THE ANATOMY OF RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARATHA

“Raamasya ayanam iti Ramayanam”The path followed by Rama is what is Ramayana.The same “Maryada Purushottama” whom all of us consider an idle idol and the book, found nowhere else than in libraries.”Sajjanaanaam hrudayeshu ramate iti Rama:”Ramayana is not just a book but a great tutor for life which we fail to realize.
With the current selfish world,Rama’s deeds would seem foolish to a modern techie,but it is not.Knowledge and values are eternal.Following are a few misconceptions that people have about Rama because of which they don’t consider him to be an ideal idol.
The biggest allegation that we ignorant modern people do about Rama is for having killed King Vaali from behind.Partial knowledge is always dangerous.Perhaps, many of us do not know that Rama called on Vaali and shot him.It was not from behind as the serials show.And moreover,when Vaali was granted the boon that nobody can kill him standing in front of him,his death was destined by a god because he could not be an “Amara”.Infact,Vaali prays Rama’s name realizing him to be Vishnu’s incarnation.Such were the ethics which we cant even think of in present situation.You find most people always attacking you from behind,being your closest from the front!!!!!!! So be aware, and be sincere to whatever you do because as you sow ,so you reap.
People criticize Rama for having made Seetha undergo “Agnipareeksha”.Infact,that is why you never find Rama and Seetha on a wedding invitation. Its not being cruel but being a good ruler(don’t say like the politicians we have today!!!!!!!!) Its actually his greatness that he resorted to such an extreme step just to preserve his morality and to justify himself.Having refrained from it would make him a good husband, but not a good ruler.And it is only those values of selfless Rama that makes him a part our Pooja room.One should always think about interest of a larger group of people than being selfish.If all the people in this world followed this,there would really be no miseries.
We could perhaps go on and on describing Ramayana,indicating its values and their eternity,but as I said,Ramayana should come out of paper into the minds of people.People used to consider “Arun Govil”,the Rama of Ramanand’s Ramayan as a god.That is the caliber of Rama’s character. Believe me,reading Ramayana is much much interesting than any entertainment channel or politics!!So,the rest of the Ramayana is left for you all as an exercise!!!!!!

Coming to Mahabharatha,A Microsoft word document would fall short to summarize it at least.The “bhagavadgita” ,on whose name people swear in court is a part of Mahabharatha.It is the ultimate teacher of mankind.The verses of Mahabharatha hold their eternity because there is always good and bad,may that be dwaparayuga or kaliyuga,but the truth always wins.Lord Krishna,the “Saarthi” is indeed a “Saarthi”. Its a pity that the first thought that many people get in mind about Krishna is that he had 16000 wives and was always surrounded by Gopikas!!!!True but the marriages and relationships then are no where in phase with today’s relationships where a divorce is a free package with marriage!!!!People marry money than the bride.Nowhere in Mahabharatha,do we encounter any of Krishna’s wives complaining about him.
Sudhama,Krishna’s poor friend came to seek his help with no hopes and Krishna was there with him throughout his life.Just compare that with today’s friends.People get new friends and the old friends get vanished.We perhaps would take a lifetime to think “who is my best friend”. Friendship, or any other relationship for that matter is divine and derive examples from great mythological ages.If we follow even an atom of it,world would be such a beautiful place.Always value your relationships because God always does good to good people,”der he par Andher nahi!!!” And,regarding the biggest misconception that Krishna had lied in the Kurukshethra,this would probably be an enlightenment because people know only half the truth and believe that ignorance is bliss!!! The Sanskrit epic of mahabharatha says, Krishna delivered the sentence “Ashwaththaama hata: kunjara:” ,the elephant named Ashwaththaama is killed and the shankha was blown as the utterance of the word “kunjaraha “started which made the above statement sound “Ashwaththaama hataha” meaning Ashwaththaama is dead!!!!!What an intentional miscommunication!!!!So people accusing Krishna of lying, hold on.
Considering both the epics,we need to extract the values and ethics that makes us a person who carries weight.There is a lot to learn from everybody. Infact, Ravana is the biggest Maathrubhakta and Shivabhaktha ever.So,this is a sincere request to everybody,especially those who challenged existence of Rama and Rama sethu recently,stop questioning integrity of god and follow atleast basic human values!!!Afterall,what humanity is it to be the critique of ubiquitous God who has given us this “manava janma”.Inspite of all this,God always helps man saying,

“Paritraanaaya Saadhoonam vinaashaaya cha dushkrutaam
Dharma sansthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge”
“Sarve janaaha sukhino bhavantu”
“hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
Hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare”

--By Pavan H. S

PERSON TO BE REMEMBERED BY US

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in Tirutani on September 5, 1888 into a poor brahmin family. His father Sarvepalli Veeraswami was employed on a meagre salary in the zamindari. His mother's name was Sitamma. It was difficult for Radhakrishnan's father to educate him with a meagre income and a large family to take care of.
Radhakrishnan went through most of his education on scholarships. He initially went to school in Tirutani and then to the Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati for his high school. He joined the Voorhee's College in Vellore but switched to the Madras Christian College at the age of 17. He chose philosophy as his major and attained a B.A. and M.A. in the field. He was afraid that his M.A. thesis, "The Ethics of the Vedanta" would offend his philosophy professor, Dr. A.G. Hogg. Instead, Dr. Hogg commended Radhakrishnan on doing an excellent job. Radhakrishnan's M.A. thesis was published when he was only 20.

Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakamuamma at the age of 16 while still in Vellore. Radhakrishnan accepted an Assistant Lectureship at the Madras Presidency College in 1909. While at the College, he mastered the classics of Hindu philosophy, namely the Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutra, and commentaries of Sankara, Ramunuja and Madhava. He also acquainted himself with Buddhist and Jain philosophy. At the same time he read philosophical commentaries of Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Bradley, and Bergson. Later on in his life, he studied Marxism and Existentialism.
In 1914, in a strange twist of fate, Radhakrishnan met Srinivasa Ramanujan, the mathematical genius. Srinivasa was leaving for Cambridge for studies and had come to seek Radhakrishnan's blessings because a goddess came in his dream and told him to do so before undertaking the trip. The two never met again.
In 1918, Radhakrishnan was selected as Professor of Philosophy by the University of Mysore. By the time, Radhakrishnan had written many articles for journals of repute like The Quest, Journal of Philosophy and the International Journal of Ethics. He completed his first book "The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore." He believed Tagore's philosophy to be the "genuine manifestation of the Indian spirit." Radhakrishnan's second book, "The Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy" was published in 1920.
Radhakrishnan's books and articles, drew the attention of Ashutosh Mookerjee, Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University. He nominated Radhakrishnan to the prestigious George V Professor of Philosophy at the Calcutta University, 1921. In 1923, Dr. Radhakrishnan's "Indian Philosophy" was published. The book was in response to the request made by Prof. J. H. Muirhead, to write a book on Indian philosophy for the Library of Philosophy. Radhakrishnan accomplished this mammoth task by producing a systematic and readable account of Indian philosophy. The book was hailed as a "philosophical classic and a literary masterpiece."
Radhakrishnan was called to Oxford University, England, to deliver the prestigious "Upton Lectures" on "The Hindu View of Life." The lectures were followed by an invitation to head the Department of Comparative Religion at Oxford. A philanthropist, Spalding, created a professorship for Radhakrishnan to teach Religion and Ethics at Oxford.
Radhakrishnan used his lectures as a platform to further India's cause for freedom. He thundered, "India is not a subject to be administered but a nation seeking its soul." He would graphically describe the "shame of subjection and the lines of sorrow" apparent on every Indian's face.
In 1931, Radhakrishnan was elected Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University. The University was in a state of stagnation. Radhakrishnan restructured the Honors and Post- Graduate teaching in Humanities and Languages, and Science and Technology Departments from scratch. By the time he left in 1936, he had transformed the University into a robust and well-recognized institution.
In 1939, Radhakrishnan became the Vice Chancellor of the Benaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, founded by Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya. The University was under pressure from the Governor, Sir Maurice Hallet, to turn the campus into a war hospital in response to the Quit India Movement launched by Gandhiji and the Congress. Radhakrishnan rushed to Delhi and successfully persuaded the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, to halt the Governor's action. The Governor instead suspended financial support to the University. Radhakrishnan went on "a Begging Pilgrimage," to collect funds from sympathizers and philanthropists. When Malaviyaji retired from University work completely, the Benaras Hindu University requested Radhakrishnan's services for an indefinite period which Radhakrishnan acquiesced to.

After independence on August 15, 1947, Radhakrishnan was requested to Chair the University Education Commission in 1948. The Radhakrishnan Committee's suggestions helped mould the education system for India's needs.
In 1949, Dr. Radhakrishnan was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union. The appointment raised many eyebrows because people wondered what kind of an impression Radhakrishnan, a student of idealist philosophy, would make on Joseph Stalin, an ardent communist. In 1950, Radhakrishnan was called to the Kremlin to meet with the Premier. This was rather irregular. Radhakrishnan was accompanied by Indian Embassy Minister, Rajeshwar Dayal and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Vyshinsky and interpreter Pavlov. Radhakrishnan told Stalin, "We had an emperor in India who, after bloody victory, renounced war and became a monk. You have waded your way to power through force. Who knows that might happen to you also." Radhakrishnan was referring to Stalin's infamous "bloody" purges. Stalin smiled and replied, "Yes, miracles do happen sometimes. I was in a theological seminary for five years!"
On April 5, 1952, a few days before Radhakrishnan's departure for India, Stalin called on Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan records Stalin's face being bloated. Radhakrishnan patted him on the cheek and on the back. Stalin said, "You are the first person to treat me as a human being and not as a monster. You are leaving us and I am sad. I want you to live long. I have not long to live." Stalin died six months later. Radhakrishnan's legacy in Moscow was a firm and friendly understanding between India and the Soviet Union. A relationship which has flourished over the years and has become even stronger.
Radhakrishnan was elected Vice-President of India in 1952. The Vice-President presides over the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) sessions, much like the Speaker does in the Lok Sabha (Lower House). Often, during a heated debate, Radhakrishnan would intervene with slokas from the sanskrit classics or quotations from the Bible to calm the charged atmosphere. Nehru commented later, "By the way in which Radhakrishnan conducted the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha, he had made the meetings of the House look like family gatherings!"
Dr. Radhakrishnan was honored with the Bharat Ratna in 1954. Around the same time, an 883-page compilation titled "The Philosophy of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan" was released in America.
In 1956, Radhakrishnan's devoted wife, Sivakamuamma, passed away after sharing 50 years of married life. The couple had five daughters and a son.
After serving two terms as Vice-President, Radhakrishnan was elected President of India in 1962. Radhakrishnan's tenure as President was marked by the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962, his state visit to the United States in 1963, the end of the Nehru-era with Nehru's death in 1964, and India's victorious performance against Pakistan in 1965 under Lal Bahadur Shastri. Radhakrishnan guided each of the Prime Ministers wisely and helped see India through those trying years safely. Radhakrishnan refused to continue for another term as President after his term ended in 1967.
At the age of 79, Dr. Radhakrishnan returned to Madras in May 1967 to a warm homecoming. He spent his last years happily at his house "Girija" in Mylapore, Madras.
Dr. Radhakrishnan died on April 17, 1975.

----Srikanth R

Don't FEAR!

Hello, friends
This was the short story from the life of swami Vivekananda.
The following incident took place during swmiji’s wandering days when he was staying at Varanasi. One day when he was returning from visiting Durga temple, a troop of monkeys chased after him. To save himself swamiji at first started running, but the monkeys ran still faster and grew increasingly aggressive. At this time an old monk who happened to witness the scene called out to him: ‘stop running. Face the brutes!’ swamiji heard his call and turned to ‘face the brutes.’ Then the monkeys stopped harassing him.
Swamiji drew a great lesson from this apparently simple incident. He learnt that one should not run away when faced with danger or difficulty; instead, one must face it boldly. In his later life, swamiji referred to this incident while addressing a gathering in New York. He said: "that is a lesson for all life—face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back when we cease to flee before them. If we are ever to gain freedom, it must be by conquering nature, never by running away, cowards never win victories. We have to face fear and troubles and ignorance if we expect them to flee before us.’

--- Thejkumar J

Dear readers,
Today our country is achieving economic stability and progress in various fields of art, medicine, defense, science, space and so on. this has been possible due to rapid globalisation and industrialization. In this frenetic economic growth people are forgetting their culture, values of our country. It is a shame that money, religion and caste have become the foremost priority than the fate of the nation.People are aping the western culture & ethics blindly.Amidst all this the poor are becoming poorer.The rift between the rich & poor is widening.Greed has poisoned men's souls- has barricaded the country with hate towards each other.With the promise peace & prosperity, brutes have risen to power.Youth are comfortable, lazy & have become cowards.If this continues, our country will country will soon become chaotic,disintegrated nation.
The solution lies in organization.To organize youths having zeal,interest,patience & perseverance to work for the country.Our nation is totally lacking in the faculty of organization.It is the drawback which has produced all sorts of evil.There are many sorts of organizations like these.But bigotry, violence & sectarianism have made these organizations to forget its ideals.Many others are working effectively but they are scattered.Effort must be made to unite & work rapidly.
N.S.R.A (National Social Republican Association) is an organization of youth who are willing to bring the change which all of us desire.This organization wants to recruit youths having interest in nationalistic issues. The only requisite for joining NSRA is your interest & obedience.This organization wants to create national awareness among the masses and elevate it. NSRA does not promote or support any political party or its ideology.It does not entertain religious fanaticism,sectarianism,bigotry.NSRA does not believe in any violence to bring a change.We believe in evolution of the country from its present state & revolution among the minds of hte youth to work for the progress.NSRA is not against the government or the principles of democracy.It believes in replacing the corrupt & the brutes with the able-bodied citizens, instead of exterminating the corrupt using violence.NSRA will work to strengthen the unity & integrity of the country.As the name indicates NSRA is not confined to regional boundaries.The word 'National' signifies that our interest lies in working for the counrty as a whole.'Socialistic' basically means "freedom from exploitation".It envisages participation of workers in the management of an industry, and consequently advocates profit-sharing. It is 'Democratic Socialism' and not 'Communistic Socialism'.It is a step away from capitalism to collectivism.'Republic' means a state in which the supreme power rests in the people & their elected representatives as against a state governed by king or dictator.Lastly,NSRA believes in common civil code for all citizens.It is open to member of any religion,caste,creed etc. NSRA believes in secularism but not communal appeasement.It is based on nationalism & on the firm foundations of spirituality preached by every religion.We want you to join this organization & work woth us to salvage our losing national pride.

THANK YOU

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them"
--Swami Vivekananda

BUILDING NEW INDIA

“As long as millions die in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who having been educated, nursed in luxury of millions of toiling poor, never even takes a thought for them.”

- Swami Vivekananda

61 years after independence, the word ‘patriot’ has lost its significance. It is confined to only some films and ‘boring’ freedom struggle stories. People who show loyalty to their own country are considered fools. Everyone will be on their toes to criticize, mock, laugh at a person who dares to bring a change. Yes, we are all part of it.

Since independence, India has achieved remarkable progress in several arenas and now, the country seems to be in an era of frenetic economic growth-in fact, its annual growth is the second highest in the world, after china. The entire world is fascinated by our success; many predict India will become the next ‘superpower’, ‘powerhouse’, ‘a pillar of stability’, ‘a country whose time has come’.

REALITY: Rabindranath Tagore had said that darkness usually intensifies under the lamp. So it is in India. The outstanding progress in many areas merely highlights the bullock cart pace in the basics of daily life. Our Porsche-driving new millionaires and billionaires whiz past urban slums that are among the most depressing in the world. Nearly 30% of our population lives on 14 Rs. a day. More than one lakh farmers have committed suicide since 1999. The average debt for the farmer household is 12585rs. Our courts have a backlog of 3.5 million cases. 30 million youth are unemployed. There are only 3 beds per 10000 people. 60% of Indians have no access to safe sanitation. Female foeticide accounts for an estimated half-a-million deaths every year. Politics has become the shame of our country, having people, who are on their deathbeds, who can’t even support themselves, but want to support the country through service. Elections are a mockery of democracy with criminals, corrupt occupying the highest seats of power. There is no ideology left in any party except hunger for power and everyone wants to have their share from the large pie. The masses remain mute spectators while the destiny of the nation is being decided by a handful of so called ‘intelligent people’ who know nothing about the problems of common man. If they grumble, it is because they did not enjoy the amount of power they deserved. People fight over religion and caste endlessly. They want to keep the wounds green by reciting the gruesome periods of history. They fight for it, write for it, anything but live it. A new threat of terrorism and naxalism is proving dangerous for the internal security of India. They are supported by our “best friends”, Pakistan, china and new ally, Bangladesh.

The last nail to the coffin- Ever increasing population has ensured one thing for the progress of the country, “One step forward and two steps back.”

“A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.” – Cicero

CAUSES FOR DOWNFALL:

• The main cause for all these problems is lethargy and selfishness. No Indian commits at least ten percent of his thoughts for his country. Everyone is content within their zones of comfort and they don’t even care if the next house burns. They will do their utmost to avoid the flames reaching their house.
• Before independence, people had a goal in their life and that was to drive the British out. Unfortunately, they had not seriously thought about the goals after independence. So today, ‘selfless’ goal has become ‘selfish’ goal. Many of our people don’t have a goal in their life. They seem to be keen to take bath in the sea after the waves stop themselves.
• What can a country expect from its youth who are physically weak, lazy, selfish, lacking energy to work and only work when compelled to do so? The moral degradation of the youth is a concern. They are content with petty jobs with less work and high pay. Obscenity has replaced spirituality in the minds of the youth and their ideals are the film stars and cricketers who have ‘served’ the country by amassing huge wealth for themselves.
• Neglect of the masses is another cause. One Christ or one Buddha doesn’t determine the country’s fate but it is the common people whose fate and ability to think and live, decides the country’s fate. The one thing that is the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor. They cannot rise, try however they may.
• The distinction of upper and lower class is still to be eradicated which treaded upon the necks of the poor and the low for centuries. Untouchability is still to be removed from the minds of many of our people.
• We have forgotten two kinds of people. Men who are saving our country, the soldiers who have forsaken their home, families everything for the sake of our comfort sleep. And the farmers because of whom we eat like gluttons everyday. It is a shame that we are doing nothing for them.

“The nation is sinking…. which has been ferrying millions and millions of souls across the waters of life. The curse of unnumbered millions is on our heads…. The unnumbered millions of poor to whom we have hated with all our strength, to whom we talked that we are all the same, without even an ounce of practice.” - Swami Vivekananda

So what is the solution? You ask. We have heard many logical and idealistic solutions. People today want practical solution. Something which they can believe that it will work.

The very first thing is to change ourselves. To become, ‘Independent’ that is, responsible. Even if you change, one person can never bring about a change in the country. You may become a leader but you need a group to follow your ideals. You may become a writer but you need people to read it. The answer is to organize.

“Interdependence is of higher value than independence.”

My friends, our nation is totally lacking in the faculty of organization. We are lazy, we cannot combine, we are intensely selfish, and not three of us can come together without hating each other, without being jealous of each other…. We speak many things parrot like, but never do them. This can be done through organization.

We, a group of eighth semester students of NIE are starting an organization to create national awareness among youth. There is no fee. The only requisite for this organization is your interest and obedience. Don’t wait for anybody or anything .In this need-of-the-hour we need a band of fiery patriots who can salvage the losing pride of our country.

Please contact these numbers to get enrolled.

Ø 9964244855.

Ø 9844601992.

Ø 9739643304

You can email us to

Ø Htarahs86@gmail.com

Ø hegdefriends@rediffmail.com

“The future of a country depends on its people and how they think.”

- A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

updates of N.S.R.A works

Hello Friends,
N.S.R.A started its implementation works from this month.The activities that were carried out are

• Applying RTI act on works done in kuvempunagar footpath construction
• Consensus were taken from college students and H.O.D's of various departments regarding the discussion of nationalistic issues & playing patriotic songs over FM broadcasting channels
• Preparation for Survey of SEZ's & supermarkets(malls) are carried out
• An economic way of designing Hand pump to get underground water upto 15 feet is done and its implementation is carried out in villages
  
• study of Drum dam way of producing electricity is being carried out

JOIN hands with us.Lets bring the change in current situation & create Wonders.