India, the idea.....
Hello all,
Namaste! All of you, my dear blog readers, know about my website - swaroopa.net. I have started my business, Swaroopa store, which can be accessed from the Shop tab on my website, for those who are interested in a personal reading. There is also the Swaroopa Store link, on my blog's left side. Now, to the post!
Wishing all a very Happy Vijayadashami. The day that brings Vijaya- victory in every endeavor one starts. Today I am putting the deep intentions to bring up my store and business- my next area of my spiritual exploration. Last four years were about writing and making my own concepts and value points more polished. Yes, I will continue to write. But I will also start putting more focus into my store and business. According to my understanding the spiritual concept is -"Where we put our focus expands in our life". So, without my intentional focus how will my store and business takes solid roots, right? So, on this Vijayadashami day, I am taking the deepest intentions of bringing up my store and business.
Same way, I wish every single one in this seven billion of ocean of people every victory in any endeavor that is to better oneself, one's people, one's group, humanity or Earth without devaluing, putting down, taking advantage or using even a single soul. To such endeavors, I deeply invoke the grace and blessings of the Universal Intelligence! Tadasthu! So, it is!!
Hope all of you are doing well, keeping yourself safe, socially distanced, and receiving the vaccines, single or both doses at your earliest convenience. As many of you have read, those who are not vaccinated have a very high chance of getting very severe infections, possibly even going to the ICU or being attached to a ventilator to breathe. Why undergo such struggles, when a simple half or one hour of effort will protect us for quite a long time?
Unfortunately, the Internet and social media have made many prisoners to negative news, misinformation and conspiracy theories. Don't fall for it.
World governments cannot co-ordinate at such a global scale, that of a pandemic. Yes, mistakes were made by many governments. They are not infallible. They are run by humans who make mistakes, take foolish decisions, and suppress or ignore things. That is what happened here as well. Many measures that could have saved the world from a pandemic were not put in place, were ignored, or were not heeded. Regardless, after a solid two years, we are still figuring out in the middle of a dire pandemic. So, as a human being with family and friends, our best bet is to wear a mask, keep ourselves safe, and take the vaccine as early as possible.
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| COVID-19 vaccines save lives and protect the individual. Image credits - United States Census, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
I have written many times: Intelligence is to be smart about our own lives and intellect is to cut away any dead branches or stagnant choices for our own life so that our tree of life grows, blossoms and fruits at every opportunity. So, being bogged down by misinformation and mired in conspiracy theories are a fast ticket out of our own physical existence. Remember that! Are my words tough? Tougher are the facts of the pandemic - one that can take a human to the ER, or worse the ICU with a ventilator connected to their face, struggling to breathe and counting their remaining minutes on Earth. So, beware both Covid and the conspiracies, and let's protect ourselves with the best tools we can get our hands on to be here on the Earth- the vaccines! GET IT and BE WELL!
Sanatana Dharma: Last week, I wrote about my view of Sanatana Dharma and how, in its true core, it is very open hearted and all-embracing. According to Ramakrishna Paramahansa and many other spiritual masters, all religions in their very core uphold the sacredness of life and the need to embrace another human with all their quirks, religions, viewpoints, and perspectives as part the universal fabric - Brahman, but bedecked with another physical vessel for this lifetime. However, this embrace must also be only as long as they are not hurting, killing, devaluing, or debasing another. Since the latter people are not respectful and not giving others value, the bets are off and we can stand up and defend our boundaries. It is not necessary! To paraphrase Paramahansa Yogananda: To stand tall, we need to cut another's head!
But nowadays, we see that with nearly every religion or other group ideas and ideologies, other humans are hurt, killed, put down, devalued, or debased. That is not okay. That shows the insecurities that are bogging down the human mind. My question is thus. For this life I care to be a Sanatani. And I have no intentions, thoughts or ideas to put down, devalue or debase another human, religion, group, ideology or concept. Why should I worry whether another person chooses to practice Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, be an atheist/ agnostic,or any other form of belief? I have no problem with that. In the same way, others should not have any problem that I choose to practice the spiritual way of Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma.
My question is thus. Isn't the globe wide and expansive enough to accept the viewpoints of more than seven billion humans? So, why the tussles, arguments, debates, warmongering and fights? Why? If humans are craving for peace, how can they focus on wars and fights? I am writing this regarding the concepts of a universal tenet: Whatever we put our focus on increases in our life! It is a deep truth. I have seen it many times working in my own life. So, as an example, while putting the focus on war, how can we expect to have peace in our life?
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| India - an ancient land where many religions coexist The Wheel of Dharma - duty and purpose! A symbol of Sanatana Dharma as well as Buddhism Image credits - Manojkumar.gopanap, via Wikimedia Commons |
By putting our focus on war, fights, chaos and confusion, we are sending our inner intentions into the ether: "Dear Universe, I am interested in chaos and war. But please send me peace." The Universe would ask - "How? My child! By putting your focus and intentions on war and fights, you are from your deepest heart asking me for more chaos and confusion. How can I send you peace? I cannot. But as per your wish, here, have some more of chaos and confusion. Enjoy!" This is where humanity is finding itself. Is it pathetic or unfortunate? Both.
Drowning in a mind space of war, chaos, confusion, and battle, we cannot ask for peace. When our human mind itself is not peaceful, how can it create peace for itself all around? A chaotic and confused human mind cannot create peace, only war. Indeed, we just had a twenty-year experiment in democracy where people rule people in Afghanistan. Did it happen? No. Why? Because the minds of the people in that region have not embraced the concept of self-rule through elections. For centuries, they (and us) have existed by solving problems using the methods of war and battle. Therefore, the minds, especially our subconscious minds, are wired with the concept of sorting a problem using conflict. Then here comes another country that tries its experiment in democracy for twenty years. Once that experiment is over, it becomes business as usual, sorting problems using war and battles and village gatherings called jirga. Of course, any assembly of humans, if it can bring peace without war, arguments, tussle, or bloodshed, is good. If not, it is still chaos and confusion. Not peace.
Spirituality: As you may suspect (😉), this blog is about spirituality, philosophy, and many related avenues. My questions turn to the following: why many are enchanted by India or the United States. I was born and brought up in India until the age of twenty-eight and now live in the U.S., having done so for the last twenty-two years. Any time to any non-Indian person I say that I was born and brought up in India, their eyes take on a glazed, mystical look. They either start elaborating on the trip they took to India or how they have plans to visit India at least once. This is the foreigner's perspective on India.
Now, let us cross the globe, and go to India. Any time I go to India and a fellow Indian anywhere asks me where I live and I say U.S., now their eyes take on a magical look, "The U.S.? Wow! How are the people? Streets? Culture? How do people interact? How is the life? The attitudes and perspectives of Americans?" I sit enchanted seeing the same reaction but about a very different country on either side of the globe. What is the underlying emotions of this enchantment? What are the underlying theme that makes someone get a glazed, mystical look on their eyes and face?
If we dig deeper, we realize both these lands are very ancient. India has an unbroken heritage of more than five thousand years, and while Columbus came to the U.S. only five hundred years ago, the land has always been inhabited by the Native Americans for ages. They also have deep cultures and rituals. with some of the deepest roots in the land. So, as with India, the land of the U.S. is very ancient.
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| India - an ancient land where many religions coexist - Golden Temple, Amritsar Image credits - Pixabay.com |
A human heart beats to the deep vibrations of ancient cultures and lands, because both are made of the same essence, the universal element. As such, any human who taps into their heart starts to capture the deep energy of ancient cultures and align with those ancient ancestral vibrations and energy streams.
Remember, these are my intuitive inklings and perspectives. I was a small girl and teenager who grew up on ancient mythological stories, idols, art work, and culture. In those days, I also used to sit enchanted reading the stories of gods and goddesses walking the earth. This very same enchantment I used to feel when I read the Arabian Nights. Instead of the Yakshas or Yakshis of Hindu mythological stories, we have the Jinns of the Arabian folklore. The same enchantment, but only for a different land or culture.
Likewise, what about the amazing success of Harry Potter or Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves? It is the same enchantment when a heart captures the ancient theme of mystical or magical lands or ideas or cultures. In that space, there is no division or differentiation of gender, religion, skin color, political perspectives or idea differences. It is simply the human heart, made of stardust, vibrating to the energy of an ancient culture. It has nothing to do with the current conflicts of gender, politics, ethnicities, cultures, religions, castes, creeds, or race.
Mystique: In that space, the human heart transcends the divisions to capture the underlying "oneness" that weaves through everything in this universe. The poet Rumi, the painter Leonardo da Vinci, the philosopher Socrates, and the composer Beethoven were all able to capture these mystical landscapes within their hearts as poems, paintings, ideas, and compositions. That was their success. They were able to transcend the smaller human mind to capture the greater mind of the universe, but through their own human mind. If they can do it, why can't we? We can.
Another example was Mahatma Gandhi. How could he unite very disparate groups of 340 million people under the one umbrella of Indian independence? It was not that there were not other leaders, since there were. But why could Mahatma Gandhi do what others failed to achieve? What was the magic pill behind his success? Remember that Gandhi used to read and refer to the Bhagavad Gita. It was the book that he used to guide his decisions and values. Through the Bhagavad Gita, Gandhi was able to capture this ancient wisdom of the oneness of the universe. The same is true of anybody who deeply go into any spiritual practice whether it be with the Bible, Torah, Quran or Guru Granth Sahib.
It doesn't matter, which book we use. It matters whether we can transcend our own smaller human mind to capture the greater universal mind and heart. That is what Mahatma Gandhi did. He was able to transcend his ego mind to capture Universal mind where his vision of his purpose was kept. He realized this at the Pietermaritzburg train station near Durban and later history was made. The moment he was pushed out of the train, the anger upset him so much, most probably his logical mind shut down and the greater Universal mind came through to give him a vision of what his life can be. This made a changed man of Gandhi.
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| India - an ancient land where many religions coexist Ibrahim Rauza Tomb - Bijapur Image credits - Pixabay.com |
To further get connected with this greater mind he started using Bhagavad Gita as a guide book for his life. This opened up the mystique of India that ancient land to him. That deeper essence started to bring truck and train loads of humans to him. By accessing the deep power inherent in the ancient land called India or Bharatha, he was able to unite very different people with different languages, ethnicity and culture under one umbrella of Indian Independence. It was this alignment with a greater Universal will that kept the purpose of Gandhi apart from others. That doesn't mean the contributions of other leaders were minimal. They also had their purpose to do, and together every thing led to the freedom of India.
It is this energy of ancient land and wisdom that brings the glazed look on people's eyes when they talk about their trip to India or their wish to visit India. It was this deep patriotism people feel towards this ancient majestic land that brought a huge group of people together to acquire the freedom of their land.
India as an idea: India and its mystery tends to grow on people. The greatest emperor of Mughal dynasty to keep India the land as one and to portray his love towards whole of his people accepted the Rajput princess Jodha Bhai as his wife. Same way his great grandson Dara Shukoh assembled a cohort of very talented Hindu Pundits to translate Upanishads to Persian, which was later re-translated to French and later English. The western countries got a taste of the Upanishads.
India got its independence because the idea of India as a land of disparate culture, people, languages and tongues was kept together by the idea of oneness of the hearts that transcended the divisions among the people. From a smaller ego mind perspective India would have never got the freedom. The idea of a united India had to transcend the disparate differences that would have been brought up by the people. The unity of the hearts rather than the divisions of the mind. The hearts had to unite and beat in tandem towards a greater bigger purpose- the freedom of India.
Once that freedom was achieved the united heart of India was replaced by a smaller thinking, individualistic logical mind. The selflessness of a greater ideal of the Universal mind was replaced with the objective, logical, "What is in it for me" perspective of the individual and group mindset. At that moment the Hindu-Muslim divisions and battles erupted. Even though Mahatma Gandhi tried to unite the warring factions it was not meant to be and the country got divided into India and Pakistan. Those seeds of divisions, which was sowed in those days still produce loads and loads of crops as divisions, wars, hartals, fights and killings. Today India is more divided than ever.
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| India - an ancient land where many religions coexist Basilica of Our Lady of Good health, Velankanni, Tamilnadu, India Image credits - Manojz Kumar, via Wikimedia Commons |
This shows that India as a United idea can never be captured from a lower egotistical - "What is in it for me" mind. Because the divisions of language, cultures, barriers, ethnicity, religions and divisions are many. Rifts are deep and long lasting. From this space a collective group is just an illusion as divisions of the minds would stare at our face. We would have to transcend these divisions to capture a higher ideal. The ideal of the mystique, greater wisdom and the beautiful nature of an ancient land that had kept her heritage as an unbroken chain of 2000-2500 years.
Why do we feel a mystery and other worldiness with Himalayas, the mountain range. The same glassy layer that falls over one's eyes and sight? That has nothing to do with the religion as Hinduism or Hindutva or Islam or Christianity or Sikh or another group idea. It has everything to do with the heart of the humans that has for centuries and millennia have been involved themselves in rituals, cultures, traditions, festivals and ways of life- whether it is Sanatana Dharma, Dravidian culture, Islam or Jainism or Buddhism.
It is the human minds that separate and divide individuals as - us/ them, other/we and alien or natural. The human minds that are bent upon dividing the Earth into pieces, bits, acres and hectares. Yes, in a society for normal, realistic existence that may be needed. For the physical world. But should we bring that divided mindset into our minds, hearts and divide ourselves further more? The idea of a United India from the heart through the human spirit that is what made Mahatma Gandhi successful in his Indian freedom struggle. Not a perspective from the mind, but from the human heart.
The spirit of freedom, joy and creativity that every human heart craves for. The Indians at that time for two hundred had been ruled by the British and were vying to have freedom of thoughts, minds, hearts, spirits and expression. The British had suppressed their natural human emotions and perspectives to the fullest making them almost colonial slaves. Only a spark of that innate human spirit and freedom had to be lighted by Mahatma Gandhi by capturing the deep energy and essence of an ancient land and people. It caught on as wild fire and within around fifty years India tasted her freedom and free days.
So, from the mind the idea of India as a united nation can never be captured. We, very well can see the divisions that are bogging down current Indian society and political spectrum. The operation of concepts from the mind that divides. Instead, leaders of every kind should make an effort to capture the Indian human heart. The heart of a group of around 1.2 billion people who consider this ancient land as their home. Leaders should try to capture that essence, mystique, magic of an ancient land where rituals, traditions, cultures, values, ideas, festivals and fares made a mark on the minds and hearts of the people who feel 'at home' there.
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| Indian flag fluttering in the background of the mighty Himalayas Image credits - Pixabay.com |
For those leaders who inspire, encourage and unite the people should appear who can capture the hearts of this ancient land and people. Not leaders whose first question is -"What is there in it for me", but leaders who want the progress, innovation and welfare of the people of whole of India, not just their particular group alone. India has produced such leaders as Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, Ambetkar, Maoulana Abdul Kalam Azar, Dr. Zakir Husain, Rajendra Prasad, S. Radhakrishnan and more. Hope she will produce such leaders who are interested in the progress and welfare of the whole of India than bits, pieces and groups of India. That is the idea on which India should move forward not for this decade, but for centuries and eons to come.
Is India having such leaders for the current societal, political and economic spectrum? That is food for thought! Why don't we contemplate on it and take a break till next week? Until next Friday- let us chew on it, shall we?