RAMAKRISHNA TEMPLE, BELUR MATH

This is the central shrine of the Ramakrishna Order headquartered at Belur Math, India. From here has issued a spiritual current that is inundating the world with the glorious message of the divinity of man, the harmony of faiths and the synthesis of all the diverse disciplines of knowledge in the light of the Vedanta as practised and espoused by Sri Ramakrishna who is the central figure and inspiration of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement. The marble statue of Sri Ramakrishna seated on the lotus pedestal here is not a material object or a mere work of art but is a living Presence pulsating with the rhythms of eternal life.

Long back Sri Ramakrishna had promised that he would stay for a long long time wherever his beloved disciple Narendra (the future Vivekananda) would take his remains after his physical death, be it under a tree or in a hut. In keeping with that promise the Master is believed to be ever-resident in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ramakrishna Temple in Belur Math where his earthly remains have been preserved in a copper urn called 'Atmaramer Kouta'. And it is not merely a belief but it is an experiential truth for many sages and saints who have donned the ochre of the Ramakrishna Order right from the first generation of the Master's direct disciples. Sri Ramakrishna is a palpable Presence in the Belur Math, especially in the Ramakrishna Temple, and to this even lay devotees of the Master like Durga Charan Nag, popularly called Nag Mahashay, have testified. The blessed devotee was veritably in a transport when he visited Belur Math and was on record saying that having visited Dakshineshwar to see the Master in the subtle form --- for the Master had already given up his mortal coil by then --- he was disappointed only to be relieved to find him occupying the precincts of Belur Math.

In 1898, however, the 'Atmaramer Kouta' was preserved and worshipped in the Old Ramakrishna Shrine in Belur Math and it was only subsequent to the construction of the new temple in 1938 that it was shifted to where it today is in the sanctum sanctorum of the Main Temple. Swami Vivekananda had during his lifetime studied Eastern and Western art, architecture and sculpture during his extensive travels throughout the globe. Out of this study emerged in his mind the design of the Ramakrishna Temple, a unique blend of different architectural traditions which symbolised the essential idea of universal harmony and the underlying oneness beneath the diversity of the world that Swamiji wanted to portray through the temple and so uphold the same before the wide world. He had entrusted Swami Vijnanananda, by academic training a civil engineer, to build the temple as and when funds would be available. Swamiji had a foreboding of his death and knew in his heart of hearts that he would not physically live to see the temple of his dreams, his tribute to his divine Master. But he assured his beloved Pesan (Swami Vijnanananda) that he would witness the consecration of the temple from above.

On the scheduled day, that hallowed morn when finally the Ramakrishna Temple was consecrated with the formal worship of Sri Ramakrishna, a young lad by the name Satyakrishna was present at Belur Math. He was only eighteen years of age but had already been blessed with spiritual initiation by the then President Maharaj, Swami Vijnanananda. After the formal ceremonies were over, a few monks had gathered in the room of the President Maharaj which included a middle-aged monk by the name Bharat. Young Satyakrishna somehow overheard the following conversation.

Bharat Maharaj (addressing Swami Vijnanananda) : Maharaj, Swamiji had told you that on this day he would be present to witness the consecration of the temple. Did he come to see the proceedings today?

Vijnananandaji : Oh yes, he did come and so did Raja Maharaj, Baburam Maharaj and the rest of the Master's departed disciples. When the temple consecration was going on, I once looked up towards the ceiling of the temple to discover them lined up in space witnessing the event. Swamiji was right up there in fulfilment of his promise made to me.

Many years have rolled by since that day. 1938 is a distant date today, living only in the memory of old-timers like the boy Satyakrishna. But he is no more a boy now. He is our nonagenarian venerable President Maharaj, Srimat Swami Atmasthanandaji who is ailing now for over a year but continues to be the leading inspiration of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement from his hospital bed in Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan where even Prime Minister Shree Narendra Modi has visited him. Sri Ramakrishna continues to adorn the Belur Math filling it up with his ethereal vibrations. Who knows how long he will stay there? Swamiji had once said that the spiritual wave that had hit the banks of the Belur Math would inundate the world for the next 1500 years with the mighty current of universal harmony and oneness. We are barely into the second century of that glorious chapter of human history and already the world is aglow with the radiance of the Ramakrishna Sun. He is the life of this movement, its very pulsation. Unto him alone belongs the future of the movement for he is the Way, his is the Will and he is the Goal towards which we, who are his children, are rushing along. May Thakur guide us on towards his realm of enlightenment! May he who is the light of the world take us into his leading and lead us from non-existence unto Existence, from darkness unto Light, from mortality unto Immortality! May he bestow Peace unto all!

Jai Shree Guru Maharajji ki jai! Jai Mahamayee ki jai! Jai Swamiji Maharajji ki jai! Jai Gangamayee ki jai!

P.S. : Satyakrishna Maharaj or our beloved President Maharaj, Shrimat Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj, has given up his blessed earthly form after a protracted battle with debilitating illness. The present President Maharaj, Shrimat Swami Smarananandaji is now adorning the seat of the Abbot of Belur and guiding the flock along. To us, devotees of the Order, he is our Thakur's earthly representative and in him we try to see Thakur's earthly manifestation for us. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!

THE PEERLESS PARAMAHAMSA 4

At the age of seven Gadai lost his father. Kshudiram, the venerable brahman, passed away suddenly at a relative's place in neighbouring Salampore where he had gone to attend the annual Durga Puja festival. When his final moment came he was set up in the sitting posture and chanting 'Raghubir, Raghubir, Raghubir' thrice, he lay in the lap of his beloved God for his final sleep.

The Chattopadhyas were devastated. The patriarch was gone and Ramkumar was called upon to discharge the responsibilities of the family. Chandramani Devi was a shadow of her former buoyant self and remained increasingly immersed in daily devotions of the family deity Raghubir. Even the bonny boy, Gadai, was profoundly affected by this visitation of death, a phenomenon that cast a deep impression on his sensitive mind and, perhaps, transformed him for life. He now became more in-drawn and reflective but keenly sensitive to giving added company to his bereaved mother. Gadai helped her in her household chores and in her daily worship of Raghubir. He became less demanding as a child and did whatever he could in his own boyish way to assuage her grief. But the passing away of Kshudiram changed the contours of the Chattopadhyay family for good. Who knows how he would have related to his father through his blossoming boyhood were he spared the company of his sage-like sire? But that was not to be and Gadai grew up in the affectionate care of his elder brothers Ramkumar and Rameshwar and his doting mother Chandramani.

WHITHER WELFARE?

The class divide taking place in Indian society despite the fast-growing size of the Indian economy is alarming. Increase of national wealth is welcome but it is creating this rift between the poor and the rich, the increasing economic disparity which is tending to rupture long-standing harmonious social relations today. The plight of the poor is such that, pitted against the forces of crony capitalism, they are well-nigh driven to desperation as they battle to live out their daily ordeal on Earth which the privileged term 'life'. Alongside this sinking mass of humanity is another class, the middle-class, which is slowly being drawn into the vortex of gravitating capital that is rendering society into a two-fold battle-ground or, shall we say, a future war-zone where there shall be open class-conflict leading to horrendous national consequence as has been the experience of erstwhile communist states. The conflict of classes does in no way address the central issue of economic deprivation of the masses and we have ample testimony to that in the bygone century where the enforced socialist system has been a miserable failure, and yet, systematic exploitation of the masses by means of this profit-wringing mechanism we call capitalism is dealing death-blow to the destitute and reducing others to destitution. For all the fanfare over the rise of the middle classes in our expanding economy, the sad fact is that, sooner or later, these hapless millions that go by the aforesaid name are ground to ground zero by the advancing tide of capitalism that caters only to the coffers of the rich and spares not a pittance for the poor. Is this system going to last and, that too, harmoniously? It is for you to judge. Jai Hind!

RAMAKRISHNA MISSION SEVASHRAMA, MUZAFFARPUR

The inspiration behind our work, who pronounced the great equation of service to man in the consciousness of man being God. We are humbly trying to fulfil the Master's vision and Swamiji's great dream of improving the lot of our poor countrymen by facilitating their medical treatment. We exhort all devotees and friends to come forward and lend us their helping hand in bringing to fruition this noble endeavour of our Mission. May Sri Ramakrishna bless all and carry them onward unto His lotus feet is the prayer of us all!

SHASHI-TULSI OF THAKUR

The industry of Swami Ramakrishnananda (Shashi Maharaj) and Swami Nirmalananda (Tulsi Maharaj) galvanized South India and paved the way for the resurrection of spirituality in this ancient seat of the Acharyas. Swami Ramakrishnananda was sent by Swami Vivekananda to take charge of propagation of the message of Ramakrishna in Southern India and he became a seminal force there in re-establishing the flagging spirit of the Vedanta Dharma. Orthodox as he was in the conducting of spiritual observances with meticulousness in the performance of rituals his hallmark, Swamiji thought that he would be the minister best suited to deal with the orthodoxy of the brahmanical South as he attempted to open up their minds to the catholicity of the message of the Arya rishis (Aryan seers). Swami Nirmalananda succeeded Shashi Maharaj as the minister who sent a current of dynamism throbbing through South India, setting up a number of Ramakrishna Ashramas and so, spreading the sublime message of the Master.

Shashi Maharaj was in the early days of Baranagar Math the cornerstone of the fledgling spiritual fraternity comprising Ramakrishna's children. He was the pivot about which revolved the monastery's activities. Ever vigilant about offering worshipful service to the Master, Shashi Maharaj in effect initiated the tradition of ceremonial worship in the Order.

Once the Bengali novelist, the great Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay asked Shashi Maharaj why he engaged himself so much in the ritualistic worship of God. Maharaj said that he derived much pleasure from his ceremonial service to Thakur which was why he engaged in such activity. On being further queried if such external worship was then the highest form of spiritual adoration, the Swami replied that envisioning God everywhere was verily the highest form of spiritual adoration. The stage lower to it was meditation which stood just above the level of prayer and repetition of the Divine Name of the Lord. Lowest stood external ritualistic worship. The intrigued novelist pressed on with the query then as to why Shashi Maharaj performed external worship of the Lord with such elaborate modes and means. The sage then indirectly replied that external worship it seemed to be to the casual observer but in so doing the sincere devotee was so absorbed in it that it was but an outflow of his heart's spiritual ardour for his beloved divine, every breath pulsating with the Divine Name, tears of love trickling down the edges of the eyes, and flowers, leaves and water being offered out of a profusion of devotion cascading the banks of the soul without any contamination of material motivation. The above interaction between the sage and the savant took place in Rangoon in the month of March,1905 in the year of the Partition of Bengal when Sarat Babu was stationed in Rangoon and Shashi Maharaj had gone to the Burmese city on a five-day visit.

Another incident, a rather sad one, was an interaction of Shashi Maharaj with a being from the other side of the curtain, one for whom the terrestrial drama had just drawn to a close. It was 10 minutes past 9 in the evening and Shashi Maharaj was seated in meditation in Madras (Chennai) when he saw a radiant being appear before his meditative consciousness and say," Shashi, Shashi, I have spat out the body." The apparition disappeared soon after. Who was he that Shashi Maharaj envisioned? It was Swamiji, moments after giving up his body at Belur Math near Calcutta (Kolkata). Such was the bond between brothers of the spirit, the apostles of Ramakrishna, that in life and in death they were inseparable, bonded as they were in their divine Master. Shashi Maharaj lived on for another 9 years to fulfil the mission Swamiji had entrusted him with, that of quickening the spiritual current of the southern mass of India.

Nirmalananda Swami was no less a carrier of Swamiji's charge. He succeeded Ramakrishnanandaji after the latter's demise in 1911 in bringing spiritual succour to the people of the southern peninsula. He established a number of monasteries in Kerala and did yeoman's service in bringing neo-Vedanta to the doorstep of all and sundry. His dynamic personality and inexhaustible energy furthered the cause of the spread of the Master's message and the Vedanta as suited to the times throughout South India and even beyond the borders of India in Brooklyn (USA) and Burma (now Myanmar). He also preached in erstwhile East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Swami Nirmalananda was veritably a man possessed with divine fervour, his inspiration being incessantly fuelled by his intense love for his Guru Sri Ramakrishna and for his beloved brother disciple Swami Vivekananda who, incidentally, held out Nirmalananda as a model of a monk for the other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Swamiji was effusive in his praise of Tulsi's (Nirmalananda's) enterprise and his untiring efforts to live the life and carry the message of the Master to the masses.

When the earthquake in 1892 shook the very foundations of Kolkata, and the Alambazar Math where the disciples of Ramakrishna were housed was tottering, all ran downstairs to the ground floor save one who rushed to the shrine to take the image (photograph) of Ramakrishna in his arms, enfolding it to save it from harm’s way. This valorous soul was Nirmalananda who loved Thakur dearer than life itself.

Such then were Shashi and Tulsi of Thakur, souls sublime, lives consecrated to the cause of the Master, whose ethereal devotion laid the foundation of the Ramakrishna Mission south of the Vindhyas and kindled the fire of Advaita Vedanta once more in the very land of its birth. Ramakrishnananda and Nirmalananda remain vibrant in the very breath of devotees in the Deccan, in the pulse of the people of the southern peninsula where their work is slowly spreading wings to engulf the whole landmass in the inspirational waves emanating from Ramakrishna, their divine Guru, God-incarnate, who has not forsaken us. Jai Ramakrishna!

LATA MANGESHKAR'S DEVOTION TO RAMAKRISHNA-VIVEKANANDA

Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda are the Melody Queen's spiritual ideals. The harmony of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda verily is the source of her inspiration, her lifelong purity and the chastity of her musical rendition. Long back Swamiji had said prophetically, " India is already Ramakrishna's." The Nightingale of India is a living proof of this prophecy.

P.S.: The voice of my dreams, the sustenance of my soul in my days of solitude and aloneness, the veritable inspiration for living in my formative days in early adolescence and youth.

CHARACTER, THE BEDROCK OF RELIGION, CONVERSION ITS BANE

''Religions of the world have become lifeless mockeries. What the world wants is character.'' These were the fiery words of Swami Vivekananda uttered more than a century ago but whose import we feel today evermore as we witness the declining standards of religious culture throughout the world in an age of increasing materialism. This absence of character in people professing to be religious is the bane of all spiritual movements and is the principle reason why so much stress is laid on the inessential elements of religion which in turn is the cause of so much conflict the world over. Religion, today, is in many respects a nefarious influence threatening the peace and stability of the world. And religion throughout history has been the cause of much bloodshed simply because the Semitic religions such as Christianity and Islam have been exclusive and intolerant religions, narrow and provincial in their scope, and devoid of a credible, coherent and rational philosophy that can support the so-to-say revelations which form the fabric of their theologies. In an age of declining moral values these archaic articulations of faith, that have no reasonable basis to stand on save the borrowed reasoning of science and Western philosophy which though are at complete variance with these theological impositions, are resorting to bolstering their ranks with converts among the lay people of the world with bogus propaganda and inducements to follow suit. The result is the proliferation of these religions among the ignorant masses of the world who easily fall prey to crafty machinations of mercenaries masquerading as messiahs. The dilution of spirituality thereof is evident in these burgeoning faiths where increasing stress is laid on social observances instead of spiritual pursuit. As a natural corollary to such externalization of the spiritual process which is inherently an inward movement, religious dogma and doctrinaire violence is on the upswing and the global agenda of imposition of a single faith on all by jihad (holy war) seems to have assumed centre-stage to the horror of all of civilized humanity.

It is here that Vivekananda's pronouncement assumes singular significance. Philosophically bankrupt religions banking entirely on submission to imposed faith are attempting the subversion of world culture purely because they are devoid of the character and sensitivity necessary to appreciate the beauty and naturalness of diversity of culture. If these proselytizing faiths were to adhere merely to the cultivation of character through the prescribed spiritual processes mentioned in their traditions, they would have been absolved of all the sins they commit, the horrors they perpetrate in the name of the Almighty on innocent children of the same Lord. But alas! such is not to be for the sanction of violence on infidels seems to be at the very basis of these proselytizing faiths which stand neither for mother's tears nor for widow's wails but like a cruel fiat go about the business of subjugating masses of more refined men and so sending human civilization ages backward. 

But their day is done and a great counter-movement is on, the scientific-rationalistic movement which soon will have put paid to the dubious designs of these diabolic dispensers of destruction. ''The world will rise, but oh! at what a cost! at what a cost! at what a cost!'' So said Swamiji with prophetic vision into the future. And in this rise Hinduism will have to play a major part. For only in the Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) may be found that expanse of ideas, that catholicity of vision, that universality of approach, that supreme sanity which is the bedrock of all scientific pursuit, as can embrace the whole of humankind with its diverges of culture and aspirations, allowing the free development of each according to his or her own peculiar predisposition onward to the grand goal of eventual fulfilment in self-realization. And here it must be stated that only Hinduism has the concept of the Ishta or the Chosen Deity or Ideal which may be worshipped or adhered to in order to find spiritual fulfilment. Of all the religions in the world, Hinduism is, thus, the only spiritual democracy that allows each individual to be the sovereign in his journey towards godhead. There is no almighty to whom the Hindu must offer obeisance save the one which is his true Self, the Atman, and here also, what fear one when one is oneself the supreme Lord in all one's singular majesty. There is no question of shaking in fear of an omnipotent tyrant who kills at will all those who disbelieve in him, no one to hold above oneself as being holier and, so, superior. It is a process of self-discovery that is the essence of Hinduism and it suits the needs of pluralistic modern man fair enough. It has no conflict with science nor with any religion as such for it holds the rational course in high esteem, itself being supremely rational, and it adheres to its age-old dictum that truth is one although sages speak of it variously. As such, Hinduism holds every religion as a valid path for the realization of the divine but subscribes to none as being the exclusive path towards godhead.

This then is the stand of the Hindus that all men are struggling towards the same goal although their mode of such traversing differs owing to their divergent location in geographical terrain and corresponding cultural orientation. The Hindu recognizes the necessity of pluralism of both religious and secular culture and has, thus, been the most peace-loving community in the world, never going to arms to settle religious disputes or differences. Rather, the Hindu accepts all religions as true, in so far as they provide valid pathways to the divine, and no religion as absolute for, after all, religions are but the modes leading to the end of Self-realization, not the end itself. They are fraught with errors, often crude and archaic, worthy of being dispensed with in this age of scientific illumination, and they are replete with sublime teachings which may show humankind the way to a deeper fulfilment but none can claim exclusive possession of the supreme truth which is universal, impersonal and infinite, beyond the capacity of any finite religion to contain. 

Hinduism is, thus, the way forward for humankind, spiritually speaking, and must give direction to the the fanatical religions of the world through its catholicity that God and Truth are not their exclusive territorial property, that it is time to shed spiritual pretensions and take to serious spirituality and that awakened humanity will no longer tolerate intolerance thrust on them. Science is on the rise and so is the human intellect which will brook no nonsense in the name of irrational religion propagating at the point of the sword or through deceitful disguise. If religion is to survive as a force for good, it will have to do so by its power to do good and this will require the cultivation of character, the fostering of spiritual virtues, ethical values and moral fibre. Only then will people in the general trust religion as of any consequence in their lives, as a positive influence in society and as a life-transforming institution which takes man to Truth and God. For such a state of affairs to be, protagonists of faiths must shed their political cloaks, renounce their expansionist attitude and build character and a vision that is, to quote Swami Vivekananda, 'as broad as the sky and as deep as the ocean'. 

Will such a day dawn? The answer lies in the womb of history as yet awaiting birth. Till then let us strive to build our habits right and so straighten our character for the latter is but the sum total of mental impressions cast on our mind by past action and may be remoulded by the repetition of rectified actions forming better habits. As for the fanatical religions of the world, it is time for them to take serious stock of their situations and take effective action to modernize their ideologies. Else, extinction stares stark in their faces and they will have themselves to blame for it. Did not Sri Ramakrishna famously say," He who forbears, lives on; he who does not, perishes.' 

On this note I rest my case. The rest may Providence provide in the fullness of time. Till then we are up against an army of arrogant bigots, fanatics armed in irrationality to the core, hell-bent on the ruin of the world even at the cost of self-destruction for the prize awaiting in Paradise is luscious and cannot be denied. May humanity awake to its senses! May the world be preserved! May peace prevail! May evil in the mask of virtue be detected and be done away with! May sanity safeguard human civilization through the constancy of vigil! May the higher knowledge lodged in the soul of man manifest to usher in a golden age of human civilization where divinity will be the common property of all and exclusiveness of man or God a bygone superstition never to surface again! Om! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF SWAMI GAHANANANDA

We are in the 100th year of the advent of Srimat Swami Gahananandaji Maharaj, disciple of Srimat Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj who was a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. Swami Gahanananda was born on October 4, 1916 and joined the Ramakrishna Order at the Bhubaneswar branch of the Order at the age of 24. By the divine will of Sri Ramakrishna he rose to become the 14th President of the Ramakrishna Order. On October 4, 2016 countless devotees and disciples of Gahananandaji will celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of this modern sage. Come friends, let us all in real earnest set to preparing ourselves for this most auspicious occasion. Jai Gurudev!

TYRANNY OF THE TIMES, THEN AND NOW ... 3 (THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS)

Absolutist religion must be done away with. It is a tyranny on the human soul. Terrorizing the masses with indiscriminate ideological indoctrination fosters ignorance deep-seated whose unholy outcome is religious war, subversion of culture, fanatical self-destruction and perpetration of terror thereof which has deluged the world for ages with blood spilled from innocent forms. Holding history hostage to a singular event of stumbled quasi-realization and attempting by force to structure the world on that basis is in itself pernicious and doomed to eventual failure, for the world, free and fair, will not, by the dictates of a higher spiritual law of the essential freedom of the human soul, subscribe to such an oppressive programme. The result has been a constant tussle for supremacy of political forces masquerading as religious dispensations for well over a millenium, brutal conquest of 'infidels' followed by their forced conversion to 'the only true faith', a total disruption and overhauling of indigenous culture and forcible supplanting of the alien 'true culture' as per the prescription of the only 'true scripture' of the only 'true God'. Such a barbarism in the name of religion has been unleashed that one shudders to think what must be in the gene of the human species that it can throw up such malevolent individuals by the millions for so many thousands of years of recorded human history. Surely, such horrific religions as prescribe wholesale extermination of infidels or their right to survive only as second-class subjects in a theocracy thrust on them are but so many primitive modes of interpretation of cosmic reality fraught with crude errors befitting a barbarous state of human evolution. And the horror of the spread by the sword of such inferior religious culture subverting more refined spiritual civilizations, throwing human society ages backward! But though it is history, it is not a thing of the past, dead and buried, bearing but its fossilized impression on present-day society. It is very much a present-day phenomenon, threatening the very existence of the civilized world, a megalomaniac programme of world conquest by holy war and the creation of a monotheistic submissive culture the world over where citizens are no more free save to submit to the dictates of religious bigots with little civility and even more meagre magnanimity of spirit as to allow diversity of opinion or spiritual persuasion or, at the least, the fundamental human right to differ from fundamentalist explanations of nature and reality based purely on blind belief and devoid of the slightest validation of scientific evidence. Scepticism, which is the basis of scientific study, is held blasphemous when it comes to questioning the validity of scriptural dogma and is a culpable offence deserving the death penalty. This is at complete variance with the freedom of thought and expression allowed in the civilized democracies the world over where scientific scepticism, scrutiny and rational rigour form the basis of knowledge which in turn is the bedrock on which civilization stands. Today, we are at the crossroads of a clash of civilizations between the liberal democracies of the world where free thinking is the oxygen of life and the irrational theocracies of the world where free thinking is taboo and absolute submission to an absolute God the only condition of life. Where we are headed we know not for sure but what is already evident from the spread of global terror is that a titanic battle is at hand before the malefic powers that perpetrate this perfidious programme of world domination are brought to book. Nazism had to be done away with but the cost was the Second World War. One hopes that a higher cost in the form of another great war one does not have to wage against the day's demons before the world is made fit for civilized living. The signs of an impending disaster loom large on the horizon, specially, in the nuclear culture of the world today. India may be the way out if the West should yet heed the message sent out by the sages and saints of this cradle of the world's civilizations, the birthplace of religion, philosophy and science. Upon such collaboration between the ancient spiritual culture of the Hindus and the modern scientific culture of the West depends the future of the world, upon it hangs the fate of humanity. Will the West heed? Only the future will tell. Till then let us all pledge to fight this menace of malevolence, this perfidious programme of perversion of people's minds, this global agenda of subjugating the free peoples of the world and forcing them to submit to an extra-cosmic autocrat at whose bidding life becomes a slave's submission to his master bereft of individuality or independence, a bondage, barbarous and brutal, even unto the grave. May peace prevail through illumination! Om! Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!