मर्यादा  पुरुषोत्तम  श्री राम 

श्रीराम  एक  प्रकाश  हैं, ज्ञान  के  स्वरुप  हैं  और  विश्राम  भी  हैं।  वे  वेदों  और  भारतीय  संस्कृति  के  प्राण  हैं।  आदि  कवि  श्री  वाल्मिकी  जी   ने  राम  नाम  के  प्रताप  को  पहचाना , जिन्होंने  उल्टा  नाम  'मरा -मरा '

जपकर भी पवित्रता  प्राप्त  की।  राम  एक  जीवन  यात्रा  है , यह  जीवन  जीने  की  एक  पद्धति  है।   राम राज्य  में  सभी  मनुष्य  परस्पर  प्रेम  से  तथा  अपने  धर्मों   की  नीति(मर्यादा)  के  अनुसार   रहते  थे। इस राम राज्य  की हमे अत्यंत आवश्यकता  है।   राम  नाम  एक  मणि  है  और  हमारी सारी  समस्याओं  का  समाधान  है।  राम  नाम  की  महिमा  अकथनीय  है, यह   एक  सुखसागर  है। जब  मनुष्य के जीवन में धर्म का प्राकट्य होता है तब श्री राम जीवन में आते हैं। और  तभी मनुष्य को  वास्तविक आनंद की प्राप्ति होती है। 

 नौमि  तिथि  मधु  मास  पुनीता। सुकल  पच्छ  अभिजित  हरिप्रीता।।

मध्य  दिवस  अति  सीत  न  धामा।  पावन  काल  लोक  बिश्रामा।।

धन्य हैं  हम कि  हमारा जन्म भारतवर्ष में हुआ है| गर्व है हमें हिन्दू होने पर जिसमे उदारता और सहिष्णुता का पाठ सिखाया गया है।  हिमालय के पास ऊँचाई  है पर गहराई नहीं।  समुद्र के पास गहराई है पर ऊँचाई  नहीं । हिन्दू  धर्म में दोनों है। हिन्दू धर्म में आचरण की ऊँचाई  है तथा दर्शन की गहराई है।  धन्य है यह देश जहाँ प्रभु का अवतरण मानव स्वरुप में होता है ताकि हम मानव की तरह जीना सीखें। राम धर्म के मूर्तिमाण स्वरूप हैं । श्रीराम मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम हैं।  धर्म का एक स्वरुप मर्यादा भी है। श्रीराम की मर्यादा  जीवन के हर क्षेत्र में आए यही रामनवमी है। मर्यादा हमारे आचरण  व्यबहार में आ जाये तो इससे व्यक्ति , परिवार , समाज , राष्ट्र , विश्व का कल्याण होगा। नदियाँ  और समुद्र अगर अपनी  मर्यादा में रहती है तभी कल्याणकारी कार्य करती है। परन्तु जब नदियाँ अपनी मर्यादा को तोड़ती हैं तो विनाश लाती है।  इसी प्रकार से मनुष्य जब अपनी मर्यादा में रहता है तो मंगलकारी होता है। 

राम सत्य हैं  और धर्म का स्वरुप भी सत्य पर आधारित है। और इसी सत्य से परस्पर आत्मीयता के बीज प्रस्फूटित होते हैं।  अपने अंदर के आसुरी शक्तियों को मारना ही सही मायने में रामनवमी मानना है।

 KAUTILYA’S   CONCEPT   OF   KINGSHIP :  Can  it  be    relevant  in  today’s  scenario

Every philosopher and ideologue has given his philosophy/ideology to address the needs of the society at that period of time. It is true that implementing all of their ideologies in the present scenario may not be practical but it is also true that that totally rejecting all of them would not be wise.

There are many philosophies and teachings of Kautilya , in his book  ARTHASHASHTRA which can be of great help in reviving our gradually decaying political system. It can act as a guiding light for today’s polity. Understanding his concept of kingship can be the key to achieve good governance. His philosophy of time management , discipline , honesty and devotion of king to his subjects is of great essence in the present condition of Indian polity. It can be highly useful for improving the political work culture of our nation which is badly in need of such a guiding philosophy. Some of his many useful teachings are described in detail below.

People suffering from anarchy first elected Manu to be their king and allotted  one-sixth of their grain and one-tenth of their merchandise as sovereign dues. Fed by this payment, kings took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining the security and safety of their subjects.The state was conceived as an organic whole, like a human body and it constituent parts called organs (limbs).Seven such limbs of the state were recognised

The elements which constituted  a state were : The king,the group of councillors ,ministers and other high officials(the amatya);the territory of the state along with the population inhabiting it (the janapada) ;the fortified towns and and cities (the durga);the treasury (Kosa,the wealth of the state);the forces (of defence and law and order) and the allies.

     An ideal King is one who has the highest qualities of leadership, intellect, energy and personal attributes. The qualities of leadership (which attracts followers) intellect and prowess, close association with elders, being righteous, truthful, resolute, enthusiastic and disciplined, true to his word ,showing gratitude (to those who help him),having lofty aims, not being dilated and having ministers of high quality.

The qualities of intellect are : desire to learn, listening (to others),grasping,retaining,understanding thoroughly and reflecting on knowledge,rejecting false views and adhering to the true ones.

   An energetic king is one who is valorous,determined,quick and dexterous.

   As regards personal attributes, an ideal king should be eloquent, bold and endowed with a sharp intellect, a strong memory and a keen mind. He should be amenable to guidance. He should be well trained in all the arts and be able to lead the army. He should be just in rewarding and punishing. He should have the foresight to avail himself of the opportunities (by choosing) the right time, place and type ofaction.He should know how to govern in normal times and in times of crises. He should know when to fight and when to make peace, when to observe treaties and when to strike at an enemy’s weakness. He should preserve his dignity at all times and not laugh in an undignified manner. He should be sweet in speech, look straight at people and avoid frowning. He should eschew passion, anger, greed, obstinacy, fickleness and backbiting. He should conduct himself in accordance with the advice of elders.

     The king and his rule encapsulate all the constituents of the state .A king who observe his duty of protecting his people justly, according to law, goes to heaven, unlike one who does not protect his people, or inflicts unjust punishment. A king who flouts the teachings of the Dharmashastras and the Arthashastra, ruins the kingdom by his own injustice.

      The three sciences (philosophy,the three Vedas and economics) are dependent for their development on the science of government because without a just administration, no pursuit of learning or avocation would be possible. Government by the rule of law, which alone can guarantee security of life and welfare of the people is,in turn,dependent on the self –discipline of the king.

For, a trained intellect is the result of learning by hearing; from intellect ensues yoga (successful application); from yoga comes self possession. This is what is meant by efficiency in acquiring knowledge. Only a king who is wise,disciplined,devoted to a just governing of the subjects and ever conscious of the welfare of all being will enjoy the earth unopposed.

 If the king is energetic,his subjects will be equally energetic. If he is slack and lazy in performing his duties the subjects will also be lax,thereby, eat into his wealth. Besides,a lazy king will easily fall prey to the hands of his enemies. Hence, the king should himself always be energetic. He shall divide the day and night,into eight periods of one and a half hours and perform his duties as follows: Day: First 1  ½ hours after sunrise  Receive reports on defence, revenue, and expenture. Second 1 ½ hours after sunrise  Public audiences, to hear petitions of city and country people. Third 1 ½ hours after sunrise 1 ½ hours before noon (personal-bath,meals,study).Receive revenue and tributes; appoint ministers and other high officials and allot tasks to them. First 1 ½ hours after noon Write letters and dispatches; confer with councillors; receive secret information from spies. Second 1 ½ hours after noon (personal-recreation, time for contemplation).Third 1 ½ hours after noon 1 ½ hours before sunset Insepct and review forces. Consult with chief of Defence. The day shall end with evening prayers. Night : First 1 ½ hours after sunset Second 1 ½ hours after sunset Interview with secret agents. (personal- bath, meals, study). 3 hours before and first 1 ½ hours after midnight Second 1 ½ hours after midnight  (Retire to the bed chamber to the sound of music; sleep.) After waking to the sound of music, meditate on political matters and on the work to be done. Third 1 ½ hours after midnight 1 ½ hours before sunrise (Religious, household and personal duties; meetings with his teacher, adviser on rituals, purohita, personal physician, chief cook and astrologer.)

 At daybreak, he shall circumambulate a cow, its calf and a bull,and then proceed to his court. (A king is, therefore, is allowed 10 ½ hours out of twenty four as his personal time-three hours for bath and meals, one and a half hours for recreation and six hours at night, during which he can sleep for four and a half hours.The hour and a half before sunrise is to be spent on palace affairs and personal  needs.Out  of the twelve hours each day to be spent on state duties, one and a half hours are to be devoted to public audiences,three hours to defence, three hours to secret consultations and intelligence and the balance four and  a half hours on the administration of the state.)

   The above is only a suggestion and the king may, in accordance with his capacity, alter the timetable and carry out his duties.

   

  IN THE HAPPINESS OF HIS SUBJECTS LIES HIS HAPPINESS; IN THEIR WELFARE HIS WELFARE. HE SHALL NOT CONSIDER AS GOOD ONLY THAT WHICH PLEASES HIM BUT TREAT AS BENEFICIAL TO HIM WHATEVER PLEASES HIS SUBJECTS.

Hence the king shall be ever active in the management of the economy. The root of wealth is economic activity and lack of it brings material distress.In the absence of fruitful economic activity, both current prosperity and future growth will be destroyed. A king can achieve the desired objectives and abundance of riches by undertaking productive economic activity.

A ruler’s duties in the internal administration of the country are three –fold: raksha or protection of the state from external aggression, palana or maintenance of law and order within the state, and YOGAKSHEMA or safeguarding the welfare of the people.

 The functions of the state was the security of life and property,administration of justice,maintenance of economiccontrol including nationalisation of trade and industry maintenance of proper relation  between members of  a family,and the strict observance of rules  prescribed by religion or social custom and etiquette.The state duty is confined not only  management of large scale trade and industry,and exercise of effective control over every profession and occupation,and even public amusements, but it also lays down what should be the proper relation  between husband and wife,father and son,brother and sister.

The duty of the state to protect the helpless,the aged,and the orphan,and save the people from effect of natural calamities. That is the reason kautilya laid great stress on education and moral training to the future king. Kautilya  gives great importance to the power of the people. The ministers about whom the Arthashastra says “sovereignty is possible only with assistance.A single wheel can never move.Hence the king shall employ ministers and and hear their opinion”

Thus according to Kautilya ,to achieve good governance, machinery of the government must be accountable and responsible.

REFERENCE:
1. Kautilya's Arthashashtra 

THE   THREE   MARTYRS   WHO   SHAPED  INDIA’S  FUTURE

The nation salutes these great souls who laid down their lives for the freedom of  the nation. Their unconditional service to nation and never tiring attitude can act as the perfect role model for today’s youth. The present day self-centred youth can take a leaf out of their books and that will be highly beneficial  for our country. People like them are badly needed by our country for tackling many POST-INDEPENDENCE crises that have enveloped our country. Here it is worth mentioning to share the vision of the young man, Bhagat Singh about 'the India after independence'. He said that in independent India role of corporate should be limited and farmers interests should be protected. The present leaders of India should respect his vision and frame the policies accordingly.

BHAGAT  SINGH

Bhagat Singh( 27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a great freedom fighter,  considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He was one of the most prominent faces of the Indian Freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh was born in September 1907  to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati at Chak No. 105, GB, Banga village, Jaranwala Tehsil in the Lyallpur district of the Punjab Province of British India.  His whole family boasted of many freedom fighters. His ancestral village was Khatkar Kalan, near the town of Banga in Nawanshahr district (now renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) of Punjab. Unlike many Sikhs of his age, Singh did not attend the Khalsa High School in Lahore. Instead, he was enrolled in the Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School (D A V), an Arya Samaji institution. At the age of 14, he was among those in his village who welcomed protestors against the killing of a large number of unarmed people at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib on 20 February 1921. He became disillusioned with Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence after Gandhi called off the non-cooperation movemen. After this he came to the conclusion that armed revolution was the only way of ending colonialism in India. Hence he became involved in numerous revolutionary organisations and formed a union of revolutionaries by the name NAUJAVAN BHARAT SABHA. He started propagating the message of armed revolution in Punjab. In 1928 he came in contact with CHANDRASHEKHAR AZAD and the two likeminded revolutionaries formed the HINDUSTAN SAMAJWADI PRAJATANTRA SANGHA.   

Seeking revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police, Singh was involved in the murder of British police officer John Saunders. Soon after, together with Batukeshwar Dutt,  he threw two bombs and some leaflets inside the Central Legislative Assembly while chanting slogans of  INQUILAB ZINDABAD  and  DEATH TO COLONIALISM. The two men were arrested, as they had planned to be. Held on this charge, he gained widespread national support when he underwent a 116-day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for British and Indian political prisoners. During this time, sufficient evidence was brought against him for a conviction in the Saunders case, after trial by a Special Tribunal and appeal at the Privy Council in England. He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his participation in the murder, aged 23.  

Bhagat Singh gained immense public support for his revolutionary acts .

Subhas Chandra Bose said that  "Bhagat Singh had become the symbol of the new awakening among the youth”

Rajguru

Shivaram Hari Rajguru (24 August 1908 – 23 March 1931) was a great revolutionary and freedom fighter from Khed, near Pune . He was an accomplice of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev, and took part in the murder of a British police officer, J. P. Saunders, at Lahore in 1928. The reason behind the murder was to avenge the death of veteran leader Lala Lajpat Rai who died due to injuries sustained during a police beating. 

He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, who wanted India to be freed from British rule by any means whether violent or non violent . Rajguru was only 23 years old when he was hanged but his martyrdom was not in vain for it inspired the youth to take up cudgels against oppression from Britishers .

Sukhdev

Sukhdev was born in LUDHIANA in Punjab. He was also a great revolutionary as well as a freedom fighter. As a child he had witnessed the cruelty of the British rulers towards the Indian. This impelled him to fight for a free India and as a result he joined the HINDUSTAN SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN ASSOCIATION. He collaborated with Bhagat Singh and founded the NAUJAWAN BHARAT SABHA to inspire the youth of India to join the freedom struggle. He was also involved in the murder of J.P SAUNDERS, along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru. Sukhdev along with his associates was arrested after the bombing of the CENTRAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY on 8^th April 1929. While in jail he was involved in the prison hunger strike of 1929. He was just 24 years old when he was martyred for the country

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy case and ordered to be hanged on 24 March 1931. They were hanged on 23 March 1931 at 7:30 pm  in the Lahore jail.  The government was wary of the public reaction so instead of handing over the dead bodies to their relatives they were put into gunny bags and smuggled out through the back wall. A truck carried the gunny bags to the banks of the Satluj river near FIROZPUR. There the bodies were disposed off in the river but the public got the wind of the affair and reached the river banks. They then collected the bodies of all the three and took them to the village where they were given a proper funeral. That place is now known HUSSAINIWALA

CULTURAL GLORY OF BIHAR
 

(11th August 1942; These 7 young students got riddled by British bullets while trying to hoist the Indian national flag at the Bihar secretariat building. The students were: UMAKANT PRASAD SINGH, RAMANAND SINGH, SATISH PRASAD JHA, JAGPATI KUMAR , DEVIPAD CHOWDHARY  , RAJENDRA SINGH,GOVIND SINGH )

Bihar is known for its rich cultural and spiritual beauty and it has given tremendous contribution to the world as well as it has numerous eminent personalities.

                              The ‘Bihar’ is derived from sanskrit and pali word vihara which means "abode".The word Vihara is itself derived from the word Brahmavihara,meaning 'Brahma abidings,'or "sublime attitudes".Ancient Bihar,known as Magadha,was the center of power,learning,and culture in India for 1000 year.Buddhism arose from the region that now makes modern Bihar.The history of BIHAR CAME INTO SHAPE WITH THE EMERGENCE OF Bimbisara.Udayin is attributed the credit of founding the city of Patliputra.Many emperors,includidg Ashoka,the great had their capitals in patliputra. Besides we also find many smaller dynasties that emerged in the territory of Bihar , viz. Sungas, kanvas, Kushanas, etc. magadha empires, notably under the maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South asia under a central rule.Its capital patna, earlier known as Patliputra, was an important political, military and economic centre of Indian civilization during the ancient and classical period of history.Many of the ancient Indian text, written outside of religious epics were written in ancient Bihar.Abhignanasakuntala was the most prominent. 

One of the first known republics in the world, Licchvi existed in the region since before the birth of Mahavira. The classical Gupta dynasty of Bihar  was known to have been a period of great culture and learning inside India. The Gupta period is known today as The Golden Age of India. The Pala empire also made their capital at Patliputra. During the medieval period, the history of Bihar saw the emergence of Muslim rulers. The first Muslim ruler in this territory was Mohammad Bin Bakhtiar Khilji. Subsequently the throne of Bihar came under the domain of the Tughluqs and the Mughals. After that Bihar played a small role in the Indian affairs, untill the emergence of Suri dynasty during the Islamic period in the 1540s. After the fall of Suri dynasty in 1556, Bihar again became a marginal player in India and was the staging post  for Bengal presidency fromm 1750s and upto the war of 1857-58. Under the Mughals, Bihar emerged as a prosperous territory. After the decline of Mughals, Nawabs came in the political scenario of Bihar.But the British defeated the Nawabs in the battle of Buxar in 1764 and established their supremacy over Bihar.Under the British, the history of Bihar says, Bihar was the part of Bengal presidency . In 1936, Bihar and Orissa emerged as separate provinces. Besides, the state of Jharkhand, including the forest tract of Chhotanagpur plateau and the Santhal pargana, was culled from. 

   Bihar had four kingdoms 1. Mithila(videh),videh was ruled by Janak"sita.s father. 

2.Vaishali, it derives its name from king Vishal,whose heroic deeds are narrated in the "Ramayana."

3.Anga  ,was a kingdom ruled by non vedic rulers, and

4. Magadah .The  area of Patna and Gaya constituted the ancient Magadh kingdom having it's capital at RAJGRIHA.Magadha was a kingdom ruled by non-vedic kings.

Jarasandha was the greatest among them during epic times.The mauryan Empire was one of the largest empirees to rule India.The Maryan Empire is known for Arthasastra by Kautilya (chanakya) ,the rock Edicts of Asoka,and the Lion capital of Asokaat sarnath which today serves as the emblem of India.

MUHAMMAD KHILJI   raided Bihar in 1193 and his troops burned and destroyed the famous Buddhist universities of Nalanda and Vikramuila;which are the oldest universities in the world as well as the the highest state of higher education in India.Here he committed documentattion executions and had the monks beheaded,while others burned.He killed 15,000 scholars and faculty of Nalanda uniiversity and razed the entire building complex to the ground.He burnt the library at Nalanda .

 Bihar 's role in the history of India's struggle for freedom has been significant.Babu kunwar singh (1777-1858) one of the leaders of the Indian uprising of 1857 belonged to Jagdishpur.After return from south Africa, it was from Bihar champaran satyagrah received the spontaneous support from many Biharis.

Raj Kumar Shukla maintained a diary in which he has given an account of struggle against the attrocities against the indigo planters, attrocities so movingly depicted by Dinabandhu Mitra in Nil Darpan, a play that was translated by Michael Madhusudan Dutt. This movement of Mahatma gandhi received the spontaneous support of a cross section of people, including Dr Rajendra Prasad, Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Sinha, Dr Anugrah Narain Sinha and Braj Kishore Prasad. Shaheed Baikuntha Shukla, another great nationalist from Bihar who was hanged for murdering Phanindra Nath Ghosh who had become a government approver whichledto hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.

EMINENT PERSONALITIES OF BIHAR

  

 MAHARSHI VALMIKI

Valmiki wrote the famous epic RAMAYANA

ASHTRAVAKRA

The child was born with his body crooked in eight places,and was named Ashtavakra (one with eight deformations) was very mature in wisdom.

RAJA JANAK

Janak was the kings of videha kingdom.Their capital was Mithila,which is believed to be present day Janakpur,Nepal. The janakas were known to versed in the knowledge of the Atman,and remained free from attachments even while living as householders.

MAHAVIRA

Lord mahavira is the twenty-fourth Tirthankar. He was born in 599 B.C.at kshatriyakund which was a part of the well known Vaishali republic. Mahavira made religion simple and natural

BUDDHA

Siddhartha Gautam was born around 566 BC in Kapilvastu. He established Bauddha Dharma. The two main goals of Buddhism are getting to know ourselves and learning the Buddha’s teachings.

PANINI

Panini, the ancient Indian Sanskrit grammarian was a person who provided the Sanskrit with a strong grammatical base and made it one of the most perfect languages in the world

.

ARYABHATTA

Aryabhatta was born in 476 AD in Patliputra (Patna) and was lived during the reign of Gupta rulers, which was the golden time in India. Aryabhatta is the author of several treatise in Mathematics and astronomy.

CHANAKYA

Chanakya, also known as Kautilya or Vishnuguptha was the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, the first real emperor of India. He was a shrewd diplomat and cunning policy maker. Arthashashtra and Chanakyaneeti are considered as the works of Chanakya.

ASHOKA

Ashoka,the Mauryan emperor and grandson of Chandragupta Maurya was born in 304 BC and was a great warrior. Later on he adopted Budhism and made it the State religion and took many measures to spread it.

SAMUDRAGUPTA

Samudragupta (335-380) was the greatest king of Gupta Dynasty who ushered in the golden age in India. He was a benevolent ruler, a great warrior and a patron of arts.

GURU GOVIND SINGH

The 10th and the last Guru of Sikh Guru Govind Singh was the son of Guru Teg Bahadur (9th Guru) and was born in 1666 in Patna. Guru Govind Singh passed on the succession with due ceremony to the Holy book , The Guru Grantha Sahib, ending the line of personal gurus.

BABU KUNWAR SINGH

Kunwar Singh, jamindar of Jagdishpur near Ara was the chief organiser of the fight against British

SWAMI SAHAJANAND SARASWATI

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati was the frontmost leaders of peasantry in Bihar. His social and political activities concentrated mostly on Bihar through his Ashram at Bihta, near Patna. He was associated with freedom struggle.

SRIKRISHNA SINHA

Sri Krishna Sinha, commonly known as Sribabu was the 1st Chief minister of the Indian state of bihar. He remained Chief Minister of Bihar till his death (in 1961) and is considered among one of the architects of modern Bihar.

ANUGRAH NARAIN SINHA

Dr Anugrah Narain Sinha, known as Bihar Bibhuti was the first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of state of Bihar. He is also considered one of the architects of modern Bihar along with Bihar Kesari SriKrishna Singh.

VASISTHA NARAIN SINGH

A world renowned mathematician and an ex-NASA scientist Dr Vasistha Narain Singh challenged works of great scientist Albert Einstien. 

RAM SHARAN SHARMA

Ram Sharan Sharma, a historian of Ancient and early medieval India was born in Barauni, Begusarai district. He wrote 115 books, published in 15 languages had taught in Delhi university and the university of toranto and was a senior fellow at School of oriental and African studies, University of London, UGC national fellow and ex-president of Indian History Congress and a historian of international repute.

VIDYAPATI

The poet Vidyapati was born around 1352 in Bisapi village of Madhubani district (Mithila). Vidyapati's most enduring contribution to Indian Literature is a corpus of over 500 songs in maithili.

RAJENDRA PRASAD

Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first president of the republic of India. He was an independence activist and also served as the president of constituent assembly that drafted the constitution of India. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award.

JAYPRAKASH NARAIN

Bharat Ratna Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain, also known as J.P. was an Indian Independence activist and political leader. He is remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in 1970s.

RAMDHARI SINGH DINKAR

Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, born in Simariya village, Begusarai district was an Indian Hindi poet, essayist and academician. He is considered as one of the most important modern Hindi poets. 

REFERENCES:

1. EXCELENT BOOKS , Incredible Bihar

2. KUMAR SUBODH , The Social Political process and the Economic development of BIHAR

3. SINHA PRASAD BINDESHWARI , Comprehensive history of Bihar

4. VIJAY NAMBISAN , Bihar in the eye of the beholder

5. VERMa B.S , Socio- Religious Economic and Literary Condition of Bihar

INDIAN   KNOWLEDGE  PRODUCING  SOCIETY :  A  SOURCE  OF INSPIRATION  FOR  WESTERN  STALWARTS

The quest for knowledge is the fundamental necessity of civilization. A knowledge society can produce a cultured  , civilized and developed society but the perception of knowledge may be different among  different societies ,  states and nations. Means and end for obtaining knowledge is different among different societies but one thing is obvious and undeniable that knowledge is essential  for development and prosperity .The Indian concept of knowledge producing society is quite different from western method of knowledge producing society.

                  The various saints and sages of Indian society idolised spiritual wealth as the most effective tool to tackle amicably all the burning problems of society but the western concept of  a knowledge  society , a utopian society was a society which mastered in  how to acquire material comfort and material prosperity and that was their sign of development and progress .Sages in  early Indian society tried to strike a balance between spirituality and materialism , they wanted to establish an equilibrium between nature and society  ,which is still regarded as the best and the only judicious way of  sustainable development in India. Their approach for visualising society was quite different .They never exploited nature visa-vis society .They believed in mutual co-operation and establishing a symbiotic relationship between spiritualism and materialism.

                       Diversity as well religious tolerance is our asset not liability it is our strength which fosters innovation and cultural synthesis .Pluralism has been  the character of Indian civilization from the beginning. India has rejected assimilation and ‘melting pot ’model. Instead it prefers “salad bowl”or “glorious mosaic” model in which each cultural ,ethnic and religious communities maintain their own  distinctness.

Mark Twain while visiting India in 1896 said ,”Any thing that can be done by God or man has been done in this land.”

E.P. Thompson ,the great British historian had also noted,”India is perhaps the most important country for the future of the world.All the convergent influences of the world run through this society:Hindu, Muslim ,Christian , Secular ,Stalanist ,Liberal ,Maoist ,Democratic , Socialist, Gandhian. There is not a thought that is being thought in the west or East that is not active in some Indian mind.”

Octavio Paz,the Nobel Laureate from Mexico,wonders about India’s syncretic culture ,he said “Hinduism and Islam are two civilizations occupying a single territory or are they two religions nurtured by a single civilization,it is impossible to say.”

 The UNDP Report, 2004, debunked the notion that cultural diversity leads to clash of civilizations. It said that diversity and protecting minority rights are crucial for development. More importantly,it saw India as an example how “poor and diverse countries can do well with multicultural policies.”The Indian experience suggests that no culture is perfect or represents the best life.Countries and societies benefit from a critical dialogue among cultures.  

Diversity in India is celebration and its all due to our rich spiritual and cultural heritage nurtured by our rishis and munis .It is their penance, sacrifice and spiritual wealth which has attracted many western scholars to visit India for peace and spiritual  enlightenment.

V.S Naipaul   was a great novelist of Indian origin . He came to India because he wanted to find his ancestral roots so that he could get the inner peace and contentment which he could not attain in  the western society.

 E.M.Forster  and Christopher Isherwood were two great authors. They  wanted to adopt the positives of the Indian society to improve the western society as well as to find a remedy for the gradually growing disinterest of west towards spiritualism which was, according to them, the root cause of the declining ethics and quality as well as the social disarray in the western society.

                                                                                                     CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD

 Mirra Richard  , a  French lady  wanted to understand the true purpose of life and was not satisfied with the western ideology.So she embraced Hinduism to find the answer to her queries and to satisfy her inner spirit.

Thomas Macaulay, a BRITISH  historian expected the relationship between India and Britain to be a ONE WAY TRAFFIC but realized that in reality India had a lot to give to the British Empire. He felt that India’s cultural heritage and spiritual integrity were two things that needed to be implemented in British society. In fact he described this relationship as the weirdest of political anomalies.

 James Boswell in early 1760s was the first westerner to come to India not for profit or trade but to impress upon the Indians his views on almost everything ranging from politics to religion but instead he himself got influenced by the spiritual heritage and cultural prowess of the natives. He acted as a role model to the other travellers who later on came to India.

  

  Carl Jung (1930s) was an American psychoanalyst wanted to see the west from the Indian perspective so that he could observe the various defects which had cropped up in the so-called perfect utopian western society.

Martin Luther King Jr (1960s) wanted to study thoroughly the Gandhian teachings and wanted to see them in practice so that he could  implement them in USA to dispel the evil of discrimination from the American society.

       



Thus all these western thinkers came in India for search for truth and spiritual treasure of India which is non-existent in west because in western countries there is material prosperity not spiritual prosperity so they may have external comfort of life but not inner comfort and peace which always has had a catastrophic effect  on the western countries either in various forms like exploitation of nature , inner conflicts or degradation of values ,  ethics ,  morality ,  spirituality in religious principles or humanitarian principles and its impact is felt all over the world due to increasing globalization and the influence of west all over the world.

 SWAMI PRABHUPADA(founder of International society for Krishna consciousness) rightly remarked : In the western world ,theologians have been unable to scientifically present the laws of God or indeed, God himself, and thus in Western intellectual history a rigid dichotomy has arisen between theology and science.In an attempt to resolve this conflict,some theologians have agreed to modify their doctrines so that they conform not only to proven scientific facts but even to pseudoscientific speculations and hypotheses, which,though unproven,are hypocritically included within the realm of “science”.On the other hand,some fanatical theologians disregard the scientific method altogether and insist on the varacity of their antiquated,secretarian dogmas.Thus bereft of systematic Vedic theology,material science has moved into the destructive realm of gross materialism,while speculative Western philosophy has drifted into the superficiality of relativistic ethics and inconclusive linguistic analysis.With so many of the best western minds dedicated to materialistic analysis,naturally much of western religious life,separated from the intellectual mainstream,is dominated by irrational fanaticism and unauthorized mystitic and mystery cults .People have become so ignorant of the science of God that they often lump the Krisna consciousness movement in with this odd assortment of fanciful attempts at theology and religion.Thus dharma,or true religion,which is strict and conscious obedience to God’s law, is diminishing.Truthfulness,is also diminishing ,simply because people do not know what the truth is.Without knowing the absolute truth one cannot clear understand the real significance or purpose of life merely by amassing huge quantities of relative or hypothetical truths.Tolerance or forgiveness ,is diminishing as well,because there is no practical method by which people can purify themselves and thus free of envy.Unless one is purified by chanting the holy names of the Lord in an authorized program of spiritual improvement ,the mind will be overwhelmed by anger ,envy and all sorts of small –mindedness. Thus mercy ,is also decreasing. All living beings are eternally connected by their common participation in the divine existence of God .When this exis tential oneness is obscured through atheism and agnosticism,people are not inclined to be merciful to one another ;they cannot recognize their self-interest in promoting the welfare of other living beings .In fact,people are no longer even merciful to themselves : they systematically destroy themselves through liquor,drugs tobacco,meat eating,and whatever other cheap gratifactory processes are available to them.

                                      In the recent days we are hearing quite a lot about minorities being under threat in India. There have been a few odd church attacks that has given the propangandists some much needed topic for derailing the nation from the path of progress and for diverting the public attention away from progressive ideas .It will be an abomination if such people are allowed to hinder our country’s progress. Discrimination against anyone is not in the gene of Indians. It would be inappropriate to come to any conclusion on these attacks without detailed inquiry. What we are not realising today was realised by many western thinkers in the yester years. Many of them realised that they could not find inner peace in the west and the only destination that came to their mind was India-the land of incomparable cultural and spiritual heritage. Many also came here to find the solutions for the problems in the wetern society, which they expected to find  in India’s spirituality and purity. So to avert a moral disaster it is necessary to prevent being influenced by the western culture.

Mahatma Gandhi once said:”I don’t want my house  to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blow about my house as freely as possible.But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”

          






Thus there is need to preserve and aggrandize our cultural heritage with spiritual ornamentation to stop the bad effects of the wind of change blowing from western countries
.

Aurobindo’s concept of’ MASS  SPIRITUALISM ‘and Deen dayal’s concept of ‘INTEGRAL HUMANISM’ has  solutions to many maligning social problems which are hindering our countriy’s progress. Positive conflict in a multicultural India sometimes innovates new mechanisms to handle Diversity.

As Ralph Miliband(political scientist) rightly said “conflict is not only civilized, but civilizing it is not only a means of resolving problems in a peaceful way, but also of providing new ideas,ensuring progress,achieving ever-greater harmony,and so on. Conflict is “functional”,a stabilizing rather than a disrupting force”. Inspite of some , once in a blue moon conflicts  in India we preserve and nurture diversity with an open heart.

References:

1.       Paine ,Jeffery    -    Father India

2.       Swami Prabhupad  -   Srimad Bhagavatam Twelth Canto

3.       Roy , Ash Narain  -   Celebration of Diversity Key to India’s success ;  Yojana magazine issue: Feb 2015                                                 .