A Summary of top 100 books every HIndu must read
It has become quite a cliche now that a man is known by the company he keeps. A better version can be that a man is better known by the books he reads. I have read and summarised most of these hindutva classics…. Which will invariably take our consciousness into a higher octave. These books are not just casual reading…. These books have such a depth that even a single reading of these books will ensure that you are no more the old self.
Chapter 1: Classic Hindutva books
1. Rousing call to Hindu Nation by Eknath Ranade
This book is a compilation of Vivekananda’s powerful sayings on hindus, hindu nation, hindutva and nationalism. It was compiled by none other then Eknathji Ranade -- who was instrumental in constructing the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. This is especially an answer for those who are seeking to secularise Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda was anything but secular… if you go through this book, not only will your inner hindutva will rise. All your secular facades are bound to fall off… A very powerful book.. To say the least.
Excerpts from the book
Mark me, Then and then alone you are a Hindu when the very name sends through you a galvanic shock of strength. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when every man who bears the name, from any country, speaking our language or any other language, becomes at once the nearest and the dearest to you. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when the distress of anyone bearing that name comes to your heart and makes you feel as if your own son were in distress. Then and then alone you are a Hindu when you will be ready to bear everything for them, like the great example I have quoted at the beginning of this lecture, of your great Guru Govind Singh. Driven out from this country, fighting against its oppressors, after having shed his own blood for the defence of the Hindu religion, after having seen his children killed on the battlefield - ay, this example of the great Guru, left even by those for whose sake he was shedding his blood and the blood of his own nearest and dearest - he, the wounded lion, retired from the field calmly to die in the South, but not a word of curse escaped his lips against those who had ungratefully forsaken him! Mark me, Every one of you will have to be a Govind Singh, if you want to do good to your country. You may see thousands of defects in your countrymen, but mark their Hindu blood. They are the first Gods you will have to worship even if they do everything to hurt you, even if everyone of them send out a curse to you, you send out to them words of love. If they drive you out, retire to die in silence like that mighty lion, Govind Singh. Such a man is worthy of the name of Hindu; such an ideal ought to be before us always. All our hatchets let us bury; send out this grand current of love all round.
Our Punya-Bhumi and Its Glorious Past If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality - it is India.
Fountainhead of spiritualism This is the ancient land where wisdom made its home before it went into any other country, the same India whose influx of spirituality is represented, as it were, on the material plane, by rolling rivers like oceans, where the eternal Himalayas, rising tier above tier with their snowcaps, look as it were into the very mysteries of heaven. Here is the same India whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest sages that ever lived. Here first sprang up inquiries into the nature of man and into the internal world. Here first arose the doctrines of the immortality of the soul, the existence of a supervising God, an immanent God in nature and in man, and here the highest ideals of religion and philosophy have attained their culminating points. This is the land from whence, like the tidal waves, spirituality and philosophy have again and again rushed out and deluged the world.
Struggle for attaining divinity ….what a land! Whosoever stands on this sacred land, whether alien or a child of the soil, feels himself surrounded - unless his soul is degraded to the level of brute animals - by the living thoughts of the earth's best and purest sons, who have been working to raise the animal to the divine through centuries, whose beginning history fails to trace. The very air is full of the pulsations of spirituality. This land is sacred to philosophy, to ethics and spirituality, to all that tends to give a respite to man in his incessant struggle for the preservation of the animal to all training that makes man throw off the garment of brutality and stand revealed as the spirit immortal, the birthless, the deathless, the everblessed - the land where the cup of pleasure was full, and fuller has been the cup of misery, until here, first of all, man found out that it was all vanity; here, first of all in the prime of youth, in the lap of luxury, in the height of glory and plenitude of power, he broke through the fetters of delusion. Here, in this ocean of humanity, amidst the sharp interaction of strong currents of pleasure and pain, of strength and weakness, of wealth and poverty, of joy and sorrow, of smile and tear, of life and death, in the melting rhythm of eternal peace and calmness, arose the throne of renunciation! Here in this land, the great problems of life and death, of the thirst for life, and the vain mad struggles to preserve it only resulting in the accumulation of woes were first grappled with and solved - solved as they never were before and never will be hereafter; for here and here alone was discovered that even life itself is an evil, the shadow only of something which alone is real. This is the land where alone religion was practical and real, and here alone men and women plunged boldly into realise the goal, just as in other lands they madly plunge into realise the pleasures of life by robbing their weaker brethren. Here and here alone the human heart expanded till it included not only the human, but birds, beasts, and plants; from the highest gods to grains of sand, the highest and the lowest, all find a place in the heart of man, grown great, infinite. And here alone, the human soul studied the universe as one unbroken unity whose every pulse was his own pulse.
Mild Hindu The debt which the world owes to our Motherland is immense. Taking country with country, there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu, the mild Hindu. "The mild Hindu" sometimes is used as an expression of reproach; but if ever a reproach concealed a wonderful truth, it is in the term, "the mild Hindu", who has always been the blessed child of God.
2. Essentials of Hindutva by V D Savarkar
In 1923, Veer Savarkar wrote his seminal book 'Essentials of Hindutva' in Ratnagiri Jail where he was kept for nearly two years after being brought to the Indian mainland from the Andamans. It must be remembered that conditions in Ratnagiri Jail were so bad that Savarkar records that he considered committing suicide there.
Veer Savarkar was and continues to be one of the tallest exponents of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism. His definition of the term 'Hindu' caused the Arya Samaj leader Swami Shraddhanand to exclaim, “It must have been one of those Vedic dawns indeed which inspired our seers with new truths that revealed to the author of Hindutva this mantra, this definition of Hindutva.” Savarkar's definition of the term 'Hindu' has been de facto accepted by the Constitution of free India. His treatise on Hindutva and his six presidential addresses to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha continue to be the ideological backbone of the Hindu nationalist movement to this day. His views on Hinduization of politics, militarization of Hindus, Hindu-Muslim relations, national security and related issues continue to influence countless Hindus. It is no exaggeration to say that Savarkar counts amongst the most influential political and social philosophers of the twentieth century. However, Savarkar was no armchair philosopher. He breathed life into the Hindu Mahasabha and remained true to the Hindu cause till the end of his life. Savarkar’s nationalism did not conflict with, and in fact merged with his humanism. The period from 1922 to 1966 may be broadly termed as his phase as Hindu philosopher and political activist par excellence.
Excerpts from the book: Essential implications of Hindutva
The most ancient of the names of our country of which we have a record is Saptasindhu or Sindhu. Even Bharatvarsha is and must necessarily be a latter designation besides being personal in its appeal. The glories of a person however magnificent, lose their glamour as time passes on. The name that recommends itself by appealing to such personal glories and achievements can never be so effective and permanent a source of everrising consciousness of gratitude and pride as a name that besides being reminiscent of such national achievements and beloved personal touches, is in addition to it associated with some great beneficent and perennial natural phenomena. The Emperor Bharat is gone and gone also is many an emperor as great! —but the Sindhu goes on for ever; for ever inspiring and fertilizing our sense of gratitude, vivifying our sense of pride, renovating the ancient memories of our race—a sentinal keeping watch over the destinies of our people. It is the vital spinal cord that connects the remotest past to the remotest future. The name that associates and identifies our nation with a river like that, enlists nature on our side and bases our national life on a foundation, that is, so for as human calculation are concerned, as lasting as eternity. All these considerations must have fired the imagination of the then leaders of thought and action and made them restore the ancient Vedic name of our land and nation Sindhustan—the best nation of Aryans. The epithet Sindhusthan besides being Vedic had also a curious advantage which could only be called lucky and yet is too substantial to be ignored. The word Sindhu in Sanskrit does not only mean the Indus but also the Sea-which girdles the southern peninsula—so that this one word Sindhu points out almost all frontiers of the land at a single stroke. Even if we do not accept the tradition that the river Brahmaputra is only a branch of the Sindhu which falls into flowing streams on the eastern and western slopes of the Himalayas and thus constitutes both our eastern as well as western frontiers. still it is indisputably true that it circumscribes our northern and western extremities in its sweep and so the epithet Sindhusthan calls up the image of our whole Motherland : the land that lies between Sindhu and Sindhu—from the Indus to the Seas.
Equally certain it is that whenever the Hindus come to hold such a position whence they could dictate terms to the whole world — those terms cannot be very different from the terms which Gita dictates or the Buddha lays down. A Hindu is most intensely so, when he ceases to be Hindu; and with a Shankar claims the whole earth for a Benares ' Waranasi Medini !' or with a Tukaram exclaims 'my country! Oh brothers, 'the limits of the Universe — there the frontiers of my country lie ?'
3. Satyartha Prakasha by Dayananda Saraswati
In pursuance of his word given to his master Dayanand started giving lectures on Vedas and while so doing he mercilessly condemned many anti-Vedic practices like, Idolatry, Caste system, ceremonies for the dead etc. His speeches attracted both common and elite alike. His mother tongue was Gujarati but spoke mostly in Sanskrit and he switched over to Hindi as a medium of communication on the advice of Babu Keshavachandra Sen who was then the leader of Brahma samaj during his visit in Calcutta in 1872-73. He started preaching in there after wards. His book
“Satyartha Prakash” [Light on Truth] was therefore written in Hindi to reach masses.
“This is not a book! It could instill martial spirit in any cold blooded Hindu” observed Veer Savarkar while making a speech during the Satyagraha launched for lifting the unjust ban imposed by the Muslim league Govt in Sindh [Now in Pakistan]. The statement is really pregnant with meaning. Sathyartha Prakash has Vedas and other true Scriptures as its basis and its object is to enunciate the principles contained in these truthful Scriptures.
The exposition of principles apart Sathyartha Prakash makes a scathing attack on all anti Vedic principles the intensity of which could be never come across in any other book. This is its greatness. The reason being the conformists who wrote books lacked the guts but Dayananda was a fire ball known for his non conformist approach.
High lights of the book.
The book is noted for its intense patriotism and rejection of foreign rule. This is first book which stressed the advantages of Self-Rule. No wonder, Lokamanya Tilak called Dayanand as the first person who first pronounced the word “Swarajya”. It should be noted that while Dayanand called upon the people to fight for Swarajaya in 1874 it is almost 50 years later Congress appealed for Poorna Swaraj from Britishers.
The first book which upheld the Rights of Women and Shudras to study Vedas duly supported with Vedic Mantras.
First book to denounce sacrifice of animals in yagnas and never compromised even a bit in this context.
The other Acharyas allowed the meat eating for ruling class [Kshatriyas].But Dayanand never allowed meat eating even for Kshatriyas but called upon them to rule with courage and defend the country with all vigour and valor.
Arya is not a name of Caste or race. But it is a term used to denote nobility. First book which exposed the fallacy of Aryan expedition against India.
The first book which exposed and condemned the black magic, spirits, and hoax called Astrology employing fraudulent methods aimed at satisfying the planets etc. The book has been an eye opener for those who strive to bring the scientific temper to the masses then and now. The book has done a remarkable job in educating the masses on the advantages of cherishing Scientific temper.
Renunciation {called Vairagya} is neither practical proposition nor to be encouraged. It should not be aim or object of life either. Every man through the medium of four purusharthas should strive for happiness, for the acquisition of wealth, and be charitable. He must strive to attain the Supreme Bliss called Moksha. The first book which glorified the household order [Grihastha Ashrama] as it is supported the rest of Ashrams.
Naturally when this book was brought out an era of scientific inquiry began unfolding itself. The Hindu Society started asserting itself after centuries of serfdom and weakness. The other Faiths stood baffled. It enabled Hindu to regain his radiance and put up the fight where required. The Shuddi and Sanghatan started by Swami rattled the leaders of Semitic faiths, while Hindus rejoiced. Attempts were made to see the Book was banned in Pre-independent India by the communal and obsurantist forces at Peshavar -1892, Allahabad-1902, Patiyala-1909, United Provinces—1910, Hyderabad Sindh—1943-44. In independent India Bhopal-1980, Jammu &Kashmir In 1986 appeals were made at Hyderabad and Calcutta to ban the Sathyartha Prakash. In 2007 in Delhi two communal and misguided Muslims moved the Delhi court to get the Sathyartha Prakash banned. But all these moves were got frustrated and the opponents were disappointed as Courts did not entertain their pleas and the Muslim league Govt at Hyderabad Sindh had to withdraw the proscribing order in the wake of Satyagraha launched by Aryasamaj.
As on today Sathyartha Prakash has been translated into 23 languages and even Braille copy is also made available for the benefit of blind. It is estimated that around 400 books either in favor or in opposition of Sathyartha Prakash has been printed. As Sathyartha Prakash is getting read by more and more, the opponents would bite the dust eventually. Seth J.D Birla a doyen among industrialists have therefore remarked that while Sathyartha Prakash reflects the true Arya sanathana Dharma, it also removes the superstitions and frauds associated with religions. It makes the reader to be more rational. The welfare of man is kept in view while writing the book. It has no hatred against anybody. If Christians and Muslims study the 13th and 14th chapters dispassionately they would understand the essence of Dharma.
4. 1857 war of independence by V D Savarkar
Most historians, British as well as Indian, have described and dismissed the rising of 1857 as a ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ or at best ‘The Indian Mutiny’. Indian revolution is on the other hand, and national minded leaders thinkers have regarded it as a planned and organised political and military rising aimed at destroying the British power in India.
Savarkar attempted to look at the incidents of 1857 from the Indian point of view. A leading revolutionary himself, he was attracted and inspired by the burning zeal, the heroism, bravery, suffering and tragic fate of the leaders of 1857, and he decided to re-interpret the story and to relate it in full with the help of all the material available to him at the time. He spent days and months at the India Office Library studying the period. Savarkar wrote this book originally in Marathi and completed writing it in 1908. As it was impossible to get this book published in India, the manuscript was returned back to Savarkar. Attempts to get this book published in Germany also failed. Some Indian students staying in India House translated this book into English. Finally, this work was published in Holland in 1909, under the title “The Indian War of Independence –1857”. The second edition of this book was published by Lala Hardayal on behalf of the Gadar Party in America, the third edition was published by Sardar Bhagat Singh, while the fourth edition was published by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the Far East. This book was translated ino Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil. Further, one edition was published secretely in India after the end of World War II. The original Marathi manuscript was kept in the safe custody of Madame Cama in Paris. This manuscript was handed over to Dr. Coutinho of the Abhinav Bharat when Paris was in turmoil during World War I. Dr. Coutinho preserved it like a holy scripture for nearly 40 years. After India became independent, he returned it to Ramlal Vajpeyee and Dr. Moonje who in turn gave it back to Savarkar. The ban on this book was finally lifted by the Congress Government of Bombay in May 1946.
5. The Arctic Home in the Vedas by Tilak
The idea of a lost ancient civilization located at the North Pole at a time when its climate was friendlier to human habitation is suggested in many of the world's oldest myths and sacred scriptures. Drawing upon his vast knowledge of the Hindu Vedas and the Zoroastrian Avesta, Tilak makes a painstakingly detailed analysis of the texts and compares them with the geological, astronomical and archaeological evidence to show the plausibility of the Arctic having been the primordial cradle of the Aryan race before changing conditions forced the Aryans southward into present-day Europe, Iran and India. Although this theory has never gained widespread acceptance among mainstream scholars since it was first published in 1903, Tilak has made a compelling case which is not easily refuted. Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), who was given the honorary title Lokmanya ("chosen leader of the people"), was one of the fathers of India's independence movement in opposition to British colonial rule. He was imprisoned several times for his vocal advocacy of violent revolt against the colonial authorities on the basis of Vedic scripture. His time in prison gave him time to work on his more scholarly projects, such as the present book. Although he did not live to see the ultimate victory of the movement he had helped to establish, he is widely acknowledged as having been one of the main driving forces behind it due to his influence on Gandhi and the other leaders who saw his mission through to its end in 1947.
6. Integral Humanism by Deendayal Upadhyaya
Integral Humanism is a doctrine developed by Pdt. Deendayal Upadhyaya as a primary concern to develop an indigenous economic model for India that puts the human being at the center of the model. It is influenced by the Hinduism philosophy (or Sanatana-dharma for the lack of a better term) where the model incorporates all the 4 universal objectives of the mankind- dharma, artha, kama and moksha as opposed to the western ideologies where they consider only the needs of the body and the mind. It proposes a middle path of nationalism (Eastern concept of nationalism as opposed to the western school of thoughts) to the extremist western ideologies of capitalism and socialism, which is practically possible to follow in the society. Society, according to Pdt. Deendayalji, rather than arising from a social contract between the individuals, was born as an organic entity with a definitive ‘national ethos’ or ‘national soul’ and its needs being parallel to those of individuals. I admire the overall concept of integral humanism as it seeks to include everything with human beings kept at the center stage and doesn’t reject any part of the whole universe as other ‘-isms’ do
7. Bunch of Thoughts by M S Golwalkar
In the book we find an indepth, philosophical discussion on vital questions such as, how best to face the dangers threatening Bharat both from inside and the world-outside, and respond to the challenge of the times, how we need to fashion our personal and national character for fulfilling the historical necessities of the country etc, which shed light on the genuine concept of our nationhood. Page after page in the book reveal the resplendent vision of our nation which had been eclipsed by centuries-long mental confusion and intellectual delusion. -
This has been our philosophy - the philosophy of victory of the forces of righteousness over the forces of evil preached and practised over the millennia. Even today, the demoniac forces of evil are strutting about the world stage, armed with world destructive weapons and threatening the very future of humanity. It is only on the strength of our philosophy which steels our will to win that we can inspire mankind to face this new challenge of adharma.
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It is inevitable, therefore, that in order to be able to contribute our unique knowledge to mankind, in order to be able to live and strive for the unity and welfare of the world, we stand before the world as a self-confident, resurgent and mighty nation.
8. The Nationalist Pursuit by Dattopant Thengadi
Thengadiji in his work, gives a blue print of Development as enunciated by Sri Guruji at Thane Meet 1972.
The basic needs of life must be available to every citizen.
Material wealth is to be acquired, with the object of serving society which is but a manifestation of God, in the best possible ethical manner, and out of all that wealth, only the minimum should be used for our own purposes. Allow yourself only that much which is necessary to keep you in a condition to do service. To claim or to make a personal use of more than that is verily the act of theft against the society.
Thus we are only the trustees of the society. It is only when we become true trustees that we can serve the society best.
Consequently, there must be some ceiling on the individual accumulation, and no person has a right to exploit someone else’s labor for personal profit.
Vulgar, ostentatious and wasteful expenditure is a sin when millions are starving. There must be reasonable restrictions on all consumptions. Consumerism’ is not compatible with the spirit of the Hindu culture.
`Maximum production and equitable distribution’ should be our motto; national self-reliance our immediate goal.
The problem of unemployment and under-employment must be tackled on a war footing.
While industrialization is a must, it need not be the blind imitation of the west. Nature is to be milked but not killed. Ecological factors, balance of Nature and the requirements of the future generations should never be lost sight of. There should be an integrated thinking on education, ecology, economics and ethics.
Greater stress should be laid on the labour-intensive rather than capital-intensive industries.
Our technologists should be required to introduce for the benefit of the artisans reasonably adaptable changes in the traditional techniques of production, without incurring the risk of increase in unemployment of workers, wastage of the available managerial and technical skills, and decapitalization of the existing means of production, and to evolve our own indigenous technology with emphasis on decentralization of the processes of production with the help of power, making home, instead of factory, the center of production.
It is necessary to reconcile efficiency with employment expansion.
Labour is also one form of capital in every industry. The labour of every worker should be evaluated in terms of share, and workers raised to the status of shareholders contributing labour as their share.
Consumers’ interest is the nearest economic equivalent of national interest. Society is the third and more important party to all industrial relations. The current western concept of `collective bargaining’ is not consistent with this view. It should be replaced by some other terms, such as, `National commitment’, i.e. the commitment of both, the employers and the employees, to the Nation.
The surplus value of labour belongs to the Nation.
There need not be any rigidity about the pattern of industrial ownership. There are various patterns, such as, private enterprise, state ownership, co-operatives, municipal ownership self-employment, joint ownership (state and private), democratization etc. For each industry the pattern of ownership should be determined in the light of its peculiar characteristics and the total requirements of the national economy.
We are free to evolve any variety of socio-economic order, provided it is in keeping with the basic tenets of Dharma.
But changes in the superstructure of the society will be of no use if the mind of every individual citizen is not moulded properly. Indeed, the system works ill or well according to the men who work it.
Our view of relation between individual and society has always been, not one of conflict, but of harmony and co-operation, born out of consciousness of a single reality running through all individuals. The individual is a living limb of the corporate social personality.
The samskaras of identification with the entire Nation constitute the real infra-structure of any socio-economic order.
9. Third Way by Dattopant Thengadi
There are two dominant systems of development today. They are capitalism and communism. Both of them are of western origin. Therefore, they advocate the western world view. Capitalism strongly believes in a free market economy. It argues that people should be totally free to follow any economic activity. Individual economic freedom should be maximum and state intervention should be minimum. Capitalism strongly advocates private property. According to the advocates of capitalism, a free enterprise and a free market economy, always ensures rapid economic development of the country and maximum welfare. Communism on the contrary advocates total state control over all productive resources. It is strongly against private property and private enterprise. It advocates maximum state control over economic activities and minimum freedom to the individuals. Thus capitalism and communism appear to be diametrically opposed to one another. However, on a closer scrutiny capitalism and communism are one and the same. Both of them consider man only as a bundle of desires. Nothing more than that. Both of them are materialist in the sense that satisfaction of physical needs is considered to be the only objective of human life. Artha and kama are the only two Purusharthas, according to them. Dharma and moksha – the spiritual aspects of human life are totally ignored by them. Both of them lay emphasis upon material wealth. The difference between them is restricted only to the question as to who should be the owner of wealth, the individual or the state. If your answer is individual, you are a capitalist and if your answer is the state, you are a communist. Hence communism is dubbed as state capitalism. Further both of them are `Homocentric’. They believe strongly that man is the centre of creations. Everything in Nature animate or inanimate is created for the enjoyment of Man. Thus capitalism and communism are the two faces of the same coin. Capitalism has a history of about 200 years and communism of about 80 years. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Mecca of communism – communism as a model of development has totally collapsed. Even China has bid good bye to communism. It is only namesake communist country. The Global Financial and Economic crisis started in the U.S., the Mecca of Free Market Capitalism – in 2007, and spread like a swine flu to cover the whole world. Today even western economists have started arguing that the global economic crisis is a crisis of the system, rather than the crisis in the system. Thus today, communism is dead and capitalism is dying. Today the whole world is facing the question, - Which is the third way? What is better alternative System of development? The world is at cross roads. It is in this background of the global crisis, we have to understand and discuss Sree Dattopanth Thengadiji’s classic work – `Third way’.
10. The RSS Story by K R Malkhani
The basic idea behind the formation of the RSS by its founder Dr. Hedgewar was to unite the fragmented Hindu society, which had to suffer for about 800 years due to imperial imposition of Islam on the Hindus and their Vedic culture. The RSS in its efforts to awaken the people against the distorted "Hindu history" of this sub-continent known as Bharat Khand of Jamboo Dweep and revive its glorious traditions have been working day and night for the last 75 years. The Kashmir issue has therefore been its first regiment in its ideological battle right from the day of the state's accession to India on October 26, 1947. With its full conviction that "Hindutva is the soul of this country and it is absolute truth" (Late Balasaheb Deoras, former chief of RSS ), the RSS has been awakening the people against the onslaught of "Islamic imperialism" on the centuries old glorious past of Hindu India.
The RSS was banned following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30,1948 but once the ban was lifted, it became the vanguard to challenge the Nehruvian policy on Kashmir through its political arm, the Bhartiya Jana Sangh and later through Bhartiya Janata Party (till it was in opposition at centre ) It maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bi-product of Nehruvian secularism, which has polluted the psyche of the country to such an extent that this issue will never get resolved until the Nehruvian secularism dies.
11. The Tragic Story of Partition by H V SHeshadri
In 1949 in New york, Nehru declared that if they had known the terrible consequences of partition, they would have resisted the.partion of India.
Why we lost ?
1. Lack of idealogical faith in Congress. Their concept of nationhood was emotionless, devoid of life spirit and being limited to territorial, political factors.
2. Lack of National Conviction : Why swaraj ? had been shelved to the background. The sublime national ideals and aspirations forming the life breath of Independence had evaporated.
3. Treating it as a division of brothers. But do you cut your mother too ?
4. Path of national assimilation ignored and a policy of appeasement followed. The slogan became No swaraj without Hindu Muslim unity instead of If you come with me, with you, if you do not, without you ; if you oppose, inspite of you;
5. Toynbee writes ‘ What is Pakistan ? it was the first successful step in this 20th century to realize their ( Muslims) 1200 year old dream of complete subjugation of this country.
6. Hindu backbone broken.. Sarath Chandra Chaterjee writes. When Americans fought for their freedom, more than ½ the people were with the British. In the irish freedom, how many actually engaged in it ? Right or wrong is not decided by counting heads, it is decided by the intensity of tapasya to the cause. No swaraj without Hindu Muslim unity is an insult to the Hindus.
7. Leadership exhausted and tempted: Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia says,” No shadow of doubt need obscure the simple proposition that a decaying leadership operating in a riotious situation produced partition. A more youthful people may have avoided the division of Hindustan. Not one leader was in jail when the country was getting partitioned. I regret that I did nothing to get into jail at India’s partition.
8. In 1960, speaking to Leonard Mosley, Nehru says” the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years too. Few of us could stand the prospect of going to prison again and if we would have stood out for a united India, as we wished it, prison obviously awaited us. ( In Leonard Mosley’s The British Raj)
11. RSS -- A Vision in Action by H V Sheshadri
Since its inception in 1925, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has now
spread over 30,000 places -- including both in Bharat and outside Bharat.
No section or group in the society, students, traders, artisans, etc.,
has been left out of its fold. Many full-time swayamsevaks (volunteers)
have been working relentlessless and selflessly for a dynamic and
positive transformation of the Bharatiya society. The sustained efforts
have had their desired effect.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) has been running schools and
hospitals in the rural and tribal areas. For example, the village Tayning
(in Nagaland) has a school, an associated hostel and a medical centre
operated by the Ashram with the assistance of Heraka Naga Leaders. VKA
has 808 full-time workers, executing more than 6000 projects.
Education in rural areas occupies a place of importance in the scheme
called Vidya Bharati (VB). This scheme runs about 6500 schools
across Bharat, and has about 53,000 teachers all over the country. The
number of "one teacher one school" type of institutions in the far-flung
vanvasi areas are growing fast. The residential school in Haflong in
North Cachar Hills district has 150 students drawn from 20 janajaati
groups comprising Nagas and others. The Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSK)
has about 26,000 active workers, almost half of whom are women.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, popularly known as the ABVP, is
the largest University organization today. ABVP has not just undertaken
the task of conducting reforms at the University level, but has attempted
to generate awareness regarding the national problems among students as
well. The role of ABVP in bringing the Assam problem to all-Bharat level is
significant. The ABVP workers are actively engaged in apprising the Bihar
Government, the press and people about the growing threat from Bangladesh
infiltration. The ABVP has a membership exceeding 750,000; 3091 chapters
in 126 (out of 170) universities with 289 full-time workers. As a special
mention, 600 ABVP workers devoted their time and effort in providing
succor and help during the Latur Earthquake. Most recently, an
infanticide survey project in Tamilnadu was carried out and programs were
convened to educate the people as regards the associated ills.
Social transformation, upliftment of the poor, enhancing the self-esteem
of the downtrodden occurs with proper samskars imparted by various
service activities. Seva Bharati is dedicated for such a cause. For
example, Seva Bharati of Delhi has over 200 projects, with baalwadis,
baalsamskar kendras, tailoring classes, coaching classes, medicare
centres, kirtan mandalis, night schools, reading rooms, etc. covering
about 75 slum areas. More than 250 projects have been launched, with a
participation of about 150,000 Sangh karyakartas.
Akhil Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a labour organization, encourages
excellence of performance whether in production or in rendering service.
There have been a number of instances where the co-operation of BMS
Unions have helped the management to get over their troubles and run the
industry efficiently. This organization has about 3400 unions with a 4.5
million membership across the country.
Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), over the years, has emerged as a major
peasant force in the provinces like Gujrat and Andhra and is making rapid
strides in other provinces as well. Successful agitations have been
launnced by the BKS to get farmers' grievances redressed and their
legitimate demands fulfilled. The uniqueness of the BKS movement lies in
the detailed study and constructive approach in solving agricultural
problems. BKS was the first to demand crop and cattle insurance, which is
now accepted by the Central/State Government. BKS is active in 301
districts and 11,000 villages with an membership of about 0.25 million.
Rashtriya Sikh Sanghat has been formed for promoting greater cordiality
between the Sikh community and rest of the Hindu society. Its all-Bharat
convention held at Nagpur in March 1987 presented a beautiful blend of
various shades of enlightened Sikh opinion. The Rashtriya Suraksha Samiti
has been very active in Punjab to fight the secessionist and anti-national
elements. The Sikh Sanghat has 135 coordinating committees.
Our master-artists, trained in traditional skills, could carve out even
from the crudest of stones the magnificent images of the Divine! With the
passage of time, however, this unique tradition began to loose its
sublime motivation. In this context, Samskar Bharati was concieved to
promote originality, creativity and educative content to art. With its
units in most states, Samskar Bharati has organized several seminars and
symposia of artists and literateurs with a view to finding out how best
art could be made to combine healthy entertainment with ennobling
samskars.
Vidnyan Bharati (VB) was established to provide scientific and technological
knowledge to rural areas, befitting the concept of appropriate
technology. Programs and seminars have been organized in engineering and
medical schools illustrating the use of scientific know-how for the
betterment and improvement of life in general, and in rural areas in
particular. Groups of volunteers associated with VB have set up
information centres in villages to provide necessary technical advice
required by their rural brethern. Family planning programs have been
organized by medical students.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad promotes awareness about Hindu heritage and
abou matters of vital importance to the Hindu society in particular, and
humanity in general. The Parishad offers a variety of programs and
projects that cater to the needs of the society. Baal-Vihars, Education
Fund, Regional Hindu Conferences, Youth Camps, presenting Hindu Art
Exibitions, Support-a-child projects, etc. are some of the activities of
the VHP - in Bharat as well as abroad. The VHP, along with the Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh, is working in 20 different countries; for example, Kenya
has 53 branches in 31 different places.
12. India’s Rebirth by Sri Aurobindo
This book presents Sri Aurobindo’s vision of India as it grew from his return from England in 1893 to his political days in the first decade of the century and finally to his forty-year-long withdrawal from public view during which he plunged into his «real work» of evolutionary action.
Spirituality is the master key of the Indian mind. It is this dominant inclination of India which gives character to all the expressions of her culture. In fact, they have grown out of her inborn spiritual tendency of which her religion is a natural out flowering. The Indian mind has always realized that the Supreme is the Infinite and perceived that to the soul in Nature the Infinite must always present itself in an infinite variety of aspects. The aggressive and quite illogical idea of a single religion for all mankind, a religion universal by the very force of its narrowness, one set of dogmas, one cult, one system of ceremonies, one ecclesiastical ordinance, one array of prohibitions and injunctions which all minds must accept on peril of persecution by men and spiritual rejection or eternal punishment by God, that grotesque creation of human unreason which has been the parent of so much intolerance, cruelty and obscurantism and aggressive fanaticism, has never been able to take firm hold of the Indian mentality.
That which we call the Hindu religion is really the Eternal religion because it embraces all others.
Hidden nature is secret God.
India of the ages is not dead nor has she spoken her last creative word; she lives and has still something to do for herself and the human peoples.
13. My experiments with truth by M K Gandhi
The introduction is written by Gandhi himself mentioning how he has resumed writing his autobiography at the insistence of Jeramdas, a fellow prisoner in Yerwada Central Jail with him. He mulls over the question a friend asked him about writing an autobiography, deeming it a Western practice, something "nobody does in the east".[1] Gandhi himself agrees that his thoughts might change later in life but the purpose of his story is just to narrate his experiments with truth in life.[3] He also says that through this book he wishes to narrate his spiritual and moral experiments rather than political.
The first part narrates incidents of Gandhi's childhood, his experiments with eating meat, smoking, drinking, stealing and subsequent atonement.There are two texts that had a lasting influence on Gandhi, both of which he read in childhood -- Harischandra and Shravana’s parental devotion. Gandhi got married at the age of 13. In his words, "It is my painful duty to have to record here my marriage at the age of thirteen...I can see no moral argument in support of such a preposterously early marriage."
He ends his autobiography by admitting that he continues to experience and fight with "the dormant passion" that lie within his own soul. He felt ready to continue the long and difficult path of taming those passions and putting himself last among his fellow human beings, the only way to achieve salvation, according to him.
"That is why the worlds' praise fails to move me; indeed it very often stings me. To conquer the subtle passions is far harder than the physical conquest of the world by the force of arms,"
Gandhi writes in his "Farewell" to the readers, a suitable conclusion for an autobiography that he never intended to be an autobiography, but a tale of experiments with life, and with truth.
14. May it please your honour by Nathuram Godse
[On 8 November 1948, Nathuram Godse (19 May 1910-15 November 1949) rose to make his statement in court. Reading quietly from a typed manuscript, he sought to explain why he had killed Gandhi. His thesis covered ninety-pages, and he was on his feet for five hours. Godse's statement, excerpted below, should be read by citizens and scholars in its entirely, for it provides an insight into his personality and his understanding of the concept of Indian nationhood)
"Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore, been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegiance to any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus are of equal status as to rights, social and religious, and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession.
I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas, Chamars and B-----s participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other. I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Naoroji, Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modern history of India and some prominent countries like England, France, America and Russia. Moreover I studied the tenets of socialism and Marxism. But above all I studied very closely what Veer (brave) Savarkar and Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these two ideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought and action of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, than any other factor has done.
All this thinking and reading led me to believe that it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (three hundred million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and well-being of all India, one fifth of the human race. This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanatanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the National Independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well. Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokmanya Tilak, Gandhi's influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme.
His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violence, which he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible or enlightened person could object to these slogans. In fact there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a dream if you imagine the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capable of scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal life from day to day. In fact, honour, duty and love of one's own kith and kin and country might often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. I could never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression is unjust.
I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. (In the Ramayana) Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita. (In the Mahabharata) Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; and Arjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends and relations, including the revered Bhishma, because the latter was on the side of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama, Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed the total ignorance of the springs of human action. In more recent history, it was the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checked and eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It was absolutely essential for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressive Afzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. In condemning history's towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Govind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhi has merely exposed his self-conceit.
He was, paradoxical, as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen forever for the freedom they brought to them. The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhi had done very good work in South Africa to uphold the rights and well being of the Indian community there.
But when he finally returned to India, he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be the final judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted his leadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, he would stand aloof from the Congress and carry on in his own way. Against such an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had to surrender its will to his and had to be content with playing second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics and primitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was the judge of everyone and everything; he was the master brain guiding the Civil Disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin it and when to withdraw it. The movement might succeed or fail, but that could make no difference to the Mahatma's infallibility. 'A Satyagrahi can never fail' was his formula for his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what a Satyagrahi is.
Thus the Mahatma became the judge and the jury in his own case. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character made Gandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that his policies were irrational, but they had either to withdraw from the Congress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with as he liked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility, Gandhi was guilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, and disaster after disaster. Gandhi's pro-Muslim policy is blatantly illustrated in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India. It is quite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted as the premier language.
In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhi gave a great impetus to Hindi, but as he found that the Muslims did not like it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybody in India knows that there is no language in India called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect; it is spoken, not written. It is a tongue and a crossbreed between Hindi and Urdu, and not even the Mahatma's sophistry could make it popular. But in his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani alone should be the national language of India. His blind followers, of course, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to be used. The charm and the purity of the Hindi language were to be prostituted to please the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of the Hindus.
From August 1946 onwards, the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell, though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powers under the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murder and arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with little retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from its inception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi's infatuation for them.
Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bring about a settlement and was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Stork followed King Log. The Congress, which had boasted of its nationalism and secularism, secretly accepted Pakistan literally at the point of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian Territory became foreign land to us from 15 August 1947. Lord Mountbatten came to be described in the Congress circles as the greatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had.
The official date for the handing over of power was fixed for June 30, 1948, but Mountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisected India ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved after thirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what the Congress party calls 'freedom' and 'peaceful transfer of power'. The Hindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state was established with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they have called it 'freedom won by them with sacrifice' - whose sacrifice? When top leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and tore the country - which we considered a deity of worship - my mind was filled with direful anger.
One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fast related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindu refugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi was shrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had he imposed some conditions on the Muslims in Pakistan, there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shown some grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reason that he purposely avoided imposing any conditions on the Muslims.
He was fully aware from past experience that Jinnah was not at all perturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardly attached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi. Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he has failed in his paternal duty inasmuch he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it. I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be the Father of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power, his doctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbled against Jinnah's iron will and proved to be powerless.
Briefly speaking, I thought to myself and foresaw that I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuable than my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I thought that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be practical, able to retaliate and would be powerful with the armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan. People may even call me or dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nation would be free to follow the course founded on the reason, which I consider necessary for sound nation-building.
After having fully considered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, but I did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in both my hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, on the prayer-grounds in Birla House. I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason I fired those fatal shots. I bear no ill will towards anyone individually, but I do say that I had no respect for the present government owing to their policy, which was unfairly favourable towards the Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policy was entirely due to the presence of Gandhi.
I have to say with great regret that Prime Minister Nehru quite forgets that his preaching and deeds are at times at variance with each other when he talks about India as a secular state in season and out of season, because it is significant to note that Nehru has played a leading role in the theocratic state of Pakistan, and his job was made easier by Gandhi's persistent policy of appeasement towards the Muslims. I now stand before the court to accept the full share of my responsibility for what I have done and the judge would, of course, pass against me such orders of sentence as may be considered proper. But I would like to add that I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me, nor do I wish that anyone should beg for mercy on my behalf.
My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled against it on all sides. I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof someday in future."
(Nathuram Godse was hanged a year later, on 15 November 1949; as per his last wishes, his family and followers have preserved his ashes for immersion in the Indus River of a re-united India)
15. Hindu America by Chaman Lal
Chaman Lal along with Lala Hardayal and other freedom fighters was exiled by the British. Chaman Lal found his way to Mexico and under influence of a Buddhist, became a bhikhu and a pacifist. Scholar that he was, Mexico's ancient past gave him much to think about.
Chaman Lal had studied the Aztecs of Mexico, Mayas of Central America and the Incas of Peru. Ignited,
It is postulated, that aeons ago our 'Jambudweep' was apiece with today's African continent and South America, before the continental drift took place. Perhaps, the people who populated our mythology had drifted away along with its people over thousands of generations!
After Independence, Bhiku Chaman Lal returned to India. He was justifiably honoured by the nation, with a seat in Rajya Sabha. But his pursuits in Mexico and elsewhere were also taken up by other scholars.
In 'Early America and Hindu Culture', Charles J Ryan writes: "Mr Chaman Lal's evidence includes the sculptural and pictorial representations in America of the Indian elephants, with their unmistakably Hindu artistic "feeling." The American god was elephant-headed, as was the Hindu Ganesha, a derivative of Indra, and both were rain-gods. The author gives a large number of quotations from various sources illustrating the close resemblance between American and Indian cultures and ideas, such as religious traditions and myths, cosmic concepts, the knowledge of the four Yugas and identical social systems and customs, and yoga meditation methods. He discusses the use of the zero in mathematics among the Mayas, unknown elsewhere in the ancient worldexcept in India; the symbols common to India and America such as the cross and the swastika and the traces of food-plants being transported across the Pacific, etc. These examples of Old World culture in ancient America were unknown till quite recently."
Madam Blavatsky wrote: "A daughter of Kauravya, King of the Nagas in Patala ('patal lok'!) was married to Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna, whom every tradition, oral and written, shows travelling five thousand years ago to Patala. The Puranic tale is based on a historical fact. Moreover, Ulupi, as a name, has a Mexican ring in it."
16. History of Dharmashastras by P V Kane
The History of Dharmaśāstra, with subtitle Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law in India, is a monumental five-volume work consisting of around 6,500 pages. It was written by Pandurang Vaman Kane, an Indologist. The first volume of the work was published in 1930 and the last one in 1962. The work is considered Kane's magnum opus in English.
This work researched the evolution of code of conduct in ancient and mediaeval India by looking into several texts and manuscripts compiled over the centuries. Dr Kane used the resources available at prestigious institutes such as the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, among others. The work is known for its expanse and depth – ranging across diverse subjects such as the Mahabharata, the Puranas and Chanakya – including references to previously obscure sources. The richness in the work is attributed to his in-depth knowledge of Sanskrit. His success is believed to be an outcome of his objective study of the texts instead of deifying them.
Kane wrote the book Vyavaharamayukha and was in the process of writing an introductory passage on the history of Dharmaśāstra for this book, so that the reader would get an overall idea apart from the subject of the book. One thing led to another and this project snowballed into the major work that it is. All the same, he was categorical in saying that it is difficult to find an English equivalent of the word dharma. His output in the form of writings across the three languages of English, Sanskrit and Marathi span nearly 15,000 pages.
17. In search of the cradle of civlization by Subash Kak
In Search of the Cradle of Civilization: New Light on Ancient India is a 1995 book by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, and David Frawley in which they argue against the theories that Indo-European peoples arrived in India in the middle of the second millennium BC (Indo-Aryan migration) and support the concept of "Indigenous Aryans" and the Out of India theory.
The book was published by Quest Books, a branch of the Theosophical Society in America.
Contradicting earlier views of colonial historians, the authors argue that Vedic civilization grew out of the "Indus-Sarasvati civilization", or "Indus Valley civilization". The authors enumerate fifteen arguments for their revisionist views. Several of these arguments emphasize linguistic, architectural, cultural, agricultural, and technological continuity between Harappan culture, the Vedas, and post-Vedic Hinduism. They also argue that it is improbable that the Vedas were the product of a nomadic or semi-nomadic group. Early opinion considered the Rigveda as containing memories of an earlier nomadic period, whilst the later Vedas were the product of a society native to India. The authors argue that this early viewpoint of the Rigveda is based on mistaken and speculative interpretations, and that in actuality the Rigveda also describes society native to India.
The authors leave open the view that India is the Urheimat (original homeland) of the Indo-Europeans (the "out of India model"), saying that "the Aryans could just as well have been native to India for several millennia, deriving their Sanskritic language from earlier Indo-European dialects."
The authors find continuity in Indian spiritual and religious artifacts from Mehrgarh, one of the first cities in the world, to the present. Historical linguistics does not rule out elements of cultural continuity in spite of language change, so that such claims, likewise, are not in conflict with mainstream opinion. In the view of the authors, however, this alleged continuity rules out the later influx of another ethnic group.
A review by M. K. Dhavalikar called it a "beautifully printed" contribution to the literature equating Vedic Aryans with the Harappans.[1] Dhavalikar wrote that the authors state that there is no archaeological evidence of a massive invasion or migration, and stated that they make a strong case but that the book fails on crucial points, such as not explaining why chariots are absent from Harappan culture while prominent in the Vedas.[1] Ultimately, the attempt to rewrite history is not convincing.[1] The book was reviewed in Yoga Journal,[2] in Varnam,[3] and on INDOlink.[4]
New age writer Deepak Chopra hailed the book as "ground-breaking
18. Annam Bahu Kurvitha
Indians in the past have laid extraordinary emphasis on growing food in abundance and sharing it in abundance. In fact, Indians, up to the present times, seem to have always looked upon an abundance of food as the primary condition of civilisation, and sharing of food was for us the primary discipline of civilised living. And indeed it is the discipline of civilised living that we call dharma.
This attitude towards food and the sharing of food is enshrined in the most basic texts of Indian antiquity. A text like the Taittiriyopanisad, a venerable sruti which even today continues to be compulsory reading for anyone with some regard for the vaidika corpus, gives expression to this Indian attitude towards food with unsurpassable intensity.
The Taittiriyopanisad is a text orms the entrance to the edifice of brahmavidya, and what is enshrined at the centre of that edifice is also anna. The seeker, therefore, after going through the long path patiently shown almost step by step by the seer and achieving the darsana, bursts into a joyous celebration of having become one withanna, singing thus: ahamannam ahamannam ahamannam, I am anna, I am anna, I indeed am anna.
Just before this final unravelling of the ultimate reality for a seeker who has been intensely educated and rigorously prepared for the darsana, the Upanisad prescribes a number of vratas, inviolable rules of living, for such a seeker to follow. And these are:
annam na nindyat. tadvratam.
(Do not look down upon anna. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.)
annam na paricaksita. tadvratam.
(Do not neglect anna. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.)
annam bahu kurvita. tadvratam.
(Multiply anna many-fold. Ensure an abundance of food all around. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.)
na kamcana vasatau pratyacaksita. tadvratam. tasmadyaya kaya ca
vidhaya bahvannam prapnuyat. aradhyasma annamityacaksate.
(Do not turn away anyone who comes seeking your hospitality. This is the inviolable discipline of the one who knows. Therefore, obtain a great abundance of anna, exert all your efforts to ensure such abundance; and welcome all seekers with the announcement that the food is ready, partake of it.)
Such is the discipline of abundance and sharing that the Taittiriyopanisad teaches. And the Rgveda emphasizes the discipline in even stronger terms, saying:
moghamannam vindate apracetah. satyam bravimi vadha itsa tasya.
naryamanam pusyati no sakhayam. kevalagho bhavati kevaladi.
(Food that comes to the one who does not give is indeed a waste. This is the truth. I, the rsi, say it. The food that such a one obtains is not only wasted, in fact it comes as his very death. He feeds neither the devas, the upholders of various aspects of creation, nor the men who arrive at his door as friends, seekers and guests. Eating for himself alone, he becomes the partaker of sin alone.)
The discipline of growing an abundance of food and sharing it in abundance that is taught in the sruti, like the Rgveda and the Taittiriyopanisad, is of course emphasized again and again in the smrti texts like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the various puranas and the dharmasastras of different times and communities.
The Mahabharata recalls the greatness of food and the giving of food in a particularly imposing manner. As is well known, in the Mahabharata, Bhisma Pitamaha, the grand wise old man of Kuruvamsa, gives a long discourse instructing Yudhisthira in great detail about all aspects of dharma. This discourse runs to about 25,000 verses and forms nearly a quarter of the epic. Bhisma dies almost immediately after the end of this discourse, and Yudhisthira after much persuasion undertakes to perform an asvamedhayajna. After accomplishing the yajna and being relieved of the great effort and activity that such an observance involves, Yudhisthira requests Srikrsna to let him know the essence of the entire teaching of Bhisma. Srikrsna, in response, utters just 15 verses, the first ten of which lay down the centrality ofannadana, the giving of food, in the life of a disciplined householder and the next five celebrate the greatness of food, its emergence out of the vital essences of the earth and its intimate connection with all life.
The first verse Srikrsna utters while summarizing the teachings of Bhisma for Yudhisthira is:
annena dharyate sarvam jagadetaccaracaram
annat prabhavati pranah pratyaksam nasti samsayah
(The world, both animate and inanimate, is sustained by food. Life arises from food: this is observed all around, there can be no doubt about it.)
And he ends his discourse on annadana with:
annadah pranado loke pranadah sarvado bhavet
tasmadannam visesena datavyam bhutimicchata
(The giver of food is the giver of life, and indeed of everything else. Therefore, one who is desirous of well-being in this world and beyond should specially endeavour to give food.) The Bhavisyapurana in its chapter on annadanamahatmya, the greatness of the giving of food, while probably recounting this incident from the Mahabharata, renders the teachings of Srikrsna in the cryptic commanding phrase:
dadasvannam dadasvannam dadasvannam yudhisthira
(O Yudhisthira! Give food! Give food! And, keep giving!)
Bhisma himself during his long discourse, and also elsewhere in the Mahabharata, reminds Yudhisthira again and again of the importance of feeding others in general, but especially of the duty of the king to ensure that within his domain agriculture is well tended for, that peasants are not oppressed by unjust exactions, and that the irrigation of their fields is not left merely upon the mercy of gods, so that there is always an abundance of food around and nobody anywhere has to sleep on a hungry stomach. This is also the advice that Srirama offers Bharata while enquiring after the welfare of Kosala when the latter visits him at Citrakuta during the early phase of Srirama's long sojourn in the forests.
Incidentally, all descriptions of Ramarajya, the ideal times that the Indians always dream of, seem to essentially portray an abundance of crops and a complete absence of hunger and thirst, as also of disease and error over the whole earth. Thus describing the Ramarajya that comes to prevail over the earth during the reign of Yudhisthira, the Mahabharata says:
vavarsa bhagvan devah kale dese yathepsitam
niramayam jagadabhut ksutpipase na kimcana
adhirnasti manusyanam vyasane nabhavanmatih
(Devas granted rains, at the right place and the right time, to fulfill all wants. The world became free of all disease. There was no hunger or thirst anywhere. There was no mental suffering, and nobody was led astray by temptation.)
And,
mahi sasyaprabahula sarvaratnagunodaya
kamadhugdhenuvad bhogan phalati sma sahasradha
(Earth yielded abundant crops, and all precious things. She had become the provider of all goodness. Like kamadhenu, the celestial cow, the earth offered thousands of luxuries in a continuous stream.)
The opposite of Ramarajya is yugaksaya, the end of times, and according to the Indian understanding the times begin to come to an end when food becomes so scarce that the people of the country are reduced to the selling of food; and even those who seek are refused food, water and shelter and are thus forced to lie around hungry and thirsty on the roads. There perhaps cannot be a sin greater than that of the king during whose reign the times reach such a nether end. Bhisma, in fact, in a particularly intense yet short chapter in the anusasanaparvan of Mahabharata, warns Yudhisthira that the hunger of even one person in a kingdom renders the life of the king forfeit; and if there be a king in whose kingdom young children eagerly watch the delicious meals of others and are not offered the same food with all ceremony and care, what indeed would be the fate of such a king?
But though the responsibility to ensure an abundance of food and an absence of hunger and want lies most heavily upon the king, it in fact has to be shared by all grhasthas, all the disciplined householders.
A Lost Tradition
India it seems continued to follow this discipline till almost the present times. Texts of all ages from different parts of India emphasize the importance of ensuring an abundance of food and sharing it widely before eating for oneself. Even a Buddhist Tamil text like the Manimekalai, which pointedly disparages the vaidika tradition in many ways, tells the touching story of Aputran who, being left alone on an uninhabited island with an inexhaustible pot of food in his hands, prefers to die of hunger rather than eat for himself from that pot, without sharing it with anyone else. And the older people in at least the state of Tamilnadu still remember how their parents used to wait outside the house before every mealtime for some seeker to come and accept food from their hands, and on the days that no seeker appeared the parents went hungry too.
The story of Harsavardhana, the renowned seventh century Indian king, who used to empty his treasury every few years and share his riches with his people, is well known. And when Hiuen-Tsiang, the revered Chinese scholar who visited India during the reign of Harsavardhana, describes the festivals of sharing that Harsavardhana organized, it reads almost like the descriptions of grand giving and sharing that happened unceasingly during the great yajnas of Srirama and Yudhisthira and other celebrated kings of classical antiquity.
Even as late as the beginning of the nineteenth century, the kings of Thanjavur seem to have cared as deeply about assuaging the hunger of all within their kingdom as the kings of Indian antiquity. In a fascinating letter written by Raja Sarfoji, the king of Thanjavur, in 1801 to the British who had by then set themselves up as the colonial overlords, the Raja describes the chatrams that abounded in his state, especially along the road to the great pilgrim centre of Rameswaram, which had been running since the times of his ancestors. In these chatrams all comers received food throughout the day, and at midnight bells were rung to call upon those who may have been left behind to rush and receive their share. The Raja goes on to describe in detail how the chatrams took care of those who fell sick during their stay, and of the dependents of those who happened to die there. The running of the chatrams, the Raja felt, was what gave Thanjavur the title of dharmarajya, and this was the title, the Raja told the British, he valued above all other dignities of his office. And he implored the British to ensure that whatever else might happen to his state, this tradition of providing for the hungry was not abridged or eliminated.
This king of Thanjavur, it seems, was amongst the last representatives of not only the tradition of feeding the hungry, but also the Indian tradition of growing a plenty. Historical evidence from different parts of India from around the tenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century indicates that lands throughout India used to yield an abundance. Inscriptions from the Thanjavur region from 900 to 1200 A.D. record yields of between 12-18 tons of paddy per hectare. An 1100 A.D. inscription from South Arcot, neighbouring Thanjavur, mentions yields of 14.5 tons per hectare, and another inscription of 1325 A.D. from the relatively dry Ramanathapuram records production of 20 tons of paddy on a hectare of land. Similarly high levels of productivity were reported by the European observers from many parts of the country. Thus, for productivity of foodgrains in the region around Allahabad, one such observer in 1803 reported a value of 7.5 tons per hectare, and another reported a yield of 13.0 tons of paddy from Coimbatore in 1807.
We have fairly detailed information about production and productivity that prevailed in about two thousand localities in the Chengalpattu region that surrounds the city of Madras in the 1760s. The best lands in the region, according to this information, produced as much as nine tons per hectare at a period when the British and French armies were crisscrossing the region and subjecting it to much devastation. The average of the region was a modest 2.5 tons of paddy per hectare, nevertheless it amounted to the availability of as much as 5.5 tons of foodgrains a year for an average household of between four to five members, which represents a very high level of prosperity, not merely by the Indian standards of today -- which happen to be abysmally low -- but also by the standards of the most prosperous in the world.
A `Wasteful' Habit
With the coming of the British the abundance of the lands disappeared almost overnight as it were. In the Chengalpattu region, which was one of the earliest in India to come under the British rule, the relatively modest average yields of 2.5 tons per hectare observed in the 1760s had come down to a mere 650 kg per hectare already by 1788. The yield of lands seems to have persisted around this low level throughout most of India during the whole of the British period. Average productivity of paddy in India in 1947 at the end of the British rule was less than a ton per hectare, that of wheat around 700 kg, and of the coarse grains much below that figure.
Availability of food per capita also declined precipitously, leading to the unending series of famines that kept visiting India throughout the British period. In 1880, when the British had their first serious look at the problem of famine, they estimated the available food to be around 280 kg per capita per year, which is to be compared with the availability of around 5.5 tons per household in the Chengalpattu of 1760s. Estimates of actual production in the 1890s, when the first systematic data were collected, turned out to be nearer 200 kg per capita per year. And our production remains near this figure even today.
Thus did the British convert the traditional plenty into a scorching scarcity that persists with us till now. And they institutionalized the scarcity by forcibly deflecting the Indian polity away from its traditions of sharing. The institutional arrangements that the Indian kings had made for providing for the seekers, like the chatrams that the Raja of Thanjavur mentions in his letter of 1801, were unacceptable to the British from the very beginning. They insisted on withdrawing with a heavy hand the resources that used to flow to these institutions. Their insistence on such withdrawal of resources was so great that Richard Wellesely, the governor-general of the East India Company at the time of the conquest of Mysore in 1799, found it necessary to warn Diwan Purniah of dire consequences in case he indulged in the alienation of state revenues to such institutions. Purniah, who had been re-appointed the Diwan by the British to administer Mysore on their behalf but in the name of the hereditary ruler of Mysore, promptly reduced the resources assigned to such institutions from 2,33,954 to 56,993 controy pagodas in the very first year of the new administration.
In addition to scorching the lands and stunting the polity, the British polluted the minds of the Indians by turning them away from their discipline of giving before eating and towards a callous indifference to the hunger and want of others. The sharing that the Indians practised as a matter of the inherent discipline of being human, was disdained by the British as a wasteful habit. And their disdain had such impact on the newly emerging elite of India that already in 1829, William Bentinck, the then governor-general of the Company could write that, "...much of what used, in old times, to be distributed among beggars and Brahmins, is now, in many instances, devoted to the ostentatious entertainment of Europeans; and generally, the amount expended in useless alms is stated to have been much curtailed..."
The Indians who came under the sway of the British soon internalised the British judgments on the Indian discipline of sharing; the very first issue of Keshub Chandra Sen's Sulabh Samachar, dated November 15, 1870, carried an article against the evil of giving alms. "Giving of alms to beggars is not an act of kindness," the article proclaimed, "because it is wrong to live on another's charity." And the article went on to suggest that incapacitated beggars should instead be trained to do "useful things for society." This attitude of demanding work of those who do not have enough to eat has over time become a cliche among the relatively well-off Indians, especially those who claim to have acquired a modern, rational consciousness.
However, in spite of all the efforts of the British, the habit of sharing before eating remained widespread enough for the Famine Commission of 1880 to fret about its consequences on what they described as the administration of famine. They were afraid that such caring by the people themselves may detract from the majesty and the sovereignty of the state and recommended: "Native society in India is justly famous for its charity.... Such charity is to be encouraged at the beginning of distress;... but when famine has once set in with severity it may become a serious evil unless it can be brought under some systematic control. ...When once Government has taken the matter thoroughly in hand and provided relief in one shape or another for all who need it, and a proper inclosed place of residence for all casuals and beggars, street-begging and public distribution of alms to unknown applicants should be discouraged, and if possible entirely stopped."
Incidentally, in the Indian scheme of things it is indeed the uninvited and unknown seeker at the door who is honoured by the name of atithi and who has to be sheltered and fed with great ceremony and respect by the householder for his daily discipline, of feeding others before eating for oneself, to be properly accomplished.
As against the great ceremony and respect that the Indian tradition insisted must be bestowed upon a seeker, the relief that the British administration provided in times of famine, and which according to the famine commissioners justified their discouraging, if not completely banning, the Indian tradition of caring for others, consisted in providing a survival wage, "sufficient for the purposes of maintenance but not more", in return for a day's hard labour at specially organised work sites. For those whose health had deteriorated beyond the possibility of work, the commissioners recommended provision of "dole" after due examination by inspecting officers, and the dole was to be withdrawn as soon as a person, in the eyes of the inspecting officer, began to look fit enough for work. Even from women "who by national custom" were "unable to appear in public", the commissioners expected work, in the form of spinning cotton for the state, in return for the dole of grains provided to them and their children.
Such was the horror that the British administrators felt for the "gratuitous" giving out of food, which for the Indians is the very essence of being human. And, the famine commissioners' report of 1880 became the basis for the creation of an elaborate bureaucracy for the management of relief and distress, and the judgments and sensibilities of the British thus became institutionalized into state-controlled mechanisms for commanding the supply and distribution of food, that remain with us till today.
In spite of all this the ordinary Indians till recently retained some sense of the discipline of endeavouring to have a plenty of food and sharing what one has with others before partaking of it oneself. However, the continued scarcity and the almost total conversion of the mainstream of Indian public life to the western ways have so befuddled our minds that even the residual memory of the Indian ways seems to be finally fading. And amongst the more resourceful of the Indians there is not even a feeling of shame for the continuance of extreme scarcity or for the all-pervading hunger of men and animals around them.
We, who, as a people, used to be so scrupulous about caring for all creation, have become callous about the hunger and starvation of people and animals. We know of the hunger around us, and we fail to care. We, all of us together, all the resourceful people of India, bear this terrible sin, in common.
A National Resolve
But we cannot continue to live in sin. No nation with such a sin on its head can possibly come into itself without first expiating it.
We shall be liberated from the sin only when we begin to take the classical injunction ofannam bahu kurvita seriously, and begin to grow a great abundance of food again. We have not so far taken to the task with proper application. It is true that during the last fifty years, productivity of foodgrains has improved sufficiently to lift the national average to near two tons per hectare. But this average is quite below what was achieved in the eighteenth century in a relatively difficult and dry coastal terrain like that of Chengalpattu, and it is far below the level of productivity today in almost any other region of the world. And, in any case, all increase in productivity has taken place on about 30 percent of the Indian lands, which have high resources of capital and modern technology and which produce for the market. The remaining about 70 percent of the lands, large parts of which lie in the fertile plains of the bounteous Indian rivers, continue in the state of deprivation and neglect to which they were reduced during the British rule and continue to produce barely one indifferent crop a year.
With care and application these lands can produce the abundance that classical India cherished, and in the process can enliven large numbers of Indians who have been forced into economic idleness because of the idleness of the lands. Much is said about the growing population of India that has made it difficult for the lands to feed them all. But India is a country endowed with rare natural abundance. Unlike almost any other major region of the world, India is a country, where more than half of the geographical area is potentially cultivable, where almost every major geographical region is traversed by a great perennial river, and where the climate is so fecund that crops can grow throughout the year in almost every part. Notwithstanding her density of population, arable land per capita in India is still twice that in China and only marginally less than that in Europe.
The sin of scarcity shall be wiped off the face of India only when the idle lands begin to be looked after with care and attention once again, and the bounty that nature has bestowed upon India is converted into an abundance of food. We have of course been paying some attention to the lands and agriculture. But so far our concern has been to somehow achieve an average growth of around 2.5 percent per year to keep pace with the growth in population. We have not attempted to reach a level of growth that would remove the scarcity of the last two centuries, and make India a country of plenty. Achieving such plenty would probably require reorienting all our resources and all our thinking towards the land. And once the Indian lands begin to yield a plenty, and the blocked vitality of the Indian people begins to flow again, other attributes of prosperity, which we have been trying so hard to acquire, will also arrive in abundant measure.
We should begin to pay attention to the lands and to the fulfilling of the inviolable discipline,annam bahu kurvita. But we cannot continue to be indifferent to the hunger around us until the abundance arrives. Because, as classical India has taught with such insistence, hungry people and animals exhaust all virtue of a nation. Such a nation is forsaken by the devas, and no great effort can possibly be undertaken by a nation that has been so forsaken. In fact, not only the nation in the abstract, but every individual grhastha bears the sin of hunger around him. We have been instructed, in the authoritative injunctions of the vedas, that anyone who eats without sharing, eats in sin, kevalagho bhavati kevaladi.
Therefore, even before we begin to undertake the great task of bringing the abundance back to the Indian lands, we have to bring ourselves back to the inviolable discipline of sharing. We have to make a national resolve to care for the hunger of our people and animals. There is not enough food in the country to fully assuage the hunger of all; but, even in times of great scarcity, a virtuous grhastha and a disciplined nation would share the little they have with the hungry. We have to begin such sharing immediately, if the task of achieving an abundance is to succeed. To us, Indians, sharing of food comes naturally. We do not have to be taught how to share, how to perform annadana because, we have been taught the greatness of anna and of annadana by our ancestors, and we have practised the discipline of growing and sharing in abundance since the beginning of time. For such a nation to obliterate the memory of a mere two centuries of scarcity and error is a simple matter. Let us recall the inviolable discipline of sharing that defines the essence of being Indian. Abundance will inevitably arrive in the wake of such annadana.
The goddess Ganga emerging from the celestial Kalpataru (Bengal, Sena, 12th century A.D.). Ganga and other perennial rivers that criss-cross almost every part of India are indeed the wish-fulfilling deities that have suffused India with abundance through the ages. We must turn to these rivers and the fertile lands that they have endowed upon us to recapture the plenty that has escaped us during the recent past. Courtesy: National Museum, Delhi.
Perumalayyan Chatram on the Madras-Kanchipuram road. This chatram is known to have functioned as a place for food and shelter to seekers well into the nineteenth century. All these structures have fallen into disrepair and dilapidation during the last two centuries.
19. The politics of history by N S Rajaram
On October 10, 2010, Justice Sudhir Agarwal, one of the judges who delivered the verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, noted that several historians, instead of helping in arriving at the truth, indulged in fabrication creating confusion and conflict. This went beyond incompetence and amounted to falsification, resulting in preventable loss of innocent lives. In his statement, the judge observed that society treats academics with respect with the expectation that they will be the keepers of truth. Since the Ayodhya dispute related to history, it was the responsibility of historians to inform the public truthfully.
This, the historians involved had failed to do. Worse, they had spread the falsehood that there had never been a Ram temple at the site, and Babar’s general Mir Baki had not destroyed any temple in building a mosque at the site even though the mosque itself was widely known as Janmasthan Masjid! Whose Janmasthan then? Babar’s? Under court examination, several of these ‘experts’ admitted that they had not studied the subject and what they said was guesswork. This included Shireen Ratnagar, who admitted under oath that she knew no archaeology though she was supposed to be a professor of archaeology at JNU, trained by Romila Thapar.
How could this happen? India at the time of Independence had leading historians like RC Majumdar, Jadunath Sircar, Neelakantha Shastri and others. To go with it, KM Munshi, founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, had embarked on a major programme of historical research that gave us the monumental 11-volume History and Culture of the Indian People. Simultaneously, major discoveries were being made in archaeology at places like Lothal, Kalibangan and others that were adding significantly to our knowledge of the past.
So conditions by 1960 could not have been better for an aspiring young generation to make a mark in history. But what happened was something totally different — in the hands of a clique of what Arun Shourie called ‘Eminent historians’ in his book of the same name; the Indian history establishment became all but a criminal enterprise engaged in wholesale falsification.
Criminal enterprise?
These are strong words, but they come from a scholar of great distinction, DK Chakrabarti, until recently professor of history and archaeology at the University of Cambridge. According to him, “Since the coming of this group to power, the world of Indian historical studies has been largely criminalised.” Those who doubt this are advised to read Arun Shourie’s eye-opening book Eminent Historians. As he describes it, these historians, notably Romila Thapar, RS Sharma and Irfan Habib, who have controlled important institutions like the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and the National Council of Educational Research Training (NCERT) are responsible for this degradation.
What is criminal about this? In addition to lowering standards and degrading India’s past through falsehoods, these ‘eminent historians’ have engaged in embezzlement of government funds for projects that were never carried out. Even this pales before what Irfan Habib’s protégé Tasneem Ahmad did: He obtained a PhD and published a book where “the entire manuscript has been lifted word for word from the work of Parmatma Saran”. The foreword to this plagiarised book was written by the “very eminent” Irfan Habib, who according to Tasneem Ahmad “encouraged and guided me at every stage of the work.” The falsification at Ayodhya was just the tip of the iceberg.
No useful contributions
For all its monopoly of the Indian history establishment, this influential group calling itself Marxists has made no contribution to history. The central theme of their work is that Hindus have contributed nothing to Indian civilisation: Everything from the Vedas and Sanskrit to science and mathematics is a foreign import. Vedas are the result of the Aryan invasion while mathematics, astronomy and everything else were taught by the Greeks who came with Alexander on his invasion (even though they were in India only for a few weeks).
Although it has been disproved by science, historians like Romila Thapar stubbornly hold on to the Aryan invasion theory, though the British themselves who sponsored it have given it up. A recent BBC report (October 6, 2005) acknowledged as much: “It (Aryan invasion theory) gave a historical precedent to justify the role and status of the British Raj, who could argue that they were transforming India for the better in the same way that the Aryans had done thousands of years earlier.” So British were the New Aryans!
The idea was to make Indians feel an elite inkling that the British rulers were not aliens but their own long lost brethren uplifting the now degraded Indian cousins. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin put it in these words in a speech in the House of Commons in 1929: “By establishing British rule in India, God said to the British, ‘I have brought you and the Indians together after a long separation... it is your duty to raise them to their own level as quickly as possible... brothers as you are.’”
In short, it was a ploy to make an Indian elite feel kinship towards their British rulers. It worked. In fact, that is how these historians identify themselves. But this has not made them excel at their craft. Almost everything they have produced, from the history of Vedic and Harappan civilisation to the freedom movement has been proved wrong. These eminences have also been shown to be profoundly ignorant of what they talk and write about. To take an example, Romila Thapar, projected as an expert on ancient India knows no Sanskrit; her (and her colleagues’) work on ancient India is based entirely on colonial era translations. Her technical sounding jargon like ‘linguistic evidence’, ‘Old Indo-Aryan’, etc, are just namedropping to give an appearance of scholarship.
It is the same with medieval history. Their goal is to paint Hindus as backward and whitewash the horrors inflicted by fanatical rulers like Aurangazeb who destroyed thousands of temples. Medieval Hindus had many faults but that can hardly be used to justify the atrocities of invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni or fanatics like Aurangazeb. We already saw this in the case of the Ayodhya dispute; it might have been amicably settled by the parties involved but for false assurances of ‘no prior temple at the site’ by RS Sharma, Shereen Ratnagar and the like. This is what Justice Sudhir Agarwal denounced.
Outsiders fill vacuum
This has had two major consequences: First, standards today are much lower than in pre-Independence days when India had stalwarts like Majumdar, Sardesai, Sircar and others of similar stature. Second, it has allowed unqualified outsiders, especially Western scholars of next to no accomplishment, to pose as experts on India and belittle it as Thapar and her colleagues have been doing. They have left a vacuum that is being filled by outsiders with their own anti-India agendas.
Two examples will suffice. Steve Farmer, an India-hater who, along with the discredited Harvard linguist Michael Witzel, runs a hate group called IER (Indo-Eurasian Research) spewing venom at Hindus and Hinduism. (This got Witzel in trouble at Harvard where his department has been closed down, but that is a different matter. Romila Thapar has worked with them.) Another example is Edwin Bryant, not vicious like Witzel and Farmer but a total ignoramus who wants to sit in judgement over scholars writing about India. He called Shourie’s book a ‘Hindutva response’ for criticising Thapar and fellow scholars. This is a standard tactic — to call anyone who questions them a Hindutva advocate.
Another group that has risen to fill this vacuum is of propagandists promoting influential political groups, notably Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Nehru-Gandhi family as the only significant leaders of modern India. This is done by the suppression of the contributions of national leaders like Veer Savarkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Subhas Chandra Bose while exaggerating and exalting the role of Nehru, covering up his blunders.
Two examples will do. Amartya Sen (not a historian) has claimed that Mahatma Gandhi never brought religion into politics. This is blatant falsehood, for it was Gandhi who led the Khilafat (Non-cooperation) Movement in Malabar in which thousands of non-Muslims lost their lives in what is known as the Moplah Rebellion. ‘Secular’ historians carefully suppress this important aspect that led to Partition.
Another is the popular writer Ramachandra Guha who in his book India After Gandhi blames Lord Mountbatten rather than Nehru for the Kashmir dispute, while scarcely noting the Prime Minister’s greater blunder of surrendering Tibet to China and neglecting the borders. This is taken a step further in his compilation Makers of Modern India, which has no space for Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, KM Munshi, Subhas Bose, or even Sardar Patel. Guha, however devotes considerable space to Verrier Elwin, a British missionary who exploited tribal girls in the name of anthropology research.
Fortunately things may be improving, thanks to the efforts of truth-loving scholars over the past two decades willing to learn new facts about the Vedic Saraswati, population genetics and other discoveries. These include names like Kamlesh Kapur, Michel Danino, Sanjeev Sanyal and others. Of these, Kamlesh Kapur’s Ancient India is particularly noteworthy. Thanks to their efforts, the public is gradually becoming aware of the massive distortion of Indian history — from the ancient and medieval to modern — that the history establishment of post-Independence India has engaged in.
The future looks promising, but it is now for educators to take the lead and incorporate their work in their curricula. The ‘eminent historians’ as Arun Shourie called them, as well as their falsehoods are on their way into the dustbin of history where they belong.
20. "NEGATIONISM IN INDIA by Koenraad Elst
Negationism usually means the denial of the Nazi genocide of the Jews and Gypsies in World War 2. Less well-known is that India has its own brand of negationism. A section of the Indian intelligentsia is still trying to erase from the Hindus' memory the history of their persecution by the swordsmen of Islam. The number of victims of this persecution surpasses that of the Nazi crimes. The Islamic campaign to wipe out Paganism could not be equally thorough, but it has continued for centuries without any moral doubts arising in the minds of the persecutors and their chroniclers. The Islamic reports on the massacres of Hindus, destruction of Hindu temples, the abduction of Hindu women and forced conversions, invariably express great glee and pride. They leave no doubt that the destruction of Paganism by every means, was considered the God-ordained duty of the Moslem community. Yet, today many Indian historians, journalists and politicians, deny that there ever was a Hindu-Moslem conflict. They shamelessly rewrite history and conjure up centuries of Hindu-Moslem amity; now a growing section of the public in India and the West only knows their negationist version of history. It is not a pleasant task to rudely shake people out of their delusions, especially if these have been wilfully created; but this essay does just that. This essay was started as an expanded translation of a Dutch-language book review of Sitaram Goel's Hindu Temples: What Happened To Them, which could not be published in its original form due to pro-Islamic pressure; and of an article on Islamic negationism published in the Septemeber 1992 issue of the Flemish monthly Nucleus.
21. Outlines of HIndu Nation by Abhas Chaterjee
Shri Abhas Chatterjee starts by clearing some prevalent misconceptions, namely, that the word Hindu is a geographical concept, that our national identity is Bharatiya, that people who have been converted to alien and inimical ideologies are nationals, that India's culture is composite, and that we are a nation in the making. Next, he takes into account all available criteria--geography, history, culture, language, literature, art, spiritual tradition--regarding the definition of a nation, and draws the following firm conclusions: We Hindus are a Nation, not a religious community. Our national identity is Hindu not Bharatiya. The distinctive feature of our nationhood is Sanatana Dharma. Alien and inimical ideologies like Islam, Christianity and Nehruvian Secularism are not parts of our heritage. Undivided India is our ancestral homeland. We do not accept its division into India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Our goal is to re-unite the whole of our ancestral homeland, no matter how long it takes. Hindu culture is our national culture, Hindu society our national society, Hindu literature our national literature and Hindu art our national art. Hindu history is our national history. We recognize no Muslim or British period in our history. These are periods of national struggle against Islamic invaders and British colonialists. The struggle is still continuing, people subscribing to alien and inimical ideologies are minorities in our country, not nationals like Hindus. Our goal is to bring back the minorities into the national mainstream by liquidating the ideologies that have alienated our own people from us. Sanskrit is our national language along with its sister languages and all it offsprings. We Hindus are still a subjugated nation, enslaved and discriminated against by the regime subscribing to Nehruvian Secularism. We have to liberate our motherland from this alien stranglehold, earn our freedom, and establish our own nation-state. What the Hindus need most at present is an intellectual and cultural awakening. Hindus have to see with their own eyes not only themselves but also the alien ideologies which have been tormenting them for several centuries.
22. The Concept of Hindu Rashtra
by K Suryanarayana Rao
What is Hindu Rashtra? The word Hindu does not mean only a religious faith just like Islam or Christianity. Hindu denotes the national way of life here. It is a national connotation. Before the advent of the British, this country was known as Hindusthan and all the nationals as Hindus. Only the British gave the new name INDIA to this country and the word Indian came to be used in placed HINDU. Even today the word Hindusthan and Hindu are often used with a national connotation only. For example, the first nationalist daily from Madras, started in the last century, was named "The Hindu". Many public sector industrial units are named, Hindusthan Aeronautics, Hindusthan Photo films, Hindusthan Machine Tools, etc. The sea to the south of our country is called Hindu Maha Sagar.
Many travellers from our country who went abroad have the experience of being addressed as Hindus irrespective of the religion they belong to. Why, even Syed Abdullah Bukhari, the Imam of Delhi mosque was greeted as a Hindu at Mecca. Late Sri Mohammed Carrim Chagla, the former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and Education Minister in the Central cabinet wrote that he is a Muslims only by religion but by culture and race he is a Hindu and all Muslims of this country are Hindus.
The recent All India Muslims Conference led by all fundamentalist Muslims was called Muslims Hindusthani Sammelan. Mohammed Iqbal, the famous Urdu poet has sung Sare Jahan Se Achha, Hindostan Hamara -- Note Hamara Hindusthan, i.e., Our Hindusthan.
For R.S.S. men, the word Hindu thus connotes, not a particular sect, a religion or a faith but the culture, the tradition, the way of life of the people inhabiting this part of the world from times immemorial.
This is a ancient country which has been described in our great books as Bharat, lying to the north of the seas and to the south of Himalayas. A galaxy of savants and sages, great in various fields of human activity were born here and have contributed to the welfare of humanity and its development. A unique value system blossomed here. The entire people living between Himalayas and Kanyakumari progressed, basing themselves on these values and built up their own traditions, beliefs, faiths and culture. Every great person, born in any part of this land has endeavoured to strengthen this cultural unity and integrity of this country and its people.
Not a Political Concept
Thus we the children of Bharat are living on this common motherland for thousands of years. We have common forefathers, common sages, saints and heroes, common values of life, common traditions and culture, common history, common way of life, which is called Dharma and common aspiration etc.
Those who identify with these common factors form the Rashtra or the Nation here and that is exactly Hindu Rashtra. We are all part of this Hindu Rashtra.
Whether some people accept and recognise it or not due to their ignorance, Hindu Rashtra exists, it has been existing for ages and it shall continue to exist for ever. Thus Hindu Rashtra is not a political concept but a cultural and emotional one, eternally asserting itself.
23. Poverty and Un-British Rule in India
Introduction: Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), a Parsi from Mumbai, the "Grand Old Man of Indian Nationalism" taught Mathematics in Mumbai and later on Gujarati at London University. In 1874 he became Prime Minister of Baroda, a princely state in Gujarat. He was a co-founder of the Indian National Congress in 1885 and became the first Indian Member of Parliament in 1892 having won the constituency of Central Finsbury for the Liberal Party. Studying the colonial economy of India he found out that there was always a positive balance of trade for India, the surplus being appropriated by the British. On this he based his „Drain of Wealth“-theory. He published the results of his findings in a famous book on Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, contrasting British liberal ideas with the actual practice of their rule in India.
The British rulers introduced education and Western India ; but, on the other hand, they act as if no such thing had taken place, and as if all this boast was pure moonshine. Either they have educated, or have not. If they deserve the boast, it is a strange self-condemnation that after half a century or more of such efforts, they have not yet prepared a sufficient number of men fit for the service of their own country. Take even the Educational Department itself. We are made B.A.'s and M.A.'s and M.D.'s, etc., with the strange result that we are not yet considered fit to teach our countrymen. We must yet have forced upon us even in this department, as in every other, every European that can be squeezed in. To keep up the sympathy and connection with the current of European thought, an English head may be appropriately and beneficially retained in a few of the most important institutions; but as matters are at present, all boast of education is exhibited as so much sham and delusion. In the case of former foreign conquests, the invaders either retired with their plunder and booty, or became the rulers of the country; they made, no doubt, great wounds but India, with her industry, revived and healed the wounds. When the invaders became the rulers of the country, they settled down in it, and whatever was the condition of their rule, according to the character of the sovereign of the day, there was at least no material or moral drain in the country. Whatever the country produced remained in the country ; whatever wisdom and experience was acquired in her services remained among her own people. With the English the case is peculiar. There are the great wounds of the first wars in the burden of the public debt, and those wounds are kept perpetually open and widening, by draining away the life-blood in a continuous stream. The former rulers were like butchers hacking here and there, but the English with their scientific scalpel cut to the very heart, and yet, lo there is no wound to be seen, and soon the plaster of the high talk of civilisation, progress, and what not, covers up the wound!
(Dabhabi Naoroji, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (London, 1901) p. 211)
24. Thoughts on Pakistan by Dr. B R Ambedkar
Ambedkar knew very well about the convert or kill format of Islam and he suggested exchange of population as the only solution to the Islamic problem.
“That the transfer of minorities is the only lasting remedy for communal peace is beyond doubt. .. there is no reason to suppose that what they did cannot be accomplished by Indians. After all, the population involved is inconsiderable and because some obstacles require to be removed, it would be the height of folly to give up so sure a way to communal peace... The only way to make Hindustan homogeneous is to arrange for exchange of population. Until that is done, it must be admitted that even with the creation of Pakistan, the problem of majority vs. minority will remain in Hindustan as before and will continue to produce disharmony in the body politic of Hindustan.”
25. Dharma: The global ethics:
Dharma, in concept deals with duty, religion and inseparable quality of a thing or orders i.e. virtuous conduct of righteous man and dharma in literal sense means ‘something which sustains or upholds’ and is a Sanskrit noun derived from root ‘dhr’. Dharma is semantic equivalent to the Greek word ‘ethos’[1]. Dharma is the Indian version of Natural law, how Indians perceived it in ancient society but the vision of them was very far-fetched and is praised by many imminent personalities like Max Muller[2]
Dharma in contradiction to general opinion does not mean religion nor supports any, but it is a whole body of rules and believes including in itself the religious rights, rules of conduct and duties. Here when we talk about religious rights or duties, it does no prefer anyone over the other but describes it for all religions. Dharma as said by Jaimini is, “founded on the revelation which is conducive to the welfare of the society, ordained by the great Vedas”. Dharma is primarily based on the Vedas and has many indices such as Sruti, Smriti and moral laws (sadachar) and governed the lives of people in the ancient time. Dharma was a duty based legal system that is every individual owed a duty towards other member of the society as Duguit says “The only right which any man can possess is the right to do his duty, his theory of Social Solidarity states that even the sovereign or the state does not stand in any special position or privilege and its existence is justified only so long as it fulfils its duty.”[3], which is in direct contrast to the present day legal system which specifies rights rather than the duties. We will see in this research project the close relation between Dharma and the current legal system.
Meaning of Dharma
Dharma is generally accepted to have been derived and supersede from the vedic concept of Rita, which literally meant, ’the straight line’. Rita refers to the Law of Nature, it signifies moral laws, and based on righteousness. When something is Rita it simply meant that thing is true, right and nothing more. Dharma evolved side by side of Rita but eventually took over it as the old concept of Rita was not able to cope and solve the issue emerging with increasing social complexities. Dharma signifies Natural law.
Dhrama, as been said by Justice M. Rama Jois[4] is, “Dharma is that which sustains and ensures progress and welfare of all in this world and eternal bliss in the other world. The Dharma is promulgated in the form of command”. Mahabhartha also contains a discussion on the issue of defining dharma[5]. Dharma in words of Madhavacharya is, “It is most difficult to define Dharma. Dharma has been explained to be that which helps the upliftment of living beings. Therefore that which ensures welfare (of living beings) is surely Dharma. The learned rishis have declared that which sustains is Dhrama.”
Dharma is anything that is right, just and moral. Dharma aims for the welfare of state and mainly, its people.
Origin of Dharma
Dharma originated from Vedas which are Sruti (heard knowledge) and they are the supreme source of knowledge for humans, as the narration of what is heard from the ancient priests that is Sruti and they contains narration on everything possible ranging from military to politics to common people’s life. Its other sources are Smriti, which are the interpretation of Vedas and four sages have propounded the dharmasastras and are called Smritikars. They are:
- Manu
- Yagnavalkaya
- Brihaspati
- Narada
The other source has been Puranas which are eighteen in number and contains information about the creation and dynasties of god, sages and kings and detailed description of yugas. All the sources are on the same footstep and no one has supremacy over the other.
Idea which made people adhere to the Dharma can be illustrated by one verse from Brihadaranyaka Upnishad which is, “punyo vai punyena Karmana bhavati, Papah Papeneti”, meaning ‘everyone becomes good by good deeds and bad by bad deeds’, in other words ‘every one reaps what he sows’ and what’s good is defined by Dharma.
Functioning of Dharma
Dharma is sanatana, i.e. which has eternal values; one which is neither time-bound nor space bound. The concept of Dharma is with us from time immemorial[6]. Dharma is different from religion[7]; however they are commonly misinterpreted to mean the same and thence used interchangeably. As the above said was distinguished by Justice J. Hansaria in A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu vs State Of Andhra Pradesh & Ors[8] by quoting Swami Rama’s book ‘A Call to Humanity’ by the following words:
“Religion is enriched by visionary methodology and theology, whereas dharma blooms in the realm of direct experience. Religion contributes to the changing phases of a culture; dharma enhances the beauty of spirituality. Religion may inspire one to build a fragile, mortal home for God; dharma helps one to recognize the immortal shrine in the heart.”
The supremacy of Dharma can be understood from a simple point that the King was not above Dharma, he was governed by it, and if he didn’t than the Dharmashastrakara give right to the public to revolt against such an unjust, arbitrary and unrighteous king or government. The treaties of Manu, Kautilya and others contains many rights and duties of both the king and the public, and even recognised individual rights like right to private property, personal wealth etc., which were bound by the law for interest of society at large.
Chapter 2: Classic Spiritual Books
- Asthavakra Gita: This is a classic dialogue between Raja Janaka and Sage Astavakra on the issue of the ultimate liberation. Astavakra says that the human soul is unconditionally free and bondage is only due to the dream of the soul. Just wake up to the real nature of the soul which is Sat Chit Ananda -- Truth, consciousness and bliss.
- Bhagavad Gita is the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra as originally penned by Vyasa. Bhagavad Gita is an exposition on the nature of soul, human emotions and a simple exposition of classical Indian philosophy ranging from Sankya, yoga, vedanta and mimamsa. Till date, it is the most popular scripture in India.
- Yog Vashistha: The text is structured as a discourse of sage Vasistha to Prince Rama. The text consists of six books] The first book presents Rama's frustration with the nature of life, human suffering and disdain for the world. The second describes, through the character of Rama, the desire for liberation and the nature of those who seek such liberation. The third and fourth books assert that liberation comes through a spiritual life, one that requires self-effort, and present cosmology and metaphysical theories of existence embedded in stories.These two books are known for emphasizing free will and human creative power.The fifth book discusses meditation and its powers in liberating the individual, while the last book describes the state of an enlightened and blissful Rama.
- Rig Veda: The Rig Veda is the oldest of the Vedas. All the other Vedas are based upon it and consist to a large degree of various hymns from it. It consists of a thousand such hymns of different seers, each hymn averaging around ten verses. The Rig Veda is the oldest book in Sanskrit or any Indo-European language. Its date is debatable. Many great Yogis and scholars who have understood the astronomical references in the hymns, date the Rig Veda as before 4000 B.C., perhaps as early as 12,000. Modern western scholars tend to date it around 1500 B.C., though recent archeological finds in India (like Dwaraka) now appear to require a much earlier date. While the term Vedic is often given to any layer of the Vedic teachings including the Bhagavad Gita, technically it applies primarily to the Rig Veda. The Rig Veda is the book of Mantra. It contains the oldest form of all the Sanskrit mantras. It is built around a science of sound which comprehends the meaning and power of each letter. Most aspects of Vedic science like the practice of yoga, meditation, mantra and Ayurveda can be found in the Rig Veda and still use many terms that come from it. While originally several different versions or rescensions of the Rig Veda were said to exist, only one remains. Its form has been structured in several different ways to guarantee its authenticity and proper preservation through time.
- Sama Veda: Sama Veda, Samveda, or Samaveda (Sanskrit: सामवेदः, sāmaveda, from sāman "melody" and veda "knowledge"), is the third of the four Vedas, the ancient core Hindu scriptures, along with the Rig Veda, Yajurveda, and Atharva Veda.
- Yajur Veda: In its character Yajurveda is quite different from the Rigveda & Samaveda Samhitas. It is principally in prose form. The word 'Yajush' in the Yajurveda is explained variously. But one of its definitions says - 'Gadyatmakam yajuh'. A ‘Yajuh’ is that which is in prose form'. Another definition – ‘Yajur Yajateh’ talks about its relation with the sacrifice (Yajna) because both the terms are derived from the root. 'Yaj '. The Yajurveda is more pronouncedly a ritual Veda for it is essentially a guide-book for the Adhvaryu priest who had to do practically all ritualistic works in a sacrifice. His works vary from the selection of a plot of land for the sacrificial altar down to offering oblations to the sacred fires. Just as the Samaveda-Samhita is the song-book of the Udgata priest, so the Yajurveda-Samhitas are the prayer-books for the Adhvaryu priest. It is solely meant for the purposes of sacrificial rituals. The Yajurveda is also important for its presentation of philosophical doctrines. It preaches the concept of Pranaand Manas also. Many times, it is quoted for depicting religious and social life of the Vedic people. It is also known for giving certain geographical data.
- Atharva Veda: Atharvaveda is the fourth of the Vedas. For a long time it was not considered a Veda. Only Rigveda, Yajurveda and Samaveda were recognized as the triple Vedas (triveda). Historians believe that the Atharveda was included among the Vedas after the Vedic civilization matured and incorporated many traditions and practices of other groups and cultures. It may also be partly due to the growing influence of Shavisim, Shaktism or Tantrism. The Veda contains many mystic chants, spells and prayers meant to either heal or harm or seek protection against harmful forces
- Isha Upanishad: Isha Upanishad or Ishavasyopanishad is one of the principal Upanishads consisting of only eighteen verses, but of immense significance. Isha Upanishad derives its name from the opening words of the first verse, 'Isha vasyam' The subject matter of the Upanishad, as of all the Upanishads, is spiritual, profound, and all comprehensive. It forms the foundation of Vedantic System of thought. It highlights the divinity of man, as well as all manifestations in nature. It tries to convey to us the knowledge of the seers who have had experienced the spiritual solidarity and unity of all existence.
- Maandukya Upanishad: The pinnacle of the wisdom and practices of the ancient sages of Yoga is contained in the terse twelve verses of the Mandukya Upanishad, which outlines the philosophy and practices of the OM mantra.It has been said that the juice of the Vedas is in the Upanishads, and the juice of the Upanishads is in the Mandukya Upanishad. OM Mantra is also suggested as a direct route to samadhi in the Yoga Sutras. The teachings of the Mandukya Upanishad are well worth deep study, discussion, reflection and contemplation. By faithfully and intently engaging these twelve verses, all of the other written and oral teachings can be explored as expansions of the foundation principles and practices encapsulated in this succinct summary. It is not only a most insightful writing, but also a complete outline for sadhana, enlightenment practices. The OM Mantra is a roadmap of the entire process of sadhana and a most practical tool for Self-Realization.One of the other hundred-plus Upanishads, the Mukti Upanishad (mukti means liberation), explains that for those who are seeking liberation, the understanding and practicing of the principles of the Mandukya Upanishad is sufficient for attaining that realization.
- Brahma Sutra: The Brahma Sūtras attempt to reconcile the seemingly contradictory and diverse statements of the various Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gītā, by placing each teaching in a doctrinal context. The word "sūtra" means "thread", and the Brahma sūtras literally stitch together the various Vedanta teachings into a logical and self-consistent whole. However, the Brahma Sūtras are so terse that not only are they capable of being interpreted in multiple ways, but they are often incomprehensible without the aid of the various commentaries handed down in the main schools of Vedānta thought.The Vedā nta Sūtras supply ample evidence that at a very early time, i.e. a period before their own final composition, there were differences of opinion among the various interpreters of the Vedānta. Quoted in the Vedānta Sūtras are opinions ascribed to Audulomi, Kārshnāgni, Kāśakŗtsna, Jaimini and Bādari, in addition to Vyasa.
- Narada Bhakti Sutra: Sitting in his hermitage of Badarikashrama, one day Sri Ved Vyasa asked sage Narada, “ Man seeks freedom. This seeking without devotion is dry. Many paths lead to freedom but they have importance only in so far as they are auxiliary to devotion. I, therefore humbly ask you to me the virtue of devotion.” The sage said, “You have discussed the problem of knowledge in the Uttaram Makasa. Now, you have taken the problem of devotion. Its full explanation will be given by you in ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’. I shall explain devotion to you in the form of sutra (aphorism). Saying so, the sage delivered a discourse on devotion in 84 aphorisms. These aphorisms form the contains of the scripture entitled ‘Narada Bhakti Sutra’. Sankara says: "Satsangatve nissangatvam, nissangatve nirmohatvam, nirmohatve nischalatattvam, nichalatattve jivanmuktih. " By keeping company with the Mahatmas, one becomes dispassionate. He gets Vairagya. He does not like the company of worldly men. Then he develops the state of "Nirmohatva. " He becomes free from infatuation or delusion. Then his mind becomes steady and one-pointed and rests in the Svaroopa or essence. Then he attains liberation or freedom.
- Ribhu Gita: It is the dialogues between Ribhu and Nidagha on the Supreme Brahman. The Ribhu Gita detail with Existence-Awareness-Self Videha Mukta - is achieved by the continued repetition of " I am Self-Brahman" Siva the Sat-Chit-Ananda, is the screen on which Sakti is projected as moving picture of the universe. Jivan Mukta - one who is liberated during his lifetime, and even abided in the blissful peace of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Videha Mukta The true Samadhi
- Vigyan Bhairava Tantra : The Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra (sometimes spelled in a Hindicised way as Vigyan Bhairav Tantra) is a key text of the Trika school of Kashmir Shaivism in Sanskrit language. Cast as a discourse between the god Shiva and his consort Devi or Shakti, it briefly presents 112 meditation methods or centering techniques (dharana). These include several variants of breath awareness, concentration on various centers in the body, non-dual awareness, chanting, imagination and visualization and contemplation through each of the senses. A prerequisite to success in any of the 112 practices is a clear understanding of which method is most suitable to the practitioner. The text is a chapter from the Rudrayamala Tantra, a Bhairava Agama. Devi, the goddess, asks Shiva to reveal the essence of the way to realization of the highest reality. In his answer Shiva describes 112 ways to enter into the universal and transcendental state of consciousness. References to it appear throughout the literature of Kashmir Shaivism, indicating that it was considered to be an important text in the monistic school of Kashmir Shaiva philosophy.
- Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Yoga means union & sutra means thread: Yoga means union of the parts of ourselves, which were never divided in the first place. Yoga literally means to yoke, from the root yuj, which means to join; it is the same as the absorption in the state of samadhi. Sutra means thread, and this thread, or multiple threads, weave a tapestry of insight and direct experience. Some say that the name of the text uses the word sutra in its plural form, as Yoga Sutras, in that each of the sutras, or threads, comes together to form a complete tapestry. Others say that it is used in its singular form, as Yoga Sutra, in that there is one, consistent thread that flows through the entire text. Both views add a useful perspective to the process being described. In the writings on this website, both terms are intentionally used.
- Shanti Parva: Shanti parva begins with sorrowful Yudhishthira lamenting the loss of human lives during the war. He announces his desire to renounce the kingdom, move into a forest as a mendicant and live in silence. He receives counsel from his family and then sages Narada and Vyasa, as well as Devala, Devasthana and Kanwa.The parva includes the story of king Janaka and the queen of the Videhas, presenting the theory of true mendicant as one who does not crave for material wealth, not one who abandons material wealth for an outward show. Arjuna argues it is more virtuous to create and maintain virtuous wealth and do good with it, than to neither create nor have any. Yudhishthira challenges Arjuna how would he know. Sage Vyasa then intervenes and offers arguments from Vedas that support Arjuna's comments, and the story of Sankha and Likhita. Krishna concurs with Arjuna and Vyasa, and adds his own arguments. Shanti parva recites a theory of governance and duties of a leader.]This theory is outlined by dying Bhishma to Yudhishthira and his brothers (shown), as well as words from sage Vidura. Shanti parva is a treatise on duties of a king and his government, dharma (laws and rules), proper governance, rights, justice and describes how these create prosperity. Yudhishthira becomes the king of a prosperous and peaceful kingdom, Bhima his heir apparent, sage Vidura the prime minister, Sanjaya the finance minister, Arjuna the defense and justice minister, and Dhaumya is appointed one responsible to service priests and counsels to the king. This books also includes a treatise on yoga as recited by Krishna.
- Kena Upanishad : is notable in its discussion of Brahman with attributes and without attributes, and for being a treatise on "purely conceptual knowledge". It asserts that the efficient cause of all the gods, symbolically envisioned as forces of nature, is Brahman. This has made it a foundational scripture to Vedanta school of Hinduism, both the theistic and monistic sub-schools after varying interpretations. The Kena Upanishad is also significant in asserting the idea of "Spiritual Man", "Soul is a wonderful being that even gods worship", "Atman (Soul) exists", and "knowledge and spirituality are the goals and intense longing of all creatures
- Shiva Sutras: Shiva Sutras are a collection of seventy seven aphorisms that form the foundation of the tradition of spiritual mysticism known as Kashmir Shaivism. They are attributed to the sage Vasugupta of the 9th century C.E Historically the Shiva Sutras and the ensuing school of Kashmir Shaivism are a Tantric or Agamic tradition. The Tantrics saw themselves as independent of the Vedic mainstream schools of thought and practice, and as beyond the rules that had been put in place by them.
- Kaivalya Upanishad: By seeing the self in all beings, and all beings in the self, one attains the transcendental Brahman, not by any other means. Kaivalya means supreme aloneness or liberation. This is a minor upanishad which extols shiva and meditation.
- Dhammapada: The Dhammapada (Pāli; Prakrit: धम्मपद Dhammapada; is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His commentary, the Dhammapada Atthakatha, presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.
- Tattvartha Sutra (also known as Tattvarth-adhigama-sutra) is an ancient Jain text written by Acharya Umaswati, Tattvartha Sutra is also known in Jainism as the Moksha-shastra (Scripture describing the path of liberation). The Tattvartha Sutra is regarded as one of the earliest, most authoritative books on Jainism, and the only text authoritative in both the Digambara and Śvētāmbara sects (prior to the Saman Suttam). Its importance in Jainism is comparable with that of the Brahma Sutras and YogaSutras of Patanjali in Hinduism. It is a text in sutra or aphorisms, and presents the complete Jainism philosophy in 350 sutras over 10 chapters.The term Tattvartha is composed of the Sanskrit words tattva which means "reality, truth" and artha which means "nature, meaning", together meaning "nature of reality". One of its sutra, Parasparopagraho Jivanam is the motto of Jainism. Its meaning is interpreted as "(The function) of souls is to help one another", or "Souls render service to one another"
Chapter 3: Hindutva books by other authors
- The astronomical code of Rig Veda by Subash Kak: The premise of the book is mind-boggling. Kak's premise is that Vedic altar construction, sacrificial practices are all calibrated and represent aspects of the universe and astronomical phenomena and events, and the arrangement, number and suktas represent specific astronomical phenomena, and that the RgVeda, its suktas, mandalas and rcs are the specific reflection of the skies. There have been other books pertaining to these subjects. What sets this book apart is that Kak backs his conclusions with mathematic formulae. His book are replete with mathematical sentences. A person not comfortable with mathematics or analytical formulae may become lost in following Kak's precise argument, but there is enough explanatory narrative to guide the reader through his argument. The science of his argument is premised on the exact number of suktas, syllables and mandalas of the RV. The Rg Veda was reduced to written form in c. 1400 B.C.E. While the Rg Veda is considered to be divine revelation and the written text is said to be the exact reflection of that revelation, there is still the possibility of human error to record that revelation. If there was an error in assigning the number and arraignment of the rcs and suktas -- critical to the formulation of Kak's calculations -- that would throw Kak's mathematics off. Still, there is enough evidence in his book that some astronomical code exists. Kak interprets passages in the RV make specific reference to stellar constellations, asterisms, and, through the interpretation of those passages, give accurate dates of the RV and other scriptures and the major events of ancient Vedic history. His interpretation reveals the advanced state of Vedic science. Kak reveals that the Vedas had discovered these commonly held scientific facts thousands of years before modern science "discovered" them: 1. Correctly calculated trhe speed of light. 2. Correctly placed the Sun at the center of the Solar System. 3. Correctly stated that the Earth revolved around the Sun. 4. Correctly calculates the velocity of the Earth's revolution around the Sun. 5. Correctly posited the existence of solar wind, which was called the "threads of the Sun." 6. Correctly calculated the number of days in a year. 7. Established the fundamentals of the Zodiac and astrology. Kak examines each aspect of these topics, discussing relevant passages from original scriptures, applying a mathematical analysis to these passages in reference to what is known about historical events according to current academic scholarship. He also presents one of the most convincing refutations in print of the once-prevalent theory of the "Aryan invasion." He also demonstrates the extreme antiquity of Indian civilization, placing the height of the Harrapan civilization at 2500 B.C., and beyond, and discussing the various theories about the date of the Mahabharata War, each one of which occurred even before then.
- Lajja by Taslima Nasreen: Lajja is a response of Taslima Nasrin to anti-Hindu riots that erupted in parts of Bangladesh, soon after the demolition of Babri Masjid in India on 6 December 1992. The book subtly indicates that communal feelings were on the rise, the Hindu minority of Bangladesh was not fairly treated, and secularism was under shadow.
- Among the Believers by V S Naipaul: Naipaul draws a distinction between Arab countries and the countries of "converted peoples" where the adoption of Islam involves to some extent the adoption of Arabic culture. The book describes his five-month journey in 1995 revisiting four Muslim countries: Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Malaysia.[1]Naipaul takes the view that "The British period--two hundred years in some places, less than a hundred years in others--was a time of Hindu regeneration.
- Eminent Historians: Their Techniques, Their Line, Their Fraud is Arun Shourie's fifteenth book and was published in 1998. It discusses the NCERT controversy in Indian politics and attacks Marxist historiography. Shourie asserts that Marxist historians have controlled and misused important institutions like the Indian Council of Historical Research, the National Council of Educational Research Training (NCERT) and a large part of academia and the media. He criticizes well-known historians like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib. Shourie argues that Marxist historians have white-washed the records of rulers like Mahmud of Ghazni and Aurangzeb. Shourie presents examples to further his argument of how many of these text books describe in great detail foreign personalities like Karl Marx or Joseph Stalin, while they often barely mention important figures of India or of the Indian states. Shourie writes that this is in contrast to Russian Marxist text books. The standard Soviet work, A History of India (1973), is according to Shourie much more objective and truthful than the history books written by Indian Marxists. This book also talks about a circular which was issued by the Communist Government in West Bengal in 1989 in which it had asked the authors and the publishers of Class IX History textbooks to make sure that "Muslim rule should never attract any criticism. Destruction of temples by muslim rulers and invaders should not be mentioned."
- Worshipping False Gods by Arun Shourie: The caption of the book is "Ambedkar, and the facts that have been erased". Through this book, Arun shourie asks the most uncomfortable question: whether Dr. Ambedkar deserves the adulations that he is receiving today. Arun shourie recounts with numerous excerpts of Dr. Ambedkar's writings and speeches published by the Maharashtra Government. Some serious charges are leveled against Dr. Ambedkar. one, he was against India getting freedom without a separate electorate for the "depressed classes", Two, he was inducted into the Viceroy’s Executive Council to wrest dalits away from Hindu society, hence dividing India further; three, he was busy serving British causes as a member of the cabinet instead of supporting the freedom fervor at that moment.
- The World of Fatwas by Arun Shourie: THE World of Fatwas or The Sharia In Action is a meticulously researched work on the application of Islamic precepts to practically every aspect of the existence of the "faithful". It is a somewhat daunting book in volume; 669 pages of writings by the author, and the remaining pages containing basic texts and index. Going through the book, one comes to the conclusion that the premise Shourie wants to prove is the quotation from the Quran reproduced on the back cover—"Mohammad is the messenger of Allah. Those who follow him are firm and unyielding towards unbelievers, yet full of mercy towards one another." (Quran XL VIII 29). The book has 12 chapters. The first two chapters, "Their Ways, Their Power," and "All of Life", highlight an almost irrational interfering influence which the Muslim clergy exercises and is capable of exercising on the Muslim community. These chapters also describe in examples and by analysis the manner in which the Quran, Hadis and, more importantly the fatwa, permeate every aspect of a Muslim's life from cradle to death; from sexuality to philosophy; from rituals to spiritual experience. Chapters three, four, and five dealing with the manner in which the fatwas fashion the Muslims' identity and the manner in which they contrast this identity with the persona and existence of non-believers and lastly political and ideological contrariness which characterised the Muslim leaders of the Khilafat Movement, are an insightful and relevant discovery of the perspective in which Islam is practised, and should be viewed. Shourie's recounting the relations between the Ali Brothers and Mahatma Gandhi is a revelation of the Ali brothers' communal contrariness. The Muslim clergy harassing Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Zakir Husain, the aggressiveness with which the Ulema questioned the Islamic integrity of the Jamia Millia University as mentioned in the book, are a pertinent exercise in rediscovering Muslim theocratic perceptions of the rules of existence of the Muslim community in India. What is even more interesting is Shourie's assessment that even men of eminence like Abul Kalam Azad and Zakir Husain had to succumb to the narrow, pernicious religious bigotry of the Muslim clergy in India. Chapter six is entirely devoted to women and the Sharia, and concentrates on proving that the Islamic claim of ensuring justice, equality and dignity to women when compared to other religions of the world, is not just inaccurate, but false. This chapter titled "Moon ki naak, balkiraal ki pudiya, balki baarood ki dibiya", is a most thorough description of the methods by which Islamic scripture, Islamic tradition and convention and religious "obiter-dicta" relegate women to a secondary status, even an enslaved status of existence subject to unqualified exploitation. Chapters 7 to 10 dealing with the power of the Sharia are relevant in understanding the socio-cultural and politico-economic ethos of the Muslims. They are also a summation of conclusions derived from the previous chapters. Chapter 10 is a polemical exercise to show that the inequities and rigidities of the fatwa are not just interpretive aberrations of the Ulema, but that they are based on the teachings of fundamental Islamic scriptures and conventions. Arun Shourie's desire is to prove that: "It is the very essence of a totalitarian ideology, that it enforces its right to regulate the totality of life. The Quran, the Hadis, the fatwas, represent one continuous endeavour in this respect. They aim at controlling every aspect of life (page 629)." Arun Shourie has proved this point not just by logic but extensive research. Apart from the Quran, Hadith and the books on Sharia, he has gone through 38 volumes of fatwas The book is timely. It is relevant in reinforcing the point of view that religion, when it moves away from the norms of harmony, eclectic and catholic faith and reasonableness, is a destructive force. The introductory para saysthat the book might help in freeing Muslims from the thrall of the Ulema. If the book serves that purpose it would be laudable.
- The only Fatherland by Arun Shourie: Only Fatherland explains "how the Communists in India take convenient ideological positions, undermining the national interest and then hiding behind verbosity and slander to counter any opposition." Communists discredit their opponents using slander and "verbal terrorism", which is also the modus operandi of the left wing today. Through this book, Shourie teaches us "how they can be countered, and his conclusions lead one to feel the need of an improved, vocal and assertive right wing ecosystem in the country", as Chandorkar puts it.
- Missionaries in India by Arun Shourie: Missionaries in India is a 1996 nonfiction book by Arun Shourie. The book was a catalyst for the reappraisal of the place and meaning of conversion and baptism in mission in India. Taking Arun Shourie's challenge positively, the Fellowship of Indian Missiologists (FOIM) decided to re-examine the issue of conversion and baptism. At its Fourth Annual Meeting at Ishvani Kendra, Pune, the subject of conversion and baptism was taken up from the biblical, theological, historical, religious and cultural perspectives. The resulting papers, responses and group discussions during the meeting were put together in the book "Mission and Conversion a Reappraisal". The idea for the book came after Arun Shourie reviewed the history of Christianity following his participation in a catholic conference. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the highest body of the Catholic Church in India, invited Arun Shourie to give a "Hindu assessment of the work of Christian missionaries" in a meeting held at the Ishvani Kendra Seminary at Pune on 5 January 1994. Many eminent archbishops, bishops, senior clergy and Christian scholars from all over India were also invited. Shourie was asked to write a paper so that it could be included in a volume containing the proceedings of the 50th anniversary celebration of the CBCI. Arun Shourie said about his book: "To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment the C.B.C.I. convened a meeting in January 1994 to review the work of the Church in India. [...] For some reason the organizers were so kind to ask me [Arun Shourie] to give the Hindu perception of the work of Christian missionaries in India. That lecture and the discussion which followed forms the scaffolding of this book.
- Hindus under siege by Subramanyam Swamy: The author suggests that siege against Hinduism today is visible in four dimensions: 1. Religious, in the denigration of Hindu icons: 2. Psychological; -e.g. in the foisting of a fraudulent version of our history; 3. Physical- e.g. the Islamic terrorist-driven ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Kashmir and nBangladesh, and the money-induced conversion of Hindus to Christianity; 4. Cultural- e.g. through globalisation of tastes, dress and interpersonal morality that are determind in the Anglo-saxon white Christian world ("The West"). The war is between Om shakti versus Rome Bhakti, he says humorously.
- The Battle For Sanskrit: There is a new awakening that is challenging the ongoing westernization of the discourse about India. The Battle for Sanskrit seeks to alert traditional scholars of Sanskrit and sanskriti ‑ Indian civilization ‑ concerning an important school of thought that has its base in the US and that has started to dominate the discourse on the cultural, social and political aspects of India. This academic field is called Indology or Sanskrit studies. From their analysis of Sanskrit texts, the scholars of this field are intervening in modern Indian society with the explicitly stated purpose of removing ‘poisons’ allegedly built into these texts. They hold that many Sanskrit texts are socially oppressive and serve as a political weapon of the ruling elite; that the sacred aspects need to be refuted or side lined; and that Sanskrit has long been dead. The traditional Indian experts would outright reject or at least question these positions. The start of Rajiv Malhotra’s feisty exploration of where the new thrust in Western Indology goes wrong, and his defence of what he considers the traditional, Indian approach, began with a project related to the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, one of the most sacred institutions for Hindus. There was, as he saw it, a serious risk of distortion of the teachings of the peetham, and of sanatana dharma more broadly. Whichever side of the fence one may be, The Battle for Sanskrit, offers a spirited debate marshalling new insights and research. It is a valuable addition to an important subject, and in a larger context, on two ways of looking. Is each view exclusive of the other, or can there be a bridge between them? The reader can judge for himself.
- Indra’s Net: It is fashionable among many intellectuals to parrot that dharma traditions lacked any semblance of unity before the British period, and that the contours of contemporary Hinduism were bequeathed to us by our colonial masters. Such intellectuals often target Swami Vivekananda, accusing him of camouflaging various alleged ‘contradictions’ among the systems of dharma. He gets charged with appropriating ideas from Western religion and science to ‘manufacture’ a coherent worldview and set of practices known as Hinduism. This slanderous thesis is feeding the view that Hinduism is an illegitimate façade with oppressive motives. This book offers a detailed, systematic rejoinder to such views, and articulates Hindu dharma’s multi-dimensional, holographic understanding of reality. Originating in the Atharva Veda, the concept of Indra’s Net is a powerful metaphor for this inter-relatedness. It was transmitted via Buddhism’s Avatamsaka Sutra into Western thought, where it now resides at the heart of post-modern discourse. This book invokes Indra’s Net to articulate the open architecture, unity and continuity of Hinduism. Seen from this perspective, Hinduism defies being pigeon-holed into the traditional, modern and post-modern categories by which the West defines itself; rather, it becomes evident that Hinduism has always spanned all three categories simultaneously and without contradiction. Taking the debate further, Rajiv Malhotra argues that Vivekananda’s creative interpretations of Hindu dharma informed and influenced many Western intellectual movements of the post-modern era. Indeed, appropriations from Hinduism have provided a foundation for cutting-edge discoveries in several fields including cognitive science and neuroscience. Not only self-help gurus and lifestyle coaches but also scientists and philosophers increasingly draw on Hindu cosmology in framing their work.
12. Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism: Rajiv Malhotra addresses the challenge of a direct and honest engagement on differences, by reversing the gaze, repositioning India from being the observed to the observer and looking at the West from the dharmic point of view. In doing so, he challenges many hitherto unexamined beliefs that both sides hold about themselves and each other. He highlights that while unique historical revelations are the basis for Western religions, dharma emphasizes self-realization in the body here and now. He also points out the integral unity that underpins dharma s metaphysics and contrasts this with Western thought and history as a synthetic unity.
Breaking India: This book focuses on the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India. The book is the result of five years of research, and uses information obtained in the West about foreign funding of these Indian-based activities. The research tracked the money trails that start out claiming to be for education,human rights, empowerment training, and leadership training, but end up in programs designed to produce angry youths who feel disenfranchised from Indian identity. The book reveals how outdated racial theories continue to provide academic frameworks and fuel the rhetoric that can trigger civil wars and genocides in developing countries. The Dravidian movement’s 200-year history has such origins. Its latest manifestation is the Dravidian Christianity movement that fabricates a political and cultural history to exploit old faultlines. The book explicitly names individuals and institutions, including prominent Western ones and their Indian affiliates. Its goal is to spark an honest debate on the extent to which human rights and other empowerment projects are cover-ups for these nefarious activities.
13. Invading The Sacred: India, once a major civilizational and economic power that suffered centuries of decline, is now newly resurgent in business, geopolitics and culture. However, a powerful counterforce within the American Academy is systematically undermining core icons and ideals of Indic Culture and thought. For instance, scholars of this counterforce have disparaged the Bhagavad Gita as “a dishonest book”; declared Ganesha’s trunk a “limp phallus”; classified Devi as the “mother with a penis” and Shiva as “a notorious womanizer” who incites violence in India; pronounced Sri Ramakrishna a pedophile who sexually molested the young Swami Vivekananda; condemned Indian mothers as being less loving of their children than white women; and interpreted the bindi as a drop of menstrual fluid and the “ha” in sacred mantras as a woman’s sound during orgasm. Are these isolated instances of ignorance or links in an institutionalized pattern of bias driven by certain civilizational worldviews?Are these academic pronouncements based on evidence, and how carefully is this evidence cross-examined? How do these images of India and Indians created in the American Academy influence public perceptions through the media, the education system, policymakers and popular culture? Adopting a politically impartial stance, this book, the product of an intensive multi-year research project, uncovers the invisible networks behind this Hinduphobia, narrates the Indian Diaspora’s challenges to such scholarship, and documents how those who dared to speak up have been branded as “dangerous”. The book hopes to provoke serious debate. For example: How do Hinduphobic works resemble earlier American literature depicting non-whites as dangerous savages needing to be civilized by the West? Are India’s internal social problems going to be managed by foreign interventions in the name of human rights? How do power imbalances and systemic biases affect the objectivity and quality of scholarship? What are the rights of practitioner-experts in “talking back” to academicians? What is the role of India’s intellectuals, policymakers and universities in fashioning an authentic and enduring response?
Islam: The Arab Imperialism by Anwar Shaikh: Muslims from all over the world are feared as terrorists in the Western world. Is it a propaganda or misunderstanding ? It is neither. Frankly stated, it is the truth. Islam, has divided humankind into two perpetually hostile groups i.e. the Muslims and the non-Muslims. The former have the duty to hate their own fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and countrymen if they practise a different faith. The Muslims must force the infidels to embrace Islam, using any means including murder, rape, loot, arson, deception and treason. Until a country has embraced Islam, it is legally considered a fattlefield (Dar-ul-Harb) and the Muslims are obliged to fetray their own motherland through civil and military action. Once, it is converted to the Muslim ideology, it ranks as a Land of Peace (Darus-Salaam) but at a very high cost to one's national pride because then it exists as a spiritual and cultural satellite of Arabia. This is what makes Islam, the subtle tool of Arab Imperialism. Islamic ideology, which is based on intense hatred of the nonMuslims, is beginning to loom as Islamophobia in the West. The recent Osostlander Report on fundamentalism by the European Parliament, has recognised this peril. Though it has been suppressed by the majority vote for the time being, its spectre shall rise again and again until the Muslim start respecting the human rights of free speech and action.
14. The Road to Ayodhya by Jay Dubashi: Dr. Dubashi acquired a taste for politics - and political writing - while working with Krishna Menon in London but soon outgrew that Nehruist phase and is now its leading critic. He was adviser to Union Minister of Industry in 1977 and is a member of the National Executive of Bharatiya Janata Party. His books include Science, Technology and Industry and Snakes and Ladders. He is married and has a son, Jagannath, who is also a well known journalist. All roads lead to Rome elsewhere in the world, but in India they lead to Ayodhya. At least they have done so far in the last few years. This book is an account of the long intellectual journey that has brought some of us to Ayodhya, though the road is long and the journey is not yet over. Ever since independence, the Congress party, led by `secularists' like Nehru and others, has succeeded in twisting the meanings of words like nationalism, communalism, secularism, etc. The very word Hindu has become an ugly word, a word of abuse, while to be Christian or Muslim is, for some people, the height of secularism. The basic perversion in the Indian political lexicon, and consequently in the mind-set of the `modern' Indian. It is essential to correct the distortion before moving ahead. It is good that the Hindus have at last realized that they have been kept down all these years in the name of a phony secularism, just as the poor Russians were kept down for three quarters of a century in the name an equally phony socialism. It is not an accident that both came to grief on the same day, November 9, 1989, when the first brick of the new temple was laid in Ayodhya, and the first brick from the Berlin Wall was removed by an angry crowd in East Germany. The Berlin Wall had vanished and so has East Germany - as also the Soviet Union - but the temple at Ayodhya is yet to come up. It is only a matter of time before it does. Most of the articles in this selection first appeared in Organizer under the author's popular weekly column Thinking Aloud.
15. Dates of the Buddha by Shreeram Sate: Prior to the entry of Western scholars into the field of indology, there was no confusion on the date of the Bharata War. It was accepted as having taken place 36 years before the beginning of Kaliyuga, which is in its 5092nd year in November 1990. But with the advent of Western scholars and the acceptance of their theories, many scholars have started working on the date of the War. In the book Search for the Year of Bharata War, one peruses the views of 120 scholars, who have opened that the date may be from the 60th century BC to 12th century BC The source material used by these scholars is mostly literary as no archaeological evidence is available. It is said that astronomical references are very often useful to decide the dates of such past events. But the scholars who have used these references have also differed and their date varies from 60th century BC to 12th century BC. Shreeram Sate exposes the duplicity of western historians in deciding the dates of historical figures. In this book, he says that astronomy is not considerd for dating eastern personalities. However… in the east… historicity is decided by astronomical configurations.
16. A Critique of Gandhi by Kothari: In this book, M M Kothari destroys all the myths related to Gandhi which were created by the Congress propaganda machinery. He says that it was impossible for Gandhi to say “Hey Ram” when he wAs hit by the bullet. Hey Ram was put in gandhi’s mouth by Congress propagandists.
17. On Modi Times by Koenraad Elst: Why did Narendra Modi not enumerate Savarkar, as the coiner of the political category Hindutva, among his political role models, when he did include the whimsical Mahatma, the divisive Lohia, and the mere follower Upadhyaya? For a reason that doesn’t figure in Barman’s worldview: BJP secularism. Whereas Nehruvians like to portray the RSS-BJP as a formidable enemy mercilessly pursuing the Hindu agenda, the fact is that most BJP stalwarts prefer to keep the Hindu agenda as far removed from their policies as possible. They serve their time in government and enjoy the perks of office, meanwhile hopefully cleaning up the economic mess that Congress has left behind, but never touching a serious Hindu concern with a barge-pole. The Hindutva once espoused by the Jan Sangh (1952-77) should be updated, the old formulas should be allowed to evolve, of course. But most BJP stalwarts are not interested in any evolution of their ideology, the only evolution they can conceive of is betrayal. They have never developed an ideological backbone; instead, they have continuously borrowed conclusions from the Nehruvians and others who did their own thinking for non-Hindu purposes. They had the pick-pocket mentality of getting things on the cheap, of being mentally lazy and borrowing their ideas from elsewhere. That is why both BJP Prime Ministers thus far, Atal Behari Vajpayee and now Modi, have professed their secularism. No, not age-old Hindu “secularism” (in the sense of religious pluralism) but the anti-Hindu ideology that is falsely called “secularism”. They essentially live up to the standards set by their enemies because their movement has never seriously developed a perspective of its own.
18. India’s time has come by S Gurumurthy: National defeatism was reversed by one event, a non-economic, evenanti-economic event the Pokhran atomic explosion. Even the author of Pokhran, Atal Behari Vajpayee, might not have foreseen its effect. The Sound of the bomb revived Indian civilisation, which had been in an intensive care unit for centuries. This stunned the West, the US in particular. The countries of the West respect not the good, but the strong.That is why they respect a bloodstained China. In India, the Pokhran Bomb exploded physically in Rajasthan, but psychologically in North Block, on the Finance Ministry, whose officials panicked. But soon the nation began to find its feet. India Development Bonds Issued to bolster the forex position were oversubscribed by NRIs. Pokhran Made them shed their shame in associating with India, which had been a failed civilisation to them till then. Read S Gurumurthy's outspoken, crystal clear views on the global economic scene and India's inherent strengths and time-honoured traditions self-reliant, humanistic, family-oriented, frugal,commonsensical practices rooted in millennia of learning and faith in universal brotherhood. Listen to his refreshingly original voice and your world view will never be the same again.
Chapter 4: Voice of India books
- Ayodha: The finale by Koenraad Elst -- In his 58-page booklet, Ayodhya: The Finale, he doesn't disappoint those who have come to expect hearty, punch-packed secularist-bashing from his pugnacious pen. The volume has two essays that he wrote after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) brought out the report on the excavation at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Some years ago, Elst caused quite a stir with his robust defence of the Ram mandir movement, bringing his scholarship to bear upon the perverted logic of India's secular fundamentalists, mercilessly exposing their duplicity in the process. To him and countless others, the entire gamut of secularist positions on Ayodhya is truly baffling. Is there any doubt that there existed a temple dedicated to Ram at his birthplace? Can anybody seriously question that a mosque was built after demolishing such a structure after the Muslim conquest of north India to proclaim the military superiority of Islam over the kafirs of Hindustan? , Elst sets out to pulverise the hypocrisy of secular fundamentalist scholars and their fellow travellers in the English language media. He powerfully arranges the constant shifts in their stance on the Ayodhya excavation. Initially elated by unsubstantiated reports that the ASI had found no evidence of a temple at the site of the Babri Masjid, they, however, turned turtle when the final report to the contrary was submitted. And they have since launched a systematic effort to discredit the organisation itself. Elst's narration of the secularists' duplicity makes for hilarious reading, although it is certain to infuriate the targets of his scorn.Elst dexterously rips apart the Goebbelsian campaign of disinformation and synchronised consensus building by a section of the media in cahoots with motley "pseudo-historians" of the Marxist persuasion. In the process, Elst spares none, calling a leading "independent" historian an "employee" of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, and dubs the venerated Chennai-headquartered newspaper The Hindu as Marxist-controlled, and its sister publication Frontline as a "communist" journal. He has equally strong words on the bias of other Indian publications as well, and takes some eminently humorous potshots even at the BBC's carefully worded reportage on the ASI findings. He describes this as an apocryphal case of headlining "Man Shot At: One Bullet Harmless" for a report that says a man was shot twice; one bullet grazed his arm while the other punctured his heart and he died! Elst uses this fable to examine the way the media reluctantly conceded that the ASI did find clear evidence of a huge structure under the once-upon-a-time masjid. The historian, however, does not spare the protagonists of the temple for failing to gain adequate mileage from the ASI report. He calls them an ill prepared and emotional lot that could not effectively argue the case for the Ram mandir both before and after the archaeological evidence was produced. Calling for a scientific temper, the polemical historian expresses bewilderment at the coalition of Muslim obscurantists and secular fundamentalists that dominates public debate in India.
- BJP vis-�-vis Hindu Resurgence by Koenraad Elst: The strange thing about the BJP is that its voters consider it a Hindu party, its enemies denounce it as a Hindu party, but the party will call itself anything except a Hindu party.Elst says that the hindutva storm that took over the country came in its own while BJP did its best to keep it away.
3, Collapsing Pakistan by N.S. Rajaram: For India the option is clear. Pakistan as it exists today is facing a meltdown. Changes of government and leaders will not turn back the elemental forces now in play. And negotiations and treaties with a melting state are meaningless. As India becomes a great power, the Pakistani Punjab and the land east of the Indus River will inexorably be drawn into India. And the Indus River will again be its natural boundary. There will be many challenges, but the goal is clear: to minimize the damage and destruction during this historic reunion, which I now feel is inevitable. In summary, India can no longer afford the luxury of being a soft state, continuing to avoid hard decisions and actions. A soft state at this critical juncture in history may also face a meltdown like Pakistan.
4. The Demographic Siege by Koenraad Elst: In today's India, demography is a hot item, not just because of the economic and ecological burden of overpopulation, but even more because of the differential between Hindus and Muslims with its real or perceived political implications. One of the classic statements of this concern is Hindu Sangathan, Saviour of the Dying Race (Delhi 1926), in which Swami Shraddhananda briefly sketches the problem of demographic decline threatening Hindu survival: "while Muhammadans multiply like anything, the numbers of the Hindus are dwindling periodically"
5. Defence of Hindu Society by Sita Ram Goel: The first principle which Hindu society has to observe while preparing its defence is that it will stop processing and evaluating its own heritage in terms of ideas and ideals projected by closed creeds and pretentious ideologies. On the contrary, Hindu society will henceforward process and evaluate the heritage of these creeds and ideologies in terms of its own categories of thought, and find out the real worth of Christian, Islamic, Communist, and Modernist claims. The first need of the hour, therefore, is for Hindus to become aware of the fundamentals of their own faith (Hindu Spirituality), the premises on which their own society has evolved (Hindu Sociology), and the vicissitudes which their own society has experienced in the march of Time (Hindu History). These are the three domains in which the Hindu image has been distorted to the utmost by imperialist thought systems, resulting in a deep sense of inferiority from which Hindus suffer at present. Hindus have become devoid of self-confidence simply because they have ceased to take legitimate, well-informed, and conscious pride in their spiritual, cultural, and social heritage. This lack of pride has led to a serious weakening of the Hindu psyche. Hindus are no more prepared to stand up and fight for anything, because they no more believe or feel that anything is worth fighting for, not at least to the bitter end. The sworn enemies of Hindu society have taken advantage of this enervation of the Hindus. They feel instinctively that threats coupled with some show of violence are sure to frighten the Hindus out of their wits, and make them yield almost anything including precious parts of their homeland.
6. Heroic Hindu Resistance to Muslim Invaders by Sita Ram Goel: Although almost half of the Asian continent succumbed to Muslim invaders, India has remained a predominantly hindu nation thanks to the heroic hindu resistance. Goel detals this resistance in his book.
7. Hindu Society Under Siege by Sita Ram Goel: What are these residues of foreign invasions which are holding Hindu society under siege? The Muslim invasion of India crystallised one residue which we shall name as Islamism. The British invasion, on the other hand, gave us two residues which we have named Christianism and Macaulayism. We shall analyse their roles in India and their alliances with international forces, one by one, before we present a picture of the united front they have forged to fight the Hindus all along the line.
Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them Vol. 1& 2 by Sita Ram Goel: Hindu Temples – What Happened to Them is a two-volume book by Sita Ram Goel, Arun Shourie, Harsh Narain, Jay Dubashi and Ram Swarup. The first volume was published in the Spring of 1990. The first volume includes a list of 2,000 mosques that were built on Hindu temples, based primarily on the books of Muslim historians of the period or inscriptions found on mosques. The second volume excerpts from medieval histories and chronicles and from inscriptions concerning the destruction of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples. The authors claim that the material presented in the book as "the tip of an iceberg". The book contains chapters about the Ayodhya debate. The appendix of the first volume contains a list of temple-destructions and atrocities that the authors claim took place in Bangladesh in 1989. The book also criticizes Marxist historians, and one of the appendices of the second volume includes a questionnaire for "Marxist professors", one of which the authors sent to well-known Indian historian Romila Thapar.
8. Hinduism and the Clash of Civilizations by David Frawley: There are not only forces that take the evolution of consciousness forward into the higher light of consciousness, but also those that take it backwards into the dark night of materialism and ignorance. Consciousness, moreover, does not develop in a linear but in a spiral fashion; sometimes it descends in order to ascend more surely at a later time. India today is like the Divine Mother defiled and degraded, both by the inertia of her own people and by foreign enemies who cannot appreciate her spiritual beauty. The land of the country is ecologically devastated and both the common people and the intellectual elite are unaware of their great heritage and don�t know how to use it. India over time became rigid in its customs, dominated by authority and ritual. Creative thinking and original inquiry gave way to an almost unconscious repetition of the old, a servile adulation of past achievements, instead of new thinking based upon the insights of earlier sages. This made the country prey to foreign attack and vulnerable to foreign rule. The deep devotion of the country became blind. This resulted in a condition in which the loyalty of the masses could as easily be given to a Queen Victoria or to a Babar, to any authoritarian ruler, as to a truly great Raja or king. A force of tamas or inertia settled over the land that prevents the people of the region from tapping the great reserve of spiritual power in which they live, removing them from the lionhearted sense of the Atman or higher Self that is the true force of Durga. In this respect of spirituality, the civilization of India remains central to that of the rest of the world, in which our human spiritual potential is even yet more obscure. India is the land where the Gods can descend and where the great yogis can take birth. A resurgent India, therefore, is crucial for the regeneration of the planet. Yet India is also a land where the anti-Gods (Asuras) can rule and where hostile forces do not want a national awakening. The powers of the ignorance would just as well keep the country down for another thousand years if they can. Fortunately, Durga, the Divine Shakti is coming forth again today. She is already stirring and beginning a new manifestation. She is preparing the decisive moment for her revelatory action. We must make ourselves into her vessels in order to aid in her transformations. While India may be the focus of her awakening, her action is beginning all over the world. She is the awakened planet that must soon arise to defend itself from the encroachment of an arrogant humanity that has fallen from grace. Meanwhile, a new humanity is also taking shape under her benefic glance. Let us be receptive to her guidance and take up her energy!
9. History of Hindu-Christian Encounters by Sita Ram Goel: History of Hindu-Christian Encounters (AD 304 to 1996) is a book by Sita Ram Goel which he published in 1986 under his Voice of India imprint. Described as Goel's "path-breaking work",[1] the book opens with a discussion of the belief common to many Christians in South India that St. Thomas the apostle travelled to India. The book mentions the Syrian Christians of the Malabar coast and the Italian traveller Ludovico di Varthema, author of the Itineratio. An important Hindu-Christian encounter was the arrival of the Portuguese with Vasco da Gama in 1498 CE and with Francis Xavier in 1542 CE, an encounter which Goel points out led to the Inquisition reaching India. Koenraad Elst, who read the book before he first met Goel, said about the book, "Hindus have a very good case vis-a-vis Christianity and Islam, but at present it is either not presented at all or presented very badly. This book is a departure
10. HOLY VEDAS AND HOLY BIBLES : A Comparative Study by Kanayalal M. Talreja: The New Testament instructs the Pope and all Christian missionaries to go and convert all nations of the world by baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Here is the text : 2. 19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. - Matthew 28/19 It is on account of the above text that Christian missionaries bluntly refuse to stop converting Hindus to their faith. They claim that it is Gods command to them that they must convert and baptize all people of all nations of the world. When Shri Omprakash Tyagi presented a Freedom of Religion Bill in Parliament, which recommended that there should be no conversion from one religion to another, more than three lakh Christians demonstrated in protest against the bill in Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Delhi. They claimed that under Article 25(1) of the Indian Constitution it was their fundamental right to convert non-Christians to Christianity. They knocked the doors of High Courts and even Supreme Court to get their right to convert upheld judicially. But the then Chief Justice, Shri A.N. Ray rejected their claim in his judgement. In spite of the judgments of Supreme Court, the Christian missionaries, under direct and indirect patronization of pseudo-secular Hindu politicians, continue to convert the poor, illiterate and innocent tribal Hindus with political motive on the plea that, it is Gods command to them that they must baptize and convert all persons of all nations on the earth.
11. Indian Muslims Who Are They by K.S. Lal: In this book, K S Lal checks the factors of Muslim invasions. He says that nearly 98 perent of the Indian Muslim population belongs to the converted hindus who might have convereted either due to fear or favour of employment. He also enumerates other factors like caste and bhakti movement and hindu resistance which has helped India to remain predominantly hindu.
12. Jihad : The Islamic Doctrine of Permanent War by Suhas Majumdar: "If non-Muslims submit to conversion or subjugation, this call (da’wah) can be pursued peacefully. If they do not, Muslims are obliged to wage war against them. In Islam, peace requires that non-Muslims submit to the call of Islam, either by converting or by accepting the status of a religious minority (dhimmi) and paying the inmposed tax, jizya. World peace, the final stage of the da’wah is reached only with the conversion or submission of all mankind to Islam." (Bassam Tibi)
13. Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947 by S. Gurbachan Singh Talib: At the end of the book, the author gives an Appendix, 100 pages of about 50 eye-witness accounts of those atrocities. It contains statements of those who saw themselves attacked, their houses burnt, their kith and kin killed, their womenfolk abducted but who themselves survived to relate their account. The section also includes press reports and other first-hand accounts. For example, one report which appeared in The Statesman of April 15, 1947 narrates an event that took place in village Thoha Khalsa of Rawalpindi District. It is a story of tears and shame and also of great sacrifice and heroism. The story tells us how the Hindu-Sikh population of this tiny village was attacked by 3000-strong armed Muslims, how badly outweaponed and outnumbered, the beseiged had to surrender, but how their women numbering 90 in order to evade inglorious surrender and save their honour jumped into a well following the example of Indian women of by-gone days. Only three of them were saved. There was not enough water in the well to drown them all, the report adds. The author also gives an 85-page long list of atrocities, date by date and region by region, that took place during the months from mid-December 1946 to the end of August 1947. And these represent only a small fraction of what really happened, and they have to be multiplied a hundred-fold or more to get the right proportions, the author says.
14. Muslim Slave System in Medieval India by K.S. Lal: Alexander Gardner who later became the Colonel of Artillery in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had travelled extensively in Central Asia from 1819 to 1823 C.E. He saw a lot of slave-catching in Kafiristan, a province of Afghanistan, which was largely inhabited by infields at that time. He found that the area had been reduced to the lowest state of poverty and wretchedness as a result of raids by the Muslim king of Kunduz for securing slaves and supplying them to the slave markets in Balkh and Bukhara. He writes:
15. On Hinduism : Reviews and Reflections by Ram Swarup: There are two major groups of religions in the world today. First are the conversion-based religions of Christianity and Islam. Each holds that it is the only true faith for humanity and solely represents God's plan and God's will. Both reflect an exclusivist ethos of One God, a single holy book, a final prophet or single savior, an historical revelation, salvation from sin, and heaven or hell as the ultimate resting-place for the soul. Christianity and Islam became the dominant religions of the Western world over the centuries through a long process of struggle and warfare, as they displaced, often cruelly, all other religions that came in their path. Both conversion-based religions are based on an older Jewish monotheistic tradition that was critical of the diverse Pagan cults around it. They turned this rejection, which for the Jews was meant to preserve their own culture, into an article of faith and a need to eradicate all other beliefs.
16. Perversion of India's Political Parlance by Sita Ram Goel: As one surveys India's political parlance, the first feature one notices is that while certain people and parties are described as Leftist, certain others are designated as Rightist. The second feature which invites attention is that these contradistinctive labels - Leftist and Rightist - have never been apportioned among people and parties concerned by an impartial tribunal like, say, the Election Commission. What has happened is that certain people and parties have appropriated one label - Leftist - for themselves, and reserved the other label - Rightist - for their opponents, without permission from or prior consultation with the latter. The third feature which one discovers very soon is that people and parties who call themselves Leftist, also claim to be progressive, revolutionary, socialist, secularist, and democratic. At the same time, they accuse the Rightists of being reactionary, revivalist, capitalist, and fascist. The fourth feature of the Indian political scene needs a somewhat deeper look because it goes beyond the merely political and borders on the philosophical. The Leftists claim that they are committed to a scientific interpretation of the world-process including economic, social, political, and cultural developments, and that, therefore, their plans and programmes are not only pertinent but also profitable for the modern age. Simultaneously, they accuse that the Rightists are addicted to an obscurantist view of the same world-process and, therefore, to such outmoded forms of economy, polity, and culture as are bound to be injurious at this stage of human history. One cannot help concluding that the dictionaries are not al all helpful in deciphering the Leftist language. The source of that language has to be sought elsewhere. There is no truth whatsoever in the Leftist claim that India's prevailing political parlance took shape in the course of India's fight for freedom against British imperialism. On the contrary, this parlance was imported from the Soviet Union by a Soviet fifth-column and with the help of Soviet finances. And it became predominant only towards the fag end of the freedom struggle. A close scrutiny of the Leftist language, shows that it has an affinity with the languages used earlier by Islamic, Christian, and British imperialism. That should surprise no one. Imperialism down the ages has evolved and employed a number of languages. The verbiage has varied according to differences of time and clime. But all languages of imperialism have shared certain characteristics in common. The language of Leftism passes this test quite creditably. The most significant contribution made to India's politics and public life by the language of Leftism is character assassination. Most of the time, the Leftists are poor in facts and logic but prolific in foul language. It has opened the floodgates for all sorts of questionable characters to come forward and occupy the front seats on the public stage. The full harvest of the seeds sown in the years before independence has been reaped in the post-independence period when politics and public life have become progressively a safe haven for all sorts of scoundrels masquerading as servants of the people. The prevalent political parlance will paralyse this country completely unless it is replaced by the language of Indian Nationalism. It has already transformed all sorts of traitors into patriots, and all sorts of parasites into public servants. It provides a smoke-screen behind which several types of imperialism-Islamic, Christian, Communist, and Consumerist-are stealing a march. The language of Indian Nationalism has not to be invented or synthesised from a floating mass of syllables. On the contrary, this country has known the language of Nationalism since times immemorial. This language was evolved and developed and perfected in the past by a long line of seers, sages, saints, and scholars. All our immortal literature-particularly the Veda-Vedanga, the Mahabharata, the Puran as and the Dharmasastras - was written in this language, India had spoken in this language to the rest of the world in her days of greatness and glory. This language has sustained the spiritual, cultural, social and political life of India through many stormy centuries. Sanatana Dharma has a universal face. It has been developed more fully in India than anywhere else. Moreover, in Sanatana Dharma, nationalism and internationalism are not opposed; they are two necessary expressions of the same truth. Islam, Christianity and Communism are not only denationalising but also dehumanising. Their internationalism is counterfeit, and another name for subjugation to this or that imperialist metropolis. Indian Nationalism rejects them totally and outright.
20. Psychology of Prophetism - A Secular Look at the Bible by Koenraad Elst: The point is simply that European Christians of many generations, have outgrown Christianity. Most people who left the Church have found that they are not missing anything, and that the beliefs which once provided a framework for interpreting and shaping life, were but a bizarre and unnecessary construction after all. We now know that Jesus was not God�s Only-begotten Son, that he did not save humanity from eternal sin, and that our happiness in this world or the next does not depend on believing these or any other dogmas.
21. The Calcutta Quran Petition by Sita Ram Goel: Chandmal Chopra tried to obtain an order banning the Koran, by filing a Writ Petition at the Calcutta High Court on 29 March 1985. The petition claimed that Sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 95 of the Criminal Procedure Code were often used by Muslims to ban or proscribe publications critical of Islam, and stated that "so far it had been the privilege of the Peoples of the Book to ban and burn the sacred literature of the Pagans."[1] Chandmal Chopra thought that the Koran "on grounds of religion promotes disharmony, feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and incite people to commit violence and disturb public tranquility..." Chandmal Chopra also included a list of several dozens of Quran verses that "promote disharmony" in his petition. The book claims that these Quran verses embody one of the main themes of the book: "Nor have these passages been culled at random from different chapters of the Quran with a view to making the book sound sinister. On the contrary, they provide an almost exhaustive list of Allah’s sayings on a subject of great significance, namely, what the believers should believe about and do to the unbelievers..."
22. The Rigveda - A Historical Analysis by Shrikant Talageri: The Rigveda: A Historical Analysis is a book by Shrikant G. Talageri. It was published by Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi (India) in 2000. It is a contribution to the "Aryan invasion debate" which was taking place in Hindu nationalism at the time. The book gives Talageri's examination and interpretation of the Rig Veda. In the eighth chapter Talageri discusses the interpretations of the Rig Veda Vedantic thinkers such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, B. R. Ambedkar, Vivekananda, Dayananda Sarasvati and Aurobindo. In the ninth chapter he gives a critique of Michael Witzel's interpretation of the structure and the history depicted by the Rig Veda.
23. The Beautiful Tree by Dharampal: Dharampal (1922–2006) was a great Gandhian thinker, historian and political philosopher from India. Convinced about the urgent need for an objective understanding about India’s past, before the onslaught of colonial rule, he decided to embark on an exploration of British-Indian archival material, based on documents emanating from commissioned surveys of the East India Company, lodged in various depositories spread over the British Isles. His pioneering historical research, conducted intensively over a decade, led to the publication of works that have since become classics in the field of Indian studies. This major work entitled "The Beautiful Tree" provides evidence from extensive early British administrators’ reports of the widespread prevalence of educational institutions in the Bengal and Madras Presidencies as well as in the Punjab, teaching a sophisticated curriculum, with daily school attendance by about 30% of children aged 6–15, where those belonging to communities who were classed as Shudras or even lower constituted a good number of students, and in some areas, for instance in Kerala, where Muslim girls were quite well represented.
24. Time for Stock Taking - Whither Sangh Parivar? by Various Authors: The credit for the present compilation goes wholly to Dr. Shreerang Godbole. It was his letters written to us in August-September 1996 which prompted us to circulate in October 1996 an 8-page brochure - Time For Stock Taking: A Swayamsevak Speaks - which we reproduce below: Dr. Shreerang Godbole is a young medical practitioner at Pune in Maharashtra. He has been a swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for seventeen years. We have received from him the two documents which we are reproducing in the pages that follow. He has given us permission to circulate them widely among the Hindu intelligentsia with a view to elicit Hindu response. 1. The first document carries his comments on eight formulations which have been popularized by the Sangh Parivar in recent years. These were presented by him to a Seminar held at Pune on 27-28 July 1996 under the aegis of Prajna Bharati in order to review the political scene in India after the 1996 Lok Sabha Elections and the fall of the first BJP government at the Centre. Participants in the Seminar included Sarvashri K.S. Sudarshan, Murli Manohar Joshi, Dattopant Thengdi, K.R. Malkani, S. Gurumurthy, Devendra Swarup, Muzaffar Hussain, P. Parameswaran, and M.G. Vaidya, among others. 2. The second document is a letter which he wrote on 8 August, 1996 to Shri K. S. Sudarshan, Joint Secretary of the RSS, regarding Sarva Panth Samãdar Manch (a platform for extending equal honour to all ways of worship) floated some time ago by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) which works in the labour field under RSS inspiration. The moving spirit of the Manch is Shri Dattopant Thengdi, though it is presided over by a Parsi gentleman from Nagpur.
25. Tipu Sultan : Villain or Hero? Sita Ram Goel: Although Tippu Sultan is a Ghazi and Jehadi, he is being projected as a nationalist warrior by the pseudosecularists. Goel exposes this sham.
26. Understanding Islam Through Hadis : Religious faith or Fanaticism? by Sri Ram Swarup: Both the Koran and the Hadis are regarded as works of revelation or divine inspiration; only the mode of expression differs. The Hadisis the Koran in action, revelation made concrete in the life of the Prophet. In the early centuries of Islam, many thousands of hadis or traditions,
today. Ram Swarup quotes extensively from them, particularly from Sahih Muslim, one of the top "two authentics", now available in English translation. He also quotes from other traditional sources, including the Koran and the orthodox biographies of the Prophet (siras), in order to
provide a unique glimpse of Islam's teachings and practices.
27. Who is a Hindu by Koenraad Elst: Elst’s monumental tome presents all sides of definitions on hindu dharma ranging from staunch nationalists to outright pseudosecularists.
Chapter 5:
Spiritual Books by Contemporary Masters
- Atma VIchara by Ramana Maharshi: The quintessence of Ramana Maharshi’s teaching is found in a small booklet called ‘Who am I?’ This little booklet contains the first set of instructions given by Ramana Maharshi. They are direct from his unique experience of self-realization. The original set of questions was asked by Sivaprakasam Pillai which was later presented by Ramana Maharshi in prose form. The power of the teaching can be realized by anyone who puts it into practice. In Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi 80 we read “Let him find out to whom are the thoughts. Where from do they arise? They must spring up from the conscious Self. Apprehending it even vaguely helps the extinction of the ego. Thereafter the realisation of the one Infinite Existence becomes possible. In that state there are no individuals other than the Eternal Existence. Hence there is no thought of death or suffering.”
- Voice of God by Kanchi Paramacharya: The Paramacharya was the Pitadhipathi of the Mutt for 87 long years. During this period, Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Pitam acquired new strength as an institution that propagated Sri Adhi Sankara’s teachings. The devotion, fervour and intensity with which the Paramacharya practised what Adhi Sankara had preached, is unparalleled. He lived a Spartan life. Throughout his life, the main focus of his concern and activities was rejuvenating Vedha adhyayana, the Dharma Sasthras and the age old tradition which had suffered decline. ‘Vedha rakshanam’ was his very life breath and he referred to this in most of his public discourses and private conversations. His prodding regular support to Vedha Patasalas through the Vedhic scholars, holding regular sadhas which included discussions on arts and culture- these led to a renewed interest in Vedhic religion, Dharma sasthras and Sanskar.
- Meditation -- the First and Last Freedom by Osho : Osho's words on the discipline of meditation. Meditation is an adventure, the greatest adventure the human mind can undertake. Meditation is just to be, not doing anything--no action, no thought, no emotion. You just are and it is a sheer delight. From where does this delight come when you are not doing anything? It comes from nowhere, or it comes from everywhere. It is uncaused, because existence is made of the stuff called joy!. It cannot be added to you; it can only come to you through a basic transformation, a mutation. It is a flowering, a growth. Growth is always from the total' it is not an addition. Just like love, it cannot be added to you. It grows out of you, out of your totality. You must grow toward meditation.
- From sex to Superconsciousness : Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the “1000 Makers of the 20th Century” and by Sunday Mid-Day (India) as one of the ten people—along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha—who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.
- Mystic Musings by Jaggi Vasudeva: In this intriguing look into the twilight's of truth that lie at the core of existence, the mystic, yogi and realized master shares realities from his own life. Mystic's Musings keeps us teetering on the edge of logic as it enthralls us with esoteric and scientific explanations of life, death, rebirth, suffering, karma and the journey of the Self. The book provokes readers to delve into spaces that are not for the faint-hearted, yet deftly guides us with answers about reality that transcend our fears, angers, hopes, and struggles.
- God loves fun by Sri Sri Ravishankar: This collection of talks given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has cleared many clouds and brought back the smile on many faces. Sing and celebrate for God loves fun! God will dance in our life when the day dawns in laughter and love. In Nature everything is just waiting for you to laugh, the whole of Nature laughs with you. It echoes and resounds and that is really the worth of life. When things go alright everybody can laugh, but when everything falls apart, if even then you can laugh, that is evolution and growth.
- The First and Last Freedom by J Krishnamurthy: If truth can set us free, where do we find it? In The First and Last Freedom, Krishnamurti argues that we will not find truth in formal institutions, nor in organised religions and their dogmas, nor in any guru or outside authority; for, according to Krishnamurti, truth can only be realised through self-understanding. Controversial and challenging, yet always enlightening, Krishnamurti guides us through society’s common concerns, such as suffering and fear, love and loneliness, sex and death, the meaning of life, the nature of God, and personal transformation - consistently relating these topics to the essential search for pure truth and perfect freedom. This classic philosophical and spiritual study offers wisdom and insights particularly suited to our own uncertain times.
- I am That by Nisargadutt Maharaj: Ever since it was originally published in 1973 "I AM THAT" a modern spiritual classic has run into reprint (Paperback and Hardcover both put together) seventeen times.That is the kind of popularity the book is enjoying. I Am That is a legacy from a unique teacher who helps the reader to a clearer understanding of himself as he comes to Maharaj,the spiritual teacher, again and again with the age-old questions,"where am I" "who am I" and "whither am I".The listeners were never turned away from the humble abode of Maharaj then and are not turned away now!
- The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekananda (Set Of 8 Volume) comprises the complete works of Swami Vivekananda, compiled from his numerous lectures from around the world. Through his writing, Swami Vivekananda sought to revive Hinduism amidst the disintegration of the modern world.
- The Complete Works of Shree Aurobindo: Enlightened Masters such as Sri Aurobindo who have reached a high level of consciousness are able to state Truths with great clarity by virtue of the illumination they have attained. Every statement becomes a revelation and every paragraph an epiphany. Those who aspire for spiritual progress have to desist from reading books which lower the consciousness precisely because words have power. Sri Aurobindo’s complete works are a treasure trove for the truth seeker. Sri Aurobindo is the Darwin of human consciousness since his chief aim was the evolution of consciousness.
