The whole world is but one family - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side - Rigv Veda, 1-89-i
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
“The whole world is but one family”
Life | Literature | Culture
February 2012 | Vol 9 No.8 | Issn 1449 - 3551
www.bhavanaustralia.org

The birds that fly, the flowers
that bloom and the trees that are
covered with luxuriant foliage, are
all manifestations of Nature at work.
While we are otherwise engaged in our chores,
it is Nature that silently ensures that our blood is
pumped and circulated with appropriate pressure
inside even the most slender of the capillaries. It
is Nature at work when we digest our food. It is
nature that keeps our immunity system in place.
It is nature that heals our wounds. The fauna and
flora, and the primitive man who still dwells deep
inside jungles are all in resonance with Nature.
Those of us who live in urban surroundings,
consider ourselves to be more advanced. We tend
to develop another kind of conceit—the smartness
of our brains; and inexorably incline to the idea
that we can improve upon nature and provide
ourselves with more rewarding living environment
than nature can dole out, because we, the
urbanites, possess “superior” brains.
Little do we realise that our atmosphere in these
smart places is polluted. The air we breathe is foul.
The food we consume is genetically altered and
grown with chemicals which are toxic. Our bodies
are constantly exposed to conditions which have
been created by opposing Nature. Every time we
attempt to improve upon Nature by going against
it, we damage ourselves not realising that Nature is
our very being. What is needed, instead, is to be in
harmony and not at variance, with Nature.
The global warming is bringing about visible
changes. The causes of global warming began not
anywhere on the surface of earth but in the minds
2 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Be In Tune
with Nature
of man. In our greed we recklessly
plunder Nature and prevent
it from maintaining an essential
equilibrium. What we should do instead
is to learn to observe, respect and obey Nature.
This can happen only when we live with loving
acknowledgement and vigilant awareness of the
constant and colossal efforts of Nature. While we
are free to help ourselves with the abundance of
Nature, we must not forget that the other creatures
sharing the earth with us also have a right to coexist.
A lion has to strike down and kill a deer but it
does so only to appease its hunger. A herd of deer
would calmly graze in close proximity of a herd of
lions which has just fed. Only a man would kill for
pleasure or profit. We need also to learn from our
animal world and likewise have adequate exposure
to the elements, the wind and the rain, the sun and
the heat and the wintry chill, all alike. When we
are too long withdrawn from the elements we are
bound to wither and become fragile because we are
isolating ourselves unwittingly from the very life
force—Nature.
All of us should learn to obey the gentle command
of Nature instead of resisting its efforts to maintain
the crucial equilibrium. When
we are in tune with Nature, we
can all live a healthy, tranquil
and harmonious life for the
proverbial Vedic span of a
hundred years and more.
Surendralal G Mehta
President,
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Swami Vivekananda’s Poems
In Search of God
The moon’s soft light, the stars so bright,
The glorious orb of day,
He shines in them; His beauty—might—
Reflected lights are they.
The majestic morn, the melting eve,
The boundless billowy sea,
In nature’s beauty, songs of birds,
I see through them—it is He.
When dire calamity seizes me,
The heart seems weak and faint,
All nature seems to crush me down,
With laws that never bend.
Meseems I hear Thee whispering sweet,
‘My love, I am near’, ‘I am near’.
My heart gets strong. With thee, my love,
A thousand deaths no fear.
Thou speakest in the mother’s lay
That shuts the babies’ eye;
When innocent children laugh and play
I see Thee standing by.
When holy friendship shakes the hand,
He stands between them too;
He pours the nectar in mother’s kiss
And the babies’ sweet ‘mama’.
Thou wert my God with prophets old;
All creeds do come from Thee;
The Vedas, Bible, and Koran bold
Sing Thee in harmony.
‘Thou art’, ‘Thou art’ the Soul of souls
In the rushing stream of life.
‘Om Tat Sat Om.’ 1 Thou art my God.
My love, I am Thine, I am Thine.
(To be Continued…)
Source: In search of God and Other Poems
by Swami Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama,
Publication Department, Kolkata
1 Tat Sat mearu that only real existence. [Swamiji’snote]
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 3

For this Month
Saving Water—The Gandhian Way
Mahatma Gandhi first realized the virtue of truth and ahimsa at a very early
age, probably even earlier than the beginning of his teen years and, perhaps,
his firm faith in truth was established then. When Gandhi was 15 (1884), he
had removed a bit of gold from his brother’s armlet to clear a small debt of his
brother. He felt so mortified about his act that he decided to make a confession
to his father. He wrote it on a slip of paper and personally handed it to his
father. Gandhi recalled in his autobiography: “In this note not only did I confess
my guilt, but I asked adequate punishment for it, and closed with a request to
him not to punish himself for my offence. I also pledged myself never to steal
in future.” One of the sentences in the confession was: “So, father, your son is
now, in your eyes, no better than a common thief.” The incident left a lasting
mark on his mind. In his own words, ‘it was an object-lesson to him in the
power of ahimsa.’
Mahatma Gandhi was given a send-off by his fellow students of the Alfred
High School, Rajkot on 4 July 1888 (in the nineteenth year of his age), when
he was leaving for England to study for the Bar. In An Autobiography (Pt I.Ch
XI) he says: “I had written out a few words of thanks. But I could scarcely
stammer them out. I remember how my head reeled and my whole frame
shook as I stood up to read them.” His speech reads thus: “I hope that some
of you will follow in my footsteps, and after you return from England you will
work wholeheartedly for big reforms in India.” (This is the English translation,
published in the Kathiawar Times, of his speech in Gujarati). We can sense
here the budding leadership quality of perhaps the world’s greatest leader
of all times.
Mahatma Gandhi had very limited funds to survive his studies in London and
on the top of that he had vowed to remain vegetarian. One of his promises
given to his mother to obtain her permission to go to London was to remain
vegetarian. He had adhered, in the teeth of opposition, to his vows. It was quite
hard in those days to remain vegetarian; the vegetarian restaurants were scarce
and sparsely spread. This, 19 years old, Mohandas Gandhi in the process of
locating vegetarian restaurants around the place of his residence was put in
contact with the London Vegetarian Society. He was taken on the executive
committee of the Society and was called on to give a talk on, of all subjects,
“The Foods of India” which was published in The Vegetarian Message. Soon he
started contributing regularly on the Indian Vegetarian system, Indian foods,
and Indian festivals…for their weekly magazine The Vegetarian. Mohandas’s
English vegetarian friends, all of them belonging to Britain’s respectable
classes gave him company, a chance to serve a cause (vegetarianism), training
in selling a cause (he helped organize meetings and cooked and displayed
sample vegetarian meals) and in writing and friends. Mohandas was drawn to
these men and women; their character and courage evoked his respect, and
they seemed to enjoy a standing in British society. The coincidence between
their views and his mother’s was not a small discovery for Mohandas. It gave
a vital legitimacy to his Indian inner voice. In the autobiography he writes that
his London experiences harmonized his inward and outward life and that his
soul knew no bounds of joy. These words also apply to the concord he felt in
London between the universal and the Indian, between pure truth and his vows.
This brief account of Mahatma Gandhi’s early days entitles us to consider that
by the time he finished his studies in London he had already developed his
thoughts, ethical values and essential character on which he built his later life
and the early words of Mohandas Gandhi may be taken as seriously as those of
Mahatma Gandhi of later time.
4 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012

Mahatma Gandhi had written a little handbook Guide to London that he had set
about to prepare in answer to numerous inquiries on his return from London
(He never published it). This guide includes a very meticulous system of detailed
tips, step by step starting with the preparation to leave India for London and
then how to live in London with various levels of budgets and an extensively
itemized cost estimates (with lower and upper limits). I will refer to only those
tips relevant to saving water. He writes:
As to bathing, it is only the newly built houses that bathrooms are
attached to them. In ordinary houses no bathrooms can be found. In
such cases very many visit the public baths weekly which cost 6d or 4d.
But it is possible to have a daily bath without any expense wherever you
go. You can take a sponge bath with two or three tumblers of hot water
always to be supplied at your request by the landlady in the morning.
You can pour water into basin, dip a sponge in it and rub hard with the
sponge twice or thrice and then rub the body with a dry towel, and you
have taken a very nice bath which gives a glow to the body and keeps it
clean. … To these daily baths may be added a fortnightly or monthly visit
to the public baths. Your landlady supplies you with two towels every
week. All these arrangements must be made with the landlady before
engaging a room so that no misunderstanding may arise in future….
It is not true to say, as is the commonly supposed, that owing to
the severe cold one cannot take baths daily. On the other hand, it is
necessary that one should bath daily in order to keep good health. A
landlady, I know, drove away her boarder simply because he would
not take his daily bath. She often used to quote: “Cleanliness is next to
godliness” and, no matter how cold it was, she used to see every morning
that everyone in her house had a bath.
Mahatma Gandhi suggested sponge bath with a view to control the cost of living
within limited budget (£10-12 per month). Today we need to conserve water
not necessarily for pecuniary reasons; water has become a scarce commodity
everywhere. A bath or shower may take anywhere between thirty and hundreds
of liters depending on the individual bathing habits. Swimming pool is another
guzzler of water. I think now is the time we start thinking of conserving the
scarce water in all possible areas of use. While the authorities have put
restrictions on the gardens and car wash, which we are obligated to observe,
we may consider self-imposing voluntary restrictions in the use of water in
whatever area we can imagine. Conserving water on baths, the Gandhian way,
with sponge bath or any other alternative means, I think, is worth considering. I
for myself have been occasionally using this method since my arrival in Australia
in 1992; now I will endeavor to make it a regular feature of my routine.
Gambhir Watts
President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
References: 1.THE GOOD BOATMAN A Portrait of Gandhi, Rajmohan Gandhi, Penguin Books,
First Edition 1997; 2.The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume 1.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 5

Contents
58
Festivals of the Month - India ................................... 13
Festivals of the Month: Australia ............................. 19
Naturopath’s Advice (India) ..................................... 23
Legacy of the Mahatma ............................................. 26
Men Behind The Bhavan ........................................... 30
The Vedic Triad ......................................................... 37
Lightening the Burden of Mother Earth .................. 41
Mother Ganga & Sanskrit .......................................... 44
Holism and Unity of Energy Concepts .................... 48
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BHARATIYA
VIDYA BHAVAN AUSTRALIA
Office Bearers:
President Surendralal Mehta
Executive Secretary Homi Navroji Dastur
Acting Chairman Shanker Dhar
Secretary Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi
Other Directors:
Abbas Raza Alvi, Mathoor Krishnamurti, Rozene
Kulkarni, Palladam Narayana Sathanagopal, Kalpana Shriram,
Jagannathan Veeraraghavan, Moksha Watts.
President: Gambhir Watts
Patron: Her Excellency Mrs Sujatha Singh
High Commissioner of India in Australia
Honorary Life Patron: His Excellency M Ganapathi
6 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
13 44
Oscar Wilde From Dazzle to Obscurity ................... 54
Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Water Management ........ 58
Winning the European Confidence Game ............... 62
Eternal Message for the Modern Age ...................... 70
Ethics and the Idea of God........................................ 74
Arunachala is not just a hill, it is divinity itself ..... 78
C.P. Brown Father of Telugu Renaissance .............. 82
Present at the Asian Creation .................................. 86
Glimmering and Hazy Landscape of Indian Politics 9 0
Publisher & General Editor:
Gambhir Watts
president@bhavanaustralia.org
Editorial Committee:
Shanker Dhar, Parveen Dahiya,
Sridhar Kumar Kondepudi
editors@bhavanaustralia.org
Design:
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www.aquaagency.com.au
Advertising:
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Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
Suite 100 / 515 Kent Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
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
aqua.2924

Gender Justice
and Peace
I
The quest for peace is an eternal pursuit for human
fulfilment. Peace or absence of antagonistic,
violent, or destabilising conflict is essential for
existence, for survival to become human. Human
beings can become human and humane only
in conditions of peace. Creativity, spirituality,
individual and collective achievements attain
grandeur and glory only when there is peace.
Qualities of compassion, forgiveness, love, sharing
and universal solidarity become cherished
and sought after virtuous attributes only when
a community, society or nation is at peace—
within and without. On the other hand, war,
internal or external, civil or military, declared or
undeclared valorises bravery—the capacity to
kill or be killed—the destruction of human life
and accomplishments. It mocks compassion and
conscience; it belittles refusal to erect artificial
walls that divide human beings in the name of one
identity or the other; it glorifies the destructive
principle and devalues the principles of creation
and life.
The war mongers are invariably persons with few
qualms of conscience, ever ready to eliminate and
exterminate human life, emotions, thought, ideas,
and achievements. In this context, for empowering
harmony at the individual and community level,
liberal humanism needs to be backed by solidarity,
service and authority. Social activists have to
organise and mobilise men, women and children to
reiterate and reinforce the importance of secular
values for harmonious coexistence, to create
pressure groups to condemn acts of violence and
exclusion and to propagate actions and initiatives
to promote peace and inclusion and to encourage,
facilitate and establish similar networks/coalition
of citizens to promote secular values, religious
tolerance, democracy and human rights and
accelerate women’s participation in secular
movements striving for equality and justice. To
resolve conflicts with words rather than swords.
When faced with violence, women’s predicaments
as survivors, as beneficiaries of violence and as
peacemakers are extremely complex. Women’s
complicity in perpetrating violence in case
of female infanticide, female foeticide, dowry
murders, during caste/communal/ethnic violence
and in the war-zones (Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq)
are widely documented. Thus, the belief that
‘women as inherently peace-lover’ is contested
by the human rights movement. Women are also
carriers of culture of violence. At the same time,
5000 years of patriarchal control over women’s
sexuality, fertility and labour makes women victims
of violence. Social discrimination against women
results into systematic neglect of women’s health,
from womb to tomb. Sexual assault, molestation,
rape, sexual harassment at workplace, child
sexual abuse, nuisance calls cause psychological
disturbances among girls and women.
The trauma of sexual violence sparks off tension
and anxiety at a dangerous level. Their mental
health problems are manifested in anxiety,
fear, avoidance, guilt, loss of efficiency, lack of
coordination, depression, sexual dysfunction,
substance abuse, relieving the traumatic incidents
through memory, suicidal attempts, eating
disorders, disturbed sleep patterns, fear of
encountering such situation once again. It is found
that women who undergo extreme sexual violence
experience a loss of self and self-esteem following
the shock inflicted on them. When there is
continuous period of traumatic stress, it becomes
chronic, lessening the individual’s ability to do any
kind of constructive work. Hence, this form of male
violence towards women is an important issue that
demands public attention. Women’s organisations
have taken up this issue at a local, national and
global level.
“When there is
continuous period of
traumatic stress, it becomes
chronic, lessening the
individual’s ability to
do any kind of
constructive work.”
Discourses on mental health of women in the
family situation gained serious consideration
in the context of campaign against violence
against women. In domestic violence situations,
predicament of women is determined by their
position in power-relations vis-a-vis the rest
of the family members. Many social work
researches which attribute deviant behaviour of
adolescent girls to their working mothers’ guilt
trip by narrowly focusing on single parameter and
ignoring factors such as peer-pressure, media,
overall standards of morality in our society and
power relations in the nuclear/ joint family. Such
researches are used by some counsellors to cage
women into domesticity and divert the attention
from generation of genuine support system for
developmental needs of the daughters of working
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 7

mothers. Women’s rights organisations which are
doing support work for women in distress have
started giving due importance to counseling for
peace building.
The quest for peace is an eternal pursuit for human
fulfilment. Peace or absence of antagonistic,
violent, or destabilising conflict is essential for
existence to become life, for survival to become
human.
Women as Survivors of Violence & Conflict
Eyes raining, without mere control,
Scruples hurt, thus dew drops roll.
Lightened, piercing, still with grief,
Forever, staring in disbelief.
Hearts melting, defences down,
Afflicted feelings, all around.
Timeless moments, of unending sorrow,
Darkened scars, that none can borrow.
Deep in hurdles, full with distress,
Pleasures replaced, by pure sadness.
Love’s demise, of responsive pain,
A day’s repose, then it starts again.
“There may be an apparent
stability and absence
of conflict in situations
of successful intense
repression—beating, abuses,
psychological torture...”
This poem by a survivor of violence and conflict,
Ms. Lara Jesani portrays the pain and agony
that every woman faces with domestic violence,
communal/caste/ethnic violence and violence as
a result of war. Mohalla Committee Movement
(MCM) in Mumbai was formed with a firm
understanding that the quest for peace is an eternal
pursuit for human fulfilment. MCMs were formed to
counter communal frenzy during Bombay riots in
1992-93. In the words of its founder-member Julio
Francis Ribeiro, “After the riots in Mumbai in 1992,
a long term, interventionary and developmental
solution was deemed necessary. The creation
of Mohalla Committees was one of the solutions
proffered and their proliferation in various areas
of Mumbai has made a measurable difference in
the life of this metropolis. These committees were
seen as simple, people-centred and appropriate
mechanisms through which peoples’ participation
in the peace process is highlighted.”
MCM made a crucial contribution to restore peace
and confidence among different communities.
Moreover, it promoted developmental activities
8 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
such as education, civic issues and programmes
for youth and students. As MCM has a gendersensitive
approach and does not believe that
‘Women’s issues can wait’, it decided to focus on
women—both in the community as well as in the
domestic arena. Women in the communities have
been the mainstays of the MCM. Women’s response
to the proponents of ‘World Peace’ was ‘Peace
begins from home’. Peace of course can have two
faces, two forms—Public and private. Peace in
the community, go hand-in-hand with the peace in
family life. Hence the need to deal with domestic
violence and women’s grievances.
There may be an apparent stability and absence
of conflict in situations of successful intense
repression—beating, abuses, psychological torture
wherein all dissent is brutally, immediately, and
surgically suppressed. This is a condition in which
only one group (men, in-laws, bully neighbours)
dominates, in which women’s views and dignity
is not allowed to exist. The other situation is one
in which democracy and human rights reach
their pinnacle in each and every core of the
community and domestic lives. It is the condition
in which there are always avenues of settlement
of differences and disputes without a breakdown
of the framework of mutual respect, recognition
of the rights of the other, and belief in good faith
of the ‘adversary’. It is the condition in which
negotiations and persuasion are the methods of
overcoming even major digressions in points of
view. It is a condition in which people have the
right to be different and where difference is not
denied. It is the state of affairs in which difference
is not a cause of hierarchy, where the other is not
the enemy or the lower or the higher being.
To create such a condition, the MCM initiated
a project—Women’s Grievance Redressal Cells
(WGRC) in March 1997, first at the MIDC and
on April 2, 1998 in Andheri (E), Mumbai, to
enable women of different communities to come
together on a common platform. While working
in the community, MCM activists realised that
women were doubly oppressed, both socially and
economically and hence needed an outlet to voice
their grievances. Most of the women led submissive
lives and suffered in silence. Ironically, even though
communal harmony prevailed in the area, marital
conflicts disturbed the peace and tranquillity of
the families. Many of them had to face physical
violence in their personal lives.
Even so, they were apprehensive of lodging a
complaint at the police station, either out of fear
of society or due to fear of retaliation/backlash
from family members, especially husbands. It was
in this background that members of MCM along
with the police conceived the idea of Women
Grievance Redressal Cell (WGRC) in order to help
women in distress. These Cells made the people
aware of a common link between women and
the community they live in. As a result, effective

outreach programmes were developed and major
extension activities were initiated to promote
peace, communal harmony and constructive
activities for area development. These Cells, being
projects of MCM are working in collaboration with
the local police and 3 NGOs function twice a week
at the MIDC and Andheri (E) police stations. Awe
inspiring experiences of these two cells, motivated
the members of MCM to start similar Cells in
Bandra, Nagpada and Worli in Mumbai.
Objectives of WGRC
1. To work with individual women and men,
families, groups and communities to create
harmonious gender relations and to promote
ethos of cultural pluralism;
2. To give the women a listening ear and to take
cognisance of the offences perpetrated on them;
3. To coordinate with the police in cases of crimes
against women;
4. To conduct training programmes/workshops
for women as well as the family members on
wide range of issues and themes concerning
multicultural existence, developmental problems
and skill and capacity enhancing projects;
5. To network with women’s organisations and
other like-minded organisations for collaborative
work; and
6. To facilitate and mediate out of court
settlements and if needed, to organise legal
services for women at affordable rates.
Approach of the WGRC
As the thrust of the Cell is on mediation and
reconciliation, all the concerned parties are
invited to the cell and given a fair chance to voice
their grievances against each other. Some of the
meetings can be very time consuming. However, in
some cases, redressal process is shorter and cases
quickly get resolved.
Due to consistent activities of MCM in the
community, the Women’s Cell could get easily
established and legitimised as many women
who approached the Cell were members of MCM
and attended MCM meetings regularly in their
respective beats.
The following examples delineate the processual
dimension of WGRC’s intervention:
a. Easing of Tension between Hafeeza Shaikh and
Vimal Pawar (MIDC)
For several years, Hafeeza and Vimal were at
loggerheads. Even though their fights revolved
around issues such as garbage and drainage, their
anger and hatred towards each other was immense.
Both had lodged complaints at the police station.
But to no avail. Finally, the duty officer at the police
station asked them to visit WGRC.
On visiting the WGRC, both complained bitterly
against each other. While Vimal blamed Hafeeza of
witchcraft, Hafeeza blamed Vimal for provoking the
fights and instigating the neighbours against her. It
was evident that both did not want reconciliation.
It was a Herculean task for the members of the Cell
to bridge the gap between the two as they belonged
to two different communities. However, at the end
of the third session, both agreed to bury the past
and forgive each other.
b. Reformed Swami and
Relieved Vasanthi (Andheri)
Vasanthi, a young girl, married C. Swamy in 2003.
However, on the very next day of marriage, her
husband demanded money to set up business. She
was shattered. In order to keep her marriage intact,
she borrowed a small amount from her father and
gave it to her husband. Still he continued to harass
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 9

her mentally and physically for more money.
Besides, he forcibly took her gold ornaments
and sold them. She left her home to live with her
parents. Her parents felt so cheated by their sonin-law
that they decided not to send Vasanthi back
and decided to call off the marriage.
It was at this point in time that a distraught
Vasanthi approached the Cell and related her
woes to the members. Vasanthi’s husband
was subsequently called to the Cell and there
was a major showdown between the spouses.
The members made an uphill effort to seek
reconciliation between them. But it was only after
the second session that Vasanthi’s husband agreed
to return the money and jewels and do a service
job. After the third meeting both the spouses
agreed to give their marriage a try and Vasanthi
returned to her husband.
Legal Intervention
The cases that could not be resolved through
negotiation were either referred to the family
court at Bandra or to individual lawyers. Some
women filed their petitions in the family court for
maintenance and divorce, while others sought
the help of their lawyers in connection with illegal
marriages, child custody and dowry demands made
by their husbands.
Teamwork between the Police and
WGRC Members
In all the Cells, police constables are part of the
team. Their presence helps WGRC to get a better
insight on the problems faced by numerous women
and moreover, it gives an opportunity to empathise
with the victims in need of help. WGRC visits
homes where the conflict is of a serious nature
so as to assess the prevailing situation. If the
relationship continues to be strained, the spouses
are once again invited for further mediation.
WGRC believes that public education is the major
tool to women’s empowerment. Hence, it organised
five workshops on gender sensitisation at Bandra-
Kurla police station for the police personnel
of the west region. The team from the legal aid
cell of justice and peace commission conducted
sessions on The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, laws related to women and crimes against
women. WGRC has also organised workshop on
women and health, counselling, legal provisions,
communication skills and unlearning communalism
through creative methods of role-play, storytelling,
group exercises, street plays, screening of films,
vocational training programmes, haldi kumkum
samaroha, rangoli and poster competitions and
teaching precautions like first aid, fire extinguishing
skills. International Women’s Day, on March 8
symbolises solidarity, sisterhood and strength of
women, has been a focal point for women from all
five Cells to meet at one place and get a feeling of
empowerment.
10 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
For the past seven years, the Cell has been
celebrating this Day with vigour and enthusiasm
reflected in singing of group song, experience
sharing, presentation of annual progress report,
speeches of dignitaries and children’s stage shows.
These events have instilled a feeling of confidence
and leadership qualities in women. Knitting
communities together has been the most effective
tactic for preventing communal conflagration. In
2002, after the communal carnage in Gujarat, there
was tension in the community. Women Grievance
Redressal Cell (WGRC) worked with the police and
held meetings across the city through the MCM.
WGRC participated in the MCM-organised painting
competitions, cultural programmes on communal
harmony, sports like volley ball, gymnastics and
athletics, table tennis and ‘cricket for peace’ as
friendly and healthy competitions to inculcate a
spirit of recreation to counter cut-throatism and
promote peace making.
The other strategy implemented by the Mohalla
Committees has been in the setting up of study
rooms, as in many slum colonies young students
do not have a quiet space where they can study.
Often many of them need help with their studies.
By using the classrooms of local municipal schools,
which are free and unused in the evenings, the
Mohalla Committees have been able to provide a
much-needed service to their communities. WGRC
has played an important role in cementing bonds
between communities, spouses, neighbours and
enlightened the youth. It is an acknowledged fact
that WGRC has played a useful role in forging a
meaningful relationship between individuals in
the family and expanded the meaning of family
that encompasses the whole community. WGRC
members are torchbearers of women’s dignity,
bodily integrity and gender-justice. Activities
of WGRC have brought women’s issues on the
agenda of MCM. Now, the community accepts that
women’s rights are human rights. This experience
of MCM needs to be replicated in the country.
II
Need for Peace Journalism
Women are the main beneficiaries of peace process
as it allows them freedom of movement and
ensures their active participation in education, skill
and enterprise development, better health status
and in terms of employment and career option.
Even in the midst of massive transformatory
processes, women leaders from different parts of
globe provided different models of peace building
through constructive work. While reporting,
a media personality must have faith: “In every
conflict, there is always something retrievable”. It
is very important to popularise peace journalism.
Public felicitations of persons involved in rescue
operations and rehabilitation work such as nurses
of Cama Hospital in the midst of terrorist attack
on 26-11-08 and hundreds of unsung heroes and
heroines.

Efforts of global, national and local networks
involved in peace-making must be popularised;
for example, the Thousand Cranes Peace Network
is made up of groups and individuals willing to
fold a thousand paper cranes (or as many as they
can manage) as a symbol of their hope for, and
commitment to, peace and non¬violence. A visit to
the Peace Park and the Peace Memorial Museum in
Japan allows the visitor a glimpse into the horror
of the world’s first use of the atomic bomb against
people on 6 August 1945. It is a reminder that
we must work together to make sure that such a
tragedy never happens again. Women have built
peaceful movements to fight against excesses
of dictatorial regimes in the Philippines, Chile,
Bangladesh, Burma, so on and so forth.
Five Priorities for Conflict Resolution and Peace
Practitioners involved in conflict resolution are
unanimous in their conviction about five core
principles. They are:
• Dialogue, Communication, Networks:- Centre for
Studies in Society and Secularism (CSSS), Mumbai,
has been doing this for the past two decades
through research, documentation, training of
people of all stake groups.
• Contemplation:- Communalism Combat,
(Hate Hurts, Harmony works), a monthly magazine
provides platform for debate and discussion on
political economy of conflicts and ways to
resolve them.
• Community Life:- Moholla Committee Movement
is doing illustrious work that must be replicated
everywhere.
• Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation in Solidarity
with the Most Vulnerable:- JPCs must attract all
types of professions.
• Simple Living, Solidarity for Social/Economic
Justice:- All approaches, from A to G advocate
socio-economic and gender justice.
Approach of Conflict Transformation
Women’s rights movement has contributed
to conflict transformation through Media
Development, Child Protection, Project
Management, Humanitarian Assistance, Human
Rights Protection, Human Development, Health,
Education, Employment and Accountability of
Refugees.
Three Stages of Conflict Resolution
• Peace Building is the process of restoring
normal relations between people. It requires
the reconciliation of differences, apology and
forgiveness of past harm, and the establishment
of a cooperative relationship between groups,
replacing the adversarial or competitive
relationship that used to exist. E.g. OLAKH, PUCL &
SAHIYAR (Vadodara, Gujarat).
• Peacekeeping is the prevention or ending
of violence within or between nation-states
through the intervention of an outside third
party that keeps the warring parties apart.
Unlike peacemaking, which involves negotiating
a resolution to the issues in conflict, the goal
of peacekeeping is simply preventing further
violence. (The UN Peace Keeping Force, UNHCR in
Afghanistan).
• Peace Making is the term often used to refer to
negotiating the resolution of a conflict between
people, groups, or nations. It goes beyond
peace¬keeping to actually deal with the issues in
dispute, but falls short of peace building, which
aims toward reconciliation and normalisation of
relations between ordinary people, not just the
“Women are adept at bridging ethnic, religious,
political, and cultural divides.”
formal resolution which is written on paper. (Peace
rallies, appeals, efforts through media)
Through sports for peace, quiz for peace, songs
for peace, debate/discussion on peace, painting
for peace, theatre for peace, politics for peace,
rereading history of wars and peace and inter-faith
dialogues the youth can be motivated towards
philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam (Whole world
is my family) for local as well as global harmony.
The concept of vasudhaiv kutumbakam—the
world is but one family—culture of peace and
global citizenship should be inducted into all
aspects of human life and education, especially
humanities. There is a need to create Peace
Museums and Peace Galleries to help promote a
better understanding of other people and cultures
around the world. Organisation of Peace Festivals
and Peace Rallies has become a regular feature
in the peace movement. In 2004, over one million
people in different parts of globe had candle light
marches to stop US invasion in Iraq. In this context,
for empowering harmony at the individual and
community level, liberal humanism needs to be
backed by solidarity, service and authority.
Educationists have:
• To organise and mobilise men, women and
children to reiterate and reinforce the importance
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 11

of secular values for a harmonious coexistence;
• To create pressure groups to condemn acts of
violence and exclusion and to propagate actions
and initiatives to promote peace and inclusion;
• To reaffirm secular values and multiculturalism
for maintaining and strengthening democratic
values based on respect for human rights; and
• To encourage, facilitate and establish similar
coalition of citizens to promote secular values,
religious tolerance, democracy and human rights
and accelerate women’s participation in secular
movements striving for equality and justice.
Gandhian women such as Nirmala Deshpande
and Medha Patkar have galvanised hundreds of
women into peace movement and have brought to
the fore women’s agency in peace keeping.
The international women’s rights movement
has decided:
• To organise and mobilise men, women and
children to reiterate and reinforce the importance
of secular values for a harmonious coexistence;
• To create pressure groups to condemn acts of
violence and exclusion and to propagate actions
and initiatives to promote peace and inclusion;
• To reaffirm secular values and multiculturalism
for maintaining and strengthening democratic
values based on respect for human rights;
• To encourage, facilitate and establish similar
networks of citizens to promote secular values,
religious tolerance, democracy and human rights
and accelerate women’s participation in secular
movements striving for equality and justice;
• To counter violence on women, dalits, minorities,
tribals and to contribute to the efforts for gender
justice, social justice and distributive justice; and
• To consistently raise our voices against
fundamentalism and communalism and to initiate
action against all forms of discrimination.
Like Gandhiji’s vision, women’s vision of a
harmonious society revolves around concerns such
as social justice, gender justice and distributive
justice. Prospects and possibilities for establishing
harmony at the grassroots have increased due to
multi-pronged efforts at community level, national
and global efforts.
Harmony for women’s rights movement is:
• Justice, equality and peace in the family
and the world;
• Harmony at the grassroots is best promoted
by those whose stakes are high: the rural
poor women from Tribal, Dalit and Minority
communities—discriminated thrice over by
12 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
caste, class and gender; and
• Putting women’s concerns in center will ensure
development is equitable and sustainable. Women
are adept at bridging ethnic, religious, political,
and cultural divides. Under mature leadership they
are collaborative, inclined towards consensus and
compromise. Experiences of varied memberships
in mahila mandals at the village level from different
castes, religions, classes come together for
common goals.
“For generations, women have served as peace
educators, both in their families and in their
societies. They have proved instrumental in
building bridges rather than walls.”
- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Women have their fingers on the pulse of the
community. They are close to the roots of the
conflict, have accurate information about the
conflict as information givers/evidence and play
a critical role in mobilising their communities to
begin the process of reconciliation and rebuilding
once hostilities end. Women are community
leaders. Women are often at the centre of nongovernmental
organisations, popular protests,
electoral referendums, and other citizenempowering
movements whose influence has
grown with the global spread of democracy.
Women are highly invested in preventing, stopping,
and recovering from conflict, are motivated to
protect their children and ensure security for
their families. Despite being victims of violence,
the consequences of absence of peace are most
felt by them. Hence, in all conflict situations,
women continue to pursue peace processes as it is
expressed in the following pledge taken by women
after the Gujarat Riots (2002).
“We, The Women of India, have solemnly resolved
to unite our collective wisdom for the betterment
of our community and ourselves. We hereby vow to
strive towards bringing PEACE and Togetherness in
our families and neighbourhood and work towards
communal harmony. To educate ourselves,
our men and our children about the values of
compassion, love, integrity, honesty, truthfulness,
hard work, acceptance, forgiveness, sharing,
respect for humanity and our environment. To
raise collective voice against those indulging
in suppression, oppression, exploitation,
victimisation and abuse of ourselves, our men and
our children. To strive towards social, economic
and political justice, liberty of thought, expression,
belief, faith, worship and equality of status and
of opportunity for ourselves, our men and our
children.”
Vibhuti Patel, Professor and Head, Post Graduate
Department of Economics SNDT Women’s
University.
Source: Bhavan’s Journal,
September 15 & 30, 2011

Jaya Ekadasi Vrat
Festivals of the Month:
India
Lord Vishnu
Jaya Ekadashi falls in the month of Magh according
to the traditional Hindu lunar calendar. It occurs
on the 11th day during Shukla Paksha, that is,
during the waxing phase of the moon. While the
North Indians observe this ritual as Jaya Ekadashi,
in South India, it is observed as Bhisma Ekadashi
or Bheesma Ekadashi. Devotees of Lord Vishnu
observe vrat on Jaya Ekadashi as they consider it
to be highly beneficial. Jaya Ekadasi Vrat 2012 falls
on 3 February.
The Vrat
Lord Vishnu is worshipped in Ekadashi fast. But
in Jaya Ekadashi, Lord Vishnu is also worshipped
with Lord Krishna. Persons observing this fast
prepare themselves a day before fast. After
taking meal in evening on 10th day (one day
before Ekadasi) the resolution of fast is taken in
the morning of Ekadashi. Then, Lord Krishna is
worshipped with incense stick, lamp, and fruits.
Lord Vishnu is worshipped with Panchamrit.
Fast is observed the whole day and Jagran is
performed at night. Reading Vishnu Sahastranaam
and doing Jagran for the whole night is considered
auspicious. In the morning of Dvadashi, after
bathing, Brahmans are gifted food and alms as per
the capacity of an individual. By this, a person gets
free from all his sins.
Nirvana Day
Nirvana Day commemorates the death of the
historical Buddha and his entry into Nirvana.
Nirvana Day is a time for contemplation of the
Buddha’s teachings. Some monasteries and temples
hold Parinirvana meditation retreats. Others open
their doors to laypeople who bring gifts of money
and household goods to support monks and nuns.
Nirvana Day 2012 falls on February 15.
Nirvana
The word Nirvana means “to extinguish,” such as
extinguishing the flame of a candle. Some schools
of Buddhism explain Nirvana as a state of bliss or
peace, and this state may be experienced in life, or
it may be entered into at death. The Buddha taught
that Nirvana was beyond human imagination. It
celebrates the day when the Buddha is said to have
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 13

achieved Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon
the death of his physical body. Buddhists celebrate
the death of the Buddha because they believe that
since he was Enlightened, he was free from the pain
of physical existence.
The Day
Passages from the Nirvana Sutra describing
the Buddha’s last days of life are often read on
Parinirvana Day. Other observances include
meditation and visits to Buddhist temples and
monasteries. Also, the day is a time to think about
one’s own future death and on the deaths of loved
ones. This thought process reflects the Buddhist
teachings on transience.
Ganesh Chaturthi Vrat
Ganesh Chaturthi is the festival of ‘Lord Ganesh’.
It is one of most auspicious fast (vrat) for the
devotees of lord Ganesh. People believe that the
vrat of Ganesh Chaturthi can give them wisdom,
mind power and success. Lord Ganesh is known as
son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Ganesh Chaturthi
Vrat 2012 falls on February 11.
Observation
Many people observe the fast (vrat) on Ganesh
Chaturthi. Ladies prepare good food, sweets
and special Laddoo at their homes and offer to
Lord Ganesh before they eat. At some temples of
lord Ganesha devotee celebrate it with idols of
Lord Ganesha. People go to temples and pray for
wisdom, health and wealth.
14 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Nirvana Day - Buddha Lord Ganesh
Surajkund Crafts Mela
The Surajkund Crafts Mela is organized annually
by the Haryana Tourism Department in the
month of February. This delightful handloom and
handicrafts fair is planned every year to promote
the traditional Indian Handicrafts in rural ambience
at Surajkund in the vicinity of New Delhi. The fair
was first time organized in 1981 and since then the
fair continues to be a strong platform for Indian
artists and craftsmen to display their skilled crafts
and art work. Surajkund Mela 2012 spans from
February 1–15.
The Mela
At this annual week long fair skilled artists from all
over the country display the rich crafts tradition
of India in the typical rural setting and bring alive
the age-old living crafts tradition. Surajkund crafts
mela offers to its visitors the exquisite and skilful
paintings, textiles, wood stock, ivory work, pottery,
terracotta, stonework, lac work and cane and
grass work. Visitors can shop here for some of the
world’s most treasured wares.
The fair is not only limited to exhibitions of artwork
but also presents the visual delight to its visitors
in the form of special Natyashala folk dances and
musical evenings at the open-air theatre. These
programs are also accompanied by rural cuisine,
adding colours to this popular crafts fair. Every
year, the Surajkund Crafts Mela is planned by
selecting a particular Indian state as a theme
and entire ambience for the fair is designed
accordingly. Many states have showcased its finest

handlooms, handicrafts and cuisines in past fairs.
26th Surajkund Crafts Mela 2012 will some
highlights as: The Craftspersons from all over India,
SAARC and other neighbouring countries selling
the Handlooms and Handicrafts items. Assam the
Theme State of this Year Mela is known as rice
Granery of India and also known for monuments,
handicrafts, handloom and cuisines. A number of
neighbouring countries would also be participating
in this Mela.
Milad-un-Nabi
Milad-un-Nabi also known as Barawafat or Mawlid
marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
According to Islamic calendar the birthday of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad occurs in the third
month, Rabi’ al-awwal. The celebration of Miladun-Nabi
origin is said to be have been since 11th
century in the Fatimid dynasty. The same day
marks the death anniversary of the Holy Prophet.
The word ‘barah’ stands for the twelve days of the
Prophet’s sickness. In 2012 some Muslims celebrate
Milad-un-Nabi on 4 February and some celebrate 5
days later ie on 9 February.
Celebrations
Milad-un-Nabi
People gather, remember, discuss and celebrate
the advent of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth and
his teachings. Many carry green flags or banners
or wear green ribbons or items of clothing when
taking part in these events. The green colour
represents Islam and paradise. Many Kashmiri
Muslims gather at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar,
India. It houses a hair that is believed to have come
from the Prophet Mohammad. Thousands of people
attend prayers at the shrine on the night before
Milad-un-Nabi. The relic is displayed in the mosque
after the morning prayers.
Mawlid, or Milad, is celebrated with large street
parades in some countries. Homes and mosques
are also decorated. Some people donate food
and other goods for charity on or around this
day. Others listen to their children read out
poems about events that occurred in the Prophet
Muhammed’s life. Mawlid is celebrated in this way
in many communities across the globe.
Mahashivaratri
Mahashivaratri Festival or the ‘The Night of Shiva’
is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor
in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the Deities of Hindu
Trinity. Mahashivaratri falls on the moonless
14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month
of Phalgun, which corresponds to the month of
February-March in English Calendar. Celebrating
the festival of Mahashivaratri devotees observe day
and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva
Lingam to appease Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri
marks the night when Lord Shiva performed
the ‘Tandava’. Mahashivaratri 2012 falls on 20
February.
Legend of Lubdhaka
Surajkund Crafts Mela Scenes
The legend of Lubdhaka is deeply related to
Mahashivaratri and explains the popular custom of
all-night worship of Lord Shiva on the festival. As
a tradition devotees recite the legend of Lubdhaka
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 15

while they observe fast in worship of Lord Shiva on
Mahashivaratri. And, it is only after observing an
all-night fast that devotees eat the prasad offered
to Shiva.
Lubdhaka
Lubdhaka, a poor tribal man and a devout
worshipper of Lord Shiva once went into the
deep forests to collect firewood. As the darkness
engulfed the jungle, Lubdhaka lost his way and
could not find his way home. He became extremely
terrified as deep growls of animals began to fill the
jungle. Seeking protection till daybreak, Lubdhaka
climbed the nearest bel tree and sought safety
and shelter in its branches. Since Lubdhaka was
perched on the branch of a tree he was afraid
that if he dozed he might fall off from the tree. To
keep himself awake all night, Lubdhaka decided to
pluck one leaf from the bheel tree and drop it while
chanting the name of Shiva. By sunrise, the devout
tribal realized that he had dropped thousands
of leaves on to a Shiva Lingam, which he had not
seen in the darkness. Lubdhaka’s all night worship
pleased Lord Shiva and by his divine grace tigers
and other wild animals went away. Thus, Lubdhaka
not only survived but was also rewarded with
divine bliss. According to Puranas, ever since that
day, the story of the tribal Lubdhaka has been
recited every year on the night of Mahashivaratri.
This popular legend also forms the basis of the
popular custom of offering bhel (Aegle marmelos)
leaves to Lord Shiva on Mahashivaratri.
Traditions and Customs
Various traditions and customs related to
Mahashivaratri Festival are dutifully followed by
the worshippers of Lord Shiva. Devotees observe
strict fast in honor of Shiva, though many go on a
diet of fruits and milk some do not consume even
16 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
a drop of water. Devotees strongly believe that
sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious
day of Mahashivaratri, absolves a person of sins
and liberates him from the cycle of birth and death.
Mahashivaratri is considered especially auspicious
for women. While married women pray for the wellbeing
of their husbands unmarried women pray for
a husband like Lord Shiva, who is regarded as the
ideal husband.
To mark the Shivratri festival, devotees wake up
early and take a ritual bath, preferably in river
Ganga. After wearing fresh new clothes devotees
visit the nearest Shiva temple to give ritual bath to
the Shiva Lingum with milk, honey, water etc.
On Mahashivaratri, worship of Lord Shiva
continues all through the day and night. Every
three hours priests perform ritual pooja of
Shivalingam by bathing it with milk, yoghurt,
honey, ghee, sugar and water amidst the chanting
of “Om Namah Shivaya’ and ringing of temple bells.
Nightlong vigil or jaagran is also observed in Shiva
temples where large a number of devotees spend
the night singing hymns and devotional songs in
praise of Lord Shiva. It is only on the following
morning that devotee break their fast by partaking
prasad offered to the deity.
Significance
Mahashivaratri
Festival of Mahashivaratri is the most important
festival for the millions of devotees of Lord Shiva.
The festival has been accorded lot of significance
in Hindu mythology. It says that a devotee who
performs sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the
auspicious day of Shivratri is absolved of sins and
attains moksha. Festival of Mahashivaratri has
tremendous significance in Hinduism. According
to sacred scriptures, ritual worship of Lord Shiva
on Mahashivaratri day pleases Lord Shiva the

most. This fact is said to have been declared by
Lord Shiva himself, when his consort Parvati asked
him as to which ritual performed by his devotees
pleases him the most.
Mahashivratri Festival is also considered to be an
extremely significant festival by women. Married
and unmarried women observe fast and perform
Shiva Puja with sincerity to appease Goddess
Parvati who is also regarded as ‘Gaura’, one who
bestows marital bliss and long and prosperous
married life. Unmarried women also pray for a
husband like Lord Shiva who is regarded as the
ideal husband.
Celebrations
Mahashivaratri Celebrations in India are marked
with devotion and religious fervor. Joy is writ large
on the faces of millions of Lord Shiva devotees
as they start preparing for the biggest Lord Shiva
festival in advance. Celebrations of Mahashivaratri
begin with the break of the dawn on the Shivratri
day and continue all though the night. Devotees
observe fast and spend the day in devotion
and worship of Lord Shiva. Many worshippers
also participate in the jaagran or the night vigil
organized in various Shiva temples across the
country. Devotees believe that sincere observance
of Mahashivaratri puja and all night worship of
Lord Shiva will absolve them of all their sins and
liberate them from the cycle of birth and death.
Tu B’Shevat
Tu B’Shevat
When you come to the land and you plant any tree,
you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years it
will be forbidden and not eaten. In the fourth year, all
of its fruit shall be sanctified to praise the Lord. In the
fifth year, you may eat its fruit. -Leviticus 19:23-25
Tu B’Shevat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of
Shevat is also known as the New Year for Trees.
The word “Tu” is not really a word; it is the number
15 in Hebrew. Tu B’Shevat is the new year for the
purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing
which states that fruit from trees may not be eaten
during the first three years; the fourth year’s fruit
is for G-d, and after that, you can eat the fruit. Each
tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu
B’Shevat. Tu B’Shevat 2012 falls on February 8.
Customs and Observances
There are few customs or observances related to
this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on
this day, or to eat from the Seven Species (shivat
haminim) described in the Bible as being abundant
in the land of Israel. The Shivat Haminim are:
wheat, barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates,
olives and dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8).
Some people plant trees on this day. In the 16th
century, kabbalists, developed a seder ritual
conceptually similar to the Pesach (Passover)
seder, discussing the spiritual significance of fruits
and of the shivat haminim. This custom spread
primarily in Sephardic communities, but in recent
years it has been getting more attention among
Ashkenazim. This is the season in which the
earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge
from their winter sleep and begin a new fruitbearing
cycle.
Legally, the “New Year for Trees” relates to the
various tithes that are separated from produce
grown in the Holy Land. These tithes differ from
year to year in the seven-year Shemittah cycle;
the point at which a budding fruit is considered
to belong to the next year of the cycle is the 15th
of Shevat. People mark the day of Tu B’Shevat by
eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are
singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty
of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives
and dates.
Brij Festival Bharatpur
The Brij Festival in Bharatpur is dedicated to Lord
Krishna and His beloved Radha. During this festival
devotees of Lord Krishna gather at one particular
place and celebrate the festival with lot of zeal
and dedication. The main draw of the Brij Festival
is the Raslila Dance, illustrating the undying love
story of Radha and Krishna. Draped in colorful
costumes villagers of Bharatpur perform this dance
and remember Lord Krishna and His companion.
The town of Bharatpur gets alive on the eve of
Bharatpur Brij festival with the sound of folk songs
which fill the air and enthral people. All the people,
men or women, young or old, participate in the
Rajasthan Braj Mahotsav and get carried away by
the spirited flow. The entire place is painted in
brilliant colors and no one is spared from being
splashed with colors. The Brij Festival 2012 spans
from February 2–4.
Held in honor of Lord Krishna Brij Festival in
Bharatpur is marked by vitality and zest. Villagers,
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 17

in gay, multicolored attire, can be seen singing
and performing the Raslila dance. All of Bharatpur
echoes the sound of folk melodies at Bharatpur Brij
Festival held on the eve of Holi. Men and women,
young and old, rich and poor-all are moved by the
spirit of this festival. Energetic revelers spare no
one during this festival and delight in splashing
color on everyone around.
During the Brij Festival the devotees gather at the
Shri Radha Krishnaji’s temple in the morning and
take a bath at the ghats (a flight of steps leading to
the water) of the Banganga river. It is believed that
the holy waters have powers to purify the soul.
The people then head for the nearby shrines of
Hanuman and Ganga Bihari and also visit the Shiva
temple and the Math of Goswamiji. Bharatpur Brij
Festival in Rajasthan is one of the important fairs
and festivals of Rajasthan. The fair reflects the true
traditional culture of Rajasthan. It has the essence
of the true spirited nature of the locals.
Jaisalmer Desert Festival
Herd of camels, locals dressed in colourful fancy
dresses, camel races and polo matches, turban
tying competitions, men with long moustache,
acrobats, puppeteers, and jugglers are the main
highlights of Jaisalmer Desert Festival. The
celebrations of Festival of Jaisalmer 2012 will
continue for three days from 5 to 7 February. The
days of festival glorifies the rich culture of the
region. The desert festival in Jaisalmer was started
with an aim to attract foreign tourists, who always
look forward to explore more and more facets of
Rajasthan. The festival showcases Rajasthani folk
songs and dance to promote Jaisalmer culture and
traditions.
18 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Brij Festival Bharatpur
The major attraction of Jaisalmer Desert Festival
is to showcase the culture of the region glorifying
the desert land. The annual desert festival is held
on the backdrop of the Jaisalmer fort. The sand
of Jaisalmer comes alive with the dazzling colors,
vibrant music and laughter of the Desert Festival
between the pinks of winters. The people dressed
in brilliantly hued costumes, dance and sing the
poignant ballads of valour, romance and tragedy.
The fair has snake charmers, puppeteers, acrobats,
folk artists and various competitions are also held
here. The festival closes with an enchanting sound
and light show in the moonlit night amid sand
dunes with a promise to come back again next year.
The rhythm of Ghumar, Kalbalia, Gair and Fire
dancers dancing on the beats of folk music are the
major attraction of the desert festival celebrations.
The dancers in vibrant and brightly coloured
costumes dance like flying butterflies. Jaisalmer
Desert Festival is the best occasion when the
rich and colourful culture of the desert region is
highlighted. Villagers are heard singing the ballads
of tragedy, valour, and romance of the local heroes
and they dance to the folk tunes.
Parveen, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia
Source: www.festivalsofindia.in, www.4to40.com,
www.surfindia.com, www.iloveindia.com,
www.pilgrimage-india.com,
www.aryabhatt.com, www.hindu-blog.com,
www.timeanddate.com, www.indiaparenting.com,
www.theholidayspot.com,
www.mahashivratri.org,
www.haryanatourism.gov.in, www.chabad.org,
www.saffronsofindia.com,
www.jaisalmerdesertcamp.com/desertfestival.htm

Cobargo Folk Festival
The historic village of Cobargo on the far south
coast of New South Wales has been hosting this
fun-filled weekend of music, dance, song, comedy
and poetry and yarn-telling for the past 16 years.
Over 200 performers converge on the Cobargo
Showground over the last weekend in February and
provide a pageant of Australian and international
talent. Performers and audiences describe this
festival as “the best little folk festival in the
country”. Cobargo Folk Festival 2012 falls on 24–26
February.
History
Festivals of
the Month:
Australia
Cobargo Folk Festival
The festival started out as a small celebration in
the village centre but the growth in popularity
of the festival resulted in a move to the Cobargo
Showground in 2005. This has been recognised as
a positive move in the development of the festival
due to the beautiful rural setting, ample space
and facilities. The organisers are all volunteers
and the festival itself could not operate without
these people who volunteer their time during the
weekend of the festival each year. Volunteering
gives a different perspective of the festival,
enhances enjoyment and gives free admission.
Festival attendees experience a full program of
concerts, workshops, dances, poets breakfasts,
comedy acts, sessions, intimate blackboard
concerts, food stalls, bar and refreshments. This
is a very friendly festival and it just keeps getting
better.
National Multicultural Festival
The National Multicultural Festival is held in
Canberra in February and features local, national
and international music, dance and creative arts.
Major features include a Greek glendi (a celebration
of Greek culture), an international concert, a
Pacific Islander showcase, and international food
and dance events. A vibrant fringe component
complements the mainstream festival activities.
The Festival is produced by the ACT Office
of Multicultural Affairs, Community Services
Directorate, ACT Government. In 2011 National
Multicultural Festival attracted over 240,000
people. National Multicultural Festival 2012 falls on
10–12 February.
The Festival
The National Multicultural Festival is Canberra’s
premier cultural event, which actively involves
over 200 community groups, local and national arts
groups, up to 70 diplomatic missions, numerous
businesses and people who attend over 150
activities and events over the three day period. The
Festival celebrates the cultural diversity of the
ACT by providing events that positively showcase
cultural differences and encourages people to
share in and celebrate differences by enjoying arts
and music, dancing, laughing and eating together.
Earth Frequency Festival
Earth Frequency Festival is a music, arts, lifestyle
and environment festival, based in South-East
Earth Frequency Festival
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 19

Queensland, Australia. The concept of Earth
Frequency is not just a festival or party, but a
gathering of different tribes and a weekend of
connection, intention and inspiration and is for
those who love our planet, the Earth. The focus
is on creating a meaningful space to gather,
where raise awareness can be raised and useful
information shared on environmental issues
and sustainable lifestyle choices, consolidate
community bonds with creative and fun activities,
and provide a positive and transformative festival
experience in the Australian outdoors, with music,
performance, talks and workshops and creative
activities. Earth Freq is an inclusive, community
minded event. People from many different
backgrounds, ages and walks of life come together
with the shared interests of music, nature, culture,
community and peace. Earth Frequency Festival
2012 falls on 17–20 February.
Celebrations
2012 marks the 7th edition of Earth Frequency
Festival. From the origins as a small local envirocare
doof, the event has grown and evolved to be a
calendar highlight for the Queensland/NSW region.
Earth Frequency Festival now spans 4 days and
brings together a wide range of live and electronic
music, performers, artists, visionaries and
intellectuals in to one place with a specific intent;
to capture the spirit of the cosmic experience; to
gather, dance, share, laugh, love, educate and learn
through a positive gathering of different tribes.
National Multicultural Festival
National Multicultural Festival
20 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Frances Folk Gathering
Each year in February, the tiny village of Frances
(on the Victorian/South Australian border)
opens its doors to a huge collection of musicians,
dancers, artists, buskers and ordinary folk for a
weekend of music, fun and laughter. Frances Folk
Gathering 2012 falls on February 24–26.
History
Begun in 2000, the annual Frances Folk Gathering
brings people together in a community-building
atmosphere. The idea is based on the old-style
country gatherings—celebrating the folk arts in
an atmosphere of fun and friendship. The town of
Frances welcomes Victorians, South Australians
and folk from farther afield. The Gathering
promotes the folk arts—music, dance, song, poetry,
arts and crafts-building on the past and looking to
the future. The event evolves with subtly different
themes each year.
Everyone contributes to the fun and entertainment.
They welcome young and old, beginners and
experienced performers, the well-known and the
never heard of. Frances is about participation.
It’s not a festival with lots of concerts with
performances by ‘stars’ but people invite a couple
of special guests who inspire others.
Celebrations
Most folk set up camp or else park a caravan at the
local oval for accommodation. There are food stalls
Frances Folk Gathering
Chinese New Year

at the event. People join in as a performer, busker,
presenting a workshop, entering the competitions,
or perhaps the intriguing “mixed grill” award,
joining in with the many impromptu sessions,
dancing, or just plain hanging out.
Chinese New Year 2012
Chinese New Year is the longest and most
important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The
New Year begins on the first day of the Chinese
calendar, which usually falls in February, and the
festivities continue for 15 days. Chinese New year
celebrations in Australia continue from January
20 – February 5, 2012. The 2012 year belongs to
Dragon.
Chinese in Australia
Chinese people first came to Australia in large
numbers during the Gold Rush in the 1850s and
60s. About one-third of the miners were Chinese.
Many Chinese-Australian families can trace their
settlement in Australia to that time. Monuments
and buildings developed by Chinese settlers
serve as reminders of the long history of Chinese
immigration to Australia. Examples remain in towns
like Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria. Memorabilia
is displayed in museums like the Chinese
Museum, Melbourne, and the Golden Dragon
Museum, Bendigo.
Sydney and Melbourne have Chinatowns—
hub for restaurants, Chinese grocery stores
and other small businesses, and centres
for the celebration of festivals such as
Chinese New Year. Brisbane also has a
significant Chinatown area in Fortitude Valley.
Celebrations
The Chinese-Australian community holds a variety
of events to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
The Great Dragon appears at the Chinese New
Year celebrations in the streets of Melbourne. In
2003 a new dragon—the Millennium Dai Loong
Dragon—was commissioned from the Foshan Arts
Institute China. The Millennium Dai Loong Dragon
in Melbourne is carried by over 200 people. It is
awakened every year with a ceremony of offerings
to the Gods followed by a lion dance. Between
wakings, the Millennium Dai Loong Dragon can
be seen at the Chinese Museum in Melbourne’s
Chinatown.
In Sydney, festivities stretch to three weeks and
include a Grand Parade, Dragon Boat and Sedan
Chair Races and night markets. The Chinese New
Year is celebrated in other ways all around the
country.
During Chinese New Year celebrations, people
wear red clothes, give children ‘lucky money’ in red
envelopes and set off firecrackers. Red symbolises
fire, which the Chinese believe drives away bad
luck. Family members gather at each other’s
homes for extravagant meals. Chinese New Year
ends with the lantern festival, where people hang
decorated lanterns in temples and carry lanterns
to an evening parade under the light of the full
moon. The highlight of the lantern festival is often
the dragon dance. The dragon can stretch over 30
metres long and is typically made of silk, paper and
bamboo.
Source: www.festivalaustralia.com.au,
www.cobargofolkfestival.com,
www.multiculturalfestival.com.au,
www.earthfrequency.com.au,
www.francesfolkgathering.com.au,
http://australia.gov.au
Chinese New Year
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 21

Wishing all my natural friends, a happy and healthy
New Year, The year behind, National Institute
of Naturopathy (NIN) could perform well except
that we could not conduct the International
Naturopathy and Yoga Conference due to financial
constraints. All other programmes planned In
connection with the Silver Jubilee of NIN could be
achieved, Certain new initiatives could be started
and we are looking forward to a healthy growth of
NIN in the coming year.
The free Sanatorium for the HIV+ve Patients is
now started. Construction of the new 10,000 sq. ft.
exclusive treatment section is progressing at a fast
pace. Actions for acquisition of 25 acres of land is
also progressing fast. Once we are able to acquire
the same, we can proceed with the project of
starting the Naturopathy College, Hospital and the
Research unit.
NIN is concentrating on the propagation of the
science of Naturopathy by organizing a number
of awareness programmes through Naturopathy
hospitals across the Country and by self, using
the manpower available with the institute.
Regular Seminars and free Medical camps are
being organized directly by NIN in the housing
societies of Pune and various other organisations
in Maharashtra. Training programmes for various
groups like teachers, nurses, students and women
are regularly conducted by NIN. Orientation
Training for other doctors; continuous Medical
Education programmes for Naturopathy doctors
and Research Methodology Workshops are also
continuing.
NIN’s Heath food exhibitions with seminars
on different topics in different states and the
cookery classes are highly appreciated. At NIN,
the OPD, Yoga Classes, Health Shop, Gym and
the Naturopathic Diet Centre are getting very
good response. Passed year gives satisfaction
22 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
“Greetings”,
on the New Year
and confidence to proceed. Naturopathy and
Life Natural being the end resort for the health
problems of today we need to grow further even
to meet the needs of tomorrow. Through Govt.
of India, and all other State governments, more
clinical facilities and educational programmes have
to be started. Naturopaths need to concentrate
primarily on Research which is the need of the
hour. NIN has definite plans to enter into the field
of research in the coming year.
Followers of Naturopathy need to be more aware
of the health hazards, the regular features or
curse of our society. The Chemical war against the
health of the citizens in the name of globalization
or whatever, has to be quit by the people.
National and Multinational Companies pharmas
and business magnets try to protect their vested
interests, where people have to suffer. Unless we
wake up, these cannot be stopped.
We need to educate the mass, especially Children
and health workers, the importance of life natural,
the rules regarding food, exercise and rest. How
to make use of the natural elements to promote
health, boost immunity and prevent diseases. The
sick are to be reached far for help through our
sure cure, cost effective system of medicine. Let us
remember the words of Swami Vivekananda:
“Arise, awake and stop not,
till the goal is reached”.
Wishing you all again a Happy and
Healthy New Year.
Naturally Yours!
Dr. Babu Joseph, Chief Editor,
Nisargopachar Varta
Source: Nisargopachar Varta,
Vol. 4 Issue 1, January 2012

Naturopath’s
Advice
(India)
Q. I am a 56 years old person and suffering from
Chronic Rhinitis for the last 5 years, Irritable Bowel
syndrome for the last 4 years, Hyperacidity since
1979 and Eczema in legs for the last 5 years. I have
been suffering from low blood pressure for last the 10
years. Kindly suggest the possible treatment options
with Naturopathy and Yoga, to get a permanent
relief. -SK Paul, Lucknow
A. The complaints you’re suffering from had
turned to be chronic as the therapy so far you
have had might be for very symptomatic relief.
Naturopathy perceives the body as one single
entity rather than different systems. According
to Naturopathy diagnosis, it is the eliminatory
channels that were not functioning to the optimum
level, thereby leading to all your sufferings. Out of
four eliminatory channels, viz., Intestines, Kidneys,
Lungs and Skin, as per your complaints three of
them have a problem in performing their task. So
the treatment will be targeted at the eliminatory
channels first, by supporting them simultaneously
preventing all the possible triggers which may
provoke the symptoms.
First, let me say, as you are crossing a chain of
problems since many years, it is highly appreciable
if you get admitted in any of the Nature Cure
hospitals as per your convenience. According
to Naturopathy, all the complaints are same. It
performs by selecting different parts of the body
when others are blocked.
You may need to undergo a course of fasting from
three to fifteen days as per your body composition,
which shall be prescribed after assessing your
physique by a Naturopath. It is advisable to have
Enema during the fasting to assist the bowel
movement. During the course of fasting, Mud
application to the eczematous parts, Sun bath
and steam baths are recommended as per your
endurance. Plantain leaf bath or full wet sheet pack
can also be had to promote the elimination via skin.
Both those therapies promote the skin functions.
Necessary care should be taken to consume
enough water before undergoing those therapies.
Avoid indulging in any Animal products including
milk and milk products. Peanuts, Chana daal and
Soya products shall also be avoided during the
course of treatment. In general, less salt and nonspicy
diet is advised. Adequate fluid intake shall be
ensured. Juice of melons, grapes, figs and alkaline
vegetables like Pumpkin, Cucumber, Lettuce,
Radish etc. shall be given preference. The diet
should be rich with vegetables and fruits. Complete
raw food for a certain period is also advisable.
Raw juice therapy will be very effective in your
case as you suffer from different problems and
this will help in purifying the blood and solving
the hyperacidity problem. Alkaline juice of Lauki,
Cucumber, Snake gourd, Plantain pith or Durva
(grass) diluted with water can be taken, empty
stomach.
As far as therapies are concerned, Cold hip baths
for 10 to 15 mins everyday will be beneficial. Facial
steam and Hot chest packs can be had to relieve
congestion and ease the breathe. Yogic kriyas like
Kapalbhati and Neti kriyas are the best methods to
clean the nasal tract and the surrounding sinuses.
They shall be done regularly to keep airflow
uninterrupted. As a precaution, the skin should
not be left dry. Coconut oil can be applied as a
moisturizer. Neem-turmeric paste shall be applied
before bath for few days till the itch is alleviated.
Any form of physical activity is a must; preferably
yoga. The entire body demands on the digestive
system for its energy and nutrient supply. Thus
with regular physical activity there appears keen
hunger and complete bowel evacuation, which
indicates that the digestive system is back to its
normal status.
Dr. D. Sathyanath, Nature Cure Physician,
National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Dept. of
Ayush, Ministry of Health & F.W., Govt of India,
based at Bapu Bhavan, Tadiwala Road, Pune,
India. NIN provides multifaceted Services and
Monthly Activities including, OPD Clinic, Yoga
Classes, Magazine, Weekly Lectures, Monthly
Workshop, Naturopathy Diet Centre, Courses and
Acupressure Clinic etc. For more details visit:
www.punenin.org, Email: ninpune@vsnl.com.
Source: Nisargopachar Varta, National Institute of
Naturopathy, India, Vol. 4, Issue 1, January 2012
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 23

Swami Vivekananda
Conversations and
Dialogues1 Swami Vivekananda
Question:—Then, you mean to say that
there is no need of social reform at all?
Swamiji:—Who says so? Of course there is need
of it. Most of what you talk of as social reform
does not touch the poor masses; they have
already those things—the widow remarriage,
female emancipation, etc.,—which you cry for.
For this reason they will not think of those things
as reforms at all. What I mean to say is that want
of Shraddha has brought in all the evils among
us, and is bringing in more and more. My method
of treatment is to take out by the roots the very
causes of the disease and not to keep them merely
suppressed. Reforms we should have in many
ways; who will be so foolish as to deny it? There is,
for example, a good reason for inter¬marriage in
India, in the absence of which the race is becoming
physically weaker day by day.
Since it was a day of a solar eclipse, the gentleman
who was asking these questions saluted Swamiji
and left, saying, “I must go now for a bath in the
Ganges. I shall, however, come another day.”
III
Reconciliation of Jnana-Yoga and Bhakti-Yoga—
God in Good and in Evil Too—Use Makes A Thing
Good or Evil—Karma—Creation—God—Maya
[Shri Surendra Nath Sen—from private diary]
Sunday, The 23rd January, 1898.
It was evening and the occasion of the weekly
meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission, at the house
of Balaram Babu of Baghbazar. Swami Turiyananda,
Swami Yogananda, Swami Premananda, and others
had come from the Math. Swamiji was seated in the
verandah to the east, which was now full of people,
as were the northern and the southern sections of
the verandah. But such used to be the case every
day when Swamiji stayed in Calcutta.
Many of the people who came to the meeting had
heard that Swamiji could sing well, and so were
desirous of hearing him. Knowing this, Master
Mahâshaya (M.) whispered to a few gentlemen
near him to request Swamiji to sing; but he saw
through their intention and playfully asked,
“Master Mahashaya, what are you talking about
among yourselves in whispers? Do speak out.” At
the request of Master Mahashaya, Swamiji now
began in his charming voice the song—“Keep with
loving care the darling Mother Shyâmâ in thy heart.
. . .” It seemed as if a Vinâ was playing. At its close,
24 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
he said to Master Mahashaya, “Well, are
you now satisfied? But no more singing!
Otherwise, being in the swing of it, I
shall be carried away by its intoxication.
Moreover, my voice is now spoilt by
frequent lecturing in the West. My voice
trembles a great deal. . . .”
Swamiji then asked one of his
Brahmacharin disciples to speak on the
real nature of Mukti. So, the Brahmacharin
stood up and spoke at some length. A few others
followed him. Swamiji then invited discussion on
the subject of the discourse, and called upon one
of his householder disciples to lead it; but as the
latter tried to advocate the Advaita and Jnâna and
assign a lower place to dualism and Bhakti, he
met with a protest from one of the audience. As
each of the two opponents tried to establish his
own viewpoint, a lively word-fight ensued. Swamiji
watched them for a while but, seeing that they were
getting excited, silenced them with the following
words:
Why do you get excited in argument and spoil
everything? Listen! Shri Ramakrishna used to
say that pure knowledge and pure Bhakti are
one and the same. According to the doctrine of
Bhakti, God is held to be “All-Love”. One cannot
even say, “I love Him”, for the reason that He is
All-Love. There is no love outside of Himself; the
love that is in the heart with which you love Him
is even He Himself. In a similar way, whatever
attractions or inclinations one feels drawn by, are
all He Himself. The thief steals, the harlot sells
her body to prostitution, the mother loves her
child—in each of these too is He! One world system
attracts another—there also is He. Everywhere
is He. According to the doctrine of Jnana also,
He is realised by one everywhere. Here lies the
reconciliation of Jnana and Bhakti. When one is
immersed in the highest ecstasy of divine vision
(Bhâva), or is in the state of Samâdhi, then alone
the idea of duality ceases, and the distinction
between the devotee and his God vanishes. In
the scriptures on Bhakti, five different paths of
relationship are mentioned, by any of which one
can attain to God; but another one can very well
be added to them, viz. the path of meditation on
the non-separateness, or oneness with God. Thus
the Bhakta can call the Advaitins Bhaktas as well,
but of the non-differentiating type. As long as one
is within the region of Mâya, so long the idea of
duality will no doubt remain. Space-time-causation,
or name-and-form, is what is called Maya. When
one goes beyond this Maya, then only the Oneness
is realised, and then man is neither a dualist nor
an Advaitist—to him all is One. All this difference
that you notice between a Bhakta and a Jnani is
in the preparatory stage —one sees God outside,
and the other sees Him within. But there is another
point: Shri Ramakrishna used to say that there
is another stage of Bhakti which is called the
Supreme Devotion (Parâbhakti) i.e. to love Him

after becoming established in the consciousness
of Advaita and after having attained Mukti. It may
seem paradoxical, and the question may be raised
here why such a one who has already attained
Mukti should be desirous of retaining the spirit
of Bhakti? The answer is: The Mukta or the Free
is beyond all law; no law applies in his case, and
hence no question can be asked regarding him.
Even becoming Mukta, some, out of their own free
will, retain Bhakti to taste of its sweetness.
Question:—God may be in the love of the mother
for her child; but, sir, this idea is really perplexing
that God is even in thieves and the harlots in the
form of their natural inclinations to sin! It follows
then that God is as responsible for the sin as for all
the virtue in this world.
Swamiji:—That consciousness comes in a stage of
highest realization, when one sees that whatever is
of the nature of love or attraction is God. But one
has to reach that state to see and realise that idea
for oneself in actual life.
Question:—But still one has to admit that God is
also in the sin!
Swamiji:—You see, there are, in reality, no such
different things as good and evil. They are mere
conventional terms. The same thing we call bad,
and again another time we call good, according to
the way we make use of it. Take for example this
lamplight; because of its burning, we are able to see
and do various works of utility; this is one mode of
using the light. Again, if you put your fingers in it,
they will be burnt; that is another mode of using
the same light. So we should know that a thing
becomes good or bad according to the way we use
it. Similarly with virtue and vice. Broadly speaking,
the proper use of any of the faculties of our mind
and body is termed virtue, and its improper
application or waste is called vice.
Thus questions after questions were put and
answered. Someone remarked, “The theory that
God is even there, where one heavenly body
attracts another, may or may not be true as a fact,
but there is no denying the exquisite poetry the
idea conveys.”
Swamiji:—No, my dear sir, that is not poetry.
One can see for oneself its truth when one attains
knowledge.
From what Swamiji further said on this point, I
understood him to mean that matter and spirit,
though to all appearances they seem to be two
distinct things, are really two different forms of one
substance; and similarly, all the different forces
that are known to us, whether in the material or
in the internal world, are but varying forms of
the manifestation of one Force. We call a thing
matter, where that spirit force is manifested less;
and living, where it shows itself more; but there
is nothing which is absolutely matter at all times
and in all conditions. The same Force which
presents itself in the material world as attraction
or gravitation is felt in its finer and subtler state as
love and the like in the higher spiritual stages of
realisation.
Question:—Why should there be even this
difference relating to individual use? Why should
there be at all this tendency in man to make bad or
improper use of any of his faculties?
Swamiji:—That tendency comes as a result of one’s
own past actions (Karma); everything one has, is
of his own doing. Hence it follows that it is solely
in the hands of every individual to control his
tendencies and to guide them properly.
Question:—Even if everything is the result of our
Karma, still it must have had a beginning, and why
should our tendencies have been good or bad at
the beginning?
Swamiji:—How do you know that there is a
beginning? The Srishti (creation) is without
beginning—this is the doctrine of the Vedas. So
long as there is God, there is creation as well.
Question:—Well, sir, why is this Maya here, and
whence has it come?
Swamiji:—It is a mistake to ask “why” with respect
to God; we can only do so regarding one who
has wants or imperfections. How can there be
an, “why” concerning Him who has no wants
and who is the One Whole? No such question as
“Whence has Maya come?” can be asked. Timespace-causation
is what is called Maya. You, I, and
everyone else are within this Maya; and you are
asking about what is beyond Maya! How can you do
so while living within Maya?
Again, many questions followed. The conversation
turned on the philosophies of Mill, Hamilton,
Herbert Spencer, etc., and Swamiji dwelt on them
to the satisfaction of all. Everyone wondered at the
vastness of his Western philosophical scholarship
and the promptness of his replies.
The meeting dispersed after a short conversation
on miscellaneous subjects.
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.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 25

Legacy of
the Mahatma
26 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Mahatma stood for causes for which he struggled
throughout his working life. They were—Freedom,
Unity, Equality, Self-Reliance and Decentralisation.
They were related to each other. Though these
causes were ‘ends’, he was equally concerned with
‘means’ to achieve those ends. Means based on the
principles of ‘Truth’ and ‘Non-Violence’.
Such was the magnetic influence of his personality,
his thoughts and actions that he was able to
attract the support and cooperation of a galaxy of
towering personalities of his time. Equally he was
able to inspire masses of Indians to participate in
his struggles.
Freedom meant firstly political freedom,
emancipation of India from the British colonial rule.
His struggle for freedom stemmed from his sense
of self-respect and dignity not only of himself but
of every individual. This assertion of self respect
began in South Africa where as a young lawyer he
was thrown out of the train on a cold platform of
Citz Mortiz Burg station, despite a valid first class
ticket on the grounds that first class was reserved
only for the Whites.
Gandhi would not accept this tyranny and injustice
even though Indians in South Africa had meekly
succumbed, since they did not have the courage to
oppose the powerful racist government. But young
Gandhi mobilised the Indian people, gave them
courage and determination to assert their selfrespect
and join his struggle against the racist rule
over the next twenty years.
He was not able to see the end of the racist rule but
a beginning was made which ultimately culminated
in the end of ‘apartheid’.
Gandhi assumed the leadership of the Congress
Party after the demise of Lokmanya Tilak. He
launched three mass-movements—the noncooperation
movement in the twenties, the civil
disobedience movement of the thirties and the Quit
India Movement of the forties which culminated
in India’s freedom, accompanied by the tragic
partition of the country.
Lord Meghnad Desai in his book ‘Rediscovery
of India’ has criticised Mahatma Gandhi for his
agitationist approach, for launching his noncooperation
movement spurning the offer of
Morley Minto reforms aimed at “progressive
realisation of self government.”
He feels that cooperation with the first government
led by Ramsey Macdonald of the Labour Party
of England would have been to the advantage of
the Indian people. Gandhiji and Nehru wanted
‘Sampoorna Swaraj’ which, as declared by Tilak,
was ‘the birth right of the Indian people”.
Gandhi used the techniques of non-cooperation,
non-obedience and ‘Satyagrah’ and mass movement
to fight the colonial rule.

Were these techniques relevant in Independent
India? Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in his address to the
Constituent Assembly categorically stated
that neither coercion though non-violence nor
violent movement would be all right when Indian
constitution has provided constitutional means
available to every citizens for safeguarding his or
her fundamental rights. But despite Dr. Ambedkar’s
warnings, legacy of Gandhian techniques of
opposing government by ‘fasting’ continued.
Potti Shriramalu carried on his fast unto death for
the birth of a separate state for Andhra (Telugu)
people. When Sriramalu sacrificed his life, Nehru
had to concede the demand leading to the
existence of Andhra-Pradesh out of the erstwhile
Madras province. This started the process of
reorganisation of states in India on linguist basis.
“His struggle for freedom
stemmed from his sense of
self-respect and dignity...”
Recently Anna Hazare successfully used the
Gandhian techniques of fasting for compelling the
Government to concede his demand for forming a
joint committee of civil society and the government
to formulate on a revised Lokpal Bill.
Gandhiji realised that unity of the Indian people
was a precondition for a successful national
movement against the powerful British rule. He
realised that religious divide, especially among
Hindus and Muslims, and divisions within the
Hindu Society on grounds of castes and outcastes
made Indian people incapable of a united
struggle and a national effort. He, therefore, gave
importance to bridging the communal and caste
divide. Gandhiji was prepared to go to any length
to achieve this. He supported the retrograde
Khilafat Movement to get Muslim participation in
the freedom movement. He did succeed in this with
the support of Muslim leaders.
Sarojini Naidu once called Mohammad Ali Jinnah
“Symbol of Hindu-Muslim Unity”. He was the lawyer
of Lokmanya Tilak when the British charged him
with sedition. But the same Jinnah parted ways
with Congress after the Nagpur session where he
was hooted out, blaming Gandhi for introducing
religion in politics.
The allegations were not incorrect, witness his
support to Khilafat movement against Jinnah’s
advice and his concept of ‘Ramraj’ as the ideal after
independent India and all religious prayers sung at
his evening Prarthana Sabhas.
Gandhi claimed that Congress represented the
entire people of India, including Muslims. Jinnah
made the claim for a separate nation for Muslims
called Pakistan. The last minutes effort of
Mahatma Gandhi to persuade Jinnah give up
his demand for partition, by offering him Prime
Ministership of a united India, failed when he
contemptuously spurned the offer. Gandhi made a
public statement that the vivisection of India would
be over his dead body but he could not keep his
word and partition did come into existence forming
two independent nations.
Behind the coming into existence of Pakistan as
an Islamic nation was the pernicious two nation
theory advocated by Jinnah which was accepted
by a majority of the Muslim people. Congress
blamed the British for deliberately creating a divide
between the Hindus and Muslims.
But the fact remains, that such a feeling of separate
identity did exist amongst the Muslims. Though
Muslims and Hindus joined together in the revolt
of 1857, the Muslim modernist, Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan (1817-1894), the founder of Aligarh Muslim
University, clearly stated in a speech at Patna
that ‘In India there are two prominent nations
which are distinguished by the names of Hindus
and Mussulmans. At the same time, as common
inhabitants of India, the two should have mutual
cooperation, sympathy and love”. On the other
hand if we show “mutual disunity, animosity and
ill-will for each other, we would only destroy
ourselves.” However, Jinnah who became an
undisputed leader of the Muslims in the 1940s took
an extreme approach.
The hope that Hindus and Muslims can evolve a
‘common nationality’ is an empty dream he said.
However, a large population of Muslims, almost
as many as in Pakistan formed as separate Muslim
nation, continue to live in India as equal citizens of
the Indian Republic and of the Indian nation. Jinnah
spurned the approach of the Congress to present a
united front of people of India. He dubbed Congress
as essentially a Hindu party.
This approach and mindset inevitably led to
the partition. Future events like the end of
East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh, the
internecine conflicts in Pakistan and rise of Islamic
terrorism, not only falsified Jinnah’s formulations
but brought immense grief to Muslims in Pakistan
and elsewhere.
Mahatma Gandhi’s view was as an advocate of
‘Hindu-Muslim’ unity. He asserted that millions
of Hindus had sought it. The members of each
community vied with each other in accommodating
members of sister community. They respect
each other. No trace of suspicion lurked in
anybody’s heart.’
Even after partition, Mahatma Gandhi continued to
struggle for Hindu-Muslim unity. While India was
celebrating the birth of freedom in the nation’s
capital, the Mahtma was moving barefoot in
Naukhali in Bengal, dousing the flames of arson and
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 27

Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu
Sardar Patel Sarojini Naidu
28 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
B.R. Ambedkar
violence let loose by communal orgy. He wanted
India and Pakistan to live in harmony and went on
fast for making India give Pakistan its due share
of assets, after it was withheld by Nehru and Patel
(Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister) on
the ground that the resources would be used for
military attacks on Kashmir and elsewhere.
The government of India had to succumb but
such was the anger of the Hindu extremism that
Nathuram Godse who was its embodiment shot at
Mahatma at his prayer meeting in Birla House. The
Mahatma died for the cause of communal harmony
with the name of Shri Ram on his lips.
Another great hindrance to the unity of India was
the existence of castes and sub castes amongst
Hindus arranged in a hierarchical order with
outcastes or Untouchables denied even basic
human dignity and access to drinking water from
common wells and lakes.
Mahatma Gandhi had definite ideas regarding the
economic, political and social system in free India.
Every citizen and family, every community must
feel free and not in anybody’s bondage. This meant
maximum decentralisation, not concentration of
power in those who run government at the centre
and in the states.
In his words, “Independence must mean
independence of the people of India and not those
who are ruling over them. The rulers of India would
have to be servants of the people, ready to do their
will. Independence must begin at the bottom. Every
village must be a Republic or Panchayat having
full powers. Every village has to be self-sustained
and capable of managing its affairs even to the
extent of defending itself against the whole world.
In the structure composed of innumerable village
communities, there will be, every widening never
ascending circles. The outermost circumference
will not wield power to crush the inner circle but
will give strength to all within and derive its own
strength from it.”
When the Indian Constitution was being framed
Gandhi was not there to guide the deliberation of
the Constituent Assembly. He was snatched away
by the bullet of an assassin less than six months
after the attainment of independence. However,
some members did ask for the Gandhian model for
our constitution instead of the Westminster model.
But this was not accepted. The Chairman of
the Drafting Committee of the Constitution, Dr.
Ambedkar totally opposed the concept of village
as a self-governing republic. All that was conceded
was a directive principle of the Constitution laying
down that ‘village panchayats shall be promoted as
units of self-govt.
An articulate advocate of Gandhian model was
Jayaprakash Narayan, one of the ardent followers
of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave. In 1959

he published a tract. ‘A plea for restructuring of
Indian polity’ in which he advocated an alternative
political system based on the revival of village
panchayats and replace the topdown model of
Parliamentary democracy by one working from
village panchayats upwards—an elaboration of
Gandhi’s idea of ‘oceanic circles.’ The foundation of
our polity should be self governing, self sufficient,
urban-rural local communities. The highest
political institution of the local community should
be the Gram Sabha of which all adults should be
members.
With the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
Nehru became the first Prime Minister of free
India. Mahatma preferred him to his elders—
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a fellow Gujrati and
C. Rajgopalachari whom he had described as
his ‘conscience keeper’. Ramchandra Guha has
succinctly given the reasons why Gandhi chose
Nehru despite profound differences in their
outlook—‘Nehru venerated Gandhi’, the older
man in turn showered more affection on his
disciple than on his four biological sons. The
two men differed in temperament and altitudes
to modernity. Nehru was indifferent to religion.
Gandhi believed deeply in his own version of
God (his ‘inner voice’). Nehru thought that
industrialisation was the only solution to endemic
poverty. Gandhi called instead for the renewal
of village economy. Nehru believed in mass
production in modern factories, Gandhi believed
in production by masses engaged in village
industries—Charakha being the symbol.
Nehru had great faith in the powers of modern
state to uplift and reform society. Gandhi was
sceptical of state power, trusting instead in
the conscience and will of individuals and
communities. Hence his concept of ‘trusteeship’.
Beyond these differences were fundamental
similarities. Both were patriots in the most
inclusive sense who identified with all of India
rather than with a particular caste, language, region
and religion. Both abhored violence and preferred
democratic government to dictatorship. All this
and Nehru’s own independent appeal to the young
led Gandhi to anoint him as his political successor.
Neither Patel nor Rajaji challenged Gandhi’s choice.
Patel worked as Deputy Prime Minister and Home
Minister and within a short period till his death in
1950, he made an enduring contribution to India’s
unity by the integration of all princely states
including Hyderabad. But not Kashmir which Nehru
kept to himself with tragic consequences. Kashmir
remains to this day a festering sore. Many believe
that had Nehru left Kashmir to be dealt with by
Patel like all other Princely states, the result would
have been different.
Rajaji had great affection for Nehru though he
became an inveterate critic of Nehru’s economic
policy and founded a new party—the Swatantra
Party which opposed Nehru’s Statism which gave
rise to license permit raj. Nehru tried to find a
via media between totalitarianism in Communist
countries and unbraided capitalism in western
countries. He evolved the concept of planning in
a mixed economy. The economy should be selfsufficient.
Economic development cannot be left to
the vicissitudes of the market forces but needs to
be deliberately planned with optimum use of the
natural and human resources based on science and
technology.
As against was Nehru’s socialism which has led to
state central of everything. The license ‘permit raj’
has stifled entrepreneurship and private initiative.
He wanted corruption and inefficiency of permitlicence
raj to go. Gandhiji would have approved
of Rajaji’s approach. It required two decades after
Nehru’s death for the realisation that what Rajaji
had asked of Nehru, deserved to be recognised.
It needed Narsimha Rao’s Congress government,
who appointed Dr. Manmohan Singh as his Finance
Minister, to quietly wind up the Nehruvian model
and go in for ‘economic reforms’ to dismantle the
license permit raj and go in for marketisation,
privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation.
Like his mentor, Nehru stood for non-violence
and world peace. But when Jinnah sent tribal
marauders to invade Kashmir and take it by force,
Nehru had to send the army to drive out the
invaders.
Gandhiji approved of this action. Gandhi wanted
India to have the smallest possible army. Nehru
concentrated on development than on defence. But
when China invaded India’s northern boundaries
in 1962, Nehru had to go in for strengthening the
armed forces and the process has gone all along till
today.
Gandhiji would have been distressed by the
violence and armed race on the subcontinent. But
would he have found out a non-violent, peaceful
alternative? After World War II, no third world war
has taken place. But innumerable bloody conflicts
do take place all the world over. This subcontinent
is no exception. The strife torn world has started
looking at the life work and thoughts of Mahatma
Gandhi to usher in an era of world peace.
(The quotations here are from ‘Makes of Modern
India’ a compilation by Ramchandra Guha with
excellent biographical and background notes).
P.R. Dubhashi, A former Secretary to the
Government of India and currently Chairman of
the Pune Kendra of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Source: Bhavan’s Journal September 30, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 29

Men Behind
The Bhavan
Dr. K.M. Munshi—The Visionary &
S. Ramakrishnan—The Builder
Kulapati Dr. K.M. Munshi started the Bhavan in
1938 in a modest way at Mumbai with the blessings
of Mahatma Gandhi and S. Ramakrishnan joined
him in 1947. After the sad demise of Munshi in
1971 Ramakrishnan continued to steer the ship of
Bhavan along with a team of dedicated Bhavanties
and during this period the Bhavan achieved
phenomenal growth and attained eminence all over
the World.
In spite of these sad incidents, Bhavan would
continue to grow and grow in the years to come by
following the great ideals and foundation laid down
by these two great leaders.
30 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Dr. K.M. Munshi—A Shining Star
R. Venkataraman
(Former President of India)
In the Galaxy of eminent men of India, Kanhaiyalal
Maneklal Munshi is a shining star that still beckons
humanity to the path of duty and dharma.
Spruce in his turnout, gifted with intense and
penetrating eyes, Munshi impressed one as a
person who had a strong hold on his inner as well
as outer life. He struck one as a man with great
inner strength, which prompted and sustained his
external actions.
Munshi was imbued, from the very start, by a
strong sense of the expanse and sweep of
India—both literally and figuratively. He was
similarly imbued with a sense of its inherent
greatness. His mother, through songs and stories,
had acquainted him at a very young age with the
great sages and seers of India’s past—Vasishta,
Vishwamitra, Vyasa.
The heritage that these master-spirits represented
was ingrained in the young Munshi deeply. And
then, as a student in the Baroda College, this
incipient perception received an adult dimension.
I refer to the influence of Aurobindo Ghose who
was then in the service of the Baroda State as a
Professor of English. Munshi was fortunate enough
to have Sri Aurobindo as his direct teacher. Munshi
found in his teacher intellectual, cultural and

spiritual guidance. Aurobindo’s sense of India as
“the Motherland of the Spirit” impressed young
Munshi irreversibly. And so, as he moved from
rung to rung professionally and politically, it was
with a sense of pride in the cultural, intellectual
and spiritual heritage of India.
We must remember that those were times when
the nation had been led to hold its own heritage
in contempt. What was indigenous, we had been
taught to believe was inferior while what was
Western was superior. The Renaissance challenged
that. And Munshi was one of the finest flowers of
this Renaissance.
Like most others of his generation and class,
Munshi took to the study of law and rose to the
pinnacle in his profession even in the era of legal
giants like Setalvad, M.C. Chagla and Bhulabhai
Desai. He impressed the Bar and the Bench alike
with his persuasive style in which reason and logic
were employed with telling effect.
Munshi’s entire career, in fact, consisted of tracing
a common thread on which the individual beads of
his achievement could be strung. And that thread
was his awareness of the greatness of India’s
cultural heritage.
‘India, that is Bharat’, is a phrase that all of us
are familiar with. But, in the case of Munshi, the
phrase betokened much more than the opening
words of our Constitution. ‘Bharat’ was for him not
just a nation but an ongoing civilization;’ not an
accident of history but a design of destiny. For him
the vitality of Indian culture and its self-renewing
greatness constituted a living principle.
It was but natural that law led to politics and
politics to the service of our heritage. This faith of
Munshi could be discerned even as a lawyer. He
made a conscious and detailed study of ancient
religious texts, Mitakshara and Dharmashastras.
Munshi was in his elements in the field of Hindu
Law. As with many a legal luminary of the time,
the call of Mahatma Gandhi for sacrifice led to
Munshi bidding goodbye to his lucrative practice.
The Bench no less than the Bar was unhappy at
the turn. Sir Chimanlal Setalvad strongly advised
him not to enter politics, but Munshi plunged
headlong into the Gandhian movement. The then
Chief Justice of Bombay Justice Beamont said to a
lawyer: “Look, what Munshi has gone and done! I
was just thinking of recommending him for a High
Court Judgeship.”
Earlier, Munshi had been elected to the Bombay
Legislative Council as an Independent, a
development that brought him into the heart of
politics. His training and temperament inclined him
to constitutionalism, that is, to lead Opposition
from within the Council but fate had other plans.
The Bardoli Satyagraha drew Munshi into its
vortex. He felt impelled to give up his style of living
in Bombay and visit the peasants in revolt. He
witnessed in Bardoli the self-respecting dignity of
the peasants who, under Gandhi’s and Vallabhbhai
Patel’s leadership, were prepared to risk their all
in the fight against injustice. Deeply stirred, he
placed his time and his legal talents at the disposal
of the Satyagraha, marking him out as an invaluable
recruit for both Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel. Writing to Gandhi in April 1930, Munshi
said: “When the whole of Gujarat and with it India
has started on a glorious march to martyrdom, I,
who dreamt of their greatness through my literary
efforts, cannot stand by and look on.”
The die had been cast. With Gandhi as Guru and
General, Sardar Patel as Counsellor and Captain,
Munshi became a soldier in the non-violent army
of freedom fighters. If Sri Aurobindo had initiated
Munshi into jnanayoga; Gandhi initiated Munshi
into karmayoga. Munshi became thereby an
example of wisdom through action, and action
through wisdom. Sir C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar rightly
described him once as “a philosopher in action”.
Munshi was invited in 1937 to join the first popular
Ministry in the Bombay Presidency under B.G.
Kher. His own preference was for the Departments
of Law and Education, but it fell to Munshi’s lot
to take up the onerous Department of Home. A
student of the Gita does not flinch from duty.
Munshi’s stewardship of the Home Ministry was
memorable. We must remember that those were
times when the British were only too keen to
prove that Indians were incapable of rising to the
occasion, particularly in the matter of handling the
growing communal problem. Munshi made it clear
that he and his Ministry would be totally impartial
instruments and would admit of no disorder. It
was only natural that Munshi’s political insight and
legal acumen should be harnessed for framing free
India’s Constitution by the Constituent Assembly.
He became one of the Assembly’s most active
members.
The framing of the new nation’s supreme statute
called for the gift of idealism as well as realism.
Munshi was possessed of both. Small wonder
that as a Member of the Constituent Assembly
he became a member of as many as eleven
Committees—the largest tally for any single
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 31

Member of the Constituent Assembly. The
Drafting Committee headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
was one of the important Committees of which
Munshi was a member and he made invaluable
contributions to its deliberations. I cannot but refer
to the fact that the principle of guaranteeing to
every person equal protection of the laws was
the result of a draft written jointly by Munshi
and Dr. Ambedkar. Munshi’s sense of equality
did not confine itself to mere legal protection.
He was a great champion of women’s rights to
social, economic and legal equality. Aided by
his talented wife Lilavati Munshi, he carried on
a crusade for raising the status and dignity of
women. The struggle for freedom directed itself
not merely to shedding the foreign yoke but also
towards emancipation of Harijans, women, labouragricultural
and industrial. Everyone of
the oppressed section of the community found
a glimmer of hope and joined the movement
enthusiastically. And the women of India played a
notable part in the national movement for freedom.
The main thrust of Munshi’s work in the
Constituent Assembly was, however, towards the
making of a strong Centre. A student of the history
of the subcontinent that he was, Munshi knew that
a weak Centre had always led to a weakening of
the nation as a whole. Munshi saw the history of
India not as a record of dynasties or battles but
rather as a record of the progress of our people in
time. He saw that period of strength, confidence
and self-reliance alternated with periods of decline,
weakness, subjugation and drift. He regarded 1947
as an opportunity for India to begin an ascent once
again. He believed that we had it in us to climb up
into a new millennium. He wrote:
“The Egypt of the Pharaohs, the Greece of Pericles,
the Iran of Darius and the Rome of the Caesar are
all dead; their life and culture, are mere materials
for scholarly research. But India has stood the
shocks of time. Manu, Buddha, Panini, Bhasa and
Kautilya are still living influences operating on life;
Sri Krishna’s exhortation to Arjuna still inspires the
thought, hope and conduct of millions.”
Munshi’s palpable devotion to the concept of a
strong and unified motherland must definitely have
weighed with the Government when it appointed
him as Agent-General of the Government of India in
Hyderabad. The Nizam’s province was trying hard
to fly in the face of history and become a Third
Dominion. That step would have been not merely
retrograde but disastrous. Fortunately for us, our
leadership did not allow personal ambitions to
trifle with destiny in Hyderabad. If Sardar Patel
32 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
was the architect of Hyderabad’s accession to
India, Munshi was surely the engineer in the field.
Acknowledging Munshi’s role, the Sardar wrote;
“On behalf of the Government, I wish to say that we
are deeply conscious of the high sense of public
duty that induced you to accept this office and
the very able manner in which you discharged the
duties entrusted to you which contributed in no
small measure to the final result.
“His canvas was wide the
paints on his palette many.
Culture, literature, the arts,
legal issues and politics
continued to interest him.”
Back in Delhi, Munshi was soon called upon to
fill the seat in the Council of Ministers vacated
by Dr. Rajendra Prasad on his election to the
office of President. Munshi’s services as Union
Minister for Food and Agriculture between 1950
and 1952 saw him in yet another nation-building
role. Munshi showed that a man with pride in the
past could also have a faith in the future through
the instruments of science and technology. It was
Munshi who laid the foundations of a self-reliant
agricultural economy, through an interlocking of
agricultural research and extension. My friend Sri
C. Subramaniam, who later heralded the Green
Revolution, vouched for this. Today when we
are all so conscious of the environment and of
ecological factors, it is instructive to note that as
much as half century ago, as Union Agriculture
Minister, Munshi said in a letter to Prime Minister
Nehru:
“I find that trees are being cut down thoughtlessly
by the villagers and the process practically
connived at by the authorities. (I wish) ecological
studies and the relation of our national existence to
our land, water, rivers and forests, is more closely
studied.”
The original impulse for preserving ecology came
with Munshi’s Vanamahotsava scheme. The
Governorship of Uttar Pradesh, which Munshi held
from 1952 to 1957, saw him establish the healthiest
of conventions. Munshi’s relationship with the
Council of Ministers headed by Pant and later by
Sampurnanand was, by any standards, exemplary.
Respect was reciprocated by trust. The ministers
valued his erudition and turned to him, as to an

elder, for advice. He, in turn, strove to discharge
his due constitutional role with maturity combined
with a becoming modesty.
Where others, out of office, are known to flounder
like flightless birds, Munshi flew out of public
office for the last time in 1957. The ‘release’ from
government gave him more time than ever for
public service.
With the solidarity and support of Smt Lilavati
Munshi, he toured extensively, wrote and lectured.
His canvas was wide the paints on his palette
many. Culture, literature, the arts, legal issues
and of course politics continued to interest him.
Whether in Gujarati or in Hindi or English, he
expressed himself prodigiously. Even those who
did not always agree with him admired him. His
integrity, his patriotism, his scholarship and his
vision of India were what mattered. The foremost
vehicle of Munshi’s expression was the Column
‘Kulapati’s Letter’ in the Bhavan’s Journal. Like
Raja’s ‘Dear Reader’ column in Swarajya, ‘Kulapati’s
‘Letter’ covered a wide range of subjects, with a
vitality that was almost exuberant.
As M.C. Chagla had observed, a silver thread
of continuity ran through all his scintillating
comments. And that thread was a passion for
India’s greatness, be it in the past, present or
future. Munshi built the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
with the devotion of one engrossed in raising a
temple. The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is a Somnath
of Learning. For sixty-four years, people have
sought it out from far and near in what has verily
been a pilgrim’s progress.
Of this Somnath, Kulapati Munshi was the sthapati
(Sculptor-architect) no less than the Kulapati. He
conceived of the Bhavan, raised it brick by brick,
combining as he did so, both breadth of vision and
a grasp of detail. Naturally, both the design and its
execution turned out to be masterly.
It would be instructive to remember that Kulapati
Munshi, founded the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan a full
decade before the advent of Independence. He
foresaw that Independent India would need the
binding force of a pan-Indian movement, a pan-
Indian spirit and a pan-Indian ethos which would
present to contemporary Indians, a glimpse of
the composite magnificence of ancient times.
Kulapati Munshi knew that a Government and a
Constitution are one thing, the people’s own inner
vision is another. And so the Bhavan was launched
to supplement the political unity of India with the
cultural and spiritual unity of India.
S. Ramakrishnan—
Dedicated Disciple of Mahatma Gandhi
(22.7.1922 - 14.2.2003)
Executive Secretary & Director General Bharatiya
Vidya Bhavan who served the Bhavan for over
half a century with dedication and spirit of
sacrifice, thus serving the cause of India’s
Ageless Culture
Ramakrishnan was born on July 22, 1922 At
Thrissur, Kerala, to a middle class Brahmin family.
After completing primary education in 1935,
Ramakrishnan joined Government Training School
where Principal T.P. Varghese offered half-fee
scholarship. Following sudden demise of father,
the sole bread winner of the family, the family
considered discontinuing school education, due to
financial problems. K.C. John, Headmaster of the
Church Mission High School, came to his rescue
with an offer of Bible Scholarship, which enabled
him to continue with school education. He joined
St. Thomas College, Trichur and was awarded Merit
Scholarship for the whole collegiate education on
the recommendation of C.K. John, Headmaster
of C.M.S. High School. But he had to discontinue
college studies due to very indigent domestic
circumstances.
Ramakrishnan had the darshan and attended
discourses of Paramacharya of Kanchi when he
camped in Ramakrishnan’s village Pushapagiri,
Trichur in 1929. Ramakrishnan had the darshan of
Mahatma Gandhi in 1934, when Mahatma Gandhi
camped in Trichur during his Kerala Harijan Tour
and attended his meetings. In 1939, he came to
Bombay in search of a job. He joined Larsen &
Toubro, then a Partnership Firm and worked as
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 33

Secretary to both the partners, Henning Holck
Larsen and Soren Christian Toubro. Ramakrishnan
took active participation in freedom struggle. He
founded Charkha Club, Bombay, to supply
Charkha and Khadi to middle-class homes on
instalment basis.
“He wrote innumerable
articles in the Bhavan’s
Journal on the subjects
concerning the country
on ethical and spiritual
values and on eminent
personalities”
In 1944, he worked for Gandhi in an honorary
capacity as personal assistant during his stay in
Gandhigram, Juhu, following his release from
Aga Khan Palace on the grounds of failing health.
In 1945, he worked in an honorary capacity
for Sardar Vallabhai Patel on his release from
Ahmednagar Fort.
When the Interim Government was formed on
September 2, 1946 Ramakrishnan moved with
Sardar Patel to Delhi. Sardar Patel wanted him to
continue as his Personal Secretary and offered
to fix him up in the Union Home Ministry. He
declined the offer and returned to Mumbai in
1946, Sardar Patel spoke to Kulapati Munshi who
took him as Secretary of the Akhil Bharat Printers
Ltd. of which he was the Chairman. In 1950, the
Bhavan acquired the Akhil Bharat Printers and
converted the Press into Bhavan’s Academy of
Printing and Ramakrishnan was put in-charge of its
administration.
In 1947, Kulapati Munshi having seen the
potential of Ramakrishnan entrusted him
with the work of Bhavan. Thus began a saga of
total dedication, resolve and unremitting labour
of love and unmatched brilliance that spanned a
period of nearly six decades and saw the growth,
consolidation and expansion of an organization
that has come to be recognized nationally and
internationally as the only one of its kind in
the world.
When he joined the Bhavan, it had only six staff
members and only one constituent unit. Today,
34 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
the Bhavan has 117 Kendras in India; six centres
abroad and 320 constituent institutions. He
organized a group of volunteers to clean the
gutters of the Dharavi slums. He was detained in
Yerawada. He wrote innumerable articles in the
Bhavan’s Journal on the subjects concerning the
country on ethical and spiritual values and on
eminent personalities he came into contact during
his life time. He was the author of Architects
and Builders of Modern India, Culture Course
Readers in 10 volumes and Immortal Words—An
Anthology. He was the co-author of Radhakrishnan
Reader—An Anthology of sixty odd works of
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. He was co-editor of Nani
Palkhivala: Selected Writings.
He was the recipient of Padma Sri 1991; Friends
of Bombay Award 1991; Gandhian Award 1992 by
Sarvodaya Mandal; FIE Foundation National Award
1998 for outstanding contribution in the field of
Humanities; Giants Award 2000 for Education.
Padma Bhushan 2001; and Bharatya Sanskriti
Seva Ratna Award 2001 for his contribution
for the promotion of culture by His Holiness
Sankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
Ramakrishnan had imbibed Mahatma Gandhi’s
twin mantras of Seva and Tyaga—service and
sacrifice—and infused them into every aspect
and activity of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. He never
deviated from the ideal of simple living and lofty
thinking, as he shaped and guided the destiny of a
uniquely Indian Institution. He worked incessantly
for over half a century and transformed Bhavan
into an internationally acclaimed Cultural and
Educational Movement rooted in the glorious
spiritual and cultural values of one of the world’s
oldest civilizations.
Ramakrishnan had incisive knowledge of human
nature, had proximity to men and women of
national and international stature which began at a
fairly young age. He had experience of working with
Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
Ramakrishnan was the Editor of Bhavan’s Journal
since 1954, when it was started and was also editor
of Bhavan’s publications and the Bhavan that he
helped to build was an extension and expression
of himself.
In his demise, our nation lost one of her noble sons,
one who loved her and served her with ardent
devotion, commitment and spirit of sacrifice.
Source: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Souvenir
(Inauguration of Bhavan’s First Australian Culture
Centre at Sydney, Australia in August 2003

Intellectual Terrorism
Two voices are there, one of the sea, one
of the mountains, each a mighty voice.
-Wordsworth
London on June 25, 2011 recorded between 30 and
34 degree Celsius. Global warming sign indeed,
if the world were to follow the linear laws of
deterministic predictability. In the early 1970s we
had predicted another ice age in the near future.
We are told by medical pundits that if the world
becomes a degree centigrade warmer, there will
be an exponential increase in vascular deaths!
They had even predicted that some of the very
densely populated cities like Shanghai and
Mumbai would be large mortuaries of vascular
deaths in that event!
One gets a shock if one reads the efforts of people
like John Ioannidis and David Eddy in this arena.
Science, being simple curiosity, there can never
be “The” truth in science; it could, at best be “A”
truth for that moment in time. Does time change?
Time stays still but, events change, which we
interpret as time changing. I would love the pundits
to convince me that I am wrong instead of saying
that I am wrong because my peer reviewers, who
are their thought leaders, think I am wrong. In this
environment of intellectual terrorism where is the
encouragement for curiosity?
How are the weather and human blood pressure
connected to one another? Do they have a linear
relationship? I got this doubt because we are told
that during severe winter, controlling angina is
more difficult and the blood pressure control also
becomes tougher with the cold increasing the BP!
Next article says that BP control becomes tough
during winter because patients do not exercise as
much as they do in summer and they tend to eat
more to put on more weight but the weather, as
such, has nothing to do with the BP control.
Here comes the hitch that human physiology is just
not linear but in this case has a “U” relationship
both high and low temperatures having the same
end effect. Now let us analyse human blood
pressure story with a little more detail.
As a student, I was told that blood pressure is
the “lateral pressure exerted on the vessel wall
by the flowing blood”. There was no way I could
think or dispute that. Our present education tries
to numb the student’s mind with all the strength
in its command. Reminds me of the great story
of the wise men trying to teach a parrot to
learn the scriptures, by Nobel Laureate
Ravindranath Tagore!
Before entering the medical school, I was taught
in college physics that laminar flow rarely exerts
lateral pressure, as then, it cannot flow forward
easily! Laminar flow is not uniform, either. The
outermost lamina almost remains stationary stuck
to the wall and the inner laminae move faster
as they go deeper into the core of the vessel! In
nature, nothing flows by laminar flow. Water flows
by swirling in rivers. Why did nature think of
laminar flow in a closed system in man? How does
water go up a tree from its roots?
That apart, while the human body has almost 800
kilometers of capillaries per Kg. body weight (fat)
we are fretting and fuming about the pressures in
a small segment of our vasculature, may be a few
hundred meters, in all the arteries and veins put
together.
Man lives or dies more dependent on the mean
capillary pressure which is in mm. of water. We
do not know what happens to the mean capillary
pressure with our efforts to lower arterial pressure
with very powerful chemical molecules that are
dextrorotatory while the human body molecules
are mostly levo-rotatory—a square plug in a
round hole! The good news is that most chemical
molecules do not do what we think they do, we are
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 35

told. The good effects happen basically because
of the placebo effect of the faith the patient has in
the doctor! In that setting all good things happen
because of nature and not the doctor.
That thought should humble our arrogant doctors
and scientists who believe that the world runs
because of their efforts—“do it” or “fix it”! Humility
is true education in Indian philosophy. Whom to
believe? The physics of blood pressure control
confuses my thinking completely even now as
Socrates rightly said that “I know that I don’t
know.” I have been thinking about it from the time I
joined the medical school little over half a century
from now. The Bournelli effect baffles me vis-a-vis
human blood pressure.
“The good effects
happen basically because
of the placebo effect of
the faith the patient has
in the doctor! In that
setting all good things
happen because of nature
and not the doctor.”
The Bernoulli Equation can be considered to be a
statement of the conservation of energy principle
appropriate for flowing fluids. The qualitative
behavior that is usually labeled with the term
“Bernoulli effect” is the lowering of fluid pressure in
regions where the flow velocity is increased.
This lowering of pressure in a constriction of a flow
path may seem counterintuitive, but seems less so
when you consider pressure to be energy density.
In the high velocity flow through the constriction,
kinetic energy must increase at the expense of
pressure energy.
With the latest development in quantum physics
showing that matter and energy are but the two
faces of the same coin, (E = M) (Hans Peter Duerr-
Matter is not made out of matter-Google), the
kinetic energy in the above equation makes life
more complicated!
36 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Velocity being the feature of straight line flows,
the vascular bed that is NEVER straight, might
find it difficult to sustain it. If one extrapolates
this to vascular blocks seen inside arteries,
makes physicians life more complicated. Think
of calcium channel blockers trying to dilate the
vessels to lower BP in this background and the
dangers of those drugs in view of physics wisdom,
think of beta-blockers, nay, and almost all known
antihypertensive chemicals in this set up!
What kept me sane in the midst of all these
confounding confusions is the old statement of
Albert Einstein, who was not a fan of quantum
physics, that “most complicated things in nature
have very simple solutions.” I have been searching
for that. This article is an effort in that direction. I
hope some brilliant brain of the reader might throw
some bright light here.
To cap it all, comes the statement that the human
heart is a simple muscular pump. When it stops
pumping, man dies! My confusion is “how did man
survive the first 12 weeks inside the mother’s
womb where he did not have a heart but had
only two vessels that kept sending blood round
and round? The same vessels then evolved to
make the heart.
Could we learn a lesson here from Nature, which
makes everything flow by whirling, including the
bath tub water going down the drain by swirling?
Could blood flow in man be by whirling, collecting
energy as it flows and the heart, with its special
muscle wall structure, giving the flowing blood
from the swimming pool of body capillaries
through the veins on to the arteries to be
redelivered to the same swimming pool???
Be wiser than other people, if you can, but
do not tell them so.
- Lord Chesterfield
B.M. Hegde, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCPQ
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.
Bhavan’s Journal,
August 31, 2011

VEDIC TRADITION
The Vedic Triad
The history of Religions the world over is replete
with different Triads or threesomes. Considering
the fact that the Vedic Tradition existed before all
other religions and served as the moola or mother
of all other religions, the study of the triads in
the Vedic tradition in relation to the Far Eastern
Traditions and others appears to be relevant in the
understanding of world religions. Before studying
the triads, the background to our subject may be
gone into for a better insight into the significance of
the Vedic tradition.
The Taoist hierarchy involves the principles of nonaction
(wuwei). Taoiom is therefore a ‘motionless
mover’ i.e., the centre that governs the movement
of all things without participating in it. This clearly
is comparable to, if not derived from the Vedic
principle of Atman, being an observer which does
not participate in the action of the body it has
entered. The actions of man are the consequences
of his past action. Newton’s third law corroborates
this on a scientific basis.
Buddhism is an offshoot of Vedic dharma, now
known as Hinduism. Taoism and pure advaita are
restricted to a limited elite. Buddhism offered
practical ways to the common man and hence its
spread in the Southeast Asia. The ‘Chan’ school of
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 37

Buddhism adopts some Taoist principles. ‘Chan’
is Dhyana in Sanskrit and the word zen is derived
from it. Zen and dhyana are contemplation, as an
observer. Zen is the Japanese word for chan.
During the 6th century BC, the time of Buddha,
the contemporary of Lao Tsu and Confucius,
their respective thoughts became popular and
these were but readaptations of traditional Vedic
thinking. Taoism has not made any innovation in
the esoteric and initiatic domains nor Confucianism
made any in the esoteric and social domains. It
appears that 5000 years ago, the ancient Vedic
religion (if we may call it so) existed the world
over and this is the traditional basis for Taoist,
Confucian or Zen philosophies. The Hindu influence
is very strong in Taoism and Confucianism and
Buddhist influence came about much later.
Rene Guenon mentions in his book (The Great
Triad) that the Tien-Ti-fen (Heaven, earth and man)
is not the same as the Hindu Trinity, creation,
preservation and destruction represented by
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. One cannot agree
with this thinking since it is the Vedic religion
which existed 5,000 years ago, that has been the
inspiration for Far Eastern and Western Religions.
In fact it is the emergence of these religions that
necessitated naming of the Vedic religion as Hindu
religion by Swami Vivekananda. The word Hindu
appeared as the derivative of Sindhu river in the
north through which the Moghuls and Alexander
came to India. Earth can be considered as creation,
man can be considered as preservation and heaven
can be considered as destruction (regeneration).
Actually there is no destruction, one is supposed to
attain heaven on death. In fact, there is no birth or
death. These are only organic manifestations of the
universal Shakti through the atman. Without the
atman or soul, no life is possible. In Isa Upanishad :
it says :
“lsa vasyam idam sarvam yat kinchit jagatyam iagat”
Anything that moves in this Earth, know that Isa
resides, i.e., Isa as Atman is a manifestation of the
infinite. In fact, in dhyana or chan or zen one can
identity oneself with the infinite and the feeling of
identity with the body will disappear.
Christian equivalents to the Vedic triads:
Holy spirit - purusha - Heaven
The virgin - prakriti - Earth
Sat - Chit - Ananda
It is clear that the Vedic Religion influenced
Christianity.
The Egyptian triad falls in the category of the
Christian Father, Mother and Son. (Osiris, Isis
and Horus). Heaven (Tien) and Earth (Ti) are
indissolubly united in the “Great Extreme”
(Tai chi). In it both are united in a state of non-
38 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
separation or non-duality. It is “Pure Being” and
is identical to the “Great Unity” (Tai I). Tai chi as
Unity (being) presupposes (Wu chi), non-being.
This corresponds to Ishwara and Parabrahma or
Apara Brahma and Para Brahma.
There is no dualism in the Far Eastern Religions
as they are but derived from the Vedic Religion.
In the Vedic Religion there is no duality. Advaita
is non-dual. But in the Vedic tradition and
legends, the starting point is the dualist ishwara
and Brahma. This is because advaita cannot but
be restricted to a small group of elite students,
the true sanyasins of the Ramakrishna and
other Ashramas. The common man and even
the educated man would find it very difficult to
understand Advaita. It is only in the process of
evolution a small group of people reach a mental
state where the principles of Advaita or nondualism
is understood. It is precisely for this
reason that saints like Ramanuja propounded
Visishtavaita and its derivatives. The common man
will understand if he is told that God is separate
from him. In Advaita the Godhead is identified with
the individual, and all living beings are part of the
one Brahman and not different from it.
In Bhagawad Gita, Sri Krishna solves the problem
of the indecisive Arjuna and thereby evolves a
great way of life for all peoples of the world. For
the common man the Bhakti yoga, for the educated
man, Karma yoga and for the evolved ones, Jnana
yoga. All these paths lead to the merger into the
infinite Brahman.
Let us take microcosm and macrocosm. Microcosm
can be taken as the individual: Atman and
Macrocosm as the universal ‘Soul’ or Atman.
The one is the manifestation of the other and are
naturally non-exclusive. Similarly the individual
has all the manifestations of the whole as he is the
building block for the family, society, nation and
the world at large. Without the macrocosm or the
paramatman, there is no microcosm, (Jivatman)
a manifestation of the paramatman. The infinite
encompasses Unity as a manifestation. Just as man
is the intermediate connection between Heaven
and Earth or Purusha and Prakriti, so is his intellect
and mental faculty (manas), the connection
between the macrocosm and microcosm,
mentioned earlier.
Let us look at the Yang and Yin of the Far Eastern
Tradition. Everything active, positive and
masculine is yang. Everything passive, negative
and feminine is yin. It is almost certain that the
word yang is derived from Linga and word yin
from the word yoni, of the Vedic religion. In
both cases the connotation is the same. They
are both complementary and exist only in their
manifestation. We may call these pairs of opposites
as dwandwas, similar to light and shade, heaven
and earth, prakrithi and purusha and so on. The
feminine aspects of these pairs of opposites

precedes the masculine since it is always from
the lower level one rises to a higher level, like the
construction of the foundation first before the
building structure. There is a symbolic portrayal of
the yin-yang, female-male aspects, in a hexagram. It
is enough here to say that neither of these aspects
are found independent of each other.
This representation is significant in as much as
it conceals the Advaitic or monistic principles. If
there is no light, there cannot be darkness since
the one is recognised in relation to the other. This
applies to all the pairs of opposites or dwandwas
and they all refer to the manifested world. The
moment we transcend the pairs of opposites, we
can recognise a state of Pure Consciousness, which
is the ultimate reality. The manifested world is
only relatively existent. The Theory of Relativity
and Sankara’s Advaita, all point to the presence
of Pure Energy or Consciousness. Such a unity is
called the Tai chi in Far Eastern Tradition. This
unity existed before the yin and yang, and therefore
independent of the two, as they are only elements
of the same. The yin and yang or the pairs of
opposites are derived from the primal unity or Pure
Consciousness and can exist only in reference to
the manifested world, which itself is derived from
the Unity.
These two representations are manifested due to
their reciprocal actions and reactions. This will
explain the external world as the creation of the
union of the male and female aspects of the unity.
They emanate from the Pure Consciousness and
ultimately merge into it. This is a clear connection
between the Vedic tradition of Advaita and the Taichi
of the Far Eastern Tradition.
Another interesting analogy is there of the
vajra (thunderbolt) of the Hindu and Tibetan
traditions. Their two tips represent the creation
and destruction as life and death. It implies the
ability to handle and apply the forces in the
manifested yin and yang which is the power of
control over life and death. Man is the third part
of the triad consisting of Heaven, Earth and Man.
‘True man’ is one who is an evolved soul, and
who has realised the oneness with the Universal
Being or Consciousness. This true man is said to
have realised ‘Brahman’. He has reached absolute
perfection and established himself at the centre
merging with the Being. The ‘unchanging centre’
(chung yung) is free from the vicissitudes of the
‘Cosmic Wheel’ since the centre does not move
like the rest of the wheel but is a stationary point
around which the movement occurs.
Purusha and Prakrithi are the principles behind
manifestation but the Bhu (Earth) Bhuva (Air) and
Svar (Heaven) are the totality of manifestation
itself. They are represented by the supra-formal,
subtle and gross manifestation. The supra-formal
realm relates to celestial influence and the gross
realm to terrestrial influences. The subtle realm
or antariksha is a product of the other two
complementary influences.
The flaming pillar theme of the Rig Veda has very
significant connotations for modern Astronomy.
Once Brahma & Vishnu had a conflict in the midst
of the Pralayarnava on the problem of authorship
of the universe. In order to pacify them and
enlighten them on the truth, a Linga surrounded
by thousand flames, devoid of beginning, middle
and end, bereft of growth and decay, incomparable
and the cause of the universe, appeared to them.
Vishnu was amazed and put to naught at the firy
columnar Linga. Brahma & Vishnu thought of
investigating the nature of the firy Linga as it stood
between the two quarreling divinities. Vishnu
chose to go down to find out the root of the Linga
and asked Brahma to go up & search for the upper
point. Vishnu and Brahma assumed the forms of
Varaha & Swan respectively in their search. Their
effort was in vain even after one thousand years. At
last they both stood before the Linga & requested
him to show his real form. Siva (Linga) asked
Vishnu to rest and protect the universe. Brahma
appears to have lied about seeing the top of the
Linga which led to a curse and stoppage of Brahma
worship.
“During the 6th century
BC, the time of Buddha,
the contemporary of Lao
Tsu and Confucius, their
respective thoughts became
popular and these were but
readaptations of traditional
Vedic thinking.”
What is significant in this theme is the close
resemblance to the scientific observation of the
Universe. The Big Bang and after, the Universe
is said to resemble a Klein’s bottle, bound but
unlimited. The expanding fireball is more like the
expanding universe and the firy brightness of the
Linga, like the unlimited nuclear energy of the Star
systems and the Milky Ways.
There is another legend in the Skanda Purana,
which relates the story of Siva moving nude in
the Daruvana begging alone, and the wives of
sages running after him, quite mad with passion.
The Sage in their wrath cursed Siva to be a
hermaphrodite. Consequently his penis fell down
on the ground and increased downward & upward
enveloping the whole earth and heaven. Vishnu and
Brahma like all others were wonder struck at this
phenomenon. In this Brahma lies about the top of
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 39

the Linga with Ketaki & others as false witnesses.
Siva is said to support the whole universe.
Providence, Will and Destiny correspond to the
ternary, God, Man and Nature, Fabre d ‘olivet made
a complete study of this and compared it with
the Chinese heaven, man & earth. He writes that
man is neither animal nor pure intelligence. He is
an intermediate being situated half way between
matter & spirit or Heaven & Earth and forming a
link between them. Nothing escapes this ternary &
everything is subordinate to them except for God
Himself who embraces all three in an unfathomable
unity so as to form the tetrad of the ancients, apart
from which there is nothing.
Destiny is here considered as instinctive Nature,
called fate. One must observe here that what these
thinkers could not explain has been explained in
the Vedic religion. Nature cannot have an instinct.
Fate can only be explained by the law of Karma
which in turn compares with Newton’s Third
law. Human Will can become a counterbalance to
destiny and finally neutralise it. Here again this
can be explained only with the Vedic religion that
Satsanga leads, to enlightenment. This requires the
use of the human Will which then unites the power
of destiny & providence. The closest that Fabre
d’olivet came to the Vedic thinking is when he says
“Destiny is the power which determines our belief
that things which have been done have in fact been
done; that things are as they are and not otherwise;
and that, given their nature, they have inevitable
results which manifests necessarily.” This is the
law of cause and effect.
In the ternary Buddha, Dharma & Sangha, Sangha
stands for humanity, Buddha for incarnation
or Avatar and Dharma for law or Righteous
living. This is the Vedic tradition adapted by
Buddhism as Buddha himself was a Hindu king
who got enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. He is
considered the Avatar after Krishna. Dharma is the
Dharmachakra or the wheel of law.
Finally, one has to be stablished solidly in his
own self for realisation and what Lao Tsu says
is relevant here. ‘The way which is a way (which
can be travelled) is not the (absolute) way.”
This is the essence of Advaita and the Far Eastern
Zen of Chan. The true man is the one who has
realised Pure Consciousness and such a man
transcends the cycle of births and deaths and
merges with the Infinite Unity. He then becomes
transcendental. Another interesting triad is the
Confucian hierarchy consisting of the man of
letters (chu), followed by the learned man (hsien)
and the wise man (cheng). The man of letters
looks to the learned man who in turn looks to the
wise man and the wise man looks to the Heaven.
The wise man is the true man who transcends
the cycle of births and deaths by remaining
concentrated in non-action. We can see an echo in
this from the Bhagawad Gita, Sri Krishna says:
40 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
“Karmanyakarmayah pasyedakarmani cha
karmayah sa buddhiman manushyeshu sayuktah
Krusnakarmakrut.” (Chap. IV. 18)
(He who can see in apparent action really noaction,
and in apparent no-action real action, he
amongst men is the man set in yoga, doer of the
entire action as such.)
The triads appear everywhere in the Gita. The
mutable, immutable and the supreme self, the
three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas and so on. Let
us take the triad God, Man and Nature. God here
cannot be taken as pure consciousness, or Pure
Energy. In Hindu tradition, Shakti or Yogamaya
or Pure Energy created the three manifestations
of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva for creation,
preservation and destruction. These manifestations
are considered as Gods who in turn have created,
other Gods and Goddesses. The objective in all this
appears to be to offer specific personal gods and
goddesses to people at different levels of evolution
from the lowest to the highest starting from the
shudra to the Brahmin in the vamashrama. One
must note that the shudra is in no way inferior to
the Brahmin. Since the life force or soul or Atman is
the same in both. Only they are at different levels of
evolution depending on the number of birth-death
cycles they have passed through. The Brahmin is
supposed to have reached the highest form from
which he can attain moksha or freedom from the
birth cycle.
This dissertation is concluded with the following
observation. The Triads help us to understand
creation by providing for different approaches
to enlightenment. As already mentioned earlier,
the pairs of opposites exist only in the presence
of a non-active entity. A colour is recognised in
reference to white from which all colours have
emerged like in a rainbow. Similarly motion can
only be recognised in the presence of something
stationary. This principle of relativity, be it
in motion or colour or any other perceptible
manifestation involves the presence of pairs of
opposites in every walk of life and the Truth is
one, which is neither of these opposites. For true
enlightenment therefore, we have to go beyond the
subjective and objective levels of perception.
S. Ramakrishnan
Source: Vedic Tradition in the New Millenium,
Bhavan’s Book University

In Mukundamala, a mellifluous stotra of Kulasekara
Alvar, the saint hails the Lord as the destroyer
of earth’s burden: ‘jayati jayati prithvi bhara naso
Mukundah’. Hindu tradition upholds lightening
of the burden on Mother Earth as one of the
important purposes of God’s incarnation. Lord
Vishnu’s avatars of Parasurama, Rama and Krishna
were intended specifically for this very purpose,
and the Lord accomplished it by selective,
large scale destruction of evil doers who were
devastating the Earth’s pristine environment.
Bhagavan Parasurama, also known as Bhargava
and Rama with the Axe, devoted the best part of
his life in battling against and destroying Kshatriya
rulers who had become headstrong and cruel, and
engaged in incessant warfare with one another for
supremacy, and were totally unconcerned about
killing large number of innocent people during such
mindless wars. Parasurama destroyed vicious kings
like Sahasrarjuna and Ruru, and gave protection to
just rulers like Bharata and Mandhata.
He also achieved the most formidable task of
bringing about peace and reconciliation between
the Aryans led by Vasishta and the Dasyer led by
Viswamitra. In course of time
this brought about the
mingling of the two
Lightening the
Burden of Mother Earth
ethnic groups. In this way Bhagavan Parasuram
restored Aryavarta to its former glory and unity.
Sri Rama during his fourteen years’ exile in
the forest demolished the Rakshasa hordes in
Janastana led by Ravana’s kinsmen Khara and
Dushana. His feat of killing thousands of them
single-handed with his bow and arrows in a matter
of a few hours is one of the great instances of
display of his unsurpassable valour.
In this way he freed the numerous hermitages in
the forest from the menace of those vicious night
wanderers who were causing havoc to the yagnas
and sacred rites being performed by the hermits
for purification of the environment and invoking
periodical rains. The hermits were imparting
knowledge of the sacred texts to their pupils in
the ashram. Great sages like Agastya, Sarabhanga
and Sudhikshna blessed Rama for protecting
their ashrams and enabling them to carry on their
spiritual pursuit. Infact the total liquidation of
Rakshasas was one of the most important purposes
of this Avatar, apart from the establishment of the
rule of Dharma famously known as Ram Rajya.
Lord Krishna played a neutral role as Arjuna’s
charioteer in the Kurukshetra war between the
forces of dharma led by the Pandavas and the
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 41

forces of adharma led by Duryodhana,
Dhritarashtra and others. He guided the
Pandavas to victory without ever wielding
a weapon during the 18-day war. Through
his Bhagavad Gita discourse to Arjuna on the
battlefield, Krishna provided guidance to the
whole of humanity on leading a holistic life of
Karmayoga and Bhaktiyoga for securing release
from the bonds of samsara.
The new role of the Avatar as Jagadguru or world
teacher which opened up with Krishna’s Bhagavad
Gita has been continued by the Mahapurushas
who have come in the present age of Kaliyuga.
Gautama Buddha was the apostle of non-violence
and prevention of cruelty to animals and animal
sacrifice. In his teachings he highlighted human
greed and desires as the cause of all suffering,
and he outlined the eight-fold path of right action,
right attitude, right meditation, etc. Mahatma
Gandhi who has been unanimously recognised as
the Father of Indian Nation, restored India’s pride
by driving out alien rulers through a non-violent
revolution based on Satyagraha and personal
sacrifice. He advised his countrymen to adopt
simplicity in life style and live in villages instead of
crowded cities. His philosophy reflected concern
for conserving the earth’s resources for future
generations. No wonder that he has been voted
even by the western world as the greatest man of
20C along with Albert Einstein.
20C could well be described as the century of wars
between nations. There were two World Wars,
1914-18 and 1939-45, which were brought about
by the over-reaching hegemonic ambitions of two
German rulers—Kaiser William II and Adolf Hitler,
and Italy’s Mussolini. The Allied powers led by
England and France and later joined by the US had
no option but to wage war for safeguarding their
territories.
There were also other wars during this century like
the Korean War, Vietnam War. Indo-Pak conflicts,
Arab-Israel confrontation etc. It is estimated that
42 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
nearly 100 million people
were killed in these wars.
This is a cruel way of reducing the
burden of earth’s population as had been foreseen
by 19C British Economist Thomas Malthus. In
his famous essay on the Theory of Population,
Malthus asserted that population would increase
by geometrical progression whereas resources
to sustain it can only be increased in arithmetical
progression. Due to this mismatch, the balancing
will come through wars, disease, pestilence,
famines, starvation etc. Malthus advised his
countrymen to adopt sane ways like celibacy,
continence, delayed marriage etc. to restrict the
population growth. In the present century, the
polarisation of the world due to rivalry between the
US and China for superpower status has brought
about diverting of resources from peaceful uses to
the production of weapons of mass destruction,
including nuclear bombs.
This is the most frightening scenario of our times
which calls for statesmanship and a spirit of give
and take on the part of enlightened leaders of the
world so that another World War does not break
out and cause death to millions of innocent people.
The earth cannot afford a repeat of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
But who knows? Perhaps that may be God’s way
of reducing the burden of population on Earth yet
again as it happened in previous Ages. For, God
wants the Earth to last for millions of Mahayugas as
the abode of numberless varieties of living forms,
including above all the human species. Man alone
has the mind and intellect to discover his soul
as eternal and make the effort to reunite with the
cosmic soul or God.
S.T.V. Raghavan
Source: Bhavan’s Journal November 15, 2011

Maharishi Swami
Dayanand
Saraswati
The main aim of education is to create
humans awareness so that they can
understand the difference between the
truth and untruth. Even by understanding if
anyone does not practice it he is like a thief.
- Swami Dayananda
Swami Dayanand was the founder of the Hindu
reform organization Arya Samaj, which he
established on April 7th 1875, in Bombay,
India. Arya Samaj or the ‘Society of Nobles’ is
a Hindu reform movement which condemns
animal sacrifices, caste system, child marriages,
discrimination against women, untouchability.
Throughout his life, Swami Dayanand preached
against many Hindu traditions which he felt
were dogmatic and oppressive. These included
traditions such as caste by birth, and the exclusion
of females from the study of the Vedas. One of his
main messages for Hindus was to go back to the
roots of their religion, which are the Vedas. By
doing this, he felt that Hindus would be able to
improve the depressive religious, social, political,
and economic conditions prevailing in India in
his times.
Early Life
Swami Dayanand was born on February 12th,
1824 in a town called Tankara in the state of
Gujurat, India. Swami Dayanand Saraswati was
born as ‘Moolashankar’ in Gujarat, in the year
1824. Even when he was a child, Swami Dayanand
Saraswati had a keen and inquisitive mind. Once
Mool Shankar was keeping a fast on the Shivratri
festival day along with his entire family. They had
to be awake throughout the night. At night, he
saw a mouse dancing on the Shivalinga. Surprised
at this incident, he asked his elders why this
“God Almighty” could not defend himself against
the menace of a petty mouse, for which he was
rebuked! The sudden death of a favourite uncle,
and his beloved sister caused much turmoil in
Mool Shankar. He became quite detached from the
world, and one day left home in search of a guru.
Virajananda Saraswati
The search was long and arduous. Finally, at the
age of thirty-six he found his mentor in Virajananda
Saraswati, who was blind, but was a master of
the ancient lore. The training was rigorous, and
the guru was ruthless. But here was a disciple
of a lifetime. As his Gurudakshina he wanted
his disciple to devote his life for the revival of
Hinduism. The guru called him Dayananda.
The Vedas
One of Swami Dayanand’s major arguments for
going back to the Vedas was that, in his own words
“the four Vedas, the repositories of knowledge
and religious truth, are the Words of God. They
are absolutely free of error and are the Supreme
& independent authority”. The four Vedas are;
Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva
Veda. To spread awareness of his movement and
to revitalize Vedic knowledge, Swami Dayanand
published many religious books. These include;
Satyartha Prakash (The Light of Truth), the Rig-
Vedaadi, Bhasyya-Bhoomika, and Sanskar Vidhi.
Swami Dayanand preached many messages to
Hindus during his lifetime. He preached that
Hindus should worship just one, formless, God.
He fought against polytheism by telling people the
true meaning of the names of God and established
how all of them pointed at one and the same God—
Paramathama, the Supreme Self. Swamiji was “a
voice against superstition, against unrighteousness,
which reigned supreme in the garb of true religion”.
Final Days
Swami Dayanand challenged many of the Hindu
orthodoxy if they could justify their belief in these
practices. This induced the anger and wrath of
many orthodox Hindus, which subsequently led to
14 attempts at poisoning Dayanand. Miraculously,
he was able to use his Yogic abilities to cure
himself from the first 13 attempts. However, the
14th time proved fatal. Swami Dayanand died in
1883 and left the world with his legacy, Arya Samaj.
Source: www.vedicculturalcentre.com,
www.answers.com, www.iloveindia.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 43

Mother Ganga
& Sanskrit
(Extempore speech delivered by His Excellency,
Sri. S.S. Mukherjee, Former High Commissioner for
India)
Source: Sivananda Ganga Cultural Center
Swami Sahajanandaji, fellow Satsangees, our friends
from India, Sri Rakesh Jaiswal, Dr Biplove, the
rishikumars from Rishikesh and Consul-General
Sri Ajit Kumar, let me join Ajit Kumar, the Consul
General, in expressing my profound sense of
privilege and sheer pleasure in being here today on
the auspicious occasion of Ganga Dussehra.
This is my fourth assignment in Africa, in a career
spanning eight missions, but very few of these
assignments have given me the sheer feeling of joy
that I feel when I visit Durban and came to places
like Sivanandashram here. Swamiji, my Pranams for
giving me this opportunity of being here.
Today we offer our obeisance to Ganga Mata. She
is the very Being of our civilization. She is part of
our consciousness. She is the glue that holds our
culture, religion and heritage together. Mother
Ganga is a life-giver. Her waters have nourished
and sustained that very civilization that we are all
proud of—a civilization that spans a period of over
6,000 unbroken years, a civilization that is alive and
well today creating the same kind of awareness of
our heritage. This is symbolized and epitomized in
our chants to Mother Ganga.
We even go beyond our present lives in our
genuflections to Gaga Mata, even our life after
44 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
death with Ganga Mata. It is for this reason that
we seek salvation by dipping in Her waters and
cremating our dead on Her shores. In a spiritual
sense, Ganga Mata dominates our minds and our
Spirit.
This project of Ganga clean up undertaken by
Divine Life Society of S.A. and Eco-Friends, is of
central importance because it is the benchmark
of our devotion to Ganga Mata. Are we really
devoted to Ganga Mata? On the one hand we pay
obeisance and make our offerings we seek from Her
the salvation of our souls. On the other hand we
pollute Her. We allow thousands of tons of the most
toxic waste to flow into Her. Through our quest
for prosperity, we allow through inertia, through
neglect, thousand for tons of the most foul sewage
to flow into Her. We find loopholes in the laws and
deliberately fail to implement them. We have failed
tragically to preserve the cleanliness and pristine
purity of Ganga.
One of our greatest’ projects, although it
was Governmental in the main, supported by
international efforts to clean up Ganga Mata, has
only begun to take effect. It is a mammoth project.
It cannot be done by bureaucrats and engineers
of the Government alone. It cannot be done by the
wonderful NGOs who are giving their all to such
projects, those whom the Eco-Friends of India
exemplify. It cannot be done by them alone. It has
to be done by all of them together. But, most of
all, what it will need beyond these resources and
technological knowledge, is faith. You look around
and can see that, given faith, nothing is impossible.
I think that without faith. It cannot be done—that
undefinable something that is provided by people
like Swami Sahajananda and the people whom he
inspires. Without that, I doubt that we can get there
or even get close to it. I am sure all of you get the
same feeling. With faith we will get there.
I know that I speak for all of you when I invoke the
blessings of God on this project. When our children
and their children look at Ganga Mata, they will be
able to say that the benchmark that their parents
and grandparents achieved was something at least
adequate.

One must remember that when we pollute our
Ganga Mata even physically, we do not hurt Her,
but we hurt ourselves.
About 60,000 people were expected to turn up
for the “Earth Summit” held in Johannesburg.
Delegates say that it is no longer a question of
debate. It is expected that either we clean up our
environment or we pay far more physically, in
terms of our health and in terms of our quality of
life. Similarly, we are not cleaning up our Ganga
Mata simply because we want to beautify Her. We
must do that because we want to save ourselves
and our children and their children. The river that
we have contaminated is now contaminating the
topsoil. Where wells previously provided clean
drinking water, they no longer do so. The mineral
content in the water is totally unacceptable. A
sacred river that sustained the lives of so many
millions of people, that attracted tourists, that
provided at one point in time the finest navigation
system in the world, is no longer there.
So today, we pay tribute to all those involved in
such projects. We wish them God speed and we
shall help them in whatever way we can.
Our good wishes also go to the other projects:
the setting up of the two Sanskrit projects in India
and the formation of the Sanskrit Academy here in
South Africa. We have just heard the most moving
Slokas in Sanskrit and the melodious Bhajans.
Without fear of contradiction, I can say that along
with me, at least 80-90% of those gathered here do
not know the meaning of these verses. So, why is
so much effort going into the teaching of Sanskrit?
You do not surf the Internet in Sanskrit, and you
do not study information technology in Sanskrit. It
may generate a few jobs in the economy. “So why
is this project necessary?” People may ask. Some
years ago, I would probably have asked the same
question and felt that I asked a legitimate question.
I can assure you.
If Ganga is our Mother, Sanskrit is the Mother
of our languages. In the old days, the days of
colonization, if you read your history, you will
realize that when the colonizer really wanted to
take you over, it was not just your land, it was
your mind also. He wanted to de-culturise you so
that you accepted his culture as superior. If we
lose sight of our heritage—and Sanskrit is that
heritage—we are re-colonised. It is not important
that every Indian should learn Sanskrit. The
essential thing is that there must be Sanskrit
scholarship in the country to be able to form that
constant link with the wonderful heritage of which
we are all so proud of.
“We seek salvation by
dipping in Her waters and
cremating our dead on Her
shores. In a spiritual sense,
Ganga Mata dominates our
minds and our Spirit.”
Sanskrit is like the glue that has held all our diverse
languages together. If we take pride and revel in the
fact that we are the most diverse nation on earth
and, we do not look upon it as a challenge, but as
something to be proud of: if we say we have unity
in diversity, then how can we forget this heritage?
The canvas, on which our epics and all our ancient
literature and philosophy were written, was
Sanskrit.
I pay tribute to that vision of those who can see
what a centrally important matter this is. How
crucial it is to the sense of our identity. I pray to
God for the complete success of these ventures.
Swamjji, thank you once again for letting me be a
part of this wonderful Ganga Dussehra. Thank you.
Source: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Souvenir
(Inauguration of Bhavan’s First Australian Culture
Centre at Sydney, Australia in August 2003
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 45

Reverse Consumerism
is the Panacea for
Worsening Global
Economy
Communism failed. Socialism never took roots.
Growth powered & unregulated Capitalism is
collapsing. No amount of bailout appear to bring
global economy on track. The main culprit is the
greed of multinational corporations fueled by
consumerism beyond one’s means by individuals
and Nations. The developed World is paying for
the excess syndrome, which is affecting developing
countries as well. Now there is talk of austerity
measures and observation of World thrift day. Any
-ism devoid of divinity is doomed to fail in bringing
justice in Society.
There is an urgent need for ‘Reverse Consumerism’
or going back to Nature. Yoga Way of Simple living
(YOGism) and Self reliance will solve the problems
of Global economy to a great extent avoiding
exploitation of the weak which is responsible
for the tensions between the rich and the poor
affecting the World peace and security.
There is need for drastic change in the mind
set from self centric to thinking of World as one
family—Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, from the western
democratic concept of “Dignity of Man” to Indian
concept of “Divinity of Man” and from the concept
of “Survival of the fittest” to the “Survival of the
weakest”. The qualities of sacrificing and sharing
46 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
should predominate the nature of man. Service
driven activity becomes divine and useful to
society while commerce driven activity becomes
demonic and is harmful to society. There is need
for spiritual ambience in the society. A spiritual
person irrespective of any religion in the true
sense of the word, should exhibit the qualities of
compassion, contentment, charity, forgiveness,
truthfulness, gentleness, simplicity, purity,
sacrifice, sharing, service to community and love
to God and His creation, the Nature. It is easier
said than done. Desire and effort to attain Spiritual
nature, must be cultivated. Yoga Way of Living or
YOGism is an art of living in harmony with Nature
and concern to the whole humanity. In brief live
Simple, live Spiritual and live to Serve. YOGism
should be made a movement with its eternal values
and universal characteristics. All activities should
be treated as service to the people and charge for
sustenance and not as business making enormous
profit by exploiting the masses.
India is a fine example of unregulated and non
monitored democracy resulting in wide gap
between the rich and the poor. With divine culture
and Ramarajya concept, India’s democracy
should have been founded upon the recognition
of Divinity of Man as a model for the democratic
World. Non-corporate sector dominates Indian
economy with large population providing 93%
of employment in the country. Share of noncorporate
sector in domestic savings is 24%,
while corporate sector’s contribution is 8% (P.
Kanaga Sabhapathi, Yuva Bharati, August 2011).
It was not given the importance it deserves.
Instead the “Unholy Trinity” of the World Bank,
the IMF and the WTO and the financial institutions
under their control have taken the advantages of
weaknesses of developing countries, imposed on
them the so called package of economic reforms
of liberalization, privatization and globalization
otherwise known as structural adjustment
programme i.e. fiscal discipline, strict money
policies, deregulation, dismantling public projects
and programmes, reduced role of state, low tariffs
and removal of barriers to private investment, all
aimed at making them a part of the free market
world economy (PR Dubhashi, Bhavan’s Journal,
April 2009). “Occupy Wall Street” (OWS) protests
are spreading Worldwide. The people are putting
up a united fight against the economic model called
neoliberalism, run for the benefit of 1% based on
“free-market” economic model.

India, home of World’s largest number of poor
people with almost 33% of the population living
with an average daily income of less than Rs.100
per day while the rich parade luxury cars costing
crores of rupees and flock to Lady Gaga concert,
buying a ticket for Rs.40000/-. A shameful amount
of Rs.32 / day has been decided as cut off for
poverty line by planning commission, an insult to
the citizen of India. Indians are poor but India is
not a poor country says one of the Swiss Bank’s
directors. Lacs of crores of black money are
slashed away by Indians in foreign banks, making
the common Indian poor and starving. According
to a study by Wealth X, a global wealth intelligence
and prospecting company, India has 8200 UHNW
(ultra high net worth) individuals with combined
wealth amounting to whopping US$945 billion while
India’s foreign exchange reserves are around $300
billion.
Super rich who constitute less than 5% of the
population, is living princely life enjoying imported
entertainment options as ‘Formula 1’ car racing,
Lady Gaga Raga, maddening Metallica, sexy cheer
girls, are not only mocking at but insulting Indian
poor indebted farmers committing suicides. 5
star culture should be taxed heavily in developing
countries along with better vigilance and strong
punishment to the corrupt if democracy has to
deliver social justice. December 2, 2011
Published earlier in January issue of
SEVAMED, A journal with judicious blend
of spiritual & medical sciences:
www.bicjbtdrc-mgims.in/
sevamed/
Prof. B.C. Harinath,
Director, JBTD Research
Centre & Coordinator,
BIC & Arogyadham,
Mahatma Gandhi
Institute of Medical
Sciences, Sevagram,
India, www.jbtdrc.org
If we are to teach real peace in this world, and
if we are to carry on a real war against war,
we shall have to begin with the children.
- Mahatma Gandhi
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 47

GUEST ARTICLE
Holism and Unity of Energy Concepts
Energy is the basis of creation, and as per the
Big-Bang theory, everything came out of a
dense energy matrix which exploded into the
infinite space. Our forefathers also said “Purush
evedam sarvam, yada bhutam, yaccha bhaavyam”.
Energy in its subtlest form is the knowledge-power
complex, and they called it as ‘Purusha’ and this
encompasses everything in the present, past
and future.
There is only one energy in this world, and this can
project itself as a ‘Positive’ or attraction energy
(akarshana), or as a ‘Negative’, repulsion energy
(Vikarshana), and this energy continuously goes
into phases of activity and quiescence. These two
phases of energy are always together, apparently
opposing each other and yet complementary, and
as one is waxing, the other is waning. This nature
gives it a wave form. These two forces are always
alternate and continuous. These two phases can
also be called as ‘expansion’ or centrifugal energy,
and ‘contraction’ or centripetal energy. They are
the basis of all philosophy and all walks of life, in
Bharatiya and Chinese cultures—the two major
Eastern cultures. We in Bharat call them as ‘Rajas’
the outgoing, and ‘Tamas’ the contractive form
of energies, the balance of which is probably,
the ‘Satwa’ the potent energy. Chinese call them
as ‘Yang’ as the outgoing expansive energy, and
‘Yin’ as the contractive and attractive energy,
whereas the balanced potent energy is called as
‘Chi’. Modern science has recognised the same
as ‘Positron’ and ‘Electron’ as the positive and
negative energy—particle form, and ‘Neutron’ as
the balanced, potent, contracted form. ‘Proton’
is the positive contracted form of energy which
is neutron + positron. These connotations are in
the atomic particle science. In the energy sector,
‘Electromagnetic waves’ is the basic balanced
combination of the negative ‘Electricity’ and the
positive ‘Magnetism’.
We can summarise the modern science and
philosophy, with the following attributes of positive
and negative energies.
48 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
In Philosophy
Positive Balanced Negative
Prana Atma Mind
Tamas Satwa Rajas
#Yin Chi Yang
In Human Existence
Feminine Masculine
Contractive Expansive
Responsive Demanding
Cooperative Aggressive
Intuitive Analytical
Synthesising Rational
Rt. Brain dominant Lt. Brain dominant
Kapha
Love, Kindness,
Pitta
Friendship Anger, Hatred, Jealousy
Parasympathetic Sympathetic
In Nature
Earth Sky
Moon Sun
Winter Summer
Moisture Dryness
Coolness Warmth
Interior Exterior
In Physical and Chemical Energies
Electropositive Electronegative
Magnetism
Proton
Electricity
(neutron + positron) Electron
Cations Anions
Centripetal force Centrifugal force
(#Chinese literature, in translated form, mentions
them in opposite way:- Yin as Positive, and Yang as
Negative)

These qualities, energies, in all degrees of
grossness and subtleness, in nature, environment,
and individual, influence each other, and are the
cause of imbalance or disease, and balance or
health in the individual. Different approaches of
treatment in medical sciences, work at different
levels in the body and achieve the same result. Let
us consider in details.
Mode of Action of Medicines in Different Systems
Modern Medicine
Modern medicine tries to identify the biochemical
substances responsible for the symptoms and
tries to neutralise it. It hardly tries to analyse why
those chemicals are produced and how to stop
them. This will mean going higher up in the chain
of causative events in the disease. Hence we end up
treating and relieving the symptoms effectively but
temporarily. Results are short lived and repetition
of medication becomes necessary in chronic
diseases. While neutralising the biochemical
changes in one tissue, we are introducing a
chemical in the body which is bound to produce
effects elsewhere also and hence the side effects.
The sensitivity of tissues varies in different
individuals, and therefore the side effects are not
uniform in every body. With increased awareness
of psychosomatic factors in the causation of
disease, and the relation between mind and body
in the symptoms, modern medicine is also
becoming holistic, by trying to reduce the
psychological factors like, anxiety, fear, anger, and
depression, through medication. The science of
psycho-neuro-immunology is trying to improve
the immunological status, by taking cognizance of
psychological factors. Killing or suppressing the
bacteria or cancer cells in infections or cancer,
is no doubt successful initially, but emergence
of resistant strains is becoming a matter of grave
concern, and treatment with antibiotics is also
being driven to the wall. Treatment through
modern medical procedures in emergency
life threatening situation is the greatest and
unparalleled virtue of this science.
Ayurveda and Naturopathy
Both these sciences are primarily concerned with
the maintenance of the health of the individual, by
following the principles of ‘Dincharya, rithucharya,
and sadvritta’ and living closure to nature in food
and living habits. Ayurveda has stressed that
the individual constitution varies and there is
propensity for specific diseases depending upon
the constitution. Three basic energy and physical
variants are described, which are present in nature,
materials, plants animals and human beings. These
three forces are able to control the structure and
functions in the human body. They are-
Vata:- the neuro- chemo- hormonal energy
which controls and affects the other two.
Pitta:- the catabolic humero- chemical energy
Kapha:- the anabolic humero- chemical energy
The whole of Ayurveda revolves round these
three basic energy patterns, in various degrees of
permutations and combinations. In nature, diurnal
and seasonal variations, affect the human body and
mind. The natural environment, and the food have
tremendous effect on the human body and mind,
and this has been thoroughly studied and applied
in recognising the disease patterns and their
treatment methods. Hence the Ayurvedic approach
is more holistic since it recognises the variations
in the energy levels rather than the chemical
changes. It recognises the specific ‘Prabhava’ of
a given herb or a processed natural material on a
specific tissue, since it also acts at the matter level
in a given disease situation. Since biochemistry
was not developed in the present form in the olden
days, the chemical nature of a given substance was
found to be closely related to the touch and visual
physical perceptions, and taste and smell chemical
perceptions by human beings. The relationship of
these sensory perceptions to their tribasic energy
patterns (Tridoshas) has been closely studied
and analysed, which forms the basis of Ayurvedic
Pharmacology (Dravya guna), and its application
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 49

in restoring the balance in the energy patterns.
The accumulation of unwanted waste materials
(mala), or toxic materials introduced from outside
are recognised to be responsible for producing the
imbalance in the doshas and hence the disease.
Restoring the balance of energies, by cleansing,
replacements of the suitable materials as medicine
and food to restore the balance, forms the basis
of treatments in Ayurveda. It can be said that non
medicinal Ayurveda with use of energies in the five
basic elements (Panchamahabhootas) constitutes
the basis of naturopathic treatment, with specific
stress on the removal of accumulated waste matter.
“We can combine these
systems judiciously to
maintain health and
avoid disease by boosting
our immunity.”
Yoga
Yoga has fully acknowledged the two energy
projections of Atma (the balanced omnipotent
energy)—Prana and Mind. The total human
existence is said to be five layered as per the
Taittiriya Upanishad—the Panchakosha theory.
The grossification of prana and mind is the
‘Annamaya kosha’ or the body, and they form
the motivating forces in the human body. Their
presence and action is from seven main centres
called ‘Chakras’, which can be said to influence the
seven Autonomic plexuses, and the corresponding
hormonal glands in the body.
50 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
1. Mooladhara chakra at the lowest level in the
spinal column is the densest place of Pranic energy,
which is said to gradually rise to:
2. Swadishthana - Lumbar plexus –
Reproductive glands
3. Manipura - Coeliac plexus –
Pancreas and digestive
hormones and enzymes
4. Anahata - Cardiac plexus –
Adrenal glands
5. Vishuddhi - Cervical plexus –
Thyroid and thymus glands
6. Agna - Hypothalamus and Limbic
system – Pituitary and
Pinal glands
7. Sahasrara - Cerebral hemispheres
To harness these two energies, prana and mind,
towards a balanced state of atmic activation,
preparing it to be in unison with the all pervasive
omnipotent energy—Paramatma—is the highest
aim of life as per Yoga. To control the negative
energy of the violent emotions and instincts, and
promote the positive emotions Yama and Niyama
have been described. Asanas constitute a series of
body postures of alternate stretching (expansion)
and relaxation (contraction) to balance the
physical energies. To balance the pranic energy are
the various types of Pranayama, and to harness the
mind the three phases of meditation of ‘Antaranga
yoga’—Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are advised.
‘Pratyahara’ is the bridging phase of in drawing of
the senses. Yoga is a way of life, which maintains
health, and also heals the body and mind when
disturbed by disease.

Homeopathy
This is a unique science, which believes in the
strength of ionic energy in healing the disease.
As in Ayurveda, Psora (the negative energy) and
Sychosis (the positive or accumulative energy)
form the basis of human constitution and when
aggravated, they form the basis of disease. When
there is extreme aggravation of this imbalance
it leads to ‘Syphilis’. These terminologies have
nothing to do with their present day meaning in
modern medicine. Every substance in the universe
must be having its own ionic energy spectrum
in solution, and has the capacity to produce
symptoms in human body, which Homoeopaths
call as ‘drug symptoms’. The same in a diluted,
potentised form have the capacity to relieve the
symptoms, probably by blocking the receptors
at the cellular level. The energies when powerful,
produce the disease symptoms by over activating
the cellular components. When mild they block
or inactivate those cellular components and
relieve the symptoms. I have the analogy from
the experimental fact that when some areas of
Hypothalamus and limbic system are stimulated
by a strong electrical stimulus produce ‘rage’
effect, and when mild produce the ‘Reward effect’.
The text book of Physiology mentions this effect.
I feel the reward effect of ‘Pranayama’ can also
be explained by slow stimulation of the Olfactory
nerves, which have close connections worth the
Limbic system in the brain.
‘Similia similibus curantor’ or ‘Like cures the like’, is
the basis of Homoeopathy.
Holistic approach
In summary, we see that different systems of
treatment work by balancing the two energies at
different levels. In Modern medicine we make the
use of the chemical energy, based on their acidic
or alkaline properties basically, to neutralize
what is aggravated and strike the balance. In
Ayurveda the concept of tridosha works at the
body and mind level. In this Vata is the actual
energy which activates the positive and negative
energies of Kapha and Pitta, respectively. Yoga
works by bringing the balance in the movement of
‘Prana’ and the mind, which are the positive and
negative components of the one energy—Atma.
Homoeopathy works through the ionic energy—
Anions and Cations, which in various combinations
produce different spectra of energy, which act at
subtle levels in the body and mind.
We can combine these systems judiciously to
maintain health and avoid disease by boosting our
immunity. We can treat the diseases by using the
different systems in different phases of disease
process, to work at the body and mind levels, to
give the most beneficial effect, in terms of long
term relief, cost effectiveness, and with minimum
side effects. They can also be used singly, wherever
effective. This is the Holistic approach and future
of Medical science.
Published earlier in January issue of
SEVAMED, A journal with judicious blend of
spiritual & medical sciences,
www.bicjbtdrc-mgims.in/sevamed/
Dr. Raghavendra Kulkarni, All India President,
Arogya Bharati, Hyderabad, India. Born in
1940 on 17th Jan, at Bijapur in Karnataka Dr.
Raghavendra Kulkarni got his initial education
at Raichur. He did his MS (General surgery) at
Hyderabad and later served as Asst. Professor
of Surgery at SV Medical College
Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. He
attended many state and national
conferences and remained
attached to various organisations
like; Rotary club, Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Science
Education trust Raichur, Hindu
seva Pratishthan, Bangalore, Loka
Hita trust, Hubli etc.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 51

R. Venkataraman:
A Stamp of His
Own on Presidency
R. Venkataraman, Former
President of India (1910-
2009)
The distinguishing feature
of Shri R. Venkataraman’s
(RV) long life was that
it was spent entirely
in the service of the
people. Public spirit was
the guiding element;
underpinning it were
integrity, commitment, vision and cordial human
relationships. But the person was more than the
sum of these parts.
RV was enrolled in the Madras High Court and
had a budding practice as a young lawyer ... Yet
he spent a lot of time in nationalist activities...
unobtrusively circulating inspirational leaflets.
When he was arrested in 1942, as a young man
of 32, he was an income tax payer; in Vellore and
then Thanjavur Jails where he was lodged, under
the guise of conducting literacy classes to inmates,
he kept inculcating in them the national spirit.
After release from prison, RV was drawn into the
labour movement and promoted a number of trade
unions—a public spirited pioneering pursuit at that
time, but different from a lucrative legal practice.
Then he stood for the Provisional Parliament and
won; while his formidable opponent talked to the
electorate about his qualifications and status, RV
talked to it about people’s needs. When after some
22 years, he did not hold a public office (after
leaving the Central Planning Commission), he could
have easily gone into the private sector but did not
do so. The United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) wrote to him enquiring about
his availability to be Senior Industrial Adviser in
Indonesia, but he politely declined the offer.
It was his earnestness for public service rather
than personal gain that guided RV’s career
decisions. A corollary to that public spirit was
his integrity and probity. When he was in Delhi
as Minister, he always carried a short letter of
resignation folded and kept in his purse, so that he
could resign forthwith if his principles warranted
52 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
it... When he became Vice President, he took it out,
showed it to those present and tore it up. When
Finance Minister, one of his Heads of Department
described him in private conversation as a ‘Raja
Rshi.’ He was objective and frank in his opinions
on policy matters. In the Bhubaneshwar Congress
in the early 1960’s, he brought out a paper on a
Presidential form of Government for India, perhaps
the first proposal of its kind. During the 1966
devaluation of the rupee, yet a Minister in Madras
State, he expressed himself against devaluation
to Smt. Indira Gandhi when most people were
advising her to go ahead with devaluation.
In 1976, not in office and as Editor of Swarajya, he
wrote openly critical editorials on some aspects
of the Emergency. Smt. Gandhi, however knew his
value and at her behest, Mohan Lal Sukhadia, the
then Governor of Tamil Nadu, persuaded RV to
stand for the 1977 Parliamentary elections.
RV wore many hats in his life, but never a mask.
While not a politician sustained by patronage and
political deals, RV contested six parliamentary
elections and won five of them. He lost in 1967
in the general debacle of the Congress Party in
Madras State. He had a sound political sense
in understanding the needs of the people and
looked for practical solutions. Kamaraj used him
selectively for political purposes, for example in
resolving issues in Pondicherry and in Congress
Party matters in Delhi. His speeches were not
marked by flowery oratory, but by a cogent
presentation of facts. RV has recalled how Prime
Minister Nehru heard in the intercom his speech
in Parliament on the Andhra partition, giving out
facts and figures and sent for him to say that that
kind of presentation was needed in the United
Nations; the result was that RV was sent as a
delegate to the United Nations General Assembly
for a number of years.
Corruption and nepotism were alien to his nature,
notwithstanding that he held ‘lucrative’ portfolios
in State and Central ministries. When he returned
from Japan after negotiating for assistance in
setting up ten cooperative spinning mills in Tamil
Nadu, a question was raised in the State Legislature
as to what commission he, as Minister, got out
of the deal. He replied that he had indeed got a
commission and that was the eleventh mill in lieu
of the commission offered. When invitations for
his daughter’s marriage were sent out, a business
magnate asked him how he could help in the
celebration. RV told him that no help was needed,
but if that magnate was particular, he could send
two persons to take hospitable care of the rows of
diners, as people from his region were well versed
in that matter.
His commitment to work was more than putting
in long hours which he did. In Madras State,
when some one referred to his shouldering many
portfolios and other responsibilities, Kamaraj

emarked that if there was a “Sumaithangi’ (load
bearer) on the road, people would naturally put
their burdens on it. His hard-work was enhanced
by his commitment to do the best in whatever
responsibility he was entrusted with.
As President, he spent long hours at his desk at the
time of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination so as to ensure
that no violence erupted; When the Chandrasekar
Government was on its way out, and people tried
to take advantage of the situation, he showed a
firm hand to see that no irregularities took place.
In his ten year tenure as Industries Minister in
Madras, RV took pains to study the rules and
procedures of industrial regulation and licensing
and took advantage of the windows of opportunity
to get industries to Tamil Nadu, so much so that
industries ministers of some other states were
left to wonder how come RV was always many
steps ahead of them. RV has himself recalled how
during a National Development Council meeting the
question of amending the Industries Development
and Regulation Act to encourage small scale
industries came up, RV suggested the simple
expedient of including selected small industries in
the already existing schedule of reserved industries
not available for licensing.
That evening Lal Bahadur Shastri sent one of his
officers, Shri T. Swaminathan, ICS, to Tamil Nadu
“RV was enrolled in the
Madras High Court and
had a budding practice
as a young lawyer... Yet
he spent a lot of time in
nationalist activities...
unobtrusively circulating
inspirational leaflets.”
House to discuss the modalities of implementing
the suggestion. His infectious enthusiasm in
promoting Guindy and Ambattur Industrial Estates
is still remembered by small scale entrepreneurs in
Tamil Nadu.
That commitment to find solutions was supported
by a vision. Former President Kalam has recalled
when in the Defence Ministry he took a proposal
for a missiles project to RV as the Minister, the
latter RV asked him to come up with a programme
rather than one project; he got that programme
approved by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and
funded. In Tamil Nadu, he actively promoted the
East Coast Road. When, as Housing Minister,
Artists of Republic Day Parade with
President R Venkataraman and Smt Janaki
Venkataraman in 1992
RV was shown the plans for Besant Nagar,
he found that the buildings were proposed
in a continuous line parallel to the beach. He
told the officials that there must be streets in
between perpendicular to the beach so that the sea
breeze would be carried inland. At the age of 96, he
went to a mantap in Swaminatha Swamy temple
in New Delhi—a temple in whose establishment
he had a predominant role—and was shown a
painting being done on the wall, of the wedding
of Shiva and Parvathi, with Vishnu by Parvathi’s
side. He promptly told the artist that such a
painting, with the rest of the space empty, was
hardly appropriate and the empty space should be
filled by paintings of Devas, Rishis etc. as guests so
that the full panorama could be seen...
RV had cordial relationships all round. Ever
smiling but never frivolous; patient but not weak;
soft-spoken and courteous but firm, he nursed no
animosity to anyone. Though he was known to
be close to Kamaraj, he had good relations with
people like Satyamurthi and Rajaji. The latter as
Chief Minister of Madras asked him to enquire
into and report on the grievances of agricultural
tenants in Thanjavur District; he asked two Deputy
Secretaries to brief RV for his speech in Parliament
on Andhra partition. He was perhaps instrumental
in getting RV to edit Swarajya.
In Parliament, RV had friendly relationships with
members on both sides of the House. In his election
as President, he polled more votes than the
Congress Party controlled. He had good personal
relationship with senior journalists. The diary he
kept as President was used for writing his book on
his presidential years. He was not inclined to write
about his other official years, saying that it would
necessitate using the first person singular too
often. RV was considered a copybook President.
But he was no rubber stamp; on the other hand his
long public life bore a stamp—his own.
K. Venkataraman, son-in-law of Former President
of India, R. Venkataraman
Source: Bhavan’s Journal December 15, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 53

54 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Oscar Wilde
From Dazzle to Obscurity
Oscar Wilde was a prodigy, a precocious child who
was aware of his intellectual power and genius
even as a boy. His parents were quite conspicuous
in the Dublin circles. His father, William Wilde was
a brilliant occultist surgeon, a small, energetic man.
His mother a tall, talented and stately person,
endowed with a rich, eloquent voice was a gifted
talker. Oscar, their second son was born on
October 16, 1854, had his schooling at Dublin and
went to Oxford to earn a degree and achieve fame.
A gifted writer as well as a supreme
conversationalist, Oscar soon won the applause in
literary circles in London. His tastes were varied;
they included plays, short stories, essays, criticism
and poems. Yet, he put his imprint in glittering
conversation, enthralling his listeners with his
expansive humour, ready wit and rich anecdotes.
The man was even more charming for his liberal
outlook, genial heart and sympathetic nature.
He was gregarious, quite at home with his
acquaintances—high and low, intellectual and
ignorant, spend-thrift and generous.
Oscar was a great observer of human nature and
his observant eyes could pierce deep into the
human heart. He adored life in all forms, seldom
the sin of hatred prevailed upon him. He was poetic
in his feeling; love overflowed from his expansive
heart without any choice or discrimination of
people around. He always presented his friends
with rich gifts, squandering every penny derived
from his writings, mostly from the theater
performances of his plays.
Oscar’s knowledge of Greek, French and German
was amazing. A true man of letters, he wrote with
great felicity and frivolous speed. His writings
always revealed the man; beneath the fun and
lightheartedness, there concealed seriousness
of thought and judgment of men to a great

degree of humiliating accuracy. Yet there was
unanimity, among his reviewers—Wilde’s narrative
or conversational style of writing was always
charming with the ease, grace and perfection of
flowing sentences.
Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray dealt
exclusively with his power of conversation. Here
Oscar hid himself in the character of Lord Henry
Wotton, where epigrams, anecdotes and paradoxes
find their rich presence. The book itself produces
famous sayings that amuse the readers a century
after its publication, the sparkle is well preserved.
His plays were equally vivid and captivating.
Wilde was eager for spectators’ applause, and got
it in abundant measure. Through them he was able
to communicate with thousands at the same time.
His best play, was highly satisfying for himself. In
it he revealed his idiosyncrasy and exuberance
in full measure.
His French Play Salome was translated into
English by Lord Alfred Douglas, his friend whom
he loved with a passion. In this play he exhibits
his wonderful sense of drama. Yet all his plays
captured only a fringe of his towering intellect.
However, the rest portions of his attitude of mind
and adventurous spirit were displayed elsewhere in
his prodigious literary outpouring.
Oscar even attempted at social reform in his
book ‘The Soul of Man under Socialism’. But it
was different from the Fabian Socialism, of which
Bernard Shaw was the chief protagonist. Oscar
did not mind the prevalent opulence. In early life
he treated the poor shabbily without a modicum
of sympathy. But over the years, his attitude
mellowed and he became more sympathetic
towards them. He did not view poverty as
degrading, but as a necessity for changing towards
betterment.
“With the abolition of private property, then, we
shall have true, beautiful, healthy individualism.
Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things,
and the symbols for things. One will live: To live is
the nearest thing in the world. Most people exist,
that is all”, he wrote in The Soul of Man under
Socialism.
Wilde married Constance Lloyd, daughter of a
wealthy Counsel in 1884 and had two sons Cyril
and Vyvyan born in two subsequent years. Oscar
and Constance were drawn from different poles.
Oscar was vivacious and extrovert in his dealings,
while his wife was of serious disposition, a sort
of an introvert and a woman of few words. These
contrasts in character never interfered with their
married life. Constance was credited with the
quality of patient endurance which she maintained
till the end.
To a question how he pulled on with such a moody
and silent wife, Oscar replied that her silence
always incited him to wonder what her feelings
could be. His fertile brain always soared into an
imaginary world of dream and fantasy, beyond the
pale of reality.
However, their matrimonial experience evoked
some laughable epigrams. To cite a few, Oscar
Wilde wrote, “The proper basis for marriage is
mutual misunderstanding”. “Men marry because
they are tired, women because they are curious;
both are disappointed. “In married life affection
comes when people thoroughly dislike each other”.
His adventures beyond matrimony could not
be reined. Oscar lived his life in profligacy,
squandering all his income on everything good and
beautiful—good food and attire, good company of
flattering admirers, generous gifts to those whom
he liked or loved. At times he lived beyond his
means with the expenses outstripping even his
roaring income.
Oscar was ranked as a supreme conversationalist.
He loved to be encircled by eager listeners who
were enchanted by his legendary conversation.
Unquestionably, he was an incomparable talker
with words flowing from his mouth in a rich, wellmodulated,
pleasing voice. He was masterly in
his supremacy of holding the listeners in awe and
wonder. Drawing rooms or coffee houses used to
attract admiring crowds and Oscar always loved to
be the centre of a gathering, talking endlessly with
brilliant wits and relishing anecdotes, all produced
impromptu.
Once he proposed to talk on any subject on
earth. Someone suggested that the subject be
‘The Queen’. Oscar readily discarded it with a
memorable repartee; ‘The Queen is not a subject’.
His conversational pieces were no less brilliant
than his written words. In one conversation
he outlined his future, I’ll be a poet, a writer,
a dramatist, somehow or other. I’ll be famous
and if not famous I’ll be notorious. Even some
conversation, apart from wit, contained a few
sparkling gems—“I have the simplest tastes. I am
always satisfied with the best”.
His one liner was often a treat—short, witty and
entertaining. They poured out of his enthralling,
conversations or conversational style of writings.
They were literary pieces produced to adorn
a thought or to embellish a paragraph or the
printed page of a book “I can resist everything
except temptation” or in the same vein he would
scribble, “The only way to overcome temptation
is to yield to it” or “It needs great courage to yield
to temptation”. The readers admired his skilful
portrayal of thoughts or ideas which he viewed
from all aspects. The wealth of his imagination
was inexhaustible, always replenishing itself
without effort or prolonged reflection. This firmly
established him as a literary genius.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 55

As a literary critic, Oscar Wilde was generous
with some of his forerunners, but scathing and
bitter with others whose pretence to greatness
was intolerable to his probing mind. “When
Milton could no longer write he began to sing”,
commented Oscar, “Mathew Arnold,” he said in a
conversation, “a fine but very mistaken poet was
always trying to do the most impossible thing of all
to know himself. And that is why sometimes, in the
middle of his most beautiful poems, he left off being
the poet and became the school inspector”.
To Henry James, George Meredith, and Robert
Browning his comments were less than charitable.
He stripped them of their mask in his inimical style,
“As a writer Meredith has mastered everything
except language: as a novelist he can do everything
except tell a story; as an artist he is everything
except articulate”. Poet Robert Browning did not
escape his scrutiny with a favourable comment:
“Browning was great. And as what will he be
remembered? As a Poet? Ah, not as a poet? He will
be remembered as a writer of fiction, as the most
supreme writer of fiction, it may be, that we ever
had......... The only man who can touch the hem
of his garment is George Meredith. Meredith is a
prose writer, and so is Browning. He used poetry
as a medium for writing in prose”. As a critic he
defended his art of criticism. “Criticism demands
infinitely more cultivation than creation does”,
asserted Wilde.
Oscar Wilde read profusely some of the past
masters of literature. As a student he was always
at the front rank. At Oxford, he cultivated his
great arts of writing and public speaking with the
perfection of a peer. Like every other writer, at
least in the initial stage, he borrowed ideas that
pleased him and aided in his own work, notably
and even ironically, from Milton, Browning, Dante,
Keats and others whom he at times despised. He
initially touched his hand in the production of
plays and later on short stories, poems and even
a novel. All bear the unmistakable stamp of his
greatness in the literary world, though each of
these productions partially portrays his prodigious
and creative mind.
At times, he appeared pedantic and erudite by
recalling the sayings of the great literary figures.
Once in a lecture in America he almost quoted
a wide spectrum of writers in one go—Goethe,
Rousseau, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Dante,
Homer, Blake, Keats, Plato, Aristotle, Tennyson,
Shakespeare, Balzac all to ‘pose’ as a scholar which
of course he truly was. He was his publicity master,
because he believed in the dictum that honour
springs from one’s own home.
Oscar Wilde, however moved into prominence,
apart from the grand conversations, through
the masterly production of plays. The dialogues
rendered in each play were often short but witty
56 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
and epigrammatic. He had the knack of judging the
mood of the audience quite accurately and moved
them to laughter or tears in a bid to satisfy them.
As already noted, Salome was a play he wrote
in French and his friend and lover, Lord Alfred
Douglas translated it into English. It was credited
to be the first French play written by an English
playwright.
But his last play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’
was his masterpiece and its performance
immensely pleased Wilde. His other plays were
Vera: The Nihilist, The Duchess of Padua, A Woman
of No Importance, An ideal Husband, to name a few.
But his plays did not receive the same applause;
some were immensely popular, while others
terribly flopped.
On being asked about the outcome of a play that
was staged, he answered in his characteristic style
that the play was a success, only the audience was
a failure!
Short-stories, another aspect of his productive life,
were equally popular. Most of them contained an
inbuilt strand of human sympathy. In the Model
Millionaire, Wilde romanced with life through a
model (a millionaire) posing in a painter’s studio in
the most despicable condition which was enough
to move a naive young onlooker out of his depths
to pass on a buck to the destitute man!
Here was elicited from Wilde a famous remark,
“Romance is the privilege of the rich not the
profession of the unemployed”.
The story of “The selfish Giant” drove the giant to
assist a charming little boy incapable of climbing
a tree only to discover, the latter’s palms had
holes, which the boy explained were “the wounds
of Love”— which were but the symbol of the
Redeemer’s Crucifixion.
The Happy Prince was a tale of supreme sacrifice
for a cause. Other short stories, including The
Young King, The Star Child, The Nightingale and The
Rose, The Remarkable Rocket to name a few, were
equally popular.
Apart from plays and short-stories, Oscar Wilde
was the creator of an only novel—The Picture of
Dorian Gray—where the character of Lord Henry
Wotton was all but the author concealed. Here
Wilde poured out the litany of his aphorisms and
epigrams, which were so appealing that these
frequently reappeared in his subsequent works
without losing any charm.
These works propelled him to stardom in the
European and American circles. Admirers raved
his company, to hear him speak in a captivating
manner, charming style and great eloquence. He
always loved to see himself in the dizzy heights of
fame and success.

About the same time, as an irony of fate, the
unsuspecting Wilde was destined for a fall that
proved too fatal for the man and his career to
sustain and he began to sink into oblivion, which
he created for himself.
Wilde was a complex character contained within
the facade of a jolly and affable entertainer. Though
he never concealed his bizarre life-style, his
indulgence and care-free nature came to the fore
and people began to despise him even during the
height of his glory.
Gay life and homosexuality were taboo in his time
and their practitioners were condemned by society
in no uncertain terms before the prevalent laws
were invoked to mete out due punishment.
His friendship with Lord Douglas, Robert Rose
and many other young boys whom he apparently
‘corrupted’ uncovered the intention of unnatural
lust, which was termed as a pathological sin.
Curiously for Wilde, fame and condemnation went
side by side till the latter prevailed with greater
ferocity. Wilde was charged with sodomy and was
forced to face trials on several counts. He was
cross-examined by the then famous lawyer Edward
Carson, his fellow-student at Trinity College
(Dublin). He faced three trials in quick succession
during April-May 1895.
Oscar lost the case and was sentenced to undergo
two years’ imprisonment with hard labour. The
trials evoked a mixed reaction, both supportive
and condemnatory; but they were memorable, in
the course of cross-examination, for inspiring a
score of ready wit and brilliant repartee all in the
prevailing ambience of tension and uncertainty.
Wilde dared the trials but the sentence was too
shocking for his psyche and resulted in shattering
forever his body and soul for an unbecoming affair
which was termed as the love that dare not speak
its name.
The hard life inured at the prison cell had its telling
effect. The ignominy suffered and the indifference
endured there extinguished his buoyancy of spirit
and broke the heart never again to regale the
countless fans. The treatment in the prison, the
Reading Goal was too harsh, the supplies of books
and writing materials being denied to him.
However, his last six months spent in the jail were
a consolation, where he was given the freedom to
write what he had intended. Here he penned two
great works—De Profundis, a serious prose and
a splendid work of poetry, where the prison-life
terribly endured found an indelible mention.
In spite of the non-human conditions of the prisoncell,
Oscar bore no ill-will against any one. He liked
the fellow-prisoners, sympathised with their plight
and recorded, “The only humanising influence in
prison is the prisoners”. He suggested reform of the
prison laws and not the attitude of the prisoners.
The tragic conditions of prison life endured en
masse were perhaps the binding factor for one
another in the development of their sympathetic
attitude. But in the midst of allround calamities,
Wilde composed:
“Yet each man kills the things he loves,
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword”!
After release, the man to whom the literary world
bowed in reverence now found him alienated and
confined himself to a still terrible surrounding—
his friends deserted him, and he was reduced
to penury. His wife, too shocked to bear the
misfortune, shunned every contact with him, save
occasional offering of financial help, but never
allowed their two children to meet the father.
Oscar left for his “second home” in Paris for
peace and retrieval of his lost prestige. They
were never regained and he died a broken man
on 30 November 1900, at a relatively young age of
forty six. He had squandered every gift of him—
social, intellectual and financial and passed away
completely exhausted and ruined.
But a century after his exit, Oscar Wilde is perhaps
remembered with due esteem for his lasting
contribution to literature. His cemetery is visited as
a pilgrim centres by countless admirers the world
over. The man is gone, his ‘sins’ are apparently
forgotten, but his brilliance endures.
To recall his words, “I adore simple pleasures; they
are the last refuge of the complex”. This complex
man became a victim of the simple pleasures which
he adored, but his world abhorred without mercy.
Yet from his dismal depth of notoriety, the man has
resurfaced to a hearty approbation of his later-day
admirers of Oscar Wilde’s enduring legacy.
Radhanath Behera
Source: Bhavan’s Journal November 15, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 57

58 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Kautilya’s Arthashastra:
Water Management
Kautilya’s views on water issues speak volumes of
his foresight and clear thinking, the most striking
being the concept of ‘user charges’ practised in his
time. Today, even after consensus on user charges,
there are still practical obstacles in the way of
implementing these. The tax holiday, so far thought
to be a product of modern times, was prevalent
in Kautilya’s times as well. For example, for the
purpose of the creation of irrigation facilities,
exemption from payment of taxes was provided for a
terminal period of three to five years in case of new
tanks, renovation and cleaning.
Since all water resources belonged to the King,
the levy of user charges helped the King replenish
his treasury. Due to risks involved in transporting
goods via waterways, the land route was preferred.
Among various water routes, coastal and river
routes were preferred.
King’s Dictum
Water for Irrigation & Cultivation
• All water reserves belonged to the King and
users paid a water rate for taking water from
irrigation works built by the King.
• Irrespective of whether the cost of building
a dam or an embankment was borne entirely
or only partly by the state, all the fish, ducks,
and green vegetables produced in or near the
reservoirs are the King’s property.
Irrigation
• For building or improving irrigation facilities,
the following exemptions from payment of water
rates were stipulated to be granted:
New tanks and embankments—five years
Renovating ruined or abandoned water works—
four years
Clearing water works overgrown with weeds—
three years
• Waterworks such as reservoirs, embankments
and tanks could be privately owned and the
owner was free to sell or mortgage them.
• The ownership of tanks would lapse, if these had
not been in use for a period of five years, except
in cases of distress.
• Anyone who leased, hired, shared, or accepted
a waterwork as a pledge, with the right to use it,
was obliged to keep it in good condition.
• Owners could give water to others (by dredging
channels or building suitable structures) in
return for a share of the produce grown in the
fields, parks or gardens.
• In the absence of the owner, either charitable
individuals, or the people of a village acting
together had to maintain waterworks.

Water: Various Other Uses
• Dams built to store water from a flowing source
(such as a river) are preferable to those built
to store water brought by canals (dug for that
purpose).
• Among reservoirs built by constructing dams
on rivers, the ones which irrigated a larger area
were considered better.
Kautilya gave importance to productive use of
water and water routes. Despite the fact that water
routes can be used to transport a large quantity of
goods at less expense and exertion as compared
to land, Kautilya preferred the latter. According to
Kautilya, the water route is not usable at all times,
is accessible at only a few places, is full of dangers
and is indefensible, in contrast to land routes.
Further, among water routes, a coastal route is
better than the high sea because there are a large
number of ports along any coast. A river route is
also good because it poses less serious danger
and is more constantly in use. Safety of water
routes was emphasized. The director of trade had
to be conversant with the differences in prices,
the popularity or unpopularity of various goods
and know whether they were produced on land or
water and whether they had been transported by
land or water routes.
The state was responsible for making sure that only
a seaworthy boat, properly manned and equipped,
was allowed to set sail upon paying of penalty for
any loss suffered for want of sea-worthiness. Ships
Manuscript Arthshastra
sailing on the sea had to pay duty whenever these
came within the King’s domain. Boats that were
shown to cause harm, those coming from enemy
territory and those violating the regulations of the
port were to be destroyed.
Contrast the emphasis placed by Kautilya on
efficient water management and the detailed
instructions on how to do it, with the current
neglect of this God-given resource. India is blessed
with several large rivers, flowing from the melting
snows of the Himalayas and also fed by the
southwesterly rains. Yet, for thousands of people
living in villages, especially women and children,
obtaining this basic requirement involves trudging
for miles and carrying it on their head. The last two
Budgets, emphasising the maintenance of water
bodies, point out the gross neglect of maintenance
of this vital natural resource and its contamination.
The Arthashastra would be very instructive to those
charged with the responsibility of conserving our
water resources.
It is unfortunate that in India, despite six decades
of planning, an efficient and equitable water
management programme is still a pipedream. In
this respect, Kautilya as a visionary has many
practical suggestions to offer.
Source: Kautilya’s Arthashastra, The Way
of Financial Management and Economic
Governance, Priyadarshni Academy and Jaico
Publishing House, Mumbai, India
(To be continued…)
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 59

60 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Ramakrishna
Paramhansa
All living beings are divine.
Human beings are equal and there is
oneness of existence.
The main obstructions in the attainment of
salvation are lust and greed.
There is only one God.
The main aim of each and every human
being is to become one with God.
-Ramakrishna Paramhansa
Ramakrishna was one of the greatest religious
leaders ever born in India. He believed that every
individual must have only one aim in life i.e., the
realization of the Ultimate Reality. To achieve
this aim, one of the preconditions is the purity
of mind. He also played a significant role in the
Bengal Renaissance of the 19th century. His
disciple, Swami Vivekananda, founded the Rama
Krishna Mission after his demise, to propagate his
teachings throughout the world.
Early Life
The original name of Ramakrishna Paramhansa was
Gadadhar Chattopadhyay. He was born into a poor
and orthodox Brahmin family on 18 February, 1836
in Kamarpukur, Hooghly district of West Bengal.
His parents were Khudiram Chattopadhyaya and
Chandramani Devi.
Though Gadadhar was very reluctant going to
school, he had a God-gifted ability of painting and

creating clay models. He was also good at learning
things. He easily mastered the tales, based upon
the religion. Young Gadadhar loved the nature so
much that he used to spend much of his time in
orchards and on the river-banks. After the death
of his father in 1843, the responsibilities of the
family were handled by his elder brother
Ramkumar. Ramkumar left home for
Calcutta and started teaching
Sanskrit in a local school.
Ramkumar also served
as a priest at different
socio-religious functions.
Young Gadadhar, back
in his village started
performing regular
worshipping of their
family-deity.
Dakshineswar
Few months later,
Ramkumar was invited to
Dakshineswar temple by
Rani Rasmoni, the founder of the
temple. Ramkumar was appointed as the
chief-priest of the temple. In 1852, Ramakrishna
went to Calcutta and started assisting his brother
at the same temple. In 1856, after the death of
Ramkumar, Ramakrishna took his place as the
chief-priest of the Kali temple. It is believed that the
name Ramakrishna was given to Gadadhar by the
son-in-law of Rani Rasmoni.
After being given more responsibilities, Ramkrishna
began to spend much time in the “Thakur-Ghar”
(home of the Deity). He considered Goddess Kali
as the mother of all. He wanted to see the glimpse
of the God. At times, he would go into the jungle
and spend the entire night worshipping Goddess
Kali. The activities of Ramakrishna were viewed by
many as gimmick. Many believed that Ramakrishna
had lost his sensibilities. With an effort to bring
Ramakrishna back into the normal life, her mother
began to search for a bride. In 1959, Ramakrishna
was married to five year old Sarada.
Sri Ramakrishna was the most ‘rational mystic’.
With scientific precision he put forward in most
simple terms, as parables and stories, the eternal
truth regarding God and God realization. He talked
about God only after directly experiencing the
reality of God. To get rid of the thought that he
belonged to a higher brahmanical caste, he began
to eat food cooked by the shudras or lower-caste.
Advaita Vedanta
A wandering monk, known as Totapuri, initiated
Ramakrishna in the Advaita Vedanta. The initiation
took place in the city of Dakshineswar. It is said
that after being initiated by Totapuri, Rama Krishna
remained in a state of absolute meditation, for a
period of approximately six months.
Sarada Devi
“Ramakrishna believed
that every individual must
have only one aim in life
i.e., the realization of the
Ultimate Reality.”
At the age of eighteen, Sarada, the bride of
the Ramakrishna, was sent to Dakshineshwar
to join her husband. It was believed that the
Ramakrishna regarded Sarada as the holy mother.
Sarada Devi is considered as the first
disciple of Ramakrishna. Even after
Ramakrishna’s death in 1886,
Sarada Devi led the movement
and worked hard to make it
a success.
Vivekananda
Ramakrishna met
Vivekananda for the
first time in November
1881 when Vivekananda
visited Dakshineswar
to know if the God
really exists. In his reply
Ramakrishna said, “Yes, I
see God, just as I see you
here, only in a much intense sense.
God can be realized.”
At first Vivekananda did not believe Ramakrishna.
He felt, how such a simple man could see the
God. But, gradually he started developing faith in
Ramkrishna. Few days later, Vivekananda realized
that Ramakrishna’s words were honest and uttered
from a deep experience. Vivekananda started
visiting Dakshineswar frequently and a
relationship of “Master and disciple” developed
between the two.
Final Days
In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from throat cancer.
In order to consult the best physicians of Calcutta,
Ramakrishna was shifted to Shyampukur by his
disciples. But with the time, his health started
deteriorating and he was taken to a large house
at Cossipore. His condition worsened and on 16
August, 1886, he expired at the Cossipore garden
house. After the passing away of Ramakrishna,
Sarada became a religious leader in her own right.
With time, Ramakrishna came to be known as
Ramakrishna Paramahansa. The monastic disciples
formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at
Baranagar, headed by Vivekananda. This was the
initial stage of Ramakrishna Mission.
Ramakrishna Mission
Swami Vivekananda, the foremost disciple of
Ramakrishna Paramahansa, founded the Rama
Krishna Mission to promote the teachings of his
Guru. Headquartered at the Ramakrishna Ashram
of Belur, the mission aims at helping
people in attaining salvation.
Source: www.culturalindia.net,
www.iloveindia.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 61

IN SEARCH OF DYNAMISM
Winning the European Confidence Game
Chicago: If any solution to the European crisis
proposed over the next few days is to restore
confidence to the sovereign-bond markets, it will
have to be both economically viable and politically
palatable to rescuers and rescued alike. This means
paying attention not just to the plan’s technical
details, but also to appearances.
There is growing consensus about any solution’s
key elements. First, Italy and Spain will have to
come up with credible medium-term plans that will
not just restore their fiscal health, but also improve
their ability to grow their way out of trouble. While
any plan will involve pain for citizens, the markets
must deem the pain politically tolerable, at least
relative to the alternatives.
It is important that these plans be seen as
domestically devised (though voters will have
no illusions about the external and market
pressures that have forced their governments to
act). At the same time, an external agency such
as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could
render the plan more credible by evaluating it
for consistency with the country’s goals and
monitoring its implementation.
Second, some vehicle—the IMF or the European
Financial Stability Facility, with either entity funded
directly by countries or the European Central
Bank—has to stand ready to fund borrowing by
Italy, Spain, and any other potentially distressed
countries over the next year or two. But there is an
important caveat, which has largely been ignored
in public discussions: if this funding is senior to
private debt (as IMF funding typically is), it will
be harder for these countries to regain access to
markets. After all, the more a country borrows in
62 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
the short term from official sources, the further
back in line it pushes private creditors. That makes
private lenders susceptible to larger haircuts if
the country eventually defaults—and thus more
hesitant to lend in the first place.
In other words, private markets need to be
convinced both that there is a low probability of
default (hence the importance of credible plans),
and that there is some additional loss-bearing
capacity in the new funding, so that, if there is a
default, outstanding or rolled-over private debt
does not have to bear the full brunt.
This may seem unfair. Why should the taxpayer
accept a loss when they are bailing out the private
sector by providing new funding? In an ideal world,
distressed countries would default as soon as
private markets stopped funding them, and they
would impose the losses on private bondholders.
In the real world, however, if Italy and Spain are
viewed as being solvent, or too big to fail, official
funding should be structured so that it gives these
countries their best chance to regain market
confidence.
This does not mean that official funding should
be junior to private debt in any restructuring, for
that would require substantially more loss-bearing
capacity from the official sector—capacity that is
probably not available. Indeed, if official funding
were junior, it would be providing a larger cushion
to private creditors—and thus bailing them out to
an even greater extent.
The simplest solution is to treat official funding
no differently from private debt—best achieved if
official lenders buy sovereign bonds as they are

issued (possibly at a predetermined yield) and
agree to be treated on par with private creditors
in a restructuring. As the country regains market
confidence, the official funding can be reduced,
and eventually the bonds can be sold back to the
markets.
The bottom line is that official funding must be
accompanied by loss-bearing capacity. If the
funding is channeled through the IMF, and is to
be treated on par with private debt, the Fund will
need a guarantee from the EFSF or strong eurozone
countries that it will be indemnified in any
restructuring. Of course, the IMF’s member states
might be willing to accept some burden sharing if
a sufficient buffer provided by the eurozone were
eroded, but that cannot be taken for granted.
Once the first two elements of the plan are in place,
there should be little need for the third—bond
purchases by the ECB in the secondary market in
order to narrow interest-rate spreads and provide
further confidence. Indeed, if the ECB intends to
claim preferred-creditor status for any bonds that
it buys, it is probably best that it buy very few. Of
course, the ECB will have to continue to provide
support to banks until confidence about their
holdings returns.
But there is one more element that is needed to
assure markets that the solution is politically
viable. Citizens across Europe, whether in rescued
countries or rescuing countries, will be paying
for years to clean up a mess for which they
were not responsible. Not all banks voluntarily
loaded up on distressed government bonds—
some were pressured by supervisors, others by
governments—but many have made unwise bets. If
they are seen as profiting unduly from the rescue,
even as they return to their bad old ways of paying
for non-performance, they will undermine political
support for the rescue—and perhaps even for
capitalism.
So a final element of the package ought to be a
monitored pledge by eurozone banks that they
will not unload bonds as the official sector steps
in; that they will raise capital over time instead
of continuing to deleverage (if this hurts bank
equity holders, they should think of this as burden
sharing); and that they will be circumspect about
banker bonuses until economies start growing
strongly again. Cries that this is not capitalism
should be met with a firm retort: “Nor are bailouts!”
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.project-syndicate.org
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 63

Sarojini Naidu
64 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
One needs a Seer’s Vision and an Angel’s
voice to be of any avail. I do not know of
any Indian man or woman today who has
those gifts in their most complete measure.
-Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu was a distinguished poet, renowned
freedom fighter and one of the great orators of her
time. She was famously known as Bharatiya Kokila
(The Nightingale of India). Sarojini Naidu was the
first Indian woman to become the President of the
Indian National Congress.
Early Life
Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879. Her
father Aghoranath Chattopadhyaya was a scientist
and philosopher. He was the founder of the Nizam
College, Hyderabad. Sarojini Naidu’s mother
Barada Sundari Devi was a poetess and used to
write poetry in Bengali. Sarojini Naidu was the
eldest among the eight siblings.
Her father was the first member of the India
National Congress in Hyderabad. He was removed
from his position as a penalty for his active
participation in Indian Independence movement.
Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Sarojini’s brother,
was a political activist who played a key role
in establishing the Berlin Committee and was
influenced by Communism. He was allegedly killed
by the Russian troops in 1937. Sarojini’s second
brother Harindranath Chattopadhyaya was a noted
poet and playwright.

The Poetess
Sarojini Naidu was a brilliant student. She was
proficient in Urdu, Telugu, English, Bengali, and
Persian. At the age of twelve, Sarojini Naidu
attained national fame when she topped the
matriculation examination at Madras University.
Her father wanted her to become a mathematician
or scientist but Sarojini Naidu was interested in
poetry. She started writing poems in English.
Impressed by her poetry, Nizam of Hyderabad
gave her scholarship to study abroad. At the age
of 16, she travelled to England to study first at
King’s College London and later at Girton College,
Cambridge. There she met famous laureates of her
time such as Arthur Simon and Edmond Gausse.
It was Gausse who convinced Sarojini to stick to
Indian themes, India’s great mountains, rivers,
temples, social milieu to express her poetry. She
depicted contemporary Indian life and events. Her
collections “The golden threshold (1905)”, “The
bird of time (1912)”, and “The broken wing (1912)”
attracted huge Indian and English readership. In
1961, she published a collection of poems entitled
‘The Feather of the Dawn’.
The Poetess
In 1916, she authored and published a biography of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah entitled as The Ambassador
of Hindu-Muslim Unity. Other acclaimed poems
that came following are The Wizard Mask and A
Treasury of Poems. Other selected works written
by her include The Magic Tree and The Gift of
India. She was given the name Bharat Kokila on
account of the beautiful and rhythmic words of her
poems that could be sung as well.
Marriage
At the age of 15, she met Dr. Govindarajulu Naidu
and fell in love with him, a non-brahmin, and a
doctor by profession. After finishing her studies
at the age of 19, she married him during the time
when inter-caste marriages were not allowed. It
was a revolutionary step but Sarojini’s father fully
supported her in her endeavour. Sarojini Naidu
had a happy married life and had four children:
Jayasurya, Padmaj, Randheer, and Leilamani. Her
daughter Padmaja followed in to her footprints and
became the Governor of West Bengal.
The Indian National Movement
Sarojini Naidu joined the Indian National Movement
in the wake of partition of Bengal in 1905. She
came into contact with Gopal Krishna Gokhale,
Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
Annie Besant, C.P. Rama Swami Iyer, Gandhiji
and Jawaharlal Nehru. She awakened the women
of India. She brought them out of the kitchen.
She travelled from state to state, city after city
and asked for the rights of the women. She reestablished
self-esteem within the women of India.
The Social Worker
During 1915-1918, she travelled across the India
lecturing on social welfare, women empowerment,
emancipation and nationalism. Inspired by
Jawaharlal Nehru, she embarked on providing help
and support for the indigo workers in Champaran
who were being subjected to violence and
oppression.
“At the age of twelve,
Sarojini Naidu attained
national fame when she
topped the matriculation
examination at Madras
University.”
Mahatma Gandhi
With the introduction of the Rowlett Act in 1919,
Sarojini joined the Non-Cooperation Movement
organized and led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the same
year, she was appointed the Home Rule League’s
Ambassador to England. In 1924, she became a
delegate to the East African Indian Congress. In
1925, Naidu was appointed the President of the
National Congress thus making her the first Indian
women to hold the post.
In 1925, Sarojini Naidu presided over the annual
session of Indian National Congress at Kanpur.
Sarojini Naidu played a leading role during the Civil
Disobedience Movement and was jailed along with
Gandhiji and other leaders. In 1942, Sarojini Naidu
was arrested during the “Quit India” movement
and was jailed for 21 months with Gandhiji. She
shared a very warm relationship with Gandhiji.
An active participant of the Indian Independence
movement, Naidu joined the national movement
taking Gandhi’s call and joined him in the popular
Salt March to Dandi.
Final Days
In her last years, Sarojini actively participated
in the freedom movement and was a part of
the Round Table summit held in 1931. With the
independence of India in 1947, Sarojini Naidu was
made the Governor of the Uttar Pradesh in the
wake of her contribution to the movement. She was
the first woman to become the Governor of a state.
She died of a heart attack while working in her
office on 2 March 1949.
Source: www.thefamouspeople.com,
www.iloveindia.com, www.mapsofindia.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 65

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born on February 2,
1889 in Lucknow to a princely family of Kapurthala,
a part of undivided India. She was the first Indian
woman to hold the position of Cabinet Minister.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the freedom fighter was
an eminent Gandhian and a great social reformer.
Amrit Kaur gave away all the worldly pleasures
and focused her attention on serving the society.
Throughout the freedom struggle of India, she
worked in close association with other freedom
fighters. After independence, she became the
Health Minister of India. She was actively involved
in activities undertaken for the welfare of society.
Early life
Amrit Kaur came from a royal family background.
She was the only daughter of her parents, Raja
Harnam Singh and Rani Harnam Singh. She had
seven brothers. She did her schooling from
England at the school at Sherborne, Dorsetshire
and graduated from Oxford University. She was a
very good tennis player. She even won a number
of prizes for her excellent performances. Coming
from such a noble family, she could have led a very
luxurious life. But, when she came to India, she
left all her comforts and got involved in the social
welfare activities. She was instrumental in India’s
Independence Movement and played a vital role as
a social reformer.
Mahatma Gandhi
Raja Harnam Singh was a very pious and pure
hearted person, who was frequently visited by
66 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Mahatma Gandhi witth Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
prominent leaders of the Indian National Congress
party like Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Amrit Kaur
started developing interest in the freedom struggle
and also became more aware about the activities
that were being undertaken by the freedom
fighters. She was highly inspired by Mahatma
Gandhi.
The ruthless killings that took place in the
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 motivated her to
join the freedom struggle. Eventually, she worked
together with Mahatma Gandhi. She went far away
from materialistic life and began leading the life of
an ascetic. She came to live in Mahatma Gandhi’s
Ashram in the year 1934. She also raised her voice
against inhuman acts like ill treatment of Harijans.
“Amrit Kaur gave away
all the worldly pleasures
and focused her attention
on serving the society.”
As a Gandhian
She became an active member of Indian National
Congress. She was involved in almost all the
activities and movements that were launched by
Gandhiji for the wellbeing of people. She became
one of the most dedicated disciples of Mahatma
Gandhi. She sincerely followed the teachings and

principles of Bapu. She was a true Gandhian. During
the Dandi March, she was along with Gandhiji. It is
during this movement that, she was imprisoned by
the British Raj authorities.
Salt Satyagraha
Her active participation in Salt Satyagraha landed
her in Bombay jail. In 1937, to advocate the cause
of the Congress she went to Bannu in Northwest
Frontier Province, and again she was arrested on
the charges of sedition.
In public life her interest lay as much in social
welfare as in politics. During 1931-33 she was the
president of the women’s association. She testified
before the Lothian Committee of Parliament (1932)
on Indian franchise and constitutional reforms.
The year 1938 saw her as the president of All
India Women’s Conference. She was also the first
woman member of Hindustani Talimi Sangh. In
1945 (London) and 1946 (Paris), she participated in
the UNESCO’s conferences as a member of Indian
delegation.
Post-Independence
After the Independence of India, Rajkumari Amrit
Kaur joined the Jawaharlal Nehru’s first Cabinet.
She was the first woman to hold a cabinet position.
She was made the incharge of Ministry of Health.
She was the only Christian in the cabinet of India.
In the year 1950, she was elected for the post of
President of the World Health Assembly.
She played a pivotal role in the task of
conceptualizing and laying the foundation for the
establishment of the All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. For this, she secured
aid from different countries like New Zealand, West
Germany etc. She also provided assistance to a
rehabilitation centre. She and her brother even
donated their ancestral property that was made the
holiday home for the staff of the institute.
Rajkumari was even more active in social work
than in politics. She spent most of her time for the
uplift of women and the eradication of social evils.
She was a strong champion of female education
and was equally concerned with the upliftment of
Harijans.
She served as the Chairperson of the Indian Red
Cross society for a long period of fourteen years.
She made an immense contribution towards the
development of the tribal groups of India.
Final Days
She held the position of health minister till
1957. Thereafter, she took retirement from the
ministerial activities, but still remained a part of
the Rajya Sabha. Till she was alive, she held the
presidency position of AIIMS and the Tuberculosis
Association. She also served as the chairperson
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur with Lord
Mountbatten and C Rajgopalacharya
of St. John’s Ambulance Corps. This great soul
departed for heaven on the 2nd October in the
year 1964. For her contribution to the upliftment of
women and eradication of social evils, she will be
an ideal for generations to come.
Source: www.iloveindia.com, www.rrtd.nic.in,
www.amaltas.org, www.maxabout.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 67

Guru Ravidas Jayanti
tohee mohee mohee tohee antar kaisaa.
You are me, and I am You—what is the difference
between us?
kanak katik jal tarang jaisaa.
We are like gold and the bracelet, or water and the
waves.
ja-o pai ham na paap karantaa ahay anantaa.
If I did not commit any sins, O Infinite Lord,
patit paavan naam kaisay huntaa. rahaa-o.
how would You have acquired the name,
‘Redeemer of sinners’?
tumh jo naa-ik aachhahu antarjaamee.
You are my Master, the Inner-knower,
Searcher of hearts.
parabh tay jan jaaneejai jan tay su-aamee.
The servant is known by his God, and the Lord and
Master is known by His servant.
sareer aaraa Dhai mo ka-o beechaar dayhoo.
Grant me the wisdom to worship and adore You
with my body.
The birthday of Guru Ravidas on February 16
is celebrated by the name of Shri Guru Ravidas
Jayanti every year. It is the annual focal point for
Ravidasis. On the day there is an Akhand Path
read, the Nishan Sahib is changed ceremonially,
and there is a special Aarti and a Nagar Kirtan
procession bearing his portrait taken out to the
accompaniment of music through the streets of the
temple locality.
Early Life
Sri Guru Ravidasji was born in the 14th century,
1377 at Kanshi (Vanaras), Uttar Pradesh in India,
in a humble family of Baba Santokh Dassji being
as father and Mata Kalsa Deviji as mother. Since
early childhood, Guru Ravidasji was very much
inclined toward spirituality. Guruji used to attend
holy discourses and showed great respect and
devotion to holy men. This worried guruji’s
parents and they tried to divert his attention by
engaging him in their family profession of shoe
68 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
making and repairing.
Guruji learned the profession, yet his love and
devotion for God continued undiminished. With
a view to make him more interested in worldly
affairs, his father got him married to Mata Lona
Deviji at an early age. But even then it didn’t
change his attitude or his behaviour. Now
thoroughly disgusted, his father separated him
from the family and asked them to manage their
own affairs without taking him to partake of the
legitimate share of the family property. He was
made to stay in the backyard of his house. Guru
Ravidasji had a son named Vijaydass.
The Cruel Social System
At the time of Guru Ravidasji the social system
was very cruel and the low caste people were not
allowed to go the temples for prayer, to schools for
study, to enter into villages in daylight and were
forced to live in huts far away rather than in houses
in village. Since childhood Guruji had a spiritual
mind, spiritual thinking and complete devotion
to search the real God from the cruel world, who
gave him only obstacles to achieve his goals of
spreading the Gods message of being everybody
equal in all respects, irrespective of caste, color or
a belief in any form of God and to spread a message
that ‘God created man and not man created God’.
Guru Ravidasji gave teachings on the lessons of
universal brotherhood and tolerance. Influenced by
Guru Ravidasji’s teachings, the Maharaja and the
Rani of Chittor became disciples of Guru Ravidasji.
The famous saint poetess, Mirabai, also became a
disciple of Guru Ravidasji.
The Guru
In spite of his low caste, Guru Ravidas rose to a
position of great honour through a life of simplicity
and piety. He never felt ashamed of his pedigree
and faced fearlessly the pandits, who were proud
of their high caste. He told them the spiritual
greatness is achieved through a loving devotion
to the Lord.
He was such a faithful Guru that once he gave a
farthing (Damri) to some sadhus, who were going

to Haridwar, requesting them to offer it to Ganga
Mai on his behalf. They say that when the sadhu
presented the damri sent by Guru Ravidas, Ganga
stretched out her hands to receive it. He was
“Guruji used to go to attend
holy discourses and showed
great respect and devotion
to holy men.”
greatly respected during his life time to the extent
that even veteran pandits of Kanshi bowed before
him. Tradition has it that Queen Jhalan of Mewar
became a follower of Guru Ravidas. But despite
close contacts with an affluent section of the
society, he chose to live austerely.
They say that someone once offered him a paras
(the stone that turns a metal into Gold) and
assured him he could get any amount of wealth by
making use of it. Guru Ravidasji asked him to place
it in a corner. When he came to Guru Ravidas again
after some months, he found the saint still lurking
in poverty. He asked the Guru why he had not
utilized the paras. Guru Ravidas remarked that for
him, “God’s Name alone was the paras, that was the
“kamdhenu” and “chintamani”.
Contribution to Sikhism
Guru Ravidass Ji fulfilled Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s
request by donating old manuscripts, which
contained a collection of Guru Ravidass Ji’s verses
and poems. The earliest collections of these poems
are available in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It was
compiled by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, the fifth Guru of the
Sikhs. There are 41 verses of Guru Ravidass Ji in
the Sikh Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib.
It is said that Guru Ravidass Ji disappeared from
the world, leaving behind only his footprints. Some
believe that Guru Ravidass Ji lived in banaras
during his last days, dying a natural death at the
age of 126 years.
Inspite of his low caste, Guru Ravidass rose to a
position of great honour through a life of simplicity
and piety. He never felt ashamed of his pedigree
and faced fearlessly the pandits, who were proud
of their high caste. He told them the spiritual
greatness is achieved through a loving devotion to
the Lord. He boldly proclaims,
He was such a faithful Guru that once he gave a
farthing (Damri) to some sadhus, who were going
to Hardwar, requesting them to offer it to Ganga
Mai on his behalf. They say that when the sadhu
presented the damri sent by Guru Ravidass, Ganga
stretched out her hands to receive it. He was
greatly respected during his life time to the extent
that even veteran pandits of Kanshi bowed before
him. Tradition has it that Queen Jhalan of Mewar
became a follower of Guru Ravidass. But despite
close contacts with an affluent section of the
society, he chose to live austerely.
They say that someone once offered him a paras
(the philosopher’s stone that turns cheaper
metal into Gold) and assured him he could get
any amount of wealth by making use of it. Guru
Ravidass Ji asked him to place it in a corner. When
he came to Guru Ravidass again after some months,
he found the saint still lurking in poverty. He asked
the Guru why he had not utilized the paras. Guru
Ravidass remarked that for him, “God’s Name
alone was the paras, that was the “kamdhen” and
“chintamani”.
Final Days
Guru Ravidasji disappeared from the earth,
leaving behind only his footprints in 1527. Some
believe that Guru Ravidass Ji lived in banaras
during his last days, dying a natural death at the
age of 126 years.
Source: www.4to40.com, www.guruRavidassabha.
com, www.gururavidasssabha.org
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 69

Eternal Message
for the Modern Age
This modern age is the age of science and reason; it
is the age of people-power and democracy. Exactly
when this modern age began is a subject for
academic controversy. In my opinion, however, the
emergence of this age is connected with three great
historical events: (1) the American Declaration
of Independence on July 4, 1776; (2) the French
Revolution Revolution that started on on July 14, 1789; and (3) the
Industrial Industrial Revolution Revolution which which began began in Europe Europe with with a
series of scientific and and technological inventions in in
the the 18th 18th century century AD.
Prior to these events events monarchic and religious
tyranny ruthlessly ruthlessly suppressed fundamental
human rights rights such as freedom of speech and
thought, and the right of the common common people to
govern themselves. The American Declaration of
Independence Independence “for the first time time authoritatively
proclaimed democracy democracy as the only legitimate
foundation of civil society.” It gave people people the right
to govern themselves through common consent.
It inspired the people of France to start their
great revolution, paving the way for democracy,
nationalism and socialism in the world.
The Industrial Revolution granted courage and
credibility to science. Before this revolution, in
medieval times, the scientists of Europe were all
potential victims of the Inquisition. They had to
work in constant fear. Any scientific theory thought
to contradict an established theological doctrine or
dogma was considered a challenge to the church,
and labeled as heresy. In the medieval period the
church had gained immense power through royal
patronage and the acquisition of great wealth.
The church was intolerant of any kind of perceived
opposition, and was in a position to inflict severe
punishment, including killing so-called heretics
or opponents of the church. It is well-known that
Galileo was pronounced a heretic by the church
for his belief in the heliocentric theory. He was
sentenced to recite the seven penitential psalms
once a week for three years. The Industrial
Revolution, which started in England and gradually
spread to the rest of the Western world, brought
fast economic development and improvement in
the living standards of people in the industrial
West.
70 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
As a result, science which was once opposed and
condemned by the church, gained acceptance
among people. This acceptance ushered in the
dawn of the modern age into the world. Since
that time the wonderful inventions of science and
advances in technology have gradually elevated the
status of science to a level of respectability once
enjoyed only by religion. Scientific truths started
being treated like gospel truths, and scientists
began being adored like prophets. The sudden
rise of science and technology to a position of
honour and distinction forced the church to take a
back seat. Science encouraged people to question
and reason out things. It taught its votaries to
examine the validity of everything by reason and
scientific investigation. As a result, people started
questioning various theological concepts and
doctrines. Many of them were considered invalid
since they were unable to stand the test of reason.
The biblical idea that the world was created only
a few thousand years ago could no longer be
thought valid in the light of the modern discoveries
of science. Agnosticism and skepticism stemming
from science posed a formidable challenge for the
church. Under the circumstances, the church had
to take a defensive position. When vested interest
is threatened by a tough challenge, it makes
desperate attempts to protect itself. In medieval
times whenever the church felt that its authority
was threatened, it tried to draw strength from the
patronage of kings and monarchs. In the modern
age of democracy, deprived of the support of
powerful kings and monarchs, the church
struggled to regain its lost power. It had already
lost much of its hold on the masses. In a
democratic system, popular support is the
chief means of capturing power.
Therefore, the church tried to regain its lost power
and followed by addressing popular political
issues. It started getting involved in politics again.
This, however, was a dangerous trend, because
the church’s involvement in European politics in
medieval times had brought about its degradation.
Judging by social conditions, the world today
is undoubtedly a much better world to live in.
The masses today enjoy many more individual

ights and freedoms than ever before. Perfect
democracy is yet to come. Yet, in today’s working
democracies, people can openly criticise their
governments without fear of violent reprisal. They
enjoy the right to practice their own religions
without undue interference. They have equal
access to education and the other amenities
provided by their democratic governments. Such
opportunities were unthinkable when monarchs
and aristocrats ruled the world.
“To him “Religion is not
in doctrines, in dogmas,
nor in intellectual
argumentation; it is
being and becoming, it
is realisation.””
Nevertheless, despite all the blessings of science,
the world has still not become Utopia. Science
has created material comforts, but failed to
create peace. It has acquired knowledge, but not
wisdom. It has improved the quality of life, but
not the quality of the mind. Once four people were
walking in a forest. One had excellent knowledge
of the anatomy of animals. By examining even
a small bone fragment he could tell from what
kind of animal it had come. Another knew how to
reconstruct the body of the animal from a single
bone. The third knew how to bring a dead animal
back to life. The fourth person however, had no
such knowledge but he had wisdom.
After walking for a while they came across a bone
lying in the forest. The first person examined
it carefully and determined that was the bone
of a Royal Bengal tiger. The second person
reconstructed the body of the tiger from the bone.
The third person was about to instill life into the
tiger’s body when the fourth one shouted, “Stop!
Don’t do it. The tiger may kill us!” But none of the
three would heed the warning. The fourth person,
to save his life, immediately climbed up to a high
branch of a tall tree. When the tiger came back to
life it killed all three people who knew how to re-
create a terrible tiger, but lacked the wisdom to
save themselves from it.
In this story, the three with much knowledge but no
wisdom represent modern science and technology.
The fourth person, who had life-saving wisdom,
represents spirituality. Such wisdom comes
only from genuine spiritual experience. Swami
Vivekananda was neither a scientist nor a political
leader. He was mainly a great saint and social
reformer. What has he contributed to our modern
world? His main contribution to this world is that
much needed spiritual wisdom, which science and
technology have failed to provide.
To understand Swami Vivekananda’s contribution
we have to be aware of certain aspects of the
religious sentiments of people. According to
psychology, the inferiority complexes of people
urge them to become superior to others. In the real
world such superiority cannot be easily achieved.
However, belonging to a religious group may
sometimes give them the opportunity to satisfy
that urge. Embracing a religion is like becoming
a member of an exclusive club. It gives a sense of
belonging. In this world of conflicting self-interests
an individual often experiences an inadequacy
of strength. He feels insecure and inferior. When
he belongs to a group, he acquires a sense of
enhanced strength and security. He develops a
blind loyalty to the club with which he is identified.
He likes to glorify his club.
Through such glorification he indirectly glorifies
himself and gets rid of his sense of inferiority. He
feels superior. This sense of false superiority is no
other than self-deception. He claims his religion
to be the best. He thinks that his is the only true
religion, others are false! This kind of thinking
begets fanaticism, intolerance and hatred. This
attitude of mind has caused a lot of bloodshed in
the world in the name of religion. Some people
use religion as a psychological crutch. Their false
hopes, unexamined faith, and wistful imagination
create this crutch. Misplaced hope causes
disillusionment; unexamined faith is superstition;
and false imagination is merely fantasy. Leaning
on this crutch cripples their minds and makes
them weak.
Swami Vivekananda’s concept of religion is very
different from all of these. To him religion was
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 71

not simply believing or having faith in some
religious precepts or doctrines. To him “Religion
is not in doctrines, in dogmas, nor in intellectual
argumentation; it is being and becoming, it is
realisation.” In other words, a person’s religion
is what he actually is. It is not just believing in
religious doctrines and dogmas. If he is angry,
violent, hateful and selfish, his religion is anger,
violence, hatred and selfishness. On the other
hand, if he is loving, compassionate, non-violent
and unselfish, his religion is love, compassion, nonviolence
and unselfishness.
There are some religions that put too much
emphasis on faith and allow no scope for reason.
It is hard for these religions to face the challenge
of science. Swami Vivekananda admitted that by
reasoning alone one cannot realise God. Yet, he
talked about the importance of reasoning, the
special faculty given only to human beings. The
Swami did not encourage blind faith in religion. He
said, “... it is better that mankind should become
atheist by following reason than blindly believe
in two hundred million gods on the authority of
anybody.” He also said, “I am sure God will pardon
a man who will use his reason and cannot believe,
rather than a man who believes blindly...”
He addressed the challenge of today’s agnosticism
in the modern age by declaring that God can be
realised. At one time, he himself was an agnostic.
But his agnosticism was dispelled forever when he
experienced God through intense spiritual practice.
He wanted everyone to have this God experience.
In his words: “If there is a God, we must see Him; if
there is a soul, we must perceive it; otherwise it is
better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken
atheist than a hypocrite.” He also said, “Religion is
not a thing of imagination but of direct perception.”
But direct perception or realisation of God does
not come without labour and sweat. To put it in
his words: “There is a vast difference between
saying ‘food, food’ and eating it, between saying
‘water, water’ and drinking it. So by merely
repeating the words ‘God, God’ we cannot hope to
attain realisation. We must strive and practice.”
He repeatedly said that religion was realisation.
But what kind of realisation? He said, “Religion
is the realisation of Spirit as Spirit.” He also said,
“Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity
already in man.”
According to the Swami, the goal of religion is to
manifest this inherent divinity. To put it beautifully
in his words: “Each soul is potentially divine.
The goal is to manifest this Divinity within, by
controlling nature, external and internal. Do this
72 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or
philosophy—by one, or more, or all of these—and
be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or
dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms,
are but secondary details.” The Swami did not
condone weakness. He was against using religion
as a crutch. He said, “This is the great fact: strength
is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life
eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and
misery, weakness is death.”
“As religion is still a
vital part of every culture,
religious tolerance has
become all the more
necessary for the world.”
He continued by saying, “Strength is the one thing
needful. Strength is the medicine for the world’s
disease. Strength is the medicine which the poor
must have when tyrannised over by the rich.
Strength is the medicine which the ignorant must
have when oppressed by the learned. And it is the
medicine that sinners must have when tyrannised by
other sinners.” The Swami gave a new interpretation
of sin. He said, “The greatest sin is to think yourself
weak.” Again he said, “If there is any sin in the world,
it is weakness.” He was against calling man a sinner.
He looked upon mankind as the “children of God”
inherently “holy, pure and perfect.”
He encouraged people to have faith in themselves.
In his opinion, a person who lacks faith in himself
cannot be a believer. He is no better than an
atheist. The Swami said, “He is an atheist who does
not believe in himself. The old religions said that
he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The
new religion says that he is an atheist who does not
believe in himself.”
Many turn to religion to escape the harsh realities
of life. The Swami wanted to replace this escapism
by realism. The world has to be seen from a
realistic viewpoint. Escapism is no other than
defeatism. It is negative. Our approach to problems
should be positive. We have to face the challenges
in our lives with courage and skill, and take full
responsibility for whatever we think or do. Before
blaming others for our failures we should learn to
blame ourselves. Neither suffering nor enjoyment
comes undeserved. Swami Vivekananda never
believed in an otherworldly religion that says
righteous people may suffer here, but will have

end-less enjoyment in the other world. He said, “If
religion cannot help me here, what’s the assurance
that it will help me there?”
According to him, religion must be able to help us
here and now. He said, “I do not believe in a God
or religion which cannot wipe the widow’s tears
or bring a piece of bread to the orphan’s mouth.”
The great Swami’s mind was saturated with the
spirit of humanism. Yet, his humanism was not
of a secular character. As taught by his teacher,
Sri Ramakrishna, he gave a new direction to
humanitarian activities and social service.
He said, “Do not stand on a high pedestal and take
five cents in your hand and say, ‘Here, my poor
man’; but be grateful that the poor man is there,
so that by making a gift to him you are able to help
yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but
it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to
exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in
the world, and become pure and perfect.”
The attitude of helping the world is undoubtedly
good, but it is better still to serve mankind, looking
upon all as the veritable manifestations of God.
About such service the Swami said, “Do it only as
a worship. The poor and the miserable are for our
salvation, so that we may serve the Lord coming
in the shape of the diseased, coming in the shape
of the lunatic, the leper and the sinner.” He added,
“The only God to worship is the human soul in the
human body.”
The Swami’s humanitarianism was based on
his experience that God is everywhere. Like a
compassionate Bodhisattwa he said, “May I be born
again and again and suffer thousands of miseries,
so that I may worship the only God that exists,
the only God I believe in—the sum total of all
souls. And above all, my God the wicked, my God
the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all
species, is the special object of my worship.”
The world has been shrinking fast because of
advances in transport and communication. In
today’s world no nation can remain in complete
isolation. All nations have become economically
interdependent. In such a situation it is necessary
to learn to respect one another. As religion is still
a vital part of every culture, religious tolerance has
become all the more necessary for the world.
Swami Vivekananda, like his teacher Sri
Ramakrishna, believed in the harmony of all
religions. “All religions are different expressions
of the same Truth,” he said. Religious bigotry and
the “holier than thou” attitude of so-called religious
people have been creating havoc in the world for a
long time. This should be counteracted by the idea
of religious harmony. Religious harmony does not
mean mere tolerance of other religions. It means
acceptance of them as so many valid means of
experiencing the same eternal Truth.
Swami Vivekananda explained morality and ethics
in a new light for the benefit of the modern world.
He first raised the question why one should at all
be moral and ethical. It is common experience that
many who do not care for morality or ethics seem
to thrive in this world and have all the fun and
enjoyment. If by telling lies and swindling people
one can make millions, why shouldn’t one lie and
cheat?
The Swami answers this question by pointing out
the basis of morality and ethics as taught by the
Vedanta philosophy. This school of philosophy
teaches the identity of all individual souls with the
Universal Soul of God. It says, “You are one with
this Universal Soul, and, as such, every soul that
exists is your soul; every body that exists, is your
body; when you hurt anyone, you hurt yourself.
When you love anyone you love yourself. Therefore,
you must not hurt anyone. You should love all.”
This is the foundation of ethics and morality
according to Vedanta. As a social reformer,
Swami Vivekananda was against the disparity of
privileges. He said, “Because you are physically or
intellectually stronger, you must not have more
privileges than I, and that you have more wealth is
no reason why you should be considered greater
than I; for, that sameness is here.”
The sameness referred to here by the Swami is no
other than the omnipresent God who encompasses
all individual souls that Divine Unity in which all
the varieties melt away and become one. The goal
of ethics, according to the Swami, is to recognise
this unity. These are some of the messages of
Swami Vivekananda for the modern age. It has been
said that you can judge the greatness of a person
by how large a shadow he casts.
Swami Vivekananda lived for only 39 years, yet
his colossal shadow extends from his time to
several hundred years in the future. A supersaint,
“an orator by divine right,” an intellectual
giant, a great social reformer, a philanthropist,
and above all a humanist par excellence this was
Swami Vivekananda! Standing in awe in his spiritual
presence I would like to conclude by slightly
modifying the words of Shakespeare, “Here indeed
was a teacher! When comes such another?”
-Swami Bhaskarananda
Source: Bhavan’s Journal, August 15, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 73

Ethics and
the Idea of God
Ethics sum up a society’s working idea of a
good life. Humans define good life not only
through positive values they commend or
command, but negatively through prohibitions of
everything they deem contrary or contradictory to
the commanded good, which they then describe
as bad or immoral life.
Concretely speaking, the contraries and
contradictories are forms of pre-determined
emotional/mental closures to, or exclusions of,
what some other ethnic groups have deemed as
good and evil. So ethnicised this emotive logic
turns more problematic when it proceeds to
inscribe or attribute such closure and exclusion
into its idea of God. Such attribution tells us how
and why every society’s concept of God differs
from that of every other society.
But this logic carries within it the clear
interpretative clue or key to the order in which
the ideology of every society evolved into its
peculiar ethnic history. The first known or
recognised in this evolution was not God, but the
idea of good and evil. But every idea of good and
evil is relative to the individual or group envisaging
it as one or the other. In seeing anything as good
or evil, every individual and group is guided by its
own experientially intuitive interest and the wise
laws or instructions of its preceding or founding
fore-parents.
Defining good and evil was every group’s
metaphorical synonym to establish and justify its
ethnicity on ethical grounds. Since every group’s
self-definition seeks to differentiate itself from
that of others, it tends to oppose itself to the selfdefinition
of others, and what they consider as
good and evil.
To glide over or cover up the relativism of its
ethical good and evil and invest it with absolute
authority, it invokes God as the maker and
promulgator of its ethical norms. Thus God ends
up with being made a metaphor to legitimise an
ethnicity and its ethics. This is how every scripture
took its shape as the theological defence and
justification of a particular ethnicity.
When a religious professional like a priest,
prophet or missionary evangelist narrates his
ethnic history, he reverses the normal order of
happenings as we commonly know, in favour of
his religious or metaphysical order of possibilities.
Since these possibilities lie beyond the boundaries
of common empirical verification, they wholly
depend on and demand unquestioning faith in the
unerring knowledge, truth and authority of the
74 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
narrator, as if he were wholly free from biases,
prejudices and vested interests.
Since everyone is subject to these infirmities, and
no scriptural narrator is free from it either, he
fabricates a theology, which reflects and justifies
the interests and biases of his class or group.
He does it by placing the initiative of the whole
story with God, as if God himself revealed it to him
directly. This is the tone in which the scriptures
have been written, so that the voice of the narrator
gets mistaken for the voice of God.
When he thus makes out his voice to be the
voice of God, he superimposes his own biases
and prejudices too on God, by confining him to
his tribe alone and fighting against the interests
of other people.
What would happen when other societies, too,
fall in line with the same logical sequence of
ethnic ethics and theology, even while differing in
what they define as good and evil, and the name
by which they invoke God in order absolutely
to legitimise their ethical norms? Different
possibilities could be envisaged.
One possibility was to accept them on equal or at
least analogous terms along parallel lines. Another
to place some in subordination to one of them,
assuming that they were essentially unequal to one
another. A third possibility was to suppress many
of them in favour of a few of the major ethnic ethics
and theologies.
But it is more realistically practical to consider
what has actually happened in the context of
the competition of the many ethnic ethics and
theologies across global space and time. It seems
very realistic to consider the missionary or
proselytising religions as the competitors within
the sphere of their ethics and theologies.
Wherever and whenever people voluntarily
converted to any of the religions, they have done
so, because they either experienced or hoped for a
respectable equalitarian identity, which had been
denied to them in their ethno-religious status quo.
When one ethico-ethnic group opposes another
by demonising its divinities and its ethics, God
and demon become convenient metaphors and
metaphysical principles with which the priestly
and ideological interest groups foster and
perpetuate religio-political enmity between rival
groups or sects.
I think that I am on sound anthropological track
when I interpret the words which the redactor
of the story of Adam and Eve puts into God’s
mouth to the serpent in Genesis 3:15, “And I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise

your head, and you shall bruise his heel” as his
theological legitimation of his people’s demonic
brutalisation of the ethics and divinities of their
ethnic neighbours.
This discussion so far reveals a correlation
between ethnic, ethic and ethnic theology. Now
take a closer look at the different phases in the
development of this correlation. The first stage
in the evolution was one in which there was
neither ethical nor ethnic consciousness nor,
consequently, any consciousness of God either.
The second phase was one in which, thanks to
some experientially wise patriarch or prophet,
some pragmatic behavioral consciousness emerged
in relation to their survival, livelihood, marriage
and kinship, giving birth to a new ethnic and
linguistic consciousness, together with a god-image
to legitimize and validate both the behavioral and
relational practices.
“Since no group, which has
tasted any power,
is ready and willing to
renounce it in favour of
others, it would find its own
theological channel to resist
the deprivation of its power.”
Those who had come to such collective behavioral
and kinship consciousness, felt superior to those
who had not, and believed themselves to be
authorised by their divinity to hunt and prey on
the others as if they were wild beasts. They did
so, because they confused their name or image for
God with God’s very objective reality. Since that
name or image empowered them over the others,
who did not yet have it, they worshipped that name
or image, often by making burnt sacrifices of the
people they had hunted and captured.
What they actually worshipped, then, was not the
divine reality, but the power that they experienced
over other groups. It was thus by metaphorical
transfer or attribution of that power that they
described God as Almighty.
Since the ethic of this group was based on its
power or dominance over others, its theology
or God-image had to be one, which unilaterally
legitimised that power-relationship. But in so far
as it was unilateral, it could not stand in the face of
universal rationality.
To that extent, it could be challenged and
overthrown. Since no group, which has tasted any
power, is ready and willing to renounce it in favour
of others, it would find its own theological channel
to resist the deprivation of its power. This is where
we move to the third phase of the correlation
between ethnic ethic and ethnic theology.
The third phase was the continuation of
hunting after even groups, which had come to
a comparable behavioral, ethnic and religious
consciousness. The apparent reason for the ‘hunt’
was that they invoked the divinity by another name
and in another language. The real reason was that
this name in the foreign language was analogous
to the name by which the ‘hunters’ invoked God.
This analogy posed the danger of challenging the
legitimacy of the incumbents’ power base.
As already wielding power, which they were
reluctant to yield to new claimants, the incumbents
resorted to a cunningly metaphorical strategy.
This was to demonise the gods of the new groups
they encountered. But the new claimants paid the
incumbents back in the same coin.
To demonise the divinity of any group was a
metaphorical gesture with many meanings. For
one thing, it reduced the demonised divinity to a
position which was secondary and subordinate
to the other divinity, which was presumed to be
always first.
For another, it projected everything it considered
evil on to the out-group and its malicious divinity,
while attributing everything good, pure and holy
to the in-group and its cult-object. Thirdly, such
exclusive ethical dualism between good and evil
legitimised not only the demonization, but the
inter-ethnic onslaught.
It made victory in the onslaught the decisive
metaphorical test-proof of the superior power of
one ethnic god over the God of another ethnic
group. The victory-criterion was based on the
logical assumption that might was right. But
when viewed in terms of universal logic and
rationality, such gods must be judged to have
been quite unethical, or else that ethnic ethics
were immaterial to such divinities. If such break
between ethics and theology were to be avoided
and universal rationality ensured, ethics and
theology had to move beyond particular ethnicity
to embrace all peoples.
J. Ignatius
Source: Bhavan’s Journal November 30, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 75

AWAKENING INDIA
Burmese Days
New Delhi: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
recent visit to Myanmar (Burma), noted largely for
a memorable photo opportunity with a wan but
smiling Aung San Suu Kyi, signaled a significant
change in the geopolitics surrounding a land that
has faced decades of isolation, sanctions, and
widespread condemnation for its human-rights
violations.
Twenty-one years ago, after Suu Kyi’s National
League for Democracy (NLD) swept a general
election, the results were annulled, the party’s
leaders and workers were incarcerated or exiled,
and two decades of ruthless—and remarkably
opaque—military rule followed. This year has
witnessed political opening, the release of several
prominent political prisoners, and evidence of selfassertion
by the nominally civilian government
(headed by a former general, Thien Sein). Suu
Kyi’s announcement of her intention to contest a
by-election to the new parliament offers a glimmer
of hope that democrats could use the fledgling
political process to create something resembling
genuine representative government.
Burma’s military rulers are cynically hoping to
use Suu Kyi’s participation in the parliamentary
process to bolster the illusion of freedom while
continuing to exercise real control. But such
exercises in “managed democratization”—in
places as different as Iran, Indonesia, and the
Soviet Union—have often surprised their would-be
manipulators. It is clearly in the interests of
both India and the United States to seize this
opportunity. While China has always been much
more comfortable dealing with a military regime,
India’s embrace of the junta has been more
reluctant, based on reasons of geography rather
than shared ideals.
76 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
When the generals in Yangon (Rangoon)
suppressed a popular uprising in 1988, overturned
the NLD’s overwhelming electoral victory, shot
students, and arrested the new democratically
elected leaders, India’s government initially reacted
as most Indians would have wanted. For many
years, India was unambiguously on the side of
democracy, freedom, and human rights in Burma—
not only rhetorically, like the regime’s Western
critics, but also in more tangible ways. It offered
asylum to fleeing students, allowed them to operate
their resistance movement within India (with some
financial help), and supported a pro-democratic
newspaper and a radio station.
Then reality intruded. India’s strategic rivals,
China and Pakistan, began to cultivate the Burmese
generals. Major economic and geopolitical
concessions were offered to both suitors. The
Chinese even began developing a port on the
Burmese coast, far closer to Calcutta than to
Canton. And the junta’s generals began providing
safe havens and arms to a motley assortment
of anti-India rebels that would wreak havoc in
the country’s Northeastern states and retreat to
sanctuaries in newly renamed Myanmar.
Four of India’s politically sensitive Northeastern
states have international borders with Myanmar.
But the key development was the discovery of large
natural-gas deposits in Burma, which would not be
available to an India deemed hostile to the regime.
India realized that its rivals were gaining ground
in its backyard, while it was losing out on new
economic opportunities. The price of pursuing a
moral foreign policy became too high.
So India turned 180 degrees. The increasingly
forlorn resistance operations based on Indian
territory were shut down. And India sweetened the

generals’ tea by providing both military assistance
and intelligence support in their never-ending
battles against their own rebels. India had gone
from standing up for democracy to aiding and
enabling the military regime. As I wrote at the time,
“India’s policy may be governed by the head rather
than the heart, but in the process we are losing a
little bit of our soul.”
Yet, paradoxically, Myanmar’s gradual opening
following the 2011 elections and the installation
of Thien Sein as president may offer India some
measure of vindication. As the new regime released
political prisoners, permitted freedom of movement
to the detained Suu Kyi, and even questioned
the environmental and economic impact of a
big Chinese dam project in the country’s north,
Western critics began to acknowledge that genuine
change might be on the way. Countries like India
that had maintained links with the junta and
gently prized open its clenched fist may well have
achieved more than those whose threats, bluster,
and sanctions had merely hardened the general’s
stance.
In canceling a $3.6 billion Myitsone hydro-electric
project (90% of whose electricity would have been
exported to China), the Burmese government
surprised most observers, even though Chinese
analysts were quick to express understanding of
the government’s desire not to be seen as wholly
subservient to a much more powerful neighbor. But
the signal is clear: Myanmar is not a Chinese vassal
state, and is willing to diversify its foreign relations.
It is in Burma’s interests to have more than one
suitor wooing it; offsetting one neighbor against
another is a time-honored diplomatic practice.
Though China’s engagement dwarfs India’s,
Myanmar-India bilateral trade reached almost $1.1
billion in 2010-2011, and India is now Myanmar’s
fourth-largest trading partner, after Thailand,
Singapore, and China, accounting for 70% of the
country’s agricultural exports.
Economics can always open political doors.
“That Myanmar could defy the Chinese,” wrote
Indian scholar Sreeram Chaulia, “is being seen as
a sign that political space exists for the US to
work as a facilitator of the democratization
process in Myanmar.” Clinton’s visit brought
confirmation that India has been playing a quiet
but effective role in promoting greater
engagement with the Burmese.
India cannot and should not seek to outdo
China in appeasing the military junta. Its natural
instincts lie with the Burmese democrats, Suu Kyi,
and the former students for whom it has, over the
years, shown its support. With the US signaling its
willingness to take Thein Sein’s political
openness at face value, the stage is set for the
region’s democracies, especially India, to open
Burma’s windows to the world. China will be
watching closely.
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
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 77

Declaration by the Court of Law and by the
Government of Madras
Throughout the history of mankind, spiritual giants
have appeared on rare occasions to exemplify the
Highest Truth, guiding their followers by their
conduct in every moment of their lives. Bhagavan
Ramana Maharshi was one such giant, unique in
the twentieth century. He perfectly embodied the
Ultimate Truth of Self-Realisation or complete
immersion in God. He preferred to communicate
through the power of silence, silence so deep and
profound that it settled the minds of those ardent
seekers of truth who were attracted to him from all
over the globe. Known as the Sage of Arunachala, it
is Ramana who made us understand the sanctity
and sacredness of Arunachala, more popular as
Tiruvannamalai.
Arunachala is a Sanskrit word. Aruna means red and
Achala means a hillock or mountain. Arunachala
therefore means a red hill or an effulgent mountain.
Bhagavan Ramana when he first arrived at runachala
at the age of sixteen in the year 1896, addressed the
mountain as “Father”. From the moment of his arrival
till his passing away at the age of seventy one, he
never left the mountain even for a single moment, but
drew the attention of the entire world towards
Arunachala. Probably this is unparalleled in the
entire history of human philosophy.
Science has declared Arunachala to be the oldest
geological formation on earth and the great
Arunachaleshvara Temple, which stands at the foot
of the hill, is considered the oldest and largest temple
in the world, according to Sri Ramanashram sources.
There is an interesting story in the chapter called
‘Arunachala Mahatmyam’ in the Skanda
Mahapurana which establishes the antiquity and
78 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Arunachala is not just
a hill, it is divinity itself
glory of the Arunachala Hill. Once an ego-centred
quarrel arose between Lord Brahma and Lord
Vishnu as to who was superior. Lord Shiva was
asked to mediate and settle the issue. Lord Shiva,
who usually appears in the shape of a small
Lingam, suddenly expanded and appeared in the
form of a huge column of fire—an incomparable
and incomprehensive Lingam, without a base or
top. It was decided that whoever reached the
extremity of the huge column, either the base or
the top, would be declared the winner.
Brahma took the form of a swan, his own vehicle,
and flew upwards to discover the top and Vishnu
took the form of a boar and delved downwards to
discover the base. Years passed but neither could
reach either the top or the bottom since so huge
was the column without a beginning or without an
end. As the swan was flying, unexpectedly a Ketaki
flower fell on its wing. Brahma came to know that
the Ketaki flower came from the crown of Lord
Shiva on its head. Probably it must have dislodged
itself when Lord Shiva turned His head. He further
learnt that the flower had been rolling down for
years and years.
Suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind. He resorted
to a trick. He thought of falsely testifying that he had
reached the top of the column by presenting the
Ketaki flower which had adorned Shiva’s head. He
showed the flower to prove his claim to superiority.
On the other hand, Vishnu conceded defeat and
prostrated before Brahma as his superior. Just at
that moment, a tremendous OM resounded in that
place, a thunderclap that would shatter the
universe. Lord Shiva stepped out of that huge
column and punished Brahma for his deceit with a
declaration that no temple should be built for him.
He lauded Vishnu for his honesty and humility and
blessed him with residence at several temples.

Shiva also decided not to wear Ketaki flowers
thereafter. At the request of both Brahma and
Vishnu, Shiva who was in the form of huge
effulgence, became the motionless Linga that is,
Arunachala for the benefit of humanity. That is why
Ramana always used to say that Kailasa is the
residence of Shiva, but Arunachala is none other
than Shiva himself.
In 1938 the authorities of Sri Arunachaleshwara
Temple filed a law suit against the Madras
Government regarding the ownership of Sri
Arunachala Hill which was being claimed by the
Government as the property of the Forestry
Department. The Temple authorities cited
Bhagavan as a witness. On May 8, 1938, the court
sent a Commission of Enquiry to record Sri
Bhagavan’s evidence.
Science has declared
Arunachala to be the oldest
geological formation
on earth...
For the benefit of the court, Sri Bhagavan selected
some passages from Skanda Mahapurana and some
from Shiva Mahapurana to prove that Arunachala is
itself a Lingam, the very embodiment of Lord Shiva.
In all, he selected 56 lines from Skanda Mahapurana
and 4 from Shiva Purana and copied all these lines
in a note book under the title “Sri Arunachala Linga
Pramanya Vakyani” which means ‘Sentences giving
Authoritative Proof that Sri Arunachala is a Linga’.
This notebook is even now preserved in the
Ramanashram archives. During the examination,
Bhagavan said that Shiva always remains in three
forms, namely, as Para Brahma Roopa, Linga Roopa
in the form of Arunachala and Siddha Roopa.
On the basis of this evidence, the court decided
that, since the Hill itself is a Linga, it must be
considered to be the property of the temple, but at
the same time the court recommended that the
temple authorities allow the Forestry Department
to make use of part of the Hill for forestry
purposes. The Skanda Mahapurana and Shiva
Mahapurana are two of the 18 principal Puranas
and as such they are recognised as works of great
sanctity and authority. Therefore, when deciding
an issue which concerns Hindu Law, a court
normally abides by the authoritative statements
made in these two works.
The following is the English translation of the 4
lines selected by Bhagavan from the Shiva
Mahapurana.
Shloka 21: Ishwara said “Since this Linga rose up as
a Hill of Fire (Analachala—Anala means ‘fire’ in
Sanskrit), it shall be renowned as Arunachala (the
Red Hill).
Shloka 41: Since this formless column which
reveals my Brahmatva (my nature as Brahman)
possesses the characteristics of a Linga, it shall be
my Linga”
Ramana held the circumambulation of Arunachala
Mountain, popular as ‘Giripradakshina’, in the
highest esteem. He warmly recommended it to
everyone as one of the easy steps to Self-
Realisation.
He once declared that Giripradakshina alone is
enough, in contrast to rituals, pilgrimages,
scriptural studies, fasts etc for any Sadhaka to
obtain Self-Realisation. He himself used to
circumambulate every day, barefooted, covering a
distance of about 14 kilometers in about 3 to 4
hours time.
When some foreigner had written to the Maharshi
requesting him to send a stone pebble taken from a
holy part of the Arunachala Hill, the Maharshi
observed, “He does not know that the whole hill is
holy. This hill is Shiva Himself. As we identify
ourselves with the body, so too Shiva has chosen
to identify Himself with the hill Arunachala.
Arunachala is Pure Wisdom appearing in the shape
of a hill. It is out of compassion to those who seek
Shiva that Shiva has chosen to reveal himself as a
hill visible to the eye. The seeker will obtain
guidance and solace by staying near this hill”
B.M.N. Murthy
Source: Bhavan’s Journal
November 30, 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 79

HEALTH
A Unique Quest
A novel global effort has been initiated by India
to find a cheap and effective cure for TB
In a first of its kind, through a virtual drug
discovery project, the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR), a premier research
organisation in New Delhi, is tapping scientists
from all over the world to find a drug to cure
tuberculosis (TB). The initiative, called the
Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) project
for tuberculosis, launched in 2008, has already
discovered two classes of compounds with proven
anti-TB properties. ‘‘The rapid progress has been
possible through a model of open innovation
that has brought together several scientists and
pooled knowledge existing in different parts of
the world,’’ says Zakir Thomas, director of OSDD.
Validating this advancement, the June 2011 issue
of the Nature Chemical Biology, a monthly peer
reviewed, scientific journal published by the
Nature Publishing Group, says that OSDD shows a
new research direction through the involvement of
‘‘knowledge integration and collaboration among
small sciences.”
Discovering a more effective and cheaper treatment
for TB is a global concern. Since the TB treatment
known as DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment,
Short-Course) was developed in the 1960s no major
advancement has taken place. Now, OSDD provides
a collaborative platform to scientists, doctors,
technocrats, software professionals and students
to facilitate drug discovery. ‘‘OSDD has cut down
80 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
the time and costs needed to move towards a new
TB drug by bringing scattered knowledge together,
sharing it and involving scores of interested people
around the world,’’ says Samir Brahmachari,
Director-General of CSIR and mentor of the project.
The Government has committed 1.5 billion for
the project and a similar amount is being generated
from international agencies. CSIR labs such as the
Institute of Genomic and Integrative Biology and
the Institute of Microbial Technology, academic
institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University
and industries such as Sun Microsystems are
involved in the project.
Earlier, the OSDD project had chalked out
the biology of the tuberculosis bacteria,
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), and the
information flow takes place within its cell through
interactions between its genes. Web-based
interactions between experts located in different
countries are now facilitating the understanding
of the findings. According to Anshu Bhardwaj,
convenor of the project, 800 students and
researchers have been trained online to take part
in this method of participative research. Around
120 of them have contributed in the construction
of a map of MTB leading to the identification of 17
drug targets of which 7 were validated through
existing research.
Although MTB was sequenced a decade ago, details
for only 1,000 of its nearly 4,000 genes were studied
till 2008. OSDD has managed to map the nature

OPEN Source Drug Discovery project, has already discovered
two classes of compounds with proven anti-TB properties. 800
students and researchers have been trained online to take part in
this new method of participative research.
and interactions between most of its genes by
compiling existing research on the bacteria, making
it available to the public, and involving experts.
The project also compiles knowledge about
chemicals that possess anti-tuberculosis properties
and use them to generate models to predict anti-TB
compounds. With numerous molecules to scan
and test, this model helps in vital initial screening
eliminating quickly unlikely candidates.
A repository of more than 20,000 compounds
from ChemBridge database—a global provider
of chemistry products and contract research
services for small molecule drug discovery located
in California—has already been set up and to
this have been added contributions of molecules
synthesised by institutions like St. Stephen’s
College, Delhi and Loyola College, Chennai. OSDD
has also set up an open access screening facility at
the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu,
where these molecules are being screened.
Drug discovery involves activities which are
not just innovation-driven but also processdriven.
Most of these, like pre-clinical trials and
clinical trials are carried out in partnership with
companies. Significantly, the process is such that
it does not give exclusive rights of the drug to any
single company. ‘‘Since no particular company will
hold exclusive licenses for medicines developed
through OSDD, a low cost of the medicine is
ensured,’’ says Thomas.
Archita Bhatta, an environmental
communications consultant and science journalist
Source: India Perspectives, Vol 25,
No. 7, October 2011
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 81

C.P. Brown
Father of Telugu
Renaissance
(1798-1884)
“To revive the literature of a
language was an arduous task for
one man and he be a foreigner.”
-C.P. Brown
Among the European scholars who contribute to
Telugu studies, Charles Philip Brown shines very
prominently. His service to Telugu in different
branches like grammar, prosody, lexicography
and editing and publishing of Telugu classics and
critical studies is epoch making in the history and
culture of South India.
He was the first Indologist to publish Telugu
classics with commentaries. He collected a large
number of palm-leaf manuscripts from remote
corners of the Telugu area. He had, in his pay, ten
to twenty pundits employed in transcribing native
authors, in preparing correct editions, in framing
indexes and commentaries. By providing a much
needed historical and rational outlook he taught
new insights to the pandits who worked with him.
Without confining his labours only to the growth of
the literary (kavya) dialect Brown was concerned
with the much neglected spoken (Vyavaharika)
dialect and tried to effect a synthesis between them
and foster the democratic processes that were
long absent in the Telugu literary scene. He served
as a civilian officer during the gloomy colonial
period, dedicating himself to the service of Telugu
language and literature with a missionary zeal and
toiled for the all-round advancement of Telugu
studies.
The literary culture in Andhra was then at the
lowest ebb. He said “Telugu literature was dying
out, the flame was glittering in the socket”! He
devoted all his spare time to Telugu and spent
82 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
every paisa of his earnings for the revival and
promotion of Telugu language and literature. C.P.
Brown may be aptly described as the father of
renaissance in Telugu.
He successfully battled against the native pedantry
and prejudices against the initial difficulties
of mastering a foreign language, against the
dishonesty of his own countrymen and the apathy
of the College Board, against the professional
jealousy of rivals, hopped cheerfully the orb of
official difficulties without neglecting his research,
stuck to his Telugu studies, despite multifarious
activities and pursuits and remained contentedly
poor. “Want of leisure so often lamented in India
usually denotes want of inclination. I have always
had leisure”.
Charles Philip Brown was born in Calcutta on
November 10, 1798. His father, Rev. David Brown
was a senior Chaplain of the East India Company
in Bengal. David Brown was a scholar in Hebrew
and was popular as a good Christian, among the
European people at Calcutta.
It was Rev. David Brown’s desire to give that bent
to his children’s minds and to put them in that
track. He gave his children a learned education.
They were taught the elements of Hebrew, Syriac,
Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin. From childhood,
C.P. Brown was taught to correct errata and fill up
deficient pages in books. The driest enquiries had a
great charm for C.P. Brown.
After the death of David Brown in 1812, his family
moved to London. C.P. Brown was educated at
Haileybury College to take up service in the East
India Company. He landed at Madras on August 3,
1817 and joined the Fort St. George College, where
he studied Telugu and Marathi and passed out in
June 1820. His career as a student at the Madras

College was not very bright. Writing about his
initiation into Telugu studies, he said in his English
translation of the Telugu Reader (Madras 1852 P55)
“this Brahmin (Velagapudi Codandarama Pantulu)
taught me the Telugu alphabet when I entered the
Madras College”.
C.P. Brown was appointed second assistant to the
Principal Collector, Cuddapah in August 1820. He
presided in a police office for two years and carried
on all the work in Telugu, Kannada, Marathi or
Hindustani. After four years, he was again posted
there on January 10, 1820, as Registrar to Zilla
Court and served there till February 1829.
He bought a bungalow with a garden attached to it
(15 acres) which he kept for himself for more than
a decade. A portion of the bungalow was rented
out while another was kept for a retinue of pandits.
He was paying salaries from his private sources for
preparing correct manuscript versions of Telugu
Kavyas after collecting several palm-leaf copies.
Hunbury, the Collector of Cuddapah, was speaking
Telugu fluently. His example filled Brown with
emulation. “Impelled by zeal as well as necessity”
in two years he became very fluent in Telugu and
excelled Hunbury in Telugu scholarship.
In 1824, he was transferred to Masulipatnam as a
judge. He began making a regular study of Telugu
poets. He began to amass a library of Telugu and
Sanskrit manuscripts. In June 1836, he wrote that
“The library of Sanskrit and Telugu manuscripts,
numbering 5000, which I have collected cost me
more than 30,000 rupees.” In course of his study of
Telugu classics, he observed that books alone will
not teach the living language. “I, therefore, studied
the every day dialect in the police office or in the
court where I presided. There cannot be a better
school. And whenever I had a conversation with
a plaintiff, witness or prisoner or with a learned
native judge or an ignorant menial, every one
became my teacher for the time”.
His passion for the accumulation of knowledge
was very strong. He saved no money. He employed
native authors in preparing correct editions,
in framing indexes or commentaries in Telugu.
He also attempted to establish a printing press
at Masulipatam in 1832. He had to give up the
project because of the deceit of an Englishman he
employed. While at Masulipatnam, he read about
Vemana in the book, Hindu Manners, Customs and
Ceremonies and began collecting palm-leaf copies
of verses of Vemana. He translated 693 verses and
published them in 1829. Brown’s ‘magnum opus’
was his Dictionary. Telugu-English, English-Telugu
and mixed dialects and foreign words used in
Telugu which appeared in 1852, 1853 and 1854 at
the expense of the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge.
The Telugu-English Dictionary contains a long array
of quotations from Telugu classics in support of the
various meanings of each word. His dictionaries
in Telugu are still considered important and
reprinted often. Though he did not spare the vain
pedantry of pandits, he was not without a word of
appreciation for them. “I discovered some excellent
scholars, poets, grammarians and critics, half of
whose learning I never attained, living in poverty
mere mendicants and they were glad to be thus
employed on wages as moderate as those we pay
to our menials”.
He had to face many hurdles because of the
prejudices of the pandits. He wrote to them in
distant villages for manuscripts and secured
through gentle persuasion. He learnt that the
Hindus regarded the printing of their authors
a profanation. He awakened Telugus to the
advantage of printing. Just as in the days of old,
Krishnadevaraya presided over scholars’ meetings
to find the merit of a great work, Brown in his days
presided over scholars’ disputations to renovate a
great book. We find in all such things the scientific
attitude of the Westerner operating amidst difficult
oriental conditions. The way in which he settled
the text of a classic is interesting. Every manuscript
was faulty and the learned pandits adjudged them
by guess.
It will be interesting to know how he carried out
the task of getting the manuscripts corrected by
pandits. He employed scribes to make a fair copy of
60 to 70 stanzas daily on an average and paid one
rupee each towards wages for 200 stanzas. He paid
` 15/- monthly to a pandit and ` 12/- for correcting
the script, and ` 8/- for reading out and one rupee
towards making a fair copy of 100 stanzas.
He fixed responsibility of testifying to the
correctness of these fair copies to a pandit who
would examine and sign them. He gathered
information from the other institutions in India
regarding the wages they paid in order that his
pandits might not incur any financial loss. He used
to impose fine on those who were negligent in their
duty and who failed to identify the errors and who
did not correct the variations in different texts.
“My leisure for these pursuits was between five and
ten in the morning, six days every week.” While his
monthly salary was only ` 500/ then, he spent on
the fair copy of The Mahabharata (Telugu) ` 2,714/-
which amounts to a hard-earned five months
salary.
All this was a labour of love. He was not the richer
by a penny. His books never brought him money.
“By some I lost the money I expended”, he says
cheerfully, “but I looked for this result and was
satisfied.”
Among other books written by Brown for students,
his Telugu Reader, Telugu and English dialogues,
English irregular verbs explained by idiomatic
sentences in English and Telugu, the Vakyavali or
Exercises in Idioms English and Telugu, the wars of
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 83

the “Rajas and inspections on village business” in
English and Telugu. Some of these were translated
in Kannada, Tamil and Hindustani.
The most important of his other works were
the Zilla Dictionary, Cyclic Tables of Hindu and
Mussalman chronology, and Ephemeris showing
the corresponding dates according to the English,
Telugu, Malayalam and Mahommedan calendars
from A.D. 1751 until 1850, the memoirs of Hyder Ali
and Tipoo Sultan, translated from Marathi and the
Tatachari Tales: He wrote a Latin translation of 22
cantos of the Lalitopakhyanam.
Brown made a valuable collection of documents,
extracts from newspapers and research material
running to 54 volumes of over 20,000 pages which
heading
he donated to India Office Library. He gave 5751
manuscripts to Government Oriental Manuscript
Library, Madras. Brown took care to see that
the Mackenzie manuscripts were neatly written
and published in Madras Journal of Literature and
Science serially.
He had tolerance and understanding of Hinduism.
He removed an attack on Hinduism when he was
printing Nistara Ratnakaram—a short account of
Christianity in Telugu metre and reflects admirably:
The Apostles taught Christianity without reviling
idols. “Why should not modern teachers imitate
this courteous method?” A remark which demands
daily practice by the fanatics of any religion.
From 1820 to 1829, Brown remained in the
subordinate service. He was elevated to the
status of 1st class servant in 1852. He was the
Acting Collector of Guntur district at the time of
the devastating ‘Guntur Famine of 1832-33’ and it
was he who first reported about the gravity of the
famine and deaths due to starvation.
For the sin of using the term “famine” in one of
his communications to government, Brown had to
face the displeasure of the Secretary of the judicial
department.
Being surprised to find the spelling of Cuddapah
unphonetic, illogical and silly, he spelt it in
his manuscript note as ‘Cadapa’, ‘Kadapa’ and
‘Cuddapa’.
He was interested in arts and crafts. He had a
rich collection of antique and museum pieces
from different parts of South India. He opened
free schools for native children at Cuddapah,
Masulipatam and Madras, where he worked as a
British Officer in Madras Civil Service. He was a
philanthropist.
His European friends whose life style in India
was luxurious and quite different from Brown’s
considered him a character. In fact, Brown himself
thought at times, as he recorded in his Literary
Autobiography, that he was not sane but reassured
himself that he was sane and sensible. No wonder
84 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
that Brown, a great intellectual, who had the traits
of a genius, was considered odd and idiosyncratic
by his fellowmen.
He lived and died a bachelor. He was a
humanitarian who made it a mission in life to help
people in distress. Bishop Caldwell described
Brown as a ‘restless pandit.’ Brown was employed
for twelve years in revenue magisterial and
judicial work in the Telugu districts. In 1838 he
was appointed Persian translator to Government
and in 1846 he became Postmaster General and
Telugu Translator to the Government. He resigned
from service in 1855 and went to London. He was
regarded as a living authority on India in 1865.
He delivered lectures in 12 towns on the post-
Mutiny India. His work as Telugu Professor in the
University of London and as Telugu Examiner
for the I.C.S. recruits has not been clearly traced
out. He brought out a revised edition of his
Literary Autobiography in 1872. C.P. Brown died an
octogenarian on December 12, 1884.
C.P. Brown was the first man and perhaps the
only notable foreigner, who paved the way for
“the European method of study” in Andhra for
subsequent generations of writers and critics to
follow. Now it is for us to appreciate and emulate
his selfless and devoted work. G.N. Reddi, a former
Vice-Chancellor of Sri Vankateswara University
and Director of C.P. Brown Research Project, in
his tribute to C.P. Brown has rightly observed,
“Never in the history of the Telugu country has an
individual worked so much and far so long a time
for the revival and development of its language and
literature”.
To perpetuate his great memory and thereby
promote Telugu research as well, C.P. Brown
Research Project was started in the Department
of Telugu of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.
G.N. Reddi was the chief of the project and
Bangorey was the Research Officer. The project
worked for a period of three years with meagre
funds. Sri Venkateswara University collected vast
and valuable material to give a detailed account
of Brown’s contribution to Telugu studies. Books
predominantly in or on Telugu, whether printed
or manuscripts, were always staple food for C.P.
Brown, who all through his long life preferred to
remain a dedicated Telugu scholar. It is but natural
that even in his testamentary arrangements they
had occupied a priority item.
This text of the “will” is based on a typed copy
secured in London by G. Krishnamurthy and sent to
V.R. Narla, who was good enough to pass it on to
Bangorey for the benefit of the C.P. Brown project.
J. Hanumath Sastry
Source: Bhavan’s Journal, December 31, 2011

Shivaji Jayanti
Birthday of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is celebrated
in Maharashtra as Shivaji Jayanti. Shivaji Jayanti is
celebrated on 19th February. Shivaji was born in
Shivneri Fort, 60 kms north of Pune. He was named
after the local Goddess Shivai, to whom his mother
prayed for a son. His father Shahaji Bhosle was the
chief of the kingdom of Bijapur. He was however,
not allowed to take charge of any fort. His mother
had a great influence on him as he was introduced
to Indian epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana and
other holy books by her. Shivaji also gained a
lot of knowledge from his father’s unsuccessful
attempts to gain power. He was inspired by his
father military tactics, peacetime diplomacy and
also possessed knowledge of Sanskrit and Hindu
scriptures.
The Fearless Leader
Shivaji grew into a fearless military leader with
trainings from commanders like Gomaji Naik
and Baji Pasalkar. Young Shivaji was motivated,
enthusiastic and energetic. In his early days he was
successful in inspiring local youths to follow his
idealistic pursuits. At the age of 17, he attacked and
captured Torna Fort of Bijapur and by 1647 he took
control of Kondana and Raigad Forts. The Western
Ghats along the Konkan Coast were also under his
control by 1654.
The Mughals
In order to sabotage Shivaji’s rise to power,
Adilshah arrested Shahji, his father by deceitful
means and had armies sent against Shivaji and
his elder brother Sambaji. To suppress Shivaji’s
control of the Bijapur kingdom, Afzal Khan was
sent to destroy Shivaji. However, with his cunning
means, Shivaji successfully stabbed Afzal Khan.
Eventually Bijapur’s armies were routed in the
famous Battle of Pratapgarh in 1659 and Shivaji
turned into a hero of the Marathas. Now, under
the confident leadership of Shivaji, the Marthas
successfully pushed back the Mughals and the
Sultanate kingdoms from his homeland.
The Mughals also fought against Shivaji led
by Shaista Khan under Aurangazeb. However,
Shivaji lost many men against a well-trained and
disciplined Mughal army. Shivaji felt the need of
finance to maintain an army and decided to loot
the Mughal city of Surat. The Mughal emperor
then sent Jai Singh to defeat Shivaji. After a few
skirmishes, he thought it wise to accept the
emperor’s sovereignty. But he was soon placed
under house arrest in Agra. Using tact and
intelligence, Shivaji successfully escaped from Agra
and hid in his homeland and kept a low profile for
some time. Shivaji gradually rebuilt his empire and
within six months was able to recover much of his
lost ground.
Shivaji extended his empire further south to Tamil
Nadu and Karnataka. In order to regain one of his
forts, Kondana, he appointed his most trusted
general Tanaji Malusare. The battle that followed
between the Marathas and the Mughals came to be
known as the Maratha war of Independence where
the Marathas were successful in regaining the
control of the fort.
“In order to sabotage Shivaji’s
rise to power, Adilshah
arrested Shahji, his father by
deceitful means...”
Chatrapati
Shivaji was formally coronated Chatrapati in
1674 in Raigad fort and henceforth came to be
known as Chatrapati Shivaji. Shivaji died in 1680
but not before leaving an indelible mark on the
history pages. He laid the foundation of a Hindu
empire which lasted for over two centuries. Shivaji
has been a source of inspiration and pride for
generations for his courage and military acumen.
Chatrapati Shivaji Jayanti is the celebrations of
birth anniversary of the great king and leader Sri
Chatrapati Shivaji.
Celebrations
Maharashtra state observes the day a grand way.
Several processions are taken out. People dress
up like Shivaji and his associates take part in skits
and dramas. This colourful procession is taken
around the city and terminates at Kranti Chowk
where there is bronze statue of Shivaji Maharaj.
Political leaders take part and various programs
are arranged for the day.
Source: www.festivalsofindia.in,
http://in.ygoy.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 85

THE NEW POWER GAME
Present at
the Asian Creation
NEW DELHI: Asia’s economic dynamism is
beginning to find a parallel in the region’s
diplomacy, particularly where security is
concerned. Indeed, we may now be “present at
the creation,” as former US Secretary of State
Dean Acheson called his memoir, which described
the construction of the post-World War II global
security order. This time, what is being created is
a security order for Asia that reflects its newfound
primacy in world affairs, though what that order
will ultimately look like remains to be determined.
Security has moved to the top of the regional
agenda not only in response to China’s rise, but
also because America and the West will be leaving
a gaping hole in Asia’s security architecture when
they remove their troops from Afghanistan, without
first having established peace there. Perhaps of
greater importance for long-term security, the
US-Pakistan relationship continues to plumb new
depths, while Iran’s relations with the West go
from bad to worse, marred most recently by the
mob invasion of the British Embassy in Tehran in
November.
Bit by bit, initiative by initiative, many of the
region’s powers are struggling to forge a coherent
cooperative framework to enhance their security.
For example, Australia’s Labour government has
agreed to sell natural uranium to India, reversing
a policy that had been in place ever since India
developed its nuclear-weapons capacity. Almost
simultaneously, US President Barack Obama
announced the stationing of US Marines in northern
Australia. No one has explicitly linked the two
moves, but they are arguably related strategically,
as Australia seeks to boost its ties with both the US
and Asia’s other giant, India.
India and the US have also been strengthening their
strategic relations with Japan, not only bilaterally,
but also in a unique trilateral way, which US Deputy
Secretary of State William Burns has suggested
86 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
could “reshape the international system.” Burns,
and much of the rest of America’s foreign-policy
establishment, now thinks that India’s regional
influence has become comprehensive; its “Look
East” strategy, announced earlier this year, is being
translated into “Act East” policies.
So far, India’s security relations with Japan and
South Korea are somewhat understated. But that
is changing. During Indian Defense Minister A.K.
Antony’s recent visit to Tokyo, it was agreed that
Japan and India would hold their first-ever joint
naval and air force exercise in 2012. This elevates
bilateral defense cooperation to the role of primary
national-security tool, most importantly for Japan,
which has broadened its strategic horizon beyond
its immediate surroundings and the country’s
longstanding alliance with the US.
Indeed, Japan and India have now agreed to
cooperate on “maritime security issues, including
anti-piracy measures, freedom of navigation” and
on “maintaining the security of the Sea Lanes of
Communication to facilitate unhindered trade,
bilaterally as well as multilaterally with regional
neighbors”—meaning, of course, China.
A “Japan-India Defense Policy Dialogue” will be
held in Tokyo in early 2012, and staff-level talks
are to take place between Japan’s Ground Self-
Defense Force and the Indian Army, along with
staff exchanges between the Japanese Air Self-
Defense Force and the Indian Air Force. Indeed,
Japan and India are beginning to build the type of
comprehensive military cooperation that has long
characterized Japan’s ties with the US.
This development will, undoubtedly, disturb China,
which has been making ever more strident moves
toward regional suzerainty. Chinese assertiveness,
most of it currently focused on the country’s claims
to the South China Sea, has been a wake-up call
about the type of regional order that China would

establish if it had the power. Fears are running
so high that 15 of the 18 countries at the recent
East Asian Cooperation meeting in Bali singled out
China’s behavior concerning the South China Sea
as a threat.
The core issue is maritime security—and not
only in the South China Sea. “The Indian Ocean,”
says the US author Robert Kaplan, is “where the
rivalry between the United States and China in the
Pacific interlocks with the regional rivalry between
China and India, and also with America’s fight
against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East, which
includes America’s attempt to contain Iran.”
India’s and China’s rival aspirations to be
acknowledged as regional Great Powers, as well
as their quest for energy security, are compelling
both countries to seek greater maritime security.
India, however, has a clear advantage, as its recent
Look East policies show that it can forge enhanced
security ties not only with the US, but also with the
region’s other key powers—even Indonesia.
Stephen P. Cohen, a renowned analyst of India,
has argued that, since the country gained
independence, its “officials have inculcated the
precepts of George Washington’s Farewell Address
of 1796: that India, like the United States, inhabits
its own geographical sphere, in India’s case
between the Himalayas and the Wide Indian Ocean,
and thus [it] is in a position of both dominance
and detachment. During the Cold War, this meant
non-engagement; now it means that Indians see
themselves with their own separate status as a
rising power.”
The problem, of course, is that China views itself
the same way. So, how are Asia’s two giants to
live in neighborly accord without encroaching on
the other’s space? So far, the response has been
to construct a regional security structure with no
Chinese participation.
That need not be the case, but the current impulse
behind today’s Asian security diplomacy will not
change unless China rethinks its attitude towards
its neighbors. Otherwise, its leaders will find
themselves present at the creation of a regional
order that holds little appeal for them.
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
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 87

Nirali A Gohel
The Hindi Continuers Topper
Nirali Atulchandra Gohel from Strathfield Girls
High School has secured first position in the Hindi
Continuers Exam in HSC (Higher School Certificate)
Exams in the state of New South Wales. Nirali was
awarded the Certificate for Excellence for securing
First place in the Hindi Continuers by Hon. Adrian
Piccoli, MP, Minister for Education, New South
Wales government. She got Band 6 in the Hindi
subject which shows her exceptional grip over
the Hindi language. She credits her success in the
exam to her dedicated and talented teacher Alka
Sood at Saturday School of Comm. Language, The
Hills Sports High School. There were six students
of Hindi Continuers. Alka helped Nirali with
exceptional devotion. Nirali has brought a moment
of glory for the Hindi language and is proud of her
link to Hindi. Her parents Yogini, Atul Chandra
and brother Dhruvil also provided her constant
encourage and support during all her studies.
Other than Hindi Chemistry is her favourite
subject. Ramayana, Mahabharata and other
mythological and historical material made her
love and understand Hindi deeply. Nirali hopes to
spread Hindi across the region with all her active
and enthusiastic participation in the activities
related to Hindi language.
Nirali’s outstanding results has earned her the
prestigious honour of a being a part of top allrounders.
She got ATAR (Australian Tertiary
Admission Rank) of 99.15 in her HSC exams. This
talented and committed student hopes to study
medicine in future and serve the community
with great devotion. She thanks her professional,
learned teachers for her success and feels proud to
be a part of the school that inspired them to strive
for her personal best. Her achievement reflects her
own hard work, staff diligence and talent and her
exceptional parental support.
88 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Nirali credits her success to God and says:
“One of the place that kept me constantly
motivated and encouraged me to go in the
right direction was Mandir (Temple)—The
Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam
Swaminarayan Sanstha. (BAPS) Temple at Rosehill,
New South Wales. The elders, peers and other
experienced people guided me on how to manage
studies with social life, which in turn helped me
flow through such a critical year without any
hindrances. Plus, the head of the entire BAPS
Swaminarayan Sanstha and our guru, Shri Pramukh
Swami Maharaj’s blessings guaranteed success in
everything I did. So without the Mandir, I definitely
would not have achieved what I have today in my
HSC, and I know with everyone’s support at the
BAPS temple and family, I’ll continue to endeavor
to achieve my goal.”
As for her inspiration Nirali feels this as the true
driving force behind her achievement. Apart
from her studies Nirali extensively participates in
voluntary work at Salvation Army, World Vision
etc. She hopes to be an active participant in the
expansion of Hindi language across her community
in Australia.

World Cancer Day
World Cancer Day is a global observance that
helps raise people’s awareness of cancer and how
to prevent, detect or treat it. This event is held on
February 4 each year.
Cancer—The Dreaded Disease
Cancer is a leading cause of death around the
world, according to WHO, which estimates that
84 million people will die of cancer between 2005
and 2015 without intervention. Low-income and
medium-income countries are harder hit by cancer
than the high-resource countries. It is essential to
address the world’s growing cancer burden and to
work on effective control measures. In the world
of rush and hush people frantically run neglecting
their most treasured position health.
Cancer is termed after the species crab of the
Latin text which means the unseen hidden
underground enemy. It causes abnormal and
uncontrolled multiplication of cells, which mostly
goes painless initially. So the diagnosis becomes
quite crucial because of its hidden symptoms. Five
common cancers prevalent in today’s world are
stomach, lung, breast, colorectal and cervix. Early
detecting, education diagnosis and screening are
the assuring key weapons to wrestle and win over
this life-threatening disease. Some early signs of
cancer include lumps, lesions that prolong to heal,
abnormal bleeding, consistent indigestion, and
chronic hoarseness.
Causes
Causes for cancer are usually idiopathic which
means causes unknown. Other common causes
which predispose the disease are improper
eating habits, no physical activity, exposure to
carcinogens, radiation, certain viruses like the
papilloma virus, smoking or alcohol addiction and
so on. Prevention of cancer which is the focus of
the World Cancer Day reinforces the abolishment of
the carcinogenic agent, tobacco which has caused
oral, lung and various other cancers in humans.
World Health Organisation
After the World Cancer Day initiative by the World
Health Organisation (WHO), numerous awareness
messages and awakenings are pitched in the minds
of the public to fight against the killer disease.
All have become more cautious and all detecting
measures are taken when initial changes are visible
which draws suspicion. National Cancer Control
Association, WHO Cancer Prevention and Control
are all initiatives of the WHO to fight against the
cancer threat. WHO has framed a six module
scheme and has deployed managers and policymakers
who can combat the severity of the disease
by effective cancer control
measures in the low and
middle income countries.
Each year on 4 February,
WHO supports
International Union
against Cancer to
promote ways to ease
the global burden of cancer.
Preventing cancer and raising quality of life
for cancer patients are recurring themes. World
Cancer Day is also solicited to bring about the
resilience and hope in the minds of the cancer
survivors, who have faced enormous trauma and
mental conflict in their war against the question of
life and death. Only in the year of 2005, 7.5 million
victims were slayed mercilessly by the real slayer
“the cancer”.
Prevention and Control
Prevention and control is the keyword of emphasis
on the day of February 4 to completely vanish off
the disease from tormenting mankind. Prevention
includes proper screening techniques and
educating the lay-person about the ways to detect
the cancerous symptom. From the cancerous
site called the lesion, the cells spread in millions
destructing the normal and viable human tissues
and also reaches to all distant sites causing
metastasis. If detected early cancer could be
treated by surgery, chemotherapy and radiation
techniques. Cancerous lesion can affect any site,
like the cervix, breast, bone, mouth, brain or any
human tissue.
Observance
People, businesses, governments and non-profit
organizations work together on World Cancer
Day to help the general public learn more about
the different types of cancer, how to watch for
it, treatments and preventative measures. Some
countries use World Cancer Day to promote
campaigns on various cancer issues, such as breast
cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and cancer in
children. Much focus goes towards awareness and
risk reduction.
The World Health Organization (WHO) works with
organizations such as the International Union
Against Cancer or Union for International Cancer
Control (UICC) on this day to promote ways to ease
the global burden of cancer. Recurring themes over
the years focus on preventing cancer and raising
the quality of life for cancer patients.
Source: www.who.int, www.timeanddate.com,
www.altiusdirectory.com
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 89

TWILIGHT
Glimmering and Hazy
Landscape of Indian Politics
His lips twitched in a peculiar shape and eye-lids
narrowed before he addressed himself to the
occupants of the tent, ‘I am well-known at least in
this state. All of them know me. I mean the chief
minister, ministers and all prominent leaders of the
state. I am called Sahaya.’ He proffered his hand
to Rajeev. Expectancy sat on their faces. Sahaya
demanded a glass of water and then he began in an
advisory tone, ‘You are students. Your primary aim
is to study books. Then why should you sit here
wasting your time?’ None of them spoke anything
and then the same voice was heard. ‘Politics is
not any easy job these days. Tell me what do you
want? Compensation to Krishna’s death? But it has
already been paid.’
Rajeev was amazed, ‘How do you know about all
this? Curious! Mr. Sahay how do you know?’ He
let out a short giggle before speaking. ‘How do I
know? Why? I know almost everything about the
state. Yes, almost everything concerning strikes.’
He imparted a massive twinkling to his eye-lids. His
lips quivered to express something but stayed back
for a while. And then he picked up his tone coming
out like a ritual, ‘That’s a part of my assignment.
After all strikes are an important aspect of our
national life. So I am mindful of them.’ Rajeev was
impressed a lot by whatever the new arrival spoke
to him. ‘You must be discriminating in strikes,
fasting and Dharnas. In fact we should undertake
such steps for the welfare of the ‘common people.
To some noble aim...’ ‘Noble aim?’ The leader of the
three persons responded at once ‘what is the noble
cause you are fighting for? Suppose to come to
lime-light. To bag a ticket in the coming elections.’
Rajeev and his intimates were shocked beyond
surface reaction. This aspect of the situation
had never occurred to them. Tripathee was a
bit furious, ‘what do you mean Mr. Sahaya? We
have no political ambition. It is to expose those
connected with Krishna’s death. Those connected
with the destruction of the town.’ Sahaya, Gandhi
and Sharma started laughing. One of them spoke,
‘You see causes are always noble, only high
achievements are personal.’ ‘Anyway... Are you
willing to sell this agitation to us?’ ‘Sell...? I don’t
understand.’ Rajeev felt dumb-founded. ‘You see...
it’s as clear as the sun-shine. You sell the agitation
to us. Then we will see...’ ‘Are you a professional
agitator?’
‘Exactly, Now you understand us better. We are
always ready to join any agitation. But what’s
the use?’ These revelations before them were
beyond their belief. Selling an agitation? Profits?
‘Democracy, values, real protest all gone to dogs. O
90 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
God! What a moral vacuum!’ ‘What are you thinking
Mr. Rajeev?’
‘Brilliant offer for you. Back out of it! Get away
with a lot of money. They pay lip service to
martyrs. Consult your friends, I think this girl will
guide you properly. Girls are more practical and
down to the earth.’ Rajeev and his friends were
shaken beyond measure. They didn’t know how to
extricate themselves from the situation created by
Sahaya. Yet they maintained their exteriors. It was
second blow to that deep rooted convictions and
ideals. Their struggle, reduced to currency notes!
Adolescent minds are sensitive to some issues.
They feel more than the grown-ups. Moreover
their feelings are raw and are attuned to some
ideals. ‘I know what is passing on in your mind
Mr. Rajeev. We understand your feelings. Days
for ideal agitations are gone.’ Sharma’s tone was
firm. ‘I know... we are shocking you but the reality
remains unchanged. You stand benefitted if you
pass on the agitation to us.’ Sahaya was desperate
with his words. By the time many students came
there. They were rather breathless. ‘No poster in
the town. The job is done. The leading one gasped
for words.’ ‘Well-done! Well-done!’ ‘It doesn’t take
much time to revive the posters.’ Sahaya gave out
a brief chuckle. ‘You opponents are not small flies.
Big fights ahead. That’s why. But that time more
students collected in the vicinity.’ ‘O.K. We leave.
Think over it. Our offer stands. You can’t manage
this job. You don’t have the resources.’ They were
ready for departure.
‘We shall come again. Mr. Rajeev. May be by that
time you grow maturer and realistic.’ Sahaya,
Gandhi and Sharma made leader like greetings,
salutations and left the tent. Rajeev and his comates
were left in a strange kind of disillusionment.
This is how most of the agitations make their
way. Most of them are mechanical and bereft of
real ideal stuff. They had a queer sense of loss
within their psyche and their inner ponderings
were nothing but waves of self-depreciation.
Smita’s mind wondered in the era of struggle for
freedom. The entire country was under the sway
of feelings of sacrifice, idealism and patriotism.
She imagined hordes of people fighting against the
Raj. It was a fight to something impersonal and
something outside them. To them, the country was
the real object to be identified with. How could
they undergo tortures and untold punishments?
Wherein lay the ignition point? Smita was almost
talking to herself. Rajeev discerned the struggle
within her. ‘I say, you have gone silent after their
departure. Aren’t you perturbed Smita?’ ‘Yes,
Yes. I’m being driven to the Father of the Nation. I

wonder how could he onspire sacrifice, confidence
in the hearts of millions? The illiterate, suffering
and the downtrodden became the backbone of the
country. He never compromised his ideals, he was
stead-fast and truly dedicated.’ ‘But there must
have been some force governing his activities.’
‘Yes, the force of morality and his conscience.
Moreover he fully identified himself with the
cause of the down-trodden. He did not carved
out isolation for himself preaching inane ideals.’
Rajeev’s voice was a bit emotional colouring
his inner landscape. A group of students stood
listening to what Rajeev was speaking. ‘Mere
idealism and telling ideals to others does not
matter. To drive an ideal one must practice it.
One must identify oneself with the ideal.’ His
tone took a deeper emotional fervour. ‘You see,
human beings crave for the achievement of some
ideals. They can’t live in a vacuum. There must be
something higher for our striving.’ One of students
present in the tent got impatient with Rajeev’s
high-sounding views. He abruptly stopped Rajeev.
‘You speak too much. You have not bothered to
enquire about the story of posters.’ ‘What is there
to talk about them?’ ‘Already off form the walls.’
‘One for the time being.’ ‘You fear too much.’ ‘No,
you are proving to be a simpleton.’ ‘You perhaps
know posters were put up by a groups of Goondas.’
‘True...’ ‘They may repeat... Everything is fair in love
and war.’ ‘So?’ He questioned in a tone of anxiety.
‘You must depute students on vigil.’ ‘There can
be violence also.’ ‘Yes, we are aware. In that case
we must be alert.’ ‘The police, the administration
are with them.’ ‘Can’t the innocent and feelingful
people run agitations in the country?’ ‘You always
stray in the lanes of idealism Rajeev. That’s the
basic weakness with you.’ The remark was from a
short statured, flat-nosed boy. His eyes stood deep
in the sockets blinking at him like the weak joints
of an electric bulb. Rajeev was a bit appalled at his
remark. Can an ordinary student understand all
this? He always underestimated others. They also
have their eyes and ears.
Rajeev made him sit near him and enquired about
his parents and the class in which he was studying.
‘How you know about me, Mohan?’ ‘Why? It’s
so simple. At our age we are full of idealism and
enthusiasm. But...’ ‘But what...?’
‘But crime and foul means have their impact on our
process of electioneering. You want prominence.’
‘But I am not in for prominence...’
The day passed off without any significant event in
the tent. The night was unusually dark throwing a
dense pall over the small town. Electricity poles
were also blinded. Life seemed to be
disappearing from the narrow
roads and by-lane shops
were closed. Rajeev’s
tent stood like a
ghost in the nearly
deserted streets. Rajeev was not relaxed and Smita
was under the spell of a powerful depression.
They have already undergone a lot of fear of the
unexpected chain of events. Anything sinister
might ensue resulting in a big disaster in their lives.
There have been moods of depression, ponderings.
Should they retrace their present predicament?
How cumbersome to face uncertainties?
Perhaps only stocks are able to surmount these
unhappy situations? Smita was lost in strange
phobias leading her thoughts to frustrations and
unhappiness. She felt the presence of two, big
sinister eyes keeping an unhealthy vigil over their
activities. There wasn’t much of mention of their
fasting in the town. Her tension brimmed mind no
longer could contain her tears.
(To be Continued...)
Dharam Pal
Born on October 1, 1941, Prof Dharam Pal, Retd
Head, Department of English, Hindu College,
Sonepat, Haryana, India has published Novels,
Short-stories in Hindi and English. These include,
Upnevesh, Mukti, Raj Ghat ki Aur, Tharav, Basti,
Avshes, Nirvastra, Ramsharnam, Twilight, The
Eclipsed Serialized in Indo-Asian Literature and
other stories. Two students have been awarded
MPhil Degrees on his Hindi Works. His plays,
stories have also been broadcast on Indian Radio.
He has been twice
honoured by Governor
of Haryana, India.
He has won Hindi
Rashtriya Shatabdi
Samman, 200 and also
Penguin Award.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 91

Bhavan’s
children
Action and Reaction
Untold Stories
of King Bhoja
Sarpati replied: “King! I am afraid you are wrong.
The son is not the only means of attaining mukti.
Those who perform danas and dharmas are also
eligible for punyaloka. When that is the case,
why do you thus despair?
Bhoja: “Mahatma! Aren’t the wife and children
the two hands of samsara? Are they not the
sole index to one’s prosperity? Without them
who will even remember one’s name? A house
without a son is a house without light.”
Smiling, Sarpati replied: “Bhoja! For a man,
each one of the following will serve the purpose
of a son: the real son; wealth; garden; good
conduct; agrahara; temple; and a tank. By the
creation or maintenance of any of these one
attains fame and punya. Out of these, next to
a son, good conduct alone will lead to your
permanent greatness. You have the example
of the emperors of old—Harischandra, ‘Nala,
Purukutsa, Pururavas, Sagara and Kartaveerya;
and the kings Goya; Ambarisha, Sasabindu,
Ananya, Prithu, Marut, Bharata, Suhotra,
Parasurama, Sri Rama, Dilipa, Ranti Deva,
Yayati, Mandhata and Bhagiratha—who became
famous by their practice of virtues and right
conduct. Have they not been made immortal
by great poets? So, follow in their footsteps
and encourage and support the poets and
litterateurs who will sing your fame too; build
temples; dig tanks; give away wealth to the poor
and needy; actively help marriages of girls; plant
and grow fruit-bearing trees on a grand scale. All
these will help you to achieve your millennium.”
Bhoja: “True, sage. But when all the people of
the world delight in listening to the prattle of
their little ones and forget their sorrows in the
toddlers’ pranks, how do you expect me to
carry on a lone battle as a childless man? Please
look at it from the human angle.”
Sarpati who became convinced of Bhoja’s
infatuation for children, mused: “However much
92 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
I explain, he does not listen. He is mad after
getting a son. While I do not want my curse to
be belied, I do not also want to disappoint the
man completely. What shall I do?”
After thinking for a few moments, Sarpati
replied: “Bhoja! My curse can never be falsified!
You too seem determined on getting a son.
In the circumstances I have found a way out.
A person who initiates another into a vidya
becomes his father and the recipient his son.
Now, I ordain that whoever gets this vidya from
you shall find it inoperative, thus nullifying his
sonship. This interpretation will permit you to
beget a son and my curse will not have been
falsified. Are you satisfied?”
Continuing, Sarpati said: “King! Know that
Lakshmi will surely desert a man who indulges
in lies. Untruth will destroy even one’s heritage.
Untruth is more sinful than brahma-hatya; the
liar is a worse sinner than a drunkard. Untruth
will prevent a man from attaining the exalted
after-life and drive him to hell. May you,
therefore, henceforward become devoted to
truth! The entire creation rests on truth. There
is no tapas greater than adherence to truth.
Forget whatever has happened between us. You
are not to blame for it. We are tools in the hands
of God Almighty”.
King Bhoja, cleared of his worry, thus expressed
his gratefulness to Sarpati: “Deva! By your great
compassion you have saved me from the foul pit
of sonlessness. I deem it the greatest gift from
you. I am now not concerned in the least with
what happens to the vidya. You have opened my
eyes.” Then the king fell at his feet.
To be continued…
V.A.K. Ayer
Source: Untold Stories of King Bhoja, Bhavan’s
Book University, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

The Test of Bhavan’s Right to Exist
Charter of Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan Australia
The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Bhavan) is a non-profit, non-religious, nonpolitical
Non Government Organisation (NGO). Bhavan has been playing a
crucial role in educational and cultural interactions in the world, holding
aloft the best of Indian traditions and at the same time meeting the needs of
modernity and multiculturalism. Bhavan’s ideal ‘is the whole world is but
one family’ and its motto: ‘let noble thoughts come to us from all sides’.
Like Bhavan’s other centres around the world, Bhavan Australia facilitates
intercultural activities and provides a forum for true understanding of
Indian culture, multiculturalism and foster closer cultural ties among
individuals, Governments and cultural institutions in Australia.
Bhavan Australia Charter derived from its constitution is:
• To advance the education of the public in:
a) the cultures (both spiritual and temporal) of the world,
b) literature, music, the dance,
c) the arts,
d) languages of the world,
e) philosophies of the world.
• To foster awareness of the contribution of a diversity of cultures to the
continuing development of multicultural society of Australia.
• To foster understanding and acceptance of the cultural, linguistic and
ethnic diversity of the Australian people of widely diverse heritages.
• To edit, publish and issue books, journals and periodicals,
documentaries in Sanskrit, English and other languages, to promote the
objects of the Bhavan or to impart or further education as authorized.
• To foster and undertake research studies in the areas of interest to
Bhavan and to print and publish the results of any research which is
undertaken.
www.bhavanaustralia.org
The test of Bhavan’s right to exist is whether those who work for it in different spheres and in different places
and those who study in its many institutions can develop a sense of mission as would enable them to translate
the fundamental values, even in a small measure, into their individual life.
Creative vitality of a culture consists in this: whether the ‘best’ among those who belong to it, however small
their number, find self-fulfilment by living up to the fundamental values of our ageless culture.
It must be realised that the history of the world is a story of men who had faith in themselves and in their
mission. When an age does not produce men of such faith, its culture is on its way to extinction. The real
strength of the Bhavan, therefore, would lie not so much in the number of its buildings or institutions it
conducts, nor in the volume of its assets and budgets, nor even in its growing publication, cultural and
educational activities. It would lie in the character, humility, selflessness and dedicated work of its devoted
workers, honorary and stipendiary. They alone can release the regenerative influences, bringing into play the
invisible pressure which alone can transform human nature.
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 93

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94 | Bhavan Australia | February 2012
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is planning a year long
celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Kulapati
Dr KM Munshi (Founder of Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan) and 75th year of Bhavan from November
2012 upto October 2013.
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia invites
suggestions from the Bhavan’s alumni
(past students and teachers / staff) based in
Australia / New Zealand / Fiji.
reader.com
We invite frank opinion from our readers.

Holy & Wise
He is the sacred one who has
realised that the body lives in
him; he does not live in the body.
- His Holiness Swami
Chinmayanandaji
Whatever Whatever
wealth wealth is acquired acquired by
oppressing oppressing others, others, by transgressing transgressing the the
injunctions of Shaastraas (Dharma)
and by getting onself insulted, does not
conduce to one’s happiness.
- Mahabharata
“The fundamental cause of trouble
in the world is that the stupid are
cocksure while the intelligent are
full of doubt.”
- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Consciously or unconsciously, everyone of us does
render some service or another. If we cultivate the
habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire
for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will
make not only for our own happiness, but that of
the world at large.
- Mahatma Gandhi
The Democratic Conscience of India
“I “I do do not not feel feel obliged obliged
to believe that the same God who
has endowed us with sense, reason,
and intellect has intended us to
forgo their use.”
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
It has been my good fortune to be on terms of mutual affection with most
of the great leaders who were nearest to Mahatma Gandhi. Of them,
Rajaji and Sardar had been in a way, closest to me for years.
In 1930, I was proceeding to Allahabad to join the Congress leaders,
where the proposals, which ultimately led to the Gandhi-Irwin Truce,
were to be discussed. I changed the train at Jhansi, as also several
passengers coming from Madras; among them was Rajaji. That was how
we first met each other. Since then I had the privilege of enjoying his
friendship and confidence.
In many difficult situations, he has been a tower of strength to me. Rajaji
is the “Bheeshma Pithamaha” of Indian politics. The grand old man
that he is, he leads an ascetic life, inspired by high moral values and
spiritual insight. His courage is immense, and below the terrifying selfcomposure,
beats a very kind heart.
I have rarely seen a man who has such a clear insight into men and affairs. He can size up a man’s strength and
weakness after a moment’s contact. He can read his inner motives like an open book.
Rajaji feels very strongly that democracy can only be saved if a strong Opposition Party comes into existence.
Truth is always greater than fiction but as Albert Schweitzer said: “It is the fate of every truth to be the object
of ridicule when it is first proclaimed.”
Dr K.M. Munshi
Founder, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Kulapativani
February 2012 | Bhavan Australia | 95

From Bhavan’s Journal December 10, 1961
Reprinted in Bhavan’s Journal December 15, 2011
Kulapati’s Letter on Life,
Literature & Culture
To understand the concept of Dharma in its true
significance, we must go back to the Vedic period.
The Vedic Aryans had two basic institutions: the
patriarchate, with the kula or the family as the
basic unit of society; and the order of the rishis, the
men of prayers, who as creators of values, were
accepted as occupying a position in society above
social and political conflicts. The Vedic Culture
had four fundamental values: Rita, the Cosmic
Order, which was operated on the, physical, moral,
social and spiritual planes; Satya, accord between
thought; word and deed, which could translate
Rita in life; Yajna the complete dedication of one’s
cherished things to Higher Powers to fulfil the Rita;
Tapas, the sublimation of passions and instincts
through a discipline involving purity of body and
mind which brought self-mastery. The Highest
Good, therefore, was to conform to Rita by the
pursuit of Satya, Yajna and Tapas in individual
and group life according to primordial ordinances,
prathamani dharmam. To realise it in individual
or collective life was the supreme fulfilment of
human effort. These fundamental values went into
the building up of the concept of Dharma. The
man who wants to dedicate himself to the Higher
Powers cannot do it without truth and self-mastery.
Self-mastery cannot be attained unless it is inspired
by truth and dedication. That is how each value
was defined to embrace the contents of all the
three.