Tag Archives: religion

THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF JOINING PALMS OR ‘NAMASTE’

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    The ancient and traditional greeting of ‘namaskar’ or ‘namaste’ is for one and all. It is done reverently by joining the palms at the chest and humbly bowing the head. Namaskar or Namaste is a form of prostration and salutation and has profound spiritual and ego bearing significance.

    In Sanskrit, namah + te = Namaste. It means, ‘I bow to you along with my prostrations and salutations.’ Namah can also be interpreted as na mama, which in the literal sense would mean, “not mine.” The purpose of saying Namaste is thus to negate one’s ego. Rather separate yourself from your ego and recognize the Divine in every person we greet. And, as we feel the Lord God resides in us. In the same manner we feel, it resides in others too. The joining of the palms depicts this sense of oneness. When we know this significance. Our greeting paves the way for a deeper and divine communion, complete with love and respect.

    Translated from a religious text.

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases. Should you wish to donate for the cause the bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(CAN BE BOUGHT FROM ON LINE BOOK STORES OR WRITE TO US FOR COPIES)

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DHAKA AND NOW NICE DISPLAY A NEW PARADIGM IN TERROR STRIKES

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

 

Earlier Dhaka and now Nice where 84 French nationals were mowed down by a truck used as a weapon, driven by a lone wolf terrorist as they were celebrating the Bastille-day in Nice, calls for a deep introspection.

And off late one is really not sure of what one will get to see when you switch on the TV or get to read when you unfold the newspaper. Probably it will be about another terrorist attack.

After every terrorist attack we prominently see the head of the state issuing statements, denouncing the killings and cursing the terrorist organization responsible for the bloodshed and a reassurance of protecting the country from further attacks.

But this is not sufficient, because the paradigm is fast changing. In Dhaka attack most terrorists were from high families and in Nice it was a lone wolf. The trend shows terrorists are well educated and could be self radicalized. The Islamic State has been losing territory but gaining wider popular appeal, with its call for individuals around the world to carry out jihad. The barbaric interpretation of Islam used to justify such heinous acts thus needs to be quashed.

At times one wonders as to what is driving these terrorists to massacre. They call it a holy war, where they kill hapless and innocent people to please ‘Allah.’ Definitely this cruelty is no jihad. And there is need for the entire world community and especially the Muslim community to run a structured parallel digital campaign against what these Muslim terrorist groups a trying to preach the capable, young and fresh Muslim minds.

The problem cannot be handled by authorities of any country alone. The civil society needs to pitch in very strongly and much before it’s too late as a handful of terrorists are giving a bad name to the entire community.

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POEM: DHAKA TERROR

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You adventured to kill, but in the process, you too got killed,

And one wonders, who asked you to kill?

For if it wasn’t your teachers, and friends in college,

Your peers in places, your siblings and folks indoors,

And God in heaven,

Just who was it, who asked you to kill?

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You shot so many in a bloody,

When someone had to shoot you in a scurry,

You stood for someone unknown,

Trusted him more than the known,

But was it for any holy throne?

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To you sermons through social media mattered more,

And not the grace of Holy Text,

Nor the lineage of societal touch, that you chose to ignore,

You hallucinated, as if killing was the right path,

And the rest needed to be ignored.

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And now when you’re gone,

Leaving behind a storm,

God says,

Son I had sent you there,

To conquer the storm, and not to create a storm.

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Where the world was your oyster,

And so much was still there for you,

As you had hardly arrived,

To create capture and destroy,

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But isn’t it sad my son,

That you only created the bloody killings,

Destroyed human values,

And, captured the Holy Grail.

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And remember my son,

If all would start killing who will create,

And for you,

Without seeing the world,

Without feeling the world,

And without admiring the world,

You decided to slaughter the world,

So now remain unwept and unsung,

In your unrealized world,

While my slain sons and daughters shall rest with me in peace.

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This is a tribute to all those killed in Dhaka terrorist attack. Most of the terrorists who struck here were young and from high families so then how did their values change so much in a short period of time that they created this mayhem?

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases. Should you wish to donate for the cause the bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(Archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. Book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

Story of an Indian salesman who is lowly qualified but fights his ways through uncertainities to reach the top. A good read for all salesmen. Now available in Amazon.com

(CAN BE BOUGHT FROM ON LINE BOOK STORES OR WRITE TO US FOR COPIES)

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STORY: PARMESHWAR VS THE PRIDE OF DEVTAS

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

 

Once there was a war between Devtas (Demigods) and Asurs (Demons). And in that war by the grace of Supreme God Almighty Devtas achieved victory. Asurs who perpetuated in destroying the decorum of God Almighty and the religious scriptures lost in this war. Albeit, this great victory was because of the blessings of God Almighty, Devatas could somehow not comprehend the real reason for their victory. They thought it was purely because of their own power and might, and that no one else had anything to do with it. But Supreme God Almighty did not lose time in understanding the arrogance of Devtas. And, to put down their false pride he soon appeared in the form of a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Yaksha (broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots.)

Devtas could not understand this quaint form of God, looking like a Yaksha and were awe struck. They sent Agni-Devta (Fire-demigod) to find out about Yaksha. When Agni reached there, Yaksharoop (God in form of Yaksha) asked him, ‘who are you?’ Agni said—‘you don’t know me. I’m famously known in the world as ‘Agni-Devta.’ Yaksharoop then asked—‘You call yourself famous and powerful—but what kind of power do you yield?’ Agni replied, ‘I have the power to burn the entire universe into ashes.’ Upon hearing such arrogant words from Agni Yaksharoop kept a small straw in front of him and said—‘kindly burn this.’ Agni tried but couldn’t. He tried again and again but failed each time. And finally in anger he burst into flames from his toe to his head, yet he couldn’t burn the straw. In the end he got extremely frustrated and embarrassed and returned where he came from and told the Devtas, ‘I couldn’t find anything God like in that Yaksha.’ It was a blatant lie.

Thereafter, Devtas decided to send Vayu-Devta immediately to check on Yakshaswaroop. But he again asked, ‘who are you and what kind of power do you possess? Vayu-Devta replied, ‘In this entire universe I’m known as Vayu-Devta. I’m almighty and with my power I can make anything in this universe fly.’ At this Yakshaawaroop pointed towards the same straw lying on the ground and asked him to fly it. Vayu-Devta utilized all his strength but could not even move it by an inch and in the end filled with shame he too returned to the Devtas. When devtas enquired, ‘what happened, could you find out who this Yaksha is?’ he sadly replied, ‘I couldn’t?’

Finally Devtas politely requested Devraj Indra, ‘God! You alone can delve deep in this matter regarding Yaksha?’ Indra-Devta acceded to their request and said, ‘very well’ and left to meet Yakshaswaroop but before he could even reach him he had disappeared from there. But noticing the devotion and inquisition with which Devraj Indra had come, Bhagwati Goddess Uma suddenly appeared in front of him. Indra asked, ‘Mother! Who is this Yaksha?’ Bhagwati Uma replied, ‘This Yakshaswaroop is the Supreme God Almighty. You may not know, but only with his blessings and lilashakti (divine mesmerization) Asurs were defeated in that great war that you fought, and let me tell you, Devtas only had a minimal contribution in that great victory, but you all were not aware of this and dwelled in false pride and arrogance. And, therefore, only to smash the destructive pride in you Devatas, Supreme God Almighty has emerged in the form of Yaksharoop. You all need to understand that in this universe the might of the warriors, the strength of the mighty, the enlightenment of the litterateurs, the meditation of tapasawis (Sages in deep meditation) and the energy of the energetic; all of this comes only from only one source and that is the Supreme God. And through his divine plays emerges the righteous powers of which you get only few droplets. He is the nerve centre of all the happenings in the universe and he alone is the ruler of the universe in the real sense. And therefore priding about oneself is only misleading.’

Bhagwati Uma’s words were an eye-opener for Indra-Devta. He was embarrassed on his mistake and the mistake of other Devtas. And after returning he narrated the actual reason of their victory and that made all the Devtas realize their false pride and that in turn made them happy.

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Article: A PEEP INTO UNAFFILIATED RELIGION

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

 

 

    Time has come for epiphany of ‘unaffiliated religion.’ A sizable population of the world today lives without aligning with any religion as you will read in this narration. The question is how? And how do they manage in this simmering world of religious intolerance. We all know religion is good for the essence of life. But what about religious intolerance and where does unaffiliated religion fit in. Well, no one has ready answers to these question, but one can definitely see the changing paradigms.

    Today, intolerance in every religion has increased manifold. There are fringe groups that have formed in almost every religion that shows intolerance towards other religions. But within all of this. There are still some spunky people. Who believe in the charisma of ‘unaffiliated religion.’ The population of ‘unaffiliated religion’ is around 16 % of the world population. The religiously unaffiliated number is 1.1 billion. Accounting for about one-in-six (16%) people worldwide. It includes atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion. However, many of the religiously unaffiliated. Do hold some religious or spiritual beliefs.

    Apart from unaffiliated religion. There is also irreligion. Which is the absence of religion or indifference towards religion or rejection of religion or even hostility towards religion. When termed as the rejection of religious belief. It engulfs explicit atheism, religious dissidence and secular humanism. And when characterized as hostility towards religion. It includes anti-clericalism, anti-religion and anti-theism.

    According to Pew Research Center’s 2012 global study of 230 countries. 16% of the world’s population is not affiliated to any particular religion, while 84% are affiliated. The interesting fact finding in Pew Research Center’s 2012 global study is: Out of the global non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), Sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).

    According to Pew Research Center projections. The population of the non-religious, though temporarily increasing, will ultimately decline significantly by 2050, because of lower reproductive rates and ageing.

    Being non-religious. Is not necessarily equivalent to being an atheist or agnostic. Pew Research Center’s global study from 2012 noted. That many of the non-religious actually have some religious beliefs. For example, they observed that “belief in God or a higher power is shared by 7% of Chinese unaffiliated adults, 30% of French unaffiliated adults and 68% of unaffiliated U.S. adults.”

    If we were to analyse it country and zone wise. The statistics (pertaining to unaffiliated religion) are even more interesting:

  • Out of a total unaffiliated religious population of around 1.1 billion. The ten most populous countries in respective order of population are China 700 million (52% of population), Japan 70 million (57%), USA 50 million (16%), Vietnam 26 million (30%), South Korea 22 million (46%), Germany 20 million (25%), France 18 million (28%), North Korea 17 million (71.3%), Brazil 15 million (7.9%), & U.K. 13 million (21%). This population totals up to 955 million which is 85% of the total population of unaffiliated religion.
  • If we were to take the first ten countries highest by respective order of percentage share of (Unaffiliated religion) population. They would be: Czech Republic 8 million (76%), North Korea 17 million (71%), Estonia (Baltic state) 0.8 million (60%), Japan 70 million (57%), Hongkong 0.4 million (56%), China 700 million (52%), South Korea 22 million (46%), Latvia (Baltic states) 1 million (44%), Netherlands 7 million (42%), Uruguay 1.4 million (41%). They comprise of 834 million which is 74% of their population.
  • There are six countries where the religiously unaffiliated make up a majority of their population: the Czech Republic (76%), North Korea (71%), Estonia (60%), Japan (57%), Hong Kong (56%) and China (52%).
  • The religiously unaffiliated are heavily concentrated in Asia and the Pacific. Where, more than three-quarters (76%) of the world’s unaffiliated population resides. The remainder is in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).
  • Although a majority of the religiously unaffiliated live in Asia and the Pacific. Only about one-in-five people (21%) in that region are unaffiliated. More than one-in-six people in Europe (18%) and North America (17%) are religiously unaffiliated. The unaffiliated make up smaller shares in the remaining regions. For instance, less than 1% of those who live in the Middle East-North Africa region are unaffiliated.
  • More than six-in-ten (62%) of all religiously unaffiliated people live in one country, China. The largest population of the religiously unaffiliated outside China are in Japan (6% of all unaffiliated), the United States (5%), Vietnam (2%) and Russia (2%).
  • The population of unaffiliated religion in India is only 0.87 million which is 0.07% of the entire population of the country.
  • There is a definite co-relation between the system of governance, ethos of live and religious fundamentalism and unaffiliated religion. For example take communist countries like China & North Korea where you will find the population of this community to be around 717 million which is about 64% of the entire population of unaffiliated religion. This is because of the regimentation of mindset that has forced people to stay non-aligned. If you take Islamic states, you will find the percentage of unaffiliated religion to be low because of religious fundamentalism.

    Median Age

    Globally, the religiously unaffiliated are older (median age of 34) than the overall global population (median age of 28). Among the five regions for which data are available, sub- Saharan Africa has the youngest population of religiously unaffiliated people (median age of 20), followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (26), North America (31) and Asia and the Pacific (35). Europe has the oldest unaffiliated population, with a median age of 37.

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STORY: INSPECT BEFORE YOU HELP SOMEONE

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    Mahatama Kautilya was a renowned scholar and a proficient preacher of human relations. He had many shishyas (pupils) out of which, one even became the king of erstwhile India.

    He often used to preach, ‘that before you decide to help any anyone try and know about the person in great detail,’ and then only offer him help. As that alone will be beneficial for the person you’re trying to help. We should not offer help for useless causes, as by doing that, the noble gesture goes for a complete waste. His shishyas, however, could not understand this advice of his. Because in their childhood, they had heard, that charity and help like rainfall should be showered on everyone equally, otherwise it goes for a complete waste. Mahatma, on this belief of theirs, often used to laugh.

    One day a cheat from a nearby town came up to him and said, ‘Rishivar (Sage) I have heard, you are a great repository of knowledge in the field of wealth and intelligence. My humble request to you is to make me rich.’ Upon hearing this the shishyas got angry and literally wanted to throw him out of the ashram when the Maharishi smiled and intervened.

    ‘Wealth are of two kinds, one is money and the other is spiritual. Whatever you are worth, I will definitely give you that. But, before that you will have to undertake a small test. Out there from the sand go and pick up two stones, one black and one white and put them in your bag. I will then ask one of my shishya to put his hand in your bag and pull out a stone while you keep your eyes closed. In case the stone happens to be white I’ll give you spiritual knowledge and if the stone happens to be black then I’ll give you monetary knowledge that will help you in becoming rich.’ The cheat on the holy advice of the Mahatma closed his eyes  for a while when he heard the Mahatma saying.

    ‘My shishya has picked up the white stone that had fallen out from your bag. And that is why I feel you require spiritual knowledge, and I will provide you with that.’ 

The cheat immediately realised that even without telling anyone that he is a cheat he has been exposed, for which he is likely to be punished. He started repenting, and fell at  Maharishi’s feet and started pleading for pardon for having kept his identity as a secret and for all the misdeeds he had done in the past. He at once decided to cleanse his soul when he earnestly requested the Maharishi to make him his shishya.

    All the shishyas were dazed at this, is when the Mahatma said, ‘when this cheat came to ask for help. I found an opportunity to present you all and even him with a truth finding test, so that you all could see his misdeeds. But no one besides me and the moon tried to inspect this cheat in detail. Yet we still wanted to help him. So we stayed quiet, researched on him and later on based on the necessity and requirement we taught him the lesson of honesty, truthfulness, and seriousness. As this he required even before he became rich.

    This episode teaches us that before helping anyone you should try and know the person in minute details, so that you can help the person in the best possible manner and what he requires the most, he should get that only.

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases. Should you wish to donate for the cause the bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(Archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. Book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

(CAN BE BOUGHT FROM ON LINE BOOK STORES OR WRITE TO US FOR COPIES)

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Story: An insight into conversion

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    One wonders at times, if individuals are in the habit of peeping into their family history. More importantly their family tree as a giveaway to their posterity. Well if they are, they would surely know the names of their ancestors beyond their Grandfather. That is grandfather’s father and even his father and also his father’s father.

    It is widely believed many Muslims in India have converted from Hinduism. And that makes me wonder how the present generation of Muslims deal with their forefathers and ancestors who were Hindus. With love or with hate? This is an emotional topic, that is often thought of by inquisitive individuals but never spoken about. Not even in the serene and quiet corners of their homes. Also, the society in general doesn’t want to dig into this tabooed adventures, and so be it. Yet, there is an undying inquisition at times to know more about such happenings.

    Let us as a hypothesis think about a person named Brij Singh, son of Prakriti Singh, who some two hundred years ago converted into Islam and named himself as Shamsher Khan. If we were to take sixty years to be as one ‘generation’ then that would mean. This would be Shamsher Khan’s fifth generation as a Muslim, flaunting their surname as Khan. Let me further suppose that one out of the current descendant of Prakriti Singh is Amjad Khan, who knows about Prakriti Singh as part of his ancestry.

    Then my inquisition would run further wild. As I would like to fathom from Amjad Khan as to how he deals and feels about his ancestry. Does he have any feelings for Prakriti Singh and Brij Singh, the last Hindu mark in his long lineage. And whether, he is proud and fond of his Hindu forefathers and his lineage. Or has he grown up hating them or revering them or thinking it is a zone where he should not enter. And, last but not the least, if it is a stalemate issue beyond Amjad Khan’s comprehension.

    Often the friction point is the religion of a person. But can religion wash away the truism off an individual’s lineage is the big question. Answer of which is only to be felt by the individual in question and never to be spoken about.

    Perhaps, this remains the weakness of mankind. Where, when, one is bulldozed by religion he gives up on his lineage. While, one may cosmetically try and overlook his lineage over his religion, but it is difficult to wash away the truism of life.

    And if the theory of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) is not a myth, we definitely reach a point, that the world is but one family. Even if people may have converted into various religions and your lineage is a bliss and not a curse.

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases. Should you wish to donate for the cause the bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(Archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. Book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

(CAN BE BOUGHT FROM ON LINE BOOK STORES OR WRITE TO US FOR COPIES)

*****

 

 

BEEF-HINDUISM-VOTE BANK POLITICS-RAGHUVANSH PRASAD SINGH

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

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In a recent statement RPS (Raghuvansh Prasad Singh) of RJD said ‘Hindu sages, ate beef.’ Tomorrow if it suits his party he might even say Allah preferred poke. RPS knowingly crossed the line hurting Hindu sentiments. Such silly netas can go to any extent for vote bank politics. They should not be taken seriously, rather as opportunist of the rotten kind. They belong to no one, except hustings. Neither Hindus, nor Muslims should get enamoured by useless netas like RPS. They only belong to themselves and do not shirk to scathe the sentiments of the masses through their quirky bayanbazi and I would leave him as be pendi ka lota (a vessel without a stable base).

That apart, we need to understand the criticality of times while talking about, who ate what and why?

In this regard let me take you through the famous incident of Andes flight disaster.

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, also known as the Andes flight disaster that happened in South America, and is the Miracle in the Andes (El Milagro de los Andes) was a chartered flight carrying 45 people, including a rugby union team, their friends, family and associates, that crashed in the Andes on 13 October 1972. More than a quarter of the passengers died in the crash and several others quickly succumbed to cold and injury. Of the 27 who were alive a few days after the accident, another eight were killed by an avalanche that swept over their shelter in the wreckage. The last 16 survivors were rescued on 23 December 1972, more than two months after the crash.

The survivors had little food and no source of heat in the harsh conditions at over 3,600 metres (11,800 ft) altitude. Faced with starvation and radio news reports that the search for them had been abandoned, the survivors fed on the dead passengers who had been preserved in the snow. Rescuers did not learn of the survivors until 72 days after the crash when passengers Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, after a 10-day trek across the Andes, found Chilean arriero Sergio Catalán,[1] who gave them food and then alerted the authorities to the existence of the other survivors.

The Andes survivors fed on dead passengers when faced with an onerous situation where they were about to lose their lives, so does that mean they were cannibals? In the same manner the sages of ancient times led a life of extreme austerity in tall mountains and tough conditions, and they may have consumed a crisis diet of beef only to survive; as to keep yourself safe, and to survive is one of the biggest obligations of life. So does that mean they were regular beef eaters?

A crisis diet should not be branded as your normal diet, but as a survival diet supposedly allowed by a religion. What really matters is your mainstay diet or what you eat on a regular basis should be labelled as your standard dietary habit.

RPS should know that food preferences and diets of communities and civilizations don’t change overnight like political affiliations. In case of Hinduism beef is banned and in case of Islam pork is banned as a regular religious practice.

Respecting the sentiments of our brethren, is our duty; however we should not open our little mouth to vitiate the atmosphere by hurting the sentiments of any community.

RPS thinks if he hurts Hindu sentiments he will get Muslim votes which may not be true. Muslims are wise and definitely won’t vote for RJD on beef appeasement.

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#STORY: BLESSINGS AND SUPREME HAPPINESS

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

blessings and supreme happiness 2 blessings and supreme happiness brahmgyan

Once upon a time there lived a renowned scholar in the forest who had many bright shishyas (pupils). They were under his aegis for a long period of time, and were eager and impatient to learn the rare talent of Brahmagyan (divine knowledge) from their Guru; considering they had acquired enough mastery on other issues and what was left was only the divine knowledge.

They were somewhat suspicious, thinking the Guru was not keen to teach them Brahmagyan the way to paramsukh (supreme happiness) for reasons best known to him. Somewhat, dissatisfied these shishyas were now desisting to move as per the guidance of their Guru and had started putting pressure on him for teaching them Brahmgyan. Their logic was, when they had surrendered themselves completely at the Guru’s feet, then why wasn’t the Guru teaching them the coveted talent that was the way to supreme happiness.

One day the guru called all his shishyas and said, ‘don’t be under the impression that I don’t want to share Brahmagyan with you. But I only want to say that you all are not ready for it as of now. There is no point in pouring amrit (elixir) in a vessel which has many holes because the entire nectar will just flow out. Before pouring the nectar we need to close all the holes.’

Upon hearing Guru’s words all the shishyas started whispering amongst themselves. The oldest out of them got up and said, ‘Gurudev we don’t agree to your logic that we are not ready for Brahmagyan yet.  For many years we have been staying with you and we have carried your message and teachings to many places.   People know us as your representative and even you have praised us for our work in the past. Besides Brahmgyan what else is left for us to attain? Your words are creating doubts in our minds, that you don’t want to share this divine knowledge with us, which is the only way to attain supreme happiness.’

Guru for a moment went quiet as it saddened him, thinking his pupils were not humble, and on the contrary arrogant. He thought this distance between the pupils and the Guru will only weaken them and give them a feeling of defeat, and on the contrary nearness to Guru will increase the feeling of self respect.

After a little while the Guru said, ‘dear students, possibly; I was wrong when I thought you all were not ready for Brahmgyan. I guess you all are adults, knowledgeable and ready for the divine knowledge. But I want to take a small test of you all.’

After saying this he took out is basket of fruits and distributed one fruit to every shishya and requested them to hide it in such a place that when no one is watching they could eat it.

All the pupils were a little surprised at this unusual and simple request of the Guru but since all of them were determined to learn Brahmagyan they decided to carry out his the instructions at any cost. They accepted the order of the Guru. After sometime all the shishyas returned with the belief that they had successfully obeyed the orders of the Guru. Leaving aside one who was a continuous laughing stock, and considered a simpleton in the entire group and many didn’t even consider him in their league.

Guru was eagerly waiting, and with a lot of inquisition he asked about how they ate the fruit without anyone noticing them. Everyone narrated their success story.

Then, was the turn of the simpleton, who was often ridiculed by his fellow students. Upon orders from the Guru he came forward on his wobbly legs with the fruit in his hand to tell his story. Guru displayed anger and said, ‘I had asked you to eat the fruit. Everyone obeyed my orders then why did you not have the fruit? What is the reason tell me?’

Shishya said, ‘’Gurudev I wanted to obey your orders but I had no place to hide. You had instructed to have this fruit when no one is around. But wherever I went I felt I am not alone and God is around me, as you only told us God is omnipresent. Because of this I could neither hide myself nor the fruit. Kindly therefore forgive me because I could not pass the test.

‘No, my child, only you have passed in the exams. All the other shishyas only counted on the physical presence. They forgot about the omnipresent God who watches every action of ours and is a witness to all our deeds. When they don’t understand omnipresent God, how will they be blessed with Brahmagyan? Only you could recognise that supreme existence and that is why only you are entitled to receive the supreme divine knowledge—Brahmagyan.’

This story is from the purans (religious texts) which highlights the point that we should only desire for something when we are capable of handling it. Guru knows when he has to bless his shishyas and when they would be capable enough to learn Brahmagyan the way to supreme happiness.

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STORY: TAPOBAL (The power in meditation)

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tapobal 1 tapobal 2 tapobal

    ‘Mother I too need to drink milk as my cousin, and it should be as sweet as his milk.’ Requested Upmanyu. As he returned home from his cousin’s place and sat on his mother’s lap. For just a little while ago he had seen his cousin relishing a big glass of milk while he got only a gulp to taste.

    ‘Son we are poor. We don’t even have grains at home to feed ourselves, where will we get milk from.’ Explained, her mother. But Upmanyu, her adamant son in the peak of childhood, was in no mood to relent.

    To satiate her son, she grounded some grains lying at home and after mixing it with water, she gave it to her son as milk.

    ‘No mother this is not milk. For milk is sweet.’ Upmanyu, stopped drinking the moment he tasted and even started crying. When his mother uttered in some desperation.

    ‘Son, in this world you have everything from stones to diamonds. But then, everyone gets what he gets, only as per his own fate and destiny. We are the unlucky ones and so even pure milk is difficult for us to get. Lord Shiva is very resourceful. If Bholenath is happy he won’t hesitate in gifting you, even the Kshirsagar (ocean of milk). But only after you are blessed by him, will your desires be fulfilled. And you can only win him over by tapasya.’ Upmanyu’s mother thus gave him a tip.

    ‘Mother! Then I will do intense tapasya. With that I will make my presence felt and it’ll even shake the throne of the Lord of all Gods that is Shiva, and as a blessing he will surely grant me the Kshirsagar.’ And with that in mind Upamnyu could not even for a moment stay at home and left for the mountains.

    Soon Upmanyu was into deep and prolonged tapasya in the Himalayas. To please Mahadev he even stopped consuming water and food. The entire world got a sense of well being from his tapasya. Lord Vishnu along with other devatas visited Lord Shiva in Mandarachal and said, ‘relieving child Upmanyu from his harsh tapasya and reassuring the world about kindness can only be done by you.’

    ‘This harsh tapasya is not meant for you, kid!’ said Indra, while getting of his elephant ‘Airawat’ and introducing himself.

    ‘You have purified the ashram by your arrival!’ Upmanyu welcomed Lord Indra and requested him for his guidance in finding Lord of Gods—Shiva.

    ‘It is extremely difficult to find Shiva. I rule all the three lokas. So, why don’t you come under my blessings, as I will let you experience and enjoy everything that the world has.’ Indra tested Upmanyu.

    ‘Indra! You just can’t be critical of Lord Shiva. And it appears you are some rogue disguised as Indra. You have come to hurdle my tapasya. You are a Lord Shiva baiter, I guess. I will therefore kill you as you have criticised my most respected Lord Shiva.’  With that Upmanyu ran to kill him, but then he suddenly stopped.

    ‘With the power of your tapobal you have obtained my blessings, I’m happy vatsya!’ said Shiva in Indra’s disguise, while blessing him. Upmanyu recognised Shiva and lay prostrate in front of him, regretting his aggression.

    ‘I was testing you.’ said Shiva. And by blessing his bhakt Upmanyu with Kshirsagar he fulfilled his wishes. After that he placed Upmanyu in the lap of Goddess Parvati and said ‘Parvati is your mother and I’m your father.’

    Lord of Gods Shiva then blessed Upmanyu with treasures of riches and the divine knowledge. Upmanyu was overwhelmed at that. He started singing their praise, is when Lord Shiva along with Parvati vanished from there.

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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