Islamic Version of the Gita Dham

The Bharatiya Chetna Kendra is working on an Islamc version of the Gita Dham, which may be creatd  in Muslim-majority vilages, and which will be more acceptable to the Muslims. The name is yet to be decided, but the objects are the same: harness the power of religions to bring enlightenment, remove poverty and  spread knowledge, social harmony and non-violence. The only difference will be that here the Qoran will be the principal guiding book. A Muslim friend Sheikh Badruddoja has offered land for this Centre. Though we always had it in mind to take up such endeavours after successfully putting in place a few Gita Dhams, it appears that there is no harm in starting the preparatory conceptual work now itself. I am in Delhi to talk to a few liberal Maulanas on the precise cconceptual architecture and name of the Centre.
The India  civilizstion is known for its tolerance, spirit of accommodation and respect for all modes of worship, and therefore of all religions. That all paths lead to the same goal and same God is one of the fundamental tents of the Indian culture.

Corruption and the Indian Civilization

India today is not only among the poorest countries of the world but also among the most corrupt. There was a time when, according the accounts of some foreign travelers, no man was found dishonest and no woman unchaste in India. The Gita explicitly says in the 16th Chapter that wealth earned through dishonest means blocks the paths to the heaven. Books like the Gita and the Ramayana have vanished from homes, and there are few leaders to teach honesty by example. Money has become the summon bonum of life. It has replaced God as the principal object of worship. All institutions in India today are neck-deep into corruption. Some of the reasons of this state of affairs are: impact of the consumerist culture combined with poverty and lack of education; leaders corrupted by the political and electoral system of India, and bureaucrats prepared to toe the line of their political masters.

On the 23rd of November, I came across a group of students sitting on fast-unto-death near Governor's House at Ranchi. I talked to them. The alleged that to favor a few for corrupt reasons they had been rejected on dubious grounds by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission - the statutory body for recruitment at the high levels of government service in the state. I talked to the JPSC Chairman and other officials, but their replies were mutually contradictory and unconvincing. They refused to be transparent. Then I also sat on a symbolic fast for three days with the students, but nothing moved. Then I finally filed a Public Interest Litigation in the hon’ble High Court and I myself argued the case before the bench headed by the Chief Justice. The PIL was admitted for hearing. The next date for detailed hearing is the 6th January, 2016. Let us see what the outcome is.

Coming out of the High Court after filing the PIL which was accepted for hearing.

On fast in support of the students 

Vivekananda's Chicago speech on India's tolerant character.

In today's raging debate on  India's tolerance and intolerance, it is important to read the first para of Swami Vivekananda's world-famous speech at Chicago Parliament of Religions.

"Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects. My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering remnant Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee." 

The Caste System of India and Louis Dumont's View

We talked on the Indian caste system, which has attracted much ire in the modern age, and is on its way out. The edition of the caste system that we have witnessed in the last two millenniums, involving contempt for a certain class of people called 'shudras', and keeping them segregated, is without doubt something that needs to  be discarded. However, its deeper understanding is to be sought. Eminent French sociologist  Louis Dumont's work Homo Hierarchus is a book worth reading for a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon. Today it is quite late, and tomorrow we will discuss some interesting and enticing facts about this social architecture, which ought to be known too. This will promote a deeper understanding of the Indian  civilization.

Comments on My Post on #Non-violence by Justice Vikramaditya and My Response.

Justice Vikramaditya (on WhatsApp)

The food habit can't  be a deciding factor in support of ahimsa .Iin many Buddhist  country meat  / fish is eaten.food ,dress,,design  of houses  are the product of geographical  and climatic conditions.none violence intact  is an approach of mind which does not permit u to hurt others feelings and body .excepting for sustaining ur life and for no other purpose.if u think from this angle then condemning other religions to establish the superiority  of own religion wil amount to become violent and that is what jehadis are trying.


My Response (on WhatsApp)

Declaring superiority of a religion or a civilization is a value judgment. We have not said that non violence makes a civilization superior, even though it is possible that some one takes this stand. But we have not taken this stand. In addition, not a particular religion, but a civilization is being discussed: the Indian civilization. We have talked of Buddhism and Jainism too apart from Hinduism.

What has been done is to bring out some distinguishing features which are empirically verifiable. Just an empirical description.

Non-violence is both physical and mental. We talked of the physical aspects in this particular post. It is factually correct that no civilization except the Indian civilization expanded the concept of non-violence to include non-violence against animals. Is that untrue? Is there a harm in knowing this? But this is, again, not intended to mean that everybody in India could be persuaded to be vegetarian. Yet, a huge mass of humanity could be converted to vegetarianism here.

No religion has been condemned. To bring out differences amounts to condemnation?

As regards Buddhists being non-veg, yes, they are, in most countries. But Buddha was a vegetarian and preached non-violence towards animals. If in foreign countries the Buddhists are not following the Buddha, nothing much can be done by the Buddha about this, now that he is no more.

Our intention is not to declare superiority of the Indian Civilization, but to highlight its distinguishing marks. And if, from one or all points of view, a certain faith or civilization is proved superior, it would not mean annihilating people of other faiths, as the ISIS is trying to do. Far from it!

Hope the communication is set right now. As regards the Indian civilization, especially Hinduism, it has in practice been among the worst, if not the only one,  as regards subjugation and inhuman treatment of a huge mass of humanity called shudras. We will come to this aspects too. One by one.

Non-violence: a Great Contribution of the #IndianCivilization

Ahimsa or Non-violence: the Great Contribution of  the Indian Civilization.

The Indian civilization is the oldest of the now surviving ancient civilizations. In the ancient period it gave birth to three great religions: the Sanatan Dharma, now known as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. All three of them highly emphasized the concept of non-violence  or Ahimsa in different degrees. This wider concept of non-violence is not so emphatically found in  any other country or faith. It is not to be found in  any developed sense in the Old Testament, which is full of violence  and 'tooth-for-a-tooth' attitude. Jesus did practice and preach non-violence to a great degree, but his non-violence did not include compassion for the non-human living beings in  the way it was found in India. Jesus did not refrain from eating meat, and was not a vegetarian. 

The world is realizing today in  the midst of mindless violence and terrorism the value of the idea of non-violence. The Indian society itself is moving away today from non-violence essentially due to severing of its links with the Indian culture and civilization and the books that documented and created this civilization. The links need to be restored, and the Bharatiya Chetna Kendra is doing its bit to  ensure that those books, especially the Gita, the the Tulsi Ramayan and the Bhagavat Puran reach every home that is ready to  welcome them. Join us in this endeavor. 

Visit www.bharatiyachetna.org  |  Or email  bharatiyachetna@gmail.com   |    Or phone +91 8252667070

#MaliAttack, #JihadistAttackInMali, #TerroristAttackInMali, #IslamistAttachInMali #HowtohandleIslamicTerrrorism

Islam and Terrorism - Part 1

One often comes across the general statement today that “not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Students of terrorism know that this, at least in one sense, is quite a flawed statement. An FBI report shows that only a meager six percent of terrorist attacks carried out on U.S. soil between 1980 and 2005 were perpetrated by Muslims. The FBI’s data shows that Latinos, which actually means Puerto Rican separatist groups, Cuban exile groups and the like, were responsible for 42 percent of the terrorist attacks, extreme left groups for 24 percent, communists for 5 percent, and Jewish extremists for 7 percent. 16 percent of the attacks were carried out by “others.” As regards Europe, the facts can be found in the Europol annual report entitled EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report. The report proves decisively that not all terrorists are Muslims.  In fact, a whopping 99.6% of terrorist attacks in Europe were by non-Muslim groups, and a good 84.8% of attacks were from separatist groups completely unrelated to Islam.  Leftist groups accounted for over sixteen times as much terrorism as radical Islamic groups.  Only a measly 0.4% of terrorist attacks from 2006 to 2008 could be attributed to extremist Muslims. Therefore, there is need for caution in declaring all terrorists to be Muslims. 

There is, however, one sense in which the statement that “all terrorists are Muslims” may be nearly true. If there is one religious community resorting to acts of terrorism to promote its religious or religious-political ends in a major way worldwide, it is only the Islamic community. There may be terrorist groups like Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in Myanmar, or the Lord’s Resistance Army of the Christians in Uganda, but they are mostly local in impact. The acts of terrorism perpetrated by Muslims are also often so grandiose and the death tolls so massive that they attract worldwide attention, and. consequently, invite worldwide hatred. In the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack they claimed nearly 3000 lives in the USA. In the Mumbai attack they claimed in one incident over 150 lives. The Paris attack has claimed around 150 lives and yesterday in  Mali 18 lives were lost  No wonder the idea of terrorism always instantly brings to a lay mind the picture of a Muslim.

(To be continuued)

#JIHADIST GENOCIDE IN #PARIS : #ParisAttack, #Terrorism, #IslamicTerrorism,

REASON AND RELIGION: THE CONTEXT OF RELIGION INSPIRED GENOCIDES

Organised religions of the world have made a great contribution to humanity by binding humans, by and large, to rules of ethical conduct in the initial phases of the growth of human civilization. In fact all of them have, in varying degrees, been great civilizing influences on humanity. However, blind faith in the words of holy books and messengers of God has led to considerable distress to sections of humanity. It is wrong to presume that science and rationality on the one hand and religious faith on the other cannot go hand in hand - that you can be either religious or rational! There is much rationality in religions too, and much 'faith' in science, especially where the truth lies beyond the reach of senses and empirical verification with complete finality (one such area is the origin or the universe, or quantum physics).

Religions are based primarily on REVELATION and then on interpretation of revelations or elaboration of the revealed word with the hep of human understanding. If only we are able to apply common sense with a little bit of the scientific temper, we would understand why it is very risky to take every word of our holy books - the Gita, the Bible and  the Koran etc, as without doubt the WORD OF GOD. We would then understand the need to be careful in accepting every word of the holy books.

Presume somebody starts getting revelations in the form of sounds to be heard by the physical ears or by the 'ears of the mind', and the sound explicitly claims to be the sound of God. The person receiving the REVELATION will without doubt be thrilled and presume that he was the privileged and chosen one to whom God spoke directly? How does that person know that the claim of being 'God' was correct? May be God, or may be some other celestial being claiming to be God!

When the word of 'God' is so revealed, the person receiving the revelation will suffer some loss of memory (is ordinarily bound to), and when he conveys the revelation to others he is bound to, in some degree, put his own words and interpretations into it. Then the people receiving the REVELATION from the messenger of God, will interpret in their own way, adding their own imagination and information. In many cases the prophets did not pen down the revelations themselves and conveyed to others by spoken word. Those who heard them took notes when they went back, or the sayings were recorded after a long time based on hearsay. This is what happened  in the case of Rama, Jesus, Mohammad and the Buddha. In fact the Koran was compiled after the prophet's death by the their Calif Uthman who constituted a committee to collect and compile the notes of those who had heard Mohammad speak about the word of God. The Committee found differences in the accounts of the different followers of the prophet and chose the accounts that they found most amenable to their taste (or the taste of the third Caliph). Then the Caliph ordered that all other accounts be burnt. The friends of the prophet refused to to do and they became so angry that they together murdered their Caliph. This is what you may find in the introduction to the new translation of the holy Koran published by Penguin, The translator is an eminent Islamic scholar Tarif Khalidi. Penguin books are sold worldwide and read worldwide, and if this were wrong there would be world-wide protests. Khalidi says that although there were differences in the different accounts as to what Mohammad said, the differences were 'minor'. If the differences were so minor, why did the friends and followers of Mohammad become so angry as to kill the Caliph? In addition, what may be considered  'minor' may be of major significance sometimes. Shifting of a comma in "Kill not, leave' to 'Kill, not leave' may be 'minor' linguistic issue, but may leads to a major happening.

Religious pundits may say that when God reveals something to His chosen one, He also gives him infallible memory to bring God's word to humanity in the form He conveyed it. Possible. But how to decide whether the Word truly emanated from God, and not from some other celestial entity?

In other words, how to verify the truthfulness of the revelation in any religion? 

To address this issue, we may go to the three theories of Truth propounded by Bertrand Russell in the Problems off Philosophy.

One of the tests of Truth is 'coherence' or lack of inner contradiction where empirical verification is not possible, Example: God is very kind, all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. All these four cannot be true together. If He is kind, and knows about miseries of His creatures, and has power to remove those miseries, then why does He not do it if He is really so kind? This has to be explained in a coherent manner, which may theologians have tries to do with varying degrees of success or failure.

When a certain assertion in the REVELATION is empirically verifiable in some manner, in some degree, it can be straightaway be put to test. In the Vedas there is a revelation that states the time taken by the sunlight to reach earth. This revelation was made thousands off years back. But now this is empirically verifiable. But the messengers of God are seldom found, including in the Vedas, stating such empirically verifiable
facts. Yet there are many. Take the theory of rebirth. It is, in a manner, empirically verifiable. The Virginia university parapsychology department has documented 3000 positive cases of this kind where children claimed memories of their previous lives and the claim was verified and found to be true But a man with a scientific temper would not allow this verification to lead one to believe that whatever Hinduism, Buddhism or Jainism (which believe in rebirth) say is all true. It should be on a case to case basis.

As regards ethical norms preached by the religions, the theory of empirical verification does not apply as ethical norms are not statement of facts; they are prescriptions. The sole judge of the godliness of these prescriptions is our inner conscience that knows how to judge what is godly and what is not, what is truly good and what is not. Sometime ethical prescriptions may be manufactured by the seers and messengers of God. Sometime these ethical prescriptions may be inserted into the Holy books by vested interests. Therefore, one has to be careful, and has to go to his inner conscience to judge if the prescription is of God or of a well-intentioned 'messenger' of God, or was manufactured by an unholy mind with his or his clan's interest in mind. The system of segregation of the class of people called shudras is a case in point as regards Hinduism. Chopping off the heads of all those who did not believe in Allah ('atheists' as interpreted by liberals, and 'people of non-Muslim faiths' as interpreted by fundamentalists) , as found in the Holy Koran, is a case in point too which is casing so much of genocide even today.

The point is that some amount of rationality can make one more truly religious than the one who does not apply his or her mind at all to the sayings in the holy books.

The Gita Dham Concept Details: Human Resource for the Gita Dham

The Human Resource for the Gita Dham

1. The Gita Dham will mobilize monks (संन्यासी) and half-monks (अर्द्ध-संन्यासी या वानप्रस्थी) from the nearby villages who will form the core of the human resource for religious, spiritual, economic and cultural activities of the Centre. They will be both men and women. At first, people above 50 years of age will be picked up as half-monks, who will live in their homes with their families, and will spend four to 10 hours in the temple complex in the prescribed uniform for the half-monks. On finishing their work at the temple complex, they may return to their homes, after changing their half-monk clothes. Later on, full time monks will be picked up from among these half-monks. They will be trained thoroughly in the Bhagwad-Gita and the philosophy of religion encompassing all religions of the world, to expand their mental horizons. The poverty-alleviation programs will also be run by training some of these half-monks.

2.       The Gita Dham in each Panchayat will be managed by a local committee.

The Gita Dham: Other Structures in the First Phase

E)   Other parts of the Gita Dham in  the First Phase

1.       An auditorium with a seating capacity of 200 to 500 people with a 48” LED TV, a DVD player, a sound amplification system, an  inverter to provide power backup, or where no electricity is available to recharge the inverter, a generator. This auditorium will be used for training and education of all sorts including training for self-employment, career stream selection, farming, Physics, Chemistry, Sanskrit, English and all with the help of video CDs. Villagers will themselves construct the auditorium with local material and resources, maybe even bamboo;

2.       A similar separate construction to serve as production centre for cottage industry goods, and for livelihood counseling;

3.       There will be store rooms;

4.       There will be cottages for the management staff at the Centre including the priests, monks (धर्मसंघी) and nuns (धर्मसंघिनी);

5.       For community lunch and dinner, there will be an appropriate place;

6.       A large kitchen for cooking mass lunch;

7.       Lavatories and washrooms for the priests monks and nuns;

8.       Washrooms for visitors.

9.       Orchards, Tulsi garden and garden of other herbs for producing herbal medicines. 

(later, a wellness centre and cottages for those above 75 and willing to become full time sannyasis (joining the sannyas ashram) for devoting full time to the quest of God and Self, will be added.

The Main Temple Structure at the Gita Dham

D)   The main temple structure

Initially it will be a small structure which will be, in the matter of architectural design, significantly different of the temples of most faiths, including the Hindu faith. This architecture will indicate that this temple houses a faith which, in practice, is very different from other faiths. Architects are being invited to create an appropriate design for this temple. For the guidance of the architects, a few ideas are mooted:

1.       In the temple, the Mother Gita (गीता माता) will be installed on a platform on a high pedestal, the top of which will be encased in silver. The Ramcharitmanas and the Bhagwat Puran will be placed below it on both sides. The temple will have space inside conducing to mediation and performing bhakti dances. Sakam pooja or give-and-take system most characteristic of contemporary Hindu temples will be prohibited in the Gita temple. The Gita temple will be for Gyan-Dhyan-Bhakti-Moksha (Knowledge-Meditation-Devotion-Liberation). For fulfillment of worldly desires, one may go to the Rakshak Dev, or Protector Deity, if needed. But worship-for-worldly-gains will be discouraged.

2.       There will be space for parikrama (going around) round the sanctum sanctorum (गर्भ गृह) where the Mother Gita will be installed.

3.       The Swastik sign, which is the common symbol  of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism and  also considered worldwide since ancient times as an  auspicious sign, will be prominently displayed inside as well outside the temple.

4.       There will be no provision inside the sanctum sanctorum for offering anything except flowers. However, there may be a small separate Devalaya (temple) in the campus where idols of all the main deities will be installed side by side in small sizes where offerings of water, milk or sweets can be made in the traditional way.

5.       In front of the main door of the temple, at a distance, a life-size or smaller than life size- idol of the locally influential deity, who will be the Protector Deity of the Gita Dham will be installed, facing the main temple. The deity may be, for example,  Ganpati in Maharashtra, Kartikeya in Kerala and Hanuman or Shiva in Bihar and UP, and Kali in West Bengal. The protector deity will be decided by the local people.

6.       Outside the Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple there will be a Dharm Kosh (faith-fund) box for the devotees to put their contribution in. For delivering lectures (pravachan) on religion, there will be a place or platform inside the Gita temple.

7.       The audio of the Gita, the Ramcharitmanas, the Bhagwat Puran and other holy books will  be constantly played in low volume in the temple complex.

8.       In the temple campus there will be several shila patts or stone tablets on which will be inscribed the main teachings of the Gita and the Tulsi Ramayana.

(A tentative design  of the Gita temple has been created, which is as under:)

Objects of the Gita Dham

 C)   Objects of the Gita Dham

1.       In its area of responsibility, it will seek to improve the consciousness of the people, and to turn the focus of the people’s mind from the ritualistic periphery of religion to its ethical and spiritual core;

2.       To create holistic models of growth that takes care of both the material and human development;

3.       To ensure that the Gita and the Ramcharitmanas reach every home which wants to have them;

4.       To spread the idea of the Gita far and wide;

5.       To create an environment for peace, harmony and brotherhood;

6.       To translate into reality the ideals of the Ram Rajya in the concerned Panchayat. (A Panchayat is the lowest administrative unit of self-governance in India, consisting of a few villages)

7.       To rid its villages fully of unemployment, underemployment and poverty;

8.       To promote total education for both young and the old; to help  children and youth to develop their entire personality and to give them a bright future; to ensure that they are able to speak Sanskrit, mother tongue as well as English with equal confidence.

9.       At a later stage, to run a wellness center for preventive and primary health care; to have cottages for people over 75 yrs who wish to dedicate themselves entirely to the quest of God and Self by truly entering the ‘sannyas ashram’.

(Go to www.bharatiyachetna.org |  Email: bharatiyachetna@gmail.com  | +91 (0)651 2461259

Invitation to be a part of the Gita Dham Project

Dear Reader,

Those of you who find substance in what is being penned on this blog, and are keen  on  promoting the Indian Civilization, pl take the trouble  of inviting more of your friends  to  this blog  and to the website of the Bharatiya Chetna Kendra  at www.bharatiyachetna.org. The great ideas of this civilization are in the danger of being pushed into oblivion. If this happened, it would be truly unfortunate. Time has come when not only these great ideas  were spread but actual  models of individual and community development  created out of these ideas. we are in the process of creating such models. Be with us in doing that! Join us in doing that!

The Gita Dham Explained in Detail: Part B - A Special Background Note for the Curious MInd

(Go to www.bharatiyachetna.org for knowing more about BCK)

B)   A special Philosophical Background Note for the curious mind on the Indian civilization and the place of the Gita in It:

The Indian civilization is the oldest living civilization which has survived the vicissitudes of history for over ten thousand years. Other ancient civilizations like those of Greece, Rome and Egypt withered away midway after a grand beginning. The Indian civilization is not only the oldest living civilization; it is also one which has given birth to two of the major religions of the world: the Sanatan Dharma, popularly known as Hinduism, and Buddhism, apart from several other beautiful faiths which also have followings running into millions. But that is not all: the Indian civilization has produced such exalted ideas and existential concepts as remain absolutely unique in the world even today. If the entire world were to follow some of the ideals crafted by this civilization, the world would be an entirely different place to live in, and the developmental paradigm would radically change: terrorism and intolerance will lose their existence, mutual accommodation and harmony will gain ground, spiritual and material progress will go hand in hand without one uprooting the other, and self-alienation caused by the nuclear individualism of the West will melt away making way for closely knit families and communities full of love, mutual respect and understanding - like the ones depicted in the Ramayana, which remains the unparalleled saga of human relationships and models of truly civilized individual, social and political human conduct.

When some of the ideas of the Indian civilization were presented in English language by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 at the Chicago Parliament of World Religions, the entire parliament exploded in applause and admiration. When the ideas of nonviolence and truth crafted by the Indian civilization were presented by Mahatma Gandhi before the world towards the end of the 19^th century in South Africa and then in the first-half of the 20^th century in India while fighting for Indian independence against the British, the entire world watched the spectacle in complete awe as such a thing had been heard or seen never before in human history elsewhere in the world. But what Vivekananda and Gandhi presented before the world were mere fractions of what the great Indian civilization has in store for humanity. If one were to turn the pages of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, and the Bhagwad-Gita, one would encounter such lofty peaks of human thought and conduct as would make high achievements of the modern era look dwarfed and superfluous. A time may come when these lofty and noble ideas would unfold themselves on the world stage in a manner that would convince human conscience everywhere - which will by that time have been immensely tormented by the grossly materialistic and individualistic civilization of the West on the one hand and the blood-thirsty civilization of intolerance, violence and terrorism on the other - that the Indian civilization is the one that can provide the core values for reconstruction of a new human ethos all over the world. The ancient Indian civilization is, therefore, the future of the world[1]. The Bhagwad-Gita contains, along with the Ramcharitmanas, what is the best in the Indian Civilization. The two together represent the essence of the Vedas and the Upanishads. 

But how will this light spread across the world when its sources are getting buried in India itself? The youth of this generation have not seen the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana, and the Gita, which are fast vanishing from the Indian homes. The Indian civilization signifies what is taught in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Ramayana and the Gita; but it also signifies economic prosperity. All along, it clearly emphasized need for a balance between money, religion-and-human duties, worldly desire-and-sex, and spiritual liberation (arth-dharm-kaam-moksha), placing money and worldly desires below human duties and spiritual liberation. Let us not forget that the Indian civilization has been the most prosperous civilization in the world in the ancient and medieval periods. Therefore, a true Indian civilization does not make sense without elements of prosperity.

Some people treat Ram-Rajya as a historical fact while many others treat it as a poetic creation based on history, which means a mix-of-history-and-mythology. There are still others who tend to treat it as complete myth, and a utopia. Even if the Rama-Rajya or the kingdom of Rama were a utopia, it would not diminish the value of the ideals that find a place in the descriptions of the Ram-Rajya. We know that utopias are often necessary to be built to inspire us to move towards certain lofty ideals that do not exist on ground today, but may perhaps be brought into being tomorrow through sustained efforts. The state withering away one day is one such lofty ideal that belongs to realm of utopia, and which we do not discard just because it exists nowhere today, or because it never existed before in any civilized society. We consider the ideal still worthy of pursuit. Here we do not want to enter into the controversy of whether Ram-Rajya is history or myth, utopia or something that existed in the past. We only know that over a billion people can be easily inspired to strive for a higher level of human existence that the Ram-Rajya represents. It is interesting to bear in mind that this state of human existence does not call for annihilation of other civilizations. It does not even entail or imply military expansionism, since the ideal of Ram-Rajya is that one should only aim at victory over hearts, and not over territories.         

The Bharatiya Chetna Kendra has resolved to revive these forceful ideas of the Indian civilization.

One of the great ideas produced by the Indian civilization is Ram-Rajya. The ideas of Ram-Rajya, or the Government of Rama are very ancient, and yet extremely modern. Rama was an ancient Indian king with a very lofty and lovable character, who is often worshiped as an incarnation of God in India. The description of what kind of a State Rama’s kingdom was can be found in the epic Ramayana authored by the ancient sage Valmiki, who was a contemporary of Lord Rama, and similar descriptions, can be found in many other literary and historical works on the life of Lord Rama. Most recently, about 500 years back, the poet-sage Tulasidas also beautifully depicted what the kingdom of Rama was like[2].

---

[1]  There is a need for caution here. Not all ideas and practices produced by the Indian civilization were completely unsullied. The major example of such an aberration is that edition of the caste system that bred contempt for certain sections of the society called the ‘shudras’, making the Indian society ‘hierarchical’. However the practice has been outlawed, and is on the wane, and it may be history soon. But another word of caution here: The caste system per se was not bad. Minus contempt for the ‘lower’ castes, it was a wonderful creation. For understanding the true nature of this system one needs to study the essay on caste system by the French Sociologist Louis Dumont. This system gave close and positive family-like connectivity to large groups of humans, which is just the opposite of the self-alienation and loneliness faced by a modern Western man or woman. The caste system also gave economic specialisation to large groups of people, which was responsible for India’s economic pre-eminence in the world for several millennia.  Among the scriptures of the Hindu faith, the Gita pleads for an egalitarian society advocating equality among all, and the concept of Ram-Rajya too, as found in the Ramcharitmanas, eliminates all inequality in  no uncertain terms.

[2]Here are some excerpts from the description of the Ram Rajya as found in the Ramcharitmanas of poet-sage Tulasidas.

बैर न कर काहू सन कोई | राम प्रताप बिषमता खोई ||(Perfect harmony, no enmity, no inequality)

दैहिक दैविक भौतिक तापा | राम राज नहिं काहुहि ब्यापा ||

सब नर करहिं परस्पर प्रीती | चलहिं स्वधर्म निरत श्रुति नीती ||

अल्पमृत्यु नहिं कवनिउ पीरा | सब सुन्दर सब बिरुज सरीरा ||

नहिं दरिद्र कोऊ दुखी न दीना | नहीं कोऊ अबुध न लच्छन हीना || (nobody is poor, no one in distress)

सब निर्दंभ धर्मरत पुनी | नर अरु नारि चतुर सब गुनी || (Everybody without fear, and given to duties; both men and women full of good qualities) (Excerpts continue on the next page…)

सब गुनग्य पंडित सब ग्यानी | सब कृतज्ञ नहिं कपट सयानी || (Everybody very well-educated; no cheats)

राम राज कर सुख संपदा | बरनि न सकइ फनीस सारदा | (Unparalleled prosperity)

एकनारि ब्रत रत सब झारी | ते मन बाख क्रम पति हितकारी || (Men have only one woman; women given whole heartedly to one man)

दंड जतिंह कर भेद जहँ नर्तक नृत्य समाज | (No punishment as no one commits crime; no discrimination)

जीतहु मनहि सुनिअ अस रामचंद्र के राज || (The only victory aimed at is victory on hearts)

खग मृग सहज बयरु बिसराई | सबन्हि परस्पर प्रीती बढ़ाई || (Everybody loves each other; no strife)

लता बिटप मागें मधु चवहीं | मनभावतो धेनु पय श्रवहीं || A lot of honey, a  lot of milk)

ससी संपन्न सदा रह धरणी | त्रेता भइ कृतजुग कै करनी || (Land always full of crops)

The Gita Dham Explained in Detail: Part A

A)   A General background note:

It is very unwise to ignore the power of religious faith in bringing social and economic transformation, where people are still rooted in religion. The Gita Dham is an attempt to harness this power to create a centre for total development in every Panchayat (A Panchayat is the lowest administrative unit of self-governance in India, consisting of a few villages). The Gita Dham Centre will have three main structures in the first phase as mentioned above. These Centres will translate into reality the age-old Indian idea of a life in which the four main life-values of money, religion-and-human duties, worldly desire and spiritual liberation (arth-dharm-kaam-moksha) are evenly balanced. The Gita Dham will not just have a spiritual mandate: it will be equally responsible for bringing an economic transformation in the lives of all people coming to it; and for taking care of all their basic educational needs for their total development. As the name might suggest, these may be centres dear to a particular community - the majority community - in India. Even if this were the case, there would be no need to be apologetic about it, since transformation of the lives of eighty per cent of the people of India will itself be a great achievement. However, these centres will do more than what first meets the eyes: they will be open to all communities who want to avail of the benefits of educational and employment programs being run at the centre, irrespective of whether or not they wish to fully avail of the spiritual benefits at the Centre.  In other words, these centres are not meant to transform the lives of only one section of the society. The Gita treats all humans – in fact all living beings - equally as incarnations of God and fractions of the divinity. And this is the philosophy that is going to be preached and practiced at the Gita-Dham Centres everywhere. The Gita Dham will seek to bring out this divinity in each human being in its vicinity. The Gita Dham has been conceived based on the assumption that without creating good and integral human beings, the goal of poverty alleviation and a harmonious and peaceful society may be very difficult to achieve.

At the Gita Dham, bhakti dances will  be performed regularly. To train villagers, preparations are on. As a part of the preparations, young dance guru Sanjay Dubey, performs a dance, and then, in other videos, explains in detail the steps of the dance.

Gita Dham In A NutShell

A)     Significance of the name: ‘Gita’ is the short form of the principal holy book of the Hindus – the Bhagwad-Gita. It is acknowledged worldwide as the most enlightened and thoughtful sacred book produced anywhere at any time, ‘Dham’ means ‘a sacred place’. The ‘Gita Dham’ therefore means a sacred place where the activities will be carried out in accordance with the philosophy of the Bhagwad-Gita.

B)   Mission of the Gita Dham: Creation of a centre in every Panchayat or group of villages for cleansing the Indian civilization by shifting the focus from external rituals and corruption to the inner values of the Bhagwad-Gita; to produce enlightened and integral human beings; and to create a model of holistic development around the Gita-Dham in every Panchayat that will have zero-incidence of poverty and total education for all as its principal goals, without discriminating between communities.

C)  Minimum physical Infrastructure at a Gita Dham in the first phase: A) A temple of the Bhagwad-Gita; B) A permanent or semi-permanent hall (with at least one attached room, and a reception shed) with a minimum seating capacity of 200 (270m² / 2,900 ft2), which will act as an auditorium for the Total Education Centre with an LED TV of 48” screen, an inverter or generator for power back-up, a DVD player and a PA System; C) A Livelihood Solution Centre of similar dimensions ((270m² / 2,900 ft2), with at least one attached room, and a reception shed, which will also act as a production centre for cottage industry goods to be produced jointly by villagers; D) A few store rooms; E) A small library room; F) Accommodation for key full-time management staff ; G) A kitchen; H) Washrooms; I) A barbed wire or other fencing.

D)     Mode of operation: The Gita Dhams will be built by the local people from their own land and other resources, and will be self-sustaining. They will themselves contribute the labour too. However, in the beginning, a few larger Gita Dham Centres may be constructed to provide a model, and to train the human resource of the village centres by obtaining external funding. The rough cost of a model Block-Level Gita Dham Centre will be around 3 crore Indian rupees (5,35,715 USD), and of a State Level Gita Dham Centre, Rs. 10 crore Indian Rupees (17,85,715 USD).

The tentative image of the Gita Temple at the Gita Dham complex. It is deliberately being given a look that it distinct from the normal Hindu temples, as well as from churches, mosques and other religious places, so that immediately it becomes clear that  the Gita Dham is going to carry a different culture and message. It is actually intended to be the fountainhead  of a new religious stream..This temple will have the image of the Hindu Trinity of gods but the pride of place is going to be given in this temple to the guru-granth-trayi or the trinity-of-teacher-scriptures that carry the best of Hinduism - the Gita, the Ramcharitmanas and the Bhagwat Purana. The description of the Gits Dham can be found in the  last post of today.

The Gita Dham

(To be pronounced gi:ta: dha:m)

Gita Dham In A Nut Shell

Introductory note: The Gita Dham total Development Center is going to be builtin every panchayat or village to rid people of ignorance, inhumanity and poverty. This is going to be based on the best elements of the Indian civilization.

A)     Significance of the name: ‘Gita’ is the short form of the principal holy book of the Hindus – the Bhagwad-Gita. ‘Dham’ means ‘a sacred place’. The ‘Gita Dham’ therefore means a sacred place where the activities will be carried out in accordance with the philosophy of the Bhagwad-Gita.

B)   Mission of the Gita Dham: Creation of a centre in every Panchayat or group of villages for cleansing the Indian civilization by shifting the focus from external rituals and corruption to the inner values of the Bhagwad-Gita; to produce enlightened and integral human beings; and to create a model of holistic development around the Gita-Dham in every Panchayat that will have zero-incidence of poverty and total education for all as its principal goals, without discriminating between communities.

C)  Minimum physical Infrastructure at a Gita Dham in the first phase: A) A temple of the Bhagwad-Gita; B) A permanent or semi-permanent hall or auditorium (with at least one attached room, and a reception shed) with a minimum seating capacity of 200 (270m² / 2,900 ft2), which will act as an auditorium for the Total Education Centre with an LED TV screen of 48” or more, an inverter or generator for power back-up, a DVD player and a PA System; C) A Livelihood Solution Centre of similar dimensions ((270m² / 2,900 ft2), with at least one attached room, and a reception shed, which will also act as a production centre for cottage industry goods to be produced jointly by villagers; D) A few store rooms; E) A small library room; F) Accommodation for key full-time management staff ; G) A kitchen; H) Washrooms; I) A barbed wire or other fencing.

D)     Mode of operation: The Gita Dhams will be built by the local people from their own land and other resources, and will be self-sustaining. They will themselves contribute the labour too. However, in the beginning, a few larger Gita Dham Centres may be constructed to provide a model, and to train the human resource of the village centres by obtaining external funding too. The rough cost of a model Block-Level Gita Dham Centre will be around 3 crore Indian rupees (5,35,715 USD), and of a State-Level Gita Dham Centre, Rs. 10 crore Indian Rupees (17,85,715 USD).

Virtues of Vegetarianism: Modern Reasons for Changing to an Ancient Practice

Though in the Hebrew Bible is recorded the belief that in the paradise the earliest human being had not eaten flesh, evidence suggests that the Homo Sapiens had developed a taste for meat soon after they found themselves on the mundane earth.  In a global perspective, vegetarianism would not be found to be a very prominent strain in the cultural make up of the peoples of the larger parts of the world.    In spite of the often repeated belief credited to the findings of science that the human food canal is so designed by nature as to be friendly to vegetarian food alone, the carnivorous tendencies of the human beings across the gamut of time and space have been found to be amazingly strong.  Eating of animal flesh, sometimes combined with cannibalism, found widespread endorsement among the prehistoric tribal religions, which dominated the globe prior to the emergence of the major world religions of the day.  Though cannibalism has declined amongst the existing tribal people with the growth of civilisation, consumption of animal flesh has by all accounts remained largely undiminished.  Hinduism, the oldest among the major religions of the day has not been completely unequivocal in renouncing animal sacrifice and flesh eating, with mainly the dominant Vaishnav sects unambiguously advocating complete avoidance of animal sacrifice and eating of meat, fowl and fish.  In the Christian world, vegetarianism has found favour in actual practice among very few sects like the Seventh Day Adventists who have always constituted a tiny minority.  Few votaries of vegetarianism can be found in the Islamic world, although some Sufi mystics did recommend a meatless diet for spiritual aspirants.  Jainism and Buddhism in India were more unequivocal about the killing of animals and Buddhism carried the practice to north and east of the world as far as China and Japan.  However, in many countries which came under the influence of the Buddhistic compassion a large class of interpreters allowed themselves to be served meat of a carcass if someone else supplied it.  In some countries fish were included in an otherwise fleshless diet.  In short, the sublimating influence of the more advanced religions of the world could also not persuade the larger part of humanity to stop cruelty to animals for satiating their palate.

In the pre-modern era, the main grounds on which vegetarianism was advocated were ethical and philosophic.  Though vegetarianism was practised in India much before the birth of Christ, the first major boost to vegetarianism came around the middle of the Ist millennium BC more or less simultaneously in India and in Eastern Mediterranean lands as part of the philosophical awakening of the time.  In India, Buddhists and Jains led the movement, whereas in the Mediterranean lands it was the philosophy of Pythagoras and his followers that gave it a thrust.  The Pythagorean believed that the kinship of all animals was one basis for human benevolence towards other creatures that should not be killed for food.  From Plato onward many Pagan philosophers, e.g. Epicures, Plutarch and particularly the Neoplatonists recommended a fleshless diet on principles of cosmic harmony in accord with which human beings could live.  In the medieval era too the practice of vegetarianism was promoted mostly by religious and philosophical movements, but at few places in the world vegetarianism as a cultural practice and a way of life could gain as wide an acceptance through the ancient and medieval periods as in India. This was certainly in large measure due to the fact that religion remained the predominant factor in the life of Indians from the prehistoric times and most religions of the Indic origin preached compassion for all living beings with varying degrees of emphasis.  In the medieval times, the practice was further reinforced by the surge of  Bhakti Movement. It was only after the advent of the modern period, especially in the 20th century, that vegetarianism in practice started witnessing a sharp decline under the influence of the West, which had never practised vegetarianism as a way of life on a large scale.

History is full of ironies.  Until recently the lacto-vegetarian way of life was practised in India by the majority and shunned in the West by most.  In an ironical reversal of the situation, now it is the West that has come up in favour of the lacto-vegetarian way of life, although there it still represents the norm rather than the actual practice.  The change in the outlook this time has not been occasioned by religious faith or philosophical awakening.  It has also not really been caused by a concern for the survival of other creatures on earth.  Interestingly, this time the attitudinal change has been brought about by mankind's concern for his own survival.  The architect of this transformation has been science and not philosophy.

Scientific research in the recent times has shown that a vegetarian diet has several advantages over a non-vegetarian one.  A number of scientific surveys have confirmed that vegetarians tend to be lighter in weight, or rather closer to the desirable weight than the meat eaters.  This thesis may be earnestly contested by many of the television viewers in India who have watched Mr. T.N. Seshan canvassing for vegetarianism.  It must be conceded that Mr. Seshan's fulsome figure does not do full justice to the ideals of vegetarianism. However, it may be borne in mind that Mr. Seshan is always an exception rather than the rule. Scientific research has also established that the greater the degree of adherence to vegetarianism the lower the blood cholesterol tends to be which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease.  Mr.R.L.Philips in  ' Role of life style and dietary habits in risk of cancer among Seventh Day Adventists’ has recorded the results of a survey on the Seventh Day Adventists, which show that the members of this Christian Sect had lower mortality rates than the general population from cancer. A study in the Great Britain by P.N. Sweetnam and M.L. Burr provides evidence of reduced mortality from heart disease among vegetarians.  It is today widely known that dietary fibre has a great role to play in keeping at bay many ailments.   However, it is perhaps not as widely known that the fibrous looking animal flesh or meat as well as other animal food products do not contain any dietary fibre. Plant food, on the other hand, contains a lot.  Another feature which has drawn the attention of the scientific community in favour of vegetarianism is that the cholesterol generated in the human body comes from animal sources, which contain a lot of it.    This is one reason why food scientists recommend use of vegetable oils as cooking medium, especially those, which do not contain saturated fat and do not freeze at room temperature, rather than butter or 'ghee' (clarified butter) drawn from animal milk.  This has been already known for long that a non-vegetarian diet, especially the animal flesh, puts the human digestive system to considerable stress, which has adverse consequences for the whole system.  In addition, since meat is procured usually from the market, it is not often fresh; and if the stuff is in a degenerative state, it is fraught with formidable risks.

                A controversy as to whether a vegetarian diet could meet all our nutritional needs dragged on for some time in the past.  It is widely accepted now that a lacto-vegetarian diet can provide us with all the nutrients and a number of nutrients provided by such diets often exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowance.  It has been widely known for quite sometime that fruits and green vegetables provide vitamins and minerals in abundance.  Doubts were, however, expressed regarding the ability of the lacto-vegetarian diet to meet the protein requirements of the human body.  Sometime back the issue was widely debated among the scientists but thanks to the findings of research which are widely accepted now it has been established that a lacto-vegetarian diet can easily meet the protein needs of adults and children if they are properly planned.  A purely vegetarian diet, it is well settled now, can provide adequate amounts of all the nine essential amino acids.  It may be recalled that milk from animal sources forms part of a normal vegetarian diet regimen.  The modern western concept of vegetarianism includes eggs too.  The non-fertilised eggs or the eggs which are produced without the agency of a cock (the farm eggs in the market are produced without cocks) do not have potential for life and have been accepted as a part of vegetarian food by many since no harm is caused to life in consuming them, just as in the case of milk.  These animal protein sources which form part of vegetarian food are also excellent sources of all the essential amino acids and they are also admitted to be higher in biologic value than meat. The traditional Indian concept of vegetarianism does not include eggs, and it is established that a vegetarian diet with milk and without eggs is sufficient to take care of all our nutritional needs including the protein needs. Due to unusual concentration of cholesterol in the egg yellow, consumption of too many eggs is not recommended even in the West. The protein controversy related to vegetarian diet has been, therefore, finally laid to rest.

                In scientific acceptance of vegetarianism, discovery of abundant protein in the plant kingdom has been important. However, more than protein, it is the ecological concern that has given impetus to the movement that has built up in favour of vegetarianism in many places in the world. A diet that includes a large proportion of food of animal origin places a drain on the meagre natural resources, namely fuel, water, and land. A vegetarian diet has a favourable ecological effect because a much smaller quantity of grain and legumes is required for feeding people directly than for feeding animals. This has the effects of less land being needed for cultivation and less fuel being required for making fuel-based fertilisers, operating agricultural machinery, and transporting and storing food. A vegetarian way of life also makes lesser demands on water that may be needed for maintaining livestock and rearing crops for animal feed. Clearly, it would be possible to feed many more people a vegetarian rather than a meat-based diet. However, the question that painfully and unceasingly glimmers in the eyes of an animal is neither scientific nor ecological: How long will man take in his journey towards civilisation to be mindful of the suffering of other sentient beings that happen to share the planet with him, and how long will he take to expand the scope of his ethics of non-violence and civilised behaviour to include other living beings whom he sacrifices to the cravings of his own poor palate?