World Peace - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia

Promoting Non-Violence in Practice in
Today’s Times*
Taking from Gandhi’s seed-tree analogy as you sow so
you reap we need to start with the root causes of violence.
Gandhi and subsequently Dr Martin Luther King
Jr considered poverty of ethics and spiritual values as
the primary root cause of violence.
Social injustice and denial of basic human rights lead
to violent behaviour in those adversely affected.
Of course abject (material) poverty is recognised a
major cause of frustration leading to violent behaviour.
Sharp gaps between the income levels tend to
generate jealousy and frustration leading to violence.
A multipronged concerted approach with commitment
to nonviolence is needed on the part of the administrators
at all levels.
● That requires education of the concept and methods
of nonviolent practice of the administrators.
A code of conduct in nonviolence to be followed
by the administrators responsible for decision
making and administration will be effective.
● The awareness of nonviolence needs to be inculcated
right from early times and at all levels of education.
This cannot be done by the
administrators / governments alone. The NGOs
and social organisations and resourceful individ-
2 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
World Peace
ual philanthropists: businesspersons, sportspersons;
high profile artists; entertaining celebrities
and so on must step in to supplement the government
efforts and at times guide the governments
on the education and practice of nonviolence.
● Special engagement programs for the school
kids in the after school hours to keep them away
from the evil hands – ‘kids off the street’ – are
need of the hour. These could involve sports
and other creative activities in nonviolence.
● Specially designed programs for the jail inmates
involving entertainment and counselling with
focus on education in nonviolence will be useful.

● Parenting programs, especially parenting of
teenagers, to help the parents in guiding
teenagers to keep away from violent behaviour
and the merits of nonviolence will work well.
● Regular multi-faith / interfaith meeting amongst
the top religious leaders in every locality with
focus on the education (to the members of the respective
congregations) in nonviolence in practice
and respect for each other’s religion will be
helpful. Every religion teaches and advocates nonviolence.
Current Social issues for Nonviolent Action
Australia
● Aboriginal issues: justice; social; economic; health.
● Bullying in schools and workplace
● School Kids on the street during after school
hours
● Rising violence by young women – primarily due
to inequality
● Racism
● Inequality: men-women; ‘white’ – Anglo vs others
● Police: injustice; violence against young person
India
● Corruption
● Casteism
● Police brutality
At Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia I organise and host
three annual events for promoting peace and nonviolence
in action based on the values of Mahatma Gandhi:
1. Essay competition on ‘Relevance of Mahatma
Gandhi Today’ exclusively open to the students of
all the universities in Australia;
2. Interfaith Prayer Meeting (inspired by Mahatma
Gandhi’s Sarva Dharam prayers) around 30 January
at the Parliament House of New South Wales;
and
3. Commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary
from 2003 and International Day of Nonviolence,
as declared by UNO from 2007.
Gambhir Watts
President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
*Excerpts from the presentation by Gambhir Watts
at Gandhi Development Trust “Roots to Fruits” Conference
held at Durban University of Technology,
South Africa from 31 July to 2 August, 2012.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 3

For thisMonth
Mahatma Gandhi Says:
● The very word Islam means peace, which is nonviolence.
● “I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway
over the hearts of millions of mankind… I became more than ever convinced that
it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.
It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous
regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity,
his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and
not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.
When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet’s biography), I was sorry there
was not more for me to read of that great life.” —(Young India, quoted in The
Light, Lahore, for 16th September, 1924. Mahatma Gandhi)
4 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012

● Prayer is the only means of bringing about orderliness and peace and repose
in our daily acts.
● Peace is unattained by part performance of conditions, even as a chemical
combination is impossible without complete fulfillment of the conditions
of attainment thereof.
● Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and
done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.
● Indeed a civil resister offers resistance only when peace becomes impossible.
● Violence is bound sooner or later to exhaust itself but peace cannot issue
out of such exhaustion.
● Not to believe in the possibility of permanent peace is to disbelieve in the
Godliness of human nature.
● The one condition for fighting for peace and liberty is to acquire self-restraint.
● Means and End: Your belief that there is no connection between the
means and the end is a great mistake. Through that mistake even men
who have been considered religious have committed grievous crimes.
The means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree; and there is just
the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there
is between the seed and the tree. We reap exactly as we sow.
Compiled by Gambhir Watts
President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 5

Contents
16 12
48
Significance of Bhavan in the Life of
Our Nation .................................................................. 11
Census Stats on Punjabis, Hindus, Sikhs ................. 12
Timeless Appeal .......................................................... 16
P. K. Warrier: Ayurveda’s Sushruta ........................... 22
Crucified by a Terrorist Justice System ................... 25
Medicine: An Ayurvedic Understanding .................. 30
Mother Teresa ............................................................. 36
Sri Aurobindo Ghose .................................................. 38
6 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Vedic Tradition and Enlightenment .......................... 43
Some Rare photographs from past ........................... 48
Old? Who is Old? ......................................................... 52
Scriptures—Vedas Upanishads, Puranas ................ 56
The Vedas, the Root of All ......................................... 62
Rajiv Gandhi ................................................................ 66
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit ................................................ 70
India Notebook ............................................................ 72
Travel Diary ................................................................ 74
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BHARATIYA
VIDYA BHAVAN AUSTRALIA
Office Bearers:
President Surendralal Mehta
Executive Secretary Homi Navroji Dastur
Chairman Shanker Dhar
Secretary Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi
Other Directors:
Abbas Raza Alvi, Rozene Kulkarni, Palladam Narayana Santhanagopal,
Kalpana Shriram, Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Moksha Watts.
President: Gambhir Watts
Patrons: Her Excellency Mrs Sujatha Singh (Former High
Commissioner of India in Australia), His Excellency Prahat Shukla
(Former High Commissioner of India in Australia), His Excellency
Rajendra Singh Rathore (Former High Commissioner of India
in Australia)
Honorary Life Patron: His Excellency M. Ganapathi (Former Consul
General of India in Australia and a Founder of Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan Australia)
Publisher & General Editor:
Gambhir Watts
president@bhavanaustralia.org
Editorial Committee:
Shanker Dhar, Parveen Dahiya,
Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi, Jesica Flores Sasse
editors@bhavanaustralia.org
Designed and Printed at:
India Empire, New Delhi, India
Ph: +91.9899117477
Advertising:
info@bhavanaustralia.org
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
Suite 100 / 515 Kent Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Cover Painting:
Suraj Sadan, President, Mahatma Gandhi
International Foundation, Montreal, Canada
The views of contributors to Bhavan Australia
are not necessarily the views of Bhavan Australia
or the Editor. Bhavan Australia reserves the
right to edit any contributed articles and
letters submitted for publication. Copyright: all
advertisements and original editorial material
appearing remain the property of Bhavan
Australia and may not be reproduced except
with the written consent of the owner of the
copyright.
Bhavan Australia: - ISSN 1449 – 3551

Swami Vivekananda’s Poems
The Cup
This is your cup—the cup assigned to you from the beginning.
Nay, My child, I know how much of that dark drink
is your own brew.
Of fault and passion, ages long ago,
In the deep years of yesterday, I know.
This is your road—a painful road and drear.
I made the stones that never give you rest.
I set your friend in pleasant ways and clear,
And he shall come like you, unto My breast.
But you, My child, must travel here.
This is your task. It has no joy nor grace,
But it is not meant for any other hand,
And in My universe hath measured place,
Take it. I do not bid you understand.
I bid you close your eyes to see My face.
Source: In search of God and Other Poems by
Swami Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama,
Publication Department, Kolkata
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 7

Meditation
The nuclear family system has given us our space,
freedom to fulfill our aspirations, more money to
spend on ourselves and our children, and the freedom
to lead our lives as we perceive it, without interference
from anyone.
However, it is not all rapturous. There is a flip side
too. A nuclear family also means long hours of work,
fulfilling obligations, shouldering numerous responsibilities,
and almost no time for relaxation.
It also means empty houses devoid of doting grandparents
with whom you can happily leave your children,
your spouse with whom you can share the
housework, if maids are absent, or meet the numerous
unattended social obligations.
The crux of the matter is, there is no rest or respite. It
is like running a never ending marathon race. The consequence
is stress.
Stress can be the cause of a great number of health
problems. A person may suffer from chronic fatigue,
loss of appetite, increased blood pressure, nagging
chronic headache, increased sensitivity to cold, insomnia
and even depression. The list is endless. Cure
for stress is relaxation and not prescriptive drugs.
It is now universally acknowledged that the best way
to relax is by practising meditation. The purpose of
meditation is to make our minds calm and free of worries
and fretfulness. Only when the mind is serene can
it be happy.
Having said all this we can realise that it is bound to
be a difficult quest. The human mind is heavily dependent
on the external stimulus to trigger it off and
often in contrary directions. Consequently there are
8 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
As Sri Sri Ravishankar of
Art of Living said,
“Meditation is the journey
from sound to silence, from
movement to stillness, from
a limited identity to
unlimited space”.
fluctuations of moods. The first step to achieving a
calm and peaceful mind is to learn how to control it
from fluctuating into various unsettling moods, giving
rise to stress. This can be effected only through
meditation. By training in meditation we can create
an inner space and clarity of thought which enables
us to regulate our minds, regardless of the external
circumstances and stimulus. Through a process of
continued meditation, the mind develops equilibrium
and balance and gradually it is conditioned to
experience happiness and tranquillity, no matter
what it experiences externally. As Sri Sri Ravishankar
of Art of Living said, “Meditation
is the journey from sound to silence,
from movement to stillness,
from a limited identity to unlimited
space”.
Surendralal G Mehta
President,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Swami Vivekananda
Conversations and
Dialogues 1
VIII
The Art and Science of Music, Eastern and Western
[Shri Priya Nath Sinha]
Myself:—Maharaj, their music seems to be pre-eminently
martial, whereas that element appears to be
altogether absent in ours.
Swamiji:—Oh, no, we have it also. In martial music,
harmony is greatly needed. We sadly lack harmony,
hence it does not show itself so much. Our music
had been improving steadily. But when the Mohammedans
came, they took possession of it in
such a way that the tree of music could grow no further.
The music of the Westerners is much advanced.
They have the sentiment of pathos as well
as of heroism in their music, which is as it should
be. But our antique musical instrument made from
the gourd has been improved no further.
Myself:—Which of the Ragas and Raginis are martial
in tune?
Swamiji:—Every Rag may be made martial if it is set
in harmony and the instruments are tuned accordingly.
Some of the Raginis can also become martial.
The conversation was then closed, as it was time
for supper. After supper, Swamiji enquired as to the
sleeping arrangements for the guests who had
come from Calcutta to the Math to pass the night,
and he then retired to his bedroom.
IX
THE OLD INSTITUTION OF LIVING WITH THE
GURU—THE PRESENT UNIVERSITY SYSTEM—
LACK OF SHRADDHA—WE HAVE A NATIONAL
HISTORY—WESTERN SCIENCE COUPLED WITH
VEDANTA—THE SO-CALLED HIGHER EDUCA-
TION—THE NEED OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION
AND EDUCATION ON NATIONAL LINES—THE
STORY OF SATYAKAMA—MERE BOOK-LEARNING
AND EDUCATION UNDER TYAGIS—SHRI RA-
MAKRISHNA AND THE PANDITS—ESTABLISH-
MENT OF MATHS WITH SADHUS IN CHARGE OF
COLLEGES—TEXT-BOOKS FOR BOYS TO BE COM-
PILED—STOP EARLY MARRIAGE!—PLAN OF
SENDING UNMARRIED GRADUATES TO JAPAN—
THE SECRET OF JAPAN’S GREATNESS—ART,
ASIAN AND EUROPEAN—ART AND UTILITY—
STYLES OF DRESS—THE FOOD QUESTION AND
POVERTY.
[Shri Priya Nath Sinha]
It was about two years after the new Math had been
constructed and while all the Swamis were living
there that I came one morning to pay a visit to my
Guru. Seeing me, Swamiji smiled and after inquiring
of my welfare etc., said, “You are going to stay
today, are you not?” “Certainly”, I said, and after
various inquiries I asked, “Well, Mahârâj, what is
your idea of educating our boys?”
Swamiji: Guru-griha-vâsa—living with the Guru.
Myself:—How?
Swamiji:—In the same way as of old. But with this
education has to be combined with modern Western
science. Both these are necessary.
Myself:—Why, what is the defect in the present university
system?
Swamiji:—It is almost wholly one of defects. Why, it
is nothing but a perfect machine for turning out
clerks. I would even thank my stars if that were all.
But no! See how men are becoming destitute of
Shraddhâ and faith. They assert that the Gita is
only an interpolation, and that the Vedas are but
rustic songs! They like to master every detail concerning
things and nations outside of India, but if
you ask them, they do not know even the names of
their own forefathers up to the seventh generation,
not to speak of the fourteenth!
Myself:—But what does that matter? What if they
do not know the names of their forefathers?
Swamiji:—Don’t think so. A nation that has no history
of its own has nothing in this world. Do you believe
that one who has such faith and pride as to
feel, “I come of noble descent”, can ever turn out to
be bad? How could that be? That faith in himself
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 9

would curb his actions and feelings, so much so
that he would rather die than commit wrong. So a
national history keeps a nation well-restrained and
does not allow it to sink so low. Oh, I know you will
say, “But we have not such a history!” No, there is
not any, according to those who think like you. Neither
is there any, according to your big university
scholars; and so also think those who, having travelled
through the West in one great rush, come
back dressed in European style and assert, “We
have nothing, we are barbarians.” Of course, we
have no history exactly like that of other countries.
Suppose we take rice, and the Englishmen do not.
Would you for that reason imagine that they all die
of starvation, and are going to be exterminated?
They live quite well on what they can easily procure
or produce in their own country and what is
suited to them. Similarly, we have our own history
exactly as it ought to have been for us. Will that history
be made extinct by shutting your eyes and
crying, “Alas! we have no history!” Those who have
eyes to see, find a luminous history there, and on
the strength of that they know the nation is still
alive. But that history has to be rewritten. It should
be restated and suited to the understanding and
ways of thinking, which our men have acquired in
the present age, through Western education.
Myself:—How has that to be done?
Swamiji:—That is too big a subject for a talk now.
However, to bring that about, the old institution of
“living with the Guru” and similar systems of imparting
education are needed. What we want are
Western science coupled with Vedanta, Brahmacharya
as the guiding motto, and also Shraddhâ
and faith in one’s own self. Another thing that we
want is the abolition of that system which aims at
educating our boys in the same manner as that of
the man who battered his ass, being advised that it
could thereby be turned into a horse.
Myself:—What do you mean by that?
Swamiji:—You see, no one can teach anybody. The
teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is
teaching. Thus Vedanta says that within man is all
knowledge—even in a boy it is so—and it requires
only an awakening, and that much is the work of a
teacher. We have to do only so much for the boys
that they may learn to apply their own intellect to
the proper use of their hands, legs, ears, eyes, etc.,
and finally everything will become easy. But the
root is religion. Religion is as the rice, and everything
else, like the curries. Taking only curries
causes indigestion, and so is the case with taking
rice alone. Our pedagogues are making parrots of
our boys and ruining their brains by cramming a
lot of subjects into them. Looking from one standpoint,
you should rather be grateful to the
10 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Viceroy* for his proposal of reforming the university
system, which means practically abolishing
higher education; the country will, at least, feel
some relief by having breathing time. Goodness
gracious! what a fuss and fury about graduating,
and after a few days all cooled down! And after all
that, what is it they learn but that what religion
and customs we have are all bad, and what the
Westerners have are all good! At last, they cannot
keep the wolf from the door! What does it matter if
this higher education remains or goes? It would be
better if the people got a little technical education,
so that they might find work and earn their bread,
instead of dawdling about and crying for service.
Myself:—Yes, the Marwaris are wiser, since they do
not accept service and most of them engage themselves
in some trade.
Swamiji:—Nonsense! They are on the way to bringing
ruin on the country. They have little understanding
of their own interests. You are much
better, because you have more of an eye towards
manufactures. If the money that they lay out in
their business and with which they make only a
small percentage of profit were utilised in conducting
a few factories and workshops, instead of filling
the pockets of Europeans by letting them reap the
benefit of most of the transactions, then it would
not only conduce to the well-being of the country
but bring by far the greater amount of profit to
them, as well. It is only the Cabulis who do not care
for service—the spirit of independence is in their
very bone and marrow. Propose to anyone of them
to take service, and you will see what follows!
Myself:—Well, Maharaj, in case higher education is
abolished, will not the men become as stupid as
cows, as they were before?
Swamiji:—What nonsense! Can ever a lion become
a jackal? What do you mean? Is it ever possible for
the sons of the land that has nourished the whole
world with knowledge from time immemorial to
turn as stupid as cows, because of the abolition of
higher education by Lord Curzon?
-Swami Vivekananda
Source: Swami Vivekananda’s Works
1. These Conversations and Dialogues are translated
from the contributions of Disciples to the Udbodhan,
the Bengali organ of the Ramakrishna
Mission.
* Lord Curzon, who took steps to raise the standard
of university education so high, as to make it
very expensive and hence almost inaccessible to
boys of the middle classes.

N.R. Narayana Murthy, Founder-Chairman INFOSYS on Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Significance of
Bhavan in the Life
of Our Nation
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has fulfilled a very important
role in the cultural vitalization of the country. The
need of the day is for our youngsters to appreciate all
the good things that India has. Our culture, our language,
our dance, our music, our compassion, our
family values. These are all extraordinary values. And
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan through its programmes has
been able to communicate to our youngsters not just
in India, but in New York, in London and in many other
cities as well.
Secondly, I think Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has played a
very important role in communicating to the society
the importance of inclusive prosperity. That is where
the efforts of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in opening its
schools for slum children, in providing opportunities
to citizens at the bottom of the pyramid, in providing
high quality education become extremely important.
The third thing is the efforts of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
in enhancing the quality of governance in the
country by impressing on the people the need for following
the modern ideas combined very judiciously
with the ideas that this great country has brought to
the fore through its 4000+ years of history. Therefore I
would say that Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has been extremely
successful in fulfilling a very important role in
revitalizing the cultural heritage of India.
For the first time in the last 300 years, India has become
an important player in the global political and
economic activities. We have been offered the high
table in most multilateral platforms. Therefore it is extremely
important for our country to communicate
the heritage of India, to communicate wonderful cultural
aspects of India, the extraordinary history of this
country and the wonderful epics our country has produced
to a larger audience. And I think this is a responsibility
that only a well-oiled organization like
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan can perform.
The need of the day is to strengthen our moral fibre.
Somehow over the last 25-30 years our moral fibre has
become weaker and more weaker. The ethics of public
governance have received the backseat. Thanks to the
efforts of an extraordinary institution like Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, we now have an opportunity to bring
those values to the front burner.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan transcends the barriers of
language, caste, religion. It promotes the great values
of our culture and our heritage. Therefore I believe
that it is extremely important for Infosys Foundation
to continue to work with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to
bring solace to people at the bottom of the pyramid as
well as to bring the rural and urban folks together by a
cultural canvas that binds us together.
-N.R. Narayana Murthy, a Visionary, Philanthropist, and
World Renowned Entrepreneur is the Founder-Chairman
of Infosys, a global software consulting company
founded in 1981 in Bangalore, India. Narayana Murthy
articulated, designed and implemented the Global Delivery
Model which has become the foundation for the success
in IT services outsourcing from India. He has led
key corporate governance initiatives in India and has
been an IT advisor to several Asian countries. He serves
on the boards of HSBC, Ford Foundation and the UN
Foundation, member of the Unilever board, Wharton
School; Indian School of Business, Hyderabad; Rhodes
Trust, and International Institute of Information Technology,
Bangalore.
Narayana Murthy has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan
by the Government of India, the Legion of Honor
by the Government of France, and the CBE by the British
government. He is the first Indian winner of the Ernst &
Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award and the
Max Schmidheiny Liberty prize, and has appeared in the
rankings of businessmen and innovators published by
India Today, Business Standard, Forbes, Business Week,
Time, CNN, Fortune, and Financial Times. He is also a
Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering
and a foreign member of the US National Academy of
Engineering.
Part of a series of opinion of
leaders about BHAVAN’S Work
in various walks of life.
Extracts from extempore
comments by Narayana Murthy,
Founder-Chairman INFOSYS
made on the significance of
BHAVAN in the life of our
nation.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 11

Census Stats on
Punjabis, Hindus, Sikhs
12 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Gurudawara Sahib Glenwood
Gurudawara Sahib
Glenwood from inside
Indian crowd
Its official—Punjabi is the fastest growing language in
Australia, Hinduism is the fastest growing religion, and
Sikhism is among the top 20 religions practiced in the
country, according to the census figures released by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) a few days ago.
While there were only 23,164 Punjabi speakers in Australia
in 2006, that number has grown by 207% over
five years, with 71,230 people stating Punjabi as their
mother language in 2011. Punjabi is now listed among
the top 20 languages spoken in Australia (coming in at
number 13), as 0.3% of the Australian population
speaks the language. Hindi is included in the top 10
languages, with 111,351 Hindi speakers in Australia,
representing 0.5% of the entire population.
Victoria seems to be preferred by Indians and Punjabis
alike, with 2.1% of the state population being Indian
born—a growth of 110% over the last five years.
For the first time ever, the population of Punjabis in
Melbourne has outnumbered that of Sydney, with over
31,000 Punjabi speakers residing in Victoria and 21,704
Punjabis in New South Wales. Queensland has just
under 9,500 Punjabis whereas South Australia and
Western Australia are home to 5,000 Punjabis each.
More than 80% of Punjabi speakers are first generation
migrants who were born in India, whilst 12.5% were
born in Australia, presumably children of Punjabi migrants.
Whilst a handful of Australian Punjabis were
born in quaint countries like Norway, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Zimbabwe, etc, and 15 even declared an aboriginal status,
only 663 Punjabi speakers of Australia were born
in Pakistan. It is also important to note that 1.4% of
the total Australian population was born in India.
Although Punjabis have been migrating to Australia
since the 19th century, they’ve only begun to arrive in
large numbers over the last ten years. Historically,
British Indians formed 0.1% of all migrants entering
Australia in the year 1911, and until the 1970s, only a
handful of Indians / Punjabis ventured their way to the
lucky country. But this was a mere trickle, since the
first year that a hundred or more Punjabis came to
Australia was 1975, and the first year that 1000 or more

Hindu Temple
at Helensburgh
Punjabis arrived in Australia was as recently as 2003!
But ever since, there has been a steady wave of Punjabi
arrivals, peaking sharply in 2008, when 12,630 left
the land of the five rivers to come to the land down
under. It is worth noting that the population of Indians
in Australia has doubled in a matter of five years, the
largest component of which is from Punjab, as the census
figures show that 37,389 Punjabi speakers have arrived
in Australia between 2006 and 2009 alone!
Hinduism is now the fastest growing religion of Australia,
with 275,534 people or 1.3% of the entire population
stating that they are Hindus. Overall,
Christianity is the dominant faith in the country, with
61.1% following it, and people believing in “no religion”
are the second most numerous group—22.3% of
Australians claim to have no association with any religion
or faith. Buddhism comes in at third place, with
2.5% Australians following it, Islam is fourth (2.2%)
and Hinduism fifth (1.3%).
Sikhism is predominant religion among Punjabi speakers
of Australia, with 81% Punjabis (or 57,641 people)
stating they are Sikhs. Hinduism comes second, as
13.3% Punjabis are Hindus, and Islam comes in third,
with 1.4%. Sikhism is now included in the top 20 religions
practiced in Australia, coming in at number 16.
A total of 72,296 people in Australia practice Sikhism,
which equates to 0.3% of the country’s population.
There are more Sikhs in Victoria than in NSW and interestingly,
Victoria is the only state in which Punjabi
speakers outnumber the Sikh population. In all other
states, there are more Sikhs than the number of Punjabi
speakers.
Looking at the other data published by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it seems plainly obvious
that the recent surge in Indian, especially Punjabi ar-
Sydney Murugan Temple
rival into Australia, is directly attributable to the presence
of international students here. The most common
age for Punjabis in Australia, both male and
female, is 25-29 years. Only 37% of Australian Punjabis
are citizens of the country, whereas 60% are not; only
8% Punjabis own their houses outright, 27% are paying
a mortgage, but nearly half of them, 45%, live in rented
houses. These statistics make a striking contrast with
the national average for Australia. Even more stark is
the fact that 27% of Australian Punjabi women don’t
earn any income, which again, is way above the national
Australian average. Yet, the overall household
income of Punjabi households reflects the national average
of $1500-$1999 per week.
All of the above figures were based on the census carried
out by ABS on August 9, 2011, preliminary results
of which were released in June 2012. The total population
of Australia, which was deemed to be 21.5 million
on that day last year, has already increased by 1.1 million,
to 22.6 million in June this year. Considering that,
the number of Punjabi speakers would already have
grown close to 80,000 and other figures can be projected
accordingly. To get a detailed snapshot of Punjabi
speakers in the country, visit
www.sbs.com.au/punjabi and to get similar information
about any other language or parameter, visit
www.sbs.com.au/census
Manpreet K Singh is the Executive Producer of SBS
Radio’s Punjabi program. Manpreet was born and
educated in India. She completed a post-graduate degree
in Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations.
Prior to her arrival in
Australia, she was a columnist
and feature-writer for the Indian
Express daily newspaper
and also worked for the national
television network, Doordarshan.
She joined SBS
Melbourne in 1993. Her main
aim is to encourage listener
participation.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 13

Australia-India Literatures
International Forum
The Australia-India Literatures International Forum
(AILIF), an initiative to foster literary ties between
India and Australia in an area that has not received adequate
attention in either of their creative-cultural
imaginaries, in its efforts to further its aim has
brought together writers from the regional languages
of India with Australian Indigenous and Indo-Australian
writers. To generate interest in their respective
traditions and enable close interaction and collaboration
between them, Writing and Society Research Centre,
School of Humanities and Communication Arts,
University of Western Sydney invites people to AILIF
program.
University of Western Sydney in its official program for
starting the event welcomed Indian and Australian
writers and academics in the presence of Arun K Goel,
Consul General of India in Sydney and Indian community
representatives at its Parramatta (South) Campus
on 3 September 2012. In the Indian community representatives
Gambhir Watts, President Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan Australia graced the event with his presence.
Girish Karnad, famous contemporary writer, playwright,
screenwriter, actor, movie director and winner
of Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred
in India represented Indian writers while
Nicholas Jose, Alexis Wright, Ivor Indyk and Vijay
Mishra were among Australian writers and academics.
The AILIF program on 4-6 September 2012 at State Library
of New South Wales is sure to help regional writers
of India along with indigenous and multicultural
writers of Australia to explore how linguistic diversity,
vernacular cosmopolitanism, critical localism, and
global regimes of translation and reception effect literature
and its dissemination. The Australia-India Literatures
International Forum brings together acclaimed
writers and publishers hoping to be one of the largest
India-Australia literary exchanges to be held between
the two countries.
Indian Participants
Girish Karnad: winner of the Padma
Bhushan and the Padma Shree, the National
Awards of India, pioneered the
exploration of Indian myths, folklore
and history on modern Indian stage
and reintroduced traditional techniques
such as music, dance and mime.
His plays, Yayati, Tughlaq, Hayavadana,
Agni Mattu Male, Taledanda and Nagamandala revolutionised
Indian theatre.
14 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Mahmood Farooqui: a writer, artist and director is the
author of Besieged: Voices from Delhi 1857.
CS Lakshmi: a Tamil feminist writer is
an independent researcher in women’s
studies and founded SPARROW: Sound
and Picture Archives for Research on
Women, a non-governmental organization
in 1988.
Gogu Shyamala: a Dalit feminist and Telangana activist,
writes in Telugu about life in rural Andhra
Pradesh.
Khynpam Sing Nongkynrih: writes poems and short
fiction in Khasi and English.
Mamang Dai: recipient of the Padma
Shree, the fourth highest civilian
award of India in 2011 has written
short stories, prose and poems on the
culture and history of Arunachal
Pradesh.
Mita Kapur: author of The F-Word is the founder-CEO
of Siyahi, India’s leading literary consultancy and curates
Bookaroo and Mountain Echoes Literature Festival
in Bhutan annually.
NS Madhavan: a leading writer of contemporary
Malayalam literature has produced numerous short
stories, novels, essays, plays and football columns.
His latest novel, Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal
(Litanies of Dutch Battery 2003) was awarded the
Hindu Literary Prize in 2011.
Prabodh Parikh: a poet, short fiction writer, visual
artist, has published his book of poems, Kaunsman,
(Between Parentheses/In Brackets).
R Sivapriya: is Managing Editor, Classics and Translations,
with Penguin Books India.
Uday Prakash: one of contemporary
Hindi literature’s most original and audacious
voices is an eminent scholar, poet,
essayist, journalist, translator and short
story writer. He is the recipient of the
2010 Sahitya Akademi Award and 2009
SAARC Literary Award.
Sharankumar Limbale: is a Marathi Dalit activist,
writer, editor and critic.

Australian Participants
Ivor Indyk: writes essays on many aspects of Australian
literature, art, architecture.
Michelle de Kretser: writer of novels; The Rose
Grower, The Hamilton Case and The Lost Dog has has
won prizes, Encore Award and the Commonwealth
Writers Prize.
Alexis Wright: a novelist with her first novel, Plains of
Promise, published in France as Les Plaines de L’Espoir.
Peter Minter: a poet, editor and scholar with collections
of poetry, Rhythm in a Dorsal Fin, blue grass and
Empty Texas winning The Age Poetry Book of the Year.
Nicholas Jose: a publisher of novels, The Red Thread,
Original Face (2005), short stories, essays etc.
Judith Beveridge: a poet and editor of books, The Domesticity
of Giraffes, Accidental Grace and Wolf Notes.
Inez Baranay: a writer with books, Neem Dreams,
With the Tiger and Sun Square Moon.
Ali Cobby Eckermann: a writer of verse novels, His
Father’s Eyes and Ruby Moonlight.
Michael Wilding: a writer, editor, publisher of many
novels and short stories.
Suneeta Peres da Costa: an Australian
writer of Goan heritage has written novel,
Homework and stories, prose poems,
plays and essays.
Michelle Cahill: a Goan-Anglo-Australian poet and text
prose writer.
Roanna Gonsalves: a short-story, documentary
play writer and cultural policy
commentator with her work published
and performed in India and Australia.
Subhash Jaireth: a publisher of books of poetry:
Yashodhara: Six Seasons without You, Unfinished
Poems for Your Violin and Before the Bullet Hit Me (in
Hindi)
Christopher Raja: has to his credit the play, The First
Garden, based on the life of Olive Pink.
Sharon Rundle: a writer, editor and academic coedited
Indo-Aus books: Alien Shores (2012) and Fear
Factor Terror Incognito.
Suneeta Jolie Amin: has to her credit, Dancing to the
Flute, her first novel set in India and based on the raag
structure.
Paul Sharrad: has research interests in Third-World
cum Post-Colonial literatures, cross-cultural ventures
in literature, canon formation, literary reflections of
the shaping forces of contemporary post-colonial cultural
politics and its engagement with new (and old)
imperialisms.
Aashish Kaul: has to his credit fiction and essays published
in the United States and Australia.
Bem Le Hunte: author of several short
stories and three novels has published,
The Seduction of Silence and There,
Where the Pepper Grows.
Sudesh Mishra: a poet, playwright, short fiction writer
and academic is the author of four books of poems.
Vijay Mishra: an author of more than 60 refereed articles
and book chapters has written on the diasporic
imaginary and multicultural theory, Bollywood cinema
and Salman Rushdie.
PM Newton: has to her credit her first book, The Old
School, the Sisters in Crime Readers Choice Award
and joint winner of the 2011 Asher Award.
Malcolm Knox: a fiction writer with work including,
The Life, Jamaica, A Private Man and Summerland and
numerous non-fiction works on cricket.
Kabita Dhara: a director and publisher at a publishing
house that specialises in fiction from India and non-fiction
that engages with the Australia-India relationship.
Kunal Sharma: has published short fiction and has
won awards for his creative and critical writing.
Christopher Cyrill: a novelist, short story writer, playwright
and poet is author of Hymns for the Drowning
and The Ganges and Its Tributaries.
Source: http://www.uws.edu.au
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 15

Timeless Appeal
A Simple Man from India Continues to Influence the World
What is it about Gandhi that still fascinates the world?
Sixty-three years after his death, books still pour out at
regular intervals exploring his life and personality. People
are supposed to be shocked by revelations about his
life. But as always we find that there is nothing any one
can expose about Gandhi which he has not already put
down in writing with brutal honesty. In terms of frankness
about private life, Mahatma Gandhi breached the
outer limits of possibility. Yet if the President of the
United States, Barack Obama, wants him as his dinner
guest—hoping of course that that is not one of Gandhi’s
fast days or worse yet one of his silent days, then Gandhiji
must have 21st century appeal. He was chosen as
one of the three most influential persons by TIME magazine
on its 20th century issue along with former President
of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and
physicist Albert Einstein. He must have something timeless
in his appeal.
Of course what makes Gandhi perpetually relevant is his
ability to make people fearless in the presence of superior
force. Most importantly, he did this for men and
women equally thus removing the very idea that bravery
or fearlessness were intrinsically male endowments.
He was the first major political leader to treat women
equally as men. He was a pioneer of the Gender Revolution.
In Tahrir Square or in Tunis, the people who defied
the Army were Gandhi’s students. We also saw for the
first time women coming out with men practising the
Gandhian methods of struggle.
The greatest thing he did was to make people fearless
against the forces of power and authority. He taught ordinary
people not to fear armed adversaries. This lesson
has been learnt in Tahrir Square and in Tunis; it is
still being used in Bahrain and Yemen and even during
the bloody confrontations in Syria. Gandhi armed the
unarmed masses with courage. It does not matter
whether the oppressed are larger in number than their
oppressors or whether they are different people. The
16 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
A man born in the middle of
the 19th century, at the
height of the Victorian Era,
still has relevance a centuryand-a-half
later. The secret
has to be his simple and
transparent humanity.
poor and oppressed are always many and their oppressors
are always few. It was this lesson that Martin
Luther King Jr. absorbed from his study of Gandhi’s
works and deeds. In this context, the African-Americans
were a minority in the USA. Faced not so much with
alien power but fellow Americans in whose presence the
Black people felt deprived and alien, he used his Christian
faith and Gandhian techniques of unarmed and
peaceful struggle to shame those who wielded power
and overstepped human limits.
I well recall those summers in the early 1960s, while I
was in America as a student on the East Coast and a recent
graduate working on the West Coast, how patiently
the civil rights marchers faced the highway patrols and
the National Guard arraigned against them. It was when
the adversary saw their wish to resist change they inflicted
damage and often that damage was on their own
neighbours and fellow citizens. This was what shamed
them. Satyagraha—the insistence on truth—works by
revealing to the oppressor the truth of his situation

“We in South Africa
owe much to the
presence of Gandhi in
our midst for 21 years.
His influence was felt in
our freedom struggles
throughout the African
continent for a good part
of the 20th century. He
greatly inspired the
struggle in South Africa
led by the African
National Congress.”
—Nelson Mandela,
Former President
of South Africa
Source: MEA
“Mahatma Gandhi was
our torchbearer without
whose guidance the history
of our struggle for
freedom and national independence
would have
taken a different course.”
—Kenneth Kaunada
Former President of
Zambia
Source: MEA
“…I have always looked
to Mahatma Gandhi as an
inspiration because he
embodies the kind of
transformational change
that can be made when
ordinary people come together
to do extraordinary
things. That is why
his portrait hangs in my
Senate office…”
—Barack Obama
President of the United
States —In an interview
to India Abroad
“Gandhi was probably
the first person in history
to lift the love ethic of
Jesus above mere interaction
between individuals
to a powerful and
effective social force...”
—In his Nobel Peace
Prize Acceptance Speech
—Martin Luther King Jr
Prominent leader in
the African-American
Civil Rights Movement
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 17

Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi on Time
Magazine Cover
Mahatma Gandhi stamp
which is exposed by the non-resistance of the oppressed.
It was this demonstration which so moved Lyndon
B. Johnson, a Texas Senator, who became President
after John Kennedy’s death, that he had to give up his
past prejudices and join hands with the Civil Rights
Movement to bring justice to the Black people. If Barrack
Obama is President of USA today it is because a
Texas-born President was moved to say on national television,
“we shall overcome”.
The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa was
never fully non-violent but when the final settlement
came it was Nelson Mandela’s long reflections in
Robben Island which brought him to the path of
peaceful reconciliation for constructing post-
18 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
apartheid South Africa. The armed struggle that the
African National Congress (ANC) had waged had its
own limits against a powerful white minority bolstered
by the exigencies of the Cold War. But again when the
end came, it was the world outside South Africa which
joined in many forms of boycott and peaceful demonstrations
against the South African regime—the peaceful
force of the many round the world which turned
the tide. By the 1980s, the Civil Rights Movement in
America had resulted in a powerful, tough small presence
of Black legislators which compelled the US Congress
to initiate peaceful action against apartheid.
Thus Mandela benefited from Gandhi via Martin
Luther King Jr. and ANC’s struggle became a global
peaceful struggle against apartheid.

That said, there are many other aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy
and lifestyle which has widespread appeal to
particular groups of people. His wish to be frugal in his
demands on the natural ecosystem, in his food and
clothing and other aspects of daily life has attracted
much admiration.
He has become a hero for the Green Movement. There
are those who are persuaded by his vegetarianism either
for reasons of avoiding harm to animals or just for
health reasons. Gandhi is a lifestyle statement for
many today.
A man born in the middle of the 19th century, at the
height of the Victorian era, still has relevance a cen-
tury-and-a-half later. The secret has to be his simple
and transparent humanity. Gandhi is every person who
has ever suffered and fought back, who has needed
courage and found it within himself or herself. He is a
man for all times.
—Lord Meghnad Desai, is Emeritus Professor of
Economics at the London School of Economics.
His latest book is The Rediscovery of India (Penguin).
Source: India Perspectives, October 2011
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Aung San Suu Kyi
Lord Meghnad Desai
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 19

Low Salt Syndrome
There seems to be a sudden spurt in cases of low salt
syndrome being diagnosed inside the Intensive Care
Units in hospitals these days. Any unexplained illness,
especially coupled with delirium or coma, where the diagnosis
is not obvious, is labeled as Low Salt Syndrome!
The laboratory reports do oblige doctors in their efforts.
Admission to an Intensive Care Unit has become
sine qua non for any elderly patient getting admitted to
the hospital, irrespective of his/her disease.
More and more doctors seem to be treating the reports
rather than the patient and admissions to ICUs
are on the increase these days. The reasons for this
epidemic seem to be more than one. A recent American
study showed that 90% of the hospital profits (not
income) come from keeping dying patients in the ICU
for the last ten days of their final outward journey. The
leading medical journalist of New Zealand, Hillary Butler,
labelled the present scenario in modern medicine
as a Corporate Monstrosity. Ruth Richardson, a medical
historian, seems to agree with her view. All human
ills, in every field, not just in medicine, are the direct
fallout of Corporate Greed! There is a movement in Europe
against Wall Street Greed, but, in effect, it is not
just the Wall Street; greed exists across the board in
the corporate world.
An experienced American physician, Ken Murray, in a
candid article in Zocalo Public Square, an online magazine
of ideas, exposed what doctors do when the
chips are down for themselves: Almost all medical
professionals have seen what we call futile care being
performed on people. That’s when doctors bring the
cutting edge of technology to bear on a grievously ill
person near the end of life.
The patient will get cut open, perforated with tubes,
hooked up to machines, and assaulted with drugs. All
of this occurs in the Intensive Care Unit at a cost of
tens of thousands of dollars a day. What it buys is misery
we would not inflict on a terrorist. I cannot count
the number of times fellow physicians have told me, in
20 | Bhavan Australia | July 2012
(Hyponatraemia)
words that vary only slightly, “Promise me if you find
me like this that you’ll kill me.” With the corporatisation
of hospitals there is pressure on the hapless doctors
to earn more and more to be economically viable.
“For a man with a hammer in the hand and wanting to
use it, everything in this world looks like a nail needing
hammering”, was the considered opinion of Mark
Twain. These coupled with routine poly-pharmacy
being practised on every patient, especially in the
geriatric age group, makes it possible that the adverse
drug reactions and drug interactions add to the burden
of low salt syndrome in this age group. Drugs as
the cause of hyponatremia should be kept in mind in
every patient proved otherwise. The other causes of
hyponatraemia are rather uncommon except in patients
in heart failure.
In recent studies in the US, it was clearly shown that
unless an ICU has round the clock unless specialist intensivist
support, mortality and morbidity does not
come down with any ICU. The present interest in
teleintensivist support for ICUs has been shown to
save many lives compared to the conventional ICUs.
So simply getting patients inside an ICU where there is
no round the clock specialist intensivist cover, the
mortality could be more due to various other disadvantages
of ICU which are beyond the purview of the
article. The Commonwealth Fund and Rand Europe announced
this week that the United States ranks last
among developed countries in “mortality amenable to
health care”.
A study by Banks, Marmot, and Oldfield showed that,
“by most measures, people in the highest one-third of
income in the United States have outcomes similar to
those in the lowest one-third in the United Kingdom—
the rich in the United States, having unfettered access
to expensive, high-tech, but fragmented and depersonalised
care, are not better off than the poor in a
country that has a comprehensive system for providing
access to integrated, personalised, prioritised

care.” It is a pity that we in India ape the American
system one hundred per cent in our fee for service
hospitals Unless this changes for good I do not see
any fall in Low Salt Syndrome incidence which seems
to be going up exponentially.
Once the syndrome settles down it is not easy to bring
the patient back to his former state of health; mortality
could be quite significant in this group! Since the
recent increase is almost certainly drug induced (iatrogenic),
thanks to poly-pharmacy, to keep that possibility
in mind might help patient recovery faster.
Poly-pharmacy has NO scientific basis at all. What
studies of drugs that we depend on, the faulty RCTs,
have been done for a single drug under ideal conditions
which have very little value for real life extrapolation.
But poly-pharmacy, multiple drugs given
together in one patient, has no science base at all. Despite
all that, it is the usual practice these days. Each
sub-specialist adds his choice of drugs and the old
man/woman goes round in circles to end up with double
digit tablets and other potions! Adverse Drug Reactions
here are the rule and not an exception. Let me
list all the drugs, most of them commonly used daily,
which have the potential to precipitate Low Salt Syndrome.
Diuretics, mostly thiazides, ACE inhibitors like
captopril, enalapril, perindropril, Selective Serotonin
Receptor Uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), Anti-epileptics,
NSAIDs (pain killers), Hormone analogues like desmopressin
and oxytocin, Monoamineoxidase inhibitors as
antidepressants, dozapine, carbomezapine, anti-diabetics
like sulphanylureas, very commonly used proton
pump inhibitors, many of the cancer
chemotherapeutics, hypnotics like temazepam, Cox2
inhibitors (dangerous pain killers), and, of course,
street drugs like ecstasy etc. are all capable of precipitating
Low Salt Syndrome!
This long list has only one street drug. An extensive
study by Gary Null and his colleagues in the US
showed that while street drugs killed a total of 10,000
Americans in a year the therapeutic licensed drugs in
the same year killed around 400,000 and got another
79 million hospitalised for ADRs! The authors’ comment
is very interesting. Those that peddle street
drugs and kill 10,000 a year are in jail, while we are respectable
in society!
In conclusion, one could safely say that while Low Salt
Syndrome is new and bothersome, if doctors kept the
possibility of ADR’s role in mind while prescribing drug
combinations (to the minimum), we could bring down
the incidence of this syndrome. It is also mandatory
for every doctor treating the syndrome to keep in mind
that the drug as the major cause for the syndrome for
better outcomes. Mortality and morbidity could be
brought down much faster. It is also possible to keep
these patients out of the ICU for their own good.
“The physician should not treat the disease but the
patient who is suffering from it.” -Maimonides
B.M. Hegde, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPG, FACC, FAMS.
Padma Bhushan awardee 2010. Editor-in-chief, The
Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes; Chairman,
State Health Society’s Expert Committee, Govt.
of Bihar, Patna. Former Prof. Cardiology,
The Middlesex Hospital
Medical School, University of
London; Affiliate Prof. of Human
Health, Northern Colorado University;
Retd. Vice Chancellor,
Manipal University, Chairman,
Bhavan’s Mangalore Kendra.
Source: Bhavan’s Journal
February 29, 2012
July 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 21

22 | Bhavan Australia | July 2012
P.K. Warrier:
Ayurveda’s Sushruta
Padmabhushan Dr. P.K. Warrier is one of the senior
most practising physicians of the country today, who
is universally revered for his exceptionally compassionate
healing touch. He has just completed 91 years
of a most fruitful life.
The Indian traditional health care system of Ayurveda
has undergone tremendous changes in the past half a
century and it presently finds itself on the verge of a
global take off. This phenomenon owes to the role
played by Dr. Warrier.
Dr. P.K. Warrier is the Managing Trustee and Chief
Physician of the reputed Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala
(AVS), which is a 110 years old Charitable Trust committed
to the practice and propagation of Ayurveda
in its authentic form. Dr. P.K. Warrier built and raised
a multifaceted structure which is the present day
Arya Vaidya Sala. He took cues from his elder
brother, the late Dr. P.M. Varier, who was at the helm
for nine years. From 1953, Dr. Warrier continues to be
the Managing Trustee of AVS and he has been instrumental
in all the important steps of modernisation
and upgradation which has brought AVS to the forefront
of the national health care scenario.
More importantly, these steps had a direct impact on
events which enhanced the stature and capability of
Ayurveda on a pan-Indian scale. Today Dr. Warrier
continues to devote the whole forenoon period of
every day for the care of his patients. Then he
spends time with his Managers to guide them in matters
related to administration, drug production, research,
education and academic efforts. He also finds
time to get himself involved in general matters of social
relevance.

Dr. Warrier is recognised as a physician par excellence.
Scores of chronic patients from every strata of
the society and from every corner of the country and
abroad, who visit Kottakkal every day bear testimony
to his benign therapeutic skills.
Dr. Warrier and a retinue of able assistants make
every possible effort to provide them with solace,
armed with their total faith and confidence in the
healing capabilities of classical Ayurveda.
His compassion and erudition are in equal display
whether the patient before him is a high dignitary
from Delhi or a lowly commoner from a nearby village.
Apart from being a successful clinician, Dr. Warrier
has also made his indelible mark in other domains
which define the core competence of Ayurveda. In
spite of its essential philosophical content, Ayurveda
is mostly perceived now as a health care system. And
consequently, its vast armamentarium of herbal
based formulations defines its public face. And this is
one area where Dr. Warrier has prompted many significant
upgradation steps.
Almost all of the Ayurvedic formulations happen to
be not quite user-compliant in terms of their unsavoury
taste, cumbersome dosage factor and unwieldy
handling requirements. Recognising that a
quantum jump is required to render these very effective
classical formulations more amenable to modern
life style, he courageously initiated measures to convert
the bitter tasting kwathas to the form of tablet,
the greasy tailas to the form of gel and cream, the
sticky avalehas to the form of granule and the extrafine
bhasmas to the form of capsule.
The golden rule in all these innovative efforts was an
uncompromising insistence on maintaining fidelity to
the basic formula and to its dosage requirement.
The changes were only in the dosage presentation
form. It took time for the public, the practising physicians
and the regulators to accept these changes. But
Dr. Warrier was sure that unless such rational improvements
were made in the classical formulations, they
would ultimately vanish from usage.
Research is another area where he got himself involved
in a significant way. His personal involvement
in the cancer clinic at Kottakkal has given rise to the
development of a unique Ayurvedic package for deal-
Dr. P.K. Warrier is the Managing
Trustee and Chief
Physician of the reputed
Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala
(AVS), which is a 110 years
old Charitable Trust.
Dr. Warrier is recognised
as a physician par excellence.
Scores of chronic
patients from every strata of the society and from
every corner of the country and abroad, who visit
Kottakkal every day bear testimony to his benign
therapeutic skills.
He initiated measures to convert the bitter tasting
kwathas to the form of tablet, the greasy tailas
to the form of gel and cream, the sticky avalehas
to the form of granule and the extra-fine bhasmas
to the form of capsule.
His personal involvement in the cancer clinic at
Kottakkal has given rise to the development of a
unique Ayurvedic package for dealing with different
types of cancer.
Awards include the Padmashri and Padmabhushan
by the Govt. of India, the Dhanwantary award from
Mumbai, Doctorates from Calicut, Mahatma
Gandhi and Jamia Hamdard Universities, Dr.
Paulose Mar Gregorious award, Kerala Sahitya
Academy award, etc.
History will remember this versatile achiever not
only as a most sought after healer, but as a renaissance
personality who contributed significantly to
the growth of Ayurveda in modem times.
ing with different types of cancer. The data collected
from about 6000 patients are getting analysed.
The Centre for Medicinal Plants Research at Kottakkal,
which was inaugurated in 2003 by the then
President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has now been accredited
as a Centre of Excellence by the Dept. of Department
of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani,
Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). Several important
research programmes in collaboration with (Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR),
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of
Science and Technology (DST), AYUSH, etc. address
issues related to phytochemistry, botany, tissue culture,
etc. Other research programmes concerning for-
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 23

mulations and processes are in progress in association
with Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Manipal
Academy of Higher Education ( MAHE), Indian
Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur/IIT
KGP), and National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science
and Technology (NIIST).
Dr. Warrier has closely interacted with eminent researchers
like Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Dr. M.S.
Valiathan and Dr. R.A. Mashelkar while planning
these programmes. The five volume treatise “Indian
Medicinal Plants—A Compendium of 500 Species”,
which he co-authored, amply represents his dedication
to scientific research and documentation in
Ayurveda.
Ayurvedic drug manufacturing procedures are based
on principles and methods deeply rooted in traditional
practices. AVS started industrial level manufacturing
in the middle of the last century. It
necessitated the incorporation of the methods and
tools of modern technology. It was in 1967 that a
steam boiler was inaugurated at Kottakkal by the
then Central Health Minister, Dr. Sushila Nayyar.
From then, it was a continuous chain of upgradation
steps. The new AVS factory at Nanjangud in Karnataka
has some of the most modern pharma technology in
operation. Here again the objective of Dr. Warrier has
all along been not to deviate from the essentialities of
Ayurveda and yet to accept appropriate inputs from
industrial technology for equipping Ayurveda to meet
the demands of contemporary society.
24 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
His efforts for propagating the science of Ayurveda
are seen in the annual conduct of Seminars, competitions
and awards for Ayurvedic students, publication
of a variety of professional books and financial support
to the Ayurveda College at Kottakkal by AVS. He
is a widely travelled professional taking the message
of Ayurveda to both the hemispheres of the globe.
He was the President of the Delhi based All India
Ayurvedic Congress on two occasions. Many awards
and recognition include the Padmashri and Padmabhushan
by the Govt. of India, the Dhanwantary award
from Mumbai, Doctorates from Calicut, Mahatma
Gandhi and Jamia Hamdard Universities, Dr. Paulose
Mar Gregorious award, Kerala Sahitya Academy
award, etc.
History will remember this versatile achiever not
only as a most sought after healer, but as a renaissance
personality who contributed significantly to
the growth of Ayurveda in modern times as well as
for his progressive ideas which enabled him to enhance
the credibility and acceptability of this truly
Indian traditional knowledge base by the pragmatic
incorporation of inputs from other parallel streams
of knowledge.
Dr T.S. Muraleedharan, Chief (Technical Services),
Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, Kerala, India
Source: Bhavan’s Journal, August 15, 2012

Crucified by a
Terrorist Justice
System
Jesus, born of humble parents belonging to a carpenter
family in Bethlehem, rose as a glorious phenomenon
to be a world wonder of spiritual temporal
revolution against an evil imperial establishment and
corrupt priestly order. Judas, his bribable disciple,
betrayed his master for a few pieces of silver. Every
barbarity of those terrorist, treacherous days exists,
in a magnified malignancy, to victimise have not humanity
and guillotine every radical humanist and
radical activist.
His magnificent yet militant teaching was a lofty testament
of egalitarian liberation of all mankind from obscurantist
faith, authoritarian politics, theological
orthodoxy and big business freebooting.
The ring of his message was a de facto revolt against
Roman imperialism, absolutist injustice and priestproud
Godism. He stood for a higher culture of sacred,
sublime, compassionate ethos and divinity of humanity,
free from crass, classmired materialism and gross,
greedy, grabby riches.
This rare man of Nazareth resisted Jewish ecclesiastical
domination, opposed the Cain-Abel discrimination
and demanded, in God’s name socio-economic Justice.
This is the essence of Jesus Jurisprudence of human
dignity, inner divinity and fraternal obligation to be the
‘keeper’ of every brother in distress the world over.
Such a vision of a cosmos without chaos, a haven of
happy harmony, was his luminous gospel painted, with
the power of commandments, as the Kingdom of Heaven.
Himself a carpenter’s son,
Jesus lived a sagely, simple life
and chose his disciples from the
weaker sector of society like fishermen
and indigents. He symbolised a
revolutionary change in the theological,
temporal establishment and advocated
social justice and divinity, dignity
and equity in the social order. Such a transformation
was the Truth of the Kingdom of
Heaven which, certainly, was a grave challenge
to the Roman Empire, Jewish priestocracy
and arbitrary justice system.
H.G. Wells observes: “This doctrine of the Kingdom
of Heaven, which was the main teaching of
Jesus, is certainly one of the most revolutionary
doctrines that ever stirred and changed human
thought. Small wonder if, the world of that time
(and of our time, if I may add) failed to grasp its full significance,
and recoiled in dismay from even a half apprehension
of its tremendous challenges to the
established habits and institutions of mankind”.
Jesus, the glorious rebel, proclaimed the reality of a
universal moral order, called it the Kingdom of Heaven
and told the people of the earth the Kingdom of God is
within you. He outraged the Jewish temple-going hypocrites
who did business inside the temples and
shrines making them markets. He drove them out with
rare daring. Now, before our eyes, our temples and
churches are big business centres. What an iron curtain
there was between the Kingdom of Human and
the Empire-cum-Jewish Priest Power.
Jesus symbolised a revolutionary
change in the theological temporal
establishment and advocated
social justice and dignity.
H.G. Wells again: “For the doctrine of the Kingdom of
Heaven, as Jesus seems to have preached it, was no
less than a bold and uncompromising demand for a
complete change and cleansing of the life of our struggling
race, an utter cleansing, without and within.”
Jesus, to the anger of the proprietariat, resisted the
commercialisation of God and commoditisation of
man. Big temples, great churches, godmen, bishops,
mullahs and acharyas are a mundane part of the capitalist
establishment and anti-Jesus in spirit. Our Constitution
mandates equality, secularity and economic
democracy. What a marvel that Jesus preached, ages
before, that God was equal in his favours like the sun.
He was a raging egalitarian, an invisible socialist, an
economic democrat. Let me briefly cite his parables
and preachments in proof.
“In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus cast
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 25

Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer
Jesus proclaimed the reality of a
universal moral order, called it
the Kingdom of Heaven and
told the people the Kingdom of
God is within you.
scorn upon that natural tendency we all obey, to glorify
our own people and to minimise the righteousness
of other creeds and other races. In the parable of the
labourers he thrust aside the obstinate claim of the
Jews to have a sort of first mortgage upon God. All
whom God takes into the kingdom, he taught, God
serves alike; there is no distinction in his treatment,
because there is no measure to his bounty.
From all, moreover, as the parable of the buried talent
witnesses, and as the incident of the widow’s mite enforces,
he demands the utmost. “There are no privileges,
no rebates, and no excuses in the kingdom of
Heaven”. H.G. Wells has, in his Outline of History presented
these propositions. Abolition of poverty is a
socialist feature of societal structure. To wipe every
tear from every eye afflicted by grief you need a social
transformation and economic regeneration, special
concern for women and children and a rage against
robbers of the people’s resources. This is the majesty
and humanity of true spirituality which, alas, was absent
during the era of Emperor Tiberius.
It was his imperial court, presided over by Pontius Pilate,
which decreed, with perverse judicial power,
under pressure from the Jurish priesthood and in exercise
of State authority that Jesus, the innocent, who
argued for the Kingdom of Heaven, (not for the Roman
Emperor), be put on the Cross and be executed.
26 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Our Constitution mandates
equality, secularity and
economic democracy.
In contrast, the same Judge sitting on the imperious
bench, set free the notorious robber Barabbas. Even
today innocence suffers State punishment and robbery
rides the State as power incorporated. Barabbas
jurisprudence is current coin even today. Jesus Christ
spoke for all time and all mankind when he, bedrocked
on the spiritual philosophy of Kingdom of God, told
the court this truth of human rights and social justice.
His advocacy of humanist culture as the ultimate
value as against obscurantist godism is evident from
the admonition that Sabbath is for man and not man
for Sabbath. His disciples included Judas, a spy who
could be bought for a few pieces of silver. He betrayed
his master and so Jesus was brought to the court of
Pontius Pilate who found him ‘not guilty’.
When treason was the charge and the Jewish priestly
order was exposed by the accused Jesus there was
terrific pressure on the judge to sentence Jesus,
notwithstanding his innocence. So the court ordered
his execution by crucifixion. At the same time, Barabbas
whose trial for robbery ended in a finding of guilt
but an unruly crowd demanded that he be set free
was let off.
This contradiction perhaps survives even now where
supremely selfless martyrs, devoted to people’s
causes are sentenced to death or long imprisonment
while influential criminals, guilty of terrorist inhumanity
and global exploitation, escape the law and continue
their lawless operation.
Do read this anonymous poem.
The law locks up both man
and woman
Who steals the goose from off
the common
But lets the greater felon loose
Who steals the common from the goose
Jesus advocated the unity and fraternity of humanity
like the doctrine of advaita which Adi Sankara propagated
as an upanishadic fundamental. The tragic but
the most profound episode we come across about
Jesus on the Cross may be instructive in this context.
“While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother
and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with
him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and
thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with
thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him,
‘Who is my mother? And who are my brethren?’ And he
stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and
said, ‘Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.’
And not only did Jesus strike at patriotism and the

Abolition of poverty is a feature of societal structure. To wipe every tear
from every eye afflicted by grief you need a social transformation and
economic regeneration, concern for women and children and a rage
against robbers of the people’s resources.
bonds of family loyalty in the name of God’s universal
fatherhood and the brotherhood of all mankind, but it
is clear that his teaching condemned all the gradations
of the economic system, all private wealth, and
personal advantages. He denounced private riches
and the reservation of any private life. And Jesus
looked round about, and saith unto his disciples,
‘How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the
kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished
at his words. But Jesus answered again, and saith
unto them, ‘children, how hard is it for them that
trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God! It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.’
To my mind this glorious dimension of the Kingdom of
God is the forerunner of socialism, social justice, secularism
and democracy. The life of Jesus was absolute
simplicity, matchless humility, compassionate humanity,
gender reverence and pro-poor egalite. He washed
the feet of his disciples, he defined Godist superstition.
To share and care for your neighbour and now your
enemy not violently were fundamentals he taught.
Jesus advocated the unity and
fraternity of humanity like the
doctrine of advaita which Adi
Sankara propagated.
He was thus a pioneer of world brotherhood, United
Nation’s freedom from dogmas and obscurantist cults.
Such a universalism is the testament of Jesus. This is
Christianity to be practised daily, hourly, not Christianity
for a Sunday ritual as an alibi for holding the
world under imperial might and big business incorporated.
Not showy charity coupled with mighty rapacity.
The Buddha was a predecessor of Jesus. The
Mahatma whom Churchill called, “the half-naked fakir
was his successor”. Alas! Jesus, if born today, will
meet with pilot justice. Barabbas, the robber is in
power everywhere. Judas, the pretentious disciple
and arch-betrayal of Jesus, is a subtle on slight presence
practicing diplomacy with the Cross in one hand
and nuke bomb in the other hand, is the terrorist incarnation
masquerading as the rulers of the earth.
The resurrection of the world and the elimination of
sufferings of the millions desiderates many a million
honest disciples of Jesus the Son of God. Even so, the
teachings of Jesus have perished and the world today
suffers a decline in values of humanism, compassion,
morality and divinity greed, vulgar sex and collapse of
public good have been a shock and shame, a terror
and horror.
Resurrection, not in the biblical sense but in the grand
moral dimension and trans-material mutation, is the
structural splendour of the world order. Peace, not
war, stability, not subservience, high morality, not
grab-based acquisitive success is the new ethic. The
pity is that exploitation has become the rule of law
that equity and justice have become the vanishing
point of international jurisprudence, that nothing succeeds
like success and nothing fails like failure. The
hidden agenda after unipolar world is malignant
methodology of insatiable accumulation of wealth.
This terrible trend must be trampled under foot by a
The teachings of Jesus have perished
and the world today suffers
a decline in values of
humanism, compassion, morality
and divinity greed, vulgar sex
and collapse of public good have
been a shock and shame, a terror
and horror.
triumphant emergency of a dynamic generation with
socialist convictions and a profound prognosis of
work, wealth and happiness. This is the ‘developmental
drama’ of the New World Order.
Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer popularly known
as Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, a former Judge in the
Supreme Court of India was born in Kerala, India. He
practiced law and defended peasants and workers
who were justly exploited by the Zamindars with the
support of the colonial regime. In 1952, he was elected
to the Kerala Legislative Assembly; in 1957, he became
a minister in the first Communist government in Kerala.
Having been the minister of law, power, prisons, irrigation
and social welfare in the Government of
Kerala, he was instrumental in bringing about many
significant changes in these sectors. In 1973, he was
sworn in as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Krishna
Iyer, one of the oldest judges in India was conferred
with Padma Vibhushan in the year 1999.
Source: Bhavan’s Journal, August 15, 2012
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 27

Koodankulam: So Many
Questions, So Few Answers
—KumKum Dasgupta
Dear Sisters and Brothers of Russia:
Greetings! We, several thousands of children from the
southernmost tip of India are writing to you to send
our love and seek your support for the peaceful and
nonviolent struggle that we and our parents have been
waging for the past twelve months against the
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project. This mega nuclear
power park is being built with Russian loan and
technology against the will and wishes of the local
people.
The Indian authorities have not conducted any public
hearing to seek our permission or consent for this project.
They have not shared the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) Report, the Site Evaluation Study,
and the Safety Analysis Report with our people. After a
long and hard struggle of more than 22 years, we have
just obtained a copy of the EIA report which is outdated
and so full of inaccuracies and incomplete information.
(edited excerpt)
—“The Koodankulam Children”, C/O People’s Movement
against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), Tamil Nadu,
India
Since the beginning of 2011, Koodankulam, a place in
the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, has been up in
arms against a nuclear plant that the Indian government
is building there. The protests reached a
crescendo in September 2012, when the protesters
were surrounded and beaten up by the police while
they stood in sea waters forming a human chain off
nearby Indinthakarai coast.
So what is this fight all about? The protesters claim
28 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
that the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project
(KKNPP) flouts many rules and the protesters have
given 12 reasons why they don’t want it to be built
there.
1. Where is the Green Clearance? The reactors are
being set up without sharing the Environmental
Impact Assessment, Site Evaluation Study and
Safety Analysis Report with the people.
2. The Displacement Issue: According to the government,
the area between 2 to 5 km radius
around the plant site would be called the “sterilization
zone.” So what happens to the people
who stay there?
3. Safety Aspects: More than 1 million people live
within the 30 km radius of the project which far
exceeds the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
stipulations. How will the government move
them out quickly in case of a disaster?
4. The Future of The Fishing Industry: The coolant
water and low-grade waste from the project are
going to be dumped into the sea. This will have
a severe impact on fish production and catch
and impact the economic situation of the fisherfolk.
5. Polluting Their Lives: Even if the project functions
normally, it would still be emitting Iodine
131, 132, 133, Cesium 134, 136, 137 isotopes,
strontium, tritium, tellurium and other such radioactive
particles into our air, land, crops, cattle,
sea, seafood and ground water. Who will pay
for the health costs of the affected people?

6. Question Mark on Quality: There are international
concerns about the design, structure and
workings of the untested Russian-made VVER-
1000 reactors.
7. Coastal Questions: A couple of months ago it was
announced that the central government had decided
not to give permission to KKNPP 3-6 as
they were violating the Coastal Regulation Zone
stipulations. So what about KKNPP 1 and 2?
8. Assurances Don’t Mean Anything: Many leaders
and bureaucrats have tried to reassure the agitating
population that there would be no natural
disasters in the area. How can anyone be sure?
9. Terror Threats: Senior Indian leaders have often
warned that the country’s atomic establishments
continue to remain prime targets of the terrorist
groups and outfits.
10. Who pays in Case of A Disaster: The important
issue of liability for the Russian plants has not
been settled yet. Defying the Indian nuclear liability
law, Russia insists that the Inter-Governmental
Agreement (IGA), secretly signed in 2008
by the Indian and Russian governments, precedes
the liability law and that Article 13 of the
IGA clearly establishes that the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited is responsible for all
claims of damages.
11. Increasing Costs: In 1988, the authorities said
that the cost estimate of the Koodakulam 1 and 2
projects was INR 6,000 crore. In 1998, it became
INR 15,500. In 2001, the ministerial group for eco-
nomic affairs announced that the project cost
would be INR 13,171 crore and the Indian government
would invest INR 6,775 crore with the remainder
amount coming in as Russian loan with
4% interest. The fuel cost was estimated to be
INR 2,129 crore which would be Russian loan. No
one knows the 2011 figures of any of these expenses.
So what’s the final amount?
12. No Lessons Learnt? The March 11, 2011, disaster
in Fukushima has made it all too clear to the
whole world that nuclear power plants are prone
to natural disasters and no one can really predict
their occurrence. Switzerland has decided to
shun nuclear power technology. In a recent referendum,
some 90% of Italians have voted against
nuclear power in their country. Both the US and
Russia have not built a new reactor in their countries
for 2-3 decades ever since major accidents
occurred at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
With such uncomfortable questions facing it, the government
response has been typically bureaucratic. In
a TV interview with CNN-IBN on September 10, Central
Minister V Narayanswamy said that multiple
probes by scientists have shown
that there is no threat to the
people who stay near the plant.
A clean chit has also come from
APJ Abdul Kalam and the panel
that was set up by the chief
minister of Tamil Nadu, he
added.
KumKum Dasgupta is a
New Delhi-based journalist
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 29

Medicine: An Ayurvedic
Understanding
Ayurveda represents one of the oldest known medical
systems (2500 B.C.), the others being the Chinese,
Tibetan, and Unani systems. These systems
have a common approach in understanding the
human biological process in relation to the universe.
Each and every component of human life and the
biosphere, including health and disease, can be corelated
to external factors, the macrocosm. Because
treatment aspects are based on principles which differ
from those used in the present-day medical system,
the totalistic or the holistic approach is
reflected in the medicinal modalities as well.
It is difficult to understand the treatment principles
in the language of present-day pharmacology. It may
be possible to partially interpret the applications,
but it is necessary to know the fundamentals of these
systems to understand the principles underlying the
biological activity of a process, drug, or therapy. In
this chapter, the term medicine is used with its wider
application, which includes all that is necessary to
maintain health or treat a disorder.
What is Medicine?
A Bheshaj (Therapeutic Approach)
Ayurveda recognizes 10 components of a medical system.
These are the physician, therapeutics, disease or
illness, treatment, longevity, the human body and relevant
practice, periodicity, initiation of medical activity,
and successful application of these activities.
30 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Table 1. - Mahabhutas: Physical Characters and Attributes
The second and important component of medical
treatment termed Bheshaj (a therapeutic) incorporates
one and all therapeutic approaches or therapies
for the treatment of an ailment. Qualitatively
these are of two types: Adravya (nonmaterial or
metaphysical) and Dravya (material or physical).
Adravya includes a variety of therapies such as induction
of fright, surprise, shock, pleasure, obliteration
of memory, thrashing, binding, massage, or
sedation. Dravya includes different kinds of therapeutic
procedures as well as medicines.
Mahabhuta Characteristics Physical Properties Sense Organ Functions Psychological
Property
Akasa Sabda (sound) Apratighat Srotra (ears) distinction Satva
(ether or
space)
(nonresistant) animation
Vayu (air) Sparsa (touch) Cala (movement) Twak (skin) sparseness lightness Rajas
activity
Teja (fire) Rupa (vision) Usnatva (heat) Caksu (eyes) color digestion
sharpness
brightness brevity
Satva
Jala (water) Rasa (taste) Dravatva Rasana heaviness coldness Tamas
(liquidity) (tongue) oleation semen
Prithvi (earth) Gandha (smell) Kharatva (roughness) Ghrana (nose) solidity heaviness Tamas

Based on the therapeutic measures adopted, Bheshaj
is further classified into two categories: Daivavyapashraya
Cikitsa (divine therapy) such as rituals,
chanting, wearing specific gemstones, sacrifice, devotional
activities, and self-control measures, and
Yuktivyapashraya Cikitsa (diet-drug therapy), which
incorporates logical or experimental measures including
other medicinal approaches.
Pancha Mahabhuta Doctrine
(The Theory of Five Elements)
The basis of the Ayurvedic philosophy is uniformity
of the biological and physical world. Accordingly, the
whole universe, including the human body, is composed
of five Omni (substances or proelements
named the five Mahabhutas): Akasa (space), Vayu
(air), Teja (fire), Jala (water), and Prithvi (earth). Actually,
these five represent the five subjects of the
five sense organs, namely, sound of space, touch of
air, vision of fire, taste of water, and smell of earth.
The Mana (human mind) perceives the external
world through five senses. This five-elemental Panchabhautik
doctrine forms the basis of biophysical interactions.
Table 1 lists the physical characteristics
and attributes of the Mahabhutas.
The Mahabhutic doctrine also forms the basis of
the effect of a therapeutic approach called the principle
of Samanya and Visesa (homologous vs. heterologous).
In this approach, the harmonization
Adravya includes a variety of
therapies such as induction of
fright, surprise, shock, pleasure,
obliteration of memory, thrashing,
binding, massage, or sedation.
Dravya includes different
kinds of therapeutic procedures
as well as medicines.
between the biological entity and the material entity
can be restored to normalcy by increasing or
decreasing the causative factors. Accordingly, an
excess of cold is balanced by heat, and anger is balanced
by self-discipline. In lieu of a particular component,
an increment of the related material will
provide the balance.
All the substances according to the doctrine of Pancha
Mahabhuta can be classified into five categories.
Their properties and effects on the body are summarized
in Table 2.
Dravya Guna
(Drug Action)
There does not exist anything in this universe
that cannot be utilized as a medicine,” says
Charaka, meaning that all substances are potential
therapeutics. For such a broad derivation, understanding
of the actions of a substance is vital.
Any substance or entity that incorporates properties
and effects (attributes and actions) is termed
Dravya. The effects of a given Dravya (substance
or drug) are based on its inherent properties.
Therefore, in order to understand the pharmacodynamic
aspects, knowledge about the Dravya
Guna (pharmacological or therapeutic actions of a
substance or drug) the Guna (pharmacological action),
Rasa (taste), Virya (potency), Vipaka (effect),
and Prabhava (resultant effect or
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 31

mechanism of action) is vital.
Guna
(Action or Property)
All Dravya (substances) are made of the five Mahabhutas
(proelements) and exhibit properties based on
the predominance of one or more of the inherent
proelements. Guna is defined as the inherent inseparable
property of a Dravya. There are 20 Gunas representing
10 pairs of opposite qualities or attributes of
the composite ingredients of a given Dravya (Table
3). These Gunas provide the basis for understanding
physical and biological interactions.
Group
Parthiva
(predominantly earth)
Apya
(predominantly water)
Taijasa
(predominantly fire)
Vayavya
(predominantly air)
Akasiya
(predominantly space)
32 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Rasa
(Taste)
Rasa in Sanskrit has many meanings, but in terms of
pharmacological effect, it comprises six tastes perceived
by the system through the tongue: Madhura
(sweet), Amla (sour), Lavana (saline), Tikta (bitter),
Katu (pungent), and Kasaya (astringent). The proportionate
presence of the five proelements contributes
to the formation of Rasa (taste). A Dravya
may exhibit one Rasa such as Madhura (sweet) in
the case of sugar or up to five Rasas in the case of
fruits such as Haritaki, where all Rasa except Lavana
(saline) are present. In addition to providing taste,
Table 2. - Pancha Mahabhautika Dravyas (Five Properties of Drugs or Substances)
Rasa (taste)
Madhura (sweet) slightly
Kasaya (astringent)
Madhura (sweet) slightly
Kasaya (astringent)
Amla (sour)
avana (saline)
Katu (pungent)
slightly Amla (sour)
Lavana (saline)
Kasaya (astringent)
slightly Tikta (bitter)
Nonmanifest
Properties
Guru (heavy)
Khara (rough)
Kathina (hard)
Manda (dull, slow)
Sthira (stable)
Visada (non-slimy)
Sandra (viscous)
Sthula (gross)
Sita (cold)
Snigdha (unctuous)
Manda (dull, slow)
Guru (heavy)
Sara (flowing)
Drava (liquid)
Mridu (soft)
Picchila (slimy)
Usna (hot)
Tiksna (sharp, fast)
Suksma (subtle)
Ruksa (dry, not unctuous)
Khara (rough)
Laghu (light)
Visada (nonslimy)
Suksma (subtle)
Khara (rough)
Sita (cold)
Laghu (light)
Visada (nonslimy)
Slaksna (smooth)
Suksma (subtle)
Mridu (soft)
Visada (nonslimy)
Vayavya (predominantly air)
Effect
Promotive for:
growth
weight
compactness
stability
strength
downward movement
moistening
oleation
binding
solvent
pleasing
burning
digestion
luster
complexion illumination
tearing
heating
upward movement
nonslimy
lightness
lassitude
roughening movements
softening
porous
lightness
discriminate

Rasa impart specific physiological effects. Thus, the
predominance of water and earth proelements of
Madhura Rasa is useful for tissue building, whereas
Katu Rasa with the predominance of fire and air will
have more of a stimulant effect.
Virya
(Potency)
Virya is defined as the factor responsible for the action
of a Dravya (drug or substance). It provides potency.
All Dravya are classified into two categories:
Usna (hot) and Sheeta (cold). Virya, consisting of
two types, is responsible for the specific action of a
Dravya. A Dravya in which Virya is compromised will
lose its potency. The heat relation may indicate a
stimulant or depressant effect of a substance.
Vipaka
(Effect)
The resultant effect of a Dravya (drug or substance)
is termed Vipaka. Digestion and assimilation of a
Dravya produce the Vipaka (transformation or effect)
which is of three types—Madhura (sweet), Amla
(sour), and Katu (pungent). In a way, this concept incorporates
the kinetics of Dravyas as well. Madhura
and Amla Rasas Dravyas produce a Madhura Vipaka;
Amla Rasa produces an Amla Vipaka, and Tikta, Katu,
and Kasaya Rasas produce a Katu Vipaka. The three
resultant Vipakas provide three distinct effects on
the body.
Prabhava
(Comprehensive Effect or Mechanism of Action)
Prabhava is defined as the final comprehensive effect
of a Dravya. This effect can be dependent on the
above-mentioned Rasa, Virya, and Vipaka factors, or
Gunas, though inherent, are subjected to
change due to any modifying process, termed
Sanskar. For example, an otherwise toxic
substance becomes a useful therapeutic after
the Sanskar detoxification.
Table 3. - Guna: The 10 Pairs of Physical Attributes
of A Dravya (Drug or Substance)
Guru
Manda
Sita
Snigdha
Slaksna
Sandra
Mridu
Sthira
Suksma
Visada
heavy
dull, slow
cold
unctuous
smooth
viscous
soft
stable
subtle
nonslimy
These physical attributes inherent in the five
elemental composition of a substance are
manifested by its biophysical properties.
independent of the same. It is the specific action of a
Dravya. Of the factors, Virya (potency) is considered
to be more effective than Rasa (taste) or Vipaka (effect).
Prabhava explains the resultant effect. The
process of metabolism is also important. It is mainly
divided into two stages: Avasthapak (absorption at
the initial gastrointestinal level) and Nishthapak
(metabolic absorption at the tissue level).
The most important features of Dravya Guna (drug
actions) in the Pancha Mahabhuta doctrine are the
Gunas (attributes), which are expressed in terms of
Rasa (taste), Virya (potency), Vipaka (effect), and
Prabhava (comprehensive action), and are exhibited
at different stages of digestion, metabolism, and the
final biological effect. In short, every therapeutic effect
can be explained in terms of Karma (action),
Virya (potency), Adhikaran (site of action), Kala (duration),
Upaya (mode), and Phal (the result).
Aushadhi Varga
(Classification of Drugs)
Laghu
Tiksna
Usna
Ruksa
Khara
Drava
Kathina
Sara
Sthula
Picchila
light
sharp, fast
hot
dry, not
unctuous
rough
liquid
hard
flowing
gross
slimy
More than 1200 species of plants, nearly 110 minerals,
including metals, and more than 100 animal products
comprise the Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia.
Substances are considered nutrients, medicines, or
both. Plants, minerals, and animal products are described
based on Rasa (taste), Virya (potency),
Vipaka (effect), Prabhava (resultant action), and
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 33

The proportionate presence of
the five proelements contributes
to the formation of Rasa (taste).
A Dravya may exhibit one
Rasa such as Madhura (sweet)
in the case of sugar or up to five
Rasas in the case of fruits such
as Haritaki, where all Rasa except
Lavana (saline) are present.
their nutritional or therapeutic effects. The therapeutic
effects are classified according to causative factors,
manifested conditions, or both.
Substances are generally classified based on the origin
of the substance, the specific therapeutic action, those
having more than one effect, and the treatment applications.
Authors belonging to different periods have
followed different methods of classification. Later
books provide a comprehensive compilation of drugs
under different categories. For the most part, groups of
drugs are named based on similar therapeutic actions,
effects, or after a representative substance.
Charaka Samhita, the most ancient Ayurvedic text,
describes 50 groups of 10 plants each classified according
to their therapeutic actions such as Jwaragna
(antipyretics) or Mutral (diuretics) and specific applications
such as Vamana (emesis) or Virecana (purgation).
Sushruta, author of another treatise, describes
38 groups of plants with similar properties such as
Ropan (wound healing), Shothagna (anti-inflammatory),
Stanyajanan (galactagogue), or Arshogna (antihemorrhoidal).
These texts indicate knowledge about
therapeutic actions or effects of different drugs or
substances similar to present-day pharmacology.
However, the terms Guna (properties), Rasa, Virya,
Vipaka, and Prashava, which describe different actions
or effects of a Aushadhi (drug), require proper
clinical interpretation.
Aushadhi Karan
(Pharmaceutics)
The knowledge about pharmaceutics is well developed.
Knowledge is available for the use of the juice
of the fresh plant to that of powder, pills, infusions,
34 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
medicinal oils, medicinal wines, and so forth as well
as external application. Specific processes for detoxification
of toxic substances and enhancement of the
therapeutic actions are described in detail. In most
cases, multiple composition and variety of the pharmaceutical
process provides extensive flexibility to
allow for the selection of a specific type of medicine
or treatment.
In Ayurvedic literature, thousands of formulations are
described with details of composition, quantity,
process, general effect on humors, and specific clinical
indications. Although plants are more commonly
used as therapeutics, the use of metals such as gold,
zinc, or copper and minerals such as mica or iron ores
is not uncommon. Metals are processed specifically to
ensure safety and to enhance their therapeutic effects.
Quality and Administration of Drugs
Essentially, an ideal drug restores equilibrium or
functional harmony. Any procedure which induces a
therapeutic response is expected to not create any
untoward side-effects. Due to its natural origin, a
therapeutic should be available in abundance, rich in
specific properties, have multiple uses, and be able
to deliver the desired effect.
Safety and efficacy concepts are well defined. A drug
or medicine is required to be examined in terms of its
genesis, property, efficacy, seasonality, time of acquisition
or procurement, preservation, and modification
or process. Its application must be understood
in terms of administration, dosage, patient compliance,
and specific therapeutic effect. It is also necessary
to understand its use in combination with other
drugs and to compare it with other medicines with
similar properties.
A medicine is considered appropriate if it can be given
in small doses, has a rapid onset of action, and is easy
to assimilate. It should be curative of a specific disease
or increased morbidity and be safe even in complicated
disease conditions. It should not have a depressant
effect on metabolism, and it should be palatable,
pleasing, and have good taste, odor, and color.
The time of administration of medicines is well specified,
especially in relation to meals in the case of oral
medicines. There are 10 different timings prescribed
based on the clinical indications: empty stomach
(early morning), premeal, midmeal, postmeal, between
two major meals (midday), with meals, and
so on. The importance of time in relation to specific
therapeutic effects is also mentioned. For example,
medicines for anxiety disorders are

prescribed at night.
Clinical Relevance
More than 5,500 clinical signs and symptoms are
available in Ayurvedic texts. The diseases are classified
based on the Tridosha and Pancha Mahabhuta
doctrines or humoral theories. The three Doshas (humors)—Vata
(wind), Pitta (bile), and Kapha
(phlegm)—represent Akasa and Vayu (space and air),
Teja and Jala (fire and water), and Teja, Jala, and
Prithvi (fire, water, and earth) presubstances, respectively.
Several groups of diseases are described with
subgroups. For example, there are 108 different conditions
leading to Jwara (fever), and 20 different
types of dysuria, including one which resembles diabetes.
The medicines can be used singly, in combination,
or in the form of therapies with specificity.
Conclusion
Ayurveda is one of the most ancient systems of medicine.
It is of Indian origin and has much to offer in
terms of therapeutics of natural origins. Ayurveda provides
a systematic knowledge base of nutrients and
drugs which can provide potential candidates in the
search for novel therapeutics and can positively contribute
to existing medical knowledge. There are definite
possibilities to co-relate clinical manifestations
and biological happenings based on a logical understanding.
Specific therapeutics and treatments pre-
scribed for different diseases may provide leads for
the treatment of conditions that are difficult to cure.
There are about 121 prescription drugs, in modern
medicine, that are derived from higher plants. The use
of plants in traditional medicine has been a rich source
for modern therapeutics.... Norman Farnsworth has estimated
that only 5000 plant species have been investigated
significantly out of the estimated total of 250,000
to 300,000 species... Therapeutic wisdom of a culture is
a dynamic experience base that demands close participation
for understanding and learning. The approaches
to such a wisdom are often conditioned by the dominant
ethos of other cultures or individuals. One approach
can be scholarly study in an anthropological
sense. The other dominant approach can be scientific
investigation of therapeutic practices and the pragmatic
utilization of demonstrated therapeutic wisdom. -
—NS Bhatt
—T. R. Govindachari
Source: Ayurvedic and Allopathic Medicine and
Mental Health, Proceedings of Indo-US workshop
on Traditional Medicine and Mental Health
13–17 October, 1996, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s
Swami Prakashananda Ayurveda Research Centre
(SPARC), Bhavan’s Book University, Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai, India
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 35

Mother Teresa
“Be faithful in small things because it is in
them that your strength lies.”
The life of one of recent history’s most admired
women, Mother Teresa, is a life of love. Anyone questioning
the meaning of love need not look further
than the life and works of Mother Teresa. She taught
the world the meaning of charity. The woman went
on to show the world the definition of compassion.
Mother Teresa was one of the great servants of humanity.
She was an Albanian Catholic nun who came
to India and founded the Missionaries of Charity in
Kolkata. Later on Mother Teresa attained Indian citizenship.
Her selfless work among the povertystricken
people of Kolkata (Calcutta) is an inspiration
for people all over the world. Throughout her life,
she tried to teach others the love she knew so well.
Early Life
“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it
hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
Mother Teresa’s original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu.
She was born on August 27, 1910 in Skopje,
Macedonia. Agnes’ family was an affluent and loving
one. Her father was a successful merchant and she
was youngest of the three siblings. Her parents,
Nikollë and Dranafille Bojaxhiu had relocated to Yugoslavia
from their former home in what is now Albania.
Agnes was about 12 when she first knew that she
belonged to God. At the age of 12, she decided that
36 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
—Mother Teresa
The woman went on to show the
world the definition of compassion.
Mother Teresa was one of
the great servants of humanity.
she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of
Christ. At 18 she left her parental home in Skopje and
joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of
nuns with missions in India.
After a few months of training at the Institute of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in Dublin, Mother Teresa came
to India. On May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as
a nun. From 1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught Geography
and Catechism at St. Mary’s High School in
Calcutta. By 1944, she was the Principal of the same
school. Her teaching was brought to an abrupt halt
when she contracted tuberculosis and was sent away
for a much needed rest. It was during her recuperation
period that Teresa was given her second calling
from God. Later, Mother described the calling.
Her words were “I was to leave the convent and work
with the poor, living among them. It was an Order. I
knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get
there.” However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta
had a deep impact on her mind and in 1948, she received
permission from her superiors to leave the
convent school and devote herself to working among
the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta. She
taught poor children and learned the basics of medicine
in order to treat the sick in their homes. Teresa
was given the moniker “Saint of the Gutters” for the
work she was doing.
Missionaries of Charity
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other.”
After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters
in Patna, she returned to Calcutta and found temporary
lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. She
started an open-air school for homeless children.
Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and she
received financial support from church organizations
and the municipal authorities. On October 7, 1950,
Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican
to start her own Order. Vatican originally labelled the
Order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta
Diocese, and it later came to be known as the “Missionaries
of Charity”. The primary task of the Missionaries
of Charity was to take care of those persons
who nobody was prepared to look after.
The Missionaries of Charity, which began as a small
Order with 12 members in Calcutta, today has more
than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices,
charity centres worldwide, and caring for refugees,
the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and

homeless and victims of floods, epidemics and
famine in Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America,
Poland, and Australia. In 1965, by granting a Decree
of Praise, Pope Paul VI granted Mother Teresa permission
to expand her Order to other countries. The
Order’s first house outside India was in Venezuela.
Presently, the “Missionaries of Charity” has presence
in more than 100 countries.
Her Servants of the Poorest
“If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to
be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep
putting oil in it.”
Some of her former students joined her and they
worked with people, the hospitals in the area had, rejected.
They obtained a room so that the people they
were helping did not have to die in the gutter. The
goal, as Mother Teresa described it, was to offer “free
service to the poor and the unwanted, irrespective of
caste, creed, nationality or race.” Mother Teresa
turned what had formerly been a temple in Calcutta
into a Home for the Dying in 1952. It was called the
Nirmal Hriday Home for Dying Destitutes in Calcutta.
Nirmal Hriday means “Pure Heart.” Mother Teresa was
awarded the money from prizes and that money was
always used to advance her work. She opened clinics,
hospices, and homeless shelters and did everything
she could to make the lives of people more tolerable.
An Angel of Love
“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the
smile is the beginning of love.”
Did she have a secret to such a loving and giving life?
If there was one, it was rooted in the way she regarded
people. She saw Jesus in everyone. Every
wound she bandaged, every hand she held, and
every dying soul she offered dignity to, in her mind,
she was doing these things for the body of Christ. To
many of us, the life she led seemed full of unpleasantness,
but to Mother Teresa, she was living the only
life that would give her pleasure and fulfillment.
Her uncomplicated and heartfelt words often gave a
glimpse into her spirit, and perhaps in her words, her
secret lies. “I will never understand all the good that
a simple smile can accomplish” she said. And she
practiced it with offering smiles wherever life’s journey
led her.
Mother Teresa lived love. It poured from her like a
fountain. She explained it all in two quotes concerning
love. “There is no greater sickness in the world
today than the lack of love” and “The hunger for love
is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for
bread.” Yes, she had a secret. Her answer was contained
in that four-letter word called love.
Recognition of Work
Mother Teresa’s work was recognised and acclaimed
throughout the world and she received a number of
awards and distinctions. These include the Pandra
She was joined by voluntary
helpers, and she received financial
support from church organizations
and the municipal
authorities.
Shri prize for “extraordinary services” in 1962, the
Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for
Promotion of International Peace & Understanding
(1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979)
and Bharat Ratna (1980). After learning of winning
the Nobel Prize, Mother Teresa answered with a very
humble “I am unworthy.” She also opted to donate
the $6,000 that would have been used for a ceremonial
banquet to be given to the poor in Calcutta. Her
life’s work was explained in her own words when she
accepted this high honour: “To care for the hungry,
the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the
lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved,
uncared for throughout society.”
Mother Teresa established a hospice for AIDS victims in
New York in 1985 and more of the same were started in
Atlanta and San Francisco later. She was awarded the
United States’ highest civilian award, that of the Medal
of Freedom and was awarded an honorary US citizenship
in 1996. Only four people before her had received
that title. Her awards from the United States were not
yet finished, however, and she was honoured with the
Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Her thinking was a
guiding light and source of inspiration to others.
Final Days
Mother Teresa suffered from heart problems for a
substantial amount of time. In 1996, she was hospitalized
for malaria and a chest infection and also underwent
heart surgery. Cardiac arrest claimed the life of
this remarkable woman in Calcutta on September 5,
1997. The last earthly words to be uttered by her
were “I can’t breathe anymore.” On March 13, 1997,
she had stepped down from the Head of Missionaries
of Charity and died on just 9 days after her 87th
birthday. Following Mother Teresa’s death, began the
process of beatification, the second step towards
possible canonization, or sainthood.
This process requires the documentation of a miracle
performed from the intercession of Mother Teresa. In
2002, the Vatican recognized as a miracle the healing
of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman,
Monica Besra, following the application of a locket
containing Teresa’s picture. Monica Besra said that a
beam of light emanated from the picture, curing the
cancerous tumour. Mother Teresa was formally beatified
by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003 with
the title ‘Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’.
Source: www.essortment.com, www.ewtn.com,
www.iloveindia.com
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 37

Sri Aurobindo Ghose
India is the meeting place of the religions and among
these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex
thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and
yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization
and aspiration.
-Aurobindo Ghose
Sri Aurobindo was a revolutionary, poet, philosopher,
writer, and spiritual master, during the course of his
life. He became one of the primary leaders fighting for
Indian independence, from British rule. With time, Aurobindo
drifted from his political career and found a
new motive in life—bringing a new spiritual consciousness
amongst people. Yoga and meditation became his
primary concerns in life. His philosophy was based on
facts, experience and personal realisations and on
having the vision of a Seer or Rishi. Aurobindo’s spirituality
was inseparably united with reason.
Early Life
I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but
as the sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides
my steps on the work with which I began life, the beginning
of its full fruition.
The date has an even greater and deeper significance.
Sri Aurobindo has explained it thus:
“The 15th August is the day of the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary; it implies that the physical nature is raised to
the divine Nature...”
And this was in a way the goal of Sri Aurobindo’s life.
To divinise the earth, to make matter the Spirit’s willing
bride.
Sri Aurobindo Ghose was born on 15 August 1872 at
Calcutta now Kolkata. His father was Krishnadhan
and his mother, Swamalata was very beautiful and
gracious. She was known as the “Rose of Rangpur”.
Sri Aurobindo was the third among five children. The
two elder brothers were Benoy Bhushan and
Monomohan and the younger sister was Sarojini followed
by the youngest brother, Barindranath. Aurobindo
Ghose had an impressive lineage. Raj
Narayan Bose, an acknowledged leader in Bengali literature,
and the grandfather of Indian nationalism
was Sri Aurobindo’s maternal grandfather.
The Spiritualist
Indian religion has always felt that since the minds, the
temperaments and the intellectual affinities of men are
unlimited in their variety, a perfect liberty of thought
and of worship must be allowed to the individual in his
approach to the Infinite.
Aurobindo Ghose owed not only his rich spiritual na-
38 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
ture, but even his very superior literary capacity, to
his mother’s line. When Sri Aurobindo was five years
old, he was sent to Loretto Convent School at Darjeeling
and for higher studies to England. He developed a
love for poetry, which was to last him throughout his
life. Even at that young age of eleven he contributed a
few poems to the local “Fox” Magazine. The Headmaster
at St. Paul’s in London was so pleased with his
mastery of Latin that he took it upon himself to teach
him Greek. Sri Aurobindo plunged into the literature
of the Western world and studied several languages,
French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Latin. He absorbed
the best that Western culture had to offer him.
The Indian Civil Service
Everyone has in him something divine, something his
own, a chance of perfection and strength in however
small a sphere which God offers him to take or refuse.
The task is to find it, develop it & use it. The
chief aim of education should be to help the growing
soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make
it perfect for a noble use.
He completed his schooling from St. Paul’s in London.
In 1890, at the age of 18, Sri Aurobindo got admission
into Cambridge. Here, he distinguished
himself as a student of European classics. Aurobindo
had got himself immersed in his books and was feasting
on the thoughts of the great. He got the Butterworth
Prize for literature, the Bedford Prize for
history and a scholarship to Cambridge.
To comply with the wish of his father, Sri Aurobindo
Ghose also applied for the (Indian Civil Service) ICS
while at Cambridge.
He passed the Indian Civil Service Examination with
great credit in 1890. But he was not meant to be an
ICS officer serving British Government. He looked for
a way to disqualify himself from the ICS and did not
appear for the horse-riding test. In normal circumstances
this would have been a very minor lapse but
the British Government, too, was aware of his politi-

cal views and activities, and found this a good opportunity
to reject him.
In 1893, Aurobindo returned to India, and became the
Vice-Principal of the State college in Baroda. He was
held in great respect by the Maharaja of Baroda. Aurobindo
was an accomplished Scholar in Greek and
Latin. From 1893 to 1906 he extensively studied Sanskrit,
Bengali literature, Philosophy and Political Science.
In 1901, Sri Aurobindo married Mrinalini Devi.
She had to go through all the joys and sorrows which
are the lot of one who marries a genius and someone
so much out of the ordinary as Sri Aurobindo.
Freedom Struggle
Yoga and meditation became his primary concerns in life.
His philosophy was based on facts, experience and personal
realisations and on having the vision of a Seer or Rishi.
Aurobindo’s spirituality was inseparably united with reason.
Aurobindo’s father, Dr KD Ghose was aware of the
atrocities being committed by the British on Indians
and sent paper clippings of these to him. Aurobindo
felt that a period of great upheaval for his motherland
was coming in which he was destined to play a
leading role. Aurobindo sailed back to his country in
1893, at the age of twenty-one, having spent the most
Sri Aurobindo plunged into
the literature of the Western world
and studied several languages,
French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and
Latin. He absorbed the best that Western
culture had to offer him.
important and formative fourteen years of his life, in
a foreign land. He had grown up in England but did
not feel any attachment to it. Now India beckoned
him, he wrote in his poem called “Envoi”. He began
to learn Bengali and joined a secret society, with the
romantic name of ‘Lotus and Dagger’, where the
members took an oath to work for India’s freedom.
He plunged headlong into the revolutionary movement
and played a leading role in India’s freedom
struggle. He was one of the pioneers of political awakening
in India. The period of stay in Baroda, from 1894
to 1906, was significant in several ways for Sri Aurobindo.
It was here that he started working for India’s
freedom behind the scenes. He perceived the need for
broadening the base of the movement and for creating
a mass awakening. He went to Bengal and Madhya
Pradesh, contacted the secret groups working in this
direction, and became a link between many of them.
He established close contacts with Lokmanya Tilak
and Sister Nivedita. He arranged for the military training
of Jatin Banerjee in the Baroda army and then sent
him to organise the revolutionary work in Bengal.
Bande Mataram
He edited the English daily ‘Bande Mataram’ and
wrote fearless and pointed editorials. He openly advocated
the boycott of British goods, British courts
and everything British. He asked the people to prepare
themselves for passive resistance. The famous
Alipore Bomb Case proved to be a turning point in
Aurobindo’s life. For a year Aurobindo was an undertrial
prisoner in solitary confinement in the Alipore
Central Jail. It was in a dingy cell of the Alipore Jail
that he dreamt the dream of his future life, the divine
mission ordained for him by God. He utilized this period
of incarceration for an intense study and practice
of the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.
Chittaranjan Das defended Sri Aurobindo, who was
acquitted after a memorable trial.
Yoga and Meditation
During his time in prison, Aurobindo Ghosh had developed
interest in yoga and meditation. After his release
he started practicing Pranayama and meditation. He
migrated from Calcutta to Pondicherry in 1910. At
Pondicherry, he stayed at a friend’s place. At first, he
lived there with four or five companions. Gradually
the number of members increased and grew into what
is today the Sri Aurobindo Ashram which continues to
publish his books and propagate his wisdom. In 1914,
after four years of concentrated Yoga at Pondicherry,
Sri Aurobindo launched Arya, a monthly review. For
the next six and a half years this became the vehicle
for most of his most important writings, which appeared
in serialised form. These included Essays on
The Gita, The Secret of The Veda, Hymns to the Mystic
Fire, The Upanishads, The Foundations of Indian Culture,
War and Self-determination, The Human Cycle,
The Ideal of Human Unity, and The Future Poetry.
Later Life & Death
Though Sri Aurobindo retreated from his ashram life
in November 1926, he spent hours replying to the letters
of his disciples and followers. His letters gave
him the opportunity to explain about yoga and its applications.
Sri Aurobindo brought relief and respite to
his followers and released them from their pain, fear
and anxiety. Apart from his spiritual mission, he also
took interest in the political scenario of the world. Sri
Aurobindo died on 5 December 1950, refusing to undergo
any surgery or even healing himself on his own.
He believed that by leaving for the heaven abode, he
would effectively continue his spiritual mission.
Source: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in,
www.iloveindia.com,
www.sriaurobindosociety.org.in, www.cosmicharmony.com,
www.thecolorsofindia.com
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 39

Maharshi Vyasa and the Puranas
Tradition ascribes to Krishnadvaipayana Vyasa the
authorship of 18 major Puranas. Vyasa is the son of
Parasara through Satyavati. Since born in an island,
he was Dvaipayana and since of dark complexion, he
was Krishna. It is still an unsettled issue as to which
of the 18 Puranas were authored by him.
Sri Bhagavatha which indicates the number of slokas in
each Purana, omits Vayu Purana and includes Siva Purana.
But the irony is that the Vishnu Purana which
gives this sloka count is held by some as the production
of a latter intellectual, probably Bhopadeva. They say
that Devi Bhagavatam is, on the contrary, Vyasa’s work.
The orthodox view has no patience with what is described
as a historical approach. The irony about Purana
literature is that it has undergone additions,
interpolations and mutilations of the text down the centuries.
These ‘modifications’ are the outcome of both
scholastic and royal egos. The kings wanted their names
to be included in the Puranic list of dynasties to perpetuate
their memory as patrons of religion, and arts.
Scholars who were stumped for an explanation of
some of their contemporary customs, introduced into
the texts names of ascetics of particular orders as
well as the Athivarnasramis. The chronological code
of the Puranas suffers from greater ambivalence than
that of the Vedas—an ambivalence that is the outcome
of a reluctance to shed the pleasing mythology
that had grown round the code.
For example, the Vedic mantra used for Aseervachana
Samjnanam, Prajnanam, Vignanam etc. is a code about
the half thithis, but it is amusing that because of the
ignorance of priests and yajamanas, the obeisance
which the repetition of the code elicits, as if a shower
of the choicest blessings of Providence is being
brought down for the benefit of the yajamana and his
family, not excluding the cousin of the fortieth removed
living abroad who, the yajamana considers his
potential refuge and support in his own lean years.
40 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
This is mentioned to press the point that the code of
the Puranas itself, in its exposition in diverse forms,
has led to a host of avoidable misreading and to the
specious argument, on the basis of that misreading,
that the apparent inner contradictions were proof
positive against the commonness of their authorship.
The Puranas have five characteristics; Sarga, Pratisarga,
Vamsa, Manvantra, Vamsanucharita. Of these the
Sarga and Pratisarga are the roots from which spring
what are known as the Trithaya of Vamsa, Manvantara
and Vamsanucharita. If the first two are the basic characteristics,
the remaining three are an extension,
through interaction, of these basic characteristics.
Thus the extension of the universe out of the Brahman
through his sankalpa is expatiated upon in the
stories of kings, Manus and dynastic and sacerdotal
expositions.
I stress this point precisely for calling off satire—totally
undeserved—which is heaped upon Puranas as
In Matsya Purana, the story
is that, after the long trial and
tribulations that Prahalada
underwent, he was able to
convince his father of the
supremacy of Narayana.
constituting nothing more than the fictional themes
which are very good bedtime tales for putting children
to sleep.
The authors of this view say that the dictum that the
Puranas are an elaboration of Vedic truths is a polite
compliment paid to them to keep them alive and is
nothing more than that. These will have us believe
that the mighty intellect of Vyasa, who could discern
the imperceptible unity of the Vedic texts and could
give them in very well arranged four samhitas of the
Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharva Vedas, suddenly became
so senile as to indulge in dishing out incredible
mythological stories and well-spun out religious yarn
of undecipherable count.
First let us take some of the alleged contradictions.
Take Prahlada Charitra in Matsya, Vishnu and Bhagavata.
In Matsya Purana, the story is that, after the
long trial and tribulations that Prahalada underwent,
he was able to convince his father of the supremacy
of Narayana. Hiranyakasipu calls a truce declaring
that after all there is no need for quarrel between one
who rules and one who will rule after him.

After such reconciliation, the father and son live in
peace for some years. One day a lion appears at the
court. The guards fail in trying to drive it out. It
comes very near the throne. Hiranyakasipu asks Prahalada
whether it was a real lion. The son stands up,
folds his hands and worships the lion as reflecting the
Viswa Roopa of Lord Narayana. Hiranyakasipu laughs
and jestingly fists the lion, gets killed and is succeeded
by Prahalada.
In Vishnu Purana, the sufferings imposed on Prahalada
by the father are detailed. A truce ensues. And
the Purana ends with the episode saying: After this,
one day Vishnu slew Hiranya. In both these versions,
the killing is after Hiranyakasipu had called a truce
and the father and son were living amicably.
In Sri Bhagavata, the punishments inflicted on Prahalada
are ‘given in a single verse’. The Avatara is described
in magnificent detail. Cynics put the question
as to how the same event got described in three entirely
different ways.
Another example of the alleged contradiction is the
Daksha Yagna episode. In most Puranas Daksha perishes
after his daughter’s immolation in her own yogagni
in the sacrificial yard. In Vayu Purana, Sati
teases Siva about his meekness in the face of the insult
her father had cast on him by not inviting him to
the Yagna. Siva is calm. But Sati jeers at him still
more. She does not go anywhere near the place of the
Yagna. But Siva, unable to bear the hurt of her taunts
appears out of the sacrificial fire as Veerabhadra, kills
Daksha and destroys the sacrifice. Traditional explanation
of these contradictions is that Puranic events
differed according to Kalpa. It is like Bali becoming
Indra in one Manvatara and Anjaneya becoming
Brahma in another. But those who read the text
closely will discover some astonishing bits of truth
that help unify the apparently diverse texts.
The basic Veda mantra behind the Prahlada story,
Kaya Adhava meant one who does not husband his
body or does not care for his body. He is naturally in
Vyasa’s insistence on allegory is
clear from the elaborate manner
in which, in every Purana of
his, he describes the origin of the
universe and its inhabitants.
great aahalada or bliss. Hiranyakasipu means one
with a gold couch, that is one who husbands body,
and goes after luxuries that pander to the body and
carnal instincts.
Those who are eager for the pleasures of this world,
will stop at nothing to get them. But they do not get
them. The pleasures, on the contrary, chase the one
that spurns them. The eminence that Prahlada got is
an instance in point.
One may ask: What about the contradiction which
consists in a mere lion, killing Hiranyakasipu in Matsya
Purana and a Man-lion effecting that killing in
other Puranas? I do not have to provide the answer
because Vyasa himself does. The lion is known as
Panchasya-broad-faced. The human body is five-faced
in the sense of being motivated by the five senses. Hiranyakasiputvam
led to domination by senses and destruction.
Prahlada was sword to the senses and so
transcended them. The lion-face is only an allegory.
Hence full lion or a lion-face does not constitute any
worthwhile difference in describing the overwhelming
effect suffered from the senses. In the Daksha
episode, Siva is said to have caused destruction easily
because Siva is fire and through fire he burnt off
everything. The subtle reference here is to the fire of
avarice which consumed Daksha and left him dull
headed. Vyasa’s insistence on allegory is clear from
the elaborate manner in which, in every Purana of
his, he describes the origin of the universe and its inhabitants.
Like the spider spitting out the web and
withdrawing it, Brahman by his sankalpa projects and
absorbs the worlds. The rudder which the beings of
the world cannot afford to lose hold of is the divinity
which has shaped them and their destinies.
The sum and substance of this basic teaching of his
is contained in the interesting verses from the Bhagavata
Purana.
Daksha reborn as Prachetasa creates 10,000 sons
known as Haryaswas and asks them to do penance for
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 41

multiplying creation. They are met by Narada who says
there is a nation which is in the sole control of a ruler.
There is an opening in the country from which there
can be no getting out. There is a lady there who takes
many forms and a male who runs after her. There is a
river in that country which flows same time from one
and the same point towards opposite directions.
There are 25 shore huts. One hears sweet and attractively
fictional and distinct music also from the
swans. There is a wheel ever spinning fast which has
edges as sharp as a lancet. Without understanding
this, what is the point in languishing for creation?
The puzzle when resolved is simply this: There is only
one master for the world, namely, God. The hole in
the world is death, out of which none can be extricated.
The lady referred to is the play of five senses
to which man is a prey. The river flowing in opposite
directions is the river of life which leads to morality
as well as immortality, according to the conduct of
the individual concerned.
The shore huts are the 25 tattvas. The music of the
swan is the attractive Vedic texts of Karma marga
promising this, that or the other for doing this or the
other yajna. The wheel is Kala Chakra. Knowing the
limitations of the world in this manner, one should
conduct oneself with its master namely God. All other
efforts will be futile.
No wonder, on hearing these words of wisdom, the
Haryawas betook themselves to the quest of the Lord.
Vyasa is the author of Brahma Sutras, which are aphorisms
proclaiming Vedantic truths. It is only natural that,
in his Puranic works also, he took care to highlight the
need for discriminating between material welfare and
spiritual well-being. The thread of expansion of the Infinite
through finite creations is displayed as the means
to understanding the real roots of happiness. That does
not consist in running away from the origin, but running
towards it. Such running towards the origin calls for a
Constant remembrance of God. Says Vyasa through
Suka: Until you are able to discern God in all the infinite
creations of his around you, you will have to do
Sthoola Dharma of God as constituting and in-
42 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
The state of the
country is the
direct outcome of
the condition of its
ruler. There can be
no extenuating
circumstance for
the ruler for
deviating from the
dharmic path.
dwelling in all such creation.
Thus the story part of the Puranas has a validity
which is ingrained in the Paramarthika texts of Vedantic
literature. Even while describing the details of the
Hindu pantheon, the principle of unity as consisting
in the oneness of God is not sacrificed. Brahma
comes out of the navel of Vishnu. Rudra comes out of
the anger of Brahma. Everything comes out of the primordial
waters indwelt by Narayana.
Everything collapses in the wrath of Siva. The fundamental
force operating underneath all creation is Sakti.
Being feminine, it is made into a goddess to whom the
other gods are vassals. But time and again Vyasa clarifies
the symbolism behind all such description, whether
it is the Krodhaa-karaankusa of the Devi, the Kala Carka
of Vishnu or the Chandrahasa or thunderbolt of Siva.
Having been composed for less evolved souls like
ourselves, the Puranas present the essence of the
formless infinite through a diversified spectrum of
forms each of which has a bunch of qualities which
will appeal to the select core of its special worshipers.
These forms are relatively unreal but they
help in leading the savant to the real. The fulfilment of
the prayer “Lead me from the unreal to the real” becomes
easier by cultivating such personal Gods.
As regards the political code of the Puranas, the emphasis
is on democratic monarchy where, if the king
transgresses the guidelines of councillors representing
public opinion, he loses the right to govern and
can stay only as an ornamental head.
The Hindu concept is that he who is devoid of Vishnu
Amsa, cannot be born to rule. Since royalty is a birth
right, the annihilation of the king is taboo. Most of the
Puranas are one in reiterating the sentiment contained
in the familiar verse of the Mahabharata. The
state of the country is the direct outcome of the condition
of its ruler. There can be no extenuating circumstance
for the ruler for deviating from the
dharmic path. Picture credit: Sudin M. Pai Kane
S.N. Sriramadesikan
Source: Bhavan’s Journal, January 31, 2012

Vedic Tradition and Enlightenment
Sri Ramkrishna often repeated two phrases ‘yata
mat tatha path’ (as many views, so many paths)
‘khali pete dharma hoyna’ (one cannot be religious
with an empty stomach). Swami Vivekananda says
while addressing the Parliament of Religions in
1893: “If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything
to the world it is this: It has proved to the
world that holiness, purity and charity are not the
exclusive possessions of any Church in the world,
and that every system has produced men and
women of the most exalted character......If anybody
dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion
and the destruction of others, I pity him from the
bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon
the banner of every religion will be soon written, in
spite of resistance ‘help and not fight’, ‘assimilation
and not destruction,’ ‘Harmony and peace and not
dissension’”.
Sri Ramkrishna’s Mission according to Swami
Vivekananda: “To proclaim and make clear the fundamental
unity underlying all religions was the mission
of my Master. .........This great teacher made no claim
for himself. He left every religion undisturbed because
he had realized that in reality they are all part
& parcel of the one eternal religion”. This eternal religion
is Sanatana Dharma or the Vedic Dharma.
Swamiji said ‘I am a voice without a form’. He said religion
is ‘not talk, nor doctrine, nor theories however
beautiful they may be but it is ‘the source of that
power which only through earnest practice will enable
us to transform ourselves both on an individual
& social plane’. The Master taught that dedication to
social service must be untainted by egotistical motives
for acquiring name and fame and it must be
done in the spirit of serving god.
According to Dr. Radhakrishnan the ‘essence of Religion
is spiritual redemption and not social reform’. He
further says, “Religion today has to fight not only unbelief
and secularism but also the subtle rival in the
guise of social reform”.
“Ekam Sat Vipra bahuda Vadhanti.”
Truth is one but is called differently by different
faiths.
Sankara’s approaches to the realization of the Final
truth are four-fold:
1. Nitya, anitya, vastu, viveka: discrimination of
what is real and what is unreal. The samkhya
teaching suggests that viveka is discriminative
knowledge of the self and aviveka is the cause
of all evils.
2. lhamutra phalebhoga Verga: detachment from
sense pleasures.
3. Sama damadi sadhana sampat: This consists of
six stages:
i. Sama—control of the mind.
ii. Dama—control of the senses or senses experience.
iii.Uparati—permanent withdrawal of the external
senses.
iv. Titiksha—equanimity in respect of heat &
cold, sukha & dukha.
v. Samadhana—concentration of the mind on
the ultimate Truth.
vi.Shraddha—Unwavering faith in the Vedantic
Truth to be learnt from a Master.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 43

4. Mumukshatva—purification of the soul by rigorous
cultivation of the will to attain the realization
of ultimate Truth.
After these four stages are passed there is a final
stage consisting of 3 substages: Shravana, manana,
and nididhyasana.
Shravana—learning the Truth from the Master.
Manana—practice this teaching by full concentration.
Nididhyasana—ceaseless meditation on the Truth,
which leads to the realization of aspirant’s identity
with the Brahman, which is pure Consciousness.
According to Sankara, a Jivanmukta is in the body not
of the body. He is free to meditate, or aimlessly go
about the world or engage himself in doing good to
others, serving the poor, preaching to people.
Regarding Maya or illusion Sankara’s approach has
often been misunderstood or misinterpreted. The
rope perceived as snake demonstrates his concept
of illusion. The rope is a Vyavaharika Sattva while
the perceived snake a Pratibhasika Sattva. In the
dark a rope is perceived as a snake and the moment
light is on, this illusory perception is seen correctly
as merely a rope. Therefore, Sankara’s enunciation
of illusion is related to perception of the ultimate
Truth of Brahman or Pure Consciousness as the
only reality and our identification with our bodies
are essentially illusory. The body and all other living
& non-living matter are but organic in nature and
that which pervades all this matter is the Brahman
without which they cannot exist. These are manifestations
or super-impositions of the supreme Brahman.
The objects of such perceptions are known as
anirvachaniya, that is they neither exist (sat) nor
44 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
are non-existent (asat). The Brahman only is.
The Brahma Sutra (Section two Sutra 1 & 2) says:
Sarvatra Prasiddopadeshat Janmadyasya yatah.
Everything comes from Brahman, sustained by Brahman,
and goes back to Brahman. Sankara in his commentary
refers to a couple of verses from the
Chandokya Upanishad (III 14.1-2). The verses state:
“All this is Brahman. Everything comes from Brahman,
everything goes back to Brahman, and everything
is sustained by Brahman”. Each person has a
mind of his own. What a person wills in his present
life, he becomes when he leaves this world. The
whole world is his creation. He is everywhere in the
world. He has no sense organs, and he is free from desire.
His self is spotless and pure. He has a subtle
body which is prana.
The Third verse explains: Brahman is both within the
heart and smaller than a barley seed as well as outside
the body and greater than all the three worlds
(earth inter-space and heaven).
We can go on and on like this since the Upanishads,
the Sutras, the Vedas and other Vedic Texts offer us
diverse views and insights into the Universal Truth.
But ultimately all these boil down to this question.
How as an individual, one attains enlightenment? As
we have already said, there are many views and
hence many paths to Redemption. The path we
choose depends upon our level of evolution or understanding
of life. The simplest and best way is to surrender
to a chosen Deity and go about one’s duties,
leaving the rest to Him. To a more inquiring mind, the
path of Reason, or Jnana can be suggested. Hence we
arrive at the Truth by sheer reasoning. Let us see
how: While human beings are also organisms, they
are organisms with a difference. They have the mind
and intellect, which helps to differentiate between
points of view. Some basic principles of life therefore
become evident. These are the laws of Causation and
Transmigration of souls. These can also be derived
from the Third law of Sir Isaac Newton (action and reaction
are equal and opposite) and Einstein’s Theory
of Relativity with its equation e = mc2 (energy equals
mass times the square of the speed of light).
Cause and effect are easily understood. Say, you are
angry with your wife? Why? Because she put more
salt in the curry! Or anything like this. Without a
cause there cannot be an effect. That is why it is said,
good begets good and evil begets evil. How does this
affect the human condition? All our actions have to
produce reactions. Then we have to experience the
effects of the reaction and start another action. Action
is implied in the human life. Since we have to experience
the results of our action, be it good or bad,

they in turn generate more actions and reactions.
This process continues all our life. At the end of it all,
when we are about to die, we carry with us the action
and desires, which have remained unfulfilled. Therefore
we have to be born again to experience these unfulfilled
desires. The process goes on for hundreds of
lives, may be. This is the process of evolution. From
an ape to man through the Stone Age to the present
advanced stage of human life.
How does one get reborn? Here we have to analyze
the human body. The body right from the mother’s
womb till its death keeps changing and we are told
that the cells replicate themselves regularly in a
process of mutation. The only constant in all this
change is the ‘I’. The same body becomes a son, a
brother, a father, an uncle and so on. The ‘I’ does not
change. Does the ‘I’ have a form? The ‘I’ identifies itself
with the body and hence its form. When the body
dies where is this ‘I’. The body is intact but something
has gone out and hence it is said to have died. This is
the ‘Jiva’ or ‘Jivatman’. This is called the ‘atman’ or
the ‘soul’ or ‘Brahman’. This jivatman is a part of the
Paramatman or Universal ‘Jivatman’. This is called
the ‘atman’ or the ‘soul’ or ‘Brahman’. This jivatman
is a part of the Paramatman or Universal Consciousness.
From the sugarcane we get sugar juice, which
when processed becomes sugar crystals. When the
crystals are dissolved in water, they again become
sugar syrup. So we see that the soul or atman leaves a
body at death. Where does it go. It enters another
womb and is born in another family. It is because of
the vasanas we acquire in life and desires have no
end. When one gets fulfilled, another crops up.
Then comes the question: How can we get over this
cycle of births and deaths. The only answer is action
without yearning for the fruits of that action or
‘Nishkama Karma’. The moment we stop identifying
ourselves with the body, the body is left to complete
its quota of Karma, at the end of which it is liberated.
Doing one’s duties as they come, neither willingly
nor unwillingly, leads to this liberation,
meditation, satsanga and service to fellow men will
lead to this state of emancipation. He is a Jivan
Mukta. ‘Jivanmuktanandalahari’ by Sankara gives the
qualities of a Jivan Mukta.
Swami Vivekananda has suggested that love of all
beings is the starting point for human emancipation.
There may be hundreds of views and ways for
achieving an objective, but the objective is the ultimate
enlightenment for man. Till this is reached he
gets born again and again. This principle of transmigration
of soul has now been scientifically accepted
globally. One question however remains, that is,
should we relinquish enjoyment of the fruits of our
action? No, is the answer. As long as we do not re-
tain any ownership to our action, as long as we do
not identify ourselves with our bodies, there is no
problem with enjoying or suffering fruits of our actions.
In fact they must be so enjoyed or suffered;
only the identity with the object is not there. The ‘I’,
or ‘Atman’ always remains as an observer, treating
hot and cold, good and bad equally without likes or
dislikes. Just as we as individuals have a right to follow
our own paths, so is everyone within his right
to follow his path. This then is the Eternal Vedic
Tradition or ‘Sanatana Dharma’.
Let us now look into the state of the Vedas today. The
Vedas are in Sanskrit form known as ‘Candas’. But
later texts were in the Bhasa form that evolved various
languages like Nepali, Assamese, Bengali, Oriya,
and so on. Three Thousand years ago, India had only
two main languages, Tamil in the South and Sanskrit
in the North. The tribals and Dasyus had local dialects
like the ‘hiu’ in the South spoken by the Rakshasas
of the South. Only after Rama’s conquering of
Ravana, did four separate kingdoms arise in the
south, that of Chera, Chola, Pandyas and Pallavas.
Reference to these can be found in the Mahabharata.
Vedas are known as apauruseya while Agamas are
considered as pauruseya. The Agamas contain detailed
methods of worship of Gods and Goddesses
and do not involve any fire worship. Agamas apparently
came up later in the 1st Millennium AD. Since
then there is a blend of the Vedic and Agamic rituals,
which is predominantly based on Agamic cults. In the
Vedic or Vaidika rites the pouring of oblations on fire
is important and the fire consumes them. In the
Agama rites, only deity worship by representing an
idol, picture or a tool is practiced.
Manu himself has not considered the Vaidika rites favorably
and was stressing more on self-knowldege and liberation.
Vedanta is the culmination of knowledge (Veda).
The culmination of Karma (Vaidika) is Jnana. Immortality
can be reached by knowledge. In the Sruti we have:
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 45

Tam evam vidvan amritamiha bhavati
Nanyah panta ayanaya vidyate
One becomes immortal only by knowing Him, there is
no other way for attaining Him.
It is the Agama cult, which developed into the Bhakti
cult later on, that was taken up by Chaitanya and Sri
Ramkrishna. It is therefore possible to see how the
agama cult developed. The Vedic rituals were aimed
at attaining some material gain, which is not recommended
by Manu, though yagnas and other rituals
performed for the public good were recommended by
him. While Vedanta was within the reach of a few,
agama rituals were there for everyone. Since the objective
was knowledge of the infinite, the bhakti yoga
offered a simple method to all people aspiring for God
knowledge. This is probably why the vaidika rites of
five oblations declined from common use and the
agama or Bhakti rituals gained in importance. Devotion
to a personal God and meditating upon him prepared
the aspirant for uninterrupted meditation on
Him, ‘Ananya Chinta.’
The agama texts consist of the means of worship of
Shiva and Krishna (Ist and 2nd book), yoga in the
third book, and jnana in the fourth. The Jnana of the
Agamas is different from the Upanishads. The Upanishads
speak of one reality behind the universe while
the Agamas have the ‘tatva trayam’ or the three fold
reality i.e. Iswara, the individual and matter. Hence it
can be said that the Agamas are the Scriptures for
the Bhakti Marga and the Upanishads the scriptures
for the Jnana Marga. Jnana Marga is meant for the
few as it is difficult while the Bhakti Marga is available
to all. Even a low caste man can attain moksha
by Bhakti Marga whereas the Jnana Marga is open
mainly to the Brahmins. The Tamil Alwars and
Sivanadiars attained enlightenment even though
many of them were of low caste. It looks however
that the Bhagwad Gita was the precursor to the
Agama cults as it showed the different ways and concluded
that Bhakti yoga was the easiest and is available
to everyone. The agamas became really very
46 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
universal and did not recognize the caste system or
Varna dharma. The Bhagawad Gita contains both
Agama and Vedic teaching, it is essentially an appeal
for the Agama system. The Mahabharata war left a
lasting impact on the peoples of India and it is known
that the Dasyus of the South, including the Pandya,
and other kings participated in the war on the side of
Pandavas.
The Upanishads were evolved out of the Karma
Kanda of the Vedas and this fact is reflected in references
in the Chandogya and Brahadaranyaka Upanishads.
The majority of the people, however, cannot
fathom the depth of the Upanishadic teachings but
being deeply religious, sought some way to attain
moksha. The Dasyus of the South had a number of
Agamic methods of worship like the worship of Murugan,
Ganesa and so on. With the free mixing of the
Aryans from the north, essentially brahmins, and the
Tamils from the South, newer methods were found
which led to the agamic Bhakti cult evolving subsequently.
It was thus that the Vedic fire rites yielded
place to fire-less rites and worship. 28 Saiva Agamas,
108 Vaisnava agamas and 77 Sakti Agamas were compiled
in later years and Panini refers to Siva and Krishna
worships during his time itself.
A slow process of integration of the Vedanta with the
Agama school took place over the centuries. They existed
separately in the puranas, and even
sankaracharya (VII century AD) kept these two systems
separate. His Prapanca Hradaya is a pure Agama
work. However the essence of both systems as also
their objectives remained the same viz: Self-realization
or enlightenment. The Agama rites, evolved from
pre Aryan Indian cults, subjugated the minds of South
India after the 5th century AD, and blended with
Vedanta, it trickled back to North India and eventually
became what is known as Hinduism during the last
1000 years.
We can conclude, therefore, that the Vedic Tradition
encompasses the entire range of literature starting
with the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Itihasas, Agamas
and others. They contain methods or paths for every
type of man to attain enlightenment. True knowledge
leads to enlightenment or self-realization or self-knowledge.
While fire worship and fire rites are the oldest
forms of worship known to humanity all over the
world, this gradually yielded place to worship of personal
Gods without fire rites as it was easier for everyone
to follow this method of worship. This however
does not reduce the importance of the Upanishads as
they constitute one complete analysis of thought, and
contains practically every aspect of Logic, Psychology
and Philosophy. It is as relevant today as it was in
those days. But as we have said often, the result or objective
is important and the form is not.

Vedanta (or the end of knowledge) finds its ultimate
knowledge to be above both the known and the unknown.
Let us illustrate. There are three states of existence
viz: Paramarthika, Pratibhasika, and
Vyavaharika. Paramarthika is the absolute existence,
Vyavaharika is the empirical existence and Pratibhasika
is the illusory existence. Empirical existence
is what we see, that we live, see, speak and act. Pratibhasika
or illusory existence refers to the fact of superimposition.
When a rope is falsely seen as a
snake, the snake has an illusory existence but an empirical
existence has been superimposed on it. The
Absolute existence or Brahman or pure consciousness
is the absolute reality. This is beyond both the
real and the unreal. In an empirical existence, we
have both the pairs of opposites. The ‘I’ is falsely
identified with the body. With this identification,
there is empirical existence and when we realise that
this is a false identity there is illusory existence superimposed
on it. That which is beyond these is the
Real or absolute existence. The Nasadiya Sukta in
Rigveda (xl29) clearly explains this concept.
“Existence was not then, nor non-existence,
The world was not, the sky beyond was neither,
Death was not then, nor immortality,
The night was neither separate from day,
But motionless did that vibrate
Alone, with its own glory one......
Beyond that nothing did exist”
(Translated by Swami Vivekanada, complete works
Vol VI, 178-9)
When two trains run parallel at the same speed, we
do not perceive the motion of the other. Therefore, to
perceive motion, we have to have something that is
stationary. Similarly if we see Red, there must be another
colour that is not Red. Hence these are relative
perceptions, relative to one another. So is the case
with empirical existence and illusory existence. But
that which is beyond both the above is the actual Reality.
That is Brahman. When Brahman is superimposed
on a body, it becomes a person. They are all
attributes to the real Brahman. You cannot perceive
Brahman. If you know Brahman, you become Brahman,
like the salt dipstick used to measure the depth
of the ocean, dissolves and merges with the ocean,
we cannot perceive Brahman except through its attributes.
Just as we see the effect of air we breathe in
our lives but cannot see air, and just as you can see a
bulb lighting the room but not electricity, so is Brahman
the Prime Mover in this empirical existence.
From this we see that empirical existence is the product
of conditioning through light and other attributes.
From this conditioned perception, we can easily conceive
the unconditioned, which is the pratibhasika or
illusory phenomena. That which is neither conditioned
not unconditioned is the Real or Absolute.
Here I wish to compare the words of Evagrius Ponticus:
“When you are praying, do not shape within yourself
any image of the Deity, and do not let your mind be
stamped with the impress of form, but approach the Immaterial
in an immaterial
manner. Prayer means the shedding of
thoughts................Blessed
is the intellect that has acquired complete freedom from
sensations during prayer.”
Abhinavagupta, an exponent of Kashmir Saivism,
states in one of his hymes:
There is no need of spiritual progress, Nor of contemplation,
disputation or discussion, Nor meditation,
concentration nor even the effort of prayer-
Please tell me clearly: What is supreme Truth?
Listen: Neither renounce nor possess anything,
Share in the joy of the total reality and be as you are!
(Anuttarastika V.i)
Both the above point to pure Advaita. In the Bhagawad
Gita, Lord Krishna states that even the feeling
that one is renouncing implies ego, hence we should
renounce even renunciation. This is exactly what is
implied in the above quotation. We, therefore, see
that Truth is universal and only individuals have different
ways of thinking due to their environmental
conditioning, social and family background and of
course their past Karma.
-Ramakrishnan Srinivasan, a practising chemical
and environmental engineer, has been a student of
Vedanta for more than four decades. A voracious
reader since childhood, he has attended many lectures
of Swami Ranganathananda, Swami Chinmayananda
and other godmen of the Bhagvad Gita,
Ramayana, Bhagavata and the Upanishads. He has
travelled extensively in Europe,
the Americas and the Far East.
He has to his credit four volumes
of poems (1958-1999) on
morality, religion, love and
contemporary society.
Source: Vedic Tradition in the
New Millenium by Ramakrishnan
Srinivasan, Bhavan’s
Book University, Mumbai
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 47

Some Rare photographs from past
Prince Sardar Singh, (1880-1911) of Jodhpur - circa 1885
A rare view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the
Parliament House in New Delhi
48 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Compiled by: Nand Kumar
Provided by Saifuddin Chopra
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
The original picture of Jhansi ki Rani
Laxmi Bai. This picture was been
taken by the German photographer
Hoffman 160 years ago.
100-yr-old photo of British India

The Maharaja of Jammu
and Kashmir - Late 19th Century
Photograph
A public hanging in British India British India postage stamp - 1935
Gandhi with Mr. Charlie Chaplin
1000 rupees note Pakistani Rs 50
India's First Independence Day Celebrations in Delhi - August 15,1947
Half anna coin minted by the
East India Company
freedom fighter Swatantravir Savarkar
handwriting of great leader
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 49

Gandhi family Indira Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Indira Gandhi with Rajeev & Sanjay
it was the last time when Netaji was caught by Britishers
Lahore Fort, Pakistan - 1864 Lal Bahadur Shastri Former Indian
Prime Minister with family
Mahatma Gandhi
Partition migration from West Punjab
50 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Gandhi with Subhas
Chandra Bose – 1932
Jawaharlal Nehru with
Indira Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi with
Louis Mountbatten
The 1st Mumbai - Thane
passenger train - April 16, 1853
Krishna Bihari Vajpayee
father of former
Indian Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Mahatma Gandhi with Indira Gandhi
Maharani of Jaipur
Gayatri Devi - 1940's
The trial of Nathuram Godse – 1948

Nathuram Godse with gun in hand
facing Mahatma Gandhi just before
his assassination
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
with wife Eimilie Shenkl
Rabindranath Tagore with
Albert Einstein In 1934
Mr Shubhashchandra Boze
AKA Netaji at the age of
approx 14 years
The dead body of
Mr Chandrashekhar Azad
The Titanic before sailing Swami Vivekananda
The Noble Medals Hiroshima Bombing
The Titanic at the
bottom of the sea
Subhas Chandra Bose Adolf Hitler
The Real Hero
Bhagat Singh
The front page of The Hindustan
Times during Indian Independence
Nobel Lauriate
Prof. C. V. Raman
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 51

Old? Who is Old?
If you happen to be a sexagenarian or a septuagenarian
or an octogenarian, a nonagenarian or even a centenarian,
and feel old, the reason for it is more than
white hair. White hair among the thick black foliage
adorn the heads of trigenarians who are those between
the ages of 30 and 39.
When you are sixty, you are expected by those who
are yet to be sixty and certainly by those who are a
long way back from sixty, to pack your bags and
move into oblivion. If you have made your pile by
that time and can spend your years ahead with reasonable
comfort without having to lean on anyone,
especially your children, they would at best tolerate
if you keep pottering around without coming in
their way.
These days they avoid embarrassment for themselves
by relocating themselves in another city or better still,
another country. Mother’s presence is more tolerated
if she can manage the kitchen and is adept at changing
nappies of infants.
What is most certainly not welcome, whether you are
dad or mum, are your ‘ooh’s, your ‘aah’s your moans
and particularly your coughs, which have a tendency
to be sharp and loud during nights.
More than anything else, the symptoms of your infirmity
are more responsible for the proliferation of old
age homes, which were conspicuously absent in our
country, as long as the joint family system was prevalent
around the country.
52 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Ageing is a process that commences first in your mind.
When you see a wrinkle or spot a strand of grey hair on
someone who appears to be of an age closer to that of
your own, you make a bee line to the bath room mirror
and carefully examine yourself and feel relieved if there
are neither a wrinkle nor a strand of grey hair yet. The
world turns topsy-turvy, if you do find them.
The first thing that you buy then is a bottle of cream
that you can smear over the wrinkle to hide it and or
hair dye. Soon you will find yourself holding papers
at a distance to be able to read them and find it difficult
to read even when you do so.
Soon a pair of specs becomes inevitable. When you
are sixty and find yourself back home with no place
to go to the next day except perhaps a film theatre or
the house of a friend who also has retired. The predominant
feeling is one of depression which soon becomes
deep depression. While ageing does diminish
the efficiency factor of all our organs, the feeling of
being ‘unwanted’ makes matters worse. The first casualty
is your immune system. Every bone and muscle
in your system begins to remind you that they are
there, by throbbing with pain. The pain is not where
you think it is. It is in your mind.
When you are sixty, you are
expected by those who are yet to
be sixty and certainly by those
who are a long way back from
sixty, to pack your bags and
move into oblivion.
When a limb is amputated for some reason, long after
the limb is gone, the amputee feels pain in the region
where there once was his limb and the pain experienced
by him or her is real, in the sense that if there
is pain in any of the existing limbs, there is no difference
between the pain in the existing region and the
one felt in the limb which is no longer there.
If you examine history and look for people who have
made outstanding and remarkable achievements during
their life time, you will find that among them are
achievers who were sixty or above when they made
their discoveries or inventions or did things that are
normally watched than done.
What is of importance is the fact that their number is
not less than the number of achievers who were fifty
or less when they performed their feats that qualify
them to belong to the club of achievers.
They were able to reach up to the levels of outstanding
performance in spite of the fact that they had
their gouts, their arthritis, their diabetes, their
aches, failing eye sight and more.
What I am driving at is the fact that if these achievers
above the age of sixty are classified as ‘A’, and if
those who are above the age of sixty and feel helpless
are classified as ‘B’, then what has been made

While ageing does diminish the
efficiency factor of all our organs,
the feeling of being ‘unwanted’
makes matters worse. The first
casualty is your immune system.
Every bone and muscle in your
system begins to remind you that
they are there, by throbbing with
pain. They were able to reach the
levels of outstanding performance
in spite of their gouts, arthritis,
diabetes, their aches, failing eye
sight and more.
possible by A can even be bettered by B, in spite of
all infirmities. What is needed is the interest to make
the rest of life that is ahead of everyone really worthwhile
and really live, savouring every moment of it.
Difficult, you say? Let us look at it this way.
What are you doing now? This question is addressed to
those who are above sixty and have their basket of
aches and pains and maladies. You are bearing them all,
right now are you not? You are still around, aren’t you?
The presence of physical ailments do not stop you
from existing because you accept that they are going
to be there for a while any way and you continue to
maintain your daily routine, in spite of them.
They do not stop you from being involved in the activities
of the home-front. At least you evince interest
in whatever is happening around you. You try to
make your presence felt. You may be largely ignored
or taken for granted but your interest is very much
there, your aches and infirmities notwithstanding.
You listen, you talk. When needed, you do move out.
There may be a big drag on everything that you do
but nevertheless, you find yourself moving ahead
and doing what you feel is essential and should be
done. If you can get by and achieve what may be little,
you are capable of moving over to tackling the
small which are larger than little and the medium
which are larger than the small and certainly the big
Yoga instructor Tao
Porchon-Lynch is 93. She takes
as many as 12 yoga classes a
week even now.
which are larger than medium. You can do all these
and more if you only make up your mind to do and
the will to keep trying.
In the hunter-gatherer culture of the Hadsa people in
East Africa, hard- working grandmothers spend up to
7 hours a day gathering food for their families.
They contribute more food for their families than
their male hunters. It is normal for people to lose
muscle mass and gain weight as they age but this
trend is reversible with exercise. Even a long inactive
90 year old can build muscle and gain strength with
strength training (but it is quicker and easier to start
sooner). You must know that the nerve cells in the
human brain and the muscle cells in the heart have
the capacity to last more than 100 years.
When not affected by disease the heart of an older
person has the capacity to pump as efficiently as that
of a healthy young adult. Some individuals at 80 have
the heart of a 40 year old.
If you are one of those who think that the younger persons
are more capable you will be surprised to learn
that the humans have three times more vocabulary at
the age of 45 than at the age of 20. The human brain has
four times more information at 60 than at the age of 20.
Yoga instructor Tao Porchon-Lynch is 93. She takes
as many as 12 yoga classes a week even now. When
87 she fell down and broke her hip. After the hip replacement
surgery, the doctor told her that she
should now be easier on herself and grow accustomed
to doing less than what she might like.
A month after the surgery, she sent the doctor a picture
of herself doing a particularly difficult yoga
asana. The doctor has chosen to hang the picture in
his office!
P.N. Santhanagopal at 82, the senior-most member
of the Bhavan family in Mumbai, is the Joint Director
of Central Bhavan.
He commutes by metro, car or
even by bus every day and fills
a seven-hour work-day with
great zeal and energy. The Bhavan’s
Institute of Management,
Mysore has published his book,
Dimensions of Indian Culture
(A Collection of his articles).
Source: Bhavan’s Journal,
August 15, 2012
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 53

Spiritual United Nations
Spiritual United Nations (SUN) is a non-profit organization
dedicated to uniting all spiritualists
under one umbrella. Currently, those with a spiritual
outlook are commonly divided into different
groups. Spiritual United Nations will serve as a
meeting ground through which all such spiritual
seekers can harmonize their thoughts and practices,
allowing maximum benefit and realization
for all. It will help facilitate members in terms of
integrating themselves into society at large—but
in a spiritual way—leading to a positive contribution
and a bettering of the world’s situation.
Underlying Basis of Spirituality
Although spirituality ultimately refers to uniting
with the divine (yoga) or developing love for a
Supreme Being (theism), it is undergirded by a
set of pious activities meant to elevate the level
of one’s consciousness. At the basis of this elevation
one finds the following four principles:
Truthfulness (Honesty),
Cleanliness (Purity),
Self-Control (Austerity), &
Compassion (Mercy).
Presently the organization has official branches
in the four countries: USA, Canada, Russia and
Israel and it continues to grow steadily. It is represented
in the United Nations headquarters in
New York by the Chairperson of the NGO Com-
54 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
mittee “Spirituality, Values, and Global concerns”,
Sharon Hamilton-Getz.
The Spiritual United Nations is also accepted as
a project of the “Institute of International Social
Development”, a NGO with a Special consultative
status at the United Nations. The “Institute” has
branches in a number of countries as well—USA,
France, Switzerland and India.
In the nearest future Spiritual United Nations is
expecting to open few other branches in UK,
Japan, Australia, and Singapore.
Areas of Activities
Main areas of activities of the Spiritual United
Nations include:
Culture: Music, Dance, Dramas, Spiritual food,
Pilgrimages etc.
Education and Training: The entire range of
courses and programs on any spiritually.
Social Issues: Helping to resolve family problems,
Crime, Drugs, Adultery, Stress, Depressions etc
Welfare: Anything of the above for free to help
the needy.
Spirituality: Auyrveda, Astrology, Vastu, Yoga,

Meditation, Jajnas, Samskaras etc.
Environmental Issues: Farms etc.
Goals and Objectives
This nonprofit organization is meant to serve as
an umbrella or network for:
● Creating a horizontal structure which would
provide all the members of organisations and
individuals (those who value the 4 principles
above and try their best to develop these
and help others to do the same) with information,
contacts, training and funding resources,
mainly through exchange.
● Creating a vertical structure—developing
partnership with Government and International
bodies, helping them in preventing
and resolving their problems with spiritual
solutions.
Two main guidelines for the participants of the
project are: initiative and responsibility.
Even though no one can claim that spirituality
belongs to any particular group or tradition—
anyone can become a spiritual personality if one
follows the universal principles reflected in
many scriptures and books of wisdom. These
principles are: Truthfulness, Purity, Self-Control
and Mercy. These are meant for developing the
highest qualities of a human being and, ultimately,
pure unconditional love for the Supreme,
the world and every living being.
Project Description:
● To facilitate groups and individuals, regardless
of their affiliation, in their spiritual development.
● To organize funding for these groups and individuals
through donations, grants and regular
support from established foundations.
● To create a unifying structure that will function
as one common network, coordinating
various people’s efforts in numerous areas.
● To provide education and training to all
who require it for their spiritual services.
● SUN is supported by the initiative and personal
responsibility of its leaders, who volunteer
cooperatively and always adhere to
the four principles of spirituality.
Source: http://spiritualunitednations.info
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 55

Scriptures—Vedas
Upanishads, Puranas
A. Vedas
Veda is the word of Gods and they taught it to the
sages. Thus Veda is impersonal and eternal. The
texts are not made by any person and thus there is
no authorship for the Vedas. This has to be accepted
as the truth. It is true that just as scientific facts are
constantly revised on the basis of increasing knowledge,
so also the Vedic laws which are moral laws
have to be revised according to existing conditions
subject to the fact that the fundamentals remain the
same.
It is an unanimously accepted opinion that literature
in India is much older than the art of writing and was
conveyed orally from teacher to pupil and from generation
to generation. This system of learning is
known as Sruti (revealed by hearing). The learned
men were the travelling libraries of those days. The
Vedas thus constitute carefully treasured texts preserved
through 4000 years. An inscription in
Mesopotamia is said to throw light on the antiquity
of the Rig Veda.
Rig Veda Samhita is the earliest text of Indo-Aryans
and the language of the Rig Veda shows affinities to
Persian, Latin, Tautanic, Celtic and Salvionic. The
suggestion is, that the original home is in the region
of Europe comprising the present Hungary, Austria
and Bohemia. There is close affinity in language and
thought between the Rig Veda and the Iranian Avesta.
The limits of Rig Veda, India points to the Indian
occupation of Afghanistan in the west. The culture
of the Rig Veda society shows it was well organised.
Patriarchal system was followed; primarily
monogamic. Child marriage was unknown. Vedic
marriage was indissoluble by human action and
remarriage of widow was not allowed except when
there was no issue in which case marrying the
husband’s brother was allowed. The wife was the
husband’s partner in religious ceremonies. Dowry
was common. The father’s property was inherited
by the son with no right for the daughter unless
she was the only issue. The right of adoption was
recognised.
56 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
The Rig Veda attaches great importance to agriculture
(krishi) and the agricultural operations are summarised
as ploughing, sowing, reaping and threshing
(Krishantah, Vapantah, Lamantah and Muriah). The
cultivated grains were rice, barley, sesame, beans,
maize, lentils and the like. Wealth was accounted in
terms of cattle, horse and in good sons. The carpenter
was the most important person. Weaving was
common and generally done by women. Barter in
trade was common. Eg. ten cows for an image of
Indra. Haggling in the market was known.
Milk was the most important food. Meat was that of
sheep and goat. Cow was aghnya. Not to be killed.
Soma drink was the religious offering. Vedic kingdoms
were known. The King’s autonomy was limited
by the two popular bodies-Saba and Samiti which determined
the will of the people as also the election of
the King himself—an absolutely democratic process.
Plain living and high thinking were the hall marks of
Rig Vedic culture. Some of the prayers like the Gayatri
mantra touch the highest point of knowledge and
sustain the human soul to this day. Based on the
tapas or austerity, each rishi received enlightenment
and hymns were revealed to him which he passed on
to his son and family. Thus each rishikula functioned
as a basic school. When each rishi had conserved his
own hymns, a large volume of hymns became available
and the necessity was felt to make a selection
called Rig Veda Samhita out of which arose the other
three Vedic Samhitas—Yajur, Sama and Atharvana.
Thus, four stages are involved in Vedic learning—
growth of hymns, multiplication of various schools,
selection of hymns and the growth of the other three
Samhitas. This perfection led Bunsen to remark that
“even these earliest specimens of Vedic poetry belong
to the modern history of the human race”. The devices
in selection were so perfect that they have secured
“a faithfulness of tradition unparalleled in any
other ancient literature”. The fundamental educational
method was tapas, as a process of self-realisation.
The worship of nature was important; the sky, earth,
rain etc were the subjects of some of the noblest

Veda is impersonal and eternal. The texts are not made
by any person and thus there is no authorship for
the Vedas. This has to be accepted as the truth.
hymns of the Rig Veda. The important domestic
deities were Agni, the Sun and the Moon. According
to the Rig Veda, Light, Space and Time had been made
manifest by Jyoti-Tamas complex. Then there are the
time divisions of Muhurtha, Yojana, Kala, Yuga, etc.
The four seasons, Winter (Hemantah); Spring (Vasanta);
Summer (Grishma) and Autumn (Sarad) were
clearly demarcated. Throughout the Rig Veda, the abstract
form in which the Divine manifests itself, is
shown as the primordial light and sound. There is
also a clear indication of the knowledge of astronomy,
the impact of the movement of the Sun, diurnal
and annual, on the seasons.
The Samhitas were followed by the Brahmanas, the
Aranyakas and the Upanishads. The Brahmanas explain
in minute detail the Vedic sacrificial, ceremonial
functions. The Aranyakas are the concluding portion
of the Brahmanas and are philosophical and mystical
in character, culminating in the Upanishads.
Yajur Veda contains formulations for the sacrifice as
well as everything else which man does in the path of
life. Sama Veda includes the charts which became the
origin of music. Atharva Veda comprises all the
sources—tantra and yoga as well as medicine, surgery,
herbology, minerals, archery, magic, sexual science, etc.
The society was divided into four classes called varnas,
for strictly practical utility purposes, for the
smooth and harmonious functioning of society. Every
class was expected to perform certain duties assigned
to it. A person known for his moral and spiritual
knowledge and prepared to lead a life of
dedication and austerity was styled as Brahmin. The
spirit of bravery, adventure and daring in persons
came under the classification of Kshatriyas. Experts
in articulture, industry, trade and commerce came to
be classified as Vaisyas. People weaker in intellect, as
also of capacity were classified as Sudras, which class
supplied the manual labour. The term did not carry
any social stigma. The standard of living of the four
classes was more or less identical.
The beauty of this classification is that there was no
rigidity at all. A Sudra could achieve the status of a
Brahmin if he cultivated knowledge and erudition. A
Brahmin’s son could become a Kshatriya and vice
versa. Thus the varnas were interchangeable. The
Vedic culture had developed a fool proof social and
economic order which satisfied all sections of the
community. However with the lapse of time, the system
collapsed and has resulted in the creation of a
rigid caste system based entirely on one’s birth. So we
have to propagate the cult of “Back to the Vedic age”.
Vedic Mathematics: Vedic Mathematics is based on
16 sutras or word formulae and once this has been
learned Arithmetic, Algebra, etc can be solved with
ease and quick. Around 80 Countries are interested
in Vedic Mathematics. It was rediscovered in 1911 by
Sri Bharat Tirtha, who deciphered the Sanskrit manuscripts.
B. Upanishads
The word ‘Upanishad’ literally means sitting near. ‘Upa’
means near and ‘Nishad’ means ‘to sit’ near the guru
and listen to the teachings. The period of the Upanishads
is 1000 BC, composed after the end of the Vedic
period. Since it forms the concluding portion of the
Veda, the teachings are called Vedanta which suggests
that they contain the essence of the Vedic teaching.
There are in all 108 Upanishads, ten of which are regarded
as major Upanishads. They are solely devoted
to discussion of philosophical problems. “Thus it can
be said that the period of the Upanishads is the most
glorious period in the history of Indian culture.”
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 57

The Upanishads centre round the eternal questions
haunting the human mind—How was the universe
created? Is there a creator? Is the creation of the
universe based on any principle? Is there birth
after death? and so on.
The object of the discussions in the Upanishads is
clearly defined in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad as
follows:-
Lead me from falsehood to truth; from darkness to
light and from death to immortality.
The Upanishads centre round the eternal questions
haunting the human mind—How was the universe
created? Is there a creator? Is the creation of the universe
based on any principle? Is there birth after
death? and so on. The discussions end in the final advice
in the Kathopanishad, “Awake, Arise and Learn
the truth from wise people.”
A consistent diagnostic philosophy is not purported
by the Upanishads. The conclusions are tentative
and the result of discussions in search of truth, true
to the saying, ‘Truth is one; wise men describe it differently’.
The central theme of the Upanishads is the problem
of philosophy. It is the search for what is true. The
only happiness worth a wise man’s seeking is perma-
58 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
nent happiness as different from fleeting pleasures
that have a beginning and an end. Spiritual liberation
is the keynote of the Upanishads; liberating the soul
by breaking the bond of karma and uniting it (soul)
again to the Supreme Being (soul) in Moksha (liberation).
Purity of life and a mind free from selfish desires
are essential for enlightenment. Upanishads are
the text books of Jnana.
Abstract and philosophical thoughts such as, God of
the Universe, Man, the nature of God, the nature of
the Universe, the nature of man—these great fundamental
truths are told in the form of stories, illustrations,
similes etc. This is the essence of the Brahma
Vidya—the Divine wisdom. Only Brahman within can
know Brahman without and this is the central theme
of the Upanishads. If the existence of the self in its Divine
nature is to be reached, there is but one
method, meditation and noble living. The controversies
like, who is superior, Shiva or Vishnu as disputed
by the Saivaits / Vaishnavaits do not find a place in
the Upanishads. Vedanta is the common heritage of
the people of India. A life of sacrifice (of desires) is
the only way; you cannot throw away the self; only
the non self can be thrown away.
The essential nature of Brahman is the Absolute Infinite,
Sat-Chit-Anand (Truth-Knowledge-Bliss). The
definition of Brahman is “that from which the whole
universe and its beings arise; after having arisen, in
which they live and, the departure into which they
merge as Brahman. And Brahman is in all of us as our
own self (Atman)”.
All culture in India is rooted in Vedanta. The greatness
of Mahatma Gandhi and, the strength of his movement,
was entirely derived and rooted in Vedanta.
The ten principal Upanishads are:
1. Isa Upanishad
2. Kena
3. Katha
4. Prasna
5. Mundaka
6. Mandukya

7. Taittreya
8. Aitareya
9. Chandogya and
10. Brhadaranyaka
C. Puranas
The teachings of the Vedas are reinforced (upabrihmaia)
in the Puranas with arguments for God and Dharma,
with accounts of the creation of the universe, the sages
and the lives, of past kings.
The teachings of the Vedas are reinforced (upabrihmaia)
in the Puranas with arguments for God and
Dharma, with accounts of the creation of the universe,
the sages and the lives, of past kings. The supremacy
of the Lord and Dharma are made very
explicit in the Puranas. These include the stories of
the incarnations of the Lord for the establishment of
Dharma and Moksha on earth.
The Puranas occupy a high place in our sacred literature.
Along with the Ithihasas, they form one of the
fourteen Vidya Sthana (branches of knowledge). Ithihasa
Purana is described as “Vedanam Panchamam
Vedam.” The Puranas are classified into two—Mahapuranas
and Upapuranas with the former, 18 in number.
The minor Puranas are also said to be 18. The Puranic
literature is voluminous containing 400,000 slokas. The
largest of the works is the Skanda Purana and one of
the shortest is Markandeya. The supremacy of Vishnu
is proclaimed in many of the Puranas, a small number
for Siva and one or two for Brahma. The Vishnu Purana
is the oldest and enjoys a high authority.
The name Purana means what happened long ago. All
Puranas deal with the central problem of religion and
philosophy. Each one deals with different epochs
(kalpas and manvantaras); the history of great royal
dynasties especially those of the solar and lunar
races and the incarnations of Vishnu and the various
leelas of Siva. The aim is to propagate the truths of
the Vedas and Upanishads for the understanding of
the common man, impressing the mighty glory of the
Lord and His gracious benevolence. The Puranas are
thus potent influences in the development of the
moral and religious life.
Many Puranas deal with music, architecture, arts etc.
Several of them, through episodes, deal with the interchangeability
of the four varnas. The great Vasishta
was born of a courtesan and by his austerities
and penance became a brahmin. Vyasa, the author of
the Mahabharata was by birth a fisherman. Parasuru’s
father was a dog eater and many like this have
acquired Brahminhood by their spiritual attainments
though they were not Brahmins by birth.
The composite character of human nature is well
brought out in the Puranas. Man is composed of
good and evil elements and not even the greatest is
exempt from this mixture. It depends on individuals
to discipline themselves and develop their possibilities
in the right direction. The mystery of existence
and how man lives in apparent oblivion of the end, is
a frequent theme.
The Purana stories are intended to be the summation
of national character and national life The narration of
difficulties and triumphs enable elevation of ordinary
existence to a higher plane. Strong passion, greed, jealousy,
sensuality, drinking, gambling etc. are described,
to enable understanding of the problems and so avoid
them. They serve to point out that what matters in life
is not the end but the means, which has to be implemented
in a spirit of dedication and detachment.
One of the important Puranas is the Bhagavata which
has had a wonderful hold on the Hindus. Bakthi or
devotion to God is the central theme of the Bhagavata
especially in the manifestation as Krishna.
The Bhagavata deals in detail with the avatars which
are meant to root out Adharma and firmly establish
Dharma.
Thus the Puranas are a vast storehouse of tales
which throw a revealing light on subtle moral problems.
“For the religious and cultural awakening of the
country, which we hope for, the
Puranas have a vital contribution
to make”.
Source: Cultural Heritage of
India by Dr. J. Thuljaram Rao,
Impress, Coimbatore, India
Note: References are available
on request.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 59

India’s Frugal Dynamism
New Delhi: India’s sliding economy has inspired gloom
and doom far and wide, but increasingly bearish sentiment
is misplaced. India still offers hope, but, to understand
why, you have to leave macroeconomic
indicators aside and go micro. To take one example:
Google the phrase “frugal innovation,” and the first 20
search results all relate to India.
Indian companies have long recognized the opportunities
in meeting previously overlooked demand at the
“bottom of the pyramid.” Shampoo sachets originated
in India more than two decades ago, creating a market
for a product that the poor had never before been
able to afford. Indians without the space or money to
buy a whole bottle of shampoo for 100 rupees could
spend five for a sachet that they’d use once or twice.
But India’s leadership in “frugal innovation” goes beyond
downsizing: it involves starting with the needs of
poor consumers—itself a novel term (who knew the
poor could be consumers?)—and working backwards.
Instead of complicating or refining their products, Indian
innovators strip them down to their bare essentials,
making them affordable, accessible, durable, and
effective.
Indians are natural leaders in frugal innovation, imbued
as they are with the jugaad system of developing
makeshift but workable solutions from limited resources.
Jugaad essentially conveys a way of life, a
worldview that embodies the quality of making do
with what you have to meet your needs.
But jugaad is not about pirating products or making
cheap imitations of global brands. It is about innovation—finding
inexpensive solutions, often improvised
on the fly, within the constraints of a resource-
60 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
starved developing country full of poor people. An Indian
villager constructs a makeshift vehicle to transport
his livestock and goods by rigging a wooden cart
with an irrigation hand pump that serves as an engine.
That’s jugaad.
Common machines and household objects are reincarnated
in ways that their original manufacturers never
intended. Everything is reusable or reimaginable. If
you cannot afford your mobile phone bills, you invent
the concept of the “missed call”—a brief ring that is
not answered but that signals your need to speak to
the recipient.
Indian ingenuity has produced a startling number of
world-beating innovations, none more impressive than
the Tata Nano, which, at $2,000, costs roughly the
same as a high-end DVD player in a Western luxury
car. Of course, there’s no DVD player in the Nano (and
no radio, either, in the basic model); but its innovations
(which have garnered 34 patents) are not merely
the result of doing away with frills (including power
brakes, air conditioning, and side-view mirrors). Reducing
the use of steel by inventing an aluminium engine;
increasing space by moving the wheels to the
edge of the chassis; and relying on a modular design
that enables the car to be assembled from kits proved
conclusively that you could do more with less.
Then there’s the GE MAC 400, a hand-held electrocardiogram
(ECG) device that costs $800 (the cheapest
alternative costs more than $2,000), and the Tata
Swachh, a $24 water purifier (ten times cheaper than
its nearest competitor). The GE MAC 400 uses just
four buttons, rather than the usual dozen, and a tiny
portable printer, making it small enough to fit into a
satchel and even run on batteries; it has reduced the

cost of an ECG to just $1 per patient. The Swachh uses
rice husks (one of India’s most common waste products)
to purify water. Given that some five million Indians
die of cardiovascular diseases every year, more
than a quarter of them under 65, and that about two
million die from drinking contaminated water, these innovations’
value is apparent.
Many other examples of frugal innovation are already
in the market, including a low-cost fuel-efficient minitruck,
an inexpensive mini-tractor being sold profitably
in the United States, a battery-powered
refrigerator, a $100 electricity inverter, and a $12
solar lamp.
Moreover, medical innovations are widespread. An Indian
company has invented a cheaper Hepatitis B vaccine,
bringing down the price from $15 per injection to
less than $0.10. Insulin’s price has fallen by 40%,
thanks to India’s leading biotech firm. A Bangalore
company’s diagnostic tool to test for tuberculosis and
infectious diseases costs $200, compared to $10,000
for comparable equipment in the West.
Late last year, India’s government unveiled a handheld
computer that will cost only 2,250 rupees (about $40).
“Aakash” has a resistive seven-inch touch screen, like
Apple’s iPad. It comes in a rugged plastic casing, has
two gigabytes of flash memory, two USB ports, headphone
and video output jacks, and Wi-Fi capability.
Aakash uses the Android 2.2 operating system and
consumes a meager two watts of power, which is supplied
by an internal lithium-ion battery that can be
charged using a solar-powered charger. And the government
will subsidize 50% of the cost to students, so
a young Indian just has to pay $20 to have his own
tablet. The initial reviews are good.
Even the financial sector has seen innovation. Just
three years ago, there were only 15 million bank accounts
in a country of 1.2 billion people. Indians concluded
that if people won’t come to the banks, the
banks should go to the people. The result has been
the creation of brigades of traveling tellers with handheld
devices, who have converted the living rooms of
village homes into makeshift branches, taking deposits
as low as a dollar. More than 50 million new
bank accounts have been established, bringing India’s
rural poor into the modern financial system.
Frugal innovation pervades the Indian economy. It
is one of the reasons why there is more dynamism
in the Indian economy than those who look only at
the macroeconomic data believe. Sometimes it is
important to stop looking at the forest and focus on
the trees.
Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian Minister of State for
External Affairs and UN Under-Secretary
General, is a member of India’s Parliament and the
Author of a dozen books, including India from Midnight
to the
Millennium and Nehru: the
Invention of India.
Copyright: Project Syndicate,
2010, www.project-syndicate.org
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 61

The Vedas, the Root of All
Our religion consists of two major divisions, Saivism
and Vaisnavism. The doubt arises as to whether we
are speaking here of two separate faiths or of a single
one. Christianity too has two major divisions but
people belonging to both conduct worship in the
name of the same God. In Buddhism we have the Hinayana
and Mahayana 1 streams but they do not
make two separate faiths since both are based on
the teachings of the same founder, the Buddha. Do
Saivas and Vaisnavas worship the same god? No.
However it be with ordinary Vaisnavas, their acaryas
or teachers never go anywhere near a Siva temple.
Their god is Visnu, never Siva. In the opinion of the
worshippers of Visnu, Siva is also one of his
(Visnu’s) devotees. There are extremists among
Saivas also according to whom Visnu is not a god
but a devotee of Siva. How then can the two groups
be said to belong to the same religion?
Are they to be regarded as belonging to the same
faith by virtue of their having a common scripture?
The divisions [sects] of Christianity have one common
scripture, the Bible; so too is the Qur’an the
common holy book for all divisions of Islam. Is such
the case with Saivas and Vaisnavas? Saivas have the
Tirumurai as their religious text, while Vaisnavas
have the Nalayira-Divyaprabandham as their sacred
work 2 . For Saivas and Vaisnavas thus the deities as
well as the scriptures are different. How can it be
claimed that both belong to the same religion?
Though divided into Saivas and Vaisnavas, we have
been saved by the fact that the white man brought us
together under a common name, “Hindu”. But for this,
what would have been our fate? In village after village,
we would have been fragmented into separate religious
groups—Saivas, Vaisnavas, Saktas 3 , worshippers
of Muruga 4 , Ganapati, Ayyappa 5 , and so on.
Further, in these places followers of religions like
Christianity and Islam would have predominated.
Now two regions of our subcontinent have become
Pakistan 6 . Had we not been brought together with the
label of Hindu, the entire subcontinent would have
become Pakistan. The very same men who created
Pakistan through their evil designs and sowed the
seeds of differences among us with their theory of
two races—Aryans and Dravidians— unwittingly did
us a good turn by calling us Hindu, thereby bringing
into being a country called “India.”
So are we one religion or are we divided into two
faiths? The belief that Saivas and Vaisnavas have
62 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
In the Western Hemisphere
too there is evidence of Hinduism
having once flourished
there. In Mexico a festival is
celebrated at the same time as
our Navaratri; it is called
“Rama-Sita”.
separate deities and religious works does not represent
the truth. Though the present outlook of the
two groups suggests that they represent different
faiths, the truth will be revealed if we examine their
prime scriptures. The saints who composed the
Tirumurai of the Saivas and the Nalayira-Divyaprabandham
of the Vaisnavas never claimed that these
works of theirs were the prime religious texts of the
respective sects. Nor did they regard themselves as
founders of any religion. Vaisnavism existed before
the Azhvars and so too there was Saivism before the
Nyanmars.
The original scripture of both sects is constituted by
the Vedas. Saivas describe Isvara thus 7 :
Vedamodarangamayinanai
Vedanathan, Vedagitan, aranan kan
Similarly, the Vaisnava texts proclaim, “Vedam
Tamizh seyta Maran sathakopan 8 .” If we pay close attention
to their utterances, we will discover that the
Vedas are the prime scripture of both sects. The
Tevaram and the Nalayira-Divyaprabandham are of
the utmost importance to them (to the Saivas and
Vaisnavas respectively); but the Vedas are the basis
of both. The great saint-poets who composed the
Saiva and Vaisnava hymns sing the glories of the
Vedas throughout. Whenever they describe a temple,
they go into raptures, saying, “Here the air is filled
with the sound of the Vedas and pervaded with the
smoke of the sacrificial fire. Here the six Angas 9 of
the Vedas flourish.” In the songs of these
hymnodists veneration of the Vedas finds as much
place as devotion to the Lord.

Buddhism has spread in
Central Asia and in East
Asia up to Japan.
According to anthropologists,
religions in their original
form exist only in areas
like the forests of Africa.
But even these ancient faiths
contain Vedic elements.
The Vedas reveal the One Truth to us in the form of
many deities. The worship of each of these divine beings
is like a ghat on the river called the Vedas.
Sekhizhar says the same thing 10 : “Veda neri tazhaittonga
mihu Saivatturai vilanga.” Apart from Saivism and
Vaisnavism, there are a number of sectarian systems
like Saktam, Ganapatyam, Kaumaram, and Sauram
(worship of Sakti, Ganapati, Kumara or Subrahmanya
and the Sun God 11 . The adoration of these deities is
founded in the Vedas according to the texts relating to
them: “Our deity is extolled in the Vedas,” each system
contains such a declaration. Thus we find that there is
but one scripture as the source common to the different
sects and schools of thought in the Hindu religion.
This source includes the Upanisads. On ten of them
(Dagopanisad) the great teachers of the Saiva, Vaisnava,
and Smarta traditions have written commentaries.
The Upanisadic texts proclaim that the Brahman
is the one and only Godhead. In the Kathopanisad it is
called Visnu; in the Mandukyopanisad it is called Sivam.
All the deities mentioned in the Samhitas of the
Vedas—Mitra, Varuna, Agni, Indra and so on—are different
names of the same Truth. So it is said in the Vedas:
“Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti.”
It emerges that for all the divisions in our religion
there is but one scripture—a scripture common to
all—and one Godhead which is known by many
names. The Vedas are the common scripture and
the Godhead common to all is the Brahman. Thus
we can say with finality, and without any room for
doubt, that all of us belong to the same religion.
The Vedas that constitute the scripture common to
all and which reveal the Godhead that is common to
us also teach us how to lead our life, and—this is important—they
do us the ultimate good by showing
us in the end the way to become that very Godhead
ourselves. They are our refuge both here and the
hereafter and are the source and root of all our different
traditions, all our systems of thought. All
sects, all schools of our religion, have their origin in
them. The root is one but the branches are many.
The Vedas are the source not only of the various divisions
of Hinduism, all the religions of the world
may be traced back to them. It is our bounden duty
to preserve them for all time to come with their
glory undiminished.
Candrasekharendra Saraswati
Source: Hindu Dharma The Universal Way of Life,
Bhavan’s Book University, Mumbai
Notes & References
1 “Hinayana” (“Lesser Vehicle”, “Lower Way”) is a school of Buddhism which teaches the attainment of salvation for oneself alone, that is it is fit for a
select few. “Mahayana” (“Greater Vechicle” or “Higher Way”) teaches the salvation of all. (The definitions given here are too brief and perhaps oversimplified.)
Hinayana is the earlier school and claims to represent the teachings of the Buddha in a “purer” form. Mahayana is usually ascribed to
Nagarjuna.
2 The Paramaguru is referring here to the Saivas and Vaisnavas of Tamil Nadu.
3, 4 & 5 “Saktas” are worshippers of Sakti, the Supreme Goddess. “Muruga” is Subrahmanya or Kartikeya. Tamils are particularly devoted to him. “Ayyappa”
is “Sasta” or “Hariharaputra”. He represents the oneness of Siva and Visnu.
6 This discourse was given before Bangladesh came into being.
7 “Behold, Isvara in his form of the Vedas and the six Angas.”
8 “Nammazhvar (Maran or Sathakopan) who created the Tamil Veda.”
9 Parts Six to Eleven deal with the six Angas.
10 “For the Vedas to flourish and for Saivism to prosper.”
11 Adi Sankara instituted the six religious systems (Sanmata)—worship of Siva, Visnu, Sakti, Ganapati, Kumara and Surya.
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 63

Crippled Pakistan
New Delhi: The problems and dilemmas confronting
Pakistan’s leadership—including a deepening vortex
of mutual suspicions, sectarian killings, and brazen
terrorism—are almost too numerous to count. And
that leadership—whether civilian, military, and also
the now politically active judiciary—has proven congenitally
ineffective, leaving the country with a broken
economy and a paralyzed political system.
Central to the world’s concerns about the region is the
complex reality of the two Taliban movements—one in
Afghanistan, over which Pakistan’s powerful Directorate
for Inter-Services Intelligence has a great deal of
control, and one in Pakistan itself, which is waging an
increasingly vicious guerrilla war against the Pakistani
government. With the United States and NATO due to
withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by the end of
2014, there is a real possibility that the Taliban will not
only regain power there, but will also turn Pakistan
into a truly failed state.
Encouragingly, after a gap of seven months when no
military supplies could reach Afghanistan via the
Khyber Pass—a cutoff that followed the death of
Pakistani soldiers at the hands of NATO troops firing
across the border—NATO trucks in early July
were finally allowed to cross again. Somewhat
guardedly, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced:
“(Pakistani) Foreign Minister (Hina Rabbani)
Khar and I acknowledged the mistakes that
resulted in the loss of Pakistani military lives. We
are sorry for the losses suffered by the Pakistani
military.” Her affirmation of commitment to prevent-
64 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
ing such an event in the future appears to have sufficed
to re-open the border to NATO’s resupply
through Pakistan.
This self-defeating crisis is now over, but can both
sides really prevent further deterioration in their complex,
mutually dependent relationship? This question
matters principally because Pakistan’s quest for national
identity and territorial security is rooted in existential
fear of its neighbors. Unfortunately, as Michael
Krepon of the Stimson Center, an American foreignpolicy
think tank, observes, official Pakistani tactics
sustain the country’s “isolation and decline.” Moreover,
America’s tactics, Krepon argues, heighten “its
estrangement with Pakistan. As long as current policies
remain fixed, new points of contention seem inevitable
between Pakistan, its neighbors, and the
United States.”
The big question across South Asia is whether or not
the withdrawal of US/NATO troops will attenuate Pakistan’s
dilemmas or deepen them. Much will depend
on how Pakistan addresses its internal turbulence, as
well as how the situation in Afghanistan evolves. Many
Pakistanis, including Sartaz Aziz, a former foreign minister
who sees a policy vacuum, are not sanguine.
But the problem is deeper than an absence of effective
leadership. As Pakistani journalist Mir Mohammad Ali
Talpur has put it, “[W]hen states are formed on an artificial
basis of contrived nationhood or on the basis
of religion, as was the case with Pakistan, Israel, and
Yugoslavia, they of necessity turn into…states domi-

nated by militarist ideology.” Furthermore, “Pakistan,
by claiming to be the legatee of the glory of Islam burdened
itself with heavy historical baggage.”
But could it have done otherwise? The elite of Pakistan,
Ali Talpur continues, “subscribing to a statist
and militarist ideology,” became “the self-appointed
defenders of Islam,” and “even the brigands of Islamic
history” were accorded the status of heroes, creating
an illusion of invincibility and grandeur that is “not in
any way in keeping with reality.”
Here, successive US governments have compounded
South Asia’s problems by pursuing only their own national
interests, at an incalculable cost to the natural,
organic growth of the region’s countries. Without
Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran
acting in concert, no lasting solutions can be found;
they certainly cannot be imposed unilaterally by the
US and NATO.
Thus, a dilemma arises: the presence of US/NATO
forces in Afghanistan is not in harmony with the natural
urges and balance of the region. After all,
Afghanistan can remain only where it is, with or without
US troops, which is why its future will remain an
issue of great concern to Pakistan (and to India).
How are these countries to harmonize their own national
interests and priorities with those of the Western
powers?
According to Kamran Shafi, a retired Pakistani army
officer, Pakistan “has lost the trust of most, if not all
of our friends.” Indeed, even Pakistan’s “brotherly”
Saudi Arabia has extradited to India the man blamed
by the Indians as one of the masterminds of the horrific
terror attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. In
promoting and pursuing terrorism as an instrument
of state policy, Pakistan seems intent on never regaining
that trust, without which peace, unseen in
South Asia since the partition of British India in 1947,
is impossible.
South Asia now seems condemned to something akin
to a 100-year war. But, unlike Europe’s Hundred Years’
War, this struggle is shadowed by the potential for mutually
assured destruction. Given the potent Pakistani
and Indian nuclear arsenals, the war could be very
short indeed.
Jaswant Singh, a former Foreign Minister, Finance
Minister, and Defense Minister of India, is a member
of the opposition in India’s Parliament. He is
the Author of Jinnah: India—Partition—Independence.
Copyright: Project Syndicate,
2010, www.projectsyndicate.org
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 65

Rajiv Gandhi
“India is an Old country but a young nation…
I am young and I too have a dream,
I dream of India Strong, Independent,
Self-Reliant and in the front rank of the
nations of the world,
in the service of mankind.”
—Rajiv Gandhi on his vision about India
Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India
at the age of 40. He came from a family that had great
political lineage. He was the eldest son of Indira and
Feroze Gandhi. Her mother Indira Gandhi and grandfather
Jawaharlal Nehru were Prime Ministers of India.
As a Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made invaluable contribution
in modernizing Indian administration. He had
the vision and foresight to see that information technology
will play a key role in the 21st century and
worked actively to develop India’s capacity in this
realm.
Early Life
Rajiv Gandhi was born on 20 August 1944 in Mumbai
in India’s most famous political family. His grandfather
Jawaharlal Nehru played a stellar role in India’s freedom
struggle and became independent India’s first
Prime Minister. His parents lived separately and Rajiv
Gandhi was raised at his grandfather’s home where
her mother lived. Rajeev Gandhi did his schooling
from the elite Doon school and then studied at the
University of London and at Trinity College, Cambridge
in Britain. At Cambridge, Rajiv Ghandi met and
fell in love with an Italian student Sonia Maino and
they got married in 1969.
The Brother Sanjay Gandhi
After his return from the United Kingdom, Rajiv
Gandhi exhibited least interest in the politics and focused
onto becoming a professional pilot. He, later,
worked for Indian Airlines, as a pilot. Unlike Rajiv, his
younger brother had developed an interest and knowledge
in the subjects of public administration and political
developments. Although he had not been elected,
Sanjay began exercising his influence with police officers,
high-level government officers and even the Cabinet
Ministers. Many senior ministers, as a protest
66 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
against Sanjay Gandhi, resigned from office. Sanjay,
gradually promoted as a close political advisor to Indira
Gandhi. On 23 June 1980, Sanjay Gandhi died in
an air crash in Delhi.
Sanjay Gandhi Death
After the death of his brother Sanjay, the senior members
of the Indian National Congress party approached
Rajiv Gandhi, in order to persuade him
joining politics. But, Rajiv was reluctant about joining
and said “no” to them. His wife, Sonia Gandhi, also
stood by Rajiv’s stand of not entering into politics. But
after constant request from his mother Indira Gandhi,
he decided to contest. His entry was criticized by
many in the press, public and opposition political parties.
They saw the entry of Nehru-Gandhi scion into
politics as a forced-hereditary-participation. Within a
few months of his election as a Member of Parliament,
Rajiv Gandhi acquired significant party influence and
became an important political advisor to his mother.
He was also elected as the general secretary of the All-
India Congress Committee and subsequently became
the president of the Youth Congress.
Indira Gandhi Assassination
Following the assassination of his mother, on 31 October
1984, the Congress leaders and partisans favoured
Rajiv as the immediate successor to Indira Gandhi.
The decision was also supported by Zail Singh, the
then President of India.
Rajiv Gandhi said on the Issue of Violence:
“Where do we go from here?
We are imprisoned by the narrow domestic walls
of Religion,
Language, Caste and Region blocking out

the clear view of a resurgent nation.
Is this the nation Mahatma Gandhi and
Indira Gandhi sacrificed their lives for?”
The Prime Minister
In his initial days as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi was
immensely popular. During his tenure as Prime Minister
of India, he brought a certain dynamism to the premiership,
which had always been occupied by older
people. He is credited with promoting the introduction
of computers in India. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
began leading in a direction significantly different from
Indira Gandhi’s socialism. He improved bilateral relations
with the United States and expanded economic
and scientific cooperation. He increased government
support for science and technology and associated industries,
and reduced import quotas, taxes and tariffs
on technology-based industries, especially computers,
airlines, defence and telecommunications. He worked
towards reducing the red tape in the governance and
freeing administration from bureaucratic tangles. In
1986, Rajiv Gandhi announced a national education
policy to modernize and expand higher education programs
across India.
The Achievements
As Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi endeavoured to eliminate
the corrupt and criminal faces within the Indian
National Congress party. To deal with the anti-Sikh agitation,
that followed the death of his mother, Rajiv
Gandhi signed an accord with Akali Dal president Sant
Harchand Singh Longowal, on 24 July 1985. Rajiv
Gandhi brought a revolution in the field of information
technology and telecom. The idea helped in originating
the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, popularly
known as MTNL. Rajiv Gandhi was the man to
transcend telecom services to the rural India or “India
in true sense”.
Rajiv Gandhi said on the need to connect Youth &
Technology:
“Our Youth have to be trained to use new technology in
all areas especially agriculture where it matters most.”
The Controversies
While commenting on the anti-Sikh riots, that followed
the assassination of India Gandhi in Delhi, Rajiv
Gandhi said, “When a giant tree falls, the earth below
shakes”. The statement was widely criticized both
within and outside the Congress Party. Many viewed
the statement as “provocative” and demanded an
apology from him. Beside, Rajiv Gandhi’s name had
also surfaced in the major controversies like Bofors
and the formation of Indian Peace Keeping Force.
Bofors Case
The infamous Bofors scandal that still haunts the political
walls of the country was exposed during Rajiv
Gandhi’s reign. A strong corruption racket involving
Senior members of the Indian National
Congress party approached
Rajiv Gandhi, in order to persuade
him joining politics. He brought a
certain dynamism to the premiership,
which had always been occupied
by older people. He is credited
with promoting the introduction of
computers in India. Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi began leading in
a direction significantly different
from Indira Gandhi’s socialism.
many stalwarts of the Congress Party was unearthed
in the 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of
India and several others prominent leaders were accused
of receiving kickbacks from Bofors for winning a
bid to supply India’s 155 mm field howitzer (a type of
artillery piece).
IPKF
In 1987, the Indian Peace Keeping Force was formed to
end the Sri Lankan Civil War between the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan military.
The acts of the military contingent was opposed
by the Opposition parties of Sri Lanka and as well as
LTTE. But, Rajiv Gandhi refused to withdraw the IPKF.
The idea also turned out to be unpopular in India, particularly
in Tamil Nadu. The IPKF operation cost over
1100 Indian soldiers lives and over 2000 crores.
The Final Day
The Bofors scandal and IPKF case rapidly eroded his
popularity and he lost the next general elections held
in 1989. A coalition comprising government came to
the power but it could not last its full term and general
elections were called in 1991. While campaigning for
elections in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, Rajiv Gandhi
was assassinated on 21 May 1991 by a suicide bomber
belonging to LTTE. On that day, on his way towards
the dais, Rajiv Gandhi was garlanded by many Congress
supporters and well wishers. At around 10 pm,
the assassin greeted him and bent down to touch his
feet. She then exploded an RDX explosive laden belt
attached to her waist-belt. The act of violence was carried
out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), expressing their resentment over the formation
Indian Peace-keeping Force.
Source: www.iloveindia.com, www.culturalindia.net
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 67

Is Inequality Inhibiting Growth?
Chicago: To understand how to achieve a sustained
recovery from the Great Recession, we need to understand
its causes. And identifying causes means
starting with the evidence.
Two facts stand out. First, overall demand for goods
and services is much weaker, both in Europe and the
United States, than it was in the go-go years before
the recession. Second, most of the economic gains in
the US in recent years have gone to the rich, while
the middle class has fallen behind in relative terms.
In Europe, concerns about domestic income inequality,
though more muted, are compounded by angst
about inequality between countries, as Germany
roars ahead while the southern periphery stalls.
Persuasive explanations of the crisis point to linkages
between today’s tepid demand and rising income
inequality. Progressive economists argue that
the weakening of unions in the US, together with tax
policies favoring the rich, slowed middle-class income
growth, while traditional transfer programs
were cut back. With incomes stagnant, households
were encouraged to borrow, especially against home
equity, to maintain consumption.
Rising house prices gave people the illusion that increasing
wealth backed their borrowing. But, now
that house prices have collapsed and credit is unavailable
to underwater households, demand has
plummeted. The key to recovery, then, is to tax the
rich, increase transfers, and restore worker incomes
by enhancing union bargaining power and raising
minimum wages.
This emphasis on anti-worker, pro-rich policies as
the recession’s primary cause fits less well with
events in Europe. Countries like Germany that reformed
labor laws to create more flexibility for employers,
and did not raise wages rapidly, seem to be
in better economic shape than countries like France
and Spain, where labor was better protected.
So consider an alternative explanation: Starting in
the early 1970’s, advanced economies found it increasingly
difficult to grow. Countries like the US and
the United Kingdom eventually responded by deregulating
their economies.
Greater competition and the adoption of new technologies
increased the demand for, and incomes of,
highly skilled, talented, and educated workers doing
non-routine jobs like consulting. More routine, once
well-paying, jobs done by the unskilled or the moderately
educated were automated or outsourced. So
68 I Bhavan Australia I August 2012
income inequality emerged, not primarily because
of policies favoring the rich, but because the liberalized
economy favored those equipped to take advantage
of it.
The short-sighted political response to the anxieties
of those falling behind was to ease their access to
credit. Faced with little regulatory restraint, banks
overdosed on risky loans. Thus, while differing on
the root causes of inequality (at least in the US), the
progressive and alternative narratives agree about its
consequences.
The alternative narrative has more to say. Continental
Europe did not deregulate as much, and preferred
to seek growth in greater economic integration. But
the price for protecting workers and firms was
slower growth and higher unemployment. And, while
inequality did not increase as much as in the US, job
prospects were terrible for the young and unemployed,
who were left out of the protected system.
The advent of the euro was a seeming boon, because
it reduced borrowing costs and allowed countries to
create jobs through debt-financed spending. The crisis
ended that spending, whether by national governments
(Greece), local governments (Spain), the
construction sector (Ireland and Spain), or the financial
sector (Ireland). Unfortunately, past spending
pushed up wages, without a commensurate increase
in productivity, leaving the heavy spenders indebted
and uncompetitive.
The important exception to this pattern is Germany,
which was accustomed to low borrowing costs even
before it entered the eurozone. Germany had to contend
with historically high unemployment, stemming
from reunification with a sick East Germany. In the
euro’s initial years, Germany had no option but to reduce
worker protections, limit wage increases, and reduce
pensions as it tried to increase employment.

Germany’s labor costs fell relative to the rest of the
eurozone, and its exports and GDP growth exploded.
The alternative view suggests different remedies. The
US should focus on helping to tailor the education
and skills of the people being left behind to the available
jobs. This will not be easy or quick, but it beats
having corrosively high levels of inequality of opportunity,
as well as a large segment of the population
dependent on transfers. Rather than paying for any
necessary spending by raising tax rates on the rich
sky high, which would hurt entrepreneurship, more
thoughtful across-the-board tax reform is needed.
For the uncompetitive parts of the eurozone, structural
reforms can no longer be postponed. But, given
the large adjustment needs, it is not politically feasible
to do everything, including painful fiscal tightening,
immediately. Less austerity, while not a
sustainable growth strategy, may ease the pain of adjustment.
That, in a nutshell, is the fundamental eurozone
dilemma: the periphery needs financing as it
adjusts, while Germany, pointing to the post-euro experience,
says that it cannot trust countries to reform
once they get the money.
The Germans have been insisting on institutional
change—more centralized eurozone control over
periphery banks and government budgets in exchange
for expanded access to financing for the periphery.
Yet institutional change, despite the
euphoria that greeted the latest EU summit, will
take time, for it requires careful structuring and
broader public support.
Europe may be better off with stop-gap measures. If
confidence in Italy or Spain deteriorates again, the
eurozone may have to resort to the traditional bridge
between weak credibility and low-cost financing: a
temporary International Monetary Fund-style moni-
tored reform program.
Such programs cannot dispense with the need for
government resolve, as Greece’s travails demonstrate.
And governments hate the implied loss of
sovereignty and face. But determined governments,
like those of Brazil and India, have negotiated programs
in the past that set them on the path to sustained
growth.
As a reformed Europe starts growing, parts of it may
experience US-style inequality. But growth can provide
the resources to address that. Far worse for Europe
would be to avoid serious reform and lapse into
egalitarian and genteel decline. Japan, not the US, is
the example to avoid.
Raghuram Rajan, a former Chief Economist of the
IMF, is Professor of Finance at the University of
Chicago’s Booth School of Business and the Author
of Fault Lines: How Hidden
Fractures Still Threaten the
World Economy, the Financial
Times Business Book of
the Year.
Copyright: Project Syndicate,
2011, www.projectsyndicate.org
69 I Bhavan Australia I August 2012

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Difficulties, opposition, criticism—these things are meant to be overcome, and there is a
special joy in facing them and in coming out on top. It is only when there is nothing but praise
that life loses its charm and I begin to wonder what I should do about it.
—Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, sister of Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru, was Indian diplomat, politician and an active
member of the Indian freedom struggle movement.
She was the first female President of United Nations
General Assembly. She was India’s first woman Cabinet
Minister and the first woman to lead a delegation
to UN. She was the world’s first woman Ambassador
who served three prized Ambassadorial posts at
Moscow, Washington and London. She considered Indian
National Congress as her own family as she was
born into it. Vijaya Lakshmi was instrumental in the
politics of the country. According to her, politics is a
means of social and economic reform, which strengthens
human rights and empowers women.
Early Life
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was born on 18 August, 1900 at
Allahabad. She was the daughter of Motilal Nehru and
Swarup Rani Nehru. Her father had great admiration
for the west and took the best he knew from it. According
to him, “Western” meant discipline, rationality,
a sense of adventure and a practical approach to
problems. He was a rebel who was against caste barriers
and outdated customs. Her childhood was a period
of contradictions and contrasts and a period of
transition from age-old traditions and prejudices to
new ways of living and thinking. Motilal Nehru’s powerful
moulding influence was greatest on Vijaya Lakshmi
Pandit, who, of his three children, resembled him
in her temperament, her zest for life and her involvement
with other human beings. Her own home was the
centre of the contrasts present in the country. In her
home, tradition and modernity co-existed harmoniously.
At the age of 21 she got married to Ranjit Pandit,
who was a cultured Litterateur, Aristocrat, and
Barrister from Kathiawar. Chandra Lekha, Nayantara
and Rita Vitasta were born to her.
Politics at Young Age
At a very early age Vijaya Lakshmi was very much interested
in politics. At sixteen she attended her first
70 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
political meeting, organized by her cousin Rameshwari
Nehru at Manyo Hall of Allahabad University to
assemble women in a protest against the treatment
of Indian labourers in South Africa. At sixteen, she
wished to join Annie Besant’s Home Rule League but
being too young, she was allowed to enrol only as a
volunteer. In her mid-thirties she was elected to the
Allahabad Municipal Board. She was arrested and
sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for presiding
over a crowded public meeting where the Independence
pledge was taken. This was the first of
her three imprisonments. When the Indian National
Congress took part in provincial elections she and
her husband, Ranjit S. Pandit, were elected to the
U.P. Assembly.

Mahatma Gandhi was released
from jail and he asked her to go
to America to speak about actual
conditions in India. This became
possible when Sir Tej Bahadur
Sapru (President of the Indian
Council for World Affairs) included
her in an Indian delegation
to the Pacific Relations Conference
to be held in Virginia.
Vijaya Lakshmi and Mahatma Gandhi
For two continuous years she was the President of the
All-India Women’s Conference. Tragedy struck her
with the death of her husband after his last imprisonment
in 1944. As he had left no will, she was left virtually
penniless, as Hindu widows had no inheritance
rights. His brother claimed all his investments and
earning and made everything in his custody. Shaken
by her grief and without knowledge of future and with
no source of support, she left for Bengal to work,
where cholera had spread in the wake of famine, and
to set up a Save the Children Fund.
During this time, Mahatma Gandhi was released from
jail and he asked her to go to America to speak about
actual conditions in India. This became possible when
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (President of the Indian Council
for World Affairs) included her in an Indian delegation
to the Pacific Relations Conference to be held in Virginia.
She became the member of the Constituent Assembly
that drafted the Constitution.
In the year 1937, she was elected to the provincial legislature
of the United Provinces and became the Minister
of the Local Self Governing Body. She held this
position for two consecutive years. Later, in the year
Her childhood was a period of contradictions
and contrasts and a period
of transition from age-old
traditions and prejudices to new
ways of living and thinking.
1946, she was re-elected for this position. After Independence
she was twice elected to Parliament and she
led India’s first Goodwill Mission to China.
In the post-independence period, she made an entry
into the diplomatic services and served as the Ambassador
of India to various countries like Soviet Union,
Ireland, United States and Mexico. From 1962 to 1964,
she served as the Governor of Maharashtra. Thereafter,
she was elected to the Lok Sabha from Phulpur,
which was the former constituency of her brother,
Jawaharlal Nehru and was vacated as a result of his
death. She held the post for four years till 1968.
Retirement
When Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister in the
year 1966, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit took retirement from
active politics. After taking voluntary retirement, she
went to the peaceful Dehradun city. In the year 1979,
she was chosen as the representative of India to the
United Nations Human Rights Commission. Thereafter,
she went far away from public life. She had an interest
in writing. Her writings consisted of ‘The Evolution of
India’ (1958) and ‘The Scope of Happiness: A Personal
Memoir’ (1979). In fact, her daughter named Nayantara
Sahgal, is a wonderful novelist.
Final Days
Vijaya Lakshmi collected more than eight honorary
degrees from the world universities besides those offered
to her in India. She celebrated her ninetieth
birthday by inviting her family members. It was a
grand function and it happened to be her final farewell
as she died two months later. Vijaya Lakshmi used to
say that none should mourn her death as she had
lived long.
Her family members took her word to heart and at
Sangam instead of mourning her death they celebrated
her life. Her life was actually an example, which
all humanity could follow. She had great will power;
she was courageous in her agonizing situations and
led her life triumphantly. Till the end she was fully involved
in her life. Vijaya Lakshmi finally breathed her
last on 1 December, 1990 at Dehra Dun.
Source: www.brainyquote.com, www.bookrags.com,
www.iloveindia.com, www.indianetzone.com
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 71

India Notebook
—K Ghosh
Going the Green Way: Two decades after the world
adopted the United Nations Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), Hyderabad, the city established in
1591 CE by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, will be hosting
the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP11). This will
be the first biodiversity meet of this stature and scale
in the country and presents a good chance for it to
highlight the issues in the biodiversity debate, nationally
and even among international media. When
the Convention began, it had called for the following:
conservation; sustainable use of our ecology and the
fair and equitable sharing of its benefits. But as we
know, the world, and India, has not been able to stick
to these promises. While the government is not exactly
burning the midnight oil over it, the civil society
is gearing up to mark its presence. A People’s
Diversity Festival will also be held during the period
and it will bring large number of people and activists
to celebrate the country’s amazing biodiversity of
crops and flora.
Bamboo, The Wonder ‘Grass’: For some years now,
environmentalists, tribal groups and activists have
been fighting with the ministry of environment and
forests over bamboo. The ministry had classified
bamboo as a tree even though going by the scientific
definition, it is a grass. The classification meant that
under the Indian Forest Act, 1927, bamboo is considered
precious timber and so the forest bureaucracy
would not let go of it. While the department made a
killing by selling it to the industry, the tribals, who
depend on forests for their livelihood, got very little.
The annual trade in bamboo is over Rs 10,000 crore.
After the UPA government rolled out the Forest
Rights Act, the tribal affairs ministry wanted to ensure
that the fast growing species of grass out of the
control of forest officials. This is because the new law
provides that the right to harvest minor forest produce
(products not classified as timber) lie with the
tribals. But the good news is that the environment
minister Jayanthi Natarajan has overruled objections
from her officials to break the forest bureaucracy’s
monopoly and classify it as grass.
Let’s Not Water It Down: As India urbanises at a
rapid pace, poor people are becoming increasingly
vocal with their views on the country’s lopsided development.
During protests, they have made it clear
that they will not give their land for infrastructure
72 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
projects unless and until they are adequately compensated.
Sadly, in most cases the compensation is
never adequate and so the country has been pockmarked
with agitations against forcible land acquisition.
In an innovative protest, over 130 farmers in
Gopalgaon in the Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh,
stood in neck-deep water for 17 days to seek compensation
from the government for their land which was
submerged after the Omkareshwar Dam height was
raised. “We are sitting here with a resolve, we will
stay here until we drown,” one of the protestors told
CNN/IBN, a news channel. Initially, there was no response
from either the central or the state government
but under pressure, the MP government on
September 10 decided to agree to their demands. But
this is not the end of such stirs. As long as India’s
growth is not inclusive, be assured that there will be
many more like them in the years to come.
Few Good Men: In this age of a highly connected
world, news travels fast. So few weeks after ethnic
clashes broke out between the Bodo tribals of Assam
and Muslims mainly from Bangladesh over land,
repercussions were felt in some India cities like Mumbai
and Bangalore. An SMS warning people from the
Northeast to leave the city did the rounds and people
started to flee these cities in large numbers. But the
comforting news is that some Muslim youths have
now launched a peace forum in Assam to avoid such
future incidents. According to a report in
www.Kafila.org, 60 highly educated, secular and liberal
Muslim youths from Assam assembled in Guwahati
to brainstorm about a peaceful solution for the
present scenario of hatred and violence prevailing in
the state. The meeting was convened under the aegis
of a newly formed platform named MY-FACTS (Muslim
Youths: Forum Against Communalism, Terrorism
and Sedition. According to the website, the meeting
vowed readiness to shoulder their historic responsibility
to shun stereotyping of Muslims and to provide
a new, liberal, secular, scientific and intellectual outlook
and leadership to Muslim community and its relationship
with other communities in a secular and
peaceful manner.
K Ghosh is a New Delhi-based journalist.
She specialises in development and
environment reporting.

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August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 73

Travel Diary
Australia is a country of opportunities. When I moved
here two years ago, I was looking for a chance to start
my career in the film industry, knowing this country
was considered a raising film production centre and
the odds of getting somewhere where considerably
higher than many other places. It took a while but my
big chance finally arrived about two months ago,
when I was contacted by the film school I had recently
graduated from about a position available on a film
set. As a foreign student, the chance to work on the
new film of a worldwide acclaimed director is not
something happening everyday.
The name of Ivan Sen (Toomelah, Beneath Clouds) is
well known for the unique style and form of the stories
told in his films screened and awarded in the major international
film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and
Toronto, to name a few. His new film Mystery Road is
going to be a landmark for his work. As an aboriginal
director, Sen has pursued the idea of delivering his important
message through his films, aiming to raise interest
in all facets of the aboriginal community in
Australia. Mystery Road tells the story of detective
Jay Swan coming back to his native outback town to
solve the murder of a teenage girl, a conventional
story to bring the message to the broad audience. The
film features a cast composed by acclaimed actors
such Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson,
Ryan Kwanten, Tony Barry and David Field.
Having just recently graduated from my film school I
jumped onto the opportunity to be on a real set. The
crew I’ve had the pleasure to work with, was composed
by long time professional of the Australian Film
Industry, some had worked on big Hollywood hits.
Working in the camera department put me in a position
from which I could observe the work of everybody
and understand the rhythm and the pace of a
professional set.
The filming location was the town of Winton, in the
middle of the Queensland outback. The beautiful landscape
I experienced is something I will remember forever,
anywhere you go it’s open space, but never the
same. You can travel out of town in any direction and
you may find yourself either in high green grass or red
sand desert, flat land or hills topped with trees. This is
one of the best things about the film industry: you get
to travel and see lots of places. Our filming locations
74 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
were pretty much everywhere in and out of town,
sometimes we had to travel about an hour to reach to
chosen location. I had never been to the outback before,
despite having been in the country for over two
years, so for me it was not only an experience of hard
work, but also of discovery of the amazing environment
Australia has to offer. I was astonished by the
weather conditions, even in the middle of the winter
the weather is very hot and dry, even though we experienced
heavy rain for a couple of days. I come from a
country that shifts from hot and humid during the
summer, to standard below zero temperatures during
the winter, and the only one I experienced in Australia
was the Sydney wet and rainy winter.
The wonderful crew and cast made my experience unforgettable.
I learned a lot and my efforts were praised
and rewarded, which makes me believe it is possible
to get into the film industry if you’re willing to. Hard
work is key to success, stepping out of my comfort
zone and making the decision to travel and take risk
payed off and I don’t regret a single moment of my experience
in Australia. I have to say though, I also owe
a lot to this country and the people living here, for the
energy and the motivation they inspired in me.
—Francesco Chiari, an Italian filmmaker and a
Sydney Film School graduate,
currently working
for Bhavan Films and Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan Australia moved
to Australia to pursue and develop
his career in filmmaking,
specializing in the field of Cinematography.
His portfolio includes
work on short films,
feature films, documentaries
and music videos.

Mohandas
Karamchand
Gandhi
That night after he saw the play, so real in its presentation,
the young child made a vow to himself, never
to tell a lie. That became his creed in life.
Who was this boy? His name was Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, a Gujarati Bania. His father was Karamchand
Gandhi who became the Prime Minister of
Porbandar, Rajkot and Vankaner. Though he was not
educated, Kaba Gandhi as he was known, learnt from
experience and managed to influence and guide many
men by his practical understanding. But for the young
Mohandas, his mother was the greatest influence.
Mohandas was about seven when he went to school, a
shy boy who hardly talked to anyone. Indeed, he usually
ran back home after his lessons, but though he
was not very bright, he would never do anything dishonest.
One day, when an inspector called Mr. Giles
came to the school, he asked the children to write certain
words. Mohan could not spell “kettle” and his
class teacher tried to make him copy it from another
child, which Mohan refused to do. He never copied or
cheated in class.
One thing he did not like was the school gymnastics.
He preferred going for long walks by himself, and for-
tunately his father wrote to the headmasters to excuse
the child from the school gym. But there were other
difficulties. When he was promoted to the fourth standard,
English became the medium of instruction and
geometry a difficult subject. Then there was Sanskrit,
which seemed to be endless recitation to be learnt by
heart.
Mohandas was very disheartened. But he must have
had qualities that teachers recognized, for the Sanskrit
teacher called him one day and said “How can
you forget, you are the son of a Vaishnava father?
Don’t you want to learn the language of your own religion?
I want to teach you students Sanskrit as best I
can and you will find it absorbing. Come and join the
class”.
Hearing these words, Mohandas went back to his
study of Sanskrit with the kind teacher Krishnashankar
Pandya. Soon he discovered what a powerful
and perfect language Sanskrit was.
-To be continued…
-Mrinalini Sarabhai, an internationally recognized
dancer and choreographer is a director as well as an
author of scholarly books, novels and children’s
books. She was Chairperson of the Gujarat State
Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation
Ltd and is one of the trustees of the Sarvodaya
International Trust, an organization dedicated to
promoting the Gandhian ideals of Truth, Non Violence,
Peace, Universal Brotherhood and Humanitarian
Service. She is closely associated with
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan for the past more than three
decades. The Bhavan has published her book ‘Sacred
Dance of India’, ‘The Mahatma and the Poetess’,
a selection of letters
exchanged between Gandhiji and
Sarojini Naidu edited by Mrinalini
Sarabhai.
Source: Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi by Mrinalini Sarabhai,
Bhavan’s Book University,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai,
India
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 75

Ratnamandana Weds
They saw the farmer’s silhouette, after some
time, coming down the slopes of the hill carrying
a bundle of grass, whereupon the king heckled
the interpreter: “My dear man! What happened to
your prediction? Look! Has that farmer the power
to walk even in death? Or did he bribe Yama’s
messengers? Or better far, did he drive those
messengers away in battle? Or did the serpent
miss its aim? Perhaps you will say that the bird of
omen got be-fuddled but once. Pray, enlighten me
how this farmer cheated death.”
“May I request my liege to wait for some time before
rushing to conclusions?” replied the interpreter,
annoyed and disturbed. When the farmer
came near, the interpreter beckoned to him and
asking him to unload the stack, wanted to question
him. But as he unloaded the stack, the grassrope
with which it was tied got broken and the
hay fell apart. What should they see in the middle
of the stack but a mighty cobra cut in twain by
the sharp scythe embedded in it?
The interpreter drew the attention of the king to
it and said: “This cobra came to kill him, but got
killed instead; I do not know what mighty virtue
this man had acquired to accomplish this. Anyway,
let us question him.”
So saying, the interpreter asked the farmer:
“Brother!
When you went to cut grass did anything special
happen?”
He replied: “I am a farmer. I do not know anything
except my plough and my bullocks. When I was
ascending the hill, an aged Brahmin walking with
the help of a stick came across my path. I paid my
respects to him in my humble way and he blessed
me. Beyond that, nothing unusual occurred!”
Turning to the king, the interpreter said: “Did you
listen to what he said, my lord? Is it not clear that
this farmer escaped death by the blessings of
that aged Brahmin? A few moments back you ran
me down; can you now tell me if the science of
omens has gone wrong? Never will it. But this is
clear: even the writings of Brahma on our skull
can be changed by the blessings of the learned
and pious souls.
“Did not the great Sage Gautama, in his argu-
76 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
Untold Stories of King Bhoja
ments with Lord Siva, show the divine eye at the
sole of his feet? Did not the great Bhrigu manage
to kick Lord Vishnu on His chest? Did not the
great Agastya swallow the entire ocean like a
spoon of water? Did not the great Vasishtha successfully
replace the mighty Sun with a piece of
wand? Did not Sage Kashyapa create a duplicate
Indra? Who can hope to stand up to the real Brahmins?
Did not Markandeya of yore who was face
to face with death, as ordained by Brahma, throw
him out by the blessings of Brahmins?’
Happy to be convinced of the truth of what the interpreter
had said, the king replied: “Indeed, Brahmins
are embodied gods living in this world,” and
gave away rich presents to the interpreter.
Drawing the moral from this anecdote, Chandra
Sarma addressed King Nanda: “Now you will agree
that fate can be altered by the blessings of the
great. You and your sons are men of faith. You
love and honour the learned. You worship great
Brahmins. As such, I have no doubt that the Goddess
of Dharma will protect your son.” Ultimately
Nanda relented and conveyed his consent to the
marriage of his son Ratnamandana with Pushpagandhi,
King Sampati’s daughter, when Ratnamandana’s
anguish eased. Messengers were
dispatched to convey his consent to the bride’s
people. Although King Sampati felt happy over
the tidings, he could not help expressing his anxiety
to the messengers whom he asked: “Do you
think that your king acts sagaciously, when he
knows my daughter’s fate, like the foolhardy man
entering the tiger’s lair, or one inserting his hand
in a cobra hideout, or, as one wilfully entering the
forest raging with forest fire—all knowingly?”
The messengers being seasoned veterans in the art
of negotiation, replied suitably to all Sampati’s
doubts whereupon Sampati gave his unqualified
consent to the marriage. Ratnamandana on hearing
this happy news felt relieved and exclaimed: “Now
alone have I attained the fruit of my birth. I must
now snub the love-god!” King Nanda and his party
accompanied by a proper retinue journeyed to
Pundarikapura with all the royal fanfare, and King
Sampati received them suitably and accommodated
them all comfortably in different parts of his
palace which sprawled over several acres of land.
-To be continued…
V.A.K. Ayer
Source: Untold Stories of King Bhoja, Bhavan’s
Book University, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 77

From Bhavan’s Journal July 8, 1962
Reprinted in Bhavan’s Journal July 15, 2012
The Education We Want for India
(A Symposium)
Education is not the amount of information that is put
into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all
your life. We must have life-building, man-making,
character-making, assimilation of ideas.
If you have assimilated fine ideas and made them your
life and character, you have more education than any
man who has got by heart a whole library. If education
were identical with information, the libraries would be
the greatest sages in the world and encyclopaedias
the Rishis. Getting by heart the thoughts of others and
stuffing your brain with them and taking some university
degrees you consider yourself educated. Is this
education? What is the goal of your education? Either
a clerk-ship, or being a lawyer, or at the most a Deputy
Magistrate which is another form of clerkship—isn’t
that all? What good will it do you or the country at
large?
Open your eyes and see what a piteous cry for is rising
in the land of Bharata, proverbial for its food. Will
your education fulfil this want? The education that
does not help the common mass of people to equip
themselves for the struggle for life, which does not
bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy
and the courage of a lion—is it worth the
name? We want that education by which character is
formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is
expanded and by which one can stand on one’s own
feet.
What we need is to study, in dependent of foreign control,
different, branches of the knowledge that is our
own, and with it the English language and western science;
we need technical education and all else that
will develop industries, so that men instead of seeking
for service may earn enough to provide for themselves
and save against a rainy day. The end of all education,
all training, should be man-making. The end
and aim of all training is to make the man grow.
—Swami Vivekananda
78 | Bhavan Australia | August 2012
The Anti-Nuclear
Convention: Lilavati Munshi
Very often I have felt oppressed by the thought of the
destruction that is in the air. The whole of mankind,
on the one hand, is trying to build hospitals, institutions,
health centres, to produce more food, to destroy
germs, to increase longevity, and on the other, it
is trying to destroy itself and the whole world with nuclear
weapons. It is really a frightening prospect. By
the pollution of air, water, and the atmosphere, and by
carrying out experiments at even the South and North
Poles, and by entering into a mad race for the conquest
of the moon and other planets, not a place of
safety will be left for anyone anywhere on our own
planet. If there is a nuclear war, all mankind must die
and the earth disintegrate. I was travelling in the
South for a few days before I went to this convention. I
found Mother Earth so beautiful and enchanting. Like
the busy bees, the humanity is faced with the problem
of living. It is toiling and building for a better world.
Are all these to be destroyed? -and for what? Scientists
of the free world are unanimous and emphatic in their
opinion that atomic fallouts are disastrous in their effect.
It is said that they tend to cripple and emasculate
humanity and make imbeciles of future generations.
Each increase in fallout, therefore, becomes a multiple
of the crime perpetrated against humanity, born and
even unborn.
We do not know what the scientists of the communist
countries think about this matter, because we never
hear them speak; it may be that they are not allowed
to speak. Perhaps the scientists of those countries are
mere instruments of their governments, making experiments
in order to carry out orders.
It is good that the conscience of mankind has been
stirred by this mad, suicidal contest. It is our bounden
duty to give all our support to the fight to save humanity
from self-extinction.
< < < Flashback

Holy & Wise
The type of persons with whom
one lives, whom one serves and
like whom one wishes to be, so
does one become.
-Vidura Neeti
Non-violence, which is the
quality of the heart, cannot
come by an appeal to the brain.
-Mahatma Gandhi
In nonviolence you must go full
steam ahead, if you want the
good to come speedily you must
go about it with vigour.
-Vinoba Bhave
There are many people who feel that it is
useless and futile to continue talking about
peace and non-violence against a government
whose only reply is savage attacks
on an unarmed and defenceless people.
-Nelson Mandela
At the center of non-violence
stands the principle of love.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kulapativani
Ayurvedic Education
In whatever way Ayurvedic education is provided, one
aim must be kept in view: the student must learn to
have faith in Ayurveda and must be educated in the
background of Sanskrit texts and under conditions in
which he does not develop an inferiority complex towards
Allopathy. At the same time, to overcome the illogical
hostility of allopaths, some general knowledge
of Ayurveda, its achievements and its successes
should form part of the course in allopathy. If it does
nothing else, it will bring the allopath a much-needed
humility.
Dr K.M. Munshi
Founder,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
August 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 79