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Gold broke out to new highs on Friday: $3,237/oz. It is proving one of the prime beneficiaries of all the market mayhem, and no surprise. Gold is your hedge against government, and this is all a creation of government.Where to park capital? Equities are all over the place and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. With US authorities transparent about wanting it lower, the US dollar is not the safe haven it's been since 2007 in market sell-offs. As for treasuries, they've become a weapon in the trade wars.Inert gold, on the other hand, is neutral. It doesn't care which side of the trade wars, the culture wars, or any other wars you're on, and at the moment, it seems everyone wants a piece.China, we learn thanks to the sleuthing of analyst Jan Nieuwenhuijs, bought another 570 tonnes in 2024. Who knows how much more it has bought in 2025? To put that 570-tonne number in perspective, the UK's total holdings are 310 tonnes.Tell your friends.What's driving it all?This move in gold started shortly after the US confiscated $300 billion in Russian state holdings after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It hasn't been driven by retail. Central bank buying has pushed up the price.If you're not on Team US or Team G7, why own assets they can confiscate, like dollars or treasuries?Own gold instead. The US would have to invade you to take your gold—or send in Kelly's Heroes.In 1950, gold made up 70% of international reserves. In the noughties, it was just 10%. The dollar, meanwhile, reached 60%, with the euro at another 20%.Now gold is at 20%, the dollar at 45%, and the euro at 15%. The trend is clear, as this cool little video from Nieuwenhuijs and Money Metals shows:In my opinion, we'll be at 40% five years from now.Here's gold since late 2022. Every pullback has been bought. It's as though someone with deep pockets is saying, “Buy the pullback every time it hits the 50-day moving average (red line).”The UK seems to have been forgotten in this global rout, but I have little doubt the chickens of our shocking national finances and woeful productivity will soon come home to roost in the form of a sterling crisis. That's when we overlooked Britishers will be mighty glad we have our gold.Gold is now £2,475/oz. Another year of this, and we'll be north of £3,000.Summer is approaching, and May to August is typically when gold is weakest. Take advantage of pullbacks, is my advice. Do what the Chinese are doing. They're smarter than we are (when it comes to gold, at least).With oil having cratered, we should finally see gold miners fetch a proper bid. (They are already moving a little). Energy can represent 15% to 40% of mining costs. Lower costs and a higher price for the final product should mean they make more money, and thus higher share prices. (I'll cover miners again soon, I promise, though I am worried I'll jinx it)Here's something Charlie Morris observed—and you really should subscribe to his gold newsletter, Atlas Pulse; it's top dog in a crowded field - it's free. GDX is the largest gold mining ETF by far. Despite higher gold prices, it's seen outflows of 25% over the past year. When inflows start, these things will rocket. The sector is tiny relative to the capital out there.Here's three years of Brent, FYI. It's almost the reverse of gold. Good for mining.If you're interested in buying gold, by the way - and you should own some, if you don't already, given everything that is going on - the bullion dealer I recommend is the Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.A 2-minute video for your Sunday entertainmentI've got lots of content coming up over the next fortnight. I've just returned from two days of bitcoin conferences, so I'm fired up about that. I've got that gold mining piece to write. I have a lot more to say about gold. I have a fab video to share with you which I will send out tomorrow. And I want to explore where we should deploy capital in all this market mayhem: which sectors will do well in tariff wars, and which won't. So, plenty to come.You ought to subscribe.In the meantime, as it's the weekend, enjoy this silly little 3-minute vid I put together for my comedy Substack - not to be taken seriously - about alien invaders on planet Earth stealing our gold at the dawn of civilization. (Click the image below)Finally, if you're interested in gold and haven't already seen it, here's my guide to investing int he shiny stuff. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe
Gold broke out to new highs on Friday: $3,237/oz. It is proving one of the prime beneficiaries of all the market mayhem, and no surprise. Gold is your hedge against government, and this is all a creation of government.Where to park capital? Equities are all over the place and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. With US authorities transparent about wanting it lower, the US dollar is not the safe haven it's been since 2007 in market sell-offs. As for treasuries, they've become a weapon in the trade wars.Inert gold, on the other hand, is neutral. It doesn't care which side of the trade wars, the culture wars, or any other wars you're on, and at the moment, it seems everyone wants a piece.China, we learn thanks to the sleuthing of analyst Jan Nieuwenhuijs, bought another 570 tonnes in 2024. Who knows how much more it has bought in 2025? To put that 570-tonne number in perspective, the UK's total holdings are 310 tonnes.Tell your friends.What's driving it all?This move in gold started shortly after the US confiscated $300 billion in Russian state holdings after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It hasn't been driven by retail. Central bank buying has pushed up the price.If you're not on Team US or Team G7, why own assets they can confiscate, like dollars or treasuries?Own gold instead. The US would have to invade you to take your gold—or send in Kelly's Heroes.In 1950, gold made up 70% of international reserves. In the noughties, it was just 10%. The dollar, meanwhile, reached 60%, with the euro at another 20%.Now gold is at 20%, the dollar at 45%, and the euro at 15%. The trend is clear, as this cool little video from Nieuwenhuijs and Money Metals shows:In my opinion, we'll be at 40% five years from now.Here's gold since late 2022. Every pullback has been bought. It's as though someone with deep pockets is saying, “Buy the pullback every time it hits the 50-day moving average (red line).”The UK seems to have been forgotten in this global rout, but I have little doubt the chickens of our shocking national finances and woeful productivity will soon come home to roost in the form of a sterling crisis. That's when we overlooked Britishers will be mighty glad we have our gold.Gold is now £2,475/oz. Another year of this, and we'll be north of £3,000.Summer is approaching, and May to August is typically when gold is weakest. Take advantage of pullbacks, is my advice. Do what the Chinese are doing. They're smarter than we are (when it comes to gold, at least).With oil having cratered, we should finally see gold miners fetch a proper bid. (They are already moving a little). Energy can represent 15% to 40% of mining costs. Lower costs and a higher price for the final product should mean they make more money, and thus higher share prices. (I'll cover miners again soon, I promise, though I am worried I'll jinx it)Here's something Charlie Morris observed—and you really should subscribe to his gold newsletter, Atlas Pulse; it's top dog in a crowded field - it's free. GDX is the largest gold mining ETF by far. Despite higher gold prices, it's seen outflows of 25% over the past year. When inflows start, these things will rocket. The sector is tiny relative to the capital out there.Here's three years of Brent, FYI. It's almost the reverse of gold. Good for mining.If you're interested in buying gold, by the way - and you should own some, if you don't already, given everything that is going on - the bullion dealer I recommend is the Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. More here.A 2-minute video for your Sunday entertainmentI've got lots of content coming up over the next fortnight. I've just returned from two days of bitcoin conferences, so I'm fired up about that. I've got that gold mining piece to write. I have a lot more to say about gold. I have a fab video to share with you which I will send out tomorrow. And I want to explore where we should deploy capital in all this market mayhem: which sectors will do well in tariff wars, and which won't. So, plenty to come.You ought to subscribe.In the meantime, as it's the weekend, enjoy this silly little 3-minute vid I put together for my comedy Substack - not to be taken seriously - about alien invaders on planet Earth stealing our gold at the dawn of civilization. (Click the image below)Finally, if you're interested in gold and haven't already seen it, here's my guide to investing int he shiny stuff. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com/subscribe
Kaise Bharat ke aazadi ke baad bhi British soch ne hume pakad kar rakha! Britishers sach mein Bharat chhode bhi? Kaise Bharatiyon ko dabaya or loota gaya? Suniye is episode mein. listen,share,rate,connect. @indiaunveiled.podcast indiaunveiledpodcast@gmail.com
This is the account of India's Partition by Sri Prakasa, a close confidant of Nehru & India's First high Commissioner to Pakistan. It shines a light on the plight of the common man, while giving a clear view into the relationship of Congress leaders with the leaders of Pakistan & the Britishers. Follow me: Twitter: https://twitter.com/indologia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indologiaa/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@indologia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va55D2lBPzjRND3rPC0A Telegram: https://t.me/indologia
How tea travelled from China to India? Britishers distributed tea for free for 15 years? What did Indians had before we started drinking tea? . listen, share, rate connect with me: indiaunveiled.podcast@gmail.com instagram: @indiaunveiled.podcast
Ghurdiyaan Akhaan! -Javed Boota ਘੂਰਦੀਆਂ ਅੱਖਾਂ! - ਜਾਵੇਦ ਬੂਟਾ India celebrated its independence and made a tryst with destiny on 15 August,1947 yet punjab went through trauma as the land of five rivers was butchered into two halves. The setup of the story revolves around the massacre of jallianwala bagh: 1919 which sheds light on the atrocities of the Britishers which ruined the very essence of humanity. Writer of Story is famous Pakistani Punjabi writer Javed boota who has depicted the true portrayal of the soul Indian freedom struggle which is sheer definition of Patriotism and love for motherland. The cover art of this audiobook has been made by Artist Gurdish Pannu and Dr. Ruminder has given voice to this punjabi short story. #popularstories #famous #audiobook #punjabiculture #family #punjabimaaboli #motherhood #punjabistories #writer #punjabibooks #punjabiculture #ਪੰਜਾਬੀ #punjabifolk
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#celebrationofindianlanguages #भारतीयभाषाओंकाउत्सव #tamilstory #historyofindia #unsungheroes The story of the brave queen from Tamil Nadu who was among the first few people who waged war against the Britishers before the famous first revolt of 1857. The story has been narrated by Lavanya Prasad, founder of Talescope. One can follow her work on https://instagram.com/lavanya.talescope?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Follow bachpankepitarese @Instagram and @ Facebook and if you wish to be a part of this series write at bachpankepitaresebkps@gmail.com #bachpankepitarese✨ #बचपनकेपिटारेसे
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Shaheed- Gulzar Sandhu | ਸ਼ਹੀਦ- ਗੁਲਜ਼ਾਰ ਸੰਧੂ | Indian independence was a day of happiness for many yet it was a day of remorse and sadness for Punjab and Bengal which were partitioned to carve out new political entity i.e Pakistan. Riots continued for months even after the Britishers left, butchering the social ties of communities which have been there since the day of mankind over this piece of land. Thus, the hatred back-up by religious sentiments not only consumed the very humanity at the level of villages but also fragmented the very identity of being civilized as well... The cover art of this audiobook has been made by Artist Gurdish Pannu and Dr. Ruminder has given voice to this punjabi short story. #punjabishortstories #listenaudiobooks #books #lovers #artistgurdishpannu #lifestyle #drruminder #viral #videos #trending #trendingonspotify #life #audiolibrary #audiobooks #story #audiobook #punjabiaudiobooks #punjabi #punjab #shortstories #punjabifolk #emotional #punjabistories #hardwork #punjabipodcast #famouspodcast #commitment #podcast #indian #india #emotionalstory #moralstory #trendingpodcast #video #village #lifemotivation #trendingshortstory #motivational #trendingaudiobooks
This is the incredible but true story of an Englishman—a dockworker in Bombay in the 1940s, who became a smuggler around the time of Independence.Not far offshore from the Ferry Wharf in Mumbai is a small island. It's only some 100 metres out by boat, and you can see it from Ferry Wharf. It's called Cross Island. You can see Cross Island on Google Maps. But even people who have lived in Mumbai all their lives are not aware that this island even exists.Mystery has always shrouded Cross Island. And like every abandoned or uninhabited place, it is beset by urban legend. The usual stuff… it's haunted… it has ghosts… but the most compelling mystery of Cross Island is the story of the gold supposedly buried there. My guest today, Godfrey Pereria reads a passage about the gold that was buried on Cross Island because of the doings of the famous Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes. And about how the ship captain who actually hid the gold on the island was killed in a fight and how, since then, no one has been able to find the gold.Godfrey Pereira is the author of the book, Four And Twenty Blackbirds. He chanced upon the story of an Englishman, Charlie Strongbow,—an Englishman, born and raised in Bombay and a dockworker in the Bombay docks.Charlie Strongbow was one of a few Englishmen who were in India at the time of Independence, but did not leave India. Returning to England was not an option for them as they had nothing there. He and 23 others—hence four and twenty—British people move to Cross Island to set up a smuggling operation.We have all read colonial and independence and partition stories all of which tend to be about people at the top of society or who are responsible for historical events. But Godfrey Pereira's historical fiction novel highlights another point of view. It focuses on this group of Britishers of lowly status—men of calloused hands and base desires—trying to survive independence. It's a new perspective on the colonial era.And of course, there's always gold. There's no evidence that the poet Luis de Camoes decamped with stolen gold, but the damnedest thing is that in 2021—just two years ago—workers dredging in Cross Island found two bars of gold stuck in their dredging equipment.Was this the gold that de Camoes had decamped with? Or was it all urban legend Godfrey Pereira joins me from his home in West Palm Beach, Florida so we can ask him.ABOUT GODFREY PEREIRABorn in Pali Village, Bandra, Bombay, Godfrey Joseph Pereira graduated from college with a degree in English Literature and Philosophy. What followed was a career in journalism. He worked with leading national magazines and worked as War Correspondent covering the First Gulf War from Israel. His first novel Bloodline Bandra was published by HarperCollins in 2014. His second novel is Four And Twenty Blackbirds, a work of historical fiction. He has just finished his third novel The Incredible India Brownwash. He has lived and worked as a journalist in Bombay, New York City and New Jersey and now works and resides in West Palm Beach, Florida. Buy Four And Twenty Blackbirds here: https://amzn.to/3PGCkRLWHAT'S THAT WORD?!Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "What's That Word?!", where they discuss the meaning and origins of "Let the chips fall where they may".WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW?Reach us by mail: theliterarycity@explocity.com or simply, tlc@explocity.com.Or here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theliterarycityOr here: https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/
Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 863, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: skip to my "lu" 1: WD-40 for example. Lubricant. 2: Clear or easily understood. Lucid. 3: The German Air Force. Luftwaffe. 4: First name of playwright Pirandello. Luigi. 5: It's the capital city of Zambia. Lusaka. Round 2. Category: british fashion 1: David and Elizabeth Emanuel got the assignment to design this for Princess Diana to wear on July 29, 1981. her wedding dress. 2: 19th century Englishmen Thomas and William Bowler got their names in the dictionary by making these. hats. 3: This "Superwaif" model made news in 1993 when she went topless at a Vivienne Westwood show. Kate Moss. 4: Sharp suits and skinny ties typified the '60s look of the "squad" of these young Britishers. the mod squad. 5: With grenade loops added, the coat designed by Thomas Burberry got this new name during World War I. trenchcoat. Round 3. Category: birthday's the same 1: This cartoonist might serve "Peanuts" at a Nov. 26 party for himself, Tina Turner and Robert Goulet. Charles Schulz. 2: Dan Rather, Jane Pauley and Dale Evans might enjoy bobbing for apples on this day, their birthday. October 31st. 3: This wife of Steve Allen could celebrate her Sept. 27 birthday with Shaun Cassidy and Meat Loaf. Jayne Meadows. 4: Heather Thomas, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and this Thomas who starred in'"E.T." were all born Sept. 8. Henry Thomas. 5: He could sing his Oscar-winning song "I'm Easy" to Mel Tillis and Connie Stevens on Aug. 8, their mutual birthday. Keith Carradine. Round 4. Category: ends in "ough" 1: When it breaks, the cradle will fall. the bough. 2: A goon, a bruiser, a heavy, or a thug. a tough. 3: It's similar to batter, but it's too stiff to pour. dough. 4: To truly eat like a pig, put your food in one of these. a trough. 5: It's a political division of New York City; Queens is one. a borough. Round 5. Category: take in order 1: Rough questioning. the third degree. 2: The Drifters sang about being on a blanket with their baby, down by the sea, in their hit song "Under" this. "The Boardwalk". 3: Egypt's hawk-headed sun god. Ra. 4: The Black Sea bass is a popular catch among fishermen off this Palmetto State. South Carolina. 5: In 1931 a federal jury convicted Al Capone, not of murder, mind you, but of evading this 2-word levy. income tax. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia! Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/
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Tunda- Ram Saroop Ankhi ਟੁੰਡਾ- ਰਾਮ ਸਰੂਪ ਅਣਖੀ Life is unpredictable, so is the destiny. India is celebrating its independence but the protagonist of the story is in remorse. Somewhere deep down in his heart, he has this sense of feeling that the contribution of his and freedom fighters like him who chose the path of extremism to fighting against the Britishers is not acknowledged. Neither the newly formed government is taking care of them nor they are being accepted by the masses. All that is left with them are the wounds. The cover art of this audiobook has been made by Artist Gurdish Pannu and Dr. Ruminder has given voice to this punjabi short story. #life #audiolibrary #audiobooks #story #audiobook #punjabiaudiobooks #punjabi #punjab #shortstories #punjabifolk #emotional #punjabistories #punjabishortstories #listenaudiobooks #books #lovers #artistgurdishpannu #lifestyle #drruminder #viral #videos #trending #trendingonspotify #trendingpodcast #video #village #lifemotivation #trendingshortstory #motivational #trendingaudiobooks #hardwork #punjabipodcast #famouspodcast #commitment #podcast #kindness #village #lifestyle #folk #tragedy #tragic #lesson #lifelessons
Predictions: 2023—RSJAs promised last week, let's get going with some predictions for 2023. Pranay likes to keep them very specific (for a good reason), while I get away with broad bets.Global EconomyThe problem with predicting anything on how things will unfold globally is the random big event that upends all forecasts. This has happened in the last three years. The impact of the pandemic waves and the Ukraine war is yet to play out fully. By themselves, it makes for difficult terrain for forecasts. I'm hoping we don't have another such event during the year. #1 The trend of securing your supply chain for critical products will get stronger.Look, it is difficult to disentangle from the globally integrated supply chains that have been a feature of the economic model since the end of the Cold War. But it is clear to most large economies that on issues that concern national security, it will be foolhardy to not plan for worst-case scenarios any longer. And national security could mean anything, really, but I can see on energy and key technology, nations will opt for more secure supply chains with watertight bilateral partnerships than be at the mercy of distributed, multilateral chains. I won't go as far as calling it ‘de-globalisation' yet, but this ‘gated globalisation' is a trend that's here to stay. What this will mean in concrete terms is there will be a gathering of pace on bilateral treaties among larger economies on these issues that reduces dependence on China or Russia. For India, there are a couple of issues here. How to continue to balance the purchase of oil from Russia for its energy security without inviting sanctions from the west? It has managed this well in the last year. The other issue is to find alternatives to Russian hardware for its defence machinery without rubbing it the wrong way. We have batted for free trades on these pages for a long time. So, it is concerning to see this retreat, but history has shown over time, geopolitics trumps geoeconomics. #2 The fears of elevated inflation and a recession in the US in 2023 are overblown. The recession is due, but it will come a bit laterI have made the point here earlier too. The Fed has gone overboard on inflation targeting with more rate cuts than necessary and not waiting for their impact to come through. The moderation of inflation in the past few months (though at 3.6 per cent, it is still higher than the target) suggests that the Fed has been partly successful and it should continue to remain hawkish. I am not so sure. It takes time for rate hikes to start impacting demand, and my suspicion is that the current moderation in inflation was due in any case. The impact on rate hikes on subduing demand and growth is yet to play out. My view is that as supply chain issues ease up with China opening up, energy demand going up and the US continuing to be at almost full employment, we might have a 2023 where for the most part, the US inflation will be higher than target, Fed will continue to remain hawkish, and the growth will hold up. This will mean the real risk of recession will be more toward the end of the year than now. #3 Big Tech will continue to be under the cosh Three problems look to exacerbate in the tech space in 2023. First, the valuation of ad-driven economic models and the insane optimism about the distributed ledger, crypto, DAO or independent sovereigns (yeah, remember that) will abate. A lot of value has been destroyed in the last year (esp in public markets), and I still think there's more to go in the private market valuations. This correction will weigh on markets, fund raises and investments into startups. Second, global markets will shrink for Big Tech as more countries will place restrictions on how deep they will allow them to own commerce or payment infrastructure. I half expect India to gradually move all payment and eCommerce arms of Big Tech into a structure that's domestically controlled and owned in 2023. Third, FTC, with Hina Khan at the helm, will accelerate antitrust and competition law changes to reduce the dominance of Big Tech. Some of these measures will be significant overreach in my opinion, but I see more executive orders in this space. Conversely, I see significant hype building up on AI platforms during the year. Like every hype cycle we will have people going overboard on AI, but I think this is one trend where in the classic sense, we might be overestimating the impact in the near term and underestimating it in the long term. AI will eventually get us a driverless car, but it will get to the mediocre creator economy faster. The jobs under immediate threat aren't that of cab drivers and factory workers. The average copywriter, reporter and illustrator are in greater peril. It will be interesting to see how these groups who have a greater share of voice in the media will tackle the threat of AI in 2023. Indian Economy#1 Greater optimismI am a bit more optimistic about the broader numbers than most, and I will explain why. I think GDP growth will come in around 6.5 per cent for FY24, and inflation will be around 5 per cent. We might see a couple of rate hikes in the next few months, taking the repo rate to 6.75 per cent, but that will be it. I see even a small possibility of a rate hike cut in the later part of the year to spur growth with an eye on Lok Sabha elections in May ‘24. We have corporate balance sheets that are strong, banks across the board are well provided for, and inflation hasn't gone out of control. I see domestic consumption to remain strong and exports, in the light of the shift away from China, to be good for manufacturers, and how much ever I might struggle to get behind the PLI scheme, it will yield some short-term benefits. IT exports might be a dampener, but on balance, I see more upside to these predictions. Of course, the risks are another global one-off event, oil prices going up and restrictions on accessing Russian oil and a bad monsoon. But those aside, I foresee India standing out as an outperformer thanks in no part to many cards falling into place for it often without its own efforts. But then why look the gift horse in the mouth?#2 Digitalisation: Wave 2 There will be a significant push on digitalisation in lending and eCommerce. The UPI infrastructure has revolutionised payments and, along with GST, has accelerated the formalisation of the economy. The benefits of these have so far been more skewed towards the government in terms of tax collections. I think we will see a focused push for the next round of benefits with platforms like OCEN (lending) and ONDC (eCommerce). The data that's available because of the digital rails, the account aggregator framework that's live now with banks and the groundwork done in getting small suppliers onboard on ONDC - these prerequisites are now available for the next order benefits of digitalisation for customers. Also, as I mentioned in an earlier point, doing this will also mean shifting the balance of power from Big Tech-owned entities to an open platform or domestically controlled entities. I sense a strong push in this direction in 2023.#3 The expected capex cycle push from the government will not come. There are a couple of reasons for it. First, this government has always been careful about fiscal deficit, and it is particular about the risk of the fiscal space. The government has committed to a 4.5 per cent target for the union government deficit in the next 3 years from the current levels, that's expected to be 6.4 per cent. I see a tightening in the fiscal stance during the year with a gradual reduction in some of the pandemic-related subsidies and better targeting of the benefits improving distribution efficiency. The other reason for a muted capex spend is the likely belief that the private sector credit capex cycle seems to be picking up. These are early days for it, but the data for the past two quarters shows an uptick in corporate credit pickup and an increase in interest costs in the balance sheet. The benefits of the corporate tax cut in 2019 are now seen in strong corporate profits in FY23 for most sectors. That, plus the belief that the rate cycle has almost peaked, could mean the private capex cycle could strengthen during the year. I expect the MSME sector to gain from strength to strength on the back of China+1, PLI-like schemes and easier access to credit because banks are in better shape. MSME is the story of the next decade.India Political and Social#1 More of the sameThe expected consolidation of opposition forces to counter the BJP isn't going to happen early enough for it to mount a credible challenge in 2024. There are eight state elections in 2023, and I suspect BJP will see reverses or very close fights in a couple of them where it is the incumbent (MP and Karnataka). But LS elections aren't any longer an agglomeration of many smaller elections like they used to be pre-2014. So, I don't see an upheaval in national politics in 2023 that will make a meaningful dent in 2024. This is a pity because we have reached a stage of single-party dominance of polity and media, which isn't healthy for democracy in the medium term. But it is hard to see opposition consolidation or a credible case that they can make to counter the electoral juggernaut of the BJP at this time. Congress, the other national party, isn't capable of moving the masses either with its agenda or its leadership. The vacuum in national politics looks set to stay.#2 More Exit, Less VoiceI have made the point in the past about social fault lines tripping us up while we magically have a growth window that's opened up for us again. This holds true. The space for opposition or dissent has shrunk; more importantly, even the fight for protecting or broadening that space has gone out. As Hirshman (in Exit, Voice and Loyalty) asked in the context of the relationship between the state and its citizens: the citizen has the choice to either voice their disapproval when dissatisfied or exit from the state. The state would be dependent on citizens if they value their loyalty and would then pursue a policy that listens to their voice. However, if the state doesn't value it and the citizens know their voice won't matter, the only option is to exit. For certain sections of our citizenry, we are possibly at this stage of engagement with the state. This scenario might not hurt the majority today, but we would do well to remember it has never been a good idea for the state to not value the loyalty of its citizenry in the long run. An Excerpt from Missing in Action: Why Should You Care About Public Policy— A chapter from our upcoming book that releases on 23rd JanuaryChapter 11: When the State Owns What's YoursA typical scene in those old Bollywood films with a rural setting was that of the zamindar standing with his ‘not-so- smart' (naalayak) offspring on the terrace of their haveli and telling him:Yahan se jahaan tak tumhari nazar jaati hai, woh saari zameen hamari hai![All the land that you can see from here belongs to us.]In reality, the only zamindar who can make such a claim in modern India is the Indian State.A fundamental concept underlying economic reasoning and public policy is the property rights system. To an Indian, the phrase ‘right to property' conjures up the image of a rapacious zamindar exploiting peasants. This narrative has fostered a zero-sum perception—owning property is assumed to have occurred in the context of the violation of someone else's human rights. This perception has, in turn, meant that the enforcement of property rights has always been weak in India. Once a fundamental right, the right to property under the Indian Constitution was deprecated to a constitutional right by the 44th amendment. Now the State can go about violating an individual's right over their property, as long as it can couch this takeover is being done under vaguely defined ‘public interest'.Why Is a Functional Property Rights System Necessary?A property right is an exclusive authority to determine how a resource is used. This applies not just to land but to any physical or intellectual property such as your phone, your water bottle, or your innovation. Such a right can be held by a person, a group of persons, or the State.When this exclusive authority over someone's resources is protected—by the State or society—the owners can be confident of deploying and improving the quality of their owned resource instead of spending their energy in feverishly protecting the resource from being stolen by another entity. Moreover, giving an exclusive authority to someone to enjoy the use of a resource changes the nature of competition itself, bringing it into the realm of social acceptability. For example, without property rights, entities might compete over a common resource by resorting to means such as intimidation, denial, and distancing. But once it is demonstrated that the authority over a resource will be protected, competition shifts to owners improving their offering to win more buyers. Finally, a strong property rights system also enables the exchange and sharing of resources, as resource owners can be confident that their ultimate ownership is secure.Now this sounds quite theoretical and straight out of an economic reasoning textbook, which this book is not. So, to understand how pivotal the concept of a well-functioning property rights system is, we turn to an Indian story of violation of these rights. By understanding what happens when property rights are denied, we might better appreciate their importance.Daastaan-e-SandalwoodThe story of sandalwood production in India is as intriguing as it is frustrating. The wood is used for its timber. The oil extracted from its roots is used in perfumes, incense, soaps, and medicines. In India, sandalwood has a special religious significance as well.As hopeful consumers, many of you would have heard about the astronomical costs of this wood. Many of you would have also heard about brigands such as Veerappan who gained Robinhood status by smuggling sandalwood. Some of you might have been duped into buying ordinary scented wood being passed off as sandalwood. But few of us realize that the strand that connects these stories is misguided State action.Generally, the price of a commodity is indicative of its natural scarcity, but that's not the case here. Nearly 90 per cent of the world's sandalwood resources are available in the three Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. And yet, the production of sandalwood in India has declined sharply. In 1965–70, annual production stood at 4000 tonnes. By 1999–2000, it had decreased by half. And by 2019, it had become just 200 tonnes. Other countries supplied a total of 400 tonnes in the same year, while the total global demand is estimated to be nearly 6000 tonnes a year. This massive demand–supply gap has made sandalwood so costly that it is often referred to as ‘red gold'.The drastic fall in sandalwood supply from India can be explained by a long history of denial of property rights. In fact, State interference in growing, producing, and selling sandalwood has a history of nearly 230 years in India. Here's how the story goes.Sandalwood was in huge demand even during colonial times, especially in China. The East India Company— never one to miss a trading opportunity—aimed to exploit the resources in southern India and export them to China. The problem was that much of the sandalwood-growing area fell under the kingdom of Mysore, led by Tipu Sultan. Recognizing the commercial value of this resource, Tipu Sultan forbade his subjects from trading in the wood with the Britishers in 1786. To take this idea further, he decreed sandal as a ‘royal tree', monopolizing sandalwood trade in 1792. Thus began, out of good intentions, the story of sandalwood's decline.Eventually, this sandalwood trade blockade became one of the primary causes of the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Once the Britishers took control, they were only happy to continue the sandalwood trade monopoly. The conception of sandalwood as a source of government revenue strengthened. Fast forward to Independence and we see that such was the lure of the scented wood that subsequent Indian governments followed the same policy of denying property rights to sandalwood growers. Even when the tree was located on private land, it belonged to the state government, and the owner of the land was required to make a declaration of the number of trees on his land. The forest officer could enter any private land and cut the trees and the range forest officer was supposed to give 75 per cent of the value as decided by the officer. Landholders were to be held responsible for damage or theft of any tree even though they had no exclusive authority over it. Violators could be imprisoned and fined. Further, in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it was necessary to get a licence to store, sell, and process sandalwood. Possession of sandalwood in excess of twenty kilograms was made an offence.Unsurprisingly, the complete disregard for property rights meant that no one was interested in growing sandalwood on their land. It became a liability to be gotten rid of rather than an asset to be invested in. After all, who would want to be accountable for a resource whose fruits of labour they cannot enjoy?The result was a steep fall in production. But the story didn't end there. Given that the demand for wood was still high, a thriving black market emerged. With supply from cultivators choked off by government policy, smuggling the wood growing in government-controlled forests became a lucrative opportunity. Such were the profits to be made that the government could not protect sandalwood smuggling from these forests. When governments created armies of forest guards and personnel to ‘protect' the forests, many forest staff colluded with smugglers, further causing the depletion of the resource. Eventually, this smuggling business paved the way for the likes of Veerappan, who moved away from the riskier ‘business' of killing elephants to the far-more profitable sandalwood smuggling.After decades of this failed policy of denying property rights, governments recognized their mistake in 2001, when the Karnataka government allowed private players to grow and own sandalwood. Tamil Nadu followed suit in 2002. But this recognition of exclusive authority remains incomplete. The government continued to monopolize demand, which meant that farmers could only sell the sandalwood back to the government. Realizing that this was still a major stumbling block, the Karnataka government further liberalized sandalwood policy in 2009. Now, the growers could sell their wood directly to semi-government corporations such as Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation (KSHDC) and Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL). Apparently, KSDL offers a non-negotiable sum of Rs 3500 per kg of sandalwood. The company then turns around and sells the product for nearly Rs 16,000. Even today, farmers are not free to sell to other private players or export their produce.Meanwhile, Australia, which had its own native sandalwood, shifted to the Indian variant in 1998, introduced genetically engineered high-yield varieties, and beat India at its own game. So much so that India now imports Australian sandalwood for the sandalwood oil industry!The TakeawayThe sad sandalwood story illustrates that denial of property rights took away a shot at prosperity for thousands of ordinary farmers. One of the key components of liberty is economic freedom. Denial of this core freedom to individuals by the State or the society is a cruel act that perpetuates poverty. The State shouldn't be let off easily when it abridges this basic right.The hope is that learning from the mistakes of previous generations, many states in India have now adopted liberal policies for sandalwood production. This shouldn't be seen as isolated policy reform. The principle that needs to be internalized is that the State should focus on the protection of property rights of individuals instead of usurping them.India Policy Watch: The Old Debate about Colonial Rule in IndiaInsights on current policy issues in India— Pranay KotasthaneEarlier in the month, I chanced upon this Al Jazeera article, in which two historians have a new data point to illustrate the damage inflicted by British colonial rule on India. They find that “Britain's exploitative policies were associated with approximately 100 million excess deaths during the 1881-1920 period.” Claims of this nature keep surfacing fairly regularly in our public discourse. In recent times, a reason has been the recurring debate in current-day Britain over the legacy of the British Empire. Even as that country is a much smaller power today and one that continues to be outpaced by other competitors, there is understandably a tendency to indulge in colonial nostalgia. From a realist perspective, the colonial period was indeed Britain's moment of glory. In response to this colonial nostalgia, Marxist scholars keep reminding us of numbers and narratives to explain how British rule was ruthless, inhuman, and detrimental to India. Another reason the debate finds a fresh lease of life is that Indian nationalists of various hues resurface the sone ki chidiya narrative — that India was rich and wealthy before the Britishers came here; it was only the British rule that impoverished us. Some even talk about reparations as a way to address—even if to a small extent—the problematic legacy of colonialism. Shashi Tharoor's 2017 book Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India falls under this category. I, too, have caught myself resorting to this trope in casual conversations — the causal chain of reasoning for many of India's problems intuitively ends up with British Rule. We now know that these extreme claims are not all accurate. For instance, consider the economic deprivation argument. The oft-repeated claim is that India made up a quarter of the world's GDP before the Britishers set foot here, and by the time they left, India made up just 4 per cent of the world GDP, a sure sign of loot, plunder, and deliberate deprivation. But now we know better. India's GDP per capita in 1500 was still $500 (in constant 1900 dollars), far below that of contemporary powers such as China ($600) and Europe ($800). In the pre-industrialised world, GDP was a simple function of the population, as there were minor differences in productivity. We comprised 25 per cent of the world GDP only because India was one political populous unit, not because we were rich. The industrial revolution brought in a step-jump in productivity in Europe, and the divergence in incomes became a giant gap by the 1900s. While it might well be true that some part of the divergence resulted from British policies in India, the contribution of the intellectual, industrial, and social revolutions in Western Europe played a much bigger part in accelerating growth there. Moreover, we also know that the period between 1870 and 1913 saw the fastest growth in pre-independence India. On the other hand, economic historians such as Tirthankar Roy have repeatedly highlighted that the economic consequences of colonial rule are, at best mixed. His two books on the Economic History of India, covering the periods 1707-1857 and 1857-1947, authoritatively demonstrate three points. One, the Britishers could sweep across the subcontinent because many sections of Indians found them to be the best among all available alternatives. Two, British rule did bring in some benefits as well. Regardless of intentions, policies such as a consolidated tax system and Railways did have positive consequences. And three, it is difficult to estimate if famines and loot were substantially higher in the British era than in the past because comparable data for the latter simply doesn't exist. From a consequentialist lens, none of these counterarguments should surprise us. As we know, even the worst of social experiments do have some positives, and even the most well-intentioned policies also make some people worse off. Just like COVID-19 also had some small unexpected positive changes, British rule too had some positive outcomes.Despite these counter-arguments, the simpler stories that suggest “British plunder doomed India” are likely to stay dominant. That's because historical accuracy is not the most important consideration while discussing colonialism. Modern Indian nationalism grew out of the shared anti-colonial experience, and putting the blame on the “conniving” Britishers was important for forging unity amongst Indians. So, this narrative is really about nation-building rather than deepening our historical understanding.In today's times, the argument for reparations seems anachronistic. India is a bigger (definitely not richer) economy than the UK today. The UK PM himself is of Indian origin. The future prospects of India are far brighter than that of the UK. Given how far India has already come, these reparations arguments do not make any sense beyond an ointment for our emotional wounds. In fact, doubling down on this colonial loot argument can be counter-productive. India needs the West's help to increase its own national power vis-a-vis China. Just as China benefited from movements of goods, services, labour and capital from the West, we need them too. The more we keep harking back to emotional arguments against colonialism, the more difficult it becomes to adjust to the reality that the West remains indispensable for India. People's intentions in the past matter very little for future policymaking. HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters* [Article] This Mint article captures the main fallacy behind the sone ki chidiya narrative.* [Article] A good summary of Tirthankar Roy's two books on the economic history of India. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.com
A lopsided and an impractical statement by Shashi Tharoor emphasizing that Mughals became an integral part of India unlike Britishers, gave a whiff of deliberate attempt of imposing Islamic suzerainty in India. The Mughal rule was never a part of deep Indic and Sanatan Parampara, rather was a despotic, fanatic and a violent Islamic rule, one aimed at destroying Hindus and Hinduism.
Find out about the political, social, and intellectual contributions of the Tawaifs in the Freedom struggle of India with the help of narration, pictures, enactment, and music. The tales of Begum Hazrat Mahal, Azeezun Bai, Gauhar Jaan, Vidyadhari Bai & Husna Bai – the story of their sacrifices and how they strategized, acted as allies with the freedom fighters and provided their places for meetings and for hiding them when the country needed them the most. The word ‘Tawaif' was not always associated with abuse, but the Tawaifs of the pre-independence era enjoyed a high status in society, and were known for their etiquettes and art of conversation. Many of the Tawaif gloriously participated in the freedom movement and took charge physically and intellectually in the face of adversity. Although, many of the stories of valor, heroism and patriotism have long been forgotten because Britishers tagged them as ‘Nautch Girls'; however contributed immensely to the revolution. “In Delhi and Lucknow, even colonial accounts mention a few Tawaifs who took part in the battle,” says Saba Deewan in her book “Tawaifnama”. We must remember these women fighters as we remember the acts of Rani Laxmi Bai. Perhaps, it'll be possible to share the chronicles more easily if society burns the prejudices that are associated with one's profession and look only at the intentions and contributions. Watch the video and learn more about the brave acts of the Tawaifs who played a glorious role in India's Freedom struggle. Let's also discover other such stories, like that of Dharmman Bibi who rode into the battlefield with her newborn twins, strapped to her - let's go beyond what is mentioned in the history textbooks and discover the real truth of India's freedom Struggle.
Time stamps 00:00 - Titles 00:47 - Intro 02:10 - The women who built Bengaluru 18:08 - Further expansion of Bengaluru 34:39 - Contribution of Britishers to Bengaluru 41:18 - Bengaluru: The Research hub of India 51:54 - 'Not My Question' with Suresh Moona 01:04:37 - 'Ondhu swalpa jasthi' with Suresh Moona
Tune in to the latest episode of The Wire Talks as our host Sidharth Bhatia talks to Australian author and researcher, John Zubrzycki.The duo talks about the latter's recent book, The Shortest History of India. The book covers a wide range of topics right from the earliest humans to Harappan civilisation to the invasion of the country by Mughals and Britishers.His book is also documentation of the 5000 years of Indian history including mentions of colonisation to the Independence period.British historian John Keay says, "The Shortest History of India may be a one-day read but it's no small achievement. Nimbly navigating 5000 years of erratic documentation, Zubrzycki's narrative retains its poise, misses little and is a delight to read." Follow Sidharth Bhatia on Twitter and Instagram @bombaywallah and https://instagram.com/bombaywallahYou can listen to this show on The Wire's website, the IVM Podcasts website, app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.
The remnants of Elizabeth are colonisation,destruction & starvation.With the very same spirit of ignoring floods in Puerto Rico & Pakistan ,Media has towed the Royal Family's line of ignoring people and preferring Royals.Lest the Britishers,realise it very soon….
While recovering from his injuries, Lemuel Roberts (The Deadeye Kid) must try and make peace between two local factions - a group of Swedish loggers (please overlook our sincere attempt at translation) and a team of Yorkshire miners - neither of which speaks any English that Lem can understand... Written and Produced by Julie Hoverson Cast List Lemuel Roberts /Deadeye Kid - J. Spyder Isaacson Clarence Fanshaw - J. Hoverson Doc - Russell Gold Mrs. Doc - Gwendolyn Gieseke-Woodard Ezra - Reynaud LeBoeuf Mrs. Beamish - Judith Moore The Yorkshire Miners: Scabby Bill: John Lingard Will Watt Stevie K. Farnaby Danar Hoverson Paul Green The Swedish Loggers: Oly - Lothar Tuppan Nels - Danar Hoverson Mark Olson Cary Ayers Bill Jones Reynaud Leboeuf Julie Hoverson Cover Design: Brett Coulstock Announcer: Glen "Ole Hoss" Hallstrom Opening theme: "The Wreck of Old '97" from public domain recording found on archive.org Any incidental music: Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com) Editing and Sound: Julie Hoverson No gunshots herald his approach. No trademark left behind him when he leaves. The Kid had his fill of notoriety in days gone by - as plenty of empty boots can surely testify. Some say he rides alone. That's the Deadeye Kid. ********************************************************************** Taste of the Beholder [DeK6] Taste of the Beholder [DeK6] EPISODE 5 FANSHAW Lem! Everyone's gathering! It looks a bit of a party. LEM What's them Swedes a-doin? FANSHAW They're standing by. Like a menacing wall of blonde. LEM [laugh, then coughs] FANSHAW Are you quite sure you're up for this? The doctor said you'd worn yourself nearly into a relapse. LEM Why you think I'm a-lyin here, stead-a being out there? MRS. DOC [behind door] You all right in there? May I come in? LEM [up] Yes ma'am. SOUND DOOR OPENS, SHE ENTERS LEM Jest tryin t'sort out some words as might work with these fellers. MRS. DOC That sounds wise. You've already done wonders. But I have a favor--? LEM Anythin' ma'am. MRS. DOC [hesitant] If you can, can you perhaps get them to-- uh-- LEM Go on? MRS. DOC To fix my window, there? They are the ones that broke it. LEM I already planned on jest that, ma'am. Donchoo worry. MRS. DOC Mr. Roberts, you are a veritable angel. LEM Oh, no ma'am. Just a man of plain talkin. [laughs, then coughs a bit] MRS. DOC Get you round a bit more of this and rest you til you're good and ready to come on out. They can just hold their hosses. FANSHAW I'll go and see how far the "royal progress" has come. FADE SOUND OUTSIDE FANSHAW [sigh] Still out of sight. Come along Ezra, let us see if we can catch a glimpse of this mysterious lady. EZRA Are they gonna fight? FANSHAW [definite] No. My friend Lem has maneuvered them into peace talks. EZRA It would be fun to watch them fight, but ain't very angelic, is it? FANSHAW No. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now, would we? EZRA Is that the lady, in the cart? With the big hat and veil? FANSHAW I would assume so. A bit of an affectation for the wilds, but everyone has their little vanities. EZRA Why'ud a lady wear a veil? Is she really ugly? FANSHAW I don't know about this particular lady, but many ladies wear them to protect their delicate skin from the harsh sun. EZRA Ain't much sun under all these trees. FANSHAW And some ladies, well, they wear a veil to put men at a disadvantage. No one is entirely comfortable talking to someone they cannot rightly see. [pause] I need to let Lem know what all is going on. I'll be back shortly. SOUND SHOUTS FANSHAW What? EZRA Thought you said they wasn't a-gonna fight! FANSHAW They weren't supposed to! Blast! That looks like more of the Swedes, taking the cart! MRS. BEAMISH [screams] Tyke yer bleedin' 'ands off me, ye dodgy swine! FANSHAW Not much of a lady. And nothing much we can do here. EZRA Oh, lookee! That feller got punched right off the cart! SOUND GRUNTS FANSHAW I need to go and tell Lem. Would you stay with them and see where they go? EZRA [eager] That would help ya? FANSHAW It would be very helpful. EZRA I'm your man. [distracted] Oh goodness! That fellow slammed into the tree! That's gotta smart something fierce! FADE LEM They here yet? DOC No. It's not so far from the camp that they shouldn't be in sight yet. FANSHAW Lem! Ambush! LEM [quiet] Aw hell. DOC What? LEM [sigh, considering best way to say] I think I ...heard something. DOC [more joking than suspicious] You must have the plumb smartest ears I ever did encounter, Mr. Roberts. The way you keep hearing things. LEM [covering] Uh... Gotta be, livin' raw on the range. Ya don't hear sumpin a-comin up on you, well, you deserve whatever ya get. DOC I reckon so. LEM And with the window broken, sound can get in more. DOC What is it you heard? LEM Fighting. Or leastways a yell. Sumpin that spoke "fight" to ma mind. DOC You think there's still trouble? LEM I'll lay odds that lady ain't gonna make it here any time soon. DOC Dag nabbit. SOUND STORMS OUT OF ROOM FADE SOUND OUTSIDE SOUND SOMEONE RUNS UP OLY Vad är det? [What is it?] KJELL [out of breath] Vi tog henne! [We took her!] OLY [incredulous and angry] Du gjorde vad? [You did WHAT?] KJELL [uncertain] Vi ... tog kvinnan tillbaka. [We ... took the woman back.] SVEN Bra! Nu har vi vad vi betalat för! [Good! Now we have what we paid for!] OLY Du idioter! Nu blir det krig! [You idiot! Now there will be war!] FADE FITCH What wasp flee up thon jacksey? [what got into them?] SCABBY BILL 'Appen t'were skrike I heered? Lads-- [That might have been a shout. The lads--] PIKEY Clack on't devil! Eyup Jimmy! [speak of the devil.] SOUND RUNNING FEET JAMES [gasping and in some pain] Eyup! Them brutes come out't snicket, 'ave cart upskelled and auld lass gone, bahn for none can ken, afore aught'n us could raise 'and. [those fellows come out of the bushes and attacked! Tipped the cart and took the woman before we could react!] FINCH Good night! Could smell t beer, sae close to settlin' t' slate, and such 'appens. [Damn! Just when this was going to settle peacefully, this happens.] JAMES Canna settle now! Yon 'eads want thumpin'! Paid in full. [too late to make peace! I want to beat some heads! They deserve it!] FINCH Dustup does nae good for aught-- [a fight won't do anyone any good] PIKEY [playing devil's advocate] Nae, lad. Tha path's neither nowt nor summat. Time fer muckin out. Nae room fer them as tek such libertines - to clamber out t' shrubbery and ketch up what's nowt fer them. [no, lad. Your way is doing no good. Time to clean this up. There's no place for those who would lay in ambush.] SCABBY BILL Tha's the pot! Us'm tek'er first! [You're one to talk! We took her first] PIKEY [making his point] S'truth, do we chance to scutch, mayhap yan or two might fall - and then us left must delve t' more. [Of course, if we fight, if we strike a blow, some of us may die - which leaves the rest of us to work even harder at digging.] MINERS [mutters] "s'truth." "Ba gum." "It gets right up ma cuff." "'Arsh, that." "Toes up o'er grub? Nae!" JAMES Us'll clean them clocks! [we won't lose!] PIKEY Ne'er seen clock tha could clean. DOC [loud, trying to get all attention] CALM DOWN! ALL GO QUIET DOC Bother. That's about all I got. FADE LEM This's how wars get lit. FANSHAW Who is this woman anyway? Helen of Troy? LEM Was she on the stage or sumpin? FANSHAW [chuckles] no, she was a king's wife who was abducted by another king and a great and glorious war was begun. LEM Ain't no war great and glorious. Not till everyone as been there's long dead. FANSHAW Oh. LEM How'd they end that war? FANSHAW [a bit embarrassed] They made a giant wooden horse. LEM [laughs] I think mebbe you gotta tell me this story later, when we ain't about to have all hell cut loose on us. [groans, getting up] SOUND RUSTLING OF CLOTHES, ETC. FANSHAW Don't--! LEM Ain't no choice here. Both them top fellers seem to lissen t'me. Much as doc's a good man, he don't have the touch. SOUND DOOR OPENS FANSHAW Speak of the devil! DOC Here now! What are you doing, Mister roberts? LEM I'm planning on facing them in full gear fer once. DOC You are not facing them at all... you know what's happening? LEM I gotta right good guess. Since the miners were a-bringing her here, I spect twas the loggers jumped em and done took her. DOC I think so. LEM Hitch up the cart. We're gonna mosey to the logging camp. FADE SOUND OUTSIDE LARS [commanding] Du! Kock! [You! "cook"] MRS. BEAMISH [snide] Ain't never understood one bloomin word out ye mouf, but vat sounds rigth filthy ye cheesehead! LARS Du kom hit för att laga mat för oss. Du är skyldig en skuld. [you came here to cook for us. You owe a debt.] MRS. BEAMISH Gah-on. Say somfing in normal talk. Ah dare ya. LARS [to Kjell] Tror du att hon förstår? [Do you think she understands?] ARN Hon låter lite arg. [She sounds a little angry.] FREDEK Jag tror att hon låter galen. [I think she sounds insane.] NELS Sure, it is like standing to the knees in a mire. EZRA Why's that, Mr. Nels? NELS You! Can you do something? EZRA What should I do? NELS Get that woman over here. The one that was calling out. EZRA Who? Oh! [laughs] That's no woman! That's Mr. Fanshaw. NELS Well, he sounds like one to me. Is there anything he can do? FADE DOC Brought the wagon round. Come on then, lemme give you a hand. LEM You kin carry my kit, if you would. DOC You need support-- LEM [definite] No. Gettin me to the door, that's right fine, but outside, I gotta put the fear o' god in them, best I can. And being carried round like a cripple sorta puts a bonnet on that. DOC I'll be right behind you, then. Just in case. SOUND FOOTSTEPS MRS. DOC [slightly defiant] I, on the other hand, could use all the support you care to give. DOC Irene? MRS. DOC Not from you, dear. Mr. Roberts, if you might give me your arm, sir? DOC Irene! MRS. DOC I've already got my hat on, husband. We might as well get moving. DOC What exactly do you think you are doing, woman? MRS. DOC [super sweet] Why, I'm accompanying my beloved husband and his patient on a little wagon ride. LEM [tries not to laugh] DOC I forbid it! MRS. DOC [sweetly] Oh, of course, dear! If you prefer, I can wait here at home, the home these silly men have already broken into - from both sides, I might add. Wait until someone decides that the easiest way to get this to end is perhaps to take me hostage, or threaten-- DOC [losing steam] Oh hush!! LEM The lady has a point, doc. Seein as I still think we gotta a fair chance of stoppin this without none getting hurt, it'ud likely be safer, ma'am, if you were to stay by us. MRS. DOC Good. Now take my arm, Mr. Roberts, for goodness sake! You're swaying like a sapling. FADE EZRA Mr. Fanshaw! [laughs] Nels says you sound like a lady. FANSHAW It is just my accent. The way I talk. EZRA You do talk funny. FANSHAW Can you go and ask Nels if his men understand a white flag of truce? EZRA What is that? FANSHAW When men - or even armies - want to talk rather than fight, they will come bearing a white flag. EZRA Where do they get a white flag? FANSHAW They just make one. Please. It is important that we know. FADE SOUND OUTSIDE SOUND SCUFFLE MINERS [Arguing] "More brass'n brains" "near as makes n'matter" " that's a threp in't steans" "caffelin' t' 'oil works, am I." SWEDES [arguing] SOUND FOOTSTEPS LEM [sigh] Shut up! SOUND STILL FIGHTING LEM Pardon me ma'am. Step aside if you please. SOUND HER STEPS SOUND GUNSHOT ALL [go quiet] SOUND SOMETHING DROPS Taste of the Beholder [DeK6] EPISODE 6 1_MOVING OUT LEM You miners. You... uh... manskers. Um. [slowly, with gestures] We go in cart to your-- OLY Mig? LEM Yes, your camp. You lead us. SCABBY BILL [slightly out of breath] Right. Nowt wait aught mair. Us'm goin - wi'thee, or nowt. LEM We's all a-goin. [to Mrs. Doc] You get on up in the wagon now, ma'am. MRS. DOC [a bit shaky] All right. DOC [quiet] Doesn't look like anyone is hurt too bad. LEM They's all still on their feet. OLY [slowly, trying to be understood] detta var inte min idé. Inte jag. Jag kommer att tala strängt till dem. [this was not my idea. Not me. I will speak sternly to them.] LEM You lead. [turns to Scabby Bill] You follow. Reckon? SCABBY BILL Reckon. FADE 2_GRADY1 SOUND SOMEONE RUNNING IN PANIC GRADY [gasping muttered mantra] Don't slow down, don't slow down. A log! Oh sweet Jesus! SOUND THUMP, SCRAMBLE, SLOW MOVEMENT SOUND BEHIND HIM, MEN MAN1 Keep heading downhill! MAN2 Brush too thick over there! This way! GRADY [barely there prayer] Pity me! [couple of deep breaths] [sound of exertion] SOUND RUNNING AGAIN FADE 3_AGREEING SOUND CART PLODDING DOC [quietly] That was a foolhardy thing you done back there, Irene. MRS. DOC I cannot disagree. DOC You should never've - what? MRS. DOC [sweet] I was merely agreeing with you, husband. LEM [quiet chuckle] DOC [trying to stay annoyed] But-but you-- [loses it, laughs] My mother always said you would be a handful. MRS. DOC I believe mine said something very similar. DOC About me? MRS. DOC [laughing] No, about me. LEM If I was a man to interfere, I might say you're a lucky feller. DOC I cannot disagree. LEM Lucky the lady is on your side, if you don't mind me saying so, ma'am. ALL [laugh] FADE 4_LOGGING CAMP FREDEK Många män kommer! [Many men are coming!] LARS Vi kommer inte ge upp! [We will not surrender!] FREDEK Detta är inte något att dö för! [This is not something to die for!] ARN Jag skulle hellre dö än att äta en annan måltid tillagad av dig. [I would rather die than eat another meal cooked by you.] LARS Jag ser Oly. [I see Oly.] ARN Han ser arg. [He looks angry.] FREDEK De måste ha vapen. [They must have guns.] NELS Nothing worse than to have to sit and listen to them babble. OLY [off, yelling] Alla ni! Stå vid sidan! [All of you! Stand aside!] NELS And cannot do anything when Oly tells them to calm down. LARS [yelling] Är de hotar dig? [Are they threatening you?] OLY [off, yelling, pissed off] Du är en idiot! Vi var överens. Då har du stört! Du står åt sidan! [You are an idiot! We were in accord. Then you interfered! You stand aside!] FADE 5_CHUCKIE JAMES Tha gormless bastard! Guns or nowt, us could take 'em! [Idiot. Even with the guns, we could win.] PIKEY And 'oo ist 'aveta send tha mam word o thy beefing. Appen I should say 'er son died of 'is own barm, or sweeten tha death wi' claims thee lost fight to a chuckie. [And I will have to write to your mother. What would you like me to tell her, that you died of being stupid, or that you lost a fight to a chicken?] TED [sigh] And us start sommat, it'll nae stop 'ere. [If we do start something, the fighting will not end here.] FITCH I dinna feel fer the fight. Yon stormcloud, 'im seems a fair measure. [I don't feel like fighting. That fellow - he seems fair.] PIKEY Cud gang fer a slurp missen. [This would be a good time for a drink.] FADE 6_GRADY2 SOUND RUNNING MAN1 and MAN2 [closer than before] [yelling "Just over that ridge!" "Get him!" "Yeller bastard!"] GRADY [gasping and ragged] Good god above, [gasp] please, [gasp] send me into a river. Anything. [gasp] Just to get me [gasp] get me away... FADE 7_CART SOUND HORSES. CART NOT MOVING. DOC [whispered] Irene, I prefer strongly that you remain in the cart. MRS. DOC As always, I defer to your wisdom, dear husband. DOC [rueful laugh] Hah. Good. SOUND HE CLIMBS DOWN MRS. DOC I'll also keep a close eye on the shotgun. DOC The what? LEM I'll leave my satchel here as well, if you please, ma'am. MRS. DOC Happy to be useful. [like speaking to kids] You two go on now and make peace. FADE 8_OLY KOMMER FREDEK Oly! De kommer! [Oly! They are coming!] OLY Var inte dum. De är redan här. [Do not be stupid. They are already here.] FREDEK Fler män! Bakom åsen! [More men! Behind the ridge!] NELS Sure I do not think those fellows are of these men. EZRA More fighting? FANSHAW And this must be Nels. NELS And you must be from England. FANSHAW Why, yes. Though I do not sound much like my "countrymen" down there. NELS Nay. You sound like most Britishers. FANSHAW I suppose I do. NELS Just like a woman. FANSHAW I do not! EZRA You do a bit. FANSHAW [grinding out, trying to change the subject] You said something about more men? NELS Sure, over the ridge. Quite a ways off. I can barely get close enough to see, but they are traveling fast, for men on foot. FANSHAW We'll have to keep an eye out for them, though I am quite certain that all the men I've seen - on either side - are here. EZRA Mister Fanshaw? NELS All of my men are here. Even those with a head full of porridge. FANSHAW That's a blessing anyway. EZRA Mister Fanshaw! FANSHAW I am so sorry, Ezra. I was lost in thought. EZRA You want I should go and look at the men a-coming? FANSHAW They sound like they're rather far off. EZRA I can go real far off. FANSHAW [interested] Really. Very well. You'll go and see how many there are? EZRA I'll find out everything for ya. FANSHAW I wonder just how far "real far" is. FADE 9_teh dam SOUND CROWD RUMBLE, BUT NO TALKING SOUND LEM'S SLOW FOOTSTEPS LEM Um, [to Oly] Dam? OLY Ta kvinnan här! [Bring the woman out here!] LARS [grumbling] Vi var bara försökte hjälpa [We were only trying to help] OLY Go! [Go!] NELS If they wanted to help so bad, sure, why did they never make the time for to learn some words? FANSHAW Always much easier to see mistakes when it is too late. NELS Ya. SOUND DOOR OPENS, LARS AND MRS. BEAMISH COME OUT FANSHAW This? This is the woman all the trouble has been over? She's ...hardly what I expected. LEM Ma'am. They's been quite a ruckus over you. BEAMISH Oh, Luvly. Anuvver what don't speak the Queen's English. LEM I guess I speak American, then. But I hazard you understand me fine. BEAMISH [begrudging] I kin mike yer out. LEM That's good. Now these fellers, they have some claim to you? NELS Sure, she owes us five years service. BEAMISH [grudgingly admitting] Aye... They do. LEM Five years. Legal. BEAMISH [annoyed sigh] Aye. DOC [whispered] How'd you get that? LEM [whispered] Guessed. Standard indenture. DOC Ah! BEAMISH [whining a bit] But I can't unnerstand a bleeding word outtav'em! FANSHAW I say, Nels, you paid for that? Under all that veiling, she sounds rather... old. NELS What do you expect in a cook? Sure we don't have to look at her while we eat. FANSHAW A cook! Good gad! LEM But you had no trouble doing the work they put you to? BEAMISH Good plain cooking. Even such as they musta liked it, for I dessay they never let a plate go cold. DOC Cooking? They're willing to fight over a cook? LEM I reckon with a wife like your good missus, you've never had to eat day-old burnt scratch. DOC Well... MRS. DOC [calling from off, excited] Husband? LEM Go on. DOC [walking off] Yes, dear? FADE 10_grady hides SOUND MEN SLOWLY SEARCHING SOUND BREATHING, IN A TIGHT SPACE GRADY [trying to quiet his breathing] EZRA That's a lot of men to send out fer one fella. You must be a bad man. GRADY [whispered] Someone up there, please help me! MAN1 I think I heard something! FADE 11_shares LEM [whispered, to fanshaw] Ask Nels the word for "share". FANSHAW You're thinking to split the baby again. LEM Amazing how many problems boil down to something that simple. DOC Lem? We - my wife and I - might have a congenial answer for all this fuss. LEM Do tell. DOC Well, Mrs. - uh - Beamish, is it? BEAMISH Beamish. Aye. DOC My good lady wife suggested I extend an invitation for you to stay with us. BEAMISH Where's 'at, then? DOC Our house. It's rather in the middle of all this. BEAMISH Won't say no to sleepin in proper 'ouse. Not them shanties. DOC [a bit slowly, trying to make it understandable to all] You stay our house-- SOUND [rumble of muttering on both sides] DOC Cook. Cook a lot. BEAMISH I dearly 'ope you're tryin'a talk t'them, cos I ain't that bleeding thick. DOC They are the ones who need to agree. BEAMISH Go'ahn then. DOC [to miners] You come. Eat. [to loggers] You. Eat. LEM [quiet] Eat? Nels? NELS [Eat] ata LEM Thankee. [up, to doc] "ata" DOC Oh? All right. You. Come to house. "ata". LARS [annoyed] Jag tror att han säger att hon ska laga för honom. [I think he is saying she will cook for him.] NELS Sure, they do not want to give her over to the doctor either. He has a wife to cook for him. OLY Nej, säger han vi äter, också. Tror jag. [No, he says we eat, also. I think.] FANSHAW No, no. He's trying to say that the woman will be in the middle, and both sides can come and eat in peace. No more fighting. NELS Tell them ["You eat too"] du äter för. FANSHAW Lem? Did you-- LEM Doo ah-ter fore. OLY Ya. Mycket bra. [Yes. very good] LEM And you all? PIKEY Nae more tae eat bab out Bill? [snort] I don't gi' a chuff where's hersen rest. [No more eating the shit Bill cooks? I don't care where she stays.] TED 'Appen 'at's a relief! [That's for sure!] JAMES Eh, by gum. SCABBY BILL Ere, now! PIKEY Tha noz thee's no' called Scabby fer Nowt. [You know they don't call you scabby for nothing.] LEM Good. DOC Nice to know that people can be peaceable, even-- SOUND GUNSHOTS, DISTANT LEM Damn! ALL [reactions! Gasps, expletives] "Hellfire!" "Wha's't faff?" "flipping 'eck!" EZRA Mister Fanshaw? I think they's heading this way. Taste of the Beholder [DeK6] EPISODE 7 MUSIC SCENE 1. AMB OUTSIDE LEM [urgent, but even voice] Doc, I fancy it's time you take the ladies back to that fine house of your'n. DOC But I can help-- LEM [more forceful] BY taking THEM to safety. If we's needin you atall, it's like to be after the battle. SOUND GUNSHOTS, DISTANT MRS. DOC [off, a bit worried] Husband? LEM Mrs. Beamish, you go on now with these good folk. We got some rough work ahead of us. MRS. BEAMISH Ain't never been one to run, but finking feedin th'lads come vict'ry's more my place. SOUND SHE WALKS TO WAGON DOC [quiet, but knowing it will do no good] You should come with us. LEM And hosses should lay eggs. [chuckles] I'll stay still as I can. But I'm the king pin yokin these fellers one side t'other. Go on now. [up] Ma'am, if you could hand me down my sack? I might find myself in need of a few more shells. MRS. DOC Here you go. [very concerned] You make sure and look after yourself, you hear? My husband put a lot of work into you. DOC [amused but still worried] You heard her - and you know how ornery she can be. LEM I reckon I do. DOC [confidential] You fire three shots in the air, all at once, and I'll be back lickety-split with the shotgun. LEM Preciate it. SOUND DOC WALKS OFF SCENE 2. LEM [slight groan] Quickly - You, Bill. You, Oly. SCABBY BILL Right. OLY Ja? SOUND SCRATCHING IN THE DIRT LEM [talking while drawing terrain and pointing at things] Sun. There. Hill. There. Ja? OLY Ja. Bäck. Ge. [stream. Give.] LEM Take it. SOUND MORE SCRATCHING SCABBY BILL Thass river? OLY Bäck. [stream] LEM Close enough I think. Bill, can y'all circle round here, over to the left, with yer fellas, and come up alongside? They got guns and you don't, so I suggest comin on 'em from hidin. SCABBY BILL Us'm? LEM Course, it ain't yer fight, but-- SCABBY BILL Nay problem, lad. Lads're pantin' fer a good donnybrook. [shrug] Canna beat on't Swedes, them ticks'll haveta play the Judy. LEM All righty then, sounds like yer all in. Go on. Get ye some stout branches and knock em down, but try not t'kill em. SCABBY BILL Why them tea party manners? LEM In case they ain't the villians here. SCABBY BILL Ah. Right. We're bahn. SOUND WALKS OFF SCABBY BILL [off, calling] Ayup lads! There'll be cracked pates afore sundown, I'll be bahn! LEM Now for the tricky one. OLY Du vill att vi ska åka på detta sätt. Runt den andra sidan. Och angrepp från bakhåll? [You want us to go this way. Around the other side. And attack from ambush?] NELS He says do you want our men to go around the other way and attack from ambush as well? LEM [startled laugh] Oly, old son, we'll get you tricked up with English talkin yet. OLY vad är det? [What is that?] LEM Later. After dust settles. NELS Tell him "senare" [Later] LEM Senare OLY Ja. Bakhåll? Ja? [Ambush] NELS [translating] Attack from behind. LEM Ya. Go on. OLY [going off] komma mäniskor! Dags att slå några huvuden! [come on men! Time to beat some heads!] LEM [heavy sigh, slight groan] FANSHAW Lem? LEM [quiet] I'm alright. I'm alright. Just tuckered out. Ain't nothin better for fellers like these, but to fight together 'gainst some other varmints. Think this will end it once and fer all. FANSHAW I certainly hope so. LONG MUSIC SCENE 3. AMB NIGHT, CAMPFIRE ON LEFT OLY [clearly storytelling] Vi reste snabbt och tyst. Då vi hörde dem. Arn gömde sig bakom ett träd. Lars var under en fallen stock. [We traveled fast and quiet. Then we heard them. Arn hid behind a tree. Lars was beneath a fallen log.] ARN Hah! Bra att vara kort, eh, Lars? [Hah! Good to be short, eh, Lars?] LARS Bah! SWEDES [general laughter] OLY Vi ser tre kommer! En lång en i en hatt och två andra. Gräslig. Cruel söker. De rör sig långsamt, letar efter något-- [We see three coming! A tall one in a hat and two others. Ugly. Cruel looking. They move slowly, looking for something--] MUSIC WIPE ACROSS THE SOUNDSCAPE SCENE 4. AMB CAMPFIRE ON RIGHT SCABBY BILL Nowt but three up't front, but us cud 'ear more clamberin in't lee. PIKEY [bragging] Like scratch hisself in't garden, I were oop on deadfall like bird in't nest. Thass nowt ne surer as none'll raise them eyen. [I'd crawled like snake up along a fallen trunk, like a bird in a nest. And no one ever looks up] SCABBY BILL Aye, lad. Ain't soul in t' world cud suss windy sot might drop out of clear blue ont' im's pate. [I'll give you that. No one expects a flatulant drunk to fall out of the sky on his head.] MINERS [general laughter] PIKEY [correcting him haughtily] Nay, nay. Windy sot wieldin' t' grandest thump 'im ever see'd. [A flatulant drunk with a great big stick, I remind you!] MINERS [more laughter] MUSIC WIPE SCENE 5. AMB CAMPFIRE ON LEFT OLY Att en - med skriande skratt - var upp i ett träd. Jag fruktade för dig som han tappade på toppen av. [That one - with the braying laugh - was up a tree. I feared for anyone he dropped atop of.] ARN Åtminstone var det inte oss! [At least it wasn't us!] SWEDES [general laughter] OLY Han vinkade till mig. Då pekade förbi männen. Sedan lyfte han två händer fingrar. Många män skulle komma! [He waved to me. Then pointed past the men. Then he raised two hands of fingers. Many men were coming!] FANSHAW It sounds like a fascinating story. I wish I could understand a word of it. NELS He was saying that the noisy fellow-- FANSHAW Aren't they all rather noisy? NELS [laughs] THAT one - got above. High up. Counted the men coming behind. Showed him fingers for the count. FANSHAW Accord without a single word. Lovely. MUSIC WIPE SCENE 6. AMB CAMPFIRE ON RIGHT FITCH Beyond tha' ken, Bill, our Pikey gives the wrist to yon tall tallow hair. [girlish noise] Ooooh! Tis in ma mind him's a sight too long wi'out a damp scuffle. [But what YOU didn't see, Bill, was Pikey making obscene hand gestures across to the tall blonde fellow. I think he's been alone too long.] SOUND SLIGHT SCUFFLE - FRIENDLY SMACK PIKEY Dinna fash. Tha'd be first choice, fitchy m'lad. Smack afore yows and kine. Past that, mayhaps Swede. Blondes ain't nivver turned ma top. [kiss kiss noise] [You'd be my first choice, Fitch, right before ewes and cows. I have never been fond of blondes.] FITCH [teasing] Ooh-ah. Get a good scrub on thee aught often, afore thee clack. [Bathe. Then we'll talk.] MINERS [general laughter] SCABBY BILL Right. 'oo's keeping a tally? [jokingly making a list] Needed f'r camp - butter, shot, tobacy, loose females. [Right. Someone make a list of things we need for the camp. Start with some loose women.] MINERS [hysterical laughter] MUSIC SCENE 7. AMB CAMPFIRE ON LEFT OLY De var fortfarande ute. Kanske för en person. Kanske för ett djur. Något som kunde dölja sig. Vi sprider vidare bakom dem, lugn och vaksam. [They were still looking. Maybe for a person. Maybe for an animal. Something that could hide itself. We spread further behind them, quiet and watchful.] LARS Jag var längst. När den sista passerade, jag slog ner honom snabbt. [hit noise] [I was furthest. When the last passed by, I hit him down quickly.] SWEDES [approving mumble] MUSIC WIPE SCENE 8. AMB CAMPFIRE ON RIGHT SOUND WAGON SLOWLY MOVING IN FROM A DISTANCE PIKEY Afore mine eyen, them axes circle up the jacksey, and I knew us'd ne'er let it be said us'd come up short in t' tally! [I saw them blonde fellers moving behind. I knew we'd never want to lag behind.] SCABBY BILL No. So... Pikey made t' shrill-- SOUND SHARP WHISTLE SCABBY BILL [reacts in pain] NOWT up ma lug! [angry sigh] Wi' a cry t' lads pounced! [Not in my ear! And we attacked] FITCH Like yoked set of dannys, us come right side, cack side! And them'us jiggered like clemmy shale. [Like a pair of hands, we came from right and left. They broke like lose rock.] MUSIC WIPE SCENE 9. AMB LEFT CAMPFIRE OLY Var och en föll. Slås ner av våra modiga händer. Eller våra vänner händer. [Every one fell. Struck down by our brave hands. Or our friends' hands. [raising his voice]] ALL GOOD! SCABBY BILL [off] I hears that! [yelling back] Ayup lads? ALL GOOD! SWEDES and MINERS [not very much in unison- just loud] ALL GOOD! DOC [off] Ho there! Sounds like it's safe to approach? MUSIC SCENE 10. AMB INSIDE SOUND [OUTSIDE] THE MEN YELLING AND LAUGHING FANSHAW Lem? LEM [rousing from half sleep] Yup? Sounds like peace at last. FANSHAW And the doctor just arrived. [chuckles] With a kettle of something hearty, and some lovely- LEM Biscuits? [chuckles] FANSHAW [chuckles too] He'll be in here in a moment, I'm sure. [beat] The men - both factions - were rather impressive. Possibly less impressive than the tales they're telling at the moment, but they did very well. LEM Who was it they's up against? FANSHAW Looks like outlaws. Chasing a fugitive. LEM And the feller they'us after? FANSHAW [sigh] He was already ... done for. Gone. LEM [sigh] The Doc's spare room is looking like heaven just about now. DOC [outside] Mister Roberts? LEM [a bit weaker] In here! LONG MUSIC SCENE 11. AMB DOC'S HOUSE DOC I will not hear of you leaving that bed for at least a week, Mister Roberts. MRS. DOC [from off] Don't you get it into your head that you'll be able to sweet-talk your way past me neither. LEM I got no plans to budge aught farther than the broth and biscuits require to reach my mouth. DOC Good. MUSIC SCENE 12. AMB DOC'S HOUSE LEM Alone? FANSHAW They're all in the kitchen, yes. From the smells, that Beamish woman is very nearly as accomplished in the kitchen as our lady hostess, despite her lack of - ahem - refinement. They have set the men to building a sort of cookhouse. Just an annex big enough for her to serve out of. The doctor's wife objected, you see, to having all these men troop through the house at mealtimes. LEM Cain't say that I blame her. Catch me up a bit? FANSHAW They say the way to man's heart is through his stomach - and we now have clear evidence this works for groups of men as well as it works on individuals. They've all become the best of chums. And those Swedish follows are learning English, bit by bit. LEM One more victory for-- FANSHAW Civilization? LEM [down] I was gonna say salvation. Had a might too much time to ponder my past while I been laid up here. FANSHAW I shan't pry, but you know I will gladly listen to anything you feel the need to unburden yourself of. LEM Thankee kindly, but my burden is my own. FANSHAW Well. When you are up to visting, We should make a trip to speak to the fellow who was being chased by the outlaws. LEM Where ARE they, anyway? FANSHAW Several of the men took them down a flatboat on the river to the next landing. Haven't made the return yet - I gather it takes a few days. LEM Mm. Good. FANSHAW But, you see... this fellow was ...killed a bit further out than I can reach. It's very frustrating. Ezra, though... LEM Oh, yup - this Ezra you been talking about? How come I ain't seen him, never? FANSHAW I don't know. He's a child. A spirit. Who prefers to think of himself an angel. I rather think he's been here quite a long time. And Lem... LEM Yup? FANSHAW I-I feel quite dreadful about this, but - you understand, I have been endeavoring to find some way to help him pass on. But there's this--- LEM Spit it out and let's see what color it is. FANSHAW Ezra can go just about anywhere within the entire valley. That is rather a long distance. He seems to have very few of the limitations that I find myself so hampered by. I don't understand it one bit, and I have this - notion - to try and figure out why. Before I help him find his way onward. LEM Guess it's a good thing I'm laid up, then, ain't it?
Two words that did the unimaginable...they united whole of India against colonial Britishers; whose mere utterance invoked fear in the Britishers and made people fight for a cause. Listen to the story of conception of India's National song Vande Mataram. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode, Main Bhi Muslim's producer and host, Mariyam Haider, speaks with Dr Tahera Shaikh, Pune-based researcher and author who has spent a key part of her research life documenting the lives and contributions of Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh, 19th century India's social and educational reformers. In this episode, Dr Tahera shares her findings and understanding of Fatima Sheikh's role in contributing towards Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule's causes, while at the same time, breaking down prejudices that plagued the then Muslim and larger Indian community. We discuss their comradeship, its uniqueness within the pantheon of India's social reformers, and how their approaches towards making education accessible across all segments of the society should continue to be adopted within modern India's schooling.This interview has been edited for clarity. English transcript below:Mariyam Haider, Host: Hello Dr Tahera Shaikh. Thank you for joining us at Main Bhi Muslim's podcast. Thank you for sparing time to talk about a great personality. I welcome you to Main Bhi Muslim. Tahera Shaikh, Guest: Thank you Mariyam Haider. Thank you for having me on the program and giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts. Thank you. Mariyam: Dr. Tahera, first tell us something about yourself. Share with us as to how you developed interest in the life of Fatima Sheikh. How did you study Fatima Sheikh and how did you conduct your research to write on her?Shaikh: My name is Shaikh Tahera Abdushakur. I live in Pune. My father Abdusshakur is from Usmanabad. My mother Maimuna Begam comes from Karnataka (Banglore). My paternal grandfather was a farmer. My maternal grandfather was Hafiz and Alim. My father is a businessman. He is not much educated. He is matriculate only. But my maternal family was an educated family. My Khalu was an Alim and he has authored books also. Hence, I have been interested in education since my childhood. In Pune, first I started teaching in a school situated in Mominpura. In that school, once a decision was taken to name the newly built hall after Fatima Bi. Before that I had not heard the name of Fatima Bi at all. Thereafter, I started reading about her. Although I had read a few articles about Savitribai Phule, I knew nothing about her (Fatima Shaikh). When we celebrate the birth and death anniversaries of great personalities, we require gathering basic facts about them (to educate the students). Therefore, when we searched material on Savitribai Phule we could only find a few articles. We could not find any book. Then, we (I and my friend Nasrin Ramzan; we had jointly authored two books earlier) decided that we would work on this topic. Since I am settled in Pune, therefore I have studied Marathi till Class X. So, I did not face any difficulty in reading Marathi and Hindi books. Thus, I first began collecting materials. I visited libraries or any other place I knew I could get something from. I stored them on my laptop and then started working on it. I thought I would first write a book about her personal and social life etc. I was of the view that people should know what she had done for our society. You won't believe that at first I had decided to write just a piece of article on her of not more than 10 pages. But eventually I ended up writing 150 pages. Therefore, I decided to publish this in the form of a book. Meanwhile, my friend Nasrin decided to work on “Kavyaphule” of Savitribai Phule [collection of poems written by Savitribai Phule, published in 1854]. Thus, I continued my work. And, the book was published on 3rd January, 2015. I had deliberately chosen 3rd January to release the book, because it happens to be the birthday of Savitribai Phule. A hall named after Savitribai Phule was built in Pune. I released the book in that hall only. Thus, a book—a kind of biography—on her came in the public domain. On the other hand, the work on Fatima Shaikh, also began especially. You won't believe, I visited every nook and corner in Pune to meet elderly persons who had any knowledge vis-à-vis Fatima Shaikh. But I hardly got anything in writing i.e. any evidence which can be used as reference in the book, because readers would rely on whatever I would write as there was no book on her prior to this one. Therefore, I was very concerned and particular about it while adding things. Unlike Fatima Shaikh, there are plenty of materials and books available on Savitribai Phule and we know basic things about her— for instance when was she born; when did she get married, when did she come to Pune, when did she start her study and when did she start imparting education to children. But on Fatima Sheikh, very little things were available. Therefore, keeping in view the fact that whatever I would write the same would be used as a reference by the readers, I decided to write only after extensive research and examination. For two to three years, I continued collecting materials and studying them. And, in the meantime, I developed an interest in the idea that people should and must know about a Muslim lady who accompanied Savitribai Phule. As people say had there not been Munshi Ghaffar Baig there would not have been Jyotiba Phule or he would not have been a Mahatma. Thus, Alhamdulillah, finally I succeeded in publishing a book. I was happy eventually. Then, everyone (including writers of Marathi, English and Kannada), started reading it and using reference. Thus, I have had interest in writing articles and books since childhood. First of all, I had written and published a book in 2007. It was a collection of short stories for children. Then, I also wrote a novel, stories for children, short stories etc. I also visited the village of Savitribai Phule . I heard that Savitribai Phule and Fatima Bi had gone to Ahmad Nagar for Teachers' Training. There I tried to find out some facts in the old registers etc. so as to get facts vis-à-vis date of birth etc. But I did not find any old material or solid evidence. What Savitribai has written about her in the book has only travelled forward. In addition to that, she has mentioned about her several times. For example, in some programme she (Savitribai) has mentioned that Fatima is with me right now. Likewise, somewhere she has mentioned that she has come to her paternal home in Naya Gaon and she is not worried about Pune because Fatima is there. Thus, it appears that she (Fatima Shaikh) used to be with her (Savitribai Phule) continuously and both worked together. Mariyam: In reference to what you were mentioning about your visits to different places for your research, I would like to know from you that what is the biggest challenge we have in the 21st century vis-à-vis girl education in comparison to the challenges Fatima Sheikh and Savitribai Phule would have faced during their movement in the 19th century for educating girls and to establish schools for them?Shaikh: In those times also girls used to get education. Savitribai Phule was born in 1830. But in that time, colleges and universities had been established in Northern India. Girls were also getting education. And, in other countries too (if we see in reference to Muslims), colleges and universities had been established in big cities and towns and girls were receiving education. In Pune too, in 1820, English had established schools; a Marathi school had also been established. But what is significant is that these schools were very costly. Poor people were not capable of affording the fees of such schools. Only rich children were going to such schools. Savitribai Phule came from a weaker section of the society and this was also the reason why she realized the fact that education was accessible only for the rich. She realized the fact that as to how people who had to struggle for every day's meal would afford such a costly education; therefore she thought that such schools should be established for them wherein children can receive education free of cost. As I discussed earlier, Jyotiba had received education from an English school and when his wife also showed interest in getting education he got her admitted in school. But, when his wife stepped out to teach, his father got angry and ultimately he expelled them from his house. But no one gave shelter to them in the society. No one in the society had the courage to head on the society or fight against the value system of that time. At such a crucial time, his friend Usman Sheikh showed courage and let them stay in his house. Usman Sheikh's Sister Fatima Sheikh also supported him (Jyotiba Phule) like her brother wholeheartedly and allowed the Phule couple to stay with them. The Phule couple had been expelled from their home empty-handed. Therefore, we can imagine the amount of help they would have needed. However, after some time, Jyotiba told them he would not sit idly; he said he wanted to establish schools. Usman Sheikh extended his help to Phule immediately. To begin with, he donated his own land [bada] to establish a school. Not only that, several other Muslims also donated their lands (at that time Muslim constituted six per cent of Pune's population) for establishing schools. Those schools exist even today. At that time, first schools were established for adult education. Interestingly, within a span of two years only, more than twenty schools were established. Even English were not so fast; nor the Marathi society of that time. They had limited resources in terms of money as well as teachers. Thus, Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh began their work. They also taught children free of cost because Joytiba Phule had no money to pay. Here the role of Fatima Bi is worth discussing. She stood for a society and a community she did not belong to. The family/society Fatima Bi belonged to was not averse to education. If I may say so, in the family of Muslims, education for girls was allowed since beginning i.e. since the birth of Prophet Muhammad. Rather, receiving education was mandatory for all—male as well female. Hence, Fatima Sheikh herself was educated. However, since Savitribai Phule had stepped out of her home and had decided to fight against the society for the sake of people who were downtrodden and in consequence to which people were upset with her (Savitribai), therefore she (Fatima Sheikh) extended her solidarity to her friend Savitribai Phule wholeheartedly. And, she also stepped out of her home, along with Savitribai Phule, to teach the children who belonged to weaker sections of the society. Mariyam: Had Fatima Sheikh and her brother faced any kind of challenge within their own society i.e. Muslim community in that point of time when they decided to extend their support to Savitribai Phule?Shaikh: It was the end of the 19th century. We know that it was the period of political turmoil. Some people were against Britishers. However, there were also many great leaders—like Jyotiba and others—who were influenced by English education. They were also getting benefit from this. Also, this very education made them prudent enough and they could think of getting freedom. Thus, the new education was impacting people. At that time, it was certainly a matter of concern amongst the Muslim community that why they (Sheikh brother and sister) were heading on with the society for others; why they were making enemies for the sake of others. But what is significant to note is that their friendship (between Sheikh brother and sister and Phule couple) was very strong. They (Sheikh brother and sister) considered what Phule couple was doing a pious work and therefore they saw no reason not to help them. Hence, they showed courage at that time and stood by them openly. No doubt, people harassed them several times. People even pelted stones at them and hurled abuses. But, they did not give up. And, many schools were opened one after another. Within two years, a chain of 20 to 25 schools came into being in Pune/Maharashtra. Then, people also developed interest in sending their girls for education. People also came forward because these schools gave education to girls in lieu of a meager fee. They (Phule couple) visited the households and persuaded them (people) to educate their girls. Further, at that time, people would not assemble easily. Hence, they (Phule couple) used to gather them in the name of one or another religious and social programme and in such programmes they used to lecture them (people) about education. They used to tell them (people) the benefit of education. They would convince them as to how education would make them wise and free them from slavery. In all these, Fatima Sheikh supported them (Phule couple) wholeheartedly. Now, the question arises as to why Fatima Sheikh did not get as much popularity as she should have? In this regard, I believe it was not an extraordinary thing at that time for a Muslim woman to receive education or teaching others. If we see across India or even outside India, people were receiving education at that time; especially those who belonged to a well off family. Fatima Sheikh also belonged to a well off family. Her family was financially sound and it can be inferred from the fact that her family donated land to Savitribai for establishing school. On the other hand, for Savitribai it became a significant thing because she established schools for the section of society which was neglected. Nobody cared for them. We have read in history that in olden times untouchability was very prevalent. So, at that point of time when people were not even ready to let untouchables sit or stand beside them or touch their water and food, it was indeed very brave of Savitribai to work for them, sit with them and even take pains for them. And, in all these, Fatima Sheikh supported her. Jyotiba was also impressed with the fact that there was no idea of untouchability amongst English/Christians and Muslims. Phule couple saw that no discrimination was being practiced in their religions. Muslim men as well women were allowed to perform Namaz. Likewise, Christian men as well as women were allowed to visit Church. The Phule couple was very perturbed with the fact that as to why so much of evils were prevalent amongst their people (religion)?Therefore, they worked tirelessly. They would visit every household and convince people to bring in change. They would persuade them to work for the freedom of future generations. Mariyam: How did Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh play a role in enhancing the status of 19th century women further in terms of giving representation to them i.e. apart from teachers, women can be social leaders and social activists too? Shaikh: They thought only education was not enough for women. They thought other things had to be taken into consideration as well if women had to be in the front row of every field of life and if they had to be made capable to stand as equals in the society. For example, in those times, widow remarriage was considered to be an evil. People were totally against it. But, they started working on it. Thus, Savitribai started all such works for which the entire society stood against her. She observed the practices of other religions i.e. Islam and Christianity. She saw widow remarriage was not considered an evil practice amongst Muslims and Christians. This perturbed her. This made her angry as to why only women in her community were subjected to such atrocities? She was very pained to see widow ladies living their lives in solitary as untouchables. Hence, she headed the society on all fronts. She did all those works which were against the value system of society at that point in time. She felicitated the remarriage of widow ladies. She opened Asharam for orphaned children. She also arranged things for nurturing the abandoned or children born out of wedlock. Along with schools, she also opened hostels for the children who used to come from remote areas. She also worked for farmers and labourers. In fact, she hardly left any field. She worked for everything and everyone. However, she was obviously an advocate for women empowerment. She believed women should and must come forward in every field. She also firmly believed that people would certainly keep suppressing everyone or anyone (or any society) who is a coward. She was of the view that people should gather courage to speak the truth. People should stand against repression. She believed the atrocity will not stop until and unless we stand against it firmly and speak against it loudly because bearing with the atrocity is tantamount to committing atrocity.Mariyam: In reference to Savitribai inspiring and motivating the society of that time i.e. people should stand for each other and stand for the weaker sections of the society (be it a man or a woman, be it an orphaned child or any other oppressed individual), my question to you is that what do you mean by the society? Is it the society of Pune or a society of a particular category? Shaikh: Different communities were living there. It consisted of the poor as well as the rich. Upper caste people like Marathas were rich and they were receiving education. But labour class people were the ones who were in miserable condition. They were not capable of sending their children to schools. And, the reason was simple. They did not have money to pay the expenses of education. Hence, they (Phule couple) told them about the significance of education. They told them if they wanted to get something they would have to work hard; they would have to receive education. Only education would make them prudent. And only after becoming prudent , they would be able to know their rights and thereafter fight for the same. . For example, in our society, most of the women do not know what their rights are. Hence, you would not be able to fight for them until and unless you are aware of your rights. So they convinced people that they should speak up for their rights; they should fight for their rights. Mariyam: You mentioned that in the society Fatima Sheikh belonged to (Muslim community), girls receiving education was not an unusual phenomenon at that time and perhaps this is why you did not find enough materials on her life. Now, as you know girl education in Muslim societies are being hampered, especially in places like Karnataka in the name of hijab controversy, likewise Taliban (in Afghanistan) have started a new kind of movement under which they are not allowing girls to receive education after a certain age. What do you think about it? We are talking about a personality in whose times girl education was a common thing, and today, despite the fact that everyone is aware of the significance of education, the same is being prohibited for girls. Shaikh: We have given up valuing what is important and what is right for us. We know that our girls have to receive education. On one hand we want our girls to be doctors, engineers and teachers; however, on the other hand, we forget that for the same, girls are required to be given freedom to pursue education. Once God as well as the society has given them the right (for example, Savitribai got the rights of girls approved at societal level) to pursue their education, then who are these people to obstruct them from receiving education? Issues like hijab are purely political stunts. These things cannot embargo the education. From my own experience I can tell you that I have done all my courses—M.A.,M.Ed., B.Ed., NET, PhD—in hijab. There was no ban on hijab in Pune College and Pune University. There was an educational environment at my home too. I had been wearing a hijab since the beginning. I did like it too. And, I did not face any difficulty anywhere. The present hijab controversy is entirely political one. It has been hyped in the media unnecessarily. I believe hijab can never be an impediment in receiving education. If we come to see the pictures of great ladies from our past like Fatima Sheikh, Savitribai, Shivaji Maharaj's mother Jija Bai (although there are very few photos of them)—you will see all of them with aanchal over their heads. In other words, the imagery of Indian women with aanchal over their heads embodies dignity and righteousness. It is distinct. It is of Indianness. It is part of Indian society. And, aforesaid all women were educated. For Savitribai, I think she had a habit of writing things. Perhaps Fatima Bi did not have this habit. Savitribai Phule used to write a diary as well. Her speeches are found in her writings too. Her letters have also been published. In the research which is going on for years, we hope something will certainly be found out. For instance, the school where I teach is 130 years old and we are planning to see the old registers, because at that time both of them—Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh—were alive. So, one thing we have understood that Savitribai used to write things. Hence, from her “kavyaphule” [collection of poetry], speeches, letters and diary, we have got to know various things. Mariyam: When I was in school and when I read about educational revolution in 19th and 20th century, two names were prominently taught, one is of course Raja Ram Mohan Roy (who is credited for abolishing the Sati Pratha), and another is Sir Syed Ahmad Khan from North India. So, later on, when I started reading about Fatima Shaikh, a significant question arose in my mind that as to why we were not taught about Fatima Sheikh and Savitribai Phule in our schools, because when we read about inspirational figures like them and for the fact that they are women, we as girls get a different kind of encouragement and confidence. So as you said your work has been published in Marathi, Kannada as well as Urdu, I wanted to know whether you have written in Hindi or English too?Shaikh: No, no. My works have not been published in Kannada. Kannada writers have given the reference of my book in their own works on Savitribai and Fatima Bi. They contacted me and conveyed it to me. I have also written in Urdu and English. I myself have translated my book in Urdu ‘Qayamat Se Pehle Alamat-e Qyamat' into English. Another book of mine in Urdu is titled ‘Soorah Al-Baqrah'. I have translated this too in English as well as Hindi.Mariyam: I have two more questions for you. Then, I think we will wind up the interview. First, had Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh been alive today, what would they have thought about our society? How do you visualize?Shaikh: See, they talked about three issues of the society cumulatively—social, economic and educational conditions. They also worked to implement their ideas in the society. Had they been alive today, first they would have pained to see the absence of unity which was prevalent in their times. They would have pained to see the division which is prevalent in our society at present. We know that for Jyotiba Phule, his father hired a Persian teacher to learn Persian. Likewise, a teacher was also hired to teach English. So, during that time, hatred was not rampant. People used to accept each other. People used to read the teachings of each other's [religion]. Like many Hindus read Urdu, Muslim studied Hindi, English as well as Marathi. So, hatred was very rare in the society. People used to work together. And, the duo of Fatima Sheikh and Savitribai is an exemplary figure for unity. We know that our Indian culture is in fact a composite culture. My PhD topic is also on this very subject i.e. national integration spanning the period of 1947 to 2000. So, in our composite culture, there are many people, other than Savitribai and Fatima Bi, who have worked together. To bring in reform in the society, many efforts were being made by many enthusiasts. Social reformers were motivating people to get educated and revolt against British imperialism. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Jyotiba Phule and many such personalities got English education and then they taught people to unite and stand against English imperialism as well as the Jagirdars and Nawabs of our own society who were committing atrocities on us. In a way, they were running a movement to awaken people. Likewise, Savitribai and Fatima Bi worked for education. They also worked for improving economic conditions of the people. They motivated people to work hard and get out of poverty. They started many vocational institutes as well, especially for women. Hence, they worked on many issues and ran many movements. Important thing is that Savitribai used to write what she would do; and therefore many things are available in writing with regard to her works. And, as she has mentioned about Fatima Bi several times, we also know about her. But, the unfortunate thing is that Fatima Bi herself did not write about herself and her works. However, the question arises as to why no one else wrote about her? There was some Urdu magazine which was started for the first time in Pune in the year 1900. This too did not write anything on her. In that way, we would have something in writing as evidence for future generations. We are getting things to know from word of mouth; not many things are in the form of concrete evidence unlike Savitribai about whom many basic things are available in writing. Since Fatima Bi used to be with Savitribai continuously, therefore people are guessing many things about her—like age, date of birth etc. About these duo women, the most important thing is that they were India's first trained teachers. There was a Teacher's Training College in Pune. Jyotiba had got Savitribai enrolled in that college and later on, these women had also gone to Ahmad Nagar. It was a big step to go to a different city for education in those times. And Savitribai's husband supported her wholeheartedly. Mariyam: Since you yourself are an educator, I want to know from you that how would have they (Fatima Shaikh and Savitribai) as educators motivated girls for receiving education? Although you have mentioned that the expensive fee was a big issue at that time for the parents, but how would have they inspired girls and given them a new perspective on life that was not limited to four walls of their homes and that their destiny would change dramatically through education? Shaikh: Be it girl or boy, the best thing at that time was that they had prepared a fantastic syllabus. We know that a similar syllabus is prepared for all the schools—whether they are situated in cities or villages. So was the case at that time too. But they prepared different syllabus for schools situated in remote areas and villages. Likewise, they prepared different syllabus for the schools situated in cities. For instance, for students belonging to remote villages, things were taught keeping in view their exposure. In other words, for example, teaching them about airplanes or trains which they had not seen ever (unlike the children of cities) was not considered feasible for them; and it was held that children may not be able to understand things through such a model of teaching. So, children were taught with examples of things from their own life and milieu which they could relate to. It was done in order to bring them at par with the students belonging to cities who had exposure to various things. So, it was a great idea to make syllabus from this point of view. It is also significant to note that they were not as big scholar as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, as you just mentioned, or celebrated teachers and professors of big colleges and universities. Mariyam: Do we have access to such syllabus? Do we know as to how they developed it? Or do we have any copy of such syllabus? Shaikh: I have appended a sample of such syllabus in my book. Their first school was established in 1848 and by 1852 they had succeeded in opening more than 25 schools. So it was indeed a great achievement to establish so many schools in such a short span of time. They prepared the syllabus from various points of view. First, they considered age, understanding ability and atmosphere the child is living in. They were of the view that while teaching children; these factors must be kept in mind. Likewise, another factor which they considered while making syllabus is that there should be different syllabuses for students belonging to villages and cities because their understating abilities differ from each other in view of their surroundings and ambiances. Students understand things in consonance with their society and milieu. Also, as we know usually a class consists of different kinds of students in terms of understanding aptitude, therefore another significant thing which was proposed was that a teacher should not drive all the students with one steering. They believed lecturing a class of about 70 children, for example, cannot guarantee that every student would understand what the teacher has taught. They thought that different groups of students—having different levels of understanding ability—should be formed and then they should be taught differently in order to make all of them at par eventually. Hence, such an approach vis-à-vis the syllabus and method of teaching adhered and advocated by Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh, is not only unique but also worth learning.Mariyam: In this connection, I would rather like to say that in the 21st century we are far behind the educational standard of Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh (of 19th century) and their implementation of the same. Many more questions are developing in my mind as you are describing things further. However, because of paucity of time, we will have to wrap up. Thank you Dr Shaikh for taking out time. I really appreciate your works and efforts. You are amongst very few scholars who are spending their energies in documenting the lives and works of great personalities like Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh. You are in fact inspiring many people like us to read our female leaders and learn from them, and also work on bringing in change in the society while espousing their teachings. Shaikh: It is to be noted that there is a dearth of people—no matter how educated and great they are—who come forward with courage and talk about the change which needs to be brought. So, Savitribai and Fatima Bi were of the view that people—men as well as women—must and should gather courage to fight for their rights. Anyways, yes, I succeeded in publishing books on them. Thank you for those encouraging words. I was keenly interested in documenting their lives and works. God also gave me strength. People also appreciated my effort. And, eventually, Maharashtra Academy and Uttar Pradesh Academy also awarded me. Shaikh: Thank you Mariyam, thank you so much for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts. Transcription done by Syed Kashif. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mainbhimuslim.com
Born in a Parsi family in Navsari, Bombay, Dadabhai Nouroji was famous as 'Grand Old Man of India". A guide and mentor of the likes of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, he was the first Indian to become a member of parliament in the House of Commons in London. He was a merchant, a political leader, a teacher and an author, he wrote a book "Poverty", which spoke about how Britishers were using Indian resources for their own economic benefit and leading India towards poverty. He formed many societies and movements in London. He was instrumental in formation of Indian National Congress and also presided over the party many times. Listen in to know more about this great Indian. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lakshmi Sahgal served as the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government and was a revolutionary in the Indian independence struggle. She was also an officer in the Indian National Army. In India, Captain Lakshmi is known as Lakshmi. Birth: Lakshmi Swaminadhan was born in Madras on October 24, 1914.She was born to S. Swaminadhan, a skilled criminal lawyer, and A.V. Ammukutty, a social worker and independence activist. Childhood: Since she belonged to a fighter family, therefore she always wanted to join the force to act as a rebellion. But her father suggested her to finish off her studies. Adult Life: She got married early but it did not go well. After her separation, Lakshmi attended Queen Mary's College before deciding to study medicine and graduated from Madras Medical College with an MBBS degree in 1938. She also obtained her diploma in gynecology and obstetrics. She served as a doctor in a hospital in Chennai. Trigger Point in her Life: During the Second World War, the Britishers wanted the doctors to join their army but Dr. Lakshmi left for Singapore and established her own practice. She took part in the Indian National Army League and few years later, she met with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and received orders to form a women's unit to be known as the Rani of Jhansi regiment, where she became Captain Lakshmi Sahgal. Imphal: Captain Lakshmi was captured by the British army in 1945, just as their soldiers were about to enter Imphal. She was kept under house detention in Burma's jungles until 1946, when she was deported to India. She was finally released after Indian Independence in 1947. Later Years: Lakshmi became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1971. She arranged relief camps and medical aid for Bangladeshi refugees who flooded into India during the Bangladesh crisis. In 1981, she was one of the founding members of the All India Democratic Women's Association, and she oversaw many of the organization's operations and campaigns like the Bhopal Gas Tradegy in 1984 and worked for peace restoration in anti Sikh riots. Award: Sahgal received the Padma Vibhushan in 1998 and an honorary doctorate from the University of Calicut in 2010. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode I catch up with John Singleton as he and his athletes, Gabriela Migala and Jacqueline Dahlstrom prepare for theRogue Invitational in Texas. We speak about the preparations for the competition, the Rogue experience, the workouts, and John's predictions for the top spots for the Elite categories. Min 0 to 1, inevitable chat between Britishers about the weather 1.40 Time difference and flying, adjustments for the athletes 2.20 Permission to enter US 2.40 Praise for Rogue about how they have been treating the athletes 3.30 Cowboy swag jealousy3.50 Mood in the camp with the competitors, pre competition anxiety4.30 Workouts and expectations of placing 4.50 Programming reactions 5.10 Programming trends 5.40 How athletes 6.00 What is an Over, Under Log on Zeus? 6.40 Event 1, what is the hill and how is it constructed? 7.50 Event 6 what?!8.45 Event 2 how will the numbers be affected? 9.30 Day 2 events 10.10 The last set of thrusters11.30 How strong everyone is now! 12.00 Event 5 could favour the taller athlete. 12.20 Sunday event 7, what could it be? 12.40 John's predictions for the weekend. 13.20 Laura Horvath14.30 Predictions for the male event... Hopper, Medeiros, Vellner, Adler...? 15.30 No swimming! 16.50 The Mountain! 17.30 Who will win The Legends? 18.30 Programming, is it fair to have people programming events who have a vested interest in an athlete doing well? 19.20 Hayley Adams sympathy, definitely going to be hard for her this weekend for her.
This week, The Musafir Stories speaks with Lakshmi Sharath, one of the top travel writers and bloggers in India, who blogs under Travel with Lakshmi or lakshmisharath.com ! Today's destination: Coromandel Coast! Nearest Airport: Chennai International Airport, MAANearest Railway Station: Chennai Central, MASPrerequisites - NAPacking - Pack light, carry sunscreen and shades. Time of the year - June-Feb, avoid the cyclone seasonLength of the itinerary: 4-7 daysItinerary Highlights: Lakshmi takes us on a fascinating journey covering the east coast of India, exploring the colonial connections of the region, being at the forefront of trade and commerce, and how some towns and villages blossomed while others have stood still in time. The coromandel coast covers the states of Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh and runs along the Bay of Bengal. It is popular not just for its scenic beauty but also attracted travelers and traders from far and wide. The first stop on the itinerary is Madras or Madrasapattinam as it was formerly known. Madras' rise to prominence dates back to the time of the Portuguese and Britishers, both having ruled here. The area around Santhome was a Portuguese settlement whereas the Britishers made it their first base as Fort St. George. The city still has a lot of remnants of its British connection with the secretariat building, the High court as well as some popular churches. Lakshmi carries on her journey passing Mahabalipuram,famous for its Shore Temple and moving on to Sadras or Sadrangapattinam - which boasts of a 17th century Dutch fort, and is also the scene of the Battle of Sadras fought in 1782.The next pit stop is at Alamparai which has the ruins of a fort, believed to be built by the Nawab of Arcot, but was gifted to the French for their help and collaboration. The village was known to have a mint where coins were minted as well as a hostel for travelers. The region was also popular for trading of ghee, textiles and zari. Lakshmi moves on to Pondicherry from here for the night halt. Enroute Pondi, Lakshmi makes a stop at Marapakkam, popular for its huge salt fields. Pondicherry exploration includes a walk with INTACH - Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, around the city that was the headquarters of the French in India. Also on the itinerary is a visit to the popular cafes, architecture, streets and Auroville. After Pondicherry, Lakshmi travels to Cuddalore, one of the early settlements of the British at Fort St. David. Fort David is a shadow of itself and has completely been reduced to ruins. Lakshmi continues to drive from here and the next stop on the itinerary is Porto Novo, the other Portuguese settlement besides Santhome in Madras. It was formerly known as Parangi pete or land of the parangis/foriegners. It was also known to be a trade center for the Arabs and Yemenis. Porto Novo pagoda was known to be minted from the Porto Novo mint in this village. The next stop along the journey is Tranquebar or Tharangambadi - land of the singing waves, the most prominent Danish settlement in India. The town's popular attraction includes Fort Dansborg, built in its unique Danish style, rustic streets like King's street, Queen's street, churches and temples. Karaikal, a part of the Puducherry/Pondicherry UT is the next stop on the road trip and includes a fascinating legend of Kraikal. The last stop on the road tip is Nagapattinam - believed to be a popular Dutch settlement and also has a strong Buddhist connection. The town is also very close to other popular religious sites like Nagoor Dargah and Vellankani Cathedral. The final call out is for Poompuhar, the point where the final estuary of the river Cauvery meets the Bay of Bengal!Links:Blog: https://lakshmisharath.comLinks to the blog post: Part 1 : https://lakshmisharath.com/driving-down-the-coromandel-coast-part-1/Part 2 : https://lakshmisharath.com/driving-down-the-coromandel-coast-2/Part 3 : https://lakshmisharath.com/driving-down-the-coromandel-coast-part-3/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC57mn7ypVKFBb3UrMU7TiXQFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TravelwithLakshmi Twitter: https://twitter.com/lakshmisharath Marine Life of Mumbai: https://www.instagram.com/marinelifeofmumbai/ Photo by Namrata Poddar on Unsplash Follow the Musafir stories on:Twitter : https://twitter.com/musafirstories?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/themusafirstories/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musafirstoriespodcast/?hl=enwebsite: www.themusafirstories.comemail: themusafirstories@gmail.comYou can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/
Break out the beach towels and reserve the best spot as we attempt to untangle the Anglos from the Saxons, the Boche from the Britishers and the Tommies from the Jerries.Historian Katja Hoyer is a German living in England. Journalist Oliver Moody is a Brit living in Berlin.Between them they plan to discuss the past and present of Anglo-German relations. Why have German chancellors and British Prime Ministers so rarely got along? Why are the Germans obsessed with British comedy? And what have the Romans ever done for Britannia and Germania? No stereotype too embarrassing, no war left unmentioned, as the German in England and the Engländer in Deutschland do their bit for post-Brexit freundship.New episodes every Wednesday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
My Grand Father, Chaudhari Prakash Chand was working at the New Egerton Mills in Dhariwal, Gurdaspur, Punjab. Protested against proselytism by the Britishers in 1920 & subsequently lost his 1st job for establishing the DAV school. Survived attempts on his life at the age of 20 yrs. The residents of Dhariwal, Gurdaspur wrote this touching farewell letter for his contributions to the society. Read by Mariam. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/safetymatters/message
Earlier, before the British rule, India was known for its gold and rich natural resources. Therefore many foreign countries captured India and ruled over her for years. Every year on August 15th, Indians all over the world celebrate its Independence Day - the day that commemorates the end of 200 years of British rule. On this day in 1947, India was declared a free country after years of struggle and sacrifice by our great freedom fighters. In 1617, India was ruled by the Mughals, and during that time the British India Company first came to India to fix a trade between Mughal India and England. In 1757, British rule in India began, following by the East India Company's victory at the Battle of Plassey, gave them control of the country. Indians revolted against the Britishers as they did not want to be their slaves and fought for the freedom of India. Several revolts and fights such as Revolt of 1857, Quit India Movement, The Champaran Satyagraha of 1917, and many more collective efforts led to a new Independent India. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, delivered a speech on the woke of Independence Day that began as, “At the stroke of midnight, when the world sleeps, India shall awake to life and freedom.” Every year, we commemorate Independence Day by singing the national anthem, flag-raising ceremonies are held across the country, drills are conducted. People make an effort to dress in national or regional attire to honor their country and culture. The prime minister takes part in a flag-raising ceremony and a parade with the personnel of the military forces and police at the Red Fort. Schools and colleges celebrate this day by parade, cultural activities, speech and quiz competitions, and more. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier who played a key part in the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy in the Sepoy Mutiny who rebelled against British control and led the revolt. Mangal Pandey was a progressive and ambitious young man who was born in the Ballia district on July 19, 1827. He joined in the British East India Company army at the age of 22 in 1849. He served in the British East India Company's 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment as a sepoy. Mangal Pandey was a dedicated and loyal serviceman. During this period, Britishers mistreated Indians, particularly the Sepoys. However, when Mangal Pandey and the soldiers discovered that the rifle cartridges were made of animal fat rather than vegetable oil, they became a rebel. Mangal Pandey addressed the soldiers on March 29, 1857, "Yeh Azaadi Ki Ladai Hai … Ghuzre Hue Kal Se Azaadi … Aane Waale Kal ke Liye ” and they began to rebel against the British officers. The Great Bengal Mutiny of 1857 is another name for this revolt. Later, Pandey was apprehended and hanged for conspiracies on April 8, 1857. Mangal Pandey's sacrifice inspired countless Indians, leading to the formation of several nationalist groups and movements. In India, Pandey is remembered as a freedom fighter against British authority. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
*The first school in England opened in 1811 . At that time India had 732000 Gurukuls*. *Find out how our Gurukul got closed. How did Gurukul end.* First will tell you what were taught in Gurukul culture. (in the Sanatan culture) ! Most Gurukul taught the following subjects. 01 Agni Vidya (Metallurgy) 02 Vayu Vidya (Flight) 03 Water Education (Navigation) 04 Space Science (Space Science) 05 Prithvi Vidya (Environment) 06 Surya Vidya (Solar Study) 07 Chandra and Lok Vidya (Lunar Study) 08 Megh Vidya (Weather Forecast) 09 Substance Electric Education (Battery) 10 Solar Energy Vidya (Solar Energy) 11 Day/ night vidya 12 Srishti Vidya (Space Research) 13 Astronomy 14 Geography knowledge (Geography) 15 Kal Vidya (Time) 16 Geology Education (Geology Mining) 17 Gemstones and Metals (Gems & Metals) 18 Attraction Vidya (Gravity) 19 Prakash Vidya (Solar Energy) 20 Vidya (Communication) 21 Aircraft Vidya (Plane) 22 Jalayan Vidya (Water Vessels) 23 Agneya Astra Vidya (Arms & Ammunition) 24 Biology Sciences (Zoology Botany) 25 Yagna Vidya (Material Sic) * This is the talk of scientific education. Now let's talk about professional and technical education!* 26 Commerce (Commerce) 27 Agriculture (Agriculture) 28 Animal husbandry (Animal Husbandry) 29 Bird Keeping (Bird Keeping) 30 Animal Training (Animal Training) 31 Yan Machine (Mechanics) 32 Chariot (Vehicle Designing) 33 Ratankar (Gems) 34 Gold Car (Jewellery Designing) 35 Clothing Man (Textile) 36 Pottery (Pottery) 37 Blacksmith (Metallurgy) 38 Takkas 39 Dying (Dying) 40 Khatwakar 41 Rajjukar (Logistics) 42 Architect (Architect) 43 Cuisine (Cooking) 44 Chariot (Driving) 45 River Manager (Water Management) 46 Indicators (Data Entry) 47 Cowshala Manager (Animal Husbandry) 48 Garden Tents (Horticulture) 49 Forest Pal (Horticulture) 50 Measured (Paramedical) *All this education was taught in Gurukul, but with time, when Gurukul disappeared, this knowledge also disappeared! Today, the future of the youth of our country is being destroyed by the Macaulay method.* *The redemption of Gurukul is needed in today's times.* *How did Gurukul end in India? The introduction of Convent education ruined Gurukuls. Indian Education Act was formed in 1858 It was drafted by 'Lord Macaulay'.* *Macaulay conducted a survey of education system here (India), many Britishers had given their reports about India's education system. One of the British officer was G.W. Luther and the other was Thomas Munro! Both of them had surveyed different areas at different times. Luther, who surveyed North India, wrote that there is 97 % literacy here and Munro, who surveyed South India, wrote that here there is 100% literacy.* *Macaulay had clearly said that if India is to be enslaved forever, its ′′*indigenous and cultural education system "must be completely demolished and replaced with ′′ English education system ′′ and only then will Indians be physically Indians, but mentally become English. When they leave the convent schools or English universities, they will work in the interest of English men*. *Macaulay is using an idiom - ′′ Just* *as a farm is thoroughly plowed* *before a crop is planted, so must it be plowed and brought in the* *English education system. ′′ That's why he first declared Gurukuls* *illegal. Then he declared Sanskrit illegal and the Gurukul's of this* *country he finished it by roaming around setting them on fire, beat* *the teachers in it and put them in jail.* *Till 1850 there were ' 7 lakh 32 thousand ' Gurukul in this country and at that time there were ' 7 lakhs 50 thousand ' villages in India.* *Meaning every village had an average Gurukul and all these Gurukuls used to be ' Higher Learning Institute ' in today's* *language. 18 subjects were taught in all of them and these people of Gurukul Samaj used to run these together, not by the king*. *Education was given free in Gurukuls. This is how all Gurukuls were abolished and then English education was legalized
On 29th June, some of the interesting events that took place were: 1857: Indians defeated Britishers in the Battle of Chinhat. 1888: George Edward Gouroud recorded world's first ever audio. 1975: Steve Woznaik created first prototype of Apple 1 computers. https://chimesradio.com http://onelink.to/8uzr4g https://www.facebook.com/chimesradio/ https://www.instagram.com/vrchimesradio/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How do borders come to exist? And why does conflict seem to never end around the legitimacy of these demarcations? Historian and writer, Dr Kyle Gardner, joins us on this episode of Policy Room with illuminating stories about the geopolitical nature of borders in the context of China, India, and Tibet. Learn how the Britishers truly 'mastered' map-making, and how every rock matters when it comes to making borders. Interesting reads referred to during this episode: The 310 Miles Breaking Brexit - bloomberg.com A Farmer Moved a 200-Year-Old Stone, and the French-Belgian Border - New York Times Winston's Hiccup: Blame Jordan's Odd Border On A Very Liquid Lunch - VinePair
Vicki and Ollie are back, again! Really, May has been a tough month for them: working hard hasn't left much time over for recording podcasts for fun... but they hope that normal service will be resumed properly sooooooonnn. In the meantime, please enjoy this episode which features coffee drinking in Port Andratx and tea drinking with Becky in Santa Ponsa. Chatting about the current situations in Mallorca, the tourist season has begun without the Brits, (sorry about that Britishers)....The interview in this episode was recorded in May 2021, please always check with the professionals as requirements for paperwork DO change. To get in touch with Becky and her team visit: https://mallorcasolutions.com/ Are you planning to come to live in Mallorca? Want to know what it is like? Vicki McLeod and Oliver Neilson host "Majorca, Mallorca", the first English language podcast about the island and aim to tell you about their adopted home with humour, clarity and insider knowledge.Please follow MM on Social Media:FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/MajorcaMallo...INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/majorcamall...You can email MM on majorcamallorcapodcast@gmail.com
Britishers calls the freedom fighters for a round table conference. The leaders decide whether to go or not.
Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 76, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: It's Unreal 1: Lee makes them in active length in such colors as Joyful and Fascinating. artificial nails. 2: This company is putting the kibosh on sellers of those Jelly Kelly knock-offs of its Kelly bags. Hermes. 3: In 1966 Clark and Gollan performed experiments that led to artificial this, probably exciting news to artificial vampires. artificial blood. 4: On April 8, 1966 the L.A. Dodgers played on this surface for the first time (it was during an away game). astroturf. 5: Pam Anderson is a supporter of pleather, which is short for this. plastic leather. Round 2. Category: May Day 1: On May 1, 1996 this national railway passenger service celebrated its 25th anniversary. Amtrak. 2: This Palestinian leader's status was confirmed in 1996 when President Clinton met with him. Yasser Arafat. 3: He was ready and he fired May 1, 1898. Captain Charles Gridley. 4: The Croats opened fire again May 1, 1995 after the ceasefire negotiated by this ex-U.S. president expired. Jimmy Carter. 5: On May 1, 1937, 5 days after the town was bombed, he began sketching "Guernica". Pablo Picasso. Round 3. Category: British Fashion 1: Sharp suits and skinny ties typified the '60s look of the "squad" of these young Britishers. the mod squad. 2: David and Elizabeth Emanuel got the assignment to design this for Princess Diana to wear on July 29, 1981. her wedding dress. 3: This "Superwaif" model made news in 1993 when she went topless at a Vivienne Westwood show. Kate Moss. 4: 19th century Englishmen Thomas and William Bowler got their names in the dictionary by making these. hats. 5: With grenade loops added, the coat designed by Thomas Burberry got this new name during World War I. trenchcoat. Round 4. Category: Libros En Espanol 1: Wells:"La Maquina del Tiempo". "The Time Machine". 2: Hemingway: "El Viejo y el Mar". "The Old Man and the Sea". 3: Alcott:"Hombrecitos". "Little Men". 4: Dickens:"Historia de Dos Ciudades". "A Tale of Two Cities". 5: Vonnegut:"Matadero Cinco". "Slaughterhouse Five". Round 5. Category: World Leaders 1: This general took power in Pakistan in a 1999 coup. Musharraf. 2: On May 25, 1946 this grandfather of Hussein was crowned the first king of Jordan. King Abdullah. 3: She gave birth to her 1st child, a son, during her successful 1988 campaign to become P.M. of Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto. 4: The U.S. wishes this trained ophthalmologist could see his way to support our Mideast policy. Bashar al-Assad. 5: On November 22, 2001 he personally sent his first e-mail, a message to Roman Catholics in Oceania. Pope John Paul II. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!
Aurobindo Ghosh was an Indian philosopher, yogi, and Indian nationalist. He is popular as Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta on 15 August 1872. His father, Krishna Dhun Ghose was a doctor and a former member of Brahmo Samaj. And his mother Swarnalata Devi. Sri Aurobindo's English proficiency was very fluent because of his schooling in Darjeeling which was a center of British life in India back at that time. His father wanted him to enter the Indian Civil Service so he was sent to England. He cleared the written exams but intentionally delayed the practical to get himself disqualified for the service. Upon returning to India in 1893, he joined Baroda State Service. That's when he started taking an active interest in the politics of India's independence struggle against British rule. He started writing for the “Vande Mataram” newspaper and pleaded with people to join the independence movement. He organized several meetings and also got the support of other extremist leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. Sri Aurobindo was also involved in the controversy of the Alipore Bombing in 1908 but no hard evidence was found against him. Later he was sent to jail for writing in the press against the Britishers. In 1910 he moved to Pondicherry and withdrew himself from all political activities. In Pondicherry, Sri Aurobindo performed secluded yoga and started a magazine named “Arya”. In parallel, he also worked on writing books like The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, Essays on The Gita, The Secret of The Veda, Hymns to the Mystic Fire, and more. In 1930, he wrote a poem, “Savitri” which became his greatest literary achievement. With his increase of followers, he with the help of his spiritual collaborator, Mirra Alfassa, founded the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was one of the influential leaders who taught the importance of spiritual education. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
@Shwetabh Gangwar talks about artifacts, jewels, priced objects looted by England, France during colonial times. What India would have been if Britishers hadn't come to India? How to have argument online in a wholesome manner! He talks about kindness, cyberbullying, and more with @Vedant Rusty They also talk about Hana Kimura and depression, online hate, and her reality TV shows.
Subhash has an exchange regarding his decision about the ICS with a couple of his friends from Calcutta. Subhash expresses his actual desire against the Britishers and how he wishes to fight them instead of joining the Indian Civil Services.
Khudiram Bose was one of India's youngest revolutionaries. He was born on December 3rd, 1889, in Medinipur, district of Bengal. His parents died when he was a newborn, so he was raised by his older sister and her husband. Sri Aurobindo and Sister Nivedita visited Midnapore in 1903 when Khudiram heard their speech in which they urged India's youth to join the independence movement. Bose was so inspired by their speech that he actively took part in Sri Aurobindo's secret planning in the freedom movement. While still in college, he entered the Martyrs Club in 1904. Khudiram was just 16 years old when he carried out some revolutionary activities during the Partition of Bengal in 1905. Khudiram and Prafulla tried to kill Magistrate Douglas Kingsford, a British judge. However, due to poor timing, two British women were killed by the bomb instead of Kingsford. People rallied to his defense after he was arrested. Khudiram Bose was given the death penalty by the judge. This decision was voted down by the entire Bengal. Bal Gangadhar Tilak defended the two young men in his newspaper Kesari and called for immediate Swaraj. Despite all efforts, the Britishers considered nothing, and finally, on 11 August 1908, he was executed. His funeral procession passed through the city, and as the carriage passed by, people proceeded to throw flowers on the body. Khudiram Bose is known as the youngest Indian freedom fighter to give his life in the fight for independence. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He was quite popular among children and they called him Chacha Nehru. He was born on 14th November 1889 in Allahabad. He was the son of Swarup Ran (mother), and Motilal Nehru (father). Both his parents were attached and involved with freedom movements. He studied theosophy in his childhood and got into the Theosophical Society at age thirteen. Nehru's theosophical interests led him to the study of the Buddhist and Hindu scriptures which later culminated in his book “ The Discovery of India”. 1912, Nehru enrolled himself as an advocate of the Allahabad High Court and tried to settle down as a barrister but he was not interested in law. In 1912, Nehru attended an annual session of the Indian National Congress in Patna and joined Indian politics. He took an active part in movements like Home Rule Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, and many more. In 1919, while he was traveling, he heard General Dyer talking about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Dyer mentioned how satisfied he was after that incident. That's when Nehru decided to get freedom from the Britishers. He was sent to jail almost 9 times and there he wrote many books like his autobiography, “Towards Freedom”, “Letters from a father to his daughter”, “ Discovery of India”, “Glimpses of World History” and more. He was the right hand of Mahatma Gandhi in Indian Independence. They were an active part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Satyagraha, Quit India Movement. Nehru became the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Later he worked with Sardar Patel to unify India. In 1950 India became Republic. In 1955, he received the Bharat Ratna for his efforts on Indian industrialization. His attire- the jacket with a rose in the pocket and a Nehru cap is his style statement. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Subhash Bose gets admitted into the premier Cambridge University while on the other hand keenly observes the Britishers from the inside. A Bengali acquaintance of his embarrasses himself in front of the Britishers which angers Subhash.
Bose plans to evade his fathers plans to study ICS abroad as he is distressed because of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre. He expresses his dissatisfaction about studying in England amidst the Britishers who rule his country.
In this episode, our 2Gs, the Gourmands & Geeks, Sadaf and Archit explore the routes of pao, various versions and the popular dishes paired with this piece of bread. They will discuss who introduced pao to a civilisation that used to only eat roti and how pao travelled to Mumbai from Goa. They also look at the Portuguese and Irani connections, shed light on the unique ways in which Pao is served in Mumbai and end with a fight over the vada pao.So sit back and relax, toast some pao, put the butter and get on the bus journey from Mumbai to Goa.Important links to geek out more:Video: Our Daily Bread(Our Daily Bread - Reel 2 (1962))Video: The Story Of - Shehnaz Bakery: Traditional Indian Bakery(Gobble | शहनाज़ बेकरी की कहानी | The Story Of - Shehnaz Bakery | पाँव कैसे बनाते हैं)Book: Anjuna - Profile Of A Village In Goa(https://amzn.to/3cBP47d)How did the Portuguese pav become one of Bombay’s most recognisable breads?(https://virsanghvi.com/Article-Details.aspx?key=1134)14 Ways Mumbai Enjoys Its Love Affair With Pav(http://bit.ly/3bRO7Zf)What The Fork: Kunal Vijayakar on How to Have Your Bread and Eat It Too(http://bit.ly/38Mb12e)You can follow Sadaf Hussain & Archit Puri on their Instagram handle:@sadaf_hussain @thehustlinggluttonYou can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.You can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com/
Mithali Raj, the captain of India's Women's cricket team, achieved a milestone of 10,000 runs. Cricket originated in South England, and was brought to India by the Britishers. India has grown as a team and now is best of the bests. Some veteran cricketers are Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar etc. Veteran is a noun which means a person who has long experience in a specific field. www.chimesradio.com http://onelink.to/8uzr4g https://www.facebook.com/chimesradio/ https://www.instagram.com/vrchimesradio/ Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rani Laxmi Bai was named Manikarnika Tambe and was nicknamed as Manu.She is also known as Jhansi Ki Rani, the queen who was fought against the British without any fear. She was born on 19th November 1828, in the town of Varanasi. Her father was Moropant Tambe and her mother Bhagirathi Sapre. Her father was the commander to the King of Peshwa, Bajirao of Bitoor district. The Peshwa called her "Chhabili" for her playful nature. She was educated at home and learned sports with her friends Nana Sahib and Tatya Tope like martial arts, horse riding, sword fighting, and more. She always preferred traveling on the horseback to using a palanquin. Her horses included Sarangi, Pavan, and Baadal. She was married to the King of Jhansi and that's when she became Rani Laxmi Bai from Manikarnika. Later she adopted a boy and named him Damodar Rao. After the death of the King, the British Raj officers applied the Doctrine of Lapse, a policy according to which if any Indian ruler dies without leaving a natural male heir, his kingdom would automatically pass over to the British. As a result, the Britishers wanted to claim Jhansi to which Rani Laxmi Bai cried out "Main apni Jhansi Nahi doongi". That is when the fight against the Britishers started. She would tie her kid around her chest and fight on horseback. There are novels, articles, and movies made in honor of her bravery. Even Netaji named the women regiment of the Indian army as Rani Jhansi regiment. The famous statue of Rani Laxmi Bai. She is an inspiration for all her countrymen. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rabindranath Tagore is India's first noble laureate who has bestowed all the fellow Indians and the people in the world, the art of literature. “Jana Gana Mana” the song written by Tagore is the national song of our country. He was a poet, writer, composer, philosopher, and painter. He was born on 7th May 1861 in Calcutta. His father was Debendranath Tagore and his mother Sharada Debi. Tagore was quite keen on music and literature from an early age. He never attended any physical school as his father believed in the theory of “Free flow of education”. At the age of 11, Tagore started living in Shantiniketan with his father where he started his journey of writing. In 1873, he wrote six poems on Sikhism and completed several written works by 1877. In 1878 he was sent to England to study law but he preferred reading Shakespearean plays and dramas. He was quite intrigued by art and literature. From 1880, he started writing dramas, short stories, novels, poetry, and songs. Gurudev was also an acclaimed musician since his childhood. He composed so many beautiful songs that he has his separate genre, “Rabindrasangeet”. In 1910, he wrote “Gitanjali” for which he received the Noble Prize in literature in 1913. Tagore was the first Indian to receive a noble prize. Despite the fact that Tagore was a patriot, he actually enjoyed and was inspired by the style of education that the Britishers provided. Therefore with the noble prize money, he built up the famous “Visva Bharati University” in Shantiniketan where he focused more on practical and artistic education. In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi met him in Shantiniketan. Gandhiji gave Tagore the title of “Gurudev”. During the Independence movement, Tagore used his tool, his pen, and wrote several patriotic poems for his fellow Indians. Not only did he write the national anthem of India but also of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore devoted all his life to the upliftment of education. Listen to this episode of Famous Indian Personalities and other interesting kids podcasts on free Chimes Radio mobile apps. Available on Google and Apple App stores. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From childhood, Tilak followed the path of honesty. He is one of the main Indian independence activists and social reformers. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement. He was born on 23rd July 1856 in Ratnagiri. His father was a school teacher named Gangadhar Tilak and his mother Paravti Bai Gangadhar. Tilak did his college in Pune and studied law in Bombay(now Mumbai). Later in his life, he became a Mathematics teacher in a school which was a turning point in his political career. He converted the school into an institution that promoted self-service and self-empowerment. Tilak identified education and the English language as the important tools to reach the Britishers. He established the Deccan Education Society in Pune, New English School for Primary Studies, and Fergusson College for Higher Education. In parallel, he edited and published the Marathi newspaper “Keshri” and English newspaper, “The Maratha” where he openly criticized the Britishers. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was called “The Father of Indian unrest”. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Vipin Chandra Pal were the three most popular people of that time and the trio was known as Lal Bal Pal. In 1890 Tilak joined Indian National Congress and took forward the Indian Independence movement along with the other leaders. In 1905 when the Divide & Rule Policy came to be for the Partition of Bengal, Tilak raised an appeal to take the policy back and boycott foreign goods. The Indian National Congress had two groups. One that supported moderate means and social reforms known as the moderates, the other who just wanted independence. Lal Bal Pal followed the extremist ideology. In 1907 Tilak was sent to jail on sedition charges where he preached the slogan, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” In 1914, he created Home Rule League formed on his slogan. In 1916 he was given the title of “Lokmanya”. Mahatma Gandhi called him “The Maker of Modern India” and Nehru called him “The Father of the Indian Revolution”. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the strongest advocates of Indian Independence. Listen to this episode of Famous Indian Personalities and other interesting kids podcasts on free Chimes Radio mobile apps. Available on Google and Apple App stores. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of “Famous Indian Personalities”, let us talk about that gem of India who wore round glasses on his eyes, a military uniform on his body, and a tilted army cap on his head. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose a true patriotic personality who fought for his motherland during the time of Independence. He was born on 23rd January 1897, in Odisha. His father was Jankinath Bose and his mother was Prabhabati. He belonged to an affluent family and his parents were quite inspired by English education. During school times, Bose was very inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramkrishna. His feeling of true patriotism came into action after an incident in his college where a British professor misbehaved with an Indian student and stated anti-India comments. When Bose stood up and raised his voice against this situation, he was expelled from the college. He disliked the way the Britishers treated Indians. That is when he decided to fight for the Independence of India. He went to Londo to study for Indian Civil Services. In 1920 he realized that even after ICS, he would be working beneath British officials so he resigned and came back to India. 1n 1921, he joined the Swaraj party and started several protests. He even went to jail several times but never backed off. He became the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress in 1927. In 1928, he presented himself as a “General Officer Commanding Congress Volunteer Corps” in the annual meeting of the Indian National Congress. He supported Mahatma Gandhi and was inspired by him but did not support the philosophy of “Non-Violence”. He believed that freedom is not given and people need to fight for it. He even organized a mass civil disobedience protest. In 1941 he ghosted from India in the disguise of a Pathan. He went to Germany and trained more than 3000 Indian prisoners for war after which people started calling him “Netaji” out of respect. He flew to Japan after that and formed Azad Hind Fauj. He even formed an all-women regiment in the Indian National Army, which was called as “Rani Jhansi Regiment”. Netaji's famous slogan was “Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, main Tumhe Aazadi Dunga”. Slowly with the support of several other countries, Azad Hind Fauj started to fight the British army making them weak. It is said that after these fights and attacks the Britishers started to plan the freedom of India. Netaji is just not a name but an institution. "Give Me Blood And I Will Give You Freedom" - Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose https://chimesradio.com http://onelink.to/8uzr4g https://www.facebook.com/chimesradio/ https://www.instagram.com/vrchimesradio/ Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The First Deputy Prime Minister of India was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Popularly known as Sadar Patel, he was born on 31st October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat. His father was Jhaverbhai Patel and his mother was Labda. His father was also associated as one of the soldiers in the army of Queen of Jhansi. Vallabhbhai Patel was a very curious child and therefore would shoot loads of questions to his teachers in the school. He learned a lot from his father while farming like tables, arithmetic, and many more. He was always fond of learning English, so after Class 7, he moved to Peddler with his friends and started living there. His economical condition was not stable, so he completed most of his studies, even law, by borrowing books and without taking admission to any college. He was a very dedicated student and therefore was able to complete his law studies only in two years. He wanted to be a Barrister in England, so he would walk miles in order to save money. Vallabhbhai Patel finally went to England when he was 36 and became a Barrister. He became the Sanitation Commissioner of Ahmedabad when he returned back to India and later he had a major clash on Civic issues with the Britishers. You might wonder how did he become Sardar Patel, right? His turning point was when he met Gandhiji. Initially, he was not influenced by Mahatma Gandhi but after listening to his speech on Swaraj, Vallabhbhai was very impressed and became one of his followers. He even volunteered in the Satyagraha movement and led it. He did that so well that people started calling him, Sardar - A leader. Thereafter Sardar Patel played a huge role in the independence struggle while supporting Gandhi Ji. Sardar Patel is well-known for the Post-independence unification of India. In 1947 when India got back her freedom, it was divided into 562 princely states and every state wanted self-independence. That was when Sardar Patel took the lead to unify all the states and made India, Indian Union. In 1947 when India was partitioned, and Pakistan was formed, the Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to shift his state to Pakistan forcefully. When Vallabhbhai Patel came to know about it, he himself stood on the way with his strong iron gut and prevented it from happening. Thus, he also came to be known as “The Iron Man” who unified India. There are dedicated buildings and streets built on his name all over India. Not only that, in honor of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Indian Government also recently built the “Statue of Unity” in Gujarat which is the tallest statue in the world. www.chimesradio.com http://onelink.to/8uzr4g https://www.facebook.com/chimesradio/ https://www.instagram.com/vrchimesradio/ Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/chimesradio See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
*) Erdogan urges people to boycott French products Turkey’s President Erdogan has called for a sweeping public boycott of French-made goods. Decrying rising anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe, he called on European leaders to stop what he said was a "hate campaign" led by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron against Muslims. He said hostility to Islam and Muslims has become state policy in some European countries, a policy which enjoys support at high levels. *) Barrett confirmed by Senate for Supreme Court, takes oath Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the Supreme Court as the 115th justice just days before the US election. President Donald Trump's choice to fill the vacancy of the late liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg potentially opens a new era of rulings on abortion, the Affordable Care Act and even his own election. The Senate was deeply divided, with Republicans overpowering Democrats in the vote to install Trump’s nominee. *) Hurricane Zeta threatens Mexico's Caribbean coast Mexican authorities have warned residents and tourists to shelter indoors as a hurricane barrels toward its Caribbean coast. Zeta strengthened from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometres per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said. Zeta could hit the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday night, the NHC said. *) Virus antibodies decline rapidly among Britishers during summer Covid-19 antibodies have declined rapidly in the British population over the summer. A study suggests protection after coronavirus infection may not be long-lasting, raising the prospect of waning immunity in the community. Scientists at Imperial College London found that antibody prevalence fell from 6 percent of the population around the end of June to just 4.4 percent in September. And finally... *) Moon holds more water in more places than ever thought The moon’s shadowed, frigid nooks and crannies may hold frozen water in more places and larger quantities than previously suspected. The presence of water on the moon’s sunlit surface has been confirmed for the first time, scientists said. More than 40,000 square kilometres of lunar terrain have the capability to trap water in the form of ice, a team led by the University of Colorado’s Paul Hayne found.
Britishers plan for india occupation.. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/shivashankar-c/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shivashankar-c/support
After the Rebellion of 1857, nationalist movements cropped up across the country. The idea of a free India became prevalent during this time. Indian National Congress (INC) Inspired by AO Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji and Surendranath Banerjee founded INC in 1885 It was the first time an organisation recognised India as a country The organisation initially did not have a well-formed ideology and was a debating society that met annually The idea was to let Britishers rule India while obtaining some kind of rights for the Indian citizens But it did not last long and the party was divided into two factions - Moderates and Extremists Moderates and Extremists Moderates were led by Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale who opposed the extremists led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. The extremists were forced out of INC and the Tilak was later arrested, which led to INC losing its credibility. Aligarh University and the Muslim League In 1875, under Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh was founded (renamed Aligarh Muslim University in 1920) Bengal was divided into two in 1906 - East Bengal and West Bengal The Muslim faction in the country did not feel INC is inclusive and they formed The Muslim League The Revolutionaries Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919 was a turning point in the revolutionary movement The work of the revolutionaries including Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki gained recognition Both of them tried to assassinate British officials and were captured and executed Jugantar was established in April 1906 by Aurobindo Ghosh, his brother Barin Ghosh, Bhupendranath Datta, Raja Subodh Mallik. They collected and manufactured arms and explosives for revolutionary activities. Ghadar Party and its movement to conduct a Pan-India rebellion in the British Indian Army. All India Conference of Indian Christians was founded in 1914 with KT Paul as its first president Find the affiliate links to the equipment and resources we use to make this podcast here. Find Writer & Geek's guide to podcasting here. Source: Indian National Congress Wikipedia Indian Independence Movement Wikipedia Timeline of Indian History from 1857 to 1947 10 Events That Led to Indian Independence Image courtesy Canva
In this highly motivational insightful podcast, Addittya Tamhankar shares many deep spiritual wisdom through a beautiful real life incident that happened when Freedom Fighter Lokmanya Tilak was arrested by the Britishers. Listen to this interesting podcast that can help you overcome the fear and complexities of your mind. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/addittyatamhankar/message
The Revolt of 1857 is also known by other names such as The Sepoy Mutiny, The Indian Mutiny, The Great Rebellion, The Indian Insurrection, India's First War of Independence. Political Causes: Doctrine of Lapse Cancelling of Nana Sahib's pension (Bajirao II) Not letting Rani Lakshmi Bhai rule Jhansi Abolish the Mughal Emperor title after the death of Bahadur Shah II Economical Causes: India was turned into a colonial economy to serve the British capitalist interests High taxes, eviction of people, discriminatory practices, and destruction of traditional handicrafts Social and Religious Causes: Sati, infanticide, re-marriage of widows were considered to be interference by the Indians The work of the Christian missionaries and the introduction of English education The change of the Hindu law of property to accommodate conversion to Christianity Military Causes: The Indian soldiers were considered inferior The high ranks in the army were exclusively reserved for English men Sending Indian soldiers overseas Immediate Cause: The introduction of the Enfield rifle and the greased cartridge Timeline: On 29th March 1857, a sepoy called Mangal Pandey killed his superior English officers during a parade in Barrackpore, Bengal. It spread to Berhampore on 24th April 1857 where the cavalrymen refused to accept the greased cartridges. On 10th May 1857, Mutineers killed their superiors in Meerut and started marching towards Delhi. On 12th May, Bahadur Shah was proclaimed the Emperor of India. He was 81. But the real command was in the hands of Bakht Khan who led the troops in Bareilly and moved them to Delhi. Nana Sahib led the troops in Kanpur. He proclaimed himself to be the Peshwa and governor of the region. It was Tantya Tope who did most of the fighting there. Hazrat Mahal, the Begum of Awadh led the revolt in Lucknow. She proclaimed her song Birjis Qadr as the Nawab of Awadh. It is in Lucknow where Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence (the British resident) was killed. Rani Laxmi Bai was defeated in Jhansi, but she captured Gwalior with the help of Tantya Tope. In Bareilly, Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla led the revolt and proclaimed himself as the Nawab. Banaras, Allahabad, Nasirabad, Indore, Aligarh and Kota where the other centres of the battle were the mutineers killed their superiors, not even sparing women or children, burned the land records, plundered the treasury. Bahadur Shah II proved to be a weak leader and the Britishers were able to suppress the revolt soon enough. He was arrested and deported to Rangoon where he died in 1862. They recaptured Delhi on 20th September 1857 under the leadership of John Nicholson. General Havelock defeated the rebels in Kanpur. After his defeat, Nana Sahib refused to surrender and escaped to Nepal. Hugh Henry Rose suppressed the revolt in Jhansi and Rani Laxmi Bai died on the battlefield. Banaras, Bareilly, and Gwalior were recaptured by the Britishers. Why did the revolt fail? It was a highly localised revolt mainly restricted to North India. It was poorly organised and the leaders lacked coordination. Scindia of Gwalior, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Holkar of Indore, the Nawab of Bhopal, the Raja of Jodhpur, the Rulers of Kashmir, Patiala, and Sindh, and the Rana of Nepal actively support the British during the revolt. The British had way better and advanced resources and also proven generals leading their troops. There was no common cause for the rebels, they had different goals. Impact of the Revolt: The Queen's Proclamation of November 1858 announced the policy of the British Government to be followed in India. It abolished territorial extension, the native rulers were assured of their title, land and rights, and honour if they cooperated with the British. The ruler's right to adopt a child in the case of the absence of a natural heir was accepted. The policy of divide and rule was actively pursued to keep the Hindus and Muslims separated leading to the gro
Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ) Messages (Meditation, Raja Yoga, Training, Spirituality, PAM - Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Divinity, Divine Service & Research, Babuji Disciple) Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Disciple & Founder of “Institute of Sri RamChandra Consciousness” Details: Messages delivered by Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ), Hyderabad, India. Dedicated his life for the Spiritual service of Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Research, Meditation Trainings, Audio Messages, Books & SatSangh Meditation Info Contact: www.sriramchandra.in Biography: kcnarayana.org Episode Notes: WAY OF LIVING SRI RAMCHANDRA'S COMMANDMENTS You have by now seen the 10 maxims or commandments of Sri Ramchandra. The crux of the issue is we know what is good, we do not do what is good. When we try to give our mind or intellect or reasoning, use any word you like, more importance than to other faculties that God has given namely feeling, love, attachment, empathy, this problem generally comes. There are historical facts that over about 5 to 6 thousand years or more, we have been somehow giving too much importance to the intellectual or the mental sphere and slowly we are getting away from our basis i.e, Nature. Instead of being one with the Mother Nature we have somehow chosen sometime in history a concept of conquering Nature. Instead of being in tune with Nature we wanted to conquer it and there arose all our problems. This problem was not there earlier, because behind every force that was there, the early man was able to see, the vedic seers were able to see, something which is definitely good and which is in order. Even when he praised or adored Natural forces he was not adoring the Natural forces as such but was trying to see what is the good they were doing to him. When we worship Sun they knew very well what Sun is, but then they also knew without him they will not be in a position to live and therefore they granted him the status of God. Similar is the position with the trees, which they knew is very important for their existence, for natural living, similarly about the rivers, similarly about the mountains so on and so forth. Somebody from the west who was not able to think all this well early and all of a sudden sometime in the middle of the last millennia or the present millennia, the fag end of which we have come already, started their theory of exploitation of the natural resources and consequently exploitation of other human beings also and they taught us the philosophy that perhaps you are very very pre-mature set of fellows worshiping this or worshiping that. They could not go to the basis, understandably, because their thinking pattern is such. It is our misfortune that we have started accepting it as correct and for about 250 years of slavery or perhaps a bit more, I think, we have finally come to a stage when we have got to adjust. We know in our minds that this is right, we are not able to accept it because the language of feeling is almost totally forgotten. Everybody knows some English, some French, some German, some Sanskrit, some Telugu, some Hindi, some language or the other we seem to be knowing. They are all ways of expression; ways of experience or the imperience somehow is lost. The natural love between the father and the son, the mother and the son, father and the daughter, the natural love that is there between you and me somehow got eroded for considerations of what we considered or what we have been taught to consider as good namely opulence, comfort, not bothering about another person, living for oneself, stand on your legs - these type of logics have come and we tended to accept it. The whole system of Sri Ramchandra tries to restore us back to that fundamentals of trying to live with Nature, trying to be in tune with Nature. We are expressions of the Divine is a word that we have accepted at the mental level. Thanks to the renaissance period of the last century when the great Vivekananda came forward and made this statement, yes, most of us have started remembering our original moors our original traditions most of us have. Many other systems have explained it also, each one in their own way contributed to our understanding of it but behind it is the call that again is generally getting forgotten because we get into vedanta or philosophy rather than the practice. An intellectual thing can take you anywhere, anywhere in your imagination it can lead you to any place but feeling is lost there. Information doesn't become knowledge that easily first, as we have got lot of information in the library, to read and understand it takes some time and knowledge to become understanding it takes an enormous input. There is lot of effort we have to put in between these two. Simply because we know something I don't think we understand that. The most difficult thing to understand in life is the word sacrifice and I am proud of being an Indian knowing the value of sacrifice, but sacrifice is a word which will not go along with individuality. If you talk independence don't talk about sacrifice, they are mutually contradictory, they will not go together. A society based on the value of independence is bound to fail and that is what our asuras were supposed to have had. What type of stories we have got, I don't have to repeat all of them, most of you know all that. In sacrifice lies the value of Divinity, the Sun burns himself from morning to night so that we continue to live. Sacrifice is the basis of Divinity - when anybody says that you are a Mahatma or you are a Divine personality, he is only trying to tell you that you are capable of thinking beyond your selfishness and trying to do good for others. Only when we talk in terms of selfless service we talk in terms of attributing Divinity to him. Gandhiji is a mahatma for the only reason he was able to sacrifice so much of his personal life for the sake of the nation otherwise he will not be. There are so many, it's only an incident, one example I gave, there are so many people whom you can quote. There are perhaps many more whom we don't know at all, it is not necessary that all Gods should be known also. That is why the number has been put at some staggering 360 crores so that you do not have to count. One or two you will definitely start counting. Who are they? When you put the number at 360 crores you will not bother to count. The simple reason behind it is, there are so many. Every one of us have got the capacity to become the Divine and how to become Divine is this system. The system of Sri Ramchandra's Raja yoga is not meant just for being getting some satisfaction, some peace of mind. No. How to live up to our potential of being divine? That is our potential, human is not the potential, many people talked in terms of human resource development. I am ashamed to use that word in this country for the only reason I have been told from the beginning that there is a divine resource that has to be developed. So let us develop the divine resource, human resource will come along the way, it is just like one more qualification that we get, let us become human at least I agree, temporary goal, but our goal is not that. Our goal is to become divine, the divine resource has to come out and we are capable of doing such sacrifices, we are capable of doing something very very good to others, atleast we can think good of others. At present we think good of ourselves, from this level let us come out of and think good for others. How much you can do? Later on that starts, first of all let us start thinking something outside ourselves. It is time to think in those lines, because I will tell you two small examples, they are actually incidents that have happened, I was reminded about them yesterday. One of my distant relatives, happened to be a cousin actually, became a CEO by 34th or 35th year. Right on the top he was, he gave a ring to me about two years back, 'uncle I have reached the position my father and mother have been pestering me for this type of position I have got it now, what next? can you tell me what next?' the question was something over the phone, I couldn't answer in detail so I said, when I meet you next time we will have more occasion, time to talk about it, don't worry carry on. After about 8 days, I received the message that he committed suicide and his only reason is, he has not found a purpose for his life. He had no purpose because he has reached the pinnacle, he got the maximum position that anybody can think of. He committed suicide. There was another incident yesterday, one of my friends, old friend met me after 25 years, he came he was talking to me about his relatives, his cousin actually, this boy belongs to the brahmin community, he married a kamma woman, so far there is no problem. The problem started; it seems one of the conditions for the marriage is that they should not have any children. This fact came to the knowledge of the parents much later and it seems they see once in about 8 to 9 months, they work in two different places in USA far far away perhaps Kanyakumari and Kashmir. So he was telling 'what is this Narayan what am I to do, this is what is the position' I said it is their life they have chosen that independent life, you and I are talking about interdependence, they are talking about independence. So the values are entirely different, unless there is a change in the value system you will not be in a position to communicate to them and they will not be in a position to communicate. We can talk but we will never communicate, exchange of words is always possible, exchange of words doesn't mean anything, we never learn anything from that. So what I am trying to impress upon you is, so long as we are going to live for ourselves, we will lose to have meaning for our life itself, the meaning for life lies only in living for others. If you are going to live for yourself there is no meaning at all, you will get into that frustrating mood, really nobody knows what exactly it is. One more thing also I have to tell you because it seems that when she comes also she will not make him coffee which he likes because she likes tea and so there is a big quarrel every time they meet on this issue of a coffee and tea. I am not joking, this is exactly what yesterday my friend told me and I am just repeating to you because this is the way in which we are going, the amount of tolerance, alright you have coffee I will have tea at least that is a good understanding. No, not that way I come once in a way to meet you therefore you should take tea and he says once in a way you come, you better take coffee where is the end to this? this is a very very funny situation to which we are going and why I am giving such a big sort of an introduction to the whole subject is, let us learn first of all to live in tune with Nature. Nature teaches you certain things, so the first thing, the first commandment of Sri Ramchandra starts with "Rise before dawn", why should I? Why should I, tell? Why not I get up some time in the afternoon? Sometime 12 o' clock in the afternoon, what is wrong about it? The reason is, when you want to participate with nature, nature starts activity at that time so you also start your activity at that time, before that time you be in tune with Nature. To be in tune would be to follow and that is much more superior. You may perhaps rise a few minutes later or earlier but Sun will rise exactly to the same second according to the calendar, you can see, there will be no change. So there is a meeting place between activity and inactivity, the night was inactive the morning is active. You may put this question to me sir, how do you say that, nowadays we are active the entire night. Yes, we are active we have killed nature, that's why it is so, we have deliberately killed the nature so that there is no difference between night and day. Yes, it is very difficult for you to teach your children as to what is night and what is day. If you are just going to show, going to any metropolitan city, where you will find every time light because it has been my very tough experience to explain to my granddaughter what it is to think about darkness in the night because every where there is light so when I say that nights will be dark, she says no its not dark it is blue, I said no no it is dark then she said no it is blue, so one night fortunately in Hyderabad we have got so many days when there is no power, power cuts so it was easy for me to go and say now you see what it is. That way it is also a blessing now and then you lose power at least we can teach certain concepts otherwise it is impossible to teach that concept. How to say that nights are dark? In a situation like this how do you say that. We have deliberately killed and those of you who know a bit of Ramayana should remember that when this Anjaneya entered the Lanka in the night it was all bright so he was confused whether it was morning or night. It was one of the greatest confusions at that time, I think we are in no better position than that today. I don't want to make the conclusion that all of us are asuras but then by and large that seems to be the position. It is a miserable state of affairs in which we are now but if we want to restore ourselves to balance, first thing is be in tune with nature, night is inactive, day is active. Your heart is the place where there is both activity and inactivity, it beats, there is one off period, there is one on period. Similar is the night and day, so he says to you that you get up early in the morning, meditate at that time. How long, how much, is secondary issue. That it is one hour or half an hour or 45 minutes or one and half hours each person decides and in a modern world like this since you cannot give too much time, SriRamchandraji Maharaj has fixed the time as 1 hour, he says you take it as 1 hour as the time. It is fairly arbitrary, there is nothing very very unquestionable axiom about it, nothing, you may be sitting for 45 minutes, you may be sitting for 1½ hours, it all depends upon the time but for a busy person to give more than that time is not possible. Those of you who have done some sort of a worship, you should have seen the amount of time we take, generally about three to four hours we take to complete all your things, as against it you restrict it to one hour before the dawn itself. That is very advantageous because we have to go to offices, we have to attend to our work, so do it early. If you do it later you will not be in a position to do justice to both. I am aware of very many pious people at various levels in government service of which I was a part till recently where they say sir, So and so has not come, why? Because of a puja in his house sir he will be coming very late, at what time he is expected? May be around 1o' clock or 2 o' clock. This is a daily situation because everyday there is some puja or the other, something or the other happens. I am not here to judge their ethical standards. No I am not here to judge that but I can only say it has affected their work but if you don't want to affect your work and also be happy, the better way is to get up before dawn, do your puja early. Sit in the same place for the only reason vibrations are always there. You carry the vibrations in the same place and that's how we start the day but people who have got questions about the tradition they say trikala sandhya. There is something like morning prayer or morning sandhya, afternoon sandhya, evening sandhya, I don't know how many of you are aware of all these things but most of the people who try to do all the three at least gave up the afternoon one very early because it was impossible to leave office at that time to go and attend to that work at 12 o'clock. Of course the purohits have done it to the extent that they were capable of. People who did not have any other avocation except doing priestly work, they have been practicing but by and large for the common man it is out of question and the common man for the reasons which we don't know even coming from greater traditions has moved into the service sector. The reason for that was the alleged poverty, alleged poverty is what made our ancestors move down to jobs, jobs with the westerners and thereby in a sense participated in the betrayal program of the independence of the country. It may be very bitter to hear all this but that is the truth. The truth is by joining their hands we have sacrificed our life and we have come to this position. Had each one attended to his job properly this position would not have come but then they were told that they were poor, as against people, ancient saints who said that poverty is by choice. Why do you want to be poor? Because, only under those circumstances I can think about God, why do you want miseries? That is the circumstance under which I can think about God, that is the famous story of the kunti herself. As against that value which was there early, we have compromised enormously, we means our ancestors, we are part of them and they were part of us so this is how we have deteriorated. Whatever it is, it has happened, you cannot reverse, you cannot get back, so what is the best way out? If you put that question, best way out, this is the answer that my Master gives you, namely you adjust, you adjust your timings in such a way that you meditate in the morning. You go to your work but then when you go to work, think whatever work it is, think that it is the Master himself is doing and there he is bringing a very big concept of Bhagavad-Gita into practice. In Bhagavad-Gita you find it in second chapter you will find that Lord Krishna clarifies the point, think that I am the doer, not you, you are nobody to do, I am the person to do. If he is the person to do, our efficiency levels will be at the highest because God cannot be inefficient. God by definition cannot be inefficient so whatever is our best potential will definitely come to the forefront if you think he is doing it, so during the day you follow this. Afternoon, you are not going to meditate, it is out of question because your office is there but since you are going to do the entire day all your activities thinking it is the Divine that is performing you will not have the necessity of doing it at that time, it is an alternative that has been given. The third one is, in the evening He modifies the sandhya. Of course the sandya if you have studied well has got a mantra to this effect but least understood. I would not like to go beyond a limit but then if any one of you is interested I will tell you what exactly is the thing that was given. They said that, you have to think that all my activities have somehow caused impressions in me, somehow good, bad, indifferent, some impressions have formed. So it is my activity, my thinking, my attachment, that formed these impressions and therefore it is my duty to get rid of it, so we clean our hands, we clean our face, clean our feet, similarly clean our heart also this is what is asked to be done in the evening cleaning process. Again, before you go to rest think about God and go to rest. Why? Who takes care of you when you are asleep, it is God who takes care of you, the oldest truth of the Vedas is this. In the night we are in the company of God when we are deep asleep and that is why most of us know in this country that we don't disturb people when they are sleeping because he is in the company of the divine, you have normally no business to disturb him. So through the night you go through rest, again activity starts, that's how the first commandment goes. You can go through the commandments that are there, the books are available the commentary also is there. What should be the type of prayer that I offer? Should I ask for something of a relief from my problems? Should I ask for some relief for somebody who is suffering in my house? Or should I ask for something else? So when God is there to ask we don't ask all these things we ask only for our being one with him. A question may arise whether it is not human nature to think about others. Yes we do, it is not human nature that as such that makes you think. It is the attachment that you have developed that makes you think as such and that attachment has been given enormous importance compared to another fundamental logic, a very fundamental truth of science, that 'as you sow so you reap'. It is a fundamental truth but whenever we think in terms of God we wanted exemption from this axiom. This is an axiom 'as you sow so you reap' but whenever the concept of God comes, we always think in terms of seeking exemption from this under some rule. As a government servant I would like to put under this rule so and so please give me some exemption, it happens. It has been our habit, from which time has it been our habit? Selfishness is a point that we have got of the animal nature because it is a preservation instinct. Selfishness is another word for preservation, you want to continue that's what you call selfish, you want to annihilate then you won't call it selfish. Nobody annihilates himself for selfishness, but then the human nature should be in accordance with the divine which annihilates itself, every second it burns itself to see that I live. The one Suryanarayana that all of us are aware of, goes on burning incessantly so that I live here, that is the type of demand of God. These attachments that we are saying that are ours actually are not really attachments. When you go deep into it finally I would like somebody to be happy, yes I would like to. When your house burns except for a mother nobody bothers about the child, they run away. So all these talk of trying to do good for somebody etc., you can understand for yourself what it is, why should I make conclusions I can only tell facts, this is the fact. That is the fact of life, we would like to save ourselves, basically that is an animal instinct, nothing wrong about it because we are animals, everyone of us is an animal how can we say we are not, we are animals. Actually we are naras, a small level above vanaras, in the vanara you have got a tail and we are nara, we don't have. This nara has to become one who can think and that is a manava, a man who starts thinking is a manava, a person who thinks for the good of others is a manishi and a person who goes beyond that is a kavihi. Not every poet is a kavi, kavi is somebody different and he is capable of seeing where ravi cannot see. That means he is capable of going beyond the limits of Nature, limitations are not there for a kavihi and he is supposed to be paribhuhu and he is supposed to be swayambhuhu, so many adjectives have been given in the Vedas for that. It is very difficult to grasp the concept of what is the extent up to which we can grow but the misfortune is we tend to live at the animal level, it is true and most of our prayers are dependent upon that animal level. So it is for each one of us to know whether we should restrict ourselves only to the animal level or we should move beyond that. While it is a fact in day to day life we do pray for all these things, our approach to God should be always, in our meditations, for our spiritual upliftment, not for the relief. I may have some problem, you have some problem, my wife has some, your mother will be having some, something like that, it is natural for you to ask, you will have to grow out of it. Incidentally now this problem has come I will tell you one small incident, few days back I received a letter from another gentleman. He was to have his first child and there was some labour problem and this happened in the U.S.A, not here, so this man was already a practicant of this system so he sat beside his wife and then I think touched her body or something like that and prayed for her relief from this pain or whatever it is and she did have a good delivery and the problem is over. This man's problem started now, he started writing to me sir you asked me to think only in terms of the ultimate I did it like this what am I to do? I said you already done it then what is the point, every person does it and you also have done it, grow out of it. One thing is to know where I am, one thing is to know what I should aspire for, so what I am asked to aspire for is the 2nd commandment, what I am, I think everyone of us know what we are, then why talk about it. This is too obvious, the 2nd thing is too obvious for all of us, when you have got a head ache you will say at least let me not have headache during meditation, at least this prayer you will have. You will not yield so much to the divine to say that he will know better, no. You will at least put some amruthanjan here or a zandu balm there or some other brand, these things do happen. If you are a bit more religious you may go to some vibhudi, you may take some sripadarenu or you may take some tulsi teertham, do something, you will do something or the other to get rid of it. There is nothing very very great about it, very abnormal about it, every one of us would do it because it is a natural instinct. We have to come out of that natural instinct somehow and let us have an aspiration for that. When we ask God let us not ask for these things, these things we know how to get rid of them, at least, thanks to so many doctors now they will sort out most of the problems. We should aspire for spiritual upliftment. Begin your puja with a prayer for spiritual upliftment and rest not till that is achieved'. Rest not means, everyday if you are saying I will not rest till that time, it will not work, it's a life time approach so we must go on doing this puja only in that way seeking for One, that is why the prayer says to you 'Thou art the only God and power to bring me up to that stage'. This is the one of the most challenging things for us and at the same time one of the most unique prayers we have got. We are not asking for a status less than that of God, less than that of divinity. We would like to be one with the Master, His status shall be mine because we are He, we are no different from Him so don't ask for a position less than that, ask for a position equal to that. In the end of course you realize you don't exist, He alone exists that is a separate issue. Ultimately you don't become that, only He becomes you but that is a separate subject but the fact is we are asked to pray for that. That is the challenge, that is the possibility that we are talking of. We are not talking in terms of being just disciples or devotees or slaves. That is granted in the beginning itself 'we are yet but slaves of our wishes', that we know. That is a very very polite way of saying that I am a slave of my animal instincts, slaves of my wishes. Suppose you just change those words 'wishes' and then put 'animal instincts', it applies better it makes more sense to understand but then my Master is always polite so he has given in that way and this is one of the prayers He got from the divine and therefore he gave it as it is. The 3rd commandment says, oneness with the Divine, complete oneness. That means so long as we are selfish, self motivated, we are thinking about ourselves, our goals and our petty ends, you will not be in a position to become Him because he does not distinguish between one and the other. All our conflicts arise mainly because of individualities and personal goals, conflicting goals actually, very very conflicting goals we have got. Therefore somebody becomes inimical to you, you think it is but nobody is inimical, we think he became because his goals are just in the opposite direction to ours, we ask something he asks something else. So in the whole process it becomes very difficult to move on unless we start yielding to that and if you yield towards the divine the chances are that you become one with Him. As I hinted already, you don't become one with Him, He becomes one with you because you are His expression. This is another vedantic problem in Vedanta, the problem always starts with saying that atman and Brahman are the same. It is the Brahman which is the atman and not the atman which is the Brahman, and then aham brahmasmi has been very very badly quoted out of context. If you read the original vedic thing it does not mean anything, it means only when I have realized that I become this, the concluding part of the mantra but interpretations will always be there. Mind is capable of playing and it plays, if there is one thing that is still left with us of a monkey that is the mind. You are able to get rid of the tail alright but then the mind is playing jokes and it is playing monkey everyday. It plays all sorts of monkeyishness and we have to control that, we can't suppress it because it is something God has given so we have to control, bring it to a state of balance. When this type of oneness with the Divine is possible? Or when is it possible for the Divine to become one with you? When is it possible? Only when we try to shed off our unnecessary load. Too many attachments, too many prejudices, too many opinions towards several things, most of our discussions are meaningless discussions. I don't know whether you had funny discussions but I did have, so I can share what I had. You go to a cricket match and then see some fellow playing, somebody bowled and somebody played, ok, matter is over, between them it is sorted out. We start arguing 'had he played like this it would have been different, foolish fellow he did not know, no no he played very very well'. Next fellow says something, third fellow says something else and you get into terribly heated argument about the whole thing and the evening is over, we have forgotten to see the match also. In the whole process of one stroke the match is lost, I don't know who wins there but we have lost the game. This is what our arguments are, most of your arguments if you can see, this is how it ends. The system of education that we have got is one of competition instead of coexistence, instead of co-operation, we have unfortunately opted for the western concept of competition. Krishna and Sudhama both were disciples, they never lost their self in competition. Krishna passed out very early, Sudhama came out much later but nobody said that this fellow is inferior or that fellow is superior. They always said he is a person who has studied under the same teacher and therefore venerable. The only person who unfortunately upset the cart was Drupada who misbehaved and therefore the whole of the Mahabharat was there, part of the Mahabharat is part of that story. Now one person saying that he is superior, had he also maintained the same principle as Sudhama and Krishna, the problem would not have been there. Competition is the beginning of all trouble. All of us are made by God and according to his design. The rose is as beautiful if not more than a lotus, let us not go on comparing them and then contrast and fight. So this one upmanship is the concept that has been given more into our head, as I have already mentioned in Mahabharat itself it is there but more into our head thanks to the west because they wanted to bring some difference between us and they started saying this fellow is superior that fellow is inferior. Those of you who know a bit of social psychology know there is a community called Mundagmar in south New Zealand, one more is called Arabish, the Arabish fellows live in plains, the Mundagmar fellows live in mountains. The arabish fellows in the classroom who were given an exercise of mathematics, now whoever had completed were asked to lift their hand, somebody did very fast and then lifted his hand, in Mundagmar community they refused. This fellow has completed his exercise but he did not lift his hand, when asked why, he said let everybody pass then I will lift, when asked why, he said because we have to live together in the forest, you can fight in the plains we cannot fight in the forest. If you fight in the forest amongst yourself you will definitely be killed by some animal, in the plains we can afford to fight. So the beginnings of this type of competition comes only when you are affluent and when certain other values take over. We don't have to, we don't have to go on arguing, somebody had played you see the game and then go. No, nobody would like to, people would like to get into troubles. This is a general feature, I agree a general feature, today we have to unlearn quite a lot. The process of spirituality is mostly unlearning, not learning, we don't learn anything in spirituality for that matter we only unlearn whatever we have learned. Whatever samskaras we have got we would like to get rid of them, get rid of them and you are liberated, we are back to our original place. You learn something then we are lost in samskaras, one more samskara you have got. You start arguing your philosophy is superior to that of mine, advaita is superior to visistadvaita, visistadvaita is superior to dvaita, dvaita is superior to advaita, you go on arguing there is no end to this, because a person would like to be one upmanship. I am just up, I am better than you, why should you be better than me, why not all of us be equal, no. It is acquired nature. You see children they don't differentiate in the beginning. All children are innocent, they join together, they play well, of course they argue, they fight among themselves, they immediately compromise, everything is done. As they grow you will see the thing, they take uncompromising stands. In the early life they are all compromising on all levels and as we take on a silliest thing also they will be uncompromising, they will not compromise on this. So this is an acquired trait, it is not a natural trait, natural trait is to coexist, be in peace, be in peace is the natural trait, be in conflict is what you have learnt through civilization, eternal conflict for no reason what so ever. You may think that I am unpatriotic but then I will quote one small incident as to why we are fighting on borders really one does not know why, because those glaciers will never go nor that fellow is going to sit there but still we go on arguing and the same thing is what Bertrand Russel said. He said you people all the time tell tolerance, why don't you just keep quiet on this issue. If that fellow were to take manmohan line or macmohan line, whatever line it is somewhere in border and it seems they are fighting over a place where nobody will go at any point of time in his life except these unfortunate soldiers who have been posted there to fight, very very unfortunate souls. Why they are fighting there, nobody knows and he said why are you fighting on all these things, small things, it doesn't matter much, why do you fight and then for having said it some big agitation was there and he was thrown inside the jail. Poor fellow Bertrand Russell has to go through miserable life for having said something like this. I don't defend him nor am I in total agreement with that logic nor am I opposed to the defense policy of the country but what I am trying to tell you is, this is what we have acquired. Finally if you look at it, the whole thing happens to be some sort of a small fight on very small issues. Most of the difference of opinions we have got are only silly difference of opinion. Plainness is something that is in nature, it's plain. When you are angry be angry, when you are loving you love. When cyclone comes it does not distinguish between the places, it simply comes, when floods come they don't distinguish he is a good fellow he is a bad fellow, I will drown only this fellow, I will not drown that fellow, no such thing is possible. It is plain and we through our artificial means have started controlling our feelings to such an extent that many times we don't express our true feelings. Finally the personality, the persona being understood as some sort of a mask has totally covered your soul. People know only personalities, nobody knows the soul but our souls are one, we are one with each other, there is no difference between you and me. It is the personality that is giving a conflict and persona you know is a word that is coming from the word mask. It's a mask, I have a mask you have a mask and this is what is fighting. Basically internally I want you to be good and you want me to be good. I want to be kind to you, you want to be kind to me, basically everybody has got this feeling. People are now afraid of touching a person, this has happened in the west much earlier, this is happening in India now, in some places at least. Somebody gets into an accident and if you touch him you are in troubles, if you touch that fellow you are in troubles because he says had you handled me better I would not had this problem, he goes to the court and then you are lost. For having attempted to do something good, you are getting into troubles. The personalities are in troubles now but basically the instinct is the same, there also they want to do some help, do some good to others. If 30 years or 40 years back or even about 50 years back, if you try to help somebody he used to accept it, today they will ask you the question why is it you are doing this. As a matter of fact I found this question in the institute also, many of the participants put this question why is it you people are doing this free, why is it. I want to be good, that's all, I have no axe to grind. I want to say something which I know, if you are kind enough to come and hear me I will tell you, you don't want to hear me and go alright you go, but then why is it you are doing is the question I could not understand. We will also show you the papers there are earlier batches of people who put this question, why is it you are doing this, what is it you want to do. We only said we want to be brothers, at least we want to tell you that we are brothers, whether I behave as such or not it depends upon my behaviour but at least I want to tell you. That's my intention, I have no intention to tell anything wrong to you. I have benefited from my great Master which I wanted to pass on to you. Please see what it is, if you can follow it, follow it, if not, very good having spend some time with us let us be happy. This is what I have been telling but then that itself is a big problem for us to defend, it has become very big problem now and then it becomes, why do you waste so much time? I don't waste, I spend, I usefully spend. When I communicate to you, I consider this is the best time that I spend. A few good words to others is what we can do because all other places it is selfish motive that is guiding us. I am not doing any marketing here, because by marketing I am not going to get anything. By marketing a system like this, what is it I am going to get? Because a stage has come when people started questioning genuineness of selfless service itself because it has become so alien to us now in this present atmosphere it is very difficult to convince people. This has started, I think in several walks of life it has started actually, when somebody is prepared to marry without a dowry he is asking a question, who is this fellow, there must be something terrible deficient about him, otherwise why should this fellow marry like this, he seems to be well qualified and all that. Genuine goodness is being questioned now, that is the dirtiest level to which we have fallen now, thanks to your competition thanks to what every word, we have got. A stage has come when we should come out of this at least. Let us behave as personalities capable of being divine, we need not yield to this much of animal instinct. Animals we are, there is no doubt about it, who is not an animal? There are many qualities that are in us which cannot be so easily got rid of, they are animals. That is the message actually given to us by some of the stories on Indra, they were just trying to tell you that even if he is a God, he can become animal, the possibilities of a person of a high rank falling low is what was hinted at. We don't have to accuse anybody for that but the possibilities are there because it is always there, every person suffers except that is our basic, base actually from which we are growing. The next commandment talks to you about being truthful. There is one thing very interesting you must have noted about the whole commandments. You do not find one sentence which says you should not do. Not a single commandment is there which says you don't do this as against other commandments of other religions where they say you should not do this, you should not do that, you should not steal somebody's property. you should not take away another man's wife, all sorts of things. This is what the commandments are there in the Bible and so also in Koran. As against it, here as according to our tradition, it's the question of the Satya that matters. Rtam and the satya are the two concepts which are very very unique to our system, this land actually. Rtam is natural order, there is a universal order, you disturb any one of them the whole thing collapses. There cannot be any change in the planetary positions, the way in which they move, the path in which they move, you just disturb one from the other you are in troubles, you are in chaos. Just what can happen to you is something nobody can imagine. If sun were to rise just a fraction of a second later than what he is supposed to, then we are in real troubles we really don't know what will happen to us, so that is the natural order. On the natural order is dependent upon your truth because that is the truth. Truth should always be linked with the Rtam. Rtam, Satyam -they are interdependent. By following that order in my life I maintain that order, by that order I live, this is what you are supposed to remember everyday at the time of eating food. There is a mantra for this which says that because of the truth, the eternal dharma that is there, the rhythm that is there, I am able to practice the truth and because I practiced the truth the rtam shall continue. Any change in this is likely to lead us to disaster and that is what is happening today with your ecological imbalance. You try to touch this, you misbehave with the nature and it starts giving its own results. You get akala varsham, you get enormous heat, all our making only, nobody else has made it. Now you come to know after enormous amount of misuse of nature, you come to talk about it today and the joke of it is, the people who have polluted started telling us who are just now learning to pollute, that you should not pollute. They are the fellows who have polluted, whoever asked them to do that. So this is the problem between the developed and developing countries. They disturbed it so badly they are now telling us now you should not do because they know now what the problem is, this we knew from the beginning. Recyclable energy systems etc things that now we are taking about really funny for me to hear. Our fellows knew it much earlier all these things, they knew, they never wasted anything but today we are again learning all sorts of things. We seem to be learning, really we are just only remembering or recall. Something that is buried deep in us is being recalled now. So this particular nature, be truthful is not a question of just speaking truth in this system, speak truth is not this, it is be truthful. Our true nature is that of being divine and we should be truthful to it. The call is that you should be divine, you should live for others, you should sacrifice yourself, your values should be of the higher order, be in truth, that is, be in that condition which God has asked you to, be truthful to you nature. We are descendents of the Divine, we are expressions of the Divine, we are manifestations of the Divine and that is our right to uphold it. I don't have to become devilish, I need not. The charm of the system is that we are asked to be one with the Divine. You are one there is no doubt about it, only thing is we are trying to put it low saying, no,no this is not the practical way of living, the practical way of living is to kill the person first. Whoever is opposing you, don't be one with him but try to exploit him. If he is very mild try to make best use of that fellow, this is what we have been told. A situation of trying to exploit, that is not our truthful nature. Be truthful, truthful to our real self, one with the Divine, that is our condition, then, everywhere it will be only peace of mind, every where it will be only peace otherwise there will be only conflict. When you are not true to yourself then there will be conflict, all wars are attributable only to that. Exploitation is not the way to live, cooperation is the way to live. Exchange of commodities was what, beginning of economy. Today it is not exchange, unfair deals, actually it is the middle man who makes it, who never does anything that is productive. He is the fellow who is making maximum out of it. Our economy is such a wonderful economy, it is a British economy. They never had any resources, they never had any market, the funniest fellows in this world are these Britishers. They never had anything in their land, they never had a market. So the market is elsewhere, the raw goods are elsewhere, this fellow exploited. It is a very very funny situation and it has become the model, so what type of models we have got you can see for yourself. So be simple, be truthful, be truthful to yourself, be truthful to your nature, it's not difficult to follow that actually but it appears very difficult to follow because if you take it as truth speaking then it will become troublesome. Be truthful is easy to follow, truth speaking is really tough, then you will get into real trouble. So understand the commandment well so that you will be in a position to live comfortable in a modern world otherwise you will get into enormous confusion, you really don't know what to do afterwards. When we are true to our self, the next easy thing for us to follow would be that we come to know that we are expressions of the divine and so are all others. So the much talked about concept of fraternity which is based more on business transaction today, where you have got Rotarian brothers, you have got Lion brothers. Rotarian brothers I could understand a bit, lion brothers is difficult for me to understand and so many other brothers are there. We also call ourselves brothers but the real brotherhood comes only when you know the common origin. When you know the other person also has come from the divine and is an expression of the divine, then we will be in a position to treat him as a brother. But do you know the present day world of competition, a stage has come, how the brother feels, suppose a person who has got very good IQ, may be 200 or something more than that, the other fellow may be moron in the same family, he is ashamed to call him a brother. The parents also don't like to own that fellow, they also put him inside and then say don't come out. Somebody is visiting us so that is your room, you go and sit there, they lock. So that is the level to which our so called competitive spirit has taken us. Previously this type of problem was not there, say about 80 years back or 90 years back, when we read the stories of several families, even when the eldest brother is an imbecile he is the person who was respected. He was an imbecile, no doubt about it, but then they respected him because he was somebody elder and each man tried to help the other. Suppose a person is a bit better than the other he was very happy to help the other person. Giving and taking was so easy and natural then. Now there is neither giving nor taking. Taking of course is there in the sense of exploitation, giving is not there. We have, we have our own words, we have got our own dictionaries that we have developed, new dictionaries can be easily written today. So to know the other person as a brother itself is a big problem, and that becomes possible only when you know you are coming from the same source. So without this union with God, without the simplicity and plainness that we develop and we feel the presence of divine in us and we know that we are the expressions of the divine, it is very difficult to accept the other person as a brother. You will not, not because we were not capable of it earlier. We were capable of it. We were having a civilisation based on that but the present day civilisation which is based on exploitation, competition, conflict, comparison will not enable you to think in those lines. It literally prohibits you from behaving like that and you have got an interesting answer for this from the so called religious people or traditional people who say that "vaadi karmandi idi". It is his karma that he is like that what is it I can do. That is not, that was never the philosophy of karma in this country. The karma as I told you earlier, it is natural principle of "as you sow, so you reap". This was the principle of karma in the simplest of terms but we are supposed to help here. It may be true that is his karma but what is your karma? What is your swadharma? Your swadharma is to help, your swadharma is to be divine. What is your swadharma? Not to exploit others. Our swadharma is one to help and once you help that man also will get some relief. You also will get relief that is a separate subject but then this particular concept has gone totally and one should not feel sorry if our parliaments and assemblies are loaded with such imbeciles; because that is the only place where finally they could land. Since you did not allow them to enter your offices and schools; they found their way to the assembly. Let us not feel bad about it. It is we who made them so. If all the thugs and gundas have joined there, it is by our choice. We have made them enter there, they became the street rowdies first, dadas, what else could he do? He had atleast muscle, so those people who did not have muscles they are separate set but people who had muscle, no brains, had brawn that was capable of doing several things. They got things done, they are able to get things done which you cannot. If you want any admission to any school in a particular area, the best place to go is not your district educational officer or director of school education or the minister. Catch hold of the local gunda that fellow will get you the next day the seat. This has been my practical advice to many also and they all succeeded in getting seats. The easiest way is to do that. because they will get it. If you want to go to any cinema and you don't get ticket, tell that fellow he will get it for you. Why unnecessarily waste your time there. That is how they became leaders, and then they are leading our nation and we are being led. So nothing wrong about all that but then that is not brotherhood. Had you been kindly to him, had you only spend a few hours more with him, he would not have become that. I know many of these politicians, internally I know how nice they are, externally how bad they are, both these things I know, both the things are there. They cry, when we say a few good words they cry. So brotherhood has become a big liability. Everybody talks brotherhood, it is very easy to say, but who is a brother? One who can share, is it not? Share means what? Divide! What a definition we have got! From share to divide. You share food, sit along with me take a few biscuits, I do not count how many biscuits you take, how many biscuits I take but then no, that is not the concept of brother. I have got four, you have got three therefore cut it into one by two and then eat it. Previously a person, they say that this fellow is not capable of living on his own, let us give him something more, I am capable of living on me therefore I won't take it, I don't want it, be happy. No, that is not our concept today. Even when I can afford to live on my own on a much better scale than the other person, I would like to have my pound of flesh. This is the degraded level to which we have come. All this because we don't understand it is divinity who is expressing. If only that is there, I think we would have given every person his due. Naturally a tree which requires manure will be given more manure, a tree which does not require that much manure will not be given that much of manure. What is great differentiation we are trying to make? Each according to the need, each according to its capacity. All these concepts are lost. As I told you sharing has unfortunately meant divide, so really one does not know why the dictionary should have two words one is share and another is divide, one is enough why have two words. Your dictionary can be shortened but then that is the level to which we have come to. The most funniest aspect of it would be, if you have gone to any dinner to any marriage now a days, previously dinner means people used to serve in the plates and all that, that culture somehow is lost. Now it is kept somewhere, some common plates are there and you have to collect it and then go. They expect some 500 people or 1000 people there but then we also know that some persons somehow take more than their quantum and after sometime you will find that, that plate will be empty so people will start rushing to that preferred item first. For what reasons we do not know we rush and then take their pieces, so literally what is happening is nobody wants to share even in those circumstances. Each person sharing, no, no sharing, only exploitation. Who is smarter here? So remember the dogs and remember these men, the beautiful analogy comes to you. You can paint, if you are a painter you can easily paint. If you are a poet, you can write. So sharing is lost, fraternity is lost. It is not lost today only, it has been lost long long time ago, they have never been achieved. Vali and Sugreeva are there, Sundopasundas are available, any number of examples you can go on giving. Fraternity has always been an elusive affair, and you will never be in a position to accomplish it unless you know that you are divine and the other person is divine. There are three principles which the French Revolution has thrown out; Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. These are the three concepts thrown out to the modern world by the French revolution. All the three are spiritual values and they do not stand in the secular level. That is the reason why we are not able to achieve any one of them. We gave a distorted version for it and then stated that equality before law, and not that all of us are equal because we are all children of the divine. So we misinterpret it to mean that it is equality before law. Is there one universal law in this world? No. Each country has got its own, perhaps each state has got its own, and each locality will have its own. The law will be variable according to the goonda that is available. The enforcement people who enforce law, they decide as to what is law. So similar is the fraternity, it is a spiritual value. Only when you know you are coming from the divine, we will all be equal. Where is fraternity, you tell me? In which place is it available? The one place where it was possible and was practiced earlier was the family system, in a joint family system like ours in this country. Elsewhere in the world no such experiment was done, nobody knows what it is and today family as an institution is perishing. People have finally come to the stage of living together. That is the west. The latest western style is living together, no question of marriage. At any time you can walkout. Some people say why all this, even this why? So they are independent, so family as an institution also has perished. So Fraternity where are you going to have? How do you express fraternity? What is the way? What is that the French revolution has been able to achieve? All the three values that the French revolution has given which are unfortunately only at the spiritual level have been brought down to secular level and the experiments are failing. We are only posing ourselves that we are the biggest democracy or somebody else is doing something else. It is all a big drama that goes on. All of us are equal but some of us are more equal. How contradictory that sentence is obvious to any person who is capable of thinking but then that is well accepted norm in any administration. So spirituality alone is capable of making us live upto the level of this particular standard of fraternity is what I am trying to stress and that is possible only when you know your common origin and common origin can be known only in your heart, not elsewhere. Only when you know that God is there with you, you will be in a position to concede the point that God will be there in him also. If God is there only in some temple and I am the priest for it, definitely it is my God and is not your God. He is mine, I possess that idol, I possess that temple. There are people, wise people. If you go to Travancore, the Padmanabha temple belongs to the king, the Travancore king owns the Padmanabha temple. It is a part of his palace. You cannot enter there unless he completes his worship first, he is the first person to come. After the king goes, then you can go, otherwise you cannot go inside. There are certain rules and restrictions etc. things that are there. This is so everywhere, the dharma kartha has to come first then only you can go. Or some Jeeyar swami will be there he has to come and then only you can go. Something like that will always be there, somebody possesses God. When it is something like an external thing it is possessive, if it is something internal everybody possesses his own God so I do not have to fight with you. I have my God with me and you have got your God with you. Unfortunately or fortunately God is one, we know definitely, yes! we are from the same source. All people who worship different types of deities, I do not think they have got different Gods in their heart. There cannot be a christian God, there cannot be a muslim God, there cannot be a hindu God, there is only one God. So we come to this commonness only when we go beyond the level of religion itself. Then only, it will become possible. So religion has to be transcended. When? How? What history is going to do let us watch and see. At present we have seen religions have failed. Whether it will be transcended or not is what you have got to see. It is a matter for us to observe. Some more years we are going to live so we will see, what is going to happen to it. Once we know that it is something that everybody is our brother etc things, the point raised namely that we try to be one up and feel bad or good about somebody etc things. We start thinking that somebody has done harm to us or somebody has done good to us. So long as we have got the concept of somebody is doing good to us, it is ok. We may not be very grateful to him but we will never be ungrateful to him normally. When a person does good generally people don't acknowledge it but I must tell you an interesting joke which I had some 20 years back. I was with some minister then talking to him and he is known to have founded many educational institutions etc. things in west godavari district and so many allegations are there and so many praises are there. Somebody was telling him 'Sir, so and so is accusing you of such and such thing'. Then for a moment he kept quiet and then his reaction was I have not done him any good then why he is it that he is abusing me? He ought not to. That was his experience. What I am trying to tell is even when you do good, somebody may still accuse you. I don't want to go into merits or demerits of that, it is the statement only that I am just telling. So we try to be grateful normally to a person who has done good. When somebody has done harm to us, we try to feel bad or certain times when we think we are capable, we would like to take revenge also on the fellow. In this process what happens is we develop more samskaras, we gain more impressions. The worst point that comes to you as a practical person who meditates is, when you try to take revenge on somebody or try to do something against him it haunts your mind during meditation. It is the worst naraka that you can go through. Personally I have learnt this lesson and therefore I pass on this message to you. People did harm, true, that is what at least on that day I thought. I never thought it is a part of my karma that I should have gone through, no it was not. So I used to feel that we must do something back to this fellow. For no fault of mine this fellow has done like this therefore I should do like this and it disturbed my meditation so badly and I was not capable of thinking about God at all, I was all the time meditating on this fellow. See the devil has become the object of meditation rather than God, so in your own interest we should not have anything of this negative attitude in our mind. In our own interest, not for anybody's else. Whatever you want to do, you do. Like nature, if you want to slap, you slap then and there itself, there the matter ends. If you want to meditate over this and then plan an action against him, then it is definitely getting into hell, it is nothing other than hell to which we will go. If you want to experience hell try to take revengeful action on somebody and then meditate then you will understand what it is. It is the worst that you can ever think of. Ignoring is also not that easy because your ego is hurt. While I will not say that you please ignore, it is easy to tell from a platform to tell several things, it is all right but as sadhaka I will not be in a position to tell that. I will say you ignore but you cannot ignore, that also I know. By continuously thinking about the divine, on the divine light, at least making an effort you are capable of forgetting this. There are two aspects of it. One thing is to forget and another thing is to forgive. Forgetting is a natural process, God has given that capacity to us. We forget almost 90 percent of the things we forget every day, it is a God given gift. If we remember everything we will be in torture, enormous torture but forgive you know is very difficult, it is very difficult. Unless you grow to the level considerably in spirituality, it is very difficult. Even there it is possible, still to retain this feeling. So it is the yielding to the divine alone that enables you to finally forget, erase it out also. Unless He owns you up you will be owning your samskaras. There will be traces of it. As I aways call the vasana will always be there. While the samamskaras may be washed out, the vasana will definitely be there. This is a problem for us, very difficult to understand that because he says here, be not revengeful for the wrongs done by others take them with gratitude, taking it as gratitude as divine gift is a real tough job to practice. Intellect will enable you to get away from God. Buddhi is the basic trouble. Mahat is the one that links us with the divine. Buddhi will segregates us from divine because the intellectual aspect of it is based upon the following. The sense organs, the motor organs are the inputs. Through this we get information, all information. Whether it is your perception, whether it is your inference, whether it is your analogy, all knowledge is based upon only these sensory inputs and this is what is processed by the mind. It processes information etc. this is what is looking down. What is looking up is the Mahat. Mahat looks to God, Buddhi looks to the world. That is why in the gayatri you have got a word Dheeyo yonah prachodayat. No buddhi. If you bring buddhi there, you are lost once for all. Buddhi is capable of distinguishing, cutting, analysing, analytical mind is possible with buddhi. Aesthetic mind is possible only with Mahat. Any amount of your dissection of frogs or flowers will never make a frog understood by you nor a flower understood by you. You can definitely say what parts that contain etc things, all the things you can add. A flower is appreciated as a flower only by a poet. A Kavihi alone is capable of doing that, one who is having empathy will do that. One who has got intellect will not be in a position to do that and this I started with in the beginning. Empathy is the feeling, that language we have forgotten. To be in tune with the divine is what we have forgotten. We are more in tune with the nature. We are analysing more and more of nature. Analytical mind is what has been given enormous importance. Any amount of your intellectual conviction about any one of these things will not help you. You have to yield to the divine. Yielding to the divine is yielding to your Mahat. It is again a principle that he has given. It is the one which begins the entire thing. The purusha and the prakriti, the first product of which is the mahat, then only the remaining things come. It is the Mahat that has got to be in tune with, that is the original vibrations, that is what you feel in this system of meditation. The transmissions given are all only from that level. Now revengeful we need not be. We can forget. All right sir I have forgotten all these, what does it matter. Many times you may not be. I
Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ) Messages (Meditation, Raja Yoga, Training, Spirituality, PAM - Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Divinity, Divine Service & Research, Babuji Disciple) Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Disciple & Founder of “Institute of Sri RamChandra Consciousness” Details: Messages delivered by Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ), Hyderabad, India. Dedicated his life for the Spiritual service of Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Research, Meditation Trainings, Audio Messages, Books & SatSangh Meditation Info Contact: www.sriramchandra.in Biography: kcnarayana.org Episode Notes: WAY OF LIVING SRI RAMCHANDRA'S COMMANDMENTS You have by now seen the 10 maxims or commandments of Sri Ramchandra. The crux of the issue is we know what is good, we do not do what is good. When we try to give our mind or intellect or reasoning, use any word you like, more importance than to other faculties that God has given namely feeling, love, attachment, empathy, this problem generally comes. There are historical facts that over about 5 to 6 thousand years or more, we have been somehow giving too much importance to the intellectual or the mental sphere and slowly we are getting away from our basis i.e, Nature. Instead of being one with the Mother Nature we have somehow chosen sometime in history a concept of conquering Nature. Instead of being in tune with Nature we wanted to conquer it and there arose all our problems. This problem was not there earlier, because behind every force that was there, the early man was able to see, the vedic seers were able to see, something which is definitely good and which is in order. Even when he praised or adored Natural forces he was not adoring the Natural forces as such but was trying to see what is the good they were doing to him. When we worship Sun they knew very well what Sun is, but then they also knew without him they will not be in a position to live and therefore they granted him the status of God. Similar is the position with the trees, which they knew is very important for their existence, for natural living, similarly about the rivers, similarly about the mountains so on and so forth. Somebody from the west who was not able to think all this well early and all of a sudden sometime in the middle of the last millennia or the present millennia, the fag end of which we have come already, started their theory of exploitation of the natural resources and consequently exploitation of other human beings also and they taught us the philosophy that perhaps you are very very pre-mature set of fellows worshiping this or worshiping that. They could not go to the basis, understandably, because their thinking pattern is such. It is our misfortune that we have started accepting it as correct and for about 250 years of slavery or perhaps a bit more, I think, we have finally come to a stage when we have got to adjust. We know in our minds that this is right, we are not able to accept it because the language of feeling is almost totally forgotten. Everybody knows some English, some French, some German, some Sanskrit, some Telugu, some Hindi, some language or the other we seem to be knowing. They are all ways of expression; ways of experience or the imperience somehow is lost. The natural love between the father and the son, the mother and the son, father and the daughter, the natural love that is there between you and me somehow got eroded for considerations of what we considered or what we have been taught to consider as good namely opulence, comfort, not bothering about another person, living for oneself, stand on your legs - these type of logics have come and we tended to accept it. The whole system of Sri Ramchandra tries to restore us back to that fundamentals of trying to live with Nature, trying to be in tune with Nature. We are expressions of the Divine is a word that we have accepted at the mental level. Thanks to the renaissance period of the last century when the great Vivekananda came forward and made this statement, yes, most of us have started remembering our original moors our original traditions most of us have. Many other systems have explained it also, each one in their own way contributed to our understanding of it but behind it is the call that again is generally getting forgotten because we get into vedanta or philosophy rather than the practice. An intellectual thing can take you anywhere, anywhere in your imagination it can lead you to any place but feeling is lost there. Information doesn't become knowledge that easily first, as we have got lot of information in the library, to read and understand it takes some time and knowledge to become understanding it takes an enormous input. There is lot of effort we have to put in between these two. Simply because we know something I don't think we understand that. The most difficult thing to understand in life is the word sacrifice and I am proud of being an Indian knowing the value of sacrifice, but sacrifice is a word which will not go along with individuality. If you talk independence don't talk about sacrifice, they are mutually contradictory, they will not go together. A society based on the value of independence is bound to fail and that is what our asuras were supposed to have had. What type of stories we have got, I don't have to repeat all of them, most of you know all that. In sacrifice lies the value of Divinity, the Sun burns himself from morning to night so that we continue to live. Sacrifice is the basis of Divinity - when anybody says that you are a Mahatma or you are a Divine personality, he is only trying to tell you that you are capable of thinking beyond your selfishness and trying to do good for others. Only when we talk in terms of selfless service we talk in terms of attributing Divinity to him. Gandhiji is a mahatma for the only reason he was able to sacrifice so much of his personal life for the sake of the nation otherwise he will not be. There are so many, it's only an incident, one example I gave, there are so many people whom you can quote. There are perhaps many more whom we don't know at all, it is not necessary that all Gods should be known also. That is why the number has been put at some staggering 360 crores so that you do not have to count. One or two you will definitely start counting. Who are they? When you put the number at 360 crores you will not bother to count. The simple reason behind it is, there are so many. Every one of us have got the capacity to become the Divine and how to become Divine is this system. The system of Sri Ramchandra's Raja yoga is not meant just for being getting some satisfaction, some peace of mind. No. How to live up to our potential of being divine? That is our potential, human is not the potential, many people talked in terms of human resource development. I am ashamed to use that word in this country for the only reason I have been told from the beginning that there is a divine resource that has to be developed. So let us develop the divine resource, human resource will come along the way, it is just like one more qualification that we get, let us become human at least I agree, temporary goal, but our goal is not that. Our goal is to become divine, the divine resource has to come out and we are capable of doing such sacrifices, we are capable of doing something very very good to others, atleast we can think good of others. At present we think good of ourselves, from this level let us come out of and think good for others. How much you can do? Later on that starts, first of all let us start thinking something outside ourselves. It is time to think in those lines, because I will tell you two small examples, they are actually incidents that have happened, I was reminded about them yesterday. One of my distant relatives, happened to be a cousin actually, became a CEO by 34th or 35th year. Right on the top he was, he gave a ring to me about two years back, 'uncle I have reached the position my father and mother have been pestering me for this type of position I have got it now, what next? can you tell me what next?' the question was something over the phone, I couldn't answer in detail so I said, when I meet you next time we will have more occasion, time to talk about it, don't worry carry on. After about 8 days, I received the message that he committed suicide and his only reason is, he has not found a purpose for his life. He had no purpose because he has reached the pinnacle, he got the maximum position that anybody can think of. He committed suicide. There was another incident yesterday, one of my friends, old friend met me after 25 years, he came he was talking to me about his relatives, his cousin actually, this boy belongs to the brahmin community, he married a kamma woman, so far there is no problem. The problem started; it seems one of the conditions for the marriage is that they should not have any children. This fact came to the knowledge of the parents much later and it seems they see once in about 8 to 9 months, they work in two different places in USA far far away perhaps Kanyakumari and Kashmir. So he was telling 'what is this Narayan what am I to do, this is what is the position' I said it is their life they have chosen that independent life, you and I are talking about interdependence, they are talking about independence. So the values are entirely different, unless there is a change in the value system you will not be in a position to communicate to them and they will not be in a position to communicate. We can talk but we will never communicate, exchange of words is always possible, exchange of words doesn't mean anything, we never learn anything from that. So what I am trying to impress upon you is, so long as we are going to live for ourselves, we will lose to have meaning for our life itself, the meaning for life lies only in living for others. If you are going to live for yourself there is no meaning at all, you will get into that frustrating mood, really nobody knows what exactly it is. One more thing also I have to tell you because it seems that when she comes also she will not make him coffee which he likes because she likes tea and so there is a big quarrel every time they meet on this issue of a coffee and tea. I am not joking, this is exactly what yesterday my friend told me and I am just repeating to you because this is the way in which we are going, the amount of tolerance, alright you have coffee I will have tea at least that is a good understanding. No, not that way I come once in a way to meet you therefore you should take tea and he says once in a way you come, you better take coffee where is the end to this? this is a very very funny situation to which we are going and why I am giving such a big sort of an introduction to the whole subject is, let us learn first of all to live in tune with Nature. Nature teaches you certain things, so the first thing, the first commandment of Sri Ramchandra starts with "Rise before dawn", why should I? Why should I, tell? Why not I get up some time in the afternoon? Sometime 12 o' clock in the afternoon, what is wrong about it? The reason is, when you want to participate with nature, nature starts activity at that time so you also start your activity at that time, before that time you be in tune with Nature. To be in tune would be to follow and that is much more superior. You may perhaps rise a few minutes later or earlier but Sun will rise exactly to the same second according to the calendar, you can see, there will be no change. So there is a meeting place between activity and inactivity, the night was inactive the morning is active. You may put this question to me sir, how do you say that, nowadays we are active the entire night. Yes, we are active we have killed nature, that's why it is so, we have deliberately killed the nature so that there is no difference between night and day. Yes, it is very difficult for you to teach your children as to what is night and what is day. If you are just going to show, going to any metropolitan city, where you will find every time light because it has been my very tough experience to explain to my granddaughter what it is to think about darkness in the night because every where there is light so when I say that nights will be dark, she says no its not dark it is blue, I said no no it is dark then she said no it is blue, so one night fortunately in Hyderabad we have got so many days when there is no power, power cuts so it was easy for me to go and say now you see what it is. That way it is also a blessing now and then you lose power at least we can teach certain concepts otherwise it is impossible to teach that concept. How to say that nights are dark? In a situation like this how do you say that. We have deliberately killed and those of you who know a bit of Ramayana should remember that when this Anjaneya entered the Lanka in the night it was all bright so he was confused whether it was morning or night. It was one of the greatest confusions at that time, I think we are in no better position than that today. I don't want to make the conclusion that all of us are asuras but then by and large that seems to be the position. It is a miserable state of affairs in which we are now but if we want to restore ourselves to balance, first thing is be in tune with nature, night is inactive, day is active. Your heart is the place where there is both activity and inactivity, it beats, there is one off period, there is one on period. Similar is the night and day, so he says to you that you get up early in the morning, meditate at that time. How long, how much, is secondary issue. That it is one hour or half an hour or 45 minutes or one and half hours each person decides and in a modern world like this since you cannot give too much time, SriRamchandraji Maharaj has fixed the time as 1 hour, he says you take it as 1 hour as the time. It is fairly arbitrary, there is nothing very very unquestionable axiom about it, nothing, you may be sitting for 45 minutes, you may be sitting for 1½ hours, it all depends upon the time but for a busy person to give more than that time is not possible. Those of you who have done some sort of a worship, you should have seen the amount of time we take, generally about three to four hours we take to complete all your things, as against it you restrict it to one hour before the dawn itself. That is very advantageous because we have to go to offices, we have to attend to our work, so do it early. If you do it later you will not be in a position to do justice to both. I am aware of very many pious people at various levels in government service of which I was a part till recently where they say sir, So and so has not come, why? Because of a puja in his house sir he will be coming very late, at what time he is expected? May be around 1o' clock or 2 o' clock. This is a daily situation because everyday there is some puja or the other, something or the other happens. I am not here to judge their ethical standards. No I am not here to judge that but I can only say it has affected their work but if you don't want to affect your work and also be happy, the better way is to get up before dawn, do your puja early. Sit in the same place for the only reason vibrations are always there. You carry the vibrations in the same place and that's how we start the day but people who have got questions about the tradition they say trikala sandhya. There is something like morning prayer or morning sandhya, afternoon sandhya, evening sandhya, I don't know how many of you are aware of all these things but most of the people who try to do all the three at least gave up the afternoon one very early because it was impossible to leave office at that time to go and attend to that work at 12 o'clock. Of course the purohits have done it to the extent that they were capable of. People who did not have any other avocation except doing priestly work, they have been practicing but by and large for the common man it is out of question and the common man for the reasons which we don't know even coming from greater traditions has moved into the service sector. The reason for that was the alleged poverty, alleged poverty is what made our ancestors move down to jobs, jobs with the westerners and thereby in a sense participated in the betrayal program of the independence of the country. It may be very bitter to hear all this but that is the truth. The truth is by joining their hands we have sacrificed our life and we have come to this position. Had each one attended to his job properly this position would not have come but then they were told that they were poor, as against people, ancient saints who said that poverty is by choice. Why do you want to be poor? Because, only under those circumstances I can think about God, why do you want miseries? That is the circumstance under which I can think about God, that is the famous story of the kunti herself. As against that value which was there early, we have compromised enormously, we means our ancestors, we are part of them and they were part of us so this is how we have deteriorated. Whatever it is, it has happened, you cannot reverse, you cannot get back, so what is the best way out? If you put that question, best way out, this is the answer that my Master gives you, namely you adjust, you adjust your timings in such a way that you meditate in the morning. You go to your work but then when you go to work, think whatever work it is, think that it is the Master himself is doing and there he is bringing a very big concept of Bhagavad-Gita into practice. In Bhagavad-Gita you find it in second chapter you will find that Lord Krishna clarifies the point, think that I am the doer, not you, you are nobody to do, I am the person to do. If he is the person to do, our efficiency levels will be at the highest because God cannot be inefficient. God by definition cannot be inefficient so whatever is our best potential will definitely come to the forefront if you think he is doing it, so during the day you follow this. Afternoon, you are not going to meditate, it is out of question because your office is there but since you are going to do the entire day all your activities thinking it is the Divine that is performing you will not have the necessity of doing it at that time, it is an alternative that has been given. The third one is, in the evening He modifies the sandhya. Of course the sandya if you have studied well has got a mantra to this effect but least understood. I would not like to go beyond a limit but then if any one of you is interested I will tell you what exactly is the thing that was given. They said that, you have to think that all my activities have somehow caused impressions in me, somehow good, bad, indifferent, some impressions have formed. So it is my activity, my thinking, my attachment, that formed these impressions and therefore it is my duty to get rid of it, so we clean our hands, we clean our face, clean our feet, similarly clean our heart also this is what is asked to be done in the evening cleaning process. Again, before you go to rest think about God and go to rest. Why? Who takes care of you when you are asleep, it is God who takes care of you, the oldest truth of the Vedas is this. In the night we are in the company of God when we are deep asleep and that is why most of us know in this country that we don't disturb people when they are sleeping because he is in the company of the divine, you have normally no business to disturb him. So through the night you go through rest, again activity starts, that's how the first commandment goes. You can go through the commandments that are there, the books are available the commentary also is there. What should be the type of prayer that I offer? Should I ask for something of a relief from my problems? Should I ask for some relief for somebody who is suffering in my house? Or should I ask for something else? So when God is there to ask we don't ask all these things we ask only for our being one with him. A question may arise whether it is not human nature to think about others. Yes we do, it is not human nature that as such that makes you think. It is the attachment that you have developed that makes you think as such and that attachment has been given enormous importance compared to another fundamental logic, a very fundamental truth of science, that 'as you sow so you reap'. It is a fundamental truth but whenever we think in terms of God we wanted exemption from this axiom. This is an axiom 'as you sow so you reap' but whenever the concept of God comes, we always think in terms of seeking exemption from this under some rule. As a government servant I would like to put under this rule so and so please give me some exemption, it happens. It has been our habit, from which time has it been our habit? Selfishness is a point that we have got of the animal nature because it is a preservation instinct. Selfishness is another word for preservation, you want to continue that's what you call selfish, you want to annihilate then you won't call it selfish. Nobody annihilates himself for selfishness, but then the human nature should be in accordance with the divine which annihilates itself, every second it burns itself to see that I live. The one Suryanarayana that all of us are aware of, goes on burning incessantly so that I live here, that is the type of demand of God. These attachments that we are saying that are ours actually are not really attachments. When you go deep into it finally I would like somebody to be happy, yes I would like to. When your house burns except for a mother nobody bothers about the child, they run away. So all these talk of trying to do good for somebody etc., you can understand for yourself what it is, why should I make conclusions I can only tell facts, this is the fact. That is the fact of life, we would like to save ourselves, basically that is an animal instinct, nothing wrong about it because we are animals, everyone of us is an animal how can we say we are not, we are animals. Actually we are naras, a small level above vanaras, in the vanara you have got a tail and we are nara, we don't have. This nara has to become one who can think and that is a manava, a man who starts thinking is a manava, a person who thinks for the good of others is a manishi and a person who goes beyond that is a kavihi. Not every poet is a kavi, kavi is somebody different and he is capable of seeing where ravi cannot see. That means he is capable of going beyond the limits of Nature, limitations are not there for a kavihi and he is supposed to be paribhuhu and he is supposed to be swayambhuhu, so many adjectives have been given in the Vedas for that. It is very difficult to grasp the concept of what is the extent up to which we can grow but the misfortune is we tend to live at the animal level, it is true and most of our prayers are dependent upon that animal level. So it is for each one of us to know whether we should restrict ourselves only to the animal level or we should move beyond that. While it is a fact in day to day life we do pray for all these things, our approach to God should be always, in our meditations, for our spiritual upliftment, not for the relief. I may have some problem, you have some problem, my wife has some, your mother will be having some, something like that, it is natural for you to ask, you will have to grow out of it. Incidentally now this problem has come I will tell you one small incident, few days back I received a letter from another gentleman. He was to have his first child and there was some labour problem and this happened in the U.S.A, not here, so this man was already a practicant of this system so he sat beside his wife and then I think touched her body or something like that and prayed for her relief from this pain or whatever it is and she did have a good delivery and the problem is over. This man's problem started now, he started writing to me sir you asked me to think only in terms of the ultimate I did it like this what am I to do? I said you already done it then what is the point, every person does it and you also have done it, grow out of it. One thing is to know where I am, one thing is to know what I should aspire for, so what I am asked to aspire for is the 2nd commandment, what I am, I think everyone of us know what we are, then why talk about it. This is too obvious, the 2nd thing is too obvious for all of us, when you have got a head ache you will say at least let me not have headache during meditation, at least this prayer you will have. You will not yield so much to the divine to say that he will know better, no. You will at least put some amruthanjan here or a zandu balm there or some other brand, these things do happen. If you are a bit more religious you may go to some vibhudi, you may take some sripadarenu or you may take some tulsi teertham, do something, you will do something or the other to get rid of it. There is nothing very very great about it, very abnormal about it, every one of us would do it because it is a natural instinct. We have to come out of that natural instinct somehow and let us have an aspiration for that. When we ask God let us not ask for these things, these things we know how to get rid of them, at least, thanks to so many doctors now they will sort out most of the problems. We should aspire for spiritual upliftment. Begin your puja with a prayer for spiritual upliftment and rest not till that is achieved'. Rest not means, everyday if you are saying I will not rest till that time, it will not work, it's a life time approach so we must go on doing this puja only in that way seeking for One, that is why the prayer says to you 'Thou art the only God and power to bring me up to that stage'. This is the one of the most challenging things for us and at the same time one of the most unique prayers we have got. We are not asking for a status less than that of God, less than that of divinity. We would like to be one with the Master, His status shall be mine because we are He, we are no different from Him so don't ask for a position less than that, ask for a position equal to that. In the end of course you realize you don't exist, He alone exists that is a separate issue. Ultimately you don't become that, only He becomes you but that is a separate subject but the fact is we are asked to pray for that. That is the challenge, that is the possibility that we are talking of. We are not talking in terms of being just disciples or devotees or slaves. That is granted in the beginning itself 'we are yet but slaves of our wishes', that we know. That is a very very polite way of saying that I am a slave of my animal instincts, slaves of my wishes. Suppose you just change those words 'wishes' and then put 'animal instincts', it applies better it makes more sense to understand but then my Master is always polite so he has given in that way and this is one of the prayers He got from the divine and therefore he gave it as it is. The 3rd commandment says, oneness with the Divine, complete oneness. That means so long as we are selfish, self motivated, we are thinking about ourselves, our goals and our petty ends, you will not be in a position to become Him because he does not distinguish between one and the other. All our conflicts arise mainly because of individualities and personal goals, conflicting goals actually, very very conflicting goals we have got. Therefore somebody becomes inimical to you, you think it is but nobody is inimical, we think he became because his goals are just in the opposite direction to ours, we ask something he asks something else. So in the whole process it becomes very difficult to move on unless we start yielding to that and if you yield towards the divine the chances are that you become one with Him. As I hinted already, you don't become one with Him, He becomes one with you because you are His expression. This is another vedantic problem in Vedanta, the problem always starts with saying that atman and Brahman are the same. It is the Brahman which is the atman and not the atman which is the Brahman, and then aham brahmasmi has been very very badly quoted out of context. If you read the original vedic thing it does not mean anything, it means only when I have realized that I become this, the concluding part of the mantra but interpretations will always be there. Mind is capable of playing and it plays, if there is one thing that is still left with us of a monkey that is the mind. You are able to get rid of the tail alright but then the mind is playing jokes and it is playing monkey everyday. It plays all sorts of monkeyishness and we have to control that, we can't suppress it because it is something God has given so we have to control, bring it to a state of balance. When this type of oneness with the Divine is possible? Or when is it possible for the Divine to become one with you? When is it possible? Only when we try to shed off our unnecessary load. Too many attachments, too many prejudices, too many opinions towards several things, most of our discussions are meaningless discussions. I don't know whether you had funny discussions but I did have, so I can share what I had. You go to a cricket match and then see some fellow playing, somebody bowled and somebody played, ok, matter is over, between them it is sorted out. We start arguing 'had he played like this it would have been different, foolish fellow he did not know, no no he played very very well'. Next fellow says something, third fellow says something else and you get into terribly heated argument about the whole thing and the evening is over, we have forgotten to see the match also. In the whole process of one stroke the match is lost, I don't know who wins there but we have lost the game. This is what our arguments are, most of your arguments if you can see, this is how it ends. The system of education that we have got is one of competition instead of coexistence, instead of co-operation, we have unfortunately opted for the western concept of competition. Krishna and Sudhama both were disciples, they never lost their self in competition. Krishna passed out very early, Sudhama came out much later but nobody said that this fellow is inferior or that fellow is superior. They always said he is a person who has studied under the same teacher and therefore venerable. The only person who unfortunately upset the cart was Drupada who misbehaved and therefore the whole of the Mahabharat was there, part of the Mahabharat is part of that story. Now one person saying that he is superior, had he also maintained the same principle as Sudhama and Krishna, the problem would not have been there. Competition is the beginning of all trouble. All of us are made by God and according to his design. The rose is as beautiful if not more than a lotus, let us not go on comparing them and then contrast and fight. So this one upmanship is the concept that has been given more into our head, as I have already mentioned in Mahabharat itself it is there but more into our head thanks to the west because they wanted to bring some difference between us and they started saying this fellow is superior that fellow is inferior. Those of you who know a bit of social psychology know there is a community called Mundagmar in south New Zealand, one more is called Arabish, the Arabish fellows live in plains, the Mundagmar fellows live in mountains. The arabish fellows in the classroom who were given an exercise of mathematics, now whoever had completed were asked to lift their hand, somebody did very fast and then lifted his hand, in Mundagmar community they refused. This fellow has completed his exercise but he did not lift his hand, when asked why, he said let everybody pass then I will lift, when asked why, he said because we have to live together in the forest, you can fight in the plains we cannot fight in the forest. If you fight in the forest amongst yourself you will definitely be killed by some animal, in the plains we can afford to fight. So the beginnings of this type of competition comes only when you are affluent and when certain other values take over. We don't have to, we don't have to go on arguing, somebody had played you see the game and then go. No, nobody would like to, people would like to get into troubles. This is a general feature, I agree a general feature, today we have to unlearn quite a lot. The process of spirituality is mostly unlearning, not learning, we don't learn anything in spirituality for that matter we only unlearn whatever we have learned. Whatever samskaras we have got we would like to get rid of them, get rid of them and you are liberated, we are back to our original place. You learn something then we are lost in samskaras, one more samskara you have got. You start arguing your philosophy is superior to that of mine, advaita is superior to visistadvaita, visistadvaita is superior to dvaita, dvaita is superior to advaita, you go on arguing there is no end to this, because a person would like to be one upmanship. I am just up, I am better than you, why should you be better than me, why not all of us be equal, no. It is acquired nature. You see children they don't differentiate in the beginning. All children are innocent, they join together, they play well, of course they argue, they fight among themselves, they immediately compromise, everything is done. As they grow you will see the thing, they take uncompromising stands. In the early life they are all compromising on all levels and as we take on a silliest thing also they will be uncompromising, they will not compromise on this. So this is an acquired trait, it is not a natural trait, natural trait is to coexist, be in peace, be in peace is the natural trait, be in conflict is what you have learnt through civilization, eternal conflict for no reason what so ever. You may think that I am unpatriotic but then I will quote one small incident as to why we are fighting on borders really one does not know why, because those glaciers will never go nor that fellow is going to sit there but still we go on arguing and the same thing is what Bertrand Russel said. He said you people all the time tell tolerance, why don't you just keep quiet on this issue. If that fellow were to take manmohan line or macmohan line, whatever line it is somewhere in border and it seems they are fighting over a place where nobody will go at any point of time in his life except these unfortunate soldiers who have been posted there to fight, very very unfortunate souls. Why they are fighting there, nobody knows and he said why are you fighting on all these things, small things, it doesn't matter much, why do you fight and then for having said it some big agitation was there and he was thrown inside the jail. Poor fellow Bertrand Russell has to go through miserable life for having said something like this. I don't defend him nor am I in total agreement with that logic nor am I opposed to the defense policy of the country but what I am trying to tell you is, this is what we have acquired. Finally if you look at it, the whole thing happens to be some sort of a small fight on very small issues. Most of the difference of opinions we have got are only silly difference of opinion. Plainness is something that is in nature, it's plain. When you are angry be angry, when you are loving you love. When cyclone comes it does not distinguish between the places, it simply comes, when floods come they don't distinguish he is a good fellow he is a bad fellow, I will drown only this fellow, I will not drown that fellow, no such thing is possible. It is plain and we through our artificial means have started controlling our feelings to such an extent that many times we don't express our true feelings. Finally the personality, the persona being understood as some sort of a mask has totally covered your soul. People know only personalities, nobody knows the soul but our souls are one, we are one with each other, there is no difference between you and me. It is the personality that is giving a conflict and persona you know is a word that is coming from the word mask. It's a mask, I have a mask you have a mask and this is what is fighting. Basically internally I want you to be good and you want me to be good. I want to be kind to you, you want to be kind to me, basically everybody has got this feeling. People are now afraid of touching a person, this has happened in the west much earlier, this is happening in India now, in some places at least. Somebody gets into an accident and if you touch him you are in troubles, if you touch that fellow you are in troubles because he says had you handled me better I would not had this problem, he goes to the court and then you are lost. For having attempted to do something good, you are getting into troubles. The personalities are in troubles now but basically the instinct is the same, there also they want to do some help, do some good to others. If 30 years or 40 years back or even about 50 years back, if you try to help somebody he used to accept it, today they will ask you the question why is it you are doing this. As a matter of fact I found this question in the institute also, many of the participants put this question why is it you people are doing this free, why is it. I want to be good, that's all, I have no axe to grind. I want to say something which I know, if you are kind enough to come and hear me I will tell you, you don't want to hear me and go alright you go, but then why is it you are doing is the question I could not understand. We will also show you the papers there are earlier batches of people who put this question, why is it you are doing this, what is it you want to do. We only said we want to be brothers, at least we want to tell you that we are brothers, whether I behave as such or not it depends upon my behaviour but at least I want to tell you. That's my intention, I have no intention to tell anything wrong to you. I have benefited from my great Master which I wanted to pass on to you. Please see what it is, if you can follow it, follow it, if not, very good having spend some time with us let us be happy. This is what I have been telling but then that itself is a big problem for us to defend, it has become very big problem now and then it becomes, why do you waste so much time? I don't waste, I spend, I usefully spend. When I communicate to you, I consider this is the best time that I spend. A few good words to others is what we can do because all other places it is selfish motive that is guiding us. I am not doing any marketing here, because by marketing I am not going to get anything. By marketing a system like this, what is it I am going to get? Because a stage has come when people started questioning genuineness of selfless service itself because it has become so alien to us now in this present atmosphere it is very difficult to convince people. This has started, I think in several walks of life it has started actually, when somebody is prepared to marry without a dowry he is asking a question, who is this fellow, there must be something terrible deficient about him, otherwise why should this fellow marry like this, he seems to be well qualified and all that. Genuine goodness is being questioned now, that is the dirtiest level to which we have fallen now, thanks to your competition thanks to what every word, we have got. A stage has come when we should come out of this at least. Let us behave as personalities capable of being divine, we need not yield to this much of animal instinct. Animals we are, there is no doubt about it, who is not an animal? There are many qualities that are in us which cannot be so easily got rid of, they are animals. That is the message actually given to us by some of the stories on Indra, they were just trying to tell you that even if he is a God, he can become animal, the possibilities of a person of a high rank falling low is what was hinted at. We don't have to accuse anybody for that but the possibilities are there because it is always there, every person suffers except that is our basic, base actually from which we are growing. The next commandment talks to you about being truthful. There is one thing very interesting you must have noted about the whole commandments. You do not find one sentence which says you should not do. Not a single commandment is there which says you don't do this as against other commandments of other religions where they say you should not do this, you should not do that, you should not steal somebody's property. you should not take away another man's wife, all sorts of things. This is what the commandments are there in the Bible and so also in Koran. As against it, here as according to our tradition, it's the question of the Satya that matters. Rtam and the satya are the two concepts which are very very unique to our system, this land actually. Rtam is natural order, there is a universal order, you disturb any one of them the whole thing collapses. There cannot be any change in the planetary positions, the way in which they move, the path in which they move, you just disturb one from the other you are in troubles, you are in chaos. Just what can happen to you is something nobody can imagine. If sun were to rise just a fraction of a second later than what he is supposed to, then we are in real troubles we really don't know what will happen to us, so that is the natural order. On the natural order is dependent upon your truth because that is the truth. Truth should always be linked with the Rtam. Rtam, Satyam -they are interdependent. By following that order in my life I maintain that order, by that order I live, this is what you are supposed to remember everyday at the time of eating food. There is a mantra for this which says that because of the truth, the eternal dharma that is there, the rhythm that is there, I am able to practice the truth and because I practiced the truth the rtam shall continue. Any change in this is likely to lead us to disaster and that is what is happening today with your ecological imbalance. You try to touch this, you misbehave with the nature and it starts giving its own results. You get akala varsham, you get enormous heat, all our making only, nobody else has made it. Now you come to know after enormous amount of misuse of nature, you come to talk about it today and the joke of it is, the people who have polluted started telling us who are just now learning to pollute, that you should not pollute. They are the fellows who have polluted, whoever asked them to do that. So this is the problem between the developed and developing countries. They disturbed it so badly they are now telling us now you should not do because they know now what the problem is, this we knew from the beginning. Recyclable energy systems etc things that now we are taking about really funny for me to hear. Our fellows knew it much earlier all these things, they knew, they never wasted anything but today we are again learning all sorts of things. We seem to be learning, really we are just only remembering or recall. Something that is buried deep in us is being recalled now. So this particular nature, be truthful is not a question of just speaking truth in this system, speak truth is not this, it is be truthful. Our true nature is that of being divine and we should be truthful to it. The call is that you should be divine, you should live for others, you should sacrifice yourself, your values should be of the higher order, be in truth, that is, be in that condition which God has asked you to, be truthful to you nature. We are descendents of the Divine, we are expressions of the Divine, we are manifestations of the Divine and that is our right to uphold it. I don't have to become devilish, I need not. The charm of the system is that we are asked to be one with the Divine. You are one there is no doubt about it, only thing is we are trying to put it low saying, no,no this is not the practical way of living, the practical way of living is to kill the person first. Whoever is opposing you, don't be one with him but try to exploit him. If he is very mild try to make best use of that fellow, this is what we have been told. A situation of trying to exploit, that is not our truthful nature. Be truthful, truthful to our real self, one with the Divine, that is our condition, then, everywhere it will be only peace of mind, every where it will be only peace otherwise there will be only conflict. When you are not true to yourself then there will be conflict, all wars are attributable only to that. Exploitation is not the way to live, cooperation is the way to live. Exchange of commodities was what, beginning of economy. Today it is not exchange, unfair deals, actually it is the middle man who makes it, who never does anything that is productive. He is the fellow who is making maximum out of it. Our economy is such a wonderful economy, it is a British economy. They never had any resources, they never had any market, the funniest fellows in this world are these Britishers. They never had anything in their land, they never had a market. So the market is elsewhere, the raw goods are elsewhere, this fellow exploited. It is a very very funny situation and it has become the model, so what type of models we have got you can see for yourself. So be simple, be truthful, be truthful to yourself, be truthful to your nature, it's not difficult to follow that actually but it appears very difficult to follow because if you take it as truth speaking then it will become troublesome. Be truthful is easy to follow, truth speaking is really tough, then you will get into real trouble. So understand the commandment well so that you will be in a position to live comfortable in a modern world otherwise you will get into enormous confusion, you really don't know what to do afterwards. When we are true to our self, the next easy thing for us to follow would be that we come to know that we are expressions of the divine and so are all others. So the much talked about concept of fraternity which is based more on business transaction today, where you have got Rotarian brothers, you have got Lion brothers. Rotarian brothers I could understand a bit, lion brothers is difficult for me to understand and so many other brothers are there. We also call ourselves brothers but the real brotherhood comes only when you know the common origin. When you know the other person also has come from the divine and is an expression of the divine, then we will be in a position to treat him as a brother. But do you know the present day world of competition, a stage has come, how the brother feels, suppose a person who has got very good IQ, may be 200 or something more than that, the other fellow may be moron in the same family, he is ashamed to call him a brother. The parents also don't like to own that fellow, they also put him inside and then say don't come out. Somebody is visiting us so that is your room, you go and sit there, they lock. So that is the level to which our so called competitive spirit has taken us. Previously this type of problem was not there, say about 80 years back or 90 years back, when we read the stories of several families, even when the eldest brother is an imbecile he is the person who was respected. He was an imbecile, no doubt about it, but then they respected him because he was somebody elder and each man tried to help the other. Suppose a person is a bit better than the other he was very happy to help the other person. Giving and taking was so easy and natural then. Now there is neither giving nor taking. Taking of course is there in the sense of exploitation, giving is not there. We have, we have our own words, we have got our own dictionaries that we have developed, new dictionaries can be easily written today. So to know the other person as a brother itself is a big problem, and that becomes possible only when you know you are coming from the same source. So without this union with God, without the simplicity and plainness that we develop and we feel the presence of divine in us and we know that we are the expressions of the divine, it is very difficult to accept the other person as a brother. You will not, not because we were not capable of it earlier. We were capable of it. We were having a civilisation based on that but the present day civilisation which is based on exploitation, competition, conflict, comparison will not enable you to think in those lines. It literally prohibits you from behaving like that and you have got an interesting answer for this from the so called religious people or traditional people who say that "vaadi karmandi idi". It is his karma that he is like that what is it I can do. That is not, that was never the philosophy of karma in this country. The karma as I told you earlier, it is natural principle of "as you sow, so you reap". This was the principle of karma in the simplest of terms but we are supposed to help here. It may be true that is his karma but what is your karma? What is your swadharma? Your swadharma is to help, your swadharma is to be divine. What is your swadharma? Not to exploit others. Our swadharma is one to help and once you help that man also will get some relief. You also will get relief that is a separate subject but then this particular concept has gone totally and one should not feel sorry if our parliaments and assemblies are loaded with such imbeciles; because that is the only place where finally they could land. Since you did not allow them to enter your offices and schools; they found their way to the assembly. Let us not feel bad about it. It is we who made them so. If all the thugs and gundas have joined there, it is by our choice. We have made them enter there, they became the street rowdies first, dadas, what else could he do? He had atleast muscle, so those people who did not have muscles they are separate set but people who had muscle, no brains, had brawn that was capable of doing several things. They got things done, they are able to get things done which you cannot. If you want any admission to any school in a particular area, the best place to go is not your district educational officer or director of school education or the minister. Catch hold of the local gunda that fellow will get you the next day the seat. This has been my practical advice to many also and they all succeeded in getting seats. The easiest way is to do that. because they will get it. If you want to go to any cinema and you don't get ticket, tell that fellow he will get it for you. Why unnecessarily waste your time there. That is how they became leaders, and then they are leading our nation and we are being led. So nothing wrong about all that but then that is not brotherhood. Had you been kindly to him, had you only spend a few hours more with him, he would not have become that. I know many of these politicians, internally I know how nice they are, externally how bad they are, both these things I know, both the things are there. They cry, when we say a few good words they cry. So brotherhood has become a big liability. Everybody talks brotherhood, it is very easy to say, but who is a brother? One who can share, is it not? Share means what? Divide! What a definition we have got! From share to divide. You share food, sit along with me take a few biscuits, I do not count how many biscuits you take, how many biscuits I take but then no, that is not the concept of brother. I have got four, you have got three therefore cut it into one by two and then eat it. Previously a person, they say that this fellow is not capable of living on his own, let us give him something more, I am capable of living on me therefore I won't take it, I don't want it, be happy. No, that is not our concept today. Even when I can afford to live on my own on a much better scale than the other person, I would like to have my pound of flesh. This is the degraded level to which we have come. All this because we don't understand it is divinity who is expressing. If only that is there, I think we would have given every person his due. Naturally a tree which requires manure will be given more manure, a tree which does not require that much manure will not be given that much of manure. What is great differentiation we are trying to make? Each according to the need, each according to its capacity. All these concepts are lost. As I told you sharing has unfortunately meant divide, so really one does not know why the dictionary should have two words one is share and another is divide, one is enough why have two words. Your dictionary can be shortened but then that is the level to which we have come to. The most funniest aspect of it would be, if you have gone to any dinner to any marriage now a days, previously dinner means people used to serve in the plates and all that, that culture somehow is lost. Now it is kept somewhere, some common plates are there and you have to collect it and then go. They expect some 500 people or 1000 people there but then we also know that some persons somehow take more than their quantum and after sometime you will find that, that plate will be empty so people will start rushing to that preferred item first. For what reasons we do not know we rush and then take their pieces, so literally what is happening is nobody wants to share even in those circumstances. Each person sharing, no, no sharing, only exploitation. Who is smarter here? So remember the dogs and remember these men, the beautiful analogy comes to you. You can paint, if you are a painter you can easily paint. If you are a poet, you can write. So sharing is lost, fraternity is lost. It is not lost today only, it has been lost long long time ago, they have never been achieved. Vali and Sugreeva are there, Sundopasundas are available, any number of examples you can go on giving. Fraternity has always been an elusive affair, and you will never be in a position to accomplish it unless you know that you are divine and the other person is divine. There are three principles which the French Revolution has thrown out; Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. These are the three concepts thrown out to the modern world by the French revolution. All the three are spiritual values and they do not stand in the secular level. That is the reason why we are not able to achieve any one of them. We gave a distorted version for it and then stated that equality before law, and not that all of us are equal because we are all children of the divine. So we misinterpret it to mean that it is equality before law. Is there one universal law in this world? No. Each country has got its own, perhaps each state has got its own, and each locality will have its own. The law will be variable according to the goonda that is available. The enforcement people who enforce law, they decide as to what is law. So similar is the fraternity, it is a spiritual value. Only when you know you are coming from the divine, we will all be equal. Where is fraternity, you tell me? In which place is it available? The one place where it was possible and was practiced earlier was the family system, in a joint family system like ours in this country. Elsewhere in the world no such experiment was done, nobody knows what it is and today family as an institution is perishing. People have finally come to the stage of living together. That is the west. The latest western style is living together, no question of marriage. At any time you can walkout. Some people say why all this, even this why? So they are independent, so family as an institution also has perished. So Fraternity where are you going to have? How do you express fraternity? What is the way? What is that the French revolution has been able to achieve? All the three values that the French revolution has given which are unfortunately only at the spiritual level have been brought down to secular level and the experiments are failing. We are only posing ourselves that we are the biggest democracy or somebody else is doing something else. It is all a big drama that goes on. All of us are equal but some of us are more equal. How contradictory that sentence is obvious to any person who is capable of thinking but then that is well accepted norm in any administration. So spirituality alone is capable of making us live upto the level of this particular standard of fraternity is what I am trying to stress and that is possible only when you know your common origin and common origin can be known only in your heart, not elsewhere. Only when you know that God is there with you, you will be in a position to concede the point that God will be there in him also. If God is there only in some temple and I am the priest for it, definitely it is my God and is not your God. He is mine, I possess that idol, I possess that temple. There are people, wise people. If you go to Travancore, the Padmanabha temple belongs to the king, the Travancore king owns the Padmanabha temple. It is a part of his palace. You cannot enter there unless he completes his worship first, he is the first person to come. After the king goes, then you can go, otherwise you cannot go inside. There are certain rules and restrictions etc. things that are there. This is so everywhere, the dharma kartha has to come first then only you can go. Or some Jeeyar swami will be there he has to come and then only you can go. Something like that will always be there, somebody possesses God. When it is something like an external thing it is possessive, if it is something internal everybody possesses his own God so I do not have to fight with you. I have my God with me and you have got your God with you. Unfortunately or fortunately God is one, we know definitely, yes! we are from the same source. All people who worship different types of deities, I do not think they have got different Gods in their heart. There cannot be a christian God, there cannot be a muslim God, there cannot be a hindu God, there is only one God. So we come to this commonness only when we go beyond the level of religion itself. Then only, it will become possible. So religion has to be transcended. When? How? What history is going to do let us watch and see. At present we have seen religions have failed. Whether it will be transcended or not is what you have got to see. It is a matter for us to observe. Some more years we are going to live so we will see, what is going to happen to it. Once we know that it is something that everybody is our brother etc things, the point raised namely that we try to be one up and feel bad or good about somebody etc things. We start thinking that somebody has done harm to us or somebody has done good to us. So long as we have got the concept of somebody is doing good to us, it is ok. We may not be very grateful to him but we will never be ungrateful to him normally. When a person does good generally people don't acknowledge it but I must tell you an interesting joke which I had some 20 years back. I was with some minister then talking to him and he is known to have founded many educational institutions etc. things in west godavari district and so many allegations are there and so many praises are there. Somebody was telling him 'Sir, so and so is accusing you of such and such thing'. Then for a moment he kept quiet and then his reaction was I have not done him any good then why he is it that he is abusing me? He ought not to. That was his experience. What I am trying to tell is even when you do good, somebody may still accuse you. I don't want to go into merits or demerits of that, it is the statement only that I am just telling. So we try to be grateful normally to a person who has done good. When somebody has done harm to us, we try to feel bad or certain times when we think we are capable, we would like to take revenge also on the fellow. In this process what happens is we develop more samskaras, we gain more impressions. The worst point that comes to you as a practical person who meditates is, when you try to take revenge on somebody or try to do something against him it haunts your mind during meditation. It is the worst naraka that you can go through. Personally I have learnt this lesson and therefore I pass on this message to you. People did harm, true, that is what at least on that day I thought. I never thought it is a part of my karma that I should have gone through, no it was not. So I used to feel that we must do something back to this fellow. For no fault of mine this fellow has done like this therefore I should do like this and it disturbed my meditation so badly and I was not capable of thinking about God at all, I was all the time meditating on this fellow. See the devil has become the object of meditation rather than God, so in your own interest we should not have anything of this negative attitude in our mind. In our own interest, not for anybody's else. Whatever you want to do, you do. Like nature, if you want to slap, you slap then and there itself, there the matter ends. If you want to meditate over this and then plan an action against him, then it is definitely getting into hell, it is nothing other than hell to which we will go. If you want to experience hell try to take revengeful action on somebody and then meditate then you will understand what it is. It is the worst that you can ever think of. Ignoring is also not that easy because your ego is hurt. While I will not say that you please ignore, it is easy to tell from a platform to tell several things, it is all right but as sadhaka I will not be in a position to tell that. I will say you ignore but you cannot ignore, that also I know. By continuously thinking about the divine, on the divine light, at least making an effort you are capable of forgetting this. There are two aspects of it. One thing is to forget and another thing is to forgive. Forgetting is a natural process, God has given that capacity to us. We forget almost 90 percent of the things we forget every day, it is a God given gift. If we remember everything we will be in torture, enormous torture but forgive you know is very difficult, it is very difficult. Unless you grow to the level considerably in spirituality, it is very difficult. Even there it is possible, still to retain this feeling. So it is the yielding to the divine alone that enables you to finally forget, erase it out also. Unless He owns you up you will be owning your samskaras. There will be traces of it. As I aways call the vasana will always be there. While the samamskaras may be washed out, the vasana will definitely be there. This is a problem for us, very difficult to understand that because he says here, be not revengeful for the wrongs done by others take them with gratitude, taking it as gratitude as divine gift is a real tough job to practice. Intellect will enable you to get away from God. Buddhi is the basic trouble. Mahat is the one that links us with the divine. Buddhi will segregates us from divine because the intellectual aspect of it is based upon the following. The sense organs, the motor organs are the inputs. Through this we get information, all information. Whether it is your perception, whether it is your inference, whether it is your analogy, all knowledge is based upon only these sensory inputs and this is what is processed by the mind. It processes information etc. this is what is looking down. What is looking up is the Mahat. Mahat looks to God, Buddhi looks to the world. That is why in the gayatri you have got a word Dheeyo yonah prachodayat. No buddhi. If you bring buddhi there, you are lost once for all. Buddhi is capable of distinguishing, cutting, analysing, analytical mind is possible with buddhi. Aesthetic mind is possible only with Mahat. Any amount of your dissection of frogs or flowers will never make a frog understood by you nor a flower understood by you. You can definitely say what parts that contain etc things, all the things you can add. A flower is appreciated as a flower only by a poet. A Kavihi alone is capable of doing that, one who is having empathy will do that. One who has got intellect will not be in a position to do that and this I started with in the beginning. Empathy is the feeling, that language we have forgotten. To be in tune with the divine is what we have forgotten. We are more in tune with the nature. We are analysing more and more of nature. Analytical mind is what has been given enormous importance. Any amount of your intellectual conviction about any one of these things will not help you. You have to yield to the divine. Yielding to the divine is yielding to your Mahat. It is again a principle that he has given. It is the one which begins the entire thing. The purusha and the prakriti, the first product of which is the mahat, then only the remaining things come. It is the Mahat that has got to be in tune with, that is the original vibrations, that is what you feel in this system of meditation. The transmissions given are all only from that level. Now revengeful we need not be. We can forget. All right sir I have forgotten all these, what does it matter. Many times you may not be. I
Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ) Messages (Meditation, Raja Yoga, Training, Spirituality, PAM - Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Divinity, Divine Service & Research, Babuji Disciple) Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Disciple & Founder of “Institute of Sri RamChandra Consciousness” Details: Messages delivered by Pujya Sir K.C.Narayana ( KCN ), Hyderabad, India. Dedicated his life for the Spiritual service of Pujya Sri Ramchandraji's Pranahuti Aided Meditation, Research, Meditation Trainings, Audio Messages, Books & SatSangh Meditation Info Contact: www.sriramchandra.in Biography: kcnarayana.org Episode Notes: WAY OF LIVING SRI RAMCHANDRA'S COMMANDMENTS You have by now seen the 10 maxims or commandments of Sri Ramchandra. The crux of the issue is we know what is good, we do not do what is good. When we try to give our mind or intellect or reasoning, use any word you like, more importance than to other faculties that God has given namely feeling, love, attachment, empathy, this problem generally comes. There are historical facts that over about 5 to 6 thousand years or more, we have been somehow giving too much importance to the intellectual or the mental sphere and slowly we are getting away from our basis i.e, Nature. Instead of being one with the Mother Nature we have somehow chosen sometime in history a concept of conquering Nature. Instead of being in tune with Nature we wanted to conquer it and there arose all our problems. This problem was not there earlier, because behind every force that was there, the early man was able to see, the vedic seers were able to see, something which is definitely good and which is in order. Even when he praised or adored Natural forces he was not adoring the Natural forces as such but was trying to see what is the good they were doing to him. When we worship Sun they knew very well what Sun is, but then they also knew without him they will not be in a position to live and therefore they granted him the status of God. Similar is the position with the trees, which they knew is very important for their existence, for natural living, similarly about the rivers, similarly about the mountains so on and so forth. Somebody from the west who was not able to think all this well early and all of a sudden sometime in the middle of the last millennia or the present millennia, the fag end of which we have come already, started their theory of exploitation of the natural resources and consequently exploitation of other human beings also and they taught us the philosophy that perhaps you are very very pre-mature set of fellows worshiping this or worshiping that. They could not go to the basis, understandably, because their thinking pattern is such. It is our misfortune that we have started accepting it as correct and for about 250 years of slavery or perhaps a bit more, I think, we have finally come to a stage when we have got to adjust. We know in our minds that this is right, we are not able to accept it because the language of feeling is almost totally forgotten. Everybody knows some English, some French, some German, some Sanskrit, some Telugu, some Hindi, some language or the other we seem to be knowing. They are all ways of expression; ways of experience or the imperience somehow is lost. The natural love between the father and the son, the mother and the son, father and the daughter, the natural love that is there between you and me somehow got eroded for considerations of what we considered or what we have been taught to consider as good namely opulence, comfort, not bothering about another person, living for oneself, stand on your legs - these type of logics have come and we tended to accept it. The whole system of Sri Ramchandra tries to restore us back to that fundamentals of trying to live with Nature, trying to be in tune with Nature. We are expressions of the Divine is a word that we have accepted at the mental level. Thanks to the renaissance period of the last century when the great Vivekananda came forward and made this statement, yes, most of us have started remembering our original moors our original traditions most of us have. Many other systems have explained it also, each one in their own way contributed to our understanding of it but behind it is the call that again is generally getting forgotten because we get into vedanta or philosophy rather than the practice. An intellectual thing can take you anywhere, anywhere in your imagination it can lead you to any place but feeling is lost there. Information doesn't become knowledge that easily first, as we have got lot of information in the library, to read and understand it takes some time and knowledge to become understanding it takes an enormous input. There is lot of effort we have to put in between these two. Simply because we know something I don't think we understand that. The most difficult thing to understand in life is the word sacrifice and I am proud of being an Indian knowing the value of sacrifice, but sacrifice is a word which will not go along with individuality. If you talk independence don't talk about sacrifice, they are mutually contradictory, they will not go together. A society based on the value of independence is bound to fail and that is what our asuras were supposed to have had. What type of stories we have got, I don't have to repeat all of them, most of you know all that. In sacrifice lies the value of Divinity, the Sun burns himself from morning to night so that we continue to live. Sacrifice is the basis of Divinity - when anybody says that you are a Mahatma or you are a Divine personality, he is only trying to tell you that you are capable of thinking beyond your selfishness and trying to do good for others. Only when we talk in terms of selfless service we talk in terms of attributing Divinity to him. Gandhiji is a mahatma for the only reason he was able to sacrifice so much of his personal life for the sake of the nation otherwise he will not be. There are so many, it's only an incident, one example I gave, there are so many people whom you can quote. There are perhaps many more whom we don't know at all, it is not necessary that all Gods should be known also. That is why the number has been put at some staggering 360 crores so that you do not have to count. One or two you will definitely start counting. Who are they? When you put the number at 360 crores you will not bother to count. The simple reason behind it is, there are so many. Every one of us have got the capacity to become the Divine and how to become Divine is this system. The system of Sri Ramchandra's Raja yoga is not meant just for being getting some satisfaction, some peace of mind. No. How to live up to our potential of being divine? That is our potential, human is not the potential, many people talked in terms of human resource development. I am ashamed to use that word in this country for the only reason I have been told from the beginning that there is a divine resource that has to be developed. So let us develop the divine resource, human resource will come along the way, it is just like one more qualification that we get, let us become human at least I agree, temporary goal, but our goal is not that. Our goal is to become divine, the divine resource has to come out and we are capable of doing such sacrifices, we are capable of doing something very very good to others, atleast we can think good of others. At present we think good of ourselves, from this level let us come out of and think good for others. How much you can do? Later on that starts, first of all let us start thinking something outside ourselves. It is time to think in those lines, because I will tell you two small examples, they are actually incidents that have happened, I was reminded about them yesterday. One of my distant relatives, happened to be a cousin actually, became a CEO by 34th or 35th year. Right on the top he was, he gave a ring to me about two years back, 'uncle I have reached the position my father and mother have been pestering me for this type of position I have got it now, what next? can you tell me what next?' the question was something over the phone, I couldn't answer in detail so I said, when I meet you next time we will have more occasion, time to talk about it, don't worry carry on. After about 8 days, I received the message that he committed suicide and his only reason is, he has not found a purpose for his life. He had no purpose because he has reached the pinnacle, he got the maximum position that anybody can think of. He committed suicide. There was another incident yesterday, one of my friends, old friend met me after 25 years, he came he was talking to me about his relatives, his cousin actually, this boy belongs to the brahmin community, he married a kamma woman, so far there is no problem. The problem started; it seems one of the conditions for the marriage is that they should not have any children. This fact came to the knowledge of the parents much later and it seems they see once in about 8 to 9 months, they work in two different places in USA far far away perhaps Kanyakumari and Kashmir. So he was telling 'what is this Narayan what am I to do, this is what is the position' I said it is their life they have chosen that independent life, you and I are talking about interdependence, they are talking about independence. So the values are entirely different, unless there is a change in the value system you will not be in a position to communicate to them and they will not be in a position to communicate. We can talk but we will never communicate, exchange of words is always possible, exchange of words doesn't mean anything, we never learn anything from that. So what I am trying to impress upon you is, so long as we are going to live for ourselves, we will lose to have meaning for our life itself, the meaning for life lies only in living for others. If you are going to live for yourself there is no meaning at all, you will get into that frustrating mood, really nobody knows what exactly it is. One more thing also I have to tell you because it seems that when she comes also she will not make him coffee which he likes because she likes tea and so there is a big quarrel every time they meet on this issue of a coffee and tea. I am not joking, this is exactly what yesterday my friend told me and I am just repeating to you because this is the way in which we are going, the amount of tolerance, alright you have coffee I will have tea at least that is a good understanding. No, not that way I come once in a way to meet you therefore you should take tea and he says once in a way you come, you better take coffee where is the end to this? this is a very very funny situation to which we are going and why I am giving such a big sort of an introduction to the whole subject is, let us learn first of all to live in tune with Nature. Nature teaches you certain things, so the first thing, the first commandment of Sri Ramchandra starts with "Rise before dawn", why should I? Why should I, tell? Why not I get up some time in the afternoon? Sometime 12 o' clock in the afternoon, what is wrong about it? The reason is, when you want to participate with nature, nature starts activity at that time so you also start your activity at that time, before that time you be in tune with Nature. To be in tune would be to follow and that is much more superior. You may perhaps rise a few minutes later or earlier but Sun will rise exactly to the same second according to the calendar, you can see, there will be no change. So there is a meeting place between activity and inactivity, the night was inactive the morning is active. You may put this question to me sir, how do you say that, nowadays we are active the entire night. Yes, we are active we have killed nature, that's why it is so, we have deliberately killed the nature so that there is no difference between night and day. Yes, it is very difficult for you to teach your children as to what is night and what is day. If you are just going to show, going to any metropolitan city, where you will find every time light because it has been my very tough experience to explain to my granddaughter what it is to think about darkness in the night because every where there is light so when I say that nights will be dark, she says no its not dark it is blue, I said no no it is dark then she said no it is blue, so one night fortunately in Hyderabad we have got so many days when there is no power, power cuts so it was easy for me to go and say now you see what it is. That way it is also a blessing now and then you lose power at least we can teach certain concepts otherwise it is impossible to teach that concept. How to say that nights are dark? In a situation like this how do you say that. We have deliberately killed and those of you who know a bit of Ramayana should remember that when this Anjaneya entered the Lanka in the night it was all bright so he was confused whether it was morning or night. It was one of the greatest confusions at that time, I think we are in no better position than that today. I don't want to make the conclusion that all of us are asuras but then by and large that seems to be the position. It is a miserable state of affairs in which we are now but if we want to restore ourselves to balance, first thing is be in tune with nature, night is inactive, day is active. Your heart is the place where there is both activity and inactivity, it beats, there is one off period, there is one on period. Similar is the night and day, so he says to you that you get up early in the morning, meditate at that time. How long, how much, is secondary issue. That it is one hour or half an hour or 45 minutes or one and half hours each person decides and in a modern world like this since you cannot give too much time, SriRamchandraji Maharaj has fixed the time as 1 hour, he says you take it as 1 hour as the time. It is fairly arbitrary, there is nothing very very unquestionable axiom about it, nothing, you may be sitting for 45 minutes, you may be sitting for 1½ hours, it all depends upon the time but for a busy person to give more than that time is not possible. Those of you who have done some sort of a worship, you should have seen the amount of time we take, generally about three to four hours we take to complete all your things, as against it you restrict it to one hour before the dawn itself. That is very advantageous because we have to go to offices, we have to attend to our work, so do it early. If you do it later you will not be in a position to do justice to both. I am aware of very many pious people at various levels in government service of which I was a part till recently where they say sir, So and so has not come, why? Because of a puja in his house sir he will be coming very late, at what time he is expected? May be around 1o' clock or 2 o' clock. This is a daily situation because everyday there is some puja or the other, something or the other happens. I am not here to judge their ethical standards. No I am not here to judge that but I can only say it has affected their work but if you don't want to affect your work and also be happy, the better way is to get up before dawn, do your puja early. Sit in the same place for the only reason vibrations are always there. You carry the vibrations in the same place and that's how we start the day but people who have got questions about the tradition they say trikala sandhya. There is something like morning prayer or morning sandhya, afternoon sandhya, evening sandhya, I don't know how many of you are aware of all these things but most of the people who try to do all the three at least gave up the afternoon one very early because it was impossible to leave office at that time to go and attend to that work at 12 o'clock. Of course the purohits have done it to the extent that they were capable of. People who did not have any other avocation except doing priestly work, they have been practicing but by and large for the common man it is out of question and the common man for the reasons which we don't know even coming from greater traditions has moved into the service sector. The reason for that was the alleged poverty, alleged poverty is what made our ancestors move down to jobs, jobs with the westerners and thereby in a sense participated in the betrayal program of the independence of the country. It may be very bitter to hear all this but that is the truth. The truth is by joining their hands we have sacrificed our life and we have come to this position. Had each one attended to his job properly this position would not have come but then they were told that they were poor, as against people, ancient saints who said that poverty is by choice. Why do you want to be poor? Because, only under those circumstances I can think about God, why do you want miseries? That is the circumstance under which I can think about God, that is the famous story of the kunti herself. As against that value which was there early, we have compromised enormously, we means our ancestors, we are part of them and they were part of us so this is how we have deteriorated. Whatever it is, it has happened, you cannot reverse, you cannot get back, so what is the best way out? If you put that question, best way out, this is the answer that my Master gives you, namely you adjust, you adjust your timings in such a way that you meditate in the morning. You go to your work but then when you go to work, think whatever work it is, think that it is the Master himself is doing and there he is bringing a very big concept of Bhagavad-Gita into practice. In Bhagavad-Gita you find it in second chapter you will find that Lord Krishna clarifies the point, think that I am the doer, not you, you are nobody to do, I am the person to do. If he is the person to do, our efficiency levels will be at the highest because God cannot be inefficient. God by definition cannot be inefficient so whatever is our best potential will definitely come to the forefront if you think he is doing it, so during the day you follow this. Afternoon, you are not going to meditate, it is out of question because your office is there but since you are going to do the entire day all your activities thinking it is the Divine that is performing you will not have the necessity of doing it at that time, it is an alternative that has been given. The third one is, in the evening He modifies the sandhya. Of course the sandya if you have studied well has got a mantra to this effect but least understood. I would not like to go beyond a limit but then if any one of you is interested I will tell you what exactly is the thing that was given. They said that, you have to think that all my activities have somehow caused impressions in me, somehow good, bad, indifferent, some impressions have formed. So it is my activity, my thinking, my attachment, that formed these impressions and therefore it is my duty to get rid of it, so we clean our hands, we clean our face, clean our feet, similarly clean our heart also this is what is asked to be done in the evening cleaning process. Again, before you go to rest think about God and go to rest. Why? Who takes care of you when you are asleep, it is God who takes care of you, the oldest truth of the Vedas is this. In the night we are in the company of God when we are deep asleep and that is why most of us know in this country that we don't disturb people when they are sleeping because he is in the company of the divine, you have normally no business to disturb him. So through the night you go through rest, again activity starts, that's how the first commandment goes. You can go through the commandments that are there, the books are available the commentary also is there. What should be the type of prayer that I offer? Should I ask for something of a relief from my problems? Should I ask for some relief for somebody who is suffering in my house? Or should I ask for something else? So when God is there to ask we don't ask all these things we ask only for our being one with him. A question may arise whether it is not human nature to think about others. Yes we do, it is not human nature that as such that makes you think. It is the attachment that you have developed that makes you think as such and that attachment has been given enormous importance compared to another fundamental logic, a very fundamental truth of science, that 'as you sow so you reap'. It is a fundamental truth but whenever we think in terms of God we wanted exemption from this axiom. This is an axiom 'as you sow so you reap' but whenever the concept of God comes, we always think in terms of seeking exemption from this under some rule. As a government servant I would like to put under this rule so and so please give me some exemption, it happens. It has been our habit, from which time has it been our habit? Selfishness is a point that we have got of the animal nature because it is a preservation instinct. Selfishness is another word for preservation, you want to continue that's what you call selfish, you want to annihilate then you won't call it selfish. Nobody annihilates himself for selfishness, but then the human nature should be in accordance with the divine which annihilates itself, every second it burns itself to see that I live. The one Suryanarayana that all of us are aware of, goes on burning incessantly so that I live here, that is the type of demand of God. These attachments that we are saying that are ours actually are not really attachments. When you go deep into it finally I would like somebody to be happy, yes I would like to. When your house burns except for a mother nobody bothers about the child, they run away. So all these talk of trying to do good for somebody etc., you can understand for yourself what it is, why should I make conclusions I can only tell facts, this is the fact. That is the fact of life, we would like to save ourselves, basically that is an animal instinct, nothing wrong about it because we are animals, everyone of us is an animal how can we say we are not, we are animals. Actually we are naras, a small level above vanaras, in the vanara you have got a tail and we are nara, we don't have. This nara has to become one who can think and that is a manava, a man who starts thinking is a manava, a person who thinks for the good of others is a manishi and a person who goes beyond that is a kavihi. Not every poet is a kavi, kavi is somebody different and he is capable of seeing where ravi cannot see. That means he is capable of going beyond the limits of Nature, limitations are not there for a kavihi and he is supposed to be paribhuhu and he is supposed to be swayambhuhu, so many adjectives have been given in the Vedas for that. It is very difficult to grasp the concept of what is the extent up to which we can grow but the misfortune is we tend to live at the animal level, it is true and most of our prayers are dependent upon that animal level. So it is for each one of us to know whether we should restrict ourselves only to the animal level or we should move beyond that. While it is a fact in day to day life we do pray for all these things, our approach to God should be always, in our meditations, for our spiritual upliftment, not for the relief. I may have some problem, you have some problem, my wife has some, your mother will be having some, something like that, it is natural for you to ask, you will have to grow out of it. Incidentally now this problem has come I will tell you one small incident, few days back I received a letter from another gentleman. He was to have his first child and there was some labour problem and this happened in the U.S.A, not here, so this man was already a practicant of this system so he sat beside his wife and then I think touched her body or something like that and prayed for her relief from this pain or whatever it is and she did have a good delivery and the problem is over. This man's problem started now, he started writing to me sir you asked me to think only in terms of the ultimate I did it like this what am I to do? I said you already done it then what is the point, every person does it and you also have done it, grow out of it. One thing is to know where I am, one thing is to know what I should aspire for, so what I am asked to aspire for is the 2nd commandment, what I am, I think everyone of us know what we are, then why talk about it. This is too obvious, the 2nd thing is too obvious for all of us, when you have got a head ache you will say at least let me not have headache during meditation, at least this prayer you will have. You will not yield so much to the divine to say that he will know better, no. You will at least put some amruthanjan here or a zandu balm there or some other brand, these things do happen. If you are a bit more religious you may go to some vibhudi, you may take some sripadarenu or you may take some tulsi teertham, do something, you will do something or the other to get rid of it. There is nothing very very great about it, very abnormal about it, every one of us would do it because it is a natural instinct. We have to come out of that natural instinct somehow and let us have an aspiration for that. When we ask God let us not ask for these things, these things we know how to get rid of them, at least, thanks to so many doctors now they will sort out most of the problems. We should aspire for spiritual upliftment. Begin your puja with a prayer for spiritual upliftment and rest not till that is achieved'. Rest not means, everyday if you are saying I will not rest till that time, it will not work, it's a life time approach so we must go on doing this puja only in that way seeking for One, that is why the prayer says to you 'Thou art the only God and power to bring me up to that stage'. This is the one of the most challenging things for us and at the same time one of the most unique prayers we have got. We are not asking for a status less than that of God, less than that of divinity. We would like to be one with the Master, His status shall be mine because we are He, we are no different from Him so don't ask for a position less than that, ask for a position equal to that. In the end of course you realize you don't exist, He alone exists that is a separate issue. Ultimately you don't become that, only He becomes you but that is a separate subject but the fact is we are asked to pray for that. That is the challenge, that is the possibility that we are talking of. We are not talking in terms of being just disciples or devotees or slaves. That is granted in the beginning itself 'we are yet but slaves of our wishes', that we know. That is a very very polite way of saying that I am a slave of my animal instincts, slaves of my wishes. Suppose you just change those words 'wishes' and then put 'animal instincts', it applies better it makes more sense to understand but then my Master is always polite so he has given in that way and this is one of the prayers He got from the divine and therefore he gave it as it is. The 3rd commandment says, oneness with the Divine, complete oneness. That means so long as we are selfish, self motivated, we are thinking about ourselves, our goals and our petty ends, you will not be in a position to become Him because he does not distinguish between one and the other. All our conflicts arise mainly because of individualities and personal goals, conflicting goals actually, very very conflicting goals we have got. Therefore somebody becomes inimical to you, you think it is but nobody is inimical, we think he became because his goals are just in the opposite direction to ours, we ask something he asks something else. So in the whole process it becomes very difficult to move on unless we start yielding to that and if you yield towards the divine the chances are that you become one with Him. As I hinted already, you don't become one with Him, He becomes one with you because you are His expression. This is another vedantic problem in Vedanta, the problem always starts with saying that atman and Brahman are the same. It is the Brahman which is the atman and not the atman which is the Brahman, and then aham brahmasmi has been very very badly quoted out of context. If you read the original vedic thing it does not mean anything, it means only when I have realized that I become this, the concluding part of the mantra but interpretations will always be there. Mind is capable of playing and it plays, if there is one thing that is still left with us of a monkey that is the mind. You are able to get rid of the tail alright but then the mind is playing jokes and it is playing monkey everyday. It plays all sorts of monkeyishness and we have to control that, we can't suppress it because it is something God has given so we have to control, bring it to a state of balance. When this type of oneness with the Divine is possible? Or when is it possible for the Divine to become one with you? When is it possible? Only when we try to shed off our unnecessary load. Too many attachments, too many prejudices, too many opinions towards several things, most of our discussions are meaningless discussions. I don't know whether you had funny discussions but I did have, so I can share what I had. You go to a cricket match and then see some fellow playing, somebody bowled and somebody played, ok, matter is over, between them it is sorted out. We start arguing 'had he played like this it would have been different, foolish fellow he did not know, no no he played very very well'. Next fellow says something, third fellow says something else and you get into terribly heated argument about the whole thing and the evening is over, we have forgotten to see the match also. In the whole process of one stroke the match is lost, I don't know who wins there but we have lost the game. This is what our arguments are, most of your arguments if you can see, this is how it ends. The system of education that we have got is one of competition instead of coexistence, instead of co-operation, we have unfortunately opted for the western concept of competition. Krishna and Sudhama both were disciples, they never lost their self in competition. Krishna passed out very early, Sudhama came out much later but nobody said that this fellow is inferior or that fellow is superior. They always said he is a person who has studied under the same teacher and therefore venerable. The only person who unfortunately upset the cart was Drupada who misbehaved and therefore the whole of the Mahabharat was there, part of the Mahabharat is part of that story. Now one person saying that he is superior, had he also maintained the same principle as Sudhama and Krishna, the problem would not have been there. Competition is the beginning of all trouble. All of us are made by God and according to his design. The rose is as beautiful if not more than a lotus, let us not go on comparing them and then contrast and fight. So this one upmanship is the concept that has been given more into our head, as I have already mentioned in Mahabharat itself it is there but more into our head thanks to the west because they wanted to bring some difference between us and they started saying this fellow is superior that fellow is inferior. Those of you who know a bit of social psychology know there is a community called Mundagmar in south New Zealand, one more is called Arabish, the Arabish fellows live in plains, the Mundagmar fellows live in mountains. The arabish fellows in the classroom who were given an exercise of mathematics, now whoever had completed were asked to lift their hand, somebody did very fast and then lifted his hand, in Mundagmar community they refused. This fellow has completed his exercise but he did not lift his hand, when asked why, he said let everybody pass then I will lift, when asked why, he said because we have to live together in the forest, you can fight in the plains we cannot fight in the forest. If you fight in the forest amongst yourself you will definitely be killed by some animal, in the plains we can afford to fight. So the beginnings of this type of competition comes only when you are affluent and when certain other values take over. We don't have to, we don't have to go on arguing, somebody had played you see the game and then go. No, nobody would like to, people would like to get into troubles. This is a general feature, I agree a general feature, today we have to unlearn quite a lot. The process of spirituality is mostly unlearning, not learning, we don't learn anything in spirituality for that matter we only unlearn whatever we have learned. Whatever samskaras we have got we would like to get rid of them, get rid of them and you are liberated, we are back to our original place. You learn something then we are lost in samskaras, one more samskara you have got. You start arguing your philosophy is superior to that of mine, advaita is superior to visistadvaita, visistadvaita is superior to dvaita, dvaita is superior to advaita, you go on arguing there is no end to this, because a person would like to be one upmanship. I am just up, I am better than you, why should you be better than me, why not all of us be equal, no. It is acquired nature. You see children they don't differentiate in the beginning. All children are innocent, they join together, they play well, of course they argue, they fight among themselves, they immediately compromise, everything is done. As they grow you will see the thing, they take uncompromising stands. In the early life they are all compromising on all levels and as we take on a silliest thing also they will be uncompromising, they will not compromise on this. So this is an acquired trait, it is not a natural trait, natural trait is to coexist, be in peace, be in peace is the natural trait, be in conflict is what you have learnt through civilization, eternal conflict for no reason what so ever. You may think that I am unpatriotic but then I will quote one small incident as to why we are fighting on borders really one does not know why, because those glaciers will never go nor that fellow is going to sit there but still we go on arguing and the same thing is what Bertrand Russel said. He said you people all the time tell tolerance, why don't you just keep quiet on this issue. If that fellow were to take manmohan line or macmohan line, whatever line it is somewhere in border and it seems they are fighting over a place where nobody will go at any point of time in his life except these unfortunate soldiers who have been posted there to fight, very very unfortunate souls. Why they are fighting there, nobody knows and he said why are you fighting on all these things, small things, it doesn't matter much, why do you fight and then for having said it some big agitation was there and he was thrown inside the jail. Poor fellow Bertrand Russell has to go through miserable life for having said something like this. I don't defend him nor am I in total agreement with that logic nor am I opposed to the defense policy of the country but what I am trying to tell you is, this is what we have acquired. Finally if you look at it, the whole thing happens to be some sort of a small fight on very small issues. Most of the difference of opinions we have got are only silly difference of opinion. Plainness is something that is in nature, it's plain. When you are angry be angry, when you are loving you love. When cyclone comes it does not distinguish between the places, it simply comes, when floods come they don't distinguish he is a good fellow he is a bad fellow, I will drown only this fellow, I will not drown that fellow, no such thing is possible. It is plain and we through our artificial means have started controlling our feelings to such an extent that many times we don't express our true feelings. Finally the personality, the persona being understood as some sort of a mask has totally covered your soul. People know only personalities, nobody knows the soul but our souls are one, we are one with each other, there is no difference between you and me. It is the personality that is giving a conflict and persona you know is a word that is coming from the word mask. It's a mask, I have a mask you have a mask and this is what is fighting. Basically internally I want you to be good and you want me to be good. I want to be kind to you, you want to be kind to me, basically everybody has got this feeling. People are now afraid of touching a person, this has happened in the west much earlier, this is happening in India now, in some places at least. Somebody gets into an accident and if you touch him you are in troubles, if you touch that fellow you are in troubles because he says had you handled me better I would not had this problem, he goes to the court and then you are lost. For having attempted to do something good, you are getting into troubles. The personalities are in troubles now but basically the instinct is the same, there also they want to do some help, do some good to others. If 30 years or 40 years back or even about 50 years back, if you try to help somebody he used to accept it, today they will ask you the question why is it you are doing this. As a matter of fact I found this question in the institute also, many of the participants put this question why is it you people are doing this free, why is it. I want to be good, that's all, I have no axe to grind. I want to say something which I know, if you are kind enough to come and hear me I will tell you, you don't want to hear me and go alright you go, but then why is it you are doing is the question I could not understand. We will also show you the papers there are earlier batches of people who put this question, why is it you are doing this, what is it you want to do. We only said we want to be brothers, at least we want to tell you that we are brothers, whether I behave as such or not it depends upon my behaviour but at least I want to tell you. That's my intention, I have no intention to tell anything wrong to you. I have benefited from my great Master which I wanted to pass on to you. Please see what it is, if you can follow it, follow it, if not, very good having spend some time with us let us be happy. This is what I have been telling but then that itself is a big problem for us to defend, it has become very big problem now and then it becomes, why do you waste so much time? I don't waste, I spend, I usefully spend. When I communicate to you, I consider this is the best time that I spend. A few good words to others is what we can do because all other places it is selfish motive that is guiding us. I am not doing any marketing here, because by marketing I am not going to get anything. By marketing a system like this, what is it I am going to get? Because a stage has come when people started questioning genuineness of selfless service itself because it has become so alien to us now in this present atmosphere it is very difficult to convince people. This has started, I think in several walks of life it has started actually, when somebody is prepared to marry without a dowry he is asking a question, who is this fellow, there must be something terrible deficient about him, otherwise why should this fellow marry like this, he seems to be well qualified and all that. Genuine goodness is being questioned now, that is the dirtiest level to which we have fallen now, thanks to your competition thanks to what every word, we have got. A stage has come when we should come out of this at least. Let us behave as personalities capable of being divine, we need not yield to this much of animal instinct. Animals we are, there is no doubt about it, who is not an animal? There are many qualities that are in us which cannot be so easily got rid of, they are animals. That is the message actually given to us by some of the stories on Indra, they were just trying to tell you that even if he is a God, he can become animal, the possibilities of a person of a high rank falling low is what was hinted at. We don't have to accuse anybody for that but the possibilities are there because it is always there, every person suffers except that is our basic, base actually from which we are growing. The next commandment talks to you about being truthful. There is one thing very interesting you must have noted about the whole commandments. You do not find one sentence which says you should not do. Not a single commandment is there which says you don't do this as against other commandments of other religions where they say you should not do this, you should not do that, you should not steal somebody's property. you should not take away another man's wife, all sorts of things. This is what the commandments are there in the Bible and so also in Koran. As against it, here as according to our tradition, it's the question of the Satya that matters. Rtam and the satya are the two concepts which are very very unique to our system, this land actually. Rtam is natural order, there is a universal order, you disturb any one of them the whole thing collapses. There cannot be any change in the planetary positions, the way in which they move, the path in which they move, you just disturb one from the other you are in troubles, you are in chaos. Just what can happen to you is something nobody can imagine. If sun were to rise just a fraction of a second later than what he is supposed to, then we are in real troubles we really don't know what will happen to us, so that is the natural order. On the natural order is dependent upon your truth because that is the truth. Truth should always be linked with the Rtam. Rtam, Satyam -they are interdependent. By following that order in my life I maintain that order, by that order I live, this is what you are supposed to remember everyday at the time of eating food. There is a mantra for this which says that because of the truth, the eternal dharma that is there, the rhythm that is there, I am able to practice the truth and because I practiced the truth the rtam shall continue. Any change in this is likely to lead us to disaster and that is what is happening today with your ecological imbalance. You try to touch this, you misbehave with the nature and it starts giving its own results. You get akala varsham, you get enormous heat, all our making only, nobody else has made it. Now you come to know after enormous amount of misuse of nature, you come to talk about it today and the joke of it is, the people who have polluted started telling us who are just now learning to pollute, that you should not pollute. They are the fellows who have polluted, whoever asked them to do that. So this is the problem between the developed and developing countries. They disturbed it so badly they are now telling us now you should not do because they know now what the problem is, this we knew from the beginning. Recyclable energy systems etc things that now we are taking about really funny for me to hear. Our fellows knew it much earlier all these things, they knew, they never wasted anything but today we are again learning all sorts of things. We seem to be learning, really we are just only remembering or recall. Something that is buried deep in us is being recalled now. So this particular nature, be truthful is not a question of just speaking truth in this system, speak truth is not this, it is be truthful. Our true nature is that of being divine and we should be truthful to it. The call is that you should be divine, you should live for others, you should sacrifice yourself, your values should be of the higher order, be in truth, that is, be in that condition which God has asked you to, be truthful to you nature. We are descendents of the Divine, we are expressions of the Divine, we are manifestations of the Divine and that is our right to uphold it. I don't have to become devilish, I need not. The charm of the system is that we are asked to be one with the Divine. You are one there is no doubt about it, only thing is we are trying to put it low saying, no,no this is not the practical way of living, the practical way of living is to kill the person first. Whoever is opposing you, don't be one with him but try to exploit him. If he is very mild try to make best use of that fellow, this is what we have been told. A situation of trying to exploit, that is not our truthful nature. Be truthful, truthful to our real self, one with the Divine, that is our condition, then, everywhere it will be only peace of mind, every where it will be only peace otherwise there will be only conflict. When you are not true to yourself then there will be conflict, all wars are attributable only to that. Exploitation is not the way to live, cooperation is the way to live. Exchange of commodities was what, beginning of economy. Today it is not exchange, unfair deals, actually it is the middle man who makes it, who never does anything that is productive. He is the fellow who is making maximum out of it. Our economy is such a wonderful economy, it is a British economy. They never had any resources, they never had any market, the funniest fellows in this world are these Britishers. They never had anything in their land, they never had a market. So the market is elsewhere, the raw goods are elsewhere, this fellow exploited. It is a very very funny situation and it has become the model, so what type of models we have got you can see for yourself. So be simple, be truthful, be truthful to yourself, be truthful to your nature, it's not difficult to follow that actually but it appears very difficult to follow because if you take it as truth speaking then it will become troublesome. Be truthful is easy to follow, truth speaking is really tough, then you will get into real trouble. So understand the commandment well so that you will be in a position to live comfortable in a modern world otherwise you will get into enormous confusion, you really don't know what to do afterwards. When we are true to our self, the next easy thing for us to follow would be that we come to know that we are expressions of the divine and so are all others. So the much talked about concept of fraternity which is based more on business transaction today, where you have got Rotarian brothers, you have got Lion brothers. Rotarian brothers I could understand a bit, lion brothers is difficult for me to understand and so many other brothers are there. We also call ourselves brothers but the real brotherhood comes only when you know the common origin. When you know the other person also has come from the divine and is an expression of the divine, then we will be in a position to treat him as a brother. But do you know the present day world of competition, a stage has come, how the brother feels, suppose a person who has got very good IQ, may be 200 or something more than that, the other fellow may be moron in the same family, he is ashamed to call him a brother. The parents also don't like to own that fellow, they also put him inside and then say don't come out. Somebody is visiting us so that is your room, you go and sit there, they lock. So that is the level to which our so called competitive spirit has taken us. Previously this type of problem was not there, say about 80 years back or 90 years back, when we read the stories of several families, even when the eldest brother is an imbecile he is the person who was respected. He was an imbecile, no doubt about it, but then they respected him because he was somebody elder and each man tried to help the other. Suppose a person is a bit better than the other he was very happy to help the other person. Giving and taking was so easy and natural then. Now there is neither giving nor taking. Taking of course is there in the sense of exploitation, giving is not there. We have, we have our own words, we have got our own dictionaries that we have developed, new dictionaries can be easily written today. So to know the other person as a brother itself is a big problem, and that becomes possible only when you know you are coming from the same source. So without this union with God, without the simplicity and plainness that we develop and we feel the presence of divine in us and we know that we are the expressions of the divine, it is very difficult to accept the other person as a brother. You will not, not because we were not capable of it earlier. We were capable of it. We were having a civilisation based on that but the present day civilisation which is based on exploitation, competition, conflict, comparison will not enable you to think in those lines. It literally prohibits you from behaving like that and you have got an interesting answer for this from the so called religious people or traditional people who say that "vaadi karmandi idi". It is his karma that he is like that what is it I can do. That is not, that was never the philosophy of karma in this country. The karma as I told you earlier, it is natural principle of "as you sow, so you reap". This was the principle of karma in the simplest of terms but we are supposed to help here. It may be true that is his karma but what is your karma? What is your swadharma? Your swadharma is to help, your swadharma is to be divine. What is your swadharma? Not to exploit others. Our swadharma is one to help and once you help that man also will get some relief. You also will get relief that is a separate subject but then this particular concept has gone totally and one should not feel sorry if our parliaments and assemblies are loaded with such imbeciles; because that is the only place where finally they could land. Since you did not allow them to enter your offices and schools; they found their way to the assembly. Let us not feel bad about it. It is we who made them so. If all the thugs and gundas have joined there, it is by our choice. We have made them enter there, they became the street rowdies first, dadas, what else could he do? He had atleast muscle, so those people who did not have muscles they are separate set but people who had muscle, no brains, had brawn that was capable of doing several things. They got things done, they are able to get things done which you cannot. If you want any admission to any school in a particular area, the best place to go is not your district educational officer or director of school education or the minister. Catch hold of the local gunda that fellow will get you the next day the seat. This has been my practical advice to many also and they all succeeded in getting seats. The easiest way is to do that. because they will get it. If you want to go to any cinema and you don't get ticket, tell that fellow he will get it for you. Why unnecessarily waste your time there. That is how they became leaders, and then they are leading our nation and we are being led. So nothing wrong about all that but then that is not brotherhood. Had you been kindly to him, had you only spend a few hours more with him, he would not have become that. I know many of these politicians, internally I know how nice they are, externally how bad they are, both these things I know, both the things are there. They cry, when we say a few good words they cry. So brotherhood has become a big liability. Everybody talks brotherhood, it is very easy to say, but who is a brother? One who can share, is it not? Share means what? Divide! What a definition we have got! From share to divide. You share food, sit along with me take a few biscuits, I do not count how many biscuits you take, how many biscuits I take but then no, that is not the concept of brother. I have got four, you have got three therefore cut it into one by two and then eat it. Previously a person, they say that this fellow is not capable of living on his own, let us give him something more, I am capable of living on me therefore I won't take it, I don't want it, be happy. No, that is not our concept today. Even when I can afford to live on my own on a much better scale than the other person, I would like to have my pound of flesh. This is the degraded level to which we have come. All this because we don't understand it is divinity who is expressing. If only that is there, I think we would have given every person his due. Naturally a tree which requires manure will be given more manure, a tree which does not require that much manure will not be given that much of manure. What is great differentiation we are trying to make? Each according to the need, each according to its capacity. All these concepts are lost. As I told you sharing has unfortunately meant divide, so really one does not know why the dictionary should have two words one is share and another is divide, one is enough why have two words. Your dictionary can be shortened but then that is the level to which we have come to. The most funniest aspect of it would be, if you have gone to any dinner to any marriage now a days, previously dinner means people used to serve in the plates and all that, that culture somehow is lost. Now it is kept somewhere, some common plates are there and you have to collect it and then go. They expect some 500 people or 1000 people there but then we also know that some persons somehow take more than their quantum and after sometime you will find that, that plate will be empty so people will start rushing to that preferred item first. For what reasons we do not know we rush and then take their pieces, so literally what is happening is nobody wants to share even in those circumstances. Each person sharing, no, no sharing, only exploitation. Who is smarter here? So remember the dogs and remember these men, the beautiful analogy comes to you. You can paint, if you are a painter you can easily paint. If you are a poet, you can write. So sharing is lost, fraternity is lost. It is not lost today only, it has been lost long long time ago, they have never been achieved. Vali and Sugreeva are there, Sundopasundas are available, any number of examples you can go on giving. Fraternity has always been an elusive affair, and you will never be in a position to accomplish it unless you know that you are divine and the other person is divine. There are three principles which the French Revolution has thrown out; Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. These are the three concepts thrown out to the modern world by the French revolution. All the three are spiritual values and they do not stand in the secular level. That is the reason why we are not able to achieve any one of them. We gave a distorted version for it and then stated that equality before law, and not that all of us are equal because we are all children of the divine. So we misinterpret it to mean that it is equality before law. Is there one universal law in this world? No. Each country has got its own, perhaps each state has got its own, and each locality will have its own. The law will be variable according to the goonda that is available. The enforcement people who enforce law, they decide as to what is law. So similar is the fraternity, it is a spiritual value. Only when you know you are coming from the divine, we will all be equal. Where is fraternity, you tell me? In which place is it available? The one place where it was possible and was practiced earlier was the family system, in a joint family system like ours in this country. Elsewhere in the world no such experiment was done, nobody knows what it is and today family as an institution is perishing. People have finally come to the stage of living together. That is the west. The latest western style is living together, no question of marriage. At any time you can walkout. Some people say why all this, even this why? So they are independent, so family as an institution also has perished. So Fraternity where are you going to have? How do you express fraternity? What is the way? What is that the French revolution has been able to achieve? All the three values that the French revolution has given which are unfortunately only at the spiritual level have been brought down to secular level and the experiments are failing. We are only posing ourselves that we are the biggest democracy or somebody else is doing something else. It is all a big drama that goes on. All of us are equal but some of us are more equal. How contradictory that sentence is obvious to any person who is capable of thinking but then that is well accepted norm in any administration. So spirituality alone is capable of making us live upto the level of this particular standard of fraternity is what I am trying to stress and that is possible only when you know your common origin and common origin can be known only in your heart, not elsewhere. Only when you know that God is there with you, you will be in a position to concede the point that God will be there in him also. If God is there only in some temple and I am the priest for it, definitely it is my God and is not your God. He is mine, I possess that idol, I possess that temple. There are people, wise people. If you go to Travancore, the Padmanabha temple belongs to the king, the Travancore king owns the Padmanabha temple. It is a part of his palace. You cannot enter there unless he completes his worship first, he is the first person to come. After the king goes, then you can go, otherwise you cannot go inside. There are certain rules and restrictions etc. things that are there. This is so everywhere, the dharma kartha has to come first then only you can go. Or some Jeeyar swami will be there he has to come and then only you can go. Something like that will always be there, somebody possesses God. When it is something like an external thing it is possessive, if it is something internal everybody possesses his own God so I do not have to fight with you. I have my God with me and you have got your God with you. Unfortunately or fortunately God is one, we know definitely, yes! we are from the same source. All people who worship different types of deities, I do not think they have got different Gods in their heart. There cannot be a christian God, there cannot be a muslim God, there cannot be a hindu God, there is only one God. So we come to this commonness only when we go beyond the level of religion itself. Then only, it will become possible. So religion has to be transcended. When? How? What history is going to do let us watch and see. At present we have seen religions have failed. Whether it will be transcended or not is what you have got to see. It is a matter for us to observe. Some more years we are going to live so we will see, what is going to happen to it. Once we know that it is something that everybody is our brother etc things, the point raised namely that we try to be one up and feel bad or good about somebody etc things. We start thinking that somebody has done harm to us or somebody has done good to us. So long as we have got the concept of somebody is doing good to us, it is ok. We may not be very grateful to him but we will never be ungrateful to him normally. When a person does good generally people don't acknowledge it but I must tell you an interesting joke which I had some 20 years back. I was with some minister then talking to him and he is known to have founded many educational institutions etc. things in west godavari district and so many allegations are there and so many praises are there. Somebody was telling him 'Sir, so and so is accusing you of such and such thing'. Then for a moment he kept quiet and then his reaction was I have not done him any good then why he is it that he is abusing me? He ought not to. That was his experience. What I am trying to tell is even when you do good, somebody may still accuse you. I don't want to go into merits or demerits of that, it is the statement only that I am just telling. So we try to be grateful normally to a person who has done good. When somebody has done harm to us, we try to feel bad or certain times when we think we are capable, we would like to take revenge also on the fellow. In this process what happens is we develop more samskaras, we gain more impressions. The worst point that comes to you as a practical person who meditates is, when you try to take revenge on somebody or try to do something against him it haunts your mind during meditation. It is the worst naraka that you can go through. Personally I have learnt this lesson and therefore I pass on this message to you. People did harm, true, that is what at least on that day I thought. I never thought it is a part of my karma that I should have gone through, no it was not. So I used to feel that we must do something back to this fellow. For no fault of mine this fellow has done like this therefore I should do like this and it disturbed my meditation so badly and I was not capable of thinking about God at all, I was all the time meditating on this fellow. See the devil has become the object of meditation rather than God, so in your own interest we should not have anything of this negative attitude in our mind. In our own interest, not for anybody's else. Whatever you want to do, you do. Like nature, if you want to slap, you slap then and there itself, there the matter ends. If you want to meditate over this and then plan an action against him, then it is definitely getting into hell, it is nothing other than hell to which we will go. If you want to experience hell try to take revengeful action on somebody and then meditate then you will understand what it is. It is the worst that you can ever think of. Ignoring is also not that easy because your ego is hurt. While I will not say that you please ignore, it is easy to tell from a platform to tell several things, it is all right but as sadhaka I will not be in a position to tell that. I will say you ignore but you cannot ignore, that also I know. By continuously thinking about the divine, on the divine light, at least making an effort you are capable of forgetting this. There are two aspects of it. One thing is to forget and another thing is to forgive. Forgetting is a natural process, God has given that capacity to us. We forget almost 90 percent of the things we forget every day, it is a God given gift. If we remember everything we will be in torture, enormous torture but forgive you know is very difficult, it is very difficult. Unless you grow to the level considerably in spirituality, it is very difficult. Even there it is possible, still to retain this feeling. So it is the yielding to the divine alone that enables you to finally forget, erase it out also. Unless He owns you up you will be owning your samskaras. There will be traces of it. As I aways call the vasana will always be there. While the samamskaras may be washed out, the vasana will definitely be there. This is a problem for us, very difficult to understand that because he says here, be not revengeful for the wrongs done by others take them with gratitude, taking it as gratitude as divine gift is a real tough job to practice. Intellect will enable you to get away from God. Buddhi is the basic trouble. Mahat is the one that links us with the divine. Buddhi will segregates us from divine because the intellectual aspect of it is based upon the following. The sense organs, the motor organs are the inputs. Through this we get information, all information. Whether it is your perception, whether it is your inference, whether it is your analogy, all knowledge is based upon only these sensory inputs and this is what is processed by the mind. It processes information etc. this is what is looking down. What is looking up is the Mahat. Mahat looks to God, Buddhi looks to the world. That is why in the gayatri you have got a word Dheeyo yonah prachodayat. No buddhi. If you bring buddhi there, you are lost once for all. Buddhi is capable of distinguishing, cutting, analysing, analytical mind is possible with buddhi. Aesthetic mind is possible only with Mahat. Any amount of your dissection of frogs or flowers will never make a frog understood by you nor a flower understood by you. You can definitely say what parts that contain etc things, all the things you can add. A flower is appreciated as a flower only by a poet. A Kavihi alone is capable of doing that, one who is having empathy will do that. One who has got intellect will not be in a position to do that and this I started with in the beginning. Empathy is the feeling, that language we have forgotten. To be in tune with the divine is what we have forgotten. We are more in tune with the nature. We are analysing more and more of nature. Analytical mind is what has been given enormous importance. Any amount of your intellectual conviction about any one of these things will not help you. You have to yield to the divine. Yielding to the divine is yielding to your Mahat. It is again a principle that he has given. It is the one which begins the entire thing. The purusha and the prakriti, the first product of which is the mahat, then only the remaining things come. It is the Mahat that has got to be in tune with, that is the original vibrations, that is what you feel in this system of meditation. The transmissions given are all only from that level. Now revengeful we need not be. We can forget. All right sir I have forgotten all these, what does it matter. Many times you may not be. I
As the French, British were also late to reach the shores of India. Facing tough competition from the Portuguese and the Dutch, it took them a few decades to figure out ways to outweigh the other empires. But by 1757, the British East India Company became the true force in colonial India. In 1588, British traders asked for permission to conduct trade in East India The British acquired a charter from Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 and arrived in India in 1608 at Surat The British East India Company had competitors like the Portuguese and the Dutch who had reached India before The British decided to rely on politics to do trade with India till 1661 when they set up their first factory in Hubli (they only had trade posts till then) They used the internal conflicts among empires for their advantage By 1696, they began building a fort around the settlement In 1698, they bribed the Mughal officials to give them zamindari rights to three villages (one of the villages were Calcutta) The British also persuaded Aurangzeb to issue a Farman (a Farman is a royal order providing permission to trade) This Farman had a condition that the trade will be duty-free leading to a huge loss for Bengal The British officials used to indulge in private trade, adding to the woes of Bengal After the death of Aurangzeb, the empire struggled to survive with internal issues Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1720), Alvardi Khan (1740-1756), and Siraj-Ud-Daulah (1756-1757) were the three most powerful nawabs of Bengal Murshid Quli Khan, the 1st Nawab of Bengal, took the matter in his own hands and started fighting against the British Alvardi Khan was also engaged in conflicts with the Marathas The British didn't pay taxes, they expanded their fortification, wrote disrespectful letters to the nawab, and caused huge revenue loss to Bengal The company tried to justify their action by saying that the nawabs made unjust demands, they imposed extreme taxes and duties, and trade can expand only through increasing settlements The Company wanted to remove Siraj-Ud-Daulah from the rule and place a puppet ruler The nawab asked the company to stop interfering in the region's politics, stop fortification, and start paying taxes These conflict of interest led to the Battle of Plassey starting with the Nawab capturing Fort William Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah ordered the French and British to stop fortification of Fort William He captured 146 Britishers and locked them up in a room that can hold only 25 people for 3 days (Black Hole Incident) 123 people died and the British retaliated leading to the Battle of Plassey Robert Clive with an army of 3000 defeated Nawab with the help of Mir Jaffer, Nawab's Commander-in-Chief After defeating the nawab, he fled in a camel, but was later captured and assassinated by Mir Jafar Mir Jaffer becomes the puppet Nawab The Battle of Plassey was the first major victory of the company in India and it instilled the confidence in them to start administering in the colony Source: Crash Course Modern History | British East India Company from 1600 - 1857 Economic Impact of Colonial Rule in India How did British occupy India? | British India Timeline | British East India Company | Eclectic East India Company Wikipedia Trucial States Wikipedia Princely States Wikipedia Attribution: This work includes the following sounds from http://freesound.org/ “EPIC GAME MUSIC BEST ONE DONE ON KEYBOARD BY KRIS KLAVENES.wav” by Freesound.org member klavo1985 “Epicmusic.wav” by Freesound.org member nuria1512 “Wooden_door_open.wav” by Freesound.org member joedeshon “field recording wood stairs going running” by Freesound.org member Garuda1982 “Writing” by Freesound.org member Hornetan1 Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
In chapter 9, almost the entire chapter is dedicated to the Tarkhad family. The Leelas are beautifully described, so a little of the background is given here. They hailed from Tarkhad village near Fort Vasai, and hence they were called the Tarkhadkars. The history goes that their ancestors had fought in the battle of Fort Bassein, along with the great Maratha warrior, Chimaji Appa, against the Portuguese, who were defeated in the battle. As a recognition of their bravery, Chimaji Appa granted them Jahagiri of Tarkhad village. Later on, the Britishers took over the Fort from the Marathas, and Ramchandra's grandfather Pandurang Tarkhad moved to Mumbai. Pandurang had two sons - Dadoba and Atmaram. Ramchandra Atmaram Tarkhad was a specialist in cotton textiles. He was the secretary of Khatau group of mills. He had established his household in Bandra and later came in contact with Shirdi Sai Baba. He was also one of the founder members of the Sansthan, and he was the first treasurer of the Shirdi Sai Baba Sansthan. How Sitadevi Tarkhad Met Baba. Her maiden name was Krishnabai Kusum Bagkar. She was affluent, cultured and educated. Her husband was also very affluent. He was an expert in textiles and was the secretary of Khatau Mills. After her marriage to Ramchandra A. Tarkhad, she had all the comforts that life could offer. But all this did not make her happy, as she had severe migraine. There was a slew of doctors on both sides of her family, and she was treated by all of them, but there was no relief. Soon, she started having cluster headaches. The headaches became more frequent and intense. There was a constant look of pain and suffering on her face. One day, her maid suggested that she should visit Pir Maulana Saheb, who was famous for treating and curing many chronic ailments. At this point of time, she was willing to do anything to get some relief from this throbbing and pounding in her head. Sitadevi confided in her son, Jyotindra, who was very enterprising, and he devised a plan. Pir Maulana had a Dargah near Bandra Masjid. In those days, it was almost impossible for a Hindu lady to go to a Muslim Pir. Hence, an elaborate plan was made. Jyotindra got a Hijab for his mother and he took her by car to the Dargah. The Pir, however, could not help her, and he said, "I cannot help you. But my brother at Shirdi, Sai Baba, surely can. Go to Him." Thus, the Rinanubandhik ties started unfolding. Again, Jyotindra came to her rescue. He asked the people at the Iranian restaurant about Shirdi. He gathered all the information that he possibly could. Now it remained for them to make the pilgrimage to Shirdi. This was a formidable task, as his father was a Prarthana Samajist who did not believe in idol worship, let alone going to Sadhus and Babas. Finally, he got permission, but there were other questions about the location of Shirdi and about their stay there. Jyotindra found all the necessary information as best as he could. On Friday evening, they made the life-transforming journey and reached Shirdi on Saturday in the morning. After having a bath, Sitadevi and Jyotindra went to the Dwarka Mai. Baba was sitting in his usual place facing Dhuni Mai. Mrs. Tarkhad bent and touched Baba's feet and they looked at each other. Their eyes locked in an intense look and Baba looked into her very soul. This was Drishtipath. Baba said, "Aai, you have come. My brother at Bandra sent you to me. Isn't that so? Come sit here. You have extreme pain in your head, right?" While He was speaking, Baba put the palm of His hand in the dish containing Udi. Swiftly, He took the Udi-laden hand and hit Sitadevi with a great deal of force on her forehead. Simultaneously, He held her head in His grip. While He did this, he said, "Aai, from now on until the end of your life, your head will never ever hurt again. Your sufferings have come to an end." All this time, Sitadevi had not spoken a single word. But, the tormenting pain left her. The look of anguish and suffering also faded away, and her face had this blissful and calm look. Here, two things happened. First, Baba gave her a long intense look which was Drishtipath. The second thing which happened was that He hit her forehead and squeezed the pain out of her head. This was Shaktipath. Sitadevi turned to Jyotindra and asked him to touch Baba's feet. Baba loved Sitadevi and had a great deal of respect for her. Although she was rather young, Baba called her 'Aai' and meant it. Baba saw the total innocence of this gentle lady, as she knew no disgust or repulsion towards a mongrel or a mud-splattered pig. In chapter 9 of the Sri Sai Satcharita, the story of her feeding a hungry dog and a filthy pig is described beautifully. Jyotindra meets a Fakir It was his daily routine to have lunch at an Iranian restaurant near Metro Cinema. One day, he had lunch at the restaurant and was crossing the road to return to St. Xavier's School, when he was accosted by a Fakir. The Faki...
Podcast of ghost stories from Americans and Britishers. Real life experience of Humans of connection to ghost. Most creepy horror ghost stories.
For about 66 years, the Sons of Gwalia mine supported the population of the town of Gwalia and Leonora which was 3 kilometres away. In 1936, approximately 40% of Gwalia’s inhabitants were Italians, 20% Yugoslavs and other southern Europeans. Only about 40% were Australians, who were referred to as “Britishers”. Now a ghost town Lorraine Kelly, Author of Goldfield Stories of Western Australia joined Harvey Deegan on Remember When to talk about the history of the town and the Italian Community of Gwalia.
During the trailer launch of Panga, Kangana Ranaut speaks about the ongoing controversy with Saif Ali Khan. Saif had said in an interview that there was no concept of 'India' before Britishers came. Kangana countered Saif by saying that if there was no 'India' what was 'Mahabharat'.
Ever wondered what the Big Bang sounds like (it's much weirder than you think!) Or why Britishers are so turned off by the sound of Tasmanian Devils? From the crowds at Shakespeare's Globe to the ugly grunts of baby koalas, we're covering the funniest, strangest, most annoying sounds in the universe... and all the reasons to block them out! Sponsored by Beats by Dre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers
RJ Kaavya's jhampak item on an incident when Britishers and foreigners getting afraid of chambal dacoit as some one threw stone on the train and they thought that these are dacoits #redfmkolkata #rjkaavya #uturn#dacoit#fun#masti
Dan Damon, the main presenter (British lingo for "anchor") of the BBC's World Update, talks with Val, Dave and Tom about how to think about our current world turmoil, what Christianity looks like in England, and how Britishers look at the rise of Trump.
“Satellite, satelliiiite, of looooove…” Lou Reed was, no doubt, thinking about the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik, when he wrote those seminal words in 1972 (he may have written them before 1972 of course, we just can't say right now, and it's irrelevant to my point). Of course, not everyone was happy about the launch of Sputnik. Telegraph operators were people of particular vision who could, no doubt, see their days were numbered. And of course there was a Space Race going on. Britain wasn't involved in the Space Race, but as always liked to stick its nose in. A nose that is never far from a spectacular sneeze. Join some crazy Britishers in this episode, as they track Sputnik back in the oldenish times when it happened. To the dials! Stephanie Brown – Erin Burns Major Tim Strange – Dan Bond George Stewart – Simon Wilson Professor Joan McSweeney – Rhona Mackenwells James – Brian Mackenwells Andrew – Dan Booth Written by Dan Bond & Brian Mackenwells Produced by Dan Booth Music: “Slow Motion” from Bensound Some sound effects provided by Freesound.org
It’s episode 69 of Rum Doings! Tee hee hee! Snort. In this episode we don’t discuss whether it’s time to put an end to the scourge of supermarket self checkout before it is too late. But we do discuss tomorrow’s vote. That’s why this is up a day early. We recorded it in a day from the past, expecting to post it on Thursday, but in the wake of the swell of support for AV we’ve decided to put it up a day early. Because we really want to encourage Britishers to spoil. For arguments why, make sure to check out this fine post about it. Beforehand we risk our lives with some ASDA energy drink, and with that coursing through our veins we begin a discussion of the upcoming vote. John makes the argument for spoiling, while Nick puts forward some even more radical positions. John discusses his encounter with a troubled Lib Dem councillor, and we get alittlebitpoliticalladiesandgentlemen. An attempt to change gears by addressing more listener questions is almost immediately interrupted by the noisiest escape attempt by the prisoner in John’s basement. That sound accompanies thoughts on Piers Moron, dancing, how to eat an Easter egg, why we’d not be MPs, skirts for men, a smattering more politics, sitcom recommendations, and John’s balding legs.
As a tradition that began over 2500 years ago, India remains one of the world's largest exporters of handmade carpets. In fact, I recently read somewhere about why Mahatma Gandhi decided to use Charkha as a symbol of independence. Because the Britishers invaded India for our textile capabilities, quality and over all output. Gandhiji wanted to symbolize the freedom movement through one of the attributes of textiles - Charkha - But thats a story for some other time. For ages, until 1978, exports have often been exploited by middlemen and - artisans were undervalued, most weavers stayed at the bottom of the pyramid with very meager income levels. Nand Kishore Chaudhary recognized this inequality in the weaving market and created the company, Jaipur Rugs which offered employment opportunities in remote areas of India. Starting with only two looms, he was able to connect people and now has built a network of over 40,000 artisans spread over five Indian states, 80 percent of whom are women. His daughter, Kavita Chaudhary steers the design and brand philosophy at Jaipur Rugs. Before joining the family business, she refined her aptitude for design by working with design houses in Chicago and New York. Today we are here to understand the broad landscape of textile design in India at the backdrop of Jaipur Rugs, real design sensibilities of India, and a short but beautiful case study called Manchaha. Questions * NK: You say, "Business is next to love. It is the creator and preserver of civilization." Can you please start by telling us, how and where do you find the relation between business and love. Both, spiritually and practically? * NK: Innocence, resilience & empathy is the foundation of your journey. How do you reconcile the hard capitalist mentality of business and empowering rural India and Indian women especially? * KC: Can you share a macro picture of textiles in India w.r.t world standards? * KC: How has your definition of design evolved when you look at India and outside world? * NK: How would you define the creativity of artisans in India? What does Art mean to you? How has your definition of creativity changed over time? * NK: Given the inequality, can you share briefly the process of how you architected this bottom of the pyramid? * KC: Indian's are famous for their intricate work, which, because of the colonial rule and industrialization was lost. How come it still exists? You said it takes about 4 to 6 months for one weaver to make a hand made rug. Can you tell me more about this? * KC: Can you talk a little about "aas-pass"? This is where they derive inspiration from. * KC: Can you tell us the story behind Manchaha project? How and why did it emerge? What is the biggest learning from Manchaha project w.r.t ego battles of designers? * NK: What is the long term future of Jaipur Rugs and overall artisans in India? Not just with Atmanirbhar Bharat but as a whole. https://www.jaipurrugs.com https://www.nkchaudhary.com https://aif.org/manchaha-part-1-what-is-artisan-originals/ https://www.forbesindia.com/article/special/jaipur-rugs-weaves-new-market-with-first-mumbai-store/52723/1 https://www.dezeen.com/awards/2019/shortlists/aas-pass/
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