MESSAGES GALORE ... 25

MESSAGES GALORE ... 25

1. Swamiji hated cowardice. Why do you love it when you so eloquently profess to be his devotees?

2. What is the use of saying 'Jai Swamiji' and 'Pranam Swamiji' when you cannot even exhibit courage enough to fight for the Sanatan Dharma which he always expected his followers to do? Isn't it shameful?

3. Is there a worse crime than to allow criminals to rule the roost, be they political or roadside rogues brandishing the sword for the purpose of beheading the perceived blasphemer?

4. If you follow a roguish philosophy of life, you will necessarily turn into rogues. Learn to live by the light of the Sanatan Dharma or by enlightened secular principles that honour democracy, human rights and the freedom of man from the tyranny of an absolutist God.

5. How civilised is it to invite people of other faiths to join your faith? Is this not a way of setting in cultural perversion, creating social disharmony? Is it not asking others to betray their own cause? Is it not civilisational war after all to attempt to win over converts to your fath-fold?

6. Where a mass of people require dictatorship as the form of government, theologically impelled or by political persuasion, they admit their unevolved status as a polity.

7. Human rights are above divine injunctions that thwart them.

8. An imperfect education is more often than not the cause of much mischief in life. Childhood indoctrination creates demons out of men.

9. Thank God Nature is more intelligent than God. What a mess it would have been otherwise!

10. Read a divine text and read a human text and you'll see the difference between the two. Science triumphs daily over religion and yet superstition holds.

11. God created man or man created God?

12. Nothing is sacred. Even God, the most fantastic invention of man, is naturally secular. Contradiction, eh? Think a while more and you'll see reason enough to debunk your sacred theories about God and religion.

13. I am amazed at the low level of literary appreciation among readers, their puerile perceptions and their consequent capacity to misinterpret text.

14. If God created the universe, who created God?

15. The depth-mood is being destroyed by the loud violence of the day. A cultural night is coming upon us which will soon cloud the dawn and the day. Guard your silence, deepen your mind. Set up sentinel to protect your privacy. Culture eroded, civilisation will ebb. Must you allow such a gravitating fall?

16. How people love to bear bondage to book! How people hate freedom! Why must you sacrifice independence so?

17. We have no test to pass. We have but the earthly sport to play. Like jokers we keep tumbling, Swamiji says. And when our play is done, Mother sets us free.

18. Think. Reason. Do not blindly believe anything on anybody's authority. Ask for credible evidence to justify claims, human or divine.

19. Question your religion. Do not blindly believe in any doctrine even if it be claimed as divine. Challenge it with your critical faculties. No book, no person, no idea is so sacrosanct as to escape critical inquiry.

20. Modernise your faith. It must be brought upto date. Medieval times were different. Now the light of science shines on much of what religion claimed to have had the answers to and still claims so. But you know how flawed religious explanations of life and Nature are. So, update your faith and live enlightened lives.

21. Conversion is a crime against culture, civilisation and humanity. Instead of trying to convert others to your faith by force, fraud and deceit, convert your own selves to become decent human beings who view humanity in universal terms and not as believers and infidels. Broaden your own understanding of life and truth and give up all such silly activities of sending out invitations to people of other faiths to join your fold.

22. Man is far greater than the God he imagines has created him. He is existence-consciousness-bliss itself and in essence is the real God.

23. Man creates a creator God to create him. What a circular folly!

24. Only the Indian religions speak of the complete liberation of the embodied being. They alone have the concept of Mukti, Moksha, Nirvana, Atmajnan/Brahmajnan. The Abrahamic religions speak of heaven instead as the ultimate state of the individual. Now consider which goes farthest.

25. Rare is the one who can shed traditional trappings and articulate what he realises as transcendental truth. One such was the Buddha.

26. Humility is a great strength. It is the precursor to peace.

27. Create your own religion that helps all and hurts none.

28. Love that is sincere touches all.

29. Conserve every ounce of energy for a great cause, the regeneration of humanity.

30. বিষয়ী কখনও অধ্যাত্মচেতনাসম্পন্ন হতে পারে না |

31. বিষয় কাকে বলে? অহংই বা কাকে বলে? ক্ষুদ্র মন কাকে বলে? স্বল্পবুদ্ধিই বা কাকে বলে?

32. The universe is nothing but self-extension.

33. All religions are not the same. Hinduism is radically different from Islam.

34. The brotherhood sanctioned by Islam is the brotherhood of all Muslims and not that of entire humanity.

35. Do not be deceived by Dawah or the invitation to convert to Islam. Remember what Krishna says, "Svadharmey nidhanam shreyah paradharma bhayaavaha." (It is better to die following one's own religion than convert to some other faith for the latter course is dreadful.)

36. Shame on those Hindus who act as apologists for Islam! You'll hardly ever find any Muslim doing so for Hinduism, not that Hinduism needs any defence from them, itself being philosophically sound enough for self-defence.

37. The brain does not think, the heart does not feel. These are merely transmitters of thoughts and feelings impinging upon the body from deeper recesses of the mind.

38.

জীবনে অনেক মানুষ দেখলাম কিন্তু শ্রীরামকৃষ্ণের চেয়ে মধুর মানুষ আর দেখলাম না |

39. We, Hindus 🕉, must not convert to Christianity. We must convert Christ himself to a Hindu Avatar.

'Keshava dhrita Christashareer jaya Jagadeesha Harey.'

40. I picked up this term from YouTube one day. It says that we must be 'intellectual kshatriyas' in defence of the Dharma. 

41. More and more people must challenge bigotry. Shed fear and come to the fore. The future of humanity depends on it. Else, we shall be drawn to the dark ages.

42. I have no work, I have no worth. These are depressing times. 

43. Those who subscribe to a hateful ideology can scarce be peaceful when it comes to crunch situations despite their tallest protestations to the contrary and their twisted apologies on behalf of their beliefs.

44.

In his final Chicago address Swamiji prophesied the impossibility of any exclusive religion's attempt to make mankind a faith-monolith. As Islamism spreads its wings worldwide with the aspiration of imposition of the Sharia, his prophetic words pertinently come to mind about its sheer absurdity, and fill us with hope and longing of a more humane future world order. 

45. বিশ্বজুড়ে বিশ্বাসের বিতর্ক - মহামায়ার আশ্চর্য খেলা !

46. জাগো, খাও, ঘুমোও, আবার জাগো, খাও, ঘুমোও | এটা কি জীবন? এটা কী জীবন?

47. ঘরে ঘরে বর্বরতা | এক প্রজন্মে সংস্কৃতির বিনাশ |

48. The more you tolerate the intolerant, the less chances you leave for the life of liberalism.

49. Seeing the whole world through the spectrum of 'me and mine'. If this is religion, then I will declare myself an atheist.

50. Seeing the whole world through the spectrum of 'me and mine'. If this is religion, then I will declare myself an atheist. But I am a Vedantist of purer persuasions.

51. মৃত্যুতে নিষ্কৃতি আছে এই দুঃখময় জীবন থেকে | কত বড় শান্তির বিষয় ! তাও তাদের সহ্য হয় না | মরার পরও বাঁচাবে, স্বর্গে পাঠাবে নয় নরকে | যদি পুনর্জন্ম অবধারিত হয়, তো সুযোগও আছে দুঃখনিবারণের | কিন্তু দৈবের এই খেলা বড়ই কষ্টদায়ক | দর্শন ব্যাখ্যা করে বেশ কিন্তু শান্তি দিতে অক্ষম | নিজকর্মের ফলই যদি এ হয়, তো প্রথম কর্মটি করল কে বা কেমন করে তা সংঘটিত হল?

52. One life's experience is enough to desire another one. Has lunacy hit me that I will crave for unending misery?

53. I do not need God for I do not desire heaven nor do I fear hell. God, heaven and hell just do not exist.

54. If God is the creator of the universe and life on earth as Abrahamic religions say, then He is responsible for all good and all evil. He cannot absolve His responsibility by creating the Devil and giving free will to erring humanity and, thus, thrusting sin on the latter. All initial mischief is His and unto Him ought punishment for sin to be delivered. The Sanatan Dharma, on the  contrary, does not throw up such facile philosophy and its God escapes such damaging litigation against Him, Himself having manifested as universal life and so bearing the fruits of all karma.

55.

Charles Darwin was right. Creation has never been as Bibilically depicted. No first man or woman ever gave birth to future humanity. Life has evolved along Darwinian lines with a difference as it necessarily must be with more modifications added on to the basic model.

56. "God is not great. Religion poisons everything," said Christopher Hitchens. Agreed or disagreed? And why so?

57. It amazes me that nearly all begin their sentences with small letter, do not put full stop at the end or punctuate properly in any way what they write, and, of course, they constantly misread and misinterpret the text of my posts. Cultural nadir we have reached. Unfortunate! Whither literacy?

58. Cultivate the habit of deep reading. It is essential for the sustenance of culture. Cacophony over cultural revival lowers it further. Raise yourselves to raise culture.

59. Why is criticism of a particular religion invariably met with 'opinion' of death and not with civil discussion? Why must such critics need special security against possible terror attacks against them? Where is the peacefulness of such a religion then? Is thinking disallowed in this religion that undermines its very foundation?

60. The more you fear, the more they will try to terrorise you. This is their age-old agenda. Fear not. Be free and forthright in your assertions. Critical thinking is the sine qua non for social progress. One cannot be held down to medieval misconceptions about life and reality in this modern age. So, unite in open opposition to every human practice or thought that hinders the progress of humanity.

61. Give up religion that is regressive. Embrace science that is progressive.

62. F = ma and E = mc² are worth more to me than any mumbo-jumbo of religion. However, Atman = Brahman is a stupendous spiritual formula.

63. What sort of a parent am I if I my damn my progeny to perdition? So, what sort of a merciful God is He who does that to His erring children?

64. A proselytising religion cannot be a religion of peace for proselytism itself is violence against other faiths.

65. Raise the masses and the country will rise.

66. Regressive societies are more religion-based. Their suffering is endless. For faith holding reason to ransom seldom yields the fruit of happiness. Freedom suspended and submission demanded, man is reduced to an enslaved status where sliding back to medieval darkness is but the consequential outcome.

67. Stop hating the Jews. They are the most brilliant people in the world. They have won 25% of the Nobel Prizes awarded till date and have given us Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Liza Meitner, Yehudi Menuhin, Leon Trotsky, Christopher Hitchens, Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, to name just a few.

68. No text is holy. A text is merely a text. Man is holy so long as he pursues spirituality on the basis of perfect continence. If a man is incontinent, he is no holy man and cannot be a model for future generations.

69. Dogs are pure and holy. They are not to be thought of as impure. They are the most loyal of all creatures in the world. They can hear subsonic waves which their human masters cannot. They provide guard to cattle as watchdogs. The Mahabharat honours the dog as the embodiment of Dharma. So, do not cite scripture to denigrate the dog. Preserve its life.

70. For thirteen centuries Ghazwa-e-Hind has been waged on the Hindus but without ultimate success. The warmongers are frustrated and with Pakistan as launching pad are attempting India's final annihilation. Sorry, brothers, yours is an impossible hope.

71. বাঙালীর বড় গর্ব বুদ্ধিমান বলে | তা বুদ্ধির বহর তো দেখাই যাচ্ছে | বিশ্বে তো বাঙালীরই জয়জয়াকার !

72. Alas, there is no Bengal Regiment!

73. Jainism is a 'Religion of Peace'. It is totally non-violent, almost to a fault. But Jainism does not need to ever advertise it.

74. We have to flush out virus from an unhealthy body. Likewise, we have to purge society of its viral ills to make it and keep it healthy.

75. আমাদের ছোটবেলায় সমাজ জুড়ে ভদ্রলোকের বাস ছিল | আজ এক প্রজন্মের মধ্যে একি অধঃপতন হল যে ভদ্রলোক প্রায় খুঁজেই পাওয়া যায় না ?

76. The Hindu right wing movement is gaining ground. For once Hindus are coming alive politically and that augurs well for India. But the right wingers must train themselves in Hinduism proper in a proper way and practise its principles with conviction and care.

77. Each one of us must resist the lowering of culture that is rampant in society today. We must raise our individual culture in order to make a collective difference.

Culture forms the backbone of a nation and, it having gone, the nation precipitates to lose its character. Death then overtakes it. Hence, reform movements spring up to restore order in a sinking society. Reform yourself in a like manner to save society.

78. বাংলার সাংস্কৃতিক অবনমনের জন্য দায়ী আমরা সকলেই | তাই, তাকে উত্থানের পথে নিয়ে যাওয়ার দায়িত্বও আমাদের সকলের | বঙ্কিমচন্দ্র, রবীন্দ্রনাথ, শরৎচন্দ্র ও বিবেকানন্দ -- এই চতুর্পুরুষের রচনা বহুল পাঠ করলে এর প্রতিকার অবশ্য শীঘ্র সম্ভব | আসুন, তাই করি | বিশেষতঃ, প্রত্যহ স্বামীজীর 'স্বদেশমন্ত্র' পাঠ | স্বামীজীর 'বাণী ও রচনা' বাঙালীর চরিত্র গঠন করতে বিফল হবে না | কিন্তু তা প্রত্যহ পাঠ করা চাই | শ্রদ্ধার অভাবেই বাঙালীর এই দুর্দশা | স্বামীজীর অনুধ্যানে সেই শ্রদ্ধা পুনরায় ফিরে এলেই এর থেকে মুক্তি | এবং তা অবশ্য সম্ভব |

79.

The four luminaries Bengal must follow to rise to cultural eminence again.

80. With such a galaxy of greats backing Bengal from Rammohan to Ray, I feel optimistic about the future of Bengal despite its present-day fall from grace. But I pity the fate of Bangladesh and shudder to think what may befall her if she divorces herself from her literary and cultural heritage in her bid to adopt merely alien Arab culture because of her religious links to the same. That would be the demise of Bangladesh. If West Bengal follows that Islamisation pattern, she will suffer a similar fate, that of utter civilisational annihilation.

81. As Bangladesh suffers increasing Islamisation and loses her Hindu-Buddhist civilisational links, she is fastracking herself to cultural annihilation among the desert dunes of Arabia. Bangladesh must quickly change course and revert to classical Bengali culture. Else, what happens to all Islamic nations will befall her, a deadly theocratic regression, loss of human rights, curtailment of critical thinking, abolition of free speech, gender inequality, repression of the minorities and a wholesale return to medieval darkness in the name of high-sounding theocratic civilisation. All these features are unofficially but really already there and they only need Constitutional validation before they show up their claws in their bare nakedness. Must West Bengal follows suit?

82. 

"Religion makes man passive." ... Prof. Hiren Mukerjee, CPI leader, freedom fighter, ex-Parliamentarian, barrister, academic, bilingual author, historian, orator par excellence, Padma Vibhushan and, above all, a wonderfully luminous human being of impeccable character and undying Marxist allegiance.

83. Tribal thinking aligns itself to tribal religious cults. Humanity is modern in technological terms only but in terms of social inheritance and behaviour it is largely tribal. The convergence of tribalism and its belief-base is an anthropological challenge that faces the progressive man as he attempts to liberalise and broaden human perspectives long held and reinforced daily through cultural practice bordering on barbarism.

84. My religion is right and your religion is wrong. I will go to heaven for fidelity to my faith and for you awaits hellfire for being the damned infidel. This is tribalism and an archaic, persisting misconception of life and truth, and is the seed of much evil that is proliferating even today in the modern world.

85. 

I am a freethinker alright but I am bound to Sri Ramakrishna by a deep bond of love. There I am perennially sold in my soul.

86.

My love for Sri Ramakrishna lends me an exhilarating sense of blissfulness and freedom that is indescribable in words which can mimic feeling and approximate it in translated terms but can scarce express it in tangible terms.

87. "Love Me," sayeth the Lord, "And that love will liberate thee."

88. A rainbow of emotions floods my being as I with wonder witness the spectacle of life.

89. We are not the children of Adam and Eve. If any scripture says so, it is flawed. Evolutionary biology has proved the falsity of that assertion.

90. Join me in this battle of ideas to defeat religious bigotry, intolerance, fanaticism and violence to help usher in a more humanistic world order where the essential dignity of not only all human beings is upheld but that of the lower animals as well who ought not to be treated as soulless beings fit for slaughter to appease a ruthlessly demanding God.

91. Has the liberal West lost its mind that it sides with the covertly operating Islamists? Do they want the destruction of the West by way of atonement of their colonial crimes?

92. Men call others what they inwardly are. So, if someone calls you a name to shame you, know for sure he himself is that. Take not to heart his abuse and move on merrily with your life disregarding it. Our hours on earth are too precious to be wasted on such abusers.

93. By the way, the earth is not flat, right? It seems to the naked eye to be so but that is not the truth even if scripture mandates it to be so. God has gone wrong here as He so often is.

94. We must counter scriptural untruth about the functioning of Nature with scientific evidence pointing to the contrary. Truth cannot be held hostage to a mass murderous movement that uses science shamelessly, nonetheless, to force its 'divine' dictate on all and sundry. The sword of discrimination must vanquish the sword that beheads to stifle speech, to destroy dissent, to send humanity to darkness and despair.

95. Fanatical religions rooted in ignorance and superstition rapidly spread as they catch the imagination of the equally ignorant masses. But liberalism dies every time. Thus has the Vedanta with all its lofty thoughts not spread thus far and has been waiting five millennia for getting a foothold in the mass mind.

96. The next phase of evolution of western scientific philosophy must be its appreciation of Hindu thought, the Vedanta, Buddhist philosophy, Jain philosophy and the like. Its incorporation into western psychology, neuroscience etcetera must then be the further step. Hindu thinking in its applied mode will then come of age in the world. Good luck to such a day!

97. Why do religions differ so much in their explanation of life and reality? Surely, all of them cannot be right. Perhaps, none of them are right. Or, is there one among them that claims to have all the answers? But the question is, does it or is it just another attempt of the ignorant mind trying to grapple with higher issues, failing which it falls into its tribal pit of superstition and darkness?

98. The fight in the world today is between the wicked, crooked and intelligent, and the wicked, crooked and dull.

99. The fact that few, very few, so very few care to confront this fanatical ideology highlights the lowly cowardice of the commoner.

100. The desire to convert others to one's faith springs from tribalism.