Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

 SHIVAJI IN STORIES

Chhatrapati Shivaji’s coronation is being celebrated all over the country. It may be recalled that the idea of the coronation day celebration was first mooted by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1886 as a symbolic expression of the aspiration of the people for sustained freedom and in order to mark the beginning of New India's struggle for independence from what has been described as the rule of "the Mughals of the modern era."  The celebration, as then suggested, came off in April 1896 at Rajgarh and sought to stress the truly nationalist, revolutionary and anti-imperialist direction regarded as necessary for the struggle and to provide the new movement for Swaraj with the dynamic inspiration of a popular, national hero.  Lokmanya Tilak, who used to visit Sinhagad every year and stay there for some time to imbibe the spirit of Shivaji, firmly believed and declared that "The only consciousness which we, as a nation can proudly retain and foster ought to have its springs in Hindutva."  Hence he rightly saw and shared with his compatriots, the appropriateness of projecting the image of Shivaji as a symbol of the sublime sense of patriotism and nationalism and representative of the ideal of political emancipation.  He directed the people to adopt like Shivaji, every means including the use of arms, methods of warfare and military strategy in the fight against alien oppression. Tilak pointed out to them, on the occasion of Shivaji's coronation day celebration: "If thieves enter our house and we have no strength to drive them out, we should, without hesitation, shut them and burn them alive.  God has not conferred upon the foreigners the grant of the Kingdom of Hindusthan."

It was an image revealed in the archives of history and re-shaped out of legend and tradition.  It also served to bring Shivaji back to the modern peasant and worker as well as to convince the intelligentsia of the need for an organized fight for freedom.  There is nothing incongruous in an image of Shivaji, himself a ruler, the "Chhatrapati", serving as a source of revolutionary and anti-imperialist inspiration for a fight against foreign tyranny.  Shivaji had, in his own days, risen above narrow affiliations of caste and community, broken the shackles of class-consciousness and defended masses against all forms of exploitation.  We have it on record that he had even to fight his own kith and kin and the Jagirdars, Patils and Deshmukhs who were thriving on the inams granted by Badshahs.  It would not, therefore, be surprising to know that a revolutionary like Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, acclaimed as among the first to raise the banner of armed struggle in 1878 against British Imperialism in India, issued a manifesto in his name signing it as "Shivaji the Second."

It was Shivaji who made the people, the sons of the soil, re-awaken to a sense of unity, forged spontaneously by bonds of a time-honoured concept of nationalism.  The call for unity was in the name of "Hindavi Swaraj”, which implied free and un-hampered self-determination of a people with a heritage dating back to the ancient seers of the land and a culture moulded in the light of their vision and by the power of their penance.

Moghul conquest was the chief political feature about the time of the birth of Shivaji.  The trail of destruction, through fire and plunder, that the Moghul armies left behind, as they advanced in conquest, the religious discrimination by the Muslim rulers and the harassment to which the natives of the land, the Hindus, were subjected, all resulted in great discontent, social and religious.  Contemporary conditions grew so desperate and everyone was in such a state of helpless expectancy that all thoughts turned towards the advent of a deliverer.  The man of destiny was Shivaji, born in February 1630 in the hill-fort of Shivneri, where his mother Jija Bai had to be left for safety.  That is the setting into which we see Shivaji the Great, ushered as an infant.  

The tree of Hinduism is not really dead, that it can rise from beneath the seemingly crushing load of centuries of political bondage; that it can put forth new leaves and branches.  It can lift up its head to the skies," writes Jadunath Sarkar, in Shivaji and His Times.  He further points out that, "Intensely religious from his very boyhood by instinct and training alike, he remained all through his life abstemious, free from vice and respectful to holy men, passionately fond of hearing scripture readings and sacred stories and songs."  According to Vincent Smith, "Indeed, it is safe to affirm that his religious zeal was the most potent factor in arousing the sentiment of nationality which inspired his lowly countrymen to defy the Moghul Legions."  However, as Sarkar has rightly stressed, "Religion remained with him an ever-fresh fountain of right conduct and generosity, it did not obsess his mind nor harden him into a bigot."  By all accounts, Shivaji's personal life was marked by a superior standard of morality and deep spiritual fervour.  Here indeed was not only a warrior and administrator, but also one who was devoted as a son, attentive as a husband and a unique exemplar of duty as a father.  Historians, poets, novelists, bards and play-writes have painted the picture of this medieval India's outstanding hero in resplendent hues.  And the image of Shivaji is regarded today as a blend of history and legends.  The legend as it appeals to the modern mind is happily not divorced from history.

"Study the life of Shivaji and you will find him a nation-maker, instead of a marauder, as the Europeans represent him," says Swami Vivekananda, the patriot-monk of India.  We have here endeavoured to present in the form of a narrative, marked by a certain sequence of incidents (as it moves from chapter to chapter), the whole course of Shivaji's illustrious career in a brief compass.  What we have offered here is neither just history nor just legend.  It is a blend of both, so that the legends that are narrated are rooted in facts of history.

This book is compiled from Vivekananda Kendra Patrika’s “Shivaji in Stories” published in 1975.

Yatras

The Issue  of Vivekananda Kendra Patrika on ‘Yatras' is a compilation of articles, essays, comments, slokas, Vedic, Upanishadic and Puranic quotations regarding the great Saadhana of pilgrimage. The Veda says that when a man is lying down, it is Kali Yuga, when a man is sitting, it is Treta Yuga, when a man is standing, it is Dwapara Yuga, and when a man is walking, it is Satya Yuga. Therefore, the Upanishads and the Vedas glorify all human movements in search of the great world of spirituality. “Charaiveti, Charaiveti” is a great Vedic Mantra. The purpose behind the great spiritual journey is this. Man is endowed with all spiritual qualities. “Tattvamasi”, says the Samaveda - You are That, the Ultimate Reality. The Samaveda says, look at the huge prapancha, the world outside in a miniature form encrypted in your heart inside. This is what we call as the Pindanda Aikya. The individual goes around the world, to find himself in the world outside. Therefore, pilgrimage is a form of self-search, seeking the inside out, and the outside in.

Why does a man go on a pilgrimage when the Ultimate Paramatman which he searches is within his own heart? The reason is, man cannot listen to himself. The ear cannot hear itself. The tongue cannot taste itself. The eye cannot see itself. In order to enable these senses, to identify the objects of the senses, these are placed in front of him as symbols. The great Rishis like saint Madusudhana Saraswathi, say, “Baktyatartham, Kalpitham, Dwaitham, Advaithat api Sundaram”. Though the Ultimate Paramatman is within you, in order to enable the senses to see Him, the mind, the intellect and the praana, we need to search for Him/ the Ultimate. It is positioned as an object.

The places of pilgrimage are sanctified by the visits of the great Rishis of the Vedas, the Puranic saints and avataara purushas, and later-day great saints. So, the pilgrim centers that a saadhaka seeks to visit are thrice-blessed either in the Vedas, the Puranas or by the avataara purushas. Every pilgrim center finds some kind of glorification in the Puranas, Vedas or in the Upanishadic scriptures. The Upanishads themselves talk about Benaras (Kashi) as the avimukta kshetra. The Puranas describe in great detail, the places of birth of avataara purushas like Ayodhya, Mathura, and the places where the Paramatman in the form of Shiva, Rudra stays; for example, Kashi, Haradwar and Ujjain. These places are the locations where God is equally, easily found. This kind of pilgrimage has been the age-old practice in India.

Perhaps, the Saadhana of spiritual journey is as old as Bharat itself. The (Tamil) Sangam poetry talks about a man going in search of God, in search of his love, a man going out for earning money, or for a war, or delivering a political message. To carry man from place to place, different yanas, the different vehicles, are also described in our scriptures. From the Rigvedic period downwards, the great ship-building industry was flourishing in India enabling man to go to different places. The carts, the elephants, the horses are also described on which man could ride and go to different places. Palkhis (palanquins) are also mentioned in the Shaastras, carrying saints and those who cannot walk. Even today pilgrims going to Amarnath or Sabarimala are being carried there by paid employees who can carry the old and disabled people up to the temple precincts. The facility of vaahanas, development of vehicles for carrying the needy pilgrims has been a great facet of development in Indian society. Once, a minister of tourism and pilgrimage development in the Delhi Govt. told us that 90% of the tourism out of which Delhi Govt earns money is only through spiritual tourism. For the Hindus, tourism means going on a pilgrimage, a Teerthasthaana or a temple. Ordinary site-seeing has grown a little now-a-days, perhaps, as a result of further developments and modern facilities.

Then, because of the variety of experiences, tremendous amount of literature has grown around the concept of pilgrimage. For example, Vivekananda Kendra Patrika brought out a volume years ago, titled ‘The Pilgrim Centers of India’. About each temple, there are books about how the pilgrim centers attract yatris. Coming to Itihasas, Rama’s great pilgrimage, from Ayodhya to Mithila to marry Sita and then coming back to Ayodhya, and then going to Lanka to kill Ravana was the very purpose of his Avataara. Then, how Rama journeyed from Ayodhya to Srilanka and how he returned by Pushpaka Vimana back to his capital Ayodhya have all been described in great detail. Maps have been produced and descriptions were made on what are the important places that Rama visited while going from Ayodhya to Mithila, Mithila to Ayodhya, Ayodhya to Srilanka, and Srilanka to Ayodhya again. That gives an idea of the geographic extent of India in those times. Following in the footsteps of Sri Rama, the Pancha Pandavas also went on pilgrimage. Similarly, in the Mahabharata, the Pancha Pandavas go on pilgrimage on two occasions. When they are in the Vanavaasa tenure, one of the Panchapandavas lives with Draupadi and the other four brothers go out as pilgrims. These pilgrimages are described in great detail. Then, Dharmaputra, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva have established a number of temples, from Gokarnam to Kedarnath to Kanyakumari. The pilgrim centers where the Pancha Pandavas have established Shivalingas, have been described in the Puraanas, and more in the Sthala-puraanas. When Dharmaputra was to be coronated as Chakravarti, he performed Rajasuya Yajna. Then, the four Pandavas, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva branched out to different parts of India, to earn money and collect wealth and tributes from the titular kings for the proposed Rajasuya Yajna of Dharmaputra. This also has been described in detail in the Mahabharata. All the travelogues make up a great wealth of pilgrim(age) literature. Then, following these sanctified routes, the great Rishis wandered from place to place preaching the message of Sanatana Dharma.

For example, in the year 2025 Jan. 14^th to Feb. 26^th there is going to be / there was a Mahakumbh in Prayag. Mahakumbh occurs once in 144 years. What happens when the Mahakumbh takes place? The great Rishis and saints who perform tapasya in the Himalayas, always stay in very great heights where snow does not melt; they come down once in twelve years, reach Prayag and stay in great tents and huge camps. And then pilgrims from all over the country reach Prayag. There, for 45 days, the kalpavasis, the pilgrims who come to Prayag, stay and get instructions on different aspects of Sanatana Dharma from the Himalayan saints. It will be about Vedas, it can be about spiritual saadhana, it can be about Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, it can be about different Shaastras, different types of Pranayama, herbal treatments, Ayurveda, grammar and so many other topics. Every subject, which the Vedas cover is discussed by the Himalayan saints for the benefit of the pilgrims who gather in Prayag from all over the country and all over the world. This is a kind of spiritual parliament. Such spiritual parliaments are being held once in every twelve years at Prayagraj. Countless number of pilgrims return home from the Mela refreshed and spiritually rejuvenated.

In the Kumbakonam Mahamakam, in the Tamil month of Maasi in the Maka Nakshatra (Feb-Mar.), pilgrims come and take bath where all the saptateerthas converge. “Gangecha Yamunechaiva Godavari Saraswati Narmade Sindhu Cauveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru”. All the teerthas conjoin at the Mahamakam temple pond and people take a dip there. And similarly, in the Rivers Tamiraparani, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, and Narmada, in every 144 years a Pushkara (holy assembly) is held. These are very sacred days even for the rivers themselves. People from all over the world come there to take bath in the rivers, and they get purified. Therefore, pilgrimage made to get purified of one’s past sins, or spiritually elevated, is a very very important saadhana for any common man of Hindu faith.

There is a Puranic story. Once, Parvati asked Shiva, “Is it true that when a man takes bath in Ganga during the Kumbhamela, he is purified of all his sins? If that is so, then the whole creation will come to a standstill. All the people will take bath in Ganga, and the creation will end because everybody will be absolved of all his/her sins and go to Swarga or attain Moksha, or whatever he wants”. Then Paramasiva laughed and they both descended on earth. Paramasiva was lying down as an old man and Parvati was sitting by his side. Then Paramasiva pretends that he is dead. Parvati weeps. People who came to take bath in Kumbhamela asked the woman, “Ma, why are you weeping?”. Parvati said, “My husband is dead. Whoever has not committed any sin, brings out a handful of Ganga water and pours it in his mouth, he will come back alive”. Everybody said, “Oh I am a sinner, I cannot save your husband, I cannot be of any use to you” and turned away. At last, there came a very ordinary man. He said, “Oh, I might have committed so many sins, but whatever be the kind of sinner one is, if he takes bath in Ganga, all his sins will be nullified.” Saying this, this young man, goes and takes a dip in the Ganga, brings a handful of water and pours it in the mouth of Lord Shiva, who was laying there in the manner of a corpse. Then Paramasiva comes alive and tells Parvati, “See, this is the only man who believes that the Ganga purifies man of his sins. So, it is simply not that you take bath in the Ganga, it is the question of your intense belief, that Ganga purifies your sins”. The number of such pilgrims who come to Mahaamakam will be in crores. But how many are really believing that a bath in Kumbhmela will absolve the man of his sins is what is to be seen. There is a great stress on shraddha, when you go to a pilgrim center or a place of Mela like the Kumbhmela. The history of Kumbhmela is also very important. The same story applies to Mahaamakam in Kumbakonam also, in the South.

We all know the story that Devas and Asuras churned the ocean of milk with the help of Vasuki snake and Mantara mountain to get Amrita. Lord Narayana also came in the form of tortoise (Koorma avatara) to support the Mantara mountain. There were number of divine things like Uchchaisravas, the divine horse, Kalpataru, Jewel etc. emerged. Finally Lakshmi came and then Dhanvantri comes with a pot of Amrita. Then devas and asuras fought for it and Narayana in the form of Mohini, cleverly deprived the asuras of the Devaamrita and gave it all to the devas who were all restored to their original glory. That Amrita kumbha fell at a number of places. There are legendary stories, puranic instances which say that where the Kumbha fell, is the place of Kumbhamela or the place of Mahamaka. When the amrita kumbha fell near Kumbakonam, the places where the coconut, the mango leaves and the sacred thread from the Kumbha fell, became the places of pilgrimage around Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu. Thus, such pilgrim centers have got the touch of amrita, the heavenly ambrosia.  Whenever you go to such great pilgrim centers, you will find some such puranic stories, which authenticate the holiness of these places. Therefore, the yatras to Kumbhmela and the teertasthaanas link the soil of India, the air of India, the water of India, the space of India, the energy of India, the Panchaboothas of India to the puraanas and God Himself. Each teerthasthana has got a great sanctity. These pilgrims are doubly blessed because, the common man goes there to remove his sins and the saints go there to remove the sins of the teerthaas themselves, thus replenishing their sanctity.

And then, to sanctify these places, our ancients have built great temples in these places. For example, in the birth place of Dasharatha Rama, Ayodhya, a great temple has been built. Then in Puri Jagannath a great temple is built. In Ujjain, a Shiva temple is built. In the great Hrishikesh, where the Ganga descend from the Himalayas to the plains, a great temple is built. And then in Rameshwaram, where Sri Rama is said to have worshipped Shiva, a great temple is built. There are the seven Mokshapuris.  These are the places which confer Moksha on people who go there. And there are the Char Dhams in the four corners of India, namely, Rameshwaram, Puri, Dwaraka and Badrinath. These are also places which confer Moksha on the pilgrims. There has been a continuous tradition of thousands of years, of pilgrims going on specific occasions to these pilgrim centers to purify themselves.  Pilgrimages are inextricably interwoven with India’s spiritual culture.

If a metaphor could be used, life itself is a pilgrimage.  Pilgrimages are great opportunities for self-exploration, and to connect oneself with the higher levels of existence, thereby seeking fulfilment in one’s life.  This issue of Vivekananda Kendra Patrika has ‘Yatra’ as its central theme.  In the preceding passages, some puranic stories have been briefly recollected, paving the way for the rest of the journey, yatra, as could be covered within the limits of this volume. Here, yatra has been taken in its spiritual sense, as a kind of saadhana, or a mission in ones’ life, and not a mere pleasant tour or holidaying trips as is often the spirit in sabbaticals. 

An individual’s life itself is a yatra.  From the tiny tots to the aged, life is a yatra, a constant progress towards higher goals, culminating in Self-realization.  This idea has been brought out in the light of the Kendra Prayer in one of the articles titled dhyeya maargaanu yatra.  This volume seeks to celebrate the glory of yatra in a spiritual perspective.  Great unifiers of the nation like Sri Adi Shankara and other great teachers have immensely contributed to the sacredness of teerthayatras through their own examples.  Hence the tradition continues with its unflagging spirit. Yatras could be in quest of spiritual knowledge.  They could be in fulfilment of vows.  They could be undertaken as a kind of traditional sacred practice.  They have been an unshakeable unifying force in our country. Travelling through the length and breadth of the country, Swami Vivekananda internalized the essential India which is nothing but spiritual to the core, and he called himself a Condensed India.  Such was his identity with the country.  

This volume discusses the concept of yatra in an impressive manner with contributions from very knowledgeable persons.  Reading this issue itself, we hope, will give the reader the experience of performing an exhilarating and spiritually elevating pilgrimage.  All said and done, much remains to be said.  Nevertheless, what is contained in this volume, it is hoped, will claim its own worth as a sumptuous fare on the subject.  

                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                         N. Krishnamoorti

 

Promoting Pathways To Sustainable Living -3

Man-Making and Planet-Building...

If Swami Vivekananda were to address the Parliament of World's Religions at Chicago in 2024, he would have given yet another dimension to Religion and called upon the religious leaders to unite to rebuild our Planet Earth. He would have added something more to his famous Chicago address... I am proud to belong to a religion which can provide mankind with a blueprint for rebuilding Planet Earth with sustainable possibilities for the future.

In the course of his lectures from Colombo to Almora he would have urged on his countrymen, the preservation of the purity of the Ganges, the sanctity of the Himalayas and the quality of our earth, water and air. He would have drawn endlessly from our grand mythology and enriched and expanded our global awareness. We would then have not slipped so miserably in our ecological responsibilities. We would have shown how a religion can be man-making and planet-building...

True to the demands of time, the Chicago Parliament of World's Religions 1993, in its centenary celebrations addressed itself not only to matters of spirit but also to many down-to-earth problems. The Millennium Institute which was a co-sponsor of the Parliament took up this issue on the second day itself. Though their entire paper "Global 2000 Revisited"-"What shall we do" is worth serious study, for the sake of brevity just a few points are presented here.

1. The spiritual leaders have a vital contribution to make to a country's reflections on sustainable possibilities for the future.

2. There is an urgent need for a more substantiative dialogue between "secular" issue experts and spiritual leaders of all faiths and traditions.

There are many pressing issues that need thoughtful holistic attention integrating both the spiritual and the secular or scientific perspective. When we study the world religions from this angle we find that a holistic approach has not been a significant part of all traditions. The result is, that secular people are convinced that religions have ruined the earth. Attacks on religion by the so-called wise secularists are not infrequent.

In one form or other, virtually every faith tradition is being criticised today for not having a thoughtful, informed, penetrating analysis of the issues facing Earth and Earth's human community in the 21st Century."

The Director of the Millennium Institute Dr. G. Barney raised several questions before the Parliament. The first one of them was directly connected with man, his essential nature and his interrelationships with everything around. To quote: "The task before us is fundamentally spiritual in nature, to discover who we humans are, how we are to relate to each other and to the whole community of life and what we are to do, individually and collectively here on Earth."

We in India are fortunate in having preserved (though not well enough) a tradition that has answers to all these fundamental questions - the Ultimate Truth of our real identity - a philosophy to comprehend this Truth and a way of life to actualize it in day today life, the dharma - or holistic approach to relate ourselves with everything on earth, a mythology revealing the multifarious facets of this dharma in action and the extensive rituals to concretise this philosophy and to reach it out to all and sundry. In the totality of Sanatana Dharma there lies the blueprint for the survival of mankind and preservation of our Planet Earth.

This is truly a great challenge for spiritual leaders and religious people. Hindu Dharma can fortunately provide very many clues which everyone can adopt irrespective of caste, creed, race or any other differences.

Need for a universal Blueprint.

If only we had a Blueprint how to co-ordinate the affairs of the Universe, we could have kept the five elemental forces in a proper form without contaminating and polluting them ........      

          We could have taken care not to disturb the natural rhythms.

          We could have assured that the flora and fauna would not become
          extinct at this fast rate of 100 species a day.

          We could have prevented the formation of holes in the ozone layers 
          due to  the accumulation of CFC in our atmosphere.

          We could have avoided the 'greenhouse effect' and its serious global

          repercussions and ,

          May be, we could have assured mankind of health, happiness and
          harmony through a new World Order and possibly guaranteed its survival
          as well!

Unfortunately, most of the Blueprints which the modern man has managed to put up have pushed the world and with it mankind, nearer to the brink of a global disaster. Somewhere, man, in the course of his progressive evolution, has misplaced it, if not lost it altogether. Suddenly, his progression is proving to be a "retrogression".

Mother Earth - the lessons she imparts

The blueprint just cannot get lost, because Nature never entrusted this to the custody of the foolish man alone. The first clue that a blueprint for survival exists comes from the fact that without taking the aid of the so-called intelligence of man, Mother Earth has preserved life for millions of years. Behind this truth lies the wonderful interdependence this planet has established with the other planets and the elemental forces around her - water, air, space and fire, energy, sun, moon and so on. Together, they have created a near perfect system, referred to by modern man as the Ecosystem, which is the best public service available to man, but of which he is almost totally ignorant. Creating a series of checks, levers and governors, planet Earth and the other elements have together created a climate of great diversity, an atmosphere of carefully chosen contents, geared to provide for the growth and metabolism of all that lives, a soil system with its dynamic equilibrium of moisture, air, minerals, flora and fauna which together maintain simple but nourishing soil fertility; a variety of mechanisms for energy absorption, pollination and fertilization in its magnificent plant kingdom through which it links up man with the five elements around and also provides the wide variety of food, clothing, shelter, medicinal herbs and so on and the most important of all, a perfectly harmless way of decomposing dead matter and keeping the place clean and tidy so that man has a cozy place to live! All this and more have been gifted to man by Nature and her self-renewing Ecosystems.

 

It is this wonderful life - creating - supporting – destroying capacity of  planet Earth that we, the so-called wise and learned men, are tampering with. In our greediness we are consuming more than the 'income' kept at our disposal, which in turn is supplied to the Earth by none other than that giant power station, the SUN. By interfering with the natural fertility of agricultural soil, groundwater resources, biodiversity, and various energy-transforming cycles in Nature, man is heading towards self-annihilation.

Need for a holistic answer

The survival of mankind is no longer a simple issue but is closely interlinked with the survival of the entire planet. But, who can give a holistic answer? Materialistic philosophy can, at best, provide only an economic world-view. Profit-oriented as it is, it will continue to harp on 'taking more out of less', of boosting production, enhancing desires, needs and consumption. It just doesn't know how to go beyond 'well-having' to 'well-being'. 'Survival' is of least importance to those who are habituated to looking at forests for its timber, at rocks for their ores, at landscapes for their real-estate value and of course at men and women as 'resources'.    

Disrespect and total lack of concern have become the hallmark of modern man. This has to be contravened and a new respect towards the entire creation has to be generated in the human mind. Only then will we learn to treat each other and our environment with respect and understanding and in that lies the first seeds ensuring survival of our human race. 

In ancient cultures and value systems, though survival was not a prime value, it certainly became the net result or by-product of man's greater achievements in human life, reflected in his knowledge of the Whole and the adjustments he made to co-exist peacefully with the Whole. One is reminded of Sri Krishna's words in the Bhagavad Gita

"parasparaṁ bhāvayantaḥ śhreyaḥ param avāpsyatha" (BG 3.11)

By cooperation between humans and the celestial gods, great prosperity will reign
for all.

In tune with this, the Indian blueprint insists on a different vision, an attitudinal change and a cultural reorientation. Time has come for the world to study the Indian Blueprint and the valuable information contained in it so as to adjust our lifestyles with global survival in view.

         

The Indian Blueprint is very simple, eloquent and grand in its sweep. It is as ternal as Truth and as nourishing as Life. It starts with man as its centre and endlessly unfolds as the ever-expanding universe, never for once snapping its ties between the individual and the Total. Only such a Blueprint can help the West to shift its attitude from the "well-having" to the "well-being" and help it learn the primary lesson of seeing the Whole in the part and part in the Whole.         

At the very outset it helps man to visualize Life as a Whole, Infinite and Eternal, far superior to the grasping power of human intelligence. Therefore, it holds that humility is the key, not aggressiveness, to unlock the mystery of everlasting life.

It also emphasises that Truth, the fundamental and prime basis of the Universe, the value behind the values is ONE, manifold though its expressions be. Seeing Unity in diversity, therefore, forms yet another clue for understanding Life in its totality.

From these two basic assumptions the blueprint unfolds revealing the grand vision of the universe with all that exists in it as ONE, interconnected and interpenetrated by one Divine Essence.    

The quintessence of the Indian concept regarding the laws of the Universe and the adjustments man must make to accommodate himself within it peacefully and harmoniously is effectively caught in the supremely meaningful opening stanza of Isavasyopanishad.

What does it say? To start with, there is the emphatic declaration that all that exists is pervaded by Divinity or Truth. To realise that Truth, making it a part of our life in knowledge, love and action is the surest way to achieve immortality. This tantamounts to recognising divinity everywhere and to one who has realised it in oneself; it is a question of seeing oneself, projected in the entire Universe! Thus, should man break the barrier of "otherness" which is the cause for spoiling our relationship with the world outside.

When man starts recognising the intrinsic worth of all that exists, naturally he will modulate his behaviour with love and respect towards all. Then would man learn to take from nature only what he needs for his well-being and not to exploit nature for his well-having.

The next step enjoins man  - 'to enjoy with restraint'. Behind the crisis at all levels that we face today is a lack of self-restraint in thought, words, work and enjoyments. To stop overutilisation and exploitation there is no other way than to practise "frugal consumption" and "voluntary simplicity". Global awareness resulting from and based on the above concepts, can undoubtedly reverse the self-annihilating trends that we find widespread today.      

An ultimate warning also is incorporated in the stanza to hold back man from destroying himself, that is 'to refrain from covetousness', unwanted competitions and petty jealousies that mar human relationships. So long as we are not ready to change our lifestyles, so long as we go on pampering ourselves in sensual delights and indulgences, so long as austerity and simplicity do not become part of our lives, we will not succeed in stemming the root of degradation that is threatening the life of this very planet. A reversal of the trend is a must.       

Swami Vivekananda wanted this message of India to reach far and wide before modern civilization irreparably turned this world into a graveyard through its blind passions, ignorance and morbid surrender to mechanical and materialistic culture and forces that are bent upon destroying the human race, nature and possibly the planet earth itself. He clearly foresaw that the only hope for the survival of humanity lies in renewing the macrobiotic vision of the ONE UNDIVIDED TRUTH in which everything in creation remains interconnected, interpenetrated and interdependent. Through his speeches and writings, he has drawn the attention of the entire world to this all-encompassing vision of truth or reality which is the cornerstone of the magnificent Indian spiritual heritage.  

If mankind, not in the far away future destroy, itself, it will not be due to lack of a blueprint, but because man was too egoistic to learn his elementary lessons spelt out in the blueprint. In such an impending global catastrophe the major share of blame would be on us, Indians in whose custody this blueprint had been lying from time immemorial.      

Through the three volumes of Kendra Patrika, Vivekananda Kendra-NARDEP has brought into focus this global problem and has also opened several windows to study it indepth. One comforting factor is the arrival on the scene of a large number of people belonging to all sections of society who are keen to study how to correct the imbalance in nature. It started in last century with several authors studying the book of Nature differently with a new meaning and purpose to help man find the right place in nature's magnificent gallery.  Many a heart has been touched and now they look at life and nature with a new deeper understanding. Examples of such wonderful studies at individual and collective levels including the state level are brought out in this volume. Also included are reviews on some of the publications by great thoughtful men and women who through their writings changed the human approach in remarkable ways.

Let me conclude this foreword with the wonderful blessing uttered by the great Saint Paramacharya of Kanchipuram, who made the world listen to India's message through the unparalleled melodious voice of India,
Smt. M.S. Subbalakshmi in the U.N. during its 50th anniversary, which dealt with Universal Brotherhood and peace as enshrined in the Sanathana Dharma which ends with this last prayer.

 

śreyo bhūyāt sakalajanānām

May all people be happy and prosperous.

 

                                                                                                                                 Dr.M.Lakshmi Kumari

 

Promoting Pathways to Sustainable Living - 2

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations warns that the earth is in the ICU, and its environment is the culprit.

The problems are:

Depletion and degradation of life-support systems such as water, air, and the earth’s fertility.

Shrinking biodiversity, which provides the basic material for innovative gene combinations.

Man’s waste-making industrial culture, which guzzles up the world’s raw materials.

The present art/science of development as the process of converting nature’s limited gifts into consumables for Man.

An educational system that is a marketing process for industrial products.

A general mindset replacing nature’s spontaneity with manmade structures, wiping out humanity’s Sneha, Prema, Daya, and Bhakti.

The psychological effects of all-round degradation of nature's systems, family, community, health, entertainment, driving humanity towards narcotizing entertainment, drug culture, alcoholism, depression, and warfare, all resulting from the collapse of Man’s psychological support base of family and community, society, and the ecosystem.

As we navigate the complexities of environmental stewardship, the path forward intertwines innovation, education, and societal cohesion in the following areas: 

1. Promoting Circular Economy: Embracing Recycling and Reuse:

Metal, plastic, and wood-made articles, machinery, and consumable hardware can be used, reused, and re-reused. Manufacturers should offer buy-back options when they sell hardware. The materials can be easily reused. Water is said to have fifty uses, each use exploiting only one virtue of the element. With water resources shrinking at an alarming rate, recycling and multiuse technologies must enter the scenario.

2. Innovating Sustainability: Beyond Fossil Fuels:

Merely substituting fossil energy sources with renewable energy sources won’t serve any purpose if man’s mindset in consuming energy at the present rate continues. The pity is man continues to think in the old fashion in a totally new context. Take millets, for example. Each millet has a specific virtue, but the recipes for millet-cooking simply substitute millets for potato, amaranthus, rice, or wheat. Such fine arts and usages are being lost. Such mistakes occur because of man’s long-lasting friendship with Nature and its bounties fading out. Technology is a mindset that neglects fine details and individuality. Creative thinking and innovation processes emerge from closely watching and observing each gift of Nature.

3. Educating for Sustainability:

Dr. Ian Brown conducted a survey of 3000 schools across the world at the request of his mentor Maharshi Mahesh Yogi. Dr. Brown’s survey reveals the fact that the present-day school education cannot teach our children the worthwhile values of (1) Morality and ethics, (2) Appreciating Nature's (asthetic) values, and (3) Compassion. Green education has to include these vital lessons in its curriculum. Education both formal and mass education has to play a major role in environmental safety. The present education, a marketing process, is luring the student into accepting a particular lifestyle as appropriate.

The old system of education based on memory tests and rote is being edged out. Education has to be more entertaining to keep the students from running away from the classes. One Scientist, educator of England has pointed out that the teachers have to use more and more medicines to quieten the children and pin them down to the classroom. The teacher has to be the administrator of knowledge in a more entertaining way so that the child is retained in the classroom. The teacher has to retrain himself to administer education in a more alluring way because he has to compete with more attractive media such as cell phones, telephones, internet TV, etc.,

This makes the teacher’s job unenviable, and the teachers have to act like edutainers to attract students. In India, the attendance in Government school classes is continuously slipping down questioning the very effectiveness of Government schooling systems. The school has become part of the market, and it has to fight for its place in training the human mind. Uncontrolled media, social media, etc., grab the minds of the children. The present post-corona scenario forces teachers to admit they find it very difficult to run the offline classes for cell phone-addicted children.

True education simply does not dish out information but makes the student learn on his own. To wean the learner away from his groove of old consumption patterns, the teacher has to show enormous patience, love, eco-awareness, and communicate his/her wisdom to the student. MA VIDVISHAVAHAI. “Let us love each other” has to be the classroom ethos. The society accustomed to five hundred years of waste-making consumer culture will not yield its dearly held affiliation without a mother-like persuasive appeal by the teacher.

4. The Green Warrior's Path: Yoga, Kriyas, and Sustainable Consumption:

The green warrior embodies a holistic approach to sustainability, advocating for reduced consumption while emphasizing physical and psychological well-being through practices like Yoga and Kriyas. They understand that personal sacrifices yield rewards such as strengthened will, relaxed body, and heightened consciousness, setting a trend for societal change towards mindful living. Asking man to consume less, without offering some physical and psychological compensations, is not going to be easy. Yoga and Kriyas, which strengthen man’s will-power, enable man to do with less and less of the pleasures derived from external objects, will certainly help. A relaxed body consumes less food and absorbs the nutrients from the food in a better manner. This may not mean much to the food economy, but the opinion-makers and society leaders will set the trend for the common people. Ultimately man has to prove for himself that every sacrifice will reward him in the form of strengthened will, relaxed body, better concentration, greater consciousness of the mind, and a greater amount of love. Unless a green warrior accepts this principle, it will be unfair for the world to ask him to forego external sensual treasures.

5. The Purpose of Life:

Nature is continuously losing its orderliness as shown by increasing entropy. Nature consisting of animate objects cannot reassemble itself. It is the duty of living things to devote themselves to nature’s work. Man, being the highest on the ladder of life, has to take maximum responsibility to restore order. It is an unescapable duty of every man. Man does not have to go too far to search for his duty. That part of nature which gets degraded by the man handling of it should call for his first attention. Therefore, man’s duty towards nature, yajna lies in the objects which he handles in his day-to-day life. This is Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of universal thinking and local working.

6. Holistic Science: Integrating Analysis and Synthesis:

Science consists of two processes: analysis and synthesis. Man takes apart the constituents of a sugar candy – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. But he misses two true points. He does not look up at the sweetness of sugar, which is its essence, and he does not come back to reassemble sugar from the parts. This process of synthesis is mostly neglected in science. Though strictly speaking analysis and synthesis make up science together, historical western science gives more credit to analysis than to synthesis. A green warrior has to correct this imbalance.

7. Cultivating Collective Consciousness: The Role of Social Units:

The individual cultural habits, consumption patterns, and tastes are shaped by his immediate family. A family is controlled by the community, though this control is invisible. The community is protected by the nation, and it helps to retain its cultural values. The nation’s culture justifies the existence of a nation and defines its contribution to the whole world, the whole creation. Its smaller unit is sustained by the larger unit and gets its liveliness from the next lower unit. In this manner, the smaller and bigger units of a nation and its culture are linked by symbiotic relationships. Environmental degradation impacts such relations and social break-up, atomization of the society leads to the breakup of all such entities. Therefore, the green warrior has to care for all such social units. But the individual breaks-up and crumbles to pieces when the family system breaks down. Germany and America are telling examples of such breakdown leading to drugs, personal abuse, alcoholism, and social discord. The inter-cohesion of society is linked to the inner harmony of the individual and vice versa. The role of the family system in providing care and safety for women, elders, and children has been well-studied. Therefore, greater, and greater social consciousness helps not only in saving the individual but also helps in saving the environment in the form of collectives such as grazing land, water bodies, fisheries, and public utilities. The individual, family, community, etc., are stages in the growth of collective consciousness.

8. Every Moment Matters: Cultivating Mindfulness:

It is the nature of many leaders to try to find universal solutions for every problem. They want a formula, a talisman, a sutra for every problem so that it can be universally applied. This act reduces universal problems to a small level, trivializing local problems. What is needed is a small solution that applies to local conditions and local problems. This comes from attentiveness, also called mindfulness. Clubbing a few unrelated problems in man’s overenthusiastic approach leads to neglecting individual problems. A Gobar gas plant suitable for a rocky and dry area in Tamil Nadu will not work in a water-locked area in the Netherlands. A green warrior has to curb his tendency to become the universal problem solver, a messiah. He has to have the humility to solve the problems one at a time, as they come.

9. Beyond Imposed Structures: Rediscovering Nature's Creative Flow:

Nature is very creative. It is very lively. It changes its actions frequently. And this unrehearsed action is called spontaneity. But man in his wisdom wants to impose his mentally made structures on the free-flowing nature. One scientist famously said, “This is the privilege of the Scientists, to find out the law of nature and impose human will on it.” This idea comes from the concept that no knowledge is good if it is natural. Every good thing has to be man-made. This has led man to impose his artificially made will, structure, calculatedness on free-flowing nature. Nature is amorphous. Nature does not confine itself to any formula. In that manner, all man’s understanding of its nature is only approximate and much less than the total truth. It is an approach that takes away from our understanding of nature’s creativity, spontaneity, productivity, and biodiversity. Jagdish Chandra Bose talks about nature’s rejuvenescence, nature’s spontaneity, chance, the very charm of living by presenting a series of surprises and keeps man constantly on his toes. Therefore, this structured approach to knowledge leads man to dullness, ennui, and forces man to seek happiness from elsewhere than from nature. This is the reason for man resorting to drugs, alcoholism, and narcotizing entertainment.

10. Unity in Conservation: Collaborative Environmental Roles:

The art of protecting nature, ecology, and environment has to be according to roles allotted to different segments of the society. The Governments can make only laws. And any law is as good as the lawmakers’ capacity to implement the law. Therefore, the Government has to have faith in the heart of man to save the environment. It can only make laws that emanate from the community and the individuals. The individual is very sensitive about the degradation of nature and is the first to suffer when the environment crumbles. Therefore, he is the starting point of any move to restore nature to its pristine harmony. But the voluntary organizations consisting of sensitive individuals, scholars, opinion-makers have to act as intermediaries between the individual and the Government. They have to control the greedy individual by the common ethical values and alert the Government about the impending damages. Therefore, each segment has its well-defined role in saving the environment.

11. Holistic Health: Embracing Natural Healing Alternatives:

A learned doctor with long-standing experience in the profession has written an article about medicines in this volume. Chemicals as opposed to herbs and nature cures are fighting for man’s attention. The medical corporate sector has such enormous clout that its budget is larger than the combined budgets of many countries. Therefore, medicine manufacturers use all their muscles to inject all kinds of chemicals into the human body. These chemicals prevent man’s natural self-healing energy, and the so-called modern medicine is a great threat to the human bodies all over the world. One science writer has written that if we could close all the hospitals today, we can think about human health fifty years afterward.

12. Water: The Modern Charkha for Green Warriors:

Jayaprakash Narayanji once said that he was searching for the modern equivalent of Gandhiji’s Charkha, the spinning wheel. This systematic tool has to be simple; it has to be relevant to all, and it has to keep man mindfully engaged and it should appeal to everybody’s need. Modern Green warriors have found that tool, for forming a cohesive society in WATER. Collecting, serving, distributing, recycling, and applying the multiple uses of water could be a society-building tool for humanity. It touches the lives of everyone and is already a universal problem touching not only human lives but also the lives of plants and animals.

13. Empowering Leisure: Cultivating Well-Being:

Asked what the greatest danger and problem for humanity in the future could be, double Nobel Laureate John Bardeen said “LEISURE”. All the speeding equipment, vehicles, airplanes, etc., glorify speed and science itself has equated speed with efficiency. Saving time in his workplace and travel, man has been left with much leisure time, not knowing what to do. He allows himself to be lured by drugs, alcohol, and narcotic entertainment. Ms. Magadelene, the ex-U.S. Secretary of State, drew our attention to this danger, wherein we fail to observe the beauties of our paths. The centenarian Paramacharya of Kanchi and Vinoba of the Bhoodan movement have enjoyed walking to the workplace, allowing themselves enough time to interact with people on the way. Modern speed-equipment leaves a great footprint on the traveller’s mind. He is agitated, moving, and restless, even when he has completed his journey. Tagore’s beautiful article “Walking barefoot to the school” should teach us what we miss when we run away or travel by a speeding-up vehicle.

14. Foot-loose Societies:

Schumacher, the energy expert, has bemoaned humanity’s habit of foot-loose traveling in the name of tourism. In Ancient India, everyone has to find happiness in his immediate surroundings, and an occasional traveller has to return to his base as early as possible. Today, smaller houses, crowded cities, the drudgery of work, drive people away from their habitats, causing a great drain on the world’s fuel stock. Man has to control his traveling to irreducible minimum to save fuel and to find happiness within himself and in his immediate surroundings.

Amidst mounting environmental challenges, a resounding call for change reverberates across sectors. The prelude sets the stage for a transformative journey towards sustainability. Embracing circular economy principles, stakeholders advocate for a paradigm shift in material consumption, promoting reuse and recycling. Beyond renewable energy adoption, the narrative urges a deeper cultural rethink of energy consumption. Education emerges as a linchpin, with calls for a holistic approach that instils values of morality, ecological consciousness, and compassion. The path to sustainability intertwines with personal wellness, as yoga and mindfulness empower individuals to consume consciously. Social cohesion and collective action emerge as essential pillars, urging communities to reclaim their roles in environmental stewardship. From local adaptations to global collaborations, the propositions paint a portrait of hope, resilience, and collective determination in the face of environmental crisis.

Vivekananda Kendra, NARDEP has produced a manual Environmental Awareness in day-to-day life. It could be our manual not only for saving the earth but also for saving oneself.

 

N.Krishnamoorti

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Editor Vivekvani                                                                                                & Senior Worker of Vivekananda Kendra