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19 November 2010, 5:34 PM
It has been customary at the end of an astrological debate, actually a quarrel (these days about Jaimini dashas) -- astrologers come away claiming victory. Starting with a Sanskrit shloka or sutra, a fatuous rhetorical war path, they end up abusing each other. I have seen it so often, astrologers using very offensive language and uttering arrant nonsense. They spout ill-informed academic poison. They cannot overcome their obsessions. Involved in such quarrels, you find yourself between a precipitous rock and a deep sea.
23 November 2010, 6:15 AM
Sometime in 1983 or 1984 a young Sikh working in a bank came to me with a proposal for becoming the editor of an astrological magazine which he would start, he said, if I became its editor. I declined the offer on many grounds: first I was in government service and would have to take official permission to accept it which I would not seek. read more...
25 December 2007, 10:36 AM
In my childhood and early teenage, I often heard people talking of Indians being otherworldly which was and can, never be true.That was a Propaganda of imperialists who ruled over us and sought this fictitous reason of otherworldliness to justify their rule.
A whole nation, society and a group of people cannot be otherworldly as that great spiritual quality is a distinguinshing mark of a spiritual person, an individual not a collectivity.
The line of Kabirdas was well explained to us in the class room by a good teacher.
Kabira khada bazaar me, liye luhati haath Jo ghar phoke apno chale hamare saath
Says, Kabir standing in the bazar holding a baton in his hand---let those who are prepared to burn down their own houses,come with me.
It is addresed to those who want to seek God. They must first burn down their houses meaning destroy their worldliness, their attachments.
Making houses
Do you find Hindus burning down their houses or making them with the saving of their lifetime earlier and now with bank loans? Not satisfied with one, many of them make more than one house.
Social compulsions to be worldly
Social and domestic compulsions makes Hindus deeply materialistic.They like to educate their children at a huge price and these days it is enormously expensive, costing lakhs compared to few hundreds even upto post gratudate level during my time. Then they had to and still have to accumulate money to pay the dowry of their daughters which they rarely escape and have no desire to escape in most of the cases having accepted this evil as a gainful necessity. They make up in the dowry they get in their son’s marriage what they pay in a daughter’s marriage.In either case, it is not other worldliness but pure greed, compulsion and necessity. Birth only of daughters and no sons is therefore looked upon as a curse. This a well known calculation of the grossly worldly persons in whose life there is nothing other worldly ever.
Gold in iron safe of office
Once during my service career when I was relieving a person as the head of the office, he removed from his iron safe in his office room, big packets which contained pieces of gold he had kept there and had accumulated for the marriage of his daughters. He thought that the office safe as safe as a bank locker. But he talked of religious books mostly and of Shankaracharya, the param guru.
Four types of devotees
Of the four types of devotees, the needy, the greedy, the inquisitive and the gyani, vastest majority belong to the needy and greedy category.Hindus go to pilgrimages not for salvation but for prayers for worldly gains. Have you heard of anyone going to Tirupati to pray for salvation? It is a worldly wish on the fulfilment of which they visit this pilgrimage again and donate some money and even shave themselves off as a token of gratitude to God for fulfilling their worldly wish. It is like a bargain with God and these days, it is almost like offering a bribe to God.
India was the richest nation
It is good to remember that in the preindustrial era, India was the richest nation of the world and Annie Beasant, the great theosophist, used to say that ninety percent gold of the world flowed towards India then. India produced more than twenty five percent wealth of the world which got reduced to two percent at the end of the British rule in 1947. These are not signs of other worldliness. As an astrologer, I know of thousands of Hindus who have come to consult me only for their worldly problems. I have seen them visit pilgrims again for the fulfilment of worldly wishes only.
What then is eternal about it?
To understand it, remember the excellent four fold division of the society into Brahmacharis, Grihasthis, Vanaprasthis and Sanyasis. Where else in the world do you find such a deep thinking and division? What was true in my childhood and is truer now is that we have some sort of Brahmacharis even in these days of sexual freedom but we have an overwhelming majority of Grihasthis. Among many millions we have some Vanaprasthis and still fewer true Sanyyasis after excluding the saffron clad who are more like pieces of advertisements than true Sanyyasis.
What is unique and eternal is the institution of Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis? I have seen in some houses, men staying in families having led an active life, and are now detached from more than eighty percent of worldly activities, living for society and devoting their lives to spiritual practices. They are excellent examples but “fools” in a worldly sense in modern evaluation.
I have seen boys in some families who from childhood have been other worldly and soon became sanyasis. How they have developed spiritually is not known to me but what is eternal about India is these two institutions of Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis. It is not a church giving you a career as a bishop or a nun with physical comforts, accomodation a church etc.
The Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis keep alive the eternal spiritual tradition. Some of them write books on spiritual subjects, some take to preaching and most of them lead a detached lives because they know the pains of attachment,the tension of money earning careers, the jealousies of professional life. This far and no further is the realization that comes to them and their vanaprastha begins with this feeling and note.
A form of spirituality “It is spirituality that is suited to contemporary times. Prof Alan Roland, a noted American cultural psychoanalyst, postulates
that every Indian has a spiritual side, whether latent or expressed. Far from abandoning the spiritual quest, the modern middle-class is seeking new forms of spirituality suited to the times – witness the growth of Art of Living, Buddhism, Reiki, lectures on the Gita et al. This is in addition to practising religious rituals, following the family Guru and consulting astrologers.”
Otherworldliness is not a myth but rare and rarer in Indian life now. It is there and will always be there but confined to vanaprasthis and true sanyasis only.
Do what you like, India will always believe in Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha but majority will believe in the first three purusharthas only. But not the vicious circle of atheism or agnosticism for them. They experience it ,the truth of astrology etc.early enough in life to know that Indian,the Hindu way of life, is based on superior wisdom than in the west.
One example will suffice.
From: A. K. <..@yahoo.co.in>
To: knrao@com
Subject: Namaste
Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:00:28 IST
Respected Sir,
This is Akshat K., with all your blessings I have got an offer from G., Gurgaon. I have been told to report at the Delhi IT Park office by 9:30am on the 12th of this month. As you had said that something good will happen for me this December. It seems to be that way. Also you had said that it should be somewhere in the west, that too has come true as Gurgaon is in the west of Delhi. Thanks for all your blessings.
Warm Regards,
A.K.
The tradition he believes in is true is what he realises. If his samskaras are better, in old age he will become an ideal vanaprasthi. That is eternal India.
( 7 December 2007 )
A whole nation, society and a group of people cannot be otherworldly as that great spiritual quality is a distinguinshing mark of a spiritual person, an individual not a collectivity.
The line of Kabirdas was well explained to us in the class room by a good teacher.
Kabira khada bazaar me, liye luhati haath Jo ghar phoke apno chale hamare saath
Says, Kabir standing in the bazar holding a baton in his hand---let those who are prepared to burn down their own houses,come with me.
It is addresed to those who want to seek God. They must first burn down their houses meaning destroy their worldliness, their attachments.
Making houses
Do you find Hindus burning down their houses or making them with the saving of their lifetime earlier and now with bank loans? Not satisfied with one, many of them make more than one house.
Social compulsions to be worldly
Social and domestic compulsions makes Hindus deeply materialistic.They like to educate their children at a huge price and these days it is enormously expensive, costing lakhs compared to few hundreds even upto post gratudate level during my time. Then they had to and still have to accumulate money to pay the dowry of their daughters which they rarely escape and have no desire to escape in most of the cases having accepted this evil as a gainful necessity. They make up in the dowry they get in their son’s marriage what they pay in a daughter’s marriage.In either case, it is not other worldliness but pure greed, compulsion and necessity. Birth only of daughters and no sons is therefore looked upon as a curse. This a well known calculation of the grossly worldly persons in whose life there is nothing other worldly ever.
Gold in iron safe of office
Once during my service career when I was relieving a person as the head of the office, he removed from his iron safe in his office room, big packets which contained pieces of gold he had kept there and had accumulated for the marriage of his daughters. He thought that the office safe as safe as a bank locker. But he talked of religious books mostly and of Shankaracharya, the param guru.
Four types of devotees
Of the four types of devotees, the needy, the greedy, the inquisitive and the gyani, vastest majority belong to the needy and greedy category.Hindus go to pilgrimages not for salvation but for prayers for worldly gains. Have you heard of anyone going to Tirupati to pray for salvation? It is a worldly wish on the fulfilment of which they visit this pilgrimage again and donate some money and even shave themselves off as a token of gratitude to God for fulfilling their worldly wish. It is like a bargain with God and these days, it is almost like offering a bribe to God.
India was the richest nation
It is good to remember that in the preindustrial era, India was the richest nation of the world and Annie Beasant, the great theosophist, used to say that ninety percent gold of the world flowed towards India then. India produced more than twenty five percent wealth of the world which got reduced to two percent at the end of the British rule in 1947. These are not signs of other worldliness. As an astrologer, I know of thousands of Hindus who have come to consult me only for their worldly problems. I have seen them visit pilgrims again for the fulfilment of worldly wishes only.
What then is eternal about it?
To understand it, remember the excellent four fold division of the society into Brahmacharis, Grihasthis, Vanaprasthis and Sanyasis. Where else in the world do you find such a deep thinking and division? What was true in my childhood and is truer now is that we have some sort of Brahmacharis even in these days of sexual freedom but we have an overwhelming majority of Grihasthis. Among many millions we have some Vanaprasthis and still fewer true Sanyyasis after excluding the saffron clad who are more like pieces of advertisements than true Sanyyasis.
What is unique and eternal is the institution of Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis? I have seen in some houses, men staying in families having led an active life, and are now detached from more than eighty percent of worldly activities, living for society and devoting their lives to spiritual practices. They are excellent examples but “fools” in a worldly sense in modern evaluation.
I have seen boys in some families who from childhood have been other worldly and soon became sanyasis. How they have developed spiritually is not known to me but what is eternal about India is these two institutions of Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis. It is not a church giving you a career as a bishop or a nun with physical comforts, accomodation a church etc.
The Vanaprasthis and Sanyyasis keep alive the eternal spiritual tradition. Some of them write books on spiritual subjects, some take to preaching and most of them lead a detached lives because they know the pains of attachment,the tension of money earning careers, the jealousies of professional life. This far and no further is the realization that comes to them and their vanaprastha begins with this feeling and note.
A form of spirituality “It is spirituality that is suited to contemporary times. Prof Alan Roland, a noted American cultural psychoanalyst, postulates
that every Indian has a spiritual side, whether latent or expressed. Far from abandoning the spiritual quest, the modern middle-class is seeking new forms of spirituality suited to the times – witness the growth of Art of Living, Buddhism, Reiki, lectures on the Gita et al. This is in addition to practising religious rituals, following the family Guru and consulting astrologers.”
Otherworldliness is not a myth but rare and rarer in Indian life now. It is there and will always be there but confined to vanaprasthis and true sanyasis only.
Do what you like, India will always believe in Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha but majority will believe in the first three purusharthas only. But not the vicious circle of atheism or agnosticism for them. They experience it ,the truth of astrology etc.early enough in life to know that Indian,the Hindu way of life, is based on superior wisdom than in the west.
One example will suffice.
From: A. K. <..@yahoo.co.in>
To: knrao@com
Subject: Namaste
Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:00:28 IST
Respected Sir,
This is Akshat K., with all your blessings I have got an offer from G., Gurgaon. I have been told to report at the Delhi IT Park office by 9:30am on the 12th of this month. As you had said that something good will happen for me this December. It seems to be that way. Also you had said that it should be somewhere in the west, that too has come true as Gurgaon is in the west of Delhi. Thanks for all your blessings.
Warm Regards,
A.K.
The tradition he believes in is true is what he realises. If his samskaras are better, in old age he will become an ideal vanaprasthi. That is eternal India.
( 7 December 2007 )
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