jabdakhata

Mahendranath Dutta, who was swami Vivekananda's own brother, has given a very vivid description of Swami Vivekananda's stay in London in 1896. During this time for sometime Mahendranath as well as Swami Saradananda stayed with Vivekananda in a rented house along with Goodwin, and the experience of living so closely with Vivekananda has been recorded succinctly. we therefore not only get the greatness of Vivekananda as a towering and blazing spirituality personified, but also his human side, his jokes, his childish pranks and above all his kindness and compassion towards all fellow beings. The lectures or the parlour talks went unrecorded for some reason and probably was recorded by Goodwin but a lot of documents were lost after Goodwin's death. Hence many of these lectures, esp. the ones on science and spirituality, have not been found. So it is a treat to read them in the book by Mahendranath, where he has presented these lectures in summary form and also have provided

The mother Durga had made a proclamation in Durga Saptashati. She said to the gods, " Ittham yada yada vadha danavottha bhavishwati tada tadarvatiraham kariswami arisamsayam " - Whenever and wherever evil forces raise their heads and create obstacles, then and there I appear and destroy them. This is similar to the famous and oft repeated verses in Gita - "yada yada hi dharmasya..." Durga is found as reference in many ancient texts and elsewhere around the world. In Cyprus there was an ancient goddess names Virgo whose image depicted a female riding a lion and killing a demon. It is believed that Egyptian goddesses like Isis have their origin in the worship of eternal feminine. The same goes with Astarte or Ishtar who was the goddess of fertility and was worshiped but almost all ancient races like Assyrians, Egyptians, Phoenicians and had lion as one of the symbols. Scholars argue that the worship of the goddess arose from worshiping mother earth for a bountiful

The social diseases that are prevalent in India, the conflicts, the wrong doings, the corruption among Government officials, the collusion of mafias with ruling class, the flagrant violation of the laws by the high and mighty, the abysmal lack of concern for others and selfishness, bending of rules, adopting shortcuts in every sphere, right from road traffic to governance, the shortsightedness of leaders, the apathy towards fellow beings, to name a few, lead us one to question the very basis of the theory of development. Are we really developing as a nation or are we going backwards? The entire debate around development revolves round economic development and progress made on the social developments - the human development in terms of access to healthcare, education and utilities. However when we look into a country on the path of development, it seems that the human development and economic development are but secondary. The first and foremost in this respect is development in t

There are obviously some vested interests who are taking advantage of the publicity received by Netaji in the wake of the demand for classifying the files about him to resolve the mystery associated with his disappearance. Some have tried to portray him as a Japanese stooge, while others complain that he was "enamoured by Hitler" and therefore "sided with the Nazis". Some try to portray him as a fascist dictator who (contrary to popular perception) would have established a ruthless regime of dictatorship and Nehruvian socialism had saved India from such an eventuality. By censoring him therefore Gandhiji and the Congress did a favour to the nation is what these writers would want us to believe. Needless to say that their attempts are at best feeble and weak and at worst pathetic attempts to depict isolated events and speeches as the whole of Netaji and thereby justify all the injustice meted out to him by Congress. Not only Nehru, but even Patel was anti Subhas as

Many genuine and sincere person have certainly rued the rampant corruption and commercialization prevailing in organized religions - be in Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or for that matter any other major or minor religious sects. We witness it in temples, mosques and churches, witness the degradation of the priestly classes who serve mammon with both hands and probably some of us feel saddened by the state. However this degradation is a continuous and evolving process. It is always there and in some form or the other. In Bible it has been narrated how Jesus blasted the "shop keepers" and drove them away from the Jewish temple. What he meant was deeply significant, that in spirituality there is no give and take - shop keeping or trading. One cannot sell religion or buy it from God. Therefore the organized religion which has become a force to satiate material desires does not belong to the realm of spirituality or religion. There is a beautiful story narrated by Girish Chandr

So we see a continuous evolution and development to suit the needs of the age. There never was a period which did not contribute to the cycle of spiritual evolution. The rich tradition of Rig Veda was still there. The Upanishadas ensured that the needs of the jnanis were taken care of and they upheld the tradition of Rig Veda by simply replacing the various names with one single name – the impersonal Brahman who manifests as Personal God or Iswara and who holds sway over the world using the force called Maya. Maya is also identified with Prakrti, the eternal nature and all natural forces. So the devas of Rig Veda become various Mayik phenomenon. Puranas evolved around the personal gods and divine incarnations and they also contained the Itihasa or history of the human race – genealogy of kings. Although in effect Puranas gave rise to sects but they catered to the spiritual needs of almost every section of the society, but their main source of inspiration has always been the Vedas –

It is not clear how Rig Vedic age transitioned into the Puranic age. Purana and Mahabharata goes hand in hand as both were composed by Krishna Dwaipayana (Vyasa). There are many Puranic stories in Mahabharata, albeit in some changed forms. This may be because the Puranic stories in their present forms have been told and retold by many sages and at some point there many have been inadvertent changes in the main story. However the basic theme remains the same, for instance the story of Indra and Vritra or the story of ocean churning. The story of Indra and Vritra goes back to Rig Veda. Even Mahabharata invokes Rig Veda in certain places like the hymns recited by Utanka to Indra or Upamanyu to Aswins. Even though in Mahabharata the Rig Vedic gods have undergone a transformation as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Rudra, Soma, Aswins, Maruts, Parjanya, Pushana are all there but some of them have been relegated to the status of Adityas and Vishnu and Rudra as Shiva or Mahadeva had come to the forefro

There was a small piece of news the other day that one prominent Indian IT Company is donating $35 mn to Carnegie Mellon University. That set me thinking, why do Indian corporates donate to US universities who obviously have more resources, than to Indian universities and institutes? Even if these universities have better infrastructures for doing research, isn’t it more apt for an Indian company to invest in human capital and research in its own country than in foreign lands? The reason however is not hard to find. It is the eternal principle of satisfying one’s master and to give something in order to get some favors. Indian IT industry is already plagued with problems of having to grapple with accusations ranging from sending people unethically on wrong visas to following unfair employment practices and they will have to try all means to satisfy the policy makers in US so that they return the favors. Indian industry is adopting such clandestine measures in order to gain foothold i

This is a tribute to Dr. Kalam. Coming from a very humble background he rose into prominence thus giving credence to Swamiji's assertion to Raja of Khetri Ajit Singh that life is the enfoldment and development of being under circumstances trying to press it down. His life story is now known to all Indians and is a source of inspiration to many. he has been glorified by many and strangely, has been vilified by a few as well, though he did nothing to deserve that. But sadly, this is India and there are always a section who would take great delight in vilifying greatness. even when he passed away a section of media and intellectuals gave almost the same attention to him, if not less, as to a terrorist who was hanged the following day. Some of them even went to extent for pleading for the terrorist's life for the sake of Dr. Kalam, strange as it may seem. Some of them did a lot of endeavour to highlight his religion, forgetting that fundamentalists actually don't like him muc

So where from these gods Indra, Mitra Varuna came in Rig veda and what happened to them afterwards? Swami Vivekananda provides the answer in a much more convincing way. The spiritual knowledge of India and the Rishis also went through an evolution and the distinction of Sruti or revelations and smriti or book of customs have to be kept in mind. Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana etc. are smritis while Vedas are Srutis or revelations. SV says that in the beginning man looked upon nature with awe and reverence and tried to search for the supreme being in the natural and visible universe, in external nature. But after many futile searches they found that the macrocosm and microcosm are in reality the same. The supreme being who is in the nature is also within and thus arose the knowledge of Vedanta. So in the beginning forces of nature were looked upon as the manifestations of God's power through nature and thereby through them the Almighty Himself was worshipped. Indra, Mitra, Var

I have often wondered that if our ancient chronicles are true then how can there be such a wide divergence between Vedas and Puranas as per the interpretation of Western savants and their desi followers, esp. if the chronicler of both are Veda Vyasa. Then either all our ancient texts are false or fundamental interpretations are grossly incorrect. Vedas are mostly considered to be nature worship by a group of marauding invaders who thrust upon an alien culture on a native population whom they labelled as Dasyus or Dasas and themselves as Arya or noble. Puranas and Mahabharata Ramayana are largely considered to be mythologies though off late there are some scholars who grudgingly admits that after all "some portions" of these stories may be true though largely they are figments of imaginations of wonderfully fertile brains. After a careful deliberation and study I would like to contend that there is no discontinuity from Vedas to Puranas, and the divergences among the scrip

On a lighter vain, this is a good piece of article from Washington Post.  I have often wondered through my interaction with Americans as to how much self centred a Nation can be. The ignorance of most of the Americans about affairs in other parts of the world is appalling. Most of them are totally ignorant about world history. One supposedly educated American once asked me which came to India first - Hinduism or Buddhism. So it is no wonder that American media and its followers British and European media would exaggerate every other incident occurring in the rest of the world and downplay the incidents in their own turf. They would still like to view the world with the attitude of "I am holier than thou", forgetting that most of the ills plaguing the world today were creations of an erstwhile imperial Europe and its ruthless exploitation of the world's riches for its own selfish gains. Americans have their world view through the prism of their own media and hence of

A team which performs well consistently has two ingredients which are absolutely critical - love and respect for each other. Respect is the highest quality and most essential for success on a long term. However love and respect does not come easily. It is rare to find a team where every team member is bound to every other by these twin bonds. There may be few members who share mutual affections, but others may not. In a large and complex team, esp. one which is spread over diverse locations rather than collocated, the lack of these ingredients are palpable. This is because over longer distances and among many members, it is very difficult to develop trust, let alone respect and love. However in smaller teams which are collocated, it is easier to develop respect and trust and through social interactions some bonds of love as well. It is to be noted that the love and respect shared by even most intimate friends are not selfless, but there are some selfish interests. So shared goal fo

Swami Vivekananda was quite impressed with one quality of the West - the power of organization. He saw that much of West's material progress and success is driven by this power. An organization run efficiently can bring in much more progress than that can happen when there are only individual entrepreneurs. He saw that Indian history is full of individual successes, esp. in trade and commerce. Vaniks or Vaishyas have been able to lead trade initiatives individually, but there were no organized, monolithic trade blocks or entities which could employ a large number of people in a sustainable venture. However one person had truly understood the power of organization in ancient times and had developed an organization which was vastly superior - Lord Buddha and his sangha. But after Buddha, the spirit of organization was lost and Swamiji wanted to revitalize that. He jokingly remarked to Ms. Lyon in America that he had one of his greatest "temptations" in America. When being

The twin pillars of Selfless work and renunciation are further elaborated in subsequent chapters. In the 6th chapter called dhyana yoga the point of equality of the two paths of yoga and renunciation are further emphasized as Gita claims that true sannyas or renunciation is renunciation of false ego in the form of fruits of work. Work one must, but one should give up false senses of ownership and fruits thereof. The greatest peace is derived from work where no sense of ownership is attached as attachment and aversion are causes of all miseries in this world. Therefore a true Yogi and a sannyasin never takes to inaction, nor does he resort to attachment to the action. Then this chapter leads an aspirant step by step to that highest goal and also assures them that even if they fail in achieving the highest aim, all is not lost, because good work is always rewarded and one normally strives for perfection over many births. Each successive birth and attempt towards perfection propels one

Coming back to battle of 10 kings - according to Rik Vedic hymns this battle took place between king Sudas and Ikshakus on one side and an array of 10 different tribes - Yadus or Yakhshus, Anus, Turvasus, Purus, Jamadgnyas, Shivis, Matsya, Bhrigus, Parshus, Parthavas and several other smaller tribes. All of these names are familar to are who had studied Mahabharata carefully. Bhrigu was the father of Chyavana and his clan had been embroiled in several wars with Kshatriyas. Jamadagni belonged to Bhrigu clan and Parashurama was the most illustrious among them. They were related to Viswamitras as Kushik's son Gadhi, king of Kanyakubja was the father of Viswamitra. On the other hand Richika, the son of Bhrigu was the father of Jamadagni and married Satyavati, the daughter of Gadhi according to Mahabharata.  Vasistha's clan was the Kulapurahit or priest of the Ikshakus. Sudas was the king of Panchala. Initially with the help of Viswamitra, Sudas crossed Sindhu and did a huge y

The earliest history of India never appears in history books owing some biases on the part of historians, notably Indian ones who follow their foreign masters and stick to the colonial baggage of disparaging their own legacy and jewels. Our Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata have many consistent historical anecdotes, and yet they are never considered as a historical evidence by our scholars, simply because they do not contain dates and that these are dubbed as mythology. While it is true that there are poetic exaggerations in these scriptures (Puranas are the least reliable of all these, however they are also most rich and varied), if we study them carefully and analyze them after discriminating between sand and sugar in Sri Ramakrishna's language, we shall see that there are beautiful consistencies in different narratives on the genealogy side. Atleast they should have been subjects of serious research. Atleast many scholars have now considered Mahabharata as a largely authentic sourc

Gita rests upon two pillars - of sacrifice and renunciation. As stated by Sri Ramakrishna, Gita is the word Tagi (or Tyagi - one who has renounced - according to Sanskrit grammer both the words are same) repeated 10 times.  The word sacrifice is of great significance. It first appears as the word "Yajna" in the 3rd Chapter - Yoga of Action. According to Gita, every action in this world can be construed as a sacrifice and an action devoid of the spirit of sacrifice is no action at all - it is vikarma or adverse action. The 3rd chapter talks about the procreation and the ecological cycle as a grand sacrifice and also proclaims that the ideal action is one which is done in the selfless spirit of sacrifice as that does not cause any bondage. Action driven by impulses of anger and desire are born out of ignorance and thereby cause bondage, but inaction is not a way to gain knowledge for those who have not renounced action and are still ignorant of the Self. In 4th Chapter this

In professional life, many women, who are at the helm, or in important positions, can shine through the selfless work that was the cornerstone of Holy Mother’s life. By working not for name, fame or position, but solely for the greater common good, by naturally loving and displaying genuine concern for others, a woman can be in much higher position of respect than she can by merely being aggressive or ambitious. That she is no inferior intellectually to men is a proven fact. Her assertion for superiority and demand for respect today probably stems from the centuries of indignity that she had to bear. However she needs to rise above such petty competition of genders and inferiority complex and assert her superiority through her core strength – universal motherhood. She is the mother of all, therefore she is inherently above all. This is once again proven as a fact in Holy Mother’s life. The Mother did not need to be aggressive or to unjustly assert herself. She was naturally above eve

Women play a pivotal role in maintaining family. Today’s nuclear family lives are becoming increasingly complicated because of the intolerance of the partners towards each other. Relationships based on mutual respect and love, which found its pinnacle in the relationship between Sri Ramakrishna and the Holy Mother, are lacking. Although both men and women are equal partners in a successful marriage, it is women who play a key role in terms of guiding and harmonizing, being naturally more compassionate, kind and loving of the two. The relationship, as is proven in the life of many devotees, can improve dramatically if one or both the partners take refuge in vidya maya, i.e. rise above ego, jealousy, possessiveness and intolerance by taking a cue from the life of the Holy Mother. That relationship should be based on sacrifices and respect, like the ideals shown by the living Gods themselves. Competitiveness, vying for each other’s attention, possessive attachment, intolerance and egoti

In today’s world we are seeing a great transformation. Interconnectedness, esp. through the digital world has opened up many new opportunities through mass education and awareness. The success of materialism in promoting a better life for all has brought in its wake the evils of manifold desires, dissatisfaction with status quo, disenchantment and general lack of peace and harmony. Perhaps these are all outcomes of the quality of rajas, or intense activity, accompanied by intense passion. Rajas is necessary for material prosperity, but it needs to be controlled by Sattva or the quality of peace and tranquility. Else we would see preponderance of misery and actions led by desires leading to many unintended consequences as we see in our society today – corruption, crime, atrocities, struggle for supremacy, rage and untold miseries. As Swami Vivekananda pointed out, even in the rank atheist we see an urge, to love and to be loved, to find peace and happiness. People do not know where