The Bhagavad Gita and Ulysses

'Ulysses' was written in October 1833 after Tennyson came to know about the death of his friend Arthur Hallam. ‘Ulysses’, based on the Greek legendary character Odysseus, desires for adventure and Karma, is ready to leave his empire and monarchy of Ithica to his son Telemachus.  His idea of an ideal King is not of one who sits around the fire with his wife and making laws for people who don’t even know him. He compares people to a sort of animal (“savage race”), who needs to be fed and showered with freebies and taken care of. He feels uneasy, as he knows he is meant for things that are more meaningful.

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees……                                                                                                                           (‘Ulysses’, ll. 1-7.)

The Bhagavad-Gita also echoes the same thoughts:

TEXT 17

k-MaR<aae ùiPa baeÖVYa& baeÖVYa& c ivk-MaR<a" )

Ak-MaR<aê baeÖVYa& GahNaa k-MaR<aae GaiTa" )) 17 ))

karmaëo hy api boddhavyaà

boddhavyaà ca vikarmaëaù

akarmaëaç ca boddhavyaà

gahanä karmaëo gatiù

TRANSLATION

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore, one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what inaction is. 

                                                                                                      (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch.IV., Sl. 17)

Death is the full annihilation of all vibrations of the human body. The heart has stopped to function, the lungs, the veins, arteries, in fact, every limb of the physical body, has closed operation, pulsating, vibrating. The afferent and efferent nervous system has stopped getting any order or feeling. This is a kind of silence, which may be called death. Everything is stopped with death. So Ulysses feels that if nobody can stop the death, so better die to do some work for the people and world. The Bhagavad-Gita and Ulysses believe in the same philosophy of action or Karma.

Ulysses is the modern passion for Karma, for the discovery of its boundless areas, for the takeover of the new kingdoms of science and knowledge. He believes that the human spirit is bold. It can never grow tired in its hunt for knowledge. 

In the first part of the poem, Ulysses is talking about the problems that he has been facing in his kingdom. Ulysses expresses himself as an 'Idle king', which shows he is impatient and although rules, is not getting any fulfilment from it.

The poem communicates the voracious craving of the human soul for knowledge. It was the spirit of the Bhagavad-Gita, which made modern Europe what it is today. He has also specified us here an image of that mind. He kept up his thoughts in mind all through life and constant in poem after poem the idea of the endless search after truth beyond the limits hitherto attained.    

All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. ……                                               (‘Ulysses’, ll. 7-17)

The Bhagavad-Gita also expresses the same idea where it says that this world is just like an illusion and nothing is real and permanent here.

TEXT 12

NaTvevah& JaaTau NaaSa& Na Tv& NaeMae JaNaaiDaPaa" )

Na cEv Na>aivZYaaMa" SaveR vYaMaTa" ParMa( )) 12 ))

na tv evähaà jätu näsaà

na tvaà neme janädhipäù

na caiva na bhaviñyämaù

sarve vayam ataù param

TRANSLATION

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.           (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch.II, Sl. 12)                                                                                         

This life and world are just illusion or Maya. The theory of Mäyä says that after liberation the individual soul, separated by the covering of Mäyä, or illusion, will unite into the impersonal Brahman and lose its individual existence and is not protected by any power. Only God is not the illusion and He is a reality. According to the Mäyä theory, the individuality is not spiritual, but material. An ordinary man with all the four defects of human imperfection is powerless to teach that which is worth hearing. However, prior to this verse, such a physical belief is already condemned.

For Ulysses, 'experience is an arch wherethro' Gleams that unraveled world whose margin fades forever and ever when I move'. Through this, he is presenting us that, the more we know, the more we realize we do not know anything. The 'margin' is the sphere, which shrinks, as we get more far-off from it by moving on through life.

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life

Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
>From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. ……                                                       (‘Ulysses’, ll. 18-32.)

The reiteration of 'ever' show there is so much more to observe and do. Ulysses says that it is wrong to 'rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use! Here, he is contrasting our abilities to a sword, saying that we should not let it rust, but use it to the utmost. The exclamation at the end of the line shows his strong effect on this.

The contrasting image can also be seen the Bhagavad-Gita:

TEXT 9

k-aYaRiMaTYaev YaTk-MaR iNaYaTa& i§-YaTae_JauRNa )

Sa(r)& TYa¤-a f-l&/ cEv Sa TYaaGa" Saaitvk-ae MaTa" )) 9 ))

käryam ity eva yat karma

niyataà kriyate 'rjuna

saìgaà tyaktvä phalaà caiva

sa tyägaù sättviko mataùand

TRANSLATION

O Arjuna, when one performs his prescribed duty only because it ought to be done, and renounces all material association and all attachment to the fruit, his renunciation is said to be in the mode of goodness. 

                                                                            (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. XVIII. Sl. 9)

In respiration also, after we inhale in, we do not immediately exhale. We retain the breath within for a while and then exhale. Similarly, after exhaling, we do not at once inhale. We stop for a little while, and then only inhale. Therefore, in both cases, there is a short pause. The first pause, after inhalation, is called purna kumbhaka, and the second pause, after exhalation, is called shunya kumbhaka. These are states of pause, not of speed.

A state of pause is nothing but a state of death because, in that state of pause, every function and vibration is suspended. At that time, vibrations of all objects of the universe remain in a body in seed form, but not yet fully accepted or assimilated.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
to whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,--
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone.  ……(‘Ulysses’, ll. 33 - 43)

When Ulysses makes a decision to hand over his throne to his son Telemachus, he contrasts his son to himself as being less restless and more stable, therefore able to rule his throne when he is away. He talks about his people as “rugged people” who are rough and uncultured, that is why they need to be tamed and taught and put to good use. According to Tennyson, as well as Ulysses, it is necessary to worship the native or household Gods for perfection in life.

This poem is set when King Ulysses returns home to Ithaca from a long journey and fighting in the Trojan Wars. His pursuit of knowledge beyond human limits and for his adventures in disregard of his family and family responsibilities have been criticized greatly on a positive and negative mote.  The Bhagavad-Gita says that as far as work is concerned, one should transfer his energy entirely to God conscious activities.

TEXT 55

MaTk-MaRk*-NMaTParMaae MaÙ¢-" Sa(r)viJaRTa" )

iNavŒr" SavR>aUTaezu Ya" Sa MaaMaeiTa Paa<@v )) 55 ))

mat-karma-kån mat-paramo

mad-bhaktaù saìga-varjitaù

nirvairaù sarva-bhüteñu

yaù sa mäm eti päëòava

TRANSLATION

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental assumptions, he who works for Me, who makes Me the ultimate goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being—he certainly comes to Me.  (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. XI. Sl. 55)

Those who want to realise the Unchangeable and the Immortal must go beyond this system of change. Only the Entity that never changes at all is the immortal Entity. That Entity is Paramatma super soul or God. So, to be established in immortality, what will one have to do? One will have to awaken one’s sharp intelligence, and in due course, that awakened pointed intellect will merge into Supreme Consciousness, Parama Chaitanya.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,--
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads,-- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. ……(‘Ulysses’, ll. 47 - 56)

There is in human spirit an unquenchable inquisitiveness, a strong urge to know more and more of the mysteries of the cosmos. If we lead a life of mental activity, we are sure to prosper. A settled and lazy mind is bound to kill the soul. Ulysses is the face of those eternal and never-ending elements in man’s nature.

Tennyson mentions how “death closes all”. He expresses his own need of going further and braving the efforts of life after the loss of his beloved. “Ulysses” like many of Tennyson’s other poems, deals with the yearning to reach beyond the limits of one’s thoughts. He mentions how he wants to go beyond the place where stars bathe themselves at night, and he challenges norms in society, as he does not feel without purpose following a herd would do any good for anyone. He feels the need to strip away from all who give him negativity

TEXT 5

Na ih k-iêT+a<aMaiPa JaaTau iTaïTYak-MaRk*-Ta( )

k-aYaRTae ùvXa" k-MaR SavR" Pa[k*-iTaJaEGauR<aE" )) 5 ))

na hi kaçcit kñaëam api

jätu tiñöhaty akarma-kåt

käryate hy avaçaù karma

sarvaù prakåti-jair guëaiù

TRANSLATION

Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore, no one can abstain from doing something, not even for a moment.               (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. III, Sl. 5)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

It is not an issue of embodied life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always full of life. Without the presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is only a dead vehicle to be worked and commanded by the spirit soul, which is always active and cannot stop even for a moment.    

'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'       ……(‘Ulysses’, ll. 57 - 65)

On the desired and set, adventure journey, this may reunite him with his companion in the Trojan War, Achilles.  It means the soul never dies only the body changes the body and abode.  Ulysses says that 'some work of noble note can be done' which will suit him as he has noble qualities. The assonance in 'Long day wanes' and 'slow moon climbs' drags the line down and shows how time is running out fast and unconcerned. The run - on line 'come my friends 'Tis not too late' shows how Ulysses is trying to boost the morale of his fellow mariners, into one more battle. The 'purpose holds', shows that they are soldiers. Ulysses' main aim is to reach the 'Happy Isles' to see 'Achilles, whom we knew'. The 'one equal temper of heroic hearts', shows the strength of the mariners and Ulysses. He wants to go to the “happy isles” which refers to the Islands of the Blessed, or heaven where their personal hero, Achilles resides.  A man with noble qualities and deeds can directly go to heaven and can meet his creator or God. This status is called Moksha in the Bhagavad-Gita.

TEXT 24

AC^eÛae_YaMadaùae_YaMa(c)e-Ûae_XaaeZYa Wv c )

iNaTYa" SavRGaTa" SQaa<aurcl/ae_Ya& SaNaaTaNa" )) 24 ))

acchedyo 'yam adähyo 'yam

akledyo 'çoñya eva ca

nityaù sarva-gataù sthäëur

acalo 'yaà sanätanaù

TRANSLATION

This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.              (The Bhagavad-Gita, Ch. II, Sl.24)

All these qualities of the minuscule but atomic soul positively establish that the individual soul is eternally the atomic particle of the spirit and the God whole, and he remains the same atom eternally, without any change. After liberation from material contamination, the atomic soul may prefer to remain as a spiritual glow in the effulgent rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the intelligent and great souls enter into the spiritual planets to associate with the Personality of Godhead. Perhaps Achilles represents this status, discussed in the Bhagavad-Gita.  

Nation needs Common Civil Code

It is a highly welcome step to get rid of the government subsidy for Haj pilgrims. The Constitution declares that India is a secular nation, and forbids discrimination on the basis of religion. So, the state should not support any religious groups, and not finance or subsidise any.
The Haj subsidy was always an infringement of this principle of secularism Even in 2012 the Supreme Court also declared it unconstitutional. The BJP has been clearly calling the subsidy a case of “appeasement politics”.  Ultimately the Modi government has shown the guts and courage to abolish it outright and strengthen the true spirit of constitution and secularism.
However, a secular state that bans Haj subsidies must ban all types of communal funding. Such a non-discriminatory ban would stand for secular non-appeasement. Instead, the Modi government itself has been financing the lakhs of minority educational institutions, madrasas, churches, Mazars, etc. Even still transport and accommodation for pilgrims to Ajmer Sharif are financed by the government. Modi government has abolished only one subsidy but still, hundreds of such appeasement or communal funding are still going on. 
Financing multiple religious groups and schemes are as wrong as subsidising one.  Supporting some institutions over others is also discriminatory.
The Modi government is actually very slow in the abolishing the religious subsidies and financing. Many state governments have been giving such subsidies and finances for years. Such communal schemes were marketed by intellectuals and media as secular because it included non-Hindu institutions. Why should the state be picking and selecting among religions or pilgrimage centres? This is not the work of a state.
Such selectivity automatically shows bigotry in favour of some and against others. The sad fact is that still minority institutions and bodies are financed by the several governments not out of secular fervour but to cement the minority vote banks. Do minority institutions are more deserving than the majority and secular institutions? Not in any way.
And yet the very politicians that denounce the Haj subsidy as “minority appeasement” are silent on these fundings. The finances provided by other states are too numerous to be listed fully. News reports say UP finances no less than twenty thousand madrasas. All the state governments have minority commissions fully financed by the governments.
Both Congress and BJP governments have been financing hundreds of schemes related to minority employment etc. Almost all the states have government financed Haj Houses, Waqf boards, graveyards etc. Most the states ruled by either Congress or BJP has subsidies for Hindus or Hindu institutions.
In sum, all political parties, Congress and non-Congress, are waist-deep in subsidies and funds for minority religions. The subsidies are not by speciality of religion-based parties but by all. Even then they call themselves proudly as secular, and even by parties (like CPM, DMK and AIADMK) claiming to be the rationalist. This is cynical vote-bank politics, precisely what the Haj funding was for the Congress. 
All such subsidies would be declared unconstitutional in the secular countries like the US or France. The judiciaries in those nations take care to disconnect the state from religious activity, although all the western nations have a strong Christian lobby.
In India, there is no ethical obedience to disjointing of the state and religion. Even those politicians declaring themselves secular fundamentalists have been averse to denounce the Haj and other communal subsidies, or state institution fundings. Indian secularism is almost fake and Indian secularists are naked communalist.
A subsidy for some religions amount to discrimination against other religions and infringes Constitutional pledge of equality of faiths.
All religions have large, formal institutions with fat funds. Some Indian churches, mosques, Mazars and wakf boards are extremely rich. In India, wakf boards are the number one owners of lands in the country. Same is the position of churches.
Why should these religious bodies are not being held accountable to subsidise and finance their own community and institutions? They already get colossal tax subsidies. Let these be forced to support them. Without the Common Civil Code, such provisions cannot be made. So for true secularism and equality, the Common Civil Code is the top most necessity.

Wanted: A Clean India Drive to stop NiMos

Indians on social networking sites have been flooded with jokes on Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, PNB etc. This serious issue is just another entertainment to them. This shows their real character that corruption is a joke, entertainment and part of life. They don’t hate the corrupt and corruption but laugh with them. A banking scam relating technical provisions like LoUs would become a popular video game.
However, Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi are no ordinary scamters. First, their businesses are comparatively simple and connect with all Indians – jewellery, wine/airline and cricket. Second, their advertising and participation involved top Bollywood stars and sexy models. This guarantees that entire nation had heard of them, even if they couldn’t afford their luxuries and flashy lifestyles. Third, unfortunately for the PM, the last name of two scamters is Modi. Nirav, Mallya and Lalit to represent the corrupt mafia that seems to have a hold on all the governments and getting away with whatsoever they want.
The group picture of Nirav Modi with the PM at Davos confirmed this opinion. This was enough to give a very strong issue to opposition parties and media and set the country’s thoughts on fire. The banks, the guys who actually sanctioned the loans and the guarantees, came across as both naive and dishonest. They also fit right into the public sector bank (PSB) and government offices pigeonhole – give atrocious service to the common customer but help the big businessman loot. Meanwhile, Nirav, Mallya and Lalit are enjoying their life in their luxury hotel suite and luxury villas.
Having, seen the working of banks, investigating agencies, and judiciary, it is not going to be easy to prove wrongdoing and punish Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi.
They will hire expensive lawyers would simply argue: “Ok, My Lord, that brainless bank gave me loans and LoU or guarantee letter without any safety or guarantee. We took. So what? It was offered to us. If somebody gives us an attractive deal, why won’t we seize it? We used that LoU or loan to elevate a lot of money for our business, open showrooms, purchased popular franchises for IPL, purchased luxury planes and ships, and threw big parties for politicians and celebrities.
I lost in the business. I coiled up. I failed as a businessman. I am very Sorry My Lord. All-merciful banks and government, we seized a guarantee and loan from you (and pay you a very handsome fee for it). Please pay back my creditors and protect their human rights. We are broke, big fools in business but we are not a criminal. Let us have our human rights in peace.” Now they will hire journalists, rights activists, NGOs and politicians to create a soft environment in the country for them as they have made for dreaded terrorists like Soharabuddin and Ishrat Jahan. Few powerless bank officials and bureaucrats will be punished, a commission will be formed and people will wait for another scam.
It is going to be enormously tricky to establish Nirav, Vijay and Lalit, in fact, committed swindle in collusion with bank officials and/or politicians to get a guarantee or loans without security. Vijay Mallya’s even issued personal guarantees, even then, so far banks and judiciary, both have failed to recollect their money or to convict him. Nirav simply secured guarantees from PNB, and without any security. Now, the PNB is bound to pay his creditors. Scams and frauds will have to be proved, and all know it very well how that goes in courts in India. The recent judgment in the 2G scam is an eye-opener.
This isn’t just an issue concerning Nirav Modi or PNB or, even the BJP or Congress. The problem is systemic and the citizens. Also, once the money is paid out devoid of due attentiveness and not repaid, it is almost impossible to prove if it was fraud and not a valid dealing went wrong. Hence, all the banks are very poorly working those are throwing money down the drain.
There are two safe ways for the people to keep money in them. One, the government invests in capital by charging citizens more taxes or higher service charges Two, citizens deposit their individual money. Then, it is the bank experts who choose what they do with that funds and who they loan it to. Some of the lendings are lawful. However, there are sufficient loopholes in reporting procedure to play with the system.
For example, no one noticed that the securities to Nirav Modi had no guarantee against them. Add a few dishonest staff to the combine, the politicians who truly run these banks and financial institutions and a greedy businessman – it actually isn’t that difficult to hatch a conspiracy. Due to these non-performing loans of public sector banks are three times more than those of private banks, and amount to lakhs of crores. It can be imagined the loot in progress inside those dusty bank branches.
The solution is not just to hound Nirav Modi or Vijay Mallya or blame the politicians. The responsibility needs to be fixed on the staff. We need more banks but with expert and meritorious staff. The more banks, the less the likelihood of wrongdoing.  The government must appoint more expert staff for better working. Merger plan or privatizing plan must be shelved. There must be a world-class system to detect any risks and frauds. 
Dozens of reports and suggestions exist on how to improve our banks, what is needed is honest politicians and will and courage to punish the wrongdoers. Till then, the taxpayer’s money will be looted by the nexus of businessman, employees and politicians. Worse, the resources that can be used to develop the nation and the economy will go to fund corrupt promoters. Harshad Mehta scam took place when Dr Man Mohan Singh was the finance minister but the same Dr.Man Mohan Singh remained the PM of the country for ten years. He should have been boycotted by the voters.
Banks and politicians are choking our nation, wasting our money and aiding corruption. We need a pressing ‘Clean India Drive’ to clean up the system. This isn’t just about some billionaire; it is about a billion people.
Judiciary needs urgent reforms. Reward those who catch cheating. Government jobs and promotion should be given to those who catch bribes and corruption. 

Hindu a victim?

No Hindus feel safe and the victim narrative very real. The targeting of Amarnath Yatris in Anantnag is almost a regular phenomenon. Hindus are victims in their own nation. All their festivals are celebrated under the shadow of fear. Hindus suffer silently and without any protest while attacks on Muslims are highlighted by the media, secularists, communists, Islamist and NGOs. Not only in India but from London to Australia Indian Muslims can be seen a partner is the global terror network.
Now, not only, India is a big supplier of Islamic terrorists but a big supplier of Jihadi ideology. This has put the whole Muslim society in India on notice. India is a country which supplies thousands of terrorists to ISIS, al-Qaida, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and other dreaded terror organizations. Still, hundreds of Indian terrorists have been working for these terror outfits in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan etc countries. The Muslim victimhood narrative which is nothing but hate and intolerance war cry against majority community needs to be busted.

Routinely, innocent Hindu pilgrims were killed in Anantnag and other places but very few of their killers, radicalised Islamist are convicted in the courts. This is more than enough reason to prove that Hindus are victims of Islamic terrorism and at the mercy of Islamic zealots and liberal “Hindu haters”
This is not an imagined assault, but not only real fear but also honest fear psychosis when in fact the Hindu experiences a lot of fear from minorities and is completely unsafe and is not free to practice his religion in whichever manner he wants. Deliberately problems are created for Hindu Yatras and festivals but all are silent on the regular azaans on roads on every Friday, causing massive traffic jams and slaughtering of animals on Eid al-Fitr. Hindu Gods and traditions are also subject of insult in books and movies in the name of secularism and freedom of expression.
A new term ‘Islamophobia’ has been created to protect the Muslim terrorists and radicals to keep the pot boiling and politicise both religion and society. The fixation on the Islamic threat has meant that now Hindus need blasphemy laws like Islam, to protect their religion. Islamophobia is also growing because of dangerously growing “appeasement” of Muslims and a discriminatory application of laws. Special privileges are granted to orthodox maulanas and Imams by fanatic “secular” politicians are now enough to demand protection Hinduism. Now Islamist enjoys almost total immunity from the law.
The fact is Hindus are the worst victims of terrorism. In Kashmir, Islamic terrorists have almost wiped out total Hindu population from the valley. Similarly, Hindus faced the Sikh terrorism for almost three decades. In North-East Hindus have been facing the brunt of Christian and Ethnic terrorism since independence.
Images of Muslim groups targeting Hindu shops in Bengal’s Basirhat are troubling.  Bengal, Kerala, Bihar etc have become a hub of hatred for Hindus. Truly, Hindus are victims. In fact, across India, the Hindu experiences fear from the Muslim. However relentlessly “love jihad” campaigns are silenced by secular foot soldiers. The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and lakhs of living in refugee camps is a terrible blot on the secular democracy of the country and exposes the hollowness of secularism and human rights of successive governments in Srinagar as well as Delhi. These reason enough to claim Hindus are under threat across the country.
Committees, like Sachar Committee report, erroneously presented the most powerful group (Muslim) as backward.  The community is “pampered” and “appeased”. Even the imams get the powerful political and judicial patronage.
Muslims are reproducing faster than Hindus and will soon outnumber the majority is a reality. The Muslim dominated areas like; Kashmir, Kairana, Dasna, Mallapuram, Malda, etc. are growing every day. The number is growing fast. In fact whether it is the murder of  Akhlaq, Zia, Junaid, Pehlu Khan, the attack on a Muslim family in a train, or the slapping of sedition charges on those setting off crackers after an India-Pakistan cricket match, the reality is that it is Muslims who use the victim card excellently and siphoned crores and other generosities, is enough narrative of muscular ‘minoritism’.
All are oppressing Hindus. At a time when Muslim budgetary allocation is at an all-time high, but nothing for Hindus, Hindus feel under attack. When Hindu mythology, festivals, iconography, imagery is now the mocked in art, books, movies and TV shows, when a government that is openly branded as a Hindu nationalist government and rules with a big majority, even than the Hindu feel truly cornered.
Much respected but a morally bankrupt Muslim leadership has been creating more problems for the nation. They have created and nurtured a grievance and victim industry for votes and not taken steps to reduce the Muslim radicalism.
Luckily, in spite of intolerant political leaders, bridge builders still exist and many are sweating to maintain inter-community bridges even as the secularists, communists, media, NGOs, etc. are determined to blow them up. Radical Muslims are insisting on victimhood, but the real victims of today – only citizens. The Muslim right should realise that a campaign based on creating fear may bring electoral benefits once, but will not work in the long run, because as far as his religion is concerned, the Hindu feels unsafe and threatened.

Statues, Bhakts and politics

The recent demolition of the statues of Lenin, Ambedkar, Periyar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Lord Ganesha etc has achieved the amazing thing in doing what the statues themselves have failed to do – forcing all to remember them. The razing down the statue of Lenin forces all to talk about him- a thing that most of us have never done because communists have a very powerful propaganda network.
This is not a new thing in our country. Instances of statues being brought down or damaged have often served nothing. It depends upon how the act is used by the followers. For examples, if any statue related either with Hindu Gods or icons of Right wingers, is damaged or razed, hardly any attention is paid. But if the statue is related to Communists, Dalits or minority groups, there are all hue and cries. The same thing happened in this case too. 
Lenin bhakts are very powerful propagandists. They presented it as powerful instant in history- widely publicized dismantling on all the networks.  But this razing is a celebration of the masses; a nationalist ideology has been a sign of a liberating sense of freedom from the tyranny of communist rule. A hated regime is finally overthrown democratically; there is euphoria to mark the passing in some physical way. Since the past can neither be undone nor be rubbed out, attacking its symbols becomes the easiest and satisfying target of celebrating the end.
In the case though, it is very clear that Vladimir Lenin as a symbol of anything strong in the Indian milieu. Tripura had an elected regime, led by a CM who was aggressively admired in the media as an honest and prudent person, and who managed to win four straight terms for him. Ultimately he lost this time by a logically high margin. The demolition of a statue is an indication of long-suppressed liberty.
The endeavour to translate a big electoral triumph into the exultant oust of an ideology, which is a symbol of tyranny and repression, is both just and wise although it set off a chain of such destruction by left fringe elements in other parts of the country too.
The problem with attacking once powerful symbols in such a way is that some of them can revive sleeping passions. While Lenin is not likely to stir any emotion, Periyar is the different story, although he himself was statue worshipping and his followers demolished so many statues of Hindus Gods and Goddesses. In a state where the BJP is working hard to get a grip, to take this non-seriously with regional and Dravidian sensitivities, will be very risky for BJP because anti-BJP bloc is trying hard to link this BJP. This club is branding BJP as a North Indian party and they are trying hard to inflame the emotions in other parts of the country, especially in Tamil Nadu.
Secularists, Communists and Islamist assisted by other fringe anti-Hindu, so-called rationalists, have made statues in today’s context, promoting amnesia rather than the tribute. The usual perceptive is that the statue is a potent icon that carries on the memory of the great icon and permits their followers to channelize their sentiments towards their heroes. We honour the really great with statues; we erect images that seek to motivate the followers through their glory.
Now, people laugh at the statues. Greatness is doubtful. Only supporters pay homage to the men and women in question by making their statues as memorials of greatness. We remember the person, not his deeds or miss-deeds. Now, only a few know the deeds or miss-deeds of Lenin or Periyar, but we blindly pay homage to their statues like blind bhakts believing that the statues are after all the best way for us to remember their ideas.
Though, the fact is that statues do not remind us of a person’s greatness; it is a sign of the arrogance and strength of his followers in the name of celebrating his memory.  Literally, statues serve to remind the ignorant generations that Ambedkar wore hat, three pieces suit and Periyar had a big beard, the kind hipsters sport today.
Statues be-little the memory by rubbing us remember too little. They permit us to trust that we have not elapsed without putting any strain on us to remember anything important. In our memory, they actually evoke almost nothing. They encroach public spaces and shut to any opposition or rather they believe in blindness. They are debts that we pay back to a gone person; we rid the yoke of history on to the town plaza. In most of the cases, they become the resting place of birds, coated landmarks signifying their worthlessness. In some cases, their meaning and worth also change with time and place.
There are so many other ways used to conserve memory. The cut-outs, names of roads, lanes, parks, institutions, cities, districts, dams, canals, projects, bridges, photographs on walls etc are all means to remember the past. But the effect is almost nothing. If we pass through Ambedkar road or Lenin square, it fails to foist memory for such signs but is merely become geography rather than history.
The statue and other memory marking devices achieve nothing, in some cases, their twist is to craft a setting sprinkled with false mention points of the past popularize them with the fake markers of our past. They are here so that in this era of the uninterrupted present created by designed media, and try to force us to think that today is an invention of their past. Hardly anybody knows that Lenin, Ambedkar and Periyar were statue haters like Mughal invaders but their fringe bhakts have vulgarized the nation with their statues. 

मूर्ति, भक्त और कौवा

आजकल लेनिन भक्त बहुत परेशान हैं । देशभक्तॉ ने पहले तो लेनिन भक्तॉ से उनका धाम त्रिपुरा छीन लिया, बेचारे भक्त अभी सदमे से उभरे भी नही थे कि उनके रक्षक एवम जन संहारक जिहादी भगवान लेनिन की मूर्ति को भी धाराशाही कर दिया। वह एक कम्युनिस्ट, आदमकद महापुरुष थे। समय बदलने के साथ, वह कभी दफ्ती से निर्मित कटआउट बने तो कभी पत्थर को तराश कर मूर्तिवत बना दिए गए। भारत मे मूर्तियाँ बनती रहती हैं और टूटती रहती हैं ।

मूर्तियाँनिरंतर बनती रहती हैं सिर्फ उनके चेहरे एवम प्रेमी बदलते रहते हैं। बाबाऑ के बाबा, बाबा अंबेड्कर, मुर्तियॉ के प्रबल विरोधी थे पर उनके भक्तॉ ने सारे देश को उनकी मूर्तियॉसे ही भर दिया। हर गली, मुहल्ले और नुक्क्ड़ को बाबा अंबेड्कर के भक्तॉ ने बाबा की मूर्तियॉ से भरकर उनका तमाशा बना दिया है। असल तमाशा तो उनकी नुकीली नाक, चिढ़ाती उंगली एवम गुलामी के प्रतीक चिन्ह, नीला सूट एवम हैट से है।

काला मस्त कौवा इन सब से बहुत परेशान रहता है इस लिये, इस काली दुम वाले पक्षी ने उसके सिर पर विराजमान हैट के मुहाने पर आराम से बैठ कर, बेफिक्र होकर अपना शौच त्याग करने का सबसे सुरक्षित परौंदा बनाया।

नाक के नुकीलेपन के चलते कौवे की दुम के पंख कई बार टूटे और बिखरे। उसके बच्चे तो खैर बच्चे ही थे। वे अक्सर खेलते-कुद्ते बाबा की नाक पर जा बैठते हैं और खुद को भी घायल कर लेते हैं।

एक बार तो सीधे-साधे कौवे ने उस ज्ञानी मूर्ती से गंभीरता से पूछा, मित्र, यह तो बताओ कि तुम्हारी मूर्ती की पॉलिटिक्स क्या है? हमारे लिये कुछ पेड़: लगवा दिये होते तो तुम्हारा क्या चला जाता। दलित बाबा की फाइव स्टार मूर्ती क्रोधित होकर बोली, मेरी मूर्ती मेरी है। तुझे उससे क्या? तू अपनी औकात में रह। मस्त कौवे को उसकी यह बात बड़ी खटकी। वह उससे बहस में उलझ गया। जब बात तू तू-मैं-मैं के आर-पार विमर्श के स्तर तक गई तो मूर्ती ने कहा-कि तू बेकार ही बात बना रहा है। मैं मूर्ती-व्यक्ति नहीं, सोने की विचार हूं। विचार बेसिर पैर के होते हैं। मेरे नाम मात्र से ही मेरे भक्तॉ के वारे न्यारे हो जाते हैं।

मेरे नाम पर, मेरे भक्तॉ के लाखॉ एन.जी.ओ. करोडॉ – अरबॉ, बिना किसी काम के लूट रहे हैं। पुरस्कार, अवार्ड, क़ोटा, स्कोलरशिप, ज़ीरो परसेंट पर शानदार सरकारी नौकरी, आदि, सभी मेरी बदौलत ही मिलते हैं। तू या तेरा पेड़ क्या दिला सकते हैं। मेरी बहन तो आज हज़ारॉ की मालकिन है। सब मेरी ही माया है।  

हैरान परेशान कौवा बोला, बाबा तेरी बात कुछ समझ से बाहर है, पर दाढी वाले बाबा पेरियार की क्या कहानी है ? उनके भक्त आजकल क्यॉ परेशान हैं ? उनकी दाढी क्यॉ चुभ रही है वह तो किसी अनाडी कलाकार की हथौड़ी और छेनी की खुराफात है। पेरियार बाबा तो खूद, मुगलॉ की तरह मूर्तीपूजा के विरोधी थे और उसने तो खुद अपने भक्तॉ से हिंदुऑ की हजारॉ मूर्ती तुड्वाई थी.। पर मेरी प्रतिमा यथावत लगी रहे यह सभी खुरफाती बाबा चाहते हैं ।

कौवा गुस्से से उसके सिर पर बैठा, दाढी को सवालों के घेरे में लाने की कोशिश करता रहा । एक दिन उसने चिड़िया-अधिकार वाली गिद्ध से पूछा-बहना बता, इसकी दाढी तो मेरे लिए बड़ी मुसीबत है, मेरे अधिकारॉ की रक्षा करो । धनी और घोटालेबाज गिद्ध पहले तो चहचहाई और फड्‌फडाई और फिर बोली-चल मेरे साथ। मैंने एक ऐसी मूर्ति देखी है जिसके नाक, हैट, सूट, दाढी और कान नदारद हैं, बस ढाचा है। वह लगभग निराकार है, बिना किसी शक्ल की। तू मेरी लिव-इन-सहेली है या शत्रु ? कौवा गुस्से से बुडबुडाया। मैं आज रात को तेरे से प्यार नहीं करुंगा। उसने कहा-निराकार पर कोई अपना घरौंदा कैसे बसा सकता है। तिनके-लकडी टिकाने का मजबूत आधार नही होगा तो घरौंदा तिनका तिनका बिखर न जाएगा। तुम एन.जी.ओ. के दुकानदार सभी का बेवकूफ बनाते हो।

गिद्ध बोला, अरे नहीं, असल घर तो वही जो प्रेम और यादॉ में बसता है। वैसे तुझे बता दूं, आने वाला समय खुराफातॉ से भरा होगा। हम सभी एन.जी.ओ. के दुकानदार लगे हुये हैं, तब न कोई मूर्ती बचेगी और न तेरा  घरौंदा । कौवा बोला, ओह! यह तो बड़ी डरावनी खबर है। तू मुझे किसी बिना हैट, समतल नाक, प्रेम भरे हाथ, एवम बीना दाडी वाली देसी मूर्ती का पत-ठिकाना बता दे। मैं अपना घर वहां बना लुंगा। फिर दोनॉ जिन्दगी का आनंद लेंगे। या किसी किसी किसान का अतापता बता दे। मैंने सुना है कि किसान एकदम सीधे-साधे, शांत तथा किसी का नुक्सान नही करते हैं।

समय बीतता गया। तमाम उठा-पटक के बीच कौवा का घर बसा रहा। गिद्द रोज़ कौवे को सब्ज बाग दिखाती और उसे वैकल्पिक घर के लिए अनेक सुझाव दिए, पर कौवे ने उसकी बात नहीं मानी। फिर उसने गिद्ध को किसी को कहते सुना कि यह मूर्ती रहे या न रहे पर उसकी दुकान तो चलती रहगी । कौवे ने बहुत दिमॉग लगाया, पर वह तकनीक पता न लगी कि विचार के पटरे पर घर कैसे बसता है और दुकान कैसे चलती है?

 तमाम तरह के भय और आशंकाओं के साथ वह मस्ता कौवा उड्ता रहा । नीचे धरती पर मूर्तियॉ के इर्द-गिर्द तरह-तरह के धंधे एवम दुकानें सजती रही और उजड्ती रही। झंडे, बिल्ले, पोस्टर, फूल, चादर बिके। फिर वहां चाय-पकौडी, आम्लेट, मछ्ली वालॉ ने अपनी दुकान सजा ली। कौवा ऊपर से नीचे देखता रहता था,  तो पता लगता कि चाय-पकौडी, आम्लेट, मछ्ली के साथ देश-दुनिया के मुद्दों पर लगातार बहस चल रही है।

इसके बाद शराब वाला आया। उसके बगल में कबाब, चिकन वलॉ ने जमीन कब्जा ली और अपना खोंमचा जमा लिया। कभी-कभी चाय-पकौडी वाला कबाब, चिकन वाले से झगडा भी कर लेता था तो सेक्युलरिस्ट तथा कम्युनिस्ट एकदम आम्लेट, मछ्ली, कबाब, चिकन वालॉ के साथ मिलकर दंगा कर देते। चाय-पकौडी की दुकान पर जमे बहसवीर अपनी जान बचाकर भाग लेते। .

कौवा मानता था कि एक दूसरे के बेढरूम मै नजर न मारो। फिर एक दिन कुछ ऐसा हुआ जिसे देख सारी दूनिया सहम गई। चाय-पकौडी खाते-खाते सारे लोग पिट-पिट कर एक हो गये । उन्होंने अपनी आस्तीन ऊपर चढ़ा लीं। थोड़ी देर में भारत-माता की जय के नारे दूर से गूंजते सुनाई दिए। मूर्ती के नजदीकी लोग भी बड़ी जोर से चिल्लाए- इंकलाब जिंदाबाद । देखते ही देखते मूर्ती को भीड़ ने घेर लिया। इस बार आम्लेट, मछ्ली, कबाब, चिकन वाले तथा उनके हिमायती सेक्युलरिस्ट तथा कम्युनिस्ट जान बचा कर भाग खडे हुये।

भीडः मे कुछ शैतान नक्सली एवम जेहादि घुस गये । कुछ के पास लाठियां थीं तो कुछे के पास हथौड़े थे। दनादन सब मूर्ती पर बरसने लगे। कौवे ने बड़ी कातर द्र्ष्टी से मूर्ती को देखा। मूर्ती बिल्कुल शांत बनी रही। सबको लडा कर खुद शांत खडी पिट रही थी।

घबराये कौवे ने कातर स्वर में मूर्ति से कहा तुम भी दंगा करो । उसने शातिराना जवाब दिया-मै दंगा करती नही परंतु करवाती हूँ । मुझे अब कुछ नही करना है। अब जो होगा वह ऐतिहासिक भूल होगी। इतने मै गिद्ध वहॉ आ गयी और बोली, तू अपनी जान बचा और अपने बाल बच्चों के साथ यहां से उड़ जा।

कौवा उडा तो उड़ता चला गया । अंतत: उसने एक मॉडर्न आर्ट गैलरी के हाल में खड़ी बेसिरपैर वाली मूर्ति में अपना घरौंदा नए सिरे से बसा लिया और चैन की सांस ली। अब सुनने में आ रहा है कि वहां गिद्ध भी चोरी छिपे रात बीताने आ जाता है।

महाबली-जनसन्हारक ळेनिन बाबा की मूर्ति जमीन पर धाराशाही पडी है। टुटी मूर्ति की जगह कोई अन्य मूर्ति खडी होने वाली है। कौवा जानना चाहता है कि इस नई मूर्ति की नाक, हेट, दाडी, सूट, उंगली का आकार दरअसल क्या होगा? सभी चाय-पकौडी, आम्लेट, मछ्ली, कबाब, चिकन वाले, तथा सेक्युलरिस्ट, कम्युनिस्ट, एन.जी.ओ., अपनी-अपनी नई दुकान जमाने की जुगाड मै लगे हैं।