into the state of Brahman? Is a foretaste of that state possible from the present position? Yes, and the passageway is through the medium of language, mantra and silence. Thereby we can say that the freedom that we crave is only in the mind. In real world, there is no absolute freedom but a regulated one.

Advaita

The world is based on duality for creation itself is based on the premise of duality – that of the creator and the created. There is of course the state of advaita, which state alone can make us escape suffering. But how do we, in our created state, achieve the state of advaita? Well, surprising as it may seem, a state of advaita is available to us even as we live in the state of dvaita. It is available in the realm of consciousness. Brahman in advaita state moves to the state of Ishwar or dvaita upon creation. While the creative aspect of Brahman, i.e. Ishwar is separate from his creation, Brahman itself is inherent in all creation as well as non-creation. For the nature of Brahman is consciousness and when He ‘divides’ consciusness and becomes Ishwar, He still remains Brhaman, undivided that is, when Ishwar becomes, Brahman continues, as Ishwar has come to be in a different level of consciousness. So the core or essense or substratum is always Brahman. If we, in our limited state of consciousness, realise Ishwar (God), we shall come to rest in a state of Brahman. God realisation does not make us god, for god's is a different function altogether (the function of creation), which man cannot be, but a god-realised man becomes ‘greater’ than god, because he becomes Brahman. So potentially, man is greater than god. There should be no misunderstanding here. God as understood in the English language, is an entity of limited function, as man is. Only, god is the father and man the son. Not for nothing has it been said that ‘I and my father are one.’ When the totality of creation realises its inherent absoluteness, then everything, including god, dissolves in that totality and Brahman alone would be. This is the state of advaita, which indeed is the goal of man and of all creation.

Where do Christianity and Islam stand in the light of the Hindu idea of Advaita and Brahman? Jesus and Mohammad, as many others all through the ages, are individuals who have realised their potential and returned to Brahman or attained moksha. On their path towards realisation of their divinity or upon realisation of their divinity, such mighty men record their vision and seek to guide others to the path. It is this guidance that has taken the shape of the Quran, Bible and the Vedas. God of course is always aware of his divine state and sometimes he himself gets into his creation to guide mankind and thus an avatar comes to being. So creation learns of its potential from the creator himself and this potential surpasses both creator and creation, that is, transcends the duality and comes to a state of advaita. We can in a way say that dwaita is the basic reality because advaita itself presupposes a potential for dwaita. This might seem to be the logic but this logic is only applicable to the world of dwaita. Advaita is not the opposite of dwaita because the duality exists only in the world of dwaita. Brahman always is. The sea always is, not the waves, which is and is not. Can we say that in the realm of advaita there is no dvaita? Whence has come creation? From where has Ishwar been produced? From Brahman, of course. And yet, Brahman is not reduced in the formation of Ishwar. This truth is encapsulated in what is probably the greatest spritual teaching of all time, the teaching of the Shanti Mantra which is in the beginning of Ishavasyopanishad and Brihadaranyakopanishad - Om Poornam Adah Poornam Idam Poornaat Poornam Udachyate Poornasya Poornam Aadaay Poornam Evaa Vashishyate (That is complete, this is complete - from the complete, the complete has emerged, giving completeness of complete, the complete remains).

Basic needs

Aren’t there things like basic needs? Food is a basic need. Probably the only need. Man can survive without cloths (maybe even thrive!). There is accessible to man the powers of yoga and if he becomes a yogi, even the problem of shelter might be overcome, leaving him with only the problem of food. Why, a yogi, with sufficient self-control, can overcome the food problem by turning to leaves and all that stuff. With sufficient knowledge, he might be able to feed on tree leaves which are available a plenty. Then where is the problem? Of course, there is then the final solution, the Jain way of starving to death. Now, for starving to death, you don’t have to become a Jain or learn any technique. Just an unconditional approach. In my case, I would be conscious about the whole things and would thereby be able to make the best out of the worst.

Again, in my case, the question would persist – what about my family. Alas, what can I say except that the avenue of freedom is open to them also, more so as I have sought my best to explain the advantages of taking this high path to spirituality and freedom. Why should I abandon my path and find myself unequal to the task of helping them in other ways? Spiritual goal being the highest goal of mankind, any success by anyone in that field would be of greater value to mankind than the loss incurred by abandoned family ‘duties’ and sufferings caused thereby.

Veer Sarvarkar plaque controversy

14.01.05

I am surprised that uptill now Asian Age has not sought to inform its readers what exactly was written in the plaque of Sarvarkar that was chucked away by Mani Shankar Iyer. If published, the readers would be in a position to form an informed opinion on Mani’s action.

03.12.04

Dear Issac,

In your letter to the editor of Asian Age dated 29.12.04, you were scornful of ‘Hindutva forces’ and was even contemptuous of Veer Sarvarkar. Was he that much of an ignoramus in matters spiritual?

The spiritual state

Never is there a problem outside except as we react to it. The ideal would be not to have anything outside effect us while at the same time perceiving the incident/happening in its entirety and thereby gain by its knowledge. For isn’t all life a revelation? “A person cannot evolve without imbibing the highs and lows of mundane existence”, says Deepti Naval, quoted in today’s paper during the launch of her book Black Wind.

Everyone's unique

Everybody has his or her unique take on events. People relate differently. People are different. Everyone must have their own space to flower in their own unique way. No one is wrong. Everyone is right in his or her own unique way. Everything everyone does is right relative to their own destiny.

Democracy and Demography

We talk of democracy and how proud of it we are. But we are silent when it comes to demography. The latest census report is attempted to be glossed over. Fear to face facts?

Do the Sufis pre-date Islam?

comment@gurumurthy.net

Respected Shri Gurumurthy,

I have a theory (based on just gut feeling) that the Sufis were folks who represented the acme of religion that existed at the time when Muhammad blazoned forth with his religion. Facing a choice of ‘convert or perish’, they pragmatically chose to merge with Islam but ensured that they never submerged in it. I think it is time the great Sufis were highlighted vis-à-vis Muhammad, who destroyed the idols and ‘cleansed’ Mecca for Islam, thereby proving himself to be the world’s first religious terrorist, if you discount Abraham himself, that is.

Boredom

27.01.05


The feeling of boredom - the door to materialism really – arises when we fail to persist in a continuum of verbalised awareness. The only way we can save others from falling into the pit of boredom is to persist with our continuum. Otherwise we would only be joining them or guiding them towards external dramatic entertainment, which might be a short-term solution but would be a long term disaster. Just be a observer, and all that you ever wanted would be yours. That is what you really wanted. For instance, not the shiny sports car, but that glamour associated with it, etc. Could it be that even overeating is born of boredom? So lack of boredom would lead to yoga and beauty.

Manor House Killer - a novel

28.01.05

The sea breeze seemed to do him a world of good. This was recuperation beyond the hospital bed. A few more evenings by the sea-shore and he would be mended anew.

It is fourteen days now since he met with the near fatal accident. Fortunately, his seatbelt saved him from being a human projectile straight through the windscreen when the new driver severed sharply and braked suddenly to avoid head on collision with an oncoming overspending truck. What the damn, is he drunk or what, coming straight upon me, were Rauf’s last thought before his vehicle crushed into the shoulder of the highway and came to a standstill poised precariously on the edge of the cliff.

It was two months ago that Rauf had started on his pursuit of the Manor House Killer. On a wintry evening Baroness Priscilla was found murdered in her bedroom. The killer stole nothing. Apparently walked into the bedroom, took aim of the sleeping mother of two just weeks old twins, and shot from his silencer. A splattering of blood woke the twins. In the huge country mansion, it took a few hours for her to be discovered dead, after she failed to come down to dinner.

Swami Parameswarananda

29.01.05

Has Swami Parameswarananda done the right thing in abandoning his family? He actually was in an impossible position and the only thing that could have happened was terrible violence. He chose to move out. In doing so, he moved out of a place that could have given him succour in his old age. Fortunately he did not in desperation choose to commit suicide. In becoming a Sanyasi, he has at least salvaged his potential to be a balm to a troubled world. And he has certainly not left his family to any cruel fate. The are provided for, at least at the minimum level.

Creation - a story

I shall tell you the story, the whole story, of creation. This creation. Mind you, there were many creations before. To explain those creations I would require much explanation, for the dimensions in those creations were radically different from this the present creation. So let me now tell you about this creation. It has been created in your language.

It was a couple of million years ago when, after aeons of deep sleep, I awoke and saw nothing. Only my consciousness existed. And memories flooded, memories of the past creations, its evolutions and its disappearance. My thought went back to the very beginning. When I had neither rested nor had awakened. I existed in the totality of stillness. It was enduring peace. It alone existed. I existed in that state. The joy was overbearing and I wished to see myself.

Bush's electoral victory

31.01.05

The impressive voting percentage has to be taken with a pinch of salt. But it must be conceded that it is only one man’s guts that got the US to stay on course and that man is Bush. A certain legitimacy is now in place and that would help to finally democratise Iraq and salvage America’s prestige.

Benny Hinn

M.C.Joshi
mcjoshi2002@hotmail.com

Your letter in today’s Asian Age is a very pertinent one. Actually, were not some of the protests against the pastor’s remarks about idol worship? He apologised for it and, if I am not mistaken, the protests subsided. He should have actually gone further and apologised for holding the most pernicious religious view of all – that Christianity is the only true religion. If he ever becomes enlightened enough to understand the Vedic vision of Ekam Sat Vipraha Bhahudha Vandanti, he would effect a real healing in the religious world. Till then, Hindus will have to continue to highlight its unique vision of there being many paths to God and call the bluff of the likes of Benny Hinn and his ‘secular’ followers in India, now led by Sonia!

Gurus

01.02.05

Why do ‘gurus’ seek to keep an organisation? Maybe it is as silly as asking why do teachers keep schools? We must distinguish between a guru and a realised person. While a guru, whether realised or not, needs an apparatus to take forward his teachings, a realised person would at best spread his teachings only on a one-to-one basis. At best there may be congregations of disciples. But there is no necessity for a realised person to have any paraphernalia. Certainly gurus like Mata Amritanandamayi are realised persons. Then why do they also have all the paraphernalia about them? The difference would be that they are totally detached from their paraphernalia and use it only as a means to spread spirituality. The problem arises only when there is an aggrandisement through the paraphernalia.

Letter to Balbir Punj

bpunj@email.com


Dear Sir,

I’ve always enjoyed your writings – you provide much food for thought therein. Your article ‘Secular Superstition’ in Asian Age was fantastic, particularly your last paragraph about the Pope to the effect that ‘charity begins at home’.

Social quarrels, whether between a married couple or among religions, erupt when the protagonists insist ‘my truth is the only truth’. Preachers like Benny Hinn are exemplars of this narrow mindedness. Activists of his ilk can be countered only by exposing their hollowness, not by incorporating them in the pantheon of secularism, as the Congress normally does.

Congratulations Punj Saab. More firepower to your golden pen!

Corruption

03.02.05

Corruption can be reduced to the extent of one person less if you personally decide not to be corrupt. But flashback to the Ramayan. Wasn’t it about the battle between the good and the bad? Therefore, not just be good, but support good forces. For it is as important as our personal salvation that society also is salvaged.

22.12.04

Yet another corrupt chappie held, this time a DGP named Gopal. I am certain he will get sure-fire lawyers to absolve him of his guilt.

21.12.04

I don’t think Bazee dot com chief should have been arrested. It seems to be the case of ‘arrest whom you can get if you can’t arrest whom you want’. He could have been questioned, of course. But get the chap who was actually responsible for the affair. Of course, the chief could have been arrested if he had laid down the policy to such pornography deals.

Why did God create the world?

21.02.05

Why did God create the world? Because, being perfect (and because He could not be imperfect simultaneously) nevertheless was capable of bearing the idea of imperfection, sought to put into play the idea of imperfection and therefore created the world. But the world is not a reality, it is only an idea. Maya. In fact, there is no imperfection, there is only perfection, to which his creation has to wake up for the dream (or nightmare) to end.

Chuvanistic Mid-day

23.02.05

mailbag@mid-day.com

Dear Sir,

What is a secular paper like yours doing rooting for a contestant on the ground that he is ‘our local boy’? Isn’t this a case of regionalism, which should be eschewed? I suppose for secularists Hindutva sentiments alone need to be eschewed!

Shameless governers

04.03.05

If the Jharkhand Governor’s action was outrageous, the Goa Governor’s action was even more so. In Goa, the Governor acted even before being presented with an account of the proceedings of the assembly. At least the Jharkhand governor can claim that the independents verbally told him that they were for Shibu Soren. If Sibtey is to be sacked, Jamir has to be arrested.

Govindacharya - 21st century Mahatma Gandhi?

04.03.05

Kamath’s recent article visualising a massive indigenous agrarian supply and distribution system run by the Sangha Parivar is tantalising. He even hints at Govindacharya being the 21st century Mahatma Gandhi (the swadeshi link).

22.02.05

Why is Govindacharya wanting to bridge the divide between the rich and poor when he ought to know that both are two sides of the same coin and as a material coin, not worth bothering about at all? Does he seriously believe that a rich-poor ‘abridgement’ would solve everyone’s problem? No, for the simple reason that man’s problem is not because he lacks money. His problem is because he has not discovered that unless he brings himself to a state of detachment and a witness, he is not going to be in the state of ‘satchitananda’, which alone he really yearns for but may not be obvious to him.

Letter to friend on Churchianity

11.03.05.
Dear Mr. Job,

Sometime back over the phone I mentioned a rather uncharitable remark about Pope John Paul. I might have hurt your feelings and if so, I am sorry.

I brought up the subject in the context of religious conversions. I strongly believe that the idea of religious conversion is anathema to a spiritual outlook as it implies that one religion is superior to another. This is not the Hindu view, which believes that there are many ways to God and all ways are equally valid. The Pope leads the Christian view that only a belief in Jesus Christ leads to salvation. This is the Church view. I do not think Jesus Christ himself held such a narrow view. Thus, I have nothing against Christianity but quite a lot against Churchianity!

I hope you get the drift of my thoughts.

Shiv Sena

14.03.05


Will the Shiv Sena return to its ‘sons of the soil’ days? Would it really want to attack Hindus? Hindutva, actually, was an afterthought to Thackeray to garner popularity on a wider scale. His first love always was the Jai Maharashtra credo.

US denial of visa to Modi

22.03.05

US refusal of visa to Modi seems to suggest that the US has an agenda of building up in each country a hate figure/movement so that they can in future to intervene in that country's internal affairs on the pretext of diluting a meglomaniac. In Iraq did not the US transform Saddam Hussain into an Islamic fundamentalist with weapons of mass destruction - never mind the fact that he was a secularist par excellence with no consequential weapons?

Bar-girls

13.04.05

Why have they banned bargirls? Don’t they have licensed red-light areas? Is dance per se not a legitimate entertainment? What’s wrong with some entertainment in a bar? The police should be ordered to be vigilant against any hanky panky. Instead, we have yet another case of the baby being thrown away with the bathwater.

Murali the congress brat

The Congress high command has done great in kicking out Muralidhareen and thereby symbolically doing the same to Karunakaran’s butt too. At the most, they would end up like the splinter Kerala Congresses.

Marxist folio

Prakash Karat as leader of the Marxists is surely bound to win admiration of large number of people.

Spiritual journey

15.04.05

We have a notion of the spiritual life. Spiritual life is a journey. Unless we be a pilgrim on the journey, we would not be benefited by spirituality except as a bombastic speaker. Since this pilgrimage is a journey within ourselves, unless we know how to go about it, it’s no use abandoning the material world.

Sudarshanji's interview

13.04.05

It is understood that the bane of organisational work is loose talk. Sudarshanji seems to have indulged in just that in the interview with Shekhar Gupta. Shekhar Gupta of all the persons. The chap who headlined in his Indian Express, “Dial ‘M’ for Murder”. (Meaning, Modi.) Of course, we can say that a Sarsanghchalak is entitled to his opinion. After all, his contentious statements were regarding Vajpayee and Advani giving way to youngsters. Per se, this cannot be faulted. But why did he talk about Brijesh Mishra, that too talk about a proximity he had with Sonia? Does Sudarshanji know something we don’t? And about Vajyapee’s “son-in-law” being an American agent. Well, quite lot of folks these days are. Worse, about Uma Bharati’s family being uncultured. This last opinion is totally uncalled for and unacceptable from any point of view.

The question is, was Vajpayee the PM as a representative of RSS? Is BJP itself the political wing of the RSS? Actually, there is not much clarity in these things. RSS, being a voluntary organisation, cannot make anyone its binding member. It can only expect its swayamsevaks who hold organisational responsibility to live-up to ideals. There are a lot of grey areas as to what hold the Sangha can have on the office-bearers of its parivar organisations. Nothing direct, to be sure.

Much would be said about Mohanji’s unhesitating expression of opinion contradictory to Sudarshanji’s.

However, it is sure that any ‘crisis’, if it does occur at all due to the interview, at least in the minds of the press-wallahs, would blow over because Sangha is too much of a no-nonsense organisation to be faltered by any storm in the tea-cup of the press.

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15.04.05

Surdarshanji, being the one and only Sarsanghchalak, should have been the final word for everything in the Sangh Parivar. If he wanted to execute a change of leadership in the BJP in the interest of Sangha, he should have been eminently in the position to do so and could have made convenient arrangements for his wish to come to pass. Therefore why was he wailing in front of (of all people) Shekhar Gupta? Was he indicating that he is less than all powerful?

We all know that BJP was part of a coalition and it had its limitations. BJP was stooping, hoping to eventually conquer. Why is Sudarshanji unwilling to give allowance for this inherent weakness in the BJP's positon vis-à-vis the NDA Government?

A Sarsanghchalak ought to be very cautious when he airs opinions on organisational matters in public.

Pavement booksellers

What trouble were the booksellers on the Fountain-Churchgate pavements causing to anyone? They took care to arrange the books aesthetically, causing least inconvenience to pedestrians. I have felt the romance of walking past all those piles and spread of books and this is what has been denied by BMC’s trying to ‘sanitise’ the area. Probably the booksellers syndicate failed to cough up the required bribe to a corrupt syndicate in BMC and this is what the whole drama is about. We need to have the books back and corrupt syndicates out.

AMU - Minority institution?

24.05.05

That there is an issue in 50% reservation for Muslims in AMU has come as a surprise. One thought that AMU was always a Muslim institution with just a sprinkling of Hindus who just happened to be there. There would be folks who would say, why 50%, reserve 100% for them. Is AMU actually a secular institution?

This might be an issue that would be played out in the courts. I don’t think VHP has a ‘hot’ issue on this subject.

Brothers Ambani and their split

For some reason, I am not in a mood to say, all’s well that end’s well, in the Ambani story. They should and could have stayed together. Even if they wanted to partition, they went about it in a pathetic way. Have we heard of any problems with all the Birla partitions? Ambanis have shown their ugliness. United they stood, divided they might fall.

26.11.04
Ambaini fued

Why should two brothers who seem to have everything fight amongst themselves? It is obvious, in their quest for material gains; they have not developed themselves spiritually. If they were spiritual, or if just one of them were so (it takes two hands to clap), there would have been no problems whatsoever. Why, the spiritual person will not cling to anything. So against whom will the material person fight? Over what would the spiritual person want to fight?

23.11.04

Ambanis – lack of spirituality

Why couldn’t Mukesh have sorted things out in brotherly love instead of seeking the impersonal board-room to freeze a unique relationship in the mortuary of legalese? Lack of the spiritual large-heartedness, what else?

Advani and the Jinnah echos

07.06.05

Advani must have resigned because he was angry that he was charged even before he was given a chance to be heard. Now I think he and Vajpayee will seek to promote the NDA front to the exclusion of Congress and Left, largely the leftists of all hues. Sangha would take over BJP and BJP would take on the role of a pressure group in the political spectrum, a role that they most relish playing.

Why did Advani praise Jinnah? I think he planned, anticipating the consequence and relishing the opportunity to take on the ‘hot heads’ head on. Therefore we can see the BJP splitting.

08.06.05

Its incredible that Advani should be out in the cold on the issue of Jinnah. He simply does not deserve it. But there would be no gainers if Sangha does not seize the moment. It has to bring in Modi if it is to seize the initiative.

09.06.05

I think it is a rather tortured reasoning that anything good can come of an Indian praising Jinnah. Jinnah was the arch villain of partition. He may have been secular, if by that is meant that he in practice was not a ritualistic religionist. But what do we Hindus mean by secular? That a person accepts the multiplicity of religious cultures as valid. And that the state does not discriminate on the basis of religion. If Jinnah was secular, on what basis did he propound the two nation theory? His two nations meant the Muslim nation and the non-Muslim nation. Which is about exclusivity – not a very secular attitude. Then again if secularism is about the state not being partial to any religion, why did he want Pakistan, a state for the Muslims and by the Muslims?

We have to talk about his constituent assembly speech to come up with anything secular to say about him.

10.06.05

Advani’s Jinnah speech must be seen in the context of pointing out that secularism is the only way forward for the sub-continent. He was trying to point out that even Jinnah, the greatest communalist there was, could see the merits of secularism.

The whole problem was that VHP jumped the gun. Would the sky have fallen down if it waited for clarification from Advani? Why on earth did it talk of a traitorous Advani?

=================

Aren’t Mirwaiz Farooq and his Huriyat ilk Jinnahs-in-the-making? What have we gained by Advani’s admiration of Jinnah except embarrassment?

15.06.05

VHP has in a way proven that it is not in the game of sophistry and appeasement. In fact, what else can Hindus, who have always been at the receiving end of injustice, do? VHP has to be a militant organisation, if it is going to push through its agenda of militant Hinduism.

17.06.05

The Editor,
Asian Age,
Mumbai.


Dear Sir,

Advani must be thanked for bringing up the subject of Jinnah. It is not as if it is an historical subject meant only for academic appraisal, having no relevance to the present times. In fact, what with a melange of Hurriyat leaders being ashamed to call themselves Indians, as also the Naga rebels, we have on hand many Jinnahs in the making. As Advani himself said in Pakistan, there shall be no more partitions. We ought to be telling our neo-Jinnahs that they consider Jinnah’s speech in Pakistan’s constituent assembly and learn to live amicably with the rest of Indians.

20.06.05

In retrospect, it is clear that Advani’s Jinnah appraisal was uncalled for and has not benefited anyone, except the aniti-Sangha Parivar folks. However, he having made it, it should have been incumbent on the Sangha Parivar to at least give him the opportunity to explain himself. Instead Togadia went and called him a traitor. Wasn’t he prejudiced to have called a Advani a traitor? And Advani, instead of explaining matters and cooling tempers and putting things in a proper perspective, went and resigned, thus bringing his ego into the fray. So, all in all, it was a tragedy of errors. No one showed the maturity to come on top of the situation.

Now why is Govindacharya gunning Advani? Shouldn’t he instead be talking about swadeshi and swadeshi alone, having quit politics? Moreover, his statement that the Babri Masjid fell because of the irresponsibility of BJP leadership also reveals that he, like Togadia, is prejudiced against Advani.

Sarsanghchalak's Shekhar Gupta interview had two flaws - spring chickens and uncultured Uma Bharati.

13.07.05

Is what’s happening now actually a game-plan to free BJP from the Sangha constraints and for Sangha to free itself from BJP inconveniences?

Yet I must say all was not planned. Definitely Togadia’s outburst was spontaneous. Maybe the ‘Ayodhya betrayal’ hurt was deep in him and he responded under its influence. Still, the outburst was spontaneous. It was not a calculating, planned move. Advani too was spontaneous. He wanted to contribute to the ‘peace atmosphere’ fast being built up. After all, if peace succeeds, it would be thanks to the BJP’s (Vajpayee’s) first move. So he did everything diplomatic and warm. Yet he did not put his feet in his mouth. All in all, his moves in Pakistan were dignified. He must have taken it for granted that his constituency was matured enough to see it all in proper perspective. Then came the ear-shattering yell of Togadia calling him traitor. Traitor? Can any word be further away from all that Advani stood for in his public life all these years? So naturally he wanted to meet this outrageous name calling of Togadia head on. Unfortunately, his praise of Jinnah, even indirectly, sounded differently through the ‘mike’ of the media, and, added to this, his sentiments about the demolition of Babri Masjid being the saddest day of his life, stirred a cauldron and, such being the fate of such misfortunes, his inability to do anything substantial about Ramjanmabhomi when in power was now seen as being a result of his disloyalty to the cause.

So the whole thing snowballed. Now where are we? Having awakened on the ideology issue, I don’t think the RSS can afford to allow everything to become fussy again.

20.07.05

It is amazing that we have come to such a situation. First of all, Advani did not say Jinnah is a secular person - he only pointed out to Jinnah's speech in Pakistan’s constituent assembly, which he wanted to be an eye-opener to the Pakistanis. Not just that, later he clarified that he brought up the matter in the context of the Katras temple complex that Pakistan has decided to renovate and also in the light of what the renowned and revered late Swami Ranganathanda had to say about Jinnah's speech.

He did say that Jinnah was not only a historic personage, but a rare person who made history. This may be a fact, but what rankles is that Jinnah made history at our expense. However, if we see it in the context of a confident and resurgent India that we are today, the history making by Jinnah is a blow that we have overcome. So Advani may have said it somewhat mockingly.

He visited Jinnah’s mausoleum, no doubt, but we have to place this detour in the realm of diplomacy, which is inevitable in state visits.

He wrote praisingly in the visitor’s book therein. That’s statesmanship - always seeing the good in others. In any case, having visited the mausoleum, it’s customary writing.

He said the demolition of the structure at Ayodhya was the saddest day of his life. But this he also said in the immediate aftermath of the demolition, though it was said in the context of the parivar having wanted the situation to so come to pass that the mosque would be shifted by the Muslims themselves. The sadness is on account that this did not come to pass. This is what he meant in Pakistan too. Not that he was saddened because the structure was demolished and a temple raised thereon.

Finally, he said that Akhand Bharat is no longer an ideal. This he should not have said. Since this concept is inevitability understood in Pakistan as ‘gobble Pakistan’, he wanted to downplay the ideal to avoid an elaborate explanation and causing unnecessary controversy in Pakistan. Little did he realise that a controversy would erupt within the Parivar, who he would have expected would understand.

Keshubhai against Modi

19.08.05

It is an absolute shame that a Keshubhai would want to go against Modi. Its obvious that the BJP is disintegrating. Sangha was the last hope. But apparently it has got nowhere near to do anything. It should have simply taken over BJP and told that all who value self aggrandisement over ideology are free to leave the party and they should mould BJP as an ideological entity, to work in the field of politics, whether in power or not.

It would seem that Advani has fallen off from his perch, what with the BJP caught off-guard with Advani's comments on Jinnah and Hindu Rashtra. While Sonia is systematically creating a new, vibrant and electorally rewarding image of herself, as with the 100 day work scheme, for instance, Advani appears to be isolated in his own party.

================

But let me cut off such talk as above. My only question should be, what am I doing? Isn’t there a be-all and end-all way in Sangha? And is not that way the way of Shakha? If so, what am I waiting for?

Sindhi homeland

23.08.05

I would advise Sindhis to be like Jews. Do not forget your homeland. Of course, the homeland of the Sindhis is Bharat. Which means, they have to always, like other Bharatias, to remember that their homeland was partitioned and seek one day to undo the partition. Only, it is incumbent on the Sindhis, as is upon the Punjabis and Bengalis, to be in the vanguard of such a movement.

Why did Mohammad cleanse Kabaa of its idols?

Dear Sir,

I read an article by you on the internet on the Daudi Bohra community
(in which article you have also said in a tone of conclusion that the
Kanchi Shankaracharya is "regarded to be involved in murder and
embezzlement of funds" ) and I could see that you are knowledgeable on
matters concerning Islam. I have the following query:

Why did Prophet Mohammed cleanse Kabaa of its idols? Was he not thereby
destroying the religious beliefs of others? Could he not simply have
built a new mosque for his new religion? Instead did he not choose to
begin his religion by an act of intolerence of other religions, which
has since been the hallmark of Islam?

I look forward to your e-mail response to my query.

Idealism

26.08.95

Why are we all idealistic, not content to let things be as they are?

We can trace our realities from the very beginning of our babyhood. We begin with total helplessness. Whatever our potential, we need help to grow into our potential. Would a time come when we no longer need outside help to fulfil ourselves? Even if such a situation is reached, when we do not require food to eat and air to breath, would we not then turn our attention to the fate of others who are not as fortunate as ourselves? Is it in man to eternally ignore his fellow beings. When he finally turns his absolute attention on his fellow beings, what would be his goal? Harmony, naturally. What the Hindus would call Dharma. And before that, he would have sought to perfect himself or reach his potential, which the Hindus would term as an action of yoga.

However, yoga and dharma are not a linear proposition to men, they are co-terminus, at least at the idealistic level. That is, even as a man seeks to perfect himself, he is contributing his mite to social good.

In Hindu religion, dharma is the ultimate. And yoga is the means to it. Which means, quality yourself to be a practitioner of Dharma, by being first a yogi. But that does not mean that you do not uphold Dharma till you become a full-fledged yogi!