Yuva Bharati - October 2008
The Narmada Parikrama
(Clockwise circumambulation of River Narmada) K.K.VENKATRAMAN
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Richness in poverty – India still lives ! was half asleep when I was woken by the call of someone. The person who enquired about me was standing with a plate covered by a sheet of paper in his hands. As I sat up, he kept the plate on the ground and removed the cover. There were hot rotis and a bowl containing steaming dal on the plate. He requested me to have the same. I was happy to eat and satisfy my hunger. It is needless to mention that the food was very tasty and sumptuous. After I had the food, he said, “I am really sorry that I did not take leave of you, when I left. In fact, I had a keen desire to offer bhiksha to you. But I was not sure whether it would be possible, as I knew that the stock of wheat flour and dal we have would meet our requirement of food just for one day only. When I went home, I mentioned about you to my wife. She enquired whether you had taken food. When she came to know that nobody had offered food to you, she immediately told me that she would prepare roti and dal for you. When I reminded her that we had just a day's stock with us, she said that we should not worry about tomorrow when a Parikramavasi is hungry today. We are really happy that we could offer Bhiksha to you”. I profusely thanked him and told that if I were in his place I would not have offered food
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to anyone. For the next few days, this incident was coming to my mind repeatedly, flooding my eyes. India still lives and vibrates in the heart of these richest people in the poorest huts. Unfulfilled Desire On the South Bank on Day 8, I was passing through a school in the afternoon. The Headmaster, who had come out of the school, enquired about me and offered tea. He said, "I live in Maharajpur which is about 15 Kms. from here. Our house is on your Parikrama route. Tomorrow I will be at home. While passing through Maharajpur tomorrow, please have lunch/dinner in our house". He gave me his address. I had lunch in his house next day (Day 9). He had told two of his friends about me and informed them when I reached his house. One of them was about 60 years old. After lunch they requested me to stay back for the night. As it was the beginning of my Parikrama and I had a very long way to go, I politely declined their offer. Then they said, "During your return through the North Bank when you reach Mandla which is just across the bridge on the river, kindly send us information through any shopkeeper and we will be happy to meet you. As your Parikrama will be nearing completion then, please spend a day at Mandla. We want to listen to your experiences during the Parikrama". I promised
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to do so and resumed my walk. They walked with me for some distance and took leave of me. Before leaving, the elderly person held my hands and said, "I wanted to do the Parikrama, but, could not do. So, I will be eagerly looking forward to meet you during your return to know your experiences. Please do inform us on reaching Mandla". I reiterated my assurance. I walked till dusk and halted in a village for the night. Next morning (Day 10) when I was leaving, the villagers said, "Please inform us through the boatman when you reach Kadam Ghat on the North Bank. We will be very happy to meet you". I agreed to do so. During my return along the North Bank, on Day 118, I reached Kadam Ghat around noon. I sent a message to the friends (Day 10) through the boatman. After about an hour he returned and told me that they would be reaching shortly with my food. After some time, 3 people came and served me lunch. The place was deserted, as a large area has been submerged due to the construction of a Dam downstream. They were very keen to listen to my experiences. As it was not advisable to spend the night at that place, they suggested that I could reach Mandla by evening, told me to halt at Hanuman Temple and said that they would meet me there in the night. I resumed walking and reached Mandla by sunset and waited at the Hanuman Temple. They came and we had dinner. They were very happy to listen to my experiences till late night. Next morning (Day 119), as they were leaving, I gave the address of Maharajpur (Day 9) friends to them and sent the information of my arrival through them. After some time the Maharajpur friends
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arrived. They gave the letters received in my name from my friends and relatives (I had given this contact address to them). They spent the whole day with me and returned late night. One of them came next morning (Day 120) and gave packed lunch. The elderly person had not come. When I enquired about him, I was told that he had passed away. It was very painful, as his desire of listening to my experiences could not be fulfilled. Now, the opportunity to share my experiences with the readers of this book relieves me of the pain to a great extent. Offer – refusal and consequence It was Day 122. "I have already covered 2,300 kms. Now I have to walk less than 300 kms. and the Parikrama will be complete within 2 weeks." This sweet thought came to my mind when I woke up in the morning. As usual, after tea I started walking. I would have walked about 5 kms. It was around 9.00 a.m. There was no habitation in the vicinity and there was no one around. As I was walking, suddenly I saw an elderly person coming towards me. He saluted me and invited me to have bhiksha (lunch) at his house. I politely declined his offer saying that I would have to wait for at least 3 hours for lunch by which time I could cover about 10 Kms. and resumed walking. He followed me and pleaded with me, but I did not relent. At noon, I felt that as usual, someone would offer food. Between noon and 1.00 p.m., I passed through 2 villages, but there was no offer of food. I decided to seek bhiksha in the next village. But the next village was more than 5 Kms. away and I could reach only by 3.00 p.m. As it was not the right time to seek bhiksha, I decided to forego lunch. There
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was no offer of tea either. In the evening I reached a village and decided to halt for the night. A villager took me to the frontage of a house where Parikramavasis passing through that village spend the night. I was feeling very tired and lay down to rest. Some celebration was going on inside the house and
people were going in and coming out. But, nobody took notice of my presence. It was really unusual. I was extremely hungry, as I had not taken anything (except for the tea in the morning) whole day. I could not sleep. I was not able to reconcile myself to the indifferent attitude of the people that day. (to be continued)
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Editorial
he slaying of Mahishasura by Durga that is celebrated as Dusserah, is pregnant with symbolism. Its essence is a call for social action and an unflinching war against the adharmic forces. The ancient language that our ancestors used was highly psychological in its application. So words didn't mean much more than a psychological impression to be understood depending on the context and application. Thus “Khaga”, referring to an object moving across the sky, can be at once either the Surya or a bird or a jet plane even! Adorned with such a beautifully flexible language was a poetry and culture that seems to be lost on today's people in the din of hyper-materialism. The Mahisha, the buffalo, represents the very embodiment of Tamas. Inert, unresponsive, lacking initiative or purpose, unthinking in action and putting physical pleasure and comfort over everything else, the buffalo is the best representation of the qualities of Tamas. Mahishasura was a person who stood not with two horns and hooves for feet, but who stood for these very qualities that a buffalo represents – Tamas. When this buffalo-of-a-man took over the reins of running the affairs of the state, the people were in trouble. With unbridled aggression and force not seen in sane men, he conquered the three worlds. Even the Devas, representing the forces of Light, are powerless in front of him. Each Deva, great warriors in their own right, is defeated and subjected to a humiliating submission. There seems no one who can stop Mahishasura. It is then that all the Devas come
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together, each parting with his most potent weapon, to perform a yajna. Mother Durga arises – a form of brilliant brightness, merciless against the adharmic forces, she slaughters them all to save the Devas. The import of this story is fairly clear – when the people are subjected to a system that is taken over by a force of darkness and inertia, like Mahishasura, there simply is no single entity that can save the day. Individual heroes, however heroic they may be, can only go so far and will ultimately fail. It is only when the society as a whole comes together to contribute its best efforts with a focused mind that this evil can be thrown away and society saved. Every individual in the society HAS to contribute his might, part with a precious something, like the weapons given by the Devas, in this rashtrayajna. In this age of Kali, the age of democracy and the masses, there can never be an individual hero who can drag our society out from the jaws of disintegration. It is only through aware, concerted and ceaseless social action against the adharmic forces that victory can be gained. When every other day some of our brothers and sisters are blown up in terrorist attacks and we bewail inaction, insensitivity and apathy from the powers that be, it is Mother Durga that we should remind ourselves of. There is no magic wand to wave away the terrorists, no spell to cast away all problems facing our nation today. It is through participation in social action – aware, organized, and persistent social action that sane civil society can gain victory and reestablish Dharma. This is what Navaratri should keep reminding us of – our role in the larger scheme of our nation and its future.
P.Vasanth
Editorial Team
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WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE MOTHER
K.P.SHIVKUMAR
ithout Shakti there is no Shivam, and without Shivam there is no Shakti. The two are interdependent. The harmonious co-existence of the two is Sundaram. Shivam is pure consciousness. It is still, like the corpse. Shakti is the Energy, the activating principle. Kali, the Divine Mother of the Universe is Shakti-Swaroopini. Shiva is lying like a corpse. He comes to life with the touch of Shakti -- a pictorial depiction we are familiar with. As it is said in a lighter vein, without Shakti, Shivam is Shavam. (Shavam means corpse, a dead body). A certain person is dead. Till the moment before his death, he was somebody's father or brother or husband. The moment he dies, all such relationships vanish. Thereafter, he is referred to as the body, since the person after his death is a lifeless log of wood. Because, the Praana, the Life-Principle, Shakti, is gone. The Life-Energy, the Praana, that had been active and pulsating in him is gone. Something gloomy. A sad picture. It sets in a kind of disillusionment. But it is here, when the mind is gloomy, that we see a dim light of hope, like the sun rising again after a sun-set. That light of hope shines in the inward eye, instilling in us a new vigour, a new burst of energy – Shakti. Yea! She is that inner energy in all of us,
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that inexhaustible energy. She encourages us to live on cheerfully with the message of the Soul's Immortality, the potential divinity of each soul. That Eternal Mother, the Mahaashakti, instills in everyone the aspiration to live on, setting aflame in all, the Desire, the Will. In the famous Lalitha Sahasranaama, the Divine Mother is described as Ichcha-Shakti Gnaana-Shakti - Kriya-Shakti Swaroopini. The Mother Divine is present in us as Ichcha Shakti – the Power of Will. ' O let me lead a worthy life! Let me work for the removal of illiteracy! Let me teach Yoga to at least 10,000 people in the course
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of my life!' These promptings are born of Ichcha Shakti. Gnaana Shakti is the Power born of Spiritual Knowledge – the highest knowledge. That which liberates is true knowledge. It is Gnaana. Yaa vidya saa vimuktaye. Kriya Shakti is the Power of Action. If the Desire or Will has to see its fulfulment, one has to prepare, one has to work hard and get qualified in order to be able to apply his knowledge and experience for his own benefit and the benefit of others. That needs Action Plan. The Power that finds expression here is Kriya Shakti. In this way, we are all constantly guided or led on by Shakti, perhaps at different levels, at different grades or in different measures, depending on individual variations, and of course, faith too. We call the Cosmic Energy as Mahaashakti. Nature is a manifestation of Shakti. Man, in his greed, has indiscriminately exploited Nature. He has to pay the penalty for this excessive undoing. Greenhouse effect and climatic changes with their dire consequences have started on their destructive role. There is a strong global warning against global warming.
Our religion and culture prevail upon us to preserve and protect Nature. It is a kind of Dharma. Dharmo rakshati rakshitah. During the Navaratri festival, it is a common practice, much so in the South, to display in all houses, idols and dolls representing gods, goddesses, rishis, the common folk, plants, trees, etc. This display, known as Kolu, is symbolic of the need to live in harmony with Nature. To conclude, as Swami Vivekananda said, “Strength is life, weakness is death.” What is the source of strength? Purity. Youth is the right stage in life to start practising these virtues. Shri Adi Shankara sang in his Annapoorna Stotram: Gnaana vairaagya siddhyartam bhikshaam dehi cha Parvati. ' O Mother Parvati, bless me with the alms of Gnaana and Vairaagya.' That was the prayer of a born mendicant. Narendranath went three times to the shrine of Kali on the behest of his Master Sri Ramakrishna, to pray to the Mother for relief from the abject poverty raging at home. But every time he went and stood before the Mother's image, he could ask for only Gnaana and Vairaagya. Such was his inner strength. We revere them as Men of God inspiring us to lead a life of Light.
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Let Your Daughters Fly High
Richa Agrawal
i t h t h i s generation's women getting more exposure than ever and peers climbing success ladder, they too want to make their mark. Today more and more parents are willing to support their daughters and take interest in their careermaking decisions. Girls are being pushed by their parents to do their best. More and more jobs are opening for women or it should be said that employers prefer as they expect women to be better managers, dedicated team mates and honest employees. But there is no less the number of parents who think like Deepali's parents. Deepali is a student of class 12th and wants to be a commercial pilot. The problem is when she talks to her parents about career-making, they don't take it seriously and tell her, “Whatever you do, one day you'll have to leave this home and get married. Your real occupation then would be to serve your husband and in-laws.” This disappoints Deepali and she usually locks her up in her room wondering what to do. Like Deepali there are many other girls who think of flying high but
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their ambitions are not fuelled by their parents. “Today, career options are increasing like never before, it is surely a golden time to make a career. But nothing can be achieved without the support of the parents,” says Shreya, who after pursuing B.Tech, wanted to become an engineer but had to settle for a teaching job as her parents didn't give their nod for the former job. Agrees Anjali, an undergraduate student, “I want to go abroad to pursue post-graduation but my parents don't agree. They need to understand that daughters today are no less than sons. They should stand by their daughters.” Just a few days before I had met a couple who has a daughter. I was shocked to listen to what they said, “Why waste money on higher education of a daughter. We have also to arrange for dowry at her marriage time.” I want to tell such parents that giving and demanding dowry, both are crimes done to a daughter. And
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if your daughter is educated and working somewhere, why do you need to arrange for dowry, isn't g i v i n g a n educated and c u l t u r e d d a u g h t e r enough? By agreeing to give dowry, you are just betraying your daughter and not doing anything for her happiness. Will the demands of such a person ever end who is asking for money in lieu of marrying his/her son to your daughter? The result can be seen in many dowry deaths and suicide cases. A confident daughter will be bold enough to deal with all kind of situations and will be able to support you in your old age. Why expect support from a son only? Isn't your daughter capable of doing so? Daughters also need to think that their parents want support in their old age and this is the reason why they invest in getting their sons educated and marry off their daughters (who don't support them but their inlaws). If daughters take to the task of supporting their parents, no parent would leave a stone unturned in letting their daughter get the best education. You can't blame your parents for this; after all they too are mortal beings. With women emerging as strongest leader of the nation, researching in space, winning laurels for the nation worldwide in sports, and serving the nation, no daughter should be restricted from pursuing her dreams. To be called a proud
parent of a daughter you need to be proud of her today when you see her trying hard to realize her dreams. Teaching, medical, nursing, etc are not the only careers for women. rather let her choose her dream career herself. You can help her by recognizing her t a l e n t a n d potential in the area. Don't impose your thinking on her, let her form her own opinions about everything. Remember, she's getting much more exposure than you could get in your young years. Imposing your thinking, pinpointing every act of her, making all decisions for her, hurting her self-esteem can make your daughter get frustrated or even become rebellious. She may also suffer from low self-esteem throughout her life and her personality will remain undeveloped. The choice lies with parents. Do they want a Barbie doll who thinks, acts, talks like they want or they want a loving and caring daughter who can and decide, on her own. Kiran Bedi, P.T.Usha, Koneru Hampi or Sania Mirza could never have become successful and icons without the support of their parents. If you agree, then remember, our nation wants more female icons, may be your daughter. Courtesy: Universal Education
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SHRADDHANJALI
voice asked the participants to visualize that they were on the bank of River Ganga and not near the shore of the confluence three seas and hear the gentle murmur of the flowing river (not the lashing waves of the sea). All were spell bound and felt as if they were virtually transported to the shore of River Ganga. The sound of his voice was diminishing slowly and finally there was an absolute silence of absolute peace. After permitting the participants to be in such a blissful state, brought them back again to the reality of their presence in the Yogasana hall. Everyone felt elated as if he had achieved something on his own and was keen to narrate it not only to his colleague but also the smiling Swamiji. Swamiji was amused at the exuberance but being a person `patience personified' heard them all and patted a few. Another incident worth recalling was an `awareness walk' as he called it, that he undertook in the evening after the meditation class, from the Training Centre to Vivekanandapuram beach and back with all following him. He briefed everyone before this rewarding exercise to be silent and observe nature in all its glory. The evening sun was casting its receding rays, flocks of birds were returning to their roosting places, the sea was getting quieter and everyone was virtually in a sort of reverie. No thought crossed their minds as the turbulence in them also fell in line with serene stillness. This was how one should steady one's mind he remarked. The best tribute that we can pay to him is to remember that: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime. And departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time;
Swami Chidananda Saraswati
t is with great regret we record the Mahasamahi of Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, President of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, on Thursday the 28 August 2008. The late Swamiji was very close to Swargeeya Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade and at his request, visited Kanyakumari regularly, in the midst of his busy schedules, and delivered lectures to each of the first five batches of Jeevan Vratis. He visited again in 1983 and later in the last week of December 1992, to participate in the concluding functions of Vivekananda Bharat Parikrama. The Karyakartas always looked forward for his visits as he used to mingle and mix freely with them and unhesitatingly answer all their questions and cleared their doubts however elementary they might have appeared to him. He was an epitome of courtesy and kindness. During his visit in 1983 he took classes to the Jeevan Vratis on meditation. It is interesting to recall this. The Jeevan Vratis lay down in Savasan posture in the Yogasana Hall. Swamiji asked the participants to close their eyes and relax without slipping into a snooze. He slowly moved across the hall, in a musical
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YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
SELF DEVELOPMENT SERIES - 3
CREATIVITY THROUGH
WRITING
Sqn.Ldr. Dr.P.Ramani
nyone needs to present his ideas effectively to get the work done in any situation. Successful people always present their ideas through their writing whether it is an informal letter or a formal report. Writer should choose the most appropriate sentence patterns. They should make use of complete sentences. They should avoid awkward constructions with dangling modifiers, sentence fragments, etcetera. They should take care to combine two ideas/thoughts/ sentences. Fusion of the main clause should not only be accurate following the rules of grammar but should also be appropriate and natural. Making mind maps The moment we sit down to write on any topic, we keep jotting down all the points as they flash before our minds' eyes. Later, we compose paragraphs. Choosing ideas from the points listed, in the form of a mind map. The ideas chosen are arranged in a logical sequence. We find a topic sentence which presents the central theme (to the topic of discussion). Paragraph Writing A paragraph has basically two major categories of sentences,
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A
i.
There are main ideas in the mind map (the topic sentence or main sentence).
ii.
There may be any number of supporting details to the main idea presented. Supporting sentences support, amplify strengthen, expand and illustrate the main sentence or the topic sentence.
Achieving Coherence Coherence is central and important to any piece of good writing. Connectives, link or cohesive devices should be appropriately used to connect words, phrases and clauses in a sentence to
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
achieve coherence. Ideas are to be arranged in a logical sequence and ideas shall be linked. Connectivity between ideas can be established with the help of appropriate connective devices. Create Your Writing
!
!
Give more details / information (Cause and effect, compare and contrast, exemplification etc.,) Conclude (Give opinions, make recommendations, interpret facts, present results etc.)
! ! ! ! ! !
Brainstorm your ideas Select and organize your thoughts Build logic your arguments Present your arguments Introduce the toping Present information in support of your arguments with reasons.
Unity and Coherence in Paragraph Writing Unity of a paragraph signals good writing. There can be only one idea that is central to the making of a good paragraph. The other supporting ideas/sentences should be used to support the main/topic sentence.
Homage to a martyr
Yet another victim and this time it is a braveheart Shri Mohan Chand Sharma, the Inspector of Delhi Police who was killed in an encounter with militants. The 43-year-old officer of the Delhi Police's Special Cell served the city police for 19 years before he succumbed to bullet injuries sustained during a fierce encounter with five heavily-armed terrorists at a house in south Delhi on Friday, the 19th Sep.08. Considered an encounter specialist and posted with elite anti-terror squad Special Cell, Sharma was a highly decorated officer with seven gallantry medals to his credit, including President's Medal for Gallantry. He was instrumental in the killing of 35 terrorists and the arrest of another 80 militants.At least 40 inter-state gangsters also fell to the bullets of Sharma. He also arrested around129 gangsters.And finally, two militants involved in serial blasts in Delhi and other places were killed in the encounter
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
11
VIVEKANANDA KENDRA SAMACHAR UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD DAY
NEW DELHI
Mananeeya Parameswaranji Addressing the Audience. Sri A.K.Doval, Sri S.Gurumurthy and Sri Vijay Kapoor are also in the picture.
he Universal Brotherhood day, in the memory of the historic address at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 was celebrated at Vivekananda Kendra International, Chanakyapuri on 11 Sep. 2008. The function was graced by the presence of a very distinguished group of guests. Ma. Parameswaranji, the President of Vivekananda Kendra blessed the evening with his esteemed presence and chaired the meeting. Noted columnist and thinker Sri S Gurumurthy, was the key-speaker, while Sri A.K.Doval, the former chief of IB and Sri Vijay Kapur, the former Lt. Governer of Delhi were also on the dais. The program started by 6.30 p.m. after a brief tea session. “ I am proud to belong to a religion
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which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.” These great lines were throbbing in the minds of everyone who were present on the occasion. After Mangalacharanam and welcoming the guests, Sri A.K.Doval, who is also the honorary director of Vivekananda Kendra International, gave a brief introduction of Vivekananda Kendra International. He reminded that VKI was a platform to carry the message of universal brotherhood which is the central character of Hindu civilization, to the world. He as well stated that VKI will work on interacting with other civilizations and nations, understanding various cultures and acting as a forum to project India. Sri Doval also stressed on the need of examining the situations that lead to the crumbling of civilizations, conflicts in the doctrine of coexistence and hence into the mightiness of the Indian civilization which outlived the test of time. Sri Gurumurthy started his address with reminding the warning of fanaticism that Swamiji gave to the world at the Chicago address. He exclaimed how this country never distinguished between Gods when the number where in thousands and the rest of the world was in chaos and havoc in the name of God. Exactly 108 years after Swamiji's historic call to the world religions with his warning , the world
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
witnessed one of the most heinous example of cultural conflict, - the 9/11. He gave examples of paradoxes like the pathetic end of Soviet Union at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists whom they always supported. If every religion conceded that every other religion can help a person to reach the same God that they are trying to reach, then harmony is born. Sri Gurumurthy also added that at this point, the Hindus alone practice this universal acceptance and yet are blamed as fundamentalists for opposing fundamentalism. So the challenge before India is to take the truth to the conflicting world. And there India itself possess a big challenge of unifying itself and when Hindus does not have a single point like person or book to converge themselves, the only way is to accept and include all Hindu practices into the mainstream of religious life of every Hindu. Sri Gurumurthyji also reminded that the survival of the Vedic religion over a long time of
had the biggest misfortune of incorporating and putting into practice the concepts and philosophies of people who never knew India, communism being an example. A second thing to understand is the confusion Ashoka had which was not only
glorified but even emulated in the governance after independence. He compared the realization Ashoka had after the Kalinga war with Arjuna's confusion in the beginning of Mahabharata War. The only difference was Krishna's presence. As a result of this confusion, the media, economic and social system, constitution and many other crucial factors of a state's existence where designed by people who wanted to exploit the generosity of the people here. The individualistic behavioral model promoted by the intellects of Anglo-Saxon countries always tended to jeopardize the family based system of the other parts of the world including India. The family model characterized by risk free savings, scrutinized consumption etc. is the Indian economic model, which placed India at the zenith of the world economy for around 1700 years. Understanding all these, Sri Gurumurthy called upon Indians to understand the language of power. A mighty India will alone can deliver the great message of civilization. Ma.Parameswaranji narrated a few incidents in Swamiji's life that displayed his patriotism. He said that patriotism in India is not political, but synonymous to the attachment to one's mother. He explained why a society should always have the will to struggle and survive for this, he remembered Swamiji's Amarnath Yatra where he was endowed with the boon to live as long as he willed. This is the message - the society must will to live and fulfil
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Sri Gurumurthyji urged to empty our minds and think fresh for a new articulation.
jeopardy assert its role in the world, but have to define that specific role. To identify the role of Indian civilization, one has to take a look back into the history to understand the routes the civilization flowed through. Indian civilization
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its mission. Then he narrated Swamiji's feelings at Kshirbhavani temple where he witnessed the destruction of the shrine and was overwhelmed. Swamiji thought if he had been living at the time of attack, he would have died to safeguard mother's shrine. This readiness to sacrifice is another essential for the civilization to survive and be successful. Referring to Swamiji's open opposition to the churches design of conversion, he read out the conversation Swamiji had with one of his disciples. Swamiji exhorted the
Hindus to consider their religion as mother and defend its honor as the honor of their own mother. He also remembered Sister Nivedita's big acclaim of Swamiji's concepts of manmaking and the great love for his nation. In the vote of thanks address, Sri Vijay Kapurji, the Vice-Chairman of Vivekananda Kendra International encouraged the gathering to contribute in VKI work on combating the arrogance of civilization clashes.
VIVEKANANDA KENDRA - KANYAKUMRI
SHIBIR CALENDER - 2008
NAME OF THE SHIBIR
DATES
1st - 15th Dec
AGE
CAMP DONATION
Rs. 1500/Rs. 1500/-
Yoga Shiksha Shibir (Eng)
18+ 18+
Yoga Shiksha Shibir (Hindi) 1st - 15th Dec
Further details: E-mail: [email protected] / Fax: 04652-247177 / Phone: 247012 Vivekananda Kendra, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari - 629 702 www.vkendra.org
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Symposium on THE THREAT OF RED TERROR IN INDIA – A Report
Dr. Subrahmaniam Swamy Addressing the Audience
Symposium on THE THREAT OF RED TERROR IN INDIA was organized at the North Campus of Delhi University, as joint effort of the Vivekananda Kendra International and National Democratic Teachers Front on 12th September 2008. The symposium widely covered all the pros and cons of the one of the most critical issues that India is facing today. The key-speakers of the event were Sri Subrahmaniam Swamy, Former Member of Parliament and President of the Janata Party and Sri A.K.Doval, former chief of the Intelligence Bureau. Ma. Parameswaranji, the President of Vivekananda Kendra graced the occasion with his esteemed presence. Also in the dais were embellished by the august presence of Sri Vijay Kapoor, Former Lt. Governor of Delhi, and Dr. Inder Kapahi, the President, NDTF. The program witnessed a wondrous
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response from the audience that constituted of teachers, students and intellectuals. The gathering was overwhelmed by the eyeopening series of lectures given by the very learned speakers. The talk by Dr. Subrahmaniam Swamy was a call on the carpet for the ignoble friendship between the red terrorists, the Islamic terrorists and the Christian missionaries who long on to jeopardize the nation and its civilization. He said even the left political parties who participate in the democratic process are engaged in Red Terror. He asked who kills RSS workers in Kerala or political opponents in Bengal. Sri A.K. Doval gave a captious analysis of the magnitude of the danger carried by the Red terror philosophy. He said that the problem is not only a law and order problem but much deeper. It needs more that just police solution. But to say that poverty and other inequalities are the reason amounts to over simplification. He said the truth is that the left wing extremists are opposed to all kinds of development as poverty is their breeding ground. He advocated that the problem needs a counter- ideology. Ma. Parameswaranji urged the audience to unite against the very perilous condition and to develop a conscience that respond swiftly against such vulnerabilities. He said that we have to understand that India did not get independence just for survival. That is not
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Hyderabad
At Ameerpet, 19 people participated in a month long Pranayama and Meditation Class.38 persons took part in two Yogasana Classes of one and three month duration.The Weekly Gita study went on smoothly with average attendance of about 90. Yoga Class for Ladies was conducted with average 20 participants at Kachiguda.Two Amruta Surabhi Programmes were organised one each at Dilsukhnagar and Ameerpet. 400 kg of rice was given to a leprosy home and an orphanage. Stress Management programme was organised for 25 managerial staff of Seira Atlantis, an MNC. mission that we have to understand. We have through times immemorial developed a way of life to accommodate everyone. This way of life is the way to peace and prosperity. When we gained independence in 1947 it was an opportunity to show the world our own way of life. But instead we followed the foreign model based on materialism. First through the socialist inclination and then by opening fully to the western way. But both these have failed humanity. And the intellectuals of the globe want a third alternative. India has that philosophical alternative way of life. But we need actual strength to put this into practice. The universities have to do this. Swami Vivekananda's Message has this potential. But it needs a thorough research and study in depth in all the aspects of Indian Paradigm. Dr Inder Kapahy of NDTF conducted the proceedings and Vice-Chairman of Vivekananda Kendra International, Sri Vijay Kapoor proposed the vote of thanks.
enough we have to be successful in our mission. Mananeeya Parameswaranji Stressing a point during the Symposium. India must fulfil its mission. And what is that
Kolkata
Universal Brotharhood Day was celebrated by Vivekananda Kendra Kolkata Branch at Mahajati Sadan on 14th September. Swami Vivekananda in his lectures at Chicago starting from 11 September 1893 gave a call for Universal Brotherhood. Programmed started with Manglacharan, Deep prajwaln and Swagat geet by Michael Nagar Samskar Varga children. Shri Shivpoojan Singh (Prant Sangathak) spoke on Kendra activities. Speaker-in-Chief Swami Sukhananda (Principal) Ramkrishana Mission School, Baranagar spoke on Yoga a way of life and how yoga join to whole universe. Distinguished Guest Shri Samir Ganguly (Rtd.Deputy Commissioner of Police ) Kolkata has gave a lecture on Swami Vivekananda massage to modern youth. Guest Shri Prayagraj Bansal Eminent Social Worker also seated on dais. A mime performance by the children of Samskar varga, Bowbazar on a patriotic action song ‘Jagaya Tumko Kitani Bar’.
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Medhasi devi viditakhila sastrasara durgasi durga bhavasagara naurasanga Srih kaitabhari hrdayaika krtadhivasa gauri tvameva sasimauli krta pratistha
O Devi, you are the Intellect, by which the essence of all scriptures is comprehended. You are Durga, the boat that takes men across the difficult ocean of worldly existence, devoid of attachments. You are Sri (Lakshmi) who has invariably taken her abode in the heart of Vishnu. You are indeed Gauri (Parvati) who has established herself with Siva. --Devi Mahatmyam
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YUVA BHARATI - October 2008 YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
Media-people and 'we' the people
B.R.Haran
n general, the 'Media Ethics' or India is a great Hindu nation, which has 'Journalistic Codes' comprise the seen the evolution of world's greatest and principles of truthfulness, accuracy, oldest Hindu civilization spanning to objectivity, impartiality, fairness, public thousands of years. In the last one thousand accountability and limitation of harm. Of late years, it has been subjected to foreign in India, it has become hard to find even one invasions and persecutions leading to the newspaper or one TV channel, which abides establishment and further growth of by these principles. Patrika Dharma has Abrahamic religions resulting in deterioration become a thing of the past in this great land of of its cultural heritage and religious traditions. Sanatana Dharma. Here space is 'sold' and The religious onslaughts of the Islamic news is 'marketed'. Selling and marketing are a invaders and the 'divide and rule' policy part of business and adopted by the quite naturally 'profit' “The man who reads nothing at all is Christian invaders b e c o m e s t h e better educated than the man who reads have played havoc on objective. Nothing nothing but newspapers”. - Thomas t h e u n i t y o f t h e wrong! It is not fair to society making it Jefferson expect a newspaper or stand divided along a TV channel to work caste lines. The as a non-profit imposition of new organisation. But at the same time it is certainly educational system and distortion of the fair to expect them to stick to the fundamentals glorious history of the nation have also played of Patrika Dharma attributed to the above said their part in upsetting the behavioral patterns principles and it is imperative that the media of the society within itself. lives up to that expectation.
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Unfortunately poststeadily infiltrated into the independence too, the damaging political, bureaucratic, educational If you don't systems continued, thanks to the and health care systems and to read the grand old political party, which has some extent in judiciary also. On newspaper, truly betrayed the nation, which the other side, they indulge in you are genuinely trusted and looked upon it expanding their land holdings, uninformed. for evolution and empowerment. educational and health care If you do The intellectual space has been institutions and infrastructures, read the allowed, by the powers that be, to be increasing their domination even newspaper, filled in by Marxists, Minorities and in entertainment industry, you are Pseudo-secularists and the same preaching and propagating their misinformed happened in the field of journalism faith and converting the gullible too. The influx of foreign masses. Their political influence Author unknown mercenaries and their influencing helps them to increase their covert the intellectual field with their activities through their money power and also their capturing the missionaries and NGOs and the media power media space with the collusion of Marxists and extends huge support by projecting those the pseudo-secularists has led to the activities as genuine. devaluation of nationalistic principles. Now, India is flooded with Print and Electronic The present media industry in India is media houses that allegedly owe their controlled by the unholy 'Marxist-Minorityallegiance to foreign masters, who deal with Atheist' nexus showing scant regards to pseudo-secular political parties with a sole aim nationalistic principles. Extremely small of de-Hinduising this great Hindu nation. section of the media works with patriotism, but sadly, it could not match the reach of the If India still stands as a 'Hindu Nation' other side. The people are left with no other without losing its core values of religious choice and they are unable to get to know the tradition and cultural heritage despite the 'other side' of any story, which is projected in devastation perpetrated by the Abrahamic an identical way by all the newspapers and TV religions for more than thousand years, it is channels. In this kind of a scenario, the people purely because of its spiritual strength and the easily get influenced by the distortion of facts basic principles of Sanatana Dharma. As the and ultimately believe them as truth. two Abrahamic religions are not true religions per se, but purely politico-religious concepts, This poisonous media operates with or rather political concepts in the garb of different strategies. While the main objective religions, they operate with the aim of remains as de-Hinduisation of India, the capturing this nation. To accomplish this aim, strategies applied are, onslaught on religious de-Hinduisation of India becomes a necessity, tradition, attack on nationalistic principles, which can be realised only by capturing or assault on cultural heritage and influencing influencing the four pillars of democracy. the psyche.
“
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On the one side, they have slowly and
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If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. - Malcolm X
Onslaught on religious tradition includes belittling Hindu Swamijis and Gurus, demeaning their institutions and ridiculing the customs, rituals and traditions. The media's attack on Sabarimala, Guruvayur, Amarnath, Kanchi Mutt, Puri Jagannath, etc, etc, are apt examples of this strategy. Assault on cultural heritage includes debating the goodness of Hindu festivals, concepts and traditional practices and destroying the Hindu cultural organisations by presenting concocted stories on them. Debating the festivals like Deepavali, Durga Puja and Janmashtami, etc., concepts like Kumbamela and Ramlila etc, practices like Ganesh Visarjanam and Aiyappa Makara Jyothi etc and activities of socio-cultural organisations like the RSS, etc and projecting them in bad light are best examples of this strategy. Attack on nationalistic principles includes questioning the sanctity of the national song Vandemataram, encouraging the abuse of national flag and tricolour in the name of sports and games, supporting the habitual offender M F Hussain's nude depiction of
Bharath Matha and other Hindu Deities in the name of creativity and freedom of art and insulting the Armed Forces and Police by presenting them in bad light for their strict actions against the terrorists and insurgents in the name of human rights. Consistently campaigning against the scrapping of Article 370, hanging of Afzal Guru, introduction of Common Civil Code and enacting of stringent anti-terror and anti-conversion laws is also a part of this strategy. Portrayal of perpetrators as 'victims' has been the worst strategy adopted by the media.
Influencing the psyche is a dangerous and venomous strategy, which is focused on the youth and student community. The so-called secularism, liberalism and freedom of expression are absolutely abused by the media for this purpose and it is indeed taking a heavy toll on the psyche of the generation next. Westernisation through vulgar pop music and dances, Fashion parades and Page-3 columns etc, 'liberal' columnists writing in support of pre-marital sex and homosexuality and TV channels promoting them through debates, presenting film personalities as 'cultural' icons, telecasting documentaries and serials denigrating Hindu culture and promoting western cultures, releasing supplements full of third rate movie masalas and shady pubdiscothèque activities and carrying sleazy advertisements have horrifying influence in the minds of youngsters. The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there
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were - David Brinkley Apart from this, almost all newspapers and TV channels are either owned by political parties or others who owe their allegiance to them and hence the people are fed with only biased and distorted news and reports. Also there is this squalid concept called 'sting operation', which is normally used to help their political and communal affiliation by victimising the opposite parties through fraudulent ways. If, in a rare show of conscience, the government attempts to control the media, it protests against such steps and talks of 'self regulating mechanisms', but only a small section adheres to such a practice. Strong measures need to be taken to rectify and streamline the mainstream media. · Political parties or personalities must not be allowed to own either a newspaper or a TV channel. Sting operations must be banned and the so-called investigative reports must be authenticated with evidences. The so-called reality shows must be banned and the mini and mega serials
·
·
· · ·
must be subjected to censorship and the duration of mega serials must be fixed. TV commercials and Press advertisements must be censored and certified. Communally sensitive reports must be balanced and any deviation or distortion must be punished. 'Adult' contents must not be allowed in mainstream media. Reports, which degrade the Indian culture, must not be allowed. Any reporting that deviates from the law or specified code of ethics, and, any reporting that harms an individual or an organisation must be punished.
·
·
Courage, conviction and will are needed to bring in the above said measures and as things stand at present, it is highly unlikely that any government will do it. So, the onus lies on the people to regulate themselves and stay away from this mendacious menace, so that, they do not get influenced and feel free, think clear, breath fresh and stay united.
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SHRADHANJALI
spent his life promoting literacy and combating conversions in this tribal-dominated district. For this, he earned the wrath of Christian missionaries and was attacked on several occasions. On December 25, 2007, he was attacked by a section of the Christian community and his security guard was severely injured. Swami Lakshmanananda was a co-disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati and studied with him the Vedas, Upanishads, Vedanta, Brahma Sutra etc in Rishikesh. After his studies, in 1965, he involved himself in anti-cowslaughter movement along with thousands of other Sanyasis and was in jail for 19 days. He went to Orissa in 1967 to organize a cowprotection movement there. In the years 196870, he moved to the capital of Kandhamal district, a place called Phulbani. Swamiji moved to a remote village in Kandhamal. From that date to his last, that village had been his Karma Bhoomi. His service work began to spread from that small village. In 1969, he started a school and a Sanskrit college there. He established a number of Bhajan centres in villages to combat conversions. He travelled to nook and corners and conducted religious discourses. His service and discourses created a great awareness among the tribal people. For the missionaries who tried to establish there in a big way, Swami
wami Laxmananda Saraswati came to tribal-dominated Kandhamal in 1966. Since then he has been leading a campaign against conversion activities of Christian missionaries. He has also been in the forefront of the campaign against cowslaughter. It was because of his sustained efforts that thousands of tribals who had embraced Christianity returned to the Hindufold. Later, he set up an ashram at Chakpada and a Kanya Ashram (girls residential school) at Jalespata in Kandhmal district. He
s
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the forest areas. He alloted numbers to every tree and manage to bring a rule that only the village Panchayat can approve any cutting of trees. He preached that the native culture, common beliefs, manners and music of the tribals should be conserved and preserved. He grew awareness about the significance of cow protection and against eating beef. He also renovated the traditional places of worship of the tribals which reflect their native culture. Swami Lakshmanananda's name and fame spread not only in Kandhamal, but also all over Orissa. In 1986 and 2007, he gathered lakhs of tribals in Kandhamal and motivated them. The Sankaracharya of Puri and Gajapati Maharaja appreciated Swamiji’s work and felicitated him with honours. Due to his work, the religious conversion activity met a great setback and lost its pace and success, despite a large inflow of funds from foreign nations. In the five years from 19992003, the funds that the NGOs in Orissa got from outside is nearly Rs.183 crores. Even 10% of this amount was not received by Hindu NGOs in Orissa. With this great money power and the "minority appeasement" of the Government, Police and media etc, the missionaries were opposing the Swami. Till his death, nine attempts were made to kill him. Even on 24th Dec 2007, a mob of two hundred people belonging to the conversionist organizations attacked the Swamiji. He was brutally murdered on 23rd August Krishna Jayanthi Day Let us seek the blessings of Swamiji to continue his work with the same zeal and fortitude.
Lakshmanananda's service work became a big hurdle and opposition force. Some of them began to face failures and fled away from Kandhamal. The Swamiji began to see a big success in introducing new schemes for the upliftment of the tribals. The tribals who were earlier fearing the Police and authorities for no reason, began to be transformed in to a self confident set of people. A kind of "Beans" vegetable produced by the tribals with the help of the Swami, became very popular. He encouraged them to start a tribal vegetable cooperative society in a place called Kadinga. The Swami stopped deforestation and improved
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CHENNAI
Swami Mitrananda Releasing the Book “God Mind & Matter” Prof. Ramani Receives the First Copy
he Universal Brotherhood Day was celebrated on 11th September in a befitting manner. Swami Mitrananda, Director, All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. He spoke on the meaning and significance of Sanatana Dharma. The Westerners tried to prove the supremacy of their religion but our Religion is the mother of all
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religions which accommodates all cultures, he said. While defining Sanatana Dharma, he said that Sruti (Cosmic revelations) and Smrti (Collective practical human thoughts) which paves the way for Sanatana Dharma. In this world, any change is acceptable and practicable only at the Smriti level and not at the Sruti level, like child marriage. He also said that one has to adapt to change, otherwise religion is perished or impracticable. If any religion evolves, it will be a replica of Sanatana Dharma. He urged the youths to study the texts of Prasthanatraya namely. the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the Gita. He concluded his talk by saying that “to preserve existing culture and make India progress.” He also distributed the prizes to the winners of the various competitions in Drawing, Quiz, etc. conducted earlier in commemorating the historic event took place in Swami Vivekananda's life 115 years ago at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago. Earlier Swamiji released the book God, Mind and Matter by G.M.Nair on the occasion. Dr.P.Ramani (Sqn. Ldr.(Retd.)) received the first
Samskar Varga Festival
n the occasion of Universal Brother Hood Day Celebration Vivekananda Kendra, Chennai conducted a Samskar Varga Festival on 7th September 2008.Around 200 Families across the city participated in the festival. The highlight of the festival is the mass Surya Namaskar performance of the Samskar Varga children. There were other competations like Drawing, Song, Quiz for children, Tug of war, Om Game for parents, and story telling for grand parents.
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The Prizes for these events was given by Swami Mitrananda on the Universal Brotherhood day program on 11th September 2008.
Samskar Varga children Performing Surya Namaskar
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Book Review
Spiritual Life for Modern Times
Published by : Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Pages : 194 Price: Rs 45/-
an has come a long way from the stone age. He has progressed a great deal and contributed in every way. He can set his foot on the moon. But he can neither lead a contented life nor control his mind. Swami Vireswarananda's book ' Spiritual Life for Modern Times' provides simple tips for man to liberate himself. Realization of God is the ultimate goal of all human endeavours. Our ancient sages have kept before us the ideal of god-realization as the goal of life. Our scriptures, our sages, and acharyas or gurus have asked us to find peace by realizing our true nature and seek Satchitananda rather than pursuing mundane worldy things. Swamiji leads us towards the path of realizing god, prescribing simple rules. He throws light on Sri Ramakrishna's philosophy of religion for the present age by seeking extensive support from the Gita. In another chapter he presents a succinct picture of the ideal womanhood by seeking inspiration from the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. The message of Swami Vivekananda is loud and clear, when he says 'India will rise again and it will be only through our religious Philosophy. Swamiji's interpretation of true socialism should be an eye-opener to the pseudo-socialists. His guiding principles to promote national integration through religious principles and practices are unique. Mind is restless and difficult to restrain. Swamiji cites what Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, 'Abhyasa ( practice) and Vairagya (dispassion) can control your mind'. Karma yoga ( surrendering the fruits of all efforts to god) and nishkama karma (working without attachment) are the two sides of the same coin. After having surrendered everything to Him, we have to do japa (meditation) to become spiritually illumined. This was one of the popular books by Swami Vireswarananda who served for one of the longest periods as the President of Sri Ramakrishna Math. Sq.Ldr. Dr.P.Ramani.
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YUVA BHARATI
Voice of Youth
Vol.36No.3 Bhadrapad-Aashwin 5110 October 2008
CONTENTS
Editorial 5
Founder-Editor Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade Editor P .Parameswaran Editorial Consultants: Nivedita Raghunath Bhide Prof. P .T.Santha Prof. P .Ramani Editorial Team: A.Sudarsan P .Vasanth S.Shivsankar S.Aravindh V.V.Balasubramanian Marketing: D.Krishnamoorthy H.Gnaneswara Rao Design & Layout V.Senthil Kumar Editorial Office: 5, Singarachari Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005. Ph: (044) 28440042 Email: [email protected] Web: www.vkendra.org Single Copy Rs. 10/Annual Rs. 100/For 3 Yrs Rs. 275/Life (10 Yrs) Rs. 900/Foreign Subscription: Annual $25 US Dollar Life (10 years) $250 US Dollar (Plus Rs.50/- for Outstation Cheques)
Worship of the Divine Mother K.P Shivkumar . 6 Creativity Through Writing Sqn.Ldr.Dr.P .Ramani Let Your Daughters Fly High Richa Agrawal Shradhanjali Media-people and ‘we’ the people B.R.Haran The Narmada Parikrama K.K.Venkatraman Book Review
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14 16
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Published and Printed by L.Madhavan on behalf of Vivekananda Kendra from 5, Singarachari Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005. at M/s.RNR Printers and Publishers, 8, Thandavarayan Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005. Editor : P.Parameswaran.
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
3
(Clockwise circumambulation of River Narmada) K.K.VENKATRAMAN
7
Richness in poverty – India still lives ! was half asleep when I was woken by the call of someone. The person who enquired about me was standing with a plate covered by a sheet of paper in his hands. As I sat up, he kept the plate on the ground and removed the cover. There were hot rotis and a bowl containing steaming dal on the plate. He requested me to have the same. I was happy to eat and satisfy my hunger. It is needless to mention that the food was very tasty and sumptuous. After I had the food, he said, “I am really sorry that I did not take leave of you, when I left. In fact, I had a keen desire to offer bhiksha to you. But I was not sure whether it would be possible, as I knew that the stock of wheat flour and dal we have would meet our requirement of food just for one day only. When I went home, I mentioned about you to my wife. She enquired whether you had taken food. When she came to know that nobody had offered food to you, she immediately told me that she would prepare roti and dal for you. When I reminded her that we had just a day's stock with us, she said that we should not worry about tomorrow when a Parikramavasi is hungry today. We are really happy that we could offer Bhiksha to you”. I profusely thanked him and told that if I were in his place I would not have offered food
I
to anyone. For the next few days, this incident was coming to my mind repeatedly, flooding my eyes. India still lives and vibrates in the heart of these richest people in the poorest huts. Unfulfilled Desire On the South Bank on Day 8, I was passing through a school in the afternoon. The Headmaster, who had come out of the school, enquired about me and offered tea. He said, "I live in Maharajpur which is about 15 Kms. from here. Our house is on your Parikrama route. Tomorrow I will be at home. While passing through Maharajpur tomorrow, please have lunch/dinner in our house". He gave me his address. I had lunch in his house next day (Day 9). He had told two of his friends about me and informed them when I reached his house. One of them was about 60 years old. After lunch they requested me to stay back for the night. As it was the beginning of my Parikrama and I had a very long way to go, I politely declined their offer. Then they said, "During your return through the North Bank when you reach Mandla which is just across the bridge on the river, kindly send us information through any shopkeeper and we will be happy to meet you. As your Parikrama will be nearing completion then, please spend a day at Mandla. We want to listen to your experiences during the Parikrama". I promised
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to do so and resumed my walk. They walked with me for some distance and took leave of me. Before leaving, the elderly person held my hands and said, "I wanted to do the Parikrama, but, could not do. So, I will be eagerly looking forward to meet you during your return to know your experiences. Please do inform us on reaching Mandla". I reiterated my assurance. I walked till dusk and halted in a village for the night. Next morning (Day 10) when I was leaving, the villagers said, "Please inform us through the boatman when you reach Kadam Ghat on the North Bank. We will be very happy to meet you". I agreed to do so. During my return along the North Bank, on Day 118, I reached Kadam Ghat around noon. I sent a message to the friends (Day 10) through the boatman. After about an hour he returned and told me that they would be reaching shortly with my food. After some time, 3 people came and served me lunch. The place was deserted, as a large area has been submerged due to the construction of a Dam downstream. They were very keen to listen to my experiences. As it was not advisable to spend the night at that place, they suggested that I could reach Mandla by evening, told me to halt at Hanuman Temple and said that they would meet me there in the night. I resumed walking and reached Mandla by sunset and waited at the Hanuman Temple. They came and we had dinner. They were very happy to listen to my experiences till late night. Next morning (Day 119), as they were leaving, I gave the address of Maharajpur (Day 9) friends to them and sent the information of my arrival through them. After some time the Maharajpur friends
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arrived. They gave the letters received in my name from my friends and relatives (I had given this contact address to them). They spent the whole day with me and returned late night. One of them came next morning (Day 120) and gave packed lunch. The elderly person had not come. When I enquired about him, I was told that he had passed away. It was very painful, as his desire of listening to my experiences could not be fulfilled. Now, the opportunity to share my experiences with the readers of this book relieves me of the pain to a great extent. Offer – refusal and consequence It was Day 122. "I have already covered 2,300 kms. Now I have to walk less than 300 kms. and the Parikrama will be complete within 2 weeks." This sweet thought came to my mind when I woke up in the morning. As usual, after tea I started walking. I would have walked about 5 kms. It was around 9.00 a.m. There was no habitation in the vicinity and there was no one around. As I was walking, suddenly I saw an elderly person coming towards me. He saluted me and invited me to have bhiksha (lunch) at his house. I politely declined his offer saying that I would have to wait for at least 3 hours for lunch by which time I could cover about 10 Kms. and resumed walking. He followed me and pleaded with me, but I did not relent. At noon, I felt that as usual, someone would offer food. Between noon and 1.00 p.m., I passed through 2 villages, but there was no offer of food. I decided to seek bhiksha in the next village. But the next village was more than 5 Kms. away and I could reach only by 3.00 p.m. As it was not the right time to seek bhiksha, I decided to forego lunch. There
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
was no offer of tea either. In the evening I reached a village and decided to halt for the night. A villager took me to the frontage of a house where Parikramavasis passing through that village spend the night. I was feeling very tired and lay down to rest. Some celebration was going on inside the house and
people were going in and coming out. But, nobody took notice of my presence. It was really unusual. I was extremely hungry, as I had not taken anything (except for the tea in the morning) whole day. I could not sleep. I was not able to reconcile myself to the indifferent attitude of the people that day. (to be continued)
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Editorial
he slaying of Mahishasura by Durga that is celebrated as Dusserah, is pregnant with symbolism. Its essence is a call for social action and an unflinching war against the adharmic forces. The ancient language that our ancestors used was highly psychological in its application. So words didn't mean much more than a psychological impression to be understood depending on the context and application. Thus “Khaga”, referring to an object moving across the sky, can be at once either the Surya or a bird or a jet plane even! Adorned with such a beautifully flexible language was a poetry and culture that seems to be lost on today's people in the din of hyper-materialism. The Mahisha, the buffalo, represents the very embodiment of Tamas. Inert, unresponsive, lacking initiative or purpose, unthinking in action and putting physical pleasure and comfort over everything else, the buffalo is the best representation of the qualities of Tamas. Mahishasura was a person who stood not with two horns and hooves for feet, but who stood for these very qualities that a buffalo represents – Tamas. When this buffalo-of-a-man took over the reins of running the affairs of the state, the people were in trouble. With unbridled aggression and force not seen in sane men, he conquered the three worlds. Even the Devas, representing the forces of Light, are powerless in front of him. Each Deva, great warriors in their own right, is defeated and subjected to a humiliating submission. There seems no one who can stop Mahishasura. It is then that all the Devas come
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together, each parting with his most potent weapon, to perform a yajna. Mother Durga arises – a form of brilliant brightness, merciless against the adharmic forces, she slaughters them all to save the Devas. The import of this story is fairly clear – when the people are subjected to a system that is taken over by a force of darkness and inertia, like Mahishasura, there simply is no single entity that can save the day. Individual heroes, however heroic they may be, can only go so far and will ultimately fail. It is only when the society as a whole comes together to contribute its best efforts with a focused mind that this evil can be thrown away and society saved. Every individual in the society HAS to contribute his might, part with a precious something, like the weapons given by the Devas, in this rashtrayajna. In this age of Kali, the age of democracy and the masses, there can never be an individual hero who can drag our society out from the jaws of disintegration. It is only through aware, concerted and ceaseless social action against the adharmic forces that victory can be gained. When every other day some of our brothers and sisters are blown up in terrorist attacks and we bewail inaction, insensitivity and apathy from the powers that be, it is Mother Durga that we should remind ourselves of. There is no magic wand to wave away the terrorists, no spell to cast away all problems facing our nation today. It is through participation in social action – aware, organized, and persistent social action that sane civil society can gain victory and reestablish Dharma. This is what Navaratri should keep reminding us of – our role in the larger scheme of our nation and its future.
P.Vasanth
Editorial Team
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WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE MOTHER
K.P.SHIVKUMAR
ithout Shakti there is no Shivam, and without Shivam there is no Shakti. The two are interdependent. The harmonious co-existence of the two is Sundaram. Shivam is pure consciousness. It is still, like the corpse. Shakti is the Energy, the activating principle. Kali, the Divine Mother of the Universe is Shakti-Swaroopini. Shiva is lying like a corpse. He comes to life with the touch of Shakti -- a pictorial depiction we are familiar with. As it is said in a lighter vein, without Shakti, Shivam is Shavam. (Shavam means corpse, a dead body). A certain person is dead. Till the moment before his death, he was somebody's father or brother or husband. The moment he dies, all such relationships vanish. Thereafter, he is referred to as the body, since the person after his death is a lifeless log of wood. Because, the Praana, the Life-Principle, Shakti, is gone. The Life-Energy, the Praana, that had been active and pulsating in him is gone. Something gloomy. A sad picture. It sets in a kind of disillusionment. But it is here, when the mind is gloomy, that we see a dim light of hope, like the sun rising again after a sun-set. That light of hope shines in the inward eye, instilling in us a new vigour, a new burst of energy – Shakti. Yea! She is that inner energy in all of us,
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that inexhaustible energy. She encourages us to live on cheerfully with the message of the Soul's Immortality, the potential divinity of each soul. That Eternal Mother, the Mahaashakti, instills in everyone the aspiration to live on, setting aflame in all, the Desire, the Will. In the famous Lalitha Sahasranaama, the Divine Mother is described as Ichcha-Shakti Gnaana-Shakti - Kriya-Shakti Swaroopini. The Mother Divine is present in us as Ichcha Shakti – the Power of Will. ' O let me lead a worthy life! Let me work for the removal of illiteracy! Let me teach Yoga to at least 10,000 people in the course
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of my life!' These promptings are born of Ichcha Shakti. Gnaana Shakti is the Power born of Spiritual Knowledge – the highest knowledge. That which liberates is true knowledge. It is Gnaana. Yaa vidya saa vimuktaye. Kriya Shakti is the Power of Action. If the Desire or Will has to see its fulfulment, one has to prepare, one has to work hard and get qualified in order to be able to apply his knowledge and experience for his own benefit and the benefit of others. That needs Action Plan. The Power that finds expression here is Kriya Shakti. In this way, we are all constantly guided or led on by Shakti, perhaps at different levels, at different grades or in different measures, depending on individual variations, and of course, faith too. We call the Cosmic Energy as Mahaashakti. Nature is a manifestation of Shakti. Man, in his greed, has indiscriminately exploited Nature. He has to pay the penalty for this excessive undoing. Greenhouse effect and climatic changes with their dire consequences have started on their destructive role. There is a strong global warning against global warming.
Our religion and culture prevail upon us to preserve and protect Nature. It is a kind of Dharma. Dharmo rakshati rakshitah. During the Navaratri festival, it is a common practice, much so in the South, to display in all houses, idols and dolls representing gods, goddesses, rishis, the common folk, plants, trees, etc. This display, known as Kolu, is symbolic of the need to live in harmony with Nature. To conclude, as Swami Vivekananda said, “Strength is life, weakness is death.” What is the source of strength? Purity. Youth is the right stage in life to start practising these virtues. Shri Adi Shankara sang in his Annapoorna Stotram: Gnaana vairaagya siddhyartam bhikshaam dehi cha Parvati. ' O Mother Parvati, bless me with the alms of Gnaana and Vairaagya.' That was the prayer of a born mendicant. Narendranath went three times to the shrine of Kali on the behest of his Master Sri Ramakrishna, to pray to the Mother for relief from the abject poverty raging at home. But every time he went and stood before the Mother's image, he could ask for only Gnaana and Vairaagya. Such was his inner strength. We revere them as Men of God inspiring us to lead a life of Light.
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7
Let Your Daughters Fly High
Richa Agrawal
i t h t h i s generation's women getting more exposure than ever and peers climbing success ladder, they too want to make their mark. Today more and more parents are willing to support their daughters and take interest in their careermaking decisions. Girls are being pushed by their parents to do their best. More and more jobs are opening for women or it should be said that employers prefer as they expect women to be better managers, dedicated team mates and honest employees. But there is no less the number of parents who think like Deepali's parents. Deepali is a student of class 12th and wants to be a commercial pilot. The problem is when she talks to her parents about career-making, they don't take it seriously and tell her, “Whatever you do, one day you'll have to leave this home and get married. Your real occupation then would be to serve your husband and in-laws.” This disappoints Deepali and she usually locks her up in her room wondering what to do. Like Deepali there are many other girls who think of flying high but
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their ambitions are not fuelled by their parents. “Today, career options are increasing like never before, it is surely a golden time to make a career. But nothing can be achieved without the support of the parents,” says Shreya, who after pursuing B.Tech, wanted to become an engineer but had to settle for a teaching job as her parents didn't give their nod for the former job. Agrees Anjali, an undergraduate student, “I want to go abroad to pursue post-graduation but my parents don't agree. They need to understand that daughters today are no less than sons. They should stand by their daughters.” Just a few days before I had met a couple who has a daughter. I was shocked to listen to what they said, “Why waste money on higher education of a daughter. We have also to arrange for dowry at her marriage time.” I want to tell such parents that giving and demanding dowry, both are crimes done to a daughter. And
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if your daughter is educated and working somewhere, why do you need to arrange for dowry, isn't g i v i n g a n educated and c u l t u r e d d a u g h t e r enough? By agreeing to give dowry, you are just betraying your daughter and not doing anything for her happiness. Will the demands of such a person ever end who is asking for money in lieu of marrying his/her son to your daughter? The result can be seen in many dowry deaths and suicide cases. A confident daughter will be bold enough to deal with all kind of situations and will be able to support you in your old age. Why expect support from a son only? Isn't your daughter capable of doing so? Daughters also need to think that their parents want support in their old age and this is the reason why they invest in getting their sons educated and marry off their daughters (who don't support them but their inlaws). If daughters take to the task of supporting their parents, no parent would leave a stone unturned in letting their daughter get the best education. You can't blame your parents for this; after all they too are mortal beings. With women emerging as strongest leader of the nation, researching in space, winning laurels for the nation worldwide in sports, and serving the nation, no daughter should be restricted from pursuing her dreams. To be called a proud
parent of a daughter you need to be proud of her today when you see her trying hard to realize her dreams. Teaching, medical, nursing, etc are not the only careers for women. rather let her choose her dream career herself. You can help her by recognizing her t a l e n t a n d potential in the area. Don't impose your thinking on her, let her form her own opinions about everything. Remember, she's getting much more exposure than you could get in your young years. Imposing your thinking, pinpointing every act of her, making all decisions for her, hurting her self-esteem can make your daughter get frustrated or even become rebellious. She may also suffer from low self-esteem throughout her life and her personality will remain undeveloped. The choice lies with parents. Do they want a Barbie doll who thinks, acts, talks like they want or they want a loving and caring daughter who can and decide, on her own. Kiran Bedi, P.T.Usha, Koneru Hampi or Sania Mirza could never have become successful and icons without the support of their parents. If you agree, then remember, our nation wants more female icons, may be your daughter. Courtesy: Universal Education
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SHRADDHANJALI
voice asked the participants to visualize that they were on the bank of River Ganga and not near the shore of the confluence three seas and hear the gentle murmur of the flowing river (not the lashing waves of the sea). All were spell bound and felt as if they were virtually transported to the shore of River Ganga. The sound of his voice was diminishing slowly and finally there was an absolute silence of absolute peace. After permitting the participants to be in such a blissful state, brought them back again to the reality of their presence in the Yogasana hall. Everyone felt elated as if he had achieved something on his own and was keen to narrate it not only to his colleague but also the smiling Swamiji. Swamiji was amused at the exuberance but being a person `patience personified' heard them all and patted a few. Another incident worth recalling was an `awareness walk' as he called it, that he undertook in the evening after the meditation class, from the Training Centre to Vivekanandapuram beach and back with all following him. He briefed everyone before this rewarding exercise to be silent and observe nature in all its glory. The evening sun was casting its receding rays, flocks of birds were returning to their roosting places, the sea was getting quieter and everyone was virtually in a sort of reverie. No thought crossed their minds as the turbulence in them also fell in line with serene stillness. This was how one should steady one's mind he remarked. The best tribute that we can pay to him is to remember that: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime. And departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time;
Swami Chidananda Saraswati
t is with great regret we record the Mahasamahi of Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, President of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, on Thursday the 28 August 2008. The late Swamiji was very close to Swargeeya Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade and at his request, visited Kanyakumari regularly, in the midst of his busy schedules, and delivered lectures to each of the first five batches of Jeevan Vratis. He visited again in 1983 and later in the last week of December 1992, to participate in the concluding functions of Vivekananda Bharat Parikrama. The Karyakartas always looked forward for his visits as he used to mingle and mix freely with them and unhesitatingly answer all their questions and cleared their doubts however elementary they might have appeared to him. He was an epitome of courtesy and kindness. During his visit in 1983 he took classes to the Jeevan Vratis on meditation. It is interesting to recall this. The Jeevan Vratis lay down in Savasan posture in the Yogasana Hall. Swamiji asked the participants to close their eyes and relax without slipping into a snooze. He slowly moved across the hall, in a musical
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SELF DEVELOPMENT SERIES - 3
CREATIVITY THROUGH
WRITING
Sqn.Ldr. Dr.P.Ramani
nyone needs to present his ideas effectively to get the work done in any situation. Successful people always present their ideas through their writing whether it is an informal letter or a formal report. Writer should choose the most appropriate sentence patterns. They should make use of complete sentences. They should avoid awkward constructions with dangling modifiers, sentence fragments, etcetera. They should take care to combine two ideas/thoughts/ sentences. Fusion of the main clause should not only be accurate following the rules of grammar but should also be appropriate and natural. Making mind maps The moment we sit down to write on any topic, we keep jotting down all the points as they flash before our minds' eyes. Later, we compose paragraphs. Choosing ideas from the points listed, in the form of a mind map. The ideas chosen are arranged in a logical sequence. We find a topic sentence which presents the central theme (to the topic of discussion). Paragraph Writing A paragraph has basically two major categories of sentences,
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A
i.
There are main ideas in the mind map (the topic sentence or main sentence).
ii.
There may be any number of supporting details to the main idea presented. Supporting sentences support, amplify strengthen, expand and illustrate the main sentence or the topic sentence.
Achieving Coherence Coherence is central and important to any piece of good writing. Connectives, link or cohesive devices should be appropriately used to connect words, phrases and clauses in a sentence to
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
achieve coherence. Ideas are to be arranged in a logical sequence and ideas shall be linked. Connectivity between ideas can be established with the help of appropriate connective devices. Create Your Writing
!
!
Give more details / information (Cause and effect, compare and contrast, exemplification etc.,) Conclude (Give opinions, make recommendations, interpret facts, present results etc.)
! ! ! ! ! !
Brainstorm your ideas Select and organize your thoughts Build logic your arguments Present your arguments Introduce the toping Present information in support of your arguments with reasons.
Unity and Coherence in Paragraph Writing Unity of a paragraph signals good writing. There can be only one idea that is central to the making of a good paragraph. The other supporting ideas/sentences should be used to support the main/topic sentence.
Homage to a martyr
Yet another victim and this time it is a braveheart Shri Mohan Chand Sharma, the Inspector of Delhi Police who was killed in an encounter with militants. The 43-year-old officer of the Delhi Police's Special Cell served the city police for 19 years before he succumbed to bullet injuries sustained during a fierce encounter with five heavily-armed terrorists at a house in south Delhi on Friday, the 19th Sep.08. Considered an encounter specialist and posted with elite anti-terror squad Special Cell, Sharma was a highly decorated officer with seven gallantry medals to his credit, including President's Medal for Gallantry. He was instrumental in the killing of 35 terrorists and the arrest of another 80 militants.At least 40 inter-state gangsters also fell to the bullets of Sharma. He also arrested around129 gangsters.And finally, two militants involved in serial blasts in Delhi and other places were killed in the encounter
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
11
VIVEKANANDA KENDRA SAMACHAR UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD DAY
NEW DELHI
Mananeeya Parameswaranji Addressing the Audience. Sri A.K.Doval, Sri S.Gurumurthy and Sri Vijay Kapoor are also in the picture.
he Universal Brotherhood day, in the memory of the historic address at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 was celebrated at Vivekananda Kendra International, Chanakyapuri on 11 Sep. 2008. The function was graced by the presence of a very distinguished group of guests. Ma. Parameswaranji, the President of Vivekananda Kendra blessed the evening with his esteemed presence and chaired the meeting. Noted columnist and thinker Sri S Gurumurthy, was the key-speaker, while Sri A.K.Doval, the former chief of IB and Sri Vijay Kapur, the former Lt. Governer of Delhi were also on the dais. The program started by 6.30 p.m. after a brief tea session. “ I am proud to belong to a religion
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which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance.” These great lines were throbbing in the minds of everyone who were present on the occasion. After Mangalacharanam and welcoming the guests, Sri A.K.Doval, who is also the honorary director of Vivekananda Kendra International, gave a brief introduction of Vivekananda Kendra International. He reminded that VKI was a platform to carry the message of universal brotherhood which is the central character of Hindu civilization, to the world. He as well stated that VKI will work on interacting with other civilizations and nations, understanding various cultures and acting as a forum to project India. Sri Doval also stressed on the need of examining the situations that lead to the crumbling of civilizations, conflicts in the doctrine of coexistence and hence into the mightiness of the Indian civilization which outlived the test of time. Sri Gurumurthy started his address with reminding the warning of fanaticism that Swamiji gave to the world at the Chicago address. He exclaimed how this country never distinguished between Gods when the number where in thousands and the rest of the world was in chaos and havoc in the name of God. Exactly 108 years after Swamiji's historic call to the world religions with his warning , the world
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witnessed one of the most heinous example of cultural conflict, - the 9/11. He gave examples of paradoxes like the pathetic end of Soviet Union at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists whom they always supported. If every religion conceded that every other religion can help a person to reach the same God that they are trying to reach, then harmony is born. Sri Gurumurthy also added that at this point, the Hindus alone practice this universal acceptance and yet are blamed as fundamentalists for opposing fundamentalism. So the challenge before India is to take the truth to the conflicting world. And there India itself possess a big challenge of unifying itself and when Hindus does not have a single point like person or book to converge themselves, the only way is to accept and include all Hindu practices into the mainstream of religious life of every Hindu. Sri Gurumurthyji also reminded that the survival of the Vedic religion over a long time of
had the biggest misfortune of incorporating and putting into practice the concepts and philosophies of people who never knew India, communism being an example. A second thing to understand is the confusion Ashoka had which was not only
glorified but even emulated in the governance after independence. He compared the realization Ashoka had after the Kalinga war with Arjuna's confusion in the beginning of Mahabharata War. The only difference was Krishna's presence. As a result of this confusion, the media, economic and social system, constitution and many other crucial factors of a state's existence where designed by people who wanted to exploit the generosity of the people here. The individualistic behavioral model promoted by the intellects of Anglo-Saxon countries always tended to jeopardize the family based system of the other parts of the world including India. The family model characterized by risk free savings, scrutinized consumption etc. is the Indian economic model, which placed India at the zenith of the world economy for around 1700 years. Understanding all these, Sri Gurumurthy called upon Indians to understand the language of power. A mighty India will alone can deliver the great message of civilization. Ma.Parameswaranji narrated a few incidents in Swamiji's life that displayed his patriotism. He said that patriotism in India is not political, but synonymous to the attachment to one's mother. He explained why a society should always have the will to struggle and survive for this, he remembered Swamiji's Amarnath Yatra where he was endowed with the boon to live as long as he willed. This is the message - the society must will to live and fulfil
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Sri Gurumurthyji urged to empty our minds and think fresh for a new articulation.
jeopardy assert its role in the world, but have to define that specific role. To identify the role of Indian civilization, one has to take a look back into the history to understand the routes the civilization flowed through. Indian civilization
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its mission. Then he narrated Swamiji's feelings at Kshirbhavani temple where he witnessed the destruction of the shrine and was overwhelmed. Swamiji thought if he had been living at the time of attack, he would have died to safeguard mother's shrine. This readiness to sacrifice is another essential for the civilization to survive and be successful. Referring to Swamiji's open opposition to the churches design of conversion, he read out the conversation Swamiji had with one of his disciples. Swamiji exhorted the
Hindus to consider their religion as mother and defend its honor as the honor of their own mother. He also remembered Sister Nivedita's big acclaim of Swamiji's concepts of manmaking and the great love for his nation. In the vote of thanks address, Sri Vijay Kapurji, the Vice-Chairman of Vivekananda Kendra International encouraged the gathering to contribute in VKI work on combating the arrogance of civilization clashes.
VIVEKANANDA KENDRA - KANYAKUMRI
SHIBIR CALENDER - 2008
NAME OF THE SHIBIR
DATES
1st - 15th Dec
AGE
CAMP DONATION
Rs. 1500/Rs. 1500/-
Yoga Shiksha Shibir (Eng)
18+ 18+
Yoga Shiksha Shibir (Hindi) 1st - 15th Dec
Further details: E-mail: [email protected] / Fax: 04652-247177 / Phone: 247012 Vivekananda Kendra, Vivekanandapuram, Kanyakumari - 629 702 www.vkendra.org
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Symposium on THE THREAT OF RED TERROR IN INDIA – A Report
Dr. Subrahmaniam Swamy Addressing the Audience
Symposium on THE THREAT OF RED TERROR IN INDIA was organized at the North Campus of Delhi University, as joint effort of the Vivekananda Kendra International and National Democratic Teachers Front on 12th September 2008. The symposium widely covered all the pros and cons of the one of the most critical issues that India is facing today. The key-speakers of the event were Sri Subrahmaniam Swamy, Former Member of Parliament and President of the Janata Party and Sri A.K.Doval, former chief of the Intelligence Bureau. Ma. Parameswaranji, the President of Vivekananda Kendra graced the occasion with his esteemed presence. Also in the dais were embellished by the august presence of Sri Vijay Kapoor, Former Lt. Governor of Delhi, and Dr. Inder Kapahi, the President, NDTF. The program witnessed a wondrous
A
response from the audience that constituted of teachers, students and intellectuals. The gathering was overwhelmed by the eyeopening series of lectures given by the very learned speakers. The talk by Dr. Subrahmaniam Swamy was a call on the carpet for the ignoble friendship between the red terrorists, the Islamic terrorists and the Christian missionaries who long on to jeopardize the nation and its civilization. He said even the left political parties who participate in the democratic process are engaged in Red Terror. He asked who kills RSS workers in Kerala or political opponents in Bengal. Sri A.K. Doval gave a captious analysis of the magnitude of the danger carried by the Red terror philosophy. He said that the problem is not only a law and order problem but much deeper. It needs more that just police solution. But to say that poverty and other inequalities are the reason amounts to over simplification. He said the truth is that the left wing extremists are opposed to all kinds of development as poverty is their breeding ground. He advocated that the problem needs a counter- ideology. Ma. Parameswaranji urged the audience to unite against the very perilous condition and to develop a conscience that respond swiftly against such vulnerabilities. He said that we have to understand that India did not get independence just for survival. That is not
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Hyderabad
At Ameerpet, 19 people participated in a month long Pranayama and Meditation Class.38 persons took part in two Yogasana Classes of one and three month duration.The Weekly Gita study went on smoothly with average attendance of about 90. Yoga Class for Ladies was conducted with average 20 participants at Kachiguda.Two Amruta Surabhi Programmes were organised one each at Dilsukhnagar and Ameerpet. 400 kg of rice was given to a leprosy home and an orphanage. Stress Management programme was organised for 25 managerial staff of Seira Atlantis, an MNC. mission that we have to understand. We have through times immemorial developed a way of life to accommodate everyone. This way of life is the way to peace and prosperity. When we gained independence in 1947 it was an opportunity to show the world our own way of life. But instead we followed the foreign model based on materialism. First through the socialist inclination and then by opening fully to the western way. But both these have failed humanity. And the intellectuals of the globe want a third alternative. India has that philosophical alternative way of life. But we need actual strength to put this into practice. The universities have to do this. Swami Vivekananda's Message has this potential. But it needs a thorough research and study in depth in all the aspects of Indian Paradigm. Dr Inder Kapahy of NDTF conducted the proceedings and Vice-Chairman of Vivekananda Kendra International, Sri Vijay Kapoor proposed the vote of thanks.
enough we have to be successful in our mission. Mananeeya Parameswaranji Stressing a point during the Symposium. India must fulfil its mission. And what is that
Kolkata
Universal Brotharhood Day was celebrated by Vivekananda Kendra Kolkata Branch at Mahajati Sadan on 14th September. Swami Vivekananda in his lectures at Chicago starting from 11 September 1893 gave a call for Universal Brotherhood. Programmed started with Manglacharan, Deep prajwaln and Swagat geet by Michael Nagar Samskar Varga children. Shri Shivpoojan Singh (Prant Sangathak) spoke on Kendra activities. Speaker-in-Chief Swami Sukhananda (Principal) Ramkrishana Mission School, Baranagar spoke on Yoga a way of life and how yoga join to whole universe. Distinguished Guest Shri Samir Ganguly (Rtd.Deputy Commissioner of Police ) Kolkata has gave a lecture on Swami Vivekananda massage to modern youth. Guest Shri Prayagraj Bansal Eminent Social Worker also seated on dais. A mime performance by the children of Samskar varga, Bowbazar on a patriotic action song ‘Jagaya Tumko Kitani Bar’.
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Medhasi devi viditakhila sastrasara durgasi durga bhavasagara naurasanga Srih kaitabhari hrdayaika krtadhivasa gauri tvameva sasimauli krta pratistha
O Devi, you are the Intellect, by which the essence of all scriptures is comprehended. You are Durga, the boat that takes men across the difficult ocean of worldly existence, devoid of attachments. You are Sri (Lakshmi) who has invariably taken her abode in the heart of Vishnu. You are indeed Gauri (Parvati) who has established herself with Siva. --Devi Mahatmyam
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Media-people and 'we' the people
B.R.Haran
n general, the 'Media Ethics' or India is a great Hindu nation, which has 'Journalistic Codes' comprise the seen the evolution of world's greatest and principles of truthfulness, accuracy, oldest Hindu civilization spanning to objectivity, impartiality, fairness, public thousands of years. In the last one thousand accountability and limitation of harm. Of late years, it has been subjected to foreign in India, it has become hard to find even one invasions and persecutions leading to the newspaper or one TV channel, which abides establishment and further growth of by these principles. Patrika Dharma has Abrahamic religions resulting in deterioration become a thing of the past in this great land of of its cultural heritage and religious traditions. Sanatana Dharma. Here space is 'sold' and The religious onslaughts of the Islamic news is 'marketed'. Selling and marketing are a invaders and the 'divide and rule' policy part of business and adopted by the quite naturally 'profit' “The man who reads nothing at all is Christian invaders b e c o m e s t h e better educated than the man who reads have played havoc on objective. Nothing nothing but newspapers”. - Thomas t h e u n i t y o f t h e wrong! It is not fair to society making it Jefferson expect a newspaper or stand divided along a TV channel to work caste lines. The as a non-profit imposition of new organisation. But at the same time it is certainly educational system and distortion of the fair to expect them to stick to the fundamentals glorious history of the nation have also played of Patrika Dharma attributed to the above said their part in upsetting the behavioral patterns principles and it is imperative that the media of the society within itself. lives up to that expectation.
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21
Unfortunately poststeadily infiltrated into the independence too, the damaging political, bureaucratic, educational If you don't systems continued, thanks to the and health care systems and to read the grand old political party, which has some extent in judiciary also. On newspaper, truly betrayed the nation, which the other side, they indulge in you are genuinely trusted and looked upon it expanding their land holdings, uninformed. for evolution and empowerment. educational and health care If you do The intellectual space has been institutions and infrastructures, read the allowed, by the powers that be, to be increasing their domination even newspaper, filled in by Marxists, Minorities and in entertainment industry, you are Pseudo-secularists and the same preaching and propagating their misinformed happened in the field of journalism faith and converting the gullible too. The influx of foreign masses. Their political influence Author unknown mercenaries and their influencing helps them to increase their covert the intellectual field with their activities through their money power and also their capturing the missionaries and NGOs and the media power media space with the collusion of Marxists and extends huge support by projecting those the pseudo-secularists has led to the activities as genuine. devaluation of nationalistic principles. Now, India is flooded with Print and Electronic The present media industry in India is media houses that allegedly owe their controlled by the unholy 'Marxist-Minorityallegiance to foreign masters, who deal with Atheist' nexus showing scant regards to pseudo-secular political parties with a sole aim nationalistic principles. Extremely small of de-Hinduising this great Hindu nation. section of the media works with patriotism, but sadly, it could not match the reach of the If India still stands as a 'Hindu Nation' other side. The people are left with no other without losing its core values of religious choice and they are unable to get to know the tradition and cultural heritage despite the 'other side' of any story, which is projected in devastation perpetrated by the Abrahamic an identical way by all the newspapers and TV religions for more than thousand years, it is channels. In this kind of a scenario, the people purely because of its spiritual strength and the easily get influenced by the distortion of facts basic principles of Sanatana Dharma. As the and ultimately believe them as truth. two Abrahamic religions are not true religions per se, but purely politico-religious concepts, This poisonous media operates with or rather political concepts in the garb of different strategies. While the main objective religions, they operate with the aim of remains as de-Hinduisation of India, the capturing this nation. To accomplish this aim, strategies applied are, onslaught on religious de-Hinduisation of India becomes a necessity, tradition, attack on nationalistic principles, which can be realised only by capturing or assault on cultural heritage and influencing influencing the four pillars of democracy. the psyche.
“
”
On the one side, they have slowly and
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If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. - Malcolm X
Onslaught on religious tradition includes belittling Hindu Swamijis and Gurus, demeaning their institutions and ridiculing the customs, rituals and traditions. The media's attack on Sabarimala, Guruvayur, Amarnath, Kanchi Mutt, Puri Jagannath, etc, etc, are apt examples of this strategy. Assault on cultural heritage includes debating the goodness of Hindu festivals, concepts and traditional practices and destroying the Hindu cultural organisations by presenting concocted stories on them. Debating the festivals like Deepavali, Durga Puja and Janmashtami, etc., concepts like Kumbamela and Ramlila etc, practices like Ganesh Visarjanam and Aiyappa Makara Jyothi etc and activities of socio-cultural organisations like the RSS, etc and projecting them in bad light are best examples of this strategy. Attack on nationalistic principles includes questioning the sanctity of the national song Vandemataram, encouraging the abuse of national flag and tricolour in the name of sports and games, supporting the habitual offender M F Hussain's nude depiction of
Bharath Matha and other Hindu Deities in the name of creativity and freedom of art and insulting the Armed Forces and Police by presenting them in bad light for their strict actions against the terrorists and insurgents in the name of human rights. Consistently campaigning against the scrapping of Article 370, hanging of Afzal Guru, introduction of Common Civil Code and enacting of stringent anti-terror and anti-conversion laws is also a part of this strategy. Portrayal of perpetrators as 'victims' has been the worst strategy adopted by the media.
Influencing the psyche is a dangerous and venomous strategy, which is focused on the youth and student community. The so-called secularism, liberalism and freedom of expression are absolutely abused by the media for this purpose and it is indeed taking a heavy toll on the psyche of the generation next. Westernisation through vulgar pop music and dances, Fashion parades and Page-3 columns etc, 'liberal' columnists writing in support of pre-marital sex and homosexuality and TV channels promoting them through debates, presenting film personalities as 'cultural' icons, telecasting documentaries and serials denigrating Hindu culture and promoting western cultures, releasing supplements full of third rate movie masalas and shady pubdiscothèque activities and carrying sleazy advertisements have horrifying influence in the minds of youngsters. The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news we give it to you with the same emphasis as if there
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were - David Brinkley Apart from this, almost all newspapers and TV channels are either owned by political parties or others who owe their allegiance to them and hence the people are fed with only biased and distorted news and reports. Also there is this squalid concept called 'sting operation', which is normally used to help their political and communal affiliation by victimising the opposite parties through fraudulent ways. If, in a rare show of conscience, the government attempts to control the media, it protests against such steps and talks of 'self regulating mechanisms', but only a small section adheres to such a practice. Strong measures need to be taken to rectify and streamline the mainstream media. · Political parties or personalities must not be allowed to own either a newspaper or a TV channel. Sting operations must be banned and the so-called investigative reports must be authenticated with evidences. The so-called reality shows must be banned and the mini and mega serials
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must be subjected to censorship and the duration of mega serials must be fixed. TV commercials and Press advertisements must be censored and certified. Communally sensitive reports must be balanced and any deviation or distortion must be punished. 'Adult' contents must not be allowed in mainstream media. Reports, which degrade the Indian culture, must not be allowed. Any reporting that deviates from the law or specified code of ethics, and, any reporting that harms an individual or an organisation must be punished.
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Courage, conviction and will are needed to bring in the above said measures and as things stand at present, it is highly unlikely that any government will do it. So, the onus lies on the people to regulate themselves and stay away from this mendacious menace, so that, they do not get influenced and feel free, think clear, breath fresh and stay united.
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SHRADHANJALI
spent his life promoting literacy and combating conversions in this tribal-dominated district. For this, he earned the wrath of Christian missionaries and was attacked on several occasions. On December 25, 2007, he was attacked by a section of the Christian community and his security guard was severely injured. Swami Lakshmanananda was a co-disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati and studied with him the Vedas, Upanishads, Vedanta, Brahma Sutra etc in Rishikesh. After his studies, in 1965, he involved himself in anti-cowslaughter movement along with thousands of other Sanyasis and was in jail for 19 days. He went to Orissa in 1967 to organize a cowprotection movement there. In the years 196870, he moved to the capital of Kandhamal district, a place called Phulbani. Swamiji moved to a remote village in Kandhamal. From that date to his last, that village had been his Karma Bhoomi. His service work began to spread from that small village. In 1969, he started a school and a Sanskrit college there. He established a number of Bhajan centres in villages to combat conversions. He travelled to nook and corners and conducted religious discourses. His service and discourses created a great awareness among the tribal people. For the missionaries who tried to establish there in a big way, Swami
wami Laxmananda Saraswati came to tribal-dominated Kandhamal in 1966. Since then he has been leading a campaign against conversion activities of Christian missionaries. He has also been in the forefront of the campaign against cowslaughter. It was because of his sustained efforts that thousands of tribals who had embraced Christianity returned to the Hindufold. Later, he set up an ashram at Chakpada and a Kanya Ashram (girls residential school) at Jalespata in Kandhmal district. He
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the forest areas. He alloted numbers to every tree and manage to bring a rule that only the village Panchayat can approve any cutting of trees. He preached that the native culture, common beliefs, manners and music of the tribals should be conserved and preserved. He grew awareness about the significance of cow protection and against eating beef. He also renovated the traditional places of worship of the tribals which reflect their native culture. Swami Lakshmanananda's name and fame spread not only in Kandhamal, but also all over Orissa. In 1986 and 2007, he gathered lakhs of tribals in Kandhamal and motivated them. The Sankaracharya of Puri and Gajapati Maharaja appreciated Swamiji’s work and felicitated him with honours. Due to his work, the religious conversion activity met a great setback and lost its pace and success, despite a large inflow of funds from foreign nations. In the five years from 19992003, the funds that the NGOs in Orissa got from outside is nearly Rs.183 crores. Even 10% of this amount was not received by Hindu NGOs in Orissa. With this great money power and the "minority appeasement" of the Government, Police and media etc, the missionaries were opposing the Swami. Till his death, nine attempts were made to kill him. Even on 24th Dec 2007, a mob of two hundred people belonging to the conversionist organizations attacked the Swamiji. He was brutally murdered on 23rd August Krishna Jayanthi Day Let us seek the blessings of Swamiji to continue his work with the same zeal and fortitude.
Lakshmanananda's service work became a big hurdle and opposition force. Some of them began to face failures and fled away from Kandhamal. The Swamiji began to see a big success in introducing new schemes for the upliftment of the tribals. The tribals who were earlier fearing the Police and authorities for no reason, began to be transformed in to a self confident set of people. A kind of "Beans" vegetable produced by the tribals with the help of the Swami, became very popular. He encouraged them to start a tribal vegetable cooperative society in a place called Kadinga. The Swami stopped deforestation and improved
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CHENNAI
Swami Mitrananda Releasing the Book “God Mind & Matter” Prof. Ramani Receives the First Copy
he Universal Brotherhood Day was celebrated on 11th September in a befitting manner. Swami Mitrananda, Director, All India Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. He spoke on the meaning and significance of Sanatana Dharma. The Westerners tried to prove the supremacy of their religion but our Religion is the mother of all
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religions which accommodates all cultures, he said. While defining Sanatana Dharma, he said that Sruti (Cosmic revelations) and Smrti (Collective practical human thoughts) which paves the way for Sanatana Dharma. In this world, any change is acceptable and practicable only at the Smriti level and not at the Sruti level, like child marriage. He also said that one has to adapt to change, otherwise religion is perished or impracticable. If any religion evolves, it will be a replica of Sanatana Dharma. He urged the youths to study the texts of Prasthanatraya namely. the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and the Gita. He concluded his talk by saying that “to preserve existing culture and make India progress.” He also distributed the prizes to the winners of the various competitions in Drawing, Quiz, etc. conducted earlier in commemorating the historic event took place in Swami Vivekananda's life 115 years ago at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago. Earlier Swamiji released the book God, Mind and Matter by G.M.Nair on the occasion. Dr.P.Ramani (Sqn. Ldr.(Retd.)) received the first
Samskar Varga Festival
n the occasion of Universal Brother Hood Day Celebration Vivekananda Kendra, Chennai conducted a Samskar Varga Festival on 7th September 2008.Around 200 Families across the city participated in the festival. The highlight of the festival is the mass Surya Namaskar performance of the Samskar Varga children. There were other competations like Drawing, Song, Quiz for children, Tug of war, Om Game for parents, and story telling for grand parents.
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The Prizes for these events was given by Swami Mitrananda on the Universal Brotherhood day program on 11th September 2008.
Samskar Varga children Performing Surya Namaskar
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YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
Book Review
Spiritual Life for Modern Times
Published by : Sri Ramakrishna Math Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Pages : 194 Price: Rs 45/-
an has come a long way from the stone age. He has progressed a great deal and contributed in every way. He can set his foot on the moon. But he can neither lead a contented life nor control his mind. Swami Vireswarananda's book ' Spiritual Life for Modern Times' provides simple tips for man to liberate himself. Realization of God is the ultimate goal of all human endeavours. Our ancient sages have kept before us the ideal of god-realization as the goal of life. Our scriptures, our sages, and acharyas or gurus have asked us to find peace by realizing our true nature and seek Satchitananda rather than pursuing mundane worldy things. Swamiji leads us towards the path of realizing god, prescribing simple rules. He throws light on Sri Ramakrishna's philosophy of religion for the present age by seeking extensive support from the Gita. In another chapter he presents a succinct picture of the ideal womanhood by seeking inspiration from the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. The message of Swami Vivekananda is loud and clear, when he says 'India will rise again and it will be only through our religious Philosophy. Swamiji's interpretation of true socialism should be an eye-opener to the pseudo-socialists. His guiding principles to promote national integration through religious principles and practices are unique. Mind is restless and difficult to restrain. Swamiji cites what Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, 'Abhyasa ( practice) and Vairagya (dispassion) can control your mind'. Karma yoga ( surrendering the fruits of all efforts to god) and nishkama karma (working without attachment) are the two sides of the same coin. After having surrendered everything to Him, we have to do japa (meditation) to become spiritually illumined. This was one of the popular books by Swami Vireswarananda who served for one of the longest periods as the President of Sri Ramakrishna Math. Sq.Ldr. Dr.P.Ramani.
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YUVA BHARATI
Voice of Youth
Vol.36No.3 Bhadrapad-Aashwin 5110 October 2008
CONTENTS
Editorial 5
Founder-Editor Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade Editor P .Parameswaran Editorial Consultants: Nivedita Raghunath Bhide Prof. P .T.Santha Prof. P .Ramani Editorial Team: A.Sudarsan P .Vasanth S.Shivsankar S.Aravindh V.V.Balasubramanian Marketing: D.Krishnamoorthy H.Gnaneswara Rao Design & Layout V.Senthil Kumar Editorial Office: 5, Singarachari Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005. Ph: (044) 28440042 Email: [email protected] Web: www.vkendra.org Single Copy Rs. 10/Annual Rs. 100/For 3 Yrs Rs. 275/Life (10 Yrs) Rs. 900/Foreign Subscription: Annual $25 US Dollar Life (10 years) $250 US Dollar (Plus Rs.50/- for Outstation Cheques)
Worship of the Divine Mother K.P Shivkumar . 6 Creativity Through Writing Sqn.Ldr.Dr.P .Ramani Let Your Daughters Fly High Richa Agrawal Shradhanjali Media-people and ‘we’ the people B.R.Haran The Narmada Parikrama K.K.Venkatraman Book Review
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Published and Printed by L.Madhavan on behalf of Vivekananda Kendra from 5, Singarachari Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005. at M/s.RNR Printers and Publishers, 8, Thandavarayan Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600 005. Editor : P.Parameswaran.
YUVA BHARATI - October 2008
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