LORD RAMA : NON-DEBATABLE DEBATE

LORD RAMA : Non-DEBATABLE DEBATE

Lord Rama’s image was in thoughts as an amorphous definition; he is alive for millenniums in peoples’ hearts as an irreversible faith and believes without any disagreements in the stream of religion. But the time, since when our so called modern civilization brought him into a structure, human intellects started to debate over that fact also. As Irish poet Oscar Wilde said “Beauty ends where an intellectual expression begins”, never debated philosophy of Rama is now debated because we have begun giving intellectual expression over that.  The Lord Rama will now be found at Ayodhya, construction of his abode is underway with the intervention of man-made law of the land. How strange the fact is, human being has reshuffled the chronology and standard of their Gods also with the features of law framed according to their conveniences.

As per the mythological history, the Lord Rama born to King Dasharatha and Queen Khaushalya at Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala as the 7^th Avthar of Lord Vishnu. The great Epic Ramayana was composed of journey of life of the Lord Rama.  His principle of life is depicted as ‘Dharma’ of human beings and his deeds in practical life, including 14 years in exile and war with Ravana, are depicted as ‘Karma’ in the Epic. ‘Mauryada’ or ‘Modesty’ and ‘Kartabya Parayanata’ or ‘dutiful devotion’, these two are the major thoughts that had been narrated through Lord Rama in Ramayana. For Modesty or Mauryada, Ram could leave throne also and go for exile.  He also fought against Ravana, destroyed Lanka and killed him for rescue of his wife Sita as a Kartabya.  As narrated by composer of the epic, Rama never broke Mauryada and escaped from the duty also. Ramayana became more popular after Ramananda Sagar converted the epic into TV Serial and people started to see Lord Rama in the form of man as dramatized in that serials of films. His advent on earth was meant for the establishment of Dharma by defeating O-dharma as described in the epic. Ravana was symbol of O-dharma, the reign of whom was destroyed by the Rama and Truth and Dharma established on earth. A son of human King was embodied as the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu for establishment of Dharma on human world. With the spread of Hindu religion, based on Ved, he later became God of all Hindu believers throughout the India and abroad.   

Knowledge about science, Geography, History, Sociology, Literature and Culture only cannot ensure the balance in nature as well as the human society. Had there been no religion in the world, human being would also have remained like animals. Religion has taught about love and relationship among men and women and sense of responsibility to each other.  First human relationship began with the relationship of man-woman as husband-wife. Birth of children added new relationship to that and thus relationship of father-mother to son-daughter began. In this way human race learned to think about humanity, mutual responsibility to each other and society.  Further, it is the religion, which taught us about caring nature, its surroundings and building better environment for all.  In fact it is a most wonderful education invented by human civilization, which has gifted us new ways of sagacious life.  Epic of Ramayana is also an education, from which we can learn about Mauryada and Kartabya. Likewise every epic of every religion gives us education of life that helps us in guiding ourselves.

No religion has so much of varieties as Hindu religion has today. Lord Rama came into controversies due to Ayodhya dispute.  Every ethnic community or race has their own God of belief, even within Hinduism also according their own history, tradition and culture. The 8^th Avtar of Vishnu, Lord Krishna is widely worshiped across the Globe by Hindus and recognized by other religious groups of people also. His predecessor Lord Rama gave birth of concept of the Ram Rajya, which was conceptualized as the Ideal Nation by the Gandhiji also. As an Avtar Krishna is latest than Rama, Rama age is known as “Satya Yug” (age of truth) and Krishna age is known as “Kholi Yug” (age of openness), which is still continuing. Lord Rama came to establish rule of Dharma by defeating Ravana and Lord Krishna came to establish rule of Dharma by defeating Kauravas.  Kholi Yug is not considered to be ideal; it is the Satya Yug which is considered as ideal Yug on earth. Everyone is talking of restoring Satya Yug or Ram Rajya today, even each and every politician sing the song of that. Who else will be there on earth that that will not be happy if Ram Rajya really returns to India? But controversies are always created for new changes, whatever new Yug or Age may begin tomorrow, variations in narration of faith and belief will be re-scripted again. Because, we human beings are used to for thinking, believing and working according to our conveniences only.

Calculative and Meditative Thinking

Calculative and Meditative Thinking

Sometimes in the year 2014 in New Delhi, I was listening to a speech delivered by one scholar and social activist, the name of which I can’t remember today. He was speaking on the topic – “Changing human behavior in modern age”.   …….Calculative thinking is taking over the Meditative thinking, where people just gather inestimable information; put them together and use that for specific purpose in search of self benefit. Success-failure, profit-lose are more important than the soul of thought. Aphorism of life is re-scripted and spirituality is replaced by multiplicity of ideas.  Meditative thinking tries to find root to soul and to the body; motivate us to learn from the beginning to end about what and why of the happenings in our surroundings. Meditative thinking gives birth to imagination, then creativity and link road to the future. It is the creativity that binds human beings with the sense of the responsibility and for future. World will be in more chaotic condition because we have lost sense of responsibility to others. World had the history of class struggle between ‘Have and Have Not’ in the past, and today we try to say that that is over. But nothing is over, even in this age also, where Right to Food is a law in all most all countries of the world, there is still such situation prevailing, where a section of people have the right to preserve food, and others have to struggle for having that. Huge gaps of privileged and unprivileged, knowledge seeker and knowledge controllers are creating again new class.  Technology is controlled by wealthy people, chasing achievement of life in their prescribed road map; we lose everything of our foundation …......

Echoes of claps were heard and he was praised by chair person of the function. Such a thought provoking deliberation was outside my interest at that time. For me difference between calculative and meditative thinking was not so important. Because as we know every working people would be naturally calculative in nature and meditative thinking is for creative people and thinker only.  As a listener, I also couldn’t but clap along with others in the hall.

After the elapse of couple of decades, today I am re-connected by the soul of that speech just for a few reasons.  Reasons are : - (i) we have lost interest of reading book, because we need to pay cash for that and it consumes much time to go through. Contrary to that there are writings in net for cheaper price, which are short, precise, informative and useful in life. Meaning, searching of  soul  through the book reading is now old fashioned hobby for us. (ii) We now just try to know the culture as how comfort of technology teaches us, not the tradition. We want to enjoy it not to live in it, extract profit out of that and never try to understand.  (iii) Everything of society including politics and religion, now survives in management and publicity concept, not on any founded ideology or Ism. Organizational war of supremacy and dominance has converted all those to merely a material being from the foundation of thought.  (iv) We have seen the time where sons or daughters have started disowning their moral responsibility towards parents. Parallel to that parents have also lost much hopes from their children in their future life. Reason is that calculation of life disallows such responsibilities just because those are not manageable.  Most drastic change of fact is that calculation of practical life has seriously influenced now the thought process of thinkers and their creativity too. 

Ultimately concluding line of speech is Calculative thinking gives us sense of management with specific burden only, but Meditative thinking gives us about wholeness of life and nature. But after all we are human being; we all are more or less materialistic because, we are living in material world, where the calculation is much needed to win in the competition of life. We shall always opt for the path, which is convenient for the survival of individual life. But following the rowdy race of life, we shouldn’t forget to think about the truth that, the creative thinking is not a product of any factory that can be assembled with machinery. Our study and learning lessons should be a thorough process of finding the root, knowing the present happenings and understanding its future. Materialism shouldn’t be defined within the narrow space of avariciousness only; it also should have space for new imagination for the future. All these can be realized only by persons through in-depth learning processes and experiences of life.

Population: strength or weakness

Population: strength or weakness

“Population is strength of the nation, but it is weakness when it is beyond manageable limit.” This question is most relevant for India, especially in the time, when a Pandemic diseases like COVID -19 attacks. Current status shows that India’s population is over 136 crore and by 2024 it will be over 144 crores. Its current population growth rate shows trend of steady decline in many states from earlier status. But even if current growth rate is maintained it may overtake the China by within a decade from now.

India’s first population policy was comprehensively declared on the 16^th April, 1976. In that policy state Governments were allowed to enact legislative measures regarding compulsory sterilization. Indians were against that policy of compulsory sterilization, but that was the beginning step of bringing awareness among Indian mass. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India earmarked for Plan and a Research and Programme Committee appointed by the centre. (a) Socio-economic and cultural studies (b) Biological and qualitative aspects, were two major sub-committees constituted within that main committee. In 1977 the policy was revised and renamed as Family Welfare Policy. Family planning had some compulsory guidelines but Family Welfare emphasized on awareness, health, economy and reducing or controlling birth and fertility voluntarily.  In that policy the age of marriage for girls was raised from 15 to 18 years of age and for boys it was raised from 18 to 21 years of age. Registration of marriage was suggested to be made compulsory, though it has not reached total success till today.

On the 15^th February, 2000 the Government of India chalked out New Population Policy (NPP) aiming at to achieve Zero Growth of population by 2045. It included reducing (a) infant mortality rate, (b) maternal motility rate (c) birth rates (d) total fertility rate. New Population Policy extended its hands to tackle manifold issues with regard to the welfare of the population. National Commission on Population headed by the Prime Minister and its State level Commissions headed by Chief Ministers were two major bodies, which were supposed to contemplate the implementing policy through Panchayat, Municipality and Non Governmental public organizations. Compulsory registration of birth, death, marriage and pregnancy had been suggested to be made necessary by the states.

One of the major policies was freezing the number of seats in the Lok Sabha at the current level of 545, which is based on the 1971 census till 2026.  As per original schedule the number should have changed as per 2001 census. India in its new population policy avoided any kind of coercive policy of reducing birth rate. Compulsory sterilization or introducing any norms on number of child per couple never came as law in the policy. Empowering women for improved health and nutrition worked tremendously in bringing birth control. Free and compulsory education to every child up-to 14 years of age, universal immunization of children against all preventable diseases through vaccines or drops and promotion of delayed marriage were not direct policy approach to the birth control. But tremendous impact of these indirect policies through voluntary participation of men and women in certain sections was seen that stabilized the population growth to some extent. But in spite of consistency in policy and action the passive approach of population control the policy is yet to be realized in certain sections of Indian population. It is still explosive in rural areas of many central Indian states particularly with certain sections of society. India now need, not only awareness, but some clear cut approach towards the issue also. But laying down a coercive policy, compulsory norms and stringent law may still not be acceptable for the Indian mass. But a comprehensive, steady and dedicated programme of instilling right perceptions and meticulous followings among mass, especially in those sections, who are still contributing high growth rate of populations, is a very much need of the time today.

India or Bharat?

India or Bharat?

If the source of coming of the name ‘Bharat’ is from the name of ‘King Bharat’ then how can we call ‘Bharat Mata’ today, when the King is male? This is the commonly asked question today after demand for naming of our country as ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’ is taking its upward movement. Two stories of mythological history of India describe the fact that the name ‘Bharat’ derived from either the name of King or the name of Community. The word ‘Bharat’ is Sanskrit origin, which is a most ancient term of Tree. Purana, Mahabharata & Rigveda also referred this country as ‘Bharat’ or ‘BharatVarsha.’

According to Mahabharata, India was called BharatVarsha after the name of legendary Emperor Bharat Chakrabarty, who was ancestor of Pandavas and Kauravas. Emperor Bharat had conquered almost all major areas of greater India and united those into a single political entity, known as ‘BharatVarsha.’ But Rigveda has different story of becoming BharatVarsha. It was a battle of Ten Kings to overthrow King Sudasa, who belonged to the Bharata Tribe. Ultimately King Sudasa achieved victory and all defeated groups joined Bharata Tribe and accordingly his kingdom was called ‘BharatVarsha’

‘Bharat’ ‘Hindustan’ ‘Hind’ ‘Bharatbhumi’ ‘Bharatvarsha’ various names had been suggested for the present cosmopolitan India in the Constituent Assembly on September 18, 1949, before it was born. But finally the line - “India, that is, Bharat, shall be a Union of States” is written in the Article 1 (1) of the Constitution.

India is a home of oldest civilization of the world, which was believed to be inhabited approximately 250,000 years ago. The country, now known as largest democracy of the world, India is celebrating its 74^th years of Independence in the current year, 2020. According to etymological history of India that particular word might have originated from the name of a valley that is 'Indus valley' and we were known as people of that. By that way the name 'India' came into being before independence itself. It is explained as English term of ‘Bharat’ by many language experts because; it was christened by them in the history. But the etymological study illustrates that the word is origin of old Indian civilization and very much connected with India. May be these are some core points as to why the Constituent Assembly decided to keep two identities of the nation, that is 'India' and the 'Bharat' in unison.

Now, if we go through two lines of thinking about renaming the country we need to see its two meaning and implications too. If the name ‘India’ is retained then that will be based on our civilization. But if it is changed to ‘Bharat’ then that will be like dedicated to one King or Community, which may again be questioned in future. Because. We had many Kings, Emperors and Communities in the history and they were also found equally dominant, powerful, and influential having great contribution in maintaining our identity and territories. India being a Union of different states, its language, religion and ethnicity are also heterogeneous not homogeneous. So decision of converting the name of ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’ may be easy in Parliament by majority, but it may click again to a long drawn debate and conflict among Indian scholars and mass.