jabdakhata

Not all are lost. There is still a sizeable proportion, notwithstanding the stance at the leadership and academia level, who eulogize Vivekananda and his ideologies and stand for it. Prof. Sankari Prasad Basu was one of the leading Vivekananda scholars, who did in India what Mary Louis Burke did in America, through his seven volume magnum opus Vivekananda and contemporary India (Bibekanda O Samakalin Bharatbarsha) and 2 volumes of Nivedita Lokamata on Sister Nivedita’s work and contribution towards Indian independence and Indian Renaissance. Other scholars, poets and literary figures include such names as poet Subramania Bharati, noted grammarian Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, historian Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, social activist Anna Hazare, social activist Begum Sufia Kamal, scientists Basishwar Sen and Satyendranath Bose, philosophers and leaders Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, C.R Rajagopalachary, and many other eminent persons, who did leave indelible imprints through their own work and in

Here are some facts and figures. “CIC pulled up NCERT because it reduced the content on Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Bose in its history books. The content on Swami Vivekananda, which originally stood at 1,250 words in the Class 12 history books, has now been reduced to only 37 words. Additionally, in the history books of Class 8, mention of Vivekananda was removed from the syllabus altogether (indiatoday.in, Jan 2016). The CIC order also mentions 36 other Indian revolutionaries who played a part in the freedom struggle against the British rule, but have not been given space in the textbooks. 37 history book pages were reserved for cricket and the history of fabric. (ibid)” Seems like a joke, but this is alarming. And precisely this has kept happening with school, college and university education in the past 70 years. It had happened during British Raj, but then education was mostly in the hands of Nationalist leaders who, even while working under tremendous pressure from Brit

Mary Louis Burke, also known as Sister Gargi, a nun of the Vedanta Society, who is better known for her painstaking labour of two decades on research and new discoveries on Swami Vivekananda in America and the consequent work in 6 volumes, once made a very important comment in her introduction to one of the editions of Swami Vivekananda, New Discoveries. She said that if India forgets the teachings of Vivekananda, she will do so at her own peril.  Incidentally the warning bugle was sounded a hundred years back by a noted revolutionary, Jatindranath Mukherjee, popularly called Bhagha Jatin. Jatindranath was one of the architects of an international conspiracy to wage an armed revolution against Britishrule taking the advantage of the first world war. He was one of the most dangerous men sought by British, but his activities were unknown and his audacious plan would have succeeded in rattling the empire had it not been for a treachery of a Chek spy in America. Jatin and his men did

Alexander the great has been widely acclaimed for his conquests throughout the world. Western historians who wanted to have their own hero deified him and greatly exaggerated some of his achievements, esp. his achievements in India have been inflated by some of the Western scholars and their Indian stalwarts based on dubious historical records maintained by Greeks and also derived from their fertile imagination based on their own sense of superiority. However some other accounts of contemporary history exists which gives a completely different account of Alexander’s conquests, esp. that in India. After defeating Darius of Persia, Alexander set his eyes on India. Magnificent stories of India were prevalent at that time, of her vast treasures and golds and the strange behavior and customs of the people living beyond Indus, whom the Persians called as Hindus (people living beyond Indus or Sindhu). The stories of the gold attracted the Macedonian king. It would greatly help him in ex

The prevailing situation of disharmony and dissension seems to be one created by vested interests of all hues. Before India got independence British policy of divide and rule had firmly taken roots among political classes and the new leadership who saw its vast potential in furthering their own design. The divide and rule was exploited by opportunists who sought power over anything else. Policies were partisan, favoring one group over other, further creating chasm. Of late that division seems to have increased multi fold. Its not at all coincidence that more India is trying to shed its baggage of the past, more it is being highlighted as to how nefarious its record is in maintaining harmony. In fact India is being portrayed by media in the same league or perhaps worse than Pakistan, Russia, China, and Sub Saharan Africa in ethnic cleansing and human rights violation. Terrorists who are on the verge of hanging for their crimes or who are killed on the battlefield in a legitimate encou

Education has a lot of positive connotation in our mind. When a find a person to be educated we're psychologically reassured about the credibility of a person. Higher the educational qualifications, higher is a person's credibility, so much so, that a Masters degree holder or an MBA from reputed institutes, a doctorate in science or literature or engineering, occupies a very high place in our mind. They are very bright prospects in job markets, always on demand in various fields including matrimonial alliances, and are assumed to be of impeccable character. But is education synonymous with character?  Of late we see that there are many cases in which educated youth are engaged in activities which are condemnable in the strongest term, like assault on women, murder, terrorism, drug peddling, robbery and many such heinous crimes, which shakes our faith in the country's education system. It leads us to question as to are we creating demons or men from the system that we

More I read about the character Yudhisthira in Mahabharata, more I am amazed. Perhaps everybody should read the entire Mahabharata atleast once in life just to know intimately about these characters and gain something from them. Its true that Yudhisthira had his weaknesses. He was probably  not a great warrior, was a bit addicted to gambling, although to be fair to him he was merely performing the dharma of a kshatriya by responding to the challenges of Shakuni. Also in Mahabharata war he was a late bloomer. He was defeated and disgraced by Karna who let him go thinking of his promise to mother Kunti, and he vented his frustration on Arjuna. By the grace of Sri Krishna Yudhisthira survived Arjuna's foolhardiness. That was the only instance in the entire Mahabharata where we saw him losing his cool. That was also the only situation where he expressed candidly his fear regarding the outcome of war, esp. the many sleepless nights he spent thinking about how to defeat Karna. However

One of the greatest assertions of this age is Jato Mat Tato Path (As many thoughts so many ways). Once we begin to think deeply on the meaning of this apparently harmless statement made by Sri Ramakrishna one hundred and fifty years back one gets amazed by the significance that it conveys and the immense possibilities if one actually wants to actualize this statement. This one statement has the potential of reconciling all differences, ensuring world peace and universal brotherhood in social and spiritual realm. But this one also holds immense potential in material life. The key here is respecting every opinion and thought without evaluating them at their face value and judging them by their merits without any prejudice. In this way apparently irreconcilable problems become reconcilable, and differences cease to exist. All differences stem from ego and selfish interests or conflict of interest. When I have a different opinion from others I would definitely like to think that mine one

There is a vehement opposition in some quarters whenever there is a proposal to introduce or teach sanskrit at a school level. Some say its a dead language and there is no point in pursuing it further, others view it as a sinister attempt to impose upon non Hindus a legacy that is rooted in Hinduism. Still others say that it is too difficult for modern students. Others say that it has no practical value. And there are some who would interprete this as a political gameplan to deliberately make minorities feel unsafe and alienated. The question is, is it such a bad idea to revive a language which was long noted for its beauty and in which every other important language of the world finds some distant echo? Also from a pure utilitarian perspective, isn't it worth an attempt to see what jewels are there in store in our ancient and medieval literature most of which are infact written in sanskrit, rather than reading the vastly changed and often wrong English translations and therefo

Swami Vivekananda stated in one lecture that the whole of creation is an undifferentiated mass of energy. There is no space for anything else outside the creation to be included in the creation. The entire creation will fall apart if an attempt is made to get any smallest particle from outside the creation (universe) to be put into the creation. The universe is like a pitcher filled to the brim and any mass not generated within creation, if placed within it will collapse the universe. This is because energy has filled the universe to its brim. Modern science proves that matter and energy are synonymous. Therefore universe is full of particles of matter and hence can be compared to one solidified mass. There cannot be any space left in a condensed solidified mass and any attempt to disrupt it will only result in its collapse. Circular Motion- Swamiji said that the linear motion is only apparently linear, but in actual practice all motions will take place in a perfect circle if the

Swamiji discoursed eloquently on the following topics which were basically scientific thoughts based on spirituality. 1. Theory of Continuity: Swamiji claimed that the entire creation is a continuity, without any gap. The gross matter viewed by us has a subtle component and that subtle becomes subtler. In this way the subtlemost components intertwine with each other and thus form a continuous mass which ensures that we are all connected with each other. There is no discontinuity anywhere in this universe.  We must remember that this theory was discussed much before quantum mechanics came in picture and there was not even faintest idea about Higg;s Boson, Quantum consciousness and so on. The inter connectivity at various planes is the reason of our empathy for others and compassion for others, as on a subtler plane we are connected with others and thus perceive their pain. The greater is the ability of a person to take her mind to the subtle plane, greater is the ability of perce

There has been outrage in different forms over JNU incident. Some were outraged by what they perceived to be a curbing of "freedom of expression", some expressed outrage over anti nationalist spirit displayed, and others, over what they saw Government's high handedness and "intolerance". The intellectuals, media and some political parties belong to the first and third groups. Some politicians have already expressed their solidarity with the students. I am not going to argue here whether they were right or wrong. One thing is however very evident, that in communist thought process their can be no place for Nationalism and when communism mingles with communalism, the concoction becomes deadly. JNU has always been noted for communist sympathizers, some of its professors and academics were noted for their virulent and passionate opposition to anything to deal with the greatness and glory of nation because they either perceived it to be narrow mindedness to love on

Translated from Mahendranath Datta's "London e Vivekananda". Swamiji said in one of his lectures, that many European scholars try to explain philanthropy in different ways. Some says that people try to help others and feel compassionate about others because one thinks that the same misfortune may befall him or her. Therefore to get rid of that possibility we help others. Others say that probably one had been in the same situation in the past. By seeing the plight of another, one remembers one's own experience and therefore try to help others. Others says that if we do not help each other there will be chaos in the society. Nobody would be able to work as the cohesiveness of the society will be destroyed. No sympathy for others would imply that there is also no sympathy for me from others and hence extreme selfishness will result in not doing any work together, thus destroying the fabric of social harmony. In order to prevent that society has evolved into a syste

Translated from "London e Vivekananda" by Mahendranath Datta Duty is driven by responsibility assigned, it can be enforced. [Duty means literally that which is due from me]. Therefore a slave has to perform its duty. A duty is duty, they say and therefore all ethical and moral person think its best to perform one's duty to the best of one's ability. In many cases duty forces one to do reprehensible acts, an acts one would not have done had one been free from sense of duty, a fact that is evident when police or other state actors perform their "duty", however heinous it may be, under order or compulsion. Many Nazis justified their act of killing Jews as "done under order", for the sake of duty. So a duty as an expression represents slavery. Swami Vivekananda in one of his lectures said that there can be different thought process espoused by the ancient Indians. There is no equivalent word of duty in Sanskrit, Kartavyam is not duty, but rather

This is a discourse between Vidura and Dhritarastra in Stree Parva, when the latter was much afflicted by hearing the sad news of the killings of all his sons and grandsons. Taken from Mahabharata of Krishna Dwiapyana Vyasa, translated by Kishari Mohan Ganguli, volume 7 - Stree Parva. A certain brahmana, living in the great world, found himself on one occasion in a large inaccessible forest teeming with beasts of prey. It abounded on every side with lions and other animals looking like elephants, all of which were engaged in roaring aloud. Such was the aspect of that forest that Yama himself would take fright at it. Beholding the forest, the heart of the brahmana became exceedingly agitated. His hair stood on end, and other signs of fear manifested themselves, O scorcher of foes! Entering it, he began to run hither and thither, casting his eyes on every  point of the compass for finding out somebody whose shelter he might seek.  Wishing to avoid those  terrible creatures, he ran in

Vyadha Gita was the name of an excellent piece of wisdom appearing in Mahabharata, Vana parva, that was given by a vyadha (fowler) to a Brahmin who went to learn from him as requested by a housewife.age Markandeya had narrated to Yudhisthira and other Pandavas, in front of Krishna, this story. The story also appears, albeit briefly in one of the lectures of Swami Vivekananda. The story goes like this. There was one Brahmin named Kaushika who after being well versed in Vedas acquired some special power. One day he was meditating under a tree and a crane sitting on the top of that tree and its dropping fell on the Brahmin, who instantly looked up and the crane fell dead. The Brahmin was astonished by the display of this power and also was sad that he killed a creature through his anger. He reproached himself and went to beg in a nearby village. There he begged for alms from a housewife who was busy serving her husband. she told him to wait and served her husband to her heart's cont

Swami Vivekananda's letter to a boy in Alwar has often cited by various sources, esp. the organizations that help others - "Be good and do good, that is the essence of all religions." Swamiji said this in specific context, to a boy who was interested in spiritual life and yet who was groping in darkness. It was person specific and was not general. A spiritual giant like Vivekananda knew very well that religion and spirituality extends far beyond the Western popular notion of being good and doing good. Those are good values no doubt for the beginners, but with certain advancement, being good and doing good does not seem to suffice. Being good does not ensure mental peace, doing good does not conquer ego and doing good with an eye on results is counter  productive. Worldview accepts everything with a utility. If there is utility then the action is accepted, else it is rejected. Without utility there is no meaning or significance attached to the action. Of course from a

Imagine riding a boat with many holes. You are aware of the holes. Some holes are bigger and some are smaller. Water enters through these holes and may lead to critical conditions for the boat, depending on degree of water entered. Therefore some holes may need greater attention while others less. That's what project management as a profession is all about. Being aware that there are holes is called risk management. When water enters through one or more holes they are called issues. It is important that we know which holes need plug in in order to keep the boat floating. Else it may sink at any moment. We also need to be aware of the existence of the holes. Unless we know that there are holes we won't be able to identify the source of the water entering the boat which may tilt and sink it. Being aware of the holes and the tactics and strategies adopted to plug these holes so that the boat does not sink is the essence of project management. 

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