Gau Gram Yatra

An unprecedented journey, marathon of marathons.

Salient features ....


# A grand journey (yatra) has begun from Kurukshetra (Haryana) on Vijayadashami Day (September 28, 2009) and will conclude in Nagpur on Makar Sankranti Day in 2010, covering a distance of 20,000 km in 108 days and there will be over 400 prominent events at different places during the Yatra. 


# Some smaller journeys will also be conducted in villages, which will join the bigger ones to be conducted at taluka, district and state levels. There will be about 15,000 such smaller journeys and they will cover a distance of about 10 Lakh Kms.

# Over 21 crore people of the country are expected to give their assent over the memorandum, which will be presented to the President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil demanding the total ban on cow slaughter, status of national animal to the cow and implementation of the existing laws against cow slaughter. According to an estimate, more than 50 crore people will resolve to protect the rural culture, villages and the cow through the Yatra.

For journey schedule, refer http://eng.gougram.org/

BEST part is that it would by and large remain a-political .... no politicians involved,which is quite a welcome step. Cultural movement have to be taken up by people (the masses) and not by politicians. The way democracy runs today, politicians can't claim that they represent the masses. So, they can't (and shouldn't) stand for cultural issues that directly touches the heart and soul of people of India. Past experience says (and I believe) that they have messed up cultural issues (and people's sentiments) and have hurt the movement rather than helping it. Ram Janmabhumi movement a befitting case.

So, IF the journey succeeds in attaining its objective even if partially (considering that we have a so-called "secular" Govt. and President appointed by them), by then we would witness a new way of governance. And alternatively, IF the journey couldn't get any of the demands, even then the message would have reached the masses and they would become more aware towards the significance and importance of Gau-Mata. In either cases, the organizers (sants and gurus) should feel happy, a state (ananda) in which they already are always [like a Karma Yogi who is unaffected by the outcome, Gita lessons are working, at the least in my mail postings .... :)]

So, spread the news ... Mark your calendar .... yatra comes to Hyderabad on 15th November (Sunday).

Lastly, in the words of Sri Aurobindo "The Sanatan Dharma, that is nationalism. This is the message that I have to speak to you." And, we can add now that ... Gau-Mata is Sanatan Dharma.

Happy Vijaydashmi

A poem composed on "Vijay Dashami" 2006 ... revisiting it today :-

अच्छाई की बुराई पर विजय,

अधर्म की धर्म द्वारा पराजय।

यही है हमारा भारत देश,

जिसने दिया विश्व को यह सन्देश।

विनाश की ओर अग्रसर हो रहा है देश,

भुला दिया है विजयदशमी का पावन सन्देश।

बेईमानी और लालच की चादर मे लिपटा है मानव,

भुला कर ईमानदारी लग रहा है दानव।

ईमानदारी की बेईमानी पर होती है जीत,

विजयदशमी गाती है यही पावन संगीत।

शोषण और दुराचार की चपेट मे है समाज,

भ्रष्ट नेता कर रहे है जंता पर राज।

अन्याय की न्याय द्वारा होती है सर्वदा हार,

विजयदशमी का यही है पावन त्योहार ।

फैली है समाज मे अमानवीयता,

गहरे सन्कट मे है इस देश की भारतीयता।

सदाचारी की दुराचारी पर विजय है निश्चित,

विजयदशमी करती है इस अटल सत्य को सुनिश्चित ।

आतंकवाद के भय से कांप रहा है देश-विदेश,

धर्म के नाम पर फैलाया जा रहा है अधर्म का उपदेश।

प्रत्येक रावण को अब लंका सहित जलाना होगा।

विश्व को विजयदशमी का सन्देश देना होगा,

विजयदशमी के पर्व पर, आज प्रण हमे लेना होगा,

प्रत्येक भारतीय को अपने भीतर श्रीराम को जन्म देना होगा।

विजयदशमी के पर्व पर, आज संकल्प हमे लेना होगा,

भारतवर्ष मे रामराज्य स्थापित करना होगा।

Sri Aurobindo - Gita, Vasudev, Sanatan Dharma and India

100 years back, on 30th May 1909, a man delivered his last political speech before retiring from active political life and moving to Puduchery for his spiritual pursuits. He was Sri Aurobindo.

http://www.searchforlight.org/Anubhuti/Anubhuti%20Vol%202/UttarpadaSpeech.htm

You'll enjoy the speech if you read through full text but for those with time constraints ... :), highlights are given below

* How he saw Vasudev (Shri Krishna) everywhere in Jail, his conversations with God (Vasudev) and also how Vasudev helped him.

I looked the jail that secluded me from men and it was no longer by its high walls that I was imprisoned; no, it was Vasudeva who surrounded me. I walked under the branches of the tree in front of my cell but it was not the tree, I knew it was Vasudeva, it was Sri Krishna whom I saw standing there and holding over me his shade.

* Bhagavad Gita and Sanatan Dharma.

Then He placed the Gita in my hands. His strength entered into me and I was able to do the sadhana of the Gita. I was not only to understand intellectually but to realise what Sri Krishna demanded of Arjuna and what He demands of those who aspire to do His work, to be free from repulsion and desire, to do work for Him without the demand for fruit, to renounce self-will and become a passive and faithful instrument in His hands, to have an equal heart for high and low, friend and opponent, success and failure, yet not to do His work negligently. I realised what the Hindu religion meant. We speak often of the Hindu religion, of the Sanatan Dharma, but few of us really know what that religion is. Other religions are preponderatingly religions of faith and profession, but the Sanatan Dharma is life itself; it is a thing that has not so much to be believed as lived.

Above description is what Gita explains as 'Karma-Yoga'.

* India's rise, nationalism and Sanatan Dharma

She (India) does not rise as other countries do, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising to shed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has always existed for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not for herself that she must be great.......When therefore it is said that India shall rise, it is the Sanatan Dharma that shall be great........I spoke once before with this force in me and I said then that this movement is not a political movement and that nationalism is not politics but a religion, a creed, a faith. I say it again today, but I put it in another way. I say no longer that nationalism is a creed, a religion, a faith; I say that it is the Sanatan Dharma which for us is nationalism. This Hindu nation was born with the Sanatan Dharma, with it it moves and with it it grows. When the Sanatan Dharma declines, then the nation declines, and if the Sanatan Dharma were capable of perishing, with the Sanatan Dharma it would perish.

How they (China) solve problem & how we (India) ?

Came across an eye-opener article of how China resolves her problem w.r.t. Xinjiang (China's Kashmir), we (India) might want to learn something from her neighbor.

Read on ... "A tale of two Kashmirs"

E. Sreedharan ... a life sketch

Morning ... reading spiritual books, like the Srimad Bhagvadam at least for half an hour. Meditation, then pranayam. The whole process takes about one hour fifteen minutes, one hour thirty minutes. Then going for a walk in the morning.

Office from 8:30 to 5:30 ...

Evening ... again some spiritual reading, reading the Bhagvad Gita for fifteen, twenty minutes, then some pranayam and then yoga

Who is this ? E. Sreedharn, the man behind the Metros ...

Read more in his interview
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sreedharan-wants-indias-metro-works-at-chinas-speed/97064-3-single.html

ahimsa paramo dharma ?

We often hear slogans of "ahimsa paramo dharma" but rarely anyone teaches the statement next to it "dharma himsa tathiav cha" and when you join both it becomes

"ahimsa paramo dharma, dharma himsa tathiav cha"
(Non-violence is param-dharma, so is righteous violence)

This is the complete truth.

Here is what Swami Chinmayananda ji says ... (excerpts from article)

"Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah" -- "Non - Violence is the greatest Dharma." This line in its over - emphasis, has sapped both initiative and energy in our millions, and, instead of making us all irresistible moral giants, we have been reduced to poltroons and cowards. And banking on this cowardly resignation of the majority, a handful of fanatics have been perpetrating crimes which even the most barbarous cave dwellers would have avenged. To clothe our weaknesses, we attribute to them glorious names and purposefully persuade ourselves to believe that they are brilliant ideologists !

Remembering Kargil after a decade ....

Do we remember ?

These were the days a decade ago when our soldiers were laying down their lives so that we could live.

There were the days a decade ago when our nation fought an open war, not the proxy war which we have been fighting all along.

So, remember Kargil and with it the memories of the supreme sacrifices made by our jawans and along side of it the lessons of being awake and always on the vigil.

Links:-
http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/96364/07_2009/30min_lion_kargil1/kargil-the-war-which-changed-indias-battle-history.html

Tale of eminent historians

We blame laloo for "chara-ghotala", gandhis for "bofors" and so on .... BUT nobody to blame the academicians who have misused and abused public money to either do nothing or spread lies in the name of history.

This is far more dangerous and sinister than any form of terrorism .... "Intellectual terrorism". Thousand years back our civilization was wounded on "body" by the sword of Islam, hundreds years back its "mind" was degenerated by the britishers colonialism and now its the "marxist" brand of lies and concocted theories which is corrupting (terrorizing) the "intellect".

But all these daemonic forces must remember, they are fighting with the believers of Gita, which says, higher that the body is the mind, higher than mind is intellect but higher than intellect is the soul. And it is the very soul force of this nation that shall give a fitting reply to all these aggressions on the body, mind and intellect.

This is just the beginning ... of the tale of "eminent" historians of my nation ... read on

Gandhi ... father of muslim appeasement ?

If someone asks me what is that one person or ideology that has been over-emphasized in the intellectual and academic circles widely post-modern independence era (so more precisely post nehru-gandhi era), then it has been none other than our own "beloved"... Gandhiji.

He is one such figure in our recent past which affected all of us in one way or the other. For some he is one who achieved freedom for us, for some he is the "hari" (God), for some he is the father of nation, for some he is the mahatma ("mahan"+"atama", great soul), for some he is symbol of non-violence (ahimsa paramo dharam, Non-violence is the ultimate duty), for some he means striving for Swarajya or Swatantrata or Swadeshi .... and the reasons are endless for those who swear by his name and treat him as their ideal.

However, at the same time, there are those who have questioned his style of working and his approach towards realizing Hindu-Muslim unity. They believe that it is he who started the muslim appeasement and alienation of muslims from Hindustani/Bharatiya mainstream. He is alleged to have given birth to "pseudo secularism", a charge which even some of the staunch Gandhians, fail to defend.

While it is all nice to appreciate the ideas of Swadeshi, Swarajya, etc. which though not originally his own (in fact, imports from fellow freedom fighters like Tilak and Sri Aurobindo), it is important that we start contemplating some of the Gandhianisms and how it has affected the Bharatiya psyche so badly that his mis-adventurisms has been inflicting us even today, thereby making us a weaker nation.

Why is Gandhi .. father of muslim appeasement ?

1. Calling a muslim assasin his brother after he has killed Swami Shraddhananda
On 23rd December 1926, a Muslim assassin called Abdul Rashid stabbed Swami Shraddhananda to death, when the swami was ill and lying on his bed. The reader may recall that Swami Shraddhananda was a pracharak (whole time worker) of Arya Samaj and he started a Suddhai Yajna to bring the converted Muslims of this country back to Hinduism. But his activity was detested by the Muslims. A couple of months earlier a Muslim woman came to the Swami and expressed her desire to return to Hinduism with her children. However her husband brought an allegation of abduction in the court of law against the Swami. But the court quashed the allegation and set the Swami free. The incident turned the Muslims extremely furious and within a few days Abdul Rashid assassinated him.

After a few days of this incident, Gandhi went to Gauhati to deliver his speech at the national conference of Indian National Congress. The atmosphere was depressed and gloomy due to unusual death of Shraddhananda. But Gandhi made everyone dumbfounded and began his speech by addressing the assassin Abdul Rashid as “Bhai Abdul Rashid”. Without caring for the reaction of the listeners, he continued, “Now you will perhaps understand why I have called Abdul Rashid a brother, and I repeat it. I do not even regard him as guilty of Swami’s murder. Guilty indeed are those who excited feeling of hatred against one another.” Thus he indirectly held Swami Shraddhananda responsible for his murder, as he was propagating hatred through his Suddhi Yajna. Moreover, he wrote in the obituary note, “He (the Swami) lived a hero. He died a hero.” In other words, if a Hindu falls victim to the knife of a Muslim’s assassin, Hindus should consider it a heroic death.

2. Inciting the muslims to separate from India.
“Like other group of people in this country, Muslims also have the right of self determination. We are living here as a joint family and hence any member has the right to get separated.” (Harijan, April 6, 1940). A couple of years later, he also wrote, “If majority of the Muslims of this country maintain that they are a different nation and there is nothing common with the Hindus and other communities, there is no force on the earth that can alter their view. And if on that basis, they demand partition that must be carried out. If Hindus dislike it, they may oppose it”, (Harijan, April 18, 1942).

3. Crucial role in accepting the partition of the country when issue was put to debate in AICC.
In the beginning of the debate, veteran Congress leaders like Purusottamdas Tandon, Govindaballav Panth, Chaitram Gidwani and Dr S Kichlu etc. placed their very convincing speeches against the motiom. Then Gandhi, setting aside all other speakers, spoke for 45 minutes supporting partition. The main theme of his deliberation was that, if Congress did not accept partition (1) other group of people or leaders would avail the opportunity and throw the Congress out of power and (2) a chaotic situation would prevail throughout the country. Many believe that, in the name of ‘chaotic condition’, he tacitly asked the Muslims to begin countrywide communal riot, if the Congress did not accept the partition. Till then, Sardar Ballavbhat Patel was on the fence regarding the partition. But Gandhi’s speech turned him into a firm supporter of partition and he influenced other confused members to support the issue. In this way, Congress approved the partition issue (History of Freedom Movement in India, R C Majumdar, Vol-III, p-670).

4. Insistence of Gandhi of not allowing the muslims in India to travel to Pakistan
The most appropriate step after partition was to carry out population transfer, or send the entire Muslim population of the divided India to Pakistan and bring all Hindus from Pakistan to India. This population transfer was included in the proposal for Pakistan by the Muslim League and after communal riot in Bihar, M A Jinnah requested the Government of India to carry out population transfer as early as possible. Mount Batten, the then Governor General of India, was a staunch supporter of the said population exchange and advised Jawaharlal Nehru to do the same without delay. But Nehru submitted to the will of Gandhi and refrained from doing so.

5. Advocating non-violence to only Hindus
A few months before the partition, when Hindu and Sikh refugees started to come from West Punjab in droves and crowding the refugee camps of Delhi, one day Gandhi visited a refugee camp and said, “Hindus should never be angry against the Muslims even if the latter might make up their minds to undo their (Hindus’) existence. If they put all of us to the sword, we should court death bravely. … We are destined to be born and die, then why need we feel gloomy over it?” (speech delivered on April 6, 1947).

6. Keeping muslims appeasement a pre-condition to Swaraj
One of the basic preconditions of his Swaraj was the amity between the Hindus and the Muslims. It has been pointed out earlier that his idea of Hindu-Muslim amity was extremely biased and prejudiced – Hindus were supposed to make every sacrifice and silently endure all the oppressions and crimes of the Muslims for the sake of this unity. It is well known that, for the sake of this Hindu-Muslim unity, Gandhi supported the KHILAFAT MOVEMENT, and extremely communal agitation launched by the fanatic and orthodox Muslim leaders, the Ali brothers.

As a consequence, in the words of Sri Aurobindo for Gandhi, it could be said
"India will be free to the extent it succeeds in shaking off the spell of Gandhism."

Its an open challenge to all those Gandhi lovers, who discuss Gandhi and relate him to each and every goodness around, to refute any of these allegations against your beloved ideal ....... let the dust be all cleared and we all know that "Truth alone will triumph" !

Is this the man who'll supervise next elections ?

Elections are the foundation of a democracy. Election commission entrusted with the responsibility to hold free and fair elections plays a pivotal role in smooth power transfer. It is an institution which is expected to work in absolutely unbiased manner.

For the first time in India's modern day history, the Chief Election Commissioner (Gopalaswami) has recommended sacking of one of the Election Commissioner (Chawla).

Is he right morally and constitutionally to raise the whistle at a time when the country is at the threshold of general elections?

To find an answer, let us look at conduct of Mr.Chawla in the past.

1. Let us go back to the days of Emergency, this man was deemed unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others by Justice Shah Commission thirty years back, in 1979. Why? This man was secretart to the Lieutenant Governor, Delhi and abused his position in cynical disregard of welfare of citizens at the best of oppressing political party.

2. He is the beneficiary of the bonties received by her highness madam's party. His family run trust was also allotted six acres of land from the Congress government in Rajasthan in Ashok Gehlot rule. Donations received by his trust were predominantly from madam's own party namely A A Khan, R P Goenka, Ambika Soni, Karan Singh and A R Kidwai.

Recenty, 204 MPs of the Opposition NDA applied to the President of India, A P J Abdul Kalam, asking for Chawla’s removal from the Commission.

 ooking at Mr.Chawla's past were these people wrong? Wouldn't anybody have done the same?

Is CEC (Gopalaswami) morally wrong ? Certainly Not. Well, the question rather needs to be asked is that why was this man made an Election Commissioner in the first place by the ruling party. Does the Madam thinks that she can appoint puppets at each and every constitutional positions of India, be it the post of PM, President and Election Commissioner. This calls for a serious re-look at appointment of CEC and ECs, in the spirit of Constituent Assembly debate and impartial conduct and functioning of EC.

Why now? Does it takes time to collect evidences, observe certain behavioural patterns, deliberate upon them and finally formulate an opinion about a person with whom you work. Gopalaswami isn't Chawala, he couldn't have acted in Chawala's sycophantic style of working. In May 2006, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha moved the Supreme Court for Chawla’s removal. In that case, CEC Gopalaswami filed an affidavit affirming that he had the authority to remove any member of the Election Commission for good reasons. This led to the withdrawal of the petition. CEC at that time probably would have wanted to give himself more time to understand his collegue better.

Now, lets come to the question of constitutional authority. In case of the removal of Election Commissioners the Constitution says that they "shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.". Rule seems quite simple and unambiguous. But its not always so when you are one of the beneficiaries. So, CEC is constitutionally correct in recommending the removal of EC provided he has substantial evidence to prove his case (and it seems that he has done his homework by preparing a 800 page report and sending to the President).

Kudos to CEC (Gopalaswami) for upholding the honour and prestige of Indian Democracy. Chawala must go, he is morally and constitutionally unfit to become CEC. Any futher efforts to push his candidature towards CECship will adversely affect Congress's plan to return to power. If better sense prevails upon them, its time that they throw him away.

Remembering Netaji ...

Today is Netaji's birthday, do we remember him today ? Why is Netaji a forgotten entity today ? The answer is quite simple only if you wish to understand it.

Like the financial corruption which has been affecting our nation materially, a well thought conspiracy has been going on to corrupt our minds and our sense of national history.

What is it about Subhash Chandra Bose that has made successive Governments to put him under a "veil" ? Perhaps, there is fear among the some circles that a lot of historical perceptions about our revered leaders might take a complete U-turn. A lot of ideas told to us, like Gandhiji got us freedom, might suddenly become a mere illusion. A lot of hidden truths may get unearthed.

Don't believe it, then read a letter written below by an "Indian to a British administrator.

Dear Mr Attlee (Prime Minister of United Kingdom),

I understand from most reliable source that Stalin has allowed Subash Chandra Bose, your war criminal, to enter Russian territory. This is clear treachery and betrayal of faith by the Russians as Russia has been an ally of the British-Americans, which she should not have done. Please take care of it and do what you consider proper and fit.

Yours Sincerely,
...........

Now, this letter is written by a well known leader of modern India. I leave it upon the readers to find out who this person is. It won't be wrong to say that this man is no less than Jai Chand of modern India.

Now, this is preciously the reason why Netaji and his contributions are NOT discussed in public. An excerpt of his contribution and recognition by none other than the enemy at that time (Prime minister of United kingdom):-

Highlighting Bose’s real contribution late R.C. Majumdar writes, (This is especially for those who believe that non-violence of Gandhi Ji got us freedom)

“It seldom falls to the lot of a historian to have his views, differing radically from those generally accepted without demur, confirmed by such an unimpeachable authority. As far back as 1948 I wrote in an article that the contribution made by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose towards the achievement of freedom in 1947 was no less, and perhaps, far more important than that of Mahatma Gandhi…” The ‘unimpeachable authority’ he cited happens to be Clement Attlee, the Prime Minister of Britain at the time of India’s Independence. As this is of fundamental importance, and Majumdar’s conclusion so greatly at variance with conventional history, it is worth placing it on record. (See Volume III, pp. 609-10).

When B.P. Chakravarti was acting as Governor of West Bengal, Lord Attlee visited India and stayed as his guest for three days at the Raj Bhavan. Chakravarti asked Attlee about the real grounds for granting Independence to India. Specifically, his question was, when the Quit India movement lay in ruins years before 1947, what was the need for the British to leave in such a hurry. Attlee’s response is most illuminating and important for history. Here is the Governor’s account of what Attlee told him:

“In reply Attlee cited several reasons, the most important were the activities of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose which weakened the very foundation of the attachment of the Indian land and naval forces to the British Government. Towards the end, I asked Lord Attlee about the extent to which the British decision to quit India was influenced by Gandhi’s activities. On hearing this question Attlee’s lips widened in a smile of disdain and he uttered, slowly, putting emphasis on each single letter-”mi-ni-mal”.” ( Ref : Three-volume History of the Freedom Movement in India, Also courtesy N.S.Rajaram )

Finally, lets remember the celebrated poem "Khooni Hastakshar" on this day.

Are we battle ready ?

Shockingly this report exposes the preparedness of India in the eventuality of a war. Are we ready for it ? Ofcourse Not seems to be the unambigious answer ...

The shocking revelations of the report were:

Only seven of India's 16 submarines are available for combat at any time.

10 of these 16 ageing submarines will be due for phase-out by 2012.

To maintain current numbers, one submarine needs to be inducted every two years but there's been no addition since 2001.

India's only submarine-making facility in Mumbai was kept idle for 12 years.

Source:- http://ibnlive.in.com/news/are-we-battle-ready-submarine-repair-that-takes-forever/82616-3.html