Religion-- Blessing or Curse

I am sure many will raise their eyebrows on seeing the caption of this post. No, I am not an atheist, I believe in God though I can not claim to be a very religious person. The dictionary meaning of religion is belief in God. It also means a particular system of faith and worship and in terms of this meaning of the word of religion there are many religions in the world practiced by different people. It is the belief in God which is the basis of all the religions of the world though manifestation of this belief varies from religion to religion. A religious person is one who believes in God and worships God.

The importance of religion in our lives can hardly be overemphasized. Its impact on our lives and our societies is profound. The major religions of the world have given us great scriptures, the Vedas, Upanishad, Gita, Bible, Koran, Zend-Avesta, Granth Sahib containing noblest messages, loftiest ideals and purest thoughts.  They had helped the mankind to overcome its base instincts, become civilised and understand the virtue of honesty and truthfulness, the love and faithfulness, kindness and compassion. Religions have produced great saints, prophets and preachers who taught us to love our neighbours, not to harm any body, not to speak harsh language to anyone, be tolerant to others’ beliefs and ideas. In fact had there been no religion, civilisation would not have flourished. Belief in God and man’s eternal quest for the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient led to many great works of art, literature, music, philosophy enriching our minds and purifying our hearts. Religion has given us courage to meet the challenges of life, the strength to face adversities and not to loose hearts in failures. Our religion has taught us the concept of universal brotherhood.

But is religion an unmixed blessing to us? Religions often have been the cause of animosity between people. Whenever a new prophet arrived and tried to preach, he had to face the wrath of the followers of the existing faiths. History has been witness to the tyrannies and tortures of the followers of the different faiths of religions at different times. Religion instead of creating harmony among the people has often dug chasm between man and man. Religions have led to bigotry, fanaticism, sectarianism. Wars were fought in the name of religions through the ages killing thousands of people and drenching the earth with human blood. Religion has been a useful tool in the hand of our so called leaders and politicians to divide and rule over the people and the nations. India has been one of the worst sufferers of religious violence through centuries.  Even today in this twenty first century when there is no dearth of so called rationalists and secularists, if we scan the world we will find that religious animosity rules the world either because of hostilities between different religions or between different groups and sects of the same religion.

Rituals have been integral part of all religions and it is not found unoften that these rituals get more importance than the core values of the religions. These rituals many a times lead to superstitions and tend to make the people fatalist.   These rituals when followed blindly ( and it happens most of the time ) instead of broadening the vision of the people, narrow it, create mental block, curb the creative faculties, restrict liberal ideas, encourage fundamentalism and in the process hamper the well  being of the people and the society. People tend to think that by worshipping their own God or Goddess as per the rituals prescribed they can get away with the most heinous crimes committed by them and get a licence to do whatever they feel like doing. This leads to increase in dishonesty, crime and violence in the society.  We are witnessing the demon of fundamentalism raising its ugly head in different parts of the world in the name of religion creating tensions and often shattering peace. Against this background can we blame anybody if he thinks that we would have been better off if there was no religion?

As an English poet once wondered how the same creator can make both lamb and tiger, it is indeed perplexing to find religion which has helped civilisation to flourish can be also the cause of death of innocent human lives and unending hatred among the people, how it can be one of the biggest causative factors for unrest world wide. As the power in tiny atom can be harnessed to the immense benefit of people and also can be the death knell of millions of people, similarly religion can create civilisation, it can destroy civilisation. It has the potential to make earth a heaven but if misused can convert it into a hell. Religion is and indeed should be blessing to all of us but if used by the vested interests, the fundamentalists, and the greedy politicians as had happened in the past and is still happening, religion can turn out to be a curse to all of us. Let us hope that will not happen, saner elements will prevail, people will realise that God is the same for all religions as Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa used to say that Hindus call Him Ishwar, Christians call Him God, Muslims Allah but He is the one and the same as water is described by different people as jal, pani, water, aqua etc. Let us believe that Vivekananda’s hope which he expressed in the concluding session of the Parliament of Religion will come true one day that upon the banner of every religion will be written, in spite of resistance: “Help and not Fight”, "Assimilation and not Destruction”, “Harmony and Peace and not Dissension”.  

           

 Sri Ramakrishna, the Man-Gods

The year 2013-2014 has been the 150th birth anniversary year of Swami Vivekananda. The person who exerted the greatest influence on Swamiji and who in fact transformed the young restless Narendranath to the great yogi Vivekananda was Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Had Ramakrishna been not there at the appropriate time in the appropriate place, the world probably would not have seen Vivekananda, the great sannyasi,the great prophet, the great patriot, the great orator, the great reveller of Indian culture and religion before the world. Romain Rolland the great writer and philosopher had rightly said that the torrent forming the remarkable destiny of Vivekananda would have been lost in the bowels of the earth, if Ramakrishna’s glance had not, as with one blow of an axe, split the rock barring its way, so that through the breach thus made the river of his soul could flow. It was Sri Ramakrishna who saw in the wayward, tormented and storm tossed as Narendranath then was, the future leader. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say that whenever we think of fire, its burning power comes to our mind, whenever we think of milk its whiteness comes to our mind, similarly it will be appropriate if we say that whenever we think of Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna comes to our mind. Vivekananda described Sri Ramakrishna as his master, his hero, his ideal, his God in life. Romain Rolland described Ramakrishna as Man-Gods, the incarnation of the Divine Essence.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa worshipped as Thakur (God) by millions of his devotees was born into a very poor but pious orthodox brahmin family in the village of Kamarpukur, set in the midst of rice fields, palm trees, and lakes in the Hooghly  district of West Bengal. His parents were Kshudiram Chattopadhyay and Chandramani Devi.  Kshudiram while on a pilgrimage to Gaya had a dream in which Lord Gadadhara (a form of Lord Vishnu) appeared and said that he would be born as his son. At the same time in Kamarpukur, Chandramani Devi was said to have had a vision of a ray of light entering her womb from Shiva's temple. Her husband on his return from Gaya found her transfigured. She had conceived and was said to hear voices that she carried a God. The child, whom the world was to know as Ramakrishna was born on February 18, 1836 and was given the name of Gadadhar.

Ramakrishna experienced his first spiritual ecstasy at the age of six. While walking along the paddy fields, a flock of white cranes flying against a backdrop of dark thunder clouds caught his vision. He reportedly became so absorbed by this scene that he lost outward consciousness and experienced indescribable joy in that state.   Ramakrishna reportedly had experiences of similar nature a few other times in his childhood, while worshipping goddess Vishalakshi, and portraying god Shiva in a drama during Shivaratri festival. From his tenth or eleventh year on, the trances became common, and by the final years of his life Ramakrishna’s samadhi periods occurred almost daily.

Ramakrishna's father died in 1843, after which family responsibilities fell on his elder brother Ramkumar. Ramkumar started a Sanskrit school in Kolkata and also served as a priest. Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta in 1852 to assist Ramkumar in the priestly work. In 1855,  Ramkumar was appointed as the priest of Dakshineswar Kali temple built by Rani Rasmani.  Ramakrishna, along with his nephew Hriday, became assistants to Ramkumar, with Ramakrishna given the task of decorating the deity. When Ramkumar died in 1856, Ramakrishna took his place as the priest of the Kali. The young priest who was twenty years old began to look upon the image of the goddess Kali as his mother and the mother of the universe. His relationship with Kali, the Goddess was beautifully described by Romain Rolland and I quote him Quote He did not know what a terrible mistress he had elected to serve. As a purring tigress that fascinates her prey, She was to feed upon him, playing with him for ten long enchanted years passed beneath her gleaming pupils Unquote. In the words of Sri Ramakrishna himself one day he had a vision of the universal Mother, as "... houses, doors, temples and everything else vanished altogether; as if there was nothing anywhere! And what I saw was an infinite shoreless sea of light; a sea that was consciousness”

Rumours spread to Kamarpukur that Ramakrishna had become unstable as a result of his spiritual practices at Dakshineswar.  Ramakrishna's mother and his elder brother Rameswar decided to get Ramakrishna married, thinking that marriage would be a good steadying influence upon him. They could find the bride at the house of Ramchandra Mukherjee in Jayrambatii, three miles to the north-west of Kamarpukur. The five-year-old bride, Saradamani (later known as Sarada Devi) was found and the marriage was duly solemnised in 1859. But by the time his bride joined him, Ramakrishna had already embraced the monastic life of a sannyasi; as a result, the marriage was never consummated .  Rmakrishna regarded Sarada as the Divine Mother in person, addressing her as the Holy Mother, the name by which she was known to Ramakrishna's disciples. It is believed that he even worshipped Sarada Devi as the mother Goddess. Sarada Devi outlived Ramakrishna by 34 years and played an important role in the nascent religious movement. 

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The most widely known amongst the spiritual teachers of Ramakrishna was an ascetic woman, called Bhairavi Brahmani skilled in tantra and vaishnava bhakti and an advaita vedantic ascetic, Tota Puri who taught him non-dual meditation, and according to Ramakrishna, he experienced nirvikalpa samadhi under his guidance. Ramakrishna also practiced other religions, notably Islam and Christianity, and came to the conclusion that they all lead to the same God. He was comfortable with all faiths, with all modes of worship as he believed that ultimate aim of all religions, all faiths was to seek the Almighty, the omnipotent, the omnipresent, the omniscient,  the Brahmn of the  Hindus, the God of the Christians, the Allah of the Muslims. Ramakrishna was the embodiment of universal toleration and acceptance, the essence of Hinduism and Indian culture.

 Ramakrishna did not preach any new religion, he did not write any book, nor did he unlike Vivekananda deliver public lectures. Instead, he chose to speak in a simple language using parables and metaphors by way of illustration, drawn from the observation of nature and ordinary things of daily use. His conversations were charming and attracted the cultural elite of the then Bengal. He had only rudimentary education but the best university graduates of that time found in him an intellectual giant. Sri Ramakrishna by practicing different religions and different faiths realised the basic harmony among all religions their outward differences notwithstanding.  He in fact can be called the originator of the pluralism in religions. It was left to his greatest disciple Vivekananda to spread this message of harmony among all religions and faiths in the whole world.  

The last phase of his mortal life was both poignant and profound. It was poignant as he suffered intense pain because of the throat cancer he developed. Ramakrishna was advised by the doctors to keep the strictest silence, but ignoring their advice, he incessantly conversed with visitors and his admirers. During his last days, he was looked after by his monastic disciples and Sarada Devi. According to traditional accounts, before his death, Ramakrishna transferred his spiritual powers to Vivekananda and reassured Vivekananda of his avataric status. Ramakrishna's condition gradually worsened and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossipore garden house. After the death of their master, the monastic disciples led by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganges, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples. This became the first Math or monastery of the disciples who constituted the first Ramakrishna Order. Today Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples, followers and admirers are located across the globe and Ramakrishna Math and Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda  to serve the humanity as embodiment of God has its headquarter at Belur and branches located across the world.

In the words of Maxmuller the great German orientalist and scholar, the fervent love of God, nay, the sense of complete absorption in Godhead, has nowhere found a stronger and more eloquent expression than in the utterances of Ramakrishna. According to British historian Arnold Toynbee, Ramakrishna’s religious activity and experience were, in fact, comprehensive to a degree that had perhaps never before been attained by any other religious genius, in India or elsewhere. Sri Aurobindo had said that the world could not bear a second birth like that of Ramakrishna in five hundred years.Writing about his guru Swami Vivekananda had said that for the first time he found a man who dared to say that he saw God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world.   

Compromise, Boon or Bane

There are many words which sound innocuous but have profound impact on our lives.

Compromise is one of such many simple frequently used words that can be found in the dictionary. Compromise means as per Oxford dictionary an agreement reached by each side giving way on some points. The word is used by us very frequently causally and at times loosely. But if we pause for a moment and think over it we will find the significance of this word is enormous.     

Compromise is a part of life, we compromise day in and day out knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or involuntarily. Compromise is a must between various relations in families, between husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, couples and their in-laws, lovers and beloved, leaders and followers, buyers and sellers,  between friends and neighbours. It is the concept of give and take that is the foundation of societies formed. If I think that I must stick to my views and act as per my own whims I must also realise that others may also be rigid in their stand and if all become rigid in their stances then we may have no other alternative but to lead jungle life. It would not be an exaggeration to say that civilisation would not have flourished without compromise. Whenever different groups, factions and people fail to reach compromise among them disasters have taken place. If there was compromise between Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah, between Congress and Muslim League in the forties, post independent India’s history would have been different and the partition of our country could have been averted. If a compromise between Netaji Subhash and the members of the Congress Working Committee would have taken place in 1939 the history of our freedom struggle would have been written in a different way. Mohammed Ghori would not have been able to achieve victory if there was a compromise between Prithviraj and Jaichand.  The Mahabharata War would not have taken place if some compromise was reached between Pandavas and Kauravas. The world would not have experienced the hollow cast of World Wars and the Atom bomb if there was compromise between Japan and America, between Germany and Britain.

Tolerance is the essence of compromise. A tolerant mind appreciates other’s views, his problems and constraints and is therefore amenable to compromise. Intolerant mind does not accept other’s views, his customs and belief and is therefore unable to make compromise with others. Intolerance breeds hatred, religious and linguistic fanaticism leading to wars and destruction often drenching the earth with human blood. Intolerance and rigidity digs chasm between men and men, compromise brings them closer.  Compromise between different countries, communities and groups leads to peace, progress and prosperity. Compromise between the Management and the Workers is essential for the harmonious environment in any organisation. It is said that compromise is oil which helps the various organs of the Government to run.

Indian mind because of the profound influence of Hinduism which is the most tolerant of all religions appears to be more tolerant and amenable to compromise. That is why probably Indian culture has been able to accept, accommodate and assimilate in it different cultures and values. Different tribes who came to India as invaders at different times like Shaka.Hun, Pathan and Moughals were ultimately absorbed within our country not as foreign invaders but as Indian.It is because of the tolerant Indian culture that people of all the major religions of the world find our country conducive to live.No wonder Swami Vivekananda proclaimed in America that he was proud to belong to a nation that has sheltered the persecuted and refugees of all the religions of the world.

People are gradually realising the importance of compromise all over the world. That is how we find today Presidents of U.S.A and Iran have come to almost hand shaking distance. U.S.A and Syria have entered into compromise on the highly sensitive issue of chemical weapons. The military regime of Myanmar is coming to a compromise with the leaders of democratic movement there.  Maosists in Nepal have entered into compromise with democratic parties in that country and are taking part in the election process. India and China are trying to make compromise with each other, so also India and Pakistan. We are also witnessing compromise between Socialism and Capitalism in countries like China and Russia.

Compromise is however not an unmixed blessing. Compromise with status quo often retards progress, makes the people inactive, creates mental blockade. It is the uncompromising mind of the great men through the ages that has helped the mankind to progress to new heights. We have read in the pages of history how Galileo refused to compromise with the belief of the then Church with regard to the rotation of earth and sun. The uncompromising attitude of Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in the 19th century Bengal was instrumental in banning widow burning and legalising widow re-marriage. Mahatma Gandhi refused to compromise with the poor condition of the Indians in South Africa in early 20th century. India was able to regain her freedom form the foreign ruler because the people refused to compromise with the British rule and many brave men and women sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom struggle.  Swami Vivekananda who proclaimed in his address to the Parliament of Religion in Chicago that he was proud to belong to a religion which had taught the world toleration and universal acceptance was intolerant and uncompromising against all the evil practices that had crept into the then Hindu societies.

So, while the societies formed and civilisation flourished on the foundation of compromise between men and men, it is the uncompromising minds of the great scholars, scientists, poets, writers, philosophers, social reformers in different ages and different countries that have made the world what it is today.         

       

Turning Points: Indian Cricket

16th November 2013 will be remembered as one of the most momentous day for Indian Cricket, a day of both joy and sadness, of hope and agony. It witnessed history in making, the end of unforgettable era of Sachin Tendulkar, India's second consecutive innings victory over W. Indies, six test victories in a row, mesmerizing spell of Ojha and Ashwin and Sachin becoming the youngest person to be awarded Bharat Ratna. It has been a day of mixed feelings; a day charged with high emotions and will continue to be talked about in the days to come.

While 16th November, 2013 will definitely be a watershed in Indian Cricket, I find it tempting to go back to the past and try to find some major turning points in Indian Cricket in its march till date. The first major break through Indian Cricket got was when India got the status of a test playing team with its Test debut at Lords against England way back in 1932. Till that time India was hardly recognised in the International cricket though Indian teams did make some unofficial trips to England prior to 1932 to play some county matches. The next year saw Lala Amarnath becoming the first Indian to score a century in a Test match. Although Ranjitsinhjee and Duleepsinhjee two outstanding batsmen of their times scored centuries in Tests before Amarnath scored his century, their names will not be found in the annals of Indian Test Cricket as both of them played for England and not India.

!959-60 home series against Australia was a major watershed as in the second Test that series India’s Jasu Patel almost single handed demolished the then invincible team of Richie Benaud’s Australia and gave India an almost unimaginable victory. Between 1932 and 1959 though India did record some Test victories against the minions of the cricket during the period like New Zealand, Pakistan and a totally depleted English team, Indian team was never a serious a challenger to countries like England, Australia and West Indies. Jasu Patel’s achievement demonstrated that India can also pose a serious challenge to the high and mighties of cricket. Though in the subsequent years for a long time India’s performance continues to be dismal, the Indian fans could at least start dreaming of India’s victory even against strong teams.

The emergence of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as captain of Indian team was another turning point in Indian Cricket. Pataudi apart from being a great batsman of his time proved himself to be a great captain, a leader who could lead from the front, motivate the team by his own example of playing fearlessly against the best of the bowling attack even with the severe handicap of playing with only one eye.

The emergence of Sunil Gavaskar in 1971 was a major landmark in Indian Cricket. Although India did have some great batsmen in the past, Gavaskar was probably the first Indian batsman who showed infinite appetite for runs and was not happy unlike his predecessors with few brilliant performances here and there and in the process went on to amass runs in such a way that records which were considered to be the sole preserves of English and Australian players got broken by him. He became the first cricketer to score 10000 runs in Test cricket and also surpassed the once thought unbeatable record of 29 Test centuries of Don Bradman.

The emergence of spin quartet of Prasanna, Bedi, Venkataraghavan and Chandrasekhar was yet another turning point giving the much needed teeth to the bowling of the Indian team.

The appearance of Kapil Dev on the Indian cricket horizon as a genuine fast bowler and world class all rounder was yet another turning point of Indian cricket. India’s lifting of the World Cup under his leadership was one of the most memorable events of Indian Cricket.

Sourav Ganguly’s taking over the mantle of leadership of the Indian team greatly changed the attitude of the players of the team. He was able to mould the players into a winning team, a team that was not satisfied with any thing less than an outright victory. M.S. Dhoni the present captain of the team is a cool and calculated leader who like Sourav believes in winning matches for India and has been able to lead India to victory in all major International cricket events.

But before Sourav or Dhoni it was Sachin Tendulkar’s appearance in Karachi Test way back in 1989 the most important turning points of Indian Cricket as never before any Indian batsman apart from Gavaskar could dominate the batting department as Sachin did in the years that followed. Sachin Tendulkar though physically not a tall person strode the cricketing world like a colossus. He went on to break almost all the records in batting in all formats of the game. His batting statistics is awesome, his consistency was incredible, his commitment to the game was exemplary, and his dedication was total.

The void that was created in Indian cricket with the retirement of Gavaskar was quickly filled in with Sachin stepping in. Now we have to wait and see whether the void created with Sachin bowing out will ever be filled and if it is at all filled when and who will do this. That day will be yet another great turning point of Indian cricket.               

    

Indian Cricket, now and then

As India wrapped up West Indies second innings in the recently concluded Eden Garden Test in less than one day and earned an innings victory within three days of what was supposed to be a five day match, my mind goes back to 1958 when I, then a schoolboy in a junior class started listening to radio cricket commentary. That was the time when West Indies was touring India devastating the Indian team with both bat and ball so much so that when India after loosing four tests in a row managed to draw the fifth and final test of the series, it was held as great achievement by India. That was the series when Sobers and Kanhai were attacking Indian bowling like merciless butchers and Hall and Gillchrist were playing havoc with the Indian batsmen. 

We can visualise in our mind the joy and jubilation of India’s cricket lovers  after India managed to draw the fifth test match in 1958 against West Indies. If we compare the same with the thrills and suspense on the third day of the recently concluded test match against West Indies where the spectators and cricket fans were hoping against hope that West Indies would survive the day and India get a chance to bat in the second innings thereby giving the spectators a chance to see Sachin bat once again, then only we will realise what a transformation has taken place in Indian Cricket over the years. What a fall of the West Indies from what it was in the past and what a meteoric rise of the Indian team! A team that used to gladden the hearts of its fans once upon a time by just avoiding defeat and ensuring  what our sports commentators of that time used to call a honourable draw is now one of the strongest in the world and is not happy without a comprehensive victory.

While it is for the analysts and the serious students of the game to figure out the factors responsible for this positive transformation, I only wonder why such positive  things are not happening  in other areas. India’s performance in hockey these days is dismal. India seven times Olympic champion is a non-entity in today’s hockey. India’s show in other sports has been far from encouraging. Milkha Singh and P.T. Usha are till date the best ever athletes India has produced. The most ardent supporters of Indian Cricket in 1958 would not have imagined in their wildest dreams that a day would come when Indian fans confident of India’s victory will be actually praying that the opponent avoids innings defeat so that they get a chance to see their hero batting again. If such changes can happen in cricket why can it not happen in other sports or for that matter in other areas of activities? Let us fervently hope that performance in cricket will be replicated in other areas also and India will emerge as one of the leading nations of the world in all spheres of human activity in not too distant future. 

    

   

Aadhaar

Aadhaar or Andhera

Will Aadhaar scheme introduced by the Govt.bring andhera (darkness) in this festive season of light to us who are yet to get their Aadhaar cards by depriving us of our legitimate quota of subsidised LPG cylinders? When the scheme was announced some years back we were given to understand that Aadhaar card will be an unique identification card replacing all the existing ID cards and Aadhaar card holders will not require any other documents to prove their identity and nationality and it will be accepted by all Govt. and non Govt. organisations. A high powered authority was formed headed by an eminent I.T. expert who was given the status of a Central Minister to roll out the scheme. However as the years rolled on doubts were being expressed about the acceptability of this card by the banks and other organisations and some ministries in the Central Govt. It soon became apparent that Aadhaar will not be a replacement of the other ID documents but an addition to the existing ones.

Then came the announcement of the Government’s grandiose plan to release various Govt. subsidies meant for the poorest of poor (BPL category people) to the beneficiaries direct through their bank accounts. In this proposed scheme of things it was decided that Aadhaar card being a bio metrical card which can not be forged will be used to identify the beneficiaries eligible for the subsidies.

So far so good for urban middle class people like us who were not eligible for subsidies meant for BPl category people and were having already other I.D.cards to prove their identifications wherever required. We were therefore not concerned about the difficulties that the poorest of poor will face in getting their Aadhaar nos, opening accounts in banks and the complex process of linking their Aadhaar nos. to their bank accounts.

Then came the bomb shell for us when the Govt. curtailed the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to be provided in a year to 6 (later raised to 9) and further compounded our problems by coolly announcing that the subsidy portion of the cylinder will be credited to the bank accounts linked to the Aadhaar numbers of the consumers. This means that those of us not having Aadhaar cards will not get the benefit of LPG subsidy. Not withstanding the Supreme Court’s interim judgement that Aadhaar is not compulsory for getting the benefit of  social sector subsidies like the LPG subsidies, the Govt. is going ahead with almost missionary zeal in instructing the various oil companies to implement the Aadhaar linked release of LPG subsidy scheme from different dates in different districts without showing matching concern for the need to ensure that all consumers get their Aadhaar cards and get them linked to their respective bank accounts well in advance. There is every possibility that the scheme instead of preventing the leakage of subsidy, the purpose for which the scheme was conceived will actually deprive large number of genuine consumers of the benefit of subsidy to which they are entitled.

The recent press report of West Bengal Chief Minister expressing her displeasure in the matter and her reported writing to the Prime Minister is a silver lining against the backdrop of shadow of uncertainty engulfing those not having Aadhaar numbers. Her remark that centre can not do away the LPG subsidy till all consumers get their Aadhaar numbers and  if need be her boys will gherao IOC offices should be music to the ears of those who are yet to know how to go about in getting their Aadhaar numbers. Her suggestion that centre should provide lockers to the citizens to keep their various cards can not be brushed aside as a mere joke  because of the hassles the common men face in getting various cards to satisfy the requirements of the various authorities.

Thoughts on Hinduism

Hinduism unlike other religions was not founded by any one single prophet in any particular point of time but its origin dates back to antiquity. It has evolved over the ages through the different stages of progress of civilization imbibing and assimilating in it different views, ideas, thoughts, culture. Its scriptures are not confined in one single holy book but can be found spread over a number of books containing in them every conceivable thoughts of human mind.

Hinduism has no defined set of practices nor has it any specific commandments. A Hindu does not necessarily believe in one God or Goddess. Hinduism has many Gods and Goddesses to be worshiped but at the same time though it may sound paradoxical to followers of other religions, it believes also in non-dualism (Adaitabad) according to which there is not only one God but there is nothing else except God in the whole universe. The monists among the Hindus believe that the whole universe is manifestation of God and all objects are only His reflections. God is both the creator and the creation like the spider and its cobweb. Hinduism however does not enforce its followers to accept the theory of non-dualism but allows them to worship God in their own preferred ways. As Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa had once said that as a mother prepared different types of dishes for her children to suit their different tastes, so also God could be worshiped by different people as per their own preferences.

Hinduism does not believe in superiority or inferiority of any religion but accepts all religions as true. It does not believe in enforcing conversion from other religions but keeps its door open to all. Swami Vivekananda had proclaimed in his address to the Parliament of Religions at Chicago that he was proud to belong to a religion which had taught the world tolerance and universal acceptance. The tolerance and acceptance have helped Hinduism to assimilate in itself divergent and even apparent contradictory views and thoughts. Hinduism has space even for the atheists. From the high spiritual ideas of non- dualism to the comparatively easy to understand dualism of God and man as two distinct entities, the agnosticism of the Buddhistis and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu's religion. 

Hinduism allows the devotees to develop bond with  God and form beautiful personal relationship with Him like son, daughter, father, mother, friend and lover. Goddess Durga who is considered as the source of all cosmic energy is perceived by us as our own daughter; the daughter of earth married to Lord Shiva who comes to her parental home on our earth for four days in a year to bring joy and happiness to us. Lord Krishna is perceived by His devotees as teacher, friend or beloved. It is because of these personal relationships that we develop with God, we do not fear God but love Him immensely and more intensely than we love any other person. A true Hindu is therefore a God loving person. He believes that God is the nearest and dearest to him and resides not far up in the sky watching over us always monitoring our good and bad actions but lives in the heart of our hearts as our protector. But at the same time a Hindu admits he always does not understand how God functions at times, how can there be hunger, pains, misery, sorrow, sufferings in the kingdom of all merciful and all mighty God. As Swami Vivekananda had written in his paper on Hinduism, a Hindu is brave enough to admit that he does not know the answer to this question. 

As different streams having different sources mingle their water in the sea, so different ideas, tendencies, practices, hopes, beliefs, fears, joys, aspirations of different people in different places through the ages find their places in the ocean of Hinduism.