My Wanderings - 97 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my father Late Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals Part - 7

My Wanderings - 97                                            Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my Late  father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals         Part - 7

Arjuna - Krishna what is the state of those people , who disregard the commands of the Shastras but do yagas with faith? In which of the three Gunas they are classified. 

Krishna- The faith of all people is of three kinds, depending upon their individual nature.  Although the three Gunas ,sattva, Rajas and Tamas belong to the body and senses but they generate  in the soul, the subtle impressions of previous births (purva janam vasna ) which leads to taste for certain things (Ruchi) . If a person has taste for a thing , he develops faith in it i.e in attaining that thing. So faith also is of three kinds , marked by sattva, rajas and tamas. If a person has sattvik mind, he develops faith in doing satvik type of things and if he has  rajas mind ,  he gets  faith in doing rajas type of works and so on. In other words, the Vasna from previous births creates ruchi for an object and thus the particular guna , sattva, rajas or tamas becomes predominant. Every person is full of faith for particular classes or types of things , depending upon his guna. 

             Persons , who have sattva guna and sattvika faith , worship the Devas,  by doing yagas etc. with out any desire for fruits and knowing that the lord is the inner soul of these Devas. They get extreme happiness , with out any pain or misery. 

Those who have a rajas guna , worship yakhshas and rakhshasas. People who are having the tamoguna worship dead bodies and bhutas, who serve Rudra etc.

The faith arising from rajoguna  results only in slight happiness, mixed with pain. The faith arising from tamoguna results only in very slight happiness but severe and excessive pain.

      Those people who perform terrible and difficult tapas , but not ordained by the shastras , perform with very great effort yagas etc. Which are not prescribed by shastras , are only interested in showing off to others,  that they are righteous people and only they can perform such a difficult yagas to achieve the desired results. They work against my commands . They do not get any happiness and fall into impure hell.

             Even the food   which is dear to all beings, is of three kinds, being connected with the three Gunas. Similarly , the yajna , tapas and giving of gifts are also of three kinds as per the Gunas. 

              The yajna, which is performed by people with out desire for fruits, with the firm conviction that it should be done ,as worship of the Lord, as prescribed in shastras with appropriate mantras and materials. Such a yajna is of satvik type. That yajna which is performed with a desire for fruits, performed for earning name and fame from others, such yajna is of rajas type. 

The yajna which is done , without the permission of Brahmins , who are learned , with out  using  proper materials ,without  chanting proper mantras and with out proper faith . Such yajna is called tamsa type.

            The acts of yajnas, tapas prescribed in vedas always begun after chanting 'OM' . The Vedas are also begun after chanting OM.

Vedas and vedic rituals , like yajna, tapas etc. are all connected with Om.The people who read the vedas are also connected with Om as they study the vedas after chanting OM.

People fit to recite Vedas , who desire only Moksha and not any other fruit do the various acts of reciting vedas, doing yajnas or tapas after uttering the word ' Tath '.

Such vedic rituals are helpful in attaining me, the lord. So these acts are denoted by word Tath , which is the name of lord. ( Tath is one of the thousand names  in vishnu sahastrinaam).

The word ' SAT ' is used in the Vedas , and also in the world , to denote existence and auspiciousness . In this world also, if some auspicious or praiseworthy work is done by a person, people call it as a 'sat karma ' i.e good work. The word' Sat ' is used for Vedic Karmas, by those whose object is  not Moksha but other fruits like swarga , wealth and prosperity.

             Then Arjuna  requests Shrikrishna to tell him about the difference between Tyaga and Sanyasa as both have been declared in veda as means to Moksha . Are they same or different.

Krishna - Some scholars say that Sanyasa means giving up the performance of all 'Kamya' karmas, which are not compulsory and which are done to achieve worldly desires. Not doing the Kamya karma is not sin. Some other wise people say that tyaga means giving up the fruits of all works, whether they are compulsory like nitya and naimitika karma or optional like Kamya karmas. However, both the words Sanyasa and the Tyaga have the same meaning.  

Yajna , giving of gifts and tapas etc.which have been prescribed in the vedas , should never be given up by a person , who desires Moksha , but should be done daily till death . They are connected with the caste and ashrama , brahamchari grahasti etc. The performance of such yajnas etc. destroys the previous karmas of a person who desires Moksha. 

          Actually Tyaga means giving up the sense of doership , attachment and fruits in regard to karmas and not giving up the Karmas themselves. It is not for any living person , who has to maintain the body, to give up work completely. He has to eat, for which he has to do work and earn. So work can not be given up. 

          Arjuna learn from me the five causes , which are responsible for producing all actions , as taught in the Vedas. The five causes are 1.Body 2.Doer, i.e Soul 3. Five senses of action i.e Karama indriyas  and the mind 4.five fold prana moving about in the body and  5. Supreme Brahmin. Of the five causes mentioned above , the fifth cause i.e Supreme Brahman , who is the internal ruler of all ,is the principal cause , in carrying out the work.

           The karma or work which is done  in accordance with one's caste and ashrama , as prescribed in the shastras,  with out desire of fruits like swarga , without thinking that he is the doer and that the work belongs to him, without desire for fame and praise from others , not because of aversion to criticism by others , if the work is not done, with out pomp and show , with the firm belief that karma has to be done as a duty, such a karma is called sattvika. 

That work which is done with a desire for fruits , wrongly thinking he is the doer, thinking with pride that the work, which requires a great deal of exertion,  is being done by him only , such karma is called rajas. 

That karma which is started by delusion,  thinking that he is the doer, not knowing that the Lord actually gets the thing done through   him , without considering the pain which follows from the work done , loss of wealth in doing the work,  injury caused to other beings and without knowing his own capacity to do the work . Such work is called tamsa.

               According to vedic teachings Lord Narayana is the supreme Brahman, having innumerable auspicious qualities like knowledge , strength valour and so on, all of which are excellent and unbounded. He alone is to be known from all Vedas and Vedanta . He alone is the cause of the universe . All works mentioned in the Vedas constitute His worship . He alone grants all the worldly fruits and mokhsha I.e dharma, artha, Kama and mokhsha . 

The supreme Lord , the Narayana , who rules over all, dwells in the region of heart of all beings. He mounts all beings on the machine, which is in the form of body and indriyas  (these are modification of Prakriti ) and revolves them round and round .How?

All beings have three Gunas,  sattva, rajas and tamas, in different proportions , based on their past karmas. The Lord makes them act   according to their Gunas,  by means of Prakriti and thus revolves them round and round in world.. Since the prakriti can not be conquered by your own efforts seek refuge in me alone , with all your heart and soul.

                      There are three stages in the development of devotion or worship of God. The first stage is called Parabhakti , which means excellent and excessive devotion to the Lord, after obtaining from Shastras , the true knowledge about the Lord and his greatness. Such a devotion leads to an intense desire to have a direct vision of the Lord. Then by God's grace,

 the devotee gets a direct vision of the Lord . This is the second stage called the Para- gyana . After this stage , it is impossible for the devotee , to bear further separation from the Lord. This is the third stage of devotion called paramabhakti which is brought about by the supreme devotion to the lord. After this, by the Lord's grace, he attains the Lord.

Om tat sat bramho .

Lastly , while giving tribute to my Late father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul , who lived a purposeful life according to the ideals and practice of Shrimad Bhagwath Gita , Vedas and other related shastras   and with extreme devotion to the Lord . His life was a fair mix of Karma yoga, gyan yoga and Bhakhti yoga. He was  an epitome of Tyaga . He had given up sense of doership of works, possession of property and attachment towards fruits of karma ,  without leaving  karmas themselves. Having a sattvik personality , his tyaga was also sattvik. He remained a Parambhakhta of Lord till  the last breath of his life. Shrikrishna says in Shrimadbhagwadgita that he  who remembers me at the last moment of his life, attains me only. 

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My Wanderings - 96 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understand it to rediscover my Late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals Part- 6

My Wanderings - 96       

                                           ShrimadBhagwathgita as I understand it to rediscover my Late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals    

                                  Part- 6

            Krishna says, The vedas describe this world as a Peepal tree. The tree is indestructible with its roots upwards and branches downwards. The roots of the tree are upwards,  because the source of creation for all beings is Bramha , who is residing above. The branches of  world tree are downwards , because it ends with those living on  the earth , like human beings animals and trees etc. This tree of world can not be destroyed easily because it is in the nature of a continuous stream of creation , the cycle of repeated births and deaths , till the soul attains liberation.

                     The world tree grows i.e people grow with the help of rituals , as prescribed in the Vedas for achieving desired fruits . So vedas are called leaves of the tree, since tree grows with the help of leaves. He who knows this world tree , knows the Vedas.  The Vedas describe the method of cutting off this tree of world. Knowledge about the nature of tree is useful to know  the method of cutting the tree. 

               The branches of the tree spread below , first  in the shape of Devas and then  humans, animals, birds and trees and so on as per their  past karmas . These branches are nourished and grow because of the activities of three Gunas Sattava, Rajas and Tamas. The sense objects like scenes and  music are like the tender leaves of the tree, pleasing to look at. 

              The above form of the world tree is not understood properly by ordinary human beings in world , devoid of proper knowledge. Similarly , ordinary persons do not understand that non attachment to pleasurable things results in the end of world tree. It is not also understood that attachment to the three Gunas and the pleasure objects causes the origin and beginning of this world tree.    Ignorance , mistaking body for the soul forms support for this world tree. Because of such ignorance people do all actions by which they are repeatedly born and thus nourishing this world tree. 

                         For destroying ignorance , delusion and attachment one should take refuge in Me , the lord who is the beginning of all things. This soul is an eternal part of myself but it remains in this world because of past karmas for which soul takes on  the bodies of Devas, men and other beings.

                  Thus I am well established in the hearts of all beings . I exercise complete control over everything,  by my will. The memory of all beings, comes from me only, since I am the inner soul of all. Similarly , knowledge of all beings arises from Me. Knowledge is understanding something truly. I am also responsible for the loss of knowledge and loss of memory in beings. I alone am to be known from all the vedas . I am the ruler and inner soul of Agni, moon, air, sun, Indra and other Devas . 

                    The following qualities will be found in godly persons ,who are born to carry the commands of lord.

1. Fearless ness 

2. Purity of mind when Sattva guna is present free from Rajas and Tamas.

3.Firmly established in the knowledge of Soul , as different from Prakrati and body. 

4. Giving honestly earned wealth , as gift to deserving people. 

5. Controlling the mind from wandering towards sense objects. 

6. Performing actions without desire for fruits. 

7. Studying the Vedas 

8. Straightforwardness i.e oneness of thought , word and deed in dealing with others. Not like praising some body outwardly and hating him inwardly . 

9. Ahamsa i.e not injuring others . 

10. Freedom from anger, i.e not hurting others. 

11. Giving up possession of things.

12.controlling senses from attachment to the sense  objects. 

13. Compassion towards all other beings .

14. Sense of shame in doing wrong things.

15. Not having pride about one's birth, learning or wealth. 

16. Not desiring enjoyments of pleasure objects.

17.Fitness for company of good people , being of gentle manners. 

18. Great mental power , not being overcome by wicked people.

19. Forgiving others , even while undergoing suffering caused by them. 

20. Not preventing others from doing their normal work. 

                                 Actually there are two types of people, who perform good and bad deeds, the godly people and the devilish people.

                  Desire , anger and greed are the three bad qualities which lead a person to devilish nature . They ruin the soul i.e make a person unfit to realise his soul. Therefore,  one must give up these three bad qualities to avoid getting into devilish nature which can be  like hell. 

One who has escaped from these three i.e desire, anger and greed , which are the ways to darkness and produce perverse knowledge about myself, such a person works for the good of his soul. Having gained knowledge about myself , he makes efforts to worship me and reaches finally the Supreme goal,  which is Myself. 

So Arjuna, you should understand the truth , explained in the shastras , as mentioned above. You should not have any doubt or confusion about this. You should do here only such things , which are prescribed in the Shastras. 

              My late Father Dr. Sham Lal Kaul was also bestowed ,in  abundance,   with the  qualities of   godly people , as discussed above by Shrikrishna. I beleive that he might  have achieved such qualities due to  the constant attachment with knowlege and practice of Shrimad Bhagwathgita for decades together. 

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To be concluded

My Wanderings - 95 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals Part -5

My Wanderings - 95 

  

  Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it to rediscover my Late  father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals        Part -5

           Then Krishna tells further to Arjuna , The body is called a field or khetra,  because the various actions  good or bad are done by this body directed by the soul. The fruits of such actions  in the form of good things and bad things etc.are also experienced by this body . The soul experiences the fruits by means of body. So the soul , which experiences, is different from the body, which is the field or place of experience. The wise people call him , who knows the above fact, as the knower of field or Khetrjana . Thus the soul is called khetrjana. The soul which knows the body as this is my leg etc. Is the knower . The body is the object known by soul. Just as a person who knows an object is different from that object, the soul is different from body. 

                 Know me as the inner soul of the jivatma (khetrajna) residing in all the bodies, like those of Devas and men . Similarly, the khetras or bodies of all beings and men have also  'Me' as their inner soul . The lord is therefore, the inner soul of all chetans and achetans . The body can not exist without soul. When the soul leaves the body , the body dies. Similarly the body and the soul cannot exist independently of their inner soul i.e Me, the lord. 

            The khetra i.e body forms the base or place for the soul to experience desire, hatred,  pleasure or pain . 

The following good qualities are helpful in attaining real knowledge about the soul.

1.Freedom from arrogance 2.Having a calm mind even towards people who cause injury to him .3. Not desiring the pleasure objects that are enjoyed by the senses. 4. Freedom from attachment to material objects 5. Absence of intense affection for son, wife , house and such things 6. Single minded firm devotion to Me, without desiring any material fruits and without worshipping any body else. 

               The vedas declare that Supreme Brahman is without hands and feet . But everywhere he does all the work which is done by hands and feet. With out eyes,  he sees . With out ears, he hears. The jivatmas after liberation attains highest similarity with the lord I.e it can go everywhere, it can see everything , it can hear everything and so on.The soul as already said is atomic in nature but after liberation , its knowledge becomes infinite , like that of lord.   It pervades everything in universe. The liberated jivatma , out of it's own free will, remains with out a body or can assume one body or many other bodies at the same time. 

The Prakrati , having evolved into the form of a body , in association with the soul, becomes the cause of world , because of desire , hatred and such other bad qualities . The same prakrati , with good qualities like freedom from arrogance etc. becomes the cause of salvation. 

The soul, in its essential nature, enjoys itself and gets extreme happiness . But the soul , in association with Prakriti i.e after assuming  body experiences pleasure and pain , which are the effects of the qualities sativa, rajas and tamas. These qualities also evolve from Prakrati. The soul in association with the bodies of deva man etc.gets attached to three Gunas. If sattva predominates it does good deeds resulting in punya and if rajas and tamas predominates , it does bad deeds resulting in papa. Then for the purpose of experiencing the results of punya and papa , the soul is 'born' again in good and evil  bodies . There again , it does good or bad activities and is born again to experience the fruits of these activities. This endless cycle of births and deaths goes on , till the soul gets liberated by adopting suitable means , like Bhakti Yoga. So the soul taking on  good or evil bodies is due to  its attachment to the three Gunas sattva, rajas and tamas due to which it performs good or bad deeds

.

            Then Krishna tells Arjuna about the Prakrati, which is like a womb from which the whole universe comes out. In this womb of prakriti , I , the lord , put the seed , consisting of infinite number of souls. In other words I unite souls with Prakriti . From that union comes the birth of all beings  from Bramah to blade of grass. I unite the souls with various types of bodies , depending upon their past karmas. 

Sattava, Rajas and Tamas are Gunas or qualities , which belong to Prakrati and arise from Prakrati. By its essential nature the soul, is not associated with these Gunas, but because the soul resides in the bodies of Devas,  men etc. , the gunas which belong to the bodies , bind the soul also. 

         The sattva guna is free from impurity. It produces true knowledge about everything . It produces sound health free from disease. So such person does good activities and consequently ,he is born again, in superior bodies to enjoy the fruits for him. Thus the sattva guns causes repeated births in superior bodies and binds himself in this world. The Rajas guna causes desire for sense objects and thereby rajasguna binds soul by desire to do activities for attaining happiness, rather than on the goal of happi ess itself.             A person in rajas thus does activities , resulting in punya and Papa.  In this way he is involved in endless cycle of births and deaths. Tamas is caused by ignorance I.e wrong knowledge about a thing which causes a person doing evil deeds. Besides it leads to  dullness of mind, lethargy and laziness. This again results in  Papa and leads to repeated births and deaths. The three Gunas Sattvik, Rajas and Tamas are in the prakriti , which evolves into the body.

        A person , who transcends these three Gunas,  who sees soul is different from the Gunas and is of the sole full of knowledge , he is freed from the sorrows of birth,death and old age. He enjoys immortal soul. He who has transcended the three Gunas is indifferent to all things, other than realization of the soul.He realises that the Gunas function in their normal sphere in producing their knowledge , activity and delusion and remains silent. He does not exert himself in such things which are the effects of the Gunas.  He remains engaged only in realisation of his soul. Because his sole love in  atma, he does not get joy from the birth of sons or sorrow due to death of his sons etc. He treats mud , stone and gold as the same and worthless. He treats equally both  pleasant  and unpleasant things. He is indifferent towards honour or dishonour , respect or disrespect shown by others realizing that they do not affect the soul in any way. He treats his friend and enemy in the same manner. He has given up all efforts to attain all desirable objects , other than his soul. The person who worships me with single minded devotion and intense love , who does not worship any other deva, who does not desire any other fruits and who adopts Bhakti yoga transcends these three Gunas.  I see to this because my will is true, I am extremely compassionate and I am an ocean of affection towards those , who seek refuge in me.

                Now referring to my  Late father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul  ,  I consider that his personality was predominated by sattvic Guna only ,  but after visualizing his  close resemblance with the character of persons who have transcended the three Gunas as described by Shrikrishna ,I can perceive that he had also transcended the three Gunas i.e Sattvic, Rajas and Tamas to a large extent.

Om tat sat bramho.

To be Concluded ..........

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My Wanderings - 94 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as understood by me to rediscover my Late Father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals. Part 4

My Wanderings - 94                                                   Shrimad Bhagwathgita as understood by me to rediscover my late Father Dr.Sham Lal Kaul, who was an ardent follower and personification of its ideals .                                  Part - 4

Krishna says further  to Arjuna, you love me and you are very happy on hearing my greatness . Listen carefully to my extremely valuable words, which I shall speak to you , for the sake of your welfare. 

I am different from achetans , because I do not keep on changing like achetans .

I am different from chetans in world because chetans are born with a new body and die to leave the body . But I am not subject to such births and deaths.

I am also different from chetans , which are liberated I.e which have attained Kaivalya or Moksha. But I was never born in this world , like these chetans.

So I am completely different from all groups of chetans and achetans . I do not have any birth at any time.

                    From beginningless times I am never born. I am the great Lord of all Lords of the world. Even Bramha , the creator , belongs to the category of beings in world. Due to past extreme punya , he has become Bramha . The seven great Rishis , viz. Brighu and others were born from the mind of Bramha for creation of beings in the universe. These human beings are all therefore descendants of the Rishis. These Rishis are all under my control and obey my will.

               Such people who desire to be in constant union with me and who worship me . I with love and affection give them intellect leading to bhakti, so they attain me with out delay.

             I am the soul or atma seated in the hearts of all beings, who constitute my body . The soul supports the body , controls the body . So I , as the soul of all beings support all beings , control all beings, I am the cause of their origin, maintenance and dissolution. 

                        Then Shrikrishna , who is the Supreme Bhrahman , Narayana , showed to Arjuna ,his Supreme sovereign form, which is the controller of the universe , and on which the entire universe depends. It was the Virat  sarupa. The Lord was having many mouths and eyes, many wonderful aspects, many divine ornaments and divine weapons held erect. He was having divine garlands and dress with divine perfumes , full of all wonders shining infinite ( limit less both in space and time) and with faces in all directions . There Arjuna saw the whole universe consisting of all chetans and achetans remaining in one portion of his body. The chetans were divided into Brahma, other Devas, animals, men, immovable objects and the like. Arjuna also saw in the Lord's body earth, heaven and other similar worlds. Again all the objects of enjoyments were also there. Then Arjuna bowed his head before the Lord and said, I see in your body all the Devas Bramha , Siva , who is in Bramha ( Siva who acts as per wishes of Bramha) rishis and shining stars like Vasuki and Takshaka. You are the indestructible supreme Brahman , as pointed out in Upnishdas . You support this universe . You are unchangeable and not liable to decline. You protect the vedic dharma, by taking avatars like this i.e Krishna . I now realise , krishna, by direct perception, that you are of this Supreme nature. All the fourteen worlds, the space between earth and heaven and all the directions are pervaded by you alone. Seeing you pervading everything, infinite in magnitude and extremely wonderful and terrible, my limbs have become weak and my senses are shaken up. All these sons of Dhritrashtra with all the kings on their side , Bhishma , Dhrona and Karna along with some important warriors from our side also enter with speed into your mouths and getting destroyed.  

         Then Shrkrishna replies to Arjuna, I showed you this terrible form only to impress upon you that I myself have decided to destroy the kings in the Kaurva army . So you are only an instrument in killing them, by fighting this war. All these people on the opposite side , who have committed wrong , have already been killed by me. You need not to feel sorry to fight the war , out of the love for relatives or out of pity. Therefore,  fight without any doubt. You will conquer the enemies in the war. There is absolutely nothing wrong in killing them.

              Then Arjuna  asks Shrikrishna that some people desire to be united with you , holding you alone as the supreme object of attainment. There are some others , who meditate on the soul, which is indestructible and can't be seen with naked eye. Of these two types of people , who reach sooner their goal. 

Then Krishna replies to Arjuna  , Those who fix their minds always on me , because of My being exceedingly dear to them, who worship me with supreme faith and who are eager to have eternal union with me , such people, attain me , the Supreme goal, easily and very soon. So, they are the best among those who try to realise their goal. I lift such people from the deadly ocean of world of  births and deaths , with out delay.

                 A person who controls well his senses or Indriyas , who sees all souls as equal because they are solely of the form of knowledge , whether they are in the bodies of Devas or other beings . Who is interested in the welfare of all beings and he who  becomes unhappy if other beings suffer. such a person who mediates on the soul in this manner , also realises the soul. The soul in its liberated state , has the same auspicious qualities as Myself, like being free from births and deaths. 

             As a first step give up the fruits of your actions . Only when all the sins have been destroyed , a person develops the mind which holds me exceedingly dear , and which sees me , as the only object of attainment. Perform all works without attachment to fruits , as a form of my worship and for the sake of my pleasure . Then you will be able to successfully meditate on the soul after controlling the mind. By such a meditation all ignorance and delusions like mistaking the body for the soul, will be destroyed. After that, you will see that the individual soul is solely dependent on me. By this knowledge, you will then get supreme devotion to me .

             The person  who does bhakti yoga to attain Me , is far superior to one who meditates on the Soul, because Bhakti yoga is more pleasant to do and fruit also( i.e Myself ) is the highest. 

                 Then Arjuna asks  Shrikrishna to define the characteristics of person who has equanimity of mind and  is dear to you . To  this Shrikrishna replies , one who is not envious but is kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego , who is equal in both happiness and distress,  who is tolerant , always satisfied , self controlled and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on me, such a devotee of of mine is very dear to me.

( In the last paragraph of this write up I can match the characteristics of my Late father Dr. Sham Lal Koul, as described by Shrikrishan of the people  having equanimity of mind and dear to him and that is the reason why I entitled this 'SHRIMAD BHAGHWATGITA as  understood by me  to rediscover my father.'

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to be concluded......

My Wanderings - 93 Shrimad Bhaghwatgita as I understood it Part -3

My Waderings - 93

Shrimad Bhagwatgita as I understood it 

to rediscover my Father Late  Dr.Sham Lal Kaul who was an  ardent lover of it.

Part -3 

              Shrikrishna taught earlier about the vision of the true nature of the soul . This can be achieved by doing karma yoga, after having the true knowledge about soul . This realization of true knowledge of the soul is necessary to adopt Bhakti yoga , which is the means for attaining the supreme goal, Narayana , who is the sole cause of the universe , who is omniscient , who is eternal  controller of everything and who has everything for his body .

 

             Then Shrikrishna tells Arjuna about himself and also about his distinctive form and how he is different from all living and nonliving things. The matter or Prakriti is divided into eight principles as Earth, Water, Fire , Air, ether (Akasha ), Mind , Intellect and Ego . You must know that all these eight principles and also other things like Tan matras which constitute sense of  taste , smell, sight, sound and   touch etc. , Gyan indeiyas and karma indriyas belong to me only. 

                The nonliving(Achetana) prakrati is actually inferior to the living one like (Chetana )or soul , but both belong to me . It is the soul that sustains and supports the body . The nonliving things are objects of enjoyment and living things enjoy them.

                All beings , starting from Bramha downwards to grass are born out of the combination of chetana and achetana . The chetna I.e soul takes the body of deva, man , animal etc. In accordance with their past karma . Both chetans and achetans belong to me and thus everything is mine.

There is nothing greater or higher than me . I am the highest,  being the cause of both chetans and achetans . They all merge in me in a very subtle form during  Maha pralaya  and evolve out of me after the  Mahapralaya. So I am the cause of everything. I am the Supreme person , possessing knowledge ,Power, strength and such other qualities . So, there is no one, who is superior to Me. Since everything forms my body , and I am the inner soul of all beings, I alone exist. 

             I am the special taste in water. I am the brightness in the moon and sun. I am the pranava , the OM in all the vedas. I am the sound in ether or Akasa. I am the potent force in men . I am pleasant smell in the earth and the heat in the fire. All the things that exist in this world is dependent on me but I am not dependent on them.

                       Some people worship me  for obtaing wealth and luxuries I.eAaishwarya .  some others worship me  to realise  the pure and real nature of soul. This state is called Kaivalya . A few wise men who know me and my greatness desire to attain Me only , as the highest object of attainment . 

The wise man who wants me only is the highest form of devotee because other two categories of people consider me means to achieve their goals  and they remain attached to me only till attainment of their desires.    I am extremely dear to such a man, who wants me only,  and he is also extremely dear to me. 

                      I take my human form during avatars out of my own free will and kindness,  so that people may take refuge in me . But the foolish people get deluded by my outer form . They think that I am also just like any one of them. Hence such people don't know I am the Supreme person. 

         The three types of people as already explained who want 1. Luxuries ie Ashwarya 

2. Realization of soul I.e Kaivalya

 3. Who desire to attain me , the  Lord only .

People who want Aishwarya should know Adhibhuta and Adhideva . 

The people who want vision of pure soul separated from Prakrati I.e Kaivalya should know three things 1. Brahman 2. Adhiyatma 3.karma .

All the categories of people mentioned above should know Adhiyajna and also remember me, the Lord at the time of death. 

        Then Arjuna asks Shrikrishna to explain him regarding the terms Brahman, Adhyatma , Karma , Adhibuta , Adhidaiva and Adhiyajna . 

Then Krishna replies that Brahman is the soul in its state of purity, free from Prakrati . As soul is eternal and indestructible , it is called a Brahman , as a matter of courtesy . The real Brahman is myself , the Supreme Lord .

One's own nature , dwelling with the soul is called Adhyatma. The five elements or panch bhutas like air,fire, water,earth and akasa in their subtle form remain with the soul even after death when  it goes to swarga and so on . These subtle elements leave the soul only when he attains Moksha. So this Adhyatma consists of subtle elements and subtle impressions Vasna ,which are carried from previous births. They remain attached to the soul. A person who seeks Kaivalya I.e vision of his pure soul , should know both this brahman i.e Soul and the Adhyatma. The Brahman has to be attained and the Adhyatma has to be given up. 

The discharge of the creative fluid by man from the Male organ in to the body of female beings is called Karma. So this Karma should be regarded by the seeker of Kaivalya as hate worthy , mean and should be avoided. The Adhibuta means panch bhutas or five elements along with subtle elements Tan mantras viz.sound, touch ,sight ,taste and smell attached to them . These are all changeable and perishable . So persons who seek wealth i.e Ashwarya should understand and attain them, which will give them superior but temporary pleasure. 

The Pursha is the individual Soul or Jivatma . He is called Adhidevta  because he becomes superior to all the Devas like Indra and Prajapati. He also enjoys and gets superior pleasures than indira and Prajapati because of worshiping me the Supreme  Lord. So the seeker after wealth, the Ashwarya should understand and mediate on Adhidevta. 

Adhiyajna means one, who  is the object of worship through yajnas. 

So I , the lord , am known as Adhiyajna . Indra and other Devas constitute my body and I am their inner soul. So I am the person who is actually worshiped by Yajnas. 

Summing up , 

1. The seeker of Aishwarya should know Adhibhuta , Adhidaivita and Adhiyajna.

2. The seeker of Kaivalya should know Brahman, Adhyatma , karma and Adhiyajna.

3. The seeker of Lord should know Adhiyajna .

 A person who at the time of death , thinks of Me alone and gives up the body and departs from this world, he attains my state i.e my Nature. 

          Then Shrikrishna tells Arjuna, the main secret of attaining the Supreme Lord through Bhakti yoga. Th Supreme Lord i.e Shrikrishna can be even directly perceived , when worshipped with extreme devotion. Bhakti means worshipping the lord with devotion. So, Bhakti itself,  being in the nature of always thinking about the lord, brings bliss and happiness.People who do not have faith and eagerness to practise this Bhakti , although they are fit to do so, do not attain me.It is the means for attaining me. By not doing this Bhakti yoga , such people do not attain me.

               Besides worshipping me they also take efforts in doing works connected with me , like construction of my temples, flower gardens and so on. With loving devotion they prostrate before me in the temples etc.They thus prostrate on the earth like stick with out caring for the dust, mud ,stones etc. on the ground. Thus knowing me as the inner soul of all chetans and achetans , the great people worship me. Those who worship me, attain me. I am without beginning and end . I am omniscient . I am an ocean of innumerable auspicious  qualities . My bliss and happiness are unbounded . After attaining me and such endless bliss , such people do not return to world. Om tat sat Bramha.

To be concluded

My Wanderings - 92 Shrimad Bhagwathgita as I understood it . Part - 2

My Wanderings -92

Shrimad Baghwat Gita as I understood it

Part - 2

                Then Srikrishna says  further to Arjuna, " A person does various activities . He also knows the true nature of soul , as an agent of these activities, done by the will of lord.  So he has this knowledge while doing Karma . In other words he sees knowledge in karma .Similarly, a person who meditates on his soul , also does the prescribed actions . So he sees and does karma in knowledge I.e while meditating on the soul. So , a person who sees knowledge in karma and who sees karma in knowledge is really the wise person , who is also fit to attain Moksha. 

                     A person should not have any desire for fruits . He should have his mind and intellect firmly under control . He should give up the feeling of possession and ownership , in regard to the material objects which he possesses. Such a person does not incur any sin . He does not get involved in world, by doing work , necessary for maintaining the body and the like. He sees the soul by karma yoga of this kind , with out the aid of Gyana yoga. 

             He should not have hatred towards others. He should realise that whatever unpleasant thing has happened to him is due to his own past karmas and others are not responsible for the same.

        A person should  be clear in mind that soul is not the cause of his own actions . It is the body only , which is the cause of his actions. His mind should  also realise  that soul is not the doer and we do work only because of association with the body, as a result of past karmas . Thus realizing the soul is it's own master and is at peace. It neither does any actions nor does it get the actions done through the body .

              The people performing the yoga , give up attachment to swarga and such other temporary fruits.They do such work which can be done by the body, the mind , the intellect and the senses to attain the purification of soul I.e for destroying the bondage of past karmas. It is this past karmas which stand in realization of the true nature of soul. 

              Then ShriKrishna describes the true nature of the liberated soul , which is not bound by karmas I.e which is liberated from the bondage of samsara ; is such that it does not make efforts to do a thing. It does not do works . It does not also get attached to the fruits of its actions. 

People who have a steady desire , to realise the soul , who regularly practice for the realization of soul , who regard this realization as their highest goal in life, such people get their previous sins washed away by such a knowledge and finally attain the soul, from where there is no return. The soul is called Brahman here, out of respect and courtesy,  because, in it's pure liberated state , the soul attains all the auspicious qualities of Supreme  Lord.

           A person who understands the true nature of soul sees no difference in mud , stone and gold. He also does not see any difference in  Friends and enemies .In the developed stage of yoga , the person realizes his similarity with me I.e Lord  on account of his soul also being of uncontracted knowledge , when liberated like mine. He worships me firmly as existing in all beings .   A person by constantly fixing his mind on me , the supreme Brahman as the auspicious object of meditation with his mind well controlled and purified by thinking about me only, attains everlasting peace and bless as  is established in me . At this stage , a person knowing the similarity between all the souls , sees happiness or  sorrow as the same everywhere. He is as happy to see happiness of others as his own and  in the same way sorrow of others as his own . 

              A person who worships me , the supreme Brahman with intense love , will and devotion ,whose mind is directed towards me and is totally absorbed in me , who is unable to bear the pangs of separation from me , even for a moment,  because of my being very dear to him . He is considered by me worthiest among yogis  of all kinds. 

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To be concluded ...

My Wanderings - 91 Shrimad Bhagwat Gita as I understood it Part - 1

My Wanderings - 91

Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, as I understood it. Part- 1

In the battle of Mahabarta , SriKrishna had become charioteer of Arujuna out of love and affection  for him . Arjuna tells  Shrikrishna to bring the chariot in the middle of two armies so that he can have the glimpse of warriors  who want to fight against him . While  reaching there he found Drona , Bhishma and kaurvas ready with all their weapons to fight with him . He gets nervous  with compassion and tells Shrikrishna that he does not want to  fight with Bishma and Drona who are respectable for him . Moreover even if kaurvas are   wicked  but still they are his cousins.  He does not want to win and enjoy the luxuries of kingdom after smearing his hands with their blood. He tells krishna that it is better to  resort to begging rather than killing his teachers and relatives.

On listening to these words of Arjuna , Shrikrishna smiles and replies to Arjuna 

Oh Arjuna ! "why are you so grieved over those  things which don't deserve your grief"? " As you don't have the knowledge of difference between soul and body that is why you are grieving over such filmsy grounds".To tell you the fact SOUL and BODY are two different entities . Body is made from prakrati which is composed of panch Bhutas i.e Soil, water, air, fire and sky. The body is  also perishable.  The body has various parts like head ,arms legs etc. which can be cut into pieces and destroyed by any out side agency .while as Soul is atomic in nature . It does not have parts like body and hence can not be cut into pieces  . It is eternal and can not be effected  by out side agencies like fire air or water . Neither  fire can burn it nor Water can wet it or air can dry it .The soul is thus indestructible.  The eternal soul is endowed with body to enjoy the fruits of past karmas I.e to  undergo pains and pleasures as the result of past karmas . When the body which is perishable in nature  gets destroyed , the soul attains new body sometimes inferior and  sometimes superior as per the past karmas of person . 

              As our bodies change in shape  constantly from child hood to youth and  to old age thereafter , in the same way after perishing of one body soul takes another body,  which is called death by foolish persons. But wise persons don't grieve over it. As a person changes his clothes so soul changes different bodies and that should not be reason of regret for wise persons  .  It is inevitable to mention  here  that  all the souls of living beings belong to me  and have no difference but bodies where they dewel may be different like those of Devas , Human beings , animals birds insects and plants etc.  The bodies are attained by the soul as per  their past karmas. If the past karmas are good , a soul can attain superior bodies of Devas or human beings . Here in this battle i.e Dharmudha you are not going to kill your opponents but only separating their souls from their bodies . By doing this action you may even  be doing favour  to them as they have now chances of attaining superior bodies after leaving their old bodies .

                   Moreover, as per your caste I.e khatriya it is your duty to fight against your opponents with out thinking whether you win or lose this battle  . Both the ways you have a  win a win position  . If you lose this battle  you will get swarga or even better place  i.e Moksha from this birth and death cycle  and if you win this battle you  will enjoy all the luxuries of kingdom . Now out of compassion if you don't fight this war , the present and future generations will consider you coward, who ran away from the battle field . 

        The knowledge about body and soul is known as Gyana yoga in vedanta .Then Arjuna asks Krishna when  Gyan yoga is sufficient to realise salvation,   then why do you involve me in these criminal  actions where I have to kill my kiths and kins . Then Shrikrisha replies to Arjuna that  it is very difficult to realise Gyana  yoga  and needs lot of meditation , practice and  blessings of almighty I.e me. While practising this yoga we need to have complete control over our  senses I.e Gyan indriyas  which are five in number I.e smell by nose , sight by eyes , touch by hands or body, taste by tongue  and listening through ears  . Our object of realizing soul should not get diverted by these senses. 

                   A person who desires liberation from this bondage of samsara I.e a person who desires Moksha should practise  the Karma Yoga with determination after knowing the true nature of soul in detail. The  karma yoga is little easier than Gyana yoga and with out obstacles  , which leads  us  automatically   to Gyan yoga with constant practice in due course of time .Moreover, karma yoga is superior to Gyan yoga . Even if a person is fit for doing Gyana yoga . Karma yoga is better for him also.  A person should practise Karma yoga and thereby earn the Lords pleasure . Then his past sins are destroyed. He is able to bring his gunas under control.   He becomes pure in mind and senses . Then he becomes fit to Gyana yoga . 

              Further knowledge of true nature of soul is included in karma yoga itself  . The soul has to be meditated upon , as not the doer of actions but controlled by the lord. Actually gyan yoga and karma yoga are interrelated but a person practising gyan yoga only can not do away with karma yoga .   Soul and body together  constitute an  individual  who  by nature has to do some action to satisfy his basic needs which he performs by his Karam indriyas I.e arms, legs, mouth ,excretion and reproductive parts . He can not even sustain his body if he does not do any action .  I am the lord myself , I have achieved everything .There is nothing which remains unacheived  by me. But still I work to keep myself busy and for setting an example for other people to follow. According to shastaras there are three types of karmas which an individual has to do .They are Niti karma , Nimiti karmas and Kamya karmas.

        Niti karma constitute  early morning sandya vandana , Nimiti karma are jal Tarpan to pitras and devas especially during eclipse period.  Lastly the Kamya karma are done for earning money and luxuries in life and then swarga after death . The first two karmas are mandatory  but the third karma is optional,  but has to be done because with out that karma first two karmas that are mandatory remain incomplete because we need money  for performing yajnas and nourishing of our bodies with the remnants of those yajnas .

                 But we should not get attached to those karmas which provide us wealth and luxuries .We should attribute those karmas to the almighty as if we are doing all our karmas for the sake of lord.  That is a sort of Mukhti from karam bandhan as well as doing Nishkam karma . So all these Karmas should be performed by you , as a form of worshipping Me, the lord . You should do them for the pleasure of the Lord. You will then aatain salvation in due course. 

            Attainment of Swarga should not be ultimate aim of an individual because if a person attains  even Swarga  ,  he has to leave it  after some time and undergo  birth and death cycle again and again.His aim should be to attain Moksha from birth and death cycle  and his ultimate aim should be to attain paramatma the lord I.e me .  As per adaivta philosophy the soul dwelling  in every person belongs to lord and  has an contract form of the lord almighty embedded therein which a person has to realise  and get merged with  me, the almighty  . 

           Then Arjuna asks Shrikrishna if the ultimate aim of an individual is to get emerged with almighty that is you,through Bakhti yoga ,  then why there are various options given in vedas  how to achieve wealth , luxuries and Swarga  , which in my opinion are  lower forms of meditations . Srikrishan replies to Arjuna that vedas are sea of knowledge.  They cater to the needs of every person according to their temperaments.  There are actually three types of temperaments in an individual which are called Gunas . They are Satogun, Rajogun and Tamogun . The sattogun characteristic is free from impurity and promotes health and happiness , Rajogun produces desire for worldly pleasures and attachment to friends and relatives . The Tamogun causes delusion and makes the person dull and drowsy .  These Gunas are embedded in every individual in different proportions . Some have dominance of Satogan and others have dominance of Rajogun or Tamogun .but you  should remain free from the mixture of three Gunas and you should have sattvaguna predominantly present in you .   By this you will also be free from the pairs of opposites like pain and pleasure , victory and defeat and so on i.e you should not get affected by them. 

                    Before creation , all souls  and prakrati were merged in the lord , in a subtle form. Then they did not have names and forms . So in that dormant state , with out bodies the  souls  were not able to perform any work, to achieve the desirable fruits like Moksha . So out of compassion , the lord took up creation . He bestowed bodies to the souls , so that they can study vedas and perform works. 

So Arjuna , have a clear knowledge about the essential nature of the soul . Whatever actions you do , you surrender them to me . In other words you give up the thought that you are the doer , and realise that I , the supreme lord , am the cause of everything .

To be concluded .........

My Wanderings - 90. Superstitions

Superstitions have taken a toll of our society to such a large extent that a rationale person is labeled as an atheist.But a rationale person can  also be a staunch believer . Our society is embedded with the menance of superstitions since its inception. There will not be a single person without an iota of superstition in his psyche because the same has been imbibed in our mindset right from our birth.
A person with weak will, particularly  womenfolk of our society fall prey to the evil designs of so called godmen, Charleston's and fortune tellers. They flung their bait and we are succumbed to their gameplans. They give us gems, charms etc. to ward off evil on us and empty our pockets.
I have seen many celebrities going to these godmen or Astrologers to know their future as they are unsecured and do not want to fall down from the heights they have achieved. But ordinary people like us who do not have higher stakes also fall prey to them.
Though Astrology is a great subject which formed the base of moden  Astronomy, but what relation there can be possibly between human destiny and stars , which are thousands and thousands of miles away from us. Sometimes we wait for auspicious dates to perform some functions. I have seen a person waiting for auspicious day to join his new job. The job was declined to him as he joined late.
There are usually discussions on existence of ghosts, haunted houses etc.
Some even say that they have seen the ghost with their own eyes. It was a form of tall person draped in long white gown etc. But in my opinion it is all due to hallucinations that we see the ghostly figures in the same shape that we have visualised in our own mind. A man with strong will should never be haunted by such ghosts.
Some godmen perform miracles.They stop their pulse, produce holy ash from the palm of their hands or generate wrist watches, particularly for their affaulent desiples. But watches are usually Swiss made and not made in heaven. It was Dr.Kavoor Srilankan rationalist and writer of book entitled Be Gone Godmen, Who challenged them ...if they can perform such miracles in his presence. he will pay them Rs one Lack, which was a huge amount those days.No godman accepted his challenge as Dr Kavoor was aquainted with all these tricks himself.
It is really my dream to see rationality in my society someday.

My Wanderings - 89. Liberation from Knowledge

              'The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from us'  has been said by various learned men. The process of learning starts in a person right from his birth. He learns from his mother , father and siblings . Then he learns from his teacher at School ,    at college and  at various other stages .   He also learns by reading a book , by listening to discourses of  saints , seers and philosophers . This learning process never stops till his death. He also learns from his own  experiences whether good or bad . These experiences sometime form his convictions . If he has  good  experience  of  Love or friendship . His convictions about love or friendship are adorable but when he has bad experience of the same, his views are  formed otherwise or contradictory. 

              The paradox of learning is also concealed in  the first line of this write up that nobody can take away  it  from us . We live throughout our lives with our  biased convictions , ideals and experiences which may not be relevant now . We try to impose same upon our children and juniors which we think are time tested and foolproof. While doing so we forget that times have changed , the values have changed,  outlook of people has changed , priorities have changed . We ignore the fact that our outdated convictions and ideals may not have relevance in the modern times now.

                      We may live in fools paradise throughout our lives ignoring the very less impact of our thought process on our younger generation or live up-to-date with the present priorities and values. We may have to  unlearn  some ideas for the sake of new ones or choose to stop advising new generation with the obsolete ideas which may not be relevant now to them.
Most of us  have grown up in dearth and scarcity which has made us shortsighted and pessimistic  . But with the surge in economy our children have grown up in gaiety and abundance which has changed their outlook towards life. We can not guide them with our myopic  and pessimistic outlook. Let us watch their growth  like a silent spectator with their own optimistic outlook . In order to be relevant in this modern world we have to unlearn or  erase some memories on the hard disc of our memory lane and adopt new ones.
We have to approach a problem with Virgin mind i.e we have  to unlearn the knowledge or  face it with full  knowledge for which human mind has not capacity . Therefore , liberation from knowledge can be better way of approach .

                     Swami vivekananda a great monk of  India  has  once said that we should not believe a thing which we have read from a book . We should not believe a thing  if some body has said it so . We should find out the truth ourselves  and that is realisation.

                           J. Krishnamurti  , a known philosopher from India has said in his book' Freedom from known'  that you should be free from whatever has been known to you in this world through the assistance of religion, society ,ideologies and be constantly aware of yourself , of your own thoughts and actions , observing things as they appear to you , not seeing them from a prejudiced mind .

                       According  Kashmiri Shaivism also while realising self or achieving ultimate , a devotee faces various limitation or Kanchukas   which he has to overcome . One of the Kanchuka is' Vidya ' or the covering of limited knowledge . Shiva himself is all knowing , but we human beings have not the capacity to  know everything at the same time . We can perceive reality only in bits and parts according to what we are fed by our senses .

My Wanderings 88 Is Bollywood Sinking

                    2022 has been a huge disappointment for Bollywood as big budget films have failed to make a mark at the box office. Lal Singh Chaddha is currently struggling at the box office. Shamshera starring Ranbir Kapoor failed to impress the audience. On the other hand , Ranveer Singh's Jayeshbhai Jordaar , Akshay Kumar's
Prithvi Raj Chowhan and Ajay Devgan's Runway 34 also bombed at the box office. Other Bollywood films that flopped in 2022 are Attack part 1, Jersey , Heropanti 2, Dhakkad , Anek , Rashtra Kavach om, Raksha Bhandan and Dobaaraa.
        
We are all familiar  with the glorious past of Bollywood rather Indian cinema since times immemorial. How can we forget the cinemas like Muggle Azam, Mother India , Do biga Zameen ,Waqat and several others  which have left an indelible mark over the golden era of Indian cinema. Indian film songs and music have popularised various classical ragas of Indian music . Many film songs like ' Abhi na javo choddkar ki dil abi bara nahi , Lag ja gale ki phir yeh mulakat ho na ho or pyar hua Iqraar hua ... are few among millions which are still liked for their lyrics and melody . Indian cinema has given various poets like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra , kaifi azami and many others who contributed much towards it.  The Singers like K.L.Sehgal , Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh , Mana dey , Kishore Kumar , Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle have become legends in their field . We have lived our childhood and youth under  the influence of Indian cinema and its songs as it was the only source of entertainment available those days.

           In late seventies there was introduction of art films in Indian cinema . Several art films like 'Ankur' ' Manthan ' ' 27 Down ' and many others were made which catered only  to the  needs of a  class of viewership but still became popular because of their intellectual output .

             After nineties Bollywood came under the direct  influence of underworld  Don's like Dawood Ibrahim and  intelligence agencies of Pakistan. They started their modus operandi by directly threatening Producers , directors and actors in  of the film world by making direct telephone calls and extracting money from them . Most of the film people could not stand their threats and started giving them money . Then  they started financing the films on their  own terms and conditions .  They gave patornage to Muslim actors like Khan group of Bollywood .  The Khan actors became their blue eyed boys . They even threatened producers to give them  roles in big banner films which flourished their career from the last few decades. They also started demeaning the Indian  culture and Hinduism in films. Under their master plan they created  Hindu characters as cunning moneylenders , greedy  temple priests etc.  While as Muslim characters were   always shown as very  helpful, God fearing, honest and full of character .  Even a Muslim  underworld Don or a criminal  was  always shown as a person of character. Most of actors who did not succumb under their  pressure  were shown the door of film world  . They were  instigated and deprived of film roles , which finally stalled their career. Sony Deol ,Govinda, Sunil Shetty and Vivek obroi are few among the various examples. Then  blue eyed boys of these gangsters started their own gangs in the Bollywood . They formed groups of producers who neglected talent  and introduced nepotism and cast couching  in  Bollywood. They started blacklisting and blackmailing actors who did not come under their pressure. The roles in films were provided only to their favourites. They became the King makers of Bollywood . The actors who were at their beck and call were given roles in good films and talented actors like Sushant singh Rajput was forced to opt  for suicide.

               Some big actors of the film world who have earned lot of money and fame and have nothing to  loose , but only to gain some contribution  towards philonothropy,  remained in league with these bullies and compromised  with  the  injustice in the system , for their petty gains .

                Most of the actors who achieved  the present status by the support of people , started taking the same  people for granted . They started making immature and loose statements  in public . Amir Khan once said that he and his wife is feeling scared in India. Deepika padkone joined tukde tukde gang at J N U for monitory considerations . Karina Kapoor said arrogantly that  we do  not force the  people to watch our films , they should stop watching the same. Tapsee Punoo while making fun of viewers said that they must also bycott my films. It was really blunder on their part to challenge the people who supported them through out their careers and enabled them to achieve the heights.
Now they are  exposed and facing the resentment of people , who have really  brought them to knees .

My Wanderings. 87. Religious Bigotry and Well Planned violence

                    Recently there was a big row over some remarks made by then spokes person of BJP Nupur Sharma on Times Now evening  show . Its ramifications spread like wildfire through out India and  all over the Islamic countries of world. Nupur while replying to the provocative statement of one of the Muslim contestants  , who was hurling abuse over the gods of Hindus , made a statement which was based on facts and written in Islamic books and already said many  times by Islamic clergy including zakir Naik. The statement was that Prophet   Mohammad married a six year old girl and consummated this marriage when she was nine year old. This statement is true and written in the Hadis , a religious book which is highly revered by believers of Islam .

              Most of the Islamic countries like Turkey, UAE, Maldives , Kuwait , Iran , Iraq , Pakistan and even Qatar  expressed their resentment over such statement by Nupur . They summoned Indian envoys in their countries and advised them accordingly . They are in the process to  ban Indian goods in their respective countries. However , Indian Govt. dealt with this situation  in a most diplomatic manner . Some counties were also shown the mirror and told to take care of minority in their own country which is diminishing at a fast speed before advising India. Now India should take lesson from this row by decreasing their dependency on Islamic countries , which the former  has already started.

                  Most unfortunate  part of this row was that the Muslims living in this country made planned agitation in many states . They destroyed public property . They hurled stones , petrol bombs  etc ,which were already brought in vehicles, to public and police.
All the  Muslims of this country are not guilty but their  leaders who managed this agitation should be brought to book and stern action should be taken against them and the guilty .The role of Popular Front of India and All India Muslim conference was most obvious in these agitations . Both these organisations should be banned and their kingpins apprehended . Moreover , Muslims and their leaders should not take India and Hindus for granted and desecrate their Gods. One time they will have to pay heavy price for that .

         Nupur Sharma  could have been prosecuted  under IPC,  had she been proved wrong in her statement by any scholar of Islam. It was mistake  on the part of ruling party  to suspend her from the party position and severe all connections with her for no fault on her part.  It was a decision in haste which prompted many Muslims to make statements that she should be given capital punishment or her head  should be chopped off. These statements sound strange and smack of Islamic  bigotry . Are we living in medieval age or in Islamic country which is governed by shariat laws . These fringe elements in Muslim society should be brought to book and accountability to be fixed upon them for making such statements. It will not be out of place  here to mention that if Muslims in India enjoy  the civil code as per shariat , where they can have benefit of four wives, teen talak and halala , but they are silent about their criminal offences being governed by uniform criminal code. Is this not the hypocrisy on their part to enjoy the benefits of both systems . Therefore , it  becomes mandatory for Govt. of India to enforce Common Civil Code for all communities living in India irrespective of their religion.

             India should learn lesson from Islamic country like Kuwait , who despite having differences with India on present row , is in the process of deporting all the Asian Muslims working there to their native countries , found indulging​ in making agitations on Nupur Sharma's statement, because agitations of any type are prohibited there.

                             There are hundreds of recorded statements made by responsible Muslims including their clergy , actors and politicians  who hurl abuses and make fun of Hindu Devi and Devtas . By doing this they hurt the sentiments of Hindus, who  are in  majority in India, but  always escape Scot free with out any punishment . Such elements should be apprehended and punished under Indian Penal code irrespective of their religion

                 Akbar din owaisi, the politician, Amir  khan, the actor and MF Hussain,the artist  are the glaring examples of committing such crimes .All these abuses on Hindu God's are being tolerated by the Hindus , who are in majority in India, in the name of freedom of speech. Whenever a true statement written in the religious books of Islam is disclosed by some Hindu , it is given the name of blasphemy. Nowadays   The law of blasphemy in Islamic countries has become a tool to harass minority communities . Whenever they want to harm any Hindu or Christian in Pakistan they accuse  them for blasphemy. No action is taken against people who desicrate Hindu temples in Pakistan , because it does not come under the law of Blasphemy​ there.

My Wanderings 86. The Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits and The Kashmir Files

The Kashmir files , a low budget feature film produced and directed by Sh. Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri became highly debatable and most talked about film post penademic period when hardly  people started to visit cinema halls again. It became a blockbuster and made business above 300 crores at Box office within some twenty days after the release of film .

Actually film is about 1990  genocide of Kashmiri Pandits , the aborigine's living in Kashmir from times immemorial,  which was  given the name of exodus by Kashmiri Muslims , politicians at the helm at that time and the media .   The Kashmiri Muslims and fair weather politicians of state  would say that it was Sh. Jagmohan , who facilitated the migration of Pandits from Kashmir . They are still being called migrants as if they have shifted to Jammu and other parts of India out of their own  free will  and for finding  better  Job opportunities, ignoring the fact that they were left with only three alternatives  Raliv , Galiv ya chaliv i.e either get converted or die or leave your place of birth . They choose the last option  and they left the state for good leaving behind properties worth crores of rupees . Most of the people would tell them that they did not fight for their rights and they left their birth place like cowards knowing very well that their community comprised only two percent of the total Population of Kashmir.

This genocide of Kashmiri Pandits was given  very low publicity  by the media and Government  deliberately to please  the psedo secular lobby , which is very strong in India.  Moreover ,  Government had  also adopted  appeasement  policy towards Kashmiri Muslims because they were considered minority in India even though they were majority in Kashmir and they were a vote Bank for Indian union as compared to   Kashmiri pandits. Therefore, Govt. was also instrumental in hushing up the matter.  Thousands of innocent Kashmiri Pandits were brutally killed in the broad day light for the sake of being Hindu . Several women of the community were raped and killed . One woman was killed by ripping into two halves by passing her body  through a saw machine . Mass killing of Hindus was   done in two villages of wandhama and Nadimarg of Kashmir in which several dozens of Hindus were killed selectively . It was all due to the  utter  indifference of  central  Govt. and gross negligence  of state Govt.   Moreover,  the State Government was in hand and gloves with Terrorists and they deliberately allowed the genocide of Pandits of Kashmir to happen.  Anarchy was rampant everywhere in Kashmir and anybody holding a gun could kill any innocent person in broad day light and escape with out any blemish.  Nothing was done to apprehend the offenders . No accountability was fixed . One  killer Bitta Karate who admitted the killing of  several Kashmiri Pandits on national Television was released from jail on the recommendations of High Court on the plea that there was lack of evidence as the public prosecutor was not interested in  presenting the same . It is not due to the reason that Kashmiri Pandits did not raise their grieviences . They raised their grieviences many times at various forms but nobody listened to them. Even the cases of fixing the accountability  of  killers of  Kashmiri Pandits was taken up with Supreme Court .  But the same were  rejected by Supreme Court with the reason that they have become time barred . The crime does not get extinguished by becoming time barred . The crime prevails until justice is not delivered to victim and punishment not given to criminal.
Quite a few films have been made on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland in the last thirty two years . But no film could  show the real reasons of exodus. Some in order to attract large audience or to continue the narrative created  already by interested parties could not depict the true scenerio of Kashmir at that time .

After the film ' The Kashmir Files ' It is for the first time that  after thirty two years of turmoil in Kashmir  somebody has dared to call Spade a Spade and ventured to picturise an   unbiased  and real situation of turmoil in Kashmir and actual reasons of genocide of aborigins of Kashmir. The film has unmasked the brazen faces of  Pakistan sponsored kashmiri Muslim terrorists and neighbours ,  ruling politicians of state  having nexus with the terrorists , media persons having their own narratives  and  gross negligence of central    government,  which deliberately  or inadvertantly facilitated the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits. The film has also  been successful in showing the helplessness of IAS and IPS personell posted in the state . The film also shows ruthless and stubborn approach of pseudo seculars having their own  one sided agenda of infringing the sovereignty of country.
This film which has been shown  throughout the length and breadth of country and even in foreign countries has helped in educating the masses  about the turmoil  and genocide of particular community that is Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir. The people came to know that it was not exodus but a real genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir.
The metaphors coined by Kashmiri Muslims to hurl abuses on Kashmiri Pandits have frequently been used in the film to give the film a real touch . These metaphors were ' Dhali Bhat '  ' Batni Batni dodyay muss' Assi gachi aassun Pakistan batav varay batnev Saan.

Anpum Kher a versatile actor from community , who represents an ordinary Kashmiri Pandit Sh. Pushkar Nath has given his best. His marvellous acting should definitely fetch him atleast National award if not Oscar. All other actors like Basha sumbli, Mithun Chakarvertry , Puneet Issar , Pallavi Joshi  , Chinmay  Mandelkar and Darshan Kumar etc. have also given commendable performances.
A revolutionary  poem ' Ham Dekhenge '  written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz in  1979 against dictatorship of Ziaulhaq in Pakistan has  now become anthem  of communist parties in india, which  has been aptly sung in JNU by Pallavi Joshi who represents the pseduo secular class constantly working for disintegration of the sovernity of India . Actually song has nothing to do against Hinduism or India . It promotes democracy and discards Dictatorship . A line from the poem is 'Goonjega analhaq ka Nara Jo ham bi hai aur tum bi ho'. This slogan was first raised by Mansoor a Sufi saint , Who was influenced by Vedas . 'Analhaq 'means  'I am God ' i.e Aham bramho , essence of non dualic Vedanta philosophy  . By raising  this slogan  Mansoor was declared  as 'Kaffir 'and he was sent to gallows  by  hard core Islamic clergy .
Darshan Kumar as Krishna Pandit gives a spectacular speech at JNU regarding the rich cultural heritage of  Kashmir which leaves the audaince  spell bound .
Chinmay Mandelkar as Biita karate , though hated throughout the film has given a superb performance as hard core terrorist.
Overall the Kashmir Files , a feature film directed by Sh. Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri leaves the audaince spellbound with an awe  and hardly  any person  can witness this picture without shedding tears . All Kashmiri Pandits are grateful  to the people who contributed towards making of this film.

My Wanderings 85. Mahagayatri and the Mantra

                   Gayatri Mantra is highly revered mantra from Rig veda dedicated to the vedic solar  deity savitr. It's recitation is traditionally  preceded by OM and then  bhur bhuvah   suah ,tath savito varaniyam bargo devas, dee mahe  devo yoona prachoo daya . It is    known as a great mystical utterance. The mantra is an important part of the Upnayana ceremony for the young males in Hinduism. 

  It means ,
We meditate on the glory of the creator ,
Who has created the universe ,
Who is worthy of worship,
Who is embodiment of knowledge and light,
Who is remover of all sin and ignorance ,
May he enlighten our intellect.

                      It is believed that by chanting Gayatri mantra ,we achieve success and happiness in our life . With regular chanting of Gayatri mantra one can firmly establish and stabilise the mind. The mantra is a declaration of appreciation , to both the nurturing sun and divine.

               Actually Gaytri is the personification of  Gayatri mantra .She is also known as Savitri and Vedmata (Mother of Vedas). Gayatri is often associated with savitr, a solar deity in the Vedas. According to many texts like skanda Purana , Gayatri is another name of Saraswati or her form and is the consort of Lord Bramha .However saivite texts identify Mahagaytri as the consort of Vishwakarma Shiva , in his highest form of Sadashiva with five heads and ten hands .

                     Shaivism sees gayatri as the consort of eternal blissful absolute Parashiva , who manifests in the form of sun , Shivasurya. He is omnipotent , omnipresent Sadashiva , whose name is Bharga . Sadashiva's consort is none other than the mantra form of Gayatri ,who possesses the power of her husband Bharga, within her. The popular form of Gayatri with five heads and ten arms was initially found in Shavite iconographies of Manmohini in North India beginning from 10th century CE. Shavite view on Gayatri seems a later development from the combination of vedic practice of Gayatri reverence and it's Shavite inclusion as a manifestation of Shakti . This could be the root for the terrific aspect of Gayatri explained in the later puranas as the killer of demon Vetra identifying her with Adi parashakti.

I will  hereby like to reproduce the copy of the wonderful  painting of Mahagaytri , painted and presented to me by Sh. Lokesh Narayan Dhar , a very good artist ,who has been successful in personifying this great mantra to  a large extent.