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 We ignore the fact that our outdated convictions and ideals may not have relevance in the modern times now.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.

My Wanderings - 84 The Conclusions

                The   fair mix of successes and failures are very essential for a  balanced life. A person who achieves only successes in life becomes arrogant or  egoistic  and a person who has only  seen failures becomes a  depressed person.   Some Urdu Poet has  aptly said it ..

" Garzishe Ayaam tera shukriya, mai ne har pahloo se zindgee dekh lee

( Thanks to the vagaries  of fate that I have seen life  from all aspects).

                                     As life is a mix of good and bad experiences , the ups and downs in life should be taken as challenges. If life moves smooth and there are no challenges in life, life becomes dull and a person is deprived of the joy of overcoming the difficulties in life. Life is short and we have to live it judiciously.Our aim should be to derive maximum joy from life , as great philosophers have said that...Happy truely is the Great...

               Different persons derive happiness  from different sources .  some people derive happiness by amassing  huge wealth and property , some from meditation and penance and  some get it from indulging in vices like drinking and gambling.  But the question arises can a  person achieve everlasting happiness by doing such things. History bears testimony  to the fact that no rich man  remained  happy throughout his life.Vices likes Drinking etc may give a momentary happiness but it is not everlasting. The meditation etc.may give happiness to a large extent, but it is not also everlasting. In order to achieve this goal a person has to decide before investing, where he can get returns in the form of  everlasting happiness.   

                     Therefore, in my opinion, in order to acheive  everlasting happiness, we should  bring some  creativeness in our life. We should do something , which we love to do consciously, ethically, Spiritually or intllectually , devoid of pecuniary interests and craving for fame.
It can also be a small step towards the great philosophy of  Nishkam Karma as envisaged by Lord Krishna in Bhagwat Gita.

My Wanderings - 83. The Conflicts

                                   Some  people believe that ninety percent of conflicts in this world are due to ego problems and only ten percent have some monetary or  other considerations behind them.  Normally conflicts  between induduals start with arguements. Mostly both parties are correct from their own point of view but one person can not perceive others point of view.Actually conflict is illusion of perceptions.The people have quite contradictory perceptions on the same subject and  sometimes ego   also plays its own part. One person is  fully aware that  he is wrong but his ego does not allow him to admit this and arguements continue.It is an old saying that you should try to win the will of man rather than arguement. While we strive to win the arguement, we are loosing a friend.Therefore it needs guts to admit it  when you are wrong and when you are right you should never boast of it.  If we are proved right we are in habit of saying that we had already said it so that is not also good habit. One of my friends , whether he agreed with you or not,was in habit of starting his conversation as..
You are absolutely correct sir, and then would explain his point of view.
As we are discussing arguements and conflicts,in a lighter vien , I remember a tale of two friends who were having some dispute and were at loggerheads with each other.one of the friends got seriously ill and was virtually on deathbed at some hospital.  He called his friend and told him that  as he has to  die  soon ,  they  should forget about the dispute and become friends once again .The other friend became very emotional and readily agreed to his proposal. Then other  stood  up to take leave from his friend on bed, the later yelled at him..This agreement is valid only if I die, but If get well ,by the grace of God, then we will have again to settle the scores with each other.