Samatvam Yoga Uchyate:Yuva Bharati June 2026

We see dualities in our day to day life like success & failure, pleasure & pain, gain & loss, happiness & sorrow etc.. Because of these dualities, our mind gets oscillating continuously. Let us see what Shri Krishna says to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita.

योगस्थ: कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय |

सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्यो: समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते || (Ch.2/Ver.48)
siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṁ yoga uchyate

yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā dhanañjaya

“Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga.”

The equanimity that enables us to accept all circumstances with serenity is so praiseworthy that Shri Krishna calls it Yoga, or union with the Supreme. When we understand that the effort is in our hands, not the results, we then concern ourselves only with doing our duty. If the results are not to our expectations, we need to calmly accept them as the will of Supreme and dedicate the results to Him. In this way, if we are able to accept the dualities and when we learn to embrace both equally, we develop the equanimity that Shri Krishna talks about and become a ‘Yogi’.

Is it possible for a common man to have equanimity in these dualities? And, there is a word called ‘Paramananda’ meaning ‘Eternal bliss’ at which we don’t come across these dualities at all. However there is no proper translation for this word, because, this is a state which cannot be defined like dualities. Is it possible for a common man to attain this state in this very birth? YES. It is possible. Let us see how and let us start practicing it from today onwards, the month of which carries “International Day of Yoga” on 21^st June.

Each and every birth is unique in nature. And what is the reason behind this uniqueness, like taking birth in a rich family or a poor family, taking birth as a healthy child or with poor health etc.?  There could not be any other reason other than our own Karma (actions) in the previous births. This karma is of three types, namely, Sanchita Karma, Prarabdha Karma and Agamya Karma. Sanchita Karma is the bundle of actions that has been accumulated over many previous births of a person. From that accumulated karma, a part of karma which fructifies in this very birth is called Prarabhda karma. It cannot be changed and is already decided. Agamya karma is in our hand in this birth; that is, how we respond to what happens in our life or exercise our choice in our action?

One may ask, ‘Do you mean to say that I have to take those many births to make the Sanchita karma null? Oh my God ! how many births with these dualities??? Is there no other way to come out of this birth and death cycle?’ There is a way. Let us say, I have a pistol with 50 bullets which is nothing but the accumulated Sanchita Karma. The bullet which is already shot and missed the target is our Prarabdha Karma till this time. The bullet currently pointed at the target and yet to be shot is our Agamya karma. If I shot the target exactly, then the remaining bullets (births) are not needed. Those births will be nullified. This target is nothing but the state which we call by various names as ‘Samadhi’ / ‘Eternal bliss’ / ‘Paramananda’ / ‘Becoming one with the Ultimate’ etc.. How to achieve this?

Here comes the word ‘YOGA’. The entire creation and its actions are nothing but the ‘play’ of the supreme. HE directs and making us to act on this play. HE is like the ocean. We are nothing but drops of the ocean. When we dissolve ourselves in to the ocean, we become the ocean ourselves, after which we don’t have to take any births. We become one with the director of the play and not the actor anymore. Now refer to the first paragraph. All dualities happens only because of the fact that we think that we are separate from other human beings / living and non-living beings etc.. Suppose if I want to eat Mango, it becomes a second object other than me. If I by myself become Mango, why should I have the desire to eat Mango!!! In the same way, if I become ONE with everything, no desires will originate which is the cause of all dualities, like happiness & sorrow etc..

Yoga teaches us the way of life through which we can dissolve ourselves in the Supreme. The meaning of the word ‘Yoga’ itself is ‘to merge’. What with what? Jeevatma (Individual) with Paramatma.  Our Rishis have grasped the techniques of merging with ‘Supreme’ through their long Tapas. But, to their greatness, they have not kept the technique with them alone. Through their Sishyas, they have spread it to this world and it is available in our hand today through Guru-Sishya Parambara.

One of the great such Rishis, Muni Patanjali has given us this ‘Yoga sutra’ to merge ourselves with the ‘Supreme’. "Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha" (योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः) is the foundational second sutra of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras (1.2), translating to "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodha) of the modifications (vritti) of the mind-field (chitta)". It defines yoga not merely as physical postures, but as the intentional stillness of mental fluctuations to achieve self-realization. The goal of yoga is to calm the mind's incessant chatter—the "ripples in the lake"—until it becomes a clear, still surface reflecting our true, uncolored nature. The aim is not to destroy thought but to cease identifying with the chaotic, reactive fluctuations, becoming an objective witness. When vrittis (mental modifications) are controlled, the practitioner rests in their true self, rather than in the mental fluctuations.

But, we have to understand that it is not simply sitting and meditating. There are 8 limbs called Ashtanga Yoga to achieve the final liberation, which is nothing but the way of life.

1.      Yama : Ethics of behavior. It consists of Ahimsa (Non-violence), Satyagraha (Truthfulness), Asteya (Non-stealiing), Brahmacharya (Chastity) and Aparigraha (Non-possession)

2.      Niyama : Observances. It consists of Saucha (Cleanliness, Samtosa (Contentment), Tapas (Austerity), Svadhyaya (Self-study) and Isvarapranidhana (Surrender to Supreme)

3.      Asana : A physical posture in which one can be steady and comfortable.

4.      Pranayama : Control of Prana (breath). This is done in order to turn the mind towards the root, because the root where thoughts arise is the same for the breath. Therefore, if breath stabilizes in its root, the mind also goes to its root and subsides.

5.      Pratyahara – Withdrawal of the mind from the senses, keeping a single object of Meditation.

6.      Dharana – Concentration on the object of meditation.

7.      Dhyana – Deep Meditation on the object.

8.      Samadhi – Becoming one with the object of meditation / Supreme after which there are no births.

All the above 8 limbs are not one after another. Each and every point has to be parallelly practiced in our daily day to day life. During these practices, we will slowly realize that we are achieving the equanimity as told by Shri Krishna. The day will come where we will shoot the target and make the remaining bullets (births) nullified.

 

                                                                                                                     A.P.Sundar

                                                                                                                        YB-ET

                                                                                                                                                   

Not Exclusive ideology but Experiential Spirituality is required:Yuva Bharati May 2026

 

While the historic bill providing 33% reservation for women in Parliament is being tabled on one side, we also receive the news of the recent ‘forced religious conversion’ allegations on the accused employees of a BPO run by a Multi-national company in Nashik, which has created shockwaves across the country. Several complainants stated that apart from sexual harassments, the accused employees made derogatory remarks about Hindu deities, cracked offensive jokes about Hindu beliefs, and used abusive language referring to religion, and attempted religious conversion by coercing them to do namaz and consume beef, gave pressure to adopt specific religious practices etc. Vulnerable employees, especially those facing financial and personal difficulties are targeted. Definitely, this forced religious conversion has to be seen as a threat to the national integration as it has entered the corporates too as a pattern. But such Muslims should remember that a bigger law of spirituality and Karma in action. By resorting to such practices might appear as a victory now but in long run they are destroying themselves.

Let us see how and why other religions are trying to convert Hindus and the way ahead to protect sanatana dharma by not only Hindus but also Muslims and Christians.

All the legitimate aspirations of man, which help him ultimately to realize the Aatman, are classified into four as Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha (Chaturvidha Purushaarthas). Artha (All those that lead to security and shelter) & Kaama (all legitimate desires) are natural in all living beings. Animals become quiet after satisfying their basic hunger and other needs but man wants more and more. To temperate this, our Rishis revealed that Artha and Kaama are natural aspirations and requirements of life but the basis of it has to be Dharma. If we follow Dharma while striving for Artha and Kaama we would become worthy of striving for Moksha (Final liberation, Eternal Bliss) in due course. Thus, Dharma becomes the primary Purushaartha. Unfortunately, today our understanding about Dharma is clouded. When we think of Dharma, the word religion comes to mind. But Dharma is not religion.

Dharma is also called Sanatana Dharma because it is based on the Sanatana, eternal principles such as everything is imbued with the Divine; existence is interconnected, interrelated, interdependent; the Divine has manifested as family, society, nation and whole existence; we are part of these various collectives and therefore our duty is to nurture our larger self, if need be even by sacrificing the smaller entity. Why is it also called Hindu Dharma? How did the word Hindu come? People from the other side of the Sindhu river called the people who are following this sanatana dharma (people living in India) as ‘Hindu’ (Sindhu became Hindu for them).

In the practice of Dharma, one may choose any name or form of God or may not, but in religion, the follower of that religion has to affirm his faith in a specific god. Dharma gives the norms for behaving and interacting with others, with nature, with the expanding self. Whereas, religion gives rules and dogmas for prayers to specific God. Now coming to the actual issue, Islam and Christianity are not Dharma. They are religions. Religion means there is a specific god, a specific book, a specific way of worship or prayer and some religious hierarchy which guides the believers. Generally, a practitioner of Dhaarmic tradition is not a fanatic. But the followers of especially Abrahamic religions generally say that only their book is true, only their book should be read, everything else is false, only their god is true and others gods are false which leads to fanaticism. This is what is seen in the recent allegations on the accused employees of a BPO, who made derogatory remarks about Hindu deities.

In Sanatana culture, the vision of life is of Oneness (Ekaatma Jeevan Darshan).  But for the cultures that are based on Christianity and Islam, the vision of life is a vision of division or separation. These cultures are exclusive in nature. God is separate from creation. Man is separate from nature and God. The vision of division is seen in the division of people as ‘chosen and heathen’; as ‘faithful and Kafirs’, ‘we’ and they’, ‘God and Satan’, etc. Thus Nature is not sacred. It is created for the enjoyment of man and so it can be exploited. Converting others by all means, exterminating others who do not follow ‘our true god’, becomes the religious duty in these cultures. For them, the brotherhood is the brotherhood of all Muslims and is against non-Muslims. As Christians also have the same vision of division, the meaning of brotherhood gets restricted to the denomination of the proclaimer. Heaven is assured only for those who follow that particular denomination.

The insidiously defined secularism in constitution also became the biggest stick to beat. Secularism unfortunately has become minorityism and minority appeasement. Hindu society is not monolithic that it can take care of itself, nor does it have any international monetary support as do Muslims and Christians, nor is it aggressive in conversion for increasing its numbers. It is the other way round; other religions poach on the Hindu society through conversion. If Hindu society does not survive, India will not be India. What the Indian culture has nurtured for thousands of years for the good of humanity would be lost forever.

Macaulayan education also has confounded our problem. We have lost our capacity to think. We need to change our text books. After independence, our academic bodies were mainly governed by the missionaries and the leftists. Shivaji was a great empire builder but we do not teach that to our children. Why can’t the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Gita, the Upanishad-s, Yoga become essential part of school curriculum? The whole world admires it and it is the birth right of an Indian child to learn it.

As has been seen in Indian culture, one has freedom of choice to decide whom to pray to. So, our Christian and Muslim communities of course can follow their religious practices. Just because they pray to Jesus Christ or Allah they do not get excluded at all from Indian culture. The deciding factor is: whether they accept the vision and values of Indian Culture, whether they revere the great persons born here like Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Ramakrishna, etc. They need not worship them but they should at least respect them. If not, then they are rejecting Indian culture. If yes, then they are very much part of Indian culture.

 But what is wrong in religious conversions? If a person feels peace praying to Jesus should he not spread it, to others? One may ask. The answer is: When Gandhiji was asked the same question, he replied, “Because, you cannot possibly say that what is best for you is best for all...And again, is it not super arrogance to assume that you alone possess the key to spiritual joy and peace, and that an adherent of a different faith cannot get the same in equal measure from a study of his scriptures? I enjoy a peace and equanimity of spirit which has excited the envy of many Christian friends. I have got it principally through the Gita.” Coming to the obstinacy of Christians about their mission, Gandhiji added, “Your difficulty lies in your considering the other faiths as false or so adulterated as to amount to falsity. And you shut your eyes to the truth that shines in other faiths and which gives equal joy and peace to their votaries.”   (History of Hindu-Christian Encounters, Goel, 1984, pp. 199-200). Same thing applies to the case in question 

Secondly, conversion means the person is asked to reject his God as either false or inadequate. A person has many identities but his deepest identity is his God and if that is attacked, it is violence against him and also the millennia of evolved consciousness. Conversion is violence.

Thirdly, it is fine if you want to tell people about how to pray to Allah but then why are people told to reject their traditional Gods and Goddesses? That is why many Janajaati areas oppose construction of Churches or mosques but not Mandirs. If a Church or mosque is constructed in their area, they are always prey to converting religions and thus stand in fear of losing their culture.

Fourthly, if praying to Allah brings peace then why is there so much violence and terrorism where Islam goes or in several Islamic countries? And lastly if the ultimate aim is to bring people to One God, why are there so many denominations and peers amongst Islam and why do Muslims of one denomination try to kill Muslim of other denominations? It indicates that in the guise of religion and so called peace, Islam works more as a political agenda.

As seen before in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Muslims and Christians are citizens of this nation but just because they are in India does not change the Hindu character of India or her mission. Christians and Muslims in India also have a very big role to play in the service of humanity. They are born in India. Thus, they have inculcated and can imbibe Indian Culture if the forces from outside do not interfere with them. Christianity and Islam are facing problems the world over. Human spirit is born free so it cannot be bound to dogmas for too long. The Church tried that for centuries in the medieval period but the result is, today many reject religions in Europe and America. The number of Church-goers have dwindled from 30% to 10%. They reject not only going to church, they reject religion itself. In the name of individual freedom or materialism or progressivism or post-modernism, many have drifted from values of life into a spiritual vacuum.

Islam is a few steps behind to what is happening in Christianity. Muslims are controlled with various fears and in some places with threats by religious terrorists. Thus, we see that many Muslim countries are not at peace with themselves. Killings take place. The affluence of Petro-dollars has eased the life-style in some countries but the women long for freedom. Debauchery afflicts the very rich. Huntington says that the borders of Islam are always bloody. It is as if the society is imploding from within. To keep that in check, the anger of the ordinary Muslims is directed towards other religions or Dharma-s or towards Muslims of different denominations. Thus militancy is promoted. Many Muslim families are worried about this radicalization of their children. When and how their sons or daughters fall prey to terrorist propaganda, parents too do not know.

Unless the spiritual content, the experiential dimension of religion is stressed, dogmatic religions will always face the possibility of radicalization or rootlessness that comes out of loss of faith. With their grounding in Indian culture, Indian Muslims and Christians can contribute to harmony by infusing true spiritual content and the experiential dimension.    The human spirit cannot be permanently controlled with fear of hell or some other fear. The human mind has to evolve. Our Christian and Muslim brethren have a great role to play as they have had the good fortune of being born in the Indian civilization. They know both Dharma and their religion. These Abrahamic religions have to get Dharmicised if they have to live longer.

What is it that will have to go and what is it that should remain? In Christianity and Islam, the exclusive approach would have to go, the dogmatic basis has to go and they would have to become experiential in nature that is, giving importance to being and becoming and not believing. As quoted earlier, Swami Vivekananda had said that Truth does not pay homage society ancient or modern, but society has to pay homage to Truth or die. Oneness is the Truth of existence. Thus, operating from the vision of division would bring only unhappiness. The vision of Oneness and values of Indian civilization would have to be adopted while Jesus or Allah or various religious practices which are in tune with Dharma would continue. The Muslims should not fall prey to the nefarious designs of the terrorists and try to hurt Hindu society. Today, they might think that they can take advantage of mild nature or ignorance of Hindu society but the law of Truth of existence is going to destroy them if they refuse to give up conversion and exclusive approach. The Muslims and Christians of India can play a great role of saving their co-religionists all over the world from becoming either irreligious or fundamentalist. Dharma can be practiced here in India by them and that would charm their co-religionists and the whole world to follow them.

                                                                                                                  A.P.Sundar

                                                                                                                     YB-ET

Cultural and National Integration; Yuva Bharati April 2026

Swami Vivekananda declared India to be the land of introspection and  pirituality, where sages and spiritual giants trod. All the great saints and philosophers of this land traveled the country by foot and had the opportunity of seeing different people speaking different languages, wearing different types of dress and having different cultural backgrounds. In spite of the apparent differences all the people are one in spirit. We are certainly good children of One – Immortality (Vayam suputra amritasya noonam). Thus, it became easier for the saints and philosophers to realise this truth and achieve cultural and national integration among the masses.

Having gone through the articles on ‘Jnana Yoga’ by N.Krishnamoortiji published regularly in Yuvabharti, we are confident that by this time, the readers must be well aware of all the three philosophical systems: Adwaita, Visishtadwaita and Dwaita. The saints Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya have established and expounded these systems respectively through their practical work and by their untired pilgrimages throughout Bharata Varsha for cultural and national integration.

In fact, Shankaracharya has reconciled these systems during his period by accepting all the three systems at different levels of human philosophical understanding in their path of attaining Mukti (the final liberation, eternal bliss). This month we are celebrating the Shankara Jayanti and Ramanuja Jayanti both on the same day, 22nd April. Kanchi Paramacharya insists us to celebrate the birthdays of these saints in a grand manner. For, he says ‘Without saints like Adi Shankara, we would not have been in a position to start celebrating any of the other festivals like Deepavali, Makarasankranti,

Navaratri, Akshaya Tritya etc.’. Let us see how these systems and these great saints have helped us, helping us and will help us in following this Sanatana Dharma. During the Past During their period, the country was infested with lot of factions, each having its own champions, quarrelling incessantly with all other factions.

By their pilgrimages and teachings, these saints have enumerated more than 8 / April 2026 / Yuva Bharati seventy of such sects. They have reformed them and awakened the people to the higher vision of Unity as proclaimed in the Upanishads.

One of the great tasks under taken by both Adi sankara and Ramanuja in their lifetime was to renovate the old and dilapidated temples throughout the country, streamline the age-old worship practices there without violating the given Agamic traditions.

The followers of Ramanujacharya established lot of resting places for the pilgrims and distributed Prasad to them. As Swami Vivekananda rightly observes, one cannot preach religion to hungry stomachs.These saints have established various mutts all around India to pass down the eternal wisdom of the scriptures to next generations. After their period came the foreign invasions.

Though we were severely affected culturally, we stood as one and were able to follow our dharma to this day. Because, it was the teaching of the saints and their shishyas through these mutts, that gave strength to all of us to annihilate the forces of ignorance and disruption, of establishment of the unifying forces of universal brotherhood and mutual understanding, culminating in the intimate experience of theeternal bliss; and ultimately gave us freedom in 1947 as predicted by Swami Vivekananda even 50 years before freedom. In a lecture in 1897 at Madras (Chennai) he urged his fellow countrymen to wake up and live for the nation for the next fifty years and India became free exactly after fifty years in 1947. "Shall India die? Then from the world all spirituality will be extinct," proclaimed Swami Vivekananda, asserting that India's survival is essential for the world’s spiritual and moral health.

Present scenario

Coming back to today’s world, let us see how these saints are helping us. Today we can see the global war situation because of which all the countries are struggling to meet even their basic needs like gas, petrol etc. But, as Bharatavarsha believes the concept of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (The whole world under one roof) and universal brotherhood, we always propagate the message of unity, peace and happiness throughout the world and act according to it with all the countries through the foreign policies based on this Oneness. The effect of which is well seen by the release of Indian ships in the ‘Strait of Hormuz’ by Iran, though it threatened most of the other countries not to pass through the strait. Adi Shankara has also done a lot of work for Sarvadharmamaitri, i.e., for the fostering of a spirit of friendship between the followers of different religions. That is why he is called “Loka Shankara”. “Sham karoti iti Shankarah”, it means one who does well to the world. In fact, our dharma gave space for atheism also. But, when terrorist attacks took place in the name of religion, India stood firmly against them through its operations following Gita verse “Yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ” - "fight without mental fever/agitation".

So, we also tell to the world very clearly that we cannot be taken granted for such attacks. Even if it is our own body, we do operation by losing certain amount of blood, at sometimes even parts. Coming to the sustainable economy and developments, though the family culture is slowly vanishing in all other countries, mother Bharat is following the family values to this day from time immemorial. We can see this in the great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata for which lot of saints have written commentary. This has given rise to the home savings and India ranks amongst the highest in the world.

When a child is born, we save. When parents are getting old, we save. It is only that society, which takes care of its relationships, that saves. That is the reason why we were able to survive during Y2K problems. That is the reason why we are able to have a stable economy and we are the fifth largest economy in the world. Soon we will become third. “No one size fit all” (each country will have its own cultural background) policy only made this possible. We compete with the world in AI also, which is shown in the recent summit held in India.

Future scope

Unlike old days, where our saints had to walk on foot to all the places to preach, we have lot of communication, media and travel facilities now. Along with that, these days, our country is beset with certain problems like terrorism, religious conversions, following western culture though we all took  irth in this great country that follows Sanatana Dharma from time immemorial. Though we are talking about Universal brotherhood, we see discrimination of high and low, here and there. But the reason for all this might have been the long invasion that took place in the recent 1000 years and divide and rule policies of foreign rulers.

The foremost aspect is to do away with this discrimination of high and low. We have to develop the Indian method of studying and understanding civilizational issues. We have to work to remove distortions at thought level, to support and serve the vulnerable parts of our society which are targeted by anti-cultural forces, to strengthen our traditional systems of life in the context of given challenges, to further the work of great visionaries like Shankara, Ramanuja, Swami Vivekananda and others to rouse the national consciousness and make the nation aware of its mission, to develop our family and social life with great balance between the spiritual and the mundane, between individual and social freedom.

Creative response is required not only for the protection of our culture but also for the evolution of humanity. Hence, we all have to take a sankalpa that we will insist people of Bharatavarsha to propagate the message of unity, peace and happiness throughout the world as preached by these great saints and philosophers. If there is any country in the world which can be a Spiritual Guru, it can only be our country.

Let us pray to these great Saints and Supreme Lord to shower Their blessings for success in this endeavor. Swami Vivekananda said, “If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi; to be the land, to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma; the land, to which every soul, that is wending its way Godward, must come to attain its last home; the land, where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness; above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is India.”

A.P. Sundar

YB-ET

The Ideal Man and Woman:Yuva Bharati March 2026

Fortunately, this year, we have ‘International Women’s day’ (8th March) and ‘Sri Rama Navami’ (26-27th March) falling in the same english month, that enables us to praise the greatness of the ideal man and woman, Rama and Sita of this great country, mother Bharat. Puranas say ‘Ramo Vigrahavaan Dharma’—Rama is Dharma incarnate! Whereas Agni says, “Sita is purer than fire”! What else is needed for us, the bharatians to praise and follow these noble souls, Rama and Sita ?

Srirama moved with everyone with love, respect and kindness. At the same time, whenever his individual interests were to be sacrificed in the interest of the larger collective, like family, nation and world, he willingly chose a difficult life for himself. That is why Srirama continues to be embedded in the hearts of all people of this nation, keeping aside the caste, community and religion we belong to. In the same way about Sita, Swami Vivekananda said, “Mark my words: Sita has gone into the very vitals of our race. She is there in the blood of every Hindu man and woman; we are all children of Sita”. It is well known to this world about every Indian mother’s sacrifice! Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Rama and Sita are the ideals before us. Then, what is that we have to learn from both of them?

Feeling of Oneness
Though Rama has taken birth as a human being, he did not exhibit himself anywhere as avatar. He saw everything as his brothers, sisters and friends. The Nishada king Guha, the monkey Sugreeva, the Rakshasa Vibeeshana and so many others were seen as his brothers itself. In fact, he has done final rites for the bird Jatayu (who fought with Ravana to rescue Sita) by treating Jatayu as his father’s brother. When Sita was kidnapped by Ravana, there are lot of verses in Ramayana that tells about the sorrow of Rama, and how he talks to the nature and feels the loss of Sita. He wanted to show to the world that the entire existence is interconnected, interrelated and interdependent and all is One.

As Rama is dharma incarnate, this feeling of oneness stands first in following Rama. This feeling will be achieved, when we behave with others as we would like others to behave with us; i.e when we do not like others to cheat us, hurt us, humiliate us, ignore us, then, we too should not lie, hurt, humiliate or ignore others; When we want others to speak to us kindly, respectfully, truthfully, then, we should also be kind, respectful, truthful, considerate and helpful to others. Because, what we do to others is actually, what we do to ourselves and in real sense it comes back to us at some point of time.

As we are talking about Oneness, there is no gender difference. In fact, the ‘Ultimate’ is called as ‘Parasakti’. Saptashati says that all women are embodiment of Jagatjanani, the mother of the world. As Sita is also seen as mother itself in India, we can see in most of the places that we call women as ‘Sitamma’, ‘Sitabai’ etc.. Swami Vivekananda says : “Now, the ideal woman in India is the mother, the mother first, and the mother last. The word woman calls up to the mind of the Hindu, motherhood; and God is called Mother”.

In Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna says that the Divine is manifested in all women through the seven qualities which are called Saptashakti : i.e, Keerthi, Sri (Wealth), Vaak (Communicate), Smriti (Memory), Medhaa (Intelligence), Dhriti (Tenacity) and Kshaama (Forgiveness). As a mother to all of us, these Saptashaktis and the primary virtues of Sita like courage, penance, self-control, focused devotion etc. are not only admirable, but are also worthy of imitation by all of humanity in this world.

Performing our duty as per Dharma
As we all know, all the legitimate aspirations of man are classified in to four Purusharthas, Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. Here, Artha and Kaama are natural in all living beings.  Artha is not only making money. It stands for all those material well-beings and body security needs, and all those means of enjoyment for fulfilment of our desires. Kaama stands for all types of legitimate desires such as one should get a good job, have name and fame, should be a respected teacher, should score good marks, should be a good parent, etc.

Animals become quiet after satisfying their basic hunger and other needs but man wants to accumulate wealth for the next coming generations. So, our Rishis revealed that Artha and Kaama are natural aspirations and requirements of life but the basis of it has to be Dharma, the righteous living (though it is untranslatable). If we follow Dharma while striving for Artha and Kaama, we would become worthy of striving for Moksha (Becoming one with Ultimate) in due course. Thus, Dharma becomes the primary Purushaartha.

Rama as Dharma incarnate, thus performed his duty as a son, by obeying his father and taking up Vanavasa for 14 years. He performed his duty as a husband by fighting with Ravana, killing him and saving Sita. At the same time, he performed his duty after coronation as a king, by sending the same pregnant wife away to the forest from palace. Because, as a king he wanted his people to be guided and inspired to move on the right path. He wanted to stop the gossips and maintain the morality of the society.

In general, without understanding what is Dharma, there is a political drama and wrong interpretation against Rama by saying that, “Just because that Shurpanaka expressed her love to Rama, how can he cut her nose, even without considering her as a woman?”. The fact was that, when Rama rejected Shurpanaka’s proposal to marry her, she got wild, became aggressive and threatened him by saying that she will attack Sita and kill her. At that time only, Rama instructed Lakshmana to punish her by cutting Shurpanaka’s nose and ears as it was his Dharmic duty to protect his wife. Again, after killing Ravana, Sita did Agni pravesh on her own to prove the world her purity. In fact, Rama did not ask her to prove anything as he knew that she is purer than purity.

In the same way, adharmic persons like Ravana is praised some times by saying that, “See, Ravana had great consideration for women that he did not force himself on Sita”.  The fact is : Ravana had a curse already that if he forces himself on any woman without concurrence, his head will be broken in to pieces. So, let us understand what Krishna said to Arjuna also here: “To treat one with dhaarmik rules, who does not follow Dharma, is Adharma.”

Coming to Sita on performing her duties, first of all, she took up Vanavasa along with Rama. In fact, she says to everybody that she is Rama’s Sahadharmini and she has got equal share in performing Rama’s duties as per Dharma. Again, after coronation of Rama, when she was sent to forest with her children in womb, she did not see any injustice in the decision of Sri Rama. Sita said to Lakshmana, “Let Rama do the duty of a king. I will do my duty as a mother.” She asked Lakshmana to inform Rama, not to get angry with the people of Ayodhya and to take care of them and love them as his own brothers. Thus she has done her duty as a mother to the people of her Kingdom and her sons Lava & Kusha. After fulfilling her duties as wife, as queen and as mother, after proper upbringing of Lava and Kusha and handing them over to Sri Rama, she gave up everything to attain Moksha, the ultimate purushartha. She prayed to Mother Earth to take her back.

A person has to understand that he is part of the family, the society and the whole creation. Therefore, he has a duty towards the family, the society, nation and nature and has to contribute for its development whether he believes in the “All pervasive truth” or not. That is, he has to practice Dharma in performing his duties for the fulfillment of Artha and Kaama and if need be, he has to sacrifice his self-interest.

Sacrifice of the smaller identity in the interest of the Bigger collective
When performing our duty if there is a clash of interest say for example between the duty towards family and the duty towards nation, or clash of interest between personal well-being and the well-being of the family, then what should be done? When Rama was unjustly asked to go to forest, there was a clash of interest : Rama’s individual advancement was at cross purposes with the family values and oneness of the family. Sri Rama did not think of his personal interest and went to the forest to keep the family intact. Otherwise, the whole family would have been shattered. In order to keep the family together, in order to keep the mind of the family members together, with due respect to the entire family, Rama took the decision to go to the forest.

In the same way, family’s larger identity is society. Society’s larger form is the nation. When there is a clash between the interests of two identities or two forms, the interest of the bigger identity—Samashti—has to be chosen. In fact, it is Vishesh Dharma where, in a difficult situation a smaller entity is sacrificed for the higher entity, even if the smaller entity is put to difficulty and has to sacrifice its interests and comforts as Sri Rama had done.

So, whenever one is faced with difficulty that is, what is to be done and what is not to be done, then life of Rama and Sita will guide us : See whether there is feeling of oneness, Aatmiyata, concern for others, whether the ordained duty is being fulfilled, whether the decision is taken in the interest of the larger identity—that is, the extended form of oneself and not for a smaller identity—and whether some sacrifice—cheerfully giving up, cheerfully undergoing sufferings—is involved in it. Both Rama and Sita have touched our lives so deeply because they were historical personalities who sacrificed their personal and family life for the sake of the society. Sri Rama and Sita are worshipped inseparably because the divinity is fully manifested in them.

Swami Vivekananda said, “It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing”. So, if the nation has to progress, both – men and women  - have to contribute to it. Let both men and women, make this nation, Viksit Bharat, by following these two ideal persons Rama and Sita.

Ref : “Indian Culture – Challenges and Potentialities” by Nivedita Raghunath Bhide
                                                            

                                                                Jai Shree Ram
                                                                            

                                                                                                                    A.P.Sundar

Guru Gobind Singh's message - Relevance to our time:Yuva Bharati February 2026

 

A nation survives not merely through geographical boundaries or military strength, but through the vitality of its culture and the moral courage of its people. When culture is threatened, the very soul of the nation is at risk. At such a critical juncture in Indian history, Guru Gobind Singh Ji emerged as a towering leader and visionary — a true guardian of the nation and its civilisational heritage. As we observe his birth anniversary in February, we are reminded that his life and message remain profoundly relevant to our times.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji lived during a period marked by political oppression, social injustice and systematic attempts to weaken India’s cultural and spiritual traditions. Rather than surrendering to fear or compromise, he awakened inner strength and self-respect among the people. Through the establishment of the Khalsa, he created a disciplined, value-driven community committed to righteousness, justice and the protection of society. The Khalsa was not merely a martial order; it was a cultural and moral revival that restored dignity, unity, and confidence among the masses.

For Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the protection of culture and the protection of the nation were inseparable. Culture, he showed, is not limited to rituals or symbols; it is a living force expressed through values, conduct, language, literature, and collective consciousness. Through his writings, promotion of heroic poetry and encouragement of classical Indian traditions, he ensured that courage was always guided by ethical and spiritual grounding. His life showed that spirituality and bravery are not contradictory but together form the foundation of a resilient nation.

The sacrifices associated with his life remain among the most powerful examples of commitment to national and cultural preservation. The martyrdom of his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, for the defence of religious freedom, and the supreme sacrifice of his four sons, stand as eternal reminders that the protection of culture and human dignity often demands immense courage and sacrifice. These acts were not expressions of despair, but affirmations of faith in justice, truth and moral conviction.

For the youth of today, Guru Gobind Singh Ji offers a clear and relevant message: safeguarding the nation begins with strengthening cultural values within oneself. Pride in heritage, respect for diversity, commitment to service, disciplined living, and the courage to stand against injustice are essential qualities for national protection. In the modern context, defending the nation is not confined to the battlefield; it takes place in classrooms, workplaces and communities through ethical conduct and responsible citizenship.

As we commemorate Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s birth anniversary in February, Yuva Bharati calls upon young minds to draw inspiration from his enduring legacy. Let us embody his spirit — fearless yet compassionate, strong yet ethical, modern yet deeply rooted in cultural values. By doing so, we do not merely honour a great historical figure; we actively contribute to the preservation and strengthening of India’s nationhood and cultural identity.

May the life and message of Guru Gobind Singh Ji continue to inspire the youth of India to stand as vigilant guardians of the nation and proud carriers of its timeless cultural heritage.

 

                                                                                                              Dr Padmarekha