yuva bharati voice of youth december 2010 issue

8/2/2019 Yuva Bharati Voice of Youth December 2010 Issue

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V.Senth il Kumar

Vol.38 No.5 Kartik-Margashirsh 5112 December 2010

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(Plus Rs.50/- for O utstation C heques)Yuva bharat i - 1 - 2010December

Editorial 3

4

13

17

25

30

The Arrangement of

Chapters in the Gita

The Monster That IsFeasting On Us

Life of Mahakavi

Subramania Bharati

Prosperous India-7

Cultural Roots - 6


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Invocation

Yuva bharat i - 2 - 2010December


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Editorial

Yuva bharat i - 3 - Dec 2010ember

What is the force in thee? the Yaksha a sks Agni as the n arrative goes in th e

Kenopanishad. I can bu rn all things up on earth w as the reply. This burn said the

Yaksha p lacing a blad e of grass in front. Enraged by this insult, Agni app roached it w ith

all his might on ly to find ou t that he could n ot burn it! The Yaksha w as indeed a form taken byBrahman to teach the Devas w ho w ere drunk with a sense of victory that it is not they who act, but a

force in them which acts - the Devas being merely instrumental in the process. So too, in our

activities, we meet w ith small accomp lishm ents and successes. It w ill be imm ature to ascribe those

progresses to our ow n efforts, just like the Devas did .

It is an und eniable fact that p roper p lanning and execution are imp ortant. But it is equally important

to keep in mind that there is indeed a higher force which directs our energies, which delivers or

throw s aw ay. This recognition of a greater force gu iding ou r efforts is absolutely essential, in times

wh en our efforts bear fruit and even more so wh en they d on't. For w hat shall motivate us to remain in

the battle to revive our nationhood, the lost manhood of our land an d keep us striving to bring back

the glory of our forefathers?

Is it really possible to fight the corruption that has become so entrenched? Is it really possible to

sensitize our people from their almost w retched callousness to recognize the agonies of so many in

our society today? Is it really possible to bring out th at d imm ing light of Dharm ic consciousness in

our p eoples, weaning th em aw ay from an ind ulgent an d m aterialistic self-forgetfulness? The field to

work is so vast; the enemies of goodness un countab le; the resources at our d isposal, meager. What

really is it that can keep us motivated to remain and fight this war and not drop our arms and

surren der ? The intellect can search all around and find no answers for it is not the intellect that has

the answers.

Unless we recognize that we are only instru men ts of a mightier, grand er force, mere paw ns in a game

that stretches eons, we will be put through tremendous mental strain in our effort of national

reconstruction. This mighty Shakti that w e call our n ation bids us and wh en w e are called to w ork,

we w ork; wh en we are thru st into suffering, we d o and wh en w e are no longer required, we are

thrown away. This Shakti, our Mother, does not require intellectual understanding, not our money

nor comforts. She requires our faith and she will rise. Sri Aurobindo wrote She is already in our

hearts waiting to be worshipp ed sorrowful because H er children w ill not call on H er to help them.

You w ho feel her stirring w ithin you , fling off the black veil of self, break down the imprisoning w alls

of ind olence, help H er each as you feel imp elled, with you r bodies or with you r intellect or with you r

speech or w ith your p rayer and worship, each man according to his capacity.

This was the message that Sri Krishna gave Arjuna in the Gita - the recognition of a divine spirit

gu iding all our actions, giving u s victories or teaching u s through failures. This Gita Jayan ti, let us

strive to cultivate in us th is essential quality. P.Vasanth

YB-ET

Recognizing the Grander Force


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The Arrangement ofChapters in the Gita

A letter from Gand hiji

Acharya Sr i Vinoba Bhave

he Ashrama was opened in Kocherab.

Right from the beginning Vinoba hasTbeen with m e; he has d one a lot of workthat I wan ted him to do or was dear to me. Take

for example the d iscussion on the arran gementof chapters in the Gita. I asked for a litte, bu t

Vinoba gave aplenty. Let the reader

und erstand that the idea of chanting the entire

Gita in 14 days (and later in 7 days) came u p in

the Yerwada -Mand ir. I pu t my ideas before

Vinoba and asked him either to app rove them

or to correct them. In respon se, he sent me the

essay called The arrangement of the chapters

in the Gita. While placing this in front of you , I

hope those who want to meditate on the Gita

and to bring d own its teachings to their life willbenefit by it.

Mahabaleshwar,

30.5.1945.

A letter to resp ected Bapu

Respected Bapu ,

I have to reply to the points you have raised as

to what should be the weekly routine of the

stud y of the Gita. I have not forgotten the same.

But I thought, instead of sending you a short

reply, I should seize this opportunity and spell

out my views on the arrangement of the

chapters of the Gita in detail. But I could n ot do

so uptill now. Now I shou ld give sufficiently

elaborate answers to you r qu estions.

The I chapter of the Gita is the seed, it is

und erstood. But a small portion of it hasentered the II chapter. The reason is that a

special mention has to be made of the Lord's

Acharya Sr i Vinoba Bhave


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first call (II 2. 3) and of Arjun a's su rrend er to

Him (II/ 7). The Gita as such starts on II/ 11.

From then on, in the w hole of the II chapter, the

main teachings of the Gita are presented in

their en tirety, thou gh only br iefly.

1. The science of Life: The immortal

natu re of the Atman etc., the Gita calls

it the SANKHYA BUDDHI.

2. The art of Life: how to work in

equanimity the Gita calls it YOGA

BUDDHI.

3. A description of the highest ideal of

man, the teacher, in whom are

established the 'science and art of life',

(Sankhya an d Yoga) the Gita calls it

Sthita-Prajna.4. The end product of (Sthita Prajna)

'steadied awareness' Brahma

Nirvana. Once the practitioner has

reached that state, nothing remains to

be done.

Here it should be mentioned, that in all the

Samskr i t l i t e ra ture pr ior to Gi ta , the

expressions Sthita-prajna and Brahma N irvana

are not found an ywh ere. These are Gita's

original and special and innovative terms.

Devotee (Bhakta), man of wisdom (Jnani),

Yogi, liberation (Mukti), attainment of the

highest state (Paramapada prapti) not being

born again (apunara vritti)- these expression

find place in the Gita, but Gita is not the work

that men tions them for the first time. They are

not Gita's original contribu tions.

The wh ole pilgrimage was completed in short.

It is repeated in detail, from III to V chapters,

with Arjuna's questions as the pretext. Had

Arjuna not asked that qu estion w hich he p oses

in the III chapter, the whole of Gita wou ld hav e

been completed , with the II chapter. The

philosophy of life, the art and craft of life, the

ideal teacher and the final fruit, all these have

been discussed by the Lord. What else does

remain there to be said?

In the III chapter, the Lord explains the reason s

as to wh y we should (work) act. It is true that

intellect is great, but then it cannot be attained

without action. Then wh at is the way out?

Finding food for oneself (Sharirayatra), social

work, (Yajna) cleansing one's m ind (Samsid dh i)

and the w elfare of human ity (Lokasamgraha)

these are the reasons as to why a person shou ld

work, act, expressed in increasing order of

significance. You call the III chap ter the key to

the Gita. That is exactly so. If Arjuna does nottake up that question, we would have missed

the key. Because the Lord has already gone up

to Brahm a Nirvana in th e II chapter itself.

Thereafter, the IVth chapter gives us an

elaborate analysis of Karma (action). The word

Karma means the external work, actions that

come along the flow of the life-stream. It is all

right to h ave this explanation of Karma (action),

but those mental equipments that are needed to

perfom those actions with equipoise, such as

controlling one's senses, penance, self-study

and self-control can also be called Karma

(action) in a broad sense. The solid action

performed as one's Swadharma and the

ancillary Karma which cleanses one's Chitta

(mind ), this special and broad Karma, these two

go to make up the actionless (Akarma) state

finally. This is the top ic of discussion in the IVth

chapter.

Yet this actionless state appears as two fold

wh en closely studied.


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1. All actions are performed but nothing

is done (Yoga)

2. No external action is carried out but

everyth ing is achieved (Sann yasa). The

comparison, of these two types of

actionless states is the topic discussed inthe IV chapter.

'Yoga' and 'Sannyasa' are in reality one (V-3/ 4)

and the same. But perceived from the

practitioner's p oint of view, Yoga is easier th an

Sannyasa (V-6-12). That is, Sannyasa can only

be the final abod e. But Yoga, apart from being

the way, can also be the final goal, this is the

outcome. Further up , the beau tiful description

of the Poorn a Yogi or Sannyasin is given (from

V-13 to 26). The last verses 24,25,26 describethat state of Brahma Nirvana, which the Gita

says is the final camp of the Yogin or the

Sann yasin. It is to be noted tha t in these

shlokas, the expression Brahmanirvana occurs

thrice. In essence, the state that was attained in

the II chapter is reached again in V-26.

Bu t i m m ed i a t e l y a f t e r wa r ds , wha t i s

mentioned in 27, 28, 29 is a very important

matter. Because, in this lies, the answ er to your

questions. For an explanation, we have to take

a long jum p into the XII chapter. In my opinion,

the chap ter XII is the V chap ter expressed in th e

langu age of Bhakti, devotion. And the V

chapter is the XII chapter expressed in the

idiom of Karma (action). When w e emp loy the

language of Bhakti, the state of Sannyasa,

where one does not perform any external

action, yet achieves everything, is Nirguna-

Upasana. Nirguna Upasana is the worship of

the ON E absolute w hich is w ithout d escribable

qualities. And to perform all actions and to

remain u ntou ched by them, the Yoga-state is

Sagun a-Upasana, the worship of the Absolute

wh ich has describable qualities. The XII

chapter deals with the subject matter of

comparing these two ways of worship.

Broadly speaking, the resul ts of their

comparison are the same as those of the Vchapter. In principle, Yoga and Sannyasa are

the same, similarly Saguna and Nirguna

up asanas are the same, because both of them

take one Godwards. But if we see it from the

point of view of the practitioner, Yoga is easier

as Sagu na w orship is easier.

Withou t Yoga, Sann yasa is unattainable (V/ 6

first half). Withou t Saguna worsh ip, Nirgu na

wor ship is d ifficult to achieve (XII/ 5 latter

half). The latter half of XII/ 5 is to be comp aredto the first half of XVIII/ 11. From that on e can

understand how the same question arises

wh ether you look at the problem from Karma

point of view or from Bhakti point of view. The

answer is also the same. Sannyasa and Nirguna

worship both see the body as an obstacle. All

this analysis is for establishing the relation

between chap ter V and XII. That is why XII

chapter talks about giving up the fruits of

action, (XII/ 11, XII/ 1) and the V chapter

concludes w ith devotion (V/ 29).

Now the question is whether the comparison

between Saguna w orship and Nirgun a worship

has been d one earlier and their final evaluation

is done in the XII chapter, or does the XII

chapter take up the matter for the first time?

The answer is that the matter w hich h as been

already discussed is compared here and the

conclusions are dr aw n. With the V chapter the

main topic of the Gita has been completed.

From the VI chapter to the XVII chapter, the


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Gita teaches us the various methods of

perform ing action withou t desire for the fruits.

The XVIII chapter is the sum mar y. In between,

in the chap ters of Sadhana VI to XII compr ise

the Upasana portion of the Gita. Of these

chapters VI to VIII mainly d iscuss the worshipof Unmanifested Absolute and chapters IX to

XII mainly discuss the worship of the

Manifested Absolute. I say mainly because

the Gita does not logically discuss things

breaking them into pieces. In the discussion of

Saguna, Nirguna also enters and in the

discussion of Nirguna, Saguna is mixed up.

That is the Gita's way of looking at things.

How do chap ters VI to VIII discuss Nirgu na or

Unmanifested Absolute and how do chapters

IX to XII discuss, Saguna or ManifestedAbsolute?

Now w e have to discuss this matter. But before

that w hat is the pu rpose of the last three verses

of chapter V? The verses 27, 28 of chapter V

indicate the worship of Unmanifestedt h

Abs ol u t e and t he 29 ve r se i nd i ca t es

Manifested or Saguna worsh ip. The last verse

appears to contradict the verses 14 and 15 of

chap ter V. You have already noted th is. You

have given the explanation that will reconcile

the Saguna an d N irguna. You have mentioned

this under chap ter V-29 in you r book, Anasakti

Yoga. The point is that the last three verses of

the V chapter are like a preface to the chap ters

VI to XII which discuss the two-fold methods

of worship.

The verses 1, 3, 4 and 5 of chapter XII are useful

in understanding the Nirguna worship of the

Bhagavad Gita. According to that verse the

Gita calls Nirguna worship and worship of

Unmanifested Absolute as worship of the

Akshara, (Chapter XII verses 1, 2, 3) and as a

part of it says Sanniyamya Indriya gramam

(XII/ 4 first half) as the method. And it also

mentions that this path is more troublesome.

The worship of the Akshara should be taken to

have a dou ble meaning, a pu n. Akshara meansindestructible Brahman, that is one meaning;

Akshara also means Omkar, that is the second

meaning. Controlling One's senses and with

equanimity all aroun d this description covers

the entire VI chap ter. That is clear. The VII and

the VIII chap ters clearly men tion the w orship of

the unm anifest and th e Akshara (VII/ 24, VIII-3,

20, 21, etc.,) and the w orship of Akshara as 'OM'

is men tioned in chapter VIII/ 13. Again in

VIII/ 10, 12, the Om kara w orship d escribed in

the sixth chapter is repeated. In the VI chapter,the reply in response to Arjuna's query,

Anekajanma samsiddhi and other verses indicate

that this whole path is a difficult one. There is

also a hint that there is no necessity for getting

pan icky or to despair. But, sure, it is difficult.

This whole worship of the unmanifested

absolu te is Patanjali's Yoga Shastr a. I will give it

in short, in Patanjali's own w ords, leaving out

sutras in between but keeping their original

serial order in Yoga Sutr as.

1. This is the beginning of instruction in

Yoga (Yoga Sutr a I-1).

2. Yoga is the control of thought waves in

the m ind (Yoga Sut ra I-2).

3. Then man abides in his real nature

(Yoga Sutra I-3).

4. They are controlled by means of

practise and non-attachment (Yoga

Sutra I-12).

5. Concentration may also be attained

throu gh d evotion to Ishvara. (Yoga

Sutra I-12).


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6. The word must be repeated with

med itation upon its meaning (Yoga

Sutra I-28).

Of these, the VI chapter of the Gita discusses the

first four sutras in full, the fifth sutra isdiscussed in chap ter VII, and the sixth and th e

seventh sutr as are discussed in chapter VIII. It

should be mentioned here that through

devotion to Ishvara is not an alternative to

practise and non-attachment. Instead,

Abhyasa-Vairagya are to be linked to devotion

to Ishvara. Devotion to Ishvara mean s,

meditation on the Unm anifested Ishvara.

All these discussions on the Yoga Shastra h ave

been completed in chapter VI to VIII. Alongwith this the path of fire, and th e path of smoke,

have been m entioned in the VIII chapter in the

diction of Yoga science and there end s the VIII

chapter.

Now let us turn towards the worship of the

Manifested Absolute. The Gita's way of

worshipping the Manifested Absolute is not

opposed to the worship of the Unmanifested

Absolute. The Manifested is the light of the

Unman ifested. This worship is the famous

path of devotion described in holy books such

as Srimad Bhagav ata and Tulasi Ramayan a and

glorified by holy and saintly men . It is the topic

for discussion in Chap ters IX to XII.

The worsh ip of the Unm anifested Absolute can

be described by the term Meditation

(dhyana). The mean ing of the path of emotion

is Love. That is called the Royal path of the

know ledge. (IX/ 2) The special feature of this is

direct perception, (IX/ 2). In this only faith is

required . This is very easy for pr actising

(IX/ 2). It is not as difficult as the worship of the

Unman ifested. Only because people do not

have faith, they do not turn this way. And the

path is such that anybody can come on this,

(IX/ 3). The human form is the symbol of God.

The wor ship of tha t form is a speciality of thispath. To undervalue the hum an form is to

und ervalue God himself (IX/ 11). Having

insulted this form, Arjuna had, later to regret

his action (XI/ 41). When Arjun a attained the

special insight of devotion, he was immensely

happ y to see the human form (XI/ 51). It is true

that of all the Yajnas, tha t of wisdom is the best

Yajna, bu t those w ho are imm ersed in th e love

of God consider the Japayajna of the Lord's

name as the best (X/ 25). The Lord who

bestows w isdom on us is omnipotent (X/ 10,11). As already expressed in the V chapter,

instead o f totally controlling a ll the senses and

the mind, and all their actions, in the path of

devotion they are all offered at the feet of God

(IX/ 27). This path does not recognize the

differences of a sinful birth or a birth of merit.

This dharm a is open to all castes. Because, here

only love is important (IX/ 32). Daily service,

daily prayer and festival this is the nature of

this path (IX/ 14, X/ 9, XI/ 36). To prostrate, to

be hu mble is to be the greatest (IX/ 14, 34,

XI/ 36, 37, 39, 40 etc.,). When we comp are the

word dharmya of shloka (IX/ 2) with th e word

dharmyamritam of (XII/ 20) and th e word

faithless (IX/ 3) with the word faithful of

(XII/ 20) we under stand all this. That is, the

topic that is completed in the XII chapter has

already begu n in the IX chapter.

This nectar of dh arm a (XII/ 20) stands for the

signs of a d evotee as extolled in th e XII chap ter,

but it also indicates the nectar of dharma

described from chapter IX to XII. With this


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word deathless compare the word death

mentioned in chapter IX/ 3. In the same way

the last verse of the IX chapter is the last verse

of the XI chapter also. The word Evam

mentioned in XII/ 1 aims at both these verses.

That should be un derstood. I am not goinginto d etails. To be shor t, the chap ters X, XI, XII

can in no way be separa ted from the IX chapter.

The IX chapter is in the p lace of a mo ther an d

the X, XI chap ters are its children. When in

XI/ 4 Arjuna says that my confusion goes

away, he is thinking of the IX chapter only.

The highest secret, spiritual knowledge

(XI/ 1) is the Royal knowledge an d the Royal

secret of the IX chap ter. Chapters VI to VIII

describe the worship of the Unmanifested

Absolute and the chapters IX to XII describethe path of devotion. If we w ere to comp are

these two, they are like OMKARA and

RAMANAMA.

With this, I have almost fully answered your

main qu estion. In order to comp lete the topic, I

ad d a little more. The chap ters XIII, XIV, XV

mark the path of wisdom. We know that the

path of devotion is different from the path of

wisdom . Still, the Gita has linked devotion

even to wisd om. See My devotee (XIII/ 8,

XIV/ 26, XV/ 19). But this path is different

from the worship of the Unmanifested

Absolute. The main method is med itation, in

the worship of the Unmanifested Absolute.

Love is the main method in the path of

devotion. And analysis and d iscrimination are

the main methods in the path of wisdom. The

path of meditation, is mainly that of Patan jali.

The path of devotion is mainly the Vaishnava

(and Saiva) tradition. And the path of wisdom

is the intellectual and the Vedan tic path . See

Vedantakrit (XV/ 15). After describing the

path of wisdom, the Gita has essentially been

conclud ed. [Thu s (ends) the secret scriptu re].

The verse XV/ 20 mean s the XV chap ter, true,

bu t it also stands for the en tire book of the Gita

recited so far. That is my notion. The word

scripture (Shastra) is employed for the firsttime in the Gita. And later the same word

occur s at the end of the chapter XVI, and again

at beginn ing the chapter XVII.

Further up , I consider chapter XVI and XVII as

annexures in which the entire social science of

the Gita is described . Its social science is

f ounded upon t he good behav i ou r o f

individuals. That is, their good though t

(Chapter XVI) and their good actions namely,

the sacrifice, the gifts, and the penance (Chap terXVII). These two chapter s are the follow-up of

the IX chap ter. The XVI chap ter is an extension

of IX/ 12, 13. The link betw een the XVII and the

XVI chapters is seen in the question posed by

Arjuna in XVII/ 1. but apart from that, this

chapter is also a clarification of the path of

devotion and its chief characteristics as

presented in chapter IX/ 27.

Whatever you eat means the proper food

(aahar) of the XVIII chap ter.

Whatever you sacrifice is the Yajna of the

XVII chap ter.

Whatever you give is the Dana of the XVII

chapter.

Whatever penance you p erform is the Tapa

of the XVII chapter.

Offer it to me means the Om Tatsat of the

XVII chap ter.

The essence of the path of devotion is the ru le of

surrender and offering. But surrend er does not

mean offering whatever comes your way. The

pure and the sattwikalone are fit to be offered to



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God, that is the meaning of the XVII chapter.

From the ashram's point of view the XVII

chapter is called t he Yoga of the p rogram mes.

That is the name I give: Get up in the morn ing

and pray (faith), (Shraddha) afterwards take

some food (ahar) later on go out to performservice, ('Yajna' Dana, Tapa) and at last offer all

of them at th e feet of God (Om Tat Sat).

After all this, the XVIII chapter is a summary

and a pointer to all the discussion. The first five

chapters which discuss the main issues of the

Gita, also form the starting point of the XVIII

chapter.

And its conclusion is the description of all the

tools and the most important of this namely thepath of devotion as described in chapter IX.

IX/ 1 and IX/ 34 should be read together and

then read XVIII/ 64 and 65. The IX chapter has

got an importan t place in the Gita. That chap ter

is dear to the saints. Jnan eshw ara breathed his

last chanting the IX chapter. This chapter

comes runn ing to aid w omen, sudras, etc.,. The

pinn acle of the path of devotion is expressed in

that chap ter. On listening to this chapter,

Arjuna was wonderstruck with happiness,

(X/ 1). That is why the Lord on his own starts,

the X chapter. Shloka XI/ 1 says that Arjuna's

confusion end ed because of that. The XII

chapter is the final seal on the greatness of the

IX chap ter. The XVI and th e XVII chap ters are

extensions of that chap ter. The conclud ing

XVIII chapter is a repetition re-expression, of

the IX chap ter.

In this, I have, only in short, p resented m y ideas

on the arrangement of the chapters of the Gita.

In the discussion above the answers to your

questions are available. The topics of the first

five chapters and VI chapter are totally

different. If we want to link the VI chapter w ith

the V chapter because they are all tools for the

attainment of equanimity, samatva even then

there is a loss of direction. It w ill give the

impress ion tha t asana, pranayama, and

pratyahara are the only tools to the attainm ent of

equ anim ity. It is not desirable. Really,

equan imity is the central point of the Bhagav adGita through all the paths and tools this is the

goal that the Gita sets itself. For examp le, the

discrimination (Viveka) described in the XIII

chapter also aims at the Samatva. (XIII/ 27, 28).

Therefore it is not prop er to link the VI chap ter

with the V chapter. I have been saying earlier

that it will not fit into the ideas of the XII

chapter. The worship of the Unm anifested

Absolute is also only a worship . In that also a

sort of devotion is inbuilt. In this way, VI, VII

and VII chap ters also contain a little or more of

the path of devotion. But w hat we call the path

of devotion proper starts from the XI chapter.

The expression tu in Idamtu of the XI/ 1 is

especially m eant for d elinking of the IX chapter


The Gita cer tainly does not advocate war ; w hat it advocates is the active and

selfless defence of dharma. If sincerely followed, its teaching could have altered

the course of human history. It can yet alter the course of Indian history."

Maharishi Aurob indo


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from th e VIII chapter.

I have told you every thing in brief. Now I give you the weekly routine of the stud y of the Gita

with the reasons.

Friday Chapters 1-2 Steady intellect (Sthirabuddhi) the

wh ole pilgrimage in short.

Saturday Chapters 3-4-5 Action without desire, for the fruits of

action (Nishkama Karma)

Sunday Chapters 6-7-8 The path of meditation (Dhyana Marga --

Worship of the Unm anifested Absolute)

Monday Chapters 9-10-11-12 The path of devotion (Bhakti Marga the

worship of the Manifested Absolute

unop posed to the Un manifested Absolute)

Tuesday Chapters 13-14-15 The path of wisdom (analysis and

discrimination Vichar an d Viveka)

Wednesday Chapters 16-17 The healthy attitudes (along with the

proper action)

Thursday Chapter 18 Tyaga (Giving up)

Wardha, Pranams of Vinoba

16.6.1934

(This article, including the letter by Gandhiji is a translation of a section from Vinobaji' sGitai

Chintanika Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan Rajghat, Varanasi, 221001 June 1981).


When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created thisuniverse everything else seems so superfluous." ~ Albert Einstein

"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind

by its devotion to God which is manifested by act ions." ~ Dr. AlbertSchweizer


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Yuva bharat i -12 - Dec 2010ember


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15/45

ain is an important phenomenon in

living th ings. It alerts the organ ism to aP dysfunction or a disorder in the organsand creates a necessity whereby the organism

looks to set things right, thereby rem oving the

cause of pain. What function pain performs in

the body, anger performs in society say

evolutionary biologists. Anger evolved in

social animals as a mechanism whereby

individual elements that do not follow the

ways that is most ben eficial to the entire group

are singled out and are forced to fall in line,

instead of chasing high er individu al benefits at

the cost of the grou p's ben efit. The loss of these

abilities will mean that th e organism is neither

able to iden tify the flaws in its own system n or

neu tralize the effects of those that threaten the

collective well-being in pursuit of their

individua l benefits.

Indian society today seems to have lost the

faculties of sensing pain or being angered. So

much so that we just don't care about what is

happ ening to us. We hear about it every day, we

encounter it practically everywhere and even

then, there simply isn't anybody taking any

effort to even reduce it, forget eliminating it.

What else can we be talking about but

corruption?

There were times when bribes were paid to

government officials, usually inspectors of

various departm ents, to not carry out their duty

and turn a blind eye to flouted norm s. While this

is almost a norm today, the disease has grown so

much that people are now being asked for

bribes to even carry out their d uty. Every point

of contact with almost any department of the

state is a pain-point where brutes and greedy

thugs hassle and harass the common m an. From

issuing birth certificates to death certificates

and everything in between, every table that a

Srinivasa Desikan

The Monster That Is Feasting On Us



16/45

document passes through demands a bribe.

Such a d escription m ight be uncharitable to the

honest folk, albeit in a miniscule minority, that

still exist within these systems. But w hen t hey

can put up with the kind of scumbags and

ridiculous nonsense that goes on in theirdepartm ents, we believe this remark w on't hurt

them too much and they'd be prepared to pu t

up with this too.

Such a p athetic cond ition is no sur prise, we can

say. What else can we expect when a d isease is

not addressed? It will continue to grow and

feed itself on the organism w ith the d isease. The

real surp rise, and the most p ainful one, is that

there is no repulsion, not even a sense of disgu st

at this condition. It has almost become

normative that people expect to be asked for

bribes and worse, people are prepared to pay

bribes for every documen t that is cleared, every

stamp th at is ever p ut on pap er. Just a cursory

glance at the new spapers tod ay reveals the how

insensitive we hav e become. A crore used to be

an amount that made people look in awe not

too long ago. The amounts involved in the

scams today are in the jaw-dropp ing range of

lakhs of crores. But even w ith all this, where is

the outrage?

But w hat can w e do? We are so few and they

are so many What can a powerless few do

against such powerful men and women who

have connections in all the top places? These

are the common excuses we hear in almost

every discussion on the topic of corruption.

These are true and undeniable facts, which

need no further p roof than the fact that man y of

the whistleblowers end up getting killed

irrespective of whether the killer can be

identified and pu nished or n ot. But th is cannotbe perm itted to become the end of the road . So

these excuses are valid, but th ey remain excuses

nonetheless. These are just superficial cover-

up s that are given by people wh o do not w ant to

act.

What is the instrum ent or force that can be u sed

against the corrupt? An example can be found

in the way a village responds when there is

indeed outrage. Recently in Tamilnadu, a cab-driver kidnapped, raped and killed a 10 year

old schoolgirl. The villagers refused to admit

him into the village. This tool shame and

social boycott is one that has been used for

centuries to punish those who stray from the

righteous path. Let's take this simple test on

ourselves. Consider for a moment how we

would react to friends or relatives who have

committed a m urder and how w e would react

to friends or relatives who take bribes. From a

random survey among my fr iends, thedifference between th ese two w as nearly 100%.

We can't expect it to be very different in the

larger society either.

The very fact that most of us don't even bother if

one of our ow n friends or relatives takes a bribe

is proof that we as a society never really

considered acting against corruption. We must

make sure that we instil in ou rselves and others

a sense of du ty and rectitud e that simply does

not tolerate taking the easy way out. If I lose

respect and acceptability from my peers, my

relatives and my community, the material

benefit that is gained out of corrupt behaviour

will be outw eighed. This is the only practicable

way to even attemp t to fix this cancer. This will

cover practically everything in its scope,

starting from jumping the red lights at signals

to having to work with large contracts in

govern men t offices. This is a monu men tal task,

not becau se of the scale, but because it involves

a change in ou r attitudes. We have to u nlearnthe current attitud es in ou r mind wh ere success

in any means is applaud ed and entrench in our

psyche tha t the means is as essential as the end s.



17/45

We should be ready to forgo the small benefits

in ease of getting things the w rong w ay to be

able to leave a living society to our children.

Even the slightest laxity in this will mean the

same mon ster will be revived again wh ich w ill

feast on our society to its death . This year when

we celebrate our Rashtra Chintana Parva, let us

spare some time to think about this and vow to

cleanse our hom es and neighbourhoods of this

disease of corrup tion.


"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritualevolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear andcomprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed;hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all ofhumanity." ~ Aldous Huxley


18/45

i Subramanian, affectionately called

Subb iah w as born on December 11, 1882

Sto Sri Chinnasam i Iyer and Smt.Lakshm i

Amm al. Subbiah lost his mother when he was

five. A young Subb iah, a prod igy composed

verses to the pleasant surp rise of man y learned

peop le. In 1893, when he was eleven, the

scholars of the Ettayapuram state decorated

him w ith the title 'Bharati'. Between 1894 and

1897, he was a student of Hindu College,

Tirun elveli. In Jun e 1897, he ma rried

Chellammal who had just completed seven

years. In 1908, he lost his father and slipped

into a state of shock. Subbiah decided to move

out to Benares at the behest of his aunt Smt.

Kuppu Ammal.

In 1902, at the University of Allahabad, he

achieved mastery in Sanskrit and Hindi and

qua lified himself in the 'Pravesh' examination.

He started sporting his favourite moustache

and turban.

After the completion of his university

edu cation, he returned to Ettayapu ram. The

king granted h im a job in his court. Subb iah

was quite unimpressed. He started composing

his verses. His first poem w as published in a

magazine 'Viveka Bhanu' in Madurai.

In August 1904, he joined the Sethupathy HighSchool, Madurai as a temporary Tamil Pandit.

Soon he moved to Chennai and joined the

'Swadesamitran' as an Assistant Editor in

November, 1904. Sri Subram ania Iyer, the

editor, was his men tor. He became the editor of

' Chakravardhini ' , a m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e

simultaneously.

The British divided the Bengal and the social

reformer Bhara ti turned out to become a p olitical

activist with two translations of Bakim Chan dr aChattopadhya's Vande M ataram. After attend ing

the Kasi Congress, on his way back, he met Sister

Nivedi ta , the ardent devotee of Swami

Vivekananda an d believed her to be his 'Gnana

Guru'.

In Apr il 1906, Bhara ti assum ed responsibility as

the ed itor of 'India', a weekly. He was fortunate

to be the friend of Shri N.Tirumalachari, Sri

M a n d a y a m S . S r i n i v a s a c h a r i , S h r i S .

Doraiswami Iyengar, and Shri V.Chakkarai

Chetti. Shri Bipin Chand ra Pal, a great patr iot

visited Chennai in 1906. An English weekly,

'Bala Bharatha' commenced its pu blication in the

Life of MahakaviSubramania Bharati

A Great Saga of the Warrior Poet with a National Mission

and a Universal Vision

Sqn. Ldr. Dr. P. Ramani



19/45

same year.

In April 1907, the famous Congress meet was

held at Surat. Subram ania Bharati was

attracted by Bala Gangadhar Tilak's mantra

'Freedom is my Birthright' and extendedspon taneou s sup port to Tilak. Bhara ti led a

team of young congressmen along with

V.O.Chidam baram Pillai and Mand ayam

Srinivasachari. There was a big division in the

Con gress Part y. Bha rati me t Sri Bala

Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo and Sri Lala

Lajpat Rai, the giants of the freedom m ovemen t

but always considered extremists.

In 1907, a political opponent of Bharati Sri

V.Krishnaswami Iyengar w ho w as a m oderatewas touched by the fervent appeal of the

patriotic songs of Bharati, printed three songs

in four pages and distributed them free to all

the peop le with patriotic fervou r.

In 1908, the patriots who were considered

extremists celebrated the 'Swarajya Day' un der

the leadership of Subramania Bharati at

Chennai , under the l eadersh ip of Sr i

V.O.Chidam baram Pillai, Sri Subram ania Siva

and Sri Padmanabha Iyengar at Thoothukudi.

And the trio were arrested and remanded to

custody. Bhara ti app eared as a witness in the

trial. In 1908, Bhar ati pu blished his first

poetical collections 'Swadesa Gitangal'. The

government seized the copies of 'India' a

newsp aper p ublished by its editor Bharati and

issued an arrest warrant against him. Bharati

escaped th e arrest and reached Pud uchery. Sri

Kuvalai Kannan met him an d looked after him.

Between 1908 and 1910, Bharati continued to

pu blish 'India' and exposed th e British misrule.

As the newspaper turned out to be very

popular among the masses, the British

preven ted its entry to other pa rts of India. The

publication of 'India' was thus effectively

crippled by the British raj.

The beginning of 1909 marked the p ublication

of second p oetical collections of Bhar ati entitled

'Janm a Boomi'.

In 1910, Bharati's popular daily newspaper

'Vijaya', a weekly magazine 'Suryodayam ', Bala

Bharatha, English weekly and 'Karma Yogi', a

monthly magazine ceased to app ear. His

proposal to launch Chitravali', an English and

Tamil Cartoon new spap er failed to take off.

In April 1920, Mandayam Srinivasachari and

Subramania Bharati arranged the visit of Sri

Aurobindo to Pud uchery. They planned

extensively for the execution of extensiveresearch of the ved ic literature.

In November 1910, Bharati published his



20/45

'Kanavu', a biographical sketch in verse in his

compilation ' Madha Mani Vachagam'. V.V.S.

Iyer joined Bhara ti in h is political mission.

In 1911, Sri Vanchi Nathan shot Collector Ash

dead and killed himself to escape from theBritish police. The patr iots were hou nd ed.

The followers of poet Bharati soared in

nu mber. How ever, there were efforts made to

evacuate the p atriots from the French territory,

Puducherry.

The year 1912 marked the translation of the

Bhagavad Gita and the publication of the

famous 'Kannan Paattu', Kuyil Pattu and

Panchali Sabatham Part I. Betw een 1913 and

1914, he was contributing to Sri SubramaniaSiva's magazine 'Gnana Bhanu'. H is book

Madha Mani Vachagam was published at

Na tal, South Africa. The World War I broke out

consequently, the patriots of Puducherry were

threatened.

In 1917, Parali S.Nellaiyappar, a patriot

pu blished the Kannan Paattu at Chenn ai. In

1918, Nellaiyappar published the patriotic

songs of Bharati as folk songs.

Bharati got tired of his life at Puducherry and

decided to move out on November 20, 1918.

As he entered Cud dalore, he was arrested and

reman ded to custody. After 34 days of

imprisonment, he w as released as there was no

case pending against him. He decided to go to

Kadayam to meet his wife.

He spent 2 years in Kadayam between 1918

and 1920. He visited Tiruvananthapuram,

Ettayapuram, Karaikudi, Kaanadukaathan

and other places. He wanted to be friendly

with the king of Ettayapu ram but in vain. He

wanted to seek a nomination for the Nobel

prize. Perhaps the Nobel Committee was not

fortunate to confer this honour on Bharati.

In March 1919, he visited Chennai and met

Maha tma Gan dh i in Rajaji's hou se.

In December 1920, he joined Swadesamitran, as

the assistant editor once again. Bharati

contributed a num ber of articles. In Augu st

1921, he was p ushed by the temp le elephant at

S r i P a r t h a s a r a t h y S w a m i Te m p l e ,

Tiruvallikkeni. H is friend Kuvalai Kannan

managed to save him. Bharati fell ill out of a

severe shock.

In September 1921, though he recoveredcompletely from the illness, he perhaps could

not get ou t of the shock he suffered.

On September 11, 1921, almost close to

mid night, Bharati left his m ortal coil to reach the

lotus feet of the Almighty.

Mahakavi Bharati was a great hum anist. He

was fond of humanity and was desirous of

establishing a w orld ord er free from ignorance,

dirt, poverty, disease, terror and horror,

divisions, injustice and lies. He wanted to

liberate the human ity from the w orld of untruth

and adharm a. An analysis of his writings

should p rove that Bharati looked forward to the

dawn of a 'Sathya Yuga '. Bhara ti's mission was

not only to liberate our nation but h e wan ted to

create a world full of wa rmth , love, comp assion

and a d eep u nderstanding.

Is Bharati not a warrior poet with a national

mission an d a u niversal vision?

Yuva bharat i -19 - Dec 2010ember


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26/45

PROSPEROUS INDIA 7

P.KanagasabapathiP.Kanagasabapathi

ncient India was n ot contented w ith

devising and practising superiorA economic and social systems forachieving material prosperity and secured life

for her citizens. Continu ous efforts were mad e

by th e society to explore d ifferent fields, w hich

resulted in constant improvements based on

additional inputs and fresh knowledge. As a

result , the society was driven towards

perfection in different w alks of life. On the on e

hand , the newer ideas led to the development

of innovations and new practices that resulted

in more efficient methods of functioning. On

the other hand, new insights and thought

processes led to contributions of highest

intellectual output. Many such practices and

contributions were truly pioneering and far

ahead of their times.

For one who is not adequately aware of the

backgroun d an d greatn ess of the country, it will

be hard to believe that so many d evelopments

had been taking place over man y centuries in

diverse a reas of human activity. It is accepted

that the Indus-Saraswathy Civilization is one

of the most planned urban settlements of the

earliest period s in the wor ld. It is surp rising to

know that there were private bathrooms in

many houses even du ring those periods. There

were also large scale sanitary sewerage and

water systems, along with common bath and

storage facilities. It only shows the advanced

nature of urban life that existed about five

thousand years ago. Moreover the inhabitants

of the civilization had knowledge of several

fields.

The contemporary Indian gets a feeling that

ancient India added value to all the activities

Contributions of the highest order

made India remain powerful


Acharya Shusruta


27/45

with wh ich it was connected. Agriculture was

the m ajor econom ic activity in the earlier days.

We could see the use of sophisticated

t echn i ques and advanced m anagem en t

systems w hen w e study the agricultural history

of India. Experts note that irrigation was

developed as early as around 4500 BCE.

Artificial reservoirs dating back to 3000 BCE

were in existence at Girnar. It is learnt that th ere

were the early canal irrigation systems from

aroun d 2800 BCE. All these developmen ts led

to the increased agricultur al outpu t resulting in

the economic prosperity and overall well-being

of the peop le.

When the mod ern mind s look at the India of the

earlier years, wh at surp rises us apart from the

economic prosperity an d th e social systems, is

the list of contributions and achievements inintellectual spheres. All over the world we

study how the great empires concentrated on

wealth, power and enjoyment, though in the

process some of them have also made a few

contributions. But Ind ia's outp ut, in different

spheres of life , remains extraordinar y by any

standards in the h istory of mankind.

Five thousand years ago, India could explain

the nature and principles of the soul, primal

matter and its creation. Acharya Kapila, born

around 3000 BCE and founded the Sankhya

school of thought in the ancient Indian

ph ilosoph y, was a pioneer in this field. He

m a d e e x t r a s e n s o r y o b s e r v a t i o n s a n d

revelations on the secrets of creation. His

outstan ding contributions in the field of cosmic

studies have mad e the world recognize him as

the father of cosmology. Indians were the

earliest to specialize in soph isticated fields su ch

as shipping and aviation involving higher

technologies. Acharya Bharadw aj, who lived

about 2800 years ago, had in his work Yantra

Sarvasa mad e outstand ing discoveries in space

science. He explained different techniques to

make flying m achines invisible to escape from

the eyes of the others, to listen to conversations

taking place in another plane and to see what

was hap pening in other planes.

In the medical field, India developed ad vanced

techniques in highly specialized areas such asplastic surgery and anesthesia, and Indians

were the p ioneers in amp utation, caesarian an d

cranial surgeries. Shusrut Samhita of Shusruta,

who lived around 600 BCE, is the first ever

work d escribing the surgical procedures and is

considered the encycloped ia of surgery. He

had explained the details of 300 types of

operations and described a num ber of stitching

method s. He had used 125 surgical

instruments for operations and performed

advan ced surgeries includ ing the restoration of

damaged n oses. A giant in the field of med ical

science, he is respected as the father of plastic

surgery. Indians realized th e impor tance of diet


Acharya Kapila


28/45

and activities for the mind and body of the

individual and the relationship between

spirituality and physical health in the earlier

days. Charaka (600 BCE) explained the

concepts re la t ing to human ana tomy,

embryology, pharmacology and diseases suchas diabetes and tuberculosis. He described the

medicinal qualities of one lakh herbal plants.

His prescription of the ethical charter for the

medical practitioners was much before the

Hipp ocratic Oath.

India und erstood an d explained the principles

relating to atoms and molecules paving way

for the development of the atomic theory.

Western historians acknow ledge that Kanad

(600 BCE) and other Indian scholars as the

global masters in this field. One can go on

c o n t i n u o u s l y m e n t i o n i n g a b o u t t h e

intellectual contributions of ancient India, as

there are too num erous and encompass several

fields. But what is important is that these

contributions have helped people living in

parts of the world enorm ously to further their

knowledge and unders tanding re la t ing

d i f f e r e n t f i e l d s o f a c t i v i t i e s . T h e s e

contributions have also helped the world to

move forward and make progress at a faster

speed in d ifferent disciplines. Speaking of just

o n e a s p e c t I n d i a ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o

mathematics, the noted scientist Einstein

mentioned: We owe a lot to Indians, who

taught us how to count, without which no

worthwhile scientific discovery could have

been m ad e . The r e a r e m any m or e

contributions even in th e field of mathem atics.

Of all the contributions of India, several

thinkers and scholars all over the world

proclaim that the thou ghts and inputs relating

to life, its purpose, approach towards life and

humanity as the most important ones.

Nowh ere in the world has the hum an mind and

life so thoroughly discussed and analyzed in

detail as in India of the ancient periods.

Beginning from the earliest texts of India

namely the Vedas, many of the monumental

works such as the Upanishads and the

Bhagavad Gita concentrate on the meaning an d

pu rpose of life and th e various issues connected

with it. These thoughts have made Indians

unique in their thinking and life in India far

superior than the rest of the world.

The intellectual achievements of India had

enabled the country to emerge and remain as a

pow erful nation in two w ays. One was to make

advancements in different fields such as

mathematics, medicine, science, technology,

architecture w hich in tu rn h elped the country to

grow further an d richer. The other was to m ake

citizens more matured and better human

beings, families and societies more vibran t and

peaceful. As a result, India grew and rem ained

a pow erful nation in a state of prosp erity and

inner p eace - with continuou s efforts toward s

perfection in d ifferent sph eres of life.


Albert Einstein


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Yuva bharat i - 29- Dec 2010ember


31/45

f the four Purusharthas extolled by ou r

shas t ras , Dharma i s the mos tO important. It is the foundation of allthe other purusharthas. One cannot attain

moksha w ithout living according to Dharm a.

Any pursuit ofArtha an d Kama which is not

compliant with Dharma is rejected by the

shastras as not conducive to individual andsocial well-being.

Prof. Kapil Kapoor, an eminent academician,

calls Dharma as the one-word unwritten

constitution of India! Millions of people in

India perhaps would have never read the

constitution but they abide by its guiding

principles consciously and un consciously. This

is because a d harm ic sense is inbu ilt into u s by

virtue of being born inBharatavarsha.

The word Dh arma is defined as Dharayate iti

Dharmaha - that which supports or holds

together is Dharma. The Rishis observed the

universe and intui t ively perceived the

presence of a subtle and cosmic intelligence

which pervades this universe and keeps it in

motion. This cosmic order or balance is called

'Rita' in the Vedas. This cosmic order or Ritam

app lied to h um an life and society is Dharma.

Like a layer of cement which holds a wall of

bricks together, Dharma keeps the society

together. Dharma guid es us about how we canlead a meaningful and fulfilling life without

violating or disrup ting the cosmic order.

Even an illiterate person in India will

un derstand the concept of Dharma and th e need

to living according to dharmic principles. For

examp le, you can often hear a beggar asking for

alms by uttering Dharmam Sei (perform you r

dharma). Or a person who suffers injustice

wou ld exclaim Idu Dharmam Illai (this is not

dh arm a). This is because the two g reat epics of

India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata hav e

instilled deeply, a positive appreciation for

dh armic values in the m asses.

Dharma The One Word Unwritten

Constitution of India Pramod Kumar


CULTURAL ROOTS-6


32/45

In the Ramayana, Lord Rama is described as

Dha r m a pe r s on i f i ed ( Ramo Vigrahavan

Dharmaha). The trials and tribulations of Lord

Rama and his impeccable character and

conduct even the midst of the most severe

crises, continues to inspire generation aftergeneration of d harma loving Ind ians.

In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna shows the

way through his brilliant exposition and

practice of Dharm a in difficult situations. Lord

Krishna 's exploi ts const i tute the most

magn ificent treatise on Dharm a wh ich he later

impa rts to Arjun a in the form of the Bhagav ad

Gita.

He exhorts Arjuna to perform his dharm a as a

kshatriya and not to turn away from thebattlefield out of m isplaced compassion for his

adharmic Kaurava brothers. He instructs

Arjuna tha t living according to one's swadharma

is conducive to well-being in every way and

blindly following another's dharma is ridden

with fear. In yet another verse, he p roclaims, I

am that Kama which is not against Dharma,

meaning that the pursuit of happiness,

pleasures and fulfilment shou ld be w ithin the

bounds of dharma.

For the benefit of the common m an w ho might

find it difficult to comp rehend the subtleties of

Dharma, many great Rishis composed the

Dhar ma Shastras w hich simplify the practice of

Dharma in our everyday life and provide us

with a code of conduct. Well-known amongst

them is the much maligned Manu dharma

shastra which has been poorly und erstood and

distorted by m odern scholarship blinkered by

the poison of narrow ideologies like feminism

and commun ism.

It is because of this immense emphasis placed

on values of Dharm a, that the average citizen of

India continues to be a law abiding citizen. In

fact, the contrast is striking the crime rate in

urban India is always significantly higher than

in rural India. The English educated elite who

have lost their dharmic moorings are more

vulnerable to corruption and other unethical

pitfalls than the so-called illiterate people whoare nonetheless wiser and more mature in

practical life. The noted columnist Shri

Gurumurthy often points out how few police

stations there are in rural India compared to

urban India. The average Indian citizen is law

abiding n ot merely out of the fear of the law or

the police. In fact, often we p rotect our d harm ic

values despite them!

Take for example, the small village called

Ettimadai in Coimbatore where I have been

living for the pa st seven years. I am yet to hear of

cases of murder, rape, extortion or kidnappings

here. Just 20 km aw ay, in the heart of the city, the

ruckus of modern life and the evils accompany

the new lifestyle, become g laring in contrast.

It is this und erstanding and practice of Dharma

that has made our culture Sanatana (timeless).

The Urdu poet Iqbal exclaims:

Yunan-o-Misra-Ruma sab mit gaye jahan se

Ab tak magar hai baqi namo-nisan hamara

Kuchh bat hai ki hasti mitati nahin hamari

Sadiyon raha hai dusman daur-i-zaman hamara

The poet says that whereas the ancient

civilizations of Greece, Egyp t and Rome have all

d i sappeared f rom th i s wor ld , there i s

'something' in our civilization which has

withstood these onslaughts.

It is this adherence to Dharma which has

preserved our civilizational identity. Dharmo

Rakshiti Rakshitaha. The one who protects

Dharma shall in turn be p rotected.



33/45

n the 'Battle of Jhelum' a large majority of

Alexander 's cavalry was killed. AlexanderIrealized that if he continued fighting, hewou ld be completely routed and ruined. He

requested Pu rushottam imp loringly to stop the

battle. Purush ottam true to our Bharatiya

t rad i t ion d id not k i l l Alexander who

surrendered on the battle-field. After that both

of them signed a treaty. After that treaty,Purush ottam freed the territories occup ied by

Alexander in the previous wars and annexed

those territories to his kingd om.

Contrary to what happened in history Arrian

writes, Alexander first asked the king of

Takshasila (Taxila is Greek) to negotiate the

t e r m s o f t r e a t y w i t h P u r u s h o t t a m .

Purushottam wanted to kill this traitor but

somehow he escaped .

Justin writes about the initial stages of the

battle, As the battle began Purushottam

ordered h is soldiers to attack the Greeks. Later

Purushottam asked the Greek soldiers to let

their leader fight him alone and avoid lot of

bloodshed . Alexand er did not agree to this

proposal and attacked Puru shottam's army. In

the first assault itself his horses w ere was killed.

He fell down heavily wound ed on the ground .

His soldiers rushed in to rescue him and wafted

him aw ay to a safe place.

Careful Concealing of th e Facts and

Events of the War

It was W.W.Tarn who distorted the fateful

events of the war. Though he wrote that

Alexander was victorious, had to agree to

Alexander's losses in the battle of Jhelum . His

losses in the war w ere carefully concealed. But

there was a conclusive proof of the desperate

natu re of the warpar ticularly of the battle of

the elephantsthe stampede that occurred

when the elephants crushed the skulls of the

Al ex ander Th e Inv ad erChapter II

The Real History of What Happenedin the Battle of Jhelum



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Greek soldiers fleeing in fear terrified by the

charging elephan ts. The psychological effects

of this was evident on the minds of General

especially that of Seleucus wh o ceded a w hole

province to obtain war elephants as a special

wing o f the army.

Alexander's horse 'Bucephala' died in this

Jhelum battle. And Nicaea, Alexander's

General and right-hand man an d h is constant

companion too died in this battle. To reverse

historical facts a coin was struck (minted) to

commemorate the battle showing Alexander

pu rsuing Purushottam's eleph ant whereas the

reverse was the historical fact. The avow ed

aim of all these biased an d partisan w riters was

to u se every form of resource material to falsifyand distort historical facts availing every

possible frau du lent method to make it look like

an historical truth and to justify it even on

fragile groun ds. And again continuing the lie

he writes: Puru shottam wh o had fought to the

last and was wounded, rode leisurely off his

huge elephant. And then he surrendered to

Alexander etc.

Arrian says, 'he (Purushottam surrendered

himself to a friend by name Meroes, an old

fr iend of his , who has been sent by

Alexander and Alexand er 'app ealed to him

(Puru shottam ) not to sacrifice his life in vain'.

All these distorted versions reveal that

Alexander was decisively defeated and his

cavalry, the mainstay of his army was routed.

For,

a) Alexander's losses in the battle-field

were carefully concealed.

By wh om?

By the Greek wr iters.

Later writers stepp ed into their shoes.

b ) Alexander pu r s ued Pu r usho tt am ' s

elephant, his horse died and he fell

dow n on the ground . He was seriously

wounded, his General Nicaea died.

Alexander did not come alone, he led

his cavalry attacking the elephants ofPuru shottam. Most of them were

seriously wounded and in disarray.

That his cavalry was trounced is

confirmed by his late campaigns as a

subsidiary ally of Pu rushottam.

c) Purushottam wounded, rode leisurely

on his huge elephanta strange

statement indeed. No king or General

defeated and pursued by the victors

moves leisurely and then, how an d to

whom he surrendered?

Surrendered because Alexander, who was

seriously injured app ealed to Pu rushottam to

surrender and he surrendered to his Hind u old

f r iend Meroes . Even a sen t imenta l

melodrama by a poor amateur dram atist would

realize that it is not at all convincing.

Alexander was defeated, his army, particularly

his cavalry, the mainstay of his strength was

trounced and he had to seek for treaty and he

had to agree for a treaty almost to take down of

subsid iary alliance is illustrated by four facts.

The Fifth Battle of Sangala and M alli

1. His two mi li ta ry campaignsthe

Sangala and Mallishow his cavalry

force redu ced to a minimal position. In

Sangala battle he used cavalry in a

much reduced rate and in Mallihis

last desperate campaign ruining him

totallyhe could not press and bring

the cavalry to the war-front at all and he

himself had to lead the forces on foot!Yuva bharat i - 33 - Dec 2010ember


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World conqueror lead ing forces on

foot! A real histor ical tragedy

enacted on the world stage!

2. Whatever territories he had gained

so far had to be added to the

kingdom of Puru shottam. Soldiersof Greek forces suffered an d d ied in

hun dreds. Alexander fought

battles in the end like a defeated

general. In Sangala battle, near

Amritsar, Alexander lost h und reds

of soldiers and 1200 were injured

s e r i o u s l y . A l e x a n d e r l o s t

everything in this war and all the

gains went to Purushottam.

3. AbhisareshKing of Rajouri and

Bhimbas did not come to meetAlexander in spite of his severe

threats; on the contr ary, Alexand er

had to accept all his excuses and

recognized him as king in his

kingdom. Abhisaresh was not a

pow erful king. He realized that

Alexander, after the Jhelum battle

was reduced to be bound by a

s u b s i d i a r y a l l i a n c e w i t h

Purushottam, the victor in that

war.

4. Alexander and Greek soldiers were

taking on Sangala and Malli

campaigns at the battle-fields, but

the soldiers of Puru shottam a s if as

per terms, formed the garrison at

the rear, instead of the Greeks.

Purushottam has appropriated

whatever Alexander could have

gained and th at could not be done

without h aving terms accorded in

the treaty.

5. It is quite illogical, and nowh ere in

the w orld it has ever been a reality, that

the victor 'a conqueror of the world' h as

engaged himself in fierce battle to let

the kingdoms and lands acquired by

such battles to be annexed by the

conquered and hum bled king.

It is, hence, evident that Alexander decisively

defeated in the battle of Jhelum (Hydasped)

had to agree for such a term wh ile accepting the

treaty of subsid iary alliance.

The story that Purushottam, brought before

Alexand er, was asked 'what kind of treatment

he wished for, replied as a king should have,

etc.' shou ld be read in reverse form. Alexander

replied so when he was brought beforePurushottam and when Purushottam asked

how he should be treated. This is a

monumental example of how a historical fact

can be distorted, perverted, fabricated and

falsified and wh at happ ened w as a reversal of

role exactly the opposite of what has been

wr itten in the history text-books. Alexander

had meted out cruel treatment to his earlier

enem ies. Basu s of Bactria fough t w ith

Alexander to defend his people's freedom.

Arrian states 'when Basus w as brought before

Alexander as a prisoner, Alexander said his

servants to whip him and then cut his nose and

ears. He then killed him. Many Persian

generals were brutally killed then by him. The

fate of Purushottam would have been no

different had Alexand er won . I t was

Purushottam following Bharatiya tradition of

ethics, agreed to have treaty instead of

beheading Alexand er.

The above five points stand vindicated by the

following observation p ursuing the narrations

of Curtius and Arrian.

(to be continued)Yuva bharat i - 34 - Dec 2010ember


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Sister Nivedita Who Gave

Her All to India-2

Anirban GangulyInbetween the Coming and Going!

he ap pearance of Swam i Vivekananda

at the Parliament of Religions flaminglyTestablished the fact that the 'spiritualideas' for w hich India stood w as to be no longer

a defensive stance but one that would

aggressively invade the 'm aterialised m entality

of the Occident' wrote Sri Aurobindo whileevaluating the event's contribution to the

revival, preservation and consolidation of

1India's religious-cultura l l ife. Swamiji's

ascending the stage at the world gathering at

Chicago mitigated the 'weight of the religious

a s s a u l t f r o m E u r o p e ' a n d m a s s i v e l y

contributed to the movem ent for the revival of

Hinduism by re-establishing it as an 'evolving,2

a secure, triumphant and self-assertive power.

These happ ened because Swamiji spoke 'not in

a tone of submission and apology but with a

refreshing boldn ess and confidence which were3

unkn own of Ind ia's spokesmen. The result was

'spectacular.' Sister N ivedita, easily one of th e

foremost bhsyakraof Swamiji's thou ghts and

actions strikingly summ ed u p the result of his

address, when she wrote, 'Of the Swami's

address before the Parliament of Religions, it

may be said that w hen he began to speak it wasof the religious ideas of the H indu s, but w hen

4he ended, Hinduism had been created.

Undertaking a historical review of Swamiji's

l ife the celebrated nationalist historian

R.C.Majumd ar felt the event to be 'godsend not

only to his [Swami Vivekananda 's] countr y but5

to the world at large. It was a decisive mom ent

in the history of the personality wh o worked it

out, in the h istory of the nation and civilisation

that prod uced him and of course, in the h istory

of mankind w hich henceforth took a new turn

in the defining of civilisational relations and

exchanges as in the realm of the mind and spirit.



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It was after such a watershed event and

following Swamiji's ascent in the Western

firmam ent as a gu iding star of the Spirit that the

dynamic teacher and seeker Margaret Noble

(Sister Nived ita) met the 'H indu Yogi' one cold

November afternoon in a London West-enddrawing room in 1895. A meeting that would

not only red irect Margaret's life but w ould also

announ ce a new d irection to Swamiji's work for

India.

Towards the end of his life, Swamiji once

referred to 'three tremendou s up heavals in h is

whole life' the first brought him to his Master

Sri Ramakrishn a, 'the second , sent him to the

U.S.A., and the third , the last and greatest of all,6

was his work in Ind ia after his return. It was in

this 'last and greatest of all [upheavals]' his

work in India that Margaret was to throw

herself body and soul. She was to emerge as one

of its foun ding pillars. The initial meeting then

was a period of inner assessment, the Master

displaying the deeper plan and the seeker's

soul gradua l ly warming up to i t and

responding. Recalling this meeting in 1895, a

decade later, Sister Nivedita could still see

herself retaining the essence of the divinely

imposing spiritual, mental and physicalpresence of her Master. This first encounter had

given her enough to remember and ponder.

Like the sculptor sculpting at first in the inner

sight the image to be manifested later in

physical form, Margaret too spend the interval

between the first and second meetings in

absorbing an d giving inn er shap e to the 'Yogi's'

uttered words and professed vision. She

described the essence of all that she absorbed

and remembered from those first encounters

thus, 'first, the breadth of his religiousculture; second, the great intellectual newness

and interest of thought he had brought to us;

and thirdly, the fact that h is call was sounded in

the name of that which was strongest and

finest, and was not in any way dependent on7

the meaner elements in m an.

The first reactions, how ever, to what the Swami

was saying w as defiant and accusatory; 'It was8

not new was what the group said w hile taking

leave after the session. But the one whom the

word s were meant to deeply move toward s the

goal had already begun to stir. Margaret,

pondering as ever on the Swami's exposition

began to feel 'that it was not only u ngenerous,

[but] it was also unjust, to dismiss the

message of a new mind and strange culture.'

Margaret realised that she had never before

faced or heard a 'thinker [like Swamiji] who in

one short hou r had been able to express all that

[she] had hitherto regarded as highest and9

best. But her continuous quest up till now had

also grad ually awakened in Margaret a spirit of

scepticism' wh ich h owever d isplayed no trace

of negation but which perhaps constantly

pu shed her toward s trying to discover the10

deeper Truth un derlying a stated vision. In the

interactions she was one of those who actively

engaged Swam i j i , a s k i ng h i m p r ec i s e11

philosophical questions and stating positions.

Swamiji, the Master, the all-seeing Teacher,allowed and encouraged these leaps of the

mind in effect reflecting the respon ses of the

soul to his words. The Eastern religious

traditions had no p lace for hierarchy ord ained

dicta and bulls, the whole process of self-

discovery, of realisation and seeking within it

was dialogic, it was argumentative in the real

sense of the term. And Swamiji, integrally

representing that tradition, welcomed the

engaging audience and in i t especially

Margaret. 'Let none regret', he once exclaimedreferring to th is scepticism of Margaret's, 'that

they were difficult to convince! I fought my

Master for six long years, with th e result that I



40/45

know every inch of the way! Every inch of the12

way! Margaret too candidly described her

attitude towards the Master's teachings and

word s as she had then heard them, 'I stud ied

his teaching sufficiently to become convinced

of its coherence, but never till I had hadexperiences that authenticated them , did I

inwardly cast in my lot with the final13

justification of the things he came to say.

Above all Margaret was d eeply impressed by

the 'personality of the speaker' [because] he

'spoke with a sense of conviction born of

realisation wh ich even an unbeliever could n ot14

deny.'

Swamiji's work in London w as picking up; his

word s had begun stirring the depths of a cross-

section. By mid November he wrote to a

disciple in Madras that his work in England

'[was] really splendid' and that 'Bands and

bands come and I have no room for so man y, so15

they squat on the floor, ladies and all.' This

was corroborated by a correspondent of a d aily

jour nal who atten ded the lectures of Swamiji, '

it is indeed a rare sight', he recorded, ' to see

some of the most fashionable ladies in London

seated on the floor cross-leggedfor want of

chairs, listening w ith all the Bhakti of an Ind ian16chela [disciple] towards his gur u.' Amid st the

adulation and acceptance the fire-words

remained intact, the representative of a

ph ysically conquered race was unsh ackling its

pow er of thought and vision, the London Daily

Chron icle glimpsing som e of that fire wrote of

'Vivekananda the popular Hindu monk'

denouncing 'our commercial prosperity, our

bloody wars, and our religious intolerance,

[and] declaring that at such a price the mild

Hindu would have none of our vaunted17

civilisation.' Margaret as Sister N ivedita later

was to disp lay just su ch a fire in her d efence of

India's people, civilisation and religion. In a

long interview to the influential liberal paper18

the Westminster Gazette Swamiji succinctly

stated his goal, 'I propou nd a ph ilosophy w hich

can serve as a basis to every possible religious

system in the world, and my attitude towards

all of them is one of extreme sympathy myteaching is antagonistic towards none. I direct

my attention to the individual, to make him

strong, to teach him that he himself is divine,

and I call upon men to make themselves19

conscious of this divinity with in.' 'That is

really the ideal conscious or un conscious of20

every religion.'

This then was the effect of Swam iji's first visit to

London, this is what Margaret witnessed, and

by th e time Swamiji's first visit to city came to anend, Margaret was ready to address him as

'Master' and hav ing recognised the 'heroic fibre

of the man' she inw ardly desired to m ake herself

'the servant of his love for his own people.' It21

was, as she said, her obeisance to his character.

The love for his own people had always moved

Swamiji and generated a perpetual restlessness

in his being. The extent of his love for his people

and the amount of thought and energy he

expended in trying to organise his work for their

uplift also made Swamiji sear their collectivefaults and national shor tcomings. Sitting in far-

off London the seat of the empire, his mind

raced on the w ork to be done an d th e obstacles

to be overcom e collectively for its effectivity. In ath

letter dated N ovember 13 1895 he tellingly

observed, 'It is not at all in our nature to do a

work conjointly. It is to this that our miserable

condition is due. He who knows how to obey

know s how to command . Learn obedience first.

Am ong these Western nations, with such a high

spirit of ind ependen ce, the spirit of obedience isequa lly strong. We are all of us self-imp ortant

which never produces any work. Great

enterprise, boundless courage, tremendous



41/45

energy, and , above all, perfect obedience these

are the only traits that lead to individu al and22

national regeneration'

Thus between the coming and the going

Swamiji's trip to London in 1895 and again in

1896 Margaret perhaps prepared herself just

along these lines, developing 'boundless

courage', 'tremendous energy' and 'perfect

obedience' traits that w ould enable her one d ay

to plunge in the task of regeneration of a

country and a p eople that she was to un ite with.

References

Sri Aurobindo, The Renaissance in India andOther Essays on Indian Culture, (Pondicherry: Sri

ndAurobindo Ashram, 2 imp, 2002)Ibid.Atindra Nath Bose, Swami Vivekananda inStudies in the Bengal Renaissance (Kolkata:

rdNational Council of Education, Bengal, 3 reviseded., 2002).

stSister Nivedita's Introduction to the 1 Volume ofSwami Vivekananda's Complete Works (Kolkata:

thAdvaita Ashrama, 27 imp, 2009).R.C.Majumdar, Swami Vivekananda A

Historical Review, (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama,

2nd ed., 1999).Ibid.Sister Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him being

pages from the Life of the Swami Vivekananda,(London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1910).Ibid.Ibid.Lizelle Reymond, The Dedicated A Biography

of Sister Nivedita, (New York: The John DayCompany, 1953).Ibid.The Master as I Saw Him, op.cit.Ibid.Pravrajika Atmaprana, Sister Nivedita of

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda, (Kolkata: Sisterth

Nivedita Girls' School, 6 ed., 2007).The Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern

and Western Disciples, Vol.2 (Kolkata: Advaitath

Ashrama, 5 imp., 2008).Ibid.

Ibid.A London based liberal newspaper publishedbetween 1893 and 1928.The Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Easternand Western Disciples, op.cit.Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda in the

West New Discoveries The World Teacher,nd

Vol.3 (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2 reprint,2000).The Master as I Saw Him, op.cit.Letters of Swami Vivekananda, (Kolkata: Advaita

thAshrama, 16 imp. 2007).


"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than abook, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization." ~Rishi Aurobindo

"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by goneages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which itstates..." behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant." ~ Carl Jung

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy ofthe Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literatureseems puny and trivial." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of lifes wisdomwhich enables philosophy to blossom into religion." ~ Herman Hesse


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Yuva bharat i - 42- Dec 2010ember


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yuva bharati voice of youth december 2010 issue

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