Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswathi

Have you heard about Sankara Nethralaya? I guess most of us would have. This not-for-profit institution (website) was awarded "Best Eye Hospital in India" and it is world renowned; a pride of India. But do you know who established it? It was brainchild of His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Peeth.  Kanchi Mutth runs it along with many other schools and hospitals. Kanchi Sankaracharya himself is one of the most respected religious leaders of Hinduism of our time. So what happened in 2004 that our Shankaracharya was arrested on a Diwali night while performing puja? You can read old news and analysis searching on google, e.g. [Link1], [Link2]. We had Karunanidhi M as CM of Tamil Nadu, India, who is a self-declared atheist. Both atheism and secularism mean "anti-Hinduism" in India. So it seems Karunanidhi wished and Hindus' Shankaracharya was arrested - as simple as that. A few days back, he is acquitted by the court of law and here is his interview. When we read his interview, we shall realize how pious, pure and positive his thoughts are!

Testing times for truth, says Sankaracharya

 

November 29, 2013 12:13:01 AM | By FPJ Bureau

 

Chennai : A day after being acquitted in a murder case, the Kanchi Mutt pontiff Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal described his experience during the last nine years when he faced arrest and trial as ‘testing times for truth’.

 

The seer and his junior Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal were acquitted along with 21 other accused in the 2004 murder of a temple manager Sankararaman by a trial judge in Puducherry on Wednesday for lack of evidence.

 

The seers had avoided talking to journalists on Wednesday. However, in a full page Q&A advertisement released by the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in select newspapers on Thursday, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi answered a host of questions raised by the Mutt, which he heads.

 

To a question about the verdict, he said, “Dharma has prevailed. Truth has won. That is what matters”. According to him, the last nine years were more or less the same except that the Mutt officials had to spend more time on the case related issues.

 

Asked if it was tough, his response was “I have been trained by my Guru to bear everything. There is no question of the situation being tough. Times were challenging because we were facing a completely new set of situations.” The case had led to disruption of routine work in the early days but over a period of time he understood how to carry on work in spite of disruptions.

 

Commenting on several devotees stopping their visits to the Mutt, the seer said: “Is it not to be expected? What would a lay person do when there is a concerted campaign by all the influential segments of society? Many people played safe and reduced their frequency of visits to the Mutt.”

 

According to him, after he was released on bail, he was under constant surveillance and every devotee was scanned. “There were plainclothes men all over. I myself told visitors to take it easy, in the early days. Now people have started coming as before. In recent times the devotees thronging the Mutt has increased manifold and in fact more than during normal times,” he said.

 

On whether he would drag to court those who had indulged in “character assassination” and published “sensational” reports, he said, “I have lost nine precious years, and there is so much to do. I have to use the remaining years in fulfilling the directive and wishes of my Guru.”

 

To a question if the incidents (of the past nine years) would not permanently be a blemish on the Mutt, he said: “What was perpetrated on the Mutt has been termed as an act of vandalism by several people.”

 

Source: http://freepressjournal.in/testing-times-for-truth-says-sankaracharya/ 

Today's Times of India also carried out some of his thinking under Speaking Tree; you can read it here which shows his wisdom and understanding of Hinduism and its philosophies.

Theism As Basis of High-End Hinduism

 

By Kanchi Sri Jayendra Saraswathi; as told to Narayani Ganesh; Posted 28.11.2013; 05:12 pm

 

Since we believe in the Paramatma or Supreme energy that is beginningless and endless, it is clear that Hinduism in its purest form is theistic. Theism is its basic premise.

 

Some people ask: "What came before the Paramatma? Who created the Supreme energy?" The answer is that it is something that is ever-present and everlasting; it has neither beginning nor end; it is infinite. When something is born, it has to die. This applies to planets, stars, humans, animals and all other things which have a beginning. But the Supreme energy is all-pervasive.

 

How does one access or experience this divine energy? The Vedas show the way. The Vedas are like spiritual primers — they introduce you to the wonderful world of spirituality. Like all primers, the Vedas, too, only help you infer the divinity aspect, for the experience can only be yours. So the verses, rituals, are all designed to help you understand their import and then move on to a higher plane of consciousness. Here, you draw from the wisdom of Vedanta. Literally, the term 'Vedanta' means ‘ved ka anth’ or ‘end of the vedas’. You can call vedas the Part One of ‘do-it-yourself’ spirituality and vedanta, as Part Two.

 

Every religion has three components: rituals, cultural and spiritual aspects. There is scope for differences only in the first two. But the third, the spiritual element, helps us overcome conflicts arising from differences in the first two. Rituals including ceremonies relating to birth, marriage and death are important constituents of all faiths. Culture springs from the way of life, and its nature hinges a great deal on heritage and environment. The spiritual aspect is free of all differences and so is able to help us direct our mind towards Paramatma.

 

Dharma, artha and kama refer to good deeds, material wellbeing and desire respectively. But the fourth, moksha, cannot be accurately described because it is an atma-anubhav — an intensely personal experience. So only the one who experiences moksha will know what it is like. Adi Shankara said that one should rise above the first three and get liberated from them via moksha. The moksha experience cannot be described. Try describing the sweet taste of misri (sugar crystals) to someone who has never tasted it — and you'll find that the best way to make him understand its taste is to let him eat it. Moksha can be understood only with direct experience. An enlightened person who has experienced moksha can try and guide a seeker to the path that leads to moksha.

 

Can one transcend even the desire for moksha? Once moksha has been achieved, can we seek moksha from moksha? No, because that would be a contradiction. For it signals not merely the end of suffering. In Hinduism moksha refers to the simultaneous end of suffering and the experience of ananda or bliss — what we call sat-chit-anand.

 

It is the experience of the eternal and unchanging truth, revealing the universal limitlessness and our nature as the source of infinite peace and joy. So there is nothing beyond this state. This is the ultimate, when the atma unites with the Paramatma, when the individual energy merges with the Supreme energy. Why should one seek release from such a state? Moksha is not something to be attained but that it is a state to be experienced, a natural state. Moksha is not a ritual like bathing or offering flowers. That is why the Bhaja Govindam says don't look for moksha outside but search within.

 

Source: http://m.speakingtree.in/spiritual-articles/new-age/theism-as-basis-of-highend-hinduism 

From being one of the highest figures of Hinduism, to being arrested accused of murder; tolerating all and still keeping the spirits and faith intact - this is a splendid example of inspiration, faith and conviction. Sat Sat Pranaam. My thousand salutations to this great soul... 

Buying Made in India (Part-2)

This comes after my first post on the topic on June 27, 2011, titled "My Experiments with Made-in-India Brands!" (http://rahulbemba.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-experiments-with-made-in-india.html)

This is just a placeholder for recording my infatuation with buying Swadeshi (Made in India brands/products). I don't aim to show this off for ego-boasting, but it is just for me to recall and feel good about it. Even if my efforts are like a drop in an ocean, I have something priceless - a feeling that I did something good for my nation. For my thinking on this topic, above mentioned blog post provides the details. 

1. Bought only Usha fans for all rooms of our house.
2. Bought only Bajaj Water Heaters (Geysers) for both bathrooms of our house.
3. Bought only Saffola Oats and not any other foreign brand. Though I think even this Oats is imported, at least this is from the house of an Indian company Marico. 
4. Bought a Hero Bike and not any other foreign company's brand.
5. Bought a Dr. Morepen weighing machine even if more attractive foreign brands or imported products were available in the market.
6. I have my Credit Cards and banking only with Indian companies, even though ICICI and HDFC have majority stake from foreign entities since these were founded by Indians and have Indian management and stake-holding, I am counting these banks as Indians. I would love to see a better wholly Indian bank, but so far have not seen one better than or at par with ICICI/HDFC and hence I can't switch. I had also taken a Credit Card with a foreign bank, and I was always conscious of it, so ultimately I stopped it. I am running House loan from LIC Housing Finance and even though they charge me higher than market interest rate, I secretly imagine the money going to government or in India and hence have tolerated its not-so-great service so far.
7. ... (to be continued)

Narendra Modi - Time Person of the Year 2013

There is a great news for admirers of Mr. Narendra Modi, one of the Prime Ministerial Candidate in India for the upcoming general elections. Mr. Modi is the only Indian who has been shortlisted and nominated for Person of the Year (POY) Award 2013 by the prestigious TIME magazine. You can read about the award here: 

The selection will happen through online vote and you can use your Twitter/Facebook login to vote for Mr. Modi. You can visit the page on the Time's website here. Request you all to definitely vote:

http://poy.time.com/2013/11/25/vote-now-who-should-be-times-person-of-the-year/slide/narendra-modi/

Let us hope Mr. Modi wins it for all Indians and make us proud!

Today’s Indian Express

Wonderful articles like these are what make me wait for Indian Express everyday. It is not only a newspaper but also an overall guide on art, literature, health and science.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/voices-in-the-box/1198427/0

Apart from this in today's edition there is another good one here:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/i-just-pinged-to-say-hello/1198448/

Remembering Late Shri Bal Thackeray

Today is first death anniversary of Balasaheb Thackeray. Last year during this time I had written this piece in his memory, to share a few of his contributions towards national causes in India: 

http://rahulbemba.blogspot.in/2012/12/balasaheb-thackeray-hinduhriday-samrat.html

Happy Diwali!

Like tiny Diyas take us from darkness towards light, may this Deepawali bring wisdom, health and prosperity to you and family. May Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi bless us all. Happy Diwali!

Irony of life and its achievements

Life can be seen in many ways. We can make different inferences about life depending on the angle from which we choose to look. If we look at it from freedom point of view, then I wonder how much freedom we actually have. Connect it with our likes and it gets quite depressing. In childhood we want to spend time with our parents and little friends at home but we are sent to school. In teen age we love to play sports and want to live freely but we are burdened with competitive exams. And then most of us spend our entire energetic life (below 60 years of age) in office, always working for someone else or for goals set by our aspirations which are in fact shaped by outside influences. Even entrepreneurs have to work and they have no choice in this aspect. If we want to spend all time with family, most of us can’t afford it. Is it a provocative thought that we can’t “afford” it? We take time “out of” usual work for some hours, days, weeks, and in case of a few of us, even some years, but we have to go back to work. Work to earn money. Earn money to survive. Earn money to live. Struggle to survive is one of the inherent things of this world; it is part of the package; it comes by design and it seems no one can escape it except those who follow paths of great souls like Adi Shankar and renounce this world full of miseries. In fact this world is full of miseries till we are seeking something. The moment we stop seeking, this world becomes a world full of gifts and abundance. What an irony…

I think it is a pity that we have to compromise on what we want and how we want to spend time just to survive. There are some who take it to the level of rat-races but no matter how we claim to be “free” most of us are not. In a way we are slaves to the “ways of life” already set before we arrived here. A genuine soul search will make us realize this irony. In this aspect all of us are in the same pool; only the extent to which we are inside water varies… I know we can think of it as a challenge. How best we can manage our life so that we have to compromise the least and we enjoy the finer aspects of life and not only the ones benchmarked for us. Only I am not sure how much we can actually succeed; and the biggest question is why not fully? Why we are condemned to waste our life in things as undeserving as working to earn money (no matter how we glamorize our profession and try to claim it is not about money).

Thoughts: Irony of life and its achievements

Life can be seen in many ways. We can make different inferences about life depending on the angle from which we choose to look. If we look at it from freedom point of view, then I wonder how much freedom we actually have. Connect it with our likes and it gets quite depressing. In childhood we want to spend time with our parents and little friends at home but we are sent to school. In teen age we love to play sports and want to live freely but we are burdened with competitive exams. And then most of us spend our entire energetic life (below 60 years of age) in office, always working for someone else or for goals set by our aspirations which are in fact shaped by outside influences. Even entrepreneurs have to work and they have no choice in this aspect. If we want to spend all time with family, most of us can’t afford it. Is it a provocative thought that we can’t “afford” it? We take time “out of” usual work for some hours, days, weeks, and in case of a few of us, even some years, but we have to go back to work. Work to earn money. Earn money to survive. Earn money to live. Struggle to survive is one of the inherent things of this world; it is part of the package; it comes by design and it seems no one can escape it except those who follow paths of great souls like Adi Shankar and renounce this world full of miseries. In fact this world is full of miseries till we are seeking something. The moment we stop seeking, this world becomes a world full of gifts and abundance. What an irony…
 

I think it is a pity that we have to compromise on what we want and how we want to spend time just to survive. There are some who take it to the level of rat-races but no matter how we claim to be “free” most of us are not. In a way we are slaves to the “ways of life” already set before we arrived here. A genuine soul search will make us realize this irony. In this aspect all of us are in the same pool; only the extent to which we are inside water varies… I know we can think of it as a challenge. How best we can manage our life so that we have to compromise the least and we enjoy the finer aspects of life and not only the ones benchmarked for us. Only I am not sure how much we can actually succeed; and the biggest question is why not fully? Why we are condemned to waste our life in things as undeserving as working to earn money (no matter how we glamorize our profession and try to claim it is not about money).

Movie: The Woman in the Fifth

‘The Woman in the Fifth’ is a movie based on a novel in the same name. It is the story of struggles of a writer in getting reunited with his daughter and family in the backdrop of his mental illness. At one point in the movie, we hear a statement which is often heard in many places. The idea is that the more personal disasters and tragedies a writer goes through, the more depth his writing acquires. The same can also be said about some other artisans like painters, singers and musicians. After I heard about this and realized it to be a commonly accepted proposition, I have sort of started disliking these creative fields. It is true that the more personal experiences a writer will have, one would be more in command of the variety and depth of one’s creations. But to make it a precondition or assumption about its necessity looks unfair. I think if there is one most powerful skill that a writer has, it is one’s power of imagination and observation. It can easily be believed that any writer can’t have all the varieties of personal experiences oneself, that exist in this world. There comes the importance of observation – writers can simply role-play or map someone else to develop a character for one’s book. Or else one can simply imagine and imagination knows no boundaries… In that respect power of imagination compensates for or even transcends the benefit of personal experiences in the literary fields.

It is not necessary that a writer or an author should have gone through personal tragedies oneself to get to write about things. It is definitely an advantage, but I not necessarily a precondition. Though, very often we notice that debuting authors do miracle with their first book but never get to repeat the magic afterwards. I think many times it is because the first book was based on their personal experiences and hence had that depth; while next books were written on demand and used more of imagination than experiences. If a writer is not that brilliant, one’s second or next books won’t be of same quality as one’s first book. But there have been so many wonderful authors who have written about character dissimilar to the ones experienced in their personal lives, through the power of observation and imagination.

If one needs a failed personal life to become a celebrity writer, I think it is not worth it. A life lived in simplicity and containment, which often leaves new members for our human civilization who inherit the noble virtues and ethics, is very precious. Fame is temporary and is a double edged sword.

Movie: Pride and Prejudice

Watched the movie ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and loved it. Though I had read the Jane Austin book a long time back, it seems I had forgotten it except a few recollections all through. And the movie is so beautifully made that I am speechless about the experience. It is overwhelming.

To begin with, I like happy-ending stories and this was one. When Elizabeth and Darcy seem to be separated, viewers can feel a simmering pain – how unfortunate? I wished it did not happen like it happened; and indeed there were secrets which came out and Elizabeth could see the real Darcy.

If I talk about the characters, I don’t know why Darcy was so grave always. He did not dance; not even smiled in the first scene when he makes an entry. And he keeps that serious face all through. Though I think we do not get to know the reason for apparent sadness anywhere in the plot. Was he sad over loneliness? In the later parts when he interacts with Elizabeth, one can see his childlike face lit up. Elizabeth appears stubborn though intelligent, and she realizes in the end about her weaknesses. Elizabeth’s mother was such a chatty character; she talked too much and most of the time unwanted stuff.

About the socioeconomic conditions depicted in the story; I could not help but notice some elements. Daughters were burden to the family in a way and parents had to do anything to get them wedded and sent out. Though the manner in which these parents were doing was shocking – sending daughters in front of soldiers and in public so as to display them in the hope that some worthy man could notice them. They were also offering for example Mr. Collins one daughter instead of the other of his choice. This part was shocking. In India, even though daughters are considered ‘burden’ in the same sense, but not treated in this manner, which can be called immoral by Indian parents if they see it here. When one of the sisters in the story eloped with a soldier who asked for a kind of pension or compensation to marry her; and the family had to agree to his demand in order to save their social prestige, it was shocking. It seems status of women in society and harsh social realities have been same almost everywhere in the world.

Anyways, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ has been an enlightening watch. How we are wrong in understanding people and individuals and how we tend to see faults in others while the same faults present in us are overlooked by us; is depicted very nicely in it.

PAN Service Online through IT Dept Website

PAN application or renewal in case of old/lost PAN card is very easy using this IT Dept website. Submit form online, pay small fee via net-banking, print and send doc proof; get SMS update of status & dispatch details; and receive it at home. No need of agents and hence no data leakage risk/security concerns: 

https://www.tin-nsdl.com/

Unappy with Facebook's Lack of Privacy

Facebook has been known to be uncaring towards users' privacy. It has been a trouble for everyone who attempted, to successfully be in control of what we share and what don't want to; through mired privacy setting and policies. To add to the worry, a few days back when I tried to log into FB, it showed up these many pictures on the first page itself! Is this how Facebook wants to use our profile pictures and other stuff? Has it taken permission from these people before using their portraits? I am not sure. Even if it has taken permission, there seems to be no guarantee of what future awaits for all of us (well, those of us who use FB to be precise)!

I FB's new proposals to make privacy settings more less stringent is not only unethical but also unfair. Till a few weeks back whenever I opened up facebook.com and found it written something like "It is free and always will be so", I always give it a second thought. How many promises need to be broken in order to keep a promise? We know that change is the constant thing in this world, but in what direction? FB already makes money through ads, apps and in other ways from corporates. It should not cross the line to the extent that people would simply get fed up and won't see any benefit of wasting their time only to quite using it some day in the future.

On the other hand, Google+ looks better with its system of circles and more user friendly settings, but we have got used to using facebook for a while and the switch is not easy. But I see facebook's policies harming the general trust in the public about using social networking sites and gradually people may simply stop using it and go back to watch TV - something they are more used to do anyway...

Switched to The Indian Express

Last month we switched from DNA (newspaper) to The Indian Express. DNA was nice and we liked its selection of quality content but felt lacking enough content/pages to satisfy. Indian Express is much better and we are loving its breadth and depth of coverage. It looks unbiased because if in one page it presents an interview of RSS/VHP chief; in some other it presents a full coverage of some communist leader/JNU also. By and large I can notice that news items are fact-based and it does not try to present its editor's views as news. Fairness and fact based reporting is what I want; and I don't like a paper (like TOI) telling us how to interpret a news and how to feel and think about each issue because it belittles our intelligence.