Strengthen India: Do Not Weaken Her

History is a harsh teacher.  It teaches lessons after it has conducted the tests. And those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat the most tragic lessons they were taught by it. Sri Lanka is an example. Bangladesh is another example.  

In Sri Lanka the colonial racial constructs of Aryan and Dravidian merged with linguistic categories of Sinhalese and Tamil respectively and then Buddhist and Saivaite religiously have led to sustained mutual hatred. Sinhalese Buddhist state has destroyed the Tamil secessionist movement LTTE in a bitter war that climaxed in 2009. Now the western media has started revealing that a lot of gruesome human rights violations have taken place against the Tamils which seem to suggest a cruel genocide or ethnic subjugation.  These sensational media leaks in the West have created political seismic tremors in both Chennai and New Delhi. In the era of digital social networks a student agitation is spreading like a wildfire, three years after the tragic events in Sri Lanka. A noticeable trend in these student agitations is that there is a strong current of anti-Indian sentiment and pro-Tamil separatist voices regularly injected into the movement by forces which are hardcore Marxist and Maoist. 

The divisive brain behind the agitations is visible in some of the demands like asking for a separate external ministry for Tamil Nadu state and the demand that there should be no Asian countries in the International enquiry commission the agitators are demanding.  But these agitators conveniently forget the fact that the Maoist China has been supporting ruthlessly the Sri Lankan regime. China has a geo-strategic political interest in Sri Lanka as a potential military naval base for China in its plan of 'String of Pearls' in Indian Ocean. Pakistan too uses Sri Lanka as an effective base for its Jihad operations in South India. Myopic vision of most of the successive Indian governments and the fascist anti-democratic nature of LTTE which cut it from the changing international reality added to the problem. LTTE also destroyed all the alternative Tamil organizations the result of which was when LTTE was ultimately annihilated there was no effective organization to talk for Tamils in Sri Lanka. The pro-Tamil factions which fan the fires of LTTE support conveniently overlook this fact. Meanwhile even as British media is projecting itself as the media savior of the Tamil rights, British government is selling arms and ammunition to Sri Lankan regime for more than two million British pounds according to the data gleaned from the database of UK Arms Export Licenses. Even as European Union (EU) condemns Sri Lankan regime, it does not stop the following EU nations from arming the Sri Lankan regime: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the UK, France, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland. It is in this context we have to view the demand of the agitating students of Loyola College that there should be no Asian countries in the International tribunal to study the war crimes and atrocities committed in Sri Lanka against the Tamils. Clearly the aim is to give a great deal of control of judiciary in the South Asian region to the European states even as the European States are as guilty as Marxist China, Islamic Iran and Ukraine in arming Sri Lanka. 

Even as these dramas with international string pullers unfold in South India, in Bangladesh there has been a sustained campaign against the minority Hindus. When Bangladesh was East Pakistan it witnessed what can be considered the most efficiently executed genocide in the history of South Asia. Hamoodur Rahman Report commissioned by the then president of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, regarding the conduct of Pakistani army in 1971 war, recorded that there was an order in writing to kill Hindus. The report revealed General Niazi asked his subordinates how many Hindus they had killed each day. Bangladesh liberated in 1971 by the blood of Indian Jawans soon descended into a spiral of communalism and Islamic supremacism. There has been a consistent campaign to ethnic cleanse the land of Hindus and Buddhist tribes. In 2001, the Hindu population in Bangladesh was 16.83 million. The natural growth would mean that this population would become 18.2 million in 2011. However the Hindu population in Bangladesh according to the latest statistics is 12.3 million. 5.9 million Hindus have simply disappeared or the Hindu population has simply been selectively restricted – through a combination of livelihood conditions, job opportunities, religious persecution and directed violence.  In Pakistan the ethnic cleansing is even more direct and fast. Soon after partition, Hindus constituted over 15 per cent of Pakistan's population but now make up less than two per cent. The Asian Human Rights Commission reported 20-25 kidnappings and forced conversions of Hindu girls in Sind every month. Still Hindu influx into India from Pakistan is highly restricted by secular Indian government.

While a visibly confused India is today indulging in acts of appeasement to Sri Lanka to ward off the growing Chinese and Pakistani tilting of this strategic island nation, Sri Lankan regime is using this weakness of India to its hilt. Meanwhile Euro-centric forces in India are trying to revive the dead racial theory based division of Indian society – calling for liberation of Tamil Nadu from India. Each time India has displayed weakness and confusion Hindus in every surrounding theocratic nation state in Indian region have suffered.  Each time India has shown strength and decisiveness in its approach as during 1971 or 1998 Hindus in neighboring nation-states have lived in relative peace and also in honor. This is as true in Sri Lanka as it is true in Bangladesh. Those forces which want to weaken India, or question India's nation integrity by using the Tamil Eelam issue have to understand their basic fallacy: A weakened India will land our posterity in damned pitiable conditions which is what the western arms merchants and human rights meddlers seek. 

Yes… those who committed atrocities against Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka, Bangla Hindus in Bangladesh, Hindus of Sind in Pakistan , they all have to be brought to justice. It is true a weakened, confused polity which does not have the political spine to recognize the organic bonds India has to its cultural and spiritual Diaspora in the South Asian region has been responsible for this mess. The solution is then not to weaken India – the cultural base of all communities –Tamil or Bangla or Tibetian. We have to strengthen the feeling of Indian first and Indian last. The heartbeat of the age old Indian nation has to reverberate in each of us.  Swami Vivekananda diagnosed this long ago when he said, “Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz how to make us weaker and weaker, till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of everyone who dares to put his foot on us. Therefore my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength.”

Yes… that is what India needs today – a strong India with a strong leadership and a strong vision. That alone can stop human tragedies like 1971 and 2009 happening again in this region.

Aravindan Neelakandan

YB-ET

Yuva Bharati : Youth Icon : April 2013 

 

To call a Spade...

The recent hanging of a terrorist, involved in the parliament attack case, raised a lot of hue and cry in the “Secular” media. Their contention is that death penalty is a crime by the state, and one crime cannot be a punishment for another crime. There is a big lobby which calls for the abolishment of death penalty. And this sordid episode comes barely a fortnight after the calls for death penalty for the rapists by the very same media. In these secular pundit's dictionary, rape is a more heinous crime than the terrorist acts which claims innocent lives in dozens.  The convoluted logic may tire us if we think that these masqueraders are actually votaries   of truth. But there is more to it than what we get by a mere gloss over the events. These charlatans know that they will be strangled if they raise their voice against the menace called Islamic Fundamentalism. This religious fanaticism which is raising its hood, with a covert ambition of a pan Islamic brotherhood a.k.a nation, has a sly way of feigning innocence when they are less in number and exposing their fangs once they grow in numbers. All these years our media and 'secular 'politicians were tricked by this act of feigning and now when it is showing its true colors they are terrified to call it a spade. We see that people are mobilized on the streets in thousands to protest against corruption. There will be thousands to hold candles for the mirage called “peace” between us and our neighboring country.   But when it comes to terrorism seldom do we see any strong and sane voices being raised against it.  Religious fanaticism which surpasses all other crimes in terms of toll was never given a look into by our media or our activists. This cowardliness or dhimmitude is what the fanatics are striving for. The biggest obstacle to the dream of actualizing universal brotherhood is this cowardliness. The antidote to this malady is manliness which will come by following the grand vision called universal brotherhood, championed by Swami Vivekananda. He elaborates about the mind which is caught by this catch 22 situation thus: 

“……We have all been hearing from childhood of such things as love, peace, charity, equality, and universal brotherhood; but they have become to us mere words without meaning, words which we repeat like parrots, and it has become quite natural for us to do so. We cannot help it. Great souls, who first felt these great ideas in their hearts, manufactured these words ; and at that time many understood their meaning. Later on, ignorant people have taken up those words to play with them and made religion a mere play upon words, and not a thing to be carried into practice. It becomes "my father's religion", "our nation's religion", our country's religion", and so forth…..”

(Complete Works – P.376)

….Each religion brings out its own doctrines and insists upon them as being the only true ones. And not only does it do that, but it thinks that he who does not believe in them must go to some horrible place. Some will even draw the sword to compel others to believe as they do. This is not through wickedness, but through a particular disease of the human brain called fanaticism. They are very sincere, these fanatics, the most sincere of human beings; but they are quite as irresponsible as other lunatics in the world. This disease of fanaticism is one of the most dangerous of all diseases. All the wickedness of human nature is roused by it.  Anger is stirred up, nerves are strung high, and human beings become like tigers….” 

(Complete Works – P.377)

To wriggle  humanity out of this tangle he further says :

“…….We can make it run smoothly, we can lessen the friction, we can grease the wheels, as it were. How? By recognising the natural necessity of variation. Just as we have recognised unity by our very nature, so truth may be expressed in a hundred thousand ways, and that each of these ways is true as far as it goes. We must learn that the same thing can be viewed from a hundred different standpoints, and yet be the same thing Through high philosophy or low, through the most exalted mythology or the grossest, through the most refined ritualism or arrant fetishism, every sect, every soul, every nation, every religion, consciously or unconsciously, is struggling upward, towards God; every vision of truth that man has, is a vision of Him and of none else. This is the only recognition of universality that we can get. …..”

This simple yet grand vision is becoming more and more relevant in our Society where we are sinking to new lows every day.  The  choosy activists and the dormant masses are to be made aware of this humanitarian principle. 

V.V.Balasubramanian

YB-ET

Yuva Bharati : Youth Icon : March 2013

Swami Vivekananda 150: The caravan moves on

This month marks the dawn of the year long celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the advent of Swami Vivekananda.  Swami Vivekananda represents a new phase in the social history of Hindustan and a new awakening the consciousness of the planet.  As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close Swamiji found him amidst a whirlpool of changes spanning all humanity. While more than half of the human race was subjugated by colonialism and plagued by internal stagnation, a considerable minority of humanity – the West- was progressing fast in science and technology, culture and in building socio-political institutions.  New discoveries in science were shaking the basis of the old religious structures of the West. But the same old structures of the West found new pastures for their predatory pursuits in the subjugated humanities of the colonized worlds. Native spiritual traditions under social stagnation and colonialism became internal tyrannies, mere decadent forms bereft of their soul-strength. It was at this juncture that Swami Vivekananda appeared on the world scene. His message of universal brotherhood based on Vedantic humanism, showing the immense possibilities of synthesis of science and religion, democracy and tradition and different cultures from all the directions of the globe. Even as the leading socio-political philosophers of the West were hotly debating the supremacy of individual or that of the State, Swami Vivekananda harmonized both in a characteristically Vedantic way. In his social vision, the importance of freedom and the need for social equality have to organically moderate each other. He spoke of liberation of the downtrodden through Vedanta. This was a revolutionary way of ushering Vedanta into the socio-political realm.  

The old order panicked. The predatory belief systems marked this penniless youth their prime enemy. And they slandered him. In his authoritative two-volume biography on Swami Vivekananda Prof.K.N.Dhar explains how various factions came together to slander Swamiji:

…at the time when the orthodox agitation against Swami Vivekananda was going on, his old “friends”, the Christian missionaries, perhaps also Pratap Chandra Majumdar, and Dr.Barrows also joined in the fray. They had a common object, viz., to bring down the Swami in public estimation, so as to ruin his work, though their lines of attack differed…. There was something funny in Christian missionaries and Brahmo reformers who did not believe in caste attempting to belittle one for non-orthodoxy… (A Comprehensive Biography, Vol-2, p.940)

 All these happened soon after Swami Vivekananda started his active mission in India after his success in the World Parliament of Religions. More than a century later, today as a nation fondly looks forward to celebrate Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary. 

In a nation today bitterly divided by identity politics and ideological vested interests, the figure of Swami Vivekananda towers above all petty divisions, uniting India emotionally, cerebrally and spiritually for the world mission She has. And the forces of divisiveness panic at the prospect of an India united and strong, progressive and spiritual. So we find another malicious campaign against Swami Vivekananda unleashed by a section of English media. Indo-phobic, anti-Hindu mania of a section of English media, owned by Marxist media barons, penned by limousine liberals and funded mostly by Western academic institutions, have started a scathing attack on Swami Vivekananda, showing how still Swami Vivekananda remains the enemy numero uno of these anti-Indian forces. 

Yet Swami Vivekananda continues to inspire and guide the nation. His grand vision of unity propelled Tesla; fructified in Einstein and proceeds in E.C.George Sudarshan. His idea of Karma Yoga was imbibed by Gandhiji in his interpretation of Gita. His vision of Vedantic human equality and projection of Buddhist compassion manifested itself in the actions of Dr.Ambedkar. His holistic vision of humanity inspired and found fulfillment in the writings of Sri Aurobindo whose evolutionary vision of humanity in transition into Overmind has become a map for the future of humanity. His vision of national uniqueness and fullness of human organism found a comprehensive ideological expression in Deendayal Upadyaya's Integral humanism. And he will continue to inspire many a million to come – each contributing his or her own song to the beauty of human civilization and glory of Mother India. 

Yes. The grand Indic caravan of peace and benediction will move on through the vastness of time and royal routes of history, creating paths where none existed before and unfolding possibilities for the expression of the highest where none dreamt it as plausible, ignoring the howls of the lesser minds with the rich compassion they deserve. 

Aravindan Neelakandan

YB-ET

Yuva Bharati : Youth Icon : February 2013

Let us initiate...… Swami Vivekananda...…

For more than a Century his thoughts are holding Sway over Nationlists and Spiritually Oriented persons.  Now on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, Vivekananda Kendra along with other  likeminded organisations have planned for a grand and wide spread celebrations throughout the year.  These celebrations are going to be different from the celebrations that we are used to.
 

We have praised him a lot, worshipped him, read him, and written a lot about him. Adjectives are exhausted in his praise.  Libraries and stacked full with his books.  We have worked his ideas too.  But this is an area where we need to double up.  The enormity of the problems, which our society is facing and the vastness of the masses that are untouched by his life giving message imply that the work which we have done so far is not enough.  To address these specific needs Vivekananda Kendra has designed 5 Special programs which will take Swamiji's ever relevant messages to the 5 important segments of our society.  Youth, Women, Intellectuals, Rural people and Tribal people are these five.  Vivekananda Kendra has prudently joined hands with other organisations to ensure that this goal is achieved.  These events are going to be Historic.  They are going to be memorable not just for the people who are going to take an active part in it., but for the millions who are going to get benefited.  The Centenary Celebrations saw the launch of Vivekananda Kendra, a nationwide Service Organisation.  This 150th birth anniversary celebration will see the regeneration of the Spirit of Dharma and Spiritual Nationalism.

Let us all take part in these celebrations which will be a Yagna in our life.  Among our midst there will be many who are uninitiated to Swamiji's message.  Let us make a vow that we will take Swamiji's message to these hitherto uninitiated people.  Let us use this opportunity to make our life more meaningful. 

A generous dose of his Vedantic humanism is needed for the Present World which is sick due to the Religious fundamentalism.

If words the ethics, Morality, Compassions, and Truthfulness are not to become archaic in our usage, this work is vital.

V.V.Balasubramanian
YB-ET

Yuva Bharati: Youth Icon : January 2013

The vision of the Rock is the mission of the Gita

December has a very special place in Sri Ramakrishna – Vivekananda tradition. It was on December  of 1892 that Swami Vivekananda meditated in solitude for three days and three nights on the rock with waves roaring around him. Like Nachiketa who waited in solitude at the gates of Yama to penetrate the mystery of the very existence, Swami Vivekananda meditated on the mystery of the National Existence of India – feeling the Essence of its spiritual heartbeat. Like Siddhartha of Sakhya clan who felt the sufferings of all beings in his own heart and meditated to discover the ultimate liberation, Swami Vivekananda felt the pain of the Nation and Her multitudes, pulsating in all intensity in every cell of his being and he sought a vision to galvanize Her children from her slavery and slumber.   

A mendicant young monk was given a vision and a nation rose from her deep sleep resolving a mission.

Sri Ramakrishna - Swami Vivekananda tradition is unique in the spiritual history of India. Swami Vivekananda was the first Hindu monk to tell in modern times that our downfall was due to the neglect of the masses.  We need to take the Vedantic message to the masses of India and then they shall liberate themselves.  However Sri Ramakrishna – Swami Vivekananda did not stop at mere taking of Vedanta to the masses. The very notion of superiority and inferiority which is well rooted in the socially stagnant pseudo-culture of traditionalists had to be destroyed utterly. And that is not easy. As Dr.Ambedkar rightly points out the inequality of the system is not universal inequality in which case it could be easily combated. But it is 'graded inequality'. Such an inequality cannot be fought with binaries and hatred.  It needs extreme spiritual strength and courage. That courage and spiritual strength was given to the nation through the Sadhana of Sri Ramakrishna.

As Swami Ranganathananda Maharaj points out in his famous lecture 'Adi Shankara and the Untouchable', Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's sadhana was unique in the history of humanity. It signifies a new dawn. Sri Ramakrishna cleaned the toilet of a Dalit, with his own hair, all the while praying to the Mother of the Universe, to remove all feelings of superiority or inferiority and praying to the Divine Mother to make Him the servant of all humanity.  And that is Karma yoga at the highest, the practical Vedanta in action. Today caste wars are fragmenting our society and our brothers and sisters are rendered homeless, killed and maimed in the name of caste. Forces of fragmentation are working overtime to exploit every injustice many real and some perceived. Cycle of violence is reinforced and rekindled. To break free of this cycle of violence one needs to break free of the conditioned mindset of caste differences. It is here that the meditation on this Sadhana of Bhagwan Sri Ramakrishna  will liberate us from the evils of casteism. It is a sure armour and also a weapon to unite and not divide the society in harmony, peace and justice.

Viewed from the hermeneutics of Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, the message of Bhagwad Gita becomes the message of social harmony too. Here Sri Krishna rejects the idea of Kula-Dharma as put forward by Arjuna and in its place He provides Swadharma – individual's Dharma. If this great leap forward is not enough Sri Krishna terms those who consider themselves superior by birth or lineage as 'demonic' (16:15).  Bhagawad Gita's Varna system is not only not birth-placed, it even implicitly ignores the stratified though organic symbolism of Purusha Suktha. After all when Bhagwan shows His cosmic form in which even timelines are subsumed, the Varna-mapping of Purusha Suktha is conspicuous by its absence. It should also be noted that contrary to the popular conception the word Varna is never mentioned in Purusha Suktha.  The origin of Varna system as elaborated in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad does not refer to any social gradation amongst the Varnas.(BU 1.4.11-15).  If we remember that the Upanishads are the epicenters of Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Vedanta, then in the framework of Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, Bhagavat Gita becomes a strong spiritual source for social justice.

We live today in a fractured world and we live today in a wounded society. This month brings both Gita Jayanthi and also the days of meditation of Swami Vivekananda on the rock. May we dedicate ourselves to the mission and vision of Swami Vivekananda – which is to annihilate injustice through love and benediction, so that Mother India shall again arise and give this planet the message of Samanvaya. And that mission like charity begins right in our own house.  

Aravindan Neelakandan
YB-ET 

Yuva Bharati : Youth Icon : December 2012