Yuva Bharati - August 2007 - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

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SENAANINAM AHAM SKANDHAH......Satish ChowkulkarWhile I was returning from Shimla,recently, I had a brief stop-over at New Delhi.My host took me to show the RashtrapatiBhavan, which is more in news, now-a-dayson account speculations of its prospectiveoccupant. A well-maintained huge complexwith its enumerable gates and security systemis awesome. The aura of its previous andpresent occupant surrounds the complex. Itshould probably bring a moral pressure onits subsequent occupants that one shouldbehave in-keeping with the dignity of thebuilding atleast, if not the occupants’ positionof the Bharat’s first citizen. While I wasenjoying this, I saw a group of youth sittingon the lawn adjacent to one of the gates andlistening to Shiv Swarupananda. I wasnaturally drawn there.“What do you mean by the First citizenof Bharat?”, a student asked. ShivaSwarupananda was replying to the inquisiteyouth student.“I will recall your attention to whatSwami Vivekananda had said. He says eachnation has a uniquely carved out task and ithas a destiny to fulfill. It has a corecompetanceto work it out. This is predeterminedby its history and culture.According to Swamiji, in case of Bharat it isspirituality. India has a message to deliver tothe mankind. Bharat’s message is not forpolitical reforms, not for weaponry andwarfare and definitely not circumscribed bytrade and commerce. It is a message ofbenediction and peace. The message ofVedanta. Problem ridden world awaits forit. Many distinguished historians haverepeatedly asserted that all problems,centuries old through will have to getsolution in India’s message from its spiritualwisdom.Therefore it is incumbent on everyknowledgeable citizen of Bharat to reflectthis wisdom in their thought, speech anddeed. First Citizen of Bharat, more so, shouldbe the beacon of this disposition.” ShivaSwarupananda stopped to gauge the effect.“Is he not the political head of the state?quipped one student. “Well! he should havethe acumanship of handling political affairs.But he should be above the political thinking.He should be able to settle the problemsposed by the political athletes and their ratraces apolitically. He has to ensure that thepower-game of the politics is played withouttransgracing the constitution of Bharat. Heis the custodian of the constitution. He isnot answerable to any of the political bosses.Irony of fate is, he is elected by thepoliticians-a collegium fully dominated bypoliticians and the dynamics of their unholyalliances-quite a few times it smacks of25 YUVA BHARATI - August 2007
unscrupulous, shortsighted, narrow-mindedbartering among themselves. Will of thecitizens of Bharat at large have no controlover this process? Many a times, politicalbosses wielding the power at center and inthe states wish to set in a person, who willbe amenable to them. They expect that theperson sent to the ‘Bhavan’ by them shouldoblige them by not harming their politicaldecisions.“Do they then expect that the first citizenshould be their puppet? Then who would liketo be in that position of power for the namesake?” Asked a girl student. “Well! TheRashtrapati is armed by the constitution ofBharat. He is the commander-in-chief of theBharat’s Armed Forces. And checks andbalances of the constitution provide himmany creative ways to tackle the misadventures,if any, of the legislature andexecutives. For that, one in that position ofpower, should be very cool, intelligent andcreative. And this exactly is the spiritualquality. He should reflect the wisdom of theLand that is Vedas and Upanishads. In ourtradition it is said-among all the powers i.e.,Balam, the Balam of the Prajna is the mostexalted. In Mahabharat the dictum comes:yad Balaanam Balam Sresthhamprajna Balam uchchatye.A general of the army, commander-inchief,with this Prajna Balah is all powerful -the best. Sri Krishna therefore asserts in theBhagawad Gita (Chap.10 Sloka 24)“Senaaninam Aham Skanadhah, Sarasamsisagar. The skandhah, also known as Kartikeyaand Kumara - a strong and wise son of Shivaand Parvati, has all these qualities. So he isthe best among the commandants, thecommander-in chief of God’s army.Most of the Rashtrapatis in the past 50years of our Republic’s history have shownthe exemplary qualities though there aresome exceptionable Line-toers also. Aperson who has ‘no skeleton in hiscupboard’, one ‘who does not have own axeto grind’ and the one ‘who has nothing toloose’ only can be fearless and afford to usehis power independently as the meritdemands. Any one else can be ‘prompted to’or subjected to ‘remote control’ forbecoming a ‘rubber stamp’.“Is it for this purpose it is said in theRoman parlance that Caeser’s wife should bebeyond suspicion”. Asked a student withthick specs.This time the response came from aperson standing little farther. He wasNaadpriyananda. “Yes! Let our way-wardthinkers and politicians learn from the West’swisdom. If I say Ramayana also tells this Iwill be branded as anti-woman or Manuwadi.People in high places-not only theythemselves but their close relatives shouldalso be free from doubt of a blamish. Asking‘proof’ is the height of shamelessopportunism. Sri Rama abandoned Sitawithout asking the accuser of Sita’s characterto prove his charge for the same purpose.Let us not dismiss this as the morality of thepast millennia. The most mundane countryin the today’s world and most vibrantworking democracy – USA also expects thatthe candidate for the president’s post shouldbe clean. There, parties screen thecandidates not on the basis of caste, politicalYUVA BHARATI - August 200726
Page 1 and 2: Vol. 35 No.1Founder EditorMananeeya
Page 3 and 4: or looted. This could happen,obviou
Page 5 and 6: SRI KRISHNA, THE CRISIS MANAGERDr.K
Page 7 and 8: intellectual and spiritual as well.
Page 9 and 10: THE GREAT HERO OF MARWAR: VEER DURG
Page 11: Veer Durgadas left Jodhpur in his l
Page 15 and 16: ecause he did not belong to their
Page 17 and 18: SRI AUROBINDO’S MESSAGE TO INDIAS
Page 19 and 20: movement will grow; amid the disast
Page 21: propagation of our culture, the glo

Yuva Bharati - August 2007 - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

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