Chandra Shekhar Azad: The man of Steel

           Today marks the death anniversary of the revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad. He was the pioneer of the Revolutionary struggle during his time, and was an inspiration to the likes of Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev, and Raj Guru. Azad is to be remembered most now than ever. At a time when students of our varsities, Political Leaders, and main stream media are talking about Azadi or “Free Speech in real sense, Azad too was a man who propagated “Freedom” as such. In the contrast to what some today claim for “Bharat Ki Barbadi” in the name of “Azadi”, Chandra Shekhar called for Unification of India and Indians in the very same name of “Azadi”.

            Azad garrisoned strong young men to plunder the wealth of the British treasuries. He may be referred to as the “Robin Hood” of India. Unlike Robin Hood who fought for the poor against his own men, Azad fought against the foreign oppression on his fellow Indians. Azad distributed all the plundered wealth among the poor and needy. This he did as felt that the resources of India must belong to India and not foreigners.

            Azad exercised daily and his favourite sweet was the Jalebi or the Jilebi. It is said that he ate Jalebi every day after having exercised for that day. He was an expert marksmen as well. Truly a spirited and committed man. His original name was just Chandra Shekhar. The word Azad become synonymous with his name.
His famous and the most thundering words were,

 “Mein Azad Hu aur Azad Hi Rahonga” 

[I am and shall always be (a) free (man)]. 

            Azad died at Alfred Park in Allahabad on 27 February 1931. The police surround him in the park citing information from an informer. After a long battle with the police surrounding him, Azad shot himself. Azad never wanted to be caught alive. He wanted to be a “Free Man” i.e. “Azad forever. What courage, what bravery, and what steadfastness. Truly a man to be remembered today.

            May his persona guide us in the right direction. Azad will be the happiest soul above to see a “Azad Hindustan” with “Azadi” in the hands of “Hindustanis”. 

#JaiHind

The tale of two Dogmas: An irony in the Story of Captain Pawan Kumar

"Kisiko reservation chahiye to kisiko azadi bhai. Humein kuchh nahin chahiye bhai. Bas apni razai. (Some want reservation and some independence, I don't want anything, brother, I want only my quilt/bedspread)," said the 23-year-old captain Pawan Kumar in his last Facebook post. Captain Pawan Kumar martyred yesterday in a gun battle with the terrorists who had occupied the EDI building in Pampore, Jammu & Kashmir. EDI or the Entrepreneurship Development Institute is a multi-storied government building. 3 Army Jawans & 2 CRPF personnel have been martyred so far in this encounter.
The irony lies here. At a time when the Jats are violently protesting for reservations and at a time when students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) are howling anti-National slogans, a Jawan for the Jat Community who had secured his degree from the JNU has martyred for India. The anomaly of Nationalism is perfectly displayed in this event. Personally I do not advocate the identification of Soldiers from the Standards of Caste/Religion. Such advocacy should out rightly be opposed. However, at a time when people from certain community and Students of a certain University are setting a wrong precedent, this Hero of Indian Army Captain Pawan Kumar is an inspiration and guiding force to such persons.

 

Nothing can make good or indemnify the sacrifice for a Nation. We cannot repay our debt for martyrs like Pawan Kumar. Yet, why not the Jats, and why not the protesting students of JNU learn from the martyr Captain?



I am reminded of an old story. The story of twin parrots. Two parrots, being twins, were born to a certain parrot. The mother parrot died soon after her delivery. The little parrots were orphaned. A noble and respectable man reared one parrot and another parrot was stolen by a thief. Years went by. It so happened that on one occasion, the thief came to loot the house of the noble man (he had the parrot along with him). The parrot in the noble man’s house was chanting prayers, saying good words, and was sympathetic to the people. The thief’s parrot was all abusive, with a fouls mouth, and helped the thief in looting the house. However, the good parrot warned the noble man well in advance and the thief along with the parrot was caught and put behind bars. The moral from this story is simply this, “Be of the same blood or of the same skin or race, your environment/circumstances/surroundings determine what you eventually become”. The milieu for any person is of utmost importance. We must take care of how our children are reared. We must also take care of how we guide our youths in the Centers of Learning and in the Communities as such.We must set the right precedents for the youth of this Nation. We have on one hand protests, sloganeering, sedition, and violence, and on the other we have Nationalism, Pride, and Martyrdom. The choice must be made. The Collective Consciousness of the society must rise to inculcate a value system and a spirit of Nationalism among all. Also we must be taught not to be beggars i.e. those who ask of things. The youth must be taught to be self-reliant and having the quality to bestow upon the underprivileged. We must dis-encourage the attitude of “Victimhood” and instill faith and belief. Above all we must not ask what the country has done for us, instead we must ask what we can do for the country as such.


May the martyr Captain Pawan Kumar and all the other Shaheed Jawans be a guiding light to the people of India and particularly to the youth of this Nation.Shaheedonko Shat Shat Naman! Jai Hind!

What is wrong in punishing criminals?

The story of Sage Ourva (Meaning: Born from “Uru” or the ‘thighs’) is told by Sage Vasishta to grandson Sage Shakti in the Mahabharata. What concerns us with regards to title is not the story in itself. Sage Ourva (और्व/ಔರ್ವ) decided to exterminate the Kshatriya clan (Kings men). This is decides after he gets enraged by the massacre of his forefathers by the kings of those time. It was a bloody massacre, not even children or even pregnant women were spared. The Kshatriya's had decided to exterminate the entire “Brigu” clan i.e. the entire family of Ourva. It is at this trying situation that Sage Ourva gets angry and decided to avenge the death of this forefathers. At this juncture some elders of the clan come to pacify Sage Ourva. What he says as an answer to them is the crux of our discussion. Sage Ourva deliberates on anger and on punishing the wicked. He says thus – 

• He who cannot sublimate anger against injustice, instead suppresses the same, is verily incapable of protecting Dharma (Righteousness).
• To not get angry against the criminals and the wicked is blasphemy.
• As long as there is opposition for bad deeds, as long as there is punishment for the crimes, and as long as people are aware that they will punished for the wrong deeds, there shall exist no crimes in the world.
• When the wicked realise that there is no opposition or punishment for their deeds, verily their numbers will increase.
•  A man who passively witnesses the crime, knowing the wilful acts of the criminal to be wrong, is equally guilty of the offence committed by the criminal.
• Righteous men and women must be protected, while the unrighteous must be punished. This will ensure the protection of Dharma (Order in the Society).

In light of the discussion supra, and in the context of today's Human Rights Activism and opposition to Capital punishment, I am reminded of Alexander Dumas quote.

 He says thus, "And now, farewell to kindness, humanity and gratitude… I have substituted myself for Providence in rewarding the good; may the God of vengeance now yield me His place to punish the wicked."

In prayer, "May the Righteous be protected and may the wicked be punished".

Amma the food sucks………

I was having “Tikki Puri” the other day at Chamrajpete. People were gathered around to have a bite of their favourite chat from the itinerant chat seller.  As I was about to put the second tikka into my mouth, a sorrowful sight caught my eyes. A ragged old man just arrived, put his horny hands into the waste bin, and started eating the half eaten puris and other stuff thrown by the people. The eye balls become heavy with water. No sooner had I drop the second tikka from my hand, than I ordered a new one for this ragged old man. I made the old man to sit on a stone bench, gave him a newly ordered “Fresh Food”, and also gave him some water.
It’s true that we need to help people in trouble, and this anybody would have done being in my place. Yet, my learning from this incidence is something different! When we brood over our daily life, we see that we complain about a lot of things. Especially, we complain of the food prepared at our homes. The usual tone is - “Amma the food sucks…”, Or to the wife, “No sign of salt or spice, can anyone call this a food, damn!” Now, I do not want to create a melodrama type serial set story to glorify the feats a middle-class woman who is oppressed by the society! This can be anybody’s case. We keep on cribbing about the quality and taste of the food without having regards to the love and efforts gone into making it. The next time we decide to complain about a food, we need to remember that ragged old man, who did not get even one square meal a day! He had to put his hands into the bin containing the left-overs! To survive, he had to live on half-eaten & thrown away food! Remember we have the comforts in having at our tables the “Freshly Cooked Food”.

It is not a good habit to waste food. We see that especially in marriage and other functions, where a lot of food it wasted. Part of this is because people are forced to get served, so much of quantity as is not required by them, in the name of shastras (or customs). Instead, you must take as much as you can eat; as much as your body requires. The rest you must give away in alms to people like the ragged old man. Do not waste food and do not crib about the food at your table! 

The story of Nachiketa

Nachiketa was undefiled, dispassionate, and knowledge-seeking soul. He went to the abode of Yama (the god of dharma/death vaguely) on the instructions of his father. There he waited for 3 days and 3 nights fot the arrival of Yama Dharma without food. His only intention was to meet Yama as told by his father. Yama, after having come to his abode, enquires of the condition of this yound lad Nachiketa. Pleased by his unparalleled determination, Yama asked Nachiketa 3 boons (Varas). He could have asked for never ending pleasures, wealth, power, and what not! 3 boons! Yet, desire did not cling on to this boy. His reverance to his father and his quest for knowledge over took the mind's inclination towards desires. Nachiketa first asked for peace for his father and himself. Yama agreed. Next, Nachiketa wished to learn the sacred fire sacrifice, which also Yama elaborated. For his third boon, Nachiketa asked to learn the mystery of what comes after death. Yama was reluctant on this question. He said that this had been a mystery even to the gods. He asked Nachiketa to ask for some other boon, and offered many material gains. Nachiketa though, was clear. He did not desire for material gains that lasted only till the morrow. He wanted that knowledge that lasted forever; that lasted even after the death of the mortal body. Ultimately, Yama Dharma had to given in. A boy of say 8-10 years of age challenged the great Lord Yama and won over him. He got instructed into that knowledge, which the gods themselves do not get the oppurtunity to learn. Such was his faith, such was his purity, and such was his determination! 

Moral: Anything can be achieved by faith, purity, and determination. 

smile emoticon(From the conversations of Yama and Nachiketa - Katha Upanishad)

Positive Thinking : Sri Rama - The Ideal Man

We often tend to look into the negative things of life. We crib about not having got things as we desire. But the beauty of life lies in looking at the positive side of everything. Sri Rama was a perfect epitome of this character i.e he was able to witness the positive side of everything and about every person. 
Kaiyeki banished Rama from his kingdom, yet he worshipped her as his mother; Dasharatha yielded to the love for his wife over the welfare of his son, yet Rama was all praises for his father and vowed to carry out his wishes; Rama was offered half-eaten berries by Shabari, yet what he saw in it was her "Bhakti"; Hanumantha was 'after all' a monkey for the rest. but for Rama he was 'scholar, warrior, and a good friend'; and many examples come by in the Ramayana. His character reaches the Zenith when he goes to perform penance in repentance of having killed Ravana. This was defnitely not a folly. He had that quality to recognise, that something good existed even in Ravana. Out the 10 heads of Ravana that were severed, 1 head was that of "Wisdom and Bhakti", and severing that head was a mistake that Rama and Rama alone could see. That is why he is called "Purushottama" - The Greatest among men. 

Likewise in our everday life, we see 'good, bad, and the ugly'. We can see miserable things only with a miserable eyes. For beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It is upto to us to acknowledge a good deed or to find a fault.
We see our ancesters viz Sri Rama through this case as a guiding light in our lives. 

India First, Ideologies next, and persons last!

The Pappu parrot keeps on singing one song all the time - "Hum ladayi ladeinge". "Hum inkeliye ladayi ladeinge". "Hu, unkeliye ladayi ladeinge", "Hum sabkeliye ladayi ladeinge", blah...blah...blah... When you say ladayi (Struggle) that means your ladayi is for someone and against someone. In the pre-independent scenario, there were two classes of freedom fighters, one was the non-revolutionary peaceful brigade led by the Gandhi-Nehruvian mentality and the other was the revolutionary brigade consisting of Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose, and the like. Both the groups had made it a point to have a struggle for the Indians and against the British in their own true way. However, in the post-independent scenario the former brigade has lost its mind and the later is sane enough to understand that India is now a free Nation. Even today the leaders inspired by the Gandhi-Nehruvian struggle for freedom keep on chanting their mantra "Hum ladayi ladeinge". Unfortunately, when pappu parrot and all the other right honourable ISO certified politicians say "ladayi" (struggle), the struggle today is for the Indians and against the Indians. They are unable to digest that India is a free, Democratic, Soveriegn, Socialistic, Secular, and Republican nation. The comrades say that they fight for the cause of socialism and secularism, while both are imbibed in the Constitution itself. The Gandhi-Nehruvian brigade say that they fight for Democracy and for secularism. Even that cause is exhausted in realising that those principles are an integral part of the idea of India.

Nay, these politicians who are having a struggle have not yet realised that India is a Free country; they are still in the mentality of the "Opressed" though they live confortable lives enjoying the fundamental rights given by our Constitution.

In light of all these ladayis, let us realise one thing, India is a free and sovereign Nation. Its Unity and integrity is paramount. The idea of 'Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat' is the cardinal force binding all of is. It was Ambedkar who said, "We are Indians Firstly and Lastly". Whatever be your ideology or struggle do not forget that your Indian first. Instead of indulging in unyielding struggles, we can positively contribute to the Nation by taking up some good causes. The struggle must be against poverty, against corruption, and against the societal evils. The struggle today has become thus, "Sanghi V/S Congi", "Sanghi V/S Comrade", and what not! We are failing to realise that may we be sanghis, congis, or comrades, but, we are Indians firstly. When the unity & integrity of India becomes paramount for all Indians, all the other idealogies loose their identity and fall at the feet of mother India.

#JaiHind