SMILE AND LET SMILE

How much does it cost to smile by way of greeting when we meet someone? Is it not better than to frown or to maintain an austere look full of unwelcome gesture? Life becomes so much more bearable and even beautiful if we but care to smile at each other, not derisively, as is so often our wont, but out of fellow-feeling and goodwill. After all, what is there in life to savour save these moments when common folks like us feel a gush of happiness amidst the mundane pursuits of daily living when the sunshine of the soul sheds its lustre on us by way of a merry spread of the facial muscles?

We are the children of immortal bliss, so say the Upanishads. Why then do we so cut a long face when the vicious mood like virus spreads to sully the air around? Better stay closeted at home in seclusion to grapple with such foul mood than to play spoilsport with happier selves who revel in the sunshine of life. This is not my advice but the prescription of Swami Vivekananda who so often was faulted by westerners for his jollity despite being a man of the Order and who would merrily retort that it was not for him to be sombre when he knew his essence to be of the substance of bliss.

Even the great J.R.D. Tata, when asked in a television interview after his receiving the Bharat Ratna as to what his parting advice to his countrymen would be, had ruefully said, "If only we could smile at each other a little more! Life would be so much easier."

I rest my case here. Now let us smile a bit. 

RADIANT LIKE THE RISING SUN ... 1

Radiant like the rising sun are these flaming monks of the Order. But for these luminous beings what a dark would have enveloped the earth! Ramakrishna and his Apostles have initiated a spiritual movement the like of which the world has not witnessed since the days of the Buddha when in flowing streams his missionaries of peace carried forth the Dharma to distant lands and veritably established the first democracy of the spirit in the world at large. But this time there shall be a virtual inundation of the world, an impregnation of the mind of man with the pristine principles of the Vedas, undiluted and unsullied by misinterpretation or adjustment to suit sectarian ends for the fountain-head of the movement is the Lord Himself and the Voice of the Word the premier sage of hoary India, fresh-incarnated to sow the seed in this turbulent age when man has lost his spiritual moorings altogether. When an Avatar comes, he brings with him his entourage of kindred souls, his eternal playmates, companions of the Cause. They all of a sudden arrive, sing and dance, enact their play and then as suddenly vanish into thin air. Whither they came, whither they go, none can tell for all things are known in the middle, their extremities elude us, so says the Geeta. But they leave behind a legacy of love that rejuvenates humanity with a hearkening to a voice within and the soul of man springs up to the call of eternity. The song celestial is sung by the Master but it echoes through the corridors of terrestrial space through endless times and beckons many a tossing soul in the depth of the dark night to follow the trail of the seekers of Truth. Ramakrishna is gone and so are Vivekananda and the rest of the Apostles but their spirit lingers on. Even now the Master and his beloved Naren may be seen strolling in the deep dark night on the lawns of Belur Math, even now the image of Raja Maharaj in the Brahmananda Temple at Belur quickens to give a blessed vision to a fortunate one and even now the Mother may be seen feeding her mason children after a gruelling day in the searing heat of Chennai even before their hour of labour at her temple is over and the nuns of the Sarada Math are yet to serve the hungry ones with food at the appointed hour when their job will have been done. So the saga goes on and every generation throws up these luminous sages of the Order, Ramakrishna's apostles of the hour, Mother's children of eternity.        

WHITHER FREE SPEECH?

We say we are free but we are not. Our freedom is curtailed on every side. We are not free to speak our minds about our estimates of and opinions on absolutist religions for fear of being labelled racist. What the violent votaries of these religions deem right, we are bound to abide by those norms regarding free speech. Such is our state today. We are slowly losing our basic human right to rationalise and criticise totalitarian ideologies because it supposedly offends a vast number of people who are insensitive enough to follow the dictates of intolerant ideologies but suddenly become hypersensitive to counter-criticism when they, like schoolchildren, start feeling a super sense of hurt. They well adhere to dogma of their own faith which is injurious to religions other than their own, preach intolerance extreme by copious quotes from their scriptures but find it unpalatable when it comes to digesting some of their own vitriol by way of boomerang. They convert as they please but will not tolerate apostasy. Such violation of basic human rights in the name of one exclusive religion is easy digestion for liberals and apologists the world over but rational criticism of fanaticism by progressive thinkers is deemed racism. Facile logic, farcical liberalism, fanciful democracy indeed!

QUESTION TIME ... 1

Is the dharma of the Hindus and the Bauddhas and the Jains the way forward in today's world fraught with fanatical violence based on absolutist religious texts that allow neither enquiry nor debate about the core content of the same but impose doctrines that are irrational and inhuman on people based on self-declared authority? (Do feel free to send in your answers to start a debate on this contentious issue.)

IN RESPONSE TO SRI ALOK SARKAR'S COMMENT ON THE HINDU RENAISSANCE PAGE

Most comprehensive and insightful observation, the very gist of ethics and spiritual living. Please post this piece as a separate essay on this page, Sri Alok Sarkar. Invaluable gems are contained herein and they merit the light of day in an age when the world seems to have gone 'the way of all flesh' and lost its spiritual moorings. Incisive essays such as these lend their meaning to the spiritually famished who, otherwise, for want of nourishment of their spiritual selves are prone to the grossness of material living. I exhort you to consider contributing your valued thoughts and thoughtful values to enlighten readers and bring home the message of the seers and sages of our ancient land. A final thankfulness and an anticipation of your favourable response to this humble request of mine on behalf of friends and citizens.

THE MASTER AND THE MAESTRO

Ustad Allauddin Khan's room in Maihar with Swami Vivekananda occupying centre-stage in the wall behind just above the window, Sri Ramakrishna adorning the wall to the left of Swamiji. Seated below is the musical maestro himself who had been fortunate in receiving the blessings of Swami Brahmananda after having delighted the sage with his musical rendition.

VIRESHWARANANDA, VALIANT SON OF MOTHER

Swami Vireshwarananda, 10th President of the Ramakrishna Order. A disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Vireshwaranandaji was the longest serving President after the first President Swami Brahmananda. He initiated 80,000 disciples and often invoked the youth to take up service in the Armed Forces for the defence of the motherland. A dynamo of spiritual power, Prabhu Maharaj as he was known to intimates, had at the age of five seen Swami Vivekananda in 1897 in Madras although he could not quite recall the incident in later life. He used to joke about it saying that although he did not remember having seen Swamiji, surely Swamiji must have seen him. This valiant soul, the endearing spiritual guide to so many lay and monastic disciples, compatriot to spiritual stalwarts and brother disciples like Swamis Abhayananda (Bharat Maharaj), Nityaswarupananda, Madhavananda and Dayananda, battled the dreaded cancer in his last years in an exemplary manner and eventually laid aside his mortal coil in 1985.

I still recall the crowd that had gathered on the day of his funeral at Belur Math. Around noon the crowd in its bid to catch a last glimpse of the departed Sangha Guru became unmanageable. Thousands thronged the lawns of Belur Math and stood on their heels to get a glimpse while dozens climbed the staircase of Swamiji's house to do the same. The upper storey was jam packed and so was the staircase. The crowd gathered up there so surged forward to catch a glimpse of the bedecked holy form of the departed saint that at one point it seemed to me that the railing of the staircase of Swamiji's house would give way under the piling pressure causing a catastrophe. However, things were alright in the end and the proceedings went off smoothly. The events of that momentous day have remained etched in my memory and so have so many other scenes linked to the great Swami in his final years on earth when I had the privilege of meeting him.