Sugata Bose: September 2021

Thursday 30 September 2021

POETRY, THOU PROSAIC ART-FORM IN PROFANE HANDS !

Much of what goes by the name of poetry by the ordinary person of extraordinary pretension is literary gimmick. True poetry is not easily come by. It springs forth spontaneously from the soul full of music and mirth and cascading flows forth in rhythms of bliss. There is a subtler sense that makes for poetry, a refined sensibility, an optimal balance of beauty and blissfulness in expression, of fancy and feeling, emotion and ecstasy, and yet without a trace of linguistic affectation that so taints what passes off as poetry but in real is its parody and no more.

Anybody and everybody cannot be a poet. Poets are born. They have an innate sense of music in their souls, a melody that bears the lyrical metric and sets up a tension between freedom and restraint of lines tending alternately to each. This tussle is sweet and soft, never harsh and discordant, for poetry is the song of the soul, its ethereal effusion in earthly terms, its interface with the prosaic world of rigid forms. Poetry is the fusion of form and fancy, of light and shade, of the sunlit summits of inspiration and the devastating depths of depression, but all caught in words and phrases that never suffer from loss of light or love. Poetry has its own personality, its own individual identity that sets it aside from all other genres of literary endeavour and marks it out uniquely as the quintessence of all literature. Hence, it is not the common man's cup of tea. Neither is it the common composer's mismanaged metric. It is music in words and that requires sensibility of a high order in both the word and the melody that runs through as the subterranean current infusing life into it. So, mere assemblage of carefully crafted words makes not for poetry but a free flow of words issuing from the depths of the heart and carrying with it the tinge of the inner feel that composes this sublime art form. Gimmicks are no kin to poetry, neither are varied, manipulated assortment of words and images poetry. There is something called false poetry and it is this. True poetry must pass the litmus test of creating beauty and insincerity of composition can never attain it. Poetry must like breath, like music, like love be free of all artificial taint and be secure in its solitary splendour as the acme of literary perfection in all its spontaneous manifestation, in all its sublime simplicity redolent of beauteous forms, of images and dreams.

Written by Sugata Bose

'সেকাল' ... (প্রথম স্তবক)

আমি যদি জন্ম নিতেম কালিদাসের কালে ...

Oh, had I been born in the age of Kalidas!

Perchance, would have been the tenth gem

In the necklace donned with nine.

A solitary song, a paean would sing

Unto the king and ask for

In the tranquil edges of Ujjain

A house hedged by a garden.

By the bank of Reba, 'neath the champa,

By eve would assemble all,

Oh, in sportive mood, in self-musing

I’d sing out in wild abandon.

The vessel of life would flow on

In soft and aimless way

Oh, had I been born in the age of Kalidas!

Composed by Rabindranath Tagore

Translated by Sugata Bose

Wednesday 29 September 2021

সংস্কৃত শিক্ষার বহুল প্রচলন আবশ্যক আজ

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সংস্কৃত শিক্ষার বহুল ব্যবস্থা করুন কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার | নইলে যে দেশোদ্ধার হবে না | স্বামীজী বলতেল সংস্কৃত সাহিত্যেই ভারতের আদি ও মূল ঐতিহ্য নিহিত | দেশের সংস্কৃতি সংস্কৃত ভাষায় বিধৃত | বিশুদ্ধভাবে শ্রদ্ধাসহকারে সংস্কৃত মন্ত্রোচ্চারণের মধ্য দিয়ে দেহমনে শক্তি সঞ্চারিত হয় |

সনাতন সংস্কৃতির পতন ঘটে যখন ভগবান বুদ্ধ সর্বসাধারণের ভাষায় ধর্মপ্রচার শুরু করেন ও সংস্কৃতের প্রতি কোনও গুরুত্ব দেন না | এর ফলে পালি ও প্রাকৃতের প্রচলন হয় সাহিত্যকর্মে কিন্তু সংস্কৃতচর্চা গৌণ হয়ে পড়ে | তার ভীষণ পরিণাম ভারতের সাংস্কৃতিক অবনমন |

স্বামীজী তাঁর জীবনে ভারত ইতিহাসের ঐতিহাসিক ভুলগুলো শুধরে নিয়ে দেশকে নবজীবন দান করতে চেয়েছিলেন | তিনি তাই সংস্কৃতের পুনঃপ্রচলন চেয়েছিলেল ব্যাপকভাবে | তাঁর মতে সংস্কৃতশিক্ষা হবে ভারতোত্থানের মূল উপায় কারণ একমাত্র দেবভাষার চর্চার দ্বারাই দেশে হৃত শ্রদ্ধা ফিরে আসবে | এবিষয়ে সরকারের বিশেষ মনোযোগ দেওয়া আবশ্যক আজ | জাতির ভবিষ্যৎ নির্ভর করছে এর ওপর |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

GOD IN THE SKY

Those who point their fingers up towards the sky by way of meaning God are in the preliminary stage of conception of the Divine. The Semitic religions all point to an external God in Heaven and their adherents by this definition belong to the said category. But followers of the Sanatan Dharma, that is, the Hindus, ought not to use such words as 'Uparwala' (the One above). Hindu philosophy says that God is immanent everywhere, inside us, outside us and as us and every thing that has name and form. And God as ultimate reality is transcendent as well. He is then the attributeless, formless, infinite sea of consciousness which has been called Brahman, although It has no name as such. Hence, cultural associations with Muslims and Christians have induced Hindus to point heavenward as well but it is high time that spiritual literacy and understanding spread among the Hindus to rectify this wrong.

Written by Sugata Bose

THE FOLLY OF A MASTER BATSMAN WITH A MEDIOCRE MIND

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b5WLPNHett0&feature=share

Foolish Tendulkar. Could not but be casual in running. Could have been out earlier as he attempted successfully reckless shots like sweeping to the off-side a yorker. Later in his career Tendulkar made such trademark foolish shots which cost him his wicket and his team the match on many an occasion when more circumspect shot-selection was the call of the hour. Neil Harvey had denounced this penchant for playing rash strokes by Tendulkar when well-set and pulled up the Australian media for lionising the Indian to the point of comparing him to Bradman. Harvey had said that the Don once set was sure to score a big hundred whereas Tendulkar never quite seemed to get set and was capable of getting out at any time irrespective of how long he had been at the crease. Hence, according to Harvey the comparison of the Indian ace batsman with the Don was almost blasphemous. The Don stood in unrivalled solitary splendour at the summit of batsmanship. Here we see how Tendulkar's stupidity in casual running cost his team the match and in 1998 an indiscreet shot by him under great physical pain from a strained back when well past the hundred mark during the Chennai Test against Pakistan had cost India the Test match. Again against Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup when on 98, Tendulkar played an indiscreet paddle-sweep off Muralidaran to lose his wicket. India managed to win that day despite this irresponsible act of her ace batsman but she could have as well lost it. This has been Tendulkar's way all along, attempting impossible shots at all odd hours when greater caution was the call of the hour, and, so, failing to stay till the end and secure the win for the team. It has got to do with his psychology which is as important an aspect of batting as technique, defence, strokeplay, etc. A batsman is a composite of body and mind and batsmanship is the integrated output of the twain. Here Bradman lies miles ahead of Tendulkar. So, Neil Harvey was right. He had hit the hammer on the head of the nail. Tendulkar's career has proved the correctness of his analysis and assertion.

Written by Sugata Bose

LET NATURALNESS BE

People use make-up to look beautiful. But the best way to look beautiful is to practise purity. The skin will glow of its own, the face will be fresh and full, the voice will be musical, the gait rhythmic and there will be an unearthly beauty all about you, that of the gods and the goddesses. The personality will be pleasing and penetrative. It will create an aura about you and you will be victorious everywhere. But the attention must not be on that. The prime purpose of life is God-realisation. All external observances are distractions to attaining it. Hence, let naturalness be your air, your attitude, your attribute and your attire. Let not artificial addition cover up your true self, both physical and psychological. Be not ashamed to own up to who you are. Dark skin need not be made fair by application of foundation nor any such embellishment aim at attracting attention to who you are not, that is, to who you are presenting yourself to be. Be yourself and if you wish to be your best beautiful self, then be your most spiritual self, your most intellectual self, your most physically healthy self so that the trinity may bring out the best from within you. Better be beautiful naturally for yourself than be so artificially for others.

Written by Sugata Bose

Tuesday 28 September 2021

PATRIOTS OF THE DAY

Today, suddenly we see the emergence of a great many patriots who are real crooks. They are moneyed people making hay while the 'nationalism'-sun shines. Business is brisk as 'patriotism' provides adequate cover for monetary motives. So, those who kept quiet during the Emergency and made in effect common cause with the regime then now take up cudgels against the said horrendous state of the State and choose conveniently to side with the powers at the helm of affairs now. They voice their postdated protest against the political perfidy of 1975 but do not utter a word against any misadventure of the present political dispensation. Do not worry. This is their true character-colour and they will show it up in quite the same way by criticising the present regime when at a later date the tables are turned on them and some other party is swept in to power. Like the chameleon they change the colour of their epidermis while their endodermis and ectodermis retain the hue, characteristic of the cunning, the cowardly and the camouflaged which they are. If there indeed were so many patriots in the country as the raucous affirmations of the day suggest, our country would have changed overnight into the most ethically sound polity instead of being the habitat of countless crooks who are robbing the masses and reducing them to penury.

Supporting the present order and criticising a past one that has almost lost political relevance is easy enough but to combat present perfidies requires lion's courage. Patriotism and nationalism are big words and they have great significance. They are not easily attained, least of all by the ones who loot the land using dubious means. Working for the common weal does not need advertising but requires silent, sincere application out of feeling for the nation. Those who work truly for the nation go unheeded as they prefer to remain away from the limelight whereas those who blazon their philanthropy, welfare work et al before the media, work for themselves in truth and not for the nation. Thus, siding with the ruling dispensation and going hoarse in support of it is not the definitive sign of patriotism neither does it lie in hurling abuses on adversaries of the present political party nor also in profiting by so-called patriotism. Patriotism consists in character-building and working selflessly for the nation. The word 'selfless', perhaps, has through overuse lost its meaning somewhat in common consciousness but it essentially means being completely devoid of self-interest and no desire whatsoever to benefit personally from work done for the nation beyond what decency derives. No advertising on social media of good work done would qualify truly as a patriotic act. Hence, from common man to Prime Minister, from merchant to monk, all must readjust their social stance before they venture into patriotic activity that may be deemed in every sense worthwhile to deserve the prized epithet.

May Sri Ramakrishna bless us all !

Written by Sugata Bose

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LATA MANGESHKAR !

Today is Lata Mangeshkar's 92nd birth anniversary. For one who has brought so much joy to our lives, often been the source of solace, inspiration and the stimulus to our best artistic sensibilities, here's a happy birthday from all of us, 139 crore citizens of this country and so many more beyond it. May you find sustained health, happiness and peace in quiet repose with God in your years ahead! The whole world has but one Lata Mangeshkar. As Salil Choudhury had famously said, "A singer like her comes once in several centuries." So, to the one and only Lata Mangeshkar, our reverence, prostrations and open ears and souls so that the strains of 'Aayega aanewala', 'Uthhae ja unke sitam' and a thousand other melodies may keep pouring in and filling us with love divine and an earthly sense of the unearthly, the ethereal that she has encapsulated in her tiny terrestrial form. We love you, Lata Mangeshkar. Our lives would have been different but for you. You have filled us. That's all.

Written by Sugata Bose

Monday 27 September 2021

দমকলে ডাকো ক্যান ?

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আরে বাপু, ঠাকুর এসে রক্ষা করবেন আমাদের ঘর, এই ভাবাটা দমকল এসে আগুন নেভাবে আমাদের গৃহে, এই ভাবার সমার্থক | তা বাপু, কে চায় বল দেখি নিজের ঘরে আগুন লাগাতে ? তোমরা চাও বুঝি ? আর, না চাও তো দমকলবাহিনীকে, অর্থাৎ, সাঙ্গোপাঙ্গসমেত ঠাকুরকে মর্ত্যে আসার জন্য আহ্বান কর কেন ? এতো মহা বিপত্তি হল দেখছি ! আহাম্মকের দল সদলবলে দমকলকে ডাকে | এ যে আগুণ নিয়ে খেলা গো | কোথায় তিনি বললেন চোখের জলে বাসনাগ্নি নেভাতে, তা না এরা তোড়জোড় করছে আগুন জ্বালাবার যাতে প্রভু ফায়ারফাইটার নিয়ে হাজির হন |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

I HATE COWARDICE, SAID SWAMIJI

The future of our country may be great but the present times are rather bad as there is a dearth of honest, upright and vigorous souls who can stand up for truth irrespective of who they confront in opposition in doing so. The mass of devotees are spineless sycophants with no self-belief that will enable them to voice for truth instead of siding with organisational compromise with the elements of the day. Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda have been long let down by both monastics and the laity and it is time, time indeed, for redressing the corrosive course of the Master's movement for the establishment of truth and virtue. Else, it will be so late that none but a second descent of the Divine can alter and adjust the inevitable precipitous course of the otherwise prophetically ordained movement of the millennium. Shall we still remain fence-sitters and allow the divine decline? The choice is ours and our fate is intimately linked with it. The decline is there for all to see and it was the forevision of this, perhaps, that had prompted the Master to prophesy his second coming.

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S. COMMENTS :

Sugata Bose @Sharmistha Chatterjee : We must not be hypocrites, that is all. Devotion springs from strength of the aspiring soul, not from passivity tainted with worldliness and camouflaged in grandiloquent verbal expressions, frothy articulations tantamount to nothing.

COVID-CAUTION THROWN TO THE WINDS BY THE AGENTS OF CHANGE

@Swami Nikhileswarananda : Mask should be up. Photo op can take backseat, COVID-caution cannot. Moreover, the safe distance of 2 m is hardly on. Proximity can promote the virus. Sad lack of awareness for a monk. Not much spoken about the Minister for Climate Change as he evidently is unconscious about his basic COVID duties and, you, Maharaj, are blissfully oblivious of it, too. How do you propose to change society by bringing awareness in it when you yourself are so unaware? Swami Vivekananda would have been horrified by the honourable Minister's and your amazing act of indiscretion, and so am I along with countless responsible citizens.

Written by Sugata Bose in horror and in shame

Photo : courtesy, Swami Nikhileshwarananda in public interest.

[ A book of Swami Vivekananda being presented by Swami Nikhileshwarananda to Shri Kiritsinh Rana, Minister of Climate Change, Government of Gujarat, on 21st September, 2021 -- information gathered from Swami Nikhileshwarananda's Facebook post, dated 27 September, 2021.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5026879803992158&id=100000105636264 ]

P.S. COMMENTS :

SugataBose @Sujoy Mukherjee : Bravo ! That's the spirit. Only I'm afraid that few will be able to understand what you've so vaguely attempted to point out. Did you not 'like' the post, pertinent as it is?

Sugata Bose @Sujoy Mukherjee : No, you must be clear in whatever you say. Otherwise, awareness will not spread about the missionary laxity of the times. It is bounden on us, lay devotees of the Ramakrishna Mission, to safeguard its ideals not only through right living but also by right speech, as the Buddha would like to have had it and no less the Swami Vivekananda who had founded the Ramakrishna Mission specifically towards that end of vigorous work by the laity who have reposed faith in his Master.

Sugata Bose @Sujoy Mukherjee : It is time to be self-aware through scientific understanding rather than always clinging to historical personalities to a fault. A western devotee, Francis Leggett, possibly, had said that Swami Vivekananda possessed the most wonderful common sense that he had ever come across in an individual. It is this common sense which is most uncommon, as my father used to say, that we should cultivate and live by. It comes from being grounded in reality, of the world and of the Spirit in conjunction, I guess, and is the easy rationality we may adhere to and abide by. We need not muddle our mode of understanding by constant and ready references to the scriptures which may be easy of access these days but difficult of comprehension nonetheless. Hence, self-help ought to be the way out instead of needless passive piety in terms of ultradependence -- and superficially so -- on monastics and their supramundane affirmations on events mundane. This self-dependence surely is the way of the Vedanta and is the surest and quickest way to being spiritually alive. Hence, devotees among the laity have a definite role to play, that is to allow monks to meditate in peace and not to bother them or they themselves to be bothered by the monks in matters mundane. That will clear the path for renunciation for the real monks while the rest will be caught napping in their professed vocation and will thus be exposed. So, 'the fault lies, dear Brutus, not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.' (Quote, Julius Caesar) Awake, strong men and women, awake ! 'Ill doth it befit thee' to so hypnotise yourselves into cowardly weaklings.

Sugata Bose @Riya Bhattacharya : Succinct. That's the way. Clear, uncluttered, direct comment. Let others who hide behind vague assemblage of words learn.

Sugata Bose @সারদা মা কন্যা সৌমিতা : Why so angry? Take it calmly and act in accordance.

Sugata Bose @Diganta Sengupta : Ask the monks. I have been lifelong propagating Swamiji's message vigorously, and creatively so, and have neither flattrered the bigwigs of the organisation nor watered down the fiery truth of the volcanic monk's words.

Sugata Bose @Diganta Sengupta : Keep commenting and you draw the necessary response from readers, myself included. So, keep at it.

Sunday 26 September 2021

ভণ্ড যখন 'ভগবান', ভোগী যখন 'যোগী', বদগুরু যখন 'সদগুরু' আর বিশ্রী যখন 'শ্রীশ্রী'

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এই ঠাকুর শ্রীরামকৃষ্ণ এসেই যত গোল করেছেন ভণ্ডগুলোর | প্রাণের সুখে ভণ্ডামিটিও করতে পারছে না | এই আমাদের মত লোকেরা এদের ধরে ফেলছেন | কিন্তু বাকিরা পারছে কই ? সব ইংরেজীতেই কাত |

আজীবন অনেক ভণ্ডই তো দেখলাম | এখন দেখছি সদগুরুরূপী ভণ্ডশিরোমণি | কী অবলীলায় মূর্খ মানুষের মাথায় ঘোল ঢালছে ! সাধে হিন্দুদের আজ এই অবস্থা | এখন কাপুরুষ ভক্তের দল, মেরুদণ্ডবিহীন সরীসৃপসম | প্রতিবাদ করবে কি, সেই তেজ, বীর্য কোথায় ? শুধু অর্থহীন স্তুতিবচন, স্বামীজীর প্রশস্তি | অথচ স্বামীজীর সমাজসংস্কারহেতু শৌর্যবীর্যসহায়ে অশুভশক্তির প্রতিরোধে রুখে দাঁড়ানোর উদাহরণটি এঁরা বেমালুম ভুলে যান নিজজীবনে প্রয়োগ করতে | তাই স্বামীজীর কোটি কোটি ভক্ত থাকা সত্ত্বেও এইসব দুর্বৃত্ত, এইসব দানবের দল ভগবান, সদগুরু, যোগী, শ্রীশ্রী সেজে সমাজের সমূহ ক্ষতি করে চলেছে | আর এইসব ভক্তরা ভালমানুষটি সেজে বসে আছেন | এও এক সাজ | এও এক ভণ্ডামি | কবি বলেছেন,

"অন্যায় যে করে আর অন্যায় যে সহে,

তব ঘৃণা তারে যেন তৃণসম দহে |"

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 13

The world is a terribly mismanaged affair. There is no God beyond what has thus far manifested in man that controls it. It is a sorry mess indeed, the consequence of human ignorance more than knowledge, far less wisdom that can as yet salvage it. Indeed, the world is the result of human irresponsibility, gluttony, power-craving and plunder, the consequence of covered consciousness. Mass enlightenment alone can save the human species from mass annihilation. But is anybody listening to the call of Nature? Whither are we headed if not towards doom? Meanwhile, let us fight with each other more and hasten the inevitable. Shall we?

Written by Sugata Bose

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 12

First exploit the masses, impoverish them, gather wealth, then dish out a dole and blazon it as charity with the world applauding you on your magnanimity. This is the feature of philanthropy in a capitalistic order of socioeconomic existence.

Unless the exploitative yoke be overcome, the machinery of social exploitation overhauled and replaced by a more human one where welfare becomes more than a word and finds real meaning in deed, all this so-called charity will remain as a hindrance in the path of social justice in the economic sense.

You do not do charity to the Ganga by drawing water from it and then spraying back a few drops in it by way of decent return. The water belongs to the river in the first place and there remains no more room for ownership of it by any for future charitable dispensation thereof. Same with the earth's wealth. It belongs to the earth and private accumulation of it to monstrous proportions before dispensing the charitable dole is not only unwelcome and evil but a cover-up of exploitative intentions.

This must be made clear to all that they do not need anyone's charity to survive but must be provided for in a human society that was originally designed to cater to the welfare of one and all through cooperative living. The social element was initially prominent in such an understanding and arrangement but later, exploitative accretion played foul with it as wealth fell into the hands of the crafty and the mighty and socioeconomic systems were evolved to maintain the status quo of exploitation.

We are now educated enough, socially evolved enough to discern, to detect the lie involved in the entire narrative of charity of the rich to the poor. The question arises -- why at all plunder the wealth of all and stockpile it to your individual advantage before dishing out the dole for the disadvantaged to settle your ruffled soul? Why at all create such brutal economic inequality by amassing wealth thus? Why not reduce profit, give quality and share in the equal joy of all rather than steal through legally sanctioned means and through methods unsanctioned as well to reduce people to poverty and then attempt to rescue them with your published charity with the limelight shining on your 'messianic' self?

What we need is awareness, enlightenment and a just system whereby inequalities may be optimally reduced without requiring these pretentious programmes of charity that have become the justification for initial plunder of people's wealth.

Written by Sugata Bose

MESSAGES GALORE ... 2

1. মা-বাবা, মা-বাবা | তাঁদের ভালবাসার কাছে কেউ দাঁড়ায় না |

2. ভালো লেখা কেউ পড়ে না | সব চটুলের দিকে নজর |

3. সাধারণের বুদ্ধির মান উন্নত করা আবশ্যক |

4. যেমন নিজেকে সদগুরু বলে আখ্যা দিলেই কেউ সদগুরু হয়ে যান না, তেমনি নিজেকে যোগী বলে পরিচয় দিলেই কেউ যোগী হয়ে যান না |

5. ভোগী যখন যোগী সাজে, যোগীর তখন করণীয় কি ?

6. সহজকে কঠিন করার নাম আধ্যাত্মিকতা হতে পারে না | সর্বোচ্চ সত্য সবচেয়ে সরল |

7. জীবন দুদিনের -- প্রথম দিন বর্ধন ও দ্বতীয় দিন ক্ষয়ের | মরণ তৃতীয় দিনে যদি না চতুর্থ ধামে (তুরীয় চেতনায়) পোঁছানো যায় আগেই |

8. এতবড় পৃথিবী | কজনের সাথেই বা পরিচয় হল ? কজনকে জানলাম, চিনলাম ? বিরাট পরিবার অজানাই রয়ে গেল ক্ষুদ্রপরিসর জীবনে |

9. সমাজসেবা আত্মোন্নতি দিয়ে শুরু করা যায় |

10. যাকে কেউ চায় না, তাকেও তার মা চায় |

11. Mother's love is the constant rock in life.

12. Full stopএর চেয়ে দাঁড়ি চিহ্নের সাংকেতিক যাথার্থ অধিক |

13. আমার নানান বানান ভুল হয় | লেখার ক্ষেত্রে এটি বড়ই বেমানান | আপনাদের বক্তব্য জানান |

14. Perplexing problems often have simple solutions. Seek them and live happily.

15. ধনতন্ত্র তৃতীয় রিপুর দ্বারা চালিত |

16. সাধু হয়ে সাধনা ছেড়ে লোকমান্যের পেছনে ছোটা ? এ তো, ঠাকুরের ভাষায়, সন্দেশ ছেড়ে বিষ্ঠায় বসা |

17. আচ্ছা, নিত্যানন্দ রায়কে গুরু করলে কেমন হয় ? তাহলে গুরু শুঁড়িবাড়ী গেলেও গোল থাকে না |

18. কেউ ভগবান, কেউ সদগুরু, কেউ শ্রীশ্রী | নামের কি বাহার ! ধামের কি ছিরি ! আর চরিত্র ? ওকথা থাক |

19. যাঁরা ভণ্ড 'যোগী'দের জ্ঞানী বলে, সনাতন ধর্মের সুদূর প্রচারক ও সেবক বলে প্রশংসা করেন, তাঁদেরও আমি ভণ্ড আখ্যাই দি |

20. ঠাকুর-স্বামীজীর ভক্ত বলে ভণ্ডামি দেখেও গা বাঁচিয়ে ভালোমানুষটি সেজে থাকার পাত্র আমি নই | প্রতিবাদ তো করবই | অবশ্য করব |

21. শাস্ত্র না পড়ে, শুধু Asterix পড়ে কি সদগুরু হওয়া যায়, 'সদগুরু' ?https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zibNisV6uVU&feature=share

22. চেহারা দেখে বোঝেন না কে সাধু আর কে অসাধু ? তাহলে সে চোখ তৈরি করুন |

23. প্রণাম তোমার প্রমাণ কি ?

24. Goodwill is hard gained but lost easy. So, organisation, beware !

25. DNAর relay?

Then why the delay?

ঋষির বংশে কংসরাজ?

26. রসরাজ রস বোঝে,

বেরসিকে বোঝে কি ?

মক্ষিকা রস খোঁজে,

পেয়েছে যে, খোঁজে কি ?

রসনা, থুড়ি, রচনা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

27. Thakur-Swamiji came to break the myth of this world. So, to create fresh myths about their personas is highly unwelcome. Over-adulation at a surface level tends to breed fresh myths.

28. Going great guns? God's grace.

29. May all the babies of the world be blessed by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi !

30. বাইরেটা তো খোলস ;

তাই নিয়েই ব্যস্ত সব |

রূপসীর রূপচর্চা,

কত শত কড়ি খরচা,

সব ওই পরী সাজবার জমক |

ফুরুৎ করে উড়ে গেলে

ভাঙবে কতক চমক |

রচয়িতা : সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

31. আধ্যাত্মিকতা বিদ্যাশক্তির আশ্রয়ে আসে, অবিদ্যা হতে বহু দূর |

32. যিনি আত্মপ্রচারবিমুখ তিনিই যথার্থ সাধু |

33. If we have to serve the nation, we must shed cowardice and stop being the obedient servants of organisation and authority irrespective of how bad they are. A bit of spine is what first of all we need.

34. Whichever political party comes to power, one party that ever rules from behind is the capitalist party.

35. Religion is for the rich. What the masses seek is bread.

36. অবিদ্যামায়ার আশ্রয় নিয়ে ভোটে জেতা অনুচিত |

37. The words that I leave behind

May not move many.

That's all that I have for the world

Even if taker be not there any.

38. কোনও কোনও সাধুর ঠাকুর প্রিয় না আত্মপ্রচার প্রিয় ? সাধুর লোকমান্য হওয়ার ইচ্ছা বড় বন্ধন | স্বামীজীর মতে ৯০% সাধু এর বশ |

39. আজ সমাজে চরিত্রের বড়ই অভাব -- এমন জ্বলন্ত চরিত্র যা মানুষকে, বিশেষত যুবসমাজকে, উদ্বুদ্ধ করবে |

40. ভগবানকে পেতে হলে নিজেকে ভুলতে হবে | আত্মপ্রচার নিজের অবিদ্যাসত্তাকে মজবুত করার প্রয়াস | অতএব, লোকমান্য হতে ভগবান অনেক দূর, সে সাধুই হন আর গৃহীই হন |

41. আমাদের দেশে সত্ত্বগুণী আর তমোগুণীর আবাস | রজোগুণীরা সব বিদেশে চলে গেছে |

42. "My purity is my make-up." So must the fashionable feel. That will be the renaissance of India.

43. Let us once more make an effort to raise our country to the pinnacle of glory.

44. Hope springs yet in the heart even in the twilight of life of my motherland recovering her lost glory.

45. The body is the hindrance to love. We must feel that we are disembodied beings. There will be no resistance to union then and no dissipation in love.

46. কোটি কোটি জন্মায়, কোটি কোটি ঘরে |

বদ্ধজীব জন্মায়, বদ্ধজীব মরে |

এদের আলোক যদি দেখানো বা যায়,

তবু রবে বদ্ধবাসনার অন্ধ গহ্বরে |

47. Creation is ever a singular act. It is never replicated. Hence, the creative person is the one who is original in his utterance and never induced to becoming so.

48. শরীরসর্বস্ব মানুষ আর আধ্যাত্মিকতার বুঝবে কি ?

49. Personality over principle has ruined our national prospects. To change it we must place principle above personality. So, do it.

50. Swamiji said, "Remember -- women and the masses." How many of us remember this or reflect enough to understand its import?

51. Is not humanity the essential element of religion in the social context?

52. Of all the Prime Ministers of India I respect Lal Bahadur Shastri the most. Happy birthday!

53. How long will religious injunctions hold sway over vast masses of men?

54. এতবছর হয়ে গেল গান্ধীজীর জন্মানোর পর | আর একটা গান্ধীজী জন্মালেন না | জন্মদিনে প্রণাম |

55. So many years have passed since the birth of Gandhiji. Another Gandhiji has not been born. Best wishes on birthday.

56. This day Swami Abhedananda was born. Happy birthday!

57. That tree out there has so many leaves and I live in every one of them.

58. I love the weak and the humble. Equally do I dislike the arrogant and the pretentious. Can I help it?

59. Falsity is to be avoided at all cost. If you cannot feel for others, do not feign it.

60. Insincere words are a curse unto conversation. What you don't mean, don't speak.

61. মানুষকে বোঝার চেষ্টা করুন আগে | পরে না হয় তার উপকার করবেন |

62. The entertainment industry has become a mockery of sincere expression. And the rest of the world are following suit.

63. Supporters of Modiji, how is it that you so hate Gandhiji when your leader so loves him?

64. What I work for, I shall get if it be conducive to social good and my own good. Such should be the level of self-confidence. But what I lazily dream about, I shall miss even if it, if realised, be catering to my individual and social good. Such should be the sense of reality.

65. Do not sanctify desire as duty.

66. I do not believe that those who disrespect Gandhiji respect Netaji.

67. নিউজ চ্যানেলে নিউজ (সংবাদ) নেই, আছে শুধু মারপিট | ভায়া, এ কেমন হল বল দিকি |

68. Racing car garageএ এলে আর চিন্তা নেই | কিন্তু যদি ঠেলাগাড়ী আসে, তবে তাকে পালিশ করেও raceএ নামানো যাবে না |

69. দেশের অধঃপতনের জন্য সবাই যেমন দায়ী তেমনই সবারই তার উত্থানের জন্য দায়বদ্ধতা |

70. Humility is very important. For an aspirational nation it is a prime virtue. Arrogance never achieves, humility does. It sweetens social relations. This we must remember.

71. Dawn breaks out like a bashful girl

Slowly raising her glance.

The scattered hues are all around,

Broken beams of light.

This love is or that love is,

Who alas, shall say?

The veil has lifted, the dark eyes shine,

It's a dewy dawn's delight.

72. একটি হাসির মধ্যে যা বেদান্ত, বেদান্তের মধ্যে সে হাসি নেই | বেদান্তে বেদান্তও নেই |

73. আমার লেখার মধ্যে আমি অন্যকে quote করব কেন? লেখাটা তো আমার, তাঁর তো নয় | তাই নয় কি?

74. যে কারণে মুসলমান ভগবানের মূর্তি বানান না, সেই কারণেই হিন্দু ভগবানের মূর্তি বানান | উভয়েই অনন্তের গুণকীর্তনে আগ্রহী নিজ নিজ উপায় অবলম্বনে |

75. প্র : কেউ যদি কেউ নামের (অর্থাৎ, নামযশের) দিকে যান, তাহলে তাঁকে কি বলে প্রাথমিক সম্বোধন করবেন ?

উ : প্রণাম !

76. প্র : কেউ যদি গ্রামের দিকে যান, তাহলে তিনি কেন যাচ্ছেন হোথা ?

উ : Program.

77. There are some 'eminent' authors whose books are compilations of quotations, a feature Swamiji eminently disliked.

78. না বোঝে বাংলা, না বোঝে ইনজিরি, না বোঝে মানে, না নেয় প্রাণে | করি কি বলুন দিকি ?

79.

মন্দিরে কে ?

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মা দোরগোড়ায় দাঁড়িয়ে | ভোঁতাবুদ্ধির দাড়োয়ান দোরে খাড়া | ঢুকতে দিচ্ছে না | এদিকে মার প্রবেশের টিকিট নেই | অগত্যা, মা ফিরে যাচ্ছেন দোরগোড়া হতে | তারপর আবার বলে, "মা কই ? মা কই ?"

80. আমার লেখা আগে কেউ কেউ প্রায়ই share করতেন | কিন্তু হঠাৎ তাঁদের মনে হল, "মুই কিছু কম অছি, বটে ?" বস্, share শেষ | আমার দুর্গতি অশেষ |

81. স্বামীজী গৃহীদের সাবধান করেছিলেন তাঁরা যেন সাধুদের অতিভক্তি প্রদর্শনের দ্বারা মাথায় না তোলেন | এতে সন্ন্যাসীর বিশেষ ক্ষতিসাধন হয় |

82. কি আছে ? একবারে না হয়, হাজার বারে হবে | বার বার জন্মাব আর বার বার মরব | তারপর একটু বুদ্ধির ঝিলিক দেবে | তখন আরো ক'হাজার বার জন্মে টন্মে, ভোগ টোগ সাঙ্গ করে, ভক্তির ঢং বন্ধ করে চৈতন্যলোকে অবস্থান হবে | অতএব, বর্তমান ভক্তির ঢং চলুক | ক্ষতি কি ?

83.

স্বামীজী জন্মান না কেন ? স্বামীজী জন্মান না কেন ? এই রব প্রায়ই শুনি | আরে বাবা, ভুবনেশ্বরী দেবী কোথায় ? কোন গর্ভে জন্মাবেন ? এটা ভেবে দেখেছেন ? মা কই ?

84. স্বামীজী যা যা বলে গেছেন, আমরা ঠিক তার উল্টোটা করছি | বেশ করে স্বামীজীকে betray করা হচ্ছে | Not bad.

85. Not a word of encouragement. Only discouragement, disparaging remarks and disturbing observations about all the glorious work that men of letters do. It seems eating, drinking and watching serials have become the staple of gentlemanly living. Living like pigs -- is this life?

86. সাধু সংসার ত্যাগ করল আর ছুটল তার পেছনে সংসারীর দল | কী আপদ !

87. যে সংসারে সত্য নেই, সে সংসারে অর্থ নেই |

88. সমাজে এথন সব frothy characters, ফেনিল চরিত্র | রাশি রাশি, স্তুপিকৃত রজোস্তমোগুণসম্পন্ন মানুষ | ঋষি কই ?

89. Behind the dream is a wakeful reality, behind the form is a substance. The image lends its way to the core truth, the shadow disappears in the sun.

90. Celebrity তো নয়, সব অবিদ্যাশক্তি | Themselves deluded, they delude others. আর বোকার দল, সব গোগ্রাসে গিলছে |

91. সত্ত্বগুণে সংরক্ষণ, রজোগুণে সৃজন আর তমোগুণে ধ্বংস | ভারত আজ কোন গুণে ?

92.

Of all the famous Gurus, Babas, Sri Sris and Swamis, Sri Ramakrishna was the one who literally lived out every word that he preached. And that is what makes him so special, so spiritual in the truest sense of the term and so inspiring for those who truly wish to tread the path of the Spirit and not of the flesh or of fame camouflaged as it.

93. All religions do not speak the same truth and this is the plain truth.

94. Does the omnipresent God really live only ABOVE that He is constantly called UPARWALLA?

95. Which is bigger -- the country or the truth?

96. কোনটা বড় -- স্বদেশ না সত্য ?

97. How do we call ourselves Hindus, Muslims, Christians, communists, theists, atheists etc. when in truth we do not even know who we are?

98. Why do people call themselves 'bandaa' in Hindi? Are they slaves? Of whom? Has not slavery been abolished as a vicious antiquated practice?

99. A limiting religion is limited in its lifespan. Religion to survive must allow the full flow of the individual to his divine status even unto being one with God.

100. We so often are told of fascist crimes against humanity? But what about communist crimes, capitalist crimes, imperialist crimes and religious crimes perpetrated against humanity? Crime is crime and it springs from a loss of heart brought about by doctrinaire conditioning and the selfish pursuit of desire and dominance.

THE SIGNS THAT WILL GIVE OUT A GODMAN FROM A REAL MAN OF GOD

Verbosity, gaudy apparel, taking huge sums of money for programmes conducted, advertising their achievements, proximity to politicians, levity and frivolity in speech, pandering to popular vanity, absence of depth-knowledge of scriptures or their meaning through experiential access, discussing anything and everything without verbal restraint, misquoting the lives of great men such as Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna, plagiarising quotes and passages from other people's writings and using them as one's own after clever adaptation, creating a mist and a mystique about themselves and their deeds through use of deliberate, delusive phrases, terms and language in general, creating advertised festivals of gods that are highly priced at the gate, destroying the environment by encroaching into forest and tribal territory or river valleys by colluding with governmental authorities, claiming divinity indirectly through misuse of scriptural definition of the Guru, preaching rationality while simultaneously creating myths that will spread superstition further, and a host of allied stuff. They are all there for the discerning to see and see through the designs of these crooks selling spirituality, but the naive, the corrupt hands-in-glove people and the crafty politicians will either fail to see or purposefully pretend not to see or go all out to protect the nefarious interests of these unholy men in order to secure their own profit-making and political exploitative ends.

Written by Sugata Bose

ভগবানকে খোলা চিঠি

--------------------------------

হে ঠাকুর,

'জগা'র খিচুরি দেখে মনে হয় সত্যজিত রায় 'মহাপুরুষ' চলচ্চিত্রে ঠিকই চিত্রায়ন করেছিলেন ভণ্ড ভগবানদের চরিত্র | গতকাল যিনি ছিলেন 'জগা' আজ তিনিই যোগী | হায় ভগবান, জগা তোমায় দিয়েছে ফেলে আসন থেকে | তুমি এখন 'ঐ আসনতলে মাটির পড়ে লুটায়ে' আছো | জগার চেলা এখন সংখ্যায় তোমার ভক্তদের চেয়ে ঢের বেশী | জগা তোমার ঘরে ডাকা ডালছে | এবার শিগ্গিরি এসো | নইলে ভিটে মাটি চাটি হবে, বিশ্বাস করো | তুমি তো জানো 'বিশ্বাসে মিলায়ে কৃষ্ণ, তর্কে বহুদূর |' তাই বলছি, মানে মানে এবার রামকৃষ্ণলোক থেকে কেটে পড়ে মর্তলোকে পারি দাও দিকি | এদিকে যে সব গেল | রিসেপ্শন কমিটি পর্যন্ত জগার কবলে | তোমার এখন 'যায় যায়' অবস্থা | ঘর সামলাও |

ইতি,

তোমার প্রহৃত একান্ত ভক্ত,

দিশেহারা সুগত বসু (Sugata Bose)

Saturday 25 September 2021

REFLECTIONS ... 3

Absorption is the key to growth. And that is possible only if we lay ourselves open to influences from all quarters while retaining our essential identity in terms of uncorrupted character. Else, the very soup of external influence will sweep us off our feet and lay us low. The idea is to imbibe, absorb and assimilate in our system diverse thoughts and make them our own. Such all-round education makes a man. Such is the condition of the growth of an individual, his or her evolution as a human being.

Written by Sugata Bose

THE PERFECTED ONE AND THE PRETENDER

Swami Bhuteshananda once gave a scriptural hammering to a U.P. professor who later became a notorious godman with 108 Rolls Royce cars, a la 108 spiritual beads on his necklace of debauchery in the name of spiritual practice with the rich and the gullible. This the Swami did at a spiritual meet when the said godman gave dubious interpretations to some passages of the Hindu scriptures. Such has been the tradition of the illumined monks of the Ramakrishna Mission who have quietly corrected scriptural aberrations made by charlatans of bygone years. They have been civil but firm in their denunciation of spiritual heresies. It is a shame that some of today's devotees of the Master's Mission cannot distinguish between a conman and an apostle of the Sanatan Dharma. Strange are the perfidies of the times, stranger the alliance of the devotees with dastardly godmen and their sympathies with verbose crooks masquerading as messiahs despite protestations perfect to the contrary, labelling themselves as seekers of the vagueness they term truth.

Written by Sugata Bose

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 11

Our eminent citizens are irresponsible. That makes it all the more important for us, ordinary citizens, to take up the task of nation-building. As Shakespeare says, "When old men fool and children calculate." Our cumulative work for the common weal can make all the difference.

When I see men of international renown in their respective fields engage in frivolous pleasantries on social media and give themselves up to compromised living in a corrupt world of crony capitalism, I feel sorry for the fate that has befallen our mother, our motherland, and wonder when she will be strong enough to 'shake off this sterile curse'.

People may accuse me of choosing soft targets when I criticise the aloof unconcern of our so-called celebrities to the plight of the billion strong poor in India. But my respect for them makes me choose them as the target of my ire rather than the roguish politicians, ministers et al, for whom I have little respect and harbour lesser hope of anything good coming from them. I have expectations from our celebrity cricketers which I do not have from our politicians of pretence and perfidy. Hence, when I witness their tomfoolery in public, I cannot restrain myself from giving vent to my frustration and consequential anger. But it is all out of a lingering hope yet that they will perchance deliver more than they do in terms of a modicum of social service that at any rate they do.

Awake, great ones, and look around you to redress the terrible misery of the masses. Your self-involvement would be better served this way when you find your luminous beings spread out in the body politic of the nation that is slowly dying a painful death. Awake, great ones, awake !

Written by Sugata Bose

Friday 24 September 2021

WHEN SEHWAG SAID HE DESERVED A FAREWELL TEST BEFORE RETIREMENT

There is no question of allowance of a farewell Test match for even a great cricketer when he is not performing and wishes to retire thus in grace. The country comes first, not the player who feels he deserves an additional Test match despite a continuous string of failures when he was given the chance to perform and retain his place in the team. In the event of such a string of failures past performances should not count as reason for continuance any further in the team. The best eleven must be chosen and in this there is no room for emotional accommodation of a past performer if the country's future cricketing prospects are to be safeguarded. Hence, Sehwag's plea for a farewell Test postscript today is understandable but unwarranted. This may seem a hard stance to take but is entirely justified under the circumstances. The plea for a farewell Test despite continuous failure is a bit sentimental and selfish. What may be a prudent practice perhaps is to better communicate with the player concerned about the Board's intentions in his regard. Then such heartbreaks will not happen. A proper procedure in place will prepare all players for the inevitable event of retirement from the game in grace.

Written by Sugata Bose

SADHGURU EXPOSED

You have exposed Sadhguru right. He is a shame unto our spiritual tradition. Fools galore live in our country and this conman exploits them in a manner nonpareil. Hats off to hoodwinking! Those who support this charlatan in copious cloth-wraps are themselves, to my mind, of questionable character. Here I point at his cronies in corruption, be they from his own organisation or from among his associates in the political world. The people of India, if they rise against these rogues today, they will flee the country and seek refuge in that old safe haven of all such criminals, England, where the law protects such perfidious persons for a considerable period of time (ref. Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya) unless they can be extradited on a governmental level. But where politicians of the highest tier enable these rogues at their professed perfidy wrapped in gaudy linen, the task of exposing them and bringing them to justice becomes an onerous task. Which is why your effort at illumining the duped lay public about these 'illumined' souls assumes such a seminal significance.

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S. :

1. Who will save India from her false Gurus, conmen, charlatans -- crooks copiously clothed in wraps of linen and a host of hoodwinking?

2. PASSING REFERENCES

1. There is something called genuine personality and there is the other one that is put on. The former puts you at ease whereas the latter strikes awe in you through sheer affectation.

2. We live to impress others. But why? Because we fail to impress ourselves otherwise.

3. The British left India in tatters. They looted us, broke us into three and colonised our minds. But we have not only forgiven them, we have forgotten the sacrifices of our revolutionaries and made common cause with them by becoming a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The question arises -- Commonwealth? Then why did you loot our land instead of sharing our wealth with us? And to us. Are we a self-respecting nation? Are we followers of the patriotic principles laid down by Swamiji or are we its antithesis still? We still feel gratified by our British association, be it a holiday in London or a post-colonial Indo-Anglican way of living. Shame on us!

4. Before the Government of India awards the Bharat Ratna to individuals it must ensure that such awardees no more earn wealth from commercial advertisements and other incongruous associations that can demean the nation's highest civilian award. A Bharat Ratna advertising for Mutual Funds? This is a shame and an utter disgrace to the award.

5. Capitalism is eating into the vitals of the nation. The almighty dollar has replaced Almighty God. Ramakrishna has been replaced by corrupt godmen. Vivekananda in essence has been forgotten even as he is quoted these days so often. The soul has geen sold to gold and such transactions are rationalised as the exigency of the hour. Now, God, wake up and see what you can do to salvage some of your invaded terrain that now by sleight of the share belongs to today's power brokers, the crafty capitalists.

Written by Sugata Bose

REFLECTIONS ... 2

So long as one projects Avidya Maya or engages with it, one cannot be deemed a spiritual aspirant, let alone a perfected soul. Now judge for yourselves what these YouTube Gurus are. So, I say, return to Ramakrishna. In him was Vidya Shakti perfectly manifested and there was not a trace of Avidya Maya.

Written by Sugata Bose

P.S. Now do not get caught up in the photograph and fall into a self-laid trap, the glitter of the outer world with a hollowness within. Mahamaya has interpenetrated every inch of space-time, every link of the causal karmic chain. So, beware! Read, reflect and respond but do not in such reaction be superficial as a devotee bound merely in figure and form.

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 10

We as a nation must learn the art of avoiding the hyperbole and the overuse of adjectives in glorification. Understatement carries with it a more potent expressive power. Loudness in conversation, discussion and dialogue is not quite well-mannered and ought to be replaced by a gentler approach that allows rational communication in a pleasant way and does not drown data in the froth of meaningless words and emotions. This is a national problem that is growing by the day and ought to be countered. As the media cater to lowered popular tastes and in the process contribute to the process of further lowering culture by fashioning such tastes, it becomes the lot of conscientious citizens to counter this degradation in every possible way, not the least by infusing culture into social discourse. I do it my way through my writings but find myself woefully unequipped to meet the challenges of the times en masse. This is a demographic problem, a feature of sociocultural evolution which is gathering momentum by the day as education spreads through the culturally unrefined classes and empowers them to wrest control of the governance of the world with its consequent blunting of everything that was thus far more refined in an elitist world of privilege and patronage. The solution lies somewhere in between. Neither privilege nor cultural impoverishment through empowerment of the unrefined to control the finer aspects of life is the way out but a balance of forces that will optimise commercial output while taking care to not lower culture significantly. Balance is the key, the pursuit of excellence while engaging in the act of raising the masses from their coarse, cultural level. A tough act for sure but an attainable one.

Written by Sugata Bose

Thursday 23 September 2021

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 9

The advent of Sri Ramakrishna has been largely nullified in the short run by the advent of a large number of fake Gurus who have taken possession of the public mind in an age of rampant commercial exploitation of the masses which is the characteristic feature of a growing capitalist society. The followers of Ramakrishna have been unable to catch hold of the public imagination to any significant degree and the movement of the Master has after initial success in awakening the country to political independence languished somewhat despite some appreciable work done in the fields of education and social service. Thereafter, with economic liberalisation having opened up the commercial consciousness of a large number of the literate, the Mission of the Master, though slow to adjust to the challenges of the changing times, has finally fitted into the capitalist order in its spiritually relevant way, of course, and in such compromise, despite maintaining its unquestionable integrity, allowed in its aloof unconcern the corrupt forces to take control of the 'spiritual' market without once raising its voice against such corruption. Their seminal founders in Ramakrishna and Vivekananda were quite apart in this regard and had through their unequivocal denunciation of the evils of the times set society on the right course which it seems their followers are loath to follow in terms of a like setting of society right. While the Mission cannot be held accountable for social heresies in the spiritual field today, the result of all this has been that people are being hoodwinked by the millions along delusive paths in the name of religion. The corrupt Gurus in conjuction and collusion with equally corrupt political leaders are looting the population like never before. A redress of the present perfidious scenario is the call of the hour but we do not see any such corrective mechanism in place as yet.

Written by Sugata Bose

GAVASKAR AND TENDULKAR

Having seen Gavaskar and Tendulkar both play in Test matches and viewing video footage of their game I have come to the conclusion that Gavaskar was technically superior to Tendulkar. His judgement of line and length was better. Hence, his success against the greatest pace battery in cricket history, a fact that places him on a peerless pedestal as perhaps the greatest Test opener of all time. Not that Tendulkar with helmet and far better modern protective gear was way behind, which he was not, but that Gavaskar was just that much better in this regard which made all the difference when it came to facing the fastest men in cricket. In this regard it may be mentioned that Tendulkar had confessed to having had problems facing the aged Malcolm Marshall close to his retirement in the 1992 World Cup when the ace paceman was past his best. Gavaskar had scored eight centuries including two double centuries against the same Marshall. Here his century (188) in the1987 MCC Bicentenary Match at Lord's has been included. Besides these Gavaskar had scored seven more hundreds against the West Indian pacemen as well.

It is more often not said that players across generations cannot be compared as playing conditions keep changing with time. But that is precisely the reason why it is such a joy to engage in this challenging task of finding out the least common multiple where such players belonging to different eras may meet and their exploits on the field held in relative estimation. The judgement cannot be off-hand and needs careful consideration for accuracy of output. Don Bradman found this an absorbing exercise and famously said that a great player from one era would learn to adjust to altered playing conditions in another era and, so, perform to potential at any rate. I am also of the opinion that such comparisons are worthwhile and help bridge gaps in eras so as to maintain the continuity or flow of the game seamless in our minds. After all, time flows on seamlessly and the game is played to the beat of time as well. Surface statistics cannot be the basis of this comparison as figures, while they reveal, conceal facts as well. Statistics needs correct reading, analysis and interpretation. It also needs fuller facts, not partial figures attempting to represent the whole. Above all, in the cricketing sense, it needs a finer appreciation of the game for one to be able to decipher the information implicit in a bundle of facts and figures rather than merely its apparent explicit tending. So, Gavaskar and Tendulkar must be understood in terms of relative cricketing excellence from a deeper insight into the workings of the game than its facade reveals.

Written by Sugata Bose

SPEAKING FROM THE HEART ... 8

These days we see fake Gurus with political and industrial backing making hay, fooling the nation with 'yogic' gibberish which are not in consonance with what our scriptures declare as truth. The people, gullible as they are, gobble up such arrant nonsense as spiritual truth and come to grief. But such is the power of propaganda backed by industrial and political powerhouses that the delusion they diffuse into society continues unabated. Rather it gains momentum with every passing year and its stranglehold on society assumes diabolic proportions. The result is as expected -- a sliding down of the nation into the dark ages despite pretensions galore to the contrary. The situation is complex and confounding and there is no easy way out of it for the country is huge, its population vast, problems perplexing and contradictions contending for resolution which can only happen over time.

Meanwhile, what are we to do? Must we allow our country to be looted by these goons who masquerade as messiahs? Must we be mute witnesses to the destruction of the spiritual principles of our age-old civilisation? Must we by our silence be tacit supporters of these rogues who go by the name of gurus and godmen? The most lucrative business that knows no recession is ruining the immediate hopes of our country as even eminent citizens are being lured into the commercial ventures of these godmen which is helping consolidate their hold on the public imagination. No, we must not bear this derailment of the national rational discourse thus but must actively oppose these charlatans and their political bosses who help promote their perfidious programmes. But to do so we must understand the societal compulsions of our country, its inner tensions and tussles, and the dynamics of its evolving history.

Written by Sugata Bose

Wednesday 22 September 2021

REFLECTIONS ... 1

For every true yogi there are a thousand rogues pretending to be so. And these are the ones who are famous and milking the commercial world in the name of yoga. And this is not a new thing. It has been happening since the first decades of the twentieth century with spectacular claims and dubious dimensions appended to yogic feats, much like the miraculous claims of the Middle Ages attaching themselves to European absorption of Semitic religious ideas. It has only gained in momentum now with added capitalist corrosion of societal values and increased opportunities to fool people.

Written by Sugata Bose