COMMENTS GALORE ... 12

COMMENTS GALORE ... 12

Sugata Bose @Suman Gangopadhyay : So, statement of truth spoken in civilised language is deemed detrimental to civic order according to you? Has democracy reduced civic discourse to such an abysmal depth that a passive acquiescence is the sole option left? Think deep, 'face the brute', as Swamiji was wont to saying, and prove yourself to be a man having courage of conviction and character. Else, by your standard of judgement, all our freedom fighters ought to be hidden from our text books as generating potential violence against the British today for their articulate affirmations yesterday when the country was seething with the passion for freedom. Come on, gentleman, give sanity a chance in this world gone wrong with the doctrinaire deeds of dastardly violence.

Sugata Bose @Soham Pain : Grand rebuttal. Wholly agree with you and largely differ with some of Swamiji's sweeping generalisations in his moments of inspirational love for certain sections of society whosoever they may be.

Sugata Bose @Bhattacharya Kalyan : Atheists, anti-Hindus, anti-Christians etc. Atheism masquerading as political philosophy itself is a dark and divisive force, albeit even one of totalitarian political religion. Then there are the fanatical versions of political philosophy or its utter absence which are the unreasonable dark forces of religion. Intelligence and discernment should help you to recognise them. Time for a homecoming instead of hitting out at the Mother Religion like a youth gone wrong and unrepentant at that. The prodigal son returned to sanity but there are so many of his permanently strayed siblings who follow their deluded course unto perennial distraction. If such distraction be self-inflicted alone, damage caused to society would have been less. But they choose to disrupt social sanity and wean away more of the masses unto their indulgent, ignorant and intolerant philosophy whereby civilisation is thrown into despair. Poor fellows, they know not what they do in their vanity which they deem to be light when it is darkness dwelling in their tortuous hearts that impels them to do so. Return to Ramakrishna!

Sugata Bose @VRana Roy : Fair enough. But the history of the world has seen the dastardly triumph of untruth. Civilisations have been swept away by the sword of untruth.

Sugata Bose @Dipankar Paul : Yes, thus far this has been the historical truth. The strong have triumphed over the weak through might of arms and not so much by superior wisdom.

Sugata Bose @Sammik Mitra : Perceptive observation. Hope readers heed it. The survival of the Hindus depends on it.

Sugata Bose @Dayanand Mishra : I have introspected and said what I have. Yes, I have heavily donated lifelong but have seen the sad spiritual demise of the organisation right before my eyes. Your understanding may be different.

Charging legitimately is one and taking whatever comes the course while refusing to issue coupons without a minimum amount by way of reimbursement for the expense entailed is another. There should be a price tag attached in such a case like all other consumer commodities and not a vagueness abounding where unlimited amount will be accepted from one while refusing coupon to the very next person for falling short of the unprescribed price for it. Those who wish to entertain in corruption thus are free to forget the ideals of Swami Premananda who had famously said, "I wish to see the water of the Ganga go white with the flowing starch of the rice prasad." He said it when the Belur Math had not the means for daily subsistence of the monks and yet they distributed prasad free for all. It is a sad decline of spiritual culture and a sad demise of the ideals for which the Holy Trinity of Thakur-Ma-Swamiji stood for. May Mother bless you!

Sugata Bose @Sujit Kumar Tarafdar : Donation is one, demanding unceremoniously right beside the Ramakrishna Temple built on the Master's golden principle of 'Money is mud, mud money' (Taka maati, maati taka) is another. Extraction by demand is not reception of donation which is voluntary.

Sugata Bose @Bhaskar Mukherjee : Wrong. Less than a certain unspecified amount has been rejected recently and a bigger amount then accepted. The first donation amount apparently fell short and the second one, now raised and given, was accepted. Reports are coming from devotees whose names are here for propriety's sake being withheld.

Sugata Bose @Utpal Chakrabarty : No, he (Swami Nirmalananda) was not thrown out of the Order. Wrong information. Hence, is it stale? And does such factually inaccurate knowledge merit such a sweeping conclusion or does such supposed 'throwing out of the Order' deserve exclusion from the said list which then becomes a historical heresy?

Sugata Bose @Ramakrishnan Mahadevan : Christianity has been rationally scrutinised by the West for the last few centuries which has led to the European Enlightenment, the Age of Reason and the emergence of modern scientific thought.

Sugata Bose @Partha Datta : Suddenly, why this comment? Is it not extraneous to the discussion?

Sugata Bose @Soumen Lahiri : You respect Netaji. Others will follow suit. Do not worry about those who do not. Truth triumphs albeit decidedly late.

Sugata Bose @Anindita Dutt : Are you reading? I am listing attributes of valour by way of responding to your request.

Sugata Bose @Soumen Lahiri : Better focus on Netaji in a positive manner rather than hinging discussion about him in terms of mere critical remarks about his adversaries in the Congress. Netaji was a positive person, 'an eternal optimist', in his own words, and harboured no hatred against compatriots who pulled him down. Remember, it is these latter ones who impelled Bose to become Netaji. His own evolution owes much to his adversaries' conjoint deceitful action. Hence, move on with a positive outlook rather than the hackneyed one of criticising Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. Such a lopsided segmented discussion, a frustrated diatribe against Gandhi-Nehru does Netaji's cause no good. Surely, he deserves a better deal from his devotees.

Sugata Bose @সৌ রে ন : You should keep your counsel to your own self. That much for it. Read Vivekananda well before hazarding opinion.

Sugata Bose @Dipankar Paul : That's a supposition. I know bits and parts of his life only. Need to delve deeper into this seminal personality who seems a saviour of our benighted Hindu race today, so forthright are his messages tending to the resurrection of the Hindus 🕉.

Sugata Bose @Nilanjana Chakraborty : But we must neither seduce devotees by using higher principles to rationalise low exploitative ends as organisation is upto these days.

Sugata Bose @Abhijit Mandal : Let us follow the ideals these seminal ones represent instead of idle idolising. Vidyasagar's whole life was an exemplification of ideal practised to some degree of fulfilment. We should live like him instead of engaging in mere verbal indulgences tantamount to nothing. Efficiency in work, honesty of approach, manifestation of courage of conviction and character would serve better to further the cause that he stood for and be a more robust expression of our reverence. When the young Kalikrishna (future Swami Virajananda) and his fellow mates (all future monks of the nascent Ramakrishna Order) went to Vidyasagar begging for a small contribution that would help them celebrate a festival in honour of Sri Ramakrishna, the great one rebuffed them politely on grounds of uselessness of the endeavour in terms of real social welfare. The learned one of large compassion rejected all forms of passive piety and would have appreciated us in following suit for the betterment of society.

Sugata Bose @Pahari Pothik : No, I am not a relative of Netaji. But does it matter? Is being one's own self not infinitely better than basking in predecessor's glory as people are wont to showering on such descendants who gleefully accept the accolade? Self-respect would deem otherwise. Why are people so obsessed with such links of lineage in ascribing attributes? Were I to be linked by lineage to Netaji and hailed as somebody special by dint of being so, I would deem it an insult to my human self and my unique individuality as a once-visiting terrestrial person who at any rate can stand on his own feet and needs not predecessor's props to support himself.

Sugata Bose @Satnam Walia : Or to frighten them into submission. Human ingenuity seeks diverse methods to control the masses and the invention of divine and devilish tools has been most effective in securing such subjugating ends. But, alas, at what a cost! We are still paying for it.

Sugata Bose @Narendra Singh : We have enough positives to give. First let us do that, then we may contemplate receiving toxic elements from invasive alien culture into our system. We do not need them any more. They have penetrated our system for centuries to subvert our culture and reduce it to ruins. Now let us go back to roots and advance our ancient civilisaltional cause. Vivekananda waits in the wings, Shankara calls, the Rishis ring out their Vedic chants from across millenia, and all of these positives are yet to be taken in despite tall talk of progressive culture. Let us be men imbued with our own values first before we embark upon inferior values coming from elsewhere which we can and must dispense with for the while. Else, annihilation awaits us for sure, and such a fate can bever be allowed to befall the descendants of sages and saints.

Sugata Bose @Santanu Ghosh : Which game do you suggest? How can I be familiar with 'a grain of' your 'earth' when you alone are a son of the soil and we are all soiling your solitary reputation as such?

Sugata Bose @সৌ রে ন : Incidentally, Christopher Hitchens went further to be so anti-religion as to dub himself an anti-theist and not merely an atheist. Read his book entitled ' God is not Great'.