MY MOTHERLAND ... 1
The way ahead for our country seems to be engaging in intense activity in diverse directions for the widest and deepest distribution of energy and the fullest manifestation of health of the entire population in every sphere of life. Rajas must be manifested, as Swamiji was never tired of saying, but this must be on the secure foundation of India's ancient wisdom which was all-inclusive and never exclusive, as Swamiji so beautifully explained in his Chicago lectures where he said that the word 'exclusive' had no Sanskrit equivalent as the idea was totally alien to our forefathers and had never seen conception or birth in our linguistic culture.
Coming back to the aforementioned point, though, what we need is to active and not equally garrulous about it, maintaining the dictum of 'work more, talk less'. Thus shall our country see the progress which it dreams of but never quite attains within the prescribed time-frame. Thus shall we see a real renaissance of our civilisation as opposed to the vaunted ones in arbitrary false claims which have no concrete basis to them.
It is not good enough to criticise the existing order of things if we are true patriots but we must contribute our ploughshare to the work of reviving the excellence of our civilisation. For this we must first cater to the country's immediate needs in terms of physical well-being. We may argue that as individuals we cannot do much but if we do our level best in the spirit of service to the nation without expectation of return beyond the joy of service and sacrifice and the feast for our eyes to behold the nation flourish, we shall have acquitted ourselves well in this glorious task of nation-building. Millions, fired by this spirit of love for the nation that only gives and never cares to wait for any return, will yet bring about a national renaissance whose wider influence shall flood the world and bring about peace and harmony where fratricidal battles bring ruin on human civilisation. In such a manifestation of true humanism founded on the pristine philosophy of the Vedas shall be built the edifice of future humanity where the whole world resides as in a single nest [Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam], to quote from our ancient scriptures.
It is important to study the works of our modern sages and savants, too, like Raja Rammohun Roy, Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Babasaheb Ambedkar. These are our best guides as we proceed through uncharted terrain into the unknown future as our national evolution unfolds through time. The thoughts of these seers and sages, savants and saints, will illumine our path if we care to follow in their footsteps. 'Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ' -- let this be our guiding spirit. Let us tread the path trodden by the greats of the past. In this shall our future be secure and our evolution proceed following the blueprint laid down by the Rishis aeons ago.
Vande Mataram !
End of Part 1
To be continued ...
Written by Sugata Bose
The way ahead for our country seems to be engaging in intense activity in diverse directions for the widest and deepest distribution of energy and the fullest manifestation of health of the entire population in every sphere of life. Rajas must be manifested, as Swamiji was never tired of saying, but this must be on the secure foundation of India's ancient wisdom which was all-inclusive and never exclusive, as Swamiji so beautifully explained in his Chicago lectures where he said that the word 'exclusive' had no Sanskrit equivalent as the idea was totally alien to our forefathers and had never seen conception or birth in our linguistic culture.
Coming back to the aforementioned point, though, what we need is to active and not equally garrulous about it, maintaining the dictum of 'work more, talk less'. Thus shall our country see the progress which it dreams of but never quite attains within the prescribed time-frame. Thus shall we see a real renaissance of our civilisation as opposed to the vaunted ones in arbitrary false claims which have no concrete basis to them.
It is not good enough to criticise the existing order of things if we are true patriots but we must contribute our ploughshare to the work of reviving the excellence of our civilisation. For this we must first cater to the country's immediate needs in terms of physical well-being. We may argue that as individuals we cannot do much but if we do our level best in the spirit of service to the nation without expectation of return beyond the joy of service and sacrifice and the feast for our eyes to behold the nation flourish, we shall have acquitted ourselves well in this glorious task of nation-building. Millions, fired by this spirit of love for the nation that only gives and never cares to wait for any return, will yet bring about a national renaissance whose wider influence shall flood the world and bring about peace and harmony where fratricidal battles bring ruin on human civilisation. In such a manifestation of true humanism founded on the pristine philosophy of the Vedas shall be built the edifice of future humanity where the whole world resides as in a single nest [Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam], to quote from our ancient scriptures.
It is important to study the works of our modern sages and savants, too, like Raja Rammohun Roy, Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Babasaheb Ambedkar. These are our best guides as we proceed through uncharted terrain into the unknown future as our national evolution unfolds through time. The thoughts of these seers and sages, savants and saints, will illumine our path if we care to follow in their footsteps. 'Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ' -- let this be our guiding spirit. Let us tread the path trodden by the greats of the past. In this shall our future be secure and our evolution proceed following the blueprint laid down by the Rishis aeons ago.
Vande Mataram !
End of Part 1
To be continued ...
Written by Sugata Bose
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