Life in its various moods

Recently, I came across a very insightful speech by the UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath , where he spoke about Adi Shankaracharya and Varanasi. He narrated an episode from Adi Shankara's life, which is also mentioned in Manisha Panchakam and Sankara Digvijaya . One morning, during Brahma Muhurta (around 3-4 am), Adi Shankara was on his way to take a dip in the river Ganga. On the way, he encountered a ‘Chandaal’ (who earns his living by disposing of corpses on cremation grounds on Ganga Ghats), and in a moment of instinct, Adi Shankara said, “Move away, move away!” The Chandaal then asked a profound question: "Whom do you want to move—the body or the spirit(consciousness)?" Adi Shankara was taken aback by this question. The Chandaal continued, "From where has arisen this great delusion, which sees one as a ‘Brahman’ and the other as a ‘Chandaal’,  Don’t you see ‘Brahm’ within me? Don’t you recognise the Paramatma in me?" Adi Shankar ...

  One of the flourishing and foundational orchards of the vast and glorious plantation of Bhartiya Sabhyata ( Indian Civilization) are the Vedas. The Vedas are a majestic and unparalleled heritage of all Indians, despite their caste, creed, panth (religion). The fruits of Vedas have nourished our land for the past 5000 years or even more. Hence I thoroughly believe that we as Bhartiyas (Indians) should at the very least have a basic understanding of its essence.  Rig Veda is the most ancient and most voluminous of the four Vedas and also serves as a foundational text for the entire Vedic Corpus. Through a rich tapestry of poetic verses, Rig Veda conveys various philosophical, spiritual, and cosmological ideas. Over the centuries many Rishis, Acharyas and commentators have tried to translate and interpret it. In my limited knowledge and reading, I found ‘ The Secret of the Veda ’ by Shri Aurobindo, to be a profound and critical examination of the core...

Imagine a beautiful nursery having fragrant and colourful flowers. The Gardener has the knowledge of how to cultivate them, trim them, grow them etc. He plants the seeds and gives adequate manure and water. He has the knowledge of which seed needs how much of what resource. Once this is done the plant grows, he protects them from bad weather, directs them towards sunlight. He experiments , learns and practices this daily. The solutions and process that he devises to make the nursery blooming forms his knowledge and the craft. Now, when the plant grows up and starts blooming, starts giving beautiful flowers, whose fragrance is felt all across the locality, the whole locality enjoys it. But now neither the locality knows how this happened nor the plant knows. And in fact the process forward is even more beautiful and autonomous.  Once the flower grows, one of its part becomes fruit. the locality enjoys the fruit. Then the seeds of the same fruit fall on the gr...

Analysing the 2024 Elections: A Deep Dive into State-wise Performance and Candidate Selection   Image Credits: NDTV Introduction The 2024 election results have shaken a lot of BJP supporters and the day of result was tense and shocking for many like me. And there has been lot of talk, analysis, blame game, conspiracy theories floating around, hence I thought of giving a cold look at numbers and analysing the results in key states. This analysis delves into the performance of different states, focusing on candidate selection, anti-incumbency factors, and overall election outcomes. By examining data from key states—Uttar Pradesh (UP), Maharashtra (MH), and Bihar—we can better understand the strategies that worked, those that failed, and the overall electoral dynamics. State Selection The states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Maharashtra (MH), and Bihar were chosen for this analysis because they provide a comprehensive view of BJP's performance. UP and MH are the states w...

Advitiya Karmayogi - Narendra Modi The media and opposition are going berserk over Modi’s two-day meditation at Dhyan Mandapam at Vivekananda Rock. It seems like a fitting conclusion to the hustle and bustle of the two-month-long election campaign. This election felt like a match between a Yogi, focused with his mind, body, and spirit on his goal, and an opposition that was haywire, making incoherent statements, offering unachievable promises, and presenting half-baked narratives like wealth distribution. It was a contest between a ‘Nispruhi’ man (detached) and a heated-up, hot-headed, directionless group. Consequently, the result will be as long foretold. If we zoom out and look at Modi as a person shaping Bharat for a glorious and prosperous future, it becomes evident that his impact is much more profound than what we have witnessed so far. We have seen glimpses of his personality, which a distant observer wouldn’t have notic...