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.

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.

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" !

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.

Remembering 18th November ...

We all remember and celebrate 14th November, birthday of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, first PM of India or more famously as "Children's Day".

However, does anyone remembers what happened on 18th November, 1962 ? It was a day when we fought in the Indus valley, near Chushul village against the Chinese aggression.

The battle of Rezangla, fought at an altitude of 17,000 feet, is one of the most incredible sagas of valour and courage that Indian soldiers have showed. That was November 18, 1962, exactly 46 years earlier. They fought and died for Indian soil.

They fought till the last man, last bullet ... They were ill-equipped, ill-prepared and heavily outnumbered by the Chinese. All the 114 jawans died in action, not a single soul retreated and neither did they let the Chinese intrude. For three months the government didn't know about them, about their extraordinary sacrifice, till in January-end in 1963, shepherds from Chushul found bodies of jawans scattered on the Rezang La, after the snow had melted. The dead bodies of the Chinese were far more in number, about eight hundred on our side, and it was estimated that more than a thousand might have fallen to the bullets of Indian soldiers.

Read the complete article at:- http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/18sd1.htm

Lotus ... no longer a symbol of national ethos

It seems that Lotus flower (National Flower of India), no longer symbolizes the national ethos.

All the Kendriya Vidyalaya will use a new emblem in which globe has replaced the lotus, thanks to the Central Government (read UPA Govt. or more specifically HRD minister Shri. Arjun Singh)

Read the explanation for the change:-

In order to give a broader reflection of national ethos and ought to be inclusive of challenges, opportunities, rationalistic, scientific & global thinking,. advances in science & technology and social changes taking place in the society, the Board of Governors of KVS in its 79th meeting decided to modify the existing emblem

Source: http://kvsangathan.nic.in/amblem.pdf

"Swatantrata" ... what we mean by it ?

This "Swatantrata Divas" (15th August, 2008), I was fortunate to listen from a person whom I could relate to as my "Swajan". I, hereon, share some of his thoughts, whatever I could recollect. I have added mine in between to supplement the views as per my understanding and perspectives.

Whenever mankind has in his possession anything in excess, he has tried to miniaturize it. Miniaturization is the natural fallout of excellence. For instance, early computers used to occupy large rooms, now once we have a strong hold on their technology; we have better computers with size as small as that of a notebook. Physically carrying billions of dollars of wealth is difficult, so we have smart-card based plastic money system. Similarly, in ancient India, our own forefathers, when they had an excess of knowledge, then they tried the miniaturization. So, they tried to capture this vast knowledge into "slokas" (stanza), from slokas into "sutras" (sentence) and from sutras into "shabda" (word).

The word "Swatantrata", which is made up of "swa" (means our own) and "tantra" (means a thread or system of working). For instance, in constitutional context, he said that Indian constitution is not based on Indian views but is borrowed from alien land.

nother term explained was the concept of “Rashtram” (nation), which came from term “Raja” (king). (We must not confuse this word with the present concept of "state") A king as described in Manusmriti is someone who is full of energy, light, power and might. Seeing him the enemy shivers. He is righteous and protects the nation. In parallet, nation too has to possess all these qualities for itself to be qualified as a nation. Mere recognition by some other country doesn't make a new nation. Nation must not be thought as just another piece of land.

The three pillars of a nation are:-

1. Those who run the nation eg. Administrator, politicians, etc.

2. System running in the nation eg. Constitution, justice system , etc.

3. Those for whom system is made eg. Common man.

All these have to necessarily qualify the attributes of the king as outlined above and also their source of inspiration and thinking has to come from our own ancestors (seers and saints).

Indian loss to China is indicative of disastrous consequences if alien thoughts prevail at the helm where Indian thoughts are imperative.

An intellectual like Pt. Nehru, who had written books on India in depth, couldn’t understand our neighbor’s aggressive designs and we lost to China, in spite of China gaining her independence after us and China been under-developed than India in 1962. However, the same nation under the leadership of LaL Bahadur Shastri fought bravely against Pakistan’s aggression and won in 1965, barely three years after humiliating defeat against China.

What was the difference?

Shastri Ji was not an intellectual, yet he knew the pulse of India, her culture and values (“famous pledge seeking Indians to fast”) and he had confidence and faith in Indian system of governance while Pandit Ji being intellectual often borrowed ideas from the outside and tried to apply in India, which Indians didn’t accept whole heartedly essentially because they were not Indian.

Here, I would like to quote Pt. Nehru’s statements after the defeat from China:-

"I remember many a time when our senior generals came to us, and wrote to the defence ministry saying that they wanted certain things... If we had had foresight, known exactly what would happen, we would have done something else... what India has learnt from the Chinese invasion is that in the world of today there is no place for weak nations... We have been living in an unreal world of our own creation." Read more ...

I don’t mean to disrepute any of my ancestors (Pandit Ji) here, but it pains me immensely when they make mistakes which quite obviously they should not have been making.

India is known to fight not just till death but even after death. Our brave soldiers are known to continue firing on the enemy with one hand while the other hand was pushing their intestines inside. Our revered Sikh guru is known to have fought even after his head was cut off from his body.

What is that logic that defies all the logics for such incidents to have occurred?

It is the greatest selfless love for our motherland, a land which is manifestation of the oldest culture and civilization flourishing in the world. It is the supreme sacrifice for our own (“Swa”) traditions and values (“Tantra”). It is the expressions of “Swatantra” of Bharatiyas unmatched in the entire human race known to mankind.

Root cause of the problem, in conclusion lies with the “slave” thinking which has penetrated deep into our minds, so, we are free from outside but colonized from within. This "Partantra" thinking has to be changed. We have to rediscover our glorious past, realize our true potential and become free from slavery. We must convert back to the original “Swatantra” thinking based on appropriate understanding of our own (“Swa”) scriptures, history, society, administration and whatever that is ours (“Tantra”).

It wasn't just talk, the "Swajan" I was listening from, has backed his thoughts with this own personal experiences that how he has been successfully able to produce a medicine which helps a person in leaving addiction of alcohol, which an allopathic doctor, studied under so called “scientific” modern education gave up as an impossible task.

Finally, I end this with two famous quotes by a person who need no introduction ...

"To recover Indian thought, Indian character, Indian perceptions, Indian energy, Indian greatness and to solve the problems that perplex the world in an Indian spirit and from Indian standpoint, this, in our view, is the mission of Nationalism" .... Sri Aurobindo

And what is needed to achieve this mission ?

"The profession of Nationalism should not be lightly made but with a full sense of what it means and involves. The priviledge of taking it is attended with severe pains and penalties for those who take it lightly. If we are few, it matters little, but it is of supreme importance that the stuff of which we are made should be sound. What the mother needs is hard clear steel for her sword, hard massive granite for her fortress, wood that will not break for the handle of her bow, tough substance and true for the axle of her chariot. For the battle is near and trumpet ready for the signal" .... Sri Aurobindo

Mind you ... its Nationalists vs Separatists

L.K.Adavani, leader of opposition, has stated clearly in his letter to PM that the Govt. of India is buckling under pressure from separatists, those who want to break India. He says:-

Let it be clearly understood. The problem in J&K today is not Hindu versus Muslim; nor is it even Jammu region versus the Valley. It is essentially nationalists versus the separatists. The people of Jammu supported by the rest of the country, strongly feel that the revocation of the Cabinet order with regard to Amarnath was purely under separatist pressures. There is a huge sense of hurt and injury in Indian public opinion which has resulted in the nationalist opinion being alienated because the separatists have to be pleased.

And then he goes on to add:-

The protest of the people of Jammu has been nationalist; they hold the national flag to their heart, even when they protest. They raise slogans in support of our motherland and also the Indian army. It is for this reason that both the army and security forces are finding it difficult even to enforce the curfew. Can this group of nationalists be equated with the separatists who foment trouble in our country. This precisely is the mistake that the government is committing.

Read on further .... here