Skewed ahimsa versus skewed Hindutva

January 30th. The day when M K Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 .
It was a political assassination, although at that time Gandhi had a cult following in India.  India had just achieved her independence and was facing a war with her newly separated portion named as "Pakistan".
The people in the Punjab and Bengal were yet to recover from the aftermath of the violence that had taken plan during the partition.
Nathuram Godse had his own logic to justify his act. I am not a supporter of Godse.

 Gandhi ji had gone overboard in his demand for the rights of the Pakistan, even as Pakistan was bleeding India with an attack on Kashmir.
There was a popular notion that Gandhi  ji , on account of fairness, wanted the Indian Government to share more monetary resources with Pakistan. However, as Pakistan had already shown signs of a violent future with India, the Indian Government was reluctant to release any money for it.

Gandhi ji had reportedly gone on hunger fast to get that demand fulfilled. On the fateful evening of January 30th, he was planning to visit Pakistan,  Both India and Pakistan were like his children, he claimed. However, what about the millions  killed/ wounded/ maimed and hurt by the most  violent acts committed during the partition by the rioting mobs ? He felt for those too, however he had failed to save them despite all his  lofty ideals of "ahimsa".

He  had promised that with non-violence the people would win freedom. That didn't come to happen.  Losing 40% of the nation to an "Islamic" homeland was a huge let down for Bharat.

Gandhi's idea of ahimsa was also a skewed one. He didn't mind Indian soldiers dying in lakhs  in the fight against Germany in WW 1 and WW 2.  Yet, he wouldn't forgive Bhagat Singh or RajGuru for having avenged  the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai.

Gandhi was a great personality and he was made greater by the media.  Media was important even in those days. Media as always is owned by the rulers.  So  Gandhi was made famous with their support.

Anybody with some common sense will realize that he was a great leader with his own set of shortcomings  and by no means  the "Krishna" of the new age, as some adharmic crooks tried to propagate.

In my school days, I used to think of Gandhi as a saint and so January 30 used to make me sad. Now I realize that its all planned by the Supreme One.
India needs to reduce the heavy legacy Gandhi has left behind : the legacy of "unconditional " non-violence, where
1. To get killed in riots is ahimsa.

2. To fight back when attacked is himsa.

3. To send Indian soldiers to fight on behalf of the British rulers was ahimsa.

4. To fight the British rulers with the help of arms was "himsa".

I think that greatness is much more than such double standards of behavior.

Anyway, history has judged him kindly so far. However, in the days to come as the people  become more enlightened, they may judge him more honestly and accept him for what he really was.

Bears, monkeys and snakes : the city of Durgapur

Long back, during the 80's.  I was perhaps  5 years old at that time. A  "bhaloo wala"  had come to  show "dance" of his pet bear.  In those days, it wasn't uncommon for the 'madari' to do monkey or bear shows in public to make money.

Thanks to some activism by Maneka Gandhi and PETA , those things have more or less stopped now.The younger generations of today might never understand terms like "madari".

So, the poor bear tied by an iron chain , did some dance as he had been trained to do under threat from its master! The kids enjoyed the show, however when the time came to pay , the 'madari' was not satisfied. He demanded some more money and to  scare us, released the bear !

Terrified , we rushed inside our rooms and quickly locked it from the inside.

After a few minutes of confusion, the bhaloo wala left the place with his bear.

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I can remember  watching snake shows by the sapera : snake charmers.  Sometimes they would unleash several cobras all at once, with their hoods spread fully.  Today's generation may never get to see such things.

No less frequent were the monkey shows.  Often they used to have a male and a female of the species, duly dressed up like a boy and a girl. 

Durgapur used to be a mystical place (it continues to be till date) with trees all over. Ghost stories and stories of haunted houses were not uncommon either.

There was a house where  "foreigners" ghosts were said to live and were heard speaking  in English in the night. 

Will share more stories from Durgapur later. 

On the nature of our existence in this world.

"What actual benefit has this industrial civilization given us? In the pursuit of materialism, are we not selling our souls? Is there more to life than working hard for little gain?"

This is from H H Bhakti Vikasa Svami (ACBSP), "A message to Indian youth". Received via mail.

Notes from a devotee :

What to speak of material gain, I know cases where some parents didn't know what age their children where or what they where studying!!!

In all this rat race, no one bothers to ask, "Where are we running for?" If they did, they'd see it was pointless. They spend their whole life earning money so that others may enjoy and then spend it all away in old age for innumerable health problems.

How much does a man need beyond necessities? Upto a point after all needs of the physical body and emergencies etc...etc...have been met, the rest of it is merely for prestige alone -- because the other guy is earning so much, I should not be behind. Lot's of money has merely shifted the problem from the physical to the mental -- in spite of the money, all sorts of quarrels break out at home and where is the happiness -- all gone!

Then more property is purchased and the rest of the life is essentially committed to paying off the loan....Good material for a satire story.

People are dissatisfied in spite of all the facility for enjoyment...none of it makes them happy and yet they pursue these goals as if they will succeed in spite of an eternal record of hopeless failure. We are never wiser for the experience.

Recently a most successful IIT alumnus (of my own hostel), who was academically brilliant, talent sportsman, had lots of friends, socially loved by all, looked as a rôle model, and who did everything a guy could possily do in college to succeed with a track record so brilliant that most people can only dream of, and who also got an excellent education and fat prospects abroad --- He had committed suicide!!!! --- Bringing great shock to everyone who knew him.

I could see personally that day that in spite of being so materially successful, people are never happy. The whole material life is based on fear and anxiety. People earn because they fear emergenices. Some people simply work hard because they fear everyone will criticize them for not having any ambition in life. Who is peaceful?

Moral :- Without bhakti, no one can ever be happy. All claims of being happy by material success is in my experience an infernal lie and merely shifts people's problems from one thing to another. This is what I've practically experienced. It is only a façade and an air of artificial smiles. The truth is merely anxiety, depression, diabetes, quarrels, ruined marriages, heart problems and suicides -- which are all increasing day by day.

There are many people who have spoken to me as to how they have seen that it's all pointless, but unfortunately this comes with a lot of criticism from the rest of the world (family included), the most common of which is that they have no ambition while the rest of the world is "advancing". It is shocking.

The whole goal of the rat race is to try and overtake the guy in front of you -- most people are beyond a point where their needs are fulfilled -- the rest is only for prestige or fear -- "More houses so that if there is an earthquake, I won't be undone." All the money saved on income tax goes in paying off the loan!!

"More money so that I can pay a king's ransom to get my son admitted in a prestigious college (in which he is never really interested in studying)." When I asked a friend why his dad wants to spend half a crore to get him an MBA, he said later he will earn so much that he will repay the loan off. I really wondered if he will ever have any time to enjoy anything beyond what his karma has destined for him.

Indeed these very same people do not have any idea of spiritual life or the Lord, so when they realize they are going aimlessly, they usually settle to drinking, intoxication and things like suicide. That guy who killed himself had no problems as far as I know, but still that didn't stop him -- this is the second such case I've heard in a few years. His friends were shocked like never before.

Material success can't make anyone happy at all -- it is merely the thought that success MAY lie nearby that makes people constantly try to attain it as it always seems just within grasping distance. But in reality there is none. The whole world runs on the lines, "We will attain it someday..." But if they stopped and looked, they'd realize that no one has ever attained happiness even throughout history whatsoever.

Hence each person always looks at the other guy because he knows that his "success" is a mirage. I have seen this everywhere -- everyone thinks that everyone else is successful while I alone am not.

The whole material world runs on the lines, "We will attain happiness someday...". If we stop and observe, nothing has had such a perfect, unbroken and consistent record of eternal failure as the quest for material happiness. Nothing has ever backfired like it, and despite that very few are wise enough to admit that it won't succeed and turn towards the Supreme Lord.

God is gracing us in all circumstances

There was a king and the prime minister of the king was a great devotee. Always he used to solace or he used to pacify persons who came to him for solacing due to some trouble in the worldly life. He used to say, "You should not be disturbed, disheartened . You do not know what you did in your past life. You do not know what you will do in the future. So by seeing this present loss you should not be disturbed. There should have been greater loss but by the grace of Sri Krishna it is lessened. It is all for the best! It is all for the best! Don't be disheartened" - like that.

Once the king along with his prime minister and other soldiers went to forest for hunting. Ancient time kshatriyas used to go to jungle for hunting. While moving in the jungle the soldiers were separated from the King and the prime minister. The king and the prime minister were going separately in the jungle when the king saw a beast there. To kill the beast the king shot an arrow but by mistake the arrow went through his thumb finger. The finger was cut and there was profuse bleeding. Out of pain he was expressing his sorrow, "I am to fight always. My one finger is cut. It is a great loss." Then prime minister was trying to pacify him, "You do not know what you did in your past life, you do not know what you will do in the future. There should have been greater loss but by the grace of Sri Krishna it is lessened. So you should not worry." But the king was enraged, "My finger is cut and it is profusely bleeding. When it is a serious loss to me you are saying whatever done by the Supreme Lord is good for me. You can advise me but if suffering comes to you and I advise you what will you think." Prime minister replied, "It is applicable to all. Krishna takes care of everybody. A greater loss had been saved." The king was enraged and mentally thought "I will teach you". He was going with the prime minister in the jungle when he saw a well covered with bushes and grass from a distance. With the prime minister the king went near the well and all of a sudden he pushed the prime minister inside. The king said "Whatever is done by the Lord is for good." The prime minister said, "Yes without His will you cannot push someone in the well. It is his desire that you push me. Trust me! Trust me! Since he is all good it is for the best."

"Where is your God? I am here and you are here, where is your God? If I leave this place will He rescue you?"

"If Hari protects, nobody can kill him and if Hari wants to kill then nobody can protect him. No power."

"Oh! you haven't given up your dog mentality. You remain here, you die here." When anybody becomes enraged his mind becomes disturbed. The king's mind was disturbed.

In that jungle there were many robbers staying. They worship Goddess Kali for the fulfillment of the robbery. They were successful in their robbery and for that reason they wanted to offer a man to Goddess Kali for her satisfaction. They have brought a pujari and requested him to perform pooja and they went out to bring a man for offering. When they found the king they thought, "Goddess Kali is so gracious. She had sent a person to us. We did not have to go to the village or town. She has sent a man for us." The Dacoits surrounded the king, arrested him and fastened. After fastening him they brought him to the poojari. According to religious rules before offering a beast they should be bathed. So he was taken to a tank to bathe and afterwards they gave some paraphernalia on his forehead. When the poojari attempted to offer the king he saw that the king's finger was seriously injured and blood was oozing out. If an injured person is offered the result will be reversed. Poojari told "If this man is offered the result will be bad because he is injured."

"Oh! This spoils all our efforts and money. Release this person. Get out!"

When the King came to his own capital he thought whatever the prime minister said was correct. "If there was no injury in my finger my life would have been gone, finished. So I have committed great offense to prime minister. Whether he is alive or not! Out of anger I did this." So he ordered his army of soldiers to go immediately and rescue the prime minister. When they went there prime minister was sitting on the grass and performing Hari Nam . By the Lord's grace there was no serious suffering. He was performing Hari Nam . When he was brought to the kingdom the king bowed down and explained what had happened. "I have committed a great offense."

"No! No! By God's desire you have done. Because of that I got benefited. By pushing me in the well you saved my life. If I would have been with you the dacoits would have sacrificed me instead. We did not know what we did in the past and what we will do in the future. So we cannot see the adjustment."

Whatever is done by the will of the Supreme Lord is for the good of all. Tat te anukampa sushamiksa manam. If you can see His grace in every circumstance - in your business, in your happiness then you can get God. If you are disturbed then you cannot. Tat te anukampa sushamiksa manam. If you can correctly see then you see in every circumstances God gracing you. We are reaping the fruits of our own actions we should not blame others. We are reaping fruits of our own actions, everybody. As you sow, so shall you reap - like that.

(From www.sreecgmath.org)

A letter

The following is a letter written by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati:
Saraswati!

People of this world who are proud of their own aristocratic birth attack the pure vaisnava… Thus they commit offences. The solution to the problem is to establish the order of daiva-varnasrama-dharma - something you started doing; you should know that to be the real service to the Vaisnava. Because pure devotional conclusions are not being preached, all kinds of superstition and bad concepts are being called devotion by such pseudo sampradayas as sahajiya and ativadi.

Please always crush these ant-devotional concepts by preaching pure devotional conclusion and by setting an example… Please try very hard to make sure that the service to sri mayapur will become a permanent thing. The real service to Sri Mayapur can be done by acquiring printing presses, distributing devotional books, and sankirtana - preaching. Please do not neglect to serve Sri Mayapur or to preach for the sake of your own reclusive bhajana. When I am not present any more, please take care to serve Sri Mayapur dhama which is so dear to you. This is my special instruction to you.

I had a special desire to preach the significance of such books as Srimad-Bhagavatyam, Sat-Sandarbha, and Vedanta Darshana. You have to accept that responsibility. Sri Mayapur will prosper if you will establish an educational institution there. Never make any effort to collect knowledge or money for your own enjoyment. Only to serve Lord will you collect these things.

signed Kedarnatha Datta Bhaktivinoda

(source : www.bvml.org)

Is human misery a pastime of God ?

Is Human Misery a Pastime of God?
by Śrī Śrīmad A C Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupada



“Is God responsible for all the varieties of misery that man must face, or not?”

When a svāmī, who is a regular visitor to Delhi, was asked this question by the good Dr. Sharma, he presented his answer in front of everyone in the assembly:

“The miseries visible in human life, whatever they may be, are all a pastime of the Lord.”

Dr. Sharma lives, and practises medicine in Delhi. He is a keen seeker of truth and an avid reader of our Back to Godhead magazine; and he often inquires from me on a variety of topics. The good doctor found the svāmī’s answer to his question completely unsatisfying.

He countered by saying that if all of a person’s activities are to be considered a pastime of the Lord, then why is it said that man must experience the results of his own pious and sinful activities?

When the svāmī attempted to justify his explanation simply by repeating the same phrase, “It is all a pastime of the Lord,” Dr. Sharma exclaimed, in the midst of that assembly, “I am not satisfied with your answer.” The common people in the audience were simply listening to their arguments. No one could understand the essence of the topic, nor did anyone even try to understand it.

On many occasions, we, too, come across this question, which is ever stirring in the human mind,

“Why did God create so much misery in this world? Is it all His pastime?”

The truth, though, is quite different from what this question implies.

Among all the meaningless obstacles monists have created in this world by conceiving of God and the living entity as existing in total oneness, none is more severe than the introduction of this particular type of doubt.

The activities of souls that are imprisoned by the material energy are mundane. But these impersonalists, on account of their claim that God and the living being exist in total oneness, are obliged to attribute such mundane activities to the pastimes of God. Without doing so, they would not be able to reconcile their statements like “God is in distress,” or “God is begging alms.”

Therefore, it is not possible to support the doctrine of impersonalism, a doctrine which completely destroys one’s spiritual life, without concocting the alleged ‘divine’ theologies that are conveyed by statements such as “Nārāyaṇa has become impoverished to enact the pastime of begging;” “Nārāyaṇa has become a pig to enact the pastime of feeding on stool;” “The supreme spirit in the form of deliciously prepared chicken eggs is reposed within the belly of that same supreme spirit in the form of a holy mendicant” and the like.

It is for this reason that Śrīmān Mahāprabhu clearly stated, “māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa – hearing the commentary of a Māyāvādī completely destroys one’s spiritual life.” As long as this form of artificial spiritualism, known as impersonalism, is not expelled from this world, the common man shall not be able to comprehend Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s identity, nor His name, qualities and so forth. Foolish people readily accept such malformed theologies simply because they are sold out to their sect, but they are unable to comprehend the real implication of their conception.

What else could be the fate of a common man who keeps the harmful association (asat-saṅga) of the impersonalists but to be misled and converted to atheism, only to engage in mere sense-gratification?

Translated from Śrī Gauḍīya Patrikā
Year 9, Issue 11, 1958

source : The Rays of the Harmonist.

Discussion :

Reforming the reformer

The world stands in no need of any reformer. The world has a very competent person for guiding its minutest happenings. The person who determines that there is scope for reform of the world, himself stands in need of reform. The world goes on in its own perfect way. No person can deflect it even the breadth of a hair from the course chalked out for it by providence. When we perceive any change being actually effected in the course of events of this world by the agency of any individual , we must know very well that the agent possesses no real power at any stage. The agent finds himself driven forward by a force belonging to a different category than himself. The course of the world does not require to be changed by the agency of any person. What is necessary is to change our outlook on this world. This was done for the contemporary generation by the mercy of Sri Chaitanya. It can only be known to the recipients of his mercy. The scriptures declare that it is only necessary to listen with an open mind to the name of Krishna from the lips of a bona fide devotee. As soon as Krishna enters the listening ear, he clears up the vision of the listener so that he no longer has any ambition of ever acting the part of a reformer of any other person, because he finds that nobody is left without the very highest guidance. It is therefore his own reform that he is increasingly able to realize, by the eternally continuing mercy of the Supreme Lord.

(Source : Sri Krishna Kathamrta Bindu, Issue no 177)