THE MOTHER OF ALL

THE MOTHER OF ALL

Christian proselytising among the tribal population in India, their obstruction of the work of the Ramakrishna Mission in the North-east and their fundamental agenda of world-domination through conversion notwithstanding, I reserve the deepest reverence for Mother Teresa who, being a Catholic nun and, so, by default and by conviction, though a part, wittingly or unwittingly, of the whole Catholic agenda of the aforesaid global religious domination, rose above narrow sectarian interests reeking of religious politics to embrace the whole of humanity in her broad motherly sympathies whose sanctity and genuineness I can personally unhesitatingly endorse. And so have I brought my heart's adoration at the feet of this remarkable saint whose life and living in austere recollection of the Lord and ceaseless loving service thereof places her above the pettiness of politics which so unfortunately is being these days labelled against her being.

Mother Teresa of Albania and Ethiopia, of Nazareth and Nigeria, of the States and the People's Republic of China, and of India and the rest of the dispossessed world, shines with undimmed lustre in every pore of my being. My heart's ardour at her hallowed feet !

Written by Sugata Bose

RETURN TO RAMAKRISHNA ... 1

RETURN TO RAMAKRISHNA ... 1

Ramakrishna is like the air, hard to contain He is the breath of life itself. Will he not quit the citadels of commerce? Or will he for a change now oversee profit and loss like a divine accountant?

The signs are clear and the symptoms ominous. Will commerce corrupt clarity of spiritual conception and reduce goodwill to ruins? Will a few pieces of shiny silver betray the course of evolutionary correction? Will Judas have his way after all, capitalism win over the dictates of the Divine?

Organisation -- will it alter course and meander into a fading memory of old times when the spirit was green though the means were scarce? Or are we witnessing a rapid decline which, by way of awakening an equal reaction along with added evolutionary impetus, will usher in a steeper incline in the years to come? Possible but hard to envisage in all truth from the signs that betoken a rot that needs immediate cleansing. Will good sense prevail or will arrogance erode the hour that yet offers the chance of a revival along the lines set by the founder?

Oh laity, stop weakening the organisation further by pandering to the vanities of those who are ruining the grand tradition built by countless hours of labour and love, stop rushing in the rot further ! It is your strength that the Master demands of you today. Shall you fail? Return to Ramakrishna.

Written by Sugata Bose

PLAY ABOUT A TUNE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezvj-De6bxY&fbclid=IwAR0uyxbTqC-zDHCpnGNR3_CC86j2wRTL8wybjyXcqd-INI-5eJYdYZzKqS0

PLAY ABOUT A TUNE

Revelation for me that this sort of improvisation centred on a popular tune is in vogue in western classical music. However, there is a repetitiveness that is a trifle wearisome which seems to indicate a certain paucity of musical ideas in the performer unlike the boy Mozart who was overflowing with imaginative ideas that ever manifested in marvellous improvisation. The comparison for sure is unfair but is being made to highlight the stated point. Nonetheless, the deftness of musical elaboration round the central tune is commendable as is the felicity of the overall performance. It has indeed been an eye-opener.

Written by Sugata Bose

MARX -- NOT QUITE DEAD

MARX -- NOT QUITE DEAD

Communism as a philosophy has many shining points the brightest of which is its highlighting of the capitalist exploitation of labour. Marx has left an indelible imprint on history and is ever more relevant today as capitalism totters the world over on account of its inherent contradictions.

The next great economic upheaval surely will reincarnate Marx in a modified but not unrecognisable manner as new systems evolve to replace old ones, as humanity, groaning under the tyranny of capitalism, redesigns its economic life along more people-oriented modes and methods by marginalising iniquities and fostering more equitable distribution of wealth. Marx, thus, lives on and so does the Marxian legacy in some form or the other.

Written by Sugata Bose

ARE WE A SELF-RESPECTING NATION ?

ARE WE A SELF-RESPECTING NATION ?

It is a shame that India is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations when the British have done what they have done to her fortunes. A nation devoid of self-respect and strength alone can thus make up with an enemy so evil in nature.

It is equally a shame that Indians do not feel ashamed of settling in the United Kingdom, the land whose fortune has been built by the depredation of India and by the blood and toil of ravaged Indians by the hundreds of millions for two centuries.

Shame on us who revel in befriending this people whose dastardly ancestors destroyed the lives of countless millions of our own ! Shake off this association and stand free in the clear sunshine of freedom. Be men.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Revolutionary Hemchandra Ghosh

CULTURE AND ITS DECLINE ... 1

CULTURE AND ITS DECLINE ... 1

Art dominates the Hindu mind and, hence, the emphasis on the idol of the God he worships. Science dictates this need, too. But overmuch of emphasis on the photographic part of a post to the exclusion of its thought-content, nay, rejection of it altogether, is the manifestation of a terribly declining intellectual culture of the race as a whole. This may seem to be a sweeping generalisation but is one that merits consideration as well, for such seems to be the prevalent mode of public appreciation of posts. The photo, in all its colour and contour, carries the attention of the observer while the precious gems of thought lie neglected to the detriment of the reader in him.

In the early thirties Bertrand Russell had rued the decline of intellectual standards. At that time there were stalwarts like Einstein, Tagore, Aurobindo, Rolland, Heisenberg, Fermi, Picasso, Shaw, Russell himself and a host of other luminaries who adorned the intellectual firmament of the world. But Russell had, like Vivekananda before him, seen into the tendencies of the times and pronounced his verdict. Swamiji had foretold that, in the ensuing age of the proletariat, there would be a steep fall in culture even as the common man would get better facilities for a decent living. And how true they were we can well see the world over in the realm of politics which is being ruled by semi-educated persons of little intellectual abilities ! That this decadent trend should percolate through all strata to the vast world of men is but natural, given the proliferation of education and the consequent lowering of its standards to accommodate all and sundry within the ambit of knowledge.

But the lowering of culture must be arrested somehow and this is possible only if there is quality control not only in commodities but in education as well. Teachers must be better equipped with researched knowledge which they will lay at the disposal of their students fresh and the students must also be made to go through the hard grind of what may be termed disciplined diligence in pursuit of the acquisition of knowledge. Pampering the child is as bad as not sparing him the rod to instil discipline.

Academic decline apart, there seems to be a general degradation in appreciation of anything that provokes deep thinking. Foppishness is the order of the day as men and women seem to enjoy parading their ignorance in ample terms online more than exhibiting a semblance of refined intellectual culture. This, indeed, is a sad state of affairs as we celebrate our independence, now in its eighth decade.

Capitalism brings in consumerism and the latter leaves in its trail the debris of decimated culture even as it builds the citadels of all that is gross and transitory, the coarse and corrosive culture of the five senses. As the gross pleasures of the senses are made more readily available to the masses, the refined pursuits of higher thinking are relegated to the backroom of neglect. The spotlight is on all that glitters but is not gold.

But who cares? Who would bother to care at any rate when the transitory titillation is on and the ephemeral transports one for the moment into the Disneyland of delight? Why should the common man of coarse culture care about sensibilities that elude him, that he is unaware of, for they have never been his ever? He must ramble in the plains of puerile pastimes and not care a damn to ascend the heights of Himalayan contemplation or any like sibling of it. The mountains are there to climb, not savour ; the rivers are there to ford, not measure the ripples of ; the landscape lies ahead to traverse, not to gauge their contours. Everything that is gross is pleasurable and, so, the gross is the order of consumption of the day.

Written by Sugata Bose

THE NEW GOD THAT REIGNS

THE NEW GOD THAT REIGNS

Indiscriminate advertising of commodities, while it may be a necessary part of capitalism, is eroding cultural values and inspiring greed and rampant lawlessness. Feeding the human brain with desirous images constantly is letting mental restraint off the hook and allowing dangerous criminal tendencies to prowl in open society. The result of all this can be felt as crime proliferates and human suffering mounts.

Celebrities, with their accounts already overflowing, continue to cash in on this decadence and contribute enormously to this dangerous decline. It is time to rethink, hour indeed to reaffirm pristine human values. Else, the dogs of greed will consume the carrion that is decadent humanity. Awake !

Written by Sugata Bose

PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY ... 2

PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY ... 2

If we chant our Ishtamantra diligently daily, read 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' daily as well and keep visiting the nearest monastery or mission centre of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, we will gradually feel that the delusive hold of Mahamaya is, by Her grace, slackening and our love spreading from our immediate familial confines to include progressively an expanding circle of personalities. This is easier said than done but attainable over a protracted period of unspecified time for sure and must be attempted for there is no alternative to it in the long run of human evolution through life after life on this planet of experiential sorrow and wisdom thereof.

A word more, though, and that is, we must pray frequently to Mother in all humility, love and resignation despite our severest exertions in spiritual practice and fervently exhort Her to release us unto freedom. Mother pleased, the obstacles insurmountable become like molehills that may be crossed at ease and we will so gain a safe passage through the web of Maya. May Mother bless us all!

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S. : Remember, grace delivers after diligence has necessarily failed, for the infinite cannot be realised by finite means nor the veil of Maya lifted by human effort.

MIDNIGHT FLASHES ... 1

MIDNIGHT FLASHES ... 1

Human love is limited. Restricted by social structures, confined by carnal compulsions, hindered in its play by the obstructive body, love suffers a daily death, and the result is war.

Inner expansion is way more desirable for it allows the spontaneous interplay of the faculties that lead to rapid evolution of the soul and peacefulness of the being. This is what is termed spiritual growth and this, indeed, is the way ahead in a storm-tossed world. This, for sure, is the path to peace, the way of individual illumination for the diffusion of collective wisdom for enlightened co-existence.

But for this to materialise, doctrinaire religions and political ideologies will have to be made ineffective by the proliferation of liberal scientific education. This is a deal more difficult than it superficially seems but this must be the agenda to be activated on a war footing if humanity is to survive the ravages of restrictive thinking that is termed ideological fanaticism. Petty familial, provincial, national, racial, religious and political interest must give way to a universal outlook where humanity as a whole benefits and not any particular section of it. But in today's international structure such an order of existence is, as yet, a far cry.

Posterity shall pronounce its judgement on us if we let them down terribly by remaining inactive on global issues for securing regional gains. And this is why we need to expand, not by 'the way of all flesh' but by pursuit of the path of the spirit, by traversing terrain in the inner realm where one may find oneself and peace and light with it.

Written by Sugata Bose

চকিতচিন্তা ... ১

চকিতচিন্তা ... ১

দুদিনের এই দুনিয়ায় কি হবে বিবাদ বিসংবাদে ? বুদ্ধিমান সময়ের অপব্যবহার না করে জ্ঞানান্বেষণে তৎপর হন | পরকালের সম্বল তো শুধু ওইটুকুই | কর্মের নির্যাসটুকুই তো সাথে যাবে |

আর আছে প্রেম -- নিষ্কলঙ্ক, অনাসক্ত, পবিত্র মানবপ্রেম |

এই জ্ঞান ও প্রেমের প্রকৃত সাধনার ক্ষেত্রই এই মর্তলোক | এই পৃথিবী কর্মক্ষেত্র | জ্ঞান ও প্রেমের যুগ্ম বিকাশের সাধনভূমি এই জগত |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

FLASHES FROM THE MORN ... 1

FLASHES FROM THE MORN ... 1

1. Is death a new birth in the land of the dead where we find we are yet living? Is it a new beginning of a fresh existence or a continuation of our conscious selves from where we were? Where lies the change, where the link of continuance?

DEEPAVALI -- A REFLECTION

DEEPAVALI -- A REFLECTION

On this day of mass spending, let us remember that millions of Indians yet live lives of savages, shorn of the basic amenities of decent subsistence. Exploitation is still the order of the day.

On this night of illumination when the dark is dispelled for a flicker, let us pledge to remove poverty from the face of the earth through enlightened living and scientific development that can fight the scourge of disease and despair, destruction and destitution, depression and desolation.

Let Deepavali be the festival of the living light of freedom for all and not merely a momentary exhibition of fireworks and extravagant display of the super-rich whose joys are culled out of the life-blood of the nation that lives in the cottages that have no protection against the ravages of Nature or the depredation of men.

May Mother Kali's worship find fulfilment in the pursuit of light and love in the real and not merely in a frenzied exhibition for a passing night of oblivion ! May Mother awaken Her children to a sense of responsibility towards the plight of Her less fortunate ones so that Deepavali restores to itself its original meaning and intent and redirects its course along the royal avenue of Godhead that is best symbolised in 'the living Ganga of peoples' that animates this ancient motherland of ours !

Written buy Sugata Bose

REVOLUTION -- THE ADVANCE OF MAN ... 1

REVOLUTION -- THE ADVANCE OF MAN ... 1

In this Industrial Age of terrible exploitation of the masses, the one hope is to be frugal in one's ways and to collectively resist the inroads of consumerism.

Scientific development ought to make life easier, so it is hoped, but the avaricious hand of crony capitalism can yet make life harder for the common man at a time when he has lost his rural agrarian moorings and is forced to subsist on a diet of decadent and desirous urban delicacies that thin the purse even as they create an ever-widening economic disparity between two opposed classes that in Marxian terminology has been dubbed 'the class divide' with its consequential corollary to follow in its wake, 'the class struggle' culminating in revolution.

Shall such an eventuality even now arise at a point in history when communism seemingly has well nigh died its natural death throughout the world? Or, are the embers glowing still for a fresh series of revolutions yet to break out in the world, seeking the end of exploitation?

written by Sugata Bose

THE MAHATMA IN RETROSPECT

THE MAHATMA IN RETROSPECT

His follies and foibles notwithstanding, his admission of such fallibility bespeaks eloquently of his greatness in a world of petty men. This also proves how difficult absolute continence is and clearly highlights the psycho-physical limitations of the otherwise acclaimed greatness of seminal beings.

Gandhiji's open admission of his forays into prohibited territory was unknown in those days of far greater conservatism and stemmed from his sterling qualities of character which made him the iconic leader that he became. The efflorescence of his personality in the nursery of his fantastic experiments, however reprehensible they may seem to the casual observer, to the observant eye, though, will bear the tidings of a rudderless spiritual aspirant seeking safe anchorage and fumbling his way through the alleyways of labour and lust but triumphantly ever onto the ever-shifting goal which he failed to find when his life was cut short by the arms of an assassin. His failings highlight the glory of his striving even as they put his 'Mahatma' epithet into perspective and reduce its intended glory in spiritual terms.

Gandhiji, thus self-revealed, stands shorn of undue spiritual elevation and shines as a real political personality of magnificent attributes of honesty, honour, rectitude and rectification in the crucible of his life's renunciation which, though, for his obvious character failings, fell short of the spiritual high-water mark that is incumbent upon a Mahatma to attain. But the personality gleams still with its undimmed lustre, with its undiminished effulgence that can yet inspire men into leading lives of simplicity and wisdom in an age that has lost its ancient moorings in the higher attributes and divorced itself from the principles of preservation and purity.

Written by Sugata Bose

মৃত্যুকে অতিক্রম করাই সর্বোচ্চ কর্ম

মৃত্যুকে অতিক্রম করাই সর্বোচ্চ কর্ম
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দর্শন, বিজ্ঞান, সাহিত্য, শিল্পকর্ম -- যে কোন বৃত্তিই হোক, তা গৌণ | জীবনের মুখ্য ও অন্তিম উদ্দেশ্য মৃত্যুকে জয় করা, অর্থাৎ, আত্মজ্ঞানসহায়ে অমরত্বলাভ | বিবর্তনের এই শেষ পরিণতি আশার আলো জাগায় ও পার্থিব জীবনরূপ শোকাঙ্কের পরিসমাপ্তি আনন্দসত্তা উন্মোচনে পরিপূর্ণতা লাভ করে |

নিজেকে জানার মাঝেই জীবনের চূড়ান্ত সাফল্য ; বাকি সবই কমবেশী বাতুলতামাত্র, বিবর্তনের সুদূরসহায়ক | কর্মের প্রতিটি প্রয়াসই তার প্রত্যক্ষ এবং প্রচ্ছন্ন প্রভাব রেখে যায় চিত্তের গভীরে | তাই সকল কর্মেরই মর্যাদা প্রাপ্য | কিন্তু আধ্যাত্মিক সাধনার দ্বারা যে অপরোক্ষানুভূতিলাভের প্রচেষ্টা, তার তুলনায় আর সবই ম্লান | এই মৃত্যুর সাধনাই তাই স্বামীজী-প্রদর্শিত, এই মৃত্যুঞ্জয়ী হওয়ার প্রয়াসই যুগধর্ম |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

আলোকচিত্র : স্বামী বিজ্ঞানানন্দ

ABHIJIT VINAYAK BANERJEE -- A TRANQUIL MIND SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY

ABHIJIT VINAYAK BANERJEE -- A TRANQUIL MIND SEEKING SOLUTIONS TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY

Stillness of the mind is the key to success.

I was watching Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee at close quarters, for flashes, though. He seemed so utterly still in his mind even as he moved past the thoroughfare of reporters and photographers and a melee of onlookers and security personnel on to his waiting vehicle inside his housing complex. Amidst the general excitement created by his arrival, Abhijit Banerjee himself seemed utterly composed. Brisk in gait, dignified in demeanour, the economist carried himself with an unassuming air, as if almost oblivious of the universal acclaim he has been receiving since having been declared the joint winner of this year's Nobel Prize for economics.

Such a down-to-earth attitude, as if nothing has happened on his personal front beyond the recognition of his life's work, is, indeed, the hallmark of greatness. But one thing stood out in those brief flashes to which I was privy and that was his utter stillness of mind that was evident strangely through the frail form of this lanky laureate, a tranquillity that one would associate with a mind bathed in the purity of deep contemplation.

God bless you, Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee ! You have made your mother proud, your motherland proud and the poor of the world proud for whom you have started your crusade for the improvement of their lot.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (left), Esther Duflo (centre) and Michael Kremer (right) -- joint winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics, 2019.

LIVE IN THE CERTITUDE OF THE SELF

LIVE IN THE CERTITUDE OF THE SELF

Atmajnana, that is, Self-realisation is the eventual purpose and destiny of terrestrial evolution. Behind is the dark of ignorance but ahead all is light, the effulgence that is a living light of conscious existence. It is an indestructible end, a solid ground of integrated being that, once felt, dispels fear for good.

Such a floor are we standing on even now unawares, such a foundation holds our tottering terrestrial existence with all its trials and tribulations, all its war and peace. There is reason to worry but there is cause for hope as well, for the undying Divine within us never can be vanquished by the vanities of phenomenal play, never can lose this battle of terrestrial wits in the eventual analysis. We are to emerge victorious for sure, for that is in the very scheme of things.

Then, why wait? Why delay the hour of triumph anymore? Plunge headlong into this Mayic maelstrom and reach the centre at any cost. There is nothing to fear, none to be afraid of, no Being to pay obeisance to in this desperate drive to your divinity that lies at the heart of your own existence. Let this be the individual striving, let this be the collective effort. Eventually, all shall coalesce to become one. Multiplicity shall vanish as oneness reveals, the singularity of the super-conscious Being. Om !

Written by Sugata Bose

CULTURE AND ITS POSSIBLE FREE FALL ... 2

CULTURE AND ITS POSSIBLE FREE FALL ... 2

There is an alarming growth of irrationality these days in the social sphere. Sanity, good sense and plain rational thinking are taking to wings as fantastic notions, blind beliefs, prejudices and misconceptions rule the roost among an increasingly shallow citizenry rising to self-assertion on foundations of flimsy surface education. The politicians who govern us are representative of this decadent culture and are further complicating things beyond hope of easy redress, for their ignorance coupled with power is a force significant in the wrong direction that is taking us backwards as all sane individuals are agreed upon from their first-hand experience of the times.

The obvious antidote to this rampant regressiveness is to introduce effective reforms in education so that future generations are spared this ordeal of survival in a climate of unreason, false hope and bitter betrayal of everything that is worthy of being cherished in an enlightened polity. Upon our decisions depend our future. Upon our enlightened nurturing of our progeny depends the fate of humanity.

But how many even realise the dangers of the times? How many quite comprehend that we are standing on the edge of an abyss with problems of such monstrous proportions as the degradation of the environment, the threat of a cataclysmic atomic war and explosive population growth threatening human extinction? Those that do must quickly take stock of the situation and start a counter-movement based on the principles of pure science and pure spirituality, as opposed to doctrinaire dogmatic religion, that will target the growing culture of irrationality and help bringing a semblance of sanity to the way men think and act in accordance. Upon our concerted efforts rests the edifice of civilisation, upon our enlightened thinking depends the survival and future flourishing of civilisation. We must act now.

Written by Sugata Bose

CULTURE AND ITS POSSIBLE FREE FALL ... 1

CULTURE AND ITS POSSIBLE FREE FALL ... 1

We are witnessing today a steep cultural decline to which we are more or less all contributing. This is not only a degenerate trend but a dangerous trend, too, for it portends an impending precipitous fall of our whole superstructure of civilisation. I, therefore, exhort all to join in the counter-movement to preserve culture and raise the bar of social intercourse so that we may avert a free fall of culture and save civilisation from its consequent catastrophe.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Of two beings whose very lives breathed renascent culture into the terrestrial scheme of things, the civilisation of the Spirit in all its efflorescent beauty.

The advent of these two seminal beings on the firmament of human aspirations is a signal point for civilisation to take cognisance of and career its course unto a new direction, unto a higher end, a deeper destiny that cannot be eventually denied but, if unheeded, will lead to terrible destruction and bring in unending human misery in its wake.

We need to awake to this call of the Divine from this divine duo who in integrated essence form the junction point of the Orient and the Occident, the synthesis of the East and the West in cultural terms. Let us hearken to their call and reorient our lives towards the attainment of the highest end of terrestrial existence, the realisation of the Self.

HIGH HOPES AND SPIRITUALITY

HIGH HOPES AND SPIRITUALITY

It is not good to raise hopes of redemption on an irrational aspirational basis. Better by far is to adhere to a practical truth based on empirical evidence. Even spirituality demands intellectual rigour as its effective check so that it is not led astray into blind alleyways of death. Immortality is not to be gained by forays into falsity, by rambling in the realm of the unreal. Spirituality is the science of the Spirit and must be pursued as such. Mere hopefulness of salvation while remaining indolent in one's spiritual practices will not be productive of the desired end. Hard work is a must, be it in temporal achievement or in transcendental. Yes, diligence is demanded in every endeavour for its success.

Written by Sugata Bose

ভেবে দেখুন

ভেবে দেখুন
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আমাদের বাচনভঙ্গী ও উচ্চারণ একটু উন্নত করা আবশ্যক | নচেৎ, ভাবপ্রকাশ প্রহসনে পরিণত হতেই থাকবে | নেতাজী কি এমনই অবনত স্তরের প্রকাশভঙ্গী অনুমোদন করতেন বলে আপনাদের মনে হয়, হে আমার সহৃদয় নেতাজীপ্রেমী সতীর্থগণ ? গবেষক, সাংবাদিক ও তাঁদের অনুগামীগণ, ভেবে দেখুন | আত্মসংশোধনপূর্বক নিজশৈলীর উন্নতিসাধন করুন | এইভাবেই আরো উৎকৃষ্টরূপে ভারতমাতার সেবা করতে সক্ষম হবেন | ভেবে দেখুন |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

'TIS TIME TO WAKE UP

'TIS TIME TO WAKE UP

Today, 21 October, is India's true Independence Day. On this day, 76 years earlier in 1943, the Provisional Government of Free India was established by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on the soil of Singapore to announce the end of the illegal British Raj in India. We must celebrate this day as the day of independence and not 15 August, the declared Dominion Day of a partitioned, debilitated and destroyed India. Arise, awake, if you will, to comprehend the significance of this seminal moment in India's history. Else, history will choose better warriors of the Spirit to uphold the nationalist cause.

Written by Sugata Bose

UNITED SHALL WE EVER BE OR SHALL WE FOREVER SEEK SELF-PUBLICITY?

UNITED SHALL WE EVER BE OR SHALL WE FOREVER SEEK SELF-PUBLICITY?

We must unite to spread the word of our real revolutionaries for freedom. We must assiduously avoid this tendency towards self-publicity. Netaji, Rash Behari Bose, Bagha Jatin, Masterda Surjya Sen and a host of other martyrs, leaders and foot-soldiers, lived and died for the nation so that we may breathe the air of freedom. But our Government has not duly recognised their seminal contributions to our freedom.

So, what do we do about it? Why? We can do self-publicity, post selfies to gain cheap popularity, squabble with each other to gain preferential leadership and remain academically ignorant, intellectually impoverished even as we pose to be researchers who have the divine right to pulling down better-versed historians of repute who disagree with our preferred narrative of history.

We care not to counter them on a civilised basis for we evidently lack civility owing to our monumental intellectual failings. We are then left to cast aspersions and hurl abuses on men of letters by way of exhibiting our foiled hopes and our patent frustrations. This sort of an attitude becomes popular somewhat at the base level where such baseness works well but fails to change the dominant narrative of our freedom struggle which is so full of lies and partial truths. Unfortunate it is that the ones who clamour as the protagonists of historical truth, many of them have a poor knowledge of history and a feebler understanding of its complex connotations. But worst of all is that these supposed scholars, mired in intellectual ignorance, must seek public adulation ahead of seeking attention for the cause they espouse. And, hence, they cannot unite.

Sarcasm aside, what then is the way out? Humility, self-abnegation, intellectual honesty and genuine study, deep and sincere, so that our 'researchers' become researchers beyond the articulate apostrophe. After all, the revolutionaries deserve intelligent successors to expound on their life's work and not blaring fools who will foul up their cause further.

Jai Hind !

Written by Sugata Bose

MUST WE ALSO NEGLECT TO CELEBRATE THIS DAY?

MUST WE ALSO NEGLECT TO CELEBRATE THIS DAY?

That the Government disregards this day as our true Independence Day is not only a shame but an imperative for them who have received this dole of Dominion Status from the British on the 15th of August, 1947. That it goes against the grain of genuine self-respect as a nation to thus receive freedom by way of alms is of scant consideration for them who exist by of such despicable charity. We need not bother about such neglect of this grand day of our genuine independence, and that, too, of undivided India. We must neglect such neglect and raise a movement through our committed action to the nation so that our countrymen get to know the reality and significance of this seminal day in our nation’s history. Jai Hind !

Written by Sugata Bose

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !

Those who care to know the history of our freedom struggle, know for certain that today is our Independence Day. On 21 October, 1943 Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, standing on the soil of Singapore, declared India free of British imperial control and launched the Provisional Government of Free India. Two days later, on the 23rd of October, 1943, the Provisional Government declared war on the Anglo-American forces and the Indian National Army was thus engaged in a titanic struggle against them in its bid to liberate India by armed action in alliance with the Japanese forces. This war of liberation proved crucial to the subsequent eviction of the British from Indian soil, as history has testified.

That the nation yet sleeps on this momentous day and is almost unaware about its reality and significance proves to what level we have sunk as a people and to what extent we remain, yet, mentally colonised to the British in our acceptance of the partitioned Dominion Status on the 15th of August, 1947. It is time to awake from this self-oblivious slumber and rise up to wrest our true historical heritage in the proclamation of our true independence, that of undivided India, on 21 October, 1943. Let us rejoice by spreading the good news around. In this shall lie our service to the motherland.

Written by Sugata Bose

LOVE HUMAN AND LOVE DIVINE ... 1

LOVE HUMAN AND LOVE DIVINE ... 1

Human love is conditional and, therefore, worth not pursuing. Unconditional love springs from the fourth plane of consciousness and upwards where all carnality has ceased and the Spirit shines to illumine life and its relations in the light divine. Till at least this plane of the spiritual heart is reached which in scriptural terms is called the anahata chakra, the body holds human relations in its grip of sense selfishness and love remains, despite pretensions, a distant dream. The decadence of relations is brought about by the diminishing returns of the body and the rosy relations of efflorescent youth soon decay in the scorching rays of heartless practicality where self-survival and self-gratification play the bandmasters by turn.

The lowest three centres of consciousness are the physical centres where matter holds the soul in its tentacles and limits its capacities, clips its wings to fly, so to say, reducing the human mental motion to a series of analysis and synthesis with no escape into a realm where freedom from these constant stirrings and the trappings of flesh and form may be. In pursuance of such finite dealings, human love also becomes limited to the cravings of flesh and form and, despite the tallest protestations to the contrary, remains bound in the mire of selfish material desire which no supposed sublimity of poetry or music can undo and release the soul unto a perennial pasture of meadows green.

Written by Sugata Bose

THE MASTER'S MISSION AND ITS MIGHTY MISTAKES MADE ... 1

THE MASTER'S MISSION AND ITS MIGHTY MISTAKES MADE ... 1

Christ was never followed by the Church which went into the imperial mode of conquest of the heathen's land and culture, quite antithetical to the Master's message of universal love and peace.

Buddha's disciples tore the teachings of the Tathagata out of shape to cast a new religion contradisposed to the Vedic Dharma, which gradually brought in a despicable cultural degeneracy from which we, Indians, yet suffer.

We must be wary that the same mistakes are not repeated by the grand disciples of Ramakrishna as the Master's Mission expands and invariably tends to degeneration creeping in tortuosly but surely, nonetheless.

End of Part 1
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 5

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 5
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

The film is heavily tilted towards the Gumnami Baba angle despite pretensions to the contrary. For the 'evidence' and 'instances' cited in savour of the monk incognito narrative are a plethora compared to that of the Aircrash version. The Russian angle, for lack of evidence, has been omitted altogether barring a flashy representation of torture in incarceration.

The shooting of the film was triggered by the publication of the book 'Conundrum', so it was initially claimed by its authors and left uncontested by the film-maker Srijit Mukherjee. However, when litigation followed against his supposed misadventure, the latter took cover under the Justide Mukherjee Commission Report and saw to the film's safe passage unto release.

End of Part 5
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 4

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 4
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

To portray Netaji on the silver screen effectively is almost an impossible task and one must forgive Prasenjit for his failure to do justice to the role on that count. After all, neither does he have the height nor the build of Bose, nor even a semblance of the personality that could stand tall among the greatest leaders of the day. Netaji's deep and resonant voice with its excellent diction in English and Hindi was also lacking in Prasenjit. The hero was stiff and unnecessarily sombre which was not characteristic of Netaji, the fluid regal person that he was. His gait was also a trifle effeminate on an occasion when he, as Supreme Commander of the INA, swayed somewhat effeminately in his own characteristic stylised forward movement while inspecting the army camp. This was in sharp contrast to Netaji's robust and fluid gait.

All this is understandable, though, for who can adequately fit into Netaji's shoes? But despite it, the master director that Srijit Mukherjee is, he brought about a sufficient metamorphosis in his hero Prasenjit so as to help him portray Netaji as best as he could. The film being on Netaji's post-disappearance probable life, these discrepancies may be overlooked. Prasenjit did, thanks to directorial help, bring out the essence of the character he was made to portray in some sense and he must be commended for it.

End of Part 4
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 3

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 3
(Smoking is injurious to health.)

The cinematography of the film 'Gumnami' is breathtaking and reminiscent of Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park', to my reckoning at least. The shots of Netaji crossing the Burmese rivers overbridge had a giant impact on the viewer. The documentary-type beginning of the film was also captivating and promised much for the rest of the film to follow.

What transpired, though, may be summed up in mainly two phases, namely, the aircrash theory and the Faizabad monk theory. The first phase brought out the director's master craft as it had a strong well-linked narrative whereas the second phase had the director somewhat groping in the dark for connective links which, owing to paucity of credible data, were wanting. The handling of the aircrash phase was, thus, of the first order while the treatment of the Gumnami Baba phase was shabby and the narrative incoherent. Fitted into the monk incognito phase were shown flashes of the Russian angle with Netaji being supposedly tortured in incarceration.

Running through all this is the life of Chandrachur Dhar, a journalist of a newspaper entrusted with fact-finding and reporting about the Netaji disappearance issue, one who becomes so absolutely engrossed in his mission of discovery that his personal life is reduced to ruins.

End of Part 3
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose
(Smoking is injurious to health.)

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 2

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 2
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

The film has opened up the Pandora's Box of data suppressed thus far and brought into public reckoning, in so far as the cinematic medium is concerned, the historical heresies that have been perpetrated against our premier patriot over the last seven decades. Srijit Mukherjee has done a yeoman service by bringing alive the Netaji disappearance issue before the Bengalee-speaking world and set millions of Bengalees thinking as to what happened to their beloved leader post 18 August, 1945. What was on the net earlier has now seen the light of day on the mega screen and has, hopefully, ignited the imagination of millions of enthusiasts and inspired many of them to take up the disappearance research in the manner of Chandrachur Ghosh of the film, in their bid to solve this perplexing puzzle of seven decades.

End of Part 2
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 1

THE FILM 'GUMNAMI' ... 1
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

It's been 11 days since I watched the film 'Gumnami' on the 3rd of this month, a day after its release on the 2nd of October, 2019.

The reason for this delayed appraisal may have been that an objective analysis of an event is often not possible in the rush of the hour when the mind tilts in its appreciation or depreciation towards its preferred line carved out of its predilections and predispositions. Hence, after the dust has settled on the immediate event somewhat, I set my thoughts on print.

End of Part 1
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose
(Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.)

SPIRITUAL COMMUNISM --- IDEALISM AND PRACTICE ... 1

SPIRITUAL COMMUNISM --- IDEALISM AND PRACTICE ... 1

Spiritual communism is the perception of the equality of all in the light of the divinity within. But terrible incongruities on the surface remain and these must be removed to facilitate a human face to such a grand philosophy, to make human life appear at least a semblance of this perceived grandeur of sameness, to give every soul a chance to raise himself from the mire of material deprivation and seek the sunshine of a fast-evolving life.

Speaking equality and divinity is one thing and acting in accordance quite another. Rooted human selfishness born out of the instinct of self-preservation, greed and hunger for power must be sublimated in the light of a growing awareness of the inner truth. But this again is easier said than done. These instincts are so deeply ingrained in the lowest sheaths of the human personality --- the physical, the vital and the mental --- that mere verbal education in morality, virtue, righteousness and philosophy prove utterly inadequate in bringing about even minuscule change in the human being. Despite the tallest lessons imparted to him from childhood, man grows up into the exploitative unsympathetic soul whose sole job is to gather the earth's resources for himself and create poverty in its wake for the masses. It is a case of ill-distribution of wealth on account of inefficient economic system, governmental inefficiency and apathy, lack of awareness of the masses about their basic rights and lack of the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice among the educated and the culturally refined.

The question then remains. How does one convert the devotee to a foot soldier of this divine mission to bring about the real equality for all, not in absolute terms but in proportionate terms where sanity rules over this indiscriminate acquisition of wealth that reduces millions, nay, billions to becoming beasts of burden?

Swamiji had hit upon his grand plan for the resuscitation of his motherland whereupon he activated the energy of renounced souls to attempt the transformation of society and the amelioration of the misery of the poor and the downtrodden. Those were days of dependency on the British who were sucking the life-blood of India and Swamiji must have felt that the common man was not yet ready to take up the cause of this social regeneration. But times have changed and we are a free nation today. The challenges have grown in geometric progression and it is no more meet to rely on monks alone to carry out this Herculean task of national reconstruction. The common man must now participate and sink in his ploughshare of work for the motherland's cause.

End of Part 1
To be continued...

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : The disciples of Ramakrishna, the fledgling Order at Baranagar, the site of the first monastery of the Ramakrishna Order.