Ākāśāt Patitaṃ: Many Forms, One Reality

Image
Adi Shankara: The image that's stayed with me forever Sanskrit and shlokas have always fascinated me. The sheer vastness of Sanskrit literature is humbling. There are enough verses, texts, commentaries and traditions to occupy many lifetimes, and still leave one feeling that one has barely scratched the surface. But I didn't think much about any of this when I was growing up. I would recite shlokas in the morning and evening without fail. They were simply part of life. The words were there, the rituals were there, the temples were there—but much of it happened in the background. I was busy with academics. There was no time for Sanskrit or Vedanta. At least, that is what I used to tell myself. Of course, time was never really the problem. I could spend five days watching a Test match from morning to evening and somehow consider that perfectly legitimate use of my time! The truth was simpler: Sanskrit and Vedanta had not yet become priorities. Gr...
Post a Comment

Vande Mataram

The last thing in the world that I thought could generate a controversy was India's National song Vande Mataram that has seen several generations sing this wonderful composition epitomizing the glory of the motherland. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee rendered a brilliant verse that was so easy for the Indian nationalists to identify with. It generated within a sense of patriotic feeling towards the land. The reverence and respect associated with the song was laced with magnificient description of nature. The verse stirs the souls of the countrymen and instills within an unexplainable feeling.

The centenary of the national song happens to fall on September 7th, and initially, the Government had made it mandatory to sing the song in educational institutions. But, later the Govt. had to mend its stance, thanks to the secular nature of the country. Obviously, certain sections of the society had to be appeased, who were adding a communal and political string to the national song. A song that depicts so much about the motherland is drawing flak for all the wrong reasons. People should first of all realise that it is a secular country, and the larger interests of the country comes first before anything. Surely, no religion goes against peace, but the way the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari has been making statements does not augur well for the land. As such, there are a lot of vested interests in the country vying for political mileage, and an issue which should have been handled in a better way has been blown out of proportion by all concerned, creating a deep split among different sections of the society.

Issuing a fatwa against the country's national song - unheard of, but then India is a secular country!

Comments

Post a Comment