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| Tuesday, January 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India   
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Laudable show of
unity Worst fears
come true |
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Distorting
history WHEN two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. But when historians fight the outcome is more devastating. Look at the mess some highly respected Indian historians have created over a seemingly trivial issue. They are fighting over what kind of Indian history should be taught to school-level students. It all began with the deletion of certain references from history textbooks by the National Council for Educational Training and Research. Expectedly, the 62nd session of the Indian History Congress at Bhopal lambasted the NCERT for taking "liberty with history".
Agony of the silent
majority
Goodbye, dear 2001
B’day bash as
hero worship
A
gentleman officer and anti-terrorist
1964 Peace: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
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Laudable show of unity THE outcome of Sunday's all-party meeting has
underlined the truth that India always rises as one man in times of national crisis. The leaders who met in New Delhi at the invitation of Prime Minister Vajpayee represented the country's broad political spectrum. They came from different ideological camps and extended unstinted cooperation to the BJP-led coalition government in its defensive diplomatic drive against Pakistan for its role in promoting terrorism in India, particularly in the attack on the most significant symbol of India's robust democratic polity. The Opposition's approval of the line taken by the government in dealing with the critical situation should send the right signal to the world capitals that India is a mature democracy and believes in finding a non-military solution to even as serious a problem as the one caused by the Pakistan-based terrorists who could have succeeded in creating a havoc on December 13 but for the display of exceptional courage by alert security forces. The world should appreciate the point that no responsible leader in India favours war, despite the country's armed forces being well placed to take on an otherwise formidable enemy. But the show of
responsibility to the cause of peace in the subcontinent should not be taken as a sign of weakness. The international pressure being brought on Islamabad to bring to book the entire leadership of the terrorist outfits — the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which have quickly acquired new names to camouflage their operations — for their unpardonable crime committed on December 13 is not enough. Arresting just the top leaders and freezing the bank accounts of these terror groups will not do. Pakistan should launch a country-wide swoop on these outfits as also the others known for their destructive activities in the name of jehad and their entire assets should be seized. The arrested enemies of peace should be handed over to the Interpol for trial in full view of the world community. Nothing less can satisfy India, which has also released a list of the wanted terrorist masterminds living in Pakistan. The national delegations comprising members of Parliament and leaders of various political parties being sent to different parts of the globe to project India as a victim of Pak-sponsored terrorism should not lack in home work. The points to be highlighted should be identified and discussed threadbare with an understanding on the line to be taken by all delegations and their every member. There should be no lacuna in the exercise to convince the world that Pakistan should be forced to act swiftly and decisively against the terrorist culture it has nurtured over the years which has brought South Asia to the edge of a precipice. The super power, already engaged in the war on terrorism, has a special responsibility at the moment. If India is forced to abandon the diplomatic path it has taken and go in for an armed conflict to defend its democratic and secular values, threatened by Pakistan's dirty designs, the gains the USA and the other anti-terrorism coalition members have achieved may be nullified. The civilised world must not give an opportunity to disruptionist forces to rejoice. |
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Worst fears come true THE UTI is down in the dumps and its prime plan US-64 (unit scheme, 1964) is plain junk. The trust itself says that the real value of a unit is just Rs 5.81, as against a sale price of about Rs 14.30 until last June. The value has shrunk by about 60 per cent. But there is a silver lining. The government has assured to offer a redemption rate of Rs 10 a unit with a monthly 10 per cent interest from July 1, 2001. On an annual basis, this works out to 12 per cent. But this is scandalously low compared to the pledged return of 20 per cent and a repurchase price of more than Rs 14 a unit. It was this that attracted more than 20 million small investors to pour in their savings in expectation of a fixed income. And the UTI has let them down. The report of the
S. S. Tarapore committee lists all the mindless and questionable investment decisions made by the trust, which has dried up its real value. The report of the three-man committee should be made a subject of a joint parliamentary committee investigation to find out if there was any quid pro quo in sanctioning huge amounts to companies which were on the precipice. The UTI has purchased shares not from the stock market but from the promoters’ quota, rather through negotiations, at highly inflated prices. This raises doubts. Then the former Chairmen has resigned and arrested and two directors have been suspended. All is not well and the small investor needs a satisfactory answer. For the present the investor will lose but not much. The government has assured that it will pay either the NAV-based price of Rs 5.81 or Rs 10 plus 10 per cent interest from July, 2001, which ever is higher. But this option is available only until May 30, 2003, after which the NAV-based price alone will come into play. Starting from January 1, 2002, unit holders should redeem their holdings before May, 2003, unless they are very confident that the share markets will zoom and add value to their holdings. The UTI, in order to retain its primary position, is offering other plans and they are dead or highly defective. Private mutual fund operators have a better track record and are a better option. |
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Distorting history WHEN two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. But when historians fight the outcome is more devastating. Look at the mess some highly respected Indian historians have created over a seemingly trivial issue. They are fighting over what kind of Indian history should be taught to school-level students. It all began with the deletion of certain references from history textbooks by the National Council for Educational Training and Research. Expectedly, the 62nd session of the Indian History Congress at Bhopal lambasted the NCERT for taking "liberty with history". It is pointless blaming the NCERT for the unwarranted action. It is the piper that usually calls the tune and in the present instance Union Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi happens to be the mighty piper. He says that astrology is a science and some universities fall in line and introduce it as a subject of study. He has very definite views about what is good history and what is not. Of course, an objective historian would point out that history is supposed to be a faithful account of the social customs and political dispensation of the period under review. History should never reflect the prejudices or distorted points of view of the authors. That is precisely the point at the root of the current controversy. Charges and counter-charges were made at the Bhopal session about giving history-writing a "leftitst" or a "communal" slant. The point of view of the majority was in favour of the "need to guard against those in politics who are trying to propagate a new pan-Indian ideology... by rewriting Indian history". The concerns of the historian over what was termed as introducing distortions through deliberate misinterpretation of the customs and practices of a certain period may sound alarmist but not entirely misplaced. For instance, is it indeed fair to attempt to present a confluence of many different strands of faiths and cult practices as part of a monolithic religion? |
Agony of the silent majority WHEN there is something rotten in the State of Denmark, it can only get worse and worse. But what happens when the situation hits the rock bottom? Simply walk away and assert that there is no hope in hell. Or, bet on total rot. That is the great tragedy of the year just gone by: India 2001. A year of mea culpas, home truths and tutorials. Of real politik. The first year of the new millennium which began with a tragedy and ended with violence becoming the rhetoric of the period. A story of the devastating earthquake at Bhuj, Gujarat, on Republic Day (January 26), culminating in confrontation with terrorism and economic hardship. Of 12 agonising months of cynicism and despair — of starvation deaths and floods. Of squalor and sordid reality. For the first time in the history of India, a convicted leader was sworn-in as Chief Minister and a former Chief Minister was jailed. Also put behind bars were the Chairmen of the UTI, Central Board of Excise and Customs, and the stock market and diamond kings. A year replete with the gaddi turning into ghaddari, tehelka or no tehelka, netas becoming abhinetas and the long-promised Ram Rajya degenerating into “riot rajya”. A bitter diabetic pill one had to swallow for the claustrophobic criminalised environment, which asthamatised the existence of the people. Of sleazy pitfalls which made death appear like a welcome release. The daring attack on Parliament on December 13 exposed the fragility of our socio-political fabric. Where our security veil (three sets of steel gates) can be pierced easily. What causes deep anxiety is that India is up for grabs and can be bought for a song. Just Rs 2 lakh is all it takes to pierce a defence establishment, compromise national interest and take over the country. An amount which could put even a tin-pot dictator to shame. Forget external threats from Pakistan and China. Our armed forces can take care of them. But how do we tackle the enemy within? Our power-hungry money-loving netagan. In the face of overpowering greed of our powers-that-be, all else can be compromised. The spoils of office have distorted the prism of equality to an extent that power coupled with criminalisation has become the Lakshman Rekha between the haves and the have-nots. A tale of vagabonds-turned carpet-baggers. Criminals in synthetic khadi herald the new dawn of tomorrow. Ruthless and deadly. Replacing moral and ethical values with naked force, brazen hypocrisy and unabashed fraud. All in the grip of the gun culture. With the unscrupulous manipulators emerging as the rulers. Leading to a near breakdown of institutions, society, culture and ethical values. Does it really matter that we are a billion-strong nation, a nuclear and IT power, boasting of the fifth largest army, fourth biggest Air Force and a blue water Navy. Look at our reaction to the attack on Parliament. Instead of sternly punishing Pakistan head-on for its escalating proxy war, Prime Minister Vajpayee’s government has been content with making war cries and crying on American shoulders. If war is thrust on us, we will fight, asserts Mr Vajpayee. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh merely recalls our envoy to Islamabad, bans overflights by Pakistani aircraft, slashes the strength of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi by half and limits the movement of its staff to within the municipal limits of Delhi. When quizzed why Pakistan was not being declared a terrorist state, he replied nonchalantly: “It is not for us to do so”. Who else? Again, his new US buddy: counterpart Powell? Arguably, is the External Affairs Minister admitting that we are incapable of fighting our own battle? Is he suggesting that a one billion-strong nation needs an outsider to fight its internal war — that too in Kashmir which, as Mr Vajpayee has declared, is “the core of India’s nationalism?” Are we not conveniently ignoring one point repeatedly made by the US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld: “There is only one way to fight terrorists. Hit their bases!” At one end, we don’t tire of screaming that Indo-US ties should not be viewed from the “prism” of Pakistan-US ties. At the other, we rave and rant before Washington against Islamabad and urge it to get its friend to stop its proxy war. Even as we proudly strut about calling ourselves a regional power, capable of fending for ourselves. Making matters worse for New Delhi, President Bush has patted President Musharraf for his reported crackdown (sic) instead of pulling up Islamabad for providing “sanctuary” to the militants. Said he: “I am pleased to note the arrest of 50 terrorists by President Musharraf and I hope India takes note of that too.” The crucial point is: when will we act? Its all very well for Mr Jaswant Singh to rubbish the country’s foreign policy and various initiatives of the past 50 years, but what initiatives has the NDA government taken to set things right? How come we have never thought of waging a war against terrorism? Kashmir’s killing fields bear testimony to this which no amount of pious platitudes and knee-jerk gestures can overcome. Just like Washington did after September 11, when it unleashed its war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Why do we buckle under Washington’s call for restraint? Did they exercise restraint in hunting down Osama bin Laden? Why should we care a damn if taking on Pakistan jeopardises Washington’s interest? Does Capitol Hill care about ours? Why have we not thought of imposing sanctions? In a country which has traversed the terrorist road from Kargil to Kandahar, how long can one suffer this self-mortification and national humiliation? Who will safeguard our national interest when our protectors have become the destroyers? Worse, South Block is still hoping that Capitol Hill will fight our battle against terrorism. Never mind that no country fights another’s battle. The mighty invariably bully the weak. The weak surrender and turn into jee huzoors. We proclaim we are not weak and protest against being called US stooges. Or, do we hang in the middle and go along with the current flavour of the season? Remember, every country has to protect its own backyard. Not only that. So cleverly have our leaders perfected the art of self-deception that corruption, waste, damage, ineptitude and inefficiency have reached new heights of a well-scripted political pantomime. Take the Defencegate which exposed India’s corrupt system in all its rotten manifestations. The video-recording caught red-handed the president of a national party accepting a bribe and the chief of another national party taking money for allegedly putting in a word to the Defence Minister. Or, the greedy UTI chairman who shattered public trust and criminally squandered away Rs 10,000 crore of the hard-earned savings of over two million middle class persons. Trust or no trust. When the heat of corruption, caste and creed coupled with mafia, muscle and money becomes unbearable, the powers that be take recourse to the convenient mantra: “The law will take its own course.” The buck is promptly passed on. Jail a stock market king for the collapse of the market and diamond merchant for mafia links. Words fail us when the
insatiable avarice of our lowly leaders for money doesn’t even spare coffins for dead soldiers. Specially against the backdrop of the sacrifices of our brave jawans so that India lives. When will we really dig the grave of corruption — beyond sickening promises? Besides, populism is dished out as sufficient succour for the abject reality of grinding poverty. No one says what he means and no one means what he says. Conveniently whitewashing the harsh realities. Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s dream budget has turned into a nightmare. What with a spiralling fiscal deficit of over 10 per cent which is fast pushing the country into a debt trap. The growth rate has dropped. The sensex has collapsed. The stock markets are in dire straits and there is an economic slump. The average industrial growth is down to barely 2.5 per cent. While the number of job-seekers is rising by 2.5 per cent per year and companies are busy slashing their work force by 10 to 20 per cent every few months. Resulting in burgeoning unemployment. At the last count, India had added over two million young people to its mass of educated unemployed. One can go on and on about hedonism in the year gone by of scams which have been reduced to one-day cricketing wonders. To be dumped mindlessly once the media loses interest. Of the majority’s growing disillusionment with the system which explodes in rage and in which more and more people are taking law into their own hands. Slowly but surely, the people’s patience is running out, and running out fast. The people have seen through the sham of democracy where ultras revel in peddling grandiose dreams which cannot feed the hungry stomachs. Increasing suicides among the farmers, illiteracy, ill-health and poverty are the touchstone of the much-hyped and illusionary ideal of “roti, kapda aur makan.” The people have blown the conch again against the fraud repeatedly wrought on them. They are now clear that it is not the gods that have failed India. It is the fake gods that they themselves have created and worshipped. All it would take to destroy them is but a whiff of the people’s power — of the roused silent majority. Causes can differ. But the trend is established. Our leaders had better pay heed. Tough times call for tough action. But the moot point is: who will talk tough and shed new light in the New Year! |
Goodbye, dear 2001 HOW we longed for you! You announced your spectacular arrival amidst dance and music in shimmering discotheques and eateries. First born of the new millennium! What an honour for you dear! Your birth signified the greatest spectacle of faith on the earth on Maha Sakranti. The first Maha Kumbh of this century! Hardly had the euphoria of the Maha Kumbh died when like the mighty gods sitting on Mt Olympus you hurled natural calamities one after another. As the nation was celebrating the Republic Day, earthquake reduced Bhuj, etc to a mere rubble, leaving thousands dead and a bigger number without food and shelter! Blood curdling is death of 400 school children taking out procession singing “Saare jahan se accha”....... in Anjar. Hats off to the rugged spirit of man! Undaunted grit emerged from the ruins of past lives with relief pouring in from all over the world. On Orissa, where your predecessor’s fury of cyclone was still alive in memory, you flung unprecedented drought, death and devastation. Perhaps you were determined not to give us breathing space that the share market slumped down miserably ruining poor investors. Close on its heels you brought from your casket of surprises “Tehelka episode creating a “virtual tehelka” in political circles. You added colour to Indian politics by “high drama” created by some politicians. The convicted Jaya’s appointment as CM of Tamil Nadu and her resignation after the apex court’s verdict were quite theatrical. Similar was her acquittal in two cases, thus clearing the decks for her being CM once again. So have been Mamata Banerjee’s quitting the NDA government, entering into an alliance with the Congress and finally her rejoining the NDA. Laloo Prasad attending courts in grandiose processions! How colourful! The Agra Summit! Everything else was drowned by the great hype generated by it. Alas! you brought it to a fiasco due to Musharraf’s tough talk and constant harping on Kashmir alone. As if it wasn’t enough, bloody drama was yet to be enacted by you in the tragic end of Phoolan Devi. Probably her past had a full blooded revenge on her. Nemesis! strange are thy ways, you proved. Still greater surprise was hurled by you on September 11. The long arm of the terrorists had reached the so-called “invincible fortress.” Dear, you will be known for the historic ‘Afghan war’ and the end of the Taliban’s regime. Three months clicked and another shock from your womb! First Fidayeen strikes at the Red Fort, near the army HQs and JK Assembly, then at the sanctum sanctorum of world’s largest democracy left the nation stunned. Perhaps Bollywood was close to your heart that you won Golden Lion Award for Mira Nair’s film “Monsoon Wedding.” A memorable honour for the country! In cricket after the unsavoury match-fixing and drooping spirits you impelled our cricketers raise our heads high once again at Eden’s Gardens and SAS Nagar. Who will forget Mike Denness’ comments during our team’s visit to
S. Africa that let loose a tidal wave of cricket controversy? The duo Bhupathi and Paes brought us honour by winning the French Doubles. Gopinath too won us laurels. Now that the sun has set on you we shall remember you with mixed feelings. Goodbye, dear. Sleep well. And welcome 2002. |
B’day bash as hero worship WHILE most of us in the media remained preoccupied with the war cries and retaliation threats, another bitter battle — of nerves — went almost unnoticed. It was originally envisaged by the event managers as a major image build-up exercise. However, after the ‘war’ even the party ranks cold-shouldered the Prime Minister’s birthday campaign. And finally, the whole thing was reduced to newspaper supplements and advertisements and a few low-profile public functions. Does a veteran like Atal Behari Vajpayee really need any engineered aggrandisement to prop up his profile? Normally no. But the professional image enhancers rule otherwise. This year’s Vajpayee project was prompted by two factors. To counter or to be in tune with the recent surge in birthday bashes as an instrument to keep up the sagging profile alive. Indira Gandhi had quite birthdays, mostly on a holiday. But a politically isolated Sharad Pawar with an eroding popular base really needs a timely prop. He should display his vast resources amidst the super celebs and turn it into a most happening place. At different locations simultaneously. The bigger crowds at Sonia Gandhi’s gate this year might have been a provocation for Pawar to establish his own relevance. Spontaneous or herded, her crowds displayed bigger enthusiasm. May be due to the rise in her political acceptability and perceived electoral fortunes. Thus if Sharad Pawar bakes a 61 feet birthday cake, boosters of Vajpayee’s stock should not lag behind in getting entry into the Limca book. Hence Vijay Goel was ready with a record a four-storey high open book of Vajpayee and a gigantic birthday invitation card at Red Fort. The second factor is more fundamental. The recent erosion in Prime Minister’s ratings as shown by media surveys and private assessments by the ruling party have sent shock waves among the image enhancers. A prominent pro-establishment news weekly has found that wider sections of people felt the absence of a powerful Indira Gandhi kind of Prime Minister to lead the nation. Such a leader alone could take bold steps to improve the living condition of the people and stand up to the foreign domination. This popular view, if really true, is an affront on Vajpayee’s affable image and susceptibility to pressures from conflicting quarters. With crucial state elections round the corner, they apparently want to rework the strategy. A rather new theory doing the rounds is that while a messiah image could enable a new leader to capture the popular imagination at the time of elections, a machismo cast alone could sustain the continued acceptability. This is especially so in an era of quick changes marked by uncertainties and insurmountable challenges. Thus geniality and accommodating spirit, otherwise positive qualities of a senior statesman, are being viewed as a negative attribute. That the image fabricators are quite serious about their job is evident from the kind of well orchestrated birthday projections. Not only the central government departments but all BJP Chief Ministers had been told to work on the project. Sponsored supplements and display advertisements nauseatingly plied this Laloo Chalisa-style text. Thus, a full page Uttaranchal pullout attributes the success of the Tehri dam to “the able leadership of Hon Vajpayeeji”, a Himachal advertisement claims the state was “surging ahead” due to “his kind benevolence”, another one depicts him “yug purush Vajpayee”. Union Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain’s display ad claims the civil aviation success was due to Vajpayee’s “inspiring leadership.” Understandably, UP Chief Minister steals the show in sycophancy with at least three displays in national dailies and more in Indian languages. He put India on the world map, enhanced its honour and gave guidance to UP. Gujarat, the other BJP-ruled state, had only a quarter-page, smaller than Delhi Municipal Corporation’s birthday build-up. At the Centre, the Urban Development Ministry scored over all others with its own show as also by private builders. Venkaiah Naidu, Shanta Kumar, etc, were not far behind. Here the question is whether the fund-starved states and central ministries should indulge in such emergency-era extravaganza. Soon this kind of sycophancy with public funds will spread to the states. Despite all such crude efforts, Indira model of leadership is bound to remain a mirage, at least in the foreseeable future. An Indira Gandhi with total powers invested in her had emerged under a special socio-political situation. Since then Indian politics has undergone irreversible transformation. After her, only her son Rajiv Gandhi had a fleeting chance to regain that position. His failure to do so has been legion. Three main factors inhibit the re-emergence of an authoritarian leader vested with absolute powers which a big section of the public opinion perceived to admire. First, after the fall of the Congress in 1989, Indian polity has got divided into several well defined political entities. Each one of them has developed its own politics and preferred political choices. Significantly, the provincialisation is not based on any local demands or jingoism. Instead, it has been as a protest against the dominant ruling establishments. Thus despite the localisation of politics, they remain all the more committed to the Centre. National parties find it difficult to break such sturdy political walls built by the local parties. As a result, the Congress, the most spread-out national party, has been marginalised in four bigger states with a total 220 Lok Sabha seats. Only in less than half a dozen states can the BJP, now ruling party, can claim its position as either a ruling party or opposition. This makes it impossible for any single party to rule the country on its own. The old kind of political waves can never cut across the states. After Rajiv Gandhi’s election in 1984, Indian voters have not given absolute majority to any single political party at the Centre. Similar has been the Rajya Sabha ‘hurdle’. Second, Prime Ministers, Vajpayee, Sonia Gandhi or a third person, will have to be accommodating. Under a coalitional system, even the Prime Ministerial prerogatives will suffer erosion. There is an inbuilt contradiction between being an all-powerful, authoritarian Prime Minister and the compulsions of having to accommodate the views of the coalition partners. Both in 1998 and 1999, large frustrated middle class sections had vested hopes in a man with liberal views and an accommodating spirit. Paradoxically, the same qualities, otherwise best suited for healthy democratic process, have come in the way of his assuming the proposed high and mighty role. No coalition Prime Minister can hereafter claim the whole credit for the successes of his government. Hence no leader of a national political party can hope to be a super boss. On the other, the chief boss of every provincial party — Naidu of the TDP, Karunanidhi of the DMK, Jayalalitha of the AIADMK, Thackeray of Shiv Sena, Mamata Banerjee of Trinamul, etc — enjoys this unchallenged status. None of them need the services of image-builders, bashes or drab government advertisements. Third, Indira Gandhi had emerged as an undisputed leader, rightly or wrongly, by championing the cause of the deprived sections. She raised their aspirations by offering pro-poor programmes like house sites, job creation, etc but without really giving them much. The rigorous rules of globalisation has taken away even this power from the Prime Ministers. The tragedy has been that people at influential positions still fail to realise the basic hiatus of superimposing an outdated model on the contemporary coalitional setup. |
A gentleman officer and anti-terrorist A
retired English army officer provided the nucleus of an idea to the erstwhile Raj in the mid-1930s to keep Indian youth away from terrorism during the country’s Independence movement. The officer, Maj C.G. Brenan, had intentionally socialised with discontented Korean students in Japan, activists of the Wafd Party in Egypt, beside students of Cairo University in the 1930s and taken note of government suppressive measures. Brenan’s way of work was completely different: “He was against use of force and in favour of sympathetically handling the youth to lead them away from terrorism and not be pushed into it”, says veteran journalist Dr Sisir Kar, who has thoroughly researched the then British government’s policy on terrorism. “Obviously, the British government had taken a number of harsh measures to destroy the armed movement. They called it terrorism. But they had also adopted many soft measures to check entry of new faces in the cult”, Dr Kar, who has researched confidential files of the then Bengal Government, says. The first step was the formation of youth organisation under each Union Board. This was to counter and replace indigenous youth organisations “which the terrorists made disastrous use of”, according to a confidential Special Branch file of 1935.
PTI
Beer thirst gets better of bunker man
A British man who went underground behind blast-proof doors and thick concrete to avoid a family Christmas has emerged early because he was “dying for a pint of beer”. Colin Wood, a 30-year-old financial services worker, entered the decommissioned nuclear bunker in Essex, east of London, and planned to stay for a fortnight. “It was great but I was dying for a pint and the idea of spending another week was too much”, he said. Wood paid $430 at an Internet auction for a two-week stay in the bunker. He said he took such extreme action because he abhorred Christmas and all its timings. “It’s okay in theory but the running around, the buying of presents for people you don’t like, the family bickering, the endless turkey and terrible films on TV are just too
much”. Reuters |
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O Rama! As body and mind I am a servant and eternal portion of Thine; But as Self, I am Thou! — The Testament of Maruti *
* * This is the Truth- As from a well-blazing fire, sparks By the thousand issue forth of like form, So from the Imperishable, my friend, beings manifold are produced, and thither also go. Heavenly, formless is the person. He is without and within, unborn, Breathless, mindless, pure, Higher than the high Imperishable. From Him is produced breath, Mind and all the senses, Space, wind, light, water, And earth, the supporter of all. Fire is His head; His eyes, the moon and the sun; The regions of space, His ears; His voice, the revealed vedas; Wind His breath; His heart, the whole world. Out of His Feet, the earth, Truly, He is the Inner Self (atman) of all. — Mundaka Upanishad, II.i.1-4 * * * One comes and goes in ego, One takes birth and dies in ego, One gives and takes in ego, One earns and loses in ego, One is truthful and false in ego, One is virtuous and sinful in ego, One rises to heaven and falls in hell in ego, One laughs and weeps in ego, One is emaciated and washed in ego, One loses one’s real self in ego, One is foolish and wise in ego, and is not aware of moksha, One is overpowered by maya and illusion in ego, The creatures take birth in ego, If one understands the ego, one can realise the abode of the Lord. Without knowledge one wastes one’s life in futile discussions. —Sri Guru Granth Sahib,
Var Asa M 1, page 466 |
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